In Knots

The one thing I have learned my moving into my own scrap space is that organization is key. As I was trying to figure out what to do with the various ribbons that I have collected over the years, I remembered seeing this idea in a magazine {sorry, can't remember which :( }and online several times and decided to give it a try. I love the results!!!!

First of all going through my ribbon baskets has been like being on a treasure hunt, I forgot about so many different patterns that I have. It has been very exciting. Next I figured out quickly that there is no way I can complete this task by myself so I have enlisted the help of my youngest daughter (at a price of course!). So we started out with some old -fashioned wooden clothespins and wrapped the ribbon around the pin and secured the end with a straight pin. It looks great but these clothespins are hard to find and we ran out of the few I found quickly. So next we started good ol' reliable popsicle sticks. These babies are so versatile! We employed the same concept and wrapped the ribbon around the stick and secured it with a straight pin. I was even able to find some cute straight pins at the local Rite-aid (see the yellow butterflies, pretty clever, huh).

When we finish I need to figure out how I want to store them. I know I want something clear and easy to access. I was thinking Ikea might have something that works (any reason to shop, I know, lol). If you have any ideas feel free to share! Thanks!

P.S.

I really have too much ribbon, can someone just slap me if I tell you I am buying more ribbon! Then again,I probably just won't tell you now though, lol

Blog Giveaway

I am so excited, I can't believe how many people have giveaways on their blogs, check this one out on Melissa's blog, http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/ the prizes are awesome!

Breathe Again...

I definitely have to post more frequently, by the time I get on here I have so much to say that it becomes a super long post. So now I don't know where to start! This summer I made a total of 25 pounds of potato salad, hosted three parties, went to two weddings, went to a crop retreat and spent more weekends with my extended family than I have in the past five years and it has been fun. I have been working 4 ten hour days at work to have Friday's off and this is the first Friday I have had for me since the beginning of summer and what am I about to do........................... yes CLEAN! There is so much to do around the house I think that is where I will start after I catch up on some blogging. So do you want to see a few pictures? This is my Man, the love of my life Reggie. We have been together for eight years this December. It has not always been easy and we have had some devastating situations, one of them being a stroke he had three years ago (He is fine, he just still has slight paralysis in three of his fingers). He is such a fighter, even on the way to the hospital he was trying to make his arm work - determined not to let the stroke get the best of him. His favorite spot in the summer and even in the winter sometimes - is on the grill! This man can barbeque his a double s off. Which probably explains why we had about 60 people at our block party, lol. We are having another block party on the 29th and he has promised to keep it small - we will see!

This is me and my niece. I love her to death. She is the one I can talk to and hang out with. We go Black Friday shopping every year (even when I don't fell like it, lol). She fell in love young and married a guy who just turned out to be nothing like he seemed. She went through a hard divorce in her twenties and struggled as a single mother until she me Bryan. He is a refreshing change to the men she was use to and he loves her to death. He calls her the boss. Together they are a loving couple and I was honored to be he maid of honor. This is a picture from her bridal shower (the pg-13 version - I haven't seen the x-rated version yet)!

This is me with my four sisters, now they would kill me if they knew this picture was up here because they don't want to be "all over the internet" but I don't think they know about my blog so I am safe for now, lol. I am the youngest with a 14 year difference between me and my oldest sister, our relationship is strange but all in all if something happens, good or bad, we are there for each other. I love each one of them. This was at my sister in the middle fiftieth birthday party this summer.

And I got to meet my sister from another mother Mika, yes we even have the same name. Sometimes I swear we were separated from birth and genetically altered, lol. We think alike too much! She makes me laugh and has the prettiest smile. We had a good time scrapping until our eylids dropped. I have to blog about the trip in a separate post to give the full details. Thing won't be complete until we meet our third muskeeter Myia! She is my girl and above all she keeps it real ! That girl is a very creative scrapper and can work magic with her pattern papers. I should start working on Reggie now to take me to Vegas! Myia-boo here we come!

And finally this is me, tired from all of these activities, bored at work and playing with my camera! Have a great weekend - I am going to try to complete some sketch challenges, clean up a little and then get ready for date night with Reggie!

CKC Valley Forge and the Stanky Leg

Okay, the two are in no way shape, or form related, lol. I visited the vendor faire on Friday with my girlfriend Kathy from work. She is a beginning scrapper and had never been to the vendor faire before. All I know is that should I become missing it is because her husband killed me for exposing her to CKC, lol. I actually did more shopping than I planned but I treated myself and my Scrapping Sister! Here is a look at my booty.......................not my booty booty, lol here is what I walked out with.

First this is already en route to my girl - 1/2 of an American Crafts paper pack, some green glitter thickers that are so pretty in person and an American crafts rub-on book. But wait.......................there is more!



Here is some Scenic Route chipboard. A cute Sassafrass paper pad, a film strip with her son's name on it and some Basic Grey bling a cute orange lady bug......................................is that it? Heck no! There is still more!



And finally a Scenic Route paper pack that includes some beautiful orange chipboard letter, some pretty paper, cardstock stickers and rub ons!

And for myself..........................I got some bling, glue arts refills, I have film strips personalized with all three of my girls names (my baby niece is included in the count) some pom-pom ribbon (it looks fun to work with), some thickers, American Crafts felt stickers, a few sheets of Basic Grey's lemonade, (which I thought was beautiful in person, still didn't want Junebug after seeing it in person), Basic Grey bling, six bottles of stickles (not pictured) some American Crafts and MME "Breaking Free" papers and some copic markers! I have never used them before and they are my most exciting purchase!

Saturday was my sister's fiftieth birthday party, which was a huge success (I will post pictures soon) but girl I had to show them up when my song - The Stanky leg" came on. I wore a cute orange Maxi dress and i felt really good about my "grown woman" status. Here is my self-portrait for the night!

TTYL!

Jumping In

Okay,
Along with blogging more I plan on enter more contests and challenges. there is a new challenge blog called Candy Shoppe Designs recommended by my lil' scrapping sister Myia - Check them out, they are doing some awesome giveaways right now! If I can do it, so can you!

Today was a Good Day

Even though I was not incredibly busy at work and I was incredibly tired, I still had a good day.
Scrapbook related, I did some virtual window shopping at stopandscrap.com of the coming soon CHA 2009 summer previews. My total cart is around $133. I will bring it down before I hit that checkout button though, we are in a recession, lol! Out of all of the paper collections I love the new Pink Paislee Amber Road. My girl Jojorenee says that it is definitely my style (that's a good thing right, sis?). I am blocked from blogger at work so I have to do my updating at night. As promised here is a picture of my bridal shower favors. My niece's wedding colors are red, black and white with an Asian theme. I put "Red Hots" in tulle with the wedding ring embellies for the final look. I have to tell you the shoe is a labor of love since you have to hand cut each piece. Here is a link to the template http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/articles/free_shoe_template_download( I shrunk it to 75% for my favors) give it a try, you will love the results, just make sure you are using a good weight cardstock.

In food news (my other favorite subject, lol) our local newspaper did an article on a Vegan Soul Food Cookbook by Bryant Terry. I am not a vegan but I do try to eat better any chance I get. Here is a link to the recipe I want to try. I put a copy here too but use the link http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/jamaican-veggie-patties-recipe.html for more information. Let me know if you try it before I do. Enjoy!



Jamaican Veggie Patties Recipe
You can certainly experiment with different sizes here, but don't go much smaller than a 4-inch cookie cutter. Any smaller and they tend to come apart at the seams - a bit like gaping mouths (see lead photo). Also, be sure to roll the pastry dough thinly - a true 1/8-inch. And lastIy, I can't resist brushing the patties with a bit of beaten egg before placing them in the oven - it makes the crust nice and golden, but also takes them out of the vegan category.
1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow onion

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Coarse sea salt

2 larges cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced carrots

1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow potatoes

1/2 cup fresh green peas (or frozen)

1/2 cup sweet fresh corn (or frozen)

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper


Pastry:1 3/4 cups unbleached flour1 cup whole wheat pastry flour2 teaspoons turmeric1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt3/4 cup chilled coconut oil2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water


For the filling: In a medium-size saute pan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut oil, the onion cinnamon, allspice, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, carrots, and potatoes, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the carrots and potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the green peas, corn, cabbage, thyme, and lemon juice, cover, and cook for 3 minutes more. Season with additional salt and the white pepper (or to taste) and set aside to allow the flavors to marry.
For the pastry: Combine 1 1/2 cups of the white flour with the pastry flour, turmeric, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set the remaining 1/4 cup white flour aside. Add the coconut butter to the flour mixture and rub with your fingertip until the mixture resembles fine sand, about 10 minutes (hs note: I've also make this dough by pulsing ingredients in a food processor with good results).
Combine the vinegar and water and mix well. Then, without overworking the dough, add the vinegar mixture by the tablespoon, while stirring, just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and begins to coalesce. Squeeze into a tight ball, flatten, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F and remove the dough from the refrigerator.
With the reserved flour, lightly dust a clean surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut six 6-inch circles from the dough (you can use a bowl). Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling onto the center of one side of each circle, leaving about a 1/8-inch border. Fold the other half over to make a half-moon, press to seal, and make ridges around the edge using a fork. (hs note: if your dough is at all on the dry side you may need to run wet fingers around the edge of the circles to help get a good seal).
Transfer the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve immediately with some hot sauce.
Makes six big patties, or a couple dozen smaller ones.
Reprinted with permission from Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine by Bryant Terry. (Da Capo

Another Try!

After almost three years of being M.I.A. (hence the first song/artist on my playlist) I am going to try this blogging thing again. Now don't get me wrong I never gave up scrapping but I joined scrapbook.com instead of keeping up with my personal blog. Now I am going to try the unthinkable and do BOTH! Who knew? Is it really possible? We will see, lol!

So instead of trying to catch up on the past three years I am just going to start off like I never left. The next two weeks (actually it started last week) are crazy for me. Me an my baby niece, Tise (okay she is 27, not really a baby) gave my oldest niece, Tiya, a wedding shower. It was broken up into the PG version and the X rated verison. I only stayed for the PG version - I know I am such a prude....sometimes :) Anywhoo the first half was fun, I did the favors (to be posted soon) and cooked. Tiya loves breakfast food so we had sausage, bacon, and made to order belgian waffles, yummy. This weekend is my second oldest sister's , LynniePooh (only I can call her that) 50th birthday. We are giving her a party and even though the party itself isn't a surprise we do have some surprise guests lined up. Yup you guessed it, i am doing the favors for that too. The next weekend is Tiya's wedding and guess who is the maid of honor - yup that is me too. I will share pictures as soon as they are available. And since it has been so long and you may have forgotten what I look like here is a picture of me and my niece Tiya - I am so proud of her, she has a beautiful family and such a beautiful spirit!