What I Am Thankful For

November 27, 2013


Although I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in October, it's still go to think about what I am thankful for. Usually I say that I am thankful for my family, but this year at the supper table, I told everyone that I was thankful for the food, and I still am. I am thankful that I am able to sit down to supper -- almost -- every night with my family and eat a well balanced meal. I am thankful that we have the money to buy that well balanced meal, and I am thankful that I have my family with which to sit down and enjoy that meal.

What are you thankful for?






Thankful Link Up




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DIY: Mini Bunting Banner

November 25, 2013
Do you remember the little bunting banner that I made for my shop for the handmade market? I realised a couple of days before the show that I wasn't going to have my shop name displayed on my table, so I quickly made a mini bunting banner with my shop name on it using items that I found around the house. It's really simple if you want to make one for a birthday cake, or your own shop.



I started off by cutting a 1 3/4" thick strip of paper -- 1 1/2" was too small and 2" was too big -- but you can make it whatever size you like.

I then cut little triangles along the strip -- snipping along by alternating my scissors back-and-forth allowed me to create triangles without a template.

I used my mini hole punch to make two holes for the string to go through each small triangle on the banner, and then wrote each letter of the name of my shop on a different triangle.

I attached the string to two kabob skewers -- remember that I made this quickly with what I had in the house -- and used tape to attach it to the window that I used to display the art prints.



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5 Things You Need For Christmas

November 22, 2013
I know you're thinking it's a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but I know for a fact that many people already have their Christmas Trees up, an, if we're being honest here, there's really only about a month left until the big day. I know that postal services can take a while sometimes, so it's a good thing to start thinking about what you need for Christmas before it's too late and you're running around like mad.



1. Cute wrapping paper
2. Fun Christmas cards
3. An ugly Christmas sweater
4. Festive stamps for decorating your Christmas letters
5. Unique Christmas decorations


Hope you have an amazing weekend!



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My First Handmade Market: The Underground Market

November 18, 2013
I spent most of this past Saturday at this amazing local coffee shop. Every weekend the owner of The Underground Cafe opens up four tables at the back of his shop for local artists and vintage hunters to sell their wares. A friend of mine -- who sells the cutest button earrings -- and I set up two tables next to each other to take advantage of the people coming into the shop who may be in the market for some Christmas gifts or cards.



It ended up being the slowest day the cafe had in a month-and-a-half -- thanks to the wind and snow -- but we had a good time chatting with each other and drinking coffee and tea, and we both ended up in the black anyway. I had a lot of fun getting ready for the market and figuring out how to arrange my table, and I plan on sharing with you how I made the little bunting shop banner later on this week. I will definitely be stopping in at The Underground Market again.


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Pinterest: Baked, Eaten, Delicious!

November 13, 2013


I made this delicious recipe for cinnamon pull-apart bread a couple of weeks ago, and it was a huge hit at our house and at my in-laws -- I brought it along with us for as snack as we were watching a football game. Next time I would sprinkle a little more of cinnamon and sugar mixture all over it because I found that there was not enough in a few places.

I also made this recipe for banana bread. I am not a big fan of banana bread, but my husband absolutely loved it. He said it was very moist and soft. It was probably the nicest banana bread that I have ever made. It rose very well and ended up being quite thick. My husband likes to warm it up in the microwave and slather on some margarine. Mmmm...

If you like these recipes, check out some others that I've got on my Pinterest board called "In The Kitchen". I've been having a lot of fun trying out several of the recipes on there lately, but these two were my favourite.



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Remembrance Day: Lest We Forget

November 11, 2013


My great-grandfather was an orderly in a hospital during WWI. Once, when my Grammie, my Mom and I were going through an old box of his war things that my Grammie had just found, I stumbled upon these two photographs and asked if I could have them. I was pulled in by the stories that they told: the first photograph is the hospital he worked in after it had been bombed, and the second photograph is him and a war buddy in France -- my great-grandad is the one on the right.

I didn't want to make a blog post today, but then I remembered these photographs and I really wanted to share them with you. Even though they are only one piece of an incredibly large puzzle, it gives you an idea of what our loved ones experienced during that time. May we never experience it again.



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What I Wore: My New Leather Boots

November 08, 2013
I purchased my new leather boots to keep my ankles warm while wearing shorter pants during the cooler months -- as if it's possible for me to even have shorter pants. I must say that I love them, and they remind me of a pair of riding boots that my sister owned when we were younger. I got to take them to horse camp one year -- oh the memories that come back in the oddest of ways.



Boots: Aldo
Pants: GAP
Cardigan: Old Navy
Belt: Forever 21
Brooch: Made by Me


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5 Things On My Christmas List

November 06, 2013
Maybe it seems a bit early to some to start Christmas shopping, but not when what your purchasing comes from a shop on Etsy. It's always best to ahead of the game when it comes to buying -- or making your own -- handmade gifts. Here are a few things on my Christmas list from Etsy this year. What's on yours?



2. If You Think You Can Print
3. Felted Pebbles
4. Mini Art Feeling - Ambitious
5. Pink Cats Polka Dot Tank Top


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What I Learned From The Ocean

November 04, 2013
Like most things, I never really understood the ocean until I experienced it myself. Now looking at this photo I am quickly transported back to the exhilarating experience that I had while surfing. It was during my time in this vast body of water that I learned some important lessons.



Before we began our surfing lesson, my husband and I went for a swim on a nearby beach. My husband was having fun jumping off the bit of an edge that the surf had created in the sand, and I was building a little sand creation with a flat top on which I was placing pieces of shell that were washing up on the beach. There were some amazing colours of shells, and even some sea glass particles that I discovered. But what I soon realised was that although the ocean was giving me these amazing things, it was washing them away even more quickly than I could grab them, and I learned that what the ocean gives, it can quickly take away. We noticed this too as the beaches looked different every morning after the water had crashed upon it over and over again the day before.

During our surfing lesson our instructor told us that, if we caught a good wave and had to swim back to him, we should swim up the side of the waves instead of crashing through them. I had an amazingly good ride on my first wave, and was making my way back towards my husband and our instructor when I quickly forgot what he had told us. I didn't understand. I had never been in the ocean before and this was my first experience with any natural waves -- let-a-lone 10 foot waves. The only thing I remembered him telling me was to push my body up off the board as a large wave approached me so that the water would go between me and my board.

I had been attempting to swim back to them for several minutes and wave after wave after wave kept crashing into me. I was exhausted from attempting to paddle back to them, and it felt like the waves were pushing me even farther back to shore and I wasn't going anywhere. Several times I laid my head down on the board in frustration, ready to give up, but then something in me kept pushing me to get my arms moving again. The last time that I laid my head down I actually said aloud to myself: "No! Keep going." It was then that my instructor showed up and towed me back to our spot. After that I remembered to swim around the waves and I had no more troubles.

I learned something important about myself that day: I had literally experienced that proverbial situation where people talk about not giving up when the waves are crashing down on you, and I did not give up. I learned from the ocean that I have a strength in me that I did not know was there.



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Make It Yourself: Apple Pie Recipe

November 01, 2013


I love apple pie. If I had to choose one desert to eat for the rest of my life, it would be apple pie. don't get me wrong, I love peach pies too, but apple pie just seems to hit the right spot with my tummy and all the right memories from growing up.

Start off by making your favourite pastry, and then peel and cut up about four Granny Smith apples -- the sour green ones. Add 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, 3 1/2 teaspoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon -- or a bit more if you like the taste of it -- and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Stir it all together and pour into your pie shell that's ready to go. Cook it in the oven at 350F for about 40-45 minutes, and enjoy the aroma as it bakes! Yum :)




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