little gi

52 week project {week 6}

just took a *quickie* last week for 52 week project.  you know the ol' stretched my arm out & pressed the button kind of thing.  but what struck me is that i liked it.  i liked *me* in it.  & this was smack in the midst of one of those "gah!  i suck" days.

& as i loaded it up on the computer i kept thinking to myself...."hmmm...not bad, gi"..."you *are* pretty despite what you tell yourself in the mirror sometimes"

we are all guilty of it.  the "oooh i'm not this" or "eeesh i'm not thats"

the thing is...that negativity starts to chip away at you & bring you down....

so...cheers to beauty & truth & smiling & brightness...

"she colored her thoughts with only the brightest views." - kobi yamada

happy tuesday!!

xoxo

gi

happy heart day!!

during our chilly, snowy january i made a bunch of crochet hearts using this tutorial. i LOVE them!  they are so quick & fun to make.  i had wanted to string them up on my new windows for Valentine's day, but then the window job didn't get done on time (ahhh....i just *love* contractors, don't you?????).

so now i'm thinking they will look fabulous made into a little bunting to go over the girls beds. 

i need to make more though....and in more fun colors.  the girls are going to love it!

happy valentine's day!!!

xoxo

gi

 

 

52 week project {week 5} + some crochet...

a wee bit late...but here's my {week 5} for 52 week project...

last week was a pain in the butt....so much of it was spent waiting & waiting...

waiting for the contractor to show/the snow to start/the ice to stop/the tylenol to kick in/the paycheck to hit the account/the girls to get here for bunco/the kids to stop fighting/the phone call cancelling school to come/the wine to chill/yada...yada...yada....

waiting game....*sigh*....i'm not very good at it.  i tend to get discombobluated & overwhelmed & all nutso in the meantime.  i did manage to distract myself & do a bit of crochet and made a little cupcake and a little cup o' latte for a friend. 

have to remember to pick up the hook & wool more often.  it is so relaxing & enjoyable and so much better than just plain ol' waiting...

happy wednesday!!

xoxo

cappuccino brownies...

ok...this photo doesn't do these brownies justice at.all.  i forgot to take a photo on friday because i was running around like a chicken without a head trying to get everything ready for my friends who were coming over for Bunco.  but even 3 days later...whoa.....these brownies are SO good (and easy!)!!  The recipe is from an old Everyday Food magazine....i had ripped it out a few years ago & stuffed it into my recipe box.  finally my hoarding ways are paying off...haha!!

oooh & make sure to serve with vanilla ice cream....seriously....in.sane.

here's the recipe:

Cappuccino Brownies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp instant espresso powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in center.  Butter a 9 inch squar baking pan, and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper.  Coat paper with butter, set aside.

2.  In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over very low heat, stir together chocolat and butter until completely melted.  Let cool slightly, then whisk in sugar, espresso powder, vanilla, and eggs.

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.   Add to chocolate mixture, and stir until just combined (do not overmix).  Fold in chocolate chips.

4.  Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out slightly wet, with a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes.  (Be careful not to overcook these brownies; they should be moist, not dry.)  Let cool completely. Run a knife around edges; invert onto cutting board, cut into squares.

Enjoy!!!

happy monday!

xoxo

gi

 

it's been a long time coming...

there's been a big shift in my crafting over the past couple of years....and truth is, scrapbooking is no longer the big pull that it had been at one time.   i think i'll still scrapbook, i still enjoy it and would love to continue to record my favorite memories & photos sometimes...but scrapbooking just no longer occupies the huge space in my crafting "want to do" list as it once did. 

so i've been trying to go through the monster piles of stuff that i've accumulated around here.  hooooolllly moly there is a lot of stuff.  & i'm trying to go through the pages & journals & mini books i've created, figuring out what really i want to keep & what i want to just let go.   it's been kind of interesting discovering what really touches me now & what i want to treasure and what i've just tossed in the bin.  space is at a high premium around here...so i want what is out & about to mean something...i want it to represent just who we are and what we believe in and what we hold dear...not just be an exercise in product placement and the latest trendy scrapbooking phase.

i found a journal i kept a couple of summers ago and i've really enjoyed paging through it.  it was super simple...just photos, a few bits of pretty stuff and what i wanted to say...what i wanted to remember.  

 

i even found a little "pep talk" page i made for myself.  funny how those words helped me back in 2009 & helped me again just yesterday.

so if you need me...i'm knee deep in retrospection.

happy thursday!

xoxo

gi