4th of July

Another quick layout from Stuck?! Sketches.  This is based on their April 1st sketch.  Just used some odds and ends laying on my desk and cut out the title with my Silhouette.

Second Blue Apron Meal

This one was Braised Chicken Thighs with peppers and onions.  It was all put over the top of cheesy polenta.  It was good but I really prefer cooking with boneless chicken thighs.

Star Wars X-Wing Minitures

So the boys got the last ship they were missing and also the official play mat so they can work on their game.  Their uncle Brian has been going to game stores and practicing so he can beat them next time they meet so now they can play each other and work on their technique and skills too!!

ANZAC Day

We have some friends who are from Australia and they invited us to come to the early morning ANZAC Day remembrance ceremony at the Korean War Memorial.  It was a very early morning for us but it was a beautiful ceremony and we got to go to the Australian Embassy afterwards to have some breakfast.  Evan got to play a couple of games of 2-Up and actually won some money!

Like I said it was an early service.  We had to get up at 4AM to get there by sunrise.  This one wasn't tired at all though the rest of the day.  He was just resting his eyes!

My first Blue Apron box.

Recently signed up for the family plan at Blue Apron and we got our first box today.  We signed up for the 2 meals a week plan and we got Salisbury Steak with roasted asparagus and potatoes and Braised Chicken Thighs with peppers and cheesy polenta.  I signed up for it because with the boys getting older it is getting more expensive to eat out with them because I can't get away with kid's meals anymore and we were starting to get tired of always making/eating the same thing.  We are hoping this will give us some new ideas to put into the rotation.

It is pretty cool how it comes all boxed up.  Once you dig in you'll find a nice color recipe card with pictures and step by step instructions.  And everything is all measured out for you!!

Here is the stuff we got for Salisbury Steak (that's what we made for dinner).  I love the little bag of knick knacks.

Inside the knick knacks bag, you have all your seasonings and stuff.

It was really easy to put together, I think next time we'll try to make sure the kids get to help out more (they had a lot of homework and one was not feeling that well too).  But even the one that wasn't feeling well wanted to eat it all and also wanted more.  There was just enough for the four of us.  We didn't have leftovers or seconds of anything but we added some fruit and had ice cream drumsticks for dessert so that helped.

Kung Fu Panda Paint Party

I blogged about this way back in 2008 when the boys got invited to go to a Kung Fu Panda Paint party at a little pottery studio with their friends.  They got to paint a panda and then had cookies and treats.  It was fun and nice to do on a hot summer day.  It is funny to see these old pictures because they have grown so much since 2008.

This layout is based on the April Week 3 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy.  I really liked the sketch but once I got started I couldn't figure out where to put my journaling.  So I feel like it is kind of just stuck on there.

Zoo Adventure

I created this layout using Stuck?! Sketches April 15th sketch.  I loved the sketch but really wanted to keep my 2 photos larger so I just lost some of the left side.  Thanks for looking!

Adult Coloring Books

Am I the only obsessed by these things?

WW2 Tank

Back in 2008, I blogged about a tank, sorry a Bradley, that Ian got for his birthday present from his grandparents.  You can read about it HERE.  I basically took the blog post and used it for the journaling.  Why didn't I think of that before!?!?

I used Let's Get Sketchy's April Week 1 sketch for this layout.  I had a lot more journaling than the sketch had space for and I felt like I was having problems balancing it all out on the layout.  I guess that's the problem with lots of journaling and why I don't do it often.  It is a whole lot easier to do the "just the facts, jack" type of journaling.  But overall, I am happy with how it turned out.

Feeling Crafty

Ever feel crafty but can't seem to actually make anything.  Well that's how I'm feeling lately.  I want to scrap, I want to sew, I want to practice my "artistic" writing, I want to quilt, I want to cross stitch, I want to knit but I am so overwhelmed with all the things I want to do that I can't really bring myself to do any of them.  I think a crafty hobby is too much so times.

Well today I did make something for my desk.  I had finished off the wax paper yesterday and repurposed the box and roll to make a container for my washi tape collection.

It's even got a nice little sharp metal part to tear off the tape with.  :)

They look so pretty in the box, I'm sure at some point my OCD will kick in and I will have to put in the color order.  But first I have to finish off the aluminum foil so I can make another box for the rest of my washi collection!!

SWIM

Let's Get Sketchy posted their new design team and I wasn't on the list.  Oh well, I tried but maybe I didn't stick close enough to the sketch.

Here is the layout that I did for the application, it is their April week 2 sketch.