Update

I have moved my blog. I'm now writing on wordpress. I've decided to move because I'm looking for something different from here. But I am just trying it out, who knows, I might be back =)

You can follow me here

Hope to see you all there =)

Thanks for reading!

xxoxoxox

Chicken salad sandwiches and lackluster inspiration

I have LOST my creative inspiration. Okay, maybe it's not lost, per-say, but I've definitely hit a wall. I've been feeling defeated lately, and that's really rubbing off on my creativity. I felt a little better today, Adrian and I went to the park. We channeled our inner children and played on the merry-go-round and swings. I love swinging (on swings!). I am hopeful that tomorrow will see a greater improvement in my feelings. It could also just be PMS... HA!

ANYWAY!

Although I've been lacking creative skills, I still managed to make up a new recipe last night, for chicken salad sandwiches. Okay, I guess I didn't necessarily MAKE it up, because it's a pretty common recipe .... but I did give it my own twists and I didn't follow any other recipes, I came up with everything on my own. So here's what I did!:



You'll Need

- 4 to 6 chicken thighs (or about 2 or 3 chicken breasts)
- a frying pan
- oil and any seasonings you love - I used tarragon, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and onion powder
- 1 to 2 sticks of celery, diced into small pieces
- 1/4 of an onion, finely chopped (you can totally use more, that's just how much I used)
- about 3 to 4 heaping spoonful scoops of mayo
- about a 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
- mixing bowl
- knife
-cutting board



What You Do

- Season the frying pan with a few splashes of oil, and a few pinches of all your chosen spices and herbs
- Cut up your chicken into small cubes (I touched raw meat for the first time, for the sake of this recipe!! *I usually use a fork to hold it while I cut it up*)
- Throw your chicken cubes into the frying pan, which is heating over medium heat
- fry the cubes until a light brown colour and all the pink is gone

Pause: I'm a habitual over-cooker. I blame it on my hand-me-down germ-phobia
from my mom, and from the news. When I was younger, the news was always telling
me that undercooked meat was going to kill me, and I believed it! So, my chicken
cubes came out very much more brown and crunchy then they should have been.
DON'T overcook the chicken, it will still taste good, but you'll be wishing for
tenderer chicken in the end!

- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and spread it out on a plate lined with paper towel (or a napkin, if you don't have paper towel) and put it in the fridge for about an hour to cool completely
- While your chicken cools, you can cut up your celery and onion and set aside. I also used green and red peppers because they were just gathering freezer burn in the freezer. Because I used frozen veggies I cut them all up and threw them into the frying pan and cooked them a little, just until all the water evaporated and then put them in the fridge as well. Fresh or frozen, either way works the same =)
- Once everything is cooled completely scoop your mayo into the bowl and toss in the veggies. Give the contents a good mixing and toss in the chicken. Mix until you're satisfied with it. You may want to add more mayo ... mayo makes everything better ;)
- Slap that spreadable goodness onto some toast of bread. I think cheese would be a fabulous accessory to this tastiness.
- serve with your favourite side dish and you have a delicious meal, enjoy =)

Makes about 2 to 3 sandwiches depending on how generous you are!!



Thanks for reading =)

xooxoxoxoxox

Wedding music - to dance or not to dance? 500 days: Day 17

I signed up for this wedding site and I get their random emails. The other day there was an article about playing newer music at your wedding. It got me thinking, what kind of music do we want? .

Now, this did come up when we first decided to get married(and I'm sure it will come up again), and Adrian's suggestions were predictable. He'd be happy if we could just play Atmosphere, Tom Waits and the Black Keys the whole night. But thinking about how our families might react to "What's He Building In There" and "Until the Nipples Gone", provoked me to being a hunt for the best wedding music to play.

The first issue I faced on my hunt was 'do we want to have a dance, or not?' I mean, Adrian is not a dancer, he bobs his head, but that's about it. And me, well, I LOVE to dance, preferably when I'm at home and in my pjs, but I'll dance in public ... Preferably after a few drinks ;) (**Flashback to childhood**) Then I began thinking, what if we don't have a dance but everyone expects there to be one OR what if we do have a dance but no one dances!? I contemplated NOT having one, and putting it on my wedding website, just so everyone was clear. But then I talked to Gina, and she changed my mind. She made me think about all the people that WOULD want to dance and when I got home, I began hunting for songs that would be fun to dance to. So far I've got about 5 good songs, which is NOT nearly enough. I know there will be ABBA and Elton John ... I will probably choose a lot of songs from our childhoods. But now my issue is finding the balance between what us "younger" folk prefer to dance to and what the aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. prefer. I honestly never thought choosing music would be so stressful!!

My next issue was choosing the music for the main events. I have a whole playlist of songs I want to walk down the isle to, but, obviously, I can only pick one. OMG so hard! Do I go with She & Him "I Can Hear Music" or do I go with Bright Eyes "First Day of my Life"!? OR maybe I want to go with The Moldy Peaches "Anyone Else But You". Ugh, the decisions.

As stressful as it is, it is kinda fun searching for good wedding music. I'm finding songs that I never thought I'd like, but I actually do!

Do you have any suggestions? What is your favourite "at-home-in-your-pjs" dance music? If you've been married, what music did you play at your wedding? And did you have a dance at your reception?

**I remember when I was really young, probably around 6-7 years old. I was pretty shy. Not like so shy I ran away from people, but still shy enough. I loved to dance with my mom in the living room to oldies like ABBA and Elton John, so fun. And once when we were in the grocery store, I heard a song that I liked, and I just started dancing, forgetting that there was a bunch of people around. There I was, grooving to some ABBA song, totally lost in the movement, in the middle of the frozen food isle. People were watching me and as I started to realize this and stopped dancing, my mom just started clapping! I was so embarrassed. I stuck to my mom's side for the rest of the time in the store ... But funny enough, that wasn't my last time!!!

Thanks for reading =)

xxoxoxoxoxx

banana-polooza - the story of how bananas made my day =)

I used a lot of bananas today!!

First I ate one, half on peanut butter on toast and half in milk (it's better than cereal if you ask me =)).

Then I made banana bread. We are just tasting it now, and OMG it's amazing! I used this recipe. I left out the butter, because we didn't have any and I added 2 extra bananas, a pinch of salt and a few drops of my butter vanilla Bakery Emulsion that I bought at Winners once... I always check when I go in there, because if it's there I buy it. I love using it, especially when I leave out the butter in a recipe because it still hints at a butter flavour. OH NO, I'm giving away my secret ingredient! I also sprinkled some brown sugar on the top to make a tasty crust and I ended up having to bake it for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe said. Adrian says "it's the best banana bread I've ever had", so I know it's good. Otherwise he would have just said "yeah, it was good".



While my banana bread was baking away I decided to try out this recipe for one-ingredient ice cream. It's not ACTUALLY ice cream, as it's made ONLY with bananas. I froze my bananas whole. I didn't know if the bananas were going to last long enough for me to get around to making this, so I just tossed them in the freezer to save for the day I decided to make it. Since we moved here, last August, I still hadn't unpacked everything. This included my blender. So I went on the hunt while my baking bread filled the house with it's sweet aroma =P Luckily I found it in the first place I looked, only to find the base and the lid, but still missing the top part. Also lucky for me, I found it in the first place I looked. So with all the blender pieces assembled, I cut up my banana. It was pretty easy to cut, even though it was frozen, and each piece easily popped out of the skin. The only thing that suffered was my thumbs, they are still tingling from the cold! Once I got the banana pieces into the blender I was so excited to start it up!! Only to be let down. Piece of advice: This recipe is probably not going to be very easy if you're using a blender like mine .... a cheap $20 plastic Betty Crocker. It took me about 15 minutes to get it all blended, which was just enough time, as the motor started to give up towards the end!! I had to add some milk just to juice it up a little so the blender didn't have to work so hard. I mushed it a great deal with my spatula and had to keep scooping it off the sides and mushing it on top of the blades. It made me feel like maybe next Christmas I will ask for a food processor!! But after all of that the banana mush started to take form and I had it to the same consistency as the recipe. So I got excited again =) I had to put it back in the freezer so it could solidify some more, but then I was too impatient so I tried a bit and sprinkled some chocolate chips on top =)



And thus is the story of my day with bananas =)

Oh, and I also talked on a banana phone ;)



Thanks for reading!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxxxooo

Going wedding crazy - 500 days: day 13

Making twine wrapped balls from memory is a little harder than I imagined!! I tried one ball, by wrapping the twine around a balloon, gluing it and then painting the twine white. BIG MISTAKE! Once I popped the balloon, all the paint that dried to it stuck to the twine and now just looks like a mess! So I tried it another way. First I painted the twine and then rubbed glue all over the pieces and wrapped the balloon. That seemed to work a little better, although a LOT more messy. I'm still not getting the same effect that I can imagine in my head. So, upon talking it over with Adrian, we both decided it would be best to try a white cottony yarn or thick string, dye it the colours we want and THEN use the gluing mixture to adhere it to the balloon. I'm excited to try it with dye and yarn, I think it will work a whole lot better than the last two methods. At least now I know what NOT to do, as far as these decorations are concerned.

When I attempted the first twine ball, I mixed far too much of the glue mixture and had a whole bowl of it left over. I have been saving cans, jars and containers for a few weeks, so we can use them as decorative containers for the coffee/tea bar and the dessert bar items. So, with the left over glue I decided to get a head start on my plans for the containers. I sorted through all my scrapbook papers and pulled out the ones that I thought would incorporate nicely into our wedding decor theme. I cut various sizes and pieces, as well as pieces of tissue paper. I covered the entire surface of each container with pretty pieces of paper, until I achieved the look I was going for. OMG do they ever look cute!! The twine balls may not have turned out the way I wanted, but these containers sure did! I then tied some ribbons around the tops and once I get my menu all sorted out we will make little labels for each one, saying what each holds. This project was SOOO much fun for me =) Yay for gluing!

I also attempted another tissue paper pom ... this one actually turned out relatively like what I had pictured, but still not as round as I had hoped. So, I keep trying.

I guess you could say that last night I went a little wedding crazy!! But I'm really happy that I attempted the twine balls, weeding out the do-not's of twine balls =)

Hopefully next post I can upload some photos of what I've made so far =)

Thanks for reading =)

xxoxoxoxoxox

500 days: day 12

So, I've missed a few days of wedding preparations!! I'm pretty behind on my calendar of things to get done. But that's okay, I won't start actually worrying until, you know, it gets closer to the actual day. I think I may have taken on too big of a challenge by wanting to make all my own decorations, food, etc and planning everything myself. Oh the joys of a limited budget!! I'm just thankful that I have lots of extra time and most things I want to make can be made from supplies from the dollar store. I LOVE THE DOLLAR STORE!!

I really want to be able to make most, if not all, decorations from dollar store supplies. It would really really take some stress off the budget. And I hope, that by writing about my budget adventures, I will inspire other brides who have the same budget stress that I'm facing =)

Whenever I come across a decoration idea, I like to try it out and make a 'proto-type', so I have something to look back at as a reference. So far I've tried making some tissue paper poms, but I keep ripping the tissue paper or I don't add enough layers.. so I keep trying!!

Today I'm thinking of attempting a new project. Adrian found some twine in the closet, and I remember seeing a tutorial once on how to make twine hanging balls, using twine, balloons, paint and glue. So I'm going to try making a few, from memory, and see how they turn out. **I just had to run to the dollar store because upon an extensive search, we realized there were no balloons.**

The twine is in the gluing stage. Have to wait for it to dry completely before I can paint it. I'm excited!! It looks like it really might work.

It will probably take over night to dry, so I will post the finished product tomorrow!!

Thanks for reading.

xxoxoxoxox

Last night's dinner

I really enjoy cooking dinner. Like I've said in the past, I enjoy cooking, even though I'm not the greatest cook by any means. I can't make rice to save my life, I either burn it or I under-cook it. I always leave that up to Adrian .. he makes a good rice ;) But I'm good at other things ... like making dishes that use up all the random ingredients and left overs that are scattered throughout my kitchen. One dish I'm particularly proud of is a shepherd's pie that I first made months ago, using ground pork. This time I used ground beef and it was just as amazing =)





I really love making this meal, as you can throw pretty much anything in it, and it will always taste awesome! (And by 'pretty much anything',I mean veggies, macaroni noodles, spices ... not peanut butter or chocolate chips :P). I also love this dish because it's SOOO easy to make. I'm sure everyone has their own way of making a dish like this, but here's how I made this one.

You'll Need:

-one package of ground meat (I used extra lean beef)
-about 6 medium sized potatoes
-any veggies you feel like tossing in (I used: onion, green pepper, red pepper, celery, peas, carrots, black olives, banana peppers and some left over homemade french fries I made the night before ... chopped up into small bits)
-any seasoning you like to use (I used: taco seasoning, salt, pepper, basil, garlic powder)
-gravy or any sauce you want to add as a topping (I used cheese soup)
-butter or milk for whipping the potatoes (I loooove to use butter and cream cheese - soooo good!!!)

What You Do:

-preheat oven to about 350F
-Peel and cut your potatoes into mash-able sizes. Then add them to a pot of cold water with a little salt. (Whenever I make boiled potatoes I always add peas and onions ..it's like a weird obsession I have!). Bring to boil.
-At the same time as you add your potatoes to the stove, toss your meat into a frying pan and get it going.
-Cut up your veggies. I prefer to use frozen veggies so I do this step first so they get some time to thaw first.
-When the meat is beginning to brown but still a little red, I add the veggies. I don't know how other people do it, but I like my veggies to be soft. When all the red is gone from the meat, I add the spices.
-Once the meat is cooked and the potatoes are boiled, remove meat from heat and drain potatoes. You'll want to let everything cool for a few minutes - I'd say about 5-10 minutes ... or however long it takes to preheat your oven.
-Whip the potatoes in a bowl, using your choice of milk, butter, cheese etc.
-Get your baking dish and pour the meat mixture into the bottom - I like to use a small square one so the pie is more hearty!
-spread the whipped potatoes on to the top of the meat
-bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the potato topping is baked to your desire.
-Wait a few minutes before serving or everyone will have burned mouths!!
-add your gravy or sauce
-ENJOY IT! Make sure you say MMMMMMMM after every bite, totally makes it taste better ;)



I'd love to know what you all do differently when you make shepherd's pie!!

A special thanks to my wonderful fiancé who took the photos, even though all he wanted to do was eat the subject ;)

Thanks for reading =)

xxoxxoxoxoxoxox

500 Days: day 8

I just spent the past two hours working on our wedding budget. Ugh, it's so hard to plan a budget when you don't have any money to budget with!! I'm already a month behind on my monthly savings plan ... but crossing my fingers that we will be able to double next months savings, to make up for it. I started out with a "potential" budget of $3,000 (as per my savings plan). I came out at the end with a total of $3,110. Yikes!! If I'm already OVER budget and I haven't even purchased anything or made any commitments, we are in serious trouble... or are we? I mean, there's still lots of time to save, but it's still stressful to think about. And, as I plan on making mostly everything myself (decorations, bouquets, etc) I should be able to cut costs in a few areas.

We already know where we'd potentially like to get married and it's a place that we could have both the ceremony and reception at... and THAT would be a huge budget saver!! I could cut a big chuck off, because it's also pretty cheap. But I'm keeping my options open, as we have only seen the area full of snow. So we are waiting for spring when we can view its full potential! I have high hopes for this place, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

When I got finished with the budget I started on the dinner menu. What another pain in my arse. I would love to just have the whole thing catered and not have to worry about any of it. I gave up after a few minutes of writing down my ideas, because I was getting too ahead of myself. I know that I want to have as many summer-y time food items as possible, but there are just so many options that I can't contain it to just a few selections!! I'm thankful for Adrian's grandpa, who offered to help with the food ... he's a great cook, so I'm excited to have his help!!

I have lots of big plans for all the decorations I want to make. That's the part I'm mot looking forward too =)

Well .. that and dress shopping with Gina. I can't wait to go try on pretty dresses!!!

Thanks for reading =)

xxoxoxoxx

Starting a new blog!

No wedding project for today as Adrian and I were busy re-arranging our house. We are also getting ready to start a new blog together. So exciting!! I just finished the first tutorial which will be posted tomorrow. You can check the blog out here I wrote an introduction to the blog last night as the first post =)

We moved my craft "room" out to the office area in the living room. However, it's still just one wall, like in the bedroom. But I get to be closer to Adrian, so that's nice =)

Thanks for reading!! And don't forget to check out our blog!!

xxoxxoxoxox

500 days: day 4

I had some great plans for the day 4 project. But that was until I went to sit and came down too hard on my right side and now I'm trapped on the couch. It hurts too much to move =(

But, all is not lost, I still have lots I can talk about!

I have been searching and searching the interwebs for inspiration for my wedding. When I started thinking about it, like 2 minutes after we got **"engaged" I wanted my colour theme to be black and white with fuchsia pink accents. However, I've since settled on a more lighter colour pallet, more pastel and vintage-y, rather than glam-ish art deco. I really love the idea of a vintage garden party where the guests are drinking tea from cute flowery tea cups and playing croquet and bocce ball. I've already enlisted help from Adrian's mom and grandparents. Their current task is to find as many of those cute flowery tea cups as possible (for as cheap as possible)!! I figure I have to start now if I'm going to find enough for at least one per guest.

I haven't added much to my "wedding shelf" lately. Just another chuck of fabric I found amongst my piles.

**engagement story here

Well that's all for me tonight =)

Thanks for reading!

xxooxxoo

cha-cha-chaaanges

I redecorated my blog!! I was feeling kinda blah about my old, out-dated colours. I feel much better now =)

Unfortunately I was so busy fussing with my blog design that I didn't get around to my wedding project of the day. But that's okay, because most of it was supposed to consist of conversing with my bestie about things that Adrian doesn't want to talk about, but she went out of town instead! So day 3 of the countdown was a bust .. oh well, there's still 527 days left!

Thanks for reading =)

xxoxoxoxoxxooo

Something finished, something started,,, 500 days - day 2

I finally got this custom order finished! I'm so happy with the final products!



I love them!

Today is day 2 of the countdown to our wedding. 528 days! (But I'm probably only going to blog for about 500 of those days ;))

I'm soooo excited that my best friend Gina is going to be my maid of honour AND my most favourite far-away friend, Jess, is going to be my brides maid. I have started a wedding blog, when I remember the web address I will post a link here!! Hehehe.

ANYWAY!

So today's project of the countdown was the guest list. I really want to finalize our list by the middle of March, because I have OCD and I'm obsessed with being organized.

Halle sniffed the pens and tried to eat one, and when I asked her who she wanted to invite she said "mmmmwwweeeeooowwwwwoommeeoooww" (which means: heeeaaadbaaandd). Yes, my kitten <3's headband. Ohh, cute kitten distractions!

I added 3 pages of guest list to my wedding binder and made sure I scheduled a date to be finished the list. And then my stomach was ready for dinner so finished for another day, I was.



And here's a cute picture of Halle from our Kamloops days, because you're all probably dying to see what my cute kitten looks like ;)



Thanks for reading!

xxxxxxoooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Wedding prep and custom orders - 500 Days: 1

I've decided to start blogging about our adventures down the wedding planning road. There is exactly 529 days until we take the plunge, so to speak. I'm going to try and blog every day about what planning I've done, but I'm sure there will be some days that I don't get around to it! There is a lot to do and because I'm going to be making pretty much everything (except my dress), I figure I should probably start soon! I've cleaned out a small section of shelf in the linen closet, which is where I will be storing all my wedding goodies, so nothing gets lost or destroyed. Here is what it looks like so far:



So far the shelf contains my wedding binder, some fabric I will find some use for, a baggie with some small paper flowers and the start to our invites, and our first box of wedding decorations ... for the car! Guess you could say it's our first wedding "gift" as Adrian's grandma bought it for us.

I recently got my first custom order from a friend on Facebook! She requested some "teachery" type magnets (because she's a teacher) that matched her office decor colours of red and white. I was excited to start this project as I've only made very few magnets before and they've only been flowers. I love challenging tasks like this, to see how far I can stretch my creativity!! I came up with a few ideas. I'm pretty proud of what I've come up with so far.



This apple is sooo cute! I'm so happy it turned out so good.... even though I knew it would ;)



I'm toying around with the flag w/ numbers, I think it will look pretty neat once it's finished. Just not too sure if it's going to be too big. I made the pencil out of felt. Adrian says it doesn't look like a pencil because it's not yellow. But it's just to get an idea if I'm on the right track for my customer. I still think it looks cool, even though it's not yellow =)

Anyway, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day so I think I'm going to try and get out and enjoy it!

Thanks for reading =) (And check back every day as I plan my way to wedded bliss!)

xxxoxoxxxoooxxxx

Rough Waters

We have hit a very hard patch lately. The job hunts have not been going well... and blah blah blah. I'm not going to get into all my troubles but I will say that it's resulted in some depressing times.

We've decided on some things that will greatly change our lifestyles, including getting rid of our tv. I need to spend some more time working on my accessories and getting exercise. I think it will be good for the both of us =)

I listed some new items on Etsy today. I have been playing around with other types of handmade crafty things. I've still got the pink and navy blue wedding bouquet on the go ... on the slow go! But I have also started a new paper flower wedding bouquet... OMG it's super cute! I've also made some fridge magnets which I've listed.





I love making paper flowers =)

I also looooooove making fabric flowers and bows ;)






Well... that's really all I had to say.

Check my Etsy here for all my other great listings =)

Thanks for reading!

xoxxoxoxoxoxoxxxxoo

sick days

So lately I've been under a LOT of stress. This stress caused me to get sick. I put everything on hold and sat on the couch for a week, drinking green tea and sneezing and sniffling. I'm feeling much better now, thank goodness. Although there's still some lingering stress, needing to find jobs so we can pay rent, bills... stuff like that. But part of me is thankful that no one called this past week about a job, as I would have been too sick to go to work anyway! I've also been able to get through this week thanks to my amazing fiancée, who tended to my every whiny demand. He's so great <3. I found something new that I love when I'm sick. Sinus massages. Especially right between the eyes... it feels like heaven when everything around your eyes feels tight and sore. So wonderful!

Anyway, I'm back now. Have a few handmade things to finish up so I can post them on Etsy... I've made a few non-hair accessories... like some cute flower fridge magnets. I'm looking for ways to use up some of my random bits and pieces so I can make room for more hair accessory stuff. Still working on that bridal bouquet ... it's turning out to be quite a challenge!! It's probably going to take me longer than I thought to finish. Started work on a REALLY cute brown and cream felt hair bow ... but then my sewing machine threw a hissy fit and the stitches went all askew. Then I gave up when the needle randomly fell out of the machine. I think I will have another go at it today... I've got another idea for the bow now.

It's snowing today. Yesterday was so beautiful and sunny and warm ... it was such a good day to go out after being inside for a week. Now it's dark and cold again =(

Haven't made much progress with the wedding plans... but that will come with time. I'm working on the guest list right now, my limit of guests is 100 people ... that's all we will be able to afford with our budget!! Planning a wedding is so exciting... I wish I could do it for a living!

Well that's all for me =)

Thanks for reading.

xxoooxxxooox

Engaged!

So Adrian and I had a long conversation the other night, which ended with our decision to get married. I'm so very excited! We set our date, tentatively, for July 28, 2012. We need time to save up the money. I've already started planning, it's hard not to! I have so many freakin ideas!

Adrian gets to plan the honeymoon, so he's excited about that! He's planning a road trip to California and Tofino. I'm excited for that too! One thing I really wanted was to get married on the beach in Tofino. But it's pretty far away and for some, it's a pretty expensive trip to make. So I'm happy with going there for our honeymoon =)

I'm just so excited! I'm happy that I finally get to vocalize all my ideas, which I've been saving up in the wedding file section of my brain! I plan on making most things myself, which is also good reason for having the wedding in a year and a half.... more time to get everything made. I've also already found the dress I want, but I'm still going to look around here because the one I want is in Burlington .... and it's in store only!

That's all about the wedding for now!

But in other wedding related news, I started working on a wedding bouquet some time ago, because I'd love to sell wedding stuff in my Etsy shop. It`s taking me a very long time to finish but when it's done, I will list it. I'm thinking of even adding some pictures of the progress. I plan on making a matching maid of honour and bride's maid one, as well as boutonnieres. Hopefully I can get it done soon!

That's really all for now =)

Thanks for reading!

xoxxoxxxooo

Giving Away!

So I've been thinking about doing a give-away of some kind for a while now and I recently came up with a really good idea. It's going to be a Facebook based contest, with the winner getting a free custom hair accessory handmade by me =) So here is how it will go:

- Invite your friends and family members to like my page here
- Get the page to reach 50 members by February 11th, 2011
- If the page reaches that goal, I will post a status update saying something like: "Like this status if you want to win a free custom handmade piece!"
- On Feb. 22nd I will put the names of anyone who liked the status into a 'hat' and draw a name. The winner will get a custom made hair piece!

Exciting, right!!? Well, I'm excited!

Toodles for now =)

xoxoxoxoxxoooxxx

Crafters Crafty Room

When we lived in Kamloops we had two bedrooms ... so we converted the big room into a studio/craft room. Unfortunately I was too stressed with my job and other things to utilize the area to it's fullest extent. So when we moved to Vernon, I was fortunate enough to have time to craft... but in a smaller space there wasn't much room. For a while I was crafting out of a rubber-maid bin in the living room. But now, I have a lovely space in the bedroom against one wall ... it's a very lovely, small, wall that I've been able to convert with three pieces of furniture, into a half decent place to make my hair accessories.

This is the wall in its entirety! The photos on the wall were taken by my hunnie, the pro photographer: adrianstonge.com The sewing machine is my favourite item I've ever owned. My Nana bought it for me a few years ago for Christmas, which was probably the start of my need to create things... so, thanks Nana!



This plastic set of drawers is full of all my odds and ends and mostly scrapbooking stuffs. The drawers don't close properly and it's kind of wobbly, but it does the job decently enough!



I stole this shelf from my hunnie, which was holding his photo stuff in the storage room. It works perfectly for what I need it for. I hammered in nails on the one side to hold my thread spools, and used some jewelry wire to string my ribbon.



And finally, here's Halloween!




Thanks for reading!

xoxoxoxoxxxoooxx

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I love to cook. It's something I've loved doing for many years, but never really explored it to any extreme. When my mom was alive, she always did the cooking because food just tasted better when she made it!! After, for a while, all Adrian and I did was eat out. And then when we moved to Vernon it was summer and too hot to make anything but salad or, again, eat out. So when the colder months came, I decided to see what I could come up with. I've become a master at making dinner meals that consist of more than just a piece of chicken and a salad .... (which was pretty much all I made in Kamloops and for the first few months here in Vernon). And I have lots of recipes to share, but that's for another post.

Our holiday season consisted of lots of yummy snack type foods. Chips, crackers and dips, appetizer type tasties and my own creation of a super easy appy: mushroom and asparagus wrapped bacon with cream cheese. Now I'm not claiming fame to the original idea of this, I'm just saying that I found a way to make it my own. I had planned to just use the veggies and the bacon until I realized I didn't have any toothpicks and therefore had no way of keeping the bacon on the asparagus. But cream cheese came to the rescue and here's what I ended up with!:

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
You will need:
- 1 package of bacon cut in half (a whole piece will be too long)
- 1 bunch of Asparagus washed and dried(but, really, you can use as many as you want)
- About 1/2 a stick of cream cheese (depending on how thick you want to coat the asparagus) softened enough to be spreadable
- wax paper (enough to cover your work space)
- Cookie sheet layered with tin foil
- cooling rack
( I use the cooling rack to place my asparagus on because it cooks the bacon more evenly and lets all the fat drip off .... it's handier to use but you don't HAVE to use it)

What you do:
(Now I haven't actually found a non-messy way to do this yet so it's really up to you as to how you want to coat the asparagus)
1. Using a spoon or spatula, cream the cream cheese in a thick layer onto the wax paper
2. Take a piece of asparagus and roll it around in the cream cheese until it's nicely coated
3. Take a slice of bacon and wrap it around, pressing it lightly into the cream cheese as you wrap
4. Set each piece onto cooling rack/foiled cookie sheet
5. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes (or until bacon is cooked and crisp)
6. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then enjoy!!



Cream Cheese Filled Mushrooms with Bacon:
What you'll Need:
- 1 package of bacon cut in half (a whole piece will be too long)
- About 10 stuffing Mushrooms OR 10-15 small mushrooms (better for bite-size appies) washed and stems removed
- About 1/2 a stick of cream cheese softened enough to be spreadable
- Half a tomato diced into very small pieces
- A couple green onions diced into very small pieces
- Cookie sheet layered with tin foil
- cooling rack
( I use the cooling rack to place my mushrooms on because it cooks the bacon more evenly and lets all the fat drip off .... it's handier to use but you don't HAVE to use it)

What You Do:
1. Cream the cream cheese in a bowl with diced tomatoes and green onions (you can add other veggies too, like cucumber, white onion, zucchini, or any softer veggie that has a low cooking time)
2. fill mushroom caps with cream cheese mixture
3. Place onto cooling rack/foiled cookie sheet
4. Lay bacon halves over top of the mushroom caps, pressing the middle into the cheese
5. Bake in a preheated oven at about 400 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and crisp
6. Let cool for about 5-8 minutes and enjoy!!



The easiest after dinner treat I made was butter tarts. Now, you can find tart recipes anywhere and are usually simple to follow. This is a link to the most basic recipe I could find: http://www.cookingnook.com/butter-tart-recipe.html But I made some changes. Firstly I didn't have corn syrup so I just omitted it!! Secondly, I used equal amounts of butter and brown sugar for a more sweeter taste. Thirdly, I only used one egg...(this was due to some seriously bad luck with about 4 cartons of eggs) and I added extra vanilla. I use a bakers emulsion vanilla... which seems to always taste better in my baking. In the end, this is what I came out with (and they tasted so darn good!!)



Well, this was possibly my longest blog ever!!

Thanks for reading!!

xxooxxoxxoxxoooo

The Winter blues ... and greys

It's funny how the excitement leading to up to Christmas can seem to abate the feelings of depression and sadness that the grey skies seem to bring.

This year Adrian was ready for Christmas in November. So was I!! But then again, I'm ready for Christmas all year long. We set up the tree in November this year, going against every rule my Mom ever set out about Christmas decorating. And now I see why. Her rule was, 'the tree can only go up on the first weekend of December, no sooner!' She was definitely on to something there. Having the house ready for the holiday 2-3 weeks after Halloween will only bring the blues sooner. Not only that, but I found myself getting tired of holiday cheer before December 25th even came.

Adrian's blahs started very shortly after the holidays were over.... but didn't last as long as usual. But for the first time ever the blahs have affected me. Winter is usually the best time of the year, in my books... I love snow and I love scarves and mittens and sunny cold days. I love drinking hot beverages all day long and walking in the park while the snow falls. Although I still love all those things, I find myself feeling sad. I feel that part of it is that my holiday cheer dissipated rather soon.... usually lasting until the middle of January or longer.

After much introspection I've come to the conclusion that my blues are due to a jealousy that has been firing up inside me for a few months now and boiling to the surface only a few nights ago. As childish as it might seem, and as embarrassed as I am to admit it, I find that I'm jealous of all the people on Etsy who are making regular sales of their handmade items. I know my sales will come with time and that I should find a way to channel my jealousy into my crafts, but I really just want to pout and stamp my foot! And the icing on the cake was to see a store downtown, which seemed to step right out of my dreams .... not necessarily selling what I would want to sell, but a shop set up exactly how I would do my own. Same in the colours on the walls, same in the way items are displayed..... same, same, same. So, now not only am I NOT selling on Etsy, but if I ever wanted to open a real store, I'd have to change the whole look and feel that I've already imagined. Alas, I let the blues was over me until I'm verging tears and longing for sunny days that shine pretty pinks and yellows and make me feel whole and warm.

Anyway, my next post is going to be about two foods I made over the holidays that were our favourite! And I'm also thinking about doing a 'Thing-a-day' challenge. That might be fun!!

Thanks for reading =)