{Stitch Market}+{New Inventory}

{Stitch Market Thanks}

Wow. It was so fun to see the excitement in people's faces when they entered the Stitch Market. So many tempting items to choose from. Eyes lite up!

There were incredible vendors selling sweet crocheted hats, little girl dresses made from recycled fabrics, posy pins, sunglasses cases, iPad covers, earrings, personalized playdate cards, classy cards & invites, homemade goat's milk soap {my daughter shares names with the goat!}, captivating photography, luscious lotions & cleansers, and awesome skirts - one of which I snagged for myself. {I now own two skirts.}

I'll post more pics a bit later.

Cookie+Curly had mobiles...

Rings...

and I debuted Cookie+Curly bracelets of incredibly-colored glass beads and gems on delicate sterling silver chains...

Thank you to all who came and enjoyed the event. I really appreciate the support and love hearing what you think of my products. Custom orders from the event will be available in 3-4 weeks. I'll be in touch.

{New Inventory}

New mobiles are now available on Cookie+Curly's website! 

Also available are new bracelets and new styles of rings. What do you think??

Thank you, again, for all your support and feedback. So good to hear from you.

Have a great weekend.

{Stitch Market ~ THIS Thurs/Fri}

All the creatures are stirring, but thankfully not any mice! 

It's late-night and I'm placing the final touches on a number of Cookie+Curly mobiles, bracelets and rings in preparation for the Stitch Market this Thursday night {6-9p} and Friday morning {9a-12p}.

Are you coming?

Check out who will be there:

christina carroll - rooted in paper

emily waechtler - blue corduroy

jen hines - jenmen

jenny nanninga - the sweet stuff

kristen jones - aloette

krystina montemurro - lollipops

lindsey cheney - the pleated poppy

molly trapp {me!} - cookie + curly

olivia richardson - handmade soap

stacy lynn - stacy lynn

toni weber - toni weber photography

Are you drooling yet? Now you have to come, don't you! Something for everyone - Especially you. Looking forward to seeing you there. 

For those of you that made it to the bottom here, mention my blog and get 10% off any item. :}

{The Moment You've Been Waiting For}

{Easter Lovies}

I'll get to the Moment You've Been Waiting For in a moment. First I have to show off what my sweet darlings sported on Resurrection Sunday.

This year my sweet little girl had a "Pretty Pretty Princess Dress" that was a little over the top fit who she is right now to the tee. 

And we discovered Little Man's Easter outfit didn't fit that morning so he sported a super short tie on a sporty Old Navy top and shorts from Silver Seahorse.  {P.S. You can get 15% off your entire online order for Silver Seahorse if you enter "FAMILY" at checkout through April.}

{I want to start making ties... My son loves them and they are outrageously expensive for a little dude! Tutorial to come?}

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. It's my favorite day of any year - Have I mentioned that?!

{The Moment You've Been Waiting For}

This week is the Spring Stitch Market! Thursday night 6-9pm and Friday morning 9am-12pm. Kids welcome!

If you can't justify buying completely adorable and "necessary" things for yourself, think about Mother's Day coming up, birthdays, end-of-the-year teacher gifts... You can honestly find something for every woman in your life there.

You can find most of the details on the Stitch Market blog. If you need more info, let me know. If you know you can come, please RSVP here so we can get a feel for numbers. Definitely feel free to drop in last minute though - We'll have plenty for everyone!

A huge thank you to all those who have supported Cookie+Curly and other handmade goodies at past boutiques. I look forward to see you all there!

{My Favorite Day of Any Year}

{Today}

Today is my favorite day of any year. It makes me who I am. It allows me to live a happy life. 

At church today, Pastor Tim highlighted the results of the Today Show's recent survey of 164,000+ as to whether or not they believe in heaven. 71.6% said YES, 11.2% said "I'm not sure, but I hope so!", and 17.3% said "NO". Tim went on to ask - If you said YES or Hope So, do you know how you're getting there?

"Jesus said 'I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.'" John 14:6

I found a video of my favorite song for today over at Red Letter Word's blog and I just had to share it with you. It says it all.

I hope you had a blessed Easter.

More about Cookie+Curly products tomorrow. Not on Easter.

{Good Day}

Not every day is full of sunshine... But today it was.

I got to share a bed with my baby girl last night - A "treat" we both get when we are at my parent's house without my husband who has to work. (I have to snuggle with someone.)

The kids had pre-Easter egg hunts - The look on their faces is a reminder to me that God is a good God, loving and joyful in His ways.

The rose garden at my parent's house is gorgeous.

Both kids napped without effort.

My little boy, always sketchy of submerging his head under water, happily dunked numerous times.

The kids fought over who could have the tomatoes at snack time.

We went on a long walk/run in the sunshine.

Giggles and cheer filled the house today. Minus my poor husband who is sick and working long hours. {Prayers for healing, please.}

Thank you, God, for your loving attention and giving ways. I feel blessed. If you don't know this feeling, ask me.

{Whooo's Next}+{T-Shirt Pants}+{Tofu or Not Tofu}

{Whoooo's Next?!}

They've been up on my site for a week now but today is their blogging debut. Meet Cookie+Curly's Owls...

Night-Owl Delight in Orange&Turquoise

Night-Owl Delight in Green&Orange

Night-Owl Delight in Pink&Green

Sweet little owls perched gracefully on small branches to keep a watchful eye on your sweet one as she sleeps, plays, grows. Also a great addition to any room - We have one hanging from a light in a bookshelf in our livingroom.

Check them out on my website, and be sure to check back really soon as another family of owls is emerging shortly.

{T-Shirt Pants}

In my down time :} the other day I was finally able to take advantage of this tutorial and make my sweet princess some pants out of one of my husband's old t-shirts. The tutorial made it sound so easy - And it was! 

The only "oops" I did was to cut out the two legs backwards on the shirts so I had to do a little seam ripping and an extra line of sewing. Note: The scoop section should be toward the mid-line of the shirt, not on the side/edge.

No biggie though. They were still super simple to make and she loves them!

Would be fun to make a skirt out of an old t-shirt too. Next time.

{Tofu or Not Tofu}

Tofu had to grow on me a bit. For the longest time I only saw it in raw form, mostly in salad bars, and it just looked... well... white, slimy, and totally "untasty" {is that even a word??}.

But then I learned the joys of baking and sauteing tofu, and now they're a favorite amongst everyone in our household!

It's simple, like most recipes I do:
1. Drain the tofu from the package and either take a dishtowel and press out as much liquids as possible {faster}, or wrap it in a dishtowel and place something somewhat heavy on top of it for 5-10 minutes to take out as much moisture as possible.
2. Slice into 1/3-1/2" strips.
3. Season with seasonings of choice: salt/pepper/garlic powder; salt/cayenne; lemon-pepper; green curry seasoning; Italian seasoning/salt.
4. Heat olive oil over medium heat in saucepan.
5. Once hot, place tofu strips in pan and saute for until golden brown {about 5 minutes} on each side.

See - Doesn't it look good??

6. Serve with a grain and veggie, or chop up and toss into pasta/grain along with chopped veggies.

(For baking: Preheat oven to 350F. Coat tofu slices with olive oil on both sides. Season as above. Place on cookie sheet line with parchment paper. Bake 8-12min per side until desired doneness.)

Once cooked, the texture is almost like chicken so people often can't taste a difference, although my family likes knowing they're having tofu as they look forward to it. You could too. Seriously.

How do you enjoy tofu?

{Reusable Bags}+{Patience}

{So Many New Things to Enjoy}

I was going to hold off and announce each of these individually, over time, but I can't contain myself. {silly giggle}

{"Kasey Sews" Reusable Bags}

First: Did you know that an estimated 20 million plastic sandwich bags go into landfills in the U.S. EVERY DAY! Let's do something about it!!

I met Kasey at a boutique last Fall where we both were selling our goodies. I bought a few of her reusable snack bags made of recycled fabrics and have been addicted ever since! Because she doesn't have a website of her own, I've decided to host her on my website, allowing YOU to enjoy her products too!

Reusable Bags by Kasey Sews

Every single person reading this could use Kasey's bags. Think about how many plastic ziplocs you go through in one week - especially if you have kids. Then add in plastic bags from the grocery store, plastic packaging material, and diapers {if you have kids and use disposable diapers}.

I'm no saint when it comes to eliminating trash, but I'm doing my best and taking tiny steps to change. Now it's your turn - Lessen your carbon footprint and purchase some of Kasey's bags! They come in small, medium, large, and extra-large - a size for every occasion.

Here's a little bit about Kasey of "Kasey Sews"...

"Whoever would have thought that at the age of 7 your dream would actually come true?  As I played with my dolls I knew that this was the only path for me.  I have now been married 13 years to my junior high love and have two precious babes.  I am following in my mother’s footsteps (and her 5 sisters) and am carrying on the craft of sewing.  I sew as an outlet to the daily humdrum of chores and once in a while produce something really cool.  I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mama in San Luis Obispo, CA while papa bear supports his 3 girls.  I love everything about this life!"

{Patience}

Okay, I've decided to practice patience. If you are interested about what else is new at Cookie+Curly, please visit the website and explore the pages. There are new items in almost every category - And even some new categories! I'll be sure to tell you all about it in the next couple of days.

{Top Secret} + {SLO 360}

{Top Secret}

I've gotten enough requests now for a certain product so now it's in the works. You'll have to stay tuned though. A little hint: It involves branches (oooh!) and birds (aaaah!) and maybe even a few other animals... 

 {SLO 360}

It's official. Disneyland is no longer "the happiest place on earth"... It's San Luis Obispo! Well, okay, the truth? It's "The Happiest Town in the USA", at least according to Dan Buettner, author of Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way", Oprah, and USA Today. And I have to agree with them. There is no place I would rather live.

Monday morning my favorite 2 year-old hiking bud, our loyal explorer dog and I took on yet another beautiful hike in San Luis Obispo: South Hills Open Space. We had never hiked this trail before, but I'm glad we did. It wasn't exactly an exhausting hike but the 360-degree views were breath-taking...

The Airport

Tank Farm/S.Higuera

Laguna Lake Area

Madonna Mtn

Downtown SLO

Johnson/Broad/Train Tracks Area

Edna Valley

Full-Circle. The Airport

Hiking Pal - Yep, Still with the Snack Trap

Definitely worth doing again. And definitely one anyone 3 years or older could do on his/her own in decent time.

Where's your favorite place to hike in SLO?