Well, hello friends.

Seems like it's about that time to dust off the ol' blog and let both of you know what I've been up to! While, I really enjoyed Fuzzy Sushi (and I do still have some knit and crochet patterns available), I've started down a new creative path that I love all the way down to my toes. You know that incredible moment when everything comes together and you know in your soul that you're doing exactly what you want to be doing? I'm calling that moment Paper Sushi. And I am completely in love with it! Granted, my friends and farflung family are occasionally curious if I'm still alive and - at least until the kids are back in school - there've been a lot of late nights trying to keep up with it all. But, putting pen to paper and letting the creativity flow is nothing but joy. So, here's a peek!



Stop by and check out custom wedding stamps, handwritten and handdrawn stamps, custom and address stamps and lots of back to school and bookplate stamps!

Aht. More aht, dahling.

Without really intending to, I've been slowly but surely turning the fourth "bedroom" in our house into a craft room. Albeit a small-appliances-books-and-exercise-equipment-storage-accomodating-craft-room, but I like to share. And, what's this...? I have a shop! That officially upgrades this from a craft room into a studio. Aaaaand, suddenly I feel glamorous. Everybody should have a corner of their house that makes them feel glamorous, no?

Since purchasing this print by june craft for El Niño's room, I've been looking for other independent artist's prints for the rest of the house. And this letterpress print by Julie West would be perfect for mah stuuuudio, dahling.

Love, love, love.

Via paper crave

Sometimes the universe is in perfect alignment.

We own one soup thermos, which is a problem when both kids want to take leftovers for lunch. Or when I want to make oatmeal in a thermos for El Niño for breakfast after swim practice and send soup for lunch. So, I've been hunting for another.

Apparently, Germans don't do thermoses for lunch, because they are nowhere to be found here. And, the military post store and their stupid automated ordering system have been thwarting me for the last six months. I have looked every time I've been in the store since Back to School shopping last summer and they are always sold out. The employees keep assuring me that they have received more, but they fly right out the door.

So, I was thrilled when we stopped in yesterday and they had them in stock! I immediately threw one in the basket and did a little happy dance. Then, the fire alarm went off, the store was evacuated and we were hustled out the door. Really!? I almost could not believe it.

But, then! Then! About an hour later, I got an email from my Dad that he had spotted some thermoses he thought the kids would like and was on his way to the post office to send them to us. I don't remember if I had filled him in on my thermos woes or if it was just a completely happy coincidence. But, I just love when things work out that way. And I think it's a sign that 2011 is going to be a great year.

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What are you expecting for the new year?  Good things, I hope.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

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Hope your holidays are filled with family and friends and love and wintry goodness!

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Or - at the very least - adorably skinny reindeer.

We had planned a lovely feast with friends for this evening but had to postpone because of snow, snow and more snow. But, we're cuddling in, watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying ourselves anyway! Hope you are, too.

My weekend haul.

I enjoyed a very fruitful day on Saturday. I was wandering about a store, lost and unable to find a cart when the rockingest Lancome lady ever gave me her cart and a free gift with purchase - without purchase.

If that wasn't awesome enough, I scored the most perfect red nailpolish. Ever.



Then we wandered outside the store to a mini Christmas market. A friend had told me earlier in the day that she had found The Most Incredible Chocolate in The Universe. Well, she said, at least, I stumbled upon a booth selling chocolate with a sign on the wall that read "The Most Incredible Chocolate in The Universe".

But, can you confirm this?, I asked. These are the important things in life, folks. And, yes indeed she could. So, having found the mini Christmas market, I once again wandered about lost and in search when El Niño asked what I was looking for. The Most Incredible Chocolate in The Universe, son. A lady looked up, pointed down the way and said it's two booths down on the left. Ha ha ha, that's some chocolate.

The proprietor informed me that I could melt three chocolates in a cup of hot milk for delicious hot chocolate for the kids. Shhhhh!, I said. I mean, really. The kids are thrilled with Nestle. And this IS The Most Incredible Chocolate in The Universe.

Oh, hello there.

Oh good, the blog is still here. I'm not sure what happened, but I lost steam for a while there. In the past few months, we've experienced our first Oktoberfest, gone to Italy, cheered El Niño in swim meets wandering across Western Germany, started watching the snow fall and I've started selling crocheted hats!

While Oktoberfest is technically only in Munich, we went to a fall festival with lots of beer and sausage.




We drink beer and wear Adidas!

Earlier this month, we went to Lignano Sabbiadoro in Northern Italy at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a neat little tourist town that is probably packed to the gills in the summer, but was quiet and welcoming at the beginning of the winter. It was a very short trip (although the drive with four kids under ten felt somewhat long) with two days spent driving, one day spent at a swim meet and one day spent wandering Venice.

Venice was amazing. We wandered aimlessly, admiring beautiful buildings that turned out to be things like grocery stores, until we found ourselves passing the same friendly Thai vendor for the fourth time. With phones out of service and the garmin confused by the lack of roads, we ended up buying a map. We explained to the kids what a map was and how in the olden days people were able to find their way with nothing more than a brightly colored piece of paper to guide them. They were in awe. The trip was a lot of fun, and whet our appetite for more exploration.

As I mentioned, I've also started selling crocheted hats. It started with a craft fair here that I submitted a few hats to. Only two sold, but an acquaintance recognized the work as mine and asked me to make a custom hat like one I had made for Cheeseball.

I later added a pink flower to this one.

This was the color scheme requested for my first order. Awesome, no?

Several other people overheard and I've received a bunch of other orders within the same group. I also volunteered to crochet some hats for El Niño's swim team and they sold 6 last week, proceeds going to the team. It's all been so fun and empowering, that I decided to open a store on Etsy. So, that was a really long way of saying...check out my shop!




So, that's three months in a nutshell. Suddenly I realize that I've missed this space and I think that means I'll wander back sooner rather than later next time.

Radio silence.

We're about to move out of the free Internet hotel into an unhooked home. My understanding is that it takes a pretty long time to get service hooked up here, so blogging and communication in general will be sporadic for a while...

If there's a free connection somewhere, I'll find it! Until then...sushi out.

Less chicken, more red.

I've made a few changes around here! Chicken Fried Sushi was a fantastic name and really fit me at a certain point in my life, but I've moved on and now so too must the blog. I'm still having a heck of a time differentiating between the German definite articles - die, das, der, den, dem, des - but I'm tossing das up there and hoping it sticks to sushi.

I also redesigned the whole look of the blog, inspired by and incorporating Japanese washi tape clipart created by Katrina of Pugly Pixel.

I put together a visual blogroll and I really like how it came out!



I think I first saw a blogroll that attempted to visually capture the essence of each linked blog on Decor8 and I've been wanting to put one together for a long time! Click through to check it out.

I combed through Amazon.com a few weeks back for things I really want and things I have and love and recommend and popped them all in to the das Sushi store. I, of course, earn a small commission on any items purchased through the store. So, if you're inclined to pick something up for yourself, feel free to shop my store! I'll keep refining and adding to it over time (and shopping. of course.)

I hope you like some of the changes! Let me know what you think!

Technorati tags: blog, redesign, Amazon

Doing some redecorating today.

It's gonna be a little schizophrenic around here. If you see something you like, speak up! Or it might disappear...

Elf

Today is Day Elf...sounds like it should be happy and small and festively dressed, right? But, it's not. Frowny face.

Today was not a good day. We've been trying to file our request for an exception from the mandatory on post housing policy for what seems like for-ev-ver now. We put one together, had it signed and submitted it about a week ago. But, it was kicked back to us by Housing because when they told us they just needed The Man's command to sign off on us living off post, they didn't really mean that. We've since gotten the paperwork together exactly as they've requested this time and have been waiting for his command to sign off again. Hopefully we'll get it back and be able to submit it next week.

After another fun visit to the Housing Office this morning, I got to trek over to Finance to learn that we'll be paying a full 30 days of hotel stays (at more than €150 per night) before we see any reimbursement at all from the Army. On top of the travel costs we've already incurred and in addition to the mortgage we're paying on our vacant house back in the states. Just to pile on a little further, The Man is traveling back to the states pretty shortly here for some training. So, we'll be paying for two hotels. They know what they pay him! I have no idea how they think we can cover all this at once.

And the most devastating news of all is that the information already given to us was completely wrong and, in fact, if our request to Housing is not approved, they will not pay a monthly housing allowance and we will be effectively forced to live on post. For civilian readers, the way the Army pay system is set up is that soldiers are paid a "base pay" and a separate "housing allowance". If we decline the on post housing we have already been offered, they will not pay him the separate housing allowance and that would be the same as your employer deciding to cut your paycheck in half because your family had the audacity to think they might have some say in choosing where they live.

All of this has me feeling a little defeated today, and now I feel bad for puking that out all over all of you. But, now that I've indulged myself with a whole day and an entire blog post feeling sorry for myself, it's time to focus my energy on our request for an exception. What you put out in the universe is what comes to be, and I want more than anything for that request to come to be approved. So, it's time to believe with every fiber of my being.

And on that note, here are a few pictures of things that are happy and small and festively dressed and seen en route to the bus stop yesterday.

Sauerkraut Fried Sushi...?

I haven't really mentioned this here because it was just a big maybe for a very long time and then all of a sudden it was a definite and then it kind of felt like old news.

But, it's true...we're moving to Germany!! And we are all so. super. pumped. about it. With the minor exception of Cheeseball who isn't quite comprehending what Germany is or what it means to pick up and move. El Niño has been through this before and has always been fascinated with the idea of exploring the rest of the world. He may possibly be more excited than we are.

You guys, we're going from this...

to THIS...

Not a bad trade.  Actually, who am I kidding I'm more like OMGICAN'TBELIEVEITSOEXCITEDSOEXCITEDSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEXCIIIIIIIIIIIIITED!!!!

We leave before the end of the month and I can't wait to blog the transition!!  I'm going to try very hard to post daily on Mein First 30 Deutsch Days.  I have to give up my iPhone, though, with the move and I'm not entirely sure what kind of connectivity we'll have right off the bat. Still, I'm going to try.

Technorati tags: moving, Germany, relocation

Another one bites the dust.

I'm not sure what one would call this thing, but I'd say it's a neck gator.  Except I don't intend to hike it up over my nose.

It's from my book of difficult and complicated patterns. I used the wrong kind of yarn, so it didn't come out exactly the way it was supposed to. I still like it.

I also used my webcam to take a picture for the first time ever, hence the totally awkward shot.

Technorati tags: knitting

Ah, consumerism.

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I've gone on a bit of a shopping spree over the past few days. I'm rationalizing by pointing to the fact that I've been so focused on the house and the move that I haven't really bought myself anything in quite a while. Also, I really wanted this stuff.

Sunday was the Jean Paul Gaultier for Target release. I rose and I shone and I hustled over to Target first thing. Before 9:00. AM. Not only did my Target not have any of the stuff out, they had no idea what I was talking about. All the way up to the manager! Another reason I won't miss this town.

So, back home and to Target.com I went.  The trench I really, really wanted sold out by 4am Sunday morning.

But, I did grab this dress:

And this top:

Then, a certain someone got me in big trouble by texting me to check out the L.A.M.B. boutique on Rue La La. Big trouble.

Who could resist these!? Not me.

And then. And then. I went back to Target today. And they finally had the Gaultier line out! So, I bought this.

Which...looks ridiculous in this picture, no?  Yes.  Yes, it does.  But it's actually really cute!

Ahem.  And I bought this.

And, now I will go to Target every day until they get the rest of the line (specifically THAT TRENCH) in.  And I will buy the trench.  And then I will need to be separated from my debit card for a good, long time.

Redo Recap

Now that I'm done with all the caulking and sanding and painting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the floors to finally, finally, finally be finished by a newly heartbroken old friend, I thought it would be fun to do a little recap of the work I actually managed to document with some semblance of before footage.

This whole project was a LOT of work but was a lot of fun in some ways.  I feel like I learned a ton about making things pretty and doing it right.  I've never been all that in to my home's decor.  I've always liked looking at design ideas and admiring other people's homes.  But, when it came to my own time and money, I've always prioritized clothes, accessories, fun and food.  Seeing the huge difference I can make with relatively little time and money, I am so inspired to beautify my surroundings and keep my eye on design in all of our future homes.  I can't wait to get my hands on a new place!

But, back to the old one.  A little bit of bad and better:

Hall/kids/guest bathroom:

Kitchen:

Master bath sink area:

Living Room:

Technorati tags: house sale, renovation, DIY

Living Room, Chez Sushi

I've got one last before and after on this little home sale staging project I've been working on. I wish I had thought to take before pictures of all the rooms I worked on, but I lack foresight.

Here's the living room circa 2006:

Here it is today, less a little furniture and plus a little fake wood and real paint:

The house is finally on the market.  Wish us luck!

P.S. Due to a happy event related to The Man, we had a whole passel of family in town and a big dose of excitement and in it all I completely spaced the Weekly Etsy love. Promise to get back on the bandwagon!

Technorati tags: house sale, renovation, flooring

My Baba

I was digging through the external hard drive for before pics of some of the rooms in the house and came across one of my favorite pictures of all time. This is my grandmother and grandfather on their wedding day in the early '40s in Hawaii.

This was a woman who grew up so poor that she dropped out of school in the eigth grade to help take care of her six brothers and sisters. But, between her (and her family's) seamstress skills and the big fat huge deal weddings traditionally represented in Japanese culture, this is the beauty they created that day.

My Baba was one of the sweetest people I've ever known.  I vividly remember her getting mildly angry about something once when I was a child and it completely floored me.  She never had a cross word or an uncharitable thought about anyone or anything.  It makes me happy that for one day, she starred in a grandiose and gorgeous production celebrating her and her love.

Isn't she beautiful?

Technorati tags: wedding, family, hawaii

Al. Most. There.

I've finally gotten to the point where I'm tying up loose ends and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I've started taking some pictures for the realtor - they really need to be taken with natural daylight pouring in but I'll be meeting with her after work next week so I figured I'd try to snag them myself. Realty pictures are hard. Super duper hard. I've been climbing all over things and trying to get as high up and as squished up against walls as I can. The kids think I'm mildly insane and the dog doesn't understand why he doesn't get to be in the pictures.

I'm really hoping the rain lets up Sunday so I can fix the gorilla glue/zip tie solution The Man employed the last time the neighborhood's mailboxes were knocked down. Sploogy gorilla glue and zip ties!? Really!? Yes, really. I also need to freshen up the bark chips and plant some flowers. Veeeery hardy flowers - they need to survive the cold and my longstanding plant murder record. The Man can bring a stick back to life but I can kill a tree. I mean I haven't done that, but I bet I could if I paid attention to one.

In the meantime, while the rain pours, I'm staying so nice and cozy inside. And taking pictures. And now I'll shut up and show you the kitchen.

Wait, no, one more thing. I noticed the crap on top of the fridge after I took the first shot and moved it out but never quite captured the same perfect composition again. So, Alicia photoshopped the wine cube (what of it?) out. I think I'm still going to retake these pictures if I get a day with a little more sunshine.

Ok, now I'll shut up. Uh, right after this...one of the first things we replaced in this house was the light fixture over the eat in area of the kitchen. So, that's in this picture. But, everything else is original. Also, the plastic chairs. Yes, the plastic chairs. We loved that dining room table when we got it (like 12 years ago) but we never did find chairs we liked with it. The plastic chairs were supposed to be placeholders. And they were. For seven years. Wow. I'm suddenly mortified.

Note the hideous wallpaper, dated wood trim and cheap varnished cabinets.  Also the psychotic magnet collection on the fridge.  We buy magnets wherever we go.  It may be overkill.  Also, I wish you could see it in the picture, but just know that the outlet and lightswitch plates were sponge painted to match the hideous wallpaper.  That should be known.

Better, no?

Now, from the other side.

If I run out of things to do, I'll probably go back and repaint the cabinet doors like so:

Not just that one, either.

Technorati tags: kitchen, home improvement, house sale

Bleh. And meh. And pleh.

Yesterday, I woke up to El Niño at 7:30 telling me "I'm going to be in a play today and I need a wolf mask." I said "..." 7:30 is also known as the time that is less than an hour before we need to be dressed, fed and off for school or on the weekends as the time that is still a little early will you please go back to sleep.

But, I managed to get it done! And it looked pretty rocking, frankly. So, I was convinced that meant I was going to be awesome! yesterday. I was all Super Mom How Do You Like Them Apples!?

Today we woke up to snow!

Even though it was only freezing rain at that point, snow was on the ground and it was so pretty and the kids were stoked. We all got dressed and went out and played for a while and it was so fun and really I should have just stayed right there. Apparently the snow either meant that it was a good day to take a break and spend some time with the kids or it meant that I was going to super suck all day long. Maybe both. Take a break or I would super suck all day long.  I went with option B.

I think I'm just worn out. I haven't been sleeping well and I'm at two nonstop weeks of painting and packing and spackling and caulking and edging and also whining. Which is just as tiring, really. Instead of taking a break, though, I spent my day dropping paint, installing doorknobs before repainting doors and drilling holes in the wrong places. After removing screw anchors I had put in not two minutes before, I threw in the towel for the day. Because you've got to know when to hold them. And know when to fold them.

But all was not lost today.  Yesterday, I ran to the Sherwin Williams store and picked up a Premium XL Tight Spots 2″ Angle Short Handle Brush on Young House Love's recommendation. I always cut in and edge by hand with a brush. It's one of a very few practical applications where my normally annoying perfectionism and normally useless lifelong makeup and makeup brush obsession really meet and marry beautifully.

This brush makes it SO much easier. SO MUCH EASIER. Even with my day of total suckitude, I managed to turn out beautiful lines with no trouble.

Usually, I use an angled brush and then at the baseboard follow along with a baby wipe and my fingernail to make the line sharp and clean. That last step is totally unnecessary with this brush. Once I started painting, I literally said nothing but "ohmigod. ohmigod. OHMIGOD." for a good few minutes. It is an amazing edge tool. Also, I was having so much fun with it, I didn't even want to stop and eat lunch. Which means that it's even a great diet tool. I wouldn't be surprised if this little brush could save your life. I didn't need it for that today, but I'll keep it handy just in case.

Technorati tags: terms go here, terms go here, terms go here

And now I get to stop thinking about mirrors.

Another room bites the dust! I actually felt like this area pretty much was finished - I just had to hang the towel bar and mirror. The towel bar was easy peasy, whip out the level, drill a couple holes, done and done. The mirror took like a year. My math kept coming out wrong and that was just weird. I mean sure, I fuck up caulking, screw anchor removal, painting, whatever. But, math I am good at. It's a good thing I'm a compulsive checker and rechecker prior to being a driller.

I finally figured it out.

Where's the 1?!?

I guess that silver part must measure an inch somehow, but I don't like that and I wasn't paying attention to it anyway.  Once I figured that out, stopped trying to be a manly man builder and switched over to my sewing tape, I recalculated all my overly complicated calculations and promptly hung the mirror.  Too low.  It's perfectly centered vertically but The Man will probably have to duck down to see himself in it.  Unless he stands back.  Maybe I'll tape off an area on the carpet and he can view his reflection from a predetermined and height compatible distance.  Because, I am not yanking out those anchors, patching, repainting, recalculating and rehanging that stupid mirror that I now officially harbor unfavorable thoughts toward.

So, where was I?  Right...bathroom done, stupid mirror, here are pics:

Again, this is a before-ish picture.  The old light fixture is there but already halfway disconnected.  I had already stripped all the wallpaper, but I'm sure you can picture ugly, old lady wallpaper.

Oh, and I had already taken off the cabinet doors but they were brown and brown and now you're up to speed.

With the lights on, the colors are a little more true.  Also, I had to show off my sexy painting outfit.

And, through the doorway in to the actual bathroom.  I hate having the sink outside of the bathroom and inside our bedroom.  Why would anybody design that!?  One of our neighbors down the street has the exact same house layout as us and they built out the wall to their bathroom, relocated the doorway and the closet doorway and got rid of the motel feeling.  Soooo much better.

Technorati tags: bathroom, house sale, home improvement

You guys! YOU GUYS!

OMGFINALLYITHOUGHTTHISDAYWOULDNEVERGETHERE.

Actually, I act like this process has been ongoing for-ev-ver when it's been a week. Well, a week and a half. That half makes it MUCH longer.

I had finished painting the hall bathroom last week some time, but with an issue.

I couldn't figure out how to get these screw anchors out and after spending much of the last week trying to fix the giant hole I ripped in the drywall while removing an anchor in the other bathroom, I had resigned myself to just putting the old towel bar back up and painted over the stupid anchors. I searched all over for a similarly sized towel bar and they are hard to find. Then I mentally messed around with the idea of towel rings and small shelves and arranging them artfully on the wall but the location of the holes made that impossible.

Then I said oh duh HELLO INTERNET. I love that people with a clue feel compelled to get on the Internet and school the rest of us. Now I know how to pull out screw anchors! Put the screw back in a little way and use it to yank out the anchor then patch the hole. Awesome. Possum.

Of course, yanking those out and the subsequent spackling, sanding and repainting put off this finish. But, it's done now and that makes this a life worth living. Check it out!

These pics are before-ish. We had actually already switched out the light fixture and faucet a few weeks earlier. So, imagine super 80's cheese and not in a good way.



That's a little tester patch. That color was yellow. And also a no go.



The lovely glimpse in to the evil devil spawn previous owners' insanity.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here it is! Totally neutral and inoffensive. ADDED: Oh, that shower curtain was there before. Just didn't make it into the before-ish pictures.









I've also finished painting the master sink area that is handily located in the master bedroom just like a motel. I need to hang a mirror and something for towels and then I'm done with that too! Also, I need to buy a mirror and something for towels. Field trip!

Technorati tags: bathroom redo, home improvement, house sale