Alice in Wonderland...

ain't got nuthin' on my sister when it comes to throwing a tea party! :)

As I mentioned yesterday, my big sis, Liz (you may remember my post here about her...) planned a fundraiser tea that was held last Sunday.  I went over Saturday afternoon and spent the night, helping her get ready, but for the most part, much of the planning and baking was done by her!

I still had the Nikon D90 (she was heading back to Nikon on Monday!) so I popped my 50mm f/1.8 lens on it and started snapping, as I was sure that my sister would want to scrapbook the little details of her successful tea party.

Liz had some of these cups from last year's tea party, that she had picked up through yard sales and auctions.  But many of them were donated by loving family and friends... and even strangers!  While having chemo one week, Liz mentioned to one of the caregivers that she was having a tea party.  This woman offered to send out an email request and lo and behold!  Almost 40 cups were donated!

Oddly enough, there were no two of the same design!!  By the time I put down my camera to grab a tea, my favourite cup was already chosen (second row, third cup from the right end), but I did end up with a lovely one - the one to the left of it!

Notice the great short depth of field in this photo?  I absolutely LOVE my 50mm lens!

We decorated all of the tables and chairs on Saturday.  During another chemo session, my sister was discussing the tea party with our other sister, and a woman who was accompanying another patient nearby overheard.  She came over and said, "Pardon my eavesdropping, but I heard you talking about your tea party.  I own a business and I'd love to donate chair covers".  It turns out that this woman lives in the same small town that I do!  I wish I could remember her business name as I would give her a shout out... I will check with my sister and let you all know!  I am constantly amazed every day at the goodness of people.

Continuing on with our photo story, here's a view of Liz's gorgeous living room, through the French doors:

Just inside these doors, on the right side, is a new wall decor item that my sister found a few weeks ago:

The colouring was perfect for her decor, and the message was poignant.  It was almost as if it was just waiting for her to come along and buy it.

Further into the living room, we set up small tables of four, as well as the large dining table, to accomodate everyone.

Isn't that floral arrangement gorgeous??  My cousins, Connie & Gabe, upon finding out about Liz's diagnosis, promptly arranged for Newland's Flowers to deliver an arrangement every Wednesday for 10 weeks to "banish the winter blues and cheer her up".  Isn't that the sweetest thing you've every heard?  And they are BEAUTIFUL, each and every week - and always unique!

In the family room, off the kitchen, we set up bistro tables with cloths and simple floral arrangements.

To the left of the room, in the family room area, we moved (or rather, had Liz's hubby and son move) their pub dining table to provide more seating.

I sat here with this group of fabulous ladies.

The tea set on the table was my mother's and as such, was given a place of honour.

If you look closely, you can see me in the reflection! :)

In between the kitchen and family areas, we set up the food.  There were tea sandwiches:  smoked salmon, goat cheese and watercress, egg salad, cucumber mint and of course, whipped butter and jam.  A friend also made cherry cream cheese pinwheels and carrot cake tea sandwiches.

And the desserts!  Oh, they were heavenly - butter tarts, profiteroles and mexican wedding cookies. 

And of course, scones...

with an array of toppings like Devon cream, whipped butter, homemade strawberry, raspberry and cherry jams, fig preserves and apple butter, along with a raspberry sauce.  Mmmm...

Here's my contribution to the party...

Uh, that would be the menu and name cards... not the jams or preserves... :)

Althought I did roll up my sleeves on Sunday morning and help make most of the sandwiches while Liz ran around and finished up last minute touches...

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this lens??

Before we got too busy with the party, I made sure that my sisters and I sat down for a family portrait:

I think that you can tell in this photo that I was up until after 3am, but I'm happy to have a photo of the three of us!  Don't you love Liz's hat?  Her friend, Mary, brought it for her to wear!  So elegant!

It was only two hours, but what a memorable and fun way to raise money for a good cause!

I don't have the final tally from Liz as to the funds raised, but I know that there were some very generous donations.  Thanks to everyone who attended and to those who donated, as well!

So how about you?  Have you ever organized a charity fundraiser?  I can soooo get how these rich wives can spend all day working with charities - it was so fulfilling knowing that our hard work was not only going to help people in our community, but that it raised awareness for the goodness that the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation provides.

Thanks for reading!

How to Train Your Dragon

Well, we schlepped into town tonight to take the kids to see this movie.

Only we skipped the 3D version, having read that it may have made the movie a bit scarier for younger audiences.

Okay, where to start with this movie?

How about the cast?  Flippin' brilliant.   That's all I have to say about that.  Jay Baruchel, Jonas Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristin Wiig... you think it may be a cross between Superbad and Knocked Up!  But add the Scottish likes of Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson and WHAM!

This movie made me laugh out loud, more than once.  I got all teary eyed too, more than once.  And once, and I'll only admit it to you, I actually REACHED out as if I could stop something from happening!!

Yep, embarassing.

And it wasn't even in 3D!

But definitely GO see this - with or without the kids!  You will love it!  If you do take the kids, please note that they may be frightened at some of the scenes but my 5 year old was okay - in fact, when you ask her what the scary part is, it's when Toothless is captured and they are "being mean to him"...

Gotta love a movie that makes you fall in love with animated characters...

On Top of Spaghetti...

Not covered in meatballs, at any rate!

Seems like my Thursday recipe post for meatballs was "post"poned again! :(  Gary went in for some minor surgery on Thursday and I overestimated the amount of free time that I would have while he recuperated!  In the last four days, I have logged about 500km in carting the kidlets around to swim practice, gymnastics, birthday parties and shopping!

He's doing well and on the road to recovery - in fact, the kids and I are dragging him to see How to Train Your Dragon this afternoon! 

We've all been waiting for this to come out and the reviews have all been fantastic!  I'll be sure to let you know what the gang thinks when we get home...

I also have photos to share from the tea party last weekend!  For those of you who may not know, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2009.  Last year, she hosted a tea party on International Women's Day.  Now, if you don't know my sister, then you've never been to a party!  She served tea, purchased at Harrod's of London while on a trip to the UK with her daughter, who is now working abroad there (*waving madly at you, Sarah!*), along with scones and Devon cream, finger sandwiches and all kinds of tasty delights.

Due to her diagnosis this year, she was unable to host on that day again, but wanted to have a fundraiser tea, to raise money for the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, who has been so incredible to her on this journey of kicking some cancer A$$! :)

So, miraculously, with a strength that I attribute to very few people, she organized, baked and hosted a tea party for almost 40 women!  Everything was delicious and I met alot of wonderful new friends and got to visit with some old ones too, in between snapping photos!

Stay tuned - I'll share them in a few days!  Now I have to run before my family leaves without me! :)

23 Days...

until

I'm getting excited!!  I just received my photo order from Green Pixel Printing and can't wait to start planning on what I should bring to the crop!

Hoping to meet up with a lot of web friends, old and new, this year, both in my class and at the crop!  Only SEVEN spots left in the class - will be so much fun!!

Spellbound

Do you have the Presto Punch Machine from Spellbinders yet?  If not, here's your chance to win!

Canadian Scrapbooker's March 2010 Trivia Contest is sponsored by Spellbinders - answer the question right and you'll be entered into a draw to win this prize pack, valued at $140+ CDN!  Contest closes at midnight, April 11th, 2010 so be sure to enter HERE for your chance to win!

And speaking of winning, there's still a few more days left in my March RAK giveaway! :)

And I'm STILL waiting for a mailing address from my February winner, Lori - I will give it another week and then I will have to draw a new winner... so email me, Lori!! :)

Webisode No. 2!

Be sure to join Jackie Ludlage for Webisode No. 2 - Peel It Off!

She'll guide you through using some great new stickers from Harmonie, Peel-Offs, with irridescent powders.  Click HERE to watch!!

RAK Reminder!

Just a quick reminder to the winner of my February RAK, Lori - I have your Spring issue here, ready to be mailed!  Please email me at justinfo{at}justcre8{dot}com with your mailing address and I will get that out to you right away so you can be inspired by some of the incredible designs in this issue!

And another reminder to everyone about the March giveaway this month... how would you like to receive these goodies on your doorstep in April?

Check out this blog post for more info on how to win - I will draw a winner on April 1st!

Thursday?? Already??

I had planned on posting a recipe for meatballs today to go with the spaghetti sauce that we made last week, but time has slipped by me this week!  Ever have one of those weeks that no matter how organized you try to be, you still don't accomplish anything on your Git 'Er Done! list?? 

Hmm, maybe my list is too long...

A priority for me right now is to design and build my creative space!  Even though I have taken on new projects since our decision to no longer create Just Cre8 kits, like teaching at ScrapFest and working on the Hands On! blog and another feature article for Canadian Scrapbooker, I have been making time to exercise my creative muscles.  My crop buddies and I were scrapbooking almost religiously every Friday but decided to stop over the holidays.

In that time, my scrapbooking stuff got scattered all over the place.  Much of it was out in our family area, left out from our last crop.  It was all transferred to a couple of tables to make room for Poker Night.  Some of it was packed for overnight sleepover crops at my sister's place.  Other pieces were sifted through to create birthday and Valentine's Day cards.  New products was dumped unceremoniously on top, since there was no REAL home for it yet.

Truth be told, even when we have tried to make plans to scrapbook, I have been hopelessly overwhelmed by the thought of trying to FIND anything to use!  That's when I decided that if I was going to continue scrapbooking, I needed an organized, well-planned studio to do it.

So I did what I always do when I need inspiration and ideas... I Googled! And oh, the riches to be found on the Internet!! My ultimate room would look a lot like Jana's, except with dark woods. But because I'm pretty certain that her cabinetry alone is worth more than I can afford to put in, I happily just soaked in her storage ideas!

There are certain elements that I know I want.  I want double french doors, similar to this photo of amarissa's from Two Peas in a Bucket:
 

 
This will allow me to scrapbook in my studio, but still feel connected to my family if they are watching TV or playing Wii.  Mine will have to open inward, though, due to an ill-placed bulkhead.
 
I saw a lot of scrap rooms that utilities the Expedit bookcases from Ikea.  I'm torn though - I love the idea of having everything visible and at hand, like Laura Vegas' former scrap room.  She features two of the bookcases (along with an enviable island, made by her mom!):

But part of me envisions this crisp, clean workspace (when not in use, obviously!), with everything stored (read: hidden) in cabinets.
 
I came across Stacey's scrap studio on Two Peas, as well.  I fell in love with the mix of white cabinets, paired with black island.  I like the idea of a smaller island in the centre of the room and then a sit down counter along one wall.
 

I love this type of island that you can stand, or pull up a stool, when your back starts to ache and your knees scream, "SIT DOWN, OLD LADY"...
 
What?  That's just me?  Oh....
 
At any rate, there's still alot of planning that has to happen and then there's the whole "budget" thing.  I'm blessed to have a fairly large room (about 12.5 x 12.5 ft) but floor to ceiling cabinets along one or two walls would be quite expensive.  The accountant in me is sensibly thinking that there are other parts of the house that could use renovation (namely the upstairs master bathroom that leaked and is the really reason that my scrap room does not have a ceiling...) But a (big) part of me thinks, reasonably, what's a few thousand dollars when you have twice that much (or more!) of scrapbooking supplies that you aren't using??
 
Decisions, decisions, decisions...
 
I'll continue to plan and mull it over... in the meantime, next Thursday, we'll resume with a new recipe!

I'm in LOVE!

Not just with my cutie pie hubby, either!

Lately, I've been hearing the name Epiphanie bantered about a lot and I finally had a minute to Google them...

Like I said - I'm in LOVE!

Epiphanie is a new company that creates revolutionary camera bags for women.  All of the bags are made of a water-resistant, high quality synthetic leather exterior and a padded interior with adjustable Velcro panels.  There's a removable cross-body strap with padding and two exterior pockets.  They have three styles right now but are in the process of designing and testing more to come this year!

.

First, there's Ginger.  She's practical and sensible, but has a stylish nature with her white stitching and turquoise lining:

Secondly, there's Belle.  Truly a lady, she is a gorgeous turquoise colour, and shows her fiesty side with her lime green lining.

And then there's Lola.

Isn't she beautiful?  Gorgeous knot detailed handles with tiny metal studs... with a lavender interior.  Not to mention the gorgeous RED colour.

Be still my heart.

I think I need her - just to complement the OTHER Lola in my life...  :)

And... not only do they have kewl bags, but Epiphanie is giving way your choice of a brand new Canon 5D Mark II OR a $2500 gift certificate to Southwest Airlines!  Click HERE for more info!!

Time for a RAK!

Well, it's officially March Break here - my kids have left to spend the week with their grandparents!  This is a big year for us as it is the first year that they have both stayed to visit at the same time!  Hopefully they behave themselves so that the offer is extended again next year! :)

We, sadly, are not going anywhere.  I would have liked to, but Gary has some major deadlines coming up at work this week and one of his team members is away this week so he'll be handling the brunt of it.  Sigh.  Maybe next year...

I'm going to use this week off to finish purging and organizing my scrapbooking supplies and to complete my creative studio - I have a lot of ideas so hopefully my hubby will have time to implement them all!  (I think I may have to wait on the French doors...)

So because it's already started to feel lonely around here and I have sooo much product that I won't be able to use in this lifetime, I'm going to have a giveaway! 

I've noticed that while I am getting alot of visits to my blog, there are not alot of comments and  I have only four followers!  (Thanks to Marina, Marlie, Chelle and Laurie! :))  Come and join my happy little family and you will be entered into a random draw for the following prize:

How's that for a honkin' big prize?!?  It has a retail value of over $110.00!  There are 57 sheets of paper from 17 different manufacturers, 17 die cut sheets, not to mention stamps, ribbons, buttons and chipboard.  Here's a list of contents:

• 3 Bugs in a Rug: Celebrate - Ovation (2) and Star (2)
• Basic Grey: Cupcake - Streamers (1) and Surprise (2)
• Bo Bunny: Teen Chic - Kiwi
• Bo Bunny: Double Dot - Frost Dot
• Creative Imaginations: Candles & Cake
• Cherry Arte: Princess - 2 each of Corinne, Heather, Max and Sheri
• Cosmo Cricket: Early Bird - Farmer's Market (2)
• Doodlebug Design: La Fleur - Lily White
• Jenni Bowlin: Victoria - Parlour (2)
• Little Yellow Bicycle: Vita Bella - 2 each of Feather Scroll and Green Floral
• Luxe Designs: Sarong - 2 each of Fiji and Maldives
• My Mind's Eye: Bloom & Grow - 1 each of Brown Bijoux Birds and Polka Dot Punch
• My Mind's Eye: My Little Prince - Crown/Navy (2)
• My Mind's Eye: My Brother - 2 each of Stripe/Dark Green and Paisley/Light Blue
• My Mind's Eye: Family Ties - Harlequin/Green
• My Mind's Eye: Out & About - 1 each of No. 2 Swirls and No. 2 Blue Paisley
• My Mind's Eye: Frost - Light Dusting
• My Mind's Eye: Irresistible - Flying High
• Paper Salon: Glad Rags - Floral (2)
• Rouge de Garance: Cupidon No. 6
• Scenic Route: Providence - Green Street (2)
• SEI: Windsor - 2 each of Kent and Windsor
• Masterpiece Studios: Stemma - Black Dream
• Tinkering Ink: Beloved - 1 each of Sentimental and Tender
• Bazzill Basics Large Eyelet cardstock - 1 each of Candy Apple and Festive
• DCWV 12"x12" mini scalloped cardstock - 1 each of Baby Blue, Dark Red, Peacock Blue, Heather and Yellow
• DCWV 8"x8" scalloped cardstock - 1 each of Baby Blue, Rust, Navy, Forest Green, Peacock Blue, Heather, Yellow, Coral and Pink
• Maya Road sheer Die Cut Sheet: Hearts - Black
• Maya Road Chipboard Keychain set - Wings
• 10 Maya Road Chipboard Scrolls
• Just Cre8 clear polymer stamps - one each of Silver Guppy and Cre8ive Flowers
• Acrylic 3" x 5" Stamping Block
• Buttons from my stash

Here's another peek:

Just click on Follow Me under the Kewl Friends section in the side bar on the right to follow this blog AND leave me a comment, letting me know that you're a Kewl Friend now! I will draw a random winner on April 1st!

Thanks for visiting and good luck!

Edited:  If you are leaving a comment anonymously, without logging in, please remember to leave me your name! :)

Homemade Pasta Sauce

This recipe is a mixture of a couple of family recipes for a tomato-based pasta sauce.  The ingredient list is not exact - a lot of my day-to-day cooking is a matter of a little bit of this, a little bit of that, until it tastes good!

Start with a couple of pounds of pork riblets.  You would also use stewing beef but I think a lot of the flavour comes from the bones themselves.

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Slice the ribs into strips and arrange on a baking sheet.  I used a rack so that any fat would drip off.  Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, or until lightly browned.  I'm not a big fan of the drippy goo that results from raw meat in hot liquids.  If you can stomach it, you can skip this step!

In the meantime, prepare your veggies.  I used 2 1/2 medium onions, 3 large carrots and 7 or 8 cloves of garlic, but the number you use will depend on the amount of sauce you want to make!  I would have liked to have more onions in relation to the carrots, but my cupboard was bare.  And I used A LOT of garlic, because we love it around here - and let's face it... Aili's immune system can use all the help it can get!  Again, I am not a precise kind of girl, so you may have to half or double this recipe, depending on your needs. 

Chop your onions finely, but do not mince them.  Unless you have children (the little OR the big kind) who gag at the sight of an onion.  Then mince away.  Using a fine grater or your food processor, grate your carrots.  Crush garlic using a garlic press.  If you don't have one, lay your large chef's or santoku knife flat on the garlic cloves and give them a good WHAP!  Then chop with your knife until they are finely minced.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan.

Add onions, carrots and garlic and saute until onions become translucent.  Do not BROWN garlic!  If you find that the mixture is sticking or burning and you don't want to add additional oil, you can add some chicken stock.  Dump mixture into a large stock pot when done.

For this recipe, I am using home-canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, but you could just as easily use canned.  Remember to watch the sodium content though - President's Choice Blue Menu Low Sodium brand are a good choice.

My dad canned these tomatoes.  A canning domestic diva I am not.  He gave me four jars of tomato pieces and another four of tomato puree.  Since I have finicky kids (and an even more finicky hubby), I blended all but one of the jars of tomato pieces.  I removed the bay leaf before blending to avoid any mysterious green pieces.

Add tomato puree and pieces to the onion/carrot/garlic mixture.

Depending on your preference, you may choose to add tomato paste to your sauce.  I find it creates a thicker sauce.

Once you have added your tomato paste, add your seasonings.  Again, this is a matter of preference.  I added a generous helping of black pepper and red pepper flakes, along with some sea salt.  I would have added chopped fresh basil if I had it and maybe some oregano.  Again, bare cupboard syndrome...

Now, one of the key ingredients in this recipe is to add a touch of sugar.  This cuts the acidity in the tomatoes.  I added about 1/4 cup to my mixture, but again, it will depend on the quantity that you are making.

By now, your ribs should be browned.  These could have had a little more colour but I was in a rush to get it all in the pot and simmering!

Add the ribs to your sauce mixture.

Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, or longer, if you prefer.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Remove pot from heat and sift out the ribs.  The meat will probably be falling off the bone.  If it's not, return it to the stove and simmer longer!  Be careful, because the pork ribs may have small pieces of bone. 

Once all of the ribs have been removed, ladle sauce into freezer-safe containers and let cool before covering. 

And that's it!  You've just made homemade pasta sauce!

Now, pop this in your freezer and next week, I will share a recipe for meatballs!

February RAK winner!

Thanks to everyone who left comments on my blog RAK giveaway post with your favourite colour combinations - I'm inspired! :)  Now to find time to scrap... I'm so looking forward to the ScrapFest crop in April!

Thanks to http://www.randomizer.org/, we have a winner!

 Lori said...
I would love to win!
My favorite combo is Pink, Lime and black!
LOVE IT!
February 27, 2010 10:14 AM

Congratulations, Lori!  Please email me your mailing address and I will send your Spring issue of Canadian Scrapbooker to you for you to enjoy!
I will be posting another RAK for March later this week so check back!  Tomorrow I will be sharing a recipe for homemade pasta sauce!

London Regionals and the Nikon D90

I am FINALLY getting around to posting the photos from Connor's WOSA Championships swim meet in London in February.  Even though his swim times didn't improve during this meet, he still managed to place in the top 25 out of all of the kids in the region!  We are so proud of him!

I managed to get a chance to play with the new D90 that Nikon sent to me, while my D70 is being cleaned/repaired.  Oh. My. Word.  I am in love.  I was really hoping that Nikon Repair would call and say that it was beyond hope, and would I mind just keeping the D90 as a promo item?  Sadly, they didn't - and it was only about $140 to clean and adjust the focussing sensors so I am still unable to justify a new camera purchase, until I start setting up some photo shoots again.

Even though the quality of these photos should be justification enough...

During warm-ups:

On the starting block for his 50m Backstroke:

In the home stretch for 50 m Backstroke:

More Backstroke:

During the Butterfly leg of the IM (Individual Medley)

Backstroke leg of the IM:

But here is my favourite photo from the whole weekend.  I have plans to enlarge it to at least an 11"x14" and have it dry mounted for Connor's room:

These were all taken with the Nikon D90 and the Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens.

I am truly and deeply in love.