SIMPLY MEIN

Summer De-stash Winners!!

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4
18

Timestamp: 2008-07-20 22:11:17 UTC

Well, the kids are staying with they're Nanny for a few more days and were unable to pull numbers out of a hat.....so I had to use the good ole random integer generator...

The good news is that I have soooo much stuff that I picked 2 numbers, Congratulations to Vanessa who is the winner of a large box of goodies and Katie who is the winner of a smaller (but just as great!!) box of goodies. The only bad news is I wish everyone can be a winner!!! So please enjoy this gorgeous image from my Rand McNally, Little Ballerina book - which was written and illustrated by Dorothy Grider!!

       

Have a lovely and happy week.  Tamy xo

Culinary Delight!!

Well we are back from our BBQ travels and not having ever "done" a culinary tour before, we didnt really know what to expect....We had four days and nites to taste some of the best BBQ North Carolina has to offer. After a couple of tastings here is what we learned - order small "tasting" portions or side dish portions, take a few bites of each sample, taking a few sips of water with a couple of pieces of lemon, ask for only 1 hushpuppy (even when you get the funny look) and just take a bite (or two!)

This was our first "joint" the Q shack  which is just down the road from the  truly gorgeous campus of Duke University. The BBQ served here had a very rich tomato base and the best beef brisket I have ever had....

         

       

We stayed for the first two nites at a charming B & B - The Arrowhead Inn just outside of Durham. The house was built origionally in 1775

As HUGE baseball fans, how could we not go to a Durham Bulls AAA game!!

       

       

(yep, thats me with the super "frizzies" caused by the humidity so famous in the south!!)

The Pit - located in Raleigh was our absolute hands down favourite BBQ, the pulled pork and ribs were moist and naturally flavourfull with a non overwhelming hint of smoke - I didnt want to "spoil" it by adding any of the vinegar based bbq sauce!! We did everything we could to go back before we flew home, but was not meant to be!!

       

We then headed east to Asheville and stopped at Little Richards Lexington BBQ in Winston Salem, Deano's BBQ in Mocksville (both these places served only smoked pork butt/hams sliced or chopped with "secret" sauces on the side) and then Carolina BBQ in Statesville - which served ribs and brisket too!!

       

       

          

In Asheville we stayed here at Abbington Green a delightfully restored colonial revival B&B  which was very close to the Downtown and Artistic Centre of Asheville - we had a great time wandering around all the Art Malls and seeing all the different artistic styles and mediums the local artists had on display and were offering for sale.

After 5 different and somewhat huge BBQ tastings we were very excited to sit down to a Thai dinner and the next day a fabulous brunch at the amazing Tupelo Honey Cafe (the wait was sooooo worth it!!) Four days flew by at warp speed, I collected a menu from each of the places we ate at and info from each place/joint we visited - hopefully before the kids come home I will have a mini scapbook/journal put together to show them what we did/where we went while they were at camp!!

Long post - thanks for your patience....dont forget to leave a comment in the previous post if you havent already for a chance to win my de-stashing giveaway!!

Tamy xo

Summer De-Stash and a Giveaway!!!

Day 3 without the kids.....very bittersweet - I know camp is a great experience for they're self confidence, social growth and for testing they're independence in a very safe and happy environment (plus they are out of this miserable Phoenix heat) ....BUT ....I miss their presence and personalites terribly!!!! Only another 11 days to go.....

All is not in vain as I have cleaned out both their bedrooms from top to bottom, decluttered, sorted and organized all the crap stuff that has accumulated throughout the year (i thought i had done this already in January right after Christmas!!) - on a roll I did the same in our master bedroom and living room....now the biggest project challenge is my crafty cave and storage closet!! Yikes!!

So.....finally getting to the point, I am destashing and want to share some of the goodness!

   

I will fill one flat rate large USPS box (@12 x 2 x 13'") of - to be included but not limited too - vintage embellishments, fabric remanents, ribbon, seasonal accents and paper crafting items! I promise that the winner will not be disappointed!!! Just leave a/any comment at the end of this post and I will put your name into a random draw which I will have one of my "angels" draw on the day they get back from camp on July 20th.!! (to a newly finished backyard and pool too!!)

Mental note to self......probrably should start packing for our 4 day BBQ food frenzy!!!

Tamy xo 

BBQ Fever!!

The kids are leaving the Phoenix heat for camp in the California Sierra Foothills at Waltons Grizzly Lodge, this is our oldest sons 5th year and our youngest's 3rd year. In a  nutshell Hubby and I met here when I was working as the camp nurse and he was visiting at the end of the summer (the first summer he missed since HE was 7 years old!) That was 16 years ago!!! Our nearest and dearest friends run this multi generational paradise and as much as I will miss them, they will hardly give mom or dad a second thought as they race thru dozens of activities and make lots of new friends in a very "COOL environment.

Having said all that, besides overseeing the finishing touches to our backyard project, hubby and I will be heading our own adventure for 4 days in North Carolina

        

We are flying into Raeleigh and then heading west along the North Carolina Historic BBQ trail eating a whole bunch of old fashioned BBQ recommeded by both these websites - NC BBQ musings. It sounds a little bit out there to a few of our friends but we cant wait.. B is a budding BBQ enthusiast who happens to make the best ribs ever!!. We are going to watch a Durham Bulls Baseball Game, see a local theatre production, walk around the Duke University Campus, eat a bunch-o-bbq and check out the historic district for a couple of days before heading west towards Ashville. After Raeleigh we will be flying by the seat of our pants in a rental car with the sole goal of hitting as many "mom and pop bbq" joints as possible in between!!!

                   

Hopefully we will bring back a fab. assortment of "secret sauces" like these!!

         

Will post some of our own yummy pics when we get back. I hope you and your families are having a lovely summer!!  Tamy xo

 

Rand McNally Happy

I have always loved vintage imagery - especially illustrations from the late 1940's thru the early 1960's, the use of bright and pastel colours and the style of illustration are so vivid, whimsical, charming and unique. I have recently started searching for and collecting  Rand McNally Elf books from this period. The joy and pleasure I recieve with each new addition to these (addicting) collections I think can only be really and truly understood by my fellow collectors/crafters and bloggers!!. In appreciation of being a part of the blogging community here are a few of my favourite images from my collection for you to enjoy!!

If you like these images go and want to see some more Rand McNally happiness check out the Flickr group I started here!!

 

Lovely!! Tamy xo

Cookie Pan Treats for Anyday!!

After seeing this sweet fabulousness on Dena's Sugar Shop .........

I scoured the internet (the best deal and  variety was available at SugarCraft...) for the pans to make these simple (?) treats!! How perfect for any celebration!! I am going to be making a whole bunch of these using store bought cookie dough instead of crispies for the kids to decorate during our July 4th get together!! An activity and dessert rolled into one!!

 I didn't stop there though, when I saw that Sugarcraft also had available the giant cookie pans so I can "whip" up a little something like this (from Mrs Fields!) too!?!?!?!

      

Yum, Tamy xo

Patriotic Decorations & Craft Projects!!

Wow summer only officially started yesterday but...... it seems to be flying by, July 4th is just around the corner! We are co-hosting a little neighbourhood get together in the morning after the annual parade which runs around the block past our house (the kids will also decorating their bikes the nite before in order to participate in the "best decorated bike" competition immediately following the end of the parade - it seems to get more and more competetive and creative every year!!!) Anyway, I have been working on a few little decorating and party favor projects to get ready - this has been alot of fun and great, because I had everything on hand!!

In order to make my "Cracker Favors" all I used were these........

   

You can use recycled paper towel/toilet rolls or just make your own. I used strips of cardstock cut into 2 1/2 wide x 5 inch pieces and stapled ends together. I filled each "tube" with 2 pieces of bubble gum and a patriotic tatoo before rolling/covering with patriotic coloured tissue paper and gluing edge with glue stick. I tied each end with ribbon streamer and embellished each "cracker" with r/w/b crepe streamer which I glued onto the outside centre.....voila! I only need to make about 40 more!!  Of course you can embellish these to your hearts content, but I am going for "simplicity quickly"

   

I am putting some old branches in a bucket of sand and hanging some "flashcard ornies" that I made, from the branches to use as the table centrepiece. The glitter I used on the edges was "handmade" using old and broken red christmas ornaments - I made about 14 of these with different words

         

I am a huge fan of Candice Carpenter and signed up for her party hat of the month club - This months kit arrived on Friday and I put this together today, I love it!! Go check out her site for some great ideas and supplies!

                       

I am also a huge fan of Jenny and Aaron from Everyday is a Holiday, and was thrilled when my order arrived - how fantastic is this!!

  

Click on this link to Artistic Bliss for a tutorial on a darling floral centrepiece!

Have a fantastic and creative week, I will post more patriotic projects and decorations soon!!  Tamy xo 

 

Summer Side

Simple Recipe from Country Home June 2008, super easy, fresh and really delicious! - all ingredients tapered to individual taste!!

         

Stir together x 1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained: diced red onion (about 1/2), quartered grape tomatoes (or  1 diced regular tomato!) 1/2 chopped sweet red pepper, one can of chopped green chillies (mild for us!) and @ 1/4 cup of chopped coriander/cilantro,  fresh lime juice (I used one), ground cumin (@ 1/2 teaspoon) and salt to taste..... I served this with fish tacos, but hubby said would love this as a "appetizer" with a big old bowl of corn chips....

Birds and Bonnets Beautiful!!

My gorgeous panels from Beth and Karla's Birds and Bonnets Vintage Workshop swap arrived today and I couldnt be more thrilled!! Thanks to both these very talented and generous ladies..

        

 

My panels looked like this prior to embellishing. I really toyed around with the whole digital collage process which turned out to have a bigger learning curve than I thought! I had ALOT of fun putting this all together!

 

 

Enjoy the rest of the week! xo

Simply Yummy!

Who would have thought I would have been able to be look at or be inspired by any more deliciousness after a week of birthday celebrations at our house!!

I got lost on Flickr (again!) and this is the very yummy result.....