Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I’ve created a simple and super cute way to give a Valentine along with a bar of chocolate.
Below you’ll find a free downloadable chocolate bar wrapper file.
Read More »Valentine’s Day Printable Chocolate Bar Wrappers
After a few weeks of procrastination during the holidays, we finally finished this vintage dresser project. It’s come a long way since we first got it. It was cleaned, patched and brought back to life.
Here’s what it looked like before we started working on it, yes at first glance it doesn’t look too bad, but it was scary. It had 1000 spiders in it from being left outside, so that took a while to get it clean and remove the musty smells.
The wood veneer was very dry and chipped in several places, the only area that was in decent shape was the top surface, the legs and the decorative pieces on the drawer fronts.
Luckily we were table to remove the decorative pieces on the drawers, making the painting process much easier and cleaner. The bow tie handles were also removed and cleaned up.
The first test was to find out if the vintage hardware was pure brass or just plated. You can do this with a magnet. If it’s solid brass, the magnet will not stick, unfortunately ours was plated.
Read More »Before and After: Vintage Dresser
I recently took some photos of a luxury bathroom renovation here in Vancouver, British Columbia. It may not be my personal style, but you can’t help but love the finishes in this space. The mix of traditional elements and slick modern design somehow fits together in perfect harmony. The soft pastels in the tile and wall colour contrast with the dark marble floors. I’m seriously obsessing over the floors, they have so much impact in the space, they ground the airiness of the pastel colours and bring in a bit of a masculine feature into a very feminine space creating a sense of balance. It all goes perfectly with the polished shower and vanity fixtures.
Below I’ve broken down the elements of this bathroom if you’re in the market for a renovation, or just very curious.
It’s 2015 and it’s very likely we all need a little motivation to get our creativity flowing and feel inspired to start this new year. Below are a collection of books that inspire me, get… Read More »Gets Inspired: 7 Books That Spark Creativity
Remember the Ginger Snap Cookies I made the other day? If not, check them out over here, that’s also where you’ll find the recipe for them. Before we ate them all, I thought, hmm these would taste really good with some ice cream…Read More »Recipe Adventure: Ginger Snap Ice Cream Sandwich
Christmas is almost here and I like to spend my down time baking delicious things. My favorite cookie has to be a classic ginger snap. Nothing says Christmas like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove. My recipe is seriously simple and seriously good. The secret? I use fresh ginger! Using fresh ginger adds to the flavor and keeps the cookies moist. Crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center, they are to die for.
Classic Ginger Snap Cookie Recipe
Read More »Recipe Adventure: Classic Ginger Snap Cookies
It’s time! Remember back in the Summer time when I spent a few weekends canning so much fruit? To refresh your memory, check out my post on canning bourbon cherries. I also canned peaches and pears. But as I was saying, it’s time! Time to open the jars! Let me rephrase that, time to open a jar full of Summer! *happy dance*
Andrew and I are gifting a bunch of them for the holidays, so of course we have to try them, just to be sure they’re good enough to give as gifts. Pretty good excuse if you ask me. Plus, it’s very satisfying to open a jar of food that I didn’t buy in the store.
Read More »Recipe Adventure: Bourbon Soaked Cherries with Vanilla Ice Cream
Do you own a juicer? If so, this recipe is for you. Occasionally I like to have a fresh juice for breakfast or lunch, but I get sad when I see how much pulp is left in the waste container when I’m done. I just can’t bring myself to throw it out! So yesterday I made a point to trim my fruits and veggies of any seeds before it went into the juicer so the pulp would be perfect for baking.
First lets review what went into my fresh juice:
5-6 large carrots
1-2 apples skin on, seeds removed
2 lemons peel and seeds removed
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
I took the juicer pulp from the waste container and set it aside while I prepared my ingredients for a fibre packed muffin. The muffins are perfect for breakfast or afternoon snack. If you’re curious, I have this Breville Juicer and I love it so much, it’s super easy to clean and makes great juice.
Here’s the recipe:
Read More »Recipe Adventure: Juicer Pulp Muffins
This past weekend I did a workshop with Chef Juno Kim. He is a Vancouver based chef that does pop-up diners, food styling, catering and cooking lessons. Check out his instagram account to see his beautiful creations and visit his website for more information.
Photos from Juno’s instagram account
Now for the details. The workshop was $35 (really great value!). We were all instructed to bring our phones, chargers and a notebook. The afternoon began at 1pm and the class gathered in the private room located at The Juice Truck’s retail location. There was a long table with containers of organic salads, vegetables and sauces. Class size was about 25 people, varying from chefs, food lovers and people just wanting to take better photos with their phone.
This recipe is very similar to my lemon loaf recipe I shared last year. It has the same base ingredients, but uses lime, toasted coconut and poppyseeds.
This loaf is super moist because it uses yogurt instead of butter and after it’s baked, you infuse the loaf with lime juice for added flavour. There’s also a delicious lime glaze that goes over the top along with toasted coconut.
Here’s the recipe:
Lately Ikea has really been doing it right. There’s been so many really great items that don’t have that typical Ikea look and feel. You know what I’m talking about, the products that everyone buys, the… Read More »Ikea Love: products that don’t look like they’re from Ikea
Holiday baking season is fast approaching, in fact I think it may already be here. Personally I don’t think it’s Christmas without cookies! Nothing is better than a home filled with the delicious smells of cookies baking. I’ve always loved shortbread because it’s easy to make and looks so pretty. This year I’ve added matcha green tea powder to the dough and thought I’d share the recipe with you.
These matcha green tea shortbread cookies have all the creaminess of regular shortbread, with a light flavour of matcha green tea.
Here’s the recipe:
Read More »Recipe Adventure: Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies