Glittery Sushi Ornaments are Back!

I changed them up a little bit from last year and I'm really comfortable with what I've created. I added a new one, the Temaki Roll, and took away one of the Maki (round) rolls because they just weren't that exciting. They're all sparkly and fun!


Ebi says "Ruff ruff. They're really cute. Now take me out."

This Tarheel went to a Duke game!

There’s a really funny/lucky aspect of my life in which I come into event tickets last minute. I usually drop everything and go because, duh, it’s free fun!

Last night I went to a Duke basketball game. I’ve been to Cameron Indoor Stadium before, but this was the first time I’ve been there with the Cameron Crazies!


(You can click on these bad iPhone pics to see a bigger image.)

Of course I’m a dedicated Tarheel so it was pretty convenient that our seats were right above what appeared to be the Davidson moms. In the second half Duke came back and completely dominated and dunked all over Davidson.

After the game there was a special encore presentation honoring Coach K on his accomplishment of becoming Div. 1 Coach with the most wins. The President of Duke, the President of the ACC, and the Duke Athletic Director were all there and spoke. Tom Butters, the man who hired Coach K, was also there. They revealed a new banner in the stadium.


During his acceptance speech of an honorary first game ball and the 903’d game ball, K said something that led me to ask “Did he just call himself a magician?” He pointed around the stadium to all the retired jerseys and banners and said something like “magic has happened.”

K was very appreciative of Tom Butters and spoke mostly to him. He said that they (Duke basketball) were once 38-47 and that is why they have won 903 games. That it takes being down to drive you up. He said that it is important to surround yourself with people that understand where you are going, and that Butters believed in him more than he believed in himself. He said that if you are fortunate enough to have someone believe in you like that in your life, then it is very “neat”.

He also said that he owes everything to his wife and 3 daughters and that they are “the starting five.” It was pretty special to be able to attend the game and ceremony at Cameron. I’m not even talkin’ junk.

Spring temps 'n Fall leaves

This week has been pretty uneventful. It feels like Springtime here in the middle of November. I have a laundry basket full of socks that I am neglecting to match up because that's the most boring household duty ever. And I'm anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving for all the wrong reasons... days off from work! Here's some pretty sights, though.

Soy Wax Candles! Yum!

Since a lot of my crafts have been sushi related, I am always thinking of new creative sushi ideas. I knew that I wanted to somehow create a sushi-inspired candle. I'm really excited with what I came up with..


True Ginger and Cucumber Wasabi Cilantro travel tins! They're colored to look like ginger and wasabi. The ginger one smells really good. Just like a ginger root. The wasabi one smells pretty fresh and vibrant.

Eleven Eleven Eleven = Craft Craft Craft

As if I didn't already have enough little projects going on (stuff I want to make, paint, create, cover), my Pinterest-loving co-worker told me about an easy-to-make tomato cage christmas tree she saw and it got me all excited and cruising the internet for homemade decoration ideas. Here's what I found:


You can wrap the extra trimmings from your tree around the wires or just use lights. Martha Stewart did this too.


I'm going to make these candles I saw on this vintage-inspired blog.


I'm really excited about this! Coffee-scented candles in coffee mugs. Some family members are getting this for Christmas.

It's a good thing I'm off work today because my crafting ambition is in overdrive!

It really was a dream come true

Meeting Jessica Simpson today was so spur of the moment! I woke up later than usual and saw her tweet about meeting everyone at Crabtree Valley Mall. At first I thought "wow, there's 2 crabtree's?" Then "omg! Jessica Simpson is here! I have to go!" I quickly got dressed and arrived around 11:30. I found out that I had to buy a $50 JS brand item for a wrist band that would guarantee meeting her, an autographed photo, and a special gift. Totally worth it!


I bought some leopard print ballet flats. I couldn't really focus. I saw that the line was already getting kind of long so I just wanted to get something in a hurry. I started to get a bag but I needed to stay as close to $50 as possible and her bags can be kind of pricey for me. I knew I didn't want to mess with clothes because that required too much time/focus. I went straight to the shoes and picked out these cute leopard flats. They were a great decision considering the pressure I felt I was under. I had the urgency of a woman in labor.


My spot in line was behind some girls that talked about everything they were going to get her to sign- their wristband, the tag on their shirt they bought, some notebook paper. And how she might have a real halo over her head (that part I don't disagree with). I stood in line for 2 hours but it went by pretty fast. She was a full hour late. People kept walking by asking what we were standing in line for because all the signage, announcements and music didn't provide enough clues apparently.


I'm really glad I went. I wish I would have been able to get a picture with her but I knew better than to ask. The girls in front of me had a friend standing outside the rope with a camera so she took a picture with them, but I was alone and it would have been really annoying to everyone for me to try to work that out. I had to wait for her to drink some water and apply more lipgloss before it was my turn. She said "hiiiiiii" just like you would expect and smiled and asked me how I was doing! This all made me so happy after that Britney fiasco. I told her I was doing great at that I saw her tweet about the event. Ashlee asked her "your what?" and she said "Oh, I tweeted about this." And I told her "yeah, I didn't see it until this morning so I, like, ran here." I don't know what I said. I was nervous. She was like "Well, you look pretty!" Then I had to help her spell my name. She was really smiley and happy and nice and thanked me for coming. My favorite thing about Jessica Simpson is how she is able to just laugh at herself. And, of course, how pretty, funny, and stylish she is.


The free gift was a denim cosmetic bag with JS woven on it with an I Fancy You perfume sample and earbuds with rhinestones. I love it all. I love this day.