Little Red Wagon #152 - Inspiration Photo

This week Joanne is challenging us to create something based on this inspiration photo:

Isn't it gorgeous?

I used the colour black from the door, kraft/rustic twine inspired by the grapevine pumpkins,white from the siding and then, of course, pumpkins to create this card:

So dig into those wagons and link up your creation at Little Red Wagon! We love to see what you create!

Master Bathroom Mood Board

Some of you may already know that we're in the process of renovating two of our bathrooms.

We've started the master ensuite bathroom and closet area which expanded into the master bedroom(!).

The renovation has gone relatively well, some electrical issues were uncovered and unfortunately the vanity top arrived broken but the end is near, much of the finishing will be done next week.

I've taken before, during and will take after photos to share but today will share a mood board I created that shows the overall feel I'm going for.

Master bathroom by srdreyer on Polyvore

This is the first mood board I've created and followed the directions from House*Tweaking to create it on Polyvore.

The photo of the vanity, sconce and faucet are the ones we are installing. The shower has one full wall of glass tile(the tile shown above isn't the exact one chosen but is close) with side walls and ceiling in white beveled subway tile. The walls of the bathroom are tiled half way up in the subway tile then finished with a ceramic chair rail. The walls are painted in Tranquility by Benjamin Moore(1 above). This colour is actually extremely close to our hall colour but I like it. The vanity top is going to be carrera marble,the floor is a carrera look tile. The second paint colour is Stonington Grey by Benjamin Moore that we have used in the new walkthrough closet area and bedroom.

So there it is, what do you think?

Happy 21st Birthday Brianne!

I'm not quite sure where the years have gone but my daughter Brianne turns 21 today!

And as she likes the Stamping Bella stamps I coloured one up for her:

Happy Birthday Brianne, I couldn't be more proud of the lovely young lady you are!

And because I couldn't resist, here's a little flashback from 20 years ago:

Little Red Wagon # 151 - Thinking of You

For this week's Little Red Wagon challenge Dee has suggested the theme of Thinking of You.

I dug some Basic Grey paper out of my wagon to create this card:

So dig into those wagons and link up your Thinking of You creation over at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create!

Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook

This summer I was approached by by a publisher, Robert Rose, to preview some books that will be published this fall.

I was interested in a few the first of which is Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook. I already have a few Best of Bridge cookbooks and everything I've made from them has been terrific.

The Ladies of the Best of Bridge are headed towards retirement but wanting their legacy to last, they teamed up and passed the baton to Sally Vaughn-Johnston. The majority of the recipes are Sally's but were tested and critiqued by the Ladies.

This cookbook shares slow cooker staples like soups and stews but also shows new ways to use your slow cooker to make baked pasta, breads, puddings, and much more.

So far I've tested one recipe and it was one that caught my attention right away as it is my daughter's Brittany's favourite foods, Pulled Pork.

It can be served on a bun but I decided to serve it with corn and roasted okra.

And it was a definite winner, I'll make it again!

Here's the recipe;

4 T brown sugar
3 T paprika
1 T chili powder
1 T dry mustard
1 tsp salt
3 lb boneless pork shoulder blade, cut into 4 chunks
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 cups tomato based chili sauce
3 T cider vinegar
1 T soy sauce

Use a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Combine 1T brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, mustard and salt. Rub over all sides of pork, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Place pork in slow cooker. Whisk together soup mix and broth, pour over pork, cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours until pork shreds easily with a fork. Transfer pork to plate and let cool slightly. Using spoon remove excess fat from surface of sauce. Pour sauce into large pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until syrupy. Stir in remaining brown sugar, cayenne,chili sauce, vinegar and soy sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavours, adjust seasoning with with salt and cayenne if desired. Meanwhile transfer pork to a cutting board and using two forks, shred pork, placing it in a serving bowl. pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pork, turning to combine. Serve pork with extra sauce for dipping.

I'm sure all the other recipes in this book will be just as yummy as this one and can't wait to try some more.

And if you are looking for slow cooker recipes you should check this book out!

Little Red Wagon #150 - Hexagons

This week it is my turn to set the challenge at Little Red Wagon and I selected  a theme that is all the rage right now, hexagons!

And I couldn't make just one card, I had to make two, both that use Papertrey products(dies and stamps).

And I have to say that I love hexagons!

So if you can, please join us over at Little Red Wagon with your hexagon inspired creation, we love to see what you create!

Muffin Recipes

A couple of weeks ago I made a few different types of muffins. I had peaches and cherries to use and I also needed goodies to take to work for my birthday.

They were all yummy and , of course, because they are muffins, were easy to make.

First up is an old standby, Banana Muffins(left), from Muffin Mania:

3 large bananas
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Mash bananas. Add sugar and slightly beaten egg. Add the melted butter, then the dry ingredients. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Next are Praline Peach muffins (centre)from Sallie at Texas Cottage blog, lots of people liked these:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh peaches
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400.Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in peaches and pecans. Fill cups muffin cups two-thirds full.

Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon cold butter

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.

And finally my favourite, Cherry Almond Muffins(right)from King Arthur flour.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cherries, pitted, coarsely chopped, and drained
1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon almond extract
granulated sugar

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Sift together dry ingredients and add them to butter/sugar mixture alternately with milk. Stir in almond extract, then gently fold in almonds and cherries.
Spoon muffin batter into 12 greased muffin cups; cups will be quite full. Sprinkle each muffin with a little granulated sugar, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 30 minutes, or until muffins test done.

Do you have a favourite go to muffin recipe?

Little Red Wagon # 149 - Back To school

This week Regan is challenging us to a back to school theme.

I dug into my wagon for the small popcorn container die by Lifestyles crafts that I've had for sometime and still had not used to create a back to school treat:

I then embellished it with items from Papertrey's It's Official stamp set. I added flowers made from an old dictionary too.

So dig into your wagons and join us at Little Red Wagon with your back to school themed item, we love to see what you create.

Silver Cream and Sugar Bathroom Accessories

Over the past few months, we've been planning an ensuite bathroom, master closet and main bathroom overhaul.

This past week the demo of the ensuite bathroom and master closet began.

I'll be sure post before, during and after pics in future posts.

Of course in all the planning I found a really unique idea on Pinterest for bathroom accessories, silver cream and sugars!

And when browsing at Value Village recently, I found two sets for under $8 each!

I polished them up and here they are:

Cute idea eh? I can't wait to see how they look on the new vanity!

A Good Long Weekend

It's been a good long weekend.

We visited the market.

Enjoyed fresh flowers purchased at the market.

Relaxed in the backyard.

Visited an outdoor antique market in Aberfoyle.

Had dinner and played cards with friends.

Learned a new game called Hoss

Cooked with quinoa.

Sorted through old magazines.

What did you do this long weekend?

Watermelon Salad

Over the long weekend in early August I spent the weekend scrapbooking at Memories Manor with friends.

As always we had a great time, lots of scrapbooking, laughing and good food!

And a highlight at the end of the weekend is when Jan shares the recipes of the foods served.

She made a watermelon salad that on the surface doesn't seem that appetizing but when put all together is really good. I finally made it this week:

And here's the recipe:

3 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 cup cucumber, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup crumbled mild feta cheese
2 T fresh mint(I didn't have fresh so used 1 tsp dried)
2 T balsamic vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately.

Little Red Wagon #148 - Numbers Game

Time for another Little Red Wagon challenge!

This week Judy is challenging us to use numbers on our project.

I made a gift tag using a stamp that features the number 4.

So dig into those wagons for those number themed items and link up your project at Little Red Wagon.

We love to see what you create!

A Quick Thank You Card - CFC67

Just popping in with a quick card I made for this week's Casual Friday challenge to use banners or flags:

And I broke into my new Stampin' Up Apothecary Art stamp set too!

Thanks for looking!

Peach Salsa

It's the time of the year when there is lots of fresh produce available which I love.

Brianne was in the Niagara area recently and brought home a whole bunch of peaches.

She made cobbler but we still had a lot of peaches to use.

Then as I was looking through my blog reader I found a recipe for peach salsa at I Am Baker.

And it uses cilantro which I happen to like.

So I made it:

And it was yummy!

Here's the recipe(I doubled it):

1 cup cubed fresh peaches
1/3 finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Place all chopped ingredients in a bowl and squeeze lime juice over top. Season with salt and pepper. Can serve immediately, but this salsa is even better the next day!

Little Red Wagon Challenge # 147 - Upcycle!

This week Tammy is challenging us to upcycle by using a household item on our creation.

I used toothpicks for the flags on the card below:

And I love the large sentiment created from a PTI stamp set I borrowed from my friend Kathryn.

So dig through those household items and link up your creation at Little Red Wagon. We love to see what you create.

Blooming in the Garden - Late August

After an extremely hot and dry June/July, the gardens got some rain in August which has really perked everything up!

The Bella Anna hydrangea is beautiful, you can just see the tinges of pink in the photo, it looks way better in real life.

And an old-fashioned stand-by, Blackeyed Susans.

This pot of impatiens is almost entirely hidden by Annabelle hydrangeas.

The fuschia is still hanging in there (teehee), love the combo of the two types.

And the impatiens in the birdbath have finally settled in, they looked pretty straggly for a while.

The basil doesn't have any blooms now because I cut them off to encourage leaf growth. And I had to share a photo of it as this is the best it has every been( I grow it every year), it loved the dry hot weather.

And finally, we have tried various plants in this window frame with varied success.  This year we used geraniums, which of course didn't mind the hot weather as long as we kept them watered.  I will definitely use geraniums again.

I'm so pleased with all the colour still in the August garden, do you have a favourite August bloom?

And linking up to Bloomin' Tuesday for the first time ever.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday August 19, 2012

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to do one of my status posts but did want to get back to them, they're fun to look at again later.

I'm currently:

Listening to Love It Or List It as well as Brittany making popcorn.
Eating licorice drops.
Drinking water.
Wearing comfy clothes.
Feeling a bit tired after a busy day.
Weather was gorgeous today, sunny and not too hot.
Wanting longer weekends, I always plan to do way more than I actually accomplish.
Needing to plan more realistic to do lists for the weekend ;)
Thinking that Kijiji is a great way to sell no longer needed items. We have had some success selling some things the past couple of weekends.
Enjoying the gardens after the recent rains, I was able to cut a couple of bouquets today. The one above is arranged in a blue ball vintage canning jar I found at an antique market.
And here is the second,I particularly enjoy drying hydrangeas for the house.:

So what is up with you, I would love to hear, so please leave a comment if you would like to share.