a belated Happy Valentines + Monday's menu

I hope everyone had a very special Valentines Day!! I woke up to a little collection of cards from Peter, the kids and even the dogs. :))I love getting cards, especially because & I'll admit to this, I'm ridiculously hard to shop for. (I grow my own flowers, I hate jewelry and I don't really need anything.) So receiving a card on a holiday is perfectly dandy!

I did all of my grocery shopping for the week yesterday, which was an epic mistake on my part. Grocery shopping on any holiday could never lead to anything good and I should have known better! So many men running around the store trying to find the perfect last minute gift.... at a grocery store. :) While I waited in the check out line the man ahead of me had 5 dozen red roses. I almost feel bad for men, it must be one of the most stressful holidays imaginable!

After escaping from the hectic madness that is a Safeway's on Valentines Day, I rushed home to start on dinner and found a package waiting at the front door. Oh how I love the sound of a UPS truck on a Monday! It was a gift from my swap partner Marie. Marie's swap is only the second swap I've done, but I love-love making/sending/and receiving something cute!




This is probably the sweetest handmade gift I've received!! and a good thing Alaina was at school or else I'm positive she would have claimed it for herself! Marie is so thoughtful! Little Lucille (dear) is sitting on a shelf in my craft room, I think she likes it in there! :))



{Here's what part of our Valentines dinner looked like. Chicken Salad w/ Sweet Hoisin vinaigrette and Coconut Jasmine Rice w/ brown sugar syrup and mangoes. I love salads!}

This week is going to be a bit busier than normal, and Peter's working late, so this week's menu is going to be on the simple and light side.

Monday:
Chicken Salad
Grilled garlic Shrimp
Coconut Rice

Tuesday:
Taco's
Watermelon & Cantaloupe

Wednesday:
Turkey & Havarti Panni's
Spicy Tomato Soup

Thursday:
Turkey Bacon BLTA on wheat
Nectarine & Strawberry fruit salad

Friday:
Chicken Mandarin Brown Rice Bowls
Roasted Zucchini

Saturday:
Pepper Pork Tenderloin
Salad
Roasted Mushrooms

**and before I forget, Alaina's cake that she made over the weekend! I mentioned it was a big paper cake!! She really loves my paper punches, can you tell?

Inspired by: cakes

Saturday afternoons are usually reserved for craft time! Once I put little Chase down for his nap, Alaina and I sit down and chit-chat about possible craft ideas. I held my breathe hoping that she wasn't going to say the chicken nugget matching game or another round of Pretty-Pretty Princess. (both of which I've played today.) So, I was pleasantly surprised (and a little relieved) when she mentioned wanting to make a big paper cake. Ahhh, now that I can do!




We skipped down to my craft room to pick out supplies and Alaina dug through the box of paper punches. I organize all of my paper scraps by color, so I put all of the plastic draws of paper on the floor so she could pick her own paper. It was cute to see her decide what color 'frosting' to use. This was a great kids art project and it used alot of my left-over supplies - got to love that!!

We put together a little tutorial-idea post for these paper cakes. The best part is deciding on the flavor-name combinations! The instructions are going to be super simple, they're the same directions I gave to Alaina (she's 6 years old) to help her make her own cake. I'll show you a couple of variations by just adding a few more details that will make your cake scrapbook worthy or perfect for gift-wrapping and cards!! :)

Supplies:

paper scissors
scrap paper
glue-stick or Glue Dots



Directions:

1. cut out a rectangle for the cake.



2. Cut out strips of paper for the frosting.



3. cut out a larger rectangle for the top frosting, tear gently along the bottom edge or use a pair of shaped scissors.



4. cut out one more thin strip of paper for the very top of the cake.



5. Use a glue stick, or glue dots to glue all of the layers together. Or if your sewing machine is handy you can sew all of the layers! Trim the excess paper from the edges of the cake.



6. Make a flower for the top of the cake by hand cutting a few circles (or you can use a paper punch) and layer them together using glue-dots. Leaves can be made by cutting football's, as I explained it to Alaina, from different shades of green papers.



here's our Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake



Want to see some more little cakes and cupcakes? :) We had a great time naming each cake this afternoon, Alaina has quite the imagination!! The names are written under each cake. (sorry it's a little difficult to see the names, they blended in too well!)








Once you've made a couple of cakes you'll probably wonder what to do with them! Here's a couple of ideas A and I came up with... feel free to add to my list!! This sweet cupcake was made from a coffee sleeve, fabric, a handmade felt flower and a bit of yellow lace. I decided it would be the perfect little cake gift-tag for a small gift.




To make a tiny card: cut a plain white A4 card in half and used a paper punch to scallop the bottom of the card. I added a little piece of ledger paper to the front and glued the cupcake to the card. I love-love small cards like this with just enough room to write something sweet! I used the other half of the card to turn a whole cake into a little card.



I think it would be a super cute idea to glue a magnet onto the back of some small cupcakes. Or, if you make a small fabric cupcake, sew a flat pin-back to the back of the cake and wear as a dessert pin! My favorite is a gift tag though, I think it's perfect tucked into a little girls present!!



I have a feeling Alaina and I will be making more of these cakes, they are alot of fun once you get started! I should also mention that Alaina made a strawberry chocolate cake, but when I wanted to photograph it today she informed me that it still needed some finishing touches. :) I'll add a photo of her cake tomorrow.

craft Friday

I just happen to think that birthday's are something to celebrate. No matter how old or young you happen to be, your birthday is worthy of recognition! A very good-crafty friend of mine is having a birthday soon and I wanted to make something cute and fun. After some debate and much wishy-washiness, I finally decided on making a prize-ribbon using a bunch of my favorite (hoarded) vintage fabrics.

(Having to photograph it was also a really good excuse to play in my closet! I'm also noticing a pattern in my craft & clothing color choices. Grey-yellow-kraft-cream is my current obsession!)




I plan on making one of these prize ribbons for Alaina when her birthday comes around, but in shades of pink and red. Or making a "special kid" award ribbon would be super cute too!! Alaina is the type of little person who would wear a prize pin everyday and would proceed to tell everyone how she earned it. She's quite the character!

Making Memories has a new line of prize ribbons, but they are quite simple to make on your own with just some basic scrapbook supplies. I'm all for using what you already have on hand!



In other non-craft-related news... I have a plan for Valentines Day dinner. The gold & pink glasses kind of inspired a Thai themed dinner. I'm going to attempt to have an early dinner outside, as long as the wind isn't blowing! Years ago, while I was visiting a friend in Berkeley we went to the Thai Buddhist Temple in Berkeley for Sunday brunch. If you get a chance to visit the Bay Area please put this on your to-do list, it's an incredible experience! Thai coconut sticky rice is one of my favorite desserts and I credit my Berkeley visit for that. :) I'm kind of excited too, it's been a little while since I've cooked a themed dinner!!

Monday's Menu

I'm happy to report that Monday is almost over. I've made out a weekly to-do list.... it's bigger than huge this week. It doesn't seem like a good idea to be overly busy in a shorter than average month, but I'm going for it just the same!

Here's my menu plan for the week.

Monday:
Left-overs (helps to clean out the fridge)

Tuesday:
Grandma's 8hr. Spaghetti Sauce (I make alot of it, but it really does take about 8 hours to cook!)
Garden Salad

Wednesday:
Turkey Meatballs
Brown Rice
Sauteed Peas & baby Carrots
Roasted Button Mushrooms

Thursday:
Chicken Fajitas
salad w/ fresh salsa
3 bean salad

Friday:
Grilled Chicken Pita Salad
French Onion Soup

Saturday:
Herb rubbed Petite Steak
Strawberry Spinach Salad
toasted baguette with garlic/chive butter

Sunday is still up for debate... I'll come back and fill it in when something sounds good! I watched a couple of good cooking shows last week on food network. One was the Private Chefs of Beverly Hills. Oh-my!! I'm in love with this series! The food was inspiring and I love the concept of the show. It's so worth staying up late to watch!!

my favorite part

I love this part of my day. When the dishes have all been washed and put away, the kitchen is clean, the kids are tucked into bed and I get to sit down, with a warm cup of Chai tea, and spend some me-time. The house would be perfectly quiet if not for the Sun's game playing in the background.
Still, it's relatively quiet.
Perfection.

and it's Friday. There's something about Fridays that's kind of exciting for me. Maybe because it's one more day until our weekend! The salon's busiest day of the week is always Saturday (isn't that true for every salon!), so our weekend-family day is always just Sunday. I'm thinking maybe a trip to the park may be in order! I also have my fingers crossed that I get to have a salon day some day soon, my hair desperately needs it!



This morning I spent a little time working on just one more Valentine. I think I have mine ready to be mailed!! Hopefully on Monday, a few little packages will be on their way. I've been checking out the Valentines that everyone left me a link for and they are lovely!! It will be a very happy mail day soon!



Guess what I found yesterday while snooping through Peter's wine cabinet!! :) I must have put these in there at least 4 or 5 years ago, tucked away in the very back of the cabinet and I forgot all about them. Thank goodness for snooping! Aren't they beautiful and I adore the color combo red - pink and gold! Such a fantastic surprise! I'd like to note that my curiousity usually, if not always, gets the best of me, but in instances such as this one, I will happily admit to it!



I'm now trying to think of something special for a Valentines Day dinner, just so I can use all of my new found dishes! I need a cute idea for dessert too.... let the planning begin! Do you make a special dinner at home or do you go out?
~ I've finished my Chai tea, so I'm off to read a little and then for some beauty sleep. Sweet dreams!

today I:

- organized a box of Chases old toys
- called my mom
- called my Grandma
- emailed another one of my Grandmas
- painted little buttons



- mailed out a cute little package to a flickr friend
- cuddled with the dogs today (it was record breaking freezing here today, we're not use to it!)



- had 2 cups of Chai tea
- spent Chases naptime writing out a couple of new tutorials
- had Oreo's & milk for dessert with the kiddos



I meant to add this to last nights post. My menu for the week! I'll start with yesterday's dinner since I can't remember all the way back to Monday. :)

Tuesday:
Sauteed Chicken & Onions
Brown rice
Roasted yellow squash & zucchini

Wednesday:
Grilled Eggplant sandwiches
Cantaloupe

Thursday:
Maple-mustard-soy sauce marinated Pork Tenderloin
Garden Salad
Corn Casserole
Sauteed Peas & almonds

Friday:
Fish Taco's
Cantaloupe

Saturday:
Clam Chowder
Sourdough Bread
Garden Salad

Sunday:
Chinese Chicken Salad
roasted Green Beans

that should do it until Monday when the week and a new menu will start all over again! Oh, also if you have any photos of the Valentine that you made for the swap, I would love to see them!! Or if you already have them posted to your blog leave me the link!! I'm calling it an early night tonight. I suppose with the cold weather here, it made me a wee bit sluggish today. It would have been a great day to stay in bed and snuggle with the kids.... maybe tomorrow!

an ode to food

well, maybe not an ode but how about a post dedicated to food. Lately I've been caught complaining a bit about being bored with cooking. I feel like I need new ideas, something fresh and inspiring. Of course, I get into a.... cooking slump right around this time every year. Winter blues? Maybe.(You can laugh at me or roll your eyes, it's 70 degrees here and I call it winter because I'm freezing!) It could also be the lack of really good fresh fruit and vegetables at our stores right now too?



A couple of weeks ago I sat, by myself, in a crowded hospital waiting room and because it was Monday I was working on my menu plan for the week. (I love waiting rooms! I'm always alone and people don't tend to bother you or ask questions, it's rather perfect for getting tedious tasks accomplished!) Remember this post? - Yep, I make a weekly menu plan with 3-6 meals per day. (Why 3-6 meals, the kids don't always eat the same thing Peter and I do, so sometimes I make them their own breakfast-lunch and dinner. I know, it's like the first mommy-101 no-no, but I do it anyway.)

It probably does sound crazy, but I plan ahead for 2 good reasons.

1. I hate the grocery store, and will only go once a week. So I don't want to forget anything because no matter what it is, I'm not going back until the following Monday.

2. I drive a massive gas-guzzling SUV, so any time I can conserve on fuel I will do so! Which is why I make one big trip to the grocery store a week.

I was doing the math in my head as I sat there, 4.5 meals on average a day x 7 days a week x 52 weeks............ oh my word! Can that be right? That doesn't include dessert either! That is a crazy amount of meals to be making... and to think of ahead of time. No wonder I'm bored and feel like I need something new, it's because I do!!

So, to remedy the slight boredom I've come face to face with, I was thinking that maybe I would do a little challenge. A personal challenge, but something that I could post to my blog. I haven't thought of anything spectacular quite yet. Maybe I'll start with posting my dinner menu for the week and adding recipes here and there. My mom is always asking for recipes and maybe this way it will force me to try some new dishes?

I was talking with a friend today about my little cooking dilemma and her answer was to eat out more. I love my friends. I just need to find a great way to challenge myself & my love of cooking again!

a little painty...

I wanted to share this before I forgot today!! Over the weekend, the future little artist and I, got out the paints and paper and created some Valentine Heart Trees for Jessica at scrumdilly-do. After a few practice trees and a minor freak-out over having an excess of paint all over, (Alaina does not like getting her hands messy!) we finally made one worthy enough to share with everyone! :))



Jessica has an incredible talent for creating fun kid-friendly projects!! I love art-projects like these for the weekends, simple enough for kids and yet it will keep them entertained for at least an hour or two. :)

a perfectly random winner

Min:1
Max:85
Result:
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beida-fish said...
I'm game for anything crafty. I'd love to see more crafting classes. Thanks for giving us the chance to win such an adorable kit you put together!


If this comment looks familiar send me your address!! rosas07@msn.com and a tiny Valentines package will be on it's way to you!



Ironically, I'm spending the start of my week doing the exact same thing that I ended last week doing, mailing packages at the post office. :) Funny how that works! I have an idea for another food inspired post later on today. It's a bit rainy and cloudy here this morning which always makes me want to stay inside and cook or bake! see you soon!:)

a lovely Saturday giveaway

*if you're looking for our swap list, I added a shortcut! -------------> click on the heart and it will take you to the post..*



I made a little embellishment kit to giveaway on my blog today. Just a few things to add to a scrapbook layout or if your making your own valentine! My favorite is the handmade stickers, I use them on everything; envelopes, notes, cards, tags... and anything else that I can stick them too. :)





If you're taking a break today leave your name in the comment section... and if you have a little extra time I have a question! More like a poll I suppose. Craft class or Scrapbook class?

(If you had the chance (and spare time) what would you rather take, a class on scrapbooking or a class on crafting? Personally, even though I love working with paper, I think I'd be more incline to choose a crafting class. I like the idea of being more open to different projects and maybe not just focusing on only paper crafting. Does that make sense?)

I'll choose a name on Monday morning!!

layers of pink & red

Since I posted our Valentine list this afternoon, I thought I would pop back in with a couple of Valentines that I made.

I'm not sure if any one else has had this problem but I had a hard time deciding on the size. I had originally thought I would just make a really girly tag, but then it didn't look right... or finished. So, what started off as just an idea for a little Valentine card, turned into a little book, or stack, of Valentine tags. **I really did intend to make something simple and small!!**

I took photos of each layer, it makes it easier to see how they're made. :)
the first one: Love Struck







love & hearts (I think I'll add a little more to this one and give it to Peter.)








*love*love* I love this color combo pink-red-blue-white!!






I have one more card to make tonight and then my completely disorganized craft room is calling my name. I've definitely earned the world's messiest scrapper award this week, but it was kind of worth it! :)) Hope you have a great weekend!