I have a tight deadline for another super secret project……. but I saw some reject bits and bobs and thought I would take a snap for the blog. Sometimes I get caught up in the “secretness” of things I’m working on, and then I feel like I have nothing to blog about, but a little vague peeksy won’t hurt!

Once I grabbed these off the floor, I gave myself a giggle….

I’m so sorry the blog has been a bit quiet this past week. I’ve been making a lot of kitty donuts but also have been in kind of a funk.  Elysse planned a ladies-only hike around Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, and I thought that being outside sounded like a really good idea!

Manda texted me a few days ago that she wanted to try doing one active thing once a week, so I encouraged her to go on the Lady Hike, too.  We all have a lot on our plates right now, and she kinda started to bail on the hike because of this, but in rare form, I sent an email saying that I hoped she would still go, because, we are always busy, and we always de-prioritize exercise/taking care of ourselves. Creating change in our lives is tough, so I hope that we can all support each other in it by pushing each other to do things out of the ordinary. I know that I always put exercise at the very bottom of my list, and then I don’t end up doing it, and then I feel unhealthy and lazy and lumpy and old, but it’s a hard cycle to get out of when you have a lot of other things going on. Luckily, we both made it out to the hike!

Okay, I admit, that I didn’t tell Manda that this was a 9 mile hike. That is really a lot for people like us who NEVER exercise and lead very sedentary lives aside from walking Bibi & Bunny. I didn’t want to say anything about the hike that would dissuade her from going!  I’m a terrible friend! But Elysse said that an out-of-shape person could handle it, and that there weren’t too many inclines, so I figured that Manda would be fine, too. The weather was PERFECT (to me!), not too hot, but sunny and beautiful, with a crisp breeze to cool down the arm pit sweats.

At about mile 7, Manda and I wanted to die. I felt sore in places I never felt sore before (MY BONES!??!). I could tell that there would be a point when my legs simply would stop moving because they felt like they weighed 80 billion pounds with cement shoes.  We kept talking about pizza and waffles and spaghetti. Elysse and her buddy Kristen (sp?) work out regularly, so they were flitting along like forest sprites while Manda and I were like “AREWETHEREYET AREWETHEREYET AREWETHEREYET.”

I’m proud of us for going and surviving! Manda has some blisters, and the balls of my feet are puffy and sore, but I’m so happy Elysse organized this, and I hope there will be more in the future. We rewarded ourselves later with hot showers, Prosecco, and pasta in North Beach!

I have a lot of childhood Easter memories, but I don’t have a strong connection to Easter as an adult. The only real reason it’s on my radar still is because it’s Manda’s most favorite holiday of the year.

We have both been really busy and stressed, so we kept it low key, and I suggested we have a picnic in the park with friends.

For the picnic, I wanted to make kitty donuts, following the instructions from My Paper Crane. I have a mini donut maker that is basically like a waffle iron and makes very cakey donuts, so I decided to use that for my project. I kind of forgot HOW MINI the donuts really are, so my kitties turned into bunnies since the almond-ears were so big compared to the donuts.

I used melted chocolate chips, but should have thinned them out with something, because my chocolate was rather thick and difficult to work with, leaving me with some really mutated bunnies. PLUS, I used a store-bought gel icing for the faces, and it was a HOT HOT MESS! WELL, whatever, IDGAF! Maybe I’ll try with regular-sized donuts next time!

I know it’s really last minute, but I made a video tutorial to go with my free pattern for the mini chocolate Easter bunny!

I know this is the same outfit I was wearing in my previous post, but I just wanted to highlight the outfit, because, I kinda like it a lot!

The dress is from the Target Girls section, and I can barely squeak into it (there’s no zipper or closure, and barely room for boobs, so it’s good I don’t have any), but it’s the PERFECT shade of pink!!!

I was experimenting with a pink donut and wondered what I wanted to make with it (piggies weren’t really calling to me), so I turned it into a Gloomy Bear donut.

My necklace is by Fatally Feminine, who is also my collab partner on the Yummy You! marshmallow charm bracelet.

Confession: I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Great outfit photo, right? But I was mostly focused on shooting some scarves and stuff for a magazine due out this summer.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I think we are having a picnic on Sunday! Hmmm, what to wear!?

Dress: Target girls, Gloomy Bear Donut: made by me, Hair bow: Miss Alphabet, Necklace: Fatally Feminine Designs