Nicole's GORGEOUS Prima Canvas Bag...

My very, very good friend, Nicole, bought a Prima canvas bag in 2010 and decorated it with the We R Memory Keepers Retro Glam line.  She used decopage to adhere the embellishments and paper.  It is absolutely beautiful!  Here are some shots of her bag.  The front... (my favorite part - LOVE the heart!)...

 Under the flap...

 From the side...  I love the way she stenciled the sides...

 Notice the stitching and patchwork on the handle...

Nice job, Nicole!  What's next?



Mmm. Mexican Chili

I found this recipe in People magazine.  I have to admit that I read People ALL of the time - I miss very few of them.  I keep thinking I should subscribe, in order to save money, but then I would have to admit that I am a regular reader.  Regardless, every week they feature a recipe from a celebrity.  I've been hanging onto this one for a while, waiting for a perfect day, which was today.

 The photo intrigued me enough to rip out the recipe from the magazine.  It is really more of a Mexican thick soup, not really a chili, at least not what I consider chili.  It has turkey sausage, onions, cilantro, hominy, butter nut squash, big oregano flakes, and green chili enchilada sauce.  Oh my gosh - it is so good.  Every time I walk by, I have to stop and get a small taste.  It is ready to eat now, but I let it cool down a bit and put it in a crock pot.  Even better?  I used the tools on WeightWatchers.com and it figured the points per serving.

So who is Aaron Sanchez?  I thought he looked familiar, but could not place him.  Good thing for Google.  He is a top Latin chef and owns two restaurants in New York.  He has also been in many cooking competitions.  Maybe if I ever get to New York,  I will go to one of his restaurants.  And... he is a nice looking guy, born in 1976, just one year after I graduated from high school.  Nah, that doesn't make me feel old, not at all.

Here's the recipe:

2 T. EVOO

1 lb. cooked turkey sausages cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 1/2 tsp. dried Mexican Oregano

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 15-ounce can hominy, undrained

1 c. green chili enchilada sauce

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

2 c. cubed, peeled butternut squash

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add sausage.  Saute until heated through, about 4 minutes.

Add onion oregano and garlic.  Stir 2 minutes.

Add hominy, enchilada sauce, 1/2 c. cilantro, and squash.  Bring to a simmer.

Cover and reduce heat to med-low.  Simmer until squash is tender, stirring occasionally, approximately 12 minutes.

Uncover and simmer to thicken, if desired.  

Transfer to bowl.  Serve.

Mmmmm!!  Very tasty.  Enjoy!

Just a teensy bit jealous...

One of my daughters is headed off to Greece on Monday morning with three friends.  I can't imagine the things she will see, but I asked that she take lots of pictures.  I promised to make her a book if she would take the pictures.  They have been planning this trip and are so excited to go.  I am so very excited for them!

What is the name of that Dr. Seuss book?  "Oh The Places You'll Go!"

I am proud of her for making one of her "dreams" come true.  Way to go!

Just some wishful thinking...

I know I don't have June's class done yet, but...

Yesterday I received the order from We R Memory Keepers for the JULY All Occasion Card Class to be held at Paper Vineyard on July 16.  I am so excited about this one...  I like to try new things, so we don't always do stamping, or sometimes just a little stamping, using different techniques and products BUT we always craft cards!

This is We R Memory Keepers "Travel Light" line and I also purchased specific diecuts to be used along with these cards - definitely for all occasions.  I absolutely LOVE this plaid cardstock - couldn't resist buying it.  I just had to have it!

I am excited to try these self-adhesive laces. They are so delicate and beautiful.  They should be fun!

Hope to see you there - plan on it!

It's a Crock Pot [and HAPPY] kind of day!

I just love Crock Pot Days!  It makes me whistle more than I normally do.  I swear my walking is lighter and nothing can go wrong on Crock Pot Days.  They really should make it a holiday, don't you think?  I am having "special guests" over tonight and I happen to know they love a roast with carrots and potatoes in the crock pot.  Definitely mom's comfort food.  These are the simple ingredients...

How much easier could it be?  Well, if the potatoes and carrots came cleaned and peeled, that would be great, but that is not the case at my house. 

This is crock pot as I walk out the door today.  Yippee!

Glubers!

My next class at Paper Vineyard is set for Saturday, June 18, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.  This class is a card class and will feature Cosmo Cricket's new product - Glubers!  I will be using Cosmo Cricket's Social Club paper line.  It has the most beautiful colors!  Here's a sample of one of the cards...

Glubers look like big flat glue dots, however, they are firmer than a glue dot, very sticky, and they come in different sizes.  You can see that you will be making different flowers with the Glubers and we will be placing these on cards.

Come check out the class - it will be a lot of fun and I would love to see you there!

Slow, but sure, wins the race...

I am slowly setting up my craft room at the new house.  I have boxes of craft stuff on the back patio just waiting to be unpacked.  I started with the Scrap Box... unpacking those boxes first...

I started working on one of the book shelves.  I have two, but there is only room for one in this house.  I put it in the second bedroom which I think will work just fine.

 This room/den has a closet with shelves because the previous owner also used this room as a craft room.  What a blessing that was!

 I unpacked my books, catalogs, etc. and placed them on a book shelf.  I will need to re-organize that, probably many times over. 

You can see they used cellophane/shrink wrap when they moved the craft stuff.  I am so thankful they did because it has kept everything nice and clean and dust free.

 This is the outside of my house.  It is very nice and I have really enjoyed being here. 

It is such a cozy neighborhood!

A Few Highlights of Kim's Graduation Party

So here are some pics from Kimberly's grad party...

lots of friends, family and fun...

 And here she is.. the Graduate!

Congratulations, Kimberly!  We are all proud of you!

Just something green

I just love this water color/art work.  I'm not sure why, but I can only guess that it is because it is simple and it is green, which is my absolute favorite color - it has been for years.  All colors of green, but this kelly green just really speaks to me.  It means things are alive.  So you might think I have a green thumb.  I don't, but I do appreciate people who do.  I mean... I can if I put my mind to it.  I used to have house plants all over, but haven't done that for years.  I have been thinking about planting flowers in pots for my patio.  This may have given me the nudge I need.  (I found this photo in a blog, and I couldn't tell you whose it is, but I appreciate their abilities.)

Have a great weekend!

Breakfast at Four Peaks...

You heard about Kimberly 's party - we had a great time and lots of friends came by.  BUT it was not at my house because I have been in the middle of a move.  So my very good friend, Pat, offered her home.  As a small token of my appreciation, I took Pat out for lunch and a movie.  I had never been to Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe and had heard wonderful things, so that's where we went.

Meet Pat...

It was an absolute beautiful day to eat outside.

 This is my attempt to take a photo of the two of us with my phone. 

The first one did not turn out well - this was the best of two.

 We split the special - cheddar biscuits with sausage/jalapeno gravy with a side of scrambled eggs.

It - was - to - die - for!

 My daughter, Kate, said we had to try the Stoutamisu, which we did. 

It is Four Peak's version of Tiramisu made with Stout Beer. 

 It was a huge piece and it was VERY good!

We had this left over, but not because we didn't like it.  It was not sweet, but very rich.

I would like to make Four Peaks a weekly tradition, at least while the weather is nice.

Lots of stuff happening...

As you know I moved - I will provide pictures once the house is considered "acceptable." Right now there are boxes and paths in almost every room. I am, however, working on my craft room first. :)
I have gone almost everyday over to the "old" place to finish getting stuff and cleaning.  I believe tonight will be the last night.  How did we accumulate so much stuff?  And who needs all that stuff?  It has really made me think about it. 

Kimberly graduated from ASU on Friday night, so I have a few photos from that...  Here we are getting ready to walk into the Phoenix Convention Center...

After graduation with her sister, Kate, and mom... 

Kim, the graduate!

We had an open house the next morning, but I have not downloaded those pictures yet. 

In spite of it being a lot of work, we did have a great time.

Other big news?

Our friends, Nicole, Sam, Myah, and Kylee, got a dog on Saturday. 

Meet Shadow...

She is so very cute!  I haven't personally met her yet, but I'm guessing that might be Saturday.

More news?

I went to Kate's class and took donuts (donated by Dunkin' Donuts - yeah!!!).  Very sweet kids. 

We made bookmarks as a small craft for them to do...

 In these two pictures, they are holding up their bookmarks - hard to see, I know.

 And, of course, the donuts...

Samples of two of the bookmarks...

 J.B. are not the initials of the student - J.B. stands for JUSTIN BIEBER! 

He was pretty popular on these bookmarks.

And ... a photo of them lining up for music class.  You can almost hear the "shhhh" sounds.

I have been very busy during the month of May, I still have a couple more things going on, but I am looking forward to less commitments and deadlines.  Can't wait to get my craft room in order so that I can start working on my June card class!

Take care, everyone!

Still moving...

Okay, so this last weekend was actually "moving weekend," not "moving day."  I moved some large items on Saturday with help from my friends, and then hired a moving company to come in on Monday to hopefully finish it out.  I still have a small amount at the old house, but this is a photo of the truck as it left Point A, moving to Point B.

S still don't have the computer set up, but soon.

I'm still alive...

I am just in the process of moving - my computer has been disassembled and I am contemplating getting a new one...

Thanks for your patience - I am only taking a short break!