Quiet and Cozy

 Enjoying the quiet and simplicity of this Sunday.

Must Make

 
Happy Tuesday! Quick post today! I must make this cozy looking recipe.
I adore fruit baked any way - pies, crumbles, tarts... oh I could go on.

Here is the delicious looking recipe - Plum Crumble.

Have a lovely winter week!

Live & Eat

Sunday. Delicious Sundays.

Today was filled with good food and good living. 

I woke up early this morning to the sound of pouring rain. Rain, rain, rain. It rained solid and heavy here for at least a day. I spent the quiet of the morning baking a pie - using leftover phyllo pastry that I had needed in a recipe a few days ago. Barry woke to the smell of cinnamon and apples snuggled in warm pastry. We both enjoyed a slice early morning. I used this recipe.

In the afternoon we took to the yard to do some raking and organizing. The garden beds are now ready for the cold and the last of the winter crop seeds have been planted.

We roasted a lovely chicken for dinner with some potatoes and carrots. I currently have stock simmering on the stove (leftover chicken, the carcass, carrots, celery and spices).  I'm already dreaming of the wonderful soups it will yield.

Here is a sweet photograph of the pug. She lasted a few minutes outside before I scooped her up and brought her in. The cold of winter here is too rough for this pug.

We are now snuggled down for the night with a movie on and a warm blanket to keep us cozy.

Have a wonderful start to the week friends!

Loves!



 

P.S. I'm linking up to the Homestead Barn Hop here. 

Take it Slow

Take it slow, take it easy on me.

Feist - My Moon, My Man

Have a wonderful Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving American friends!

Happy Fall!

Welcome to my long awaited post - a return to inspiration. I decided it was finally time to make a new fall banner - after all winter is almost upon us!

I love to be inspired by the changing seasons - and with a little bit of snow left from our first snow fall, I set out with camera in hand to capture some of the beauty. While crunching atop the leaves and snow I pulled the last of my fall beets from the frozen earth. They are all cleaned up now and will be roasted with tonight's dinner. If you want to see the sprouting of the lovely beets in a blog post click here. We planted a winter crop in our garden beds of barley and wheat to restore nutrients to our soil a few weeks ago and already the seeds are sprouting.

Join me on my journey this afternoon. Pull on some boots and a scarf (it is -3* after all!).

 

  

 

And of course I have to share the photograph that inspired the new banner. 

A perfectly placed leaf atop our first snow fall.  

Have a wonderful Sunday! 

Loves!

 

 p.s. I'm linking up to the Homestead Barn Hop - here. 

Sunday

 

 source

Sunday evening,

fold laundry, drink tea, put away clean dishes, bake these oatmeal cookies.

I love days where we stay at home - they are fondly referred to as don't start the car days.

PS

Don't you just want to crawl into one of those bunk beds? Mmm, yes please.

Loves!

Oh Anne, Oh Anne

There is something so spectacular about waking up at 6 am when you know the sun will not be up until 8. There is this delicious two hour window of crisp darkness. I hear the noise of cars passing by our street but the sounds do nothing but make me smile. We have another day to work, smile - snuggle and laugh. I've really found this time of morning to be sacred. The quiet and the cold.

If you feel the need to swoon in a romantical way - give this a listen. 

Have a wonderful Friday.

Loves!

Hello & Good Morning

knitted socks and a cozy fire 

Today is a day of reflection and reinvention. Snuggle down, have some tea and breathe. Take a walk, feel the cold and enjoy. Find yourself once more in the restlessness of this week.

This is today - and I adore it.

Happy Friday!

Let's Fall in Love

Let's Fall in Love - Anita O'Day 

Shall we? 

Wednesday

I came across this photograph on one of my blog favorites - A Cup of Jo.  For some reason the photo almost took my breath away, I could feel myself letting out a sigh of joy. Cozy sweaters and perhaps a warm mug of tea.

Love, Love.

I keep telling myself I need to get back to posting my own photographs but life has been a shuffle of busyness. I do have some nice pictures stored on my camera that will make it on here. I also need to update the blog banner. All in good time I think.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Stop to enjoy the little things.

Loves!

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Happy Thanksgiving friends! We had a busy weekend enjoying wonderful dinners at both my parents and my beau's parents houses.

I had to share this amazing picture from the Princess Bride Cast Reunion. Do you recognize everyone? This film has been around for almost 25 years now - can you believe it? I remember the first time I watched this movie with my mum, I was probably 7 years old. I've loved it since the first viewing and I can't wait to show this movie to my children. Click here to check out some video of the cast reuniting on Good Morning America.

As you wish. 

Still makes the romantic in me shiver a bit.

Have a wonderful start to the week.

Loves!

Moments That Make You Swoon

I loved this recent post by the wonderful blog A Cup of Jo featuring 10 unforgettable wedding moments. The photographs made my heart swoon, it was the perfect thing to pick me up on this chilly fall night.

Go check it out and enjoy!

Little bit of cute

Here is just a little bit of cute to send you off on this Tuesday. Image source is from the lovely blog Tick Tock Vintage.  I have bangs and somehow they never turn out quite this cute. A gal can dream though.

Lots of loves!

Make it Monday

We are having a delightful rainy Monday here. The sun still hasn't come up and the sky is deliciously dark. I've been feeling a little busy lately which is always frustrating. I think I feel most like myself when I'm on top of things. I have the day off which makes this rainy day feel even more special. I'm thinking this morning I'm going to cozy up with some tea and watch the morning news.


In the mean time here are some delightfully cozy things I want to make,

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Recipe Girl

Can someone make these for me? Please. Mmmm.

Here are some soaping projects I want to start for Christmas Gifts,

Pumpkin Puree Soap from Soap Queen

 

Christmas Cold Process Soap from Soap Queen

Have a wonderful cozy fall day. Enjoy the falling leaves and changing weather. 

Loves!

Thursday

 Titled: Pug, tired, sleeping on belly. 

Happy Thursday!
I have recovered from the deathly cold I was suffering from the last few weeks. Life has been pretty mellow around here the last while. My grandparents are coming in to stay with my parents this weekend and I'm looking forward to spending time with them.


Oh yes, and the rain started today. We had our first rainfall in weeks and it was wonderfully cleansing. I loved driving in the rainy drizzle to work this morning, fall is really coming.

I hope you had a wonderful week and coming weekend.

Lots of love,

Blog Love.

Coca-Cola Cupcakes from A Cozy Kitchen

Happy Tuesday!

Have a little bit of blog love to share today.

I have become completely smitten with the blog so fawned. This lovely blog is a personal journey shared by its author Desiree Fawn. I relate to her on so many levels. She has a mad love for simple living and also raises chickens (how I long for chickens). Her writing style is personal and insightful and her photographs are lovely.

Oh gosh so many people already know about A Cozy Kitchen. Am I the last one to discover this blog? Never have I seen so many recipes that I would want to make. Usually when I leaf through a cooking blog I see a few recipes that I would consider making. Not this blog. Oh my, I want to make everything from Roasted Strawberries on Toast to Avocado Fries. Looking through the many detectable recipes I realized I had already made one of A Cozy Kitchen's recipes - my post on Baked Eggs and Tomato Sauce from Tasty Kitchen was originally a Cozy Kitchen recipe.


Have a wonderful day!

Sunday.

I haven't had the blogging zest lately so my posts have been sparse. I'm thinking the coming fall will inspire me once more. I've been sick for about a week and a half with a pesky cold and try as I might - it will not leave. 

So this is my current view right now. Beautiful soft folded towels and tea. I'm not sure how much longer my tush will occupy the couch but I'm certain it will be another hour or so before I stir for some grapes and maybe a banana.


 

Speaking of fall - where is it? Our weather here has been so warm lately. Combined with my cold it has made me extroadanarily cranky. I haven't felt like knitting or sewing or even cooking for ages. I'm praying this zombie like phase I'm in is only a phase.

I hope your weekend has been delightful so far and if you are experiencing this late summer heat I hope it is welcome. I think of sunny swims at a lake or forest summer strolls and how this weather would be better spent.

So much love!



P.S. I have read so many poignant and heart warming blog posts and articles about the 9/11 attacks which happened 10 years ago today and have found it so moving. I remember that day and the feeling in my heart when I saw those towers fall. We will not forget. My heart goes out to everyone that has been affected 9/11.

Days like today put small colds into perspective and make me really think of the bigger picture of life.

Blue Beadboard Love

 

I'm feeling so inspired by this Better Homes and Garden photograph. This lovely kitchen is a cottage remodel in upstate New York. I love the idea of painting the beadboard that lovely blue shade. My eyes go right to the blue plates on the second shelf to the left. Open shelving is so dreamy in photographs, I wonder how much of a pain it is to keep organized. 

Such a lovely space to cook!

Happy Tuesday! 

Warm Summer Eve

We are experiencing a very late summer here. I remember this time last year my cucumbers were about the size of zuchini's - this year they are about the size of a snap pea right now. Our season started off slow but has picked up and the days here feel as though they are getting warmer and warmer. Today is the last day of my beloved vacation. Work starts tomorrow and real life begins once more. It feels as though the summer has gone by so quickly.

We went away last week with my parents camping/staying in trailers. It was fun but I was again happy to once more come home. I find when we go away our diets kind of crash and I suffer from it greatly. It's nice to be home to lots of fruits and vegetables and my cooking.

I also came home to my bean plants producing. We had a nice crop this year. I'm going to save some of the seeds from these beans and plant some more next year.

The muffins in the top photograph are delicious Blueberry Banana Muffins. I used this recipe from Tasty Kitchen.  I really liked the recipe and it is somewhat nutritious. I think I ended up over cooking my muffins by about 4-5 minutes. I will be making them again though!

I hope your summer has been/was wonderful. I'm starting to really get excited for fall foods (mmm soup!) and the coming of cooler weather. Before we know it the Christmas season will be upon us and after all, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year <3

Loves!

Fall Is Coming

Photo via Studded Hearts

Are you ready for fall? My heart is warming to the idea of fall soups and sweaters. My summer garden is blanketed with fall leaves right now - it makes me hard to believe it's still August.

Have a wonderful day!

A Simple Day.

Simple days are often my most favorite.


I spent some time this morning checking on my garden. We had heavy rainfall yesterday and I was a bit worried about some of my more tender plants. Thank goodness everything was alright.



This is my first ever squash plant to survive long enough to get this big. Our climate here in Vancouver seems to disagree with these plants. I'm certain this little guy is a fighter.

I don't have any ripe tomatoes yet, but tons of glorious blooms and about a dozen little tomatoes starting to grow.

A fresh batch of iced tea is accompanying me on this simple day. After I juice the lemons for the iced tea my hands are scented sweetly of lemon for hours later.

I started on a new knitting project. This is my first time using a stockinette stitch.

And lastly, to end this sweet simple day how about a bowl of homemade soup? I made some delicious minestrone yesterday and enjoyed a bowl for lunch.

I tossed all of my ingredients into my crock pot and put on low for the day.

I used,

1 can drained and rinsed kidney beans
3 carrots roughly chopped
1/2 red pepper diced
1 tomato diced
1 can of tomato sauce
several cups of homemade chicken stock
1 cup dry wild rice (I cooked this first until soft then added to the soup)

seasoning
dash or so of seasoning salt
thyme 1-2 tsp
sage 1-2 tsp
handful of fresh basil tossed in the last few minutes of cooking

Top finished soup with yummy cheese of choice. I chose some lovely double cream Gouda.

Have a lovely day!