I was so excited to see Ponyo (but not excited enough to actually see it in the theater or rent it; what do you think I am?) that we were going to watch it on our anniversary last week when I discovered it was on Netflix Watch Instantly. I'm glad we didn't, because I didn't love it. Ponyo herself was kind of annoying personality-wise, and the plot was all over the place. I tried to blame it on the fact that it was made for a very young audience, but so was My Neighbor Totoro, and I can watch that over and over again.

Good things: awesome elderly ladies, the father's trippy 70's suit, and Ponyo's millions of little sisters. I also enjoyed how much Ponyo liked ham, as we had just eaten ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner. And some of the undersea scenes were really beautiful. But, so far, my least favorite Miyazake. Am I alone?

Right now all I want to do is look at inspirational posters. Yes, I am that person. But seriously, there are some really good ones out there right now! No shame. I found these ones on Etsy from dazeychic. Which one is better?

This may be a surprise to most people, but I had never made a cupcake in my life before last night. How did this happen, you may ask? There are a few factors at play. Firstly, I'm not wild about cake. I much prefer a cookie, a pie, or a piece of candy. Secondly, it seemed like too much work. I haven't done much baking in the past few years.

But with 2010 feeling like a real fresh start (PS. I accidentally typed "shart" and cracked myself up before fixing it. Sigh.), the holiday gift of Chronicle Books' Cupcake Kit, the appearance of some cupcake pans in my kitchen, and a glorious month off, the time was finally right!

Yes, I used a boxed mix. Yes, I used pre-made frosting. But I'll be damned if my first cupcakes are not the greatest cupcakes ever! The little flowers came from Miette. So proud!

Christmas Comes But Once a Year

This is the week I invariably start falling apart during the holidays; I just can't seem to get things done and enjoy the wintery wonderland simultaneously! But I just watched this cartoon and it helped a lot.

Basically, this guy named Grampy rolls up to a sad little orphanage and turns into a hardcore Christmas machine! If he can do it, so can I.

I came home from my visit to my parents' house to discover that Peter had bought me a gigantic box of craft supplies, clearly from someone's deceased grandmother. It included crochet needles of all sizes, tons of beads, felt, vintage hankies, and clothespins. So naturally, I looked up "clothespin dolls." This is the first thing I found.

How can I top this? Is there even any point? My heart is swelling with cute.

The site is all in Japanese and I can't tell if these dollies are still for sale, but check it out. Damn. I mean, damn.