Beef & Barley Soup

I'm sure looking forward to spring. Are you with me? From some of the photos I've been seeing, there are those of you who are seeing sprouts of green in your gardens & are feeling the sun on your faces. We are sure seeing the sun here in Saskatchewan, but our gardens are still buried under 2 feet of snow. No tulips will be seen for awhile...

For the time being, we are hunkering down, staying warm, & trying not to envy the people who are holidaying or living in warmer climates. My parents are in Mexico right now... sigh. (I choose to be happy, I choose to be happy.)

Anyway, how was your long weekend? Ours was good. My husband is now in his last week of school. Soon he'll be a journeyman plumber! (I'm so proud!) He did a lot of studying on the weekend, so the kids & I hung out together, but we went swimming as a family on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, I fired up my iTunes podcast library (my fav thing to do while I'm cooking or baking is listen to preaching podcasts. I learn a lot & am encouraged in the process) as well as the oven. I made a chocolate cake, chewy ginger cookies, biscuits, & a big pot of this yummy Beef & Barley Soup...

Only one change. I used venison this time. It's delicious with either kind of meat. After it simmers together for an hour & a half, you can't even taste the difference.

Insta Friday #4

Another week has come & gone. I fell off the posting wagon this week a bit. Sorry about that. We have a long weekend this weekend & I'm planning some creative time with some projects to share with you this coming week.

This week, my family took a little trip down memory lane & I posted a few favourite photos from a couple of our past Mexico trips.

And because we couldn't be in Mexico, I lifted my spirits by doing one of my other favourite things... some baking! :) Raspberry muffins with vanilla glaze were a yummy weekend treat.

8 Gift Wrap Ideas

With Valentine's Day coming up this week, 

you may be looking for some ideas for wrapping that gift you bought for your special someone. 

Why not give one of these a try?

How To Make Tissue Paper Flowers

Rolled Paper Flowers

Owl Valentine Bag

Doily Gift Bag

Felt Pinwheels on Brown Paper

Map Covered Gift Box

Butterfly Gift Bag

Map Pinwheel Gift Bag

I hope you're feeling inspired to get crafty with your wrapping!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

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Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Insta Friday #3

This week's wrap up...

Valentine's Day is well on it's way, along with the kids admiring all the love day goodies in the stores.

This is Audrey's "Can I have it, Mom? Can I pleeeeeease have it?" face.

Last weekend I went scrapbooking with some dear friends. We consumed large quantities of Starbucks & chocolate while we were at it. What could be better? Wait, we thought of something better... being on a cruise, scrapbooking with friends, & having Starbucks & chocolate! Don't you agree??

 (And yes, the weekend was Epic. "We ARE the focus group." Haha, you had to be there!)

Pretty As A Princess {Echo Park}

Last weekend, I spent a wonderful time with some friends at a scrapbooking retreat. I'm still plugging away at our Disney album so that's what I worked on the whole time.

I was excited to scrapbook these photos from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disneyland because I could pull out my girly stash & make something pretty. I guess I was tired of all the yellow & red Mickey Mouse products I had been working with. :)

As you can see, my journalling isn't done. I'm leaving it all to the end & will do it all at once... hopefully.

Like I did with the wedding card I recently made, I cut up some jewel flourishes I had to make them stretch & work with my layout.

Products used:

• Cardstock - American Crafts
• Patterned Paper - Echo Park
• Scalloped border sticker - Echo Park
• Journalling sticker - Echo Park
• Silver letter stickers - Making Memories
• Paper flowers - Michael's
• Jewel flourish - Dollarama
• Single jewels - Michael's

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!