Back Home - What a Week!

Wow - this past week has been a lot of fun - busy and a blur all at the same time!

So to catch up - as you know I was on vacation at Disney World.  After Space Mountain we spent the rest of the day/evening enjoying Disney.  Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Under the Sea ride

Big Thunder Mountain:

Cinderella Castle:

Parade:

 

Epcot at night

 

So the day after Disney it was my birthday!  Woo hoo!  Unfortunately it rained pretty hard off and on all day, so didn't do a whole lot.  Ran some errands, tried to pick up the smoker (wasn't ready yet), puttered around some more then went to Clarks Fish Camp for dinner.  I went there last year and had a lot of fun - its a seafood place on the river but the entire inside is decorated with stuffed animals.  No, not the cute Care Bear type.  I'm talking Lions, Tigers, and Bears.....OH MY!  LOL Check out the link if you're curious.  Nothing like eating dinner and having tons of eyes staring at you HAHAHA

 

Had a couple more days off from work, so as always went running errands, picked up the smoker (it was in the shop because a warming box was being added to it), and just tried to get geared up to go back to work. Yay. 

 

Otherwise, we have another BBQ competition this coming weekend - Chicken, Ribs and Pork Butt.  Its gonna be hot and rainy all weekend so not looking forward to that part but it will be fun to see all the familiar faces at the contest again, and catch up with them since we didn't have a competition in June.

Next up - the Jacksonville Quilt Show is coming in September!  WOO HOO!!  I plan on saving my pennies so that I can snag all sorts of great deals!  I went last year for the first time and although I missed not having my friends Amy and Kathy there, I still had fun.  This years theme is "Its Not All Black and White" - sound interesting!!!  There will definitely be a TON of pictures when I go, trust me :)

Finally.....I found another pattern that I have put on my "To Do" list - its a Debbie Mumm project called "By The Sea Wallhanging".  Go check it out - isn't it adorable???

How has your week been?
Vanessa

Orlando vacation

So Orlando has been pretty fun so far!  Saturday we sat through a *very* long 3 hour presentation about buying a timeshare (I didn't) but the free gift was a $150 Amex gift card!!  Afterwards we went to a few shops (no I didn't buy anything) then went to Buffalo Wild  Wings for dinner. It took almost an hour to get served but it was nice to just relax. 

This morning I got a surprise - we are going to Disney!  And we got the park hopper so we can visit all the parks. Woo hoo!!

I took that picture last night as we were driving back to the resort (we are staying in a 2 bedroom deluxe suite at Bonnet Creek)

Here's a couple pictures from so far from today:

Right now we are standing in line for Space Mountain. It's about a 45 minute wait so I had a few minutes to post an update. 

How is your weekend going?

Vanessa

Throwback Thursday!

So for today's Throwback Thursday, here is a picture of my very first quilt ever:

 

I had SO much fun with my friend Kathy shopping for these fabrics; we went to Mill End (sadly, they've since closed the store) and had an absolute ball!!  Looking at it now, I can see that I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing as far as colors, placement, etc. (its a bit busy for my taste)  But hey, for a first time quilt its really not all that bad.  Not really.  I guess.  LOL  Best part of the class was my instructor, and now great friend, Amy, made the class so much fun!!  I still have the pattern and one day I plan on remaking it with a more pleasing (to me) color palette.  Maybe more solids and fewer prints next time.  Or batiks.....you know I'm crazy about batiks :-)

Speaking of batiks - look at this cute free pattern I found online at All People Quilt:

Its called "Splashes of Color"; just click on the name to bring you to the free pattern.  This one is definitely going on my "to do" list!!!  It would also be cute with some sort of fussy cut print for the center square and solids (or polka dots even) on the outside.

I'll be heading down to Orlando tomorrow for a nice long weekend of fun and relaxation.  I think we may hit a theme park or two, but there will definitely be some shopping involved!!  Pictures will taken and an full recap of the trip will be forthcoming!

What are your plans this weekend?  And what do you think of the Splashes of Color quilt?

Vanessa :)

Happy Belated 4th of July :)

Hi again - I meant to post last week *before* the Fourth of July, but time got away from me (what else is new right?)

Spent the 4th at some friends house and took this video; now keep in mind that I'm used to Minnesota, where you cannot have shooting fireworks.  These were being shot off in the neighborhood and were spectacular.  These folks spent some serious money, let me tell ya!

Did a couple new recipes for the 4th as well; Banana Pudding and a hot Bean Dip. 

The Banana Pudding is actually a Paula Dean recipe and all I can say is "OHMYGOD".  It is thick, it is rich and it was a huge hit.  Here's the one I made:

The recipe calls for bananas, but if you (or one of your guests) doesn't like bananas, this recipe can easily be altered.  Skip the fruit and change the cookies/pudding flavor.  How about Oreo's and chocolate pudding?  Or Ladyfingers and butterscotch pudding?  I'm sure you see where I'm going with this :)

The other recipe I made was a baked Bean Dip - I absolutely love it.  I had planned on taking a picture as soon as I brought it over, but it was immediately attacked so here's what it looked like about 5-10 minutes after I brought it out:

 

 

 

This is a good Southern recipe, with black eyed peas and artichokes. Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I'd be happy to send it to you :)

 

We played softball over the weekend - well, let me know get real here:  we took turns hitting balls while the rest of us chased them LOL  Even so, after 1 1/2 hours in the hot sun you get a good workout!  I'm sore head to toe, but its a good sore.  I even hit a few balls; everyone took turns hitting 12 balls.  I only missed three....not bad for not swinging a bat since 8th grade.  One even managed to roll into the outfield so I'm pretty happy about that!!!!  It was a good showing for someone who was playing with people who have played baseball/softball practically all their lives.  I got lots of good tips on swinging the bat (apparently I swing like a girl - go figure LOL) but we had a great time overall.

 

Still no sewing - yeah, I know I'm a slacker!  Haven't painted anything lately either - I don't know where the time goes every day.

 

And a quick shoutout to Kathy Luehrs - again wishing her a Happy Birthday on the 5th!!!

 

How was your fourth of July?  Feel free to post in the comments section :)

Vanessa