Can't Believe It, We Have Wifi!

Here is a peek at the campsite...

More to come!

Gone Camping

See you in a few days!

Once A Month Cooking

The ultimate convenience for 
"Comfy Camping" 

About 3 years ago, my friend Elizabeth, started  a "once a month" cooking group.
I had no idea how much I would love it or even how much I would come to depend on it.

 I want to give you an overview of how our "once a month" cooking works.
 If you would like more details or learn how to start your own cooking group,
 leave me a comment and I will contact you with more details.

 Here is how it works...


We set a side one Monday a month for cooking.

 We each suggest 5 meals and then Elizabeth chooses our menu from
those submitted. We typically cook 17 to 19 main dishes.
 Over the years we have built a recipe list of
around 70 different meals that we all like and we know will freeze well.

When we cook, it takes a lot of space and makes a huge mess.

Normally, we are a group of seven women and we cook in Elizabeth's large (very nice) kitchen.
However, this month, we were down to only 4.
Since there were fewer of us, we decided to cook at my house.

I love having women sharing in my kitchen!
 I know most women don't, but I do!

We always have such a good time, sharing ideas, recipes and cooking tips.
I can't begin to count all the tips and tricks I have learned over the years.

Most people believe that freezer meals have to be casseroles, but 

we actually make very few casseroles.

In this photo we are making Fajitas.

Fajitas are one of the many meals that make a great freezer
meal, but are not even close to a casserole!

This is how we package them.

Here are just a few of the other meals we made this month...

Teryaki Chicken
Apricot Chicken
Baked Tilapia
Hamburger Surprise
Beef Stroganof
Crunchy Chicken

We cut back a little this month and only made 15 meals, but we usually make 17-19 meals.

Our total for the 15 meals was $106.00.
That makes each dish $7
Now that's a bargain!
The more women we have cook, the lower the price.
 Buying in bulk really does save us money.

For camping, I will throw several meals in the freezer of the camper.
 On the morning I plan to serve that meal, I just lay it on the counter to thaw.
Could not be easier!

I just love having my freezer full of meals!!

Did I Mention I Am A House Person Too?

I love my home! I think that is why I love camping so much;  

I get to take a piece of home with me when we travel. 

My husband and I are both house people. Yes, I said both. We love beautiful homes,

 and work very hard to make ours nice. 

I decided not to focus my blog on home decor because 

there are so many great blogs on this topic.

I consider myself a mimic instead of an innovator, but every now and then,

 I would like to bring a little of my home into this blog. 

 For Spring we did a little sprucing up!

Before

I love this vignette. It is a focal point in our family room. 

It just seemed dark for spring so my 

husband decided a fresh coat of paint would freshen it up.

After

I love it!

Fun Flock!

On our last visit to
  www.scrappininthecity.com
(my favorite store)
we found the coolest thing....

(again, sorry for the bad photography)

  

Fun Flock

Here's how it works...

First, pick a Sticker

Cover it with a liquid glue, something like Tacky Glue. 
Sprinkle with the Fun Flock. Pour on enough to cover all of the glue.
Then pat lightly to press into the glue.

Shake off excess

I suggest doing this over a sheet of paper. It is very messy.
You can put the rest back in the bottle and it will last a long time.

Isn't this the coolest thing!

I love the texture it brings to the page.

I also used it on my Disney Blizzard Beach page.

Fun Flock comes in many colors.
The khaki color makes a great sand for beach pages!!
I love this stuff!

Croptopia!

Oh how I wish I could go to this...

http://www.croptopiagetaways.com

Their next crop is in New England.  How fun would that be!!

The ABC's Of You and Me Album

I made this album for my husband for our 

25th wedding anniversary.

I surprised him with it when we went away to celebrate.

My friend Elizabeth made one for her husband and

 I loved it so much that I had to make one for us!

 I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge for the titles.

 I also tried to use the same card stock  

patterned paper through out the album so it would flow. 

Here are some pages from my album.

(still working on my photography skills)

This is an 8 1/2 x 11 album, but you can make it any size you would like.

Elizabeth's album was an 8x8 and it was really cute.

My husband loved it and when we returned home,

 I added a few more pages with photos from that trip. 

It is still one of our favorite albums.