tea party

This lovely lady is getting married, and couldn't be more excited!

So we had a Tea party bridal shower.

I filled the house with flowers, peonies her favorite.

Lots of cupcakes.

with edible glitter, to add a little extra sparkle.

Tea was drunk out of pretty tea cups.

And I decorated the house with hearts.

Can't wait for her big day!

thank goodness for farmers markets

On Saturday mornings it's off to the farmers market we go! Some days  it's a big group my mom and sisters and I and on others, like today it was just me and baby button. Off we stroll in the morning sunshine to see what we can see and find what we can find. Today was a beautiful bunch of peonies and a lovely big head of lettuce. This time of year it is mostly plants for sale with just the beginnings of what the summers bounty of fruit and veg will be. Lovely heads of fresh lettuce, ruby red rhubarb and other early summer delights.

I love coming here. I have my favourite vendors, a lovely older Italian man, who spent much of last summer giving me extra cherries " for the baby" and sells his tomato plants in Tim Horton coffee cups. I lovely lady who sells the most amazing raisin bread . As well as the dog bakery lady, so the many dogs that come can get a treat too.

Farmers markets have a lovely community feel in an unforced sort of way. Just people together enjoying the sunshine, a chat and the lovely fresh food. It's nice to have not just a face but a person to go with your food, I have noticed lately that supermarkets like to put pictures of farmers on the packaging but this is just not the same in my book. I want our little boy to grow up and know in the summer months the person that grows his food.

And I just can't resist peonies to brighten the house!!!

a day in the life

My amaryllis is blooming and I have been gazing at it longingly, wishing I could "honey I shrunk the kids" myself and sit inside its giant trumpet. I did some shopping, love this red shopping bag that my sister gave me for christmas.

I baked some bread and I think I have really turn a corner on my bread making skills. My lovely husband gave me a bread book for christmas and it has some great tips. Today I made a half wholewheat/half white flour basic bread recipe but I think the real difference was made by putting a roasting tin half full of boiling water in the oven while the bread was baking and brushing the top of the bread with salt water(disolve a pinch on salt into 2 tbsp of water) before baking. It made for the most gorgeous bread, nice crusty crust and a lovely soft middle. I'm seriously thinking of baking my own bread once a week now. Plus it fills the house the best aroma!

Bread punching, the best stress reliever!

The finished product, with my new book.
I also baked some lemon and pistachio biscotti.

I also did some cleaning, check out my lovely dusting cloths and I love the smell of lemon pledge.

Lemon table arrangement

I treated myself to some pretty spray roses, these are called pink flash.

I love their tiger strip petals!

spring: a possible sighting???

Ok, I'm not delusional, I'm well aware that it's not even mid January and that white stuff has been falling all afternoon. But at the shop at least little bits of spring have started to arrive.... In the form of the first of the spring tulips, as well as pussy willow and bulb planters. I can't tell you how much joy this brings me. I love the change in seasons, especially this time of year, when you start to get hints of whats to come and the burst of life that spring brings. It's funny as well how much I instantly switch to the next season, and the excitement I get when unpacking a new shipment of flowers, it's like Christmas! Opening the box and seeing what new things I get to play with. oh I can't wait for spring to arrive!

I hope these bring a bit of spring into your day!

november skies and peach pies

November darkness has descended upon us and I am now walking home from work in the dark. This certainly makes feel like hibernating, crawling into bed and not coming out till spring. But like with any season change there are new things to discover. On my walk home from work, I have discovered that houses really come into their own at night. Their occupants cooking dinner with windows open to release kitchen steam. These smells permeate into the quite streets, filling the cool air with the aromas of mashed potatoes, roasting chicken and warm cinnamon. The scents of autumn kitchens. Christmas lights have started to come on, giving a lovely ambiance to the streets, letting me drift into lovely thoughts of the upcoming Christmas season.

After all these inviting smells filling my head, I had strong desires to bake. But I was lacking energy and ingredients, so this is what I came up with. Easy peasy peach pie! I used a frozen pie crust witch I baked blind for 10 min. Then filled the crust with canned peaches and then made a custard filling. Poured that over the peaches and baked for 10 min at 400F and then turned it down to 300F for an hour. For the custard filling I combined in a bowl 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup of sugar, 6 tablespoons of butter, melted, 3 tablespoons of plain flour, 1 tablespoon vanilla and

1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk together and pour over peaches. Easy peasy!

I have planted some paper whites with the anticipation of Christmas. It will be nice to have something blooming, fragrant and white on the window sill to see me over the holiday season. It's nice to watch their progression.

My new rocking chair, lovely for reading and knitting, tried to rock our 70lbs dogs in the chair but they were not amused.

Christmas magazines and books are a bit of a bad habit of mine, I just can't resist them!And finally Christmas sweeties! I can't wait for Christmas!

autumnal bliss

Autumn is well and truly here, the temperature has dropped and we had our first frost. The last of summer flowers are now at their most vibrant, I love how their colour get so intense in the fall. As the days grow shorter and the mornings darker( I find this the most depressing part), it leaves the evening for more indoor pursuits. Cooking comfort food for dinner, a bit of knitting and watching bad T.V.

The last of the lavender springs look stunning in the afternoon light!