Spring Fever

Just a quick note that Show Preperations are in full (and I mean FULL) swing!!! Aaron has been doing an amazing job. Today we practiced setting up the display table and it looks like everything will work reasonably well. YEAH!

Then we went for a walk through our garden and things are looking promising. Tulips are coming up, crocus are blooming, and new primroses are planted.

Not much to say, really, Aaron's workng a lot and I'm doing what odds and ends I can. Here are a few pictures. Just 14 days before we leave. YOWSIERS!



Sneak peak of what the displays might look like. We're still tweaking.


Primroses - sure sign of spring


Tulips coming up.


Valentine's Herbs (some girls get roses....but those are ordinary)


Crocus

Oh Ya You Becha!

My trip to Minn-e-SO-ta, was a big success. I had a great time. I even got a big dose of winter. Enough to last me more than a few years. Granted it was "warm" by MN standards (high 20's) but it snowed almost non-stop during my visit. Not really my idea of a good time!

BUT, what WAS a good time was:

Spending time with dad


Got to know my 3 year old great-niece Ryan. They grow 'em pretty darned cute up north!

Watch the first half of the super bowl with Grandma Elsie. We were both rooting for, as grandma called it, The White Helmets.



Spent most of a day with my pal Heidi. We had a grand time doing not much more than chatting and trying on cloths. We bought a few things, but my purchases were off-set by the fact that I lost my fabulous carhart insulated jacket in the airport. :( Guess I can't visit MN until spring.

Had brunch with mom, and my cousins.

And had one of Mary's amazing veggie omelets. No one make an omelet that is as good.

Came back last night (after 2 coatings of de-icer and 75-minutes waiting on the run-way) to my Honey. We immediately went out for Thai food and a review of all the work he did while I was gone. Clearly, I'm a distraction. Production seemed to have skyrocketed during my leave. Duly noted.

Today was back to work and all was well!

Happy New Year - Birthday Month - Studio Opening...

As you know, January is birthday. Today, in honor of the last day of the month Little Hannah & Adam sang the bday song to me one more time. I had a really fun birthday month. My friend Karen was in town and we all went out for a really super-fun night out. I had a great time. And, if that wasn't enough, Aaron had planned a mystery date with our friends Big Hannah (who's not big at all) and Louie. Again, good times were had by all.

It's not a birthday without a yummy dessert:



Sometimes you have to just go buy your own bday gift and in this case I really felt like I HAD to have these boots. I'm currently scheduling my social events around when I can wear the boots. I love them.



The four of us having dessert at Crush. It's really fabulous. So good, in fact, that this was the second mystery date Aaron took me to Crush. I recommend it all the way around. http://www.chefjasonwilson.com/


Anner and Aaron on bday date night. Good times.



The studio is up and running! Yet another amazing January accomplishment. I intend to do a whole entry showing the evolution of the new studio but right now I'm a little distracted with the upcoming show so here are just a few pictures of Aaron at work.

Here's his bench:



Pieces in process. They are going to be Ga-ood! Can't wait to see the final versions.


I've been taking care of miscellaneous things like ordering displays.


Aaron at work:


Mother Nature has been working overtime. With the warmest January on record (or close to it) all of our bulbs are busting out of the ground. Didn't I juuuust plant them??


Hellebores are Aaron's favorite and they are finally starting to "take". They are starting to make our garden their home. It's a welcomed bloom in the middle of winter.


We also had our friends Jack and Anastasia over and we made marshmallows together. Now we're on Anastasia's food blog. We're nearly famous!
http://stasiacooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-marshmallows-mmmmmm.html


Who knows what will all happen in February? We'll just have to find out.

Meet a Real Life Super Hero

Meet Mitchell's sock critter. I figured I should post some pics since the family in MN hasn't seen Mitchell's critter. Some of these pictures were taken before his cape was finished, but definitely a superhero. You can tell he's a superhero because his ears are windblown from flying through the air.


Packing up Mitchell's critter to make the holiday trip to Atlanta. I put on a happy face, but the truth is, I was really attached to this one and kind of sad to see him go. At least I know I can visit him in March and learn his name.








Family Photo
(It's been a prolific sock critter season. Can't imagine how many more might be created in the new studio!)

Christmanukah 2009

Christmas day was a real treats for us. First of all, we had two days off in a row!!

We opened presents --- none of which were as good as the amazing ACC email Aaron got on Monday, but it was still really fun. We received so much homemade goodies you would not believe it!! Even my little nephew Michael made us flavored candies and a little hand-made piece of pottery. How great is that!!!???

Last night Aaron went around the house like a scavenger hunt picking and choosing just which treats he'd have for dessert. When he was done with those he went back for seconds. Let's see: chocolate crinkle, marshmallow, star shaped candies from Micheal, gilt, and chocolate covered apple slice. Leave no dessert behind is our motto!!




Then we got to paint the studio. I have to say, I picked the perfect shade of paint. If it wasn't already named "Gold 3" I'd call is "Perfect Shade of Studio". It's natural without being totally boring. It's not gray or flesh toned. What's left over? Sort of a tannish shade of wheat.


Now, I'm off to buy concrete sealant. Good times!!

Happy holidays!!!

Studio Update

The studio is really coming along. This time next week it should be finished. Here are some pictures....

The new heater really kicks out the warmth. We're not going to have any more problems with it being too cold to work!


Studio Floor after demo


Studio Floor -- the new floor is no longer at an angle. I'm sure we can get used to that!


Mud Room - Before



Mud Room - After (taken from the opposite side of the room)


Time to bake off a batch of chocolate crinkles and then head out for holiday dinner with friends...

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmanukah...

Let's the baking begin!!!



This is what homemade s'mores look like. Homemade graham crackers and homemade marshmallows. We just added high quality chocolate and warmed it all up under the broiler. HolyMoly that was TASTY!!!



Next up - a new recipe for chocolate crinkles. One of my childhood memories was my brother making chocolate crinkles and I got to watch. Now I'm in charge!! I used Martha's recipe but switched it up a bit. I used Ghirardelli chocolate for the melted chocolate, then I rolled the dough in "vanilla" granulated sugar, then powerdered sugar, and then regular sugar. Not only is it a tasty sugar topping but the powered sugar doesn't fly off all over. Then I under-baked them by about 2 minutes. DELISH!! Aaron's busy testing them.

MMM
MMMMMM
GOOOOOOOD

Once. Twice. Threeeeee times a lady......

Introducing PINKY!








She's on her way to her new home with Grandma Elsie. I think they'll be able to compare flowers for their hair. Since I'm certain grandma hasn't been surfing the Internet lately I feel okay posting these pictures before grandma see opens her up on Christmas. It was a little hard putting her into a shoe box and dropping her in the mail, but hopefully grandma likes her enough to make the long trip worth it!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Here's our house hold thermometer with the official temperature. The top number is the temperature is in the house. The bottom number is on our front step. And Little Man, is wearing all his clothes and stands next to a tiny snow man. (In summer, he just wears shorts and holds his snorkel). This weather just isn't right!

Okay, I know parts of the nation are living through giant storms and it's just plain nasty in some places, but let me just say "27 degrees and dropping" is NOT a normal Seattle temperature!! BRRRRRRRR We're chilly.

It's a known fact that Seattlelites only have a 15 degree comfort zone (55-70). What I can say is that:
(1) at least it's not snowing!
(2) it's clear and beautiful, and
(3) it does make it feel Christmasy.

But I'm just saying that on Dec 26th I hope it's back to 55 and drizzling.

Excuse me, I need to find one of my scarves....

I Can See All the Way to Queen Ann

Last night was the big company holiday party. Me, Aaron and 500 of my co-workers. Sadly, Big Hannah's hubbie is overseas helping the poor, which meant Aaron was without his "wing man" for the evening. At one point, some of my co-workers said, "where's your husband" and I shrugged my shoulders. A little while later I looked behind me and he was at a table surrounded by beautiful ladies. Aaron does a find of job of "getting by" even without Louie.

Seriously - it was on top of the Space Needle and it was a rare clear December night. It was just gourgeous. As always, the pictures don't do it justice. We had a pretty good time. My company, certianly knows how to thow a get together! Gotta love that. Okay, now we're off to a craft fair. Wish us luck!


Anner from the observation deck


Big Hannah, Anner and Friends (remember Hannah from our wedding??)


Anner and her co-workers.


Aaron and Anner --- we clean up okay. :)

I'm Thankful for... CITY KITCHEN, in Seattle WA

Just 23 months ago I decided it was time to buy a real, grown-up stand mixer (who doesn’t?!). I headed out to all the main appliance sellers in downtown Seattle. When I walked in and said I was looking for a stand mixer, every single store pointed me straight to the Kitchen Aids. I’d ask about the warranty, how is it made, how powerful is it, what works the best and what isn’t so great about it. I was stunned with the lack of information. The sales people couldn’t tell me one thing about the Kitchen Aids except, “it comes in pink” as they rushed off.

Then I walked into City Kitchens. It wasn’t my first trip to there, but it was the first time I was looking for a major purchase. I asked the same questions and to my delight the sales people could answer all my questions!! They did a great job of comparing and contrasting the machines for me. In the end, I decided to go with a plain, white, Cuisinart (it’s just fine that it’s not pink).

It doesn't do justice when I say I LOVE my mixer. I talk to it. Every time I use it, I say, "Aaron, I love my mixer.". It's true. Ask him. He loves wood clamps. I love my mixer.

Fast forward nearly 2 years:

I’m about to make some pumpkin bread. I plugged in my machine. The timer light went on. I set it to "low" and pressed “on”. My beautiful machine just made a clicking noise. I tried again, “click”. A sinking feeling came over me because I knew it was bad. I plugged it in a different socket. “Click.” I begged and pleaded with the mixer to ‘pleeeeeease work,’ “Click”. I messed with the machine for a long time before pronouncing it dead. I curled up on the couch and went into mourning. My hubby tried to resuscitate the mixer too. He confirmed what I already knew. My beautiful machine had a burnt out motor. SO SAD.

I spent the next week checking on options for getting it fixed. I'd occasionally plug it in and try it again to see if it was magically fixed. Of course it just "clicked" and then I'd curl back up on the couch. *sigh*

I'll spare you the details but there were no good options. The people at Cuisinart at least assured me that they almost never have calls for burnt out motors which made me feel a little bit better about all my research from two years ago.

Of all things it’s the week of Thanksgiving and I really wanted my favorite kitchen appliance, the stand mixer. Thoroughly bummed out about the situation, I called City Kitchens. After an extremely short conversation you all told me to “bring it in. We’ll exchange it.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What?!” I tapped on the phone received, “Ah…pardon me… did you say ‘exchange it’?” That’s when I declared my un-dying love for City Kitchen!! The next night, as I walked in the door, the sales associate said, “Oh. We’re expecting you.” and immediately asked someone to bring out a new mixer for me. WHAT? I didn’t have to stand there and explain myself? They didn’t have to stare at with skepticism and say, “um let me call a manager…” How great is that??? I’ll tell you: It’s Super Great!

From now on City Kitchen is my one and only kitchen store!!


Thanksgiving break has been a lot of fun.
We went to Hannah & Adam's for dinner and it was delicious. There were a 1/2 dozen really great kids there, though after about three hours I couldn't take it anymore. All that bouncing up and down.

Now we're clearing out the old studio in anticipation of starting the 2009 Studio Remodel. Wish us luck. This should be good for some blog posts. I met the contractors yesterday and they seem like good people.

Tonight is dinner and game night at out house. I made some cinnamon ice cream --- one of my seasonal favorites. (My second favorite kitchen appliance is the ice cream maker.)

Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Cheers,
Anner & Aaron

M&C Baby Shower

We had Martin and Cynthia's baby shower this weekend and I, for one, had a GREAT Time.  We had good food and even better company.  Jane and Denise flew in for the weekend and it was fantastic to see them!  Sorry folks, no shower games; just presents and fun conversation.  I made the center pieces (which I'm very proud of) AND my latest sock critter and a blanket.  I've gotta say, it's the cuttest critter yet, and the blanket was super soft.  I was quick to tell M&C that I had made it by hand...litterally.  I don't own a sewing machine.  Martin asked, "every little stitch?".  Why yes!