Birthday #3

My son's fascination with dragons this year made them an obvious choice for the theme for his third birthday party. I found a forest backdrop (a cork board cover that teachers use in classrooms), green and silver colored plates, tablecloths, balloons and streamers for decor. My husband and I then created a little knight and dragon foam-core cut outs for cute photo ops. For party bags I found little plastic containers and added some dragon shaped parts to them to create little dragon bags. He and his little friends had a great time.

Autumn Decor

Now that the evening frosts have turned all of the flowers in our yard black, I had to come up with a solution to cheer up our increasingly more drab yard. So... I picked up some gorgeous burnt orange leaves and rich fall toned dried gourds to create little gourd topiaries to flank the door.

Pearly Girly

In search of inspiration for the perfect wedding guest outfit recently, I headed to the trend report on the Neiman Marcus website... What I found was that the runways this fall were filled with gorgeous pearls. I picked up some inexpensive pearl pieces and a black dress from H&M for my version. The dragon was an unexpected accessory- My son insisted we bring it along. Dragon = The new Chihuahua?

Inspiration

My Version

kommen Sie bitte in

We decided to stay home to get a few things done at home instead of heading to the lake for the long weekend. One thing I really wanted to tackle was the front step. The front entry is important, and I felt that ours was seriously lacking. After a quick trip to Benjamin Moore I went to work. Here is the progress so far...                                                              

Before

After

Black and Blue

My love affair with the color blue began quite young. Recently however my passion for the color has grown. All it took was seeing it's strength when paired with a little black dress on Roxy of 'The City'. My favorite place to put it now... Nails.

It just tastes better...

After several days of rain I was able to check out the garden today. Everything has grown so much! A ton of peas are ready to be picked and the carrots are now pinkie sized. My son and I did a little mini harvest and sat in the kitchen and feasted on our baby veggies. They definitely tasted better than any other veggies I had had before. Must be little red hen syndrome. 

Amuse Bouche

When asked to choose my favorite course of a meal, I would have a hard time choosing between the hors d'oeuvres and the dessert. There is nothing like goat cheese crostini or caprese bites, and who doesn't like saying 'Would you like some amuse bouche and vino?'. However, there is definitely something to be said for a rich glorious Bernard Callebaut mousse. So... when planning my husband's thirty-first birthday party it was critical that I come up with something great for the beginning and end of our meal. I started with  a dish of caprese bites, sun-dried tomato kalamata olives, and cheese, and ended with Dairy Queen Oreo ice cream cake. It was all delicious. Take a peek...

Jungle or Garden?

The garden has turned into a jungle! The perfect combination of sunny and rainy weather has created an absolutely huge tangled mess of green where my perfectly neat rows used to be. I tried to string up the two rows of peas with stakes and string, but the weight of the vines and baby peas proved to be too much. I also tried to hill the potatoes, but they have grown so high that they have overtaken the beans and spinach real estate. The spinach has already gone to seed, and the tomatoes have grown larger than their cages. A little chaotic. I need to try to tidy it up a bit, but already the yield has been great! We have had several spinach, butter lettuce, and romaine lettuce salads. My favorite is spinach from the garden, raspberries and cranberry raspberry vinaigrette from the farmer's market and roasted pecans. Mmmm. 

HOORAY!

Hooray! The garden is actually growing! I was so nervous not one seed would grow and poke through the soil, but every row is up. Unfortunately my veggies aren't the only things growing...WEEDS are everywhere. Thousands of teeny little weeds have sprouted and are covering the surface of every bed. I set out on a mission this morning to stop their invasion. A few blisters later, I won... For now. The garden looks great.

Green thumb?

After a long back breaking weekend, we have a fully planted garden. It was good for me I am sure, since my muscles were so sore I could barely walk the following Monday... We put in all the absolute necessities; peas, carrots, beans, potatoes, onions, beats, lettuce, leeks, spinach, tomatoes, hot peppers, and strawberries. I started with a trip to Holes Greenhouse and Canadian Tire, and with seeds, potting soil, and tools in hand I was ready to start. Feeling like a rookie, I brought Lois' book outside with me to reference if necessary. I created stakes from the branches of the fallen fruit tree that lie in the back corner of the yard, and tied string between them to ensure I ended up with straight rows. Once everything was in the soil, I marked the rows with my new favorite rock markers. We have had two days of pouring rain, so with a little sun we should have sprouting veggie plants soon.

Love this!

Since I have garden on the brain... I found this cute idea for marking rows in the garden.

Garden Garden Garden

Ready for spring? Yes Maam! This year will be the first year that I attempt to grow my own vegetable garden, and I am exited! My Mom and Grandmother both have incredibly green thumbs, and I am hoping that I have inherited some of their skill. We have built a raised bed for our veggies and have filled it with garden soil rich with mushroom manure (whatever that is). Once the garden bed was ready to be planted, I took a trip to Holes Greenhouse for some inspiration and advice. I picked up seeds of the staples; carrots, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, and onions. And of course Lois Holes book on vegetables. She is the ultimate goddess of the garden. Her book is filled with tips and tricks of the trade that I hope will maximize my veggie yield. I will blog along my growing journey. Stay tuned...

G is for Gilding

Alright I know I skipped a few letters here, but I could not help but skip past Clay and Decoupage for this one. What girl doesn't like a little gold and silver. I first saw gilding done while watching Debbie Travis. She coated the underside of a gorgeous claw foot bathtub in silver, it was stunning, and I was an instant fan. Our bathroom renovation was lacking a little shine, and I thought the mirror frame was the perfect spot to try gilding.  I admit, I was a bit intimidated by the incredibly thin sheets of silver, but with Martha's instructions made it quite simple to work with. Thrilled with how it turned out, I am on the look out for other rooms that are in need of a little glamour.

Here comes Peter Cottontail

We wanted to give our two year old a great Easter basket without stuffing it full with candy and chocolate. A puzzle, bubbles, and paints fill the majority of his basket this year. We did tuck a few treats inside, and we made sure to finish up our morning with a Lindt bunny hunt.

I love, and I mean LOVE Jamie Oliver. He has a brilliant way of making complex and flavorful dishes so easy. I chose to prepare his 'Best Turkey' recipe this Easter. It definitely lived up to it's name. Ground pork, prosciutto, and apricot stuffing is tucked between the breasts and the skin. Delicious.

Baby's got blue... bathroom.

Easter weekend provided my husband and I the opportunity to get some much needed home reno time in. The first mess we decided to take on was our main bathroom. A very small space (about four feet by five feet), with a blue tub and toilet, terrible blue plastic tub surround, worn linoleum on the floor, and plastic 'base boards'.  It was begging to be updated. First I ripped down the old tub surround and patched the holes beneath. Then I picked up some glossy white ceramic 8 by 10 tiles and went to work. Take a look at the progress so far...

Beading down!

I conquered beading today. My day began with a trip to Michaels, one of my very favorite stores, unfortunately my two year old son does not share my love. As soon as the automatic doors opened he screamed, "I DON'T LIKE IT, LETS GET OUTTA HERE!" After a quick detour to the toy section I made a turn towards what I came for... beads. Martha's beading section of her Craft Encyclopedia is filled with little beaded blooms and bugs. I chose to take on a little bumble bee. So I picked out some black and gold glass beads. Martha's directions are really easy to follow and it only took a few moments, I think it would be really cute buzzing though a little girls braid.

Embellishment Journey

So I feel I have been slacking on my goal to craft my way though Martha's encyclopedia. Totally overwhelmed by the first section, 'Albums, Scrapbooks, and Memory boxes'. The world of Scrapbooking is huge! The thought of embarking on an embellishment journey should be thrilling... right? All I can see is isles of paper and stickers and stamps and scissors. Don't get me wrong, I have bought in and happen to own all of the necessary ingredients for a perfect scrapbook. When I open to the first page though, staring back at me is a blank page and a overwhelming feeling of, 'Where do I start?'. I am determined to overcome said Scrapbook, but another day. For now technically I have already completed a 'Memory Box' with the mounting of metals craft, and so I move on to Beading. Stay Tuned.

What's for dinner?

Since returning to work I have found that my desire to make dinner has almost disappeared. The problem usually starts with the struggle to find time and energy to go to the grocery store. Then I find myself trying to throw something together with spaghetti noodles and tomatoes... again. I used to plan meals two weeks in advance, perusing recipe after recipe until I perfected the menu. When you can start preparing at 4:00, cooking dinner is much less stressful. So... I am always on the lookout for quick and delicious recipes. I meshed a couple of recipes together to come up with the dish we had tonight.

- 1/4 cup of Cream Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups of Chicken Broth
- 3 Small Zucchini sliced
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan
- Spaghetti
- 1 Tbsp of Thyme
- The zest from 1 Lemon & the juice from half
- 1 Tbsp of Flour
- Salt and Pepper

In a large frying pan, place a splash of Grape seed oil and the zucchini slices until they are tender. Set aside. Whisk the Chicken Broth, Cream Cheese, Flour, and Thyme together in the frying pan until combined. Cook the Spaghetti noodles in boiling salted water with a splash of oil until el dante. Combine the noodles with the sauce and add Lemon zest, juice, and Parmesan. Divide between dishes and add fresh grated Parm and season with Salt and Pepper. Serve.

Queen of Crafts

While scanning the craft section of the library this weekend I came across this brilliant literary masterpiece. An Encyclopedia filled with one gorgeous Martha idea after another. I had a thought. What if I worked thorough each craft idea A to Z? Could it be done? I am going to attempt it.

Pancakes = Delicious

Growing up my Mom used to make 'egg pancakes' on special mornings. Waking up to a delicious crepe like pancake smothered in butter and dripping with maple syrup is a delicious way to start any morning. The thinner batter than regular fluffy pancakes also makes it the perfect medium to create shapes and creatures of any kind. Hence the makeshift dinosaur creatures I threw down in the pan this past weekend.

Mom's Egg Pancakes

2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt
Enough Flour to make batter the consistency of cake batter.

Slow down and smell the Tulips

Living in a climate that often provides at least four months of blowing and snowing cold, can leave a girl feeling a bit drab by the time the third month rolls around. In an effort to pretend spring is just around the corner I picked up some stunning little tulips.

Do you remember puff paints?

After struggling to find cute dinosaur t-shirts for my son, I decided to put a little something together with a classic- puff paint.

Shadow Box Metals

While cleaning out an antique side table my husband and I inherited, I came across three military metals that once belonged to my husband's great uncle. Too gorgeous to pack away, I knew I had to find a way to display them. I purchased three shadow boxes from Dollarama and a mens long-sleeved military-inspired shirt. Using the material from the shirt, I covered the backing of the frame and the mat using a glue gun. I then attached the ribbon from each metal to the covered backing. Take a look...

Cafe au Monthly

My absolute favorite coffee Transcend has come up with a coffee subscription. A different pound of coffee is sent each month. Mmmmm... I can almost taste the perfectly roasted selection now. 

$125 for a six month subscription (includes shipping anywhere in Canada)

Stegloar!

A dinosaur obsessed two year old inspired me to dust off my sewing machine this morning. A few alterations to a stuffed pig pattern, scrap fleece and yarn came together to spawn this stuffed Stegosaurus. ROAR!

Show off!

I often indulge in gardening experiments, crafting days, bakeathons, elaborate recipes, and fashion tests. This blog will be a place for me to show off my little projects. Enjoy!