happy crafting.

i've been going on Pinterest a lot lately. i joined last year but found that i would just pin things and then never do anything with them. last few weeks, i've been actually doing the things i have pinned. (yay, me!)


S'mores Bars
(http://witandwhistle.com/2012/05/14/smore-bars/)

they were delicious!!

Mason Jar Jack-o-lanterns.
(http://www.diyncrafts.com/3263/homemade/40-easy-to-make-diy-halloween-decor-ideas/34)

Craft Pumpkin
(http://www.diyncrafts.com/3263/homemade/40-easy-to-make-diy-halloween-decor-ideas/7)

And this one wasn't from Pinterest, my mom had it from her Stampin' Up group.

memorial day fun

Gabe and i had a simple and fun memorial day this year (much better than our last couple memorial days...)

we went to the mall and did a little shopping and lunching. it was such a beautiful day, so we decided to keep the fun going with a quick trip to Disneyland (gotta love having the deluxe pass!)

after Disneyland we decided it would be a perfect end to our day to have a bbq and make s'mores. we headed to the store and got the necessary fixin's to have a delicious bbq.

the s'mores part was especially fun because Gabe had never made them before! (how is that possible??) so, i coached him on how to do it and we made some delicious, gooey s'mores!!

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Memorial Day!!

hey there, pumpkin. care for a cupcake?

this past weekend, we enjoyed our two favorite Halloween traditions. 1 - carving pumpkins; and 2 - decorating halloween cupcakes/cookies.

saturday, we had Mike, Janica, and Elizabeth over for pumpkin carving. we had a "nacho bar." pretty much the best thing ever.

(chips, guacamole, onions, jalapenos, olives, tomatos, sour cream, chorizo, queso, and hot sauce.)

Janica finished first, as usual. and without a pattern or using a marker, she always makes perfect pumpkins!! Mike won't carve with us, he thinks we'll tease him. i don't know where he would get such an idea!



Gabe took the longest, as usual. And his was another work of art. He did the angry scarecrow...

the whole gang - all lit up.



gabe's scarecrow.

my haunted house.

eak's jack-o-symmetry

Janica's cute spooked pumpkin!

We spent Sunday with momma Linda, decorating cupcakes and cookies with Aunt Kim and cousin Kiera (kim's granddaughter).

Kiera was such a good decorator. and she's remarkably good at sneaking candy after Kim has told her no more!! (notice she's got a candy corn in her hand....)

sweet girl.

behold the delicious fruits of our labor:

are we seriously almost done with October??

Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and smooshes him... and says, Catch up.

time to play a little catch-up....

May and June have just flown by. In may we enjoyed family birthdays, Mother's day, sunshine and a quick trip to Lake Arrowhead (which was actually kind of rough for me. but that's another story for another time.)

Here are some pictures of May fun:

Emily's 2nd Birthday Party

Linda's birthday

Homemade Pizookie for Linda's Birthday. yummmmmmmm.

View of Big Bear Lake from the Ski Lift

June has been a fun month too! It's been great having EAK back in town. She and I have spent some saturdays together while Gabe had to work. Gabe and I have had picnics and enjoyed afternoons in the park.

I love my new picnic basket!

Cooking w/ EAK - Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese. it was delicious!

in the kitchen

i love to bake and cook - especially if it involves a cute little apron (of which i have many). i'm not as good as say Ina Garten, Paula Dean, or Elizabeth Kearns, but for the most part, i can hold my own in the kitchen.

I got a beautiful Cuisinart Mixer for christmas (thanks mom & dad) and i've been getting back into baking. when i was younger, i baked cookies all the time - family and lucky neighbors reaped the benefits. ever since i moved out of my parent's house, i haven't baked nearly as much. part of the reason for that is because i lacked the essential tool to make it fun, fast, and easy - a mixer:

and now that i have this beautiful, shiny new toy, here are the fruits of my labor:

mmmmmm. i use the Crisco recipe. i stopped using the Tollhouse recipe years ago - i just find that the Crisco one is..... better. try it - you'll agree. for these cookies i used a mixture of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. they turned out with the perfect amount of gooey-ness (inside only) and crunch (outside only).

another favorite at our house is my Lemon Chicken. it's easy and delicious.

• marinade Thin Sliced Chicken Breast Filets in Lemon/Garlic/Herb marinade (i just use store bought)
• remove chicken from marinade and place in an Egg Wash
• remove from egg wash and coat in Breading (mixture of flour, seasoning, lemon zest, and crushed Ritz crackers)
• place chicken in pan twice coated with Olive Oil.
  

and voila. (with a little steamed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes.)