from our nest to your's...

This refresher on the pumpkin spice recipe we made up last year is for my cousin who was craving it this year and couldn't find it.  Hoping you will all love having it again this year too.

xo

Love,

~don+dee

• 1-¼ cup Water
• 3 cups Organic Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Organic Ground Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Organic Ground Cloves
• ½ teaspoons Organic Ground Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons Organic Ground Ginger
• ¼ cup Organic Molasses
• 1 cup of Organic sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup of Organic Canned Pumpkin
• 2 cups Organic Whip Cream (liquid form)
• ½ cup of Organic milk
• 2 whole Shots Organic Espresso

· First, pour the water and sugar into a small saucepan, and simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved.

· Add in the molasses, sweetened condensed milk, whipped cream and pumpkin.

· Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until thermometer reaches 230 F, constantly whisking.

· Add in the spices, and continue to simmer for another 6-8 minutes or until thermometer reaches 235 degrees F.

· Chill and pour the syrup into a bottle. Store the bottle in the refrigerator.

· Now, make 2 shots worth of espresso using your espresso machine.

· Use the steam nozzle to froth the milk. When the milk is hot and frothy, pour in the espresso and pumpkin spice syrup and give it a good stir. Top with whipped cream if desired and sprinkles of nutmeg and organic sugar.

           (We used a small coffee grinder to grind our spices by hand.)

sneak peak...

So I haven't forgotten the fact that there is a new year soon approaching and I was thinking it might be fun to attach a smaller calendar to an original piece of art done on beautiful textured, high quality art papers.  That way when the year is through you can cut out the art piece and frame it. 

I am just testing out some ideas so far.  I think I will go with some feathery goodness in a circle or ring of love but each one will be unique and use both acrylics and inks.

I am a little behind but I think these are going to turn out beautifully.  I may even have to do a giveaway on my first calendar made this year.

Do you like the idea of using original art for a calendar or do you prefer 12 prints of art work so you have a change for every month?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Happy Thursday, friends!!  I hope your day is great!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

morning tea parties....

are made perfect with nutella.

What are you enjoying this morning?

xo

love,

~dee

sometimes...

when I am feeling a little homesickly and down, little Bella and I head out for coffee and cookies and then all is well with the world (minus the fact that I still miss family and friends and home). Well, you know, it makes things not as painful. 

I would love to hear what you do to get over a sad or homesick day.

Talk soon,

Love,

~dee

xo

little pleasures of my week...

listening to the cute things that our little Bella says...

 organizing my Expedit book shelves from Ikea...

working on a little fox....

gathering little sticks for a Fall campfire on the weekend...

and finding beautiful natural coloured home ideas here.

So what little pleasures filled your week, friends?

Happy weekend!

xo

love,

~dee

happy birthday to my beautiful mom....

I hope your birthday is lovely, mom.

You so deserve the best!

Missing you so much today.

You are so beautiful...

You make the best warm blueberry muffins for breakfast...

Your coffee always smells heavenly...

Your home is so cozy....

Your prayers are rich and deep,

Your heart is full of love for your family and friends....

wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!

Happy birthday, mom!!

xo

Love,

~all of us

mister and ethel....

"Mister" the goat and "Ethel" the chipmunk originals are finally up in the shop this morning.

I will be working on getting the complete set in print form up in the shop as well this week.  This weekend, my love and I are heading off to Winston Salem, NC to load up urban artware with some of this new collection, if all goes as planned.

I had a sweet bit of motivation this morning, to load up the shop because of this lovely post over at knack.

I am off with little Bella to visit her grandparents for a wee bit and will be back at loading up the shop directly after. 

If there is a particular piece you are looking for be sure to let me know and I would love to get it in right away.

Ta Ta for now and have a beautiful Wednesday!!

enjoy!

xo

   Love, 

~dee

like apples of gold...

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances."

Proverbs 25:11

(So to me are beautiful photographs to lift one's heart.)

I am ever so grateful for friends I have met through the world of blogging.

Cat, a beautiful and very talented photographer and writer, from B.C., Canada (my home and native land) sent me an envelope filled with 3 beautiful and very inspiring photos this week.  She made my day!

How awesome to have friends like this girl!!

Thanks Catherine for your thoughtful notes and beautiful photo therapy to cheer my spirits this week!

I am going to frame these as soon as I can afford to.

Thank you!!

xo

love,

~dee

P.S.  I just noticed the notes on the back of each photo.  How perfectly appropriate and wonderful they are!!  You are a kindred spirit.

ending the week with a woohoooo......

Bella and I are enjoying this afternoon with playdate, Jonathon.

Isn't he a cutie?

What fun!

Its the weekend and I am loving it!

Have a spectacular one, friends!!

xo

Love,

~dee

selfish little thoughts...

 

Hoping to use the above collage of my art for our new website, coming soon.

(This latest set of paintings I think I will call, "releasing the mountain dream")

I didn't think I was one of those girls who planned her life out and got upset when the plan didn't work out perfectly.  While I may not be the girl who does that with everything, that doesn't mean I am immune to the temptation of making a few smaller plans and pouting when they don't work out the way I intended.  I reminded myself of a certain pouting prophet named Jonah from the Bible this last week.  Yes, he had goals and God had other plans.  If that wasn't enough he lost the vine that was sheltering him from the heat while he pouted over things not going his way.   My intentions were probably not as noble as his to begin with but nevertheless my hard work and goals were to go to ICP in Greenville, SC and when they were intercepted by illness in our children and a parade of trials attached that I haven't shared with friends or family and I probably never will.  There has also been the letting go of our dreams to move to the mountains this past summer and the dream to finally go home this Christmas after being away from Canada for four and a half years.  That is not to say those things won't eventually happen but the plans we had for them kind of crashed and burned.  Thus the stompy little 2 year old in me popped on the scene.  I stopped blogging, took on a lovely, negative attitude and began looking at my world with some rather ugly glasses.

No worries, I am not in that place after yesterday.

I have a fresh pair of eyes and a positive attitude that praises the God who has given me life and who knows what He is doing.  If I really believe He created it all, I am going to go with the thought line that would say, He probably knows better than I do what is best for all concerned.

At least now I have this fabulous start on a set of paintings that I am loving on.

I will be putting their prints in the Etsy shop this weekend with the help of my loving husband.

Hoping you all will love them too, because they carry a little piece of me in each one.

My sweet friend, Barb purchased the little lamb painting that I called, "sheepish".  It should be on its way to her fabulous home this week. Yay!

Happy Thursday and woohoo...its almost the weekend!!

xo

Love,

~dee

prayer....

this inspiring image can be purchased here 

While painting over the past weeks, I have noticed that when I get in the "zone" or place where I am completely focused on the smallest lines and dots of whatever it is that I am trying to capture, I no longer see a whole picture but only the smallest details.  I get so drawn in and it is almost impossible to see beauty in that moment.

I have felt so strongly lately that that is how it is with our lives. We are so drawn into the details, we no longer see the beauty.  We feel that when the details and moments are not beautiful, when they are painful, mundane and even extremely ugly, that our whole lives are merely those pin dot moments.

If we could only take a step back, we would be in so much awe of the beautiful canvas of life God has created in us, not only as individuals but as a whole.

As some of you closest to me may have noticed, I haven't been feeling much like blogging as of late.  I have been so focused on the little pin dots of my life, the pain, the mundane and the ugly little pieces. 

So today, I really believe I am being beckoned to spend some time in prayer so that I can have fresh eyes to see the beauty of the whole canvas of our lives not just my own but the unique placement and connection of our lives with everyone else as well.

As soon as I am finished this post, I am taking a step away from my canvas and others' and stepping into a quiet place to pray.

Hoping that I will be back soon with a beautiful perspective and inspiration.

Talk soon, friends!

xoxo

with very much love,

~dee

13 today...

He is handsome, funny, smart, witty, a talented skater, artist and  musician.....

He is also turning 13 today!!

Happy birthday, Bayley!  You make us so proud.  We love you like crazy.

Hoping it is the best ever!

xo

Love,

all of us

little pleasures of my week...

a very cute little Bella asking if she could be a deer...

another painting almost completed...

pretty embroidery on my dress...

lots of feathery goodness completed and an amazingly sweet girl from Greenville, SC who offered to fire them for me even if it was the night before ICP (due to some problems I was having).

Lily you are the best!!

Thank you so very much for all of the information you shared with me and your kind offer!

I am glad they are finished and I didn't have to have you working on my stuff the night before such a busy weekend.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

I know we will.  We are off to a gallery crawl and some anniversary celebrating.

Yay for long weekends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

oh deer....

(my latest painting: "oh my deer"-acrylic on wood canvas)

(

(my new lino cuts for stamping little postcards for ICP)

(4 years ago from yesterday: my love and I at our wedding)

A busy week so far filled with many pots of coffee brewing, accidentally cutting my fingers, glazing feathers, staring so hard at images that I felt like I became one with the little deer in my latest painting (so worth it though because I think she is so sweet), sleepless nights, ups and downs, and a beautiful reminder of love's great strength in the midst of all sorts of stresses; our 4th wedding anniversary.

I have to say I have a hero of a man who loves me and I love him ever so much.

A look in my face when I look up at him can only show the depth of my love for him.

He is a strong rock of a man; faithful, sweet, funny, kind and enduring.

What a week!

I love you, mr. sullivan!!!

xoxo

Hoping your week is full of love, friends.

Happy Thursday!!