Happy New Year!!

I know this is a little early but the BIG MOVE is tomorrow and I won't have any internet (or TV...sniffle, sniffle) at the new house yet.  But if you want to contact me you can still send me an e-mail....I can check that on my phone!  Thank goodness for a little technology at least!  :)

Hope everyone is doing great and I'm wishing you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hugs!
- Stacie

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas....and if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you have a wonderful celebration of your choosing or even just have a marvelous day if you don't celebrate anything!  Wanted to make sure I spread some love to everyone!  :)

A few house pics

Well, I took these pictures before Thanksgiving and it only took a month to post them....not bad right?  LOL!  The main areas...kitchen, living room and bathroom.  That is all I have for now...hope everyone is doing well!  

Checking In

Hey everyone!
Just checking in and saying hi....how are you all doing?  I know I promised pictures and I apologize for not having those posted yet (I will soon though)....the weeks are just flying by and I hope you understand I have alot going on right now!  We officially closed on selling our house last week so no more paperwork.....what a relief to also have  less payments to make each month!  I have also been working practically everyday with my regular job and hubby and I are still plugging away daily on building the new house which sadly will be nowhere near finished by moving time but it will be liveable with running water, appliances, toilet, shower...the basics!  LOL!  I have also been trying really hard to get rid of several items either by donation or selling.  I had a big moving sale in October and it was a success but I still needed to get rid of some big items like a HUGE dining room set and a grandfather clock.  I am happy to say I just sold all of that today!  :)

The goal is to move between Christmas and New Year's....wish us luck with the weather!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to pop in real quick and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving for those that are celebrating!  For those that aren't I just hope you have a happy day!!  :)

I also wanted to thank those of you who have left comments or e-mailed me to make sure I was still doing okay since I haven't been on here in ages!  I truly appreciate you checking in...makes a girl feel special!  *BIG HUGS*

I FINALLY remembered to take my camera out this week and took some pics of the new house coming together.  We still have a ton of work ahead of us but we are making progress!  I hope to post a few of those pics later this week or next.

- Stacie

Tasty Tuesday and News!

I have decided to start another blog just for recipes so Tasty Tuesday is on hold until I can get that set up.  I will let you know when it is up and running so hopefully you can come follow me and enjoy some delicious recipes!  :)

I also have some news that I think we have sold our house!  WAHOO!!!  Providing everything goes through we will be moving in December!  That means some crazy work for us until then getting the new house ready...it won't be completely finished when we move in but atleast it will be liveable!  So keep your fingers crossed everything goes accordingly!  

Sadly I had to step down from the design teams I was on but you will still see me around here and there.  I will post when I can and of course I will visit you all when possible!

Hopefully I can post some house pictures in the near future so you can see where all my hard work is going! Oh and if you have any craft room ideas let me know because I will have my own room....that won't be worked on right away but it never hurts to think about it in advance!  :)

Hugs!

- Stacie

Sunshine Award!

I received this award from my fab blogging pal Becky...you can find her fantastic creations and recipes by clicking HERE! Thanks again for passing this award onto me! :)

Now the Sunshine Award details...
Thank the one who gave you the award
Answer the 10 questions below
Pass the award on to 10 blogs

 Here are the 10 questions and my answers:

1. Favorite color: Blue...any shade!
2. Favorite animal: I can't show favorites so I will have to say a dog and chinchilla since I have both!
3. Favorite number: Ummm....5?
4. Favorite Drink: Water...but that is so plain so for a treat I make hot mint tea with agave!
5. Facebook or Twitter: Neither (I'm a technology dinosaur these days!) LOL!
6. Good book or good movie: Good movie
7. My passion: Cooking/baking...I LOVE food!!
8. Giving or getting gifts: Both
9. Favorite day: Saturday
10. Favorite flower: Mimosa ... check it out! Edited to add the correct link!  http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?ProductID=5602
They smell good too! :)

So many people inspire me so if you would like this award please feel free to take it and post on your blog. Share the sunshine!

Steak and Blueberry Salad

This is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover grilled steak! Click HERE for the recipe! Note: This is a versatile salad because you could change up the greens, nuts and cheese...I used a baby spring mix instead of spinach, pecans instead of walnuts and blue cheese instead of feta! If your in a hurry don't worry about making the dressing just splash some balsamic vinegar on it and your good to go! Enjoy! :)

Shrimp and Kale Over Roasted Garlic Polenta

Click HERE for the recipe! Enjoy! :)

Provencal Summer Vegetable Bake

Click HERE for the recipe!

Happy Birthday Bunnies

Main image is from Doodle Palace
Butterfly, snails and sentiment are from Lawn Fawn

Challenges:
Allsorts - Layers
Charisma Cardz - Seeing Double
Craft Your Passion - Blast From The Past (I chose challenge 98 which was red, white and blue)
Cupcake Craft - In Stitches
Delicious Doodle - Celebrations
Kaboodle Doodle - Flowers
Penny's Challenge - Sew Charming

Flat Bottom Fruit Pie

A great way to use up some fruit you might have on hand...I had peaches and blueberries so that is what I used. A few other changes I made to the recipe: I used almond milk instead of half and half (you could use whatever milk you have), I also used fat free cool whip. The texture does come out a bit different with these substitutions but it saves on calories and allows me to eat more dessert... plus it still tastes amazing so you won't hear me complaining!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Unstampabelles Challenge #15

Time for our 15th challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see EMBOSSING! You have until September 28th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on October 1st!
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, etc.!

Please go to the Unstampabelles blog for sponsor and prize information!

Now for my DT project to get you started!


I made a tag using shadow embossing. This is where you run your die cuts through an embossing folder and then shift the paper a little and run them through again. A random pattern like dots works best. Also, I would suggest using a darker paper than I did and maybe something that you can sand like core'dinations...I think it would make the shadowing part stand out better.

Hope to see you joining in our challenge!! :)

Magical

Another pre-colored Christmas image by Nicecrane Designs which you can find in the store by clicking HERE! The sentiment is created from an alphabet stamp set by Lawn Fawn....so fun making my own words!

I just love the images from the Little Girl Magic collection! Christmas will be here before you know it so this is a good time to stock up on those holiday images and get started on those cards!

Once again the colors are a little different because of my printer but I'm pretty happy about it since I found that paper to match! :)

Challenges:

White Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

I took these to a family reunion over the summer and they were a hit! Everyone raved about these bars and they were gobbled up so fast not everyone got to try them so next year I will be making more than one batch!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Birthday Dinner!

I officially turned one year older yesterday but thanks to exercising and eating better (I have now lost 30 pounds) I am in better shape now than I was 10 years ago (such a good feeling)! The day went pretty good and I wanted to give a shout out and say thank you so much to those that sent me birthday wishes...means more than you will ever know!! I also had to show off what hubby made for dinner...he rarely...and I do mean RARELY cooks so I was pleasantly surprised with this gourmet meal after returning home last night from work and yoga! DELISH!!! That man sure can grill to perfection! :)

Taco Salad

I received this recipe off a co-worker 5 years ago for my bridal shower. It is so easy to throw together for a quick dinner or a party!

Ingredients:
1 bottle french dressing (I used fat free catalina)
1 can of kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 packet of taco seasoning (I use the cheapest brand I can find in mild)
Lettuce, onion, tomato, bell pepper, shredded cheese and fritos (or some other crunchy type tortilla chip)

Mix the beans with the dressing and taco seasoning packet and marinate overnight. Then when your ready to serve cut up the lettuce, onion, tomato and bell pepper and mix together. Add the bean mixture and toss. Then top with cheese and chips.

*I recently made this and instead of assembling it all at once I mixed smaller portions at a time so the ingredients didn't get soggy. And if your taking it for lunch all the ingredients should be okay together especially if you assemble them that morning which is what I did except the chips...put those in a separate container.

Enjoy!

Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry (Seasonal Fruit Pie)

I saw this recipe on my blogging pal Becky's blog and knew right away I had to try it! I didn't have a cast iron skillet handy so I just used my stoneware pie plate. I left out the nutmeg because that is not a spice that I particularly like. I also used frozen blueberries, peaches and strawberries because I had some to use up from last season....we froze a ton!! I shared this pie with my folks and in-laws and they loved it! I must say it is one of the best pies I have ever made! I used turbinado sugar on top for a little dazzle and crunch!

Click HERE for this fantastic recipe!

*Thanks Becky....this is now my "go-to" pie recipe! I plan on making it again this week!

Enjoy! :)

Lavender Honey Cake

Click HERE and HERE for the two recipes I combined!

I had never used lavender in baking before so it was a new taste experience for me. It was completely different than expected but good. I recommend eating it with some vanilla ice cream instead of plain!!

Notes - Changed the cupcake recipe to 1/2 cup sugar instead of a whole cup.
Icing was too lemony so mixed with more powdered sugar, a little honey and vanilla. Added lavender to the top for decoration!

Enjoy! :)

Unstampabelles Challenge #14

Time for our 14th challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see any HANDMADE FLOWER! You have until August 31st to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on September 3rd!
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is Blue Edge Crafts!!

Here is the fabulous prize on offer for this month!



Now for my DT project to get you started!


To make my flower I used the Tim Holz Tattered Floral die to get my flower pieces out of white cardstock. Then I used distres inks by swiping the ink pad on a craft mat and spritzing with some water. Next I "wiped up" the ink using my flower pieces and crinkled them into a ball. Then I dried them with my heat gun. I used hot glue to put each layer together and added a pearl to the center. The background is made from scrap paper and using a scalloped border punch. The top layer is embossed with dots but being black it is hard to see. Added a white rub-on sentiment to finish things off. Hope you like my creation and I would love to see you over there on the challenge blog with your own handmade flower creation! :)