vroom vroom

I'm back home from my annual Winter Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat. For those of you interested in attending a future retreat, I believe I still have a fews open in April and perhaps another spot or two next December. As usual, the ladies were great fun.

A few of us zipped into town on Friday for a little shopping at a nearby outlet center. In addition to picking up a few great deals at OshKosh B'Gosh and Bath & Body Works, we made a necessary stop at my favorite place. The name changed (and perhaps ownership?) but the fudge was just as delicious as last time. In addition to chocolate fudge, I also picked up some Egg Nog, Pumpkin Pie, and Praline Cheesecake Swirl fudge. I'm enjoying it as I type :) The good news is you can browse through tons of yummy flavors and even purchase your own online!! The shop is called Bella Cafe, their website is HERE.

The vroom vroom reference that continues to pop up here and on Facebook was because of this:

As we were walking around, Tara pulled this little race car out of her pocket... adding sound effects as she zipped it across her leg. And arm. And back. (Apparently, she was imitating her son.) A total mom-thing that struck me as being incredibly sweet.

I so badly wanted a shot of all of the ladies against this cool red (newly painted) building but it just never happened.

Next time. (Consider yourself duly warned.) And a recipe I promised to post:

Italian Beef-and-Vegetable Stew

1 (1-pound) boneless top round steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

8 oz. small round red potatoes, quartered (about 7 potatoes)

4 cups water

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained

1 (14 oz.) can beef broth

1-1/2 cups frozen chopped onion, thawed

2 carrots, sliced

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 cup dried great Northern beans (I substituted with canned beans)

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

3 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 tsp. fresh or dried rosemary, crushed

1 tsp. rubbed sage

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 cup fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine first 15 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours. Add spinach; cover and cook on HIGH 15 more minutes or until spinach wilts. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese. Makes 10 servings.

Thanks again for the great weekend!