The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Or at least that's what Mochi thinks. Mochi is a funny lady. She has developed a habit of taking from Pudding. In fact, she's always trying to get the food that Pudding stores in her cheek-pouch and just now she grabbed the yogurt drop that Pudding was feasting on. And it's not like I only give treats to Pudding, I give them equal amounts but Mochi just like to taking Pudding's, even if its half-eaten. What a weird hammy!

"You're not talking about me or are you?"

Pudding is chilling underneath the tissue hat she created herself! A masterpiece right?

It was only to make our friendship stronger

I've been watching the hammies like a hawk and they seem to be getting along just fine. They have migrated to Mochi's toilet roll and now they are happily sleeping in it together.

Here is Mochi making a face at me. I'm not quite sure what she means, maybe she's saying "hey mom, you don't need to check on us every five minutes!"

And here is the progress I made on the dollhouse so far. I'm hoping to finish it by early May, but we'll see what happens. I really can't wait to get it completed and framed!

Separation, maybe reconciliation.

I had to separate my hamsters because what began as playfights took a more serious turn and they turned out-right aggressive toward eachother. Several days ago I woke up to find blood spattered all over their bedding, and that's when I knew this was no play. I checked on both of them and I couldn't seem to find where they were wounded.
It's been 3 days since they have been separated by a screen door mesh I made straight down the center of the tank. I purposely made it out of the mesh so that they could still see and smell eachother in the hopes that they would be able to reconcile.
Well... I just went to check on them and I found a pleasant surprise. Mochi (the more energetic one) was no where to be found on her side of the tank. I was about to break out in a sweat when I looked at Pudding's half and found her cuddling next to Pudding. Now they are playing and running in and out of Pudding's toilet roll. Mochi must have climbed up the mesh and jumped over to Pudding's side of the tank. Mochi always loved to play with Pudding from the beginning, but I think she's a handful even to Pudding.

I am still going to keep a good eye on them, but I really hope they would get along. :]

I held her...

I've been playing with my hammies everyday in hopes of taming them, and Mochi let me pick her up a couple days ago!! That's not to say that they aren't scared of me, cause they still are very cautious. But hey~ I'm a few steps closer! So far I'm able to: pet them, have them walk unto my hand, and have them eat off my hand. *beaming* I feel like a little girl who has just learned to tie her shoes!
They are so lovable. I've been so sad after losing my two syrians; these girls totally brighten my day! And they are a delight to watch on the wheel.

I've also been in a cooking mood this week and I managed to take pictures. Most of the time, I end up cooking during the mid evening so I don't end up taking pictures cause the lighting is horrible. But this time I managed to get it done during daylight. I really can't wait to get a new camera. I've been eye-ing the nikon d40... now I'm just waiting for a hunk of cash to fall upon me.

Creamy white wine penne pasta with sauteed veggies topped with lemon zest

Baked tiliapia with sauteed veggies

I've been craving spaghetti, so that might be on the menu sometime soon. And I love waking up the next morning to have some the leftover spaghetti sauce on some toast. It's yummy!

My girls!

On Thursday I became a mommy to my two girls, Mochi and Pudding. They are robo hamsters and can I tell you... they are so adorable! The girls are super fast and skittish, and I can see it'll take a while for them to be tamed. I look forward to bonding with them.

Mochi is much more timid than Pudding, she likes to stay in the house or sleep under tissues or hide out in the toiler roll, while Pudding is much more adventurous. Pudding loves to run on the wheel and she is the first to come when I offer food. Mochi follows only after she sees Pudding do something first, it's so cute and funny!

Last night I stayed up and watched them playing on the wheel- they both love the wheel! The wheel is too small for the both of them at the same time, but they tried to make it work nevertheless. They are so fast that they end up getting flung out of the wheel. Mochi halts the spinning wheel with her paw and that's how they switch off turns.

Here are the girls nibbling on a piece of broccoli. They were taking a nap under some tissue.

You gotta love those girls~

Yay! 200~

I've reached my 200th sale on etsy today, which I am ecstatic about! It's come a long way since the beginning, it means so much to me because it wasn't a one night wonder and it's something I nurtured with my love and passion for cross stitching. My goal was and still is to introduce the joy of cross-stitching to first timers and renew the love of cross-stitching in oldtimers with simple and friendly imagery.
I thank all my customers for supporting andwabisabi! Thank you so much for all your love! It is because of you I am able to continue to make more new patterns. Please continue to give andwabisabi lots of loving. ^__^

Here is a new custom order I just completed.

Hello! My name is Yammy, nice to meet you! Please stitch me up and take me to your lovely home! I can be found at andwabisabi. I'm sweet and yammy and I hope you think so too!

Lovely Spring

I've been cross stitching since senior year of highschool, but you'd be surprised to hear that I've only finished about four (big) projects, two of which I gave away as gifts to two very special people in my life.

I have a lot of projects that I've started without applying "the rules" and I can't seem to get back into those projects because they seem tainted. At the time I was more excited about getting started rather than getting it right and learning the foundation. Now I cringe when I see the knots I made in the back of my very first projects, or when see the horrendous back of a piece, and the projects where I've cross stiched one direction in one section and then started cross stitching a different direction in a different section.

Nevertheless, I managed to get back into my 'lovely spring' piece which comes from this Japanese book I found in Little Tokyo. The book is called Cross Stitch Embroidery with patterns from six different designers. My pattern was by Misako Murayama. I'm not completely finished, I just need to stitch in a couple leaves, finish the window and salad bowl.

Got Rice

Today was a great day for me creatively. I've gotten several cs patterns up on andwabisabi

including the steaming rice bowl below. I love rice, I wouldn't be able to survive without it! Okay I admit it... My taste buds are totally Korean, and although I've never lived in Korea, I can't live without my rice and kimchi. When I'm at an restaurant you will probably hear me mutter the words, "it'd be nice if there was kimchi". :D

I need to have bab (rice) and kimchi at least once a day. And although I don't usually eat breakfast, I prefer to eat rice + banchan (side dishes) as the first meal of the day. If I don't get my bab, I feel rather grumpy.

My steaming bowl of rice with green peas. :)

Mes Recettes

This is from a while back and it was intended for the kitchen, but somehow ended up in the living room. :) My mom usually doesn't like the designs I choose to stitch, but she really liked this one.

Start of another room

I haven't been able to devote much time to stitching lately. I can't wait until I start on the room with the fireplace. I love bricks. Sometimes I go strolling around my neighborhood just to admire the houses with beautiful brickwork.

It's such a beautiful day out. The sun is out and it's wonderful weather out to go to the beach. Can't you just imagine sinking your feet into the warm sand, sipping on a cool drink and relaxing to the sound of the waves? Sigh. But the reality of it is I am home alone waiting for someone to come home.

New Dinos

I made some more dino cs patterns which are available at andwabisabi