food: easy guacamole

I love, love, love guacamole. Love it. Strangely, I've never made my own, I've always purchased it ready made. Until yesterday :) My friend made some the other day and I decided to try making some myself. It turned out fabulous. Fabulous! So fresh and yummy.

Easy Guacamole - adapted slightly from allrecipes.com
3 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4-1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from one lime
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse about 10-20 times (depending on how chunky or smooth you like your guacamole :)).

Chill for a half hour. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy! :)

Lovely Days and Garden Party: Journal Winners!

Ya'll are awesome. Thank you SO much for your input and ideas for new journals. SO much :) I LOVED each and every one of them and will definitely be putting more together per your suggestions in the near future. Two journals that really stuck out to me were "Lovely Days" and "Garden Party". So thanks and congrats to Jean and Andrea! I will be emailing you soon. Here are a few sneak peaks at some idea boards for the new journals. Thanks everyone - so, so much. I really appreciate you all :)

Lovely Days - Lavender, aquamarine, and vintage book pages

Garden Party - Green, yellow, red, coral, and brown

My apologies for the delay in posting the winners - mild sickness entered our home late last week but all is well now :)

currently: my desk

I do like to try (keyword: try) and keep my workspace (somewhat) tidy. But sometimes it just gets a little out of control. Like it is currently. A lovely assortment of magazines (that have yet to be read ;)), washi tape, two new journals I was listing in the shop, a paper pack from here, a baby monitor (my little ones are asleep :)), Lemon Cream lotion, my notebook, some Studio Calico goodies, my OLW binder, a mini colander (what?!) and breadbasket (?!), a UPS return label receipt, a book on colors for my little girl, and a bill for a toll road in NC that we didn't have enough change for ;)  *Disclaimer: I did move my camera off of the top of those books (ahem). Other than that, this is what my desk looks like at the moment. 

See? It's not always this clean ;)

shop update!

Happy Thursday :) I am loving all of the color and name suggestions! Thank you so much for your input! :) A winner will be announced tomorrow :)

New in the shop today: I Love You Journal Kits, Paper Hearts, Embellishment Kits and Mixed Paper Journals. Have a great day :)

sneak peaks: new journals and a giveaway

Working on two new journals right now: an I Love You journal and a color-schemed Mixed Paper journal :) These will be available in the shop later this week. 

GIVEAWAY: I'm currently planning different color schemes for new journals. Any color schemes you'd like to see or suggest? :) Leave a comment on this post for a color scheme idea and a name for your color scheme! For example: pinks and yellows and vintage book pages could be named "Strawberry Lemonade". If I choose that one, I will create and send you one of those new journals. The journal will be 4"x6" and 15-20 pages. It will be ready to ship 7-10 days after comments close. Please keep names of color schemes appropriate and uplifting :)

One comment per person. If color schemes are suggested multiple times, I will use random.org to pick a winner of that color scheme. International entries welcome. Please leave your email address in the comment. Comments will close on Friday, January 11 and I will announce a winner that evening :)

**Please note: I will be looking at suggestions and names and possibly using them for future journals for sale in my shop, even if it is not the color scheme I choose as a winner for this giveaway. I will put credit in the listing for the name of the color scheme, since I didn't come up with it :)

food: best sandwich bread

I have a few great recipes for dinner bread that I use a lot, but have never found one that is the right consistency for actual sandwich bread. While these other recipes are great for going with a meal, they are not the best for making sandwiches. Well. I tried this new recipe this past weekend and it is p.e.r.f.e.c.t. for making sandwiches! (Or for using with a meal) - the bread is light and fluffy with a soft crust. The best part is, the recipe makes two loaves at one time - I used one loaf to eat with a couple meals and one to use with sandwiches. Perfect.

Best Sandwich Bread - adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups very warm water

1/3 cup white sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast

1-1/2 tsp. salt (I use kosher salt)

1/4 canola oil

5 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into measuring cup and level off, or use a sifter)

1 Tbsp. salted butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes to proof (yeast will dissolve and look fluffy and foamy). Stir salt and oil into yeast mixture. Stir in one cup of flour at a time, mixing well. Once a soft dough (kind of sticky!) forms, turn onto a floured surface and knead well, about 3-5 minutes (dough will become elastic). Place kneaded dough into a well-oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 1-1.5 hours.

Punch dough down, and turn onto a floured surface again. Knead for 1-2 minutes and form into two loaves. Place each loaf into a well-oiled 9"x5" loaf pan. Cover each with plastic wrap and let rise again 45 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake loaves 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and loaves sound hollow when tapped. Spread butter on top of each loaf (I usually just hold the butter with a paper towel and gently rub it all over the loaf :)). Enjoy!

Dough has risen, getting ready to punch down and knead.

Form into two loaves.

Voila! Yummy, light, and fluffy sandwich bread.

one little word 2013

Let's get going, 2013 :) I am still debating my "One Little Word" for 2013. Last year, my word was "intentional" - I loved that word and felt like I was a lot more intentional with my days with that word often at the forefront of my mind. I didn't end up making any sort of record of it, but I am still happy with how the word was on my mind throughout the year and I definitely feel like I accomplished my goal of that.

This year, I decided to sign up for Ali Edward's One Little Word class (go here to see more about it on her blog) to have an accountability to keep a record of it. New Year's Eve, my hubby and I were waiting for midnight and I had been debating signing up for days.... registration "closed" at 10pm that evening. I signed up at 9:36pm ;) (you can sign up any time of year - so if you still want to sign up, you can! :))

So like I said, for awhile I've been trying to decide on my word - make or plan. I like what I'm coming up with for each. I've been brainstorming for a little bit while I wait for the class supplies (binder and pages) to get here.

I made myself a mixed paper notebook with some fabric my hubby got me for Christmas (yay!!) - this will be my notes and sketches and odds and ends book this year. I also purchased a planner (that I love) from Target for the year. 

Here's to 2013 and One Little Word. What about you? Do you have a word you are focusing on this year? Need some ideas or inspiration? Go here to see a huge list Ali Edwards has compiled.

Printable mini calendar on my first page above available here.

hello, 2013.