Putting my "crafty" title to the test

Cousins Johnny and Sarah, even Grandma, have quite the stash of Play-Doh on hand at all times. Robbie and Cub enjoyed playing with it in California (despite in the past showing little interest), so when we got home, I picked up a couple simple starter sets with molds, cut-outs, plastic knives, etc. But knowing me and the boys, the actual Play-Doh won't last. So off to the Internet I went to search for a good make-at-home recipe. I found multiple, among them this one:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon powdered alum
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
food coloring
Mix all dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until reaching the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring. Divide into balls and work in color by kneading the playdough.
I found the alum relatively easily at the grocery store, so I went with this version. Skipped the vanilla, but otherwise followed the directions. Next time I'll reduce the oil! It's a bit greasy for the boys, but I will give it a thumbs-up anyway. Now the food coloring-you can make that call. I think they're only batting .500 on the advertised colors. The pink and purple colors aren't as vibrant and bold in person.
A note to those who might try it. It's an arm-burner! Stirring and stirring...who needs a gym? And I didn't quite know what to make of the "mashed potatoes" in the directions. I just stirred until I got the consistency of... Play-Doh.

Pancake breakfast

Tried something new with our pancake breakfast routine - blueberry topping. I have a big bag of Costco frozen blueberries and was getting a little tired of muffins. (OK, truth be told, I was trying a couple vegan muffin recipes, and THEY were getting old. I can quickly fix this by baking a real blueberry muffin!) Not sure if the topping this morning was a success. I was going for syrup and didn't quite get the right consistency, but it was a nice change. Kind of healthy, too, except for the organic sugar heaped in the cooking pot(!). If I feel like it, I'll keep tweaking the recipe until it's better. Or maybe just puree this, freeze, and make a slushy. Hmmm....

Grandma's garden

Birthday cupcakes

Here are a few of the cupcakes we enjoyed at my sister's birthday bash. Home made and decorated with lots of love. That's a special chocolate mold butterfly, frosted, sprinkled, and perched on top of a cupcake seen in the foreground. The sunflower design is a cupcake topped with a petal-frosted Oreo cookie, complete with a red M&M ladybug - with hand painted eyes and spots. Lovely and yummy.

Party time!

Robbie, Cub, and I are in Northern California this week. Today is my beloved sister's 40th birthday and a party starts any minute. We've taken over a local park where a free concert will be held tonight, and we will have a good, old fashioned cookout. Burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, cupcakes, cake, etc. No ice cream though. This ice cream truck came by while we were setting up. I miss those in Hawaii. I was tempted to run over and treat the boys to something, but had to restrain. We have had plenty of treats since we arrived, and we will be eating treats until we leave! An "ice cream truck experience" will have to wait for another time.

Reduce, Reuse...

I saved the plastic dessert containers from the Sanrio Cafe on a hunch that Robbie could find something to do with them. Spot on! He wanted to drink orange juice out of them the following day. All day. It got a little old, so later that night I washed them and hid them out of his reach (and out of sight). But knowing Robbie, he will remember them at some random time and ask for them all over again, at which point I'll bring them out for a day and let him drink from them again.
Then hide them after he goes to sleep and wait until he remembers them again. :)

Finally! A great excuse to try...

The Sanrio Cafe! A local favorite opened at the Pearlridge Mall earlier this year. Adjacent to the Sanrio (Hello Kitty) Store, this tiny "cafe" sells coffee, teas, hot cocoas, and sweet treats with an officially licensed Hello Kitty image out of a few small refrigerated cases at the edge of the retail space. They serve over-priced, small portions and I couldn't justify treating myself alone in recent months. But out of the blue, a reason appeared! We heard on Tuesday that a friend from high school (and one of Noel's college roommates) was here on Oahu with his wife. We made plans to join them for dinner in Waikiki last night. She is a huge Sanrio/Hello Kitty fan and I knew she'd enjoy the Cafe sweets if I brought them for an after-dinner treat. So while running errands yesterday, I made an extra stop.
Here's what we shared between the four of us - a light meringue chocolate and creme cookie, strawberry and chocolate mousse mini-tower, and a berry tapioca bubble pudding. Good times.