Into the Rose Garden

It's that time of year again. The Rose Garden is in full bloom. Just have a look at some of these beauties.

There was no pruning done this year before the rose bushes started to get going. So the bushes were allowed to grow at their whim and put out a wonderful display. Although this created a mess of branches and runners going every-which-way, it made the garden more natural and honestly, just a lovely riot of untamed colour. 

The bushes will be cut back once they have finished their initial blooming, which will most likely cause them to put forth another growth spurt and more blooms later in the summer. Which is not a bad thing. 
 

First up is our Peace Rose. It's a gorgeous salmon or peach colour that becomes more yellow in the center as it opens up. 

This one starts out dark and then fades to a more delicate pink as it fully opens. It has the most wonderful scent as well.

This is one of the yearly favourites, called "Rio Samba". It has been in the garden for a number of years and each year it puts forth a beautiful display. It doesn't have much of a scent, but it makes up for it in striking patterns and strong stems. And large thorns.

Here is the same "Rio Samba" once it has fully opened. 

This beautifully full rose is a David Austin variety. David Austin roses are known for their fullness, or "double rose" as they often have twice the petal count as other rose types. 

Another David Austin rose; this time in peach (and it the rain). 

This pink stipes-and-speckles rose has the sweetest, almost innocent scent. It has been in the garden for as long as I can remember (which is a fairly long time). We have dubbed it the Candy Cane rose because of it's stripes. It blooms twice; once in late May and then again towards the end of August. It has clusters of flowers that don't last as long as the other roses in the garden, but it makes up for in the number of blooms it puts forth. It's probably one of my favourites in the garden. 

This dark rose is a new addition to the Rose Garden this year. I took Dad to the garden center to pick out a Father's Day gift. He saw this and immediately put it in our shopping cart. It's called "Purple Tiger". It took to it's new home just fine and put out a beautiful display of blooms despite being replanted in mid-June.

This is just a small sample of the roses in bloom this year in the Rose Garden. The weather has been so warm the past week that most of time I am just focusing on staying cool and keeping hydrated. Hope you enjoyed this short trip into the Rose Garden.

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

A couple days ago I was sorting through some loose recipe pages I had in my "Oh!, I want to try making this" pile. You know... the pile of recipes printed from Pinterest.com or Allrecipes.com that sit around for a little while (okay, months maybe) until you get a chance to try them out. Trust me, mine is quite the pile.

There was a new sugar cookie recipe in the stack. I already have a “family favourite” sugar cookie recipe and it's great. It uses sour cream, which gives the cookies a richer flavour. However, I didn't have sour cream and I did really want to try this new recipe. 

Perfect Sugar Cookies (adapted)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract (I use clear vanilla extract)

2 TBSP milk

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the sugar and blend thoroughly. Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend. Add the milk and beat again.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture until combined. Once the dough holds together, wrap the dough in plastic wrap or in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to two days.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake each sheet of cookies for 8 - 10 minutes; until edges are just starting to turn golden. This will give you a cookie with a slightly chewy center. If you like a crisper cookie, then bake them a little longer.

Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Frost and decorate cookies once completely cool.

So I'm making up the dough and I thought, "Hey, St. Patrick's Day is coming up!" So I grabbed my Wilton's Kelly Green food gel and added just a little dab to the dough. I use Wilton's gels because I like how little I need to use to get great colour. Check out that green!

   

Once the dough came together, I divided it into two discs and stuck them into Ziploc bags, then put the bags in the refrigerator for a day. I like to give the dough a chance to rest and for the flavours to get all mellow and happy together.

I had picked up a cute shamrock shape cookie cutter from Scoop n' Save in Langley. This place is amazing! It has everything you would ever want to bake and decorate. I also bought some green sanding sugar and some shamrock sprinkles. They offer them in bulk, and you just scoop out how much you need. Hence the name...Scoop n' Save.

Yesterday the weather was terrible. So much wind, so much rain. A good day to stay inside and bake. I was a little worried the power would go out before I'd had a chance to bake all the cookies, so I made quick work of getting the dough rolled out and the shapes cut and into the oven. Luckily, the power stayed on and all the shamrocks came out fine.

Today my mom and I spent some time decorating the cookies with royal icing using Wilton's Meringue Powder. I use this in my royal icing to get it to harden faster. I only add in about a teaspoon to the mix; just kinda sprinkle it in. So we had to be quick about getting them iced and dipped into the sanding sugar before the icing started to set.

We opted for a random pattern zig-zag over the cookies. These cookies are going to my Oma's homecare center, so we didn't want to ice the whole cookie but still wanted them to be whimsical. We left some with plain icing, some with just sanding sugar and some with both shamrock sprinkles and sanding sugar. Here they are all in a box ready to go.

And then I did some research. It turns out that while all shamrocks are clover, not all clover are shamrocks. And while even botanists do not always agree on what makes a shamrock, most Irishmen (and women) do. Irish legend claims that St. Patrick used the tri-lobed leaf to illustrate Christianity's holy trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Four leaf clovers are a genetic mutation of the three leaf clovers. Although four leaves are considered lucky, they are not considered to be shamrocks by those passionate about their Irish traditions and legends.

So ultimately, my "shamrocks" are not shamrocks and are simply four-leaved clovers. And while they may not be particularly Irish, they taste delicious.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lazy Rainy Day

Today is a rainy Tuesday.
I can hear the rain coming down outside.
I have warm hand knitted socks.
I have a hot cup of tea.
Today was meant to stay inside
Warm, in a bed like this.

Pumpkin Pie meets Cheesecake

A few days ago we celebrated Thanksgiving. Mom put together a fine feast with help from Dad. Because of work and scheduling, I took a very minor role in this year's celebration: I was on taxi duty to pick up my brother and his girlfriend from the ferry terminal. This meant that I couldn't be at the house to help with the preparations.

Usually each year we have a big feast with all the fixings. And when it comes to dessert, we usually offer not only pumpkin pie but also an apple pie. However, this year time only permitted for one pie; a pumpkin pie. It was delicious; not too sweet, not too heavy. Mom whipped up some cream with Bailey's and it was perfect. The drawback was that there was no leftover pie, not even enough for a second piece.

Which leaves me still craving pumpkin pie a few days later. So today I thought I would combine two classic desserts that I enjoy making: pumpkin pie and cheesecake. I didn't want to make one big dessert, so I opted to make tarts instead. And to be honest, I cheated a little. I had a box of Kirkland brand tart shells from Cosco in the freezer, and I thought, "Well, why not? I gotta use them up sometime."

The tart shells completed, I started with the filling. I just more or less added things into the mixer and gave it a whirl until it looked about the right consistency.

2 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

3 eggs

4 tbsp SpiceBox Whiskey

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp ground ginger

dash ground cloves

Oh yes! Did I forget to mention the SpiceBox Whiskey? I love this stuff for fall baking. It gives pumpkin pies an ADULT flare. I also like adding it to brown butter frosting. Or pecan cookies. But those recipes are for another day.

Anyhow, everything into the mixer starting with the cream cheese. Once that was smooth and creamy, I just added everything else in and let 'er spin until well blended. Then I poured the mixture through a funnel into a couple empty ketchup bottles (the large ones) that I've kept for this purpose. They are so handy for filling tart shells or muffin tins or anything where you need to control the pour of the batter from one place to another. I digress.

I separated the frozen tarts shells onto a rimmed baking sheet. I decided not to let the tart shells thaw out because I knew the baking time for the pumpkin mixture would take about 20 minutes and I didn't want the pastry to over bake while the filling was still firming up. Once the tart shells were each filled 3/4 full, I popped the tray into the center of the 350 degree oven and let them bake for about 20 minutes. When the center filling was firm and slightly domed with small cracks and no jiggle, and the pastry shells were a nice golden brown, it was time to take them out and set them on a cooling rack. 

When the tarts had cooled down, the domes had flattened back down and the cracks sealed up. Because the filling is more dense than a fruit pie, pumpkin pie sweats a little as it cools. This causes the top of each tart to become slightly glossy and caramelized, almost a bit of a brulee effect. Perfect for topping with a little dollop of that Bailey's whipped cream. 

Honey Crisp Apple Sauce

It was a beautiful crisp fall day today. The sun was shining bright, but there was a definite chill to the air. Over the weekend, my mom and I went to Ralph's Produce on Fraser Hwy and picked up a 20lb box of Honey Crisp apples to make applesauce. Even though the boxes were labeled "seconds", the apples were perfect for chopping up and simmering down to a delicious sauce.

Honey Crisp apples are fairly sweet, so they make wonderful applesauce apples. We find we don't need to add a lot sugar to the apples. This year (maybe because of all the warm sunshine through the summer) we found we didn't need to add anything to the apples. Which means each jar is 100% pure apple yumminess.

We start with washing all the apples. A little bit of bruising here and there is okay. No worm holes or rough scale spots to cut away this time, so we are good to go. Next the apples are quartered and then cored, and the seeds are removed. We don't peel the skins off the apples; they boil down with the apple pulp. Then it's into the big stew pot on the stove over medium-low heat.

Basically, the apples turn mushy and soft, and then we take a potato masher and squish them down into a warm, yummy pulp. It's really super technical. Once it's at the consistency we like, Mom (or sometimes Dad) ladle scoops of the mush into the food processor. Couple spins and the skins and apple pulp become one. Then it's into the hot sterilized jars, put on the lids, screw on the rings and into the hot water bath cooker to seal them.

From a 20lb box of apples, we made 23 pint jars of applesauce. We could have made an even 2 dozen jars, but we wanted to keep one open for tasting.

Applesauce is perfect with a number of different dishes, so it is always great to have it on hand in the pantry. Classic pairings include pork chops or pork tenderloin, or fried chicken. A number of muffin and coffee cake recipes call for applesauce. But one of my favourite ways to have applesauce is warm over ice cream with a little cinnamon. The other is chilled and stirred into plain Greek yogurt.

Applesauce is also the last thing we preserve for the winter months and so it marks the end of canning season. Time to put away the canning equipment and start going through those Christmas baking books.......

Patio Fare Featuring Pesto and Focaccia

Sundays are definitely meant for relaxing; and today was no exception. The day started with a cup of hot tea and watering my patio plants. Then it was in the car and off to Oma's house for coffee (well, she and my mom had coffee; I had more tea). After a nice visit, I drove to my parents' place and wandered around the garden with them; smelling the roses and looking at all the things coming up in the vegetable and flower beds.

Mom and I both had a bit of a nap, and then around 2pm we woke up and decided we better do something productive with our day. So we decided to make lunch. (I know, extremely productive of us.)

My mom has been on a bit of a bread baking binge. She had made some sun dried tomato focaccia bread the day before, and I knew there were some tomatoes and a container of burrata in the refrigerator. We also keep cubes of pesto in the freezer. So it only seemed natural to make a Toasted Focaccia with Fresh Tomato, Burrata and Pesto Mayo sandwich.

First, we took the focaccia bread and sliced it in half horizontally. Next, we thawed the pesto cube and mixed it with a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise. This was spread over the open faced focaccia. Then came slices of ripe tomatoes, followed by bits of burrata. Little bit of ground pepper, sprinkling of Kosher salt and a a bit of dried oregano over the top. Here it is ready for the oven.

We baked the loaded bread for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees; just long enough to heat the bread and tomatoes without melting all of that beautiful burrata.

Once out of the oven, we drizzled it with some rosemary balsamic reduction. Man oh man, was it good! The three of us (mom, dad and myself) enjoyed this quick and easy lunch with a fresh green salad with shredded cold chicken and crumbled corn tortilla chips.

A nice internationally festive lunch on a lazy Sunday in May.

The Midst of May

just some pretty flowers to brighten your mid-May day ! (found on Pinterest)

That Time of Year Again

it's been a busy Birthday Week around here ! 

With everyone's busy schedules, my birthday this year has stretched from just one day to a whole week's worth of celebrating. Here is a brief recap:

On Wednesday the 22nd, I met with my very good friend A for a glass of wine. Which became wine and snacks. Which ended up being wine and snacks and dinner. We started at Boulevard in the Sutton Place Hotel for bubbles. Have I ever mentioned how much I love bubbles? From there we went to Cafe España for wine and charcuterie. They have a great Tempranillo by the glass (as any self respecting Spanish tapas bar should), and cure their own meats in house for salumi. We also has some crispy squid. Yum. Then is was over to a couple doors down and Central Bistro. More wine and bubbles and a squash risotto and chicken saltimbocca. Double yum.

Thursday the 23rd was my official birth day. I was scheduled to work, but it was a slow day, and so I was given the option to head home. But only after a surprise birhtday cake and a song from my friends at work. Once home, it was hot tea, a bubble bath with candles and then I spent some time with a good book curled up on the sofa.

Friday the 24th was another working day, with cocktails after work. And more bubbles.

Saturday, I celebrated with a Birthday Brunch with my family. We decided to do a whole bunch of nibbly things and appetizers and just do some serious grazing from the coffee table in the living room. Stuffed artichokes, baked cauliflower, pan fried crab cakes, brown sugar bacon wrapped potatoes, coconut shrimp....and this cake; which I made for dessert. The cake was two different layers; one chocolate rum, the other butter pecan. The frosting was dutch cocoa Bailey's and the cake was surrounded by wafer cookies with hazelnut creme. The top of the cake had Hagelslag, which is a Dutch food staple that I had growing up. Basically, it's chocolate sprinkles. But these were special chocolate sprinkles. I brought them back with me on my last trip to Amsterdam. Anyhow, just to be cheeky, I wrapped the cake in a pretty pink satin bow. I didn't get very good pictures of it, but here it is none the less. 

Sunday, April 26 was a Birthday Bubbles Brunch at Yew Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel with a bunch of gal friends. It was a fun event in which friends from different parts of my life (past work, present work, models I've worked with) were able to come together not knowing each other and leave as friends. Oh, and these beautiful roses were a gift, as well as a tea mug that reads "Do what you love" (insert excited hand clapping), and a blank sketchbook (double excited hand clapping).

So, here I am at the end of a fun filled week to celebrate my birthday. There were many beautiful and appreciated gifts, but the best gifts; the ones that will last for years to come are the amazing cirlce of friends and family who helped me celebrate.

Cinnamon Hearts Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again . . .I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. It's just not my thing.

However, this Hallmark occasion does give me an excuse to bake cute little treats and decorate them. And so, may I present you with...... Cinnamon Heart Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows!

I have been on a home-made marshmallow kick lately. I made Eggnog Marshmallows right after Christmas. They were amazing, and a great way to use up leftover eggnog. Then I had some limes and WAY too much coconut; which I turned into Lime Pie Toasted Coconut Marshmallows. They were super delicious, and went very quickly when I brought them into work on a slow Sunday shift.

I was going through my baking supplies cupboard (yes, I have a cupboard just for baking supplies), and I came across a small bag of leftover red cinnamon hearts. They were from last year, so I didn't really think they would be that great to eat. Then again, they are sugar, flavouring and food colour so I guess they can't really spoil or go bad. Anyhow, I started thinking about what I could make with old, hard, hot cinnamon flavoured candy while holding a couple in my hand.

Then I had a small brainstorm. What if I could dissolve them in water, and then use the flavoured red water as the liquid in a batch of marshmallows ??? Genius!

The recipe was part experiment, part science. So I guess technically it was a science experiment. Dissolve a solid in a liquid, then apply heat and add that hot liquid to more liquid infused with a gelling agent, then apply friction and incorporate air to turn it into a foam. Easy, right?

Making marshmallows at home is not terribly tricky, but it does require attention and timing. First, your liquid to gelatin ratios have to be correct. Too much gelatin and the marshmallows turn gummy and tough; too little and they don't firm up and you have a sort of marshmallow fluff. Second, you really need to whip that hot liquid with a stand mixer. Because it needs to spin for a good ten minutes. Give it the full ten minutes to ensure it triples in volume. And finally, be sure you have a couple of greased rubber spatulas and an off-set spatula close by. Warm marshmallow goo will stick to anything and everything if you don't apply a thin coat of either cooking spray or butter/margarine. I save the paper wrappers that blocks of butter or margarine come in and use those to grease pans, parchment paper and my utensils. I have bag of them in my fridge and just pull out a couple and have them on the counter by my work area to use as needed.

Oh, and you need a candy thermometer. Seriously, you do. The mixture can very quickly go from 235 to 240 to 250 if you're not watching closely . . and then you recipe is hooped. You want to reach 238 to 240 degree F. No higher.

Okay, on to the recipe:

Cinnamon Hearts Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

Ingredients:

20-30 red cinnamon hearts
1/2 cup water
3 envelopes gelatin powder (I use Knox brand)
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups granulated white sugar
3 tbsp white corn syrup

8 oz good quality melting chocolate (dark, milk or white)
pink, red and white sprinkles or decorative trimmings (optional)

Place cinnamon hearts and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl. Give it a stir. The water should start to turn colour. Let this sit for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often. You want to dissolve the hearts into the water. Strain out and discard any lumps that don't dissolve.

Place 1/2 warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let this sit for about 30 minutes so the gelatin can bloom.

Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan on the bottom and sides (here is where the wrappers from the butter or margarine come in handy) Cut two pieces of parchment paper 9 inches wide by 11 inches long. Fit these into the pan so that you basically have an overlapping cross with the long ends extending up and over all four sides of the pan. Press the parchment into the greased sides to hold it in place. Lightly grease the parchment.

Place the sugar, dissolved hearts liquid and the corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Clip that candy thermometer to side of the pan. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook without stirring until candy thermometer reads 240 degrees F. If needed, use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down the sides of the pan to avoid crystallization.

Slowly pour the scalding hot syrup mixture into the bloomed gelatin mixture and whisk on low until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until thick and fluffy and mixture triples in volume. This will take about ten minutes, so be sure to give it the full amount of time. The outside of the bowl should be no longer hot and comfortable to touch.

Now you need to work quickly. Using a lightly buttered rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. You are not going to be able to get absolutely everything out of the mixer bowl; it's just so sticky and it cools off too quickly once the main mass of marshmallow goo is removed. Using a buttered offset spatula, try and smooth out the top surface of the mixture, pressing it into the corners. You want to get it as even as possible to have uniform marshmallows, but trust me.....getting it completely even while not getting it to stick to everything else is nearly impossible. Set the pan aside and let it cool to room temperature; about 8 hours (or overnight).

In a heat-proof bowl, melt the chocolate. Lift the block of marshmallow out of the pan using the parchment paper. Using a serrated knife, slice the block into strips about one inch wide and then cut those into one inch pieces. You should end up with a kind of one inch rectangle; about the size of a regular store-bought marshmallow. I usually end up with 80-ish pieces (9 inches by 9 inches in the pan)

Dip each piece into the melted chocolate about half way. Gently stand each piece up on the non-dipped end on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. If you dip the "uneven / top side", then the bottom or flatter end will stand up better. If it doesn't, just trim it with a sharp knife. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle with decorating trimmings. I dip a few, then sprinkle; dip a few more, then sprinkle those. Carefully move the baking sheet into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Here you can see my small army of finished marshmallows. So cute !

Marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to five days. These would be so sweet (pun intended) done up in little packages with pretty ribbon for Valentine's gifts for a child's classmates, co-workers or anyone that would appreciate home-made treats.

Banana Rum Muffins

Ever buy a bunch of bananas and have every intent on eating them, but then days go by and they seem to languish on your counter? I personally believe that's why banana bread recipes were invented....to use up the over ripe bananas. Because let's face it, the texture of super ripe, mushy bananas in your mouth is not the most appealing. Mashed up on toast? Sure. Pureed in a blender with milk and honey? Of course. But eating on their own while they squish through your fingers trying to hold onto them? No thanks.

This morning I made some Banana Rum Muffins. My mom can not have a lot of nuts (potassium rich foods are on her "in moderation list" for kidney disease), so I left out the toasted walnuts. You could use other nuts such as hazelnuts or pecans. Toasting them in the oven before chopping them up really brings out their flavour.

Banana Rum Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large bananas, mashed (be sure the bananas are really ripe)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp dark rum (or 1 tbsp rum extract)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts), toasted and chopped

In a large bowl, combine the flour. baking powder, baking soda and salt. If you are going to use nuts in this recipe, add those in now and coat with dry ingredients. Form into a well and set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the mashed banana, sugar, egg, rum and melted butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the dry ingredient well and mix until just combined and dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (12-15 minutes for mini muffins. Remove from oven when tops of muffins spring back when touched. Allow to cool in pan on wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

We had some of these warm with hot earl grey tea before heading out to run errands. It was especially foggy here and we were not looking forward to having to go outside. So it was nice to linger for a moment and enjoy the warmth of the muffins and the tea, which gave us a little bit of a push to start our day.

Hope you enjoy!

Masquerade

Venetian masks are known world over for their elaborate designs and striking colour combinations. They are generally thought of as only being worn during Carnevale di Venezia (Carnival of Venice), but this wasn't always the case.

Originally, the masks were worn daily; and by doing so the wearer could hide his or her identity and status. A high born lady could wander the streets of the market, a common man could pass himself off as a successful merchant. The masks also allowed the wearer to act more freely without the constraints of their given social class and ignore the boundaries that would otherwise apply. This was especially true at a party, where the host would not have known whether the wearer was high born or not but could not risk offending invited guests, and so would have to have welcomed everyone wearing a mask. This is what makes the story of the Montagues sneaking into the Capulet masked ball without detection plausible (Romeo and Juliet).

However, given the possibility, the mask could be used for good as well as bad intent; one might sneak out from their manor house to speak with their lover in another part of town, opinions might be more openly voiced in conversation, or a knife might find its way into an enemy's back. Who was that masked man? Nobody knows.

Therefore, the daily use of masks was restricted - almost disappeared except for on rare occasion. Then, in 1162, a festival was held to commemorate a military victory. The festival became an annual tradition, and as it developed and became larger and more colourful each year, the Carnevale di Venezia was born. The masks became more and more elaborate and the balls, dances and parties lasted for days. That is, until 1797 when the King of Austria outlawed the Carnival and strictly forbid the wearing of masks.

Over the next 200 years, masks were usually only worn at private parties or at exhibitions as part of an artistic expression.  In 1980, a Carnival revival began in an effort to attract tourists to Venice.

There are three popular types of masks worn at Carnival. The first is the Bauta, which hides the whole face, but extends away from the lower part of the face so that the wearer can still eat. The extension also acts as a tunnel and alters the voice of the wearer, furthering the disguise. A Columbina is a half mask, which is often highly decorated with feathers and silk flowers, and is either held up to the face by a baton or tied around the head with a ribbon. Medico della Peste (the Plague Doctor) is the third type of mask, which got its ominous name from the Plague in Italy during the 17th century when it was worn as a precautionary measure against contracting the disease. It is easily recognized with its long beak and stark appearance without decoration.

Today, you can find masks pretty much everywhere you turn in Venice. Some are authentic and made in Venice. Most are not.

Tonight is the staff party for work, and the theme is Masquerade, which is a type of masked ball. Perhaps we will see if people do indeed act more freely behind the guise of a mask (there is no worry that some one with ill intent pulls a dagger out before running off into the darkness of the night). I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

Happy New Year - 2015

Today starts a brand new year! Although most of today will be spend in a state of doing nothing constructive or creative (i.e. lounging on the sofa in my pj's), I have given some thought to what I plan to accomplish in the coming year.

I have set my resolutions up as short term, mid term and year end goals. First, in the short term, I need to clean. I mean, really clean. And purge. I have too much stuff. I need to go through my storage and throw out all the old paint cans from ten years ago. I need to get rid of a lot of old stuff in there like light fixtures that don't work, old shower curtain rods ....useless stuff that once a while back I thought I would need again. Now it's ten years later and I've lived this long without them. They can go.

I need to securely wrap up and move any bolts of fabric that I am not working with into the newly created space in storage. I have too much fabric in my studio. I know, I know....there is no such thing as too much fabric. But it is not a very large studio and it is feeling very cluttered. Cluttered spaces are not productive spaces. So they will need to be relocated. Temporarily, not for ten years.

I have too many mannequins. I have six child and six adult mannequins. I can cut that number down, since I no longer do art shows where I need to display a whole bunch of dresses and such. Twelve mannequins takes up a lot of room. I will photograph them and put them up on craigslist, since they weren't cheap when I bought them and someone can definitely use them.

I will (finally) grout around my fireplace tiles. Doing this will mean I can then give all the tiling equipment and tools back to my parents. The extra grout and supplies can go away (though I will keep a small container of the grout powder for any touch ups I may need to do). This will give me an additional two feet of space along the back of the sofa, where I have been storing these tools and equipment for the past couple years.

I will recover my sectional and either sell it or keep it and sell the sofa. Yes, I have a full sofa plus a full sectional. I live on my own and can seat 12 people in my living room. It's going to be hard to determine which I want to give up, but I do need to choose one or the other. I just want the space back.

This means by April (mid-term goals), I will have my dining room area back. Which means I can host a Birthday Brunch. And diner parties. And Sangria Sundays. I also want to visit Cuba. Or Prague and Vienna. Cuba first, then Prague and Vienna.

I want to redo my kitchen. I would like new counters and will probably need a new refrigerator this year. The one I currently have has started making funny noises with increased frequency. This is not a good thing. I want to remove the dishwasher entirely. The only time I use it is .....never. It leaks, and so about two years ago I stopped using it. I have so few dishes I just do them by hand when I need to. Although, if I start hosting more people, I may reconsider this idea. But it would be nice to turn that area back into a cupboard for baking equipment. I'd keep the hose hook-up for if I ever sell my place and move.

And I need to renovate my main bathroom. Big time. Especially the shower.

So there you have it. I've committed my resolutions by writing them down and making them public.

Have you made any resolutions? Let me know big or small. Remember, start with small steps and build momentum for greater success. The biggest (apparent) reason people fail in keeping their resolutions is that they resolve too much too quickly.

Hope you are having a great start to your new year!

A Year of Pretty - December 29, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this FANTASTIC pair of shoes. Well, one shoe really. But I'm sure it has a mate somewhere close by.

I may have posted this photo before. Doesn't matter, because I yearn for these shoes  . . . both the left and the right one. Together. As a pair. In my closet.

I'm sure that a good part of the appeal of this photo (which has no original source when I follow the link, just some ghost hosting site called fashionjot.com) is the lighting. The lighting is so important in this shot. Almost as important as the shoe. But not quite.

There is so much detail in this shoe. All those difficult swirls and scrolls to cut out, all the tiny little holes that border the edges. Of course, I would imagine that the shoe(s) were cut using a laser machine.

I really like the slim gold leather-strap-almost-cording that is threaded through the holes like a corset. As long as these cords look, I would imagine they wrap around the ankle a couple times before being tied in a leather bow at the back. Sexy.

Also check out that stiletto heel! Four and a half...five inches maybe. That is some serious damage for the poor man who gets his foot (or something else) caught on the wrong end of those. Never mind height adjustment. I'd go from 5'6" to 5'10 in those babies.

I wish I knew who the shoes were designed or made by. Please let me know if you can read the print inside, or if you just happen to know. Not that I would run out and buy them; they are probably at least two if not three of my pay checks. It's just nice to know these things.

Since metallics are in such style right now, these would be fantastic shoes for New Year's Eve. That is, until about 1am when you are leaving the restaurant or party and teetering down the street after too much champagne (Wait, what's too much champagne? There is never too much champagne!) and trying to hail a cab. Or maybe these would help you get a cab driver to stop.

I'd stop for these shoes. But only if there were two of them.

January 29, 2015 - update - and the shoe maker is . . .Christian Louboutin. Also available in Jet Black and Sterling Silver.

A Year of Pretty - December 28, 2014

We are almost at the end of another year. Which means I am almost at the end of my A Year of Pretty for 2014. I think after 2014 is through, I am going to go back to posting under some of the headings I have used in the past - "Delicate and Pretty", "A Little Bit of Lovely", "Shoes and More Shoes".

While it has been fun to bring a daily dose of something pretty, it has also been a bit of a time grabber. Not so much in the actual posting each day, but in the researching and finding background information, chasing broken links down a dark rabbit hole to try and credit original sources; and of course.....hours spent scrolling through Pinterest and other such sites.

(For those that want to admire a whole bunch of Pretty at one time, I invite you to a collection called "oh. .  pretty!" that I have curated, both for your enjoyment and my inspiration).

There has not been any snow so far this December in Vancouver. Well, up on the mountains, yes. But not in the city itself. So for today's Pretty Post I thought I would bring the snow to you by way of this STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS suit ensemble from the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2014 / 2015 collection. I have watched (a number of times) the videos on how these pieces are hand crafted and painstakingly put together. Utterly amazing.

It would take me years...YEARS ! to complete a garment such as this. So I can understand the astronomical price tag that this jacket and pants would go for. If I had to hazard a guess, I would put this at being no less than $35,000.00. Yes, thirty five thousand dollars.

Okay, so back to the garment itself. The detailing is smart. The play between the expanse of white in the jacket and the cording effect of the beading is beautiful. The beading not only acts as a decorative detail, but serves to contour the lines of the body. Essentially, it is a tuxedo jacket with a mandarin collar that morphs into a long tunic. I'm noticing now that in one of the pictures (above), it is worn with leggings, in another (right) the model's leg is visible. In a show, these two looks would be presented one after the other. Which means the jacket combo was made twice?


No, but wait! It's a tuxedo jacket with biker shorts! Now that I have watched the video of the fashion show again, the model is clearly wearing a tuxedo-jacket-cum-tunic over a pair of long biker shorts. Only Chanel could make biker shorts this glamourous. Here is a screen shot from the youtube video (left).

But my train has left the tracks. Back to this Winter Wonderland look. The beading reminds me of Christmas tinsel and holly berries, with all the twiggy bits poking up out of the snow.

So while beaded biker shorts may not be your kind of thing (and honestly, for me I would do without them and wear plain leggings, either in the same warm winter white or in red to match the red "berries" with a cable knit pattern and red patent leather stilettos), this tunic would definitely be a show stopper at any company Christmas party or New Year's Eve gathering. But heaven forbid Carl the Clumsy from Accounting doesn't bump into you with his glass of red wine, or your Uncle Leon drop his plate of Swedish meatballs on your lap as he leans over to kiss you hello.

If you are interested in watching the whole production, the youtube video is here:

A Year of Pretty - December 14, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is actually a super cute post....THESE PUPPIES ! ! ! !

Today being Sunday, it's a big baking day, but I wanted to share this adorable photo of Santa's little helpers. No original source given, just a random tumblr account where I couldn't locate the photo after five minutes of scrolling. Oh well, enjoy!

A Year of Pretty - December 09, 2014

A Year of Pretty - December 08, 2014

 .. . .perfect for the creative person. This would also be a great way to use left over yarn. What's also nice is that with a bit of adult super vision when attaching the yarn to the wreath, this is a fun project for kids to create. Imagine their concentration while winding the yarn into smaller balls....

I've given instructions for both a permanent and a temporary wreath. In the permanent version, the balls of yarn are glued together; both to the wreath form and to each other. In the temporary version, the balls of yarn are attached with thin wire. This is in case you may want to use the yarn again for another project and don't want it to be covered in hardened glue.

You can also use a foam wreath for your base and wrap it in yarn. I found that to be a bit time consuming, so I opted for a rustic twig / vine wreath I had on hand. Essentially, when we pruned back the grape vines in the garden, I twisted then into wreaths and let them dry that way. But you can pick one up pretty cheap at your local craft store.

Directions for Yarn Wreath:

Needed:
yarn in four or five complimentary shades
styrofoam balls in various sizes
large eyed needle
desired size wreath form; twig or grapevine
hot glue gun and glue sticks, or 20 gauge wire
wire cutters and eye protection
hanging ornament for center
clear fishing line
scissors

What to Do:

1. Wind various yarns around the different sizes of styrofoam balls, leaving a 12 inch tail. If you are using a smaller wreath, make smaller balls, larger for a larger wreath. Essentially, the size should be in proportion to the overall size of the wreath.

2. Thread the tail end of yarn onto the large eyed needle. Pull the needle through the ball of yarn repeatedly until the tail is secure.

3. Arrange balls of yarn on wreath form in the desired sequence in order to cover the front of the wreath as shown in the photo.

4. Apply hot glue to the back of each yarn ball and press in place along the wreath. Hold until ball feels secure. Repeat with all yarn balls; glue yarn balls together at sides where they touch.

OR

4. Attach each ball of yarn to the wreath with the 20 gauge wire by threading the wire through each ball and then twisting the ends of the wire onto the twig wreath until secure. Wearing eye protection, clip ends of wire with wire cutters. Twist and tuck exposed twisted pieces into the wreath for safety. Thread wire through yarn balls at sides where they touch and repeat twisting to secure, clipping ends as needed.

5. Attach hanging ornament to inside top of wreath with clear fishing line. Trim ends of fishing line with scissors.

Your wreath is now ready to hang or give away as a gift. I have found that round cake trays with domed lids from the grocery store's baking department are great way to store wreaths when not in use and are convenient for gift-giving. Just stick a pretty bow on the top of the dome and you're done.

Happy Christmas Crafting!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Christmas Baking Begins

It's here ! It's here! it's the most wonderful time of the year !

The Christmas season is my favourite time of year for a number of reasons. The cold snap in the air. Mittens and hats and scarves. Spending time with the family. The excitement in a young child's eyes; and the certain sparkle in the eyes of the young at heart.

But by far, this is my favourite time of year for baking. Each year around mid November, I pull out all my baking books and magazines and start marking what I want to make. I also begin a list of ingredients I'll need. I try to keep my selection of recipes down to an even dozen. However, each year it is a struggle between the tried and true cookies that our family loves and the new recipes that I want to try. There is also a discussion and decision meeting with the family. So quite often that selection process ends up at about 16 different varieties.

You may think that 16 different kinds of holiday treats is a bit overboard, but in a family of bakers, this is actually quite easily accomplished. My parents are lucky to have a large kitchen. Having two mixers going at the same time is also a time saver. (I bring mine over to my parents' house and we set them up side-by-side).

Most of the recipes call for a chilled dough, so the batters are often made in advance and then wrapped and labeled for a later time. We find that if we make all the dough over one week, and then do the baking the following week, it doesn't seem like such an ordeal.

When it comes to rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes, we have three stations going; two on the long kitchen table and one on the counter. So really, there are three people working on three different cookies at one time. We just make sure we are all working on recipes that call for the same oven temperature.

The dining room table gets converted into the cooling and storage area. Once a particular batch of cookies has cooled overnight, they get packed into a large tins and labeled. Hard cookies will stay in the dining room, soft cookies will head to the freezer downstairs.

But more important than the actual baking are the memories we share as we are making the dough and cutting the shapes. There are some pretty amazing conversations that occur when there are three people all rolling, cutting and baking at the same time with Bing Crosby playing in the background.

Okay, so what do we need with 16 types of cookies, with between 50 to 60 cookies per recipe? Well, in truth, we give most of it away as gifts. My Oma (grandmother) lives in a wonderful home where a good majority of the residents are of Western European decent (predominantly Dutch, but also German, Danish, and Belgians). They all enjoy home baking, especially those traditional treats they remember from their homelands. So we pack up a couple large tins with an assortment of 4 or so dozen cookies in each for her to offer to her guests that come for coffee. Oma is also diabetic, so we know she won't be eating them herself; and she doesn't have time to bake. My Oma is, and has always been a social butterfly. Her personal appointment calendar rivals that of most teenagers.

Mom likes to give baskets of home made jams, jellies, salsa and a variety of baked goods to her close friends. This will take up another 15 to 20 dozen cookies. Then she also brings a large platter of them to the Christmas Concert for her students. There goes another 12 dozen. I take a few of tins packed with 3 or 4 dozen each to my work, so there is another 10 to 12 dozen. What are we at now ....52 dozen?? That's 624 cookies. Which, if you've been following my math, leaves 176 cookies or 14.67 dozen. These get divided into individual treat bags with a dozen per bag and tied with pretty ribbon to hand out as needed (the postman, the pharmacist who takes my mom's prescriptions over the phone, the delivery driver who comes every other week with her dialysis equipment supplies). Some will go home with my brother and his girlfriend, others home with my nephew.

So really we are left with about 6 dozen assorted cookies for actual drop-by guests and "personal consumption." And when we feel we can't stand to look at another cookie, we pack up the remainder and stick them in the freezer until summer. Lebkuchen and Speculaas in the middle of July? Why not.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some baking and cookie photos. I hope you will be inspired by these and want to bake something tasty for someone you love.

Happy Baking!

A Year of Pretty - December 06, 2014

A Year of Pretty - December 05, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this montage of silver tones coffee table accessories, found on Pinterest via tumblr. 

I appreciate how the cable knit pattern on the throw pillow and blanket is reflected in the crocheted candle cozies on the silver platter, though I'm not sure if a wool candle cozy is the safest idea for something that's a lit flame. Maybe they just look like they are made from wool but are really resin or some other non-flammable material.

I really like coffee table vignettes like this that tell a little story. I have one going on my coffee table that I keep adding to. Mine is made up of little mementos from places I have travelled. There is the Eiffel Tower I got on my first trip to Paris, a Deft porcelain shoe from my first visit to The Netherlands, shells from a beach where I swam with dolphins in Portugal, and my most recent addition: an alabaster leaning tower from Pisa. 

And of course; candles. Lots and lots of candles.