I’ve been making these for years, ever since an aunt gifted me with the cookbook Mrs. Field’s Best Cookie Book Ever (ever!). Well, she didn’t so much give it to me as I hinted, repeatedly, that I’d really really really love a copy. So, she gave me hers. Maybe more to shut me up than anything. Haha.

Jessica’s Marshmallow Clouds are made with frozen mini marshmallows that you encase in chocolate cookie dough before baking. I wish I could post pictures of how I made these, but I have to say these are a bit on the messy side to make, so my hands were full of dough! The result is a gooey chocolate cookie that’s extra soft in the middle because of the marshmallow surprise. You see a little of the yummy stuff in between breaks on tops of the cookies. Heavenly! These are among my favorite cookies to make, despite the mess.

 I made these for a recent movie date with friends. Concession stands in movie houses here charge so much for snacks—so the next best thing is to sneak some of your own in! I packaged these in individual sandwich bags, along with little snack bags of gummi worms that I had gotten in bulk. The two snackies made for awesome theater treats! 

Hope your week is off to a sweet start!

…to bring you the world’s funniest mom.

J: So, what did you do today?

Mama: Your brother took me to a movie! It was nice.

J: Really? Which one?

Mama: Dungeons and Dragons.

J: Oh, so you saw it at home? Like on the sci-fi channel?

Mama: No, in the theater. Tom Hanks has a weird hairdo in it.

J: Tom Hanks? Did you mean Angels & Demons?

Mama: Oh! (Guffaws.) Hahahahahahaha. Yes. They sound alike, don’t they?

J: Uhm, mother, NO.

LOL. I love my mom.

Shown below from R to L: The Girl With A Curl before her curls took over her head, The World’s Funniest Mother and The Brother Who Took Her To “Dungeons & Dragons!”

I expected this package to come later in the week, so when I got it yesterday I was beside myself. See, all these are free! Well, sort of. They were bought with a gift rewards certificate from Amazon, from points accrued over several cookbook etc. etc. purchases. So I kind of feel that they’re free, haha.

The loot:

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay for this month’s book club

Lost In Austen, a TV series from the UK about a modern-day girl who’s transported right into the pages of Pride & Prejudice. Saw 20 minutes of it before sleeping last night and thoroughly enjoyed the costumes, sets and everything being spoken in that accent. (“Mistah Dahhhsee…”)

And best of all, Vickie Howell’s Pop Goes Crochet book!

I love this book, and not just because I’m a fan of Vickie. I like how it takes something as old-school as crochet and places it into the context of present-day craft/art influences. It has really fun crochet projects inspired by icons from popular culture, like this couture scarf channeling Heidi Klum (I know the model’s half-naked, but isn’t the scarf so pretty?)…

…a vintage-y purse that something Dita Von Teese might have in her closet….

…a Marc Jacobs-inspired meanswear jacket…

…and my favorite, a L.A.M.B.-inspired shrug ala Gwen Stefani.

Now don’t ask me when I’ll have the time to make all these. Between reading up on the Holocaust for book club, finding my way around the Bennett household through my new DVD, crafting for two creative swaps and cooking for friends, family and anybody in-between, who knows when I’ll have the time (or hands) to do any other projects! But all in all, it’s really quite ok. My curls and I love this crazy, creative whirl!

Beautifully designed poster.

And a trailer that made me cry! (I’m such a sap. Especially for food flicks!)

Its release date is August 7, on the month of my birthday. I can’t wait.

Be back in a few, folks! Just getting caught in the curly crosshairs of life. And what was it that Julia Child said?

“Life itself is the proper binge!”

See you very, very soon.

I can’t wait for 500 Days Of Summer. It stars Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Zooey Deschanel and debuts in theaters in, well, the summer.

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.

This post-modern love story is never what we expect it to be—it’s thorny yet exhilarating, funny and sad, a twisted journey of highs and lows that doesn’t quite go where we think it will. When Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days “together” to try to figure out where things went wrong. His reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true passions in life.

I’ve been hounding the WWW for more tidbits about the movie because I’m in love with the tailoring and costumes in it. Its design elements (clothes, sets) have the sort of retro/vintage feel to it that I love….

…and a teaser trailer with an awesome soundtrack. (That’s The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition.)

I was racking my brains about why I’m so obsessed with the clothes in this movie, and I realized it’s because they remind me of the clothes designs from Built By Wendy by NYC’s Wendy Mullin.

She has a sewing patterns line in collaboration with Simplicity that I’m collecting. They’re too pretty to use so I just stare at them and sigh. I also have Wendy’s book Sew U: The Built By Wendy Guide To Making Your Own Wardrobe, which comes with patterns, too.

500 Days Of Summer’s release date is July 17. Pass the popcorn!

Been following the progress of Faythe Levine’s book (now on my Christmas wishlist) Handmade Nation: The Rise Of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design, and was thrilled when I found out how well the documentary based on the book was coming along.

Faythe Levine traveled 19,000 miles to document what has emerged as a marriage between historical technique, punk culture, and the D.I.Y. ethos. For “Handmade Nation” (along with the documentary film of the same name, coming in 2009), she and Cortney Heimerl have selected 24 makers and 5 essayists who work within different media and have different methodologies to provide a microcosm of the crafting community. Participants in this community share ideas and encouragement through websites, blogs, boutiques, galleries, and craft fairs. Together they have forged a new economy and lifestyle based on creativity, determination, and networking. Twenty-four artists from Olympia, Washington to Providence, Rhode Island, and everywhere in between show their work and discuss their lives.

“Handmade Nation” features photographs of the makers, their work environment, their process, their work, and discussions of how they got their start and what motivates them.

The docu’s stop-animation opening credits was recently released, and watching it just makes me all sorts of happy, because it stars some of my favorite characters: needle and thread, ribbon and rickrack, yarn, fabric, paper and paint!

Hurray for crafters! Can’t wait till this debuts in theaters next year.

Learn all about the movie project on the Handmade Nation blog.

…we’ll be right back! (Remember these TV spots during Saturday-morning cartoons?)

So, I’m going to be busy traveling for work over the next two weeks. I’ll be blogging intermittently and won’t be able to say hello as often in your neck of the world wide woods. I hope to be back soon, especially because I have great Christmas gift ideas to share.

In the meantime, I’m leaving you with a music video from my favorite 80’s cartoon. Until I’m able to blog in full swing again, as Jem says, “I’ve Got My Eye On You!” (Don’t be hatin’ on Jem’s pink ‘do now because I love it, haha!)

Stay curly, folks!

I’m jumping out of my skin and my curls are frizzing out! I have three great stories to share.

SPOONFLOWER NOW OPEN TO ALL

Spoonflower is a genius project: a website that allows you to upload fabric designs and have them printed for you. The site was beta-testing in May 2008, and would only print fabric by invitation. I signed up, wishing, hoping I’d get an invite. I thought it was too good to be true! I finally got an email that made me squeal, because it said this:

We are writing to thank you for signing up for the beta version of our site, but more importantly to thank you for your support and help as we have tried to turn a fabulous idea — affordable, on-demand fabric — into a real, functioning company. It’s not that we don’t still have a lot to learn (note that the site still says beta), but once you have over 10,000 people signed up as testers you may as well open it up to everyone.

My mind’s spinning. The possibilities! Girl With A Curl dishtowels, anyone?

JAY MCCARROLL DESIGNS FABRIC FOR FREESPIRIT

Project Runway Season One winner Jay McCarroll has cobbled two fabric collections together for FreeSpirit Fabric Designs. I’ve been kind of stalking Jay online because he was my favorite contestant from that season of the show, and partly because he and I share the same name! (I’m silly like that.) His two lines (Woodland Wonderland and Garden Friends) are whimsical and remind me of printed Japanese fabric.

Jay says:

My mother had a delicious hall closet stocked with remnants of fabrics and tins of buttons and bags of yarn. This was my favorite place in the house.

It would be mine, too!

SATC- IT AIN’T OVER

And to put the FAB in these Fabricated News tidbits, did you hear about the definite sequel to the Sex And The City movie? I admit that, even as a fan of the show, I have my doubts. Don’t get me wrong, I think I’d enjoy all the new fashion that’s bound to be in the movie but, story-wise, what more can they possibly write/tell? Maybe, then, I should just prepare (but not expect) to be pleasantly surprised?

And since I have quotes for the two previous stories, I’ll end this with of my favorite ones from Carrie Bradshaw (a curly girl herself!) :

Maybe the best any of us can do is not quit, play the hand we’ve been given, and accessorize the outfit we’ve got.

You have a fab day, folks.

How funny is this Martha Stewart blooper reel? She gets run down by a cow and accidentally says “hairy balls.” Hilarious!

And in case you haven’t caught on to it yet, there’s a new show on the Food Network that reeled me in with its first episode last Sunday. It’s the reality show The Chef Jeff Project, where a successful chef (Jeff Henderson) who used to be in jail takes six kids down on their luck and teaches them life skills by giving them a chance to shine in the kitchen. From the FN website:

Jeff Henderson grew up on the tough streets of South Central L.A. and San Diego. At 19 he was running a $35,000-a-week cocaine operation. At 24, Jeff was arrested and sent to prison, where he spent the next ten years. While incarcerated, Jeff discovered a passion for cooking and the drive to turn his life around. Jeff became Executive Chef at Café Bellagio in Las Vegas, wrote a bestselling book, and now he is focusing on giving back. In The Chef Jeff Project, he takes six at-risk young adults and commits to turning their lives around by putting them to work in his catering company, Posh Urban Cuisine. He arms them with the knowledge, the skills and, ultimately, the opportunity for a new life with a culinary career.

Here’s Chef Jeff

And his crew:

Brett, Adam, Maria

Kathy, Alonzo, Shante

My favorite character so far is Kathy, who used to be a drug addict and had no clue what to make as a signature dish, which was Chef Jeff’s first task for the team. She ended up preparing a fresh salad with some greens and fruit, along with the surprising inclusion of fresh cherries (simplicity on a plate can be a refreshing change in these overseasoned times). Plus, I like how Chef Jeff is hardcore and tough-talking but like a big old softie at the same time. I can’t wait for the next episode! (The show airs at 10 pm PST on Sundays.)

Any excuse to cook is good for me, even if it’s for my own birthday. Especially because it was for a picnic at the Hollywood Bowl, one of my favoritest places in Los Angeles. I’ve caught beautiful Easter sunrise services there, several Sound Of Music Sing-Alongs (yes, seriously) and an unforgettable performance by Dave Matthews Band a couple of years back, when LeRoi Moore still around. So, when I caught wind earlier this year that John Williams and the LA Philharmonic would be playing at the Bowl the weekend following my birthday, I decided that it would be a perfect way to celebrate another year in my life. I had already been to three other performances of his in years past, but still, I couldn’t wait to go this year. (Spoken like a true Star Wars fangirl!)

Going to the Bowl is always an exercise in decision-making: What should we bring to eat? A valid question with a million answers! Tradition calls for a packed dinner with beverages (they even allow wine) and an early arrival, so you have time to find your seats and settle in to eat and enjoy people-watching while the summer sun’s still out. We usually buy food from some place like Whole Foods or the Bowl’s own restaurant. But this year, I wanted to cook.

I took me weeks to decide what to make. This was serious business! It was the first time I’d be responsible for the whole Bowl-eating experience, and it was for my birthday. I was nervous, but finally came up with the idea of making restaurant favorites, done Girl With A Curl-style.

The final verdict? Homemade Mac N’ Cheese, Chicken Nuggets and Steamed Vegetables. Dessert was actually store-bought! Those pink Hello Kitty packs are Choco Pies from a Japanese market. I love them. I decided to throw in some Dove dark chocolates, Baci and Perugina candy from Rome and milk candy, also from the Japanese market (if anyone from LA is reading this, the Japanese market is Nijiya on Sawtelle.)

The Mac N’ Cheese was fun to make, because I knew it would be portable and un-messy and would fit right into my whole packable, picnic-able dinner plans. I could tell you that I used low-fat sour cream and fat-free cheddar cheese, but my cooking is something I don’t lie about. And it was my birthday, so I decided to live a little.

The Chicken Nuggets were interesting because they’re actually baked, not fried. I’ve found that the best tools for a task like this are two sets of chopsticks, one for dipping in your wet ingredients, another for dredging in dry. You dip pieces of chicken breast into melted butter (I know! But it was ever so little, and really, you can also use yogurt, buttermilk or plain old milk!)…

Dredge them in the mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and spices (Italian seasoning, fresh thyme, salt and pepper)…

Lay them carefully on a rack that’s been sprayed with cooking spray and placed over a cookie sheet…

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, and under the broiler for another five. These were perfect with the cheesy pasta and the steamed-crisp veggies. These Rubbermaid Take-Alongs with dividers that I packed them in were picnic-perfect (more so because I got them at 50% off!). This way, each person had a portion of the main dishes. (Veggies went into a Ziploc bag, for easy passing-around.)

I have to admit, though, my favorite part of the meal was stuff I didn’t make, these ice-cold Orange Cream Gourmet Sodas. (Parang Mirinda na hindi!)

Drinks went into an insulated carrier, and the foodstuff snuggled with cutlery and paper napkins into my FEED bag*.

The evening’s performance was awesome , with John Williams conducting the Olympic theme while huge screens showed scenes from the games. The Bowl was decked out in colored swaths of light, as we were taken from Indiana Jones to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, to a special highlight that included scenes from (sigh) Singin’ In The Rain. (Gene Kelly, I heart you.)

And yes, of course, the evening ended with an encore that included the Star Wars theme. And, like every year, the ampitheatre lit up with light sabers as the theme played. There were so many of them, and I tried to take pictures, but was way too excited to take any good ones. Geek much? (I LOVED IT!)

Perfect. Evening.

*The FEED bag, a World Food Programme project, is available in two sizes, a smaller one (above) at Whole Foods and a larger one from Amazon. The cost of your purchase of the smaller bag equals 100 meals for hungry children in Rwanda who don’t have access to nutritious food. The larger one equals meals for a full school year for one child. I have both and use them for everything, from plane trips to picnics!