Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Garden Tales 09.30.14

This will be my last Garden Tales post for the year. The chill is back in the air and most of my plants are done. Just need a final harvest and clean up of the gardens. A few things will last through the cooler months but on the whole, it's done and I'm too busy.
The basil is not going to become basil pesto...the leaves have brown spots on them and are tiny :( The jalapenos are ready to be harvested (maybe a pot of chili?)...oh the possibilities.
We planted 2 packets of sunflower seeds in the garden in the spring and this is the lone sunflower that grew. And it just bloomed. Weird! I always though sunflowers were the easiest thing to grow.
 We ended with tons of cucumbers that we've been eating fresh as well as pickled.
And these sugar snap peas are growing and flowering so I'll leave them be. A late harvest of sugar snap peas would be nice.
 New feature next week...come back and check it out!








Monday, September 29, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

Kicked off the 2014-2015 season with a Just Scrappin' Weekend in Westboro. As always, there was wonderful delicious food...
Classes...
and more classes...
 This year there was surprise fire sale that got everyone up and moving...
 And of course the usual scrappin' shenanigans to keep us on our toes
Entertainment for the weekend was the traditional Indian wedding being held in the ballroom next to us...the ladies all lined the hallway to watch the groom ride up on his horse and the bride being carried in on a paladin.
A wonderful weekend spent with the best group of ladies evah! Even in one kid ended up in the ER Friday night and another sliced open his knee during a puppy escape...it's never boring around here ;)

Friday, September 26, 2014

Pinterest Fave Five

On the last Friday of the month, I post five of my favorite pins. I then attempt them during the following weeks and share with you my "Nailed It" moments.
 
This month on Pinterest, I came across this recipe for Homemade Pretzels and will be giving it a try when we get a chance, doesn't it look just yummy?
And this recipe for a grain-free Leftover Roast Chicken with Roasted Vegetable soup...looks perfect for fall.
Scrapbooking with a sketch makes things go a lot smoother and faster, for me it does anyway, and I am just in love with this sketch from Stuck?! Sketches.
This simple weaving...I too have seen a bunch of them on pinterest and want to try it. Elise might just be giving me a push in that direction! Her branch weaving looks so cool as a wall hanging...plus I have quite a stash of bits n pieces of yarn hanging around the house.
 Last but not least, this looks like a really cool technique for background stamping. Wonder if it will work with mists and inks. I am going to have to give it a whirl.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Nailed it!

Saw it. Made it. Loved it. That would be the Leftover Roast Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables
 from Against All Grain blog.
Click on the link above for the recipe. Only changes I made was adding fresh ginger (1/2" piece) with the vegetables to roast and using leftover rotiserrie chicken. So delicious and perfect for fall.


Monday, September 22, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

The weekend started out like any other weekend...friday night flag football, saturday morning brunch and a general idea of what we were doing. It went a totally different direction when we hit Sterling and someone said, "let's check out the shelter!" Can you guess where I'm going with this? Yup we stopped and Oh YES we did. Meet Diego...the newest member of our family. He is a 3 month old lab mix and quite a smart pup.


I just got home from a vet visit with him and he is currently a very unhappy puppy in his crate. He barked and growled at every dog at the office, earned himself a cone, pooped in my car (rookie mistake of not walking him before getting back in the car), jumped from the back seat to the front and got to ride home on my lap. I took him there in the cat crate but he didn't fit in it with the cone on :( Pro dog parents are probably laughing their heads off...glad to amuse you...I'm sure there will be plenty more rookie mistakes. Advice welcome!

Friday, September 19, 2014

I am...


enjoying the quiet after my high schooler heads out and before my middle schooler wakes up

adjusting to the early wake-up call of 5:30am that is required of my high schooler

listening to my middle schooler walking around upstairs (I'm in the basement) getting himself ready for school.

working on adding more miles to my morning run

trying to make space on my iPhone so I can download the new IOS8.0

wondering why it is so hard to delete old photos from my phone...they are backed up on the computer

making a to-do list to get myself ready for a weekend event that I'm running

playing too much Minion Rush on my iPhone #guiltypleasure

reading Insurgent and American Shaolin at the same time and enjoying both books

knitting myself a scoodie (scarf + hood)

wishing I was back out in the woods on my canoe fishing

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Nailed it: Glazed Apple Crumb Muffin

So I kinda nailed this one.The recipe for this Glazed Apple Crumb Muffin is from Sally's Baking Addiction...and I say kinda because mine doesn't look like hers and I'm pretty sure I failed on the glaze. Still, it tastes great, looks decent and was super easy to make. My boys and I have been enjoying it for breakfast and snacks all week.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Garden Tales 09.16.14

Nothing much is happening out in the garden...more cucumbers, still plenty of parsley (which reminds me I need to make that chimichurri), plenty of thai basil (waiting for more to make that pesto) and growing snap pea plants (slow going). The temperature is something I'm keeping an eye on, especially for frost advisories.

So with nothing to report on the growing and harvesting end, I want to share this photo I took a few weeks ago. I had just read a review about a book titled "The Bees" by Laline Paull and ordered it from our local library. When I saw this beauty at work, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book.
I picked it up as soon as it came in and dove in. It was amazing...to write from the perspective of a bee...just WOW!!! I knew the basics of bees but this book took me into the world of bees, of seeing through their eyes and making them more human. Loved the book, perfect for a bio geek like me.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Weeekend Wrap-up

A semi-quiet weekend for us. We spent Saturday running from one thing to another - flag football, basketball sign-ups, mass, hockey evaluations and dinner out. It was so nice to watch my boys work together on a team. Don't mind a proud mama ;)
We spent Sunday at home, just getting ready for the week. Tidying up the house and me cooking while the boys watched the Pats game. There was CCD and hockey evaluations in the evening but all in all, a great weekend.
1 more weekend to my first event of the season...Just Scrappin' in Westboro. Seats still available, email me if you would like more info.


Friday, September 12, 2014

Flashback Friday

Another new feature on my blog...flashback friday. This is when I'll post about past events or old layouts or anything I feel like reminiscing about.

This photo of Jori...where did my little guy go? He is now 5'7" and a high school freshman playing tackle football. And I'm totally reminiscing the good ole days since his 14th birthday is right around the corner!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Nailed It!

Grilled pizza is one of our favorite summer meals. It's quick, easy and customizable. I looked around for a recipe a few years ago and found this one from allrecipes.com. Last Friday, we actually had friends over for make your own grilled pizza and it was a hit.
Here are some pics of the steps involved. Jori was my photographer for the process. Once you have your dough separated into individual servings, roll it out...I just pull and stretch...nothing fancy.
Lay it down, we do all this outside so my surface is a cookie sheet or two. Once you have your dough shaped, spray both sides with some oil. I find that after a few the cookie sheet has enough extra I only need to spray one side.
Next, throw them on the grill and cook only one side. It doesn't take long.
Apply sauce (we use store-bought marinara sauce) to the cooked side (other side is done too but no grill marks) and top. We love a variety of toppings but our main favorites are ham & pineapple as well as fresh tomato & basil. Fresh mozzarella makes it even better. A little more time on the grill and you have yourself a grilled pizza. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Garden Tales 09.09.2014

It's a lot cooler this week than it was last week so I decided to head out and harvest what I could. Cucumbers and tomatoes were all I managed to get. There is Kale and lettuce and herbs but I'll grab those as needed. No frost in the forecast so no worries.
I've been reading about harvesting potatoes so I dug mine up. So much fun to pull these out of the ground and they are that pink/red in the ground! I will have to plant more next year...it was super easy to care for.
Zero yellow squash, zucchini and butternut squash this year. As I've said, not sure what I'm doing wrong...some research will be happening and I'll try again next year.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

Good Morning! It is a beautiful day out there today with blue skies and perfect temps. How was your weekend? We had a great start to ours with a little "make your own grilled pizza" with friends. It was so nice to kick back and catch up...especially so when one's firstborn is old enough to man the grill!!!
We were all very grateful that our the boys' first flag football game of the season was at 11am, sleeping in after a late night is always welcome. A win for their team...and me missing an "ESPN worthy" shot, as I was told by a friend...boo! I wasn't quite ready and D made a "reaching catch" to score a TD. It happens to the best of us. We spent the rest of the day at home cleaning up before popcorn and a movie while it stormed.
Sunday, I headed out early for a photo shoot with R...a High School Senior...I met her and her parents way back when she was 4 and who I consider framily! We had a wonderful time and I just had to share this shot of her and her prince charming ;)

Friday, September 5, 2014

Around Here





August was a busy month for us...
we camped and spent A LOT of our time outdoors - hiking, canoeing and especially fishing.
we traveled to the Little League World Series to watch some games - if you'd like to read more about the trip, head over to my other blog.
J started freshman football training camp
we went to the Spencer fair and survived a flash flood warning and tornado warning...we were nowhere near any floods or tornadoes, but they were near us
and most importantly, my boys are back in school...first day of High School and first day of Middle School

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Bazzill Bulk Buy

A Bazzill Bulk Buy is an opportunity to stock up on Bazzill cardstock at a reduced price.  New to my cardstock bulk buy?  Here's the scoop...
  • You will receive 60 sheets of cardstock, 5 sheets each of 12 different colors (see image below).
  • Price includes tax and shipping to me.
  • Price is for local hand delivery only - It does NOT include shipping to you. We can meet up or deliver at an event (check my schedule here).  Cardstock will be available for delivery starting Sept 25 if all goes as planned (in time for Just Scrappin').
  • Mailing from me to you will be actual USPS cost, $1 in a priority flat rate box. I can fit 2 orders in a box.
  • Order Deadline is midnight, Sunday 9/7
  • Payments in advance by check are appreciated or cash upon delivery.  No CC's or paypal please.
  • Does not apply towards prizes or rafffles at crops if you take delivery and pay me at an event.
The cost of this month's buy is $27.  Email me (sluvs2skrap at yahoo dot com) to purchase, please include # of buys and delivery method/location.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Nailed It!

Remember this sketch I posted on Friday?
Well I had 45minutes yesterday, I had finished one thing and there it was 45 minutes before I had to go to work. I could have folded laundry, picked up around the house or vacuumed, instead I decided to put a page together using the sketch. I found photos, it helps too if prepped kits ie photos plus supplies ready to go, and got down to it. With the music cranking, I got it done complete with a title and journaling.
 
I tweaked it a little, my photos are horizontal and instead of a tag, I used 3 cut up journaling spots. Just a little something to get started after a nice break. Let's see if I can crank out a few more in the next few days!!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

How was your Labor Day Weekend? The unofficial close to the summer. Say it isn't so...I'm not ready to let go of summer although today is muggy enough to still count as summer. No complaints from me. We spent Saturday and Monday on the pond fishing and enjoying the great outdoors. This time, we were actually catching large mouth bass and keeper sized ones (only one out of the four we caught) but still exciting times!
Saturday, we did some shopping before heading to the Spencer Fair. It was gray and muggy all day but the rain didn't fall so we went. Truck tug-of-wars...wow...amazing that they would put their trucks through that. Parts were breaking and tires were burning...all part of it I guess. The highlight for us at the Spencer Fair yearly is the hypnotist show, we found good seats to wait and then it drizzled. The show was moved under the dining tent, we got there just in time for it to pour buckets. We waited and waited...there was thunder and lightning but the fair would cancel if it was too bad, right? Or so we thought. When it eased a little, they finally canceled the show and announced they were closing the fair early. We got out to the field where we were parked and it was a lake!!! Our car, thankfully, was on high ground and we made it home safe and sound. We were thoroughly soaked and it was tense driving home with flash flood warnings and even a tornado warning going off. Monday we found out a tornado did indeed touch down in Worcester, not near us but scary!
I may not be happy about the end of summer but I AM looking forward to the beginning on another crop season and will be spending some time today getting organized for it :)

ps. No Garden Tales post today...some are doing well, others aren't. I'll post next week.