Eye Spy...My morning ritual

There are three major components to my every morning.

1. Food
2. Blog-reading
3. COFFEE



Those three requirements must be met and enjoyed for at least one hour to an hour and a half post waking up. I am a SLOW riser in the morning, and I need to putter before I can function. I always get up around two hours before I have to be anywhere, no matter how early that might be. If I have to leave the house at 7:30, I'll be up at 5:45. Otherwise, I will not be able to get out of the house!

Strange, maybe, but it's how I function.

***

There is so much happening right now that I have not had time to blog. It's not for lack of wanting to, I assure you! I am going to have to get creative with my images, because Matt left for tour yesterday and took the nice camera. He will be traveling all over the United States in the next two months, so he is going to take pictures galore and e-mail them to me.

Not gonna lie, I cried a bit when he left. Sigh - I miss him already!

Roasted Pepper and Spinach Pizza

Firstly, let me apologize in advance for the following post which will be devoid of pictures.

Secondly, let me tell you that the following post is devoid of pictures, because the recipe that I am about to share with you is SO DAMN GOOD we inhaled it before I could take any photographic evidence.

First off I made pizza dough following the Best Pizza Dough Ever Recipe at 101 Cookbooks, with one major exception. I substituted two cups of wheat flour in the dry ingredients. This will make your dough take considerably longer to rise, since the wheat flour is a little heavy. Just take your dough, plop it into a bowl, cover it with a cloth and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours. It will be fine.

Once you've rolled out your dough, this is what you'll need.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
A bit of marinara sauce
Baby Spinach
Roasted Bell Peppers (I used one yellow and one red)
About 6 ounces of Cheddar Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Roll out your dough. Wait...we already did that part.

2. Spread a thin layer of olive oil onto your pizza. Add as much marinara as you want. I eye-balled it, since I was using leftovers.

3. Layer your toppings like so, baby spinach, roasted peppers (I roasted my own, 450 degrees with a little salt and pepper for 15ish minutes), grated cheddar and parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

5. Revel in the deliciousness that you have created.

The end!

Holiday Handmade Crusade Announcement :: April Winner/May Theme

Announcing the raffle prize winner for the month of April!

The April raffle winner is: oneredboot via Craftster! Oneredboot has won a Merfish Necklace from Resurrection Fern. Visit Margie's amazing blog Resurrection Fern, photo stream and Etsy shop for endless nature inspiration. Thanks go to Margie for making this giveaway possible!

Want to join in the year-long crafty goodness and have the chance to win fabulous prizes? Read all about the Holiday Handmade Crusade here.

Announcing the Holiday Handmade Crusade Theme for May!

Your theme for May is: Crafty-mama!: Let's honor our mum's this month by using a little extra Mother's Day crafty mojo to make a gift for the winter holidays. Feel free to expand the theme to craft for your grandmothers, stepmothers, new mothers, any woman that is special in your life. Got kids? Craft for them, they made you the crafty-mama you are today!

Entries to be eligible for the raffle are due on May 30th by midnight EST

Prize announcement soon to follow!

Onward ho Crusaders!

<3 Your Craftastic Christmas Crusader

*SWOONAGE* Blog friends are the best...

C'mon, I'm not the only one that cuddles with a piece of Pyrex like it's a baby, right?

*CRICKETS*

I'm not crazy, I swear!



Blog friends are the best! Pam of Gingerbread and Snowflakes sent me this sweet Daisy Cinderella Round Casserole after my recent casserole dish binge posts. I've been on a strict no thrifting for a month diet, since April 15th, and Pam's Pyrex arrived just in time to scratch a thrifting itch. Thanks for feeding the addiction Pam! (HAR HAR HAR HAR).

***

Pam also reminded me, via e-mail, that I hadn't posted the May Holiday Handmade Crusade theme here on my blog! I've been so busy it completely slipped me by. I can't believe it! The month is half over and I didn't make announcements! Silly me! I'll share that info with you promptly in the next post.

Thanks again Pam, I love it!!!

Mother's Day Sunday

Today started off with a lovely family breakfast. This year, we revisited a familiar Mother's day haunt, the Wentworth by the Sea. If you have a minute, visit their website, just to see a few pictures of the place. It's a gorgeous resort!

Mom's pick for her special day was eggs benedict served over lobster hash. I snuck a bite and it was incredibly tasty!



I opted for a more traditional favorite. Pancakes and bacon, NOM-NOM!



My nephew Aaron was there, entertaining all, as babies do!

my mum and dad with aaron



Mom has a magic way with the baby-folk. I guess that's what happens when you have four children!

mum loving on her grandbaby



After leaving mum with an appropriately sappy card and half a pound of penuche, (one of her favorites), I headed off to rehearse for the day in Marblehead. Rehearsals for our upcoming shows are going very well! BB is kindly lending me gorgeous studio space for rehearsal, and the crop of dancers that I'm working with are incredibly talented. I feel so lucky!

Matt and I both found ourselves free tonight, which is SO rare, therefore we headed out for a movie. We saw The Soloist which was a little slow going at times, but it is a wonderful story, and I enjoyed the movie immensely overall. I would be interested to read the book upon which the film is based.

Tomorrow...I will share with you more Pyrex lurve. And no, I did not thrift it. (FIVE MORE DAYS UNTIL MY ONE MONTH THRIFTING DIET IS OVER, WAHOO!)

NDC's Choreography Reel is Now Online

Hi friends,

I have been a bit stressed and busy with arranging dancers, rehearsing and preparing for our big shows in Boston and New York! So to make up for lost posts, I would like to share with you our 09/10' choreography reel which is now online. You can watch it via YouTube or Vimeo.

When we perform in Boston we will be presenting "Burst" which is the last piece in the video (rose petaled leotards and red pants), choreography by me, and "Don't I Look Good Doin' This?" (first piece with the bench) and "Spy Underground" (blue and yellow leotards) choreographed by my assistant director Jess Soucy. We'll be presenting "Burst" again in NYC.

Check out our 2009-2010 Choreography Reel on YouTube or Vimeo:

Neoteric Dance Collaborative Choreography Reel 2009-2010 from Neoteric Dance Collaborative on Vimeo.

All choreography is by Artistic Director Sarah Cost and Assistant Director/Resident Choreographer Jess Soucy.

This is my non-crafty life - although I find it to be very crafty indeed. Crafty with bodies instead of fabric and yarn! Please view and rate and comment! I would so appreciate it!

xo - Sarah