Time?

Where did the time go?

I blame this guy pictured below. My nephew has consumed my days with his cuteness and sense of humor. I didn't know babies understood humor at only six months, but he was born a natural comedian. So if you see less of me here, I'm somewhere in town toting this chunk of a baby around like an accessory.


It looks like while my blog was taking a sabbatical, Blogger switched things around and I can't seem to format separate paragraphs here. Anyone out there figure out how to do it? (Fixed it thanks to Erica at Beyond Rubies!!!)



The second part of this post is about the incredible luck I've had recently on my scavenger hunts. The sunburst clock found for a mere $5 that instigated a whole new look for the mantle, and these two LARGE vintage maps for only $10 each!


Shut up!!!.....no, really..only $10 bucks each. Can you stand it? The frames needed to be painted over the ugly oak color but that's it.


I have a thing for old maps especially when they are of places I love. One is a map of Yosemite and the other Sequoia National Forest. I now call this room "California Road Trip."
The mosaic of mirrors that hung here before are now finding a new wall in my front room (a.k.a. "the Genie Bottle) and will take pictures as soon as its done. Am I the only dork out there who names her rooms? Don't you think it sounds more interesting than family room and living room?



p.s....for any of you local moms that want to come to the Pannikins free Spring craft day for kids. It's next Friday the 27th from 1-4pm. I have volunteered to help make garden bonbons. A mixture of clay and dirt with seeds tucked inside that are then taken home and tossed in the garden to grow. I've never tried these before so it should be interesting. ;)

Pie Day!!!

Did you all take advantage of this holiday?
Well, I sure did.
Even though National Pie Day was March 14th, Bethany and Tere over at M.O.M. had their 4th annual Pie Day on Sunday March 11th. (I decided to celebrate both days until I was completely sick to my stomach.)
Normally, I'm really good at looking away from these sugary treats, but dammit....sometimes you just gotta do it.
I don't think I'll be craving pie for another year though...which is good, right?
This year, I made these mini banana cream pies.(pictured above) So delicious and the perfect size to get a taste but not commit to a whole piece.
My intentions were really good in the beginning. I was going to make everything from scratch....but as the week went on, my recipe changed from homemade to semi-homemade....and then, well........just assembled.
You know.... why try to compete with companies that have spent years and thousands of dollars perfecting their recipes. At least that was my reasoning, plus my oven was broken.

Want to make these for yourself? Here's how.
I bought pre-baked pastry shells, piped in vanilla pudding, add a slice of banana, and top with whipped cream.
Done! Shameless, I know.

The Ugliest Before and After Project!

This shelf/cupboard measures 6x6ft square and proved to be the most challenging project rehab I've tackled in a while. Dripping with what was thought to be broken old jars of canned goods oozing their goo from the top shelf to the bottom. Such a mess!

It took 4 guys to load it in the truck. My husband was the only one who had faith that I would be able to transform this nasty beast into a beauty. Others thought I was crazy, which only made me more determined. Even the lady who sold it to me had her doubts. She only asked $25 bucks for it. Score!
To me, it was all cosmetic. Check out those cool sliding doors. Reminds me of something you'd find in an old classroom.

Well, it took quite a few hours to scrape, sand, degrease, paint 3 coats of primer, and 2 coats of a brilliant peacock blue.
But now... it's my pride and joy, sitting proud in our living room.

Welcome Cruz!

Happy parents Lara and Nelz welcome their first baby boy into the world. Little Cruz was born at home over the weekend with amazing family support and their midwife. I can't believe I'm an auntie for the 24th time!! I know that sounds crazy, but when you're one of 10 siblings, it's not so strange.
This year is going to be a busy one for sure, but also incredibly fun. I'm already thinking about easter egg hunts and Halloween!

New!

I just brought in a fresh batch of furniture to the Pannikin yesterday.
The green cabinet is my absolute favorite. It's the perfect shade of green ....and just in time for St. Patricks Day. Karin

"Island Baby" Shower for Lara Vellocido

As promised, I wanted to share some pictures of my sister's baby shower. Since the little one will have family here and in Hawaii, we went with an Island Hopper/Travel Baby theme. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful and sunny. You just never know this time of year.
The food was sooo soo good....
The menu consisted of potato zucchini pizzas, fruit kabobs, asparagus quiche, pasta salad, tea sandwiches and white chocolate stuffed raspberries. Oh, and it gets better. We all sipped on a champagne punch and fruity Bahama Mama rum drinks. It's a baby shower people...you got to get your buzz on.

Party favors were mini bottles of Champagne that read..."Thank you for flying Vellocido Airlines. Pop upon arrival of baby Vellocido."

....And then there was the giant cake that Cat and I made.
It was 14 inches round, three layers high and took 9 hours to make! Why?.. because we only had one cake pan and had to let it cool and pop out in order to start the next one. The cake was dark chocolate with chocolate chunks inside and topped with a super light and fluffy homemade frosting that tasted like vanilla marshmallows. I have NEVER seen woman eat cake like they did that day. Going back for seconds and even requesting the pieces with heavy frosting! It was kind of cool to watch. Not a piece was left over..thank god. All our guests took home huge slabs of it to their families.

Also pictured here is the painting I did for their Nursery. A 20x20'' image of Lara's dog "Cash" flying his toy plane over Hawaii. He is technically her first baby.
(prints will be available in my shop very soon!)

Arts Alive

The Arts Alive banner unveiling was a great success. About 100 artists participated in the event and I think this was definitely the best year so far.
Below is a picture of my banner...a larger version of my China Doll girl.
My personal favorite was the "Blue Heron" painted by Ciara Ortiz.
Sorry these pictures are kind of grainy. The lighting inside was horrible! Especially since all the windows were covered in banners. Not much natural light coming in.
The last image was grabbed from this mornings North County Times!