Celebrating in Wonderland

Happy Black Friday everyone. I know I said I wouldn't be shopping today, but my dad asked me to take my nephew to pick out some jeans on sale at Macy's. So Allan and I braved the crowds at the mall to get Mikey some Levi's on the cheap. We also bought a couple quality pillows for only $20, for both. We love good pillows.

We also took a detour, since we were alredy on the road, and went to American Music. I got Allan new strings for his acoustic and electric guitars. Mikey had fun looking at the guitars and books. He's 9 and is currently taking guitar lessons. When he was 7 Allan and I bought him his first real acoustic. And little does he know my parents got him an electric. He's going to have an awesome christmas.

Anyways I plan to spend the rest of my day helping my dad make a rib roast and decorating my apartment! :) Tonight we're going to the autumn festival to enjoy Japanese entertainment, snacks and carnival games. I'm excited!!! I'm going to make Vivz wear her sushi costume!

Hope you have a great Black Friday. Don't stress too much and remember, as Allan told Mikey, every day should be Thanksgiving!

Celebrating in Wonderland: Thanks Giving on Guam

It's Thanks Giving day here on Guam! I just finished making my latiya for my family party and my friends party. Latiya is a favorite local dessert. It's basically half a sponge cake topped with a yummy pudding.

I learned how to make latiya a few Thanks Givings ago. Allan and I just moved in to OUR first apartment. We were previously living with my brother and his fiance, but since they got engaged and had a baby on the way, we decided they needed their own place. Anyways, I decided to put together a full homemade Thanks Giving feast for all our friends. Most of them didn't have anything planned with their families so it was welcomed. When I was planning the menu Allan, who for the most part doesn't have a sweet tooth, mentioned that he likes latiya. So I called my mom and she lent me a local cook book with the recipe. Every one enjoyed the meal, but most especially they loved the latiya.

I haven't perfected it though. The sponge cake always floats and that makes it look kind of funny, but it's made with love and tastes sooo delicious. Every time I make it I'm reminded of that day and the love I have for Allan and the friends and family I make it for.

Happy Thanks Giving!!!

Celebrating in Wonderland: Getting in to the Holiday Spirit

This year I'm attempting to really go all out for Christmas. I'm off on Black Friday, but all my gifts are going to be homemade. Instead of fighting the crowds in the stores I'll be home making decorations and gifts. I'm very happy about that. To get in to the swing of things I decided to make a Christmas station on Pandora. If you haven't visited Pandora online you should really check it out. I entered "Santa Baby"and now my station plays jazzy Christmas songs, weeding out the more kiddy songs. Last night Allan and I were singing along and dancing. It really got us in the Christmas spirit.

Last night I finished the structure of one of the sewing projects I'm doing. All I have to do now is add some finishing touches and wrap it up. By Friday I'll have atleast one gift under the tree.

Wonderland in Stitches

Last night I started on the first of many christmas gift sewing projects. I got my sewing machine over 5 years ago. This is the first time I've used it and actually had some idea of what I was doing. It's amazing how many wonderful blogs and sites are out there with tutorial, patterns, and videos. For the past month or so I've been a frequent visitor of Burda Style, Sew Mama Sew, and craftster. I'm excited about this new adventure. I just hope I can find enough time to make all the things I want to before all the christmas parties!

If anyone has any tips for a newbie at the sewing machine they'd be greatly appreciated. And if you know of any great sites please-please share!

Wish me luck!

Funding Wonderland

Since the minimum wage has gone up, my pay has been adjusted accordingly. Awesome! And this news came on the same day that Allan found out he will be working at the new and improved Hope 4 Pain Tattoo shop! Yay.

Living in Wonderland is not cheap so this news is very welcome! I've also been looking into other ways to save money and keep myself occupied aithout spending so much money. Bohemia here we come.

Sharing Wonderland: Helping with a wedding

A beautiful young couple is planning on getting married this month. They don't have much money and my mom and some of her friends agreed to help them plan it. They'll be married on the beach by a friend who happens to be an ordained minister. My mom was asking me for ideas and I thought these invitations, I found on the net, would be beautiful and functional for a warm beach wedding. I'll be making these invitations for them. The bride is going to have an orchid bouquet, also made by a friend, and the center pieces are going to be small fishbowls with guppies and shells. My mom has a little container pond with billions of guppies, so she'll be providing the fish. An intimate breakfast reception will take place after the ceremony at a nearby hotel restaraunt. They'll have a filled cupcake stand instead of an expensive wedding cake. For favors they'll be giving shell necklaces with a little card commemorating the event. I'm so excited it sounds intimate, simple, and classy. What makes it really beautiful is that so many people are pitching in, which I think is a good sign that this couple has hope. People are helping because they are good people who deserve a beautiful wedding even if they don't have the bank account to pay for one!

Decorating Wonderland: I must learn how to cut glass!

How awesome are these? I have a ton of empty wine bottles. I also have empty Jack Daniels bottles that I've made a centerpiece with! :P

I think I know what I'm going to do with those wine bottles now. Wish me luck!!!

dirty warehouse and ADHD suffering musicians

Allan, my boyfriend was in this photo shoot for a local magazine. They're doing an article on the evolution of punk rock on guam. So they asked a bunch of the "old generation" and "new generation" punk rockers to get together and say cheese. The pictures turned out better than I was expecting especially after hearing Allan bitch. I don't really know why he was bitching he looks like he had a good time. lol. He's the one in the back with the beer. I think that's the pic where the photographer asked them to be themselves. That's Allan all right. :P

Wonderland musings . . .

The title for my blog comes from a painting I did a while back. The idea of it is that Alice is all grown up sitting on an oversized mushroom where Wonderland once was, but is now a dead forest lit by the distant city glow.

The point being that when we were kids the world seemed amazing and our futures seemed fantastical. :P As we grow up we often realize things aren't the way we saw them as children. I'd like to bring back Wonderland for me though. I'm attempting to resolve to get more active in my life. I want to do the small things I've been meaning to do and change certain negative things so that hopefully I will find Wonderland for myself and maybe help others discover their Wonderlands!