menu plan: peanut butter cookies

great grandma's peanut butter cookie recipe (which turns out is from that old red gingham "joy of cooking" cookbook that everyone's mom had when i was a kid.  hoping they will tide me over till my girl scout cookies show up.

1 cup crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

mix first 6 ingredients together.  sift last 3 ingredients together in separate bowl.  gradually add dry ingredients to wet.  bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. 

this week's menu plan:
sunday - cranberry pork loin, green beans, cranberry sauce
monday - hamburger, macaroni and cheese, salad
tuesday - leftovers
wednesday - church
thursday - french toast and sausage
friday - open
saturday - fajitas

quality literature: the perks of being a wallflower

this book tackles all the maladies known to teenagers.  every. single. one of them.  well, except bad grades.  despite all the things they do and all the things that are done to them, they still all manage to get stellar grades and into top notch colleges across the nation.  yea.  you'll have to suspend reality a little with that one.  but, hey.  it is fiction. 

it's a very well written story though.  it's a series of letters written in the stream of consciousness style.  (dang i really hate not knowing who he was writing to).  the main characters are very likeable and kind. 

i guess that's all i have to say about this one, except that it's a quick read if you're looking for one of those.

genre: teenagers
setting: near penn state in the 90's
reading level: (mature) high school

counterfeit kit club: clearly, a challenge

today i am participating in the first challenge of the month with the counterfeit kit club.  the challenge is to use a clear element on the page.  let me tell you, having a kit AND being told what to do with it makes for some quick scrapbooking!

photos: i am starting to work with the photos from our trip to visit my sister and fam on vacation in north carolina.  the photos are all so gorgeous and easy to work with.  i am really just going in order through the stack as each set i have pulled is so inspiring.

story: g had to explore the creek right away and riley was there for every step of it, she just didn't want any part of the crawdads g found except for this teeny tiny baby one.  she declared it cute, carefully put her finger on it for a half second, and then said she hoped it would never grow up.

design: i went with an oversized title on this one to help immediately draw attention to the tiny subjects in my photos.

technique: for the clear element of the challenge, i scattered some sequins in a 4x6 page protector and stitched it to the page.  i think it goes so nicely with the title.  i love when the design of a page helps to tell the story so well.

product: a hodgepodge of really old and really new items from my stash that i pulled together as guest designer with the counterfeit kit club.

cocoa daisy: postcard exchange

i'm very excited to be joining sian fair's postcard exchange this year.  the thought of sending and receiving snail mail is a sweet one.

these are the six postcards i made for the exchange with my february cocoa daisy kits.  i wasn't sure that i liked them last night as cardmaking is not my forte.  once i got them stitched this afternoon, however, i liked them all rather a lot.  i think i have decided that i should make a couple cards with my kits each month just to polish my skills at both cardmaking and cardgifting.  

the postcard stamp is from jbs mercantile and adds a nice touch i think.  now all that is left is to write a little notes, address them, and take them to the post office to be stamped.  :)

valentine mantel 2015

i think i am finally getting the hang of this mantel thing.  i've gotten the valentine decor up in a timely manner and have taken it up a notch since last year.  you can read more about the details on jenni's blog.  have a "lovely" day.  :)

instagram: #365

i have never ever ever wanted to do a 365/photo-a-day project.  and on the heels of my epic 52 week granny square fail, i really should have just said no.  but.  when i read the dainty squid's "project 365 + why you should do one too!"  i contemplated it, if just for a moment.  then a few days later i picked up a new stampington & company magazine, bella grace, and read an article about a photographer who's photographed her coffee cup every morning for the last three and a half years.  i know.  it sounds crazy, but the photos were really awesome.  after reading her tips for creative #365 photography i was hooked.  hooked for a month, that is.  i took on the photo-a-day challenge for the month of january and happened to walk right into the subject matter, my feet, on day one.  i really only got tired/bored/unmotivated with the project on three different days.  that's not bad out of 31 total.  i probably cheated with make-up days (photographed the day after) about three times as well, but you already knew i'm prone to that sort of thing.  this supercute calendar with all my daily january feet photos (created with the collect app) has me doing the happy dance.  i love it!  and i'm hooked!  at least for another month.  for february, i've decided to play along with alissa fast's "28 days of love" project using fatmumslim's #fmsphotoaday challenge on instagram.  wish me luck!

p.s. i am doris sander on instagram in case you want to see the february photos hot off the press :)

menu plan: supercup III

chelle and i enjoyed our 3rd annual "supercup" party last night, a term coined by one of her boys at our first such event when he couldn't think of the correct word to use.  this year i made delightfully tacky supercups for chelle and i to sip our adult beverages (aka coke) from.  i provided my usual, sausage/cream cheese/rotel dip and strawberry shortcake.  chelle brought pizza rolls for the boys and veggies for the appearance of healthy.  we both cooked chicken soup.  i have leftovers for days.  maybe i won't even cook the rest of this week.  and, hey, how 'bout that superbrawl?

this week's menu plan:
sunday - supercup party
monday - leftovers
tuesday - panda express at opry mills mall
wednesday - church
thursday - more leftovers?
friday - beef soft tacos
saturday - open