Lucky 13

This Monday is my and hubby's 13th wedding anniversary. I didn't know it was possible but I love him more today than I did the day we got married. He is so good to me and is a wonderful Daddy to our girls. He always always ALWAYS knows the right things to say and has an amazing outlook on life. He has made me better and I love him for that.

We are spending Sunday together, without the kiddies and I can't wait! I am hoping to go out for a yummy dinner. Will update to let you know.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful guy. I love you so much!

Special Moments and a Frozen Pizza

Let's face it. There are days when you either don't have time to cook a decent meal or you really just don't feel like it. Today was the latter for me so frozen pizza it was! We bought some thin crust pizzas that are really delicious! This one was Buffalo Chicken. I did make corn on the cob too. That took a teeny bit of effort.

And maaaaybe the reason for my lack of supper-making motivation was because I had my head buried in my computer. I do that way too often and sometimes I feel that I need to do it less so as not to miss out on special moments. Like this one.

I caught one of my girls out on the deck reading to her imaginary class. So sweet. She is so excited that she can read better and better everyday and I LOVE that. I love to read and I want my girls to have the same passion for a really good book. I'm so glad I came up for air long enough to see that. Must do that more often. ♥

Tell me about one of your favourite reads!

Followers

Ok, I'm really not following myself but I am trying to figure out this Friend Connect thing. So when you see my own face in my sidebar, you know why! ☺

Colourful Destinations and Summery Cupcakes

As you know, if you have joined me here before, I am a big fan of colour. I saw an article on MSN the other day with these gorgeous photos of colourful destinations. I would love to visit each and every one of them!

Punda, Willemstad, Curacao

Miami Beach, Miami

Manarola, Italy

La Boca, Buenos Aires

I would especially love to visit Curacao. A friend of mine said it was one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Sounds heavenly...

Oh and it's summer! Today! And our weather here sure is living up to the first day of summer. I sat in the warm sunshine with my baby girl today (ok, she is a preschool graduate, not my baby anymore). I can't wait until my twin girls are done school too and we can all hang out in the summer sunshine.

For my baby's 'graduation' I decided to make these cute summery cupcakes. The girls LOVED them. I only decorated enough for each of us to have one but that turned out to be a great thing because the girls were dying to decorate a bunch of their own. They did a great job! **sorry the photo quality isn't great**

I made the cupcakes themselves rainbow colours, just by dividing up the batter and adding food colouring. I used vanilla pudding and cool whip for a less sweet icing. Be sure to add the 'umbrellas' just before eating otherwise they will soften and fall over. : P

Welcome, Summer, I have been waiting for you. ♥

Cool Rooms and Lace Cookies

It's finally springy here, it's been nice enough to get outside and plant my flowers and tomato plants. Of course, spring also means rain and we are supposed to have it all week. I'm ok with it for now because it is greening everything up sooooo nicely!

I was blog hopping and found some lovely photos of both indoor and outdoor rooms that would be fantastic to lounge in for spring and summer.

This is my deck, we hung two baskets off the gazebo, it's fantastic to look out my window and see some green and flowers. You can also see some of my tomato

plants down below at the edge of the deck.

Here is what I WISH my backyard looked like! I love the hanging lights, I might have to look for some of those this spring.

This kitchen is fantastic! Drooling...

Love this backyard!

I love the white porch with touches of colour. So summery!!

I could totally hang out in this room on a warm summer evening with a glass of wine. This is Jennifer Aniston's home. Good taste she has!

This is also Jennifer Aniston's home. I LOVE purple and orange together. I MUST have a room like this. Not sure hubby would go for it. I'll have to work on him. : )

Hubby and I went out to a dinner theater with our good friends the other night and they had these lacy wafer cookies dipped in chocolate. I had waaay too many. Here is a version I found that would be lovely to have while relaxing in your favourite cool room. Enjoy!!

Chocolate-Drizzled Oatmeal Lace Cookies

INGREDIENTS: For the cookies: 1/2 cup oats, chopped in food processor 1/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons corn syrup 6 tbsp melted butter (until the foam subsides) 2 tablespoons heavy cream Pinch of salt

For the ganache: 1/4 cup chocolate chips 1 tbsp heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: In a food processor, pulse the raw oats several times until they become small pieces. While that is going, melt the butter in a small saucepan.

Combine all ingredients for the cookies in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spoon onto baking sheets by the teaspoon, placing each cookie at least 3″ apart from others (they spread a lot!). Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies have spread and are just beginning to brown around the edges. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets before sliding them off with a spatula.

For the chocolate drizzle, melt chocolate chips and 2 tbsp heavy cream for 15 seconds in the microwave on high heat. Stir to combine — if there are lumps, heat for an additional 5 seconds at a time. Spoon the ganache into a squeeze bottle and use it to drizzle chocolate onto the cookies, either on the cooled baking sheets or on a wire rack. Serve!

~ Photos courtesy of Pretty Prowler, Architectural Digest and Sugarlaws

Spring Picnics and Lavender Lemonade

Spring is very late where I am, today it is snowing and we are covered in a white blanket. Most times I would find this cozy and welcoming, however 5 straight months of the white blanket and I am ready for some colour.

So today I am dreaming of picnics outdoors among beautiful flowers, listening to the birds and my girls playing outside. Go find yourself a beautiful spot to set up your picnic, like a gorgeous field of wildflowers.

Or if you would rather stay closer to home, set your picnic up under a tree or gazebo in your own backyard. Can you see yourself under this beautiful victorian gazebo? I can!

The picture wouldn't be complete without some lovely picnic fare. How about sipping on Lavender Lemonade?! I HAVE to try this sometime! It looks delicious and so pretty!

Maybe you have a couple of girlfriends over for your picnic, or even just a family picnic in the backyard. I LOVE this idea of making each guest their own personal trifle. How pretty is this? Looks like they may be red velvet. Yummmm....

And these little mini melon cups. How adorable!

I can't wait until the snow has melted and I can have picnics again. Someday soon....

Herb Citrus Cordial (makes 4-5 pints)

Ingredients:

• 6 cup sugar
• Zest of 6 citrus, in large pieces of peel
• 4 cups fresh citrus juice
• 2 cup water
• 8 cups loosely packed fresh basil or 2 cups lavender or 20 stalks of rosemary or some other herb you want to cordialize.

Method:

• In a large pot bring sugar, zest, juice, and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add the herbs and let the syrup infuse for at least 15 minutes.
• Meantime prepare your canning jars.
• Strain syrup through a fine sieve, squeezing out as much syrup as possible from the herb leaves before discarding them.

Serve with vodka and a splash of soda water, or just soda water if you prefer!

~ Lemonade photo and recipe courtesy off InnBrooklyn via Loving Living Small

~ Photo of California Poppy Fields, courtesy of msn.com

~ Victorian gazebo photo courtesy of House Beautiful

Springify and Salmon with Roasted Asparagus

It is finally starting to feel like spring here. The sun has been shining and the snow is melting. I have the windows open in my house and I am starting to put out some springy things.

Birdhouses my girls made with their Grandma

My tulips

This supper could not have been simpler! I put some olive oil and herbs on a foil-lined baking pan. I put the salmon on the pan and sprinkled lots of dried herbs on top of the salmon. Then, I put the asparagus on another pan, drizzled them with olive oil and salt and pepper. Baked both at 375F for 15 minutes (I took the asparagus out after about 10 minutes). Strawberries for dessert. Yummmmmmmmm!

Cute as a Button and Fun Bento Boxes

I have twin 6 year old girls who share a room as well as a four year old who has her own room. I am ALWAYS looking for fun ways to decorate their rooms. I especially like looking for shared space ideas for my twin girls. As they get older, privacy will become more and more of an issue. I really love these shared spaces!!

As you know I am all about colour too. I love it anywhere in my home. Look at this cute teen room! Actually, I could live in this room and I am thirty-something or other-ish.... : )

More cute rooms...

Take a look at these cool rooms! What boy wouldn't love this one!

I really like this one too, how fun!

Are you cuted out yet? How about a cute snack to go with your cute room?! A great way to exercise portion control and make food look appealing to your child is to use Japanese-style bento boxes.
Really, you can use any divided container you have in your cupboard. I like this super-cute colorful one...

How adorable is this bunny box? This one doesn't even have dividers, they just put the food in it in a cute way!

You could put absolutely anything in a bento box. Any type of sliced fruit or vegetable with some dip. Maybe a sandwich - use your cookie cutters to make them extra cute and appealing. Veggie chips with some hummus, the sky's the limit and it's so much fun. Let your child pack their own bento box and they are more likely to eat what they packed! Let them take their box up to their cute rooms with their best buddies and let the healthy snacking begin. So fun!

~ Kids room photos from HGTV.com

Napa Valley Cottage life and Fresh Chopped Salad

Napa Valley is a place I would love to visit. Tour the gorgeous vineyards, sample wonderful wines and stay in beautiful bed and breakfasts. These are photos from a cottage in Napa Valley - my kind of cottage! I could live in this shower all summer...

I love the photo above, a touch of roughness. Beautiful. I could picture making this salad in that kitchen. My mom brought it over one summer evening a couple of weeks ago, it was so delicious!!!! So refreshing for summer. You can serve it over tortilla chips or just eat it as a salad like we did. Enjoy your cottage if you have one. If not, make this salad and enjoy your own personal summer surroundings. Bon appetit!

¼ cup olive oil ½ tsp. minced jalapeno

2 ears of corn, husked 2 cups diced sweet peppers

3 small tortillas cut into ¼ inch strips 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice 2 cups canned black beans….rinsed and drained

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro 1 avocado..pitted and diced

1 tsp. brown sugar 2 celery ribs, diced

1 tsp. chopped garlic

Place tortillas on baking pan and bake until tortillas are crispy and golden brown.

Cook corn on the cob and cool and then cut corn kernels from the cobs and set aside.

Dice peppers, slice tomatoes and chop cilantro.

Put peppers, tomatoes, black beans and corn in large bowl plus celery if using.

In blender, combine olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, garlic and jalepeno and puree until smooth to make vinaigrette.

Toss veggies with the vinaigrette. Add avocado and gentlyl toss again. Serve garnished with tortilla chips.

ENJOY!!!!!

~photos from House Beautiful, recipe from my mom, Linda