Merry Christmas for yesterday!!

A little bit late but hey ... :-)

We had a great day with family and some seafood and hot meats and vegetables and delicious pudding and lovely wines!!

So today I find lots of links to crafts for gift wrapping and decorating ... LOL ... a bit late for this year but want to post it for next year!!

The Cheese Thief

This blog has lots of great ideas so I think I'll add it to my side bar!!

Over at How About Orange

These gift card holders over at The October  Afternoon blog

If you got an iPad ... I didn't but anyway here's a cover pattern ...

Over at Randomness by Petchy

And to get you ready for the New Year ...

Over at eighteen25

Chocolate cake ...

Source: Just a Pinch

Broccoli, grape & pasta salad ...

\

Source: My Recipes

Lemon chicken ...

Recipe over at BBC Food

Cosmo Champers ...

Details over at Taste ... looks tasty!!

Hey Lego lovers ...

Follow this link for more info ... http://www.chrismcveigh.com/cm/lego_ornaments.html

Christmas is coming # 7

Button Christmas tree and Santa ... source

So what's been happening ...

We have been lucky to buy a shack at Coffins ...

Part of our view ...

Last weekend we had a yummy dinner at The Oysterbeds and then walked back to the shack ...

 I managed to buy the Lego Advent calender for Rohan and Lachlan to do each day of December ...

Pre dinner drinks last night at a friends shack ...

At the dining table at our shack and the other part of our view ...

Gearing up for Christmas at our house and the school holidays now ...

Silhouette Cameo ...

I have order one of these from USA ...

Source

Can't wait for it to arrive so I can start cutting!!

This scrapbooker has some favourite designs she uses ...

http://www.marcypenner.com/?page_id=6293

Dinner tonight ...

Recently in Adelaide I had dinner at the Old Lion and ordered the Atlantic Salmon Nicoise  ... it was yummy and felt fairly healthy!

So tonight I was on the search for a recipe ... found one in one of my favourite cookbooks ... Stephanie Alexander's "The Cooks Companion".

The recipe originates in the south of France in Nice and traditionally has Tuna but we had Atlantic Salmon!

Basically it is green beans and baby potatoes cooked and added while warm to kalamata olives, boiled eggs 1/4ed, Roma tomatoes 1/4ed and I added baby capers because I didn't have anchovies and gently tossed!

Then plate it with  cos lettuce (what I had), top with other salad items and the cooked Atlantic salmon.

The very light dressing was olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper and 1/2 the amount of red wine vinegar that I mixed with the warm and cold ingredients.

Yummy and felt healthy!!

Christmas is coming #6

Lil Fish Studio:  tutorial for sale



Free tutorial for Poinsettia 

I think this would look lovely in red felt for my December Daily!!

Christmas is coming #5

From Stumbles & Stitches

Oh Silhouette hurry up ...

Oh my how totally gorgeous is this Advent by Kerri Bradford Studio ... I am definitely going to download the one!!

December Daily 2011 ...

So I received my kit from Studio Calico yesterday ...

this one ...

... lots of goodies ... so now I need to get started so I am ready to keep track of December as is meant to be!!

In the post yesterday I also received some great adhesive badges and tags from Ormolu ...

these ...

and these ...

and these ...

and these ...

and these ...

so great ... can't wait to use them!!

And then I need to search for my Hambly Screen Prints transparencies ... bought a couple at Sheoak Craft Cottage yesterday so have a little start!!

Stay tuned for an update of my December Daily! And looking forward to seeing what Gina has come up with for hers!!

every morning ...

1st match stats ...

For Amanda's colour challenge over at Escape2Create

Christmas is coming # 4 ...

http://justsomethingimade.com/2010/11/spool-advent-calendar-kits/

Christmas is coming #3

Over at Hambly Screen Prints project by Amy Tan

Christmas is coming #2

Source

Christmas is coming #1

Source

Watch this all the way to the end (past the credits!) ...

BOB from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.

My couscous salad for Summer 2011 / 2012 ...

I made this recipe up this week to serve with the Moroccan chicken that John cooked on the BBQ ...

(the Moroccan chicken was simply Masterfoods Moroccan Seasoning sprinkled over strips of chicken breast and left for 5 or 10 minutes ;-) but it is really good!!

My Summer Couscous ...

1 cup couscous
1/2 red capsicum, diced
2 sticks of celery, sliced thinly
1 medium red onion, diced
2 tablespoons sliced black olives
1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
1/2 block low fat Feta, cubed
1 tomato, diced
handful fresh mint, chopped
handful coriander, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
handful flaked almonds

Prepare couscous by placing in a bowl and pouring over 1 cup hot water, fluff with fork after a few minutes.

Prepare all other ingredients (except lemon juice and herbs) and add to a large bowl, mix in couscous and then add herbs and mix and pour over lemon juice and mix again.

Enjoy ... this served us for 4 serves, adjust ingredients according to how you like it :-)

Oh and as it is served each person can add a dollop of Farmers Union Greek Style Natural Yoghurt!!

December Daily ...

So this year with Christmas at our place I am going to do a December Daily ...

I have bought a kit from Studio Calico ...

and have ideas of creating the cover of my album like Ali Edwards did ...

Source

I made a December Daily a few years ago, I have done a total of 2 although I'm not sure I have fully completed either of them ... LOL

But this year with my family coming it will be great to make one ... so stay tuned!!

Another Studio Calico DT who has created a great album is Jen Jockisch

Yummy summer slalad ...

Recipe and photo found at Pioneer Women

Hannah's scrapping ...

she created this embellishment ...

... beautiful I thought!!

on the iPod ...

Escape2Create retreat 2012 ...

totally gorgeous darling ...

Inspired by a layout by Brianne Nevill in September 2011 Scrapbook Trends.

Transition girl ...

First week of school ...

 for all four!!

I don't think I magically had lots more time but it was a busy week with a student free day, a trip to Port Lincoln and 2 busy days at work so I suppose that filled in a fair bit of the time!!

I'll see how next week goes!!

Hannah was so excited about going to school but I think the excitement turned to overwhelm-ment once she was there at the beginning of each day. By the time she got home she was telling us that she had a good day!!

And thank you to at least 2 teachers who gave her a hug ... her own teacher and then yesterday a secondary teacher :-)

Silhouette custom cuts ...

Destination Melbourne ...

at Auntie Clarie's ...

Fun Times in Melbourne ...