Our Room at the Great Wolf Lodge

I surprised the family for Father's Day with a trip to the newly opened Great Wolf Lodge. It was such a fun place to stay. The kids loved the huge indoor water park, but when we were done playing, the kids cabin inside our room was where they wanted to hang out. Inside their cabin were bunk beds and their own tv set with game console. They were in kid heaven!

Fabulous Food Friday: Fried Won Tons

To make these yummy appetisers, you need to purchase won ton wrappers and whatever ingredients you want for the filling. I typically use a mixture of cream cheese, ham (or chicken) and chives.

Separate the won tons as you go and spoon a small amount of the filling into the center.

Fold over and wet the edges to seal.

And tuck the end up to the middle. Seal the ends using water. Fry in vegetable oil, a few at a time, until brown and crispy.

Now here are some photos of my newest hobby...bento lunches!

These are made with sticky (sweet) rice, using rice molds found in Asian markets or online. I got mine from my brother-in-law's fiance who brought them back from Japan!

I used my paper punches to punch holes and flowers for the eyes out of nori (dried seaweed)...see, crafty and tasty!


Here is a lunch I made for my daughter this past spring using the rice molds. This time, I didn't use sticky rice, just leftover rice that I added Yoshida's gourmet sauce to make it "sticky." The bunny has a carrot nose and is surrounded by Edamame. She loved it!

My last order

A few months back I was at a crossroads with my status as a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I was in pending for the gazillionth time and I had to decide whether I was going to "dig" myself out again or just let it go. I decided on the latter. When I first started demonstrating I was making money, but then I had kids and life got reallly busy. When I signed up in 1998, I really just wanted to try to earn enough money to buy supplies. Ten years later, I have so many supplies I can't seem to harness them all (and believe me I've been trying!) I was trying to hang on through the end of my 10th year to earn the 10-year pin (a goal I set a long time ago), but when it all boiled down to it, I knew the pin wasn't worth extra money I would have to spend to earn it. So it was a bitter sweet day when I put my last order in, but I almost feel a sense of relief not having to think about being a demonstrator...now I can just have fun!

Had to stock up on all the colored cardstock and a few cute new stamp sets...and the new hodgpodge hardware set...and...

Fabulous Food Friday: Thai Basil Chicken

Since my brother-in-law is from Thailand, we have had the pleasure of eating many delicious Thai meals together. This is one of my favorites.

Note: Begin cooking your rice before you make this dish and it should be ready at the same time.

Thai Basil Chicken

12-16 sweet basil leaves
1 cup hot water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound chicken, thinly sliced (I use 2 lbs)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, sliced (I use 1 onion)
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
1 tablespoon fish sauce, available at Asian markets
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

In a small bowl, soak sweet basil leaves in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and discard water.
In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat for 1 minute. Add meat and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until chicken begins to turn brown. Place meat aside in a bowl. Wash skillet and dry. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat for one minute. Add garlic, onion and peppers and stir well. Cook, stirring frequently until peppers are soft. Add chicken, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar and stir well. Tear basil into smaller pieces and add to the mix. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat for 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve over rice with some sweet chili sauce on the side. Mmmmm!

Seattle Memorabilia Page

No matter where we go on vacation, we tend to come home with lots of memorabilia: ticket stubs, maps, brochures, etc...I always hang on to it all in hopes to add it to the layout, but this time it seemed to become the layout.

Here's what I've done so far... it doesn't feel "done" though. My husband thinks it's too busy, but I kinda like it...any suggestions?

Cousins at the Beach

Here is a page I made with one of my favorite beach photos. It was taken last year when our family went camping at the beach.

Paper: Best Creation Inc. "California" ; Turquoise glitter paper; Title: My Mind's Eye "bohemia: bungalo at the beach" ; ART glitter used on the word 'Beach' ; caption: velum card stock

Fabulous Food Friday

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. My daughter and I spent some time in the afternoon picking what might be the last of the strawberries this season. Anyone who lives in Oregon will tell you that our berries are the sweetest, most delicious strawberries around. They are smaller than the ones you typically buy in the stores, but they are packed with flavor and are something I look forward to every year. So many good summer treats can be made with these red gems...today I am going to share with you a yummy treat that I first made a couple years ago for Father's Day.

In the past I posted recipes every Friday to my family blog which is a private blog, but I have decided to add this feature to Paper Capers so I can share my recipes with all my blogging friends as well. So here is the first edition of Fabulous Food Friday on Paper Capers...Fourth of July style! I made this recipe to bring over to our neighbors who always do a huge fireworks show in their back yard. Hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Pavlova

INGREDIENTS

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1-1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle cornstarch over egg white mixture; fold in. Fold in lemon juice and extract.
2. Coat a 14-in. pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon meringue onto pan, forming a 12-in. heart; build up edges slightly. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan on a wire rack.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon over meringue; arrange strawberries over top. Serve immediately.

Summer Projects

I must have serious ADD. In one day I started 5 major projects. One morning I started weeding my garden and transplanting plants (which was just a warm-up), then when that got boring, I went into the house and started tearing down the old wallpaper in the utility bathroom. Soon enough ripping got boring so I started to test out the new paint color. Later that afternoon I moved on to pressure washing the patio around the pool. (As it turns out this is a very time consuming project that has taken all week, but is almost done.) Pressure washing the patio lead to pressure washing the patio furniture which leads to the project I am most excited about...

This week we started re-finishing our patio furniture!

...well, let me back up a little. Last year when I was jonesin' for a new patio set, my husband felt the money would be better spent on other things (little did we know I would have two kidney stone surgeries in the fall).

Instead of new patio furniture we compromised and agreed to re-finish what we had. His parents gave us their old metal set when we bought their house, but it was really rusty and needed some serious TLC. I found some new cushions, but that's as far as we got. Then this past weekend we got the new paint that would match our outdoor love seat and chair set.

Here are the chairs: before (white), during (rust colored primer) and after (brushed bronze)

...and here is what the chair looks like with the cushions...so much better!!!

Pink, Pink, you stink!

Many of you already know about my obsession with Pink...if it's pink...I want it. Not in a selfish, materialistic way, but yes, I do get a little excited when I find pink things. Who wouldn't want to drive around in such a cute car?

My eyes are seriously drawn to the color pink...always have been. A few years ago I saw a pink old-fashioned type writer on ebay and I just had to have it. I bid on them and would be out-bid and then I'd wait for the next one to show up. I was determined to get one. It never happened...yet. Still want one though. Isn't she cute!

When Kitchen-Aid came out with pink appliances, I was ready to paint my kitchen pink and re-decorate with pink appliances...then I remembered I was married and my husband would not see the beauty in a pink kitchen! Plus, despite my admiration for the color pink, I really don't want to turn into that crazy lady who lives in a pink house with too many cats who are also pink!

If I could have a pink kitchen without turning into that crazy lady, I would need one of these...pink microwaves!

Oh, and let's not forget all the cute pink things Pottery Barn Teen has...A pink mini fridge for your dorm room (or craft room!) LOL!!

And these chairs...I just love Pottery Barn! Such cute things in there!

Wouldn't mind one of these either. Remember back in the day, waiting for the rotary dial to come all the way around before you could dial the next number.

Fellow scrapbooker, Heidi Swapp loves pink just like I do. Here are some of her pink Christmas trees using some products from her scrapbooking line to decorate with.

...and lastly, when I saw this, I started thinking...hmmm... I know the Sizzix machine I have is perfectly fine and practically new, but it's red and white...maybe I could sell mine and get this one. I seriously thought that. Am I crazy? I think maybe a little! But man, this one would really look great in my craft room!