Cruisin a lifted page.

I love scraplifting myself, it let's me be creative with the product right in front of me, AND add things that I wanted to add the first time!  For one of my challenges over at Scrapbook Circle I lifted myself:

I LOVED how this turned out-I remember this was the last page that I had created with my kit and I only had scraps left--I wanted to highlight what was in the kit, use my punches and HAVE fun!  This layout is one of my favorites..

So here is my lift:

I decided to go with one picture, change where the title was, and add some mist.  Other than that I tried to stay true to the my original page.  I found this fun picture of my son (who will be 16 soon!) from preschool, the teacher took it and I'm so grateful because I never would've had one had she not.  My kids have had FANTASTIC teachers that document...

For my lifted layout I used the Scrapbook Circle kit, Snapshot.  Love that I could highlight so much of this fun kit!  Thanks for the visit today!

currents, books.

I set a goal for myself to read 35 books this year.  I am currently reading my 13--some of the books I read (like the current one) I've had or am having a hard time getting into.  I'm not sure if it's because there are other things going on or it's just not grabbing my attention...ANYWAY, in this past few weeks we have had 4 more books find a home here and I need to get reading!  I am trying to diversify my reading.

I do have set PERSONAL standards for the books I read.  I don't like books that are terrifying--I hate to be scared!  I don't like books that use a lot of profanity--ESPECIALLY the "F" word.  I don't like erotic, steamy books--NOPE.  That being said there are A LOT of GREAT books out there to read.  I have a friend who is an avid reader.  We have sort of a running gag.  She will tell me about a book and I ask her, "Am I old enough to read it?"  Most of the time she says, "yep!" but sometimes she says no--she knows and respects my personal standards for books.

I'm not going to list all of the books I've read this year.  I will list a few:

Inspiring:

Each of these books I enjoyed.  They were all pretty quick reads, but each in their own way inspired me.  Inspired me to be more, inspired me to reach out to my family, inspired me to trust in God more.  I can honestly say these were different kinds of reads than I'm used to.  I'm trying to stretch my reading this year.  So I included this:

I really liked this--I really did!  Love good clean mysteries that make you think--and a classic?  Even better!

Series:

My son got me into this series and I really have enjoyed it not only because there is a consistent story line but ALSO I can have a clue what he is talking about.  We are excited for the next installment!

I honestly don't remember how I got connected to this murder mystery series but I REALLY like it.  It's sort of a period piece but the story line makes you want to keep reading more.

One of the authors I keep going back to:

 This particular author has written several different books, they are set in the west and also a different sort of period piece--yes, these are romances, but Christian romances.

I am on Goodreads, I really enjoy their site.  You can follow what others are reading, read reviews,  keep track of your pages read, challenge yourself, and see what people have rated books.

Pinterest Food Find. Cheesy Quinoa Cakes With a Roasted Garlic and Lemon Aioli

okay--my husband and I REALLY loved this, my kids thought it was ok.  We will definitely be having this again!
I doubled this recipe, when making the aioli I did NOT double the cayenne pepper...I also did not have green onions on hand so I just subbed regular sliced onions--DELICIOUS!

INGREDIENTS

• 2cups cooked quinoa
• 2⁄3cup grated Fontina cheese
• 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2green onions, thinly sliced
• 1egg, lightly beaten
• 2teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 2 1⁄2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• aioli

• 1⁄2cup light mayonnaise
• 1head garlic, roasted
• 1lemon, zested and juiced
• 1⁄4teaspoon cayenne pepper**

DIRECTIONS

1. For the cakes: Place all ingredients, except for the oil, into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Pour oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium heat.
3. Form ¼ cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (this will have to be done in batches).
4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. Set aside.
5. For the aioli: Place all ingredients into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and serve alongside the warm quinoa cakes.
6. 
   

grandma.

For Mother's day this year we got to see both mom's in our family.  I took advantage of the family get together's to get some fun shots, this one is of the grandkids that were there at the party:

closeup:

 I had so much fun adding touches here and there to this layout.  I think my favorite parts are the machine stitching and the embossing.  I honestly do NOT do enough of it--I still think it's like magic!  The stencil I used is exclusive to the Snapshot Scrapbook Circle kit this month.
Thanks for the visit today--Happy Saturday!

Friday Funny from the 2016 Olympics

I love the Olympics.  I love the competition.  I love the fact I can watch a bunch of sports I've never heard of.  I LOVE the back stories.  And I really am enjoying how they are showing more of the behind the scenes like this: 

This is by far the funniest thing I've seen at the Olympics--EVER!  After the prelim race they interviewed Michael Phelps, he said he wasn't even paying attention to Chad Le Clos...ummm..okay!
Enjoy!

#play.

as I write this post it is rainy and overcast and COOLER than it's been in days.  Beautiful day to just snuggle up in the PJ's and watch the Olympics...but of course that's not going to happen-I've got things to do!  ;)
So today I wanted to share with you a layout I made using a hash tag in the title--have you ever done that?  We use it in our social media A LOT--so I figured--why not?

For this layout I used the August Scrapbook Circle kit titled; Snapshot.  As you can see with the pages that I will share this month--it has a lot of WONDERFUL papers and embellishments.  They mainly focus on summer travel, but I chose to use them for my every day layouts.  And I will use it in my Project Life.

thanks SO much for the visit today!

today is the day. friends.

I LOVE changing up the sizes of my pictures, I printed these cute little pictures with my fujifilm instax share sp-1.  The pictures are from my phone.  They weren't the greatest pictures but smaller they are ADORABLE!  Such a fun night for my girl and her good friend playing soccer...

upclose angle:

 I used the Today is the day kit to complete this page--Thanks for the visit today!!

A Dream Come True.

If you have watched food network you may have seen The Cake Boss, my youngest LOVES that show.  For our adventure last year we just happened to be within a few miles of the bakery (Hoboken New Jersey) where they do most of the filming--hubby and I decided to surprise him and get some treats.  Because there wasn't any parking close, he and I jumped out.  I have to admit we were both a little "giddy" it was at night so the people on the show weren't there but the goodies were.  We ordered what we thought would be a good assortment--we decided the lobster tail was the best!

closeups:

 the red adventure and silver tags are exclusive cuts from Scrapbook Circle in the July Today is the Day kit.

pinterest food find. Shepherd's Pie

WOW-was this a HUGE hit at my house--seriously probably one of the best finds ever!

recipe and photo credit: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

For the mashed potatoes:
• 5 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 or 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup milk, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
For the beef mixture:
• 4 tablespoons (half stick) salted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 4-5 medium carrots, (about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1 and 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 and 1/2 pounds ground beef (I use ground turkey)
• 1 and 1/2 cups beef broth (I use chicken broth)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon paste
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Fill a large stock pot with plenty of water. Add the chopped potatoes and make sure the water covers them.
2. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium 
3. and continue boiling for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
4. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
5. Add 1/2 cup butter. Mash with a potato masher or mixer until they are as smooth as you like them.
6. Stir in sour cream, milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. All seasonings are to taste. Cover and set aside.
7. In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
8. Add the onions and carrots. Saute for about 8 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
9. Add the ground beef and cook and crumble until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.
10. Drain the fat.
11. Add the frozen peas.
12. In a small bowl, stir together beef broth* and cornstarch.
13. Add this mixture to the meat, as well as the Worcestershire sauce.
14. Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture boils and the sauce has thickened. Cook and reduce until it has reached a consistency you like.
15. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it and see how you like it! Add other seasonings if you want.
16. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
17. Pour the meat mixture into a deep 9x13 inch casserole dish.
18. Top with the mashed potatoes and spread evenly.
19. Top with cheddar cheese.
20. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. (You could do 375 if you are in a hurry. Check it at 20 minutes.)
21. Broil on the top rack for about 2 minutes if you are obsessed with crunchy brown cheese like my family is. Don't walk away!!
22. Now invite over the neighbors. Because this pie feeds a crowd!

smile. fun

I LOVE when pictures bring back fond memories--don't you?  These pictures were from our 10 day once in a lifetime trip back east.  My daughter had a soccer tournament in Virginia, it happened to fall on our fall break-we decided to do something that we would probably never do on our own.  It was AWESOME!  These pictures were taken in New York.

closer up look:

As you can tell from the pictures it was REALLY cold!  But still doable if you were moving around, being as it was that cold there weren't a lot of other visitors, which I prefer!  Thanks for the visit today!
For this layout I used the July Scrapbook Circle kit; Today is the Day.  LOVE the enamel stickers!

thought on Thursday.

goofball.

that would describe my baby brother to a tee...except I guess I'm pretty much a goofball too! ;)  I LOVED this shot that my son took of my brother and I on Mother's day this year, I DEFINITELY had to preserve that memory!

this is a little closeup of the textured goodness:

For my layout I used the Scrapbook Circle Add on; Adventure Awaits, and the Main kit Snapshot.  This kit is geared more toward summer vacations, but as you can see it's versatile enough to use on ANY type of page--I even plan on using this in my project life!

Hello August!

Time is flying, and our summer is over!  School starts for my boys tomorrow--today will be spent doing last minute things, like hair cuts, and grocery shopping for snacks and lunch supplies!  But you didn't come to my blog to hear that!  I wanted to quickly share with you a sneak and link to the new Scrapbook circle kit called Snapshot--it's AWESOME:

you have the option of buying it just one month or subscribing--Lisa PACKS her kits with GREAT things.  There are also some AMAZING add on this month; Adventure Awaits!

 I've had the chance to work with both--and they are GREAT for recording memories of your summer adventures, to be used planners, or ANYTIME scrapbooking.

thanks for the visit today--I'm off and running!