She's got eyes on the back of her head

Crickets. It's been quiet on the old blog lately and I apologize for this. Things have been kinda crazy with Thanksgiving - working extra shifts at work, family in town, and everything that goes along with the aforementioned. It's been a great few days. All of my cousins were in San Diego for the holiday festivities. I've always had a pretty tight-knit family and I am so blessed to have such great relationships with my cousins. Now that we are all doing our own thing, it is so special when we all can get together in the same room.

Thanksgiving went really well this year. Usually, we have a giant Thanksgiving at my great-aunt's house. There are always so many people there that by the time I get to the turkey, it's already cold. One year, we actually ran out of food. This year, the family drifted off to their little sub-cliques, so Thanksgiving was much more intimate. I helped my mom with the cooking (and learned how to make squash casserole, so yummy!) The recipe is straight OG. My grandmother taught my mother and my mother taught me. I will share it eventually. Here's a pic of our turkey and our dinner table*:

(*If you're on Instagram, let's be friends! @darynmax)

There hasn't been a shop update in awhile, but I've finally gotten back into the swing of things. Here's a little sneak peek (and when I say "little", it's because I ran out of daylight to take pictures). This is really one of my favorite batches to date:

In other news, babygirl got a little crafty with the glue-gun last night (well, not really... just had some leftover googly eyes). I got eyes on the back of my head (sing to the Beatles - I get by):

This time off from work has been really great - rejuvenating really (almost). Only 2 more shifts and then it's off to Colorado on Friday to visit my very best friend in the whole wide world! This will be my first time back since I graduated almost a year and a half ago! So excited!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. One major holiday down, one more to go!

Go Ninja Go

Not that I really need a backpack anymore, but I could always use a little more ninja power in my life. Drooling over these:

Humpday Revival

Some really great finds today, including:

The 1979 hip-hop classic, Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang on vinyl. The nearly 15-minute song was recorded in just one take! It was also the first hip-hop single to become a Top 40 hit. Talk about OG:

Speaking of classics, I also scored Esphyr Slobodkina's children's book, Caps for Sale. Growing up, this was my favorite bed-time story (runner-up: Tiki Tiki Tembo). It's about "a peddler, some monkeys, and their monkey business". It's simple, it's funny, and the illustrations are beautiful. Nothing like a good dose of nostalgia to heighten the senses:

Some old Bingo cards:

I mean, I don't know about you, but I've always wanted a t-shirt with a mermaid riding a dolphin on it:

A pretty serious macrame hanging lamp, straight out of the 70s:

This cute little suit-case; kind of busted, but loved the print too much to pass it up:

And last but not least, a plethora of flower-shaped enamel pins:

What have you found lately in your treasure-hunting adventures?

Happy Halloween!

Usually, I have the whole Halloween thing on lock months in advance. This year, however, was a bit of a challenge. I threw this little baby lamb costume together last minute and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I was going to go a different route with it and cover myself in cotton balls, but after stumbling upon this article about a man who got second-degree burns from his homemade sheep costume catching on fire, I decided against it. (If you click the link, be forewarned that there is a very graphic photo that might make you throw up in your mouth a little bit).

Needless to say, if you are making your own costume this year, really think about your materials. Yes, covering yourself in cotton balls might look pretty cool, but the risk of catching on fire is really not worth the few hours you will be wearing your costume (that is of course, unless you want to be a burn victim for Halloween every year for the rest of your life).

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Stay safe tonight!

Color Story: Cream and Coral

Loving these colors together. It's a summery combo (think 50/50 bars) that translates perfectly into fall (think pumpkin patch):

Left: OPI; Pinking of You and Ya'll Come Back Now Ya Hear; Right: Best in Show ribbon picture frames at SOLO on Cedros (I love that store)

source

Martha Streck by Asa Tallgard; Elle Russia, July 2011

Ms. Meester in Marc Jacobs

What's for Dinner: Turkey Brie Burgers

I'm a big cheese fan. In fact, I love cheese so much that I try to incorporate it into every meal and snack for that matter. After all, everything always tastes better with cheese. Watermelon and feta cheese, for example: delicious.

One of my favorite cheeses is brie, especially warm brie. I just can't resist that ooey-gooey, soft, salty goodness. Last night, we had turkey brie burgers for dinner (well I had a turkey brie burger...my anti-bread boyfriend who is on a "paleolithic diet" just had the patty). It's a quick and easy dinner that is super savory. Here's what you need to make it:

1 packet of ground turkey breast, about 1/2 of a medium-sized, white onion, brie, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Here's what you do:

Dice the onions. In a small bowl, mix together the ground turkey, the onions, and a pinch of salt and pepper respectively.

One packet of ground turkey will yield about 4-5 patties. With your hands, make a thin disc and top with about a tablespoon of brie. Then fold another portion of the turkey mixture around the brie. The key here is to make sure the cheese is completely covered by the meat. This way, when you cook it, you'll avoid "oozage".

These are what your patties should look like more or less. As you can see, I got a little carried away with the cheese. Now, you can either throw these puppies on the grill or cook them in a large skillet. I've made them both ways, and I have to say, they turned out much better when they were grilled. However, we don't have a barbecue, so last night, they were made on top of the stove. Make sure to brush some olive oil on both sides of the patty beforehand. Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then flip. Then cover the pan and cook for about 8-10 minutes more.

In the meantime, you can throw together a salad real quick:

You can also get out some jelly (trust me). In a perfect world, I would have fig preserves in the refrigerator. But this is not a perfect world. I don't have a barbecue and I don't have fig preserves. Apricot had to suffice.

Dish it up! Forget the ketchup and instead, shmear your buns (or your Village Mill Pioneer Bread in this instance) with fig (apricot) preserves. Sounds weird, but please just go with me on this one.

Other burger garnishes to consider: arugula, green apple slices

Enjoy!

Folds

Hope you all had a nice weekend! On Saturday, Noel and I met my parents and grandparents for dinner. We couldn't wait to get back home to watch the season 2 finale of Breaking Bad (we just started watching the series a few weeks ago and we're both completely hooked). Unfortunately, I fell asleep while watching it! Guess I'm getting old...

On Sunday, we had Noel's mom over for brunch at our house. After we ate, we checked out the new Savannah Cat Shoppe and saw some high-class kitties (that are going for 4-5 g's). Yes, Savannah cats are pretty cool, but the only way I would spend 5 g's on a feline is if it was a tiger.

Later that day, we stopped by Anthropologie to pick up a sweater I had put on hold, only to find that the top I've been drooling over since it first hit the racks had gone on sale. I know I said I needed to let my wallet chill out for a little bit, but I just couldn't resist... every once in awhile, there's an item at Anthropologie that I just fall in love with. I have to have it, but I can't possibly pay retail for it, so I end up stalking it for weeks (online, and in the store) until it goes on sale. The good news is, I finally got to bring the hunted home. The bad news is, while shopping, I fell in love with something else...

I swear, it's a vicious cycle.

Today, I need to tackle my to-do list, but first I have to make one! Hoping for a productive day over here, but might be difficult because the weather is so gorgeous!