Home Made Top Hat.

My niece just turned one recently and Neverland was her party theme.
She was Tinkerbell and her Kuya was Peter Pan.  For my boy, it was a choice between Captain Hook and John Darling.  I chose the latter because of 'value for money' reasons.
A camisa chino in Daddy's size worth around P200 served as the sleeping attire.  It can be considered a sunk cost because Hubby will be using it as an undershirt. Then, I got this 'japorms' nerdy glasses for P150.

The trouble was John's Top Hat - (1) I could not find one in convenient places and (2) if I find one, it is highly possible that the hat is more expense than the rest of his costume.

DIY was the solution.

Here are my materials - not all I used.  The only materials I bought for this purpose are two black cartolinas that cost P16.00 each.
Here is how I did it.

1) Roll one cartolina and staple the ends.  Make sure that the hole fits the head of a person/kid.
2) Using the other cartolina, cut out a big square for the hat's peak or visor.
3) Carve out a circle in the middle of the square cartolina.  The circle should be a good fit of the rolled cartolina.
4) Insert the rolled cartolina to the square cartolina (visor).  This will also set the height of the hat's crown so adjust the square cartolina to your desired height.

5) Cut strips of the rolled cartolina then fold and stick them to the visor using a stapler.
6) It should come out like this.
7) Turn it upside down then cut the visor to achieve a circular shape.
Now, we have a hat!
Okay... it looks too long on my boy's head.  I did trim it, about 3 inches.  Also, the visor.
A Php32 top hat which I will re-use in our village's Trick or Treat.  Now, that's value for money.

A Change of Heart.

For more than half of his existence, my boy loved Thomas the Train.  He has long lines of Thomas character trains and all kinds of track configurations.  He would wear Thomas shirts, socks and, yes, briefs.  He has Thomas spoon and fork, Thomas toothbrush, Thomas bag, Thomas bedsheets, etc.

Just recently, he had a change of heart.  Thomas, which he still loves, is not his number 1 anymore.  It has been all Star Wars lately.

His fascination started with Angry Birds Star Wars where he first knew about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  He has now abandoned the game but leveled up his Star Wars obsession.

For rewards and gifts, he would always ask for Star Wars toys.  He now has a decent collection of toys -- not as massive as his Thomas collection yet but I think we will reach that level.  Here are some.

This is one of his favorite shirts.  I think you have an idea of the what the other shirts look like.

We wanted to put this addiction to good use so we bought him a book.  Yes, it did work.  This is his motivation to learn how to read.

Hubby bought him a set of Star Wars movies.  He has watched them ALL!  Not once but countless times.  This is his most favorite scene - The Battle of Mustafar.  He memorized and recites the lines of both Anakin and Obi-Wan.  I am not sure he understands what they mean though.

It was good that Hubby is taking time to watch the movies with him.  I am, unfortunately, not up for Star Wars movie marathons so I have given his Dad the responsibility of explaining the essence of Star Wars and the good lessons people get from it.

When will he have another change of heart?  I don't know - I am actually enjoying (and dreading) the shift of passion from baby stuff to boy stuff.  Considering that I know a lot of adult friends who are still amazed by Star Wars, this may go on for quite a long time... perhaps, until he is all grown up?!  As long as he will buy me a "good" bag first before he purchases this P38,000 Lego Star Wars toy, he would continue to get my full support...

And I would thank George Lucas for it (the bag).

Basil Pesto Pasta.

It's a pasta feast in our house lately.  Have been experimenting on different pasta recipes since they are super easy to cook.

Having basil plants outside made me want to try the pesto way.  So, here goes.

Ingredients include -

Cooked Spaghetti pasta

2 cups of fresh basil
Half cup of Pine Nuts (which are surprisingly darn expensive)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Half cup of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Half cup of Parmesan Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Mushrooms quickly fried in EVOO (I love) as optional ingredient

Feel free to play around with the measurements depending on the taste and consistency that will delight you.

I realized that this did not require any cooking (except for the mushrooms).  A food processor is required though.  Below is how to prepare the dish --

1) Throw in the basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic.  Pulse the food processor several times until nuts and leaves are combined and broken to smaller pieces.
2) While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the EVOO.
3) Scrape the sides of the food processor, add the Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Continue to pulse until well blended.
4) Mix the pesto with the pasta in a bowl.  Add the fried mushrooms.  Mix until ingredients are evenly combined.
5) Plate. Serve. Enjoy.

New Therapy.

I found a new pastime recently - gardening.

I remember being able to make plants grow back in my elementary days when mongo planting and onion growing were major Science projects.  Still, I was surprised to rediscover my green thumb having saved a mint plant and a eugenia plant from near death experience.

It is a good therapy and a worthwhile 'me' time - taking care of very passive living things, beautifying them and even talking to them sometimes (with the risk of looking insane to the neighbors).  I got my boy involved... he enjoys it, too.

I have been re-planting the extra Irises that were not used by my bro for the landscaping he did for our place.  It is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

This is the Iris in the temporary plastic pot.
I got my pot.  It is a cement pot which I purchased from the rows of gardening stores along White Plains.
Bro advised me to use a potting mix instead of the garden soil.  This helps the plant grow well in a pot.  Nutrients are limited in a pot of garden soil - the potting mix is sort of your fortified soil.
To re-plant, remove the plastic pot but cutting it exposing the mound of soil with the Iris.  Place the mound of soil to the cement pot then start filling up the pot with potting mix.  Tap it once in a while to ensure that the soil is tight.
I prefer topping the soil with rice hulls to absorb moisture and for aesthetics as this is an ornamental plant.  This should be easily available in your ordinary garden store.
Place the pot in your preferred area.  Do not forget to water the plant after transplanting.
Iris is actually a flowering plant.  It is easy to grow and care for according to bro - low maintenance, very much compatible to my less active lifestyle.  It needs sunlight but will still thrive in areas with shade only that the flowers may not bloom.  

Here is the Iris flower in our pocket garden.

Alfredo.

Here is my attempt to cook Fettuccine Alfredo and be more Martha Stewart.

Below are the ingredients with the suggested measurements.  Feel free to adjust.

500 grams Fettuccine Pasta cooked al dente

2-3 tbsp. butter

2 cups of cream mixed with 1 cup of milk.  Half and half will work, too.

1 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Parsley leaves

Mushroom

Garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

How to cook:

1) Melt butter.

2) Saute garlic.  Add mushrooms.  Wait for the mushrooms to change color.

3) Stir in your cream and milk mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Continue mixing until you get your desired thickness.

4) Add 1 cup of parmesan and the parsley leaves.

5) Put the pasta in.  Mix them all up until the sauce is evenly distributed.  Add the rest of the parmesan and continue mixing.

6) Plate. Serve. Enjoy.

How Things Are Lately.

Hello, blog.  It has been a long time indeed.

The break was good and I missed you.

I figured you might want to catch up... I have been doing a lot of things these past months.

I went to Tokyo.

And London.

Leveled up my cooking.

                   

Became domesticated.

Did a bit of gardening.

And bought a bag!

Of course, I continue to be a mum and wife.

Sorry, I have been distant for several months.  I will be visiting you more often again.  I think there is even more to chat about now.