An important topic! :)

So...regular readers will know that I'm a Brit and of course with that goes an innate love of tea. For years after moving to the U.S., I would find a British store wherever we were living (or, online) and obtain my Tetley tea bags. A few years ago I succumbed and tried the Earl Grey tea they sell at Starbucks (made by Tazo), and it has served me well. Recently, though, I noticed that it tastes better in the paper cups from Starbucks than it does in a regular cup at home! Why is that? Is it just the Starbucks cups?

At Safeway yesterday I saw a pack of "to go" paper cups and decided to try them out. I came home, made my tea and drank it from the paper cup. It tasted better! Iain went into the kitchen this morning to make my tea and his latte (our little morning routine!), and I told him to use the cups I'd bought yesterday. I don't think I can express how much he rolled his eyes :) We started wondering what could be affecting the taste of the tea in the regular cups: could it be our dishwasher detergent or rinse aid? Or are there some unnatural "things" in the paper cups that seep into the tea and make it taste better? The mystery continues......

Thursday ramblings :)

Ah...almost the end of the week! My hubby arrives home tonight after 5 days in Colombia :) I think that tomorrow I'll have to take both kids to get checked out by the pediatrician - they've both had colds for over a week, which is typical for the start of the school year, but now they have both developed coughs and it doesn't seem like the coughs are going away any time soon. It doesn't do any harm to check, right?

This morning I met up with two of my neighbors and we walked our dogs together. I can't believe how much faster the time passed! Tasha was a bit distracted by the other dogs, but overall she did really well. We're going to meet up again tomorrow morning and make the most of this great weather - the mornings are just beautiful right now! Temps in the 40s/50s, so it's perfect for walking.

I started a new class with school this week - Juvenile Justice. It's only been a few days, but I find the reading really interesting. There are so many factors that can affect kids and the decisions they make over time - as juveniles and as adults.

Not too much else going on today: grocery shopping in a little while, then a little school and - alright - a little cardmaking or circle journaling :) Today's card is another one made with The Cat's Pajamas' Winter line of stamps. Don't you just love Skating Poochie with his winter sweater on?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous day!

A new friend!

I have been a member of a new Circle Journal group (30-somethings) for a few months now, and through this online group I met Sue, who lives down in Castle Rock - about an hour from Conifer. Today we met in person! I drove down to Sue's house, and we hung out there for a little while: she showed me her lovely home, her (very tidy and organized) scrap room, and her amazing photographs of the beautiful outdoors here in CO. I had brought a few magazines to show her my published cards, and showed her the ATG adhesive gun :)

Next we went out for lunch and then - of course - we headed over to a scrapbook store (Your Scrapbook Destination). We did some shopping there, and still had some time left, and Hobby Lobby was just a minute away, so we went there too before I had to head home in time for Nattie and Jamie getting home. It was so much fun to get together with a fellow scrapper whom I've been chatting with via e-mail for a while now! Our daughters are only a year apart, so they will get along well I'm sure :) Thank you, Sue, for a great day! I wish I hadn't needed to leave so soon though!

In the spirit of friendship, here's a friendship card for today :) Stamps by Hero Arts (flowers) and Hampton Art (clocks). Thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Project!

Along with the fantastic Fall and Winter stamps, Alma also sent us DT members a set of Naked Chipboard from Cosmo Cricket. I love these things! They come in sets of 4, but I had a pack of my own here so I put 6 together and made a photo display that can be hung up on the wall. It is double-sided! On one side I put Winter photos (and of course embellished with stamps from The Cat's Pajamas), and on the other side I did more of a holiday theme.

Hopefully if you click on the photos you'll be able to see the images clearly :) Thanks for looking, and have a fantastic Tuesday!

Quick photo

This is a rainbow we saw from our house on Labor Day. So pretty!

Misty Monday!

It is so damp here this morning; we woke up to fog and drizzle - I feel like I'm back home in Scotland! LOL! And in the spirit of wet weather, here's a "shower" card :) This one is made with stamps from My Favorite Things (the set is called "Shower Time"); patterned paper is by Fancy Pants. I pierced holes around the scalloped punched shape and stitched around the edge, threading beads on as I went. A bit time consuming (I decided after I'd done 3 beads!), but the effect is worth it for a special occasion card :)

Iain was up early to get to the airport to fly to Bogota, Colombia for 3 days. The kids and I got a few more hours of sleep before we had to get up, and then of course we had the required "discussion" about whether it was cold enough for them to have to wear jackets or not! Hello - it was 40 degrees at the time....

Tasha and I had our long walk, both dried off, and now it's time to put the kettle on and have my first cup of tea - the best one of the day! I may even sit and watch "The View" and decide what I think of Whoopi on the show. I've read mixed reviews so it should be interesting.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" season 6 started on HBO last night; it's one of our favorite shows! Iain and Larry David have a lot in common... I also TiVo'd the new HBO show "Tell Me You Love Me" which got some good reviews, so we'll give that a try.

BBQ Invites

These are some invites I made a couple of weeks ago when Iain and I thought we were going to have a Labor Day BBQ with the neighbors. I worked hard making a dozen invitations and then we changed our minds - well, I should say Iain decided he didn't want to grill for that many people! LOL!

We ended up having just drinks and appetizers, and I gave the blank invitations away on Two Peas to someone who could use them :) They are so cute, I should have just sent them to the neighbors anyway! Ha ha!

Stamps by The Cat's Pajamas. The white pen is a Uniball Signo. Happy Saturday!

My Favorite Things...

... isn't that a great name for a rubber stamp company? And I am so lucky to be on their DT :) I received a package of goodies last week from Kim, the owner of MFT, and I have had tons of fun playing this week! The card on the left is made from a set called "Hot Stuff", which can be found with the other MFT stamps right here. Happy browsing! (Patterned paper is the "Bohemia" line from My Mind's Eye)

The blog challenge on Two Peas today definitely applies to me: "do you tend to stay up late to scrap more if your DH/SO is away?". I do this often: if it's during a school class, I'll sometimes be up working on assignments (although I'm hoping to do that work during the day now that the kids are back in school). Quite often I'll work on circle journals at night; the peace and quiet seems to be effective for my thought process!!

Ran some errands this morning: Nattie is going to a friend's birthday party on Sunday, and she thought the best thing to take as a gift would be a Barnes & Noble card - sounds good to me! Also went to Target and spent way more money than I should have :) Picked up an Earl Grey tea from Starbucks and then headed home to a couple of hours of quiet before the kiddos get home!

We were all pretty late getting up this morning - it was a bit of a rush to get the kids fed, prepared, and out the door! I think we are all ready for the weekend :) Have a great one!

I'm not a cook, but....

I received a Circle Journal a couple of weeks ago and the theme was "What's For Dinner?". The owner wanted us to put our favorite family recipe in there....well, I was stumped. I don't have any recipes like that! In fact, I just don't like cooking, period. I cook because I have to, not because I want to. So here's the layout I created - feel free to borrow my recipe anytime!! LOL!! Patterned paper is by Cosmo Cricket (Dutch Girl Collection); title letters by Doodlebug and Making Memories.

Our Labor Day get-together with the neighbors was lots of fun! Our new neighbors from up the hill came and introduced themselves to everyone, and the food and drinks were flowing freely. It rained earlier in the afternoon, but then dried up quickly so some of us were able to sit outside - and the kids all played outside too. I hope all of you enjoyed your long weekend :)

Simple Sunday card :)

Been spending some time stamping this weekend! I really like this card - it's nice and simple! Patterned paper from 7 gypsies and stamp by Stampendous! Then I used my Prismacolor pencils + Gamsol to add some color. I think that the blue around the edge of the image makes it look a lot more realistic; better than having the flower floating on the cardstock. I used pop dots to make the whole panel stand out from the card front, and also on a second image of the flower :)

We have had a whole weekend of doing.....nothing much! Iain always takes a couple of days to recover from jetlag after a S. America trip, and Jamie isn't feeling too hot today, so we are taking it easy. Tomorrow will be busier - we have the neighbors coming round for drinks and appetizers!

Have a great long weekend, everyone!