Scrapbooking our summer vacation

  I'm almost finished scrapbooking the photos from our summer vacation to Jasper National Park. I got these 4 layouts done last weekend. 

  Sorry about the less-than-perfect photos of the layouts. I was photographing them in the evening when I had no natural light. 

  I used Echo Park's Country Drive collection for 'Hangin' Out'.

  More Echo Park on this one. I used the Splash collection for 'River Rafting'. I printed a Picnik collage onto an 8x10 sheet & trimmed the sides to make it the 8x8 square I wanted.

  

  I used mostly My Mind's Eye for 'Evening Walk'.

  'Maligne Canyon' was made with a mish mash of products.

  What crafty projects have you been up to?? Drop me a comment & let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

  I'm excited about this coming week. We're headed out of town tomorrow for my husband's grandpa's 90th birthday celebration. On Monday, we have Thanksgiving with my family. Later that day, my mom-in-law & sister-in-law are coming for a week long visit. We love having them!

  Another fun thing about next week is going to be.... Cookie Week! Oh yes. I'm going to be posting 5 of my favourite every day cookie recipes. I hope you'll join me. It's going to be tasty.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for you.

Park Tour 2011

At the beginning of this summer I had a brainwave. My kids are always asking to go to the park, so why not make it a bit more interesting & visit some parks that we've never played at? Thus began "Park Tour 2011". It's simple. Once a week, we seek out & play in a park we've never played in before. I've been taking photos along the way to remember where we've been. Here's a few we've gathered.

Do you have any summer traditions that you've started with your kids? I'd love to hear about them!

Enjoy your day!

~Steph

Summer produce

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when my garden starts producing yummy fruits & veggies. I've been chopping rhubarb & getting ready to make my annual batch of rhubarb jam. This year's batch will be HUGE! I'm pretty sure I'll need some more jars... I'll post the recipe & photos once the deed is done. :)

I'm starting to get apples from our apple trees so I'll have to figure out something to do with those. Maybe I'll try my hand at apple juice as a couple of people have suggested. I've also harvested a large quantity of raspberries from my next door neighbour's raspberry batch (with permission of course). I've made a chocolate raspberry torte & a raspberry crisp already with plenty of additional raspberries tucked away in the freezer for future use.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte. Not picture perfect, but it sure tasted yummy!

Last night & tonight I've been able to include veggies from our garden in our supper menu. The lettuce, cherry tomatoes, & peppers are all doing well. I'm quite enjoying my little "salad garden" as I like to call it. Of course, I'd enjoy it more if it was weed free, but that's another story.

Maybe I'll have to try making Fried Green Tomatoes... have you ever made them? I found a good recipe (well, it looked good anyway) last year, but never got up the courage to try making them. 

What's growing in your garden this year? Any tips or ideas to share?

Fruit Pizza

Summer desserts are among my favourite recipes... actually, any dessert recipe is likely among my favourites. :) Most summer desserts involve either fruit or something frozen. This one involves fruit - and lots of it! I hope you'll give it a try. It will likely become one of your favourites too. And be ready to hand out the recipe because you're sure to be asked!

Fruit Pizza
Crust:
1 1/4 cups   All-purpose flour
1/3 cup       Brown sugar
3 tbsp.        Icing sugar
2/3 cup       Butter, softened


Topping:
12 oz.         Cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup      Granulated (white) sugar
1 tsp.          Vanilla


Variety of fruit - you can use pretty much whatever you want. Think berries, kiwi, peaches (canned ones work very well), bananas, etc. 
Tip: For best results, don't use frozen or previously frozen fruit. Fresh or canned work the best. 


Glaze:
1/2 cup       Apricot jam 
2 tbsp.        Water


Crust: Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix all crust ingredients together in a bowl until it forms a ball. Press on bottom of a pizza pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Topping: Beat cheese, sugar, & vanilla together until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruit in pattern of your choice over top.

Glaze: Mix the 2 glaze ingredients. Rub through a sieve. Carefully pour/brush over the arranged fruit.