Month: September 2015

Personal, Series

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One of the views from the trails

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Trestle Creek Golf Course

Have you ever heard of Entwistle? Me either. But that’s where Dane asked if I’d like to live this summer. The golf course he has been working at for the last four years is right by this tiny little town. It has 534 people. Anyways, this golf course. It has this cabin about a kilometre up the gravel road from the course. I was not too keen on living in the woods, in a cabin. And then I saw it. I went from being not to keen, too most definitely NOT keen AT ALL. It had wood panelling on the walls, orange tiles that were cool in 1974, and even then I’m pretty sure you had to be pretty stoned to think that it looked good. It had about 769 dead flies on the floor too, along with red cupboards. Long story short, Dane painted the walls, painted the cupboards, changed the flooring, and put in new white baseboards. And we CLEANED. With every chemical we could get our hands on. Dane built me garden boxes, where we planted vegetables. I even grew my own lavender in a small flower garden.I went from not wanting to live there at all, to not wanting to leave. It’s almost October, and because the cabin isn’t winterized we won’t be able to stay much longer. But I am grateful for this summer. I’m grateful I gave it chance, and I fell in love.

Things I will miss:

1. You’re completely alone

2. The rain sounds one hundred times more beautiful, and the thunder sounds like it’s meant only for you to hear

3. The little froggies that become your music in the evenings

4. The campfires and the warmth it gives you

5. The wind that blows the tree tops and you can’t help but feel that maybe it’s someone saying “hello” to you

6. The sunshine that creeps in through the blinds to greet you

7. The quietness that you hear

8. The trees that surround you

9. The crane, squirrels and grouse that are our neighbours

10. The infamous bear that lives in the trail I do my runs on that I’ve never met

11. Perfect mornings when there is still dew on every single blade of grass

12. The peace that you feel while being here

13. The cotton candy sunsets

14. The simplicity of life, the pace of nature

15. Not having reception or wifi

Things I will not miss:

1. Not having reception of wifi (it’s a double edged sword you see)

2. Running out of water

3. Limited space in the kitchen

4. All the flies

5. The rustling in the woods on the trails when you’re convinced its that old bear people talk about

I don’t want to leave the cabin, this little home I have. I want to stay forever and pretend that there is nothing bad that happens in real life, outside these walls. I want to pretend that I am Laura Ingalls, wild and free. I want to pretend that I am some serious hippy that can easily live off the land. But we all know that isn’t true. I like pinterest, and shopping, and I like water that doesn’t smell like sewer. Isn’t it funny how we realize how much we appreciate something once it’s gone? Well, I suppose that’s how I am feeling right now. I know that my days at the cabin are coming to an end, and it’s now that I’m regretting not having more campfires, it’s now I’m regretting not exploring more trails, it’s now I’m regretting not listening to the birds for a little bit longer.

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Beauty, Fashion

Summer is gone, leaving behind a trail of freckles and tan lines, with a countdown to our next summer beneath the sun. Autumn has officially begun, and I’m already missing the late nights and bright mornings where the sun creeps in through your window to greet you. Autumn has made it’s debut with frosty mornings, dewy nights, and crisp afternoons in between. Dear Autumn, please be kind to me.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.

Dress is from anthropologie

Food, Sweets

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I bought the Butter Cookbook two years ago. I became obsessed. It became my reading material before bed. I bought it for other people as gifts. I had it on display in my kitchen. I have two copies. One to use and abuse, the other to put it in my huge, beautiful library of cookbooks and novels. Imagine…. the library Beast gives to Belle as an apology for being a jerk and keeping her hostage and capturing her dad. Seems like a legitimate gift. Well that’s my library. I even have a fireplace with huge comfy chairs and a ladder to get to the top. This library exists in my dreams. But it’s still my library. One day. That’s where my other copy of Butter will go.

We were in Washington going back home to Edmonton, but I made my husband stay an extra day so we could go home through the city of Vancouver so I could go to this bakery. My husband is awesome and he clearly loves me, because he agreed. And so we drove through crazy streets of Vancouver getting lost, taking wrong turns, looking for 4907 Mackenzie street. We found it. It was a cold and rainy day, but I was so excited when I saw the cute BUTTER sign. I had brought my copy with me ALLLLL the way from Edmonton, just so I could get Rosie to sign it. It also made good reading material for the 14 hour drive. Ya, I know. I’m a nerd. But that’s OK! I saw Rosie sitting in her office, but I was too  nervous to go talk to her, haha! We sat down and ate some goodies, and I was gonna leave without saying anything, but my husband told me to stop being a knob and go and talk to her. So I did, and she was super lovely and kind, and even signed my book! We spent over $80 there and took home two boxes of delicious, rich, yummy baked goodness.

“Don’t worry about protecting this book; the spills and notations that I hope one day mark it’s pages will tell a story. A story that I did my job; I inspired you to get into the kitchen, bake for your family and friends and always trust your cape.” – Rosie Daykin

I have made 41 recipes out of this cookbook. I have messed up, spilled cream, milk, eggs, and even raspberry juice on these pages. Some pages are crinkled, and the cover page is quite ratty. I think I can say Rosie did her job with me. She created a book that made me go “I want to make that.” She created a book that inspired me to make homemade marshmallows, for no other reason other than that I wanted to. And that’s pretty sweet, pun fully intended.

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Raspberry Custard Pie
 
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My husband swears this is the best pie he has ever had, he eats more than half in one sitting!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 Butter's all Butters Pastry Single crust pie
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tbls
  • 2 tbls all purpose flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375* F.
  2. Put your raspberries in a bowl and add the two tablespoons of sugar. Gently toss together to incorporate the sugar throughout the berries.
  3. In a large bowl whisk your eggs and cream, add in the flour, remaining sugar, and salt.
  4. Pour into your prepared crust. Add in your raspberries. (I usually just dump them in, but for the pictures sake I placed them in one by one).
  5. Bake for 45 to 50 mins, or until the centre has set and the pie is lightly golden.
  6. Let cool completely.

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Thanks Miss Rosie Daykin, I fully intend to.

You can purchase Butter here:

http://www.butterbakedgoods.com

 

 

DIY, Things In Between

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What you’ll need:

  • brown twine covered wire (you can get at Michael’s)
  • floral tape
  • duct tape
  • tin snips (go look in your husbands tool box)
  • hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • flowers
  • fillers (greenery, leaves)

Step 1- Take the wire and loop it around your head, or whoever it is for. Double it so you have two loops. Have it so it isn’t too tight, but not too loose so that its falling in front of your eyes.

Step 2- Tape the two end together so that you have a circle with two circles of twine.

Step 3- Starting in the middle of the crown (like where the front of the crown will be on your head), begin adding your flowers through the gap between the two loops. I would only do 3 “feature” flowers, and the rest greenery with buds. But if you want a big and full crown, use more flowers.

Step 4- Once you are sure that is where you want the flowers, hot glue them down.

Step 5- Start filling it with greenery. Play around with it, add some, take some away, it takes awhile, but once you start playing it should come together.

Step 6- That’s basically it! Use your hot glue gun when you think you need it, use your floral tape when you think you need it. Just play with it and burn your fingers a bit!

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TIPS: 

– Use the most realistic looking flowers you can find

– Use more greenery than flowers (they make it look more realistic)

– Try and find buds to add in to it

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Breakfast & Brunch, Food

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So my husband asked for rice pudding. I don’t LOVE rice pudding, but I’m such a great wife that I decided to try it out. Turns out, that when I make rice pudding…. I LOVE rice pudding. It’s creamy, fattening, not good for your butt, yumminess. Make it on a Sat morning, when you wanna look like a cute little housewife. Then take a really “pinterest worthy” picture and throw in a few filters, and there you have it, your next most liked photo of all time. #breakfastinbedwithmy #MCMeveryday You’re welcome.

Creamy Rice Pudding

  • 3 cups cooked basmati rice
  • 4 cups of whole milk, divided
  • 2/3 cups of brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)
  • 2/3 cup of organic raisins (optional)
  • 3 cinnamon sticks, or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
  • shredded coconut for topping (optional)

In a large pot mix the cooked rice with 2 1/2 cups of the milk. Stir, add the sugar and your salt. Cook over low/medium heat until thick and creamy, about 25 mins. Once thick, add your whisked eggs, remaining milk, and your raisins. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes. Serve with coconut flakes on top, in a anthropology bowl, with a gold plated antique spoon. Or you know…. just in a normal bowl. Or better yet, straight out of the pot.

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I hope you enjoy.