Coconut M&Ms!

The DSGs had told me about these when I was home in MI for Labor Day weekend - apparently they'd been in the stores in July and August, and I had not heard about them. Amazingly enough, we were able to finally find some still in a gas station here in NY.

Pete stumbled across them this past weekend, near the cider mill where he works in the fall. At $1.18 a pack, they were pricey, but we just had to try them.

They were worth the wait - oh, so good... I'm glad I have only a few small bags ;-)

"Crisis Cleaning"

It was amusing - I took Fly Lady's post about "Crisis Cleaning" to heart yesterday - I actually did use a timer, and for alternating 15 minutes at a time, cleaned/organized my kitchen and did stuff on the computer. I guess if it works, it's ok that it's a strange thing to do! It's just that I want to spend my weekends doing digi-scrapbook stuff, and NOT anything around the house! So, this did end up to be a good compromise for me. The kitchen got cleaned, cupboards got purged and organized, and I still managed to get two recipe LOs done!

During my times on the computer, somehow I came across a link to the A&E show "Hoarders", which I'd never heard of. I watched the clips they had on there for the 4 or 5 shows they've aired already. O.M.G! Seeing that is enough to scare you straight when it comes to clutter! These people's houses were literally drowning in stuff piled everywhere. Piles and piles of papers, magazines, food, clothing - whatever that person's thing was.

I'm pretty sure neither Pete, nor I have that mental disorder - we are just mini pack-rats about some things, and no where near to that extreme. Not even a little bit, thank goodness. But, all the same, it was eye-opening to watch, and it will make me be a bit more agressive when it comes to cleaning out the basement - no more saving stuff just becuase "it's good", or "I might need/use it someday". Off to charity or into the garbage it will go!

If you've not seen the series, you can check out some clips here. The next new episode airs November 2nd - I may just try to catch it.

I learned to make a brush in PhotoShop!

So in my ongoing quest to find toile papers or overlays for my layouts, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I was walking down my stairs Saturday, when a glance at the the transferware platter on the wall made a light bulb go off in my head - if I couldn't find toile papers, I would make them myself - using the patterns from my transferware collection!

I started by taking photos of a platter. I decided to start with fruit, my favorite subject. Here's one of the photos I took:


I had found an online tutorial for how to make a brush, which is basically a digital "stamp".

First I cut out the section I wanted to make a brush out of. Then I converted it to a black and white image, then I adjusted the contrast to remove most of the gray.

I cleaned up the image so it only showed the part that I wanted for my brush. Then I selected the area, and from the Edit menu, choose, Define brush from selection. It was easy as that!

Once I had my brush, I "stamped" my paper with both this brush and the smaller strawberry one I made. Then I added a grunge overlay, some inked edges, and voila, my paper:

The cool think about PS is that I can make infinite papers from this overlay I've now created. I can change the color of the brush, of the paper, change the contrast,...

Now I'll never get any housework done!

Kale Soup

I made kale soup again last night - it was only my second time making it. This time I tried chourico sausage instead of liguicia. We liked it better. They are both Portuguese sausages, but chourico is smokier, a bit spicier and more garlicky - we think it makes for a more flavorful soup. This time I cut the kale into much smaller pieces - 1/2" square or so. The kale does not break down at all, like other greens do, it just softens, so you really do need to take the time to do this. Pete wanted me to add pureed beans to make this broth thicker. I tried that with just one can of beans, and it really didn't seem to do much. Maybe 3 cans of beans would do something...

Here's the recipe I've been using:

I don't love this scrap page - I did it for a DST recipe swap, and am just not that happy with it. Maybe I'll rework it at some point.
But I do love this soup!

What a bad blogger!

Wow - it's been ages since I posted anything here! Guess I'm still working on the blog vs. email thing... I tend to email everything to my friends and family instead of posting it on here. I think I'm going to try it the other way around and get them to read my blog instead.

I wanted to try posting a layout on here, as I've not done that before. This is one I've had in my head for a long time - it's about the dessert that was served at my wedding shower in July 2007. My friends did fancy cupcakes instead of a sheet cake, and it was a big hit!



The papers I used are from Laura Deacetis' Coconut Creamer kit, at Shabby Pickle, and the extractions I did myself!

Here's another layout I finished this weekend - part of my maybe too big recipe book projects - this one for my DSG friends. This recipe is Judy's and has become a holiday favorite for myself as well. It is just so easy to do, and makes for a great gift for neighbors and coworkers. One Christmas season I spent an entire Saturday making 25 of these to give. It's entirely possible, but I'd suggest having 2 bundt pans - you need the pan to really be cool in order to get the almonds to stay placed correctly.



The papers and elements here are from Raspberry Road's Christmas Remembered kit. The alpha is by Tricia Curtis Designs. I just love this alpha - it's a layered chipboard alpha, and you can change the color of the color layer, and change the look by playing with the blending modes on the damask overlay layer. I've really got to learn how to make some more alphas like this for myself. I've got some ideas I need to play around with...

Ok, and the last thing I wanted to share with you is Bircher Muesli. It's a breakfast food I've been wanting to make myself for ages. I always have it when I travel in Europe and Pacific, and I've always loved it, but I never seen it in the US. So, I did some research yesterday and made some for myself. Here's what I did:

Bircher Muesli

In a sealable container, add 2 cups of rolled oats, one grated apple, 2 T. lemon juice, and enough liquid to cover. I used apple cider, but water, other fruit juices or milk can be used. Omit the lemon juice if using milk. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, put 1/2 - 1 cup of plain yogurt into your bowl. Add 1/2 - 1 cup of the oats mixture, 1 T. honey or maple syrup, 1/2 - 1 cup chopped fresh fruit (I used an apple), chopped nuts, raisins, seeds,... whatever you prefer.

Mix and eat. The entire batch of this could be made up at this point, and will keep, refrigerated for at least a week.

It was yummy and very filling. I think I will make a big batch of myself for weekday breakfasts - I could even keep it at work!

In Europe, when I've had it, it always had bananas and coconut in it, but you can really just use any fruit/nut/seed combination you have available.

This was invented in Switzerland around 1900, by a doctor named Bircher, as part of their wellness program (think Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Kellogg in "The Road to Wellville").

Give it a try - I think you'll like it!

How adorable are these?

Ok, so if I can't feel great about wearing cute clothes, I can still have cute shoes.
We were looking for some shoes for Pete when I came across these. I loved them both, so ordered both. Not sure if I'll keep the mostly plaid ones - they are adorable, but I'm not sure how practically they will go with other things. I am *definitely* keeping the mostly orange ones! You should see all the color combos they have! I got these from Zappos, but ShoeBuy has better prices - they just didn't have my size in the ones I wanted.
LOL - I feel like such a dork in that I just LOVE Sperry Topsiders! They remind me of my preppy phase - I grew up in a town on a lake, where many people had boats and everyone wore some version of these. We called them "boat shoes"! I hate to admit how many different pairs I own!

Blog make-over!

Wow, I've been a bad blogger! It's been months since I posted. I think it's because I'm still trying to find my voice, and still trying to decide on my audience. I'm just not sure what all I want this blog to be....

Anyway, how do you like my new look? I decided to go with something less seasonal, more decorative. I just LOVE these papers I used - they are from Shabby Princess' Damask and Dots kit, as well as her Thoughtful blog-wear. I'm on a bit of an aqua/lime kick lately.

I promise I'll be here more - but tonight I've off to bed soon - as soon as the laundry is dry!