Hot Woks Cool Sushi

Finally, a new sushi place has arrived in our neighborhood! We live in walking distance to many great restaurants but have been lacking a good sushi option close by. Mike and I were ecstatic to see Hit Woks open up literally overnight!

I have been meaning to blog about this place for a while, the pictures are from our first dining experience about a month ago, and we have already since been back! This is due mostly to the fact that their menu rocks the roll of all rolls, in my opinion.

The Mega Vega!



It's not just for vegetarians. Mega Vega is packed with tempura sweet potato, broccoli, beets, cucumbers, avocados. It is amazing! I almost didn't order it because I am not a fan of broccoli, but I have to say, the broccoli provided a nice nutty flavor that really makes the roll.

The Mega Vega even inspired a new salad mix that we have been enjoying at home. Greens, beets, broccoli, avocado with a sweet vidallia onion dressing, yum!

I really like the decor at hot woks, simple, modern, with a nice color palette of brown, green and orange that really pops!



They even have a sense of humor that comes through in their menu, check out the Mount Fuji!

Before and After

Look at little Purrl! I can't even believe that this is the same sick little kitty Mike found 2 months ago. She has really beat the odds and is thriving as a fun, playful little kitten!

Last night Dixie got her room back and Purrl had free reign of the apartment with her sister Kira while we slept. Dixie's bed had temporarily been relocated to the living room while Purrl got the rest, and strength she needed sleeping alone in our 2nd bedroom. This morning when we woke up, everyone was still alive and settled in their beds, phew!

All the animals are getting along which is great! There were a few rough weeks when none of them would settle, but everyone is adjusted now. I even caught Dixie and Purrl sleeping butt to butt yesterday. So, cute!

If anyone ever finds a feral kitten, don't be afraid! It is possible to help them come back with some good ol tlc.

Upholstery 101 Graduate

Last week my beginners upholstery class wrapped up. I completed my final project and passed with flying colors. I managed to snap some images of all of my class projects.

My first project was in a previous post. It was a bar stool cover if you need a memory jogger.



My second project was a pillow, I also learned piping. It was a great way to brush up on my sewing skills, that I hadn't applied since college. Notice the slightly messed up fleur de lis I stitched on the front! Had to add my own personal twist!



For the third project I learned more about construction. This technique could be used in creating an upholstered head board or a chair. I stitched a pattern on the front for fun and used foam, board and a staple gun to secure the materials. I also honed my piping skills on this one. Again, my personal twist here was green for Mike, his favorite color and a shout out to Halloween/Day of the Dead, two upcoming holidays.



The fourth project was to learn how to insert zippers. This is great to know since I plan on making pillow covers soon to replace the current ones on my couch.





For my final project I opted to make a sewing machine cover for my sewing machine that has officially found a home on what used to be my desk. I didn't want to be overly ambitious on this final project. My main goal was to really learn pattern making. All in all it turned out great!



The class was a success and I really enjoyed myself so much so that another student and I worked out a second class with the instructor which I am super excited about. Next up is intermediate upholstery and I am ready to tackle some furniture pieces including a green chair that I have had forever! Don't worry, there will be before and after pictures!

The new class will meet every Monday and Thursday starting next week for two hours a night. I am excited to keep up with upholstery and keep telling myself that in 10 years I will be an expert! Afterall a great craft takes time!

kittens, stitchin and beer

i have been busy, busy, busy lately. between work, raising a new kitten and my upholstery class i have had zero time. i suppose that's a good thing but right about now i could use some veg time. in fact i am writing this blog from my bed at 10:25 on friday night. ok, i'll admit, it is partly because i am trying to trick my body into falling asleep early since i have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow, waaaah.

i have had so many blog posts running through my head lately but just haven't found the time... so we'll do a little catching up here. hopefully next week i can get back on track!

a couple weekends ago mike and i went to iowa for our annual decook/brown tradition, the brew haha. the brew haha is a beer fest that takes place every september in iowa, the brew stands for the beer tastings that take place with several tasty vendors, the haha is well, because they have comedians performing while you peruse the the tastings! it is always a blast. unfortunately jeff could not make it this year and mike had a bad cold, and it was sprinkling on and off all day. that didn't stop us and we still managed to have a great time. of course i had camera in tow:







afterwards jeff joined us and we continued our tradition with dinner at huckleberry's. the BEST pizza place in iowa! something about beer all day and then gorging on pizza, sigh, you just can't beat it!

some other exciting things have been happening. little purrl is growing up, and slooowly being introduced to her family. we have 4 pets now people, we are borderline animal hoarders! they haven't all taken to each other as nicely as we hoped. purrl is so sweet and fearless, i am afraid the others are going to ruin her. dixie just wants to pounce on her and play, kira just growls and hisses, and finn wants to eat her. it's been a challenge to say the least. purrl gets to come out of her room and be with the others a few hours every day. we keep increasing the time every few days and they all seem to be getting a little more comfortable, sort of.





dixie is just obsessed with purrl. i call purrl her little white baby. hopefully things continue to get better, four pets are a LOT of work.

lastly, i am coming up on the last week of my upholstery class. i have had so much fun and really learned a lot. i will miss my class so much, what will i do on tuesday and wednesday nights? o blog. i will post a recap of my class and pictures of all my projects soon. hopefully i can talk the instructor into starting an intermediate class!

and p.s, after 6 years i FINALLY figured out how to thread my brand new, never used sewing machine! whoo hoo!