Wee Gifts

I've been stockpiling wee gifts for little occasions and as thank you's for random kindnesses. I came across these cute little Scottish soaps made with luscious ingredients such as Seaweed and Oatmeal. They come in lovely little tins to re-use for odd bits. 

Add a pretty ribbon, reused from another gift and you don't even need to waste your pennies on gift wrap.

Would you pick Oatmeal or Seaweed for your wee little gift?

Spring Gift Tags

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you know how much I love to buy handmade things and love to try my hand at making things myself. I particularly like to add a handmade card or tag to a gift, and so last year I tried my hand at clay gift tags. I used Crayola white clay, cookie cutters and a rubber stamp with ink. Simply roll the clay on a piece of parchment paper, cut shape with cookie cutter, imprint the clay with a rubber stamp. Make a hole for the string or ribbon and let dry. A wonderful project for children for Mother's Day or Easter.

My homemade jam with custom tag for my son's wedding.

Last year, Boy Child got married and I made the wedding favors. Tiny pots of homemade strawberry jam with a handmade clay tag. Over a hundred of each. 

Hundreds of Heart wedding tags.

The bunny is my favorite!

I was inspired yesterday with the beautiful Spring day and once again hauled out the clay and my bunny and robin stamps.I've made enough to cover Easter and Spring time birthdays.

Craigslist Woes

Shabby Chic Cabinet Pretty painted 1950's 2 piece china cabinet.Original glass doors, nicely working drawer and 2  lower cupboards. Perfect for the cottage.
$150.00

I'm selling this cabinet on Craigslist and Kijiji. While I have had good luck with these 2 venues in the past, I am always amazed at the questions people ask about the items. Since Thursday last week, I've had the following enquiries.

What kind of wood is it? I can't buy it unless you know what wood it is. (It's painted wood, does it matter?)

I can't get to Oakville until March 28th, can you keep it for me. (yes if you want to pay for it now, I will keep it for you....oh you don't want to pay, but you want me to keep it)

Would it fit in my car? (I provided the dimensions, you need to measure your car)

My car is an Escort Hatchback, will that fit? (I don't know offhand the size of an Escort hatchback)

Can you deliver it to Toronto? (I can arrange delivery but you have to pay for it first)

Can I pay you when you deliver it, just so I know it's want I want first? (why would I load it in my car, drive 30KM to show it to you and risk you saying it's not what you want?)

I am looking for a dark cabinet, how much would you charge to paint it? (I'm not a furniture finisher, you paint it yourself)

We love your cabinet. Can we come and see it right now? (sure come over now) (no show)

Do the glass doors have glass? (yes, I mentioned it was a cabinet with glass doors.)

Can I buy just the top part. (I mentioned it comes apart for moving, not sold in 2 parts)

It looks pretty old. I'll give your $50. (GET STUFFED)

Dirty Jobs - Easter Egg Tasting

With Easter fast approaching with all of it's baking, duck roasting, ham glazing and egg hunting efforts looming on the horizon, I thought I would help out my faithful readers by sorting through the barrage of chocolate mini eggs on the market. Hence, this un-scientific, not blind and not very random taste testing.

I decided to enlist the Raz Man, Girl child, and of course myself in determining not only the best tasting egg, but the prettiest and the best value for money. 

I picked three brands. Hershey Eggies. Cadbury Mini Eggs. President's Choice Brand (Not Obama...a large supermarket chain brand)

Hershey Eggies...yellow dominant

First up. Hersheys Eggies. $5.99 per 400g. The candy shell was nice and crisp, thicker than the other two and the chocolate heavy and dense. Good overall taste. They lost votes on the overall appearance..not as attractive as the other brands and far too many yellows and hardly any pink or blue. I'm not one for baby talk so the name "Eggies" bugged me a bit. 

Cadbury Mini Eggs..Bright and without speckles

Next up was the Cadbury Mini Egg. $6.99 per 400g.  A long time favourite of my family's, this egg has undergone some changes in the past few years. First they changed the colors, from gentle pastels to bright pastels, and then they removed the speckles. Not so "egg like" any more. I wonder if they changed the colours in the UK too.  My online research shows them to be pale and speckled on the UK package.? A thin crisp shell and a smooth, creamy chocolate center. But they are the priciest at almost $7.00 a bag. I much preferred the Cadbury mini egg in it's pale version. Cadbury...quit messing with the eggs!

President's Choice..the cheapest

The last batch of delights were the President's Choice Brand. At $3.99 for 400g, they are a whopping $3.00 cheaper than the Cadbury and $2.00 less than Hershey. These eggs were right in the middle of the Hershey and Cadbury. More creamy than Hershey, not quite and melt in your mouth as Cadbury. Where these babies scored points is appearance. Better shape, better size, nicer colours, and above all in my opinion....they had SPECKLES.

Top Left: President's Choice Top Right: Cabury Mini Eggs. Bottom: Hershey Eggies

 

Summation

Cadbury-Most expensive, poor colors, good flavour, lacking speckles

Hershey-Middle priced, not enough variation in colours. lacking speckles

President's Choice-Far cheaper, good flavour, prettiest, Speckles.

And the Winner is President's Choice.

All photos were taken with Rachel Ashwell's new book "Shabby Chic Inspirations" to provide color and beauty to the background...a super book and must read for lovers of the Shabby Chic look..

Soup D'Jour

If I had to pick a person I would most like to be like in the world it would be my Granny Vyvyan Grace. If anyone deserved the name Grace it was her. She was the kindest, hard working woman , full of fun and vigor, volunteering at Dorchester Abbey well into her late 80's. I have so many fond memories of her and how she shaped my childhood growing up in England. One of those trivial memories, but one that stuck with me is her soup making days. She always cooked on an Aga, which is a wonderful device, largely unknown of here in Canada, but a welcome and cozy addition to many British homes. My granny used to turn anything left over into soup. Roast beef, peas and carrots became a Beef with barley soup. Leftover veg and potatoes became a creamy carrot and potato soup. She would never have needed a "Green" recycling bin, because she never threw food out. Living through the war and rationing taught a cook how to use what they had and every scrap of it. 

I hope I have inherited some of her soup making skills and passion for home cooking and natural ingredients. This morning I threw together a big batch of cauliflower soup. Spring seems to have arrived here, so I thought a lovely vegetarian soup would be a nice healthy lunch over the weekend. I was gifted a box of Petite Baguettes, (a perfect gift for me) that I shall serve with my creamy soup. This soup has no dairy and is 100% vegetarian. If you want vegetarian soup, be careful because often vegetable soups have chicken or beef stock. Recipe Below. Enjoy your weekend. And your soup.

Cauliflower Soup

1 large cauliflower

1 litre Vegetable stock (save the water next time you cook broccoli, carrots or other veg)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion chopped

Salt and pepper to taste.

In large pot saute the chopped onion til soft. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Saute for 10 mins in the pan with the onion. (this part adds a richer flavor). Cover with vegetable stock and 2 cups water. Boil till cauliflower is very soft. Using an immersion blender or regular one, blend till smooth. Add a bit more water if needed to reach desired thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste. I season at the end because some stock is saltier than others. Serve with a generous sprinkle of grated sharp cheddar.

Oreo Inspiration

Oreo's dipped in Belgian Chocolate made in Florida.???

Girl Child moves today. From her scruffy student digs into her new Petite Maison. A 445 square foot condo. Petite, maybe, but it has it's own washer/dryer and a bathtub, as well as a bedroom which is a bonus in the land of Toronto "studio" apartments. I shall be spending the day supervising the emerging decor, and trying NOT to make it look like me, but rather HERS.

I picked up a package of cookies to have with our afternoon tea today, knowing full well we'll be in need of a pick me up. I couldn't resist these colorful foil wrapped Oreo cookies. Dipped in Belgian chocolate but made in Florida. How Weird is that so find on the shelves in Ontario?.

Anyway, blogging beckons us to be creative doesn't it?. Blogging competition is such that we can no longer merely photograph a cookie and post it, for fear of boring our delightful readers. As such, I took heed from posts on food styling. I noticed the colorful backgrounds and in my haste to find an appropriate "SET" for the cookies, I laid them out on the first thing at hand that complemented the vivid colors of my cookies.

This beautiful book on India that I am currently reading became the perfect backdrop to showcase my cookies. And then I got carried away, posing the pretty biscuits on various pages and marveling at the color combinations. The book is called "Spirit of India" by Gill Davies. 

Ladies in Saris, tropical fish...I just couldn't stop.
 

Cookies amongst the Darjeeling

Orange and Lime

Thtr would have been perfect if it was a crocus plant on my table, but the withered daffodil still lends a nod to the saffron

  

Who knew I could have such fun shooting these exuberant cookies. It just wouldn't have been the same with a digestive!

For The Filthy Rich

The UK Company Heyland and Whittle claim they are Purveyors of Fine Soaps to the Gentry and the Filthy Rich. Check them out HERE. So, for my Well Born and Well Bred friends, I like to gift their lovely soaps, especially when I find them in these adorable gift boxes, and at half their listed price at my local Home Sense. I usually pick up several if I see them and hoard them in my gift cupboard until the perfect occasion and/or friend arises.

Given that my girls are fresh on the cusp of a Royal encounter with Prince Harry in Nassau READ ABOUT THAT HERE, and it is the Queen's Jubilee this year, not to mention the Olympics in Britain, I'm most attracted to Things Of The Flag lately..(yes, it is still my flag). I love this box of fragrant assorted soaps in their Hope and Glory Line. 

I also picked up some Six Packs with delightfully Royal names such as Sweet William, Britania and Hope and Glory and Jubilee. God Save The Queen.

I posed them with my stag horns, just so they could feel the connection to the British Countryside from whence they came...OK so that's a load of Codswallop. I LOVE THAT WORD. My Granny and Granddad used that word. If you haven't heard of Codswallop, you can read about this delightful word HERE. Then you should start using it. Especially if you're from Texas. It would sound great with a Texas accent.

I rather enjoyed playing around with photographic options. I feel they are quite photogenic. Now which of my FILTHY Rich and Gentrified Friends shall I gift these too?. 

Fashion Item of The Week

Heart and round pearls set into a beautiful cast brass setting.

I have a THING for jewelry, as do most women. I particularly love large, chunky necklaces, multiple bangles and bracelets. If it jingles, rattles, shakes and clangs, it's for me. Because I tend to wear neutrals, I like a bold piece of jewelry to give my outfit some interest.

My daughter bought me this gorgeous necklace for Christmas. It is part of the Jessica Simpson line, available at department stores all over the country. And very well priced. I believe it was about $30 which is great considering, it is of substantial weight, great quality and is loaded with pearls, charms, chains and beads.

One of our travelling companions while we were on Holiday is a jewelry designer. She always enjoys seeing our baubles when we meet for dinner. She said for her to make something like this would cost hundreds of dollars. Just the cast brass pieces would cost a lot, them the jewels etc and the labor would make it a pricey piece. She can't compete with factory pieces. She did however, think it was well made and nicely designed.

I love the details on the 2 main bits, the heart shaped pearls alternating with round, the scrolled edges and the smaller piece with the rhinestones and pearl. Charming in more ways than one.

The Return

I'm home. Back from my Girls Week away and savoring the memories once again.  Each year, there's a new set. They range from unique, sentimental, riotous, sometimes sad, crazy, bizarre and dramatic. One of our mums commented how she just loved to sit and watch the daughters with the carefree antics of youth.  We stayed at a couples resort. Great way to relax without roaming children and drunken teens. Apparently, many at the resort though we were "Couples". There were some stares and back glances. I guess they were trying to figure out who was paired with who!

We took trips by boat to the private island for lunch and a beach for those who preferred topless. We all dined together every night and savored the cuisine of all the restaurants. We enjoyed a birthday dinner for one of the girls.

We may have taken over the piano in the Crystal Room one night......

We arranged for a City bus to go Off Road for a tour of the island. We saw the steps that the slaves climbed from their ships to the holding areas. We saw local bars, houses, Anna Nicole Smith's grave, homes of the rich and famous, Indian caves, and bought beers from the factory to dink along the way, heeding the advice of the tour guide to "lower your beers" when police were spotted.   

And then, there was the Giraffe. "Henry" came as a joke, and grew a life of his own. People wanted their photo taken with him, they danced with him, staff put him behind the bar, women kissed him, some men had a real attraction to him, the Michael Jackson impersonator took him on stage with him, one lady took a big HATE on him (huge drama) and I may have started a conga line with him. Oh MY!

Now we are home digesting the week and filing away the memories. In other news, the Foster Dog has left. He has gone to his Forever Home as they call it. The Raz Man and Boy child did the drop off last weekend. He was lovely, but may not be suited to a home like ours with a cat. There was an incident while I was gone. Unseen, but it was overheard. It sounded like the dog choked up, or choked on the cat. When the Raz Man came to check it out, Dog was already sitting in shame on the time out mat, and cat was traumatized severely enough to stay in hiding for 2 days and even after was shaky and terrified of everything. So reluctantly we say good bye, but next Foster Dog has to have an established good record with a cat. Being on parole just won't do next time.

Their Prince Has Come-The Girls and Prince Harry

Our girls took the bus to Nassau today in hopes of catching a glimpse of Prince Harry, in town for the Queen's jubilee.  There was a speech......followed by a walkabout.

He's a handsome lad isn't he.

 And then....... he made eye contact with them....

great excitement.

Pictures from my DIL Tracy. That's her sister and my girl with the camera.