FREE Project Life template!

This is one of my photos for this week's Project Life. I created this little collage to show 2 comparison photos - in this case the nightstands beside our bed. A snapshot of what we keep cluttered on top, the books we're currently reading etc!

I've created a Free template for you to create your own his/hers comparison shots (I've left it so it's fully editable so you can change the title text to use for something entirely different!)

Download free template here!

(If you download, please stop and say hello!)

Crockpot Spicy African Peanut Soup

Crockpot African Peanut Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 2 green onions chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 2 cloved garlic minced
• 1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (400g can)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• Tabasco (to taste)
• Sour Cream (to serve)

Directions

1. Chuck all the veggies, spices, rice, broth, canned tomatoes in the Crockpot and cook for 6 hours on low
2. After 6 hours, add the peanut butter and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes
3. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some extra tabasco to taste.
4. Marvel at how flippin' amazing this recipe is

This is the most incredible recipe ever. We absolutely LOVED it!! But sadly I can't take credit. I got the recipe from Stephanie over at the crockpot365 blog (and if you head over there check out her many, many other awesome recipes) 

My variations on her original recipe were;

- I halved the ingredients, giving us a generous 4 portions
- I added some tabasco hot sauce at the beginning of cooking (plus a little more to taste once I'd served it up) along with extra black pepper to spice it up for our tastebuds
- Although I did use 4 cups of broth, it was runnier than I expected. I think you could reduce this down to 3.5 cups

Loving Project Life!

I have started off the new year with a bang! I've got my creative mojo back and I'm absolutely loving it! This year I decided to record our lives using the Project Life system. I bought a bunch of page protectors and a Turquoise edition core kit back in early December and I was itching to start ever since. So roll on the first of the year and I was mad for it!

I love that Project Life simplifies things in so many ways. I had bought a selection of different styles of protectors but with a little further thought I think I'd like to stick with just Design A which gives me 4 horizontal 4x6 pockets and 4 vertical 3x4 pockets. The core kit has journaling cards, and patterned paper cards which you slip into the pockets along with a selection of photos and any ephemera collected over the time period. I'm planning to tackle this project on a weekly basis and dedicate a double page spread per week, although I'm completely open to extending a spread to cover any time period since I plan to always use my top left 4x6 pocket as the 'title' where I'll record the dates covered in that spread.

Week 1

Love, love, love this! Like I said it simplifies, and yet for me it's totally got my creative juices flowing because right now I'm enjoying playing a little lot more! I have dug into my stash and pulled out heaps of bits and bobs of product I've hoarded and stored it all on my desk in a basket - as well as using just the core kit cards I'm wanting to add other scrapbooking-y type elements. And whilst I'm sure I could pull off a spread in 1/2 hour I'm spending half of Saturday just playing and being creative. And man, have I missed it!

Week 2

It's given me opportunity to pull out my lovely collection of embellishments and all those scraps of patterned papers and RE-discover my love for scrapbooking.

I'm back! And I love that this is such a 'in the moment' way of scrapbooking. Roll on the next 50 weeks!

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

One of my items on my 2012 manifesto was to cook up 10 new crockpot meals. Here's the first recipe I tried my hand at. I would say an instant success! (though for just the two of us there's a whole lot of food - this is ideal for 4 people!) Because it was full of veggie goodness (oh, and cheese, but we won't mention that!) we just served it up on it's own - lovely!

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients

• Whole-wheat lasagna noodles uncooked
• 3 cups canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup marinara (pasta) sauce (I used Newman’s brand)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 250g container ricotta
• 3 large handfuls baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 250g Crimini mushrooms chopped
• 1 zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt & Pepper to season
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella 

Directions

1. In a bowl mix together the chopped tomatoes, the marinara sauce, the minced garlic and the fresh basil
2. In another bowl mix together the eggs, ricotta, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, oregano and salt and pepper to season
3. Spray crockpot with non-stick spray
4. Layer the tomato mixture first; followed by the cheese mixture and finally a layer of the lasagna sheets (break apart to ‘fit’ as neatly as possible to get a complete layer). Repeat a second time. Finish with a tomato layer.
5. Cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 6 hours
6. Before serving sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese on top – place ceramic crockpot under a low broil so the mozzarella cheese can brown.
7. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving

My 2012 Manifesto

I loved having my 'manifesto' for last year, and so I'm bringing it back for 2012. Another year to 'publicly declare my intentions' and hold myself accountable for the things I want to do, want to achieve and want to create....I had a few favourites from last year and after some thought I decided to just repeat them again for this year. I have upped my list by one item - So I'd like to introduce 'My List of 38' (in my 38th year)...

1. Bake cupcakes
2. Go bowling
3. Volunteer
4. Swim in an open water event
5. Go fruit picking
6. Reach Nike+ purple level
7. Go to the drive-in movies
8. Have a carpet picnic
9. Take a new exercise class
10. Ride my motorbike to work
11. Go camping on the bikes
12. Take a cooking class
13. See live theatre
14. Take a selfie' every month
15. Run a marathon
16. Have a pedicure
17. Visit Cathedral Peaks park
18. Run more miles than last year
19. Try 10 new crock pot recipes
20. Run the bridge
21. Go paint balling
22. Learn to shoot/edit in RAW
23. Take a trip to visit family
24. Try a new food
25. Be amazed
26. Write a letter a month
27. Plan a surprise
28. Pickle onions
29. Make more handmade gifts (double last year so 6!)
30. Do something that scares me
31. Make Art for the house
32. Make 10 washi tape projects
33. Donate
34. Read 2 non-fiction books
35. Blog at least once a month
36. Simplify my life
37. Celebrate 10 years of marriage
38. Go for a bike ride (no really this IS the year!!)

So long 2011!

It was a great year and just in the nick of time I'm posting my final 'month-in-review' layout. It was a great little recap of our year and I'm glad I kept it up! That ticks of #32 on my 2011 manifesto!

Talking of my 2011 manifesto - I am pretty pleased with my accomplishments. 37 items on my list and I've ticked off 33 - I fell short by just 4! Its funny how something as simple as this list has somehow kept me accountable. That classic 'I must do that', 'I should've done that' or 'I really wish I could...'. were converted into items on this list at the end of last year and I've enjoyed checking off things as I've gone.

Here's a final look at my 2011 list;

1. Make chocolate chip cookies from scratch
2. Log 600 miles running - upped to 700 miles!
3. Paint a wall
4. Visit a new country
5. Blog at least once a month
6. Take a ski lesson
7. Make wall art (and actually display it!)
8. Go on a picnic
9. Learn something new
10. Grow vegetables
11. Play mini golf
12. Go for a bike ride (the type with pedals and hard graft!)
13. Rent a boat
14. Bake a loaf of bread
15. Relax in a candlelit bubble-bath
16. Go to a hockey game
17. Take a yoga class
18. Make business cards
19. Visit a national park
20. Go camping
21. Ice-skate outside
22. Give 3 handmade gifts
23. Sew something
24. Stay in Harvey
25. Make gazpacho
26. Try a new restaurant
27. Go to a live comedy show
28. Run a sub 56' 10km
29. Read 2 non-fiction books
30. Spray paint something
31. Feed the ducks
32. Do a scrapbook page every month (month-in-review)
33. Make money from my new business venture
34. Give to charity
35. Listen to live music
36. Cook and master 12 new recipes
37. Complete a Gratitude journal

Currently: End of Year 2011

listening: Abercrombie & Fitch playlists online
reading: Lost on planet China by J. Maarten Troost (chrimbo pressie from Chris!)

eating: Baguette with pate, cheese and piccalilli

drinking: water

wearing: lululemon leggings, long cardigan and cozy uggs

feeling: full - permanently full and over-indulged since Christmas!

weather: warm it's +8 in December!! - crazy

needing: to exercise

enjoying: this music

wondering: how long before I can run again

So on the 19th December I had a little run-in with Jillean Michaels. Put me out of action and on crutches for Christmas week....which was nice....NOT! Now with the Christmas indulgences stacking up (specifically around the middle region!) plus crazy warm +8 temps I'm itching to get out there and run. And I can't. I really can't. And I'm getting fed up with that. Having been blessed with an injury free running life so far I really am not handling it all that well! Sometimes I do wonder if it's the fact that I can't making me want to go out even more (after all I was more than happy last year to retire for the cold, wintery months) but I don't think so....

So here I am, willing in the new year and hope that I have a healed and stronger ankle ready to carry me (ideally about 5 less pounds of me than right now - damn those Christmas chocolates!) into a happy and fit new year!!