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Ralph Lauren ~ La Plage

ENJOY!

and fabric...

and accessories...

Picnic anyone?

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/

Embracing Etiquette with Teresa continued... see introduction post

(1-29-10.)

Self- Introductions

This is the easiest type of introduction. The only name you need to remember is your own. This is not the time to be shy. In all situations, self- introduction is fairly casual. . (“Hello, my name is Alex.”) The other person should respond “I am Lew. “It is nice to meet you Miss Williams.”

Someone may blurt out “What’s your name?” while forgetting to state his own. State your name before asking that person’s name.

When introducing yourself to a group of people, wait until there is a pause in their conversation. A hello and your name may be enough, but if you prefer to ask a question, introduce yourself and then ask the question. “Hello, I am Teresa. This is my first visit to your club, and I was wondering about tonight’s agenda.”)

At large events, you will NEED to introduce yourself if there is no one there to introduce you.

I hope that you have enjoyed these posts from the Ralph Lauren Spring 2010 Collection.

See you soon,
Teresa
xoxo

Chocolate Cupcake, Blog Hop, and Fabulous Blog Hop Candy

Wow, what a great Monday morning! 

First - it is the monthly BBTB2 Design Team Blog Hop!  That means you probably arrived here from BBTB2.  The featured cut this week is one of the cupcakes from the Celebrations cartridge.  I cut my cupcake in chocolate brown paper with pink frosting and gem flower sprinkles.  I then added a birthday hat, a scalloped card front and a Happy Birthday tag made with Stampin' Up stamps and Spellbinders oval nesties to create this girly birthday card.  I topped the birthday hat off with a lovely prima flower and a larger gem flower and trimmed both the hat and the cupcake wrapper with Making Memories ribbon

In addition to the blog hop, we have a lot going on at BBTB2.  BBTB2 has a blog hop give away which is being sponsored by Everyday Cricut (formerly known as Holiday with the Cricut).  You can win the Sweethearts cartridge and package of SEI (Happy Day) scrap paper.  All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on BBTB2 blog AND sign up to follow the BBTB2 blog.  How easy is that?

I too have a fabulous blog hop give away/blog candy.  Custom Crops is sponsoring me this week with a $25.00 gift voucher for their store.  Just leave a comment below and I will select a winner for the gift voucher on Thursday, March 4th.  Thank you so much Custom Crops for sponsoring my prize this month!

After you leave your comment below you (because YOU KNOW you want the $25.00 gift voucher) you will continue on the BBTB2 design team blog hop.  Your next stop is at Lori's blog.  Lori is a very talented designer and I know you are going to love what she has made to share.  Happy Hopping!!

Hop for Joy! A new Magnolia-licious DT sketch challenge

Good morning and happy March 1st....the month that has the first day of spring! YAY! LOL! We have a new DT sketch challenge for you from Magnolia-licious. This month, it's Jacque's turn to choose the challenge and she provided us with an awesome sketch! I wanted to use this adorable Tilda in a bunny suit that I got from Magnolia-licious. And true to my record, I have used yet another stamp that is not in stock in the store. UGH! I'm so sorry. But if you're interested, please be sure and email Diana. I also used #427 flowers from Lazy Summer Days collection. Both are colored with Copic markers and Tilda is cut out and popped up for dimension.

The fun and punny sentiment is from a set of Easter Greetings at The Cutting Cafe' called Happy Easter Inside and Out Greetings. The butterflies are cut using my Cricut, and I added a Prima rose I got from Stamp and Create and some cherry blossoms I got from Wild Orchid Crafts. Please be sure and visit Magnolia-licious Highlites to see the gorgeous cards the rest of my design team sisters have created. They are all so fabulously talented. And we're excited that we've got two new guest designers joining us as well! So a huge welcome to Mindy and Angela!

That's it for today! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!!

Card recipe:

images - Magnolia from Magnolia-licious, sentiment from The Cutting Cafe'

Paper: DP - Basic Grey Two Scoops; cardstock - Bazzill; stamped images on cryogen white

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Sketch markers

Tools: Cricut with Tear Drop cart for butterlfies, MS frond and branch punches, Round and scalloped round Nestabilities

Misc: ribbon from Stamp and Create, Kaiser half backed pearls, dimensional tape, stickles

Ralph Lauren ~ Le Grand Hotel

The Spring 2010 Collection by Ralph Lauren is as beautiful as we have come to expect from this design giant. Classic and genius are words that present themselves into my mind when I open a magazine or email with his work displayed. This bedroom is no exception, and neither is the rest of the perfection in this collection, which I will show you in two posts, beginning with this one.

Rich textures, color, and wood are present in everything designed by Ralph Lauren.

Beautiful fabrics...

and beautifully finished wood.

Lavish whites...

wood...

and luxurious materials.

Accessories...

games...

and personal goods.

Beautiful dining furnishings...

accessories...

and to finish it all... a lovely bar.

www.ralphlaurenhome.com

Embracing Etiquette with Teresa continued... see introduction post (1-29-10.)

The Order of Introductions

Who to introduce to whom is a subject we worry about needlessly. The person being introduced first is shown deference, based on seniority or prominence. The order in which a person is introduced is important, but if a mistake is made offence is not usually taken.

The four guidelines follow:

Younger person is introduced to an older person. (“Mrs. Quinn, I want to introduce you to my daughter, Angela Duke. Angela, this is aunt, Mrs. Quinn”.)

A person of high rank or prominence is named first and received the introduction. (“Princess Angela, may I present my husband C. J. ? ”) Always try to introduce your boss first when introducing them to a lower rank person. (Mr. Gunter, I would like for you to meet Ashley Griswold, who will begin work with us on Monday. Ashley, this is Mr. Gunter, president of our company.”)

When introducing others to family members, the other person’s name is said first. (“Alex, I would like for you to meet my cousin, Erin.”). But as a sign of respect, an older person is named first. (“Mother, I would like to introduce Lauren Williams. Lauren, this is my mother, Mrs. Teresa.”)

In social situations, men are introduced to women. (“Mrs. Jones, I would like to introduce Mr. Smith.”)

Tomorrow we will talk about self-introductions.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed designing it. Ralph Lauren gave me everything I needed to present it well.

See you soon,
Teresa
xoxo

Jenn and Clay...... Say What?!

A lovely note and a fun card from my friends Jenn and Clay.

We have the most thoughtful clients!

Flavor-of-the-Month . . . Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

Until I was in my 20's, I'd never eaten a truffle. Sure, I'd had chocolate from the box of Russell Stover's, but truffles, no.


Enter my brilliant Aunt Janice who treated me to my first truffle, a Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, at Godiva on a visit to New York City. It was pure heaven...the crisp outer shell, the dark, rich center, the slight tang of raspberry. I believe there were angels singing.

Since I had this raspberry sauce on hand, I decided to try making them myself. You know what? They are pretty delicious.



Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 TBSP raspberry sauce
1 bag dark chocolate candy melts
sanding sugar (optional)


Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer on the stove and pour over the chocolate.



Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the raspberry sauce.

Let this mixture sit at room temperature for an hour or more until set. (I poured it into a shallow baking dish to help cool it down faster.)


Scoop into balls using a melon baller or a spoon and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (I watched Ina do this on TV and get perfectly round ball....that didn't happen for me. I got this: )

{not pretty.}

If that happens to you, pop them in the fridge, then remove after 15 minutes and shape into balls. (I had better luck pressing them together, rather than rolling them.)

{much better. }

Refrigerate the truffles until ready to coat.

(You can skip the next step entirely and roll the truffles in cocoa powder, or...)

In the microwave, melt the candy melts with 1 tsp shortening. Melt in 30 second intervals on 50% power, stirring after every cycle until melted.

Dip the truffles into the candy melts and place on the wax paper lined sheet. While the candy melts are still wet, sprinkle with sanding sugar.




Now, I know it is like a sacrilege to use candy melts to coat real chocolate, but I wanted that hard outer shell and haven't been brave enough to try my hand at tempering chocolate. Anyone tried it?



Do you have a chocolate post to link up? I can't wait to see! Link up a the the bottom of the post. Please remember to link to your POST, not the main page of you blog.

Thanks so much for playing along with Flavor-of-the-Month. I've heard from several of you that FOTM sneaks up on you and sends you into a mad panic at the end of each month. You know what, it does to me too, most months. I always meant it to be *fun* not stressful, SOOOOO...this is the last Flavor-of-the-Month. (I think chocolate is a good way to go out, don't you?)

It will be replaced with impromptu linky parties now and again. I might say..."What's the best thing you've baked this month?" and ask you link up. I'll be sure to announce those on twitter, too, so if you're not there, come join the fun!

Alright, ladies & gents....link away!!! {Linky will be open through March 2nd.}