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Saturday, April 11, 2015

(In)Conveniences

Isn't it amazing how spoiled you get by conveniences?

My credit union was pretty late to the whole mobile deposit party. I was thrilled when they got a mobile deposit app because there's nothing more soul-draining than a trip to the bank. Well - maybe a trip to the post office or the IRS - but still, the bank is right up there.

So today - I've been trying to make two mobile deposits. I had to do the first one twice - and I was so mad! It took forever to tell me it failed.

The second one, I'm STILL trying to make - I think I'm on round 4. And in the middle of being annoyed, I had to laugh at myself. For being annoyed.

How ridiculous is it to be aggravated that my cell phone is turning a piece of paper in my hand - 10 miles from my bank - into money in my bank account in about 5 seconds??? I am literally living a Jetson life. I got over myself quickly :). It reminded me of one of my fave videos - I've posted this before, but it's worth seeing again.




That guy is wise beyond his years :)

Today I taught one of my technique classes, which was a hoot, despite a kerfuffle about where we were sitting during the class. We survived. Resilience is good. I think my stamping students would make a great zombie apocalypse team.

Speaking of techniques - I have the classes lined up for the retreat - taught by me and some guest instructors! We're doing an advanced heat embossing class, 3D card elements, a mini album class, mixed media madness, die cutting secrets of the stars, MISTI tricks, a class all about H2O, and stencil and mask secrets!

I believe I am out of two person rooms, so if you're interested in picking your own roommates and getting your own 3 or 4 person rooms, book soon!. Each person gets a goodie bag full of products, 8 quick tip demonstrations in between the 8 classes, breakfast and lunch by my celebrity chef, and 24 access to our retreat room for late night stamping! I will also be giving away some amazing prizes, like a Silhouette Cameo and a few MISTIs and more.

When I run out of sleeping rooms, you can still attend the retreat - but I will send you a list of nearby hotels.

Register here!

Now today was one of those days when I really was craving a nice salad or something green. I've been so busy for the last month or so that I haven't eaten enough veggies. Good food takes time, for sure. And I haven't had much of that. So after class today, I headed to the Whole Foods (it's in the same parking lot) and got the ingredients for one of my fave salads on earth - their own sweet summer kale. They sell this pre-packaged in their prepared food sections, but I have a phobia about vegetables I haven't washed myself - so I prefer to make my own. And they were nice enough to provide the recipe a few years ago, which I will share with you now!

Sweet Summer Kale:


  • 1 lb. kale (I hand tear it into bite sized pieces)
  • 1.25 C Slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1.25 C sun dried cranberries (If buying at WFM, get the sugar infused ones, not the apple juice infused ones - they taste much better. I'd prefer no sugar at all but I haven't found those anywhere.)
  • 1.25 C dried apple rings, chopped (I prefer the deydrated, crispy ones from WFM - the chewy ones are not my fave. I just smash them in the bag with my pounder thingy and add them.)
  • 1.5 TBS garlic, chopped (I use 1/2 this amount, microplaned)
  • ⅓ C red onion, brunoise (Chef talk for grated or finely diced onions. Those snobs!)
  • ¾ C orange juice (Florida's Natural - it's from America)
  • ¾ C white balsamic vinegar (I use Alessi)
  • 2 ¼ tsp red chili flakes (less or optional, if you're a sissy :) )
  • 1 TBS oregano, chopped (I use fresh from my yard - not sure what the dried equivalent would be.)
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 4 oz. olive oil
  • 2.25 tsp kosher salt
  • 2.25 tsp black pepper

You’ll have oodles of dressing left over so make it up but don’t add all of it to the kale - start with half maybe. I put it into a container I can really shake it in. Shake it and let it sit for a few hours, shake again, let it sit. The kale will absorb the dressing and become amazing. It also compresses a LOT after sitting for a bit. I put it into a container that I can BARELY close the lid on, and after shaking and chilling it's about 25% full. This gets better the longer it sits. Amazingly amazing. Enjoy. 

They initially published this recipe on their site, but I can no longer find it, so I don't know if they removed it or if Google hates kale, but I'm unable to link you to the original, which was published by an NYC Whole Foods. 

I promise you, unless you're dead inside, you will LOVE this salad. It keeps very well too.

Now when I was at the retreat in March, I borrowed my friend Leslie's Distress Inks and just goofed around making fun backgrounds on watercolor paper to make into cards later. I love the vivid colors and the unpredictability of the "smoosh" background - just smoosh the inks onto a craft sheet, spritz them a bit with water, and then smoosh the watercolor paper into the smooshpile. I got two prints from each spritzing. 

I paired that with the greetings from Big On You - because they're big! 

For my little dots, I took my Essentials piercing template and aligned it above the watercolor paper on my card. My Energel .5 is the PERFECT size to make dots using the template as a guide. If you scribble on your mat in between dots, you get more perfect dots.


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It IS your day - it's Caturday! With a glorious Sunday stretched before you. Make the most of it.

I'd like to spend most of it sleeping, but that probably won't happen. A girl can dream, right?

Loveyameanitbye.




11 comments:

  1. Kale is evil. My body rejects it. But I believe you about the salad.

    And fun smooshing in the smooshing! Pretty card!

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  2. I LOVE kale! Trying this recipe for sure. Such a beautiful card, the background is so vibrant!

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  3. Thanks for sharing the video! That was funny! ......Give it a second, it's going to space...... LOL!

    Beautiful card! Great background. I think that really is my fave technique!

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  4. Hey there! First, hang on, the apps will improve. I've been banking by phone for quite a while now and it gets better and better. In fact, my bank just increased their banking by phone limit to $10,000 so I never have to go, unless I'm craving a Hershey's kiss, which they never fail to give me, but are polite enough to ask first. In case anyone is wondering, it's Chase Bank - best bank I've ever had and I've had banks for over 60 years. And yes, it's funny how frustrated we get. I think back to when I used to have to type whole insurance policies on mimeograph sheets!! Second, if you want good food fast, get a Nutribullet. Mine has been worth it's weight in gold! And I'm perfectly happy with the 600 but now they have a 900. They don't actually go on sale but sometimes you can snag a store gift card when you buy it. An extra special perk is that you can put kale in anything you make, including an all fruit smoothie, and you don't taste it, just get the benefits. I highly recommend it.

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  5. Great post and lovely card! Your retreat sounds AWESOME! Wish I was in your area so I could go!

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  6. that Louis C.K. is my people and hilarious. Thank you for introducing me to him. And your recipe looks delish. And.... the watercolor smooshing background with distress inks - my favorite way to make a card these days. I never get tired of it. That paired with a ginormous font of lovely words makes my whole body happy.

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  7. what a great video about "inconveniences".....and so true!!!! I always get inspiration from your blog (which is also true with this visit) and a smile. In the case of the video, I was laughing so hard my DH actually looked up from his tablet to see what I was doing. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. OMG, I LOVE reading your posts! You are hilarious and so is that video! So true!! People today often have NO IDEA how lucky they are and how good they have it! Too bad, really!
    Anyway, your card is so cute. I'll have to try that technique. I have been seeing it lately but haven't had time to try it. Also, I must try your recipe. Sounds good AND healthy!

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  9. That video was so funny and so true. Now if only someone could make a video like that with MISTI as the subject.

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  10. This was the first week at my new job and on my first day, I was invited to the division potluck on Friday. Anything that anyone brought had to be vegan and all my go-to potluck dishes have dairy in them. I decided to bring this salad and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Oh Kristi that's awesome - it's a great recipe - one of my faves!

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