Easter for Toddlers

Last year for Easter Anna was only 7 months old however since she could walk with some assistance we helped her toddle around to find some small chocolate eggs to place in a basket and we all had fun afterwards eating the chocolate ourselves!

This year since Anna will be over a year and a half I am much more excited for the egg hunt. However having grown up without ever celebrating Easter I was short on ideas but once I stumbled across this post by Michelle Paige I became inspired!

She details 10 different non-candy ways to stuff plastic Easter eggs! While most of the ideas are for older kids it inspired me to think of toddler treats to stuff inside the eggs such as goldfish, craisins, yogurt covered raisins, play dough perhaps, bouncy balls, stickers etc.

Once I became inspired for the egg hunt I started to think of other ways to have fun with Anna this year. While we do not incorporate the religious aspect I love the idea of spending an extra special day with her and family.

One idea that Charles mom suggested was dying hard boiled eggs. I have since found this idea all over the internet and don’t know why I had not noticed it before; I just always thought one decorated egg shells and deemed Anna too young for it so I’m quite excited for that activity! I even found a link for how to dye eggs naturally here by Crunchy Domestic Goddess. We may even skip the dye however and just try finger painting the eggs or colouring them with markers!

Another fun activity I found was this one by Teach Preschool involving filling eggs with watered down paint and then sprinkling the paint onto paper out of the little holes! I think Anna would have a blast!

Another few activities I came up with could be getting white ceramic bunnies and letting her paint them. Even sewing together a simple little bunny stuffy and letting her go to town with markers could be fun and would make an excellent keepsake! I’ll be sure to share what we all ended up doing after the holiday!

Do any of you have any particular crafts you’ll be doing with your kids? Or perhaps some sort of Easter tradition you follow each year? I’d love to hear all your ideas!

Put Some Spring in Your Step!

As you' re stepping up to my front door that is! I decided it was time to cheer up the exterior of our house with a sweet and cheery spring wreath!



This lovely little wreath only cost me $3! Everything else I had on hand. When I make my wreaths I love starting out with a small vision but then just laying out everything in front of me that I might possibblyyy use and letting my creation run wild. For this wreath I used some moss, fake flowers, a bunny, 2 birdhouses (made to go into plant pots), and some yellow burlap for a ribbon along with lots of glue for my glue gun!



The birdies and the bunnies were the only 2 items I picked up last minute from the dollar store. I absolutely love how they turned out on the wreath.









And here is the whole wreath again!



What do you guys think? Have any of you yet made a spring wreath for your door? I’d love to see it if so!


P.S. I'm linking up to the Spring Fling link party!

Goodbye Grease!

Last week I decided to try another recipe from an exotic location, Mexico! What can I say? Summer is on the brain and I’m picturing warm and sunny locations with white sandy beaches!

Another reason I chose this recipe is because I’m typically a victim to this greasy delicious delight at 7-11….taquitos! While this recipe isn’t quite the same as that fattening, chemical-filled awesomeness found at your local convenience store it was delightfully crispy but with a gooey center!

To be precise I whipped up a batch of black bean taquitos with a side of Mexican rice. I followed this recipe for the baked black bean taquitos except I made a few revisions. I omitted the jalapeno and cilantro and cut back on the cayenne powder. I also added an extra clove of garlic, used whole wheat tortillas vs corn, and white cheddar cheese vs colby jack.

These turned out much better than expected. They were crispy on the outside but nice and gooey on the inside. They were also quite filling and full of flavour. While I can’t say I’ll never eat a greasy 7-11 taquito again they are a nice healthy substitute and a great way to get your beans!

For the Mexican rice I followed this recipe except after having looked at other Mexican rice recipes I added some cumin and paprika. The rice really sucks up the flavour of the spices so I found you had to add a lot; mine could have used much more. I think I used 1/8 tsp of cayenne powder and 1/4 tsp each of cumin and paprika but I would probably double those. Also I couldn’t find any diced tomatoes with chilli's so I just used regular diced tomatoes and for the water I didn’t measure it I just made sure it was slightly covering the rice.

Does anyone else have beaches and the summer sun on the brain? I know it just turned spring but I’m so tired of winter! I crave the heat!!

Sisal Rope & Milk Jug Bird Feeder

We always get a ton of birds in our yard chirping away every day; it’s so nice to sit and watch them at mealtimes! As a result I have been wanting to make a bird feeder for them but wanted to do something unique. I was searching around on Pinterest for a while when I discovered this amazing bird feeder.

This feeder is actually from here and is intended to be sold in fair-trade shops to assist Ugandan producers of raffia goods. It’s made in a somewhat complicated fashion that I obviously in no way could replicate but wanted to somewhat recreate using local materials found at my hardware store.

I thought long and hard about this project; about how best to create it that would be sturdy and basically waterproof. Finally I hit gold and realized I could make this simply out of thick sisal rope, a 2L plastic milk jug, and a glue gun.

It’s not exactly the same but I rather love it! I think it could even be cute if I made a few and hung them in a cluster in my bird/nature themed nursery I’ll be designing and store little trinkets inside! Here’s how I made it!

Spring Is In The Air!

With today being the first official day of Spring I figured it’s time to bring some cheer into the house despite the snow outside! Sadly I don’t have too many areas in the house to place little odds and ends but I do have one rather large space above my kitchen cupboards that I like to think of as my “mantle”.

After Christmas my mantle was a little bare bones for a while and I wasn’t too happy with it; I was also looking for one awesome large piece to ground the space but wasn’t sure what I wanted. As I was perusing spring mantles on Pinterest I saw a few vintage windows being used and felt that was the perfect solution! Luckily Charles dad hoards old windows and he found me the perfect one for my space!

Since it’s still cold outside I just lightly sanded it and washed it down but once the weather warms up I would like to actually finish it in some way. For now though I’m totally loving the chipped paint vintage vibe, what do you think?



To complete my spring mantle I made an easy felt banner with ribbon, felt, and double sided tape. I also spray painted some ugly old candlesticks a cheery shade of blue and layered in a few vases with my beloved white ceramic owl collection. I also added some fresh flowers except my daffodils sadly haven’t bloomed yet. I’ll be sure to share a pic once they do! The salt lamp is something we always have up on the cabinets for its good vibes and it works perfectly as our night light for getting to the bathroom.

Here’s a few close ups!







Do any of you have a vintage window somewhere in your house? Or maybe even hoard vintage windows? Also who’s excited for Spring? Although I must say the weather here in BC certainly does not feel very “springish”. Hopefully it warms up soon!

P.S. I'm linking up to the Spring Fling link party at the Lettered Cottage!

Sailing Away On the Ocean

Not actually, but I kind of dreamed I did while eating this Greek dish I made last week! Now I will say that I have never been to Greece so I really can't claim what is actually authentic, but with all the cold weather we've been having I certainly didn't mind pretending I was sitting on a beach with a balmy breeze while eating this delicious meal of salmon, lemon roasted potatoes, and greek salad!

For a while I have been trying to find a delicious lemon roasted potato like the ones they serve at Opa!. While these weren't exactly the same they were extremely delicious! I followed this recipe however some of the measurements were a bit odd so I'm repeating it here.

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

4 medium sized potatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp peppe

Cut the peeled potatoes into wedges and place in a large casserole dish. Combine the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the potatoes. Toss to coat. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.

I paired these delectable potatoes with this recipe for fish, except I used salmon instead of white fish, and then topped it all of with a greek salad! Yumm!

Does anyone else picture themselves sitting on a beach while eating? Or have you found the perfect recipe to replicate Opa's! lemon roasted potatoes? If so please share!!

Boy and Girl Nurseries

Maybe I am weird but I find that I feel so much more prepared for a baby when I have a solid plan. How we're going to manage financially, how we're going to make room for the baby, and yes, what the nursery is going to look like if we're going to have a boy or a girl.

As I've stated before we're really hoping for a boy but obviously there is a 50/50 chance and I was feeling kinda bad that we were so boy gung-ho if there truly was a girl growing in my womb. I really didn't want to risk giving her some sort of "stigma" as crazy as that may sound. I am a firm believer that what the mom thinks and does during her pregnancy can affect the child's outcome and, if I was to have a girl, I did not want her to feel she was coming into this earth unwanted because of her gender; I wanted her to be accepted with open arms.

Luckily we already had a name picked out for either gender so that was not an issue. If we have a boy his name will be Zenith, if we have a girl her name will be Autumn. The problem was I could not think of any form of girls nurseries I wanted; I felt all "girled" out from Anna and as such was looking much more forward to planning the boys nursery. If I was to have a girl I wanted to stay true to my feminine, romantic nature for girls rooms but wasn't sure how to pull that across without simply repeating everything. I spent many hours pouring over pinterest but couldn't come up with anything that really popped or suited the name we have picked out. Finally one day after I had more or less given up the search a ray of heaven shined down upon me in pinterest land in the form of a beautiful fabric.

A fabric called Nestled in Branches by Legacy Studio that can be found at Joann Fabrics. This fabric was so perfect because I really wanted to incorporate some orange into the room because of Autumn's name but I wanted it to be soft and not in your face, I can thank the flowers on the branches for that. I also was really envisioning a more nature themed room this time around however if we have a boy we're going for a full forest themed room and I didn't want to fully steal that idea just in case I still want to use it down the road for our third child. Hence a bird themed room rang true. 

Image found here.

Embroidery Hoop Art Part 2!

I finally finished Anna’s embroidery hoop wall art! I had started on this about 2 weeks ago but got postponed when I could not find any more wooden embroidery hoops. I was hoping my old town’s thrift shop would have some because that was where I found my first bunch but sadly I only managed to procure some plastic ones and a metal one. Interestingly however I found that once I lumped them all together I really loved the eclectic look of it!

What do you guys think? You can see the first hoops and how I made them here.

Initially I was planning on embroidering a few more hoops but could only find enough hoops for the few extra fabric swatches I had that I really wanted to put up. Maybe one day I’ll add a few extra for the handprint hoop and balloon hoop I wanted but for now I really love how they look.

Hanging them up was something else though I must tell you. I was initially really confused as to how to hang them and couldn’t find any tutorials for tips. There are a lot of websites showing their wall art but none showing how they hung them! At least not that I could find. Finally I decided to use normal picture hangers hung through the little tightening area of the hoop. The problem I encountered however was that it caused the hoop to not lie flat against the wall! As such I had to bend the picture hanger in various ways away from the wall to make it work depending on the hoop.

I was worried about stability but I pounded on the wall a bunch and open and shut the door really fast and nothing fell and it’s been a few days now and they are still stable on the wall! Hurrah!

As for the placement I found cutting out templates on some flyers worked really well. I made sure to write a nickname for the hoop on the template so I could know which one it was and just played with the placement directly on the wall. It took me a few different layouts but eventually I found one that worked. I then just hammered the picture hook slightly above the template, bent it to work with the particular hoop, and voila!

Homemade Tomato Soup

This week I would like to feature Charles recipe for a delicious, super easy, homemade tomato soup! I did list this recipe in one of my meal plans a little while ago however since it's so good I thought I would give it it's own showcase! Next time we make this soup I will take a picture and feature it here.

Tomato Soup

1 onion
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
1 large can of whole tomatoes, blended.
Enough milk to fill empty can from tomatoes.

1. Chop up the onion into small pieces and toss into a large soup pot with your butter. Sautee the onions until transparent.
2. While the onions are sauteeing combing the flour and  sugar in a small bowl. Once the onions are ready pour the flour mixture into the butter and combine to form a paste. 
3. Add your blended tomatoes and mix well. Allow the tomatoes to heat up and bubble while making sure to fully clean out your tomato can before filling it with milk.
4. Once the tomatoes are bubbling add your milk and mix thoroughly then allow to heat back before serving.

Simple right? The easiest way to remember the recipe is the rule of 4/4/4. Also of note is that homemade canned tomatoes make for the best soup but store bought will suffice. This makes for such a smooth and creamy yet flavorful soup; I really love it with crushed up crackers, yummy!

Baby Update - 12 weeks!

As of yesterday, Wednesday 7th, I am 12 weeks pregnant! Hurray! My due date is actually scheduled for exactly the same day as Anna’s was, September 18th! How crazy is that? Not to mention that I can’t believe it’s been 8 weeks already since I initially found out I was pregnant, it’s absolute madness! Where has time gone? Only 2 more weeks till I’m in my second trimester!

So far baby and I have been doing great. I haven’t been having any odd symptoms and most of my gastritis has gone away *victory dance*. I also do have a very small little baby bump which rather excites me AND I have already been able to feel baby move. It’s happens rarely, and I know it’s early, but I know it’s the baby and it’s just so phenomenal.

I must say I can already tell this pregnancy is going to be very different from my last pregnancy. To be honest, when I had Anna I was facing life as a single mom and my future felt quite bleak and lonely. As a result I was rather shy and insecure about my new pregnancy body albeit that I was already madly in love with my daughter. Being that with this pregnancy I have an amazing, loving man by my side who showers me with compliments every day I feel fantastic and can’t wait to rock this sexy new bod of mine bahaha. Call me crazy but I’m kind of excited for my growing bump this time around.

We had an ultrasound on February 22nd and it was a very exciting moment for Charles and I to be able to have the first glimpse together at our beautiful baby. I’m really curious to see if Anna will be able to comprehend the aspect as I get further along in my pregnancy, and being able to include her in the entire experience as well and get her excited to be a big sister. If anyone has any tips for best handling this transition I would be more then happy to hear them!



Another thing we’re excited about with this pregnancy is finding out the gender. I’m quite the impatient person and there is no way I would be able to go my whole pregnancy without knowing. I don’t know how people did it before the ultrasounds of today! We are rather rooting for a boy but I know it would also be lovely for Anna to have a girl her age to perhaps better bond with.

Craving wise things have been horrible; I’m such a victim to them and they don’t go away until I satisfy them. They can last for days, even weeks, until I cave. I have been craving lots of sweets (like chocolate cake and cherry milkshakes), and also sour candies. Lately has also been a craving for shrimp so I have been making sure to take extra omega supplements. In my last pregnancy I found I was craving shrimp hardcore and once I started taking a hemp oil supplement it disappeared. I have also been eating tons of fruits and vegetables and always try to keep a supply of veggie sticks in my fridge along with apples, bananas, and strawberries. Yumm!

What were some of your weirdest pregnancy cravings? Did you have a little brother or sister close in age you bonded well (or even horribly) with?? Or are you even currently celebrating a pregnancy as well? Lets chat!

My 2012 VW Jetta GLI

**Disclaimer – I was in no way compensated by VW for this post. We are simply huge fans of Volkswagen!**

We have our new family car! The 2012 VW Jetta GLI and I must say I am in love! This car is simply beautiful, luxurious, fast, will fit our growing family for a long time to come, and best of all? It’s one of the safest vehicles around.

Our family is a huge fan of Volkswagen and I’ll show you a few reasons why in this post. Biggest of all is how safe their vehicles are. Take this video for instance…

If that wasn’t shocking enough take a look at how the Tiguan, their small SUV, fared in the IIHS rollover safety test…

My Holy Grail

As I build up my blog followers and work on improving my blog I am always trying to keep track of what people like and don't like and sadly I have realized that the posts that get the least amount of viewers are my meal plan posts. This does sadden me a bit as although I do always make a meal plan regardless it takes me quite a bit of time to write up these posts. 

As a result, in an attempt to streamline things and allow me more time for my bigger/crafty/decor posts, I have decided to eliminate my meal plan posts. However! Since I absolutely love cooking I will instead be replacing these posts with a featured recipe every Sunday! The great thing about this is it will also allow me to share some of my favourite baking recipes because I sure do love baking! Almost more than cooking even! I will note that if you did happen to love and always follow my meal plans please, please leave me a comment below and let me know! Your opinions greatly matter to me! :)

So in an attempt to switch things up I'll be featuring my latest love...the most perfect, divine chocolate cake recipe in all the world. You see, my favourite dessert of all time is black forest cake.

Image found here.

However! I have never, ever, tasted a homemade chocolate cake that could compare to the airy, chocolatey delightfulness that is store-bought cake. It was like my holy grail with the recipe ever eluding me. Most cakes were too fudgey, moist, or dense. And don't get me started on just using cherry pie filling, blech, it's so much more sour and just horrible on every level. Now don't get me wrong, not every store can create a good black forest cake with proper whipping cream and all too often there isn't enough cherry filling, but still, it just can't be beat much to Charles disappointment (aka his hate for store bought black forest cake).

Que in, I Am Baker.

This lady always creates amazing cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts with the most beautiful of designs and blogs about it. I'm still not sure how I stumbled upon her blog but my life has been blessed by amazing cakes ever since. The first time I tried one of her recipes it was in an attempt to find the perfect white cake for my daughter's first birthday party and this recipe reined supreme. They were better than any store-bought cupcakes I have ever tasted. They were light, airy, full of flavor, in a word - divine. They were quite the hit at Anna's party!

As a result, although I'm not sure why it has taken me this long, I figured if she had the perfect white cake recipe surely she must have a good chocolate cake recipe. Cue the trumpets. Enter in the "Best Chocolate Cake" decked out in a robe and wearing a tiara with a million diamonds. Yes, it is THAT good.

Image found here.

A few side notes I found while making this - Yes, this cake has coffee in it, but in all honesty I could not taste any coffee flavour in the cake what-so-ever. Just simple, perfect, divine, chocolatey, moist yet airy, perfection. Another side note was that instead of all purpose flour I used pastry flour. Lastly the batter was quite runny however it still doubled in size in the oven and baked beautifully.

Now that I have found my holy grail I am going to make an attempt at recreating that cherry filling. I have a suspicion if I take a jar of maraschino cherries and saucify it with cornstarch it could possibly come close. I have my fingers crossed!

Does anyone else have a recipe that is the holy grail to them? Or some sort of dessert/recipe you have found you can only get at a restaurant or store that you so desperately wish to recreate? Tell me about it!