Friday, May 29, 2009

Enjoying a sunshine recovery :)

It has been wonderful to have life finally s-l-o-w down!! We've been recovering from the months of chaos and enjoying the warm/hot weather here in the Okanagan. Soon we'll be planning our adventure south (which we hope to take this fall -- too hot now!!). Our house has officially SOLD! What a wonderful thing!! It'll be through at the end of July, so the happy dance will take place on August the 1st! :)

I also won a wonderful prize over at Joshua Jiraffe Designs' blog! Here's what I won:

Yes, this AMAZING gift (she even included the darling covered box!!) I ooh'd & aaah'd over EVERYTHING. She even added in extra bonuses! These absolutely darling Christmas tags (in a box!) check them out HERE. Aren't they fabulous?! I just LOVE them and I will ABSOLUTELY be using them next year (and I hope to case the idea for gifts myself!) Karen you were BEYOND generous with your gift. I love everything - all the buttons and embellies, the scrumptious ribbons, the darling stamp set, there was an adorable heart box covered with beautiful pink/brown papers (my favorite color combo!!!) -- I will seriously use EVERYTHING! Just what I needed after the last few months - a box full of inspiration & fun! So THANKYOU!!! You must all go check out here blog, here's the link again: JOSHUA JIRAFFE DESIGNS. She has amazing talent & inspiring ideas!!
I haven't done much stamping here.... one card I think, but I do hope to change that next week. While hubby is home for the week we devote that week to family time (boys are out golfing right now!) and then when he's gone I have a bit more time. Hope to set up some stamp time with my Mom next week and get going again. I do want to get scrapbooking, but my printer for some reason didn't make it on the truck (WAAA!!!). It's sitting in the storage unit up in Fort Mac. LOVE having a photo printer and not having to sit and order online... all ONE SIZE. BLEK! So... bummed about that. Need to get some photos though so I can scrap!

As school winds down, how is everyone doing? Drop me a line! :)

Enjoy your week,

.j.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

A weekend home.


It's so nice to be here, enjoying the warm days and relaxing after a crazy few months. The cherry on top was that yesterday our house SOLD! A couple months before they move in and it's DONE, but sold - oh how wonderful that feels!!

Hubby is away, but flying in for the long weekend (yahooo!!) and then we celebrate my Dad's 60th - whoa, how did that happen?! We enjoyed a full afternoon at the park (above) yesterday and today we're off to the airport to pick up Daddy. It's a goooooood day!
Hope you are enjoying yours!
.j.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Simple layered card.

I made this card about a month ago with my shop-aholic friend's birthday in mind (not mentioning any names, you know who you are! LOL). You'll see the waterfall punch {again} on this card. Love it. I think I need to look for another border stamp though... I love the crispness of the white cardstock. The white rub-on are from Stampin' Up! I love how they come in white, green, brown & black. I colored the image in with my Copic Markers {yes, they came too!} - and made it into a very simple, layered card. A few brads running down the edge and a rub-on sentiment completes it. :)
I hope you're having a happy day - the weekend is around the corner already! David is away (back to commuting {insert much sadness here}) so I think the kids & I might go to the movies this weekend - a special treat for them! :) Any recommendations? They totally want to see Monsters Vs. Aliens.
.j.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Chocolate Raspberry Squares

I thought it has been awhile since I posted something sweet :) This yummy square fits perfectly!
Chocolate Raspberry Squares
1-3/4cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Margarine, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup red raspberry jam
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup sliced almonds
MAKE IT:
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 pan.
  2. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine flour & sugar. Cut in margarine ( you can use a pastry blender, I just use my hands) until mixture is crumbly. Add egg and almond extract; mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside 1 cup of flour mixture for topping.
  3. Press in remaining flour mixture into prepared baking dish. Evenly spread raspberry jam over dough.
  4. Thoroughly combine reserved flour mixture, chocolate chips and almonds. Evenly spoon topping over raspberry jam & press with the back of a spoon.
  5. Bake 40 min. or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on a rack. Makes 2 doz.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tuesday Tidbits

A hippo. Flamingos. A goofy Gorilla.



We had such a great time on our travels & stopped in for a full day at the Calgary Zoo. The kids were amazed at all the animals - Need to work on a scrapbook page for that day!
Oh, and ....
A couple of websites you'll want to check out -
  1. The Buck Stamps Here
  2. Jennifer McGuire Ink
Enjoy your day,
.j.

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Replacement.

A few small differences on this card that I quickly made yesterday, hiding in my room so she wouldn't notice :) LOL. I didn't drag out {her} cuttlebug to make my tan circle and of course the design paper is different, a little bolder. I thought {in a pinch} was good :) We had a wonderful day, spoiled & pampered and just AHHHHHHhhhhhhhh.... love those kind of days. I guess they're so special because them come like...ummm.... once a year!

What did you do this past weekend?

.j.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day.

Here's the non-simplified version of the same card. :) I added some design paper (Stampin' Up!) and for the tan circle, I used my cuttlebug & nestibilities to give it a scalloped edge & embossed layer. I sewed on a few buttons from my stash as well. My Mom got me those darling flower buttons (this card is for her) and I thought the soft purples would go well together. BUT.... as I've searched AND searched for the special place I put this card... I simply CANNOT find it now. Here I thought I was all prepared ahead of time so yesterday I was scrambling to get a card pulled together to give her with the stash of supplies I brought with me... I'll show you the card next week.

We had a big "Easter" turkey dinner yesterday (love how my family waited for our arrival to include us in the feast - isn't family wonderful!!!) so now we're basking in Mother's Day today - hope you are enjoying yours!
.j.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Mother's Day Weekend.

I managed to get my mother's day cards done before we moved and all my stuff was packed up. I got my inspiration here at this link:
I used Stampin' Up!'s textured cardstock - love the textured cs, but it doesn't stamp well, so I always pull out my rubons for sentiments when I'm using textured papers. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, with lots of spoiling & even some pampering!
.j.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Thursday.

We're slowly getting organized here in our space. 5 of us in two rooms, makes it cozy, but my Mom did an amazing job at getting furniture & beds for everyone so there's a place to put everything (That makes ALL the difference!) I am looking forward to getting my stuff organized as well, I'm hoping to get into my scrapbooking while I'm here. I don't scrapbook very much, so I thought it would be good in this *transition* to document it a bit. :)
A lot of boy birthday's coming up, so I've been in male-mode as I've made up cards. I find them the hardest, you? Here's a simple one I came up with. Megan thought the yellow "glow" was too bright, I agree... but seriously, not too many males I know actually KEEP their cards :)
I colored this with my Copics (yes, brought those with me!!) and the sentiment is a rub on from my stash. Ribbon is from Stampin' Up! (love all their ribbons!!) and the paper are bits & pieces from pile I'm using up! :)
Enjoy your day - any survivor fans out there?! :)
.j.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Manicotti made easy!

This is one of those meals that takes a bit of time (but worth the effort!). It's a nice big recipe so it's possible to have one for dinner tonight, and put one in the freezer for later! LOVE those kinds of meals. One mess, two meals! I make both the meat & cheese filling... and put a mixture of the two in a 9x13 pan. Kids do prefer the cheese ones though.

Manicotti with meat filling
18 manicotti noodles (I never use these, they break far too easily! I just use lasagna noodles instead, cut them in half after they're cooked, spread mixture on & roll them up - WAAAAY easier!)
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 TBPS. vegetable oil
3 slices of bread, crumbled
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
28oz. (796mL) spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
MAKE IT:
Cook noodles according to package. Brown meat & drain. Combine bread & milk. Allow to stand 2 min. Add cooked meat & remaining ingredients except spaghetti sauce & Parmesan cheese. Fill noodles.
Manicotti with CHEESE filling:
18 Manicotti noodles (lasagna noodles)
3 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP. chopped parsley
2 eggs, beaten
dash nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
28oz (796mL) Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

MAKE IT:
Cook noodles according to package. Coming all filling ingredients except spaghetti sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Fill noodles.
COOK IT:
Divide 1-1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of two 9"x13" pans. (yes, if you're using BOTH fillings you can get up to FOUR pans out of this!) Arrange filled manicotti (or rolled lasagna noodles) in each pan in a single layer.
Pour over remaining sauce.
Divide the 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese & sprinkle on top.
Bake COVERED, in 350 oven, 45 min, or until thoroughly heated.
Nice big salad, warm crusty bread.... YUM! Leftovers are great too. This is a great time to share as well. Have the gang over for dinner with this one, send a pan to someone you know who's not feeling well, a friend who's just had a baby.... and you'll still have some in your freezer for a busy day in the future!
enjoy!
.j.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

We've arrived.

Wow, what an insane week. Between no trailers to rent, a storage unit that seemed to shrink in size as we filled it, to a second one becoming available 30 minutes before our request, to having to move out earlier than anticipated to ..... yeah, quite a week! But, we're here. We've arrived. And as we try to relax, we've been back & forth with a possible sale on the house. Exciting and stressful and discouraging all at the same time. Emotions are at an all-time high! LOL.

But the worst is behind us (right?). And although the truck starting acting up on our trip, it brought us here. We had a fabulous time at the Calgary Zoo - and dinners in bed in our hotel room - love that! Need to focus on the good, and try to push out the stresses.... a good day of stamping will cure that I bet! :) Ha. Need to unpack and organize all that good stuff! Next week, next week.

This is a card I made for a male :) Thought it used up scraps & worked....
Both image & sentiment are by Penny Black.
Thanks for the few comments while I've been away - love to hear from you, even if it's just a hello :)
.j.