Roadmap to Spending Christmas Alone and a Christmas Tree for One

 Hello Friends! Today’s the first day of “new” restrictions. I say “new” in quotation marks because this isn’t our first rodeo is it? Thus far, December has gone by in solitude and it is likely that Christmas will be spent alone as well. I wrote about spending Christmas alone last year.  If you are in the same boat as me, fear not. It truly isn’t that bad. In fact, it can be a time of inner reflection and contemplation. Relieved of the pressures of having to buy gifts for difficult family members, juggling the inevitable family squabbles and trying to come up with multiple menus for people with different requirements, it is possible to actually discover the peace and joy that lies at the heart of Christmas.

I stopped putting up a real tree a few years ago. It was just too physically arduous for one person. I have several tabletop ceramic trees that I adore bringing out but it really isn’t possible to stack gifts under or around them. I don’t have a modern artificial tree either due to a severe lack of storage space. Last year, I tried stringing lights around my miniature indoor palm tree but it just looked like a sad, feeble rendition of a Christmas tree. For some reason, I forgot about the vintage artificial tree that was buried in a closet. I had never actually assembled it and just assumed that it was a short miniature tree because of the size of the box. Imagine my delight when I hauled it out and put it together. Fully assembled, it is a little over 6 feet. The genius of it is that it packs down into a very small, lightweight flat box, perfect for a lone person with no storage. I have been collecting bird ornaments for years and lo and behold, I had exactly enough for my bird themed tree. There is something so sweet and charming about a vintage tree. It is miles away from its modern, over the top counterpart. Of course all trees are lovely in their own way but a vintage tree has that indefinable charm of yesteryear before rampant consumerism took hold of our collective consciousness. 

After a panic stricken 5 minutes thinking I had neither angel or star, I remembered that I DID have angel.  So up the top, she went. How can you not love that face?

Just because you are the spending the holidays alone, doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in festive cheer. Bring out those cherished decorations and string up those twinkly lights! The goal is to make your home a sanctuary and a haven. 
So tell me, do you prefer a real or an artificial tree? Angel or star?

How To Make A Snow Globe

 Hello Friends! Can you believe that Christmas is steadily marching closer and closer?  Today I have another Christmas craft to share with you. As the title of this post suggests, it is a snow globe. What could be more magical than making your own snow globe that you fill with meaningful memorabilia? It makes an unusual and thoughtful gift as well.

You will need:

A small glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Jars with an interesting shape provide visual interest.

Small figures that are waterproof to create your tableau

Cold water

Glitter or sequins

Glycerin: this is optional but it helps to keep the glitter or sequins stay suspended in the water

Hot Glue Gun

Instructions:

Use a hot glue gun to glue your figures to the underside of the lid. Fill the jar with cold water. Add the glitter or sequins. I used large silver glitter in mine. Add a few drops of glycerin to the water. You may wish to glue the lid to the jar as well to provide extra security.

I have found that setting aside time to engage in crafts has had a wonderful nurturing effect on me. What sort of crafts have you been doing lately?

Christmas Gift Ideas Crafting with Felts

 Hello Friends! It’s been a long while since my last post. I needed a break to take care of my mental health. It just got to a point where I needed time to do a lot of soul searching and healing. Lately, I have been discovering the calming effects of crafting. I can forget all of my worries for awhile. It feels so satisfying to create something with my hands.

I have always had a fascination with pincushions. It is such an unsung hero in the crafter’s toolbox. Swallows symbolize a safe return home and, as we are spending so much time at home these days, I wanted to add a swallow to my pincushion.

Pets are such an integral part of home and family life, aren’t they? I designed a pincushion to reflect that as well. This pincushion above which I called “Cat Love” features a cat playing with a ball of yarn (a vintage button). 

With my creative juices flowing, I have been busily crafting felt flowers that multitask as brooches and hair clips as well.

I just think there is something so sweet and wholesome about painstakingly crafting a gift to give away. It truly is a gift from the heart.

Simple and Easy Egg Bites

 Hello Friends! My obsession with my bento box continues apace.  I am sure that like me, the endless days of sheltering in place have meant that meals have become a blur and not only that, a boring, burdensome chore.  Put your hand up if delivery of meals and takeout became a way of relieving the tedium instead of an occasional treat.  Pulling out my bento box again (which I wrote about here) forced me to get creative.  I decided to make a batch of delicious egg bites, sometimes called egg muffins, to stow into the box.  They are incredibly easy to whip up and are great for breakfast or a quick snack. I used extra large silicone muffin cups but a muffin tray would work as well.

Grease the interior of the cups.  I needed 8 large eggs for 6 cups.  Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl.

I do love cheese so I mixed in 2 large handfuls of grated cheddar cheese to the eggs.  I also layered in diced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and peas.  A couple twists of the pepper grinder were added as well. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until the tops are crisp. I filled the cups halfway as the egg mixture puffed up to the edge of the cups but when I took them out of the oven they deflated.  Place them on a rack until they have cooled down.

Truly, you need almost no skill level whatsoever to make these yummy snacks and it is a good way to sneak some veggies into your diet.

Egg bites are the perfect size to tuck into a bento box or your child's lunchbox.

 

I added a pesto pasta to my bento box that day as well.  I am on the lookout for smaller sized silicone cups as the extra large ones are a tad too tall to fit into my bento box.  The silicone cups are a handy way of partitioning off food in a bento or lunch box if it doesn't come with compartments or dividers.  If you try this recipe, let me know!

Simple Bento Box Lunch

 Hello Friends!  I know, I know, it has been awhile.  Long story short, my car was vandalized.  It just threw me into a tailspin.  I had been laying low and following all the guidelines.  Yet somehow, even though I did my best to stay out of trouble, trouble found me.  It was all too much after the 18 months and counting of stress and tension.  There has been a huge spike in crime where I live and you can literally feel the tension in the air.  It took a long time for me to feel "okay."  I dove headfirst into emotional eating and my health really suffered as a result.  Today, I decided to pull out my old bento box.  Bento boxes are a great tool for portion control.  Packing a meal into a bento box forces you to think mindfully about the contents as well.

Even though I am not Japanese, I do know that presentation is everything especially when it comes to bento boxes.  After all, you feast with your eyes first.  This isn't for a child so I didn't emphasize the "kawaii" element when assembling it although I couldn't resist making a smiley face with tomato slices.  I have a double layered Takenaka bento box so I added snack items to the top box like frozen avocado and mango chunks and edamame pods.  If you prepare it in the morning, by the time lunchtime rolls around, the frozen chunks have defrosted enough to provide a delightfully chilled summer snack.  The dividers really come in handy for organizing the contents.  The main meal is steamed rice, tuna with mayonnaise, peas and tomato slices.  It was incredibly easy to prepare with zero cooking skills required.   I must say that even if you are still working from home, lunching from a thoughtfully prepared bento box will guarantee to put a smile on your face.

Lemon Zest Scones

 Happy Easter, friends!  I hope you are having a lovely long weekend.  We have been plunged into another lockdown after a scant few weeks of freedom but easing into it with Easter long weekend makes the medicine go down a tiny bit more easily.  I have been debating what to do with the lemon slices preserved in syrup that I wrote about here and thought that the aromatic and zingy zest would be wonderful in scones.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1/2 heavy cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 handful of lemon zest, enough to flavour the dough and for a pinch on top of each scone

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat

3) Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the butter, cutting the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork.

4) Add in the heavy cream, egg and vanilla extract.  Add in the lemon zest, reserving enough of the zest to allow for a pinch of zest on top of each scone.

5) Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work it into a ball, then flatten the ball into a 7" circle.  Cut the dough into 8 equal sized wedges and place them on the silicone baking sheet.

5) Place a pinch of zest on the top of each wedge.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and the scones are cooked through.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

I love my scones with marmalade as the lemon zest marries well with the citrus flavours of marmalade.  Happy Easter baking!

  

Diving into Slow Living with Lemons in Sugar Syrup

 Hello Friends!  We are all spending more time than ever in our kitchens and homes in general.  It took a while for me to fully embrace my home and this new state of being as there was so much fear and uncertainty in the early days.  But now I have come to accept it as a blessing in disguise.  I am so much more intentional with my actions these days and have a newfound appreciation for food and where it comes from. I have been trying to pick up new skills such as preserving food which I believe to be an integral part of the slow food and slow living movement.   I have always been scared of preserving what with having to faff about with a giant pot of boiling water and countless jars to sterilize.  As well, this was a skill that I had never been taught or exposed to when I was growing up.  But one way to get around this fear is is to do small batches, just one or two jars at a time.  I had been gifted a bag of lemons so this was the perfect opportunity to try preserving lemons in sweet syrup.

Just focusing on one jar makes it less intimidating for a newbie like me. In this case, I used a 500 ml jar and sterilized it first with boiling water.

I managed to get 3 sliced lemons in there.  I made the sugar syrup by dissolving a half cup of sugar into 300 mls of boiling water.  I then poured the hot syrup over the lemons leaving 1 cm of headspace.  I think I need some sort of weight to keep the slices from floating upwards.  The syrup is supposed to completely cover the slices but without something to weigh them down, this wasn't possible.  Any expert jam makers, pickle makers or preservers of food out there, please let me know if there is such a thing as a weight or stone that doesn't react with the food, available or if you have any ideas for what I could use to weigh down the slices.

 

Here is my very first jar of lemons in syrup!  The brightness of the lemons had infused the syrup after just a couple of days.  It really is like sunshine in a jar.  There isn't any of the bitterness found in commercially prepared products.  The lemon slices are lovely in a cup of tea or as a garnish on a sweet dessert.  The syrup and slices stirred into some sparkling water make a deliciously refreshing drink.  I keep the jar in the refrigerator and seeing it there gives me a tremendous amount of pleasure and satisfaction.

February 2021 Monthly Favourites Apple Pen and Lamy Fountain Pen

 Hello Friends! Welcome to another Monthly Favourites.  Let's jump right in.  I had been wanting an Apple Pen for a while so when I saw a sale on Amazon, it didn't take long for me to place it in my shopping basket.

My city is still in lockdown and we are still living under a Stay at Home order.  We spend so much time indoors now, online.  I figured having the Pen would increase the functionality of my tablet and possibly decrease the amount of sticky fingerprints accumulating on the screen. I was worried about the authenticity of the Pen as I was ordering it off Amazon and not through the Apple store but, as far as I can tell, it is the real thing. 

At the same time, I also ordered this amazing fountain pen.

I love the fact that it is transparent and you can see the ink level in the cartridge.  I grew up using a fountain pen in school.  However, using this Lamy fountain pen is light years away from the dodgy one that I was forced to use by my old school.  I remember fiddling with the school mandated fountain pen for hours trying to get the scratchy nib to work.  It was such a relief to use a ballpoint when I left that school.  It is funny how circular life is.  Being at home all day, every day, has brought to the forefront issues that I had never really had time to mull over.  I had just put up with using crappy disposable pens for a long time.  As so much is done digitally these days, I didn't see the need to buy pens.  After all, there are many freebie pens floating around.  Funnily enough, it was buying the futuristic Apple Pen that spurred me to get an "oldschool" fountain pen.  I liked the fact that it was refillable so it wasn't a disposable, one use only product.  The nib is so smooth. Writing in my daily planner has become an intentional, meditative act that fills me with great joy.  I pay a lot more attention to my penmanship which has tilted towards the illegible due to my increasing reliance on the digital.  The irony that I invested in a digital pen at the same time as a "manual" fountain pen didn't hit me until I received them. Ha! The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Subscribe so you never miss a post.  Note that Google Reader is no longer operational so signing up for an RSS feed is your best bet.

January 2021 Monthly Favourites The Boy The Mole The Fox and The Horse and Erbario Toscano Reed Diffuser

 Welcome Friends!  Time for another monthly favourites.  It is the start of a new year and yet it seems like it is just a continuation of 2020.  Do you feel the same way?  Because I spent so much time at home,  I really dove deep into my heart and soul.  I worked on myself and came to a few fundamental truths about dealing with toxicity in my life.  I will deal with that in a separate post because the topic needs a post of its own.  I am sure that, like many people around the world, 2020 drove home to us what really matters in life.  And if you have toxic people in your life who, after 2020, still cannot find it within themselves to exercise a modicum of kindness and generosity to the people around them, then you are permitted to shield yourself from people like that.  2020 shone a spotlight on the few people who were true friends in my life.  Speaking of friends, a good friend of mine sent me this wonderful book after she heard me raving about it.

This book is, of course, Charles Mackesy's The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse.  It is a collection of drawings accompanied by conversational bon mots between, of course, a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse as they wander around the English countryside.  I think that the first time I read it, tears poured down my face.  It reminded me so much of my soul relationship with a dear departed fur pet.  That pet was my soulmate.  I was so damaged back then, and through my relationship with him, I discovered the unplumbed depths of love, compassion, understanding, friendship that were within me.  There isn't a straightforward plot or a conventional narrative in The Boy, the mole... but I would put it in the same stable as The Alchemist, Le Petit Prince and The Tao of Pooh.  The audiobook, whilst it doesn't have the magical drawings of the hard copy version, is equally magical in its own right as it is narrated by Charles Mackesy himself and is delightfully scored as well as accompanied with the sounds of nature.

Another Christmas gift from a different friend was this reed diffuser by Erbario Toscano.  

I popped it on a little shelf in the bathroom.  You can see it has already gone down by half in just a month which is the fastest of any reed diffuser I have tried and doesn't have a wide scent throw.  I wrote about making your own reed diffusers during Blogmas here.  I do love this one though.  It is the Spicy Vanilla which smells like an expensive men's cologne.   I have become obsessed with anything that creates a cozy, comforting home environment.  It is safe to say that my nesting instincts are in full throttle. 

How did your January go? 

The Weekly Roundup The Ordinary Concealer Review

 Welcome to another Weekly Roundup.  It has been a slow start to the year.  We are still in lockdown 3.0 in the Big Smoke.  I think I went a wee bit overboard with the cleaning.  I added in a common laundry additive that was supposed to boost the cleaning and brightening power of my laundry detergent.  Unfortunately, my zealousness resulted in a horrid case of hives that covered me from the neck down to my ankles.  I have used a hypoallergenic detergent for decades without any other additives so I am not sure what I was thinking.  As we have been sheltering in place for almost a year, I think I have become a tad OCD with housework.  If you suffer from allergies, then you can understand that for the last 3 weeks, all I have had on my mind is managing the itching and trying to bring the hives, swelling, and rash under control. 

Never mind, enough of my woes.  I do have something new to take my mind off the ever present desire to scratch at the hives which is the long awaited release of The Ordinary's concealer.  Currently, I am using Jouer's concealer which I talked about here.  I do like it but I am not in love with it as it dries down incredibly fast so there is no blend time at all.  

At 8 ml and an incredibly affordable $5.80 CAD, one can try it out without worrying about wasting a heap of money if the shade is not right.   It is always a bit tricky when trying to choose the right shade online, however, The Ordinary offers an impressive 36 shade range. I chose 1.2N. which is a fair shade with neutral undertones.  I think I could have gone a step darker but I think a light shade is fine for covering up dark undereye circles.   I don't have a lot of opportunity to wear much makeup these days but having a concealer that makes me looks somewhat healthy and alive on Zoom meetings is a must.

The concealer is described as "high coverage."  It does a very good job of covering my dark undereye circles.  There is enough slip so that it blends easily.  I would say that it sits somewhere in the middle of a matte and a dewy finish.  I used Hylamide SubQ Eyes serum before using the concealer.  However, the concealer still settled into the dry patches and fine lines so I might need a more intense moisturizer in the future.  On the plus side, the concealer is alcohol, oil, silicone, nut, gluten and cruelty free and is vegan.  

The tube comes with a long thin nozzle. I am used to using a doe foot applicator.  However, the nozzle allows for a precise controlled use of the product as a tiny amount goes a long way.  

As you can see, it does a more than adequate job of covering the red spots (from my rash) on my hand.  I didn't put any moisturizer or primer on beforehand so you can see that it will highlight lines and creases even though the product description states that it doesn't settle into fine lines.

Overall, I am very pleased with this concealer.  And really, at this price point, one can't complain.  It does the job and I think it will be a true workhorse in my makeup routine.

Making the Most of 2021 New Stay At Home Exercise Routine

 Happy New Year and welcome back!  I really needed a break after doing Blogmas.  The province that I am in declared a State of Emergency this week (again) and issued a Stay at Home Order starting today.  Every time this happens, my emotional state tends to dip down a bit.  It's a bit of a rough start to the year but I am determined to make the most of 2021.

I received this exercise bicycle for Christmas.  I didn't ask for it and it was a huge surprise.  I had basically stopped going on hikes due to a couple of heavy snowfalls so my exercise regimen (already quite minimal) had taken a hit.  This bike uses magnets instead of an oldfashioned chain so it is really quiet. It has a digital readout screen to estimate calories burned and distance "travelled."  

The bike also has a pair of bungee cords for working out one's arms.  To be honest, I usually find workouts to be really boring which is why I prefer getting out into nature.  To encourage myself to stick with working out on the bike, I balance my tablet on top and put on a wildlife or travel documentary.  Like many people, the pandemic pounds crept up on me.  There is no doubt that I overindulged massively in emotional eating.  As we have been sheltering in place for almost a year now (!!), I hope to continue working out at home and doing what I can to maintain my health.

Have you been battling the pandemic pounds as well?

Blogmas Day 24 Christmas Eve Preparations

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 24!  Only one more sleep to go, yay!  I truly can't believe I made it to the last day.  Truth be told, there were a few instances when I thought of skipping a day or two.  I am so glad that I persevered.  

I did have to go rushing out again to get a few things that I had forgotten.  For example, I needed to pick up some red wine for the pot roast I am planning.  

I picked up some clementines as well.  Clementines just say Christmas to me.  I also picked up this jar of cranberry orange sauce.  This was the only jar of any type of cranberry sauce left in the store.  If you have ever had cranberry orange sauce before, let me know.  

Yes, I do have a couple of very, very last minute gifts to get. I know, I know. I am thinking of digital subscriptions to magazines and newspapers.  There is no waste and it is a gift that keeps on giving.

Wishing you a Lovely, Healthy and Safe Christmas!  Thank you so much for following along with Blogmas.  It is the first time I have ever done Blogmas here on the old bloggity blog.   It gave a much needed rhythm to my days.  Even though this year has been deeply challenging on many levels, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for what I have.  Just remember that if you are alone at Christmas, please reach out,  I am sure that one of my readers would be more than happy to start a supportive conversation.  If there is anything you want me to write about next year, please let me know.  I will see you on the flip side.

Blogmas Day 23 Last Minute Gifts for Children and Tweens

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 23!  Every Christmas, I always promise myself that I will be more organized and not get sucked into a shopping frenzy but inevitably, at the last minute, I get a case of nerves and worry that I didn't get the right gift or the perfect gift or that whatever I did get just isn't good enough.  If anything, this year has taught us what is really important in life.  But still, I was beset by doubts.  This is what happens when you are surrounded by extra demanding people. It doesn't help that we are in lockdown.  Even doing curbside pickup is fraught with difficulty because although the website may say something is in stock and is available for pickup, when you go to checkout, the pickup time is weeks away because the store has to ship it over from another store or warehouse.

I went racing over to the local pharmacy today as I knew they had children's toys.  The shelves looked like a herd of elephants had gone stampeding through.  I wrote about Lego on Day Three.  The Lego boxes that you see above were literally the last ones on the shelf.  

I have no idea what to get a tween, do you?  If you have any ideas, please let me know.  They aren't properly teenagers but they aren't very young children either.  Jenga is a classic game that the whole family can play.  It was also the last one on the shelf.  I picked up a couple of Star Wars Pez Candy as stocking stuffers and, yes, you guessed it, they were the last ones.  Thank goodness for late night pharmacies! I had an elaborate blog post planned for Day 23 but I had to be honest and keep it real.  I also got groceries.  All the essential stores had massive lineups outside.  By the time I got home, I felt completely and utterly shattered.  I had an elaborate blog post planned for Day 23 but I had to be honest and keep it real. 

Only 2 more sleeps until Christmas!  How are you doing with your preparations?

Subscribe and share.

Blogmas Day 22 Planning for 2021

Welcome to Blogmas Day 22!  Every year, I get a new Moleskine planner which I have written about here.  It is something I enjoy and look forward to.  The sight of those blank pages feels me with anticipation.  Truth be told, I did hesitate this time.  Months of dealing with the pandemic and one lockdown after another has rendered me immobile with emotional fatigue.  What was the point of planning anything when the future seemed so uncertain?

There is no doubt that I have been relying more and more on the calendar in my phone.  However, I will always be an analog girl at heart and need to jot down my plans on paper.  When I saw the forest green colour of the pocket version. I couldn't resist. I always get the same style where the days of the week are on the left and there is a blank, lined page on the right.   You will see that the planners are still in the plastic wrapping as I haven't opened them yet.  I have put them in my stocking as my yearly treat to myself.

Hopefully, when I open them up on January 1st, I can move forward with optimism.

Share and subscribe.

Blogmas Day 21 Alone At Christmas

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 21!  With the expected announcement today that the lockdown had been extended,  I wanted to talk about the dreaded prospect of being alone at Christmas.  Christmas is already a very fraught time but throw in enforced isolation and all bets are off. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Yes, I have spent Christmas alone in the past but I didn't feel lonely.  There is a big difference between alone and lonely.  I still decorated my home.  I made sure to stock my kitchen with all of my favourite foods.  I watched my favourite holiday movies which I wrote about here.  I bought myself a couple small things that I needed and wanted and put them aside for Christmas Day.  I made an effort to be kind to myself.  Basically, I prepared for it as if I was going to have guests over except I was the honored guest.  I have had terrible Christmas' in the past as well with out of control people.  There is always someone who decides to drink way too much or someone who decides to stir the pot and air grievances from the last 30 years. So I know from experience that Christmas is not so much about the people you are with but the feeling from deep within of peace and plenty.  If you have made it to the end of this extraordinary year with your health and sanity intact, then give yourself a huge pat on the back!  If you have furbabies, I don't need to tell you what a Godsend they are.  If you don't, going for a walk, admiring the trees and feeding the squirrels at the park really reconnects you with Nature and the cycle of life.  Just remember, I am here too.  Unfortunately, Blogger seems to have taken away the reply to comment functionality but send me a comment or a message via the Contact Page if you want to reach out.

Blogmas Day 20 DIY Handmade Christmas Crackers How To Guide

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 20!  I love the concept of Christmas crackers but the reality of them has always been a bit of a letdown.  The store bought ones tend to have silly useless trinkets inside them that invariably end up in the trash.  Homemade crackers where you choose the surprise are so much better.  I chose to make mine with tea towels as they can be added to a table setting and used as napkins.  Best of all, the tea towels can be reused instead of being thrown away once the cracker has been opened.

You will need:

Cardboard rolls

Ribbons

Tea Towels

Small gifts or sweets to fill the cracker

Optional: Christmas cracker snaps.

Cut the roll to size.  I cut mine to approximately 1/3 the width of the towel.  Fill the cardboard roll with the surprise or treat. I chose toys like a miniature BMW (one can only wish), and hand cream mini's. You could fill the cardboard roll with delicious bonbons as well.

 Roll the towel around the cardboard.  I love using tea towels with a monogrammed initial on it as you can match the letter to the name of the family member.  Make sure that the initial is facing up and outwards. 

 I used tea towels with an embroidered Dala horse as well as they are so much fun for a child's place setting.  Tie a ribbon at eachend of the cardboard roll. 

Of course, you can also use leftover giftwrap as well.  The great thing about this craft is that you can use up what you have on hand such as cardboard rolls from giftwrap, paper towels and even toilet paper.  These tea or dish towel Christmas crackers are sure to enliven your festive tablescape.

Share and subscribe!

Blogmas Day 19 Sunset Mimosa Recipe

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 19!  I picked up a bottle of rose sparkling wine from my favourite winery.  I don't usually buy rose as rose drinkers tend to be viewed as slightly naif.  But I am far from being a wine snob and for some reason, the deep blush hue just spoke to me.  It made me think of tropical sunsets, sunny days and happier times.  Plus, I couldn't find the usual sparkling wine from Jacob's Creek on the shelf.

I think that it would be perfect with orange juice on Christmas Day.  What could be more festive than a mimosa with brunch on Christmas Day?

Sunset Mimosa

Ingredients:

Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Orange Juice

Grenadine

Optional Garnishes:  Strawberries 

Combine 1 part Champagne or Sparkling Wine with 1 part orange juice with enough Grenadine to produce a sunset hue.  If you are using rose sparkling wine, you may choose to omit the Grenadine.

Enjoy!

Subscribe and share.

Blogmas Day 18 Assembling Care Packages

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 18!  This weekend is really the last couple days that you can mail off parcels or order gifts online with any hope that they will arrive in time for Christmas.  I put together a care package for a family member who does not drive and took it off to the post office today.  The line up was long but moved quickly.

I love those big boxes of assorted biscuits that appear in the grocery stores at this time of year.  They are excellent quality, taste delicious and usually come in a pretty tin that you can keep for storing your own baked goodies.  I put in a few other goodies as well as practical things like a package of disinfectant wipes which are hard to find.  Remember that it isn't so much the dollar value of the contents but the feeling of pleasurable surprise that is elicited at a time of year when we have to continue to shelter in place.  Care packages that are a mix of treats and the practical are always well received. You should also keep in mind the cost of postage as, depending on how heavy the package is and where you are sending it, the cost could far outstrip the value of the contents.  As well, there are still a number of countries to which Canada Post has stopped service, so you should check first before taking your package to the Post Office.

Subscribe and share!

Blogmas Day 17 Maple Syrup Roasted Nuts Recipe

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 17!  I don't know about you but, for me, the Holiday Season is always associated with nuts for some reason.  Is it because of the proliferation of nutcrackers in holiday decor?  I just love roasted nuts and the following recipe yields a bowl of crunchy goodness that has a mouthwatering balance of the salty and the sweet.  However, if your tastes lean more towards the spicy, you could experiment with ground pepper and chili flakes.  Herbs work well with roasted nuts as well. I would recommend staying away from herbs with delicate leaves as they will likely just char.  Search out herbs with woody, twiggy leaves like rosemary, for example, as they are more robust and can withstand the heat of the oven.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole almonds

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons unsalted melted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a bowl, combine the ingredients.  I used almonds but you could use any nut that you prefer such as hazelnuts and even combine seeds such as sunflower seeds. Spread the mixture over a silicone baking mat.

Place the tray on the middle rack.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Turn the nuts at the 10 minute mark.  Check every 5 minutes to make sure they don't burn.  

The smokiness of the maple syrup combined with the vanilla extract and the roasted almonds produces a magical flavour profile.  Packaged into a pretty airtight jar with a tag or label describing the ingredients, they make a delicious gift.  

Blogmas Day 16 Handmade DIY Christmas Gifts Hair Clips Brooches Pendants With Beads and Buttons How To

 Welcome to Blogmas Day 16!  I have always loved unusual buttons as I felt that they had the underrated power to really elevate an outfit.  Over the years, I have amassed a small collection of vintage buttons as well as a handful of beautiful glass beads.  I really wanted to pull them out of the depths of a dresser drawer and do something creative with them.  Here is a DIY craft that doesn't require any level of specialized skill.

You will need beads and or buttons, pin backs, fine guage wire and hair clips.  You may also want transparent fishing line, pliers and a hot glue gun. The pin backs have holes for you to thread wire or fishing line.  The hair clip had a hole at either end as well.  I used both without issue.  Because the fishing line is transparent, you may prefer using that.  You may also wish to use hot glue for greater adhesion.  I found that I didn't need a large needle to work with the wire or fishing line as both were substantial enough for me to handle them with ease.  Use the pliers to snip off the wire once you have finished threading the beads and/or buttons and secured them together to pin back or hair clip. 

This is where you can really get creative.  Select the beads and buttons you want to work with and string them together with either wire or fishing line.  I made a long dangly pendant and attached a lobster claw clasp at one end so that it can clip easily to a chain.  I used a vintage button with a flat back at the end of the pendant so that I didn't have to make an ugly knot. I also strung together gorgeous handmade glass beads on a hairclip and attached a rectangular midnight blue glass bead to a pin back to form a one-of-a-kind brooch.  Buttons with a little loop at the back are easy to string together and attach to a hairclip as well.   Each bead is handmade and is like a tiny work of art in itself.  Placed in a pretty gift box or little jewelry bag, they make gorgeous, unique gifts.

Subscribe and share with a friend.