FWF #47 - Already!

Can you believe it? It's already week #47 for FWF and woot woot! It's time for Unity Stamp Company's famous Brown Thursday sale! Time to go shopping!

This week, it was time to make Mika's second thank you card for our other neighbor...my eye was caught by this CAS design of Freshly Made Sketch #213... (after all, it was supposed to be masculine in nature)...

I ended up using stamps from two different kits - Kindness Matters (I never get tired of this awesome stamp!) and Thanks Above and Beyond (April 2015 Sentiment Kit). 

We found a new great recipe this week - but not gourmet by any means! When I met DaddyDude in college, he was still making Hamburger Helper. As a male that cooked, he was still light years ahead of most of his friends! When I saw this quick recipe for "Homemade Hamburger Helper" (and I love one-pot recipes!), I thought it might be appealing to the kids...and I was right! Not only was it easy/quick to prepare after a soccer practice, but it was just the right amount for a family of four (no leftovers!). It will certainly be added to a regular rotation of favorites...and DaddyDude didn't find it "too stroganoffish" (the kids LOVE beef stroganoff - but he does not). Win-win for everyone!

FWF #46 - When the chips are down, you can count on good friends!

This past week was much better - thank you, everyone, for sending good vibes my way!

Fundraising is one of the more difficult issues when your kids do club sports, but it's even harder when the team decides to hold a poker night - and the event is an hour away from your house - and you don't really know anyone who plays poker! So, when we were told we had to try and get five people to come, I was very worried. But, two of our neighbors were kind enough to help out. One is actually going to come (he always does VERY WELL in Vegas) and the other was willing to sponsor two players (he's so appreciative because DaddyDude dispenses free professional advice). Whew! And we were so touched by their generosity! DaddyDude will be our fourth contribution - and really, he's just handing our money over because he has no clue how to play poker!

So, I thought it would be nice if Mika wrote a thank you note to these kind neighbors. I've finished one so far...

This sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch (#148) looked like an interesting way to combine a few Unity stamps.

I used the sentiment from Everything Wonderful (June 2013 Sentiment Kit), the frame from Everything More, and Kindness Matters.

My new recipe for this week was Easy Garlic Alfredo Tortellini - delicious! There's something about Italian sausage that makes everything taste so yummy!

FWF #45 - Finally Feeling Like Fall is Here

It finally feels like fall out here in southern California - we finally got rain and temperatures actually dipped below 50. Woohoo! Bo agreed to pose while I took a shot of our neighborhood street - love the poofy clouds, you can almost feel the cool crisp air!

I'm finally feeling more relaxed, having survived last week - Bo tangling with an opposum (and getting covered by fleas as a result) AND having some crook steal our credit card (topped off by our bank NOT catching the fraudalent activity and allowing a $1500 charge to happen...and lying to us about Fedex'ing our replacement card...and sending it snail mail instead).

But all is well that ends well - Bo (and the oppossum) is fine and our new cards arrived yesterday. I was so bummed to have missed Unity's last sale, but hope everybody else was able to score some great goodies!

One of Mika's favorite middle school friends is having a birthday party later this week, so I was really happy we could buy stuff at Amazon again - her friend is into making friendship bracelets, so it was fun to shop for gifts. :) Today, I made a card for her, using this lovely sketch from Viva La Verve.

I used stamps from three Sentiment Kits - Everything Comes Full Turn (September 2015), and Butterflies & Sunbeams (August 2015) and Everything Wonderful (June 213). I added one more butterfly than the sketch, but only because I *love* insects and didn't think it was possible to have too any butterflies on a card! LOL!

And as for my recipe of the week...I developed a strong craving to make Baked Jalapeno Poppers after talking to another parent on Marika's soccer team about them. Mmmmmm...these were pretty good, but I had a hard time getting the breading to stick - so next time, I would probably skip that step. Also, I totally forgot to make the dip. BUT, they were pretty tasty without it - and the jalapenos weren't spicy at all, after the insides had been stripped away. 

 Thanks for visiting! Hope everyone is enjoying their fall weather!

FWF #44 - Owl We Need is Each Other

This is going to be a super quick post, it's been a busy week and it's not over yet! Yikes!

Unity has been coming out with so many cute stamps, it's hard to keep up! Once I saw this sketch (from Sweet Sunday Sketches) on pinterest, I knew it was time to showcase an owl kit!

 

 

I chose Going to be Owl Right.. who doesn't love an owl with big eyes???

 

And for my recipe of the week... this was a quick and easy pasta side dish called Creamy Garlic shells (obviously, I didn't use shells because once again, I used whatever was in my pantry!). My only mistake was to double the recipe - it got boring as a leftover but was a nice side dish for the main meal. Apparently, I need to buy some parsley flakes or something, too, because it looked a little boring!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful week and Happy Halloween!

FWF #43 - Simple = Nice (one layer cards)

Hello! This week, I was inspired by Freshly Made Sketches #209 - I love CAS cards and it doesn't get any simpler than one layer, right?

Unity recently released some new stamps, featuring "Lulu", an adorable little girl... :)

I just love Lulu, from the Aw Shucks, Lulu kit.

I don't know why I can't find this stamp anymore at Unity, but it was called "Lulu Misses You" - she's so cute! I figured these cards would be great for a spontaneous "I love you" card for either of my girls...

I thought I would try something different this week, so I found a recipe of spinach artichoke dip. I'm always on the look out for new dishes to bring for potluck parties! This recipe was quite tasty and definitely tasted better with bread (than with tortilla chips). I would definitely make it again, except next time I would cut the spinach up (I used it straight from the package). This blogger also has a slow cooker version, for anyone who is interested...

Thanks for visiting!

FWF #42 - And Did You Know...?

Hello! I know it just turned into fall and yet... there is a significant amount of Christmas stuff in the stores already. Did you know there are only 71 more days until Christmas?

I decided to play with one of the more recent sentiment kits today, since Mika and her father are traveling down to San Diego this weekend for a big softball tournament (83 teams!) - I wanted her to have a couple of encouragement cards to open while she was done there. Mika may not get much playing time on Sunday (where once the team loses, you're out of the tournament) but it will be a great learning experience for her. We'll see how it goes! Marika and I will be spending the weekend together, so I expect it will be very quiet, though filled with soccer games. :)

I found a couple of sketches and made two cards using Everything Comes Full Turn {September 2015 Sentiment Kit}. I just absolutely LOVE the Unity sets where they provide a shaped image and you can stamp a variety of different sentiments within.

 

The first sketch is from a new blog I found, called Just Add Ink Challenge Blog.

I just used some MME cardstock and layered sequins with pearls for this one...

The second sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches 205.

And I know this looks Halloween-y, but it's actually just my camera - the cardstock is navy blue but the patterned cardstock is really a light yellow-orange. Oh, well!

Speaking of yellow-orange things, we made "breakfast for dinner" this week and I tried a new recipe called Home Fries At Home. 

 

It's a very simple recipe, but had lots of flavor - amazing how sometimes just a few key spices can have a lot of pep. Gotta love paprika! 

Thanks for visiting, hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :)

And they're off! FWF #41

I love it when a sketch comes along, that is incredibly versatile and fun - from CAS(E) this Sketch!

Of course, everybody has butterflies, but not everybody loves softball! I recently purchased You're a Hit from Unity and had been waiting for the right sketch...

 

This was my first attempt at trying to mask a stamp (the sentiment is stacked) and trying to fit it onto a small size. I didn't want to cut the stamp...but I might succumb one day...

 

Speaking of softball, Mika is feeling more comfortable with the team. She got the opportunity to play some second base last weekend. The uniforms are brand-new and I was thrilled to see how much they *pop* in pictures! 

 

And it's nice to see her maturing in other ways as well. The local middle schools had their first running meet yesterday in the 99-degree heat. I was pleased to see Mika running well (she shaved 19" off from last year) - she started her final "kick" earlier than I had advised (but she maintained!) and passed three others coming in the final stretch. Such good effort! She's not out to win (she's not a runner by any means, but it is good conditioning for softball) but she wants to do well - 13th place out of 31 girls (that finished). Not too shabby, Softball Girl! :)

And speaking of hot weather...it's over 100 degrees today, but on Monday, it was pouring rain and it was very cool (70's?). Time to make some soup! I found this VERY TASTY Copy Cat Panera Bread Potato Soup recipe - I highly recommend it! The little one loved it, but it was a little spicy for her (she ate some, panted, drank some ice water, ate some more - it was delicious torture for her!). I added some canned clams for extra protein.

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for visiting! Don't forget to check out Unity's Mystery Discount sale - you won't be sorry!