Monday, August 31, 2009

Item of the day: Yellow Butterfly Nightlight

So I'm back from Niagara Falls & had a wonderful time. I have lots of pictures to show you, but until I have a bit of time to sort through them, I'll be featuring items related to the activities we did while on our mini-vacation.
The first thing we did when getting to Niagara was go to the butterfly conservatory. So here is a lovely stained-glass butterfly nightlight by DBoutique. I love the design and the fun, bright colours. Looks great lit up too:

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Item of the day: Ice at Niagara Falls

Well, it was chilly in Niagara, and a little wet - but it was a great time! Pictures to come, once I sort through them. First, another print of this stupendous natural wonder - this time in ice by stillpoint.
Luckily, it wasn't this cold when we were there!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Item of the day: Niagara Falls Watercolour

Today's the day - Pat & I are heading to Niagara Falls!!! It's actually the first time I've been, so I'm super excited! Of course we went all out - so I'm looking forward to this view from my hotel window:
This gorgeous watercolour is by ezhilin. Simply breathtaking.... as are the other paintings in this Canadian shop. Be sure to check it out, I especially love these city view postcards.

Be back tomorrow with, hopefully, a ton of pictures! Keep your fingers crossed that it won't keep raining the whole time we're there!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Item of the day: Happy Birdie

Rounding out Friday with a final birdcage feature - this time a cute handcarved stamp by lovesprouts. I really love the darling stamps in this shop... I'll need to add some to my collection soon.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

What I had for supper...


Tuesday night: stuffed zucchini and cake!

I made this quick & easy stuffed zucchini the other night - it was delicious! So good, I just had to make it again. It's real simple too:

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (not sure how much that made cooked - around a cup)
2-3 zucchini
1 tomato
1 garlic clove
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
ricotta cheese, optional
basil, salt, pepper

Methods:

1. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, parboil the zucchini. Or better yet, cook it in the microwave. Poke holes in the zucchini with a fork. Depending on your microwave & the size/number of your zucchini, nuke them for 4 - 8 minutes. Until they're somewhat soft & cooked. Let them cool a bit while you prepare the stuffing.

3. Chop the tomato. Chop the garlic (so much easier now that I have a garlic press!) - it's fairly garlicky so use a small clove or less if you prefer. Mix together with some herbs & spices (use whatever you like - I had fresh basil, parsley & cilantro plus salt & pepper).

4. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Lop off the top & bottom if you prefer. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds & flesh, leaving a thin shell. Make sure you leave enough so that the skin can stand up, like a boat. If you have a big zucchini with lots of seeds, you can discard these, but I just chopped it all up & added it all to the bowl of filling.

5. Mix in the quinoa.

6. Mix in the mozzarella cheese. Use as much cheese as you want - you can reserve some for sprinkling on top, or just use more.

7. Line the insides of the zucchini with ricotta cheese. I only did this the second time I made these - either way it's delicious. Just creamier with the ricotta.

8. Stuff. Spoon as much filling as you can into the zucchini. Press it down & add more - until there's none left.

9. Cook for 10 - 15 min at 350F. The timing will depend on how thick the zucchini boats are and how small the filling was chopped. It's done once the cheese is all melted & it's hot all the way through.

Enjoy!!!

But leave room for.....

CAKE!!!

Oh man this was SO good!!! And really, it's only a box of white cake, split into 2:

With whipped milk chocolate icing (also storebought) & sprinkles. Yum!

Item of the day: Antique Birdcages

You guessed it - the theme this week is birdcages! Today I'm showing off this funky print by 3LambsGraphics ... it would look great with the other prints on my "bird wall"!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Etsy Feature: Birdcage Lamps

For my birthday, we went out to this Asian restaurant / lounge - it was slick, with dark wood everywhere, curling wood cut-outs over dark panneling & a gathering of birdcage chandeliers in the middle of the ceiling. All the cages had different shapes, but were all painted white and absolutely glowed in the light. I loved it - the concept was as awesome as the end result!

So, of course, I had to go on Etsy and find a few birdcage lamps - I think they'd look amazing brightening up that dark corner of your room!

Those were the only 3 I could find ... do you know of any you can share?

Monday, August 24, 2009

Item of the day: Olive Tree

I came across GogoKorogiannou on My Handmade Registry and I immediately went to her shop because she's from Greece. I love checking out international shops - they always seem so exotic and captivating! I was blown away by Gogo's art - especially this detailed olive tree.
Absolutely breathtaking!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Item of the day: Bat in the Belfry

This item of the day is another one that I just couldn't resist picking up. I found it in an Etsy email - one promoting weekend sales. This cute little guy is by ANORIGINALJEWELRY and is 10% off all weekend.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Happy Birthday TO ME!!!!

It's my birthday!!!!!! I turned 23 today (at 4:15AM to be exact).

*<:D <----- putting on my party hat

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the sweet birthday wishes. Especially my friend Niki, who gave me a special gift over on her blog - check it out!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Item of the day: Pink Cupcake Pin

OOooooooooh, tomorrow is my birthday! I thought I'd feature another felt cupcake - this one a pretty pink pin by DancingJellybean - since they're so darn cute!
Who could resist that smile??

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Item of the day: Felt Cupcakes

These gorgeous felt cupcake favours by DaisyDaydreams look good enough to eat!
And this pincushion is also really sweet! Get it? Sweet?

(Hehehehe - yeah, I'm a little tired this morning...)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Item of the day: Birthday Cake Stamp

Only 3 more days until my birthday! Here's a cute hand-carved birthday cake stamp by cupcaketree - perfect for making tags & birthday cards!

Monday, August 17, 2009

So....

I promised you a video of the cottage. Well... it's a bit large & won't finish uploading. Plus, it would probably take forever for you to download it & watch. So no video. Sorry. Just a few photos of the mossy cement steps my gramma's dad made for memere's cottage. 1952.

Birthday Wish List Treasury

An MMG friend told me the treasury was opening within minutes - so I just had to make up a birthday wish list! Clicks & comments are appreciated! :)

Top row:
Dahlia posts, in saffron - sofiamasri
Happy-bee birthday candleholder - lollipopshop (sold already!)
Vintage shiny happy cake carrier - RiverBazaar
Girl from Ipanema - andra358

Second row:
Personalized flat notes - twin peacocks in gray & fuchsia - MichelleBrusegaard
Marcrest Swiss Alpine serving platter - thebuttercup
Japanese crane coptic stitch book - KarleighJae
Olive tree original watercolour - jellybeans

Third row:
My garden greens - aliherrmann
orchid skirt - idea2lifestyle
Red, white & blue dwelling - PetiteHouse
Juniper breeze goats milk soap - kimberquinn

Fourth Row:
Orange & yellow fabric box - SeaPinks
Giraffe earrings - zoebijoux
The perfect wee summer clutch in citrus floral - PonderandStitch
White Belgian chocolate & creme de menthe candy bark - nikid

Item of the day: Happy Bee Birthday Candleholder

My birthday is on Friday - so it's officially my birthday week! I want this cute little bee by lollipopworkshop to top my birthday cupcake (or cake)! I found him through a giveaway on Bakerella's blog - see how adorable he is from the side too?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Craft Show Prep...

Preparations for my craft show are in full swing - less than a month away! When I went home for a week-long vacation, I took advantage of the country setting. First, I "hired" my dad ... ok, I just told him he had to make me some displays. They're going to look like trees (made with fallen branches) & I'll hang jewelry & paper globes from them.

I also harvested some moss from their forest to make terrariums.
I was quite pleased to find many different types of moss - green, red, star-shaped... My mom had a few vintage Mason jars that I could use for these & I think they turned out very nicely. In fact, I'm probably going to keep the largest jar for myself...
My mom also gave me a stack of vintage sheets to use as table clothes / signs. Since I have so many sheets, I decided to cut into a few & make some simple drawstring baggies (for sending off any items I sell). I could just buy bags, but I wanted something more personal (and save a bit of money). So far, I've cut out & sewn together 72 light blue bags (out of one sheet).
[That orange-flowered sheet they're sitting on is my favourite.]
Actually, I'm almost done them - I just have to press & sew the top seam (and add the ribbon drawstring).

My mom also helped me find 2 big blue umbrellas to ward against the elements (I wanted a tent, but they are way more money than I have to invest... even used ones & especially for my very first show). All in all, things are coming along VERY nicely. I just have to work super hard at building up my inventory & organizing myself.

Unfortunately, my second committee meeting (for my Master's degree) is the day before my craft show. Plus, school is starting up that week & I have to prepare for TAing (I teach an undergrad lab - radioligand binding experiments). So... time is limited & I'm BUSY. I apologize in advance for neglecting my blog, online friends & Etsy shop (although I've already been neglecting that)! Wish me luck!

Item of the day: Impressionist Ink Linen Skirt

This skirt by tortillagirl is absolutely stunning. I especially love that it's linen, my favourite fabric.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Item of the day: Knitting Needle Watch

For all you knitters out there: a watch made with recycled knitting needles! If you aren't a watch wearer, be sure to check out sassafrascreations for many more unique jewelry items made with these colourful needles!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Let's explore the cottage!

Yesterday we took a boat ride out on Lake Nipissing & arrived at my gramma's cottage. I promised I'd give you a tour of the island - so here it is! I have a video tour which might make more sense, but it's on my laptop at home. So you'll get some pictures for now & the video later! First, let's start out at the boat house.From here, we head to the left, up a path to my gramma's cottage. Here's a better view of the path, from further back in the little park.Up the path we go. To the right you can see the gazebo.Behind the gazebo is pumpa's new shed.By the way, pumpa is what we call my grampa - my older brother was their first grandchild & that's how he pronounced grampa as a baby. And it stuck. That's him going into his shed.In this photo, we're standing on the path leading to the boat house (behind). The path leading to the right goes to the back dock. But... what's that?The outhouse! Hehehehe - don't worry though, we don't have to use this unless the power goes out! Let's walk to the back dock quickly.To the right, there's a short path to the back rock, where we occasionally have a bonfire (if it isn't too windy that is).Alright, let's go back to the cottage.And from the front:On the deck at the front:To the left of the door:To the right of the door:From here, you can see memere's cottage.Let's take a closer look at memere's cottage.The steps to the right lead to the rocks you can see from gramma's cottage. These steps lead to the back of the cottage & the point. I climbed to the top of the steps to see this:Stairs leading down to the point. From the point, memere's cottage looks like this:The point is just a rock jutting out at the edge of the bay formed by the island. My mom, her sisters & cousins used to swim here all the time when they were kids. My brothers, cousins & I stuck to the beach instead (which is owned by my gramma's brother) - this is at the bottom of the little bay:And last but not least, the view:Next up - a video tour of the island. Then a few pictures inside the cottage. I hope you're enjoying your "stay"!