Layout: First Freckle

My friend Allison has a blog. She also has a baby. I love both her blog and her baby. They are both cute and entertaining. As an honorary Auntie to little Luke I get the honor of scrapbooking his smoochable face. When Allison posted this picture the other day, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it to scrap! I have to wait ONE MORE WEEK to see the real child, so this will have to do for now.



In case you can't see that adorable little freckle on the layout I have added a bigger picture for you to play i spy with the freckle.


Thanks for stopping by- I strongly encourage you to swing by Allison's blog for some clever organization, diy home decor, and a daily dose of sarcasm.

Five on Friday: Late Night Nostalgia

So I have been following Kayla Aimee's blog for a while now. {Super secret stalker.} I have decided to play along this week and link up my answers. Her answers were inspiring, especially the one about JTT. For reals girl. I'm totally with you on that one!

My favorite childhood toy was this contraption that allowed me to blow up balloons and stuff them full of things. Think confetti, teddy bears, other balloons. What kid doesn't like stuffing things into other things? I think I may have given one away as a gift and used the rest of the balloons as gifts to myself. I will never deny that I was a strange child.

My favorite song from when I was little was Ray Stevens' The Mississippi Squirrel Revival. I have already said that I was a strange child, but this might take the cake. My brother and I used to watch the Ray Stevens video non-stop when we visited our grandparents. The Streak...It's Me Again Margaret...we knew them all.

The day the squirrel went berserk,
In the First Self-Righteous Church
in that sleepy little town of Pascagoula.
It was a fight for survival,
that broke out in revival.
They were jumpin pews and shouting Hallelujah!

In doing research for the exact lyrics I have discovered his music is now political and not nearly as funny. Disappointing.

My favorite childhood memory is sledding in my grandparents back yard. Snow + Big Hill + Water Hose = Super fast sledding track. And my two-handled sled. I'll have to tell the two-handled sled story sometime...it's one of my favorites.

My childhood crush changed daily. I could give a list that included Taylor Hanson, Anton Apolo Ohno, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and most of all- Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I loved Third Rock From The Sun (NERD!!) and he was (and still is) so adorkable.

The thing I was most afraid of as a kid was being left in a public place. Why's that you say? Probably because my mom left me at church one night. Think about it. Before cell phones. She got all the way home to find out my father didn't have me. There was a message on the answering machine from Brother so-and-so at church saying that I was still there with him. Yes, she came to get me. Yes, my mother still feels guilty. Yes, I once had my mother paged in K-Mart when I was a pre-teen because I was separated from her and thought I had been left again.

I hope you all enjoyed my trip down memory lane. Check out Kayla Aimee's post and join us on the journey!

Layout: Honeymoon Food

Ryan and I both returned from the honeymoon in dire need of a diet. This layout shows you part of the reason why!



We visited Charleston, Hilton Head, and Savannah and ate a ton of delicious dishes, but were honestly tired of eating by the end of the week!

Layout: {big changes}

June was my last month designing for Simple Scrapper. I loved the templates and projects and it was a great way to find inspiration for simple, yet interesting scrapbook pages.

Here is the photoless layout I created for one of the June template/sketches.


I documented the big changes that have happened recently. A new job. A new state. A new marriage. Have I told you guys I love my life right now? Well I do. Life is wonderful!

Monday Meals: Fajitas and 5 Layer Dip

Ryan loves dips and chips and I love to cook for him. So I decided to make him one of his favorites- a 5 layer dip. We had picked one up at Earth Fare that was tasty, but it was expensive and gone within a couple of hours. My solution was to make a similar homemade version.

Here is what I did:

Layer One:
Amy's Organic Refried Beans (Seriously the best beans EVER!)

Layer Two:
Mix in a small bowl: 2 ripe avocados, 2 tsp lime juice, pinch of salt
Layer over the beans.

Layer Three:
Salsa (We used some acquired from the local farmer's market- YUM!)

Layer Four:
Sour Cream with Taco Seasoning sprinkled on top.

Layer Five:
Mexican Cheese Blend

Don't judge a dip by it's photo:


Because we cannot just eat dip alone, I stayed with the cuisine theme and made fajitas.


Is it wrong for me to be in love with my new cutting boards? One for meats and one for veggies. *swoon*


Tasty goodness.

Layout: Down The Aisle

This is the first of many wedding layouts. In honor of father's day weekend, I thought I would share this layout about going down the aisle with my step-dad. Without getting to far into family dynamics, there were several candidates of who could walk me down the aisle. I settled on asking my step-dad who has been a part of my life since I was in 4th grade. We have a close bond and our relationship has helped shape who I am today. (I get all of my sarcasm from him. All. of. it.)



I used one of my gorgeous kits from My Scrapbook Nook that has been sitting in a corner gathering dust. I'm so glad to be scrapping again!

I invite you to our photographer's blog to see many amazing pictures from our wedding day- Pixels On Paper, Inc.

Happy Friday!

Monday Meals: Cherry Cobbler

Last Monday Ryan came home with a big bag of fresh, handpicked cherries. His boss handed him a gallon Ziplock bag of super tasty cherries from his parent's property. I immediately started thinking about ways to incorporate them into our weekly menu.



So, I scoured the internet for a healthier cobbler recipe than the one I grew up knowing, Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa. As said in my best Southern (Read:Dolly Parton) voice:

"Oh hell, Clairee, you don’t need a recipe. It’s just a cup of flour, a cup of sugar and a cup of fruit cocktail WITH the syrup, stir and bake in a hot oven ‘til golden brown and bubbly. I serve it with ice cream to cut the sweetness."

I couldn't find a recipe that I loved so I took bits and pieces from several different recipes and came up with this:

As many cherries as you can stand to pit.
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups rolled oats (old fashioned)
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used two the first time around, I will probably cut it back to one in the future.)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 cup maple syrup

Step One: Pit the cherries. Since this was last minute and I've never had any reason to own a cherry pitter, this was a tedious task.
Step Two: Recruit a loved one to help with the pitting process.
Step Three: Have said loved one tell you that they are tired and taking a break. Resume pitting said cherries.



Step Four: Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Including half of the blue million tiny cherries you have pitted (not pictured).



Step Five: Layer the other half of the cherries as a bed in your baking dish. Spoon the oatmeal mixture on top of the cherries. Bake for about 45 minutes. You'll smell it when it's ready!




Happy Monday!

Layout: Cathedral of St John

I'm finally getting back into scrapbooking- my first step was to start chatting with some of my favorite ladies online again. While chatting at My Scrapbook Nook I found the June Sketch Challenge and was immediately inspired.

Supplies: Recollections cardstock, Echo Park paper, Basic Grey alpha, Making Memories alpha, Prima flowers, Fiskars punch, Sharpie Pen

This was one of our favorite finds on our honeymoon- The Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Savannah, GA- it was stunningly beautiful!

Wordless Wednesday: Life is a...

Monday Meals: Spinach Lasagna

One of my new goals is to start making heathy meals for myself and Ryan. I'm trying to get into the groove of cooking more often and incorporating organic foods into our normal routine.

This week's new meal was a Low-Fat Spinach Lasagna. As it isn't perfected yet I am not going to give out the recipe, but I will tell you what I put in it this round. I will give this another shot soon and share the exact recipe and instructions if it is successful! This is a trial and error process for me.

Low-fat organic mozzarella cheese
Low-fat organic cottage cheese
Frozen (thawed) spinach
Whole Wheat lasagna noodles
Organic pasta sauce
Italian Seasoning
Pepper



It's not really pretty, and I sure could make some improvements, but it won the seal of approval from my husband so that is good enough for me for now!

A new start

So many things have changed. I graduated, moved to a new state, started a new job, and I'm married. How's that for change? My old blog has been abandoned for several months and I'm ready to start fresh in a new place.

Speaking of new places, here are some pictures of the town home before we moved in:




I intend for this to be a place to document my new life as a married person, the exciting things about making a new house a home, and the adventures that lie ahead. This includes the crafting, decorating, and cooking that I do along the way! Welcome aboard!