@ the Chop Shop

Is summer speeding past you like it is around here? I though we'd have nice relaxing days at home, but that has yet to happen. My sister is getting married this weekend, so I'm sure time will continue to fly by at record speeds for now. By next week, hopefully our pool will be finished and I'll spend a lazy day by the pool eating popsicles.  It's good to have a dream, right?

Between summer camps, summer school, wedding plans, pool building supervision and much more this month, there has been very little time for scrapbooking. I was able to put a couple of pages together a couple of weeks ago and I just now had time to edit pictures of them.

This layout has a selfie (is it a selfie it it has more than one person in it?!) taken while our family was trying out a new restaurant in downtown Chandler. The restaurant had great sandwiches and salads and Ward says great lemonade too.

This was a quick page to put together and it felt really good to be playing with paper. I love using a few label stickers together for a quick journaling spot!

Layout Supplies /// Hello There Scrapbook Circle Kit

New Scrapbook Circle Creative Team

We've had so many things going on around here this summer and I hope to do an update soon. One thing has been pouring through creative team applications for the new 2014 - 2105 team at Scrapbook Circle. 

I'm excited to announce our new team today!

It's always exciting to add new members to our team and I'm excited to see what the new term brings!

iPhone!

Through a lucky series of events (non-smart phone breaking, dad's old iPhone having a button break), Audrey became the proud owner of a new iPhone 5s. This was not our plan, but when the Apple store was trading in an old iPhone plus giving us an $80 credit to the store and a new iPhone, how could we refuse?

Of course, I had to document this. Audrey also somehow scored a free $40 case from the AT&T store after she and Ward spent a crazy amount of time there getting her account set up. I think the worker was trying to make up for the frustrating time in the store. The free case did help ease the pain.

So now Audrey has a pretty cool phone and I'm excited for her!

This layout is based on the June Scrapbook Circle sketch that was designed by Diana Fisher. I loved the single photo option for this page plus all of the layering with tags.  If you want more info on the sketch and to find out how to play along for your chance to win a cool prize, stop by the Scrapbook Circle blog for details.

Layout Supplies /// Hello There June Kit /// Sweet Treats Add-on

What We Ate >>> May 30

Summer is officially in full swing around here! With Memorial Day and kids out of school last week, we kept busy and even did some cooking. Here's a look at a few things we had for dinner last week.

Monday - Memorial Day BBQ : Burgers and Grilled Corn

Our friends invited several families over for swimming and a bring your own meat + side to share dinner.  Our friends have a ridiculously awesome grill that a friend custom built for them. It was huge and easily held food for 6 families all at the same time.

I mixed up some turkey + beef burgers to take to dinner.

Turkey + Beef Burgers

1 pound lean organic ground turkey breast
1 pound lean organic lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced and sautéed
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbls Olive Oil
2 Tbls Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Siracha Hot Sauce

Mix everything together and form into 1/4 cup sized patties. Grill and enjoy!

Grilled Corn >>> We also took some fresh sweet corn that we picked up at a local food stand that morning. We pulled the husks back, took out the silk and then pulled the husks back up over the corn. We soaked the corn in a big bowl of water for 30 minutes before tossing the corn onto the grill. Delicious!

Tuesday: Shrimp Tacos

Tacos are a favorite around here and to mix things up, I cooked up some shrimp as a filling.

Honey Lime Shrimp for Tacos

20 Frozen Shrimp
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
3 Tbls Honey
2 Tbls Lime Juice

Cook the olive oil, garlic and onion until the onion becomes translucent in a pan on the stove. Then add the frozen shrimp and cook for 4 - 5 minutes until the shrimp is warmed through. Remove from the heat and toss in the honey and lime juice.

Serve the shrimp in tacos along with some homemade salsa, diced avocado, pinto beans, cheese and sour cream.

Wednesday: Carnita Tacos

We has all of the taco fixings left over from the night before, so I figured that we may as well eat them! I used this Crock Pot Carnita recipe a month ago and froze the leftovers. For dinner on Wednesday, I thawed the meat in a pan on the stove and served it up with the tortillas, avocados, salsa and sour cream.

Thursday: Pei Wei Takeout

We went to a friends' house for dinner and did Pei Wei takeout. We ate poolside before jumping in to cool ourselves off.

Hope something we ate will inspire a meal for you!