Chalkboard art and some links

A new week means it's time for a new drawing on Penny's chalkboard wall!
This week brought the good news that I've been accepted to 3rd Ward's third annual Handmade Holiday Craft Fair! Here's a pic of my table from last year's show. It's a very cool location, with vendors I haven't seen anywhere else. For example, Chris found a guy selling handmade guitar microphones. He bought one and thinks it's the best guitar mic he's ever owned. So if you're in the Brooklyn area, come on out! Visit the link for all the info.
Since it's Thanksgiving week, I thought I'd share the link for my favorite new charity, Youth of Malawi. Some friends of mine visited Malawi for the first time this year and witnessed the unimaginable poverty and disease first hand. They began this charity. Their charity's first project is to take 300 orphans to the beach for the very first time. Chris and I loved this idea so much we sponsored one of the children. Visit the link for how you can be a part of this wonderful day. Already I feel extra thankful for all that we have. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Socrates Sculpture Park

This past Sunday was one of the last warm days, so we walked over to the Socrates Sculpture Park with Penny. We saw a subway to nowhere:
...a yellow brick road:

...a vinyl dissected whale:
...and a pile of cakes:
Then we stopped for smooches:
It was a lovely time. Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Gocco in the shop

My Flirt Bot Gocco on wood piece is up in the shop. Go check it out!
We're just back from another relaxing weekend in the country. This is me relaxing in a leafpile my brother made. I also got to play some accordion, eat lentil soup, get a foot rub from my mom, and play with my nephew. We drove home at sunset on Sunday. Now I'm all set for a calm week - no freelance, not much on my to-do list. Hope your week is calm too!

Happy Halloween-yo!

For Penny's first Halloween, Chris had requested a chili pepper costume ("so she can be a 'Halloween-yo pepper!" he explained). At first I thought I'd have to settle for a strawberry. (I firmly believe that all babies should dress as food.) I almost bought the strawberry costume. And then, I found it. On sale too! She was the only chili pepper in the whole Roosevelt Island Halloween Parade.

Fish and Hummus...mmmm!

Sorry I've stepped away from blogging for a moment...it has been unbelievably busy around here. I had a couple of huge wholesale orders, plus a freelance assignment due, and then one of the cats got sick and a couple of trips to the vet were needed. (She's feeling much better now, purring away!) Above is a picture of an extremely cool present for Penny from an old friend of mine - it's a bucket of plush fish! (Cinder's just checking to make sure they're not real). Here's where you can get your own bucket.
And now, apropos of nothing, I want to share a recipe with y'all...
The other day my mom sent me her recipe for hummus. This, to me, is real hummus: no garlic, no spices, just chickpeas, tahini, and lemon. I don't like another thing in my hummus. This is an easy thing to make, and so healthy! I can't wait to feed some to Penny. Happy weekend everybody!

HUMMUS
One small can of garbanzo beans
Two lemons
Third to half a cup of Tahini
Salt and pepper
Quarter teaspoon olive oil
Half cup of parsley sprigs

Drain almost all can liquid from garbanzo beans (but keep in reserve). Place remaining beans into blender. Add juice of one lemon. Blend until pureed (mixture can be a bit grainy unless you like it very smooth). If you need extra liquid to puree add a touch of reserved can liquid (just a touch – hopefully the lemon juice will be all the liquid you need.

Pour puree into small bowl, add all Tahini and the juice of the second lemon ( half at a time so you can make to your taste. I like a lot of lemon.) Add salt and pepper and mix all ingredients thoroughly until Tahini is completely incorporated.

Decorate the perimeter generously with sprigs of parsley. The parsley is meant to be eaten as it makes a nice contrast to the velvety tart hummus. Dribble the center with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil

Tip: If your tahini has settled in its container with the oil on top, stir until it is well blended or hummus will be too oily. You want the Tahini paste to be well distributed.
Tip: Don’t use organic garbanzos. They are tough and don’t blend well. Goya is my first choice, Progresso second.

Fall for Arts Festival!

If you're in the New York area, this Saturday is a great time to check out my little neck of the woods, Roosevelt Island! I'll be selling a selection of MamaRobot items in the plaza in front of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd from 11 to 4. The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm, and if all that's not enough to convince you, Chris Fuller will be performing in the plaza, right near my booth, from 11:30-12:30. Mayor Bloomberg is coming too! He supposed to visit all of the booths personally, so I'll try to snap a picture and thank him for the smoking ban. Click on the images above to read all the details. Hope to see all you New Yorkers!

Coney Island

Saturday we took Penny and her grandparents to Coney Island and the Aquarium. I snapped a few pics along the way, including a funny robot and a gorgeous jellyfish. When we got home, I put Penny to bed, and my mother-in-law made delicious margaritas so we could enjoy some adult time. It felt right to indulge in some drinks - this week I finally got our security deposit back from our last apartment, and I finally found product liability insurance for MamaRobot! Major progress on my to-do list, and major events in store for my little biz...stay tuned!