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  • All content on Mynee's Musings (http://mynee.typepad.com) including but not limited to text, photographs and designs are @2006-2008 Melanie A. Allen and are for personal, non-commercial use only. Designs and ideas presented herein may not be used for publication, submissions, or design contests. Thank you for visiting mynee.typepad.com

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July 07, 2008

Newly Renovated Stamping Studio

At one time, I considered having a finished room built in the basement (read I...meaning it was never in Bill's plans...hee hee hee).  I finally decided against it, much to Bill's relief, because if we ever got water in the basement, we'd have to replace the floor and drywall.  We did have water in the basement about 4 years ago during a particularly wet winter/spring but we had the sump pump replaced (the builder installed one that was much too small) and we haven't had any trouble since.  I then thought about converting the guest bedroom to my stamping studio but then we wouldn't have a place for overnight guests.  Also, Greta has basically claimed that room as her own so I didn't want to inconvenience her (the things we do for our pets)! 

Stamp studio 1OK, so here are a few pictures of my newly renovated stamping studio.  I bought a new table and a carpet remnant last week.  I have a bigger work surface now and my Cuttlebug and Cricut can sit on the table rather than on a shelf so it's more convenient.  Stamp studio 2 Be sure to click on the photos for a closer view.  The shelf on the table in the second picture was built by my dad.  The stamp sets I currently use are organized on the shelf by type (flowers, words, holidays, backgrounds, etc).  Another new purchase I made for my studio was a new dehumidifier.  I had one that was my grandpa's (we called it Georgie Geezer when we were kids) and it still worked, however, it started making a loud noise so I figured that it was time to retire it.  Georgie will still live in my basement though.

I'm submitting 5 more cards to Cards magazine for possible publication in the December issue.  Keep your fingers crossed that at least one is accepted.  

  

July 04, 2008

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th 2008 

Ingredients:

  • Card stock- White by Papertrey Ink, Real Red and Night of Navy by @Stampin' Up
  • Ink- Night of Navy and Real Red by Stampin' Up
  • Images- Happy 4th by @Stampin' Up
  • Accessories- Real Red grosgrain ribbon and Build A Brad by @Stampin' Up, Stickles, George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge

    We're going over to my sister and brother-in-law's house tonight to eat, drink and shoot fireworks.  Oops, don't tell anyone about the fireworks...we live in St. Louis county where fireworks are illegal.  You can't buy them in St. Louis county but you can in the neighboring counties. 

    I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July.   

      

  • July 03, 2008

    Missing Posts & A New Song

    I'm still experiencing blog issues.  The latest problem is some of my posts have disappeared, a few from late April and early May including the happy birthday post to my dad and two other card posts.  I'm not sure if they can be restored or not. The other problem is when I insert a photo into a post, I cannot size it correctly.  It is cut off on one side and then when you click on the photo for a full view, it's huge; bigger than the computer screen.  Grrrrr...oh well, I'm sure that they'll fix it soon.

    When we were in California, we heard a song on the radio that immediately grabbed our attention.  I thought it was Werewolves of London until the singer started singing.  It then sounded like Sweet Home Alabama but the words were definitely not from either song.  We had no idea who the singer was and then finally we remembered that we had Sirius Sattelite Radio in the car so we pushed the "info" button and the name of the song and the singer scrolled across the screen.  Imagine our surprise when we found out that it was Kid Rock.  Now, I have nothing against Kid Rock and, in fact, I just recently learned that he's a  Republican!  How cool is that?  Woohoo. It's just that I'm not a big fan of his style of music.  Anyway, about a week after we returned from California, the radio stations here in St. Louis finally started playing this song.  I bought the CD last night just so that I could have this song.  A lot of the songs on this CD sound like southern rock instead of his usual rap style.  A warning to parents: this CD is definitely not suitable for children.

    I'll try to post a 4th of July card tomorrow if my blog is cooperating. 

    June 28, 2008

    High School Musical

    Highschool_barWe saw High School Musical at the Muny last night.  It was actually a very cute show.  Needless to say, there were a lot of kids in the audience and they were pretty well behaved for the most part.  Anyway, I now know who Troy, Gabriella, Ryan and Sharpay are...hee hee hee. 

    It was pretty hot last night but it was also breezy so it really didn't feel too bad.  It's supposed to be a lot cooler tomorrow with a high of only 77 degrees!   Pretty amazing for the end of June.  

    June 27, 2008

    From The Cat

    Kitty Kitty Bday

     I love the Here Kitty Kitty stamp set by @Stampin' Up.   Granted, there aren't many times when a cat needs to send a card but it's just a cute set.  Anyway, I stamped the cat image on More Mustard card stock and then cut it out.  I did the same with the hat image which was stamped on Ruby Red card stock.  I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder which is definitely one of my favorites.

    Ingredients:

  • Card stock- More Mustard, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla and Kraft by @Stampin' Up
  • Ink- Basic Black by @Stampin' Up
  • Images- Here Kitty Kitty by @Stampin' Up
  • Accessories- Wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon @Stampin' Up

    I bought a new table for my stamp area.  It's just a long, folding table and I'm planning on placing my patterned paper drawers (small, three drawer Sterlite storage) and my Cuttlebug on it.  That way, I don't have to take the Cuttlebug off the shelf each time I want to use it.  It will already be set up and ready to use.  The Cricut will also be set up on the table when it's at my house (my sister and I have shared custody of the Cricut...hee hee hee). 

    By the way, I took a vacation day today.  I have an insane amount of vacation to use (I'm definitely not complaining) so I decided yesterday that today would be a good time to use one of those days.  We're going to the Muny to see High School Musical tonight.  I'll let you know all about it tomorrow.

    Happy Friday! 

     
  • June 25, 2008

    I Like Apples

    I haven't posted an online quiz in quite a while.  What kind of fruit are you?  Here's my result...

    You Are an Apple

    You are strong, powerful, and even a bit stubborn at times.
    You have enough strength to help those around you in trouble.

    You are adventurous and charming. Many people are drawn to you.

    You love life, and you enjoy traveling the world. You enjoy fine food, art, and culture.

    People have accused you of being a snob, but that's not accurate.

    You do enjoy the best things in life. Unlike snobs, you truly appreciate quality... not just pretend to.




    Me stubborn?  Noooo....hee hee hee.              

      

    June 23, 2008

    Save Anheuser Busch

    Now, I know I've said before that I'm not a big fan of most AB beers (Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra) but it's not really about the beer.  It's about the fact that a foreign country wants to buy a piece of America; an American icon.  Believe it or not, our two senators, Kit Bond (R) and Claire McCaskill (D), are actually on the same side on this one.  Neither one wants AB to be sold to InBev.  I'm not sure that the government should really be involved but it looks like they already are so hopefully they can fight to keep Anheuser Busch from becoming a Belgian company.

    Be sure to go to saveab.com and sign the petition.                

      

    June 22, 2008

    Eggplant and Plumb

    Eggplant memory I love the combination of Elegant Eggplant and Pale Plumb.  Add a little Mellow Moss and we're good to go...hee hee hee.  I cut a piece of Elegant Eggplant, ran it under water, wadded it up into a ball and let it dry overnight.  I then flattened it out and used it for the background for the focal image.  It certainly adds a lot of texture.

    Ingredients:

  • Card stock- Pale Plumb, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla by @Stampin' Up
  • Ink- Mellow Moss, Pale Plumb and Elegant Eggplant by @Stampin' Up
  • Images- Close as a Memory by @Stampin' Up
  • Accessories- Ribbon, brad, and ribbon slide by @Stampin' Up
  • I was able to stamp quite a bit this weekend.  I'll share some of my other creations this week..

    Later...   

     

    June 21, 2008

    The Producers

    Producers_bar The 90th season of the Muny opened this week with The Producers.  We have our usual Friday night tickets, same seats as the last 5 or 6 years.  We saw The Producers several years ago at The Fox and I've seen the movie with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane several times.  It's hilarious.  I especially love the Springtime For Hitler scene...hee hee hee.

    We ate at The Culver Pavilion at The Muny.  For as long as we've had season tickets, LoRusso's has catered the dinners and they've always been very good.  This year the Muny is handling the catering in-house by Muny Culinary Productions.  I will say I was sceptical, however, the dinner was great. 

    We don't have any plans this weekend.  We're just going to relax.  We're planning to bbq tonight unless it rains.  I'll have some time to stamp too which is always fun.

    Until next time...               

      

    June 17, 2008

    California Travelog

    Our trip to California was wonderful.  I would have added more pictures to this post but I'm still experiencing problems when I try to create new posts and it's even worse when I add pictures.  The technicians are still working on it and have been very nice (thanks guys!).   

    OK, so here's a day by day account of our activities, meals, etc. 

    Sunday, June 1- We flew to Los Angeles and then drove to San Diego.  On the way, we stopped in San Juan Capistrano.  It wasn't a planned thing but we decided that we were hungry and took the next exit and that's where we ended up.  We ate at Caio Pasta Trattoria and had a wonderful shrimp scampi appetizer and bruschetta while sitting on their cute little patio.  IMG_1578This photo was taken after we left San Juan Capistrano and drove to San Diego where we stayed at the Hotel Solamar.  This is a Kimpton hotel.  We've stayed at Kimpton hotels in San Francisco, Seattle and Portland and they are very nice  The hotel is in the Gaslamp Quarter which is loaded with restaurants and shops.  We decided to eat dinner at Croce's, a restaurant whichis owned by the late singer, Jim Croce's, wife.  I had the Sea Bass with pomegranate glaze, macadamia nut crust, red peppers, & Kaffir lime leaf-infused butter.  Doesn't that sound absolutely yummy?  It was wonderful.  Bill had the Bordeaux braised short ribs with creamy wild mushroom polenta, wilted chard and roasted cipollini onions which he said was great.  We enjoyed a few brews from Karl Strauss, a San Diego brewery. 

    Monday, June 2- Ate breakfast at J6 which was the restaurant in our hotel.  The hotel is located on the corner of J and 6...get it...hee hee hee  Anyway, their breakfast menu was extremely yummy and we ended up eating there every day.  After breakfast, went to the USS Midway which is now a museum.  It is huge.  Standing on the flight deck, I wondered how it is able to float!  IMG_1631 We then drove to Coronado Island and ate lunch at Hotel del Coronoado aka The Del.  The second photo is the view we had while we ate lunch.  I had yummy crabcakes and a salad of baby greens, strawberries, walnuts and blue cheese.  IMG_1630We walked along the beach after lunch.  We returned to our hotel and walked around Gaslamp Quarter.  We decided to eat dinner at San Diego Brewing where we had the appetizer plate and beer cheese soup.  I tried the IPA and the Amber and Bill tried the Brown and the Choco-latte.   

    Tuesday, June 3 - We spent the day at the KoalaSan Diego Zoo. St. Louis has a wonderful zoo, one of the biggest and it's actually free, but we don't have pandas or koalas.  Oh my goodness, they are so cute.  Panda I wanted to take them home.  We went to the Padres/Cubs game that evening.  Petco Park was within walking distance of our hotel and, in fact, we could actually see the pool bar from the stadium.  IMG_1780Unfortunately, the Padres lost to the stinkin' Cubs 9 to 6.  It was a good game though, even though approximately 1/3 of the people in the stadium were Cubs fans...boo!   

    Wednesday, June 4- After breakfast, we drove to La Jolla where we stopped at Bevmo for Maui Brewing Coconut Porter.  We ended up bringing 10 cans back with us.  Yes, my suitcase was a little heavier coming back than it was on the way out!  We then then went to the Cave Store.  There are 145 steps in the narrow passage leading down to the sea cave.  I was afraid that I might get down there and feel claustrophobic but the guy at the store assured me that I would be fine.  He was right and the sea cave was really cool.  Sea caveThis photo was taken as we were standing in the sea cave looking out at the ocean.  The only problem is when you walk down the 145 steps, you also have to walk back up.  Oh well, it just helps to burn off some extra calories  We wanted to eat at an authentic mexican restaurant during our stay in San Diego and we found one in La Jolla called Alfonso's.  Bill had the enchiladas and I had a chili relleno and cheese enchilada.  We then went to Cabrillo National Monument.  Even though the sky was overcast, the view was beautiful.  That evening, we ate at a wonderful tapas restaurant called Cafe Sevilla.   We had olives and cheese, meatballs, zucchini and eggplant, and then I had the tortilla espanola (egg, onion and potato tart) and Bill had calamari      

    Thursday, June 5- After breakfast, we took a few final pictures and then started our drive to Los Angeles.  We stopped in San Juan Capistrano again, this time on purpose.  Went took a tour of  Mission San Juan Capistrano.  Capistrano All of the flowers were in bloom and it was really beautiful.  We then continued on to Santa Monica where we stayed at the Georgian Hotel.  We had stayed there when we were in LA in 2004 and we really liked it.  We actually had an ocean front room so the view was great.  We ate lunch at The Lobster since it's one of my favorite restaurants.  I had to order the crab enchiladas!  Yum.  We then left our hotel at 4:30 to drive to the Dodger game.  The GPS told us that it should take about 23 minutes...yeah, right.  1 hour and 29 minutes later, we finally arrived at Dodger Stadium.  I don't know how people in LA put up with that traffic.  Dodger stadiumAnyway, the Dodgers played the Cubs and, once again, there were quite a few Cub fans present.  The guy sitting next to me compared them to roaches and said that you can't get rid of them no matter what you do...hee hee hee.  The Cubs won 5 to 4.  The Dodgers had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't get a run.  Without traffic, it only took about 25 minutes to get back to the hotel.

    Friday, June 6 - We ate breakfast at Griddle Cafe.  I had seen this restaurant featured on Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels a few years ago.  They have the biggest pancakes I've ever seen.  Seriously, the pancakes are as big as the plate and super yummy.  I had the boysenberry pancakes and they were delicious.  We then drove to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley Air force one where we were able to tour Air Force One.  The Air Force One exhibit was originally supposed to open in the summer of 2004 but was delayed so we weren't able to see it when we were there last time.  It was set up as it would have been when President Regan used it, complete with jars of Jelly Belly's.  It's difficult to photograph the entire plane but this photo shows the front half or so.  You'll notice people walking underneath the plane.  That gives you a little perspective of how big the plane really is.  IMG_1982 There were white roses on President Reagan's grave that I'm assuming were placed there the day before as it was the fourth anniversary of his death.  I miss Ronnie.  We certainly could use another president like him right about now.  We drove back to the hotel and decided to eat dinner at Manhattan Beach Brewing.  I had the southwestern penne pasta.  The Amber, IPA and Porter were excellent.

    Saturday, June 7- We drove to Amalfi Drive IMG_2038after breakfast to see former homes of three of my favorite people...President Reagan and Captain & Tennille.  We saw C&T's house last time we were in California but Bill didn't want me to get IMG_2040out of the car and have my picture taken because he was afraid someone would call the police...hee hee hee.  After we saw both houses, we drove up the coast to Malibu and ate lunch at Duke'sMalibu Yep, the same restaurant as Duke's in Waikiki and Hula Grill in Kaanapali.  This picture was taken as we were eating lunch.  Isn't the water beautiful?  We then drove back to Santa Monica and did a little shopping.  We ate dinner on the patio at Trastevere Trattoria Italiana which is a cute Italian restaurant in the Third Street Promenade.  I had the pesto pasta and Bill had the asparagus risotto.  After dinner, we walked down to the Santa Monica Pier.

    Sunday, June 8 - Our vacation comes to end and and we fly home...back to reality!