As usual, the star of our Christmas card is our dog, Meg.
Here are some pictures from our photo shoot this evening… I can’t seem to pick one picture that I love the most!
I got the bug to make some paper chain… I used some fancy scrapbook paper and regular ol’ construction paper…
I sat on the floor and cut out small 6 or 7 inch strips and started gluing…
and gluing…
Until I had a chain that was about 10 feet long!
I put that on a little antique gold tree and added some of my favorite ornaments…
I can see why this project would be perfect for kids… I went into the crafting zone and forgot what I was doing… I wanted to make an 8′ chain and ended up adding an extra 2′… just because it was fun. And I used colors that would compliment my office so I could hang it in here after the holidays. Paper chain just graduated to all-year-round decor.
So maybe when you need some quiet time, ask your kids to make you a paper chain… oooh…. 60 feet should do it! ;)
When one is deciding on what kind of dessert to make, and the birthday girl for whom it is going to be designed for tells you… “Chocolate”… that gives you some latitude.
I also know that she likes cannolis & champagne and peanut butter… so I picked two and ran with it.
My only experience with a trifle… old black and white drawings of parfaits, cakes and trifles and that episode on Friends where Rachel makes a trifle with ground beef… mine did not have meat… I promise ;)
I started with a layer of champagne cake,
followed by a layer of champagne custard…
Followed by a brownie layer
then chocolate mousse…
then some more champagne cake…
Then… cannoli cream and chocolate shavings
Not a traditional trifle… more like a parfait I suppose. I didn’t think fruit had any place in this creamy paradise ;)
About a gallon of trifle was made… after dishing it out to 7 of us, we had waaay more than half of it left. And, to my surprise, nobody wanted to take any home.
The entire meal… 8-10 sticks of butter. Oh yeah. Rock on.
I think she enjoyed it, though :)
I know I was grinning from ear to ear… before promptly entering into a butter-haze. (Best mug ever… on a mug)
Here’s the reaction to Rachel’s trifle-gone-wrong on Friends…
Sadly, the end was cut off… but… at least the “it tastes like feet” bit was in there!
I am making a Pumpkin custard trifle/parfait for Thanksgiving… I shall report back! :)
Blogging used to be an obsession. I always had my camera ready and I would fiddle with paragraphs and story ideas in my head all day long… I loved it. I even own a shirt that says “I’m blogging this”. Every detail of life found its way onto the pages of this blog.
But… life happened. A third move in 18 months, a new business endeavor, I joined the time abyss known as Facebook (hehe) and really… I’ve just felt out of the creative loop for months and months now.
The exciting part is that this move will be the last one for a while. We bought our first place… stressful, exciting, overwhelming, exhausting… I had no idea the planning and emotional turmoil involved. But, we are so thankful…
First on the agenda was to paint the walls. For those of you who have been in my store you know how much I love color. Once I get unpacked, I’ll share pictures. 15 gallons of paint… oh yeah :)
My office… 8 colors. One wall is going to be covered in hand-painted flowers and some of the furniture got a fresh coat of paint and flowers, too!
Here’s my desk…
This was actually pretty easy to do… all those black lines were done with a sharpie… so it was almost like coloring. It was a lot of fun :)
I have SO much great Halloween stuff to show everyone… my goal is to have that up this week and start on Christmas the following week. Everything has been in a topsy turvy holding pattern… I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things, I’m not sure where to start!
I’ve missed being here, in this little blog editing box. I hope everyone has been well… and happy!!
There’s nothing like moving to test your patience and immune system. This last week we’ve been moving all of our possessions into a pod and into a smaller apartment that we are going to live in for 6 months. During this circus, N and I had a cold. Not a huge deal, but just when you need your lungs most… they aren’t too happy.
In the process, we have been researching real estate and found a lovely townhome that we want to call our own (And watching every episode of Property Virgins and My First Place on HGTV!!). So, we purchased one… but it’s not finished yet. The fun part is… we got to pick the flooring, cabinets, where all the computer cables run and in the meantime, I can pick out back splash tile and paint color to my heart’s content! So fun.
I went to Border’s yesterday and purchased some wonderful magazines and met a few other fellow bloggers… that was inspiration to get back on the blogwagon. (I *heart* puns, remember?).
So, here’s to a creative gorgeous spring weekend… hope you all feel inspired to enjoy and create!
I saw these two Top Pot lemon donuts sitting in a case at the local Borders bookstore’s coffee shop. They were so bright and cheerful. They had to come home with me. I told the barista I was going to take pictures of them and to please put them in a box. He seemed concerned.
After a brief photo shoot…
They were consumed with joy. Very lemony and fresh. We recommend them.
Ring in Spring with a donut ;)
Also, I would call this art journal #39 & #40 since the donuts were placed in front of my 2 recent art journal entries :)
And a lovely “steamy” Valentine’s day story!
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Cary Starbucks brews up ‘burning’ love Starbucks wedding Posted: Today at 2:30 p.m. Wral news |
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Cary, N.C. — It was love at first scald when a woman spilled hot coffee on a man at a Starbucks restaurant in Cary. One Valentine’s Day later, the accident-prone customers tied the knot in the same store.
Laura Strain came to the Starbucks, at 1217 Kildaire Farm Road, in March 2008 to treat herself to her first cup of coffee from the chain. Instead, she ended up spilling the coffee on a stranger, Allan Tortorice.
“He’s wearing my coffee, and I’m having a fit, because I was very concerned that hurt somebody, first of all,” Strain said. “He was all dressed up, and it (coffee) was everywhere. His jacket was open on his shirt, and he was sort of holding it so it didn’t burn him.”
The accidental encounter, though, started a romance between the two.
Strain gave her phone number to Tortorice, so he could contact her about dry cleaning and medical bills. Instead, Tortorice asked her out to dinner, and the romance steamed up from there.
“It’s what they call burning love,” Strain said.
On Feb. 14, a pastor married Strain and Tortorice at the same Starbucks store.
The bride wore a knee-length, white and pink dress and a hot pink shawl – for Valentine’s Day.
About 25 guests attended. Meanwhile, the store stayed open, customers ordered double mocha lattes, and the scent of brewing Colombian coffee filled the air.
That was a lot of puns… we do the drive-thru at that Starbucks all the time. Love it! Sweet story, too. In order to completely exhaust all puns, they should have changed his name to Joe.
Happy Heart Day! We celebrated with ice cream sundaes :)
Those of you with ice makers attached to your refrigerator… Is your ice maker LOUD?
At 1:00 am, 3:00 am and 5:20 am every night, our ice maker makes a loud THUD followed by an insanely loud BOOM which makes me jump every time. It sounds like a bowling ball being dropped from the second story. Well, at least I think it does.
We might have to be an ice-free family soon.
:)
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