Playing with Scraps

I have been playing with scraps of paper and making a lot of cards.

Here's a sample:

I really love the owl stamp!

This last one is my favorite.

I'll be back later with a sour cream and lemon cake

that's set to come out of the oven in 5 minutes.

Hello.

It's been a while.

But the time away was productively spent.

really . . .

I went to Florida!

That was productive.

Also to start 2011 off right I scrapbooked as soon as I got home.

(More on that later)

This morning we broke in mom's new waffle maker.

They were super good!

So . . . back to Florida.

The first night we were their Claire and I stayed with friends.

Then mom and dad moved us to the bed & breakfast they were staying at.

This was my first night at a b&b and I completely loved it!

Claire and I found a deck of cards on the first night and became pretty competitive at speed.

We made a day trip to St. Augustine

so Claire could meet with a friend she knew through exchange.

Katie, my parents, and I wondered around the historic district.

We found a fort and didn't go in.

We walked to the fountain of youth, but didn't go in.

And we walked up and down the touristy shops and didn't buy a thing.

We did have a good time though.

People watching and taking funny pictures next to monuments.

Later we found a beach.

It was a little chilly for swimming,

but we walked barefoot on the sand

It was a little chilly for that too,

but we're from Wisconsin and we managed.

(And by managed I mean

when we were done with the beach we ran back to Victor

the van

and stuck our feet back in our socks.)

The great adventure of the trip was the Kennedy Space Center.

I learned a lot and got to see were the shuttles take off and whatnot.

It was really interesting

and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Florida in the near future.

And I almost forgot!

We saw Chihuly!

But we couldn't take pictures inside.

Take my word for it though,

it's was breathtaking.

Back on the home front.

I made cards.

A lot of cards.

Here are a few!

Then I made some pages.

I finally finished scrapbooking Colorado!

Happy New Year.

Have a great January!

Makin' Cookies

Today I made cookies.

The traditional Christmas cut-outs.

In all sorts of fun shapes and sizes!

Before the cookies I made myself some scones for breakfast,

and Katie decided chocolate chip cookies were needed as well.

So far it's been a good baking day.

I'm thinking I'll get down to scrap some things later.

Also, if you haven't seen Alex read Twilight, you should.

Whether you like the book or not

(but especially if you don't)

he has an interesting (and honest) take on the first of the saga.

Operation: Squeaky Potato

There is not much I can share about this mission,

but we made a mess.

A really really BIG mess!

We also jammed out a little.

That's right, dancin' it out while scrapbooking-

that's how I roll!

Some random thoughts to end the evening.

I (with the help of Adam) have been thinking about sports.

Specifically the future of the Sabres.

Also, I love Grier!

Stand Tall

I'm already in love with my new camera!

Can you tell?

In other news,

I'm very behind in scrapbooking.

I have stacks of pictures and

pages of sketches

that just need the time

and inspiration to make them come together.

Slowly I'm chipping away at them.

Slowly.

It's also really fun to be this far behind.

To look back and remember what I've done in the past year.

Makes me really think about what's around the corner for next year!

*Note to self!*

Get through December first.

So here's one page for today.

"Standing Tall"

When I was hiking in Colorado.

Other things that make me especially smily this week:

Christmas cookies are ready to be rolled when I get to them,

John Green was on Jeopardy,

I made a trip to Archives today,

and Chapbooks are on the horizon.

college kids on beer, and ex-girlfriends,

the Sabres won last night,

I had coffee with a kid I haven't seen in forever,

(a welcome surprise)

I'm HOME!

(in case you haven't noticed)

Oh yeah, and I'm going ice skating later today!

New Camera, Cake, and Pages

It was my mom's 29th birthday today,

again.

I made a chocolate cake!

Grandma's recipe:

(not really a secret though)

1 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup hot coffee

Heat oven to 350.

Put all ingredients into large bowl and use electric mixer to blend.

Pout into 9x12 cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

It's good stuff.

Rich, and very moist!

And now . . .

for your consideration . . .

pages courtesy of my new Christmas camera!

Care Package

Next week is finals week.

The above picture is the care package from my mother.

THANKS!

So instead of stressing,

I finished my homework and decided to sit down with a cup of mint tea

and write you a blog about how beautiful this season is.

It's been snowing,

and more snow is in the forecast,

that makes me really happy.

I have nine days and then I'm home for breakfast making and stew simmering.

Also!

On a completely unrelated note:

Operation Smile so Wide it Hurts

is in final stages.

This epic long distance adventure started with this cupcake.

It ended

(or will later tonight)

with a

(hopefully)

huge smile on a special someone's face.

I mention this because the surprise has kept a smile on my face all week,

and the people of SinnersSaintsSweets deserve a shout out for how awesome they are!

Have a great hump day!