Adventures in Cooking from the Weekend

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This past weekend went way too fast.  Saturday I went to a baby shower, so Mike took the boys to the mall and out to lunch at Kona Grill.  He had planned to make a couple new dishes this weekend, so he picked the easier of the two on Saturday night.  So we ate Chipotle Cajun Pasta.  It was a bit spicy but very good.  It was great for left overs last night and we'll be eating it up for lunch today.
Sunday he had more time and made Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple Mexican Salad.  I was busy on the computer when he was in the kitchen, so I didn't realize he made his Teryaki sauce from scratch.  It was the tastiest teriyaki sauce I have ever had.
The salad was really yummy and pretty easy to make.  It was a chopped pineapple and jicama with some sliced onion and minced cilantro.  Toss in olive oil (2T) and white vinegar (1T, I used white balsamic).  Then top it off with a little feta cheese and fresh cracked pepper.

I needed a card for the baby shower I was going to.  My friend is not a fan of pink, so I wanted to make a card with lavender (the baby's room color).  Apparently I am not a purple fan, I got rid of every piece of purple patterned paper I had back when I cleaned out my scrap stuff.  Finally I found an old class kit, I took apart the layout that was partly finished and made this quick card.

ScrapTiffany - Brads & Eyelets Oh My!

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This week for ScrapTiffany the Design Team was challenged to bring back eyelets and use brads on our project.  This was definitely a challenge for me.  Because in the "Great Scrap Room Clean Out" in January 2010 I got rid of almost all of my eyelets.  But I did keep a small amount in a few colors so I came up with this. All I can say, is thank goodness for the Crop A Dile.  I hadn't used it to set an eyelet in a very long time (if ever).  With my short supply of eyelets I had to be careful with the practice to get the hang of it again.  But I was happy with the playful look the eyelets and the colorful brads gave the page, and then of course what page is complete without some buttons.

The background white was a bit too bright, nothing a bit of Maya Mist can't fix. I also threaded some bakers twine through the eyelets.

Highlight bullet points with some tiny brads:

Shopping and Trains

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Last Friday I hit up the local scrapbook store, Scrapbooks Etc., where I have a big fat store credit from selling off my unwanted supplies.  They had the new Basic Grey Oliver goodies which are perfect for one little train dude in this house.  So I picked up several fun things to play with.

And I started using them to make this page from a sketch from the Camp Scrap class I am taking at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  I don't do many 2 page layouts on my own, so a sketch works good for me on the 2 pagers...I have had these pictures for a few weeks now looking for the perfect home.  I think I found it....

Side 1
Side 2

This Kid Made My Day

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Jackson is VERY, VERY vocal, even though he only says about 5 words and doesn't point, wave or make other gestures to communicate.  He was advanced in all his physical milestones so we have assumed that he was more focused on that than talking. Tonight I walked in the door and he started waving at me (which he had never done before).  I was pretty excited because being at work during the week I miss some of those firsts.  It made my day to see this one.

Weekend Cooking Adventures

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Saturday was my night to cook.  We had wanted to have a roasted chicken recipe I had made a couple of years ago, again. It was from Cooking Light magazine.  So I gathered my rather simple ingredients....

Did some cleaning and chopping...

And about an 1 1/2/ hours later I had this beautiful bird....

and these roasted vegetables...

along with the best gravy I have EVER made....

All turned into this yummy bowl of goodness, with lots of weekday leftovers...

While I was busy with the chicken.....Mike mixed some peaches and berries....

and put together a little cobbler....

Now time for the true test....

and it tastes even better than it looks....as if that were possible....

Sunday's are for grilling....

Grilled salmon with Adobo Chile Merlot BBQ sauce and tasty rice pilaf.

Who needs to eat out....

ScrapTiffany Weekly Challenge

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This week's challenge for ScrapTiffanywas to go "monochrome".  I had been thinking about this one all week.  By the time I sat down to work on it Friday I had decided to go with using a pool picture and use blues to make my layout.  I found a picture and just started grabbing blue colored papers, color mediums and embellishments and it just started coming together.

I had a blast with this layout, using different color mediums and Technique Tuesday Fundamental Circle Tiles. I painted white Thickers to match the page, inked the circle with the dots, misted the inner and outer circle and cut the Echo Park paper on the Cricut.  I cut out the inside too to conserve paper, and then used it for my "sun".

What I Loved About the Weekend

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Boys with fresh haircuts...

Friday night scrapping....

Coffee and silence on Saturday morning...

Looking at scrapbooks.....

Peaceful naps....while mommy is cooking

Making cookies with little boys....

Placing a pre-order for this awesome new machine....
...and the best part of my Monday was a visit from the man in a brown uniform....
I'll be back later this week with cooking adventures from the weekend, my ScrapTiffany challenge for the week, and what's in that Studio Calico box.  I have been working on catching up with a month and a half of photos and playing with lots of PSE actions.  I am pretty excited at how some have came out so far.

Picture Summer Days 1 - 10

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I was going to skip out on Picture Summer at Big Picture Scrapbooking, but I have seen a few blogs recently of other scrappers that were signed up and decided to go for it.  I started a few days late, and I am now caught up with my assignments. I used my Sony DSC-TX1 point and shoot for all of the pictures (except the one in the pool). I used PSE actions from Pioneer Woman for most of the pictures, although for a few I did my own manual post-processing.

Day 1
Summer is the boys having fun and playing outside in the evenings.
Day 2
Splashin' in the pool.
Day 3
I love the way the fountain in the courtyard is angled to line up with the windows on both sides.
Day 4
Grilling is a big part of our summer and always on the 4th.
Day 5
It doesn't matter the season, for me a glass of wine in the backyard watching the sun goes down is perfect any time of year.
Day 6
A view I haven't noticed much lately that was one of my favorites when we moved to our house 5 years ago.  Looking down our street at the lake from our hallway windows.
Day 7
This starfish was hanging out on the side of the aquarium. I thought the colors of its belly were splendid.
Day 8
The prompt for today led me to photograph these shells I have had for years.  I had collected most of them as a kid.  I have had them in one of my bathrooms at each home we have lived in  for years.  I see them every morning when I get ready, but haven't thought much about them in years.  Yet, every time I update the bathrooms I always hang on to this bit of my childhood.
Day 9 
These textured balls are on display in my entry way. Love the different textures and sizes.
Day 10
A scene I don't want to forget.  Nicholas and Jackson pillow fighting in the family room.  I heard them this morning giggling and playing while I was checking my e-mail I snuck up on them and found this.  I know they will be teenagers in a blink of the eye, so I want to enjoy the toddler rough housing while it lasts.

Scrapbook Studio - IKEA Shelves (2) - Ribbons, and Buttons, and Flowers, Oh My! Part 5

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Hello again! Today we are going to visit my newest IKEA Expedit Shelf.  Earlier this year I re-did my space and replaced some very cute but not functional shelves.  

This time we will go bottom's up. 
I pared down my magazine and idea book collection to the 6 pink holders below and one shelf on the long wall (seen in yesterday's post).  I subscribe to several scrapbook magazines and love idea books. But the past issues (from 2002 forward) were taking up several shelves in my closet.  I rarely look at them, so I decided to only keep the past year's worth of issues and idea books I was still inspired by. The old magazines will be bagged up by year for the next LSS yard sale.  The magazine holders were from Organize.com, I believe.
The wicker baskets (from IKEA) will be covered  in a future post as they hold Cricut and sewing supplies.
The shelves 3rd from the bottom hold my recently in supplies.  This is the box where I put my purchases (that are not from kits).  This helps me use the new fun things that I discovered in the LSS that excited me enough to buy it.  When working on a page that needs something, this is my first go to stash.  This is new for me, but as I get less inspired bu something, they rotate to the location that they would normally be located.
Earlier this year I got this idea for storing ribbon from Gina Johnson.  As you will see in the next picture I should have ribbon covered, but it is an area I still need to spend some time thinning down, but I still can't help myself from buying new pieces of it.  Now pieces that are about a yard or less are wrapped around a clothespin and thrown in this basket.  I can rifle through here and find what I like and it is so colorful, it just makes me happy.
Both baskets were picked up at Michael's from the spring baskets bought on sale.
I admit I had those Prima milk bottles in every style and color, but I recently got rid of most of them in the LSS yard sale.  I only kept ones I deemed usable for me, as well as other pretty jars and bottles I knew I would be likely to use.  
Currently the shelf next to this one is empty with my former crop sale table display jars. I haven't figured out what I want to do with those.
 Lastly, this is my ribbon and button display.  I have stored my ribbon by color in the large canning jars for years.  It works nicely for finding ribbon for a certain color, but it is a pain to pull it in and out.  On my to do list is to thin those out.
I have always stored my buttons in big jars (back right) all mixed up.  But after closing Color Me Daisy I was still left with a huge button supply we had purchased to match to kits.  I also had several jars we used for the embellishment bar we set up at our crop nights.  
So I took the empty jars and filled them with different colored buttons, and already I like being able to pick out just the colors I want for a page.  But I have no desire to sort the mixed jars, and I think they serve a purpose too.  
And all the bright colors on that shelf make me happy!
See you tomorrow to talk about wall space!

Scrapbook Studio - IKEA Shelves (1) - Counterspace and all those cubes!

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Welcome to Part 4 of my scrapbook space tour.  We are now getting into the details.  I hope you are getting some ideas on organizing your space, and I would love to hear yours too!  I certainly don't think I am an expert as this is an evolving process.  As my tastes and style changes so does how I organize my space to make the most of my limited creative time.  After all, I don't want to spend my scrap time organizing stuff.

In 2008, I made 2 big changes.  I wanted my work space in the center of the room and I decided I wanted more counter space so I could keep my tools out and ready to use (like the Cricut, Cuttlebug, sewing machine, etc.  I couldn't afford  to do anything extravagant, so I started pondering my options.
I couldn't justify replacing the furniture I had just bought 2 years ago, but fortunately that was versatile enough to move around.  I measured out my long wall and figured out I had about 15 feet along that wall.  So I moved the desks to the center of the room and added 3 IKEA Expedit 2x4 shelves.  The height was good for setting up tools on the top and storing lots of stuff both in the open and in baskets that IKEA sells that fit the cubes perfectly.
To the Left
Cubes -  I use that space to store a tote for taking to crops and a basket to hold my past banners I have hung in my family room.  I have yet to re-use any of them, I usually just make more, but I haven't been able to let
go.  Next are my Cricut cubes, which I will share more of how I store those supplies in a later post. Next are some scrapbook Idea Books.
I use the 2 baskets in this section to store miscellaneous fabric and sewing tools and supplies, I am just learning to sew, so I have not "collected" a lot of things yet.
Counter - In this section is my "bargain basement Target" sewing machine that I mentioned previously and my thread holder, as well as some room decor and pretty smelling candles.
Center
Cubes - Some mini albums, my Cricut Jukebox, projects in progress, label maker, Cuttlebug dies, and paper trimmer and chipboard, are stored in the cubes in the middle of the room.
Apparently I haven't met much chipboard that I did not like, so I have one for shapes and one for alphas (and this is the pared down version after my huge purge I did in January).
Countertop - I keep my Cuttlebug, Xyron (5"), Sizzix Texturizer, and Bind it All on the counter. It makes it easy to use any of them, the Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders are stored in a one of the pink boxes and my bind-it-all supplies are in the other. (seen pictured below).
The picture above was taken in January, I had given my TV to my son and finally bought another one this year and added a DVR, which I can now watch Glee, Tori and Dean, and all kinds of other silly shows that my husband could care less about.
In the corner I keep my Epson wide format printer (I have the R1800, but the R1900 is the current model).  I love the printer, it does print great photos) but I don't do enough that would really require a wide format printer.  So when I replace it I will just buy a good standard photo printer.  If I need a 12x12 page printed I'll pay the $3 to have Costco print it.
Also on the counter is my pencil sharpener and heat gun.
I use one cube here for my oldest sons craft stuff.  He comes to visit me in my room sometimes, so I keep crayons, and a ton of punched shapes and supplies in a basekt for him.
I also have my Scor Pal in here as well as business remnants (fax machine, Bazzill & American Crafts cardstock swatch books.
The baskets hold my Library of Memories Album supplies (later post), card supplies such as envelopes, and card specific embellishments, and I have 2 baskets of alterable items.  These are either specific things like frames, ornaments, decoration that I have purchased, or things I felt should be recycled for gift packaging or some other use.
Tomorrow I will cover the other IKEA shelf and over the weekend we start to tackle "THE CLOSET".  Hope you are enjoying your tour!