Raspberry-Chipotle Pimento Cheese Dip, Single Page Layouts, Laundry and a Movie

Good morning!  The scrapbook retreat last weekend was a little less than perfect.  Memory Lane Inn in Tyler was WONDERFUL, but, for a variety of reasons, none of our group was able to stay the whole weekend; and none of us got as many pages done as we had hoped.  However, any time spent with good friends is worthwhile, and I am looking forward to the next one!  My pal, Leah, wasn't able to join us, but I am meeting her at a scrapbook store in Corsicana later this week, and taking her out to lunch for her birthday.  My next scheduled scrapbook retreat is in July, where I will be meeting 11 friends and family members at Memory Lane Inn in McKinney.  One of the best things about going on these retreats is realizing how much I miss my family when I am away for a few days; there is really no one I would rather spend my days with than Mark, Darby and Douglas!  This past weekend, I made a snack for us that has become a new favorite for me:
Recipe:  Raspberry-Chipotle Pimento Cheese Dip  Spread 1 small container pimento cheese spread on a small serving plate. (I like Leigh Oliver's Spicy Pimento Cheese or Gouda Pimento Cheese, but any store bought or homemade pimento cheese spread will do).  Sprinkle on 2 T. toasted pecans (optional).  Spread 1/8 - 1/4 cup Raspberry-Chipotle Sauce over the top of the pimento cheese (I used Bronco Bob's brand).  Serve with crackers.

Scrapbooking Tip:  Paper selection for single page layouts On my recent retreat, I was working on three events that would be featured on two pages.  I had only three pictures from Halloween, one picture from a fall dance my daughter attended, and one picture of my son playing his trombone with a friend who was playing his clarinet.  I wanted the two pages to coordinate, so Halloween themed paper was out of the question.  I considered using black for the

background to tie the two pages together, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I began going through all my paper, and found the perfect fit.  It was a fall paper, with stripes of orange, cranberry and brown, with a light scroll pattern scattered throughout.  The orange tied in with our jack-o-lanterns, the cranberry picked up the color of my son's costume cape, and the brown scrolls mimicked the scroll of the iron bed in the background of one of the photos.  I used brown letters to title one side "Halloween" and the other side "Best Friends".  I had not considered this paper, because it didn't look like Halloween to me, but it was a great fit for this mixed group of photos.

Homemaking Tip:  Laundry/Movie date  I was dreading catching up on laundry after my recent four day getaway.  I usually do a couple of loads a day so that it doesn't pile up, but while I was out of town, it didn't get done.  I knew I had at least seven or eight loads to do, and that it would be just about all I would get done that day.  After I dropped the kids off at school, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up ingredients for soup I could make in the crockpot, and saw the video rental box.  I picked out two movies I had wanted to see, but no one else in my family was interested in seeing, got the soup and laundry going, and worked on folding and hanging clothes all day while I watched a couple of good movies.  The day flew by!  I'm thinking of making a laundry/movie day a weekly thing...