Fabric Gifts!

Recently a friend of mine, who I worked with all summer, long celebrated her birthday. This year it was the holiday Monday of labour day weekend (only three days after mine) and I though wouldn't actually get to see her, I had a few crafty creations up my sleeve for her.

I'm not sure if you read Crystal's blog over at Crafty Ave, but she recently posted about goals revisited, and stated that one goal is to include something handmade with every gift they give. And I have to agree that they are doing well, I have received many handmade gifts from them (more on that later).  Well I am trying to do something similar, to create something unique, handmade and full of love to include in most presents that I gift people. And I think I've already started planning out Christmas :) Eep! So excited!

I made Kathleen a fabric bucket, told hold slippers, hats and mitts, wool, or anything else she can think of to put in there.

She also got a map pillow. She loves maps, and one day at work we had a bit of a discussion about maps. I decided to get some ink-jet fabric, find a cool map and make a small decorative pillow out of it. I was really happy with the ink-jet transfer, although the map colours were fairly light and I think in the future I would try on paper more than once to enhance the colour saturation.

Finally a small kleenex holder. It was only a prototype, but I think a good compliment. It was inspired by Marysza, she sent me one as an added gift when I ordered my guest book for my wedding. So cute!

Have you made anything for anyone recently? I'd love to take a peek!
xox

It's a Beautiful Thing!

So remember when I mentioned here, that I got a lovely present as one of my shower gifts. Now at the time it hadn't actually arrived, but the girls brought it to our weekend of celebrating this past weekend and I am in love!

Sorry the photo isn't that great, the natural lighting has been the pits recently! I decided my first order of business would be to whip up some cookies (recipe below), which of course Reggie was excited about. Also while reading the instructions I found out that you can get all sorts of attachments for grinding meat, stuffing sausages, making pasta, etc. And I have to say Reggie and I thought that was pretty exciting too!

Easy Peaunt Butter Cookies

½ cup  peanut butter

2 tbsp  butter, softened

¾ cup  sugar

1          egg, at room temperature

1 cup   all-purpose flour

½ tsp   baking powder

½ tsp   salt

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Add the peanut butter, butter, and sugar to the mixer and blend on medium. On low speed add the egg, and increase speed slowly until well mixed. On low speed add the dry ingredients a few tablespoons at a time, increase speed to medium until just mixed.

On a greased cookie sheet roll dough into 1” balls and press down with a moist fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Let stand for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy one or two while they are still warm! Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2 dozen.

Good thing we are getting into a cooler season. I see a lot of baking in my near future!

xox

Celebrating!

This weekend I went down to Toronto with some friends to celebrate my birthday/bachelorette. I wasn't isn't interested in common traditions that involve too much alcohol, attention grabbing clothing/accessories, and often some sort of nudity! So I asked if we could go to the spa. On Saturday afternoon we went to enjoy the warm and relaxing waters at Body Blitz, with some individual treatments (I had a face and scalp renewal and a 45 min massage - thanks Cait). In the evening we went out for dinner to the Queens Pasta Cafe - delicious! If you are ever in Bloor West Village in Toronto I would highly recommend it. Great food, good service, and all in a intimate setting! Following dinner, our hostess for the weekend had rented a cinema room she has in her building, and we watched Father of the Bride I &II! With popcorn and $40 worth of candy, it was quite the night!

And that wasn't the end of it. On Sunday night we had a delicious dinner of Vegetable Wellington, courtesy of our hostess once again, followed by a trip downtown for some dancing. We all got dolled up, and we had a great night! It was one I am sure to remember for a long time! Thanks so much girls!

xox

Weekends Away

This past weekend I drove to Ottawa to spend some time with friends. We celebrated one friend's birthday, and there was a small bridal shower on Sunday to celebrate my upcoming wedding. At the shower, along with lots of love and well wishes, I was presented with this card. It was made by a crafty friend of mine, and inside was a note that told me although my gift hadn't arrived yet they hoped it would 'aid' me in the 'kitchen' with 'mixing' (I will be sure to share when it arrives!). What a wonderful group of girls! There is something to be said for great friends - we have another weekend together coming up soon, and then I see them at the wedding. So many visits, so much love!
xox

More, wine and friends!

At the end of the conference I attended last week they had a fancy dinner at another winery complete with wine pairing. The Hernder Estate is a beautiful place! And, although I couldn't have as much wine as others because I was driving, I had at least the mandatory 2 sips in order to taste the wine with the food.

To start the evening I tasted a 2002 Reserve Cabernet Franc

 Then, with our first course of mixed greens we were served a 2008 Reisling.

Our second course was a mushroom and cream penne, served with a 2006 Fumé Blanc (named for it's smoky flavour). Here you can see all my wines, not completely finished...

And the final course was a cheese and lobster stuffed chicken breast, with rice and grilled vegetables. This dish was paired with a 2006 Merlot, which at first I thought was strange, Merlot with chicken, but it really brought out the lobster flavour.

At the end they had a dessert table with a few different Icewines to try. I had the strawberry, and decided that it tasted like strawberry syrup with a hint of alcohol. All in all it was a wonderful week, with new experiences, a fantastic presentation and great company. I think I might have to look more seriously at heading back to the world of academia, I sure do miss it.

I know my blog has been lacking recently in my more traditional posts about crafting, recipes and Newfoundland. And I promise to get back to those very soon. There has just been so much going on recently that I have wanted to share with you!

What have you been up to lately? Three more days to sign up for the giveaway!

Wine Tour & New Friends

Last week I mentioned (here) that I was heading to the St. Catharine's area to present research at the 13th Canadian Congress on Leisure Research. Well my mom went with me, and we started off the trip with a wonderful wine tour. The tour company was Crush on Niagara Wine Tours, and our tour guides name was Jerry. We had such a fantastic time, and I learned a lot! I have always liked wine, and thought I preferred red, but I decided to try mostly white, because I didn't know much about it. And I loved it! I will tell you which I preferred later on.

Our first stop on the tour was the Henry of Pelham Family Estate. It was a beautiful place, where the tasting bar was decorated as an old wine cellar. This winery is owned and operated by the Speck Brothers. Their line of Sibling Rivalry wines are the most recent additions to their vintages (if you live in Ontario, you might have seen these in the LCBO).

 A little wine-cellaresque, don't you think?

 

 

 The whites lined up for me to taste! And for others also :)

 

 

 Mom, enjoying the Sibling Rivalry Rosé.

 

The next stop on our tour was Flat Rock Cellars, a new winery founded in 1999 they have an eco-conscious look at the production of wine.

The tasting bar and sales area is located high on a hill, overlooking the acreage.

 

And our final stop was Vineland Estates. A very well established, and much larger winery than the previous two.

 

My first taste of Icewine was at Henry of Pelham, but at Vineland I tried the Cabernet Sauvingnon Icewine, which is a pretty pink colour, and tastes of Strawberry-Rhubarb and warm spice.

Many people have weddings, or at least wedding photos taken at Vineland Estates, and you can tell why.

 

 So all in all, a lovely day, full of new experiences, tastes and friends!

And my favourite wine of the day? It's a tie between the Henry of Pelham Reisling and the Vineland Cabernet Sauvingnon Icewine. Each for very different purposes of course!

What is your favourite wine?