Rinda's Second Annual Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, Part 2

I've just returned from a two week camping trip with my husband to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. During my travels, I was able to cross a few more items off my scavenger hunt list. For all the details about the scavenger hunt, be sure to visit Rinda's blog, Gallo Organico:

1. A pier
2. A clothesline
3. A border
4. A roadside stand selling something
5. A train
6. A historical landmark
7. A person playing a musical instrument
8. A person dressed as an angel or a statue of an angel

9. A fountain

10. A horse

These horses were taking some tourists to a Chuckwagon Dinner in Yellowstone National Park.

11. A shadow

This would be me, playing around with the camera while visiting the Hoover Dam.

12. A maze, labyrinth, or trail.

"The Narrows" in Zion National Park...much of the trail is  in the Virgin River.

It was a hot day, so I didn't mind getting wet! I'm thankful to the woman who gave me her walking stick when she was done...it would have been hard to navigate the river without it!

13. A library

14. A person playing with a ball.

15. Someone dancing.

16. A bride.

17. A church, chapel, cathedral, mosque or temple.

18. A movie poster

19. An outdoor stairway

20. A swing hanging from a tree (or a hammock)

This was taken at our neighbor's campsite in Bryce Canyon National Park...remind me to buy a hammock for our next camping trip!

21.  A picture of you standing with something that symbolizes your nation.

10 down, 11 to go. I think I'll try to hunt for some of the remaining items in my own town. I think I need to stalk the churches near the town green in search of a bride!

Rinda's Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt

This is the second summer that Rinda over at Gallo Organico has hosted a photo scavenger hunt. Last summer I had the best of intentions, but the worst of executions! I managed a few photos from the list, but never got around to sharing them or even coming close to finding most of the items on the list.

This summer, I am trying again, and although I am off to a slow start, I am going to share what I've found so far.  All of these photos were taken on my iPhone (so please excuse the quality!) while visiting friends in Plymouth, Massachusetts over the 4th of July holiday.

1. A pier
2. A clothesline
3. A border
4. A roadside stand selling something

Fried dough stand, after the 4th of July parade

5. A train
6. A historical landmark

Plymouth Rock

7. A person playing a musical instrument

House party, post fireworks!

8. A person dressed as an angel or a statue of an angel

9. A fountain

Pilgrim Maiden

10. A horse

11. A shadow

12. A maze, labyrinth, or trail.

13. A library

14. A person playing with a ball.

The girls have worn the dogs out!

15. Someone dancing.

My friend's daughter and husband showing off their moves from a recent father-daughter dance recital.

16. A bride.

17. A church, chapel, cathedral, mosque or temple.

18. A movie poster

19. An outdoor stairway

20. A swing hanging from a tree (or a hammock)
21.  A picture of you standing with something that symbolizes your nation.
Substitute Item (new this year):  If you find any of the above too hard, you may substitute a photograph of either a heart-shaped stone or a four leaf clover for one item; however, you may not substitute this item for #21.


Six down, fifteen to go! 

Coming out of hibernation!

March 24th? Really, March 24th? I haven't blogged since March 24th??? Sigh.

I suppose I've been busy, but not so busy I couldn't compose a short post! Just haven't been feeling motivated I guess.

So, what have I been up to for the past 4 months?

I celebrated Easter in Washington, DC with some long lost relatives of my husband's. It was like the blind date of family visits, but we had a wonderful time!

I finished the spring semester...had some really challenging first year students that I was happy to say goodbye to! Had some wonderful upper-class women that I was sad to see graduate!

I coordinated and attended my 20th college reunion. The highlight, of course, was seeing my friends and meeting new women that I didn't know in college, but a close second was getting to hear Jane Lynch (of Glee fame) deliver the Commencement address.

Our view of Jane Lynch's speech, from the comfort of one of the residence hall living rooms!

I attended the funeral of a dear friend's mom who died unexpectedly, way too young. I am glad I got to visit with her the month before.

I reconnected with my best friend from high school, and met her two sweet kiddos.

I took a road trip to Pittsburgh to attend a professional meeting while my husband reconnected with his uncle.

I scrapbooked, but rarely from home! I went to several crops at my LSS and spent a weekend at the Scrapbook Expo in New Jersey with a couple of friends. My nieces remain my favorite scrapbooking topic!

I celebrated the 4th of July with a good friend in Plymouth, Mass (and found a few pictures for Rinda's scavenger hunt, but I am going to wait to share those until her link up party on August 4th!)

I spent a few days at the beach on Block Island, RI

I spent a weekend at my parents while my brother and his family were visiting from California. Happy fun times with my nieces, and the entire extended family.

I planned a two week camping trip to the National Parks out West...we plan to visit Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone and several places in between! Wish us luck...it's been over 10 years since I've been tent camping! Can't wait...we leave soon!

Trial run of the new tent!

If I can figure out how to blog from the road, I'll try and post about our trip. Be sure to check back on Saturday for my contribution to Rinda's scavenger hunt!

Deb's "Virtual Housewarming Pot Luck" Blog Hop!

Hello from Connecticut, where we have been experiencing some lovely, unseasonably warm weather! If you made your way here from Margaret's blog as part of Deb's Housewarming Potluck Blog Hop, welcome! If you are one of my regular readers, you can begin the hop over at Deb's blog.

I told Deb I would bring dessert. And not just any dessert, but my blue-ribbon winning chocolate cupcakes! Okay, they're really Martha Stewart's chocolate cupcakes, but I did win a blue ribbon for them in my town fair a few years ago, and since then they have become a go-to recipe when I need a cake or cupcakes for a party. Want to try one? Here you go!

If you'd like to make them yourself, I use the recipe from her Baking Handbook. Here's a similar one from her website:


One bowl chocolate cupcakes with fluffy vanilla frosting. I love that all the ingredients get mixed together in one bowl...the fewer dishes to wash the better in my opinion!

Martha has never steered me wrong with her baking recipes, and believe me, I have tried a lot of them! I even stood in line once to have her sign her Cupcakes book. 

If you make these yourself, here are a few tips:

• the batter will be awfully thin and runny...that's okay!
• don't overfill the baking tins...these rise quite a bit and will stick to the the pan if they overflow! Giving the pan a spray of cooking oil is probably a good idea.
• Martha says these make 2 dozen...I usually can get 2 1/2 - 3 dozen.
• don't want to eat all 2 1/2 dozen? Go ahead and freeze the unfrosted cupcakes. They'll be good for at least a month. 
• don't worry if they don't look perfect when they come out of the pan...you're going to smother them in frosting anyway, and frosting hides all flaws!

Hopefully you're not too full from all the other great food that people brought to the housewarming...you still have three more desserts still to try! Next up is Rhona...can't wait to see what she made!

Thanks to Deb for organizing this blog-hop...it was just what I needed to get out of my blog slump! 


Thanks for stopping by!

In case you're interested, here is the complete list of blog hop participants:

Drinks/Appetizers

Deb @ PaperTurtle – http://paperturtle.blogspot.com

Rinda @ Gallo Organico – http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/

Beverly @ BE glorious - http://beglorious.blogspot.com/

Soups/Salads

Alison @ Life in the Slow Lane – http://alisonslife-in-the-slow-lane.blogspot.com/

Fiona @ Staring at the Sea – http://fiona-staringatthesea.blogspot.com/

Amy @ Over at our Place - http://overatourplace.blogspot.com/

Side/Main Dishes

The “Not So” Small One @ From High in the Sky – http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/

Jacky @ Scrappy Jacky - http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/

Deb @ Deb’s World – http://debs14.blogspot.com/

Ginger @ Ginger’s Life of Spice - http://gingerslifeofspice.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Tales from the Scrapheap - http://talesfromthescrapheap.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Random Reflections - http://kbwalker.blogs.com/random_relfections/

Ruth @ Everyday Life of a Suburban SAHM - http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com/

Desserts

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita - http://dreamingladolcevita.blogspot.com/

Ruth @ Chatty Crafty Arty Pig - http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/

Margaret @ Finnegan Begin Again – http://margaretfinnegan.blogspot.com/

YOU ARE HERE-->Becca @ La Jolie Fleur Rouge - http://lajoliefleurrouge.blogspot.com/

Rhona @ Life in General - http://rhonacs-lifeingeneral.blogspot.com/

Cheri @ Scrap Dreams - http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com/

Carrie @ Rosalind Revival – http://www.rosalindrevival.com/ 

Valentines from the Archives

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I love my alma mater, Smith College. One of my favorite places on campus was the College Archives...I remember doing a paper in my first-year English class where we had to use sources from the archives. How much fun to get to dig through alumnae's letters and scrapbooks to get a glimpse of what their lives were like. I think that motivated me to keep scrapbooks of my college days...the thought that they might someday end up in the archives, with some future student looking at them!
A lot has changed in the 20 years since I graduated...they now have a blog where they post some fascinating items from the archives. Today, they have a great post about Valentines & Candy, with some cool samples from scrapbooks from as far back as 1878! Check it out:
http://smitharchives.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/you-can-find-it-in-the-archives-valentines-and-candy/

10 on the 10th

Another month gone by already? That means it's time for Shimelle's 10 on the 10th again!

This month, I bring you another 10 crafty projects. Mostly layouts, with a card and a tag thrown in! Most of these were completed at a recent crop at my local scrapbook store, The Papercraft Clubhouse. Love that place, so had to give them a shout out!

Click on any of the images to see them full screen.

From my summer road trip with my niece and mom. Jillibean Soup paper,  Sketch Support sketch   

Another road trip layout! Basic Grey paper, Sketch Support sketch.

This was the page kit we received at the crop. Perfect for a picture of my sweet girl, Melody!

A Christmas layout, completed shortly after Christmas! Woo hoo! Crate Paper papers,  Sketch Support sketch  .

Summer scrapbook retreat! Basic Grey papers,  Sketch Support sketch  .

My niece, loving my dogs! Basic Grey papers.

Sarah "meets" Stephen Colbert! Authentique papers.

Fancy Pants papers. Scraplift of this layout by Sue Althouse of Life and Memories.

Simple Birthday Card...will be going in the mail today!

This was the make and take from the crop. Lots of Tim Holtz goodness here!

January Counterfeit Kit Layouts

Well, despite a busy January (painting and rearranging our guestroom/office, resuming classes, etc.), I did manage to create four layouts with my January counterfeit kit. I thought the papers worked well for family layouts, and layouts of visits to historical sites. (Click on any of the pictures to see them in a larger version).

Basic Grey Piccadilly papers and embellishments

Paper: Echo Park; Sketch: Sketch Support

Paper: Echo Park, My Mind's Eye

Paper & stickers: Echo Park; Buttons: Making memories; Tissue Tape: Tim Holtz

Can't wait to see what the counterfeit kit is for February! Thanks for stopping by!

10 on the 10th, January 2012

10 Scrapbook LOs from 2011 I neglected to post:

Most of these were created at a weekend scrapbooking retreat I attended in July, 2011 with some online scrappy friends.  I was clearly in a 2-page layout mode! Most of the layouts were about some of my travels in Spring 2011. Most are based on sketches from Sketch Support, Pencil Lines, Pagemaps. Please click on any of the images to see them in a larger format.

1. Thankful

2. Snow Angels

3. Good eats and drinks

4. Wildflowers

5. Sunset at the Oasis

6. Long Island Wine Country

7. 19th reunion

8. Hello Sadie

9. Graceland

10. Cruising with the Family

Thanks for stopping by! To see more 10 on the 10th posts, please visit's Shimelle's blog.