the highlight of bella and my week....

 We thoroughly enjoyed a few sweet hours making our beloved, 'death by toffee'.

If you have been coming to our blog for a while now you may remember a long ways back this post with a story of our finding this treat and why we love it so.

Its kind of funny for me to look back on posts from a year or more ago because the camera we had was rather cheap and the photos definitely show it.

Happy Weekend!

Hoping yours is sweet, with a wee bit of tricks and treats.

Love,

~dee & bella

xo

random...

(little bits of beauty in the midst of a lot of imperfections)

 (caramel apple cider)

 Too tired for words....

 love,

~dee

 xoxo

unconventional...

This year we have been blessed with a bountiful amount of herbs and although we don't have a dehydrator and I do prefer my herbs fresh, I really don't want them to go to waste if it frosts over.

So in my usual response to a need, I came up with some unconventional drying methods.

I used some sushi mats to dry most of our herbs and for rosemary, I tucked them into a valance above our kitchen window and they are working beautifully.

I have already finished drying a jar of basil.

I am still amazed how the hugest bunches of herbs shrinks so massively after drying out.

It is pretty cool having our own home grown dried herbs for over the winter.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Hope you all find something good in your day.

xoxo

Love,

~dee

oh my....

(The feather mobile above will be at 63 Staples fundraiser.)

I received a note on Friday from a very nice lady, Cindy Kujat who had purchased one of our calendars last year.  She had asked if we could donate an item for a fundraiser.  

I said, yes and didn't think a lot about it, until yesterday when I realized it was for her husband, Dan, a skater and musician, which reminded me of our kids who play guitar non-stop and have also been skateboarding for quite a few years.  You can read more about his accident at the website Cindy has created.  The fundraiser is called, 63 staples.  It will be held at Goodhurt in Los Angeles, California, where quite a few Etsy sellers are donating items that will be silently auctioned off tonight.

You can also help out with on line donations here.

I would encourage all of our friends to help if there is any way you can.

Also I made a makeshift button in our sidebar that I am sure would help in letting others know where to donate, feel free to place it on your blog as well.  I am sure every little bit helps.

Wishing you all the very best today!

xo

~dee

little pleasures of my week...

 candles that soothe my soul and ease my mind....

 this little pink house photo from home, now sitting happily on my inspiration board....
Thank you for its candy like goodness,  Janis!

 this delicious dessert I made with our very own peaches and blackberries...

 tousled hair on this cutie...

another illustration for 2011 completed 

and the quote that inspired it.

Happy weekend, friends.

Enjoy, explore, dream and discover!

xo

love,

~dee

palettes and such...

Good morning, friends!
I am thinking about using these as inspiration for the colour palette of my new calendar.
What do you all think?
Happy Wednesday!  I am playing in a small cardboard playhouse with 2 adorable kiddos today.
What are you all up to?

                                                                               
                                  Love, 
(found via here and here)                          ~dee xo

more of my love of autumn...

chai days...

beautiful photography from this talented girl located in Vancouver to grace our home...

kittens in our kitchen window sill displaying late season bouquets...

 Ikea starts selling Glogg (which I think we should buy by the case, just sayin')....
(Please excuse our very unattractive kitchen.)

 and a wonderful new shop full of British Columbia's goodness that my lovely friend, Catherine Basso just opened.
Hoping you are all loving Autumn too!
Enjoy your Tuesday, friends!
xo
love,
~dee

a peek into our trip to winston salem, nc this weekend....

 

Wouldn't it be fun to live in one of these adorable little apartments in the city's historical downtown?

Bella reading Skirt Magazine on a park bench

(What's funny is that this wasn't posed.  She actually picked up the magazine from the rack, walked to the park bench and asked if she could sit to look at it....so cute.)

 

 Milicent at her gallery, Urban Artware

 

 above is our daughter, Bre and her boyfriend, Caleb

Krankies Airstream

We wish we could have taken you all with us to Winston Salem, NC for the delicious coffee at Krankie's, 

 Milicent's wonderful little gallery, Urban Artware, where I feel privileged to show some of my paintings, beautiful architecture and an overall very fun Saturday.  Since that wasn't possible, instead we thought you might enjoy a visual trip with us.

Happy Monday, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~all of us

little pleasures of my week...

time with this little soft snuggle bug...

bright coloured tights in blue that make me feel like a superhero...

a 1/4 of the way to finishing the work for my 2011 calendar....

this super fun giveaway here...

a buttery rum coffee to close out this week...

and some blog loving on my latest group of paintings here.

Thank you, Melissa!

Isn't it great to focus on the good stuff?

Hope you share with us the good  things of your week too.

xoxo
Love,
~dee

swedish hasbeens...

 

Almost everyone who knows me knows that I love shoes and boots, new, vintage, whatever catches my eye and

I am pretty sure if I came into a lot of money, these would be on my feet.

a little spot for reading...

At first glance at the upper photo, I found yesterday here, I thought, 'wow that is my little yellow chair'. 

Our yellow chair was all dirty and worn out.  We found it in the back of Don's grandmother's (who passed away almost 3 years ago) shed behind her little cottage home and I thought it would be a treasure and small memory for Don.  I am in the midst of reviving its beauty, so you can imagine my pleasure seeing one staged so beautifully in Lonny.  Thanks to the lovely Jennifer Hagler of one of my favourite blogs, "Merry Mishap"!

She sent me a note about how seeing our furniture in other spaces makes you appreciate the piece more and she was most definitely correct with this particular photo.

It is gorgeous. Now I just need to find that fun little aqua radio and I have the perfect little niche for reading in.

Loving all the pretty things that come our way and fresh eyes for seeing things in other spaces.

Has that ever happened to any of you?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

little fall blessings...

 late season bouquets...

 another illustration completed for my 2011 calendar

 cuddly cushions that make our sofa feel like the perfect space for snuggling...

 this chocolate pecan pie I made for yesterday's Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations...

 for sweet children, a wonderful husband, a beautiful family (even though some are very far away) and for very lovely friends.

I thought in honour of our Thanksgiving celebrations, I would share some of my blessings.

I would love to hear some of yours'.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Love,

~dee

xoxo