Author: Andrea Casals

have you heard the news?

Andrea Casals

Dear friends,

I’m so happy to tell you that I’ve decided to offer a bigger variety of products on my online shop at Society6.

With the last art-print uploaded yesterday -“I love you fore-e-e-ver”- I’ve decided to also start offering mugs, tote bags, kids and adults t-shirts, throw pillows and yes… super cute onesies!

More designs are being created and uploaded in the upcoming weeks.

I want to say thank you in advance for sharing this post with your friends and family and thanks for shopping at my online shop! Your money becomes coffee giving this mom the boost to create more art! 😛

Thanks folks and happy shopping!

14211629_3264569-stscrd01_b   Cards.

14211638_12208620-plwfr2_b Pillows: This pillow would look lovely in a nursery.

14211705_6809967-mugs11f_lMugs: A nice way to start your morning, feeling loved.

14211638_12208620-bagtote16_bTote bags.

14212141_5722103-kidtw206_bKids T-shirts:  The perfect match, kids and unconditional love.

baby crib sheets

Andrea Casals3 Comments

I found this great fabric with the world map on sale at my local fabric store and I thought it would be nice to have it at home and teach Marco where some of our friends and family live.

I’m still a beginner at sewing but I discovered that I can actually sew anything… as long as it has a rectangular shape. That’s how I thought about using this fabric to make some sheets for Marco’s crib.

I followed this tutorial and I were amazed at how easy it actually was to sew sheets, even using an elastic band one the edges.

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It’s nice to wash the fabric before, in case it shrinks. Also, measure the crib mattress to customize the pattern. I used a 12″ square instead of the 9″ suggested by the tutorial.

This project took about 2 hours but it was a lot of fun and I felt so good after seeing it done!

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During  the weekend, when I put him to bed, I told him where some of our dear friends and family live. He didn’t get much yet because when I asked for his aunt Barbarita -who lives in Barcelona- he pointed to Moscow… but we’ll get closer with some more practice!.

first day of preschool art

Andrea Casals

Last week, looking for something to do for Marco’s first day of preschool I went to the art supply aisle at Target and I saw a chalkboard calendar kit. But,  since I’m trying to re-use what I already have, I decided to do something similar by myself.

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With a cup and a black pencil, I drew circles over a black construction paper. Then, I used my sakura gelly roll white 08 to do the letters over the circles.

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I put the circles on Marco’s bedroom door and I took some pictures of him playing with the letters, spontaneous and simple.

I’d love to hear what you did for your little one first day of school picture!

preschool blanket

Andrea Casals2 Comments

I sewed the parts creating a rectangle. This was going to become the blanket’s filling.

I got these lovely fabrics for the blanket at my local fabric store. I needed 1 yard of each.

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I put the filling in the middle and I sewed a rectangle leaving about 10 cm. over the edges.

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Then, I unstitched some of the corners to sew correctly the edges.

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And after 3 hours, the project was done and it looked great!

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You can adjust even more the filling by adding some stitches to the middle part of the blanket, using a cross-stich like in a quilt.

This project was so easy. I didn’t use patterns, I just took the measures properly and used a lot of pins! If you want to do this and need any help, let me know!

Happy first day of school!

my favorite challah recipe

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Andrea Casals

After experimenting with a lot of challah recipes, this is my favorite. You’ll need:

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  • 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour*
  • 1  1/4 cup of warm water
  • 1 package dry active yeast
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 cup of honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
  • optional: 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds 
  • optional: quickly beaten egg for brushing

In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Add honey, oil, 1 egg, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, using the kitchen aid at medium speed.

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Knead until it become a smooth and elastic dough but no longer sticky. It will take around 15′ using the Kitchen Aid Mixer.

 

Cover the bowl with a cloth. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 1.30 hours.

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Separate the dough in 3 pieces, flatten a little bit and make a braid. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and let it rest for 45′ more minutes.

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After the resting time, you can either use a slightly beaten egg to brush it or just sprinkle the sesame seeds.

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Bake it at 350F for 30′ minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool. The result is impressive and delicious!

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Enjoy it!

things to do in Brooklyn with a baby/toddler

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Andrea Casals

These are some of the things we used to do with Marco during the time we lived in Downtown Brooklyn, NY.

Our favorite spots for those cold winter days or for the rainy summer ones:

  • Brooklyn Children’s Museum: Our favorite spot is the area right on the main level with water games -you don’t need to get wet- and blue sand. It’s great for “sensory” activities for the little ones.  Where? 145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 ($$) 
  • Brooklyn Public Library:   FREE – Big and great children’s area with lots of activities and with an adorable rug with some characters from Eric Carle’s books. Where? 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238
  • Brooklyn Heights Public Library: FREE –  It had a decent children’s area but a big con is that it only has fans and it gets very hot in the summer. Where? 280 Cadman Plaza West at Tillary St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
  • Carroll Gardens Public Library:  FREE – Another great place. The children’s area even though it’s small, it has some interesting toys specially for those between 1-2 yrs. Where? 396 Clinton St. @ Union St. Brooklyn, NY 11231
  • Beer Garden in Fort Greene:  What does a beer garden has to do with kids? Well, a lot! Because at Der Schwarze Koelner in Fort Greene you also can have fun! They organize a playgroup on weekdays around 2.30pm that for a little fee your little one can play around with the toys they provide while you eat a pretzel and drink a little something around him. Sounds nice, ha? Where? 710 Fulton Street, Brooklyn NY 11217 ($$)
  • Greenlight Bookstore: FREE – They organize sing-a-long and story time, provide a lot of good books and they have some nice toys. The place isn’t huge but it’s almost never crowded. Check their website to see the kids’ events. Where? 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY.
  • Moxie Spot: For those days that you need to get out of the house for a nice and at a great price activity but you don’t need to register for the classes months before! On the cons: the food is not very good and the toys are not in very good condition
 But still, you have a place to be that’s safe and it’s not your house! Where? 81 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11201 More info here ($)

Playgrounds Review:

  • Carroll Garden Playground: Small but it has a lttle bit of everything, even a water spray area for kids. Tip: Try going during the morning, it gets very crowded on weekdays afternoon and weekends.
  • Fort Greene: There are two playground areas. The one on Dekalb is less crowded and with younger kids. The one on Myrtle Ave. is big and it has a water spray area also but it’s crowded and sometimes not very safe.
  • Mc Laughlin Park: There’s a basketball court that’s always full of people but the playground is ok even though is more for older kids. Just take care that sometimes there are people using non-legal substances, check before entering to the park.
  • North Pacific Playground: A gem! A small playground area but it’s never crowded! Woohoo! Marco loved this playground.  This one is on Pacific St between 3rd Ave. and Nevins St., Brooklyn.
  • Brooklyn Bridge Park: Ok, so many areas to have hours of entertainment for every age. Until we left, these are ones we tried:
  1. Pier 1 playground: Super fun. There’s a lot of space to play around. Bring your picnic blanket and have lunch afterwards in the beautiful park with the amazing view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.
  2. Pier 5: It has a beautiful play space for younger kids under a tent so you don’t need to worry too much about been outdoors because there’s a nice shade that covers the play space.
  3. Pier 6 Swing Valley: great for those little ones that love the swings! Marco used to loved this play area. Also it was good to practice his walking around this playground because the padded floor was very comfy and safe.
  4. Pier 6 Water Lab: Super crowded on weekends and afternoons but still an amazing place, specially for more than +2 years. The water is very cold and since it’s so full of kiddos it won’t be much fun for the little ones.
  • And of course, another great park is our beloved Prospect Park, where you can find a carrousel, a zoo, 7 different playgrounds and lots of grass to run around. Endless fun!

Enjoy Brooklyn!

great tip for summer walks

,
Andrea Casals

picnic

The summer is close to its end but you can still take advantage of the tip I’m going to share with you: carry a picnic blanket in your diaper bag.

I have to tell you, ever since I bought my new portable and cheap blanket from Ichiban Kan, we have been doing a lot of spontaneous picnics!

Of course this blanket is not as beautiful as our JJ Cole one but this cheap blanket was the perfect size, waterproof, light and small enough to fit into the diaper “backpack”.

By the way, that’s another tip. Backpacks are much more easier to use than traditional diaper bags if you use public transportation frequently in San Francisco 😉

 

the way I do my grocery shopping

Andrea Casals

Some of my friends who have seen me doing my grocery shopping loved this so I want to share it with all of you, maybe it can help another mom/dad out there.

Since I don’t have a car neither a driving license yet, I do my grocery shopping within a walking distance from our apartment.

So, every time that I go to the grocery store, I grab a basket and attach it to the stroller.

After I pay and leave the store, I put the heavy stuff in the storage space of the stroller (juice, milk, cans, etc.) and hang my reusable bags from the hooks on each side of the stroller.

Pretty useful 😉

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