Monday Madness and a Recipe

Ah, who am I kidding? Every day is madness around here, hehe...(but in a good way!)

At the moment, I'm up to my ears in boxes - treat and treasure boxes, trinket boxes, tea boxes, candle boxes...


These are just a few of them. I'm not yet certain which will end up where....some for eBay, some for Etsy, some for the PFATT Marketplace and some for the Ghoultide Gathering show. I'm not even certain yet what direction most of them will take. As you can see, there's a bit of sketching, but for the most part they'll lead me where they will...

It's an absolute gorgeous, sunny morning here - the kind of morning that makes you feel like jumping right into it at 6AM, squeezing every single, productive second you can out of the day! Which is what I intend to do, but not before I've brewed up some tea and put some tunes on - something "up" sounding today - Santana, Jazon Mraz, maybe a little Corrine Bailey Rae...Isn't it funny how music can set the tone for the whole day?

Assuming I'm actually as productive as I hope to be, I'm also thinking I may throw together a batch of chai later on. LOVE it, especially iced. Do you want the recipe? It's dead easy, and soooooooooo yummy. And LOT cheaper than the kind you buy at the market. My niece Sarah gave me a canister of this for Christmas a couple of years ago, along with the recipe, and I've been hooked ever since! I use decaf tea....

Instant Chai Tea

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea (decaf or regular)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
a pinch or two of white pepper if you like it extra spicy

In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water. For iced chai, stir the same measure into a small amount of hot water, then add cold water and ice.

Enjoy!

Doesn't that sound yummy? If you try it, let me know what you think :)

That's about it for today....OH! Almost forgot - I just started reading "Twilight". Coming on the heels of the last book I read, "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" (soooooo beautifully written, and by an alumni of the same college our daughter attended), "Twilight" is much simpler - but I knew this going in, so my expectations weren't that high. One friend told me to just keep an open mind, realize it was written for teens, and try to enjoy it for what it is. Good advice, and so far I'm enjoying it. When I'm finished, I'll check out the movie. I have a thing for never, ever seeing a movie until I've read the book. ;)

Okay, I've rambled on long enough - don't want to spoil my plans for a productive day!

Back again soon with photos of all these pieces completed...Until then, wishing everyone a happy and creatively mad Monday!

♥ Carolee