Fab Clutch

I fell for some fabric today!

As soon as I saw it I knew what project it was meant for: the cute little clutch from Amy Carol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing!

I'm so happy with how this turned out. I made it a tiny bit bigger than the pattern recommended and it fits my long wallet perfectly.

I LOVE SEWING!

Here's the back end:

It's a soft clutch, the cotton flannel facing gives it shape and thankfully some cush too so my blackberry won't be bashed around.

What do you think?!

This is...

the contents of my handbag.

For the last few months I haven't been carrying a purse, my pockets have replaced my handbag. The positive bits of having no purse: I've managed to limit the amount of unnecessary items I have on my body and I've had one less bulky thing to worry about while trudging through the snow this winter. The main negative is the daily hunt through the closet to find my blackberry, lipstick, MAC lip glass and wallet, I never remember what coat I wore last and half the time they're spread between pockets and sometimes between coats.

Soon spring weather will arrive and I won't have the pocket room that I do now so it's time I get back into purse mode. What's that pretty splash of colour beneath my pocket contents you ask? Read my next post to find out!

"This is..." theme for this week chosen by Iris & Lily.

Ladies Were on Fire!

What a fabulous night I had with the girls! Six of my amazing girlfriends joined me for dinner at my place and following that we headed to a nearby club where we met up with a few other girls and watched a pile of handsome firemen strut their stuff at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's 3rd annual Hot Night in The City fundraiser. What a blast!!

By sending an email to the organizer in advance to ask if there was any chance I could reserve seats I managed to snag 12 seats in the second row! We were close enough to get clear views of the models yet far enough away to avoid being yanked out of our seats and up on stage (first row was hauled up for dancing).

I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. I'll definitely be attending next year and intend to drag along an additional row of girlfriends (that includes you mom).

While I was checking out the latest fashions on some fine looking displays, Mike was in New Orleans at Emeril's restaurant (which apparently has an 8 week waiting list)!! Seriously, what are the chances of that?! He didn't even make reservations in advance, he arrived in New Orleans last night and met up with a colleague, the two were chatting about basketball while waiting for the valet parking guy and a woman standing next to them slips into the conversation and tells them that she used to work for the owner of the basketball team they were discussing. They start chatting, find out she's Canadian and owns some companies in New Orleans... the next thing they know she tells them that they really have to try eating at Emeril's, but there's an eight week wait, she proceeds to place a call and BAM! Mike and his colleague have reservations at Emeril's restaurant for them and the person they were there to meet with. What the?! Talk about lucky!!

Thanks to Emeril Mike has tried a new food, one I never thought he would put near his lips: escargot! Woo hoo! He becomes braver with age, I love it.

You know where I'll be expecting to eat when we eventually make it to New Orleans together...

This is...my demon.

Etsy is one of my many demons, I spend far too much time bouncing around this fabulous site adding to my "one day..." wish list. Thankfully I have some self-control and am usually able to look and not buy, if I lacked self-control I would have handcrafted goodies spilling out of every room of my house.

"This is..." is a meme that was started by three buttons, want to join in? Just pop on over here and post a comment asking to join the "This is..." blog roll. Every Sunday three buttons posts her "This is..." for the week and let's us know who is choosing the theme for the following week. Join in, it's fun.

The theme for this week was chosen by drewzel.

Makes Me Melt

I'm not a real celebrity loving sort of girl, Johnny Depp is the exception, but after watching the most amazing flick EVER last night I have fallen in lust with the sexy creature seen above: Jim Sturgess. Yum in so many ways - those eyes, the voice that sounds like honey, the accent and that smile. I'm smitten.


If you haven't seen Across the Universe you really need to. Julie Taymor is the most fabulously creative woman: the storyline is excellent, the choreography, sets, costumes... it's all jaw dropping. The cast is refreshing, the main characters are all (formerly) unknowns with voices that are out of this world. I'm not a huge Beatles fan but hearing their songs sung by new voices forced me to listen to the lyrics, I certainly have a new appreciation for their music.

I've mentioned before that musicals on the big screen are not really my thing but this one is like nothing I've ever seen. Rent it and let me know if you agree. This video clip will give you a taste of the visual elements included in the film, simply amazing!

Easter Giggles

Emily has a new mom...

Actually Neve is the new mom, Uncle Mike was just babysitting in the pic above. Mike is Neve's favorite toy when the family gets together, you can see from the pic above why this might be: he's like a giant doll that Neve can dress up and boss around. I love watching the two of them having fun together. My husband is going to be an amazing father one day.

Take a guess at what Neve, Daddy (aka big bro John) and Uncle Mikey are up to in this shot... isn't it obvious? They're swimming in Mexico.

Hugging daddy, or maybe strangling him...



Leaving the "customers" to swim without supervision.



Clinging to daddy - such a cutie!

Hippity Hoppity Easter

We hosted Easter for my side of our family today and it was a wonderful day filled with good conversation, fabulous entertainment (thanks to Neve high on sugar), and lots of good food.

I ate far too much and thoroughly enjoyed every bite of little Billy the turkey, Sarah's amazing sweet potatoes (oh my yum), dad's perogies (our good friday family tradition), Mom's phenomenal pineapple strawberry cake thingo (light but a fab treat for the taste buds) and lotsa Lindt (fav in the chocolate department). Oh and of course I ate a bit of everything else spread out on the table, ugh. I am presently stretched out on the couch and seriously considering diving into the leftover perogies - what is wrong with me?!

I'm thrilled with the family picture we took today. I've been wanting an updated photo and I think this one is perfect!

An apology to my mom for being snappy pre-dinner, I need to let go of the fact that she can't just sit down and not help in the kitchen. I get frustrated because I want her to relax and let me take care of things, she deserves a break, but the reality is that she wants to help and needs to be doing something at all times. Mom, from here on in mom I promise I will let you help without argument... well, I'll TRY to anyways! Thanks for everything you did today mom, I love you!

Happy Easter everyone!

Slacker

My big bro commented today that I've been "slacking" in the blog department this week. My response was: "I didn't have much to say... Shut up." The 'shut up' was thrown in because I knew I was about to hear a snicker and a smart ass remark about how unlikely it was that I didn't have something to say.

Now that I think of it there has been lots for me to blog about in the last week, I just haven't felt like it. I've been in a bit of a funk, not sad or depressed just lazy and unmotivated. The end of my final term is quickly approaching, I'm still in limbo regarding teachers college (I'll know on April 3rd - cross your fingers), I'm bored at work and I've had enough of winter. I'm tired of scraping my windows in the morning, tired of layering clothes, tired of wearing socks and most of all I'm tired of complaining. I want more sunshine and less shiver.

I heard on the news yesterday morning that some weather brainiac has predicted six more weeks of unusually cold weather in Ontario. I can't stay in this funk for six more weeks so I'm forcing myself out of it. Tomorrow I'm going to work my butt off on my final assignment which is due this week, Sunday is family day and Monday I'm going to drag my butt off the couch to hit the pool with my girl Jessy. Time to de-funk.

Tantalizing Tuesday

I posted the amazing roasted turkey recipe a few weeks ago and promised to follow-up with the giblet gravy. Easter is this weekend already, crazy how time flies, if you're planning on making turkey try out this gravy... it's super delish.

Giblet Gravy
recipe thanks to the Food Diva

What You Need:
3 tbsp butter
gizzard, neck and wing tips from turkey
1/4 cup of each, carrot celery, onion diced
1 small bouquet garni: leeks, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, celery stalk, 10-15 peppercorns
1 qrt chicken stock, or pan juices with fat removed
1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water
garlic clove
sage stalks
salt & pepper
cheesecloth & butcher twine (for bouquet garni)
saucepan
strainer

What You Do:
1. Prepare the bouquet garni by making a sandwich. If you're unsure of how to go about this you can watch this short free 8 minute video made by the Food Diva. The leek and celery act as the bread; fill with parsley, thyme, bay leaf, celery and peppercorns. Wrap & tie with cheesecloth.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter
3. Add gizzard, wingtips, neck, giblets, celery, carrots, onions
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Over med-high heat cook until vegetables and meats begin to caramelize
6. Add chicken stock, scrape bottom of pan to deglaze
7. Add bouquet garni, season slightly
8. Add sage stalks and garlic clove
9. Simmer for at least an hour until meat is tender & broth is flavoured (I let it simmer for a few hours but am sure to keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't boil dry)
10. Strain into a clean saucepan
11. Add some liquid from turkey out of pan (once turkey is cooked through)
12. Add about 1/2 of cornstarch mixture, simmer until slightly thickened
13. Season, keep warm
EAT.

This is...better late than never

Drum roll please... This is my creation!

Her name is Emily and she is my first handmade doll. She took me a little less than two hours to make thanks to the pattern supplied by her namesake over at Inside a Black Apple. I decided to stitch her smile and use buttons for eyes rather than painting her facial features - I love how she turned out. Now that I know how simple dolls are to make I cannot wait to make more!

Here she is meeting her big sis.


"This is..." theme for this week was chosen by BettyTheGeek.

Tantalizing Tuesday

Allow me to introduce my first ever attempt at lasagna:

And a fabulous attempt if I don't say so myself.

I spotted the recipe for the above beauty on the fabulous Pioneer Woman Cooks blog awhile back and have been anxiously waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out. Why wait? Well, Mike is not a lasagna sort of guy, all the bumps and array of colours frighten him, when I suggested tonight that he try a bite tomorrow he said "hmmm" which is more a yes than a no in my mind so here's hoping the upcoming bite will tempt him into becoming a lasagna lover. I digress, back to the original story: I've been looking forward to trying this dish and tonight was the night! I had a dinner with my good friend Pat planned for this evening and since she has cooked for me the last few times we've gotten together I took tonight as an opportunity to return the favor. As usual I had a lovely evening with Pat, we try to get together for dinner once a month and it's always a good time!

Pat makes a damn good lasagna, although she would suggest otherwise, so to hear her and her daughter Jen say they really liked mine meant something! I think the addition of sausage meat is an absolute necessity - it gives the dish a swift kick that is just yum. I would cut back on the overall amount of meat next time; I like my lasagna a little more saucy and a little less meaty. The cheese on the other hand was the perfect amount, ooey gooey goodness.

High five to the Pioneer Woman for including step by step pics with her recipes! For the original go here.

Oooey Gooey Good Lasagna
originally titled "The Best Lasagna. Ever."

What You Need:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I would suggest you use a pound...then again maybe I used too much?)
1 lb breakfast sausage (I couldn't find a tube of it so I bought a pack of sausages and squeezed the meat out of the skin stuff - I'm sure that must be the technical name "skin stuff")
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large 29 oz can whole tomatoes
2 tiny 6 oz cans of tomato paste
4 tbsp dried parsley flakes (2 and 2)
2 tbsp dried basil
2 tsp salt (1 and 1)
3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (plus a few extra shakes)
1 lb mozzarella cheese slices (fairly thick slices are best)
lasagna noodles (I used the type you don't have to prepare ahead of time - easy peasy)
9 x 13 lasagna pan (or a fabulous carrot cake pan works perfectly as seen above - thanks Pam!)
skillet (I love my cast iron pan)

What You Do:

1. In a skillet, combine ground beef, breakfast sausage, and minced garlic.
2. Cook until brown.
3. Drain, drain, drain! You'll have loads of fat, get rid of at least half or prepare to drop dead due to clogged arteries - you can't say I didn't warn you.
4. Add whole tomatoes and tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes, 2 tablespoons dried basil and 1 teaspoon salt.
5. Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered, appx. 45 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Make your noodles now if you want OR cheat and use the type you don't have to pre-cook and skip this step altogether.
7. While the meat mixture and noodles are cooking, mix low-fat cottage cheese in a bowl with 2 beaten eggs.
8. To the cottage cheese, add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt and mix well.
9. Now it's time to assemble. Lay four lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, overlapping as you go.
10. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.
11. Lay 1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese slices on top of the cottage cheese mixture.
12. With the spoon, make a line through the middle of the meat mixture so you’ll distribute it evenly.
13. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese slices.
14. Repeat the process! Add another layer of four lasagna noodles and top with the remaining half of the cottage cheese mixture and another 1/2 pound of mozzarella.
15. Finish with the remaining meat mixture and spread evenly.
16. Finish it off by sprinkling a generous layer of Parmesan cheese!
17. If cooking right away stick it in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly (that's assuming you're using noodles you boiled yourself, if you use the no-cook noodles you will need to cook longer to ensure the noodles are not rock hard! I placed my finished lasagna in the refrigerator for 24 hours, and cooked it at 350 degrees for appx. 1.5 hours. YUM!

A side salad is the perfect addition to this meal. Mmm mmmm good.

Ear to Ear

Grab a cup of tea, this was meant to be a short post but it's not... Friends, babies, a new blog I love and some very cool sites are in store for you today. Enjoy!

March break is here and that alone is enough to make me smile. The main attraction this week is a much needed visit with one of my best girlfriends in the whole wide world: Jen! Only 3 more sleeps until I pick her up from the airport - YIPPEE! For the past eight years Jen has been working on cruise ships so unfortunately I don't get to see much of her. It has been a few years since I've had her all to myself for longer than an hour or two so I am super excited knowing that once I pick her up on Thursday afternoon I can hog her for 3 whole days! Wooo hoooo!

I met a fabulous new man today... he is the tiniest little guy I have ever had the pleasure of holding in my arms and his name is Carter. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me when I went to meet my friend Tamara's new baby boy but trust me when I say he is perfectly adorable. Carter was born on February 28th, he was a month early and weighed in at just over 5 lbs. He was 4 lbs something when he went home and his mommy figures he is appx 5.5 lbs today. Carter is the smallest baby I've had the pleasure of cuddling: his lips were perfect little rosebuds, his eyelashes were so teeny tiny they were barely there, his little nose was like a button (literally) and his fingers... ahhhh I better stop or soon I'll be hearing the chiming of a grandfather clock rather than the gentle tic toc I am able to ignore most days.

Here's a closeup shot of the the very simple card I made for Carter, of course I had to use a rub-on transfer:

The blue paper doesn't actually have a burnt look - not sure what's up with the color in this shot.

Other bits from my world...

I found a fabulous new blog named How About Orange which I think is strange, not the blog but the fact that I found it, because just this past weekend I mentioned to Tanya that I am really loving the colour orange lately. Why did I share that thrilling piece of info with her? Because she's the sort of girlfriend with whom I can share such useless bits of info and rather than looking at me with boredom and disgust, or simply ignoring me, as others might she acknowledged just how fabulous orange really is. Anyways, I found this new blog and think it's bloglicious.

While poking about my new fav orange blog I linked to this other amazingly wonderful site: tastespotting and let me tell you, this is one site where I see myself spending many free moments. Links to people's blogs where others have found amazing looking/tasting recipes that they stumbled upon and felt the need to share! Like this one. If you click on the tiny pic it will lead you to the blog... you could land at a blog such as this one - this recipe is not in English, you're all so lucky to have me here to state the obvious aren't you? What is says in a nutshell is: Zuccini "sushi". Grill zuccini sheets, fill with mozzarella cheese or mushroom risotto; roll it up and add color with paprika. I'm such a linguist! not really, it was written under the pic here.

Since I'm on a roll I should tell you that tastespotting led me to thisvery cool site where I see myself wasting more of my study time. On NOTCOT you'll find pics with descriptions that will lead you to cool, quirky and often just plain weird sites incyberland. The following pics were snagged from sites I found while trolling :

A close-up of the pin on this girls shirt - read description below for details.
I need one of these... seriously, I'm a slob.

Lola, a messy eater, has somehow managed again to get a
nasty stain on her shirt just before going out. But the fantastic kotztierchen'
gives the stain a purpose by simply making it part of her outfit. Lucky her!

Check out this crazy hotel in Athens, so cool!

One of the rooms you can rent:

And the hotel pool! Love it!

That's enough smiling for today. Good night!

This is...

looking out my front door.


Perfect timing for this weeks "This is..." chosen by Brooke. March certainly has come "in like a lion" here in Southern Ontario: 35 cm of the white stuff fell yesterday, a record snowfall for us. Thankfully today is a good day, the snow has stopped falling, the sun is shining and one of our very best friends brought his snowblower over to blow us out!

The first pic was taken looking out our front door and the pic above Mike snapped of me from our garage - that's our saviour Colin in the background! Corner lots certainly do have their downfalls, we have a LOT of sidewalk to maintain.

Let's hope March "goes out like a lamb" - I think we're all ready to see some green!

Are we really global citizens?

I wish I could raise my head high and state with confidence that I am a true global citizen but sadly I cannot. Honestly I rarely read the newspaper nor watch the news; I spend my spare time reading blogs rather than researching global or even local issues. The news makes me sad and leaves me feeling helpless; rather than taking the time to try and educate myself on issues and then take action, I usually turn my head and hope someone else will. Is this acceptable behaviour? I suppose in a twisted sort of way it is, I am certainly not the only person choosing this inaction, no one is going to slap my hand and force me to face the facts, no one can make me make a difference... well, no one but me.

For the first time in a very long time I feel as if there is hope for change and that I can contribute to this change.

Last night I had the pleasure of hearing Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Rawanda from 1993-1994, speak to a crowd of 2000 individuals here in my hometown. For those of you who have not seen either the documentary or the feature film Shake Hands with the Devil, rent it and watch it. Romeo Dallaire is truly an inspiration. What surprised me most while listening to General Dallaire speak was his positive outlook: even after he has witnessed such unimaginable horrors he still has faith in our global community, he has hope and believes that positive changes can and will take place around the world. General Dallaire was both positive and realistic, he did not suggest that these changes would occur over night but rather within the next few decades. Through education and action we can better the lives of millions of people (us included) while helping other countries to help themselves. We can make a difference.

Today Tanya and I had the opportunity to hear another great speaker named Debbie Bodkin . Bodkin spent time in Darfur working with the UN and now speaks of her experiences with the intent to educate the public and with the hope of helping the 2 million individuals still at risk in Darfur. Sergeant Bodkin's recollection of her time in the Sudan was eye opening; she shared stories from survivors that brought tears to my eyes and anger to my heart. Darfur is Rawanda all over again: once again the world is averting its eyes and allowing a genocide to take place.

So now what?

Now it's time to make a difference, now it's time to try and create change. I won't suggest that I am going to spend every spare moment I have being an advocate for human rights but I do intend to take some initiative, to take some personal responsibility for making our world a better place. I'm going to start by promising myself I will spend some time each day catching up on current events, I will begin writing letters on a regular basis (setting aside time to write one a week to my MP or to the PM is a good start) and I intend to find time to volunteer within my local community.

I challenge you too to become a better global citizen. What do you intend to do to make a difference?

Need some inspiration? Want to learn more about Darfur?
Here are a few sites to get you started:
Debbie Bodkin
Save Darfur Canada
Save Darfur

Frozen in NYC

This is so incredibly cool; take two minutes to check it out.
Thanks Shannon for sharing this with me.

Home Sweet Home

We're moving, what do you think of our new home?


Yeah right, as if we can afford a castle and a moat. Let's be realistic. This is the new pad:

Can you imagine? No wonder every little girl wants to be a princess: castles are cool. I want to live in a castle. Puh-lease mike! and before anyone asks, no we're not really moving

Tantalizing Tuesday - Remembering Trevor

Trevor the turkey

Easter is only a hop, skip and a jump away (insert drums here: ba dum dum ch) so I think this is a good time to share the all-time best turkey recipe with you. Next week I'll pass the secret to a fabulous giblet gravy your way.

Wow, I sound like a 70 year old woman... I can't believe I just wrote "hop, skip and a jump away" and the word "giblet" in the same paragraph.

Some of you may remember my Thanksgiving post where I honoured Trevor the turkey, and others may remember Randy Travis from Christmas. Both of these fine featherless turkeys were cooked to near perfection using a fantastic no-fault recipe that my sister-in-law Joanne shared with me. The recipe is one of the Food Diva's awesome creations... speaking of which, I'm due to hit up another cooking lesson with the Diva - she's amazing and sweet and easy to learn from. Blah blah blah, here we go.

Roast Turkey
Thanks to the Food Diva extraordinaire

What you need:
a turkey (Trev was organic and fabulous but you pay for fabulousness; Randy was an avg kind of guy who came frozen and cheap. Organic is definitely better but do what works for your budget)
whole onion (just cut ends off)
fresh thyme or sage
garlic bulb
1/4 cup melted butter
salt & pepper
Roasting pan big enough for your bird (use the rack if you have one, it makes life easier for basting and you'll be doing lots of that)

What you do:
1. Let your turkey sit on the counter for a couple hours so that he's at room temperature when you're ready to cook him
3. Preheat over to 425 degrees F
4. Cut off wing tips and reserve them for the giblet gravy you'll learn about next week. Remove wish bone (makes carving easier)
5. Stuff the neck end of bird with a whole onion, thyme or sage, whole garlic bulb (no need to remove skin), butter and season
6. Tie up the bird so the wings are tight to body using twine (this is optional - I didn't bother)
7. Rub the bird down with the melted butter (all over)
8. season well with salt & pepper and place in a roasting pan (not too big, not too small)
9. Roast turkey in over for 20 minutes
10. **Reduce heat to 350 degrees
11. Roast for appropriate amount of time (use chart below to figure out timing - BE PRECISE) and be sure to baste the bird every 20 minutes
12. Meat thermometer should read 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of thigh
13. Remove bird from roasting pan, tent with aluminum foil for a minimum of 20-30 minutes (this is important too - don't skip it)
14. Remove all the inside bits of herbs, garlic and onion and carve the sucker
15. GOBBLE GOBBLE

Basting is most important, don't try to take the easy route out and not baste. Have I made myself clear, BASTE. Set your timer and baste baste baste.

If you find your bird tanning too quickly slap a piece of aluminum foil over him while he's roasting - this will help him keep his tanning under control.

Turkey Roasting Temperatures and Times

Size Time
under 10 lb/4.5 kg 20 minutes per 1 lb/500 g plus 20 additional minutes

10-14 lb/4.5-6.5 kg 18 minutes per 1 lb/500 g

over 14 lb/6.5 kg 16 minutes per 1 lb/500 g

Don't mess with the temperature or times - trust me this is a fool proof method.

Yum for the bath

Taking a bath is one of my all-time favourite things to do. I don't have them as often as I should - before anyone makes a smart ass remark I should clarify, I do shower on a daily basis, I just don't make the time to soak in a relaxing bath as often as I would like to - the perfect bath includes candles, a cup of hot chocolate (or glass of wine), a book and some fabulous bubble bath or a bath bomb fizzing around me.

My girlfriend Cara sent me some of her fav bath melts, bombs and bar soap from LUSH this past Christmas. One word: WOW. I've used some LUSH products in the past (again, thanks to Cara) but never really understood her obsession with the company until I tried their bath products. Unbelievable!

What I didn't realize was that I could (and should) have chopped the melt & bomb in half or even thirds to make them last a few baths each. Instead I dropped the whole damn thing in and cried when my bath time came to an end because the bomb was gone. A simple solution would be to go to LUSH and purchase more, unfortunately the closest LUSH is in Toronto so my next brush with LUSH will have to wait until I head to T-dot for a shopping weekend this spring/summer.

I'm still mourning the loss of my LUSH so to soothe myself I figured I could check out Etsy and see if there are any fabulous looking bombs on there. Sure enough I found a pile of products that look good enough to eat and the shipping is less than LUSH charges. I wonder if they're as good though, maybe I'll just have to order some and find out for myself.


Butter Cream Icing and White Chocolate Cherry mini cupcake bath bombs from Feeling Smitten.

Strawberry Lemonade bath bomb by Magic Hands Workshop


Sex Appeal Sea Salt Soak with Roses by Savor who has a pile of yummy looking products I would love to try.


Another one of Savor's products I would love to get my paws on is this Caramel Brownie Batter soap. Looks good enough to eat!


And finally check out this super cute, super cool sushi soap by Midohana that comes in an adorable bunny Bento box! Love it!