So, I have to admit I was inspired by a web site I’m working on that will be gracecapes.com. Addie turned 3 so I made her a cape with an “A” on one side and a crown on the other. Apparently she likes it along with her new toy piano where she plays ala Liberace or pretends to fly whist lying on the bench.

For Christmas, I made my niece, Adelaide, a dress coat. I got the pattern on Etsy  from Heidi and Finn and printed out the pieces on my own printer. Genius.

I toiled over my fabric and finally decided on this blue floral with a navy jersey lining. It was a little difficult with the jersey as it stretches more than regular cotton, but I did ok. It is reversible, but the floral side is the way to go.

We went to visit for New Year’s and had a post Christmas gift giving.

Adelaide seems to like it. I got her to put it on after pretending to try to put it on myself. Silly Aunt Parrish.

Here she is with Uncle Brendan. We had a fabulous time, and I have another project that I’ll post as soon as Kitt sends me photos of her in it.

Thanks to Heidi and Finn. I think this will be a project soon!

Ok, get excited. Baking soda can work wonders! My favorite uses that I’ve tried are cleaning tea stains from tea cups and pots, scrubbing the bathroom, and scouring stove burners. I found this site that lists Sixty Uses for Baking Soda. Some exciting uses that I want to try include:

24. Polish silverware with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rub, rinse and dry.

38. Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your teeth and dentures with it. (Heard you should only use it every other week. Can remove stains, though!)

59. Use dry with a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.

Let me know if you have any amazing uses for baking soda!

We had to check out the swell coming in. Actually, Brendan has been doing so for the past week or so. The waves have been so heavy and forceful. These photos don’t really do them justice, but we were mesmerized by them.

So, I’ve been meaning to blog about the sites that I’ve worked on. Eventually, I’ll create a portfolio, but until that day, here we are. My friend, Nate, needed a new site to showcase his beautiful jewelry. I designed the colors and logo based on the jewelry that he creates and the gemstone colors. Check it out at www.natewaxman.com. Let Nate and I know what you think!

Just some sweet photos! My mother-in-law, Carol, sent us sugar cookies to decorate. I had to snap fast before we ate them up. SO YUMMY!

Mustache Attack! Thank you to all who participated. Mustacheattack.com will point to my Etsy shop shortly, and then go on to take over the mustache world! Muoh HA HA HA!

As some of you may know, I’m making mustache napkins. Staci and I are obsessed with ’staches, right now. I want a domain for our mustache creations. It was going to be mustacheambush.com, but alas, it is often mistaken for something else when spoken. I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. Anyway, here are some available domains. Let me know what you think, and if you have a better domain name (that is available) please let me know! Oh, and I know that I have to take pictures of the napkins! I’ll post them asap.

Listen to my very great friend, Angela Howe, talk about what Surfrider is doing and accomplishing. She is the legal director for the National Chapter of Surfrider Foundation. There’s a link to listen to the show on this site for Treehuggers International on 94/9

It’s a great conversation about the many battles that Surfrider is fighting such as offshore drilling, beach fills, Saving Trestles, plastic bag legislation, and smoking bans on beaches.

Find out more. Be the change.

www.surfrider.org/legal
www.nottheanswer.org

These are from our trip to Maui for Jen and Albert’s wedding. We only stayed a few days, but we really soaked it in. We stayed on the Napili Shore at Napili Sunset. It was Right near the beach, and we loved having a kitchen.

The wedding was on Friday at the Olowalu Plantation House. Frickin’ perfect. We danced through the night and recovered on the beach the next day. Saturday night we went into Lahaina for drinks and dinner. It’s very touristy, but they do have a lot of restaurants on the water.

Sunday we took off exploring. First, we drove North a little ways to Honolua Bay. It’s known for its snorkling and good surf when there is a swell. Luckily it was good conditions for snorkeling. It was beautiful, lots of fish, and a bay surrounded by cliffs and the rain forest. After some debate, we decided to go back to the hotel and get a late check out and eat lunch.

Then, we were off to find a hike. Mind you, we kind of knew where they were, but after not being able to find the hike close by, we decided to throw caution to the wind and go in search of the acclaimed 13 Crossings hike. I had conveniently left all the maps and directions in the condo, but we didn’t think twice about stopping to get them. Luckily, I did “remember” that the hike was 7/10 of a mile past mile marker 7 on hwy 340. We kind of pointed ourselves in the general direction and just took what roads would get us there. We drove right past the trail, but realized that it had to be the stream inlet that had barbed wire and a “NO TRESPASSING” sign. Apparently, you should ignore these types of signs because they are just to prevent lawsuits. Anyway, it was indeed the right hike. It was so fun, and we had it all to ourselves! I’m so glad we went for it. 13 crossings across a stream to a tiered waterfall. Too bad it was too chilly to dive in. Next time.

We also ate dinner in Paia, twice. It’s such a cute town. We want to go back there. The first night we ate at a vegetarian thai/vietnamese place called Fresh Mint. The waiter loved telling jokes, and the food was great. Then before we flew home, we ate at Cafe Mambo. We shared the falafel and the tofu fajitas. I really liked the teriyaki tofu with caramelized onions combined with the traditional Mexican toppings. Definitely want to make that sometime. Note to self.