Oh. My. Goodness.

My mouth is so happy right now! My friend Stacy shared a recipe with the LOSTies this week, more as a joke than anything. We are a pie-loving bunch, but have some rules about pies with meat in them. I personally don't condone meat in a dessert pie, but have no qualms about meating up savory pies. So I happened to think the pie she posted looked delicious and I knew I had to make it pronto. Well make it I did and it is so so good. The flavor combination is so wonderful and, while it was a little bit time consuming to make, it wasn't difficult. This one's a keeper! So without further ado...

You can find the recipe for Apple and Sausage Pie here. Go, check it out now, and make it immediately! One little note - I chose to use asiago rather than the other choices of fontina or provalone just because I love asiago quite a bit. Other than that, I have no other comments because I followed the recipe to a T and wouldn't do it any other way! Well, on second thought, I might decrease the amount of sausage a tad to make room for more apples, but it wasn't like the sausage was overpowering or anything, so I'd make it as the recipe says on your first try.

I also have Stacy to thank for introducing me to Scentsy. I've had their Simply Irresistible scent melting all day and my living room smells soooo good! This is my favorite of their scents - it smells like an irresistible man with good taste in cologne or body wash. YUM!

In the Christmas Mood

Looking at all of the holiday items posted today by the Papertrey design team really got me in a holiday mood. Those ladies are so talented and I cannot wait for this month's PTI release - it's shaping up to be my favorite one yet!

My friends Kim and Tammi challenged each other to use their neglected A Muse ovals this weekend. Well, I decided to get in on the challenge, because I haven't used mine in ages! I was trying to think of the perfect thing to put on the oval and, given my Christmasy mood, I decided this Riley was just the guy for the job. I stamped Riley with Palette Noir ink and then masked his bottom half so I could stamp the oval in Versamark. That gave me just enough of the oval outline to be able to trace it with my glue pen and then dump Dazzling Diamonds all over for some sparkly snow.

I really need to learn how to watercolor, because I think I ruined this card with my streaky coloring of Riley. But, the coloring was the last step I did and I wasn't about to redo the whole card! I'm also annoyed at my brads (which are glittery in case you can't tell) not being lined up even though I used my paper piercing guide to mark where to punch the holes. Oh well, hopefully all the pretty sparkles will overshadow those things!

Supplies

Stamps: Carrying Tree Riley, A Muse oval

Ink: Pallete Noir, Close to Cocoa, Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive

Paper: Old Olive, Cranberry Crisp, PTI white, SU designer paper from a few years go

Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Stardust Stickles (for snowflakes), brads from Imaginesce

Undead and Unwed

Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson

My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this well enough; it was a quick, mindless read and was about vampires, so I can't complain! I found myself getting a little annoyed at times with the main character's smart remarks though. They were funny at times, but now and then started to get on my nerves. Overall I enjoyed the book though and will pick up the rest of the series from the library when I'm done with the book I'm reading now.

An Early Halloween

I apparently was on a Halloween kick with my stamping today! I challenged myself to use something new on every card I made this weekend, so I was playing around with some Halloween Cuttlebug folders I got not long ago as well as some $1 sets from Joann's and a clear set from Impression Obsession. Plus, there was a LOSTie challenge to make some one layer cards, so a few of these fit that as well!

These first cards were so quick and easy! All the stamps are from Joann's $1 clear sets, which I just picked up this morning. The eyes and mouth of the jack-o-lantern are filled in with a clear spica pen and the words on that card are traced with a black spica. More spica sparkle on the second card too, as the band on the hat is colored with a lime pen and the letters are traced with lilac. A silver sakura pen was used on the buckle to finish off the card. The orange polka dot ribbon is from Making Memories and the satin Plum Pudding Ribbon is from PTI.

Some more simple cards with a hint of sparkle. The spider image is also from one of the Joann's sets and the sentiment is from the Impression Obsession set called Candy Corn. The candy corn image and sentiment on the second card are from the same set. And like with the first two cards, the sentiments are traced with spica pens. I think it's physically impossible for me to make a card without one of those pens! The Plum Pudding grosgrain ribbon is from Papertrey as well.



I had a hard time getting a good picture of this card, but I really love how it turned out. This is one of my new cuttlebug folders and I flipped it around so that the indented side is facing out. I used a 3/4" square punch, punched a few times in a row, to make a window for the sentiment to show through and then looped some PTI Plum Pludding grosgrain through the window on the left side. The sentiment is, of course, traced with a black spica pen, and the card is finished off with 3 mint green adhesive gemstones from Kaiser. I was VERY tempted to trace every line of the spiderweb with my clear spica pen, but I made myself resist! The cardstock colors used are SU's Basic Black and Green Galore and PTI's Plum Pudding.





This was my other new Halloween/Fall Cuttlebug folder. It was the first one that caught my eye when I saw the new folders, so this was a quick card to try it out. I used my word window punch to create a window for the sentiment, which is from A Muse. The cardstock is PTI white and SU Pumpkin Patch and the ribbon is PTI's Dark Chocolate satin polka dot.

Big Old Post

I've got a mondo post coming at you since I've been a bad blogger and have not posted anything in almost 2 weeks! I am currently in a delightfully good mood, enjoying the lovely sunshine and cool breeze coming through my living room window. My beloved Patriots are playing right now, as are the Pittsburgh Steelers. Normally I couldn't care less about the Steelers, but given that I've got 4 of their guys on my Fantasy Football team, they are suddenly of great interest!

On today's menu: a super easy, super yummy dip: brown one pound of ground beef in a large pan and drain the grease. Add a jar of Tostitos salsa, a jar of Tostitos salsa con queso, a can of kidney beans, and let that all simmer and mix together. Top it with sliced scallions and dig in with some hearty tortilla chips. Mmmm! I am not supposed to be eating things like this anymore, or certainly not in the quantity I intend to consume, but this weekend my diet has been pretty much nonexistent anyway, so oh well! Tomorrow I start on NutriSystem, so I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts!

I have two more LOSTie birthday cards to share that I received since my last post. The first is from Tracy. It's tough to see in the picture, but next to the flower stem it says imagine and the little charm says the same thing. And the second is from Alyson, complete with a cupcake that looks good enough to lick! Thank you ladies, they're beautiful!

And now the two books that I've read since my last post:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book! It's got time travel, romance, sex, danger, suspense, comedy, everything you could hope for in a book! This is the first in a series and I can't wait to move on to the next one!


The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the latest selection by my book club. It's not a work of literary genius by any means, but it was a fun, quick read. I was trapped home with a flooded parking lot last night, so I read the whole book in one sitting and it was the perfect kind of book for a rainy night. June, the narrator of the story, is in a car accident in which her passenger, a girl she barely knows, is killed. She finds a list that the girl had written of 20 things she wanted to do by her 25th birthday. June decides to complete the list as a way to make amends for the girl's death. The book takes us through the tasks she needs to complete, some easy and some more complicated. It's a sweet story, and a reminder to make the most of your life, as you never know when it will end.

And now my delightful mood is gone! In the time it's taken me to write this post, Tom Brady has gotten hurt, and I am now about to punch my computer because the layout on my post is all messed up. So I'm going to stop here and post whatever else I had to share at a later time when I am much more calm!

The Shack

The Shack by William P. Young

My Review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a wonderful book! It had its emotionally difficult moments for sure, but overall was a completely comforting story. It reinforced many of the beliefs I had regarding God, but also showed me a few misconceptions or judgements that I share with Mack, the main character. I found myself wishing that somehow I could have an experience like Mack does, to meet God and receive the peace and healing bestowed upon him. I guess for now I'll have to be satisfied with knowing there are wonderful things (hopefully) waiting for me when my time on this planet is complete.

I think this brings my total to 27 books read since Memorial Day, so all in all, not a bad summer! I live about a mile and a half from St. Mary's by the Sea, a small park of sorts right on the water with benches, a walking path, etc. and that's where I've done most of my reading. At least 2 or 3 nights a week I've gone there after work, enjoyed the breeze and the view, and read practically until sunset. The sun is setting earlier and earlier now, so I think my speed of reading is about to decrease (not to mention that the Fall TV lineup starts next week for many shows!). I thought I'd share a few photos I've taken this summer to give you an idea of the views I see from where I sit - I think you'll see why I spend so much time there!

Pineapple Express and...Butterflies?

I saw Pineapple Express tonight, which I've been dying to see since it came out. I had high hopes for it and was not disappointed! I was laughing my head off so many times and was most pleasantly surprised by James Franco. I knew Seth Rogen would be funny, but having really only seen James Franco in the Spiderman movies, I wasn't sure what to expect. Well if you ask me, he stole the show! So freakin hilarious! I should put a warning - just because I thought this was funny doesn't mean everyone will. I happen to be very immature and think stoner jokes about male genitalia and whatnot are pretty darn funny. If that's not your speed, I'd like to recommend that you pass on this one!

Now onto more ladylike matters... This was a super quick and easy card. I think it needs more but I didn't feel like doing anything else with it when I was making it around 11:00 last night. I took the picture from a crooked angle so that hopefully you can see that the butterfly wings are not attached to the card. I used Martha Stewart's Royal Butterfly punch and glued only the buttefly bodies to the card, allowing the wings to come up off the base. It's tough to see in the photo, but the bodies are highlighted with a clear spica pen and the wings are dotted with the pen as well.

Supplies
Stamps: sentiment from PTI's Little Lady
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Paper: PTI white, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink
Other: Martha Stewart Royal Butterfly punch, clear spica pen

Birthday Cards

I'm telling you, my LOSTies are some of the most talented ladies around! They spoiled me with some truly fabulous birthday cards! The slide show below shows off all the cards I've received - just hover your mouse over any card to see who it's from. Thank you B's!

Sympathy Card

I made this card for my co-worker whose father passed away yesterday. I tried not to make it too girly, but apparently that is impossible for me, because I couldn't avoid adding some ribbon and some stickles to the center of the flowers! Oh well, it's the thought that counts I guess!

Supplies
Stamps: Close as a Memory from SU
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Paper: PTI white, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Other: Classic and Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, celery organdy ribbon, Stardust stickles, dimensionals

Michael Phelps - the New Chuck Norris

Well, the Olympics are just about over. Or I guess they technically already are, but here in the United States the closing ceremonies are airing right now. I'm sad. I've so enjoyed watching every night for the past two weeks and am so proud of our athletes. To lighten my mood as I wait for my beloved Michael to appear in London, I thought I'd share some jokes from a website I found while reading a blog that two writers for the Baltimore Sun set up from Beijing to track MP and other Maryland athletes during the games. These are in the vein of the Chuck Norris jokes I'm sure you're familiar with. There are tons of these jokes on the site, but some of my favorites are below. Now remember, I didn't make these up, so any less than desirable language is not my fault! :-)

Michael Phelps does not swim; he beats the $hit out of the water until it takes him where he wants to go.

If you spell Michael Phelps in Scrabble, you win. Forever.

Michael Phelps doesn't need to wax; he just wills his body hair not to grow.

There is no 'ctrl' button on Michael Phelps' computer. Michael Phelps is always in control.

Michael Phelps destroyed the periodic table because he only recognizes the element of surprise.

Michael Phelps can slam a revolving door.

Michael Phelps was what Willis was talkin' 'bout.

Michael Phelps sleeps underwater with one eye open.