Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!  Here is Bostyn giving the Easter Bunny a great big hug at our Easter Celebration at the Children's Discovery Center.

Here are some layouts that I've done with photos of my baby chicks.  First one is with Bostyn and the second is with my cousin, Audrey, who came to visit yesterday.  For both of these layouts, I used a NEW kit, Fresh, by Creashens.  I got this kit (along with 4 others) free from Shen from her blog giveaway.  It was perfect for these photos.  Thank you Shen!  I love this kit.  You can get it here.

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I already blogged about my NEW chicks for this week, but I want to share another NEW with you.  I made Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon and Spinach.  I always have a hard time searing scallops but I thought I give it another try after reading this post by Christine.  This is one of the best things about NEW 52, it is not just about trying NEW things for myself but also the sharing of our NEW adventures, food, and sorts.  Here is how mine turned out, pretty but way over cooked.

NEW52-Week 16, NEW Chicks and Byodo-In Temple

Today, we are NEW chick owners.  Yup, we got 2 chicks (Golden Sex-Linked) from Asagi Hatchery.

Here they are still in their little transport boxes.

And now in their little "mini-coop"

You know me, I'll be taking more photos by the end of the week, just in time for Easter.  I'm just giving these girls some time to adjust first since they are less than a day old.  Oh, their names?  Bostyn named them "kon-kon" and "kamaboko."  Go figure???!!

This weekend, we also went to Byodo-In Temple which is located at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  This was my first time (at least that I can remember) going here, so this was also a NEW thing for me.  Isn't this a beautiful peaceful place!

Tate bought a bag of fish food for $1 and Bostyn enjoyed feeding the fishes, swan, and turtles.

Just one NEW layout to share.  This one is using Karla's super cool template.  Love that it comes with the stitches.

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NEW52-Week15, Olomana Gardens

This week, we made a quick stop to check out Olomana Gardens.  We went there to check out some of their aquaponic set-ups.  They were having a special aquaponics function so you could enter the garden for free.  They had beautiful little ponds in a very peaceful setting.  We plan on returning some day to take a tour and maybe classes on aquaponics and composting with worms (I already have a mini-bin but wouldn't mind expanding my colony).  Bostyn loved the gardens as it was filled with horses, chicken, and fish.  We only took a few photos.

This week, we also took Bostyn to see the Easter Bunny at Kahala Mall.

I also got a NEW kit, Vagabond, by One Little Bird.  The head bird is Peppermint.  She is the one who inspired me to start on this NEW52 journey.  I've been enjoying this challenge and has made me step outside the box.

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This next NEW kit, Crush, is by Biograffiti.  Thanks Molly for the GC!  It was perfect for this photo we took while staying at the Kahala last month.

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And another page full of goodies from Gennifer Bursett's Sweet Child of Mine kit.  I made this page for a speed scrap at DHD.  This is my sweet little nephew, Josh.  He is always willing to pucker up and smack ya right on the lips.

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I'll be back week with a great NEW52 to share.

NEW52-Week 14, designer and strawberries

Yup, I'm early this week for my NEW52 posting.  First of all, I want to introduce you to a NEW designer at Design House Digital.  Her name is Gennifer Bursett.  I met Gen last summer when she offered me a CT position at DHD.  I excited said yes but didn't realize how much responsibility I was taking on (not just for DHD but other designers as well).  Long story short, I am no longer doing CT jobs but love to get my hands on freebies and possibly do some guest spots.  So when Gen asked me if I could do some layouts for her, I jumped at the chance.  Here is her new mega kit, Sweet Child of Mine.  There is one kit for boys and another for girls or you can just get this as a huge mega kit.  I used both kits interchangeably in my layouts.

Gen also made these fine mist spray which is totally hot right now in the paper scrapping world.  It is about time that someone made it digital.  No more large paint splatters, ink blots, or coffee stains.  This is my new fav and should be in every digi scrappers' tool box.  She has 5 different volumes but this is my favorite one.  It gives the extra texture and color with a very subtle effect.

Next, are these Writer's Block Torn Journaling pages.

Here are my layouts using elements and papers mostly from these kits.  Can you see where I misted?

(photo of my sister and her son)

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This photo is Bostyn on the day we took her home.  It made me miss how small she once was.

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The 2nd part of my NEW52 are the NEW strawberries that are growing in our backyard.  My mother-in-law planted them and they are now turning up bright red and sweet.  Bostyn loves going out there and eating them straight from the garden.  On the first page, I used Gen's mist.  Can you tell how it gives the white background that little bit of extra color compared to the bottom page.  The other elements on the page are mostly from Karla Dudley, also at Design House Digital.

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There is also no secret that I also love scrapping with Oscraps.  Here are a few layouts that I did for some April challenges.  These pages are mostly using Open Road by Paislee Press.

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Now, I am off to buy a NEW kit, Vagabond by One Little Bird.

NEW52 - Week 13, new playroom, friend, and soul

So much to share.  First of all, we moved some things out of our extra room and made Bostyn her own NEW playroom.  She loves having her own space to play.  Her favorites are still playing tea party and baby.  Here she is with her NEW friend, Kamalei, who is the daughter of my college friend who was in town visiting.  They were too busy to stop and smile.

The kids had so much fun playing together, we decided to take them to the zoo the very next day.  Here they are with Kamalei's brothers acting like monkeys and petting the goat.

I know many of you were disappointed that I didn't share pictures with my latest and greatest foodie finds, so this week I sought out a NEW restaurant so I could appease your palette.  This week, we went to Soul.  This restaurant won the Honolulu Magazine's gold medal for best new restaurant (Master Chef Sean Priester pictured below).

It was a great southern style restaurant filled with buttermilk fried chicken, grits, gumbo, biscuits, cole slaw, etc.  However, the dishes had to have some type of island inspiration.  Some were the addition of local greens and some was using our very own spicy portuguese sausage.  It was very good.  I can't wait for a return visit for Sunday brunch.  I am dying to try their crab cake benedict with kaimuli mango hollandaise.

Pictured below is Tate's seafood jambalaya.

And my chicken, sweet potato, and kukui spicy portuguese sausage.

Sorry, the photos cannot tell you the flavor explosion going on in my mouth as I ate.  As you can tell, the portions were also very generous.

Below are some NEW layouts for the week.

This is my layout for Che Yang Designs 1st Year Challenge.  I loved the way it turned out.  It gave me a great reason to express my thanks to Tate for being the best dad (besides my dad of course).

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This layout was for the DHD March blueprint challenge.  It was perfect for the photos I took at the Chinese Lion Pole Dance I took at the Honolulu Academy of Arts last month.

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This layout was the Design House Digital digi-morph challenge.  It was a lot of fun!  If you like this layout, I dare you to lift me and put it in the DHD April scraplift challenge.

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I'm already working on my new for next week, it should be a good one.  April is going to be full of surprises and a bunch more NEW52 adventures.