Party with a Purpose

My good friend Aliece is throwing a Mary Kary Party with a Purpose for me. She is donating 20% of the sales to help us raise some funds for the stove and supplies we are buying for my brother in Romania. This really is a Party with a Purpose! :)
And…. If you place an order online she will ship your items for FREE!!!

You have until September 10th to place your order and get free shipping!

To place your order, go to: www.marykay.com/aliece

Thanks Aliece!!!

Guest Posting at Not So Crafty

Hey y'all! I'm guest posting at Tonia's blog, Not So Crafty, today! Come check me out! I posted a favorite recipe this time.

Fill a Backpack Update

I wanted to show what we’ve got so far for our Fill a Backpack project. To find out all the details about it, go here. We have backpacks for my niece Gabriela, and my nephews, Andrei and Cristian, and we’re collecting goodies for their backpacks. I’m especially excited for this because they don’t have any toys of their own.

Here’s what we have so far…

If you’d like to donate anything to fill these backpacks, please let me know. To find more specific details, go here. You can give any personal handmade gifts or donations, your kid’s used toys or clothes, etc.

We also have a yard sale coming up. More info on that here. If you have anything you're getting rid of, please consider sending it my way. ALL proceeds will go towards purchasing a stove for my brother and his family, as well as some food and supplies for them.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at savetasstory@gmail.com.

My First Guest Post

I did my first guest post over at Trisha's blog, 3 Four and Under. Go check it out! I'm so excited. Thanks Trisha!!

What's Next?

{1} We’re going to Romania!!! Our trip is scheduled for September {yahoo!}. I’ve been busy trying to make some personal gifts for my family. I’ve also enlisted the help of a friend to make some superhero capes for the kids. More on all that later.

and

{2} We’re gearing up for another yard sale to raise money to purchase a stove for my brother Nicu and his family as well as some food and supplies. With the success of our first yard sale last fall, we decided that having another one was the best way to raise funds. I just want to emphasize that ALL funds raised will go towards Nicu and his family. We’ve been saving our pennies and dimes and are using our own money to pay for our trip. That means that every penny we raise will be used for Nicu and his family!

{GOAL}: Raise enough money to purchase a stove for Nicu, as well as food and supplies.

I feel awkward asking, but if you have anything in your house you’re planning on getting rid of, please consider sending it my way. I wish that I could do it all on my own, but the truth is that I rely on the kindness of others to help me raise funds. Please feel free to donate anything you have laying around your house.

We will willingly come pick up your donations, or you’re also free to just drop it off at my house anytime.

Please contact me at savetasstory@gmail.com or call 480-219-2477 if you would like to donate items for the garage sale.

I appreciate your donations! I really, really do.

Picture of the Day

Awwww. Isn't she cute? This is Aurel's calf. {Aurel is my uncle in Romania}. He has a momma cow and a baby cow. Living in Straja, which is a farming village in Romania on the Ukranian border, the people live a simple life. They are all extremely self-sufficient. My uncle Aurel has a farm with a milking cow, a calf and chickens. He also has a large amount of land that he grows crops on. They have a beautiful garden right in front of their house with many different fruits and vegetables. They also have a horse and wagon which they use for work {like plowing fields or carrying heavy items} as well as transportation. Almost everything they eat is grown on their land. Life there is simple and peaceful.

Marius the Chef

I wanted to show some more of the delicious food that we ate while in Romania. My cousin, Larysa, has a fiancé and his name is Marius. He is an excellent chef. He specializes in all types of international cuisine.

We arrived in Romania late Monday night. On Tuesday night we ate dinner with Larysa at the restaurant that Marius and her both work at. This is what he made special for us.

I ate the spinach and sage stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon. It was so good. I can't remember exactly what the husband's meal was. It was sirloin. The meat was really good too. I loved the figs. Larysa had the chicken salad which looked really good.

Dessert: Tiramisu

This dessert was heaven. It was creamy, decadent and delicious. I felt so spoiled. Did you notice the crystallized sugar ball on top? It has toasted walnuts inside of it. And the blueberry sauce spread around the plate. Oh.my.goodness. This dessert was so good. We both became fans of tiramisu after eating that.

On our last day in Suceava before we had to return to Bucharest, we took Albina, Ionica, Vica and Razvan to dinner at the restaurant again. Marius surprised me with this awesome creation for dinner.

Doesn't it look amazing? The flower petals are thin potato slices, topped with 3 thin rolls of spinach and cheese {I think} stuffed chicken and sprinkled with cheese.