Little Red Wagon #39

I am finally getting around to posting my Little Red Wagon project for this week.  Rosanne challenged us to go with a Christmas in July theme.  I decided to create a little card.

I found some left-over papers in my wagon and colored this adorable Stamping Bella image with my Copics.  It is hard to think of Christmas when it is warm and sunny outside and all I want to do is be on the beach, but I did my best!

Be sure to check what the other Girlfriends did for this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon:)

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

When we were at our friend's cottage a couple of weeks ago, she treated us to a wonderful lunch that included the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had!  Pat's daughter, Julie, loves to cook and she got this recipe from watching Oprah who did a search for the best grilled cheese sandwich in America.  This was the winner.

Now Julie tweaked it just a bit from the original recipe and it was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

You have to start with a light rye bread.  Butter one side and place in pan, butter side down, over medium-low heat.  Put Havarti cheese, thick tomato slices and fresh basil on top.

 
 Then for the best part - you drizzle honey over the sandwich!

Add a buttered slice of bread to the top and continue to grill until both sides are a golden brown and the cheese has melted.

The flavors were mouth-watering and the sandwich was seriously the best! You have to give this sandwich a try - I guarantee you will love it:)

Little Red Wagon #38

Happy Wednesday to you! Regan posted a really fun challenge this week. We were supposed to to look back on all the DT creations and pick one to CASE...

I browsed back through all 37 of our previous posts and decided to copy one of Dee's cards. I just loved this ruffled ribbon technique that she did!

This is my version of her card.

I even added a zipper flower that I saw on her blog!

Thanks for the great inspiration Dee and for the fun challenge Regan :)

OK - so you really have to play along with us this week! Just head over to Little Red Wagon, pick one of the Girlfriends cards and copy it! Then show us what you did:)

Have a good week~

Another Happy Day

I actually had a bit of time to do some scrapbooking recently and I made up this layout using a recent picture of my nephew and Godson, Patrick. He is such a handsome young boy and I was very inspired to create a page when I saw this photo from our 4th of July family gathering.

I used October Afternoon paper (Fly a Kite line - I love it!) that I have been waiting to work with.

I created the title element, using a couple of different journal cards that I layered, mini alpha stickers from October Afternoon, and Chipboard Alphabet letters from MLS.

I hand drew the trees and then traced them onto pattern paper. I hand stitched around the edge of the trees (my BFF did this recently on a layout and I thought it was brilliant!) and added a couple of buttons just for fun:)

Then last but not least, I cut a strip of the dot paper and used my very favorite Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors to create the grass. I randomly folded the strip and then machine stitched it in place.

I can't begin to tell you how good it felt to do some creating! I based this layout on a new sketch that I created. You can find it on my sketch blog at i.love.sketches.

Thanks for looking ~

Thank You My Friend!

Yesterday I received a delightful surprise from my BFF, BSF, Carolyn! When I came into our store, there was a gift bag waiting for me and when I gave her a puzzled look, she explained that it was an early birthday gift. She will be out of town next week on my birthday and she wanted to give her gift to me before she left.

When I opened the bag, I was absolutely thrilled to see that she had made me a Tulip Purse!

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

Then she went on to explain how she wanted it to be a surprise and that she had to sign up for the course, pick out the fabric, and take time off work to do it - all the while hoping that I wouldn't find out! For those of you who know Carolyn, you know how hard it would be for her to NOT talk about something like this, not only to me, but to everyone who came into the store! But she did it and I am so touched that not only did she make something for me that I totally love - but that she gave me the first one she has ever made!

Now I can't wait to use it - in fact, I think it will be making the trip to CHA with me! Thank you again my friend - I totally love it - especially the button:)

Little Red Wagon #37

It's Wednesday already! And it is time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon. Avril posted the challenge this week and we are to use a tree on our project.

I had some leftover paper from Kaiser Craft in my wagon that has the best color combo and adorable trees so I used that to make up a card.

The tree is hand cut from the pattern paper. Then I punched a butterfly using a Martha Stewart punch my BFF had. I added some Liquid Pearls to the butterfly and adhered it with a pop dot for dimension. I also used a new Lawn Fawn stamp that I just got for the sentiment!

I hope you decide to play along this week! Just make up something with a tree on it, post it on your blog and link it up on Little Red Wagon.

Have a good Wednesday:)

Who Are These People?

At my nephew's wedding last month, they had they had the coolest thing - a photo booth! Oh my gosh, it was just too much fun and everyone had a turn (or 2 or 3!) having their pictures taken in it. I promised in a previous post that I would share some of the photos with you, so here goes.

:: not too bad ::

:: yes, my mother gave birth to all of us ::

:: my sweet nieces ::

:: my crazy nieces ::

:: not too sure who these people are! ::

:: I think we broke the camera ::

:: our family portrait ::


:: I am afraid to ask! ::

Wow - that is just a sampling of my family's photos! I think I need to call my therapist now...

Red, White and Blue Fun

The 4th of July has to be one of my favorite holidays! It is in the middle of summer, it includes getting together with my family, and it has a great color scheme (lol)!

This year my sister Mary hosted our 4th of July gathering. She has a wonderful backyard with lots of shade trees - which we really needed this year as it was so very hot out.

We all love getting decked out in our red, white and blue for the day...

including my mom and my sweet niece, Elizabeth.

Mary has a fabulous rope swing that the boys loved playing on. I got some great photos of Patrick who took the time to smile for his camera-crazy aunt...

but try as I may, Nathan never stopped long enough for me to get a still photo of him!

Our 4th of July family gathering would never be complete without lots of fabulous food (another reason I love this holiday!). This year we had the Chicken Souvlaki and vegetables that I did a post on yesterday. Plus, we had some amazing risotto, compliments of my Italian brother-in-law (John -I am still waiting for the recipe!), a Greek salad, my Mom's 5-Bean salad (the best ever!) and a pasta salad.

And of course, our meal has to include yummy desserts.

I made up a red, white and blue trifle that was delicious. I took my Summer Trifle recipe and used blueberry jello in place of the other jellos, and strawberries and blueberries in place of the mandarin oranges. It looked very festive and tasted delicious!

We then celebrated two birthdays, Patrick's and Spencer's,

and ended our day with lots and lots of sparklers, thanks to my brother David (who is a true kid at heart). It was a wonderful day filled with family, food and fun!

Here is the recipe for my Mom's 5-bean salad. You have to give it a try - it is seriously the best!

Mom's 5-Bean Salad

1 can French cut green beans
1 can cut green beans
1 can cut yellow beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can chick peas
1 green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced

Drain beans. Rinse chick peas and kidney beans. Combine all of the above.

Mix together:
1/2-cup white vinegar
3/4-cup sugar
1/2-cup vegetable oil

Pour over beans and stir gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Barbecued Goodness

During the summer we barbecue alot and I wanted to share one of our favorite recipes with you. It is a delicious Chicken Souvlaki that is super easy to make.

You simply start with boneless chicken breasts that you cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes. Put the chicken into a glass dish and pour the marinade on for only 5 - 15 minutes prior to cooking. Then place the meat on skewers and cook on your barbecue grill.

You can do the same thing with any fresh vegetables you like. We normally use a variety of peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and sometimes, zucchini. I like to put the veggies on the skewers before marinating them. It is less messy:)

Chicken Souvlaki

6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. dried oregano

If using wooden skewers, soak in water first.

Start barbecue 5 minutes prior to use (high setting). In small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil and oregano. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into 1-1/2 inch cubes. Place in a glass dish and pour the lemon-oil mixture over chicken. Let marinate for 5 minutes. Place meat on skewers. Turn barbecue to medium heat and cook until chicken is done.

Serve with rice and a Greek salad. Yummm!

Greek Salad

Use a combination of romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green and red peppers, sliced red onion, black olives and crumbled feta cheese. Mix 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar with 1/2 cup olive oil and toss with salad.

Enjoy:)

Little Red Wagon #36

This weeks challenge at Little Red Wagon is brought to us by Carolyn! She has challenged us to use Nestabilities on our project.

I made up a card using an adorable stamp from Imaginisce, some October Afternoon paper and a square shaped Nestabilities. I realized afterward that the square shape was pretty lame - I could have used my paper trimmer for that! But nonetheless, that is the one I used!

I colored my image with my Copic markers and added a bit of Glamour Dust for some sparkle.

Then I dug deep into my wagon and found these alpha buttons that I think have been in there since the beginning of time! They are made by Junkitz - is that company even still around? (lol)

Then with a few brads and some ribbon, I have my card! I hope you play along with us this week. It would be great to see what you do with your Nestabilities. Also, be sure to check what the other Girlfriends have created - I will bet they didn't use a square Nestabilities!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

This past weekend we went home for a 4th of July visit and we started off the weekend by going to a Detroit Tigers baseball game. We had not been to the new Comerica Park where the Tigers play, so it was as great to see the park as it was to watch the game. That is - once we made it there!

You see, our ride there was a bit of an adventure as the three of us (Mr. B, our ds and I) set out with the intentions of meeting my brother and his family, who had the tickets, at the stadium. After missing the exit we were supposed to take, we ended up in Downtown Detroit (yikes!), with no idea where we were going and with no GPS, and when I called my brother with the only cell phone we had, our phone died on the spot! To make a long story short, with directions from a gas station and a borrowed cell phone from the parking attendant, we finally found the stadium and my brother!

When we saw the stadium, the trouble of getting there was worth it. The stadium is absolutely beautiful - both inside and out. For a new ballpark, it has an amazingly nostalgic feel to it that made the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

Inside the park there were numerous restaurants and concessions that we couldn't pass up. So we loaded ourselves up with nachos, chicken tenders, ice cream, cotton candy, pop and beer! Ahhh - the joys of a baseball game!

This is my adorable nephew, Patrick, enjoying his ice cream. I see a great scrapbook page using this photo!

The stadium has a 50-foot Ferris wheel that has cars shaped like baseballs - way too cool!

It also has a gorgeous carousel with 30 hand painted tigers, which my niece, nephews and I went for a ride on.

When we got to our seats, we were impressed with where we were sitting along the third base line. We had a few foul balls come into our section and we were so close to the players that you could almost talk to them!

The Detroit city skyline can easily be seen from the ballpark, as there are no upper deck outfield seats,

and we enjoyed an ever changing cityscape as the setting sun created beautiful colors on the buildings.

The Tigers ended up winning the game 7 to 1 - Go Tigers! When the game was over, everyone stayed in their seats to watch the fireworks that were set off from center field.

They lasted for a good 15-20 minutes and it was one of the best displays I have ever seen! What a fantastic finale to a fun evening!