Super Bowl Update

I have been holding onto this super funky printed cardstock for a while now. I bought a bunch of these little bags at the thrift store the other day and trimmed one down to go on the card. The image is justjohanna Just For You Branch which I colored with a Marvey Marker and a Prismacolor pencil. I think it would be fun to slip a gift card or home-made coupon in the little bag.





Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the 1st Annual Fiskateer Spring Fling. It was really fun to meet many talented crafters. My friend Tami was there and we both won prizes. I won the Fiskars Craft Drill. I got to play with it a little bit at my Fiskar Demonstrator Certification training a few weeks ago.



Our family has been working on our garden since Thursday. This is a picture of a little bit of our garden. You can see some of the typical plantings: corn, eggplant, herbs, etc. But, every morning, we wake up and someone has burrowed a hole in our garden. I know it's not a bunny because no plants were eaten. What is it? Rat? Mole? Anyone else have strange holes in their gardens? It's really giving me the creeps.

Sorry for the long absence. I've been sick all week.

Here are a couple fun cards shaped like Easter bonnets. I used Linda's template. I decorated the hats with justjohanna stamps: Happy Easter, Created By, Michelle's Little Scroll, Circle Dot Background, and Lacy Border plus a couple leaves cut off some ribbon and Anna Griffin paper on the bottom one and ribbon and a hat pin on the top one.

I am so lucky. I live near one of the best (in my opinion) breakfast places in town (see review of Sunrise below) and one of the best Chinese (that serves dim sum which is one of my all time favorite things).

For those of you not in the know, dim sum is a Chinese lunch time meal of small plates of various things. Things like (steamed) shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and many other kinds of dumplings, shu mai, spring rolls, shrimp rolls, duck, onion pancakes, chicken feet and on and on. There are probably 40 things on the menu. You are supposed to drink tea with it although you can pretty much get anything you want to drink.

Oh wait, I guess I better tell you what restaurant I am talking about. Shanghai Lil's is the restaurant. It is located across 82nd street from the main entrance to the Fashion Mall. (Conveniently close to Sunrise). One of the things I was really worried about missing was dim sum when we moved here from San Fran. But luckily, shortly after arriving, we discovered this place, which was serving dim sum on the weekends at the time. It has since expanded to serving it every day for lunch. It is getting more and more popular each time we go which makes me very happy (although you still don't have to wait for a table). They cook it to order, which is unusual to someone used to the huge dim sum places in S.F. and Oakland, where they follow the traditional method of rolling carts around with various things on them for you to choose from. But hey, at least you know it is warm and fresh.

We also recently went for dinner and were very happy with that as well. Several people had highly recommended the basil chicken to me so we decided to try it (be sure and ask even if you don't see it on your menu, as I had one that had been misprinted and that item had been cut off!). It is so worth it! Delicious. Seriously. We also had a lamb dish which was good, but nowhere near as good as the chicken. We also had dumplings in hot chili oil that are amazing as well. Hubby likes crab puffs (their version of crab Rangoon) which generally isn't my fave but was done very well.

Sometimes, particularly at lunch, I find the service a bit gruff, but who cares really when the dumplings are this good?

They also have a full Japanese menu with sushi and all--haven't ventured there, but I did eat at the sister restaurant, Mikado, downtown, and it was quite good. It is a more Japanese focus.

My advice, skip the huge lines and noise at the massive chain Chinese across the road, and hit Shanghai Lil's. You won't be disappointed.

Shanghai Lil's
317/205-9335
http://www.shanghai-lil.com/

I have been away awhile but have had many good meals...so I must update. We went back to Bugg's Temple a couple of weeks ago and had an even better meal than the first time we went. We were happy to see some new menu changes (which always gets me excited---I know, it doesn't take much) and tried some of them. I had the lobster ravioli and it was delicious and then, I must admit, I had the same thing for my main I had last time, mussels and the fingerling potatoes from the bar menu (I want to say I tried them the second time to make sure the quality was just as good, but really, I just wanted to eat mussels again at the one restaurant in Indy that seems to be able to pull them off). And this time, because I had 2 appetizers for my dinner, I had room for dessert. I am so glad. The banana tart we had was AMAZING. Lots of bananas on pastry with caramel-y sauce and ice cream. Y-U-M. It was all so good. Hubby had the calamari and an appetizer of a venison chop with some foie gras and it was all outstanding. (I had some of all of it).

We also got to chat with the chef (he went around to the tables while we were there and introduced himself) and he was quite lovely. He is a Hoosier at heart who has cooked in many fine cities around the world and has brought himself back here. Sorta reminded me of yours truly, except I have only eaten in many fine cities around the world and found myself back here..

Anyway, the food is great, the ambiance is quite good, the chef is charming and I really like this restaurant. The only downside again was the service. At one point, a waitress (the one we had the first time I think who was a bit surly) who was not our server, came up and picked up our bottle of wine which was about half full, and just said, "I'm just gonna kill this" and proceeded to pour half a bottle of wine into our glasses which still had a bit of wine in them. OK, generally I am not a big service snob, but when you order a bottle of wine, you want it to be poured out over the course of the meal, not in two large pours at one time. Enough said.

It was the first night for our server, but he was quite friendly and fairly knowledgeable about the menu (which as I said had just been changed).

Incidentally, the smokiness has lessened and as we learned from the chef, much of the smell was due to lack of a vent hood.

Go there now. You will not be disappointed.

This month each justjohanna Design Team Member was sent a little wooden bird cutout and asked to decorate it however we want. The birds will be displayed on a wall in the justjohanna Boutique.

• Bird: Painted white then heat embossed justjohanna Circle Dot Background in pink and added Me and My Big Ideas pink sparkles and clear sparkle for eye.
• Tail: justjohanna Limited Edition Kit fabric that I fanfolded and stapled.
• Scalloped frame: justjohanna Lacy Border stamped in pink onto paper from the justjohanna LE Kit.
• Background: Hot pink painted 5 x 5 canvas with justjohanna Michelle's Little Scroll heat embossed with Ranger Antique Vertigris.
• Hanger: lime green ric rack.

Check out Debbie's amazing bird project.

I'm going to the racetrack tonight for a fundraising event for the Cypress Pops Orchestra. As a member of the Guild, I'm donating a basket for the raffle. It all started with an ugly duck:

Then, he got a little makeover with paint, Daisy D's paper and a new ribbon.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is a big weekend for justjohanna. To celebrate, I'm offering blog candy. Here's what you have to do:

1. Go the the justjohanna online store and look at all the new images.


2. Pick your favorite (not including the 2 kits or the march deal).


3. Guess my favorite.

If you guess my favorite correctly, I will enter you into a drawing to win your favorite and my favorite image. Yes, I will send you 2 newly released justjohanna stamps if your name is randomly drawn from the correct responses.

Good luck. You have until Monday morning 9 a.m. my time to leave your guesses on this post.

I made this for an Easter card swap I'm in on 2peas. I used Amy Rysavy from Pairie Paper and Ink's sketch AMYRS17 for my layout.

Sentiment: justjohanna, Patterned papers: Anna Griffin, Chipboard tree and flower: Disney Princess by Sandylion, Eyelet paper trim: Martha Stewart.

I am super excited about my newsest passion-altered bakeware! I made this Easter wall hanging with a fluted cake pan, wide satin ribbon, fabric flowers, glittered chipboard letters and plastic eggs, justjohanna stamped images and vintage sheet music.

And, the most exciting part: This item is available in my new Etsy Shop- Grow Home.

One of my favorite things about being a member of the justjohanna Design Team is getting the inside scoop. I have a few fun things to share with you:

1. New images: the cow on the right is just one of the over 100 fun new images being released this week. I'm excited about the mushrooms and all the new baking images.
2. Limited Edition Kits: Each kit includes white cardstock, pattern paper, vintage ribbon/fiber/trim, vintage ephemera, vintage clip art and a super cute 8.5x5.5 sheet of unmounted rubber stamps. justjohanna is offering two different versions of the kit this month. One version is already sold out.
3. justjohanna Boutique: If you are in the San Diego area and would like to attend the grand opening this Saturday night, March 8th, then send me an email and I will get you some details. There will be a fun make and take, stamps for sale, and lots of Design Team samples to enjoy.