hello!

Sophie's 'hello' is my new original collage for in the shop, if I can ever get my scanner to be a good little boy and work for me. It is being silly, perhaps because it is sunny and nice and he wants to head over to the skate park with us for the day.
This little birdy named Sophie has a happy 'hello' and she is too excited for the sunny day.
We both want to thank 'skirt' for their June issue which Sopie is made up of, along with bits from a rice paper package.
Go girls of Skirt!

I love having our birthdays in the same month. It somehow makes me feel even closer to my wonderfully sweet husband!
Happy Birthday, baby.
You amaze me with your faithfulness, love, endurance, positive attitude and all the wonder that you add to my life!
You deserve the best birthday ever!
I LOVE YOU!
xo



I made him these yummy cupcakes. Do you think he will love them?

ummm...saturday fun...

All of us go a a tinge crazy on the weekend.
Ya gotta kick back and giggle at life sometimes.
xo

a day in the sun...

Its amazing how exhausting a day of having fun in the sun is when you are the one soley responsible for 4 kiddos.
I felt like I was 75 or 80 last night when we got home.
I love watching the kids grow in their work ethic throughout the week but what I love even more is our days out and watching them play and have fun.
I think the exhaustion partly comes from chasing down an 18 month old who would have no qualms with running straight into the lake as far as possible without the understanding that on her own she could drown. She hates it when I try to make her hold my hand as seen in the corner of my collage. Then there is the teaching of the older ones on public behavior and on how to get along with their siblings.

I remember the days when going out for a day in the sun meant beach volleyball with my friends, jet skiing, biking to the next sandy beach, laying in the sun and then going out for drinks.
With all that activity it was still never as exhausting as keeping up with these guys.
Don't get me wrong, I fully enjoy these cuties and playing at the lake with them but wow...
it kind of makes a girl dream of a day away by herself.
I haven't had a day by myself for almost 3 years now.
Maybe one is due soon.

Hope you all have a relaxing weekend and I hope we do too! ;)
xo

my love says, the plants are taking over...

I guess I like invasive plants and overgrown gardens....
The gourds have taken over the back and sides of the shed and are now in our compost and running up the far side of the shed.
The honeysuckle and wisteria are creeping up the shed walls.
The mints are running into the grass.
Our bamboo is starting to sprout up babies
and the ivy is climbing up the steps.

Don teases me, saying that he is afraid they are taking over the world.

I say take over! We need more green, anyways!
xo

we heart belinda kemp...

If anything is more inspiring than this artist's creative space posts, I haven't seen it.
Belinda Kemp, an Australian mom with two small boys has both an adorable blog and some of the nicest mixed media art I have seen, in her etsy shop.
We both adore the colours she uses along with the graphic repetitive feel to her work.
It is a mixture of everything that catches my eye in art.
I hope you love her work as much as we do.

Happy 'we heart' Thursdays to you all! xo

my 1960's SC Coronet automatic fun....

I picked this little bit of fun from the 60's up on the weekend and thought perhaps I could make my own canvases again and add some typed font to my art before stretching it onto the frame.

There is something so fun to me about the 40's and 50's but I really do adore the 60's as a juxtaposition against the bright colours. Which is why, I even like the look of it on my desk.

The kids keep clickety clacking its keys whenever I leave it for a bit.
The boys even typed up a fake journal article yesterday to annoy their sister.
It was kind of funny.
I would have posted it but our daughter, Breanna would have been annoyed even more with her brother's silliness.

Do any of you have fun treasures from the 60's that you love?

a little homesickly-ness can be soothed with this...

A long while ago, my sister, myself and our mom went to a little inlet off of Vancouver, called, Lund. You have to take two ferries to get there but it is so gorgeous and worth the while.

Right out on an ocean dock was a little coffee shop with a dessert stand that was so much fun.
They sold this delicious slightly frozen dessert that was to die for. I guess hence the name, 'Death by Toffee'.
My mom somehow got the recipe from the girl and my sister and I kind of stole it off of our mom...naughty us but let me tell you, you will be glad we did because ehem...
YUM!

Death by Toffee

Ingredients:
Shortbread bottom layer:
4oz/115g butter
generous 1 cup all-purpose flour
generous 1/4 cup brown sugar
Caramel:
6oz/175g butter
generous1/2 cup brown sugar
3tbsp corn syrup (or corn syrup substitute)
14oz/400g canned sweetened condensed milk
Chocolate topping:
7oz/200g semisweet chocolate broken into pieces
1/4 c butter (or more if needed)

1. Preheat the oven to 350degrees F or 180 degrees Celsius.
Grease the bottom of a 9-inch/23-cm shallow square cake pan. Place the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor and process until it starts to bind together. ( I mix by hand) Press into the pan and level the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. (place in a freezer to get ready for the second layer.

2. Meanwhile, make the caramel (toffee). Place the butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat gently until the sugar has melted. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 6-8 minutes stirring until very thick. Pour over partly frozen shortbread and return to the freezer.

3. Melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth and pourable. Spread over the caramel. Let chill in the freezer about 2 hours or until set. Thaw out just enough to cut and serve.

a wee change ...

I have to say I love Barb of Knack!
Before I went out this morning to our chiropractor, I quickly read the little comment she left and thought I would stop off at Lowes on my way home and pick up some succulents like she suggested. I would have used these vases for fresh flowers but some of them were cracked, so they leaked slightly.
Thank you to Teresa's friend Paige for the original idea.

Don't they look great?
xo

noticing a pattern...

We had a wonderful Father's day with Don's family in Pageland, SC with delicious food made by his mom and lovely conversations with his sister, her cute girls and Don's parents.
Don is such a wonderful father to our kiddos and I love celebrating Father's day in honour of our dads and Don!
(I didn't take photos yesterday, so you just have to trust me when I say we had a really great Father's Day.)

We always stop at one of the regular yard sale spots on the way home from Pageland, so on the way home from our Father's Day fun we made a quick stop there as usual.
I picked up a cute deer vase and a clog vase that were too fun to pass up.
I just noticed without meaning to I have started collecting interestingly shaped retro vases and a few 70's collage work.
I guess sometimes when you buy things you love, it turns into a collection of very similar things.

Hope your Monday is treating you well!
xo

happy father's day to my dad...

I love you so much and am so proud to call you my dad. Thank you for teaching me so much about life, like: dirt biking, snowmobiling, how to build a campfire, how to drive (even though I ruined every car you owned), how to pay bills, how to work hard and make life fun, how to be compassionate and love on others, how to give and amongst a gazillion other things, what it means to love God and your family with zeal and joy.
I hope even though we are so many miles apart, that you know we all love you and hope your day is full of good things today! Sending the biggest hugs your way.

(My dad's favourite past time is to read the ads in newspapers and bargain finders, so I had to put this photo of him up.)

happy father's day with guest blogger (my love with a note for his dad)...

Dad, thank you for being the man you have been my entire life. You have taught me what it takes to be a leader, a father, and a husband. Your example has been set, and I will always be grateful for who you are. I have been proud to be able to say that I am your son, and I hope that I am able to give my sons the exact same example you have given me. Happy Father's Day, to someone who exemplifies the word in every way.

thank you jasmine....

One of my very favourite people in the blogging world who so reminds me of Jenna Elfman from 'Dharma and Greg', did a sweet little post for an art collage that I sent her. She is a massively positive person and seems to smile and take on all of life with exuberance and turns even the bad stuff into fun. (Like being broke for the longest time, something we know about all to well.)
Her birthday is in June like mine too.
I love having people who are so genuine, caring, positive and inspirational in this blogging world.
It adds some YAY to our day!
Hugs, Jasmine...you are just wonderful.
(Don't you think her honey is super talented when you see the fun banner he did for her blog?!!)

xo

we love baby-ese.....

thanks for the luvin....

Thanks Anna! You are so beautiful and sweet!

summer fun....

This summer we have decided as a family to learn good work ethics.
We have work schedules for everyone in the family minus our little 18 month old baby, Bella and our little dog, Mazzy.
I have felt for a long time that a good portion of North America has lost the value of teaching our children what it means to work hard. Working hard has such rich rewards and I don't want our children to lose out on the learning as well as the feeling of accomplishment.
However, along with all the work, I thought it would be a good idea to make Tuesdays and Thursdays our days to explore and play.

What fun and a sweet reward for all that work.
We played outdoor ping pong in our favourite area of Charlotte, the Elizabeth neighborhood.
Bella had fun stealing the ping pong balls and running away.

Bella loves the slide at the playground and the rest of the kids went skateboarding for a bit.
We also treated them to some Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
We have only gone 3 times in the almost 3 years we have lived here but oh what decadence.
I giggled a lot when the older lady working there tried sincerely to tell me that they were fat free and pointed to the box where it says 'no trans fats'...hmmm what about all those other fats?

Happy Friday everybody!
Go out and play!
xo

we heart renilde de peuter....

I am definitely inspired by textiles when it comes to my art.
Maybe it is my tactile nature mixed with the visual beauty.
The gorgeous work of Renilde De Peuter displayed here has me not only inspired but swooning!
I think I first saw this gorgeous blog here.

Some of her work is for sale here.

travel home....

This guy is up in the shop today!!
In response to the NY Post article about the 2,000 geese proposed to be killed to prevent airplane collisions has me telling these gorgeous geese to fly home.
This morning's Design Sponge post on it rings true with my feelings.
(photo from our lake trip on Saturday)