suziebeezieland

happy hallowe'en!

daniel smeeth, unrehearsed voiceover artist

I posted this on my Facebook wall, but have to share it here, too.

I keep laughing when I even think about it. (via The Blazing Center)

scrapbooking inspiration: matilda the musical

Our very sweet and always fun Susie S. has encouraged several of us who are "lapsed" scrapbookers to begin scrapping again. I haven't done a layout in a few years. (I scrapped regularly until right after Claire turned four. She is now eight.)

I have been looking for some inspiration for myself for some new layouts, but then thought that instead of just keeping them to myself, I'd post them for you guys, too, in case you are also wanting to start scrapbooking again (or for the first time, or wanting to continue what you're already doing).

So this picture from promotional materials for "Matilda the Musical" is my first bit of new design and color inspiration. :) Stay tuned for more inspiration in the months ahead. And hopefully some new layouts, too!

ps Claire just finished reading "Matilda" so we're watching the movie again (Claire has seen it once before) even as I type. I love this movie, too! I think this is the sixth time I've seen it.

I stumbled across the graphic above while I was Googling Matilda.

how to insult like shakespeare

This could come in handy. {via The Blazing Center}

mary blair on google!

Lookie lookie lookie lookie! Our Becky D. alerted me to the exciting news that our recently discussed Mary Blair is the subject of today's Google Doodle!

Today was her birthday. :) 

the unity of the bible

I wanted to tell you about a book I read a few years ago for a class. It's called The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity by Dan Fuller. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a "big picture" insight into who God is and what He is doing with all of us, and why.

I wanted to tell you about it, but I have come to the conclusion that I am not a good book reviewer, because I want to tell you everything that is in the book, or possibly even more. Like a little boy I used to babysit who would take four hours to describe a two hour movie to me. :D

So below I've included the book's Foreward, by John Piper, so that you can get a better idea of what it is about, and see if it would be something you'd like to read. (You can click on the chunks of text to make them bigger if you need to.)

jones coffee roasters

One of our favorite Pasadena hangouts is Jones Coffee Roasters. I like it because it's the best coffee I've ever had. (Sorry, Intelligentsia.) I don't ever order any fancy espresso drinks when I go there, although I bet they are also delicious. I just get a cup of coffee.

It's also a good place to set up with a laptop for awhile if you can find a table, and get some writing done. Today I went with my sister. We also called our Charity, so she was there telephonically. :)

Jones moved last year from a small place without enough parking to a bigger place without enough parking. :) It's a big warehouse space, so the front door you come through is like a rolled up garage door.

Did you know this? I did not. When you get a disposable coffee cup, don't line up the drinking hole in the top with the seam of the cup, or it will leak.

There are some interesting hallowe'en decorations up this month.

This is the back of a stuffed crow. Nevermore!

But I think the best hallowe'en decoration is the coffee roaster itself.

Doesn't it look like something out of a steampunk movie?

disneyland pumpkins

A couple weeks ago, my cousins came out to visit us from Kansas and we went to Disneyland. It was such a fun day.

In Disneyland, there is always so much to look at, especially during the holidays, when they go all out with the decorating. Sometimes they have a little display in a quiet corner in one of the lands that would constitute a complete festival in its own right if it happened in your town, and would be a major life memory for your kids if it happened at your house. But because it's at Disneyland, it's just a little piece of the (much, much) larger show.

The older I get, though, these are the things I remember best and like best about Disneyland. :) I like the quieter things.

Take these pumpkins, for instance. 

These are freshly carved real pumpkins, and the man who carved them was sitting right there carving some more.

It was so cool.

Beware of hitchhiking ghosts ...

chicken + noodles and also emilie's noodle bake(two recipes for the price of one!)

I am on call for jury duty this week (I didn't have to go in today, but I don't know about tomorrow or the rest of the week) so I made a few casseroles over the weekend and froze them, to reheat in a pinch.

Here are two recipes for very easy casseroles that everyone in my family (even picky Claire) swoons over. I am sorry I do not have photos to accompany these two recipes (instead, I took a photo of where I am sitting right now), but to be honest, they're not that pretty. Casseroles are casseroles. :) I am lumping them together here because they both require spinach noodles.

The second one has specific freezing instructions, but you can also freeze the first one before baking and then thaw and bake it later, although tack on a few minutes to the time if it is still cold from the fridge. (I've done this and it turns out fine.)

The first one is a little borderline tacky (although some folks think casseroles in general are tacky, but those people must not be trying to feed a family in a hurry, and I say, long live casseroles) because it takes canned chicken and mushrooms, but I'm telling you, it tastes good. It's all those onions and butter and cheese. :) But if you strenuously object, you could use two cups of uncanned chicken. :)

I cannot remember where I got these recipes, but I am pretty sure the "Emilie" is author Emilie Barnes.

Chicken and Noodles

10 oz. spinach noodles
1 c. milk
2 cans (about 6 oz. each) chunk white chicken 
1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems + pieces, drained 
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. grated Romano cheese
2 T. melted butter
1/8 t. pepper

Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Toss with remaining ingredients. Pour into ungreased 2-qt. casserole. Cover and cook in 350 degree oven until hot, about 30 minutes. Stir before serving. Serve with additional Romano cheese if desired.

Emilie's Noodle Bake

1/4 t. salt
1 t. oil
8 oz. spinach noodles (or more ... sometimes I use more)
1 lb. seasoned ground turkey (if you can only find plain, add a little garlic powder and celery powder)
2 c. spaghetti sauce (I like Ragu Roasted Garlic because it's sweet)
2 c. lowfat cottage cheese

Cook pasta 7 to 10 minutes (big range of time there, but basically until done ... the spinach noodles I buy come in little nests and it doesn't tell you how long to cook them ... mine are usually done at 9 minutes) and rinse in cold water. Brown turkey and combine with remaining ingredients. Place in casserole, cool, and freeze. Thaw when needed and reheat at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes.

hold on, baby, hold on, 'cause it's closer than you think,and you're standing on the brink

How To Annoy Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings Fans

(via Stephen Altrogge's blog, The Blazing Center)

fast + easy hallowe'en art

in which claire takes to wearing her hallowe'en wig around the house on a regular basis

think different

and we're all just minutes

Some of life's most exquisite little joys are found in the details of parenting, and there are these things so sweet, they can break your heart from the sweetness.

But they flicker by, and you have to slow down and pay attention. 

Because how else will you notice that Winnie-the-Pooh has pierced ears?

mary blair

Over the Labor Day weekend, we had a mini right-before-school-starts vacation to Disneyland, and particularly enjoyed The Art of Mary Blair exhibit at the Disney Gallery, which is immediately to the right when you first enter the Magic Kingdom. 

Mary Blair was an artist who helped develop the look of Disneyland's famous It's a Small World attraction. The exhibit is excellent (go if you're local and have an annual pass!) and features concept art for It's a Small World as well as "concept story board art from such classic Disney films as Cinderella, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and various other installations for projects around the world including tile murals for Tomorrowland, Adventure Through Innerspace, Disney's Contemporary Resort and the never-realized Western River Ride."

Bob and I are both crazy for her artwork, and ended up ordering two prints for home. This one, now over our fireplace, is entitled "Norwegian and Swedish Designs," and will be familiar to Small World enthusiasts from the very first "room" you sail into on the ride. :)

We have another stretched-canvas print hanging in the hallway, and I'll get a shot of that for you later when the light is better there. 

I also took several photos of the exhibit itself with my phone (alas, not great quality ... sorry, chickies) to show you. Photography was allowed. :)

Mary also did the artwork for several children's books. You might have some of her artwork around your house somewhere. :) I think it would be a sweet idea to frame artwork from Baby's House or I Can Fly or The Golden Book of Little Verses for a child's nursery.