OUR LITTLE LOVE NEST

what's in my cup....

2011-09-29T15:04:00.002-04:00

This is an Autumn refresher on the pumpkin spice recipe we made up a couple of years ago just in case any of you are craving it this year and couldn't find it.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

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.)

Happy Autumn, friends!!

Love,

~don+dee

a little etsy luvin'....

2011-09-14T12:05:00.000-04:00

a little treasury

with love,

~dee

where we got hitched....

2011-09-14T11:44:00.000-04:00

There is something about going back to the exact spot where we said, "I do" to each other that brings tears of joy to my eyes.

A spa for the soul, I think.

Wishing you the best, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

hello, yellow and grey...

2011-09-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

(via here)

Thinking it would be fairly wonderful to wake up in this room this weekend.

What are your favorite bedroom colors?

Happy weekend, friends!!

xoxo

love,

~dee

5 years ago today....

2011-09-01T15:57:00.001-04:00

I married the man I love!!

Thank you for your patient, kind, enduring and super sweet love!!

Happy 5th anniversary, my luv!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

looking forward...

2011-08-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

I am pretty focused lately on creating a cohesive and fun group of work for this.

I always feel like a kid in a candy store with freshly painted canvases in bright colors.

So if I am a little quiet occasionally over the next couple of weeks it is probably because I am painting and enjoying the world of creative thinking.

Hoping you are all well!!!

xoxox

Love,

~dee

working from home...

2011-08-25T09:54:00.000-04:00

(above photo brazenly stolen from the Etsy blog)

My love started his new job this past Monday. He is working from home and so am I ....it sounds lovely and it really is, however I do think our next project will be transforming our garage into a home office/studio because of the chaos of both of us working from a kitchen table with 3 of our 4 children being homeschooled and all of us all squishy-ed up in our 3 bedroom, poorly laid out, 1600sq foot home.

I love so many of the office/workspace ideas on the Etsy blog but I would love any other inspiration our friends and readers would have to offer.

Off to work in our kitchen for another day of at home bliss. ;)

Happy Thursday, friends!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

what's in my cup....

2011-08-24T14:52:00.000-04:00

With the weather hot like it is here in the South, fruit drinks tend to be on the top of my list.

This is the first year we have grown pineapples and I am so hoping they grow beautifully, even if they are rather small, I will be happy!

They are full of antioxidants and nutritional benefits as a digestive aid and an anti inflammatory.

So a virgin pina colada even with the sugar and fats that they contain, may not be that bad in small doses.

Recipe:

7 oz pineapple juice
.5 fresh pineapple
2oz coconut cream
1.5 cups crushed ice

Blend at high speed.

Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

away...

2011-08-22T12:44:00.000-04:00

We have been away vacationing in Wilmington, NC.

Now back to the grind of daily life with beautiful memories still lingering.

Happy week ahead, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~all of us

what's in my cup....

2011-08-04T11:33:00.000-04:00

Wowza I have time for 2 posts in one day today!!

Today's drink was a minty jasmine icy tea with a dark honey.

I picked some jasmine, various mints and a wee bit of stevia, mixed them in with some green tea and steeped them for 6 minutes in a pot, strained it, added some dark honey, added cold water and poured over ice.

So fresh and good!

Love,

~dee :)

interesting little parts of our urban farm...

2011-08-04T11:02:00.001-04:00

our reds and americanas are getting bigger but we still have a couple of months before we will enjoy their beautiful blue and brown eggs...

I started my ginger plant about a month or two ago and it is starting to push some sweet foliage up out the earth in a pretty red pot which I will bring in for the winter to ensure its survival since even here it isn't warm enough to take a winter...

some lemongrass that we freshly planted about 2 and a half months ago from the Asian market's produce department. I couldn't believe how quickly it rooted and we have already enjoyed a sprig or two of its goodness in our Thai wraps a couple of weeks ago....

we have a few types of grapes but I think my favourite will always be Concords due to my grandfather growing them and his delicious grape juice. We will hopefully get a few jars again this year. Sadly, we lost 2 vines from last year and we aren't sure why...

perennial artichokes that we will mulch well over the winter and hope for their return...

our few pineapple plants which I will bring in over the winter as well...

and of course Scuppernongs, something I had never heard of growing up in Canada. They are huge globe shaped grapes specifically from the South with an apple-y flavour and they make amazing cider.

On another note, I apologize for not blogging as of late. It seems this time of year with 4 children at home, the gardens, hens and prepping for ICP along with numerous other common chores and time-fillers, we haven't been snapping photos as much and blogging has gone to the side. I really hope to change that.

Hoping our fellow blogging friends are all doing well.

I hope to take a peek at your posts today!

Wishing you warmth and goodness!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

what's in my cup....

2011-07-19T15:21:00.000-04:00

Although I am more of a tea drinker as of late, I still enjoy an occasional dessert drink.

We picked up some coconut coffee beans from La Vida Mocha, a local indie coffee shop both Don and I enjoy. The beans have bits of coconut mixed in with them. The smell and taste are incredible!

If you live in the area, you should definitely try them out. I am going to send some home for my family.

It is always a good idea to support local shops that you love but even more so when the owners are as wonderful as Burak and Irem are.

We recently learned that Burak's lovely wife, Irem has returned to Turkey to be medically treated for 8 brain tumors. I can't imagine the pain they are enduring. Burak is still here in North Carolina running their shop. There is a fund raiser for Irem here. You can donate as little as a dollar or as much as you like.

I have decided to use our little Etsy shop to raise funds for her.

All of our shop income will be donated to her until she has reached her goal.

Please help us help this little family.

They have two lovely little twin girls the same age as our little Bella.

Our hearts go out to this family!

I am sure they would appreciate your prayers.

xoxo

Love,

~dee

happy 65th, to a wonderful father...

2011-07-12T15:48:00.001-04:00

My dad is and has been for as long as I can remember been a builder.

He has built many a beautiful home, a couple of which, I was very blessed to live in.

He has built churches, businesses, dreams, happy lives and a great family.

I look up to my father's talent for building greatly.

He has an eye for details and notices when something is amiss and does his best to make things sturdy, beautiful and strong.

He has given great advice and has been a wonderful example.

He helped in the building of our day to day lives and my own little family's lives, supporting us in kindness, encouragement and many hugs through the tough times.

He loves my mom ever so much and been a great example of faithfulness, love and generousity for all of us. He loves each of his children and grandchildren and has given them constant encouragement and wisdom both in person, on the phone and with little comments and notes since we don't live as close as we used to.

He has a fun sense of humour that consistently makes everyone feel happy and at ease.

His belly laugh is super contagious.

In his 65 years, he has built a life that is full of love, honour and wisdom in both practical and spiritual ways.

I am so proud to call him my father!

We all want to wish him the best birthday and we want so badly to be with you on this special day!

We are with you in thoughts!!

We love you, dad!

xoxo

Love,

~all of us
I love my sister's post about him today!!

happy weekend...

2011-07-08T10:45:00.002-04:00

A week of hard work on our little burb farm wouldn't be complete

without sweet moments spent with a cute little nymph.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee (& of course our garden nymph)

what's in my cup....

2011-07-07T14:37:00.001-04:00

Regardless of the number of videos of Malaysian pulled teas, I am always amazed by this art.

So you can only imagine our kitchen and my arms after trying this out for myself...teehee.

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

happy canada day....

2011-07-01T14:18:00.000-04:00

oh the fun!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

what's in my cup and a wee bit of urban farming...

2011-06-30T11:59:00.001-04:00

strawberry smoothie from our frozen strawberries, ground flax seed, honey, vanilla yogurt and skim milk

Have a good one, friends!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

busy weeks of summer...

2011-06-28T11:22:00.001-04:00

Little snippets: friends, children home for the summer, accepted for the ICP in Greenville (YIPEeeee!), painting, ceramics, mowing lawns, DMV for a certain teen's learner's permit, urban farming, church, playing, dinners, baking, shopping, a birthday of the one I love coming up tomorrow, a ton of little moments that are full and good.

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

Love,

~dee

xoxo

working towards this...

2011-06-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

Crossing my fingers and hoping that this year we end up here....

Indie Craft Parade from Indie Craft Parade on Vimeo.

Happy weekend, friends!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

what's in my cup....

2011-06-16T14:23:00.000-04:00

I really am amazed at gunpowder green tea. Each leaf is individually hand rolled. I can hardly wait try using our tea leaves to create this tea. I was also rather intrigued by the Sri Lanka chai mix and decided to try a slow cook gunpowder green chai today. I mixed our gunpowder green leaves with cinnamon, cardamom, cummin seeds, coriander, curry leaves, lemongrass, fenugreek seeds and a small amount of ginger. When the 2 hour steep was completed, I strained the tea, added soy and raw sugar.

It seriously awoke my mind and soul today!!

If you know me you know I needed some energy and awakening as of late.

Enjoy the rest of your day!!

What's in your cup?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

my sweet love + good food = a great birthday...

2011-06-14T10:46:00.002-04:00

Its hard to believe that I just turned 42. How have those years gone by so quickly?

Its a good thing I have an amazing husband who knows how to make getting older feel fun!

I think I put on 4 pounds over the weekend but it was worth the extra running and biking I will be doing this week.

It was a wonderful weekend!

How was yours' ?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

reality...

2011-06-10T12:37:00.002-04:00

(The chicken a little bit above was one of the ones that ended up being a rooster.)

This last week has just flown by. Chaos would best describe this morning.

What the photos above don't show is that two of the pullets (female chickens) were not really females at all but rather very loud crowing roosters of which we had to take to a "country" farm this morning because the noise beginning at a little before 6am was unbearable for us and I am pretty sure for our community. Both young roosters decided today was the day for them to begin seriously crowing non-stop.

Our dog, Mazzy vomited all over our carpets. I am not sure what is wrong with her.

Bella used up ALL of our toilet paper while she was in the bathroom and plugged our toilets.

My love was rather harried and late as he headed off to work feeling a little overwhelmed. Water has been leaking into our garage in a manner that needs to be dealt with immediately. Lawns are feeling overgrown. The gate in which we hoped would contain the female hens is not tall enough to keep them contained in their area and they have all begun to roost high up in our willow tree. Our 2 boys are headed off to Washington, DC tonight and today our new dryer decided to die, leaving me hanging clothes up to dry in hopes that they will have enough clothing for their trip. I should be doing breakfast dishes right now but instead I thought I would post about the craziness we call our lives just to be raw, genuine and very real. Urban farming is great but there are definitely days we aren't sure anything is going the way we would like it to. Like the way our peach trees were attacked by stink bugs leaving us with moldy peaches everywhere, all of the plums fell off of our plum trees except one moldy one due to a late frost and our spinach was eaten by a cute little brown bunny. In the middle of chaos though, is a sweet spot, a calming reassurance that one day when things calm down we will look back at this morning and giggle about its craziness, or like the little video post from a friend that breathed in peaceful music and the deliciousness of a salad my grandfather used to make that I finally took on the courage to try with his mandolin cutter left to me. All of which helped me stay sane and hopeful today.

At least in the end we will say we lived rich and full lives!

Hope your weekend has a peaceful spot!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

(recipe from my grandfather who had a beautiful urban farm of his own....he was ahead of his time...he passed away 2 and a half years ago)

what's in my cup....

2011-06-09T10:52:00.000-04:00

Whenever I am a little down, chocolate seems to help lift my spirits.

What's a girl who is on her way to living a healthier lifestyle to do to make this a viable diet option?

We have a serious little patch of chocolate mint in our backyard this year.

In past years it never seemed to do much. This year it is thriving!

I also have this incredible black cherry loose leaf tea that has been awaiting use.

This morning I mixed the chocolate mint in with the black cherry loose leaf tea Not only was it amazing but it paired up perfectly with my slim high fiber bagel topped with a tablespoon of Nutella!!

Perhaps joy spills out of a little silver tea pot!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

a little etsy luvin'....

2011-06-06T13:38:00.004-04:00

Please let me introduce you to Janis of Pinecone Camp, a wonderful photographer and fellow Vancouverite. Her work both in her shop and blog make my heart HAPPY!

I can actually feel the happy optimism and excitement of Vancouver just taking a quick peek at her photos from home.

She has the sweetest giveaway this week too! Make sure you enter quickly because I think the drawing is on the 8th!

"The place you have left forever is always there for you to see whenever you shut your eyes."

~Hamilton Henning

(...or take a peek at photos like these ;)

luv,

~dee

xoxo

oh deer...

2011-06-03T15:03:00.000-04:00

a sneak peek at some crafty little antler pieces in mid progress...

I kind of like deer so I thought some branches would be better suited for this project.

I will be finishing up these guys over the weekend.

Happy weekend, friends!

xoxo

Luv,

~dee

what's in my cup....

2011-06-02T16:02:00.001-04:00

If you want a fresh fruit tea, you can easily make one by adding berries or fruit to your loose tea in a french press. Heat water, pour over, wait about 4-5 minutes, press and you will have a homemade fresh fruit tea.

Raspberries are a little on the tart side, so I added some honey to my cup.

Happy Thursday to all of you!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

fresh...

2011-06-01T10:06:00.000-04:00

We have been living off of our backyard for the past few weeks and I can't complain. The food is fresh tasting and healthy. I am not sure why we didn't do this sooner. Keeping herbs in icy cold water helps with freshness. Tonight I am going to be making Thai beef salad with homemade rice noodles.

I usually vary recipes to make it my own,so this one I am adding Thai fish sauce, cilantro, basil, mint and garlic from our gardens.

Hoping to mix up some icy mint with lime tea to go with it.

Too bad we couldn't enjoy it in the fresh looking space I found here.

Have a refreshing day!
Love,
~dee
xoxo

what's in my cup....

2011-05-26T12:28:00.001-04:00

I picked up 10 lemongrass stalks for a couple of dollars about two weeks ago for some Thai lettuce wraps we were making. I used 3 or 4 of them and put the rest of them in a glass to root, changing the water every couple of days. When they began to root I planted them in the garden. They are growing beautifully here in North Carolina. I had all of these thoughts about what could be planted here. Apparently you can grow so many more things than I had imagined including tea, ginger, artichokes, figs, broccoli, stevia, peas....I could go on. People are constantly telling me that you can only grow corn, tomatoes, peppers and onions here and that is it! I love that that's not really true. It is really hot and humid here in the summer but if you plant trees around your yard and in the middle of your veggie gardens for a little bit shade, water properly and add compost, you can almost grow anything. I even planted a couple of pineapple tops this year and will take them in in the Fall. Okay well...

I am way off track but all this to say, lemongrass makes for an amazing tea of which I made this morning after finding this cute video on how to make it. I added ginger and mint to my steeping pot, along with a bit of honey and stevia for sweetness.

Pretty sure you will love the way this lady shows you how to steep it!

She is quite adorable.

Hope your day is full of goodness!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

artful burbsteading...

2011-05-24T11:44:00.003-04:00

I am pretty sure we don't fit the usual suburban world here in North Carolina but I don't think that is such a bad thing. We wouldn't have chosen the suburbs of Charlotte, NC if we had of had more time but the need for a home was imminent. The rental home in which we were intending on moving into turned out to not be the best area for raising children and school was already in session for our then elementary aged, son. We needed to find a home and find one quickly. I remember going out to meet with a real estate agent to look at homes. We were desperate. The home we chose was the only one which would be available quick enough and in our price range. I had not heard of HOA (home owners associations) before and was quick to find out about them after moving into the community.

Our desire at first was to plant just a few plants on the barren clay soil. I began with river reeds and honeysuckle because they were free. Over the next few years we added fruit trees, grape vines and raised beds. We eventually started reading about some people in the Northwest (where I was living prior to here) who had started an urban style homestead. With the need to save cash and my love of gardening, we began our own burbstead. (Suburban Homestead)

I am in no way a country type girl at heart. I love living in the heart of a city but nonetheless we are the rebel farmers amidst our HOA driven community. So far we haven't dealt with any problems with our unique situation. We have flown under the radar, probably due to nice neighbors and the fact that we try to live as artfully and clean as possible in doing what we do.

We have a huge compost pile for decomposing kitchen and yard scraps, along with our hens' unmentionables. Its surrounded by lovely looking and smelling, honeysuckle to take away any unpleasing scents. I also stop by Starbucks bi-weekly to pick up a huge bag of espresso grounds both for its added goodness to the compost pile and for the removal of any bad smells.

We have a very cute hen house that is surrounded by honeysuckle climbing up chicken wire fencing and a little white shed shaped like a barn.

I change the chickens' bedding daily and add it to the compost. To keep their home fresh and the air from becoming smelly.

We also incorporated flowers and herbs in with our vegetable gardens to make them look prettier. The nice thing is that most of the flowers we have chosen are edible. As mentioned in an earlier post I finally have 2 lovely tea plants which arrived this week and were immediately planted up by our grapevines and blackberries at the back of our yard.

So far we haven't bumped heads with our neighbors or the HOA and we hope to keep it that way but we definitely are not conformists and we stick out a bit with our very full yard next to our neighbors whose plants are minimal.

One thing I have noticed since moving here is the value of conformity but I am not from here and hope to shine a light that shows it is okay to be different if you can do so in a way that adds to the community's beauty and appeal.

Being different can be a beautiful thing!!

As I told a blogging friend yesterday on facebook, I sometimes feel like her pink rose amidst a sea of red ones.

That's just fine! Isn't it?

xoxo

Love,

~dee :)

what's in my cup....

2011-05-19T09:23:00.000-04:00

I think when it comes to tea I am a bit of a purist, no sugar or dairy needed, however when it comes to a London Fog, I can't deny the goodness.

I was ill last week and my sweet friend, Faith (from yesterday's post) brought me some Earl Grey tea and Panera soup with bread. She lifted my spirits.

This week I had an idea that would include some Earl Grey tea: a London fog tea with a twist and it didn't disappoint me. I steamed milk and vanilla and steeped Earl Grey with a wee bit of orange zest and honey, mixed the two, topped with a wee bit of whipped cream and oh my; a delicious indulgence!

Enjoy your day!

What's in your cup?

Love,

~dee

a little woodland wednesday...

2011-05-18T10:58:00.001-04:00

I am not a professional photographer, as I found out quickly while working on a photo shoot of our dear friends, Faith and Jesse this past weekend. Linney's Mill is a very beautiful spot for photographs, especially the engagement photos of this cute woodsy couple, who met at camp in the North Carolinian foothills not too far from this location. As beautiful as this area is, it is also extremely humid. A professional photographer would have come prepared with humidity cloths for their lenses, unlike myself.

I kept questioning why I couldn't find my normal groove behind the camera. It felt impossible to focus the lens. I took so many photos, it was unbelievable and yet I found there was a soft edge or fuzziness in more than 80 percent of them. However, I will call it creative license....maybe the softness was meant to be, since they make me think of a dream.

In reality it is my own inexperience. Next time we go into uncharted photography territory, I will do a little pre-research. Perhaps some classes and more reading will be in order too. In spite of my novice self, I think the two of them look handsome in these woodsy shots. For a first day playing photographer in a professional's field, I don't think I did too bad.

If you are a pro, you may disagree. ;)

Hope your Wednesday is dreamy!

what's in my cup....

2011-05-12T12:21:00.000-04:00

Alright, so I can't contain my excitement. My love gave me a little surprise on Mother's day. They haven't arrived yet but I had to share a little bit with you. I had no idea we could grow tea here in North Carolina until a couple months ago when I did a little in depth research.

Two Camellia sinensis plants should be arriving here at our little nest sometime next week. I will be brewing up teas right from our gardens. Now that will make this girl happy!!

I used to have a small tea house in rural Alberta, Canada and I have always had a wee bit of a passion for tea. Tea is so interesting and back then I had no idea of the process of making tea, even though I was selling it in vast amounts. I simply paid a lot of money to my supplier. Today, I am a tad more well read in this area than I was back then and much more excited about the process of growing and creating the perfect cup of tea.

I have hopes of creating healthy and delicious teas for ourselves and perhaps one day to share.

For now,

a little

look

in my cup:

Lavender (to calm),

mint,

honeysuckle blossoms (which have properties aiding in respiratory health)

and stevia for a little sweetness without calories,

all mixed with a soothing oolong for an amazing cup of goodness. Minus the oolong, all was grown in our gardens.

Talk soon,

Love,

~dee

happy mother's day....

2011-05-08T15:19:00.000-04:00

Thank you moms for your love, kindness, wisdom and peaceful spirits!

You both mean so much to us!!

I hope your day is full of sweetness!

xoxo

Love,

~don+dee

and

all of the kiddos

the nest...

2011-05-06T13:08:00.002-04:00

Over the past few weeks we have watched a mommy and daddy robin create a nest, lay and hatch eggs and push their wee ones out of the nest...what a busy couple.

I couldn't help but think of Don and myself as I watched them protectively guard the young from the time they were hiding in little eggs until yesterday as the little ones hopped out of the nest and around our gardens. What a busy life, collecting food, training, protecting and all that entails raising babies into adults.

Our oldest son attended his junior prom this past week and is heavily involved in music at our church, our oldest daughter is beginning her journey in photography, our youngest son has been working on art project after art project and of course little Bella has been busy at play, making little friends, climbing trees and helping with the chickens. All of this activity needs our chauffeuring, supervision, provision, etc. Is it a wonder that I have Don and I have no time? Those are just a few of the activities going on in our little nest.

Here's what our fledglings are up to:

Breanna (above) and her photography (below)

Bayley (our youngest son, below with Bella)

Bayley's revamp of old skateboard decks into art (above)

Brodie (our oldest son and his date for his junior prom, the lovely, Mackeever)

Brodie and his love of music. (above)

and of course the ever busy life our littlest chick:

What a wild ride!

Enjoy your weekend and your nest!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

for a wedding...

2011-04-28T10:51:00.000-04:00

Over the past months I have been busy creating 150 feathers from clay all by hand, each one uniquely carved to be the only one of its kind, painted in a sugary pink paint, glazed and trimmed with a soft gold edge.

They were sent off last week and are headed for a wedding in Massachusetts to be sweet little gifts for a bride and groom's guests.

It has been a pleasure to work with this sweet lady and I am hoping she loves them.

I found it interesting as I worked on them, how none of the feathers looked alike.

I love how people are much the same, each one created for special purposes, some soft, sweet, gentle, short, tall, feisty, fun, quiet, hyper, calm, bright, rich, poor, weak, strong or any other descriptor. Each one unique, beautiful and fulfilling their destiny and purpose here on Earth.

I love the artwork of our creator, displayed in earthen vessels known as human beings.

We don't get to see the finished product in its completion on this side of eternity and sometimes we can become frustrated with the work being done on us and in others, especially when it doesn't feel good but I am sure when we reach the other side the beauty of God's handiwork will be indescribable.

xoxo

Love,

~dee

our backyard is our playground....

2011-04-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

and our work grounds too but either way what a lovely distraction from the internet!

Oh go out and play now! You know you wanna!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

one word...

2011-04-18T16:20:00.000-04:00

Peace...

Wishing you a lovely week full of peace.

Love,

~dee

its alway the small things...

2011-04-13T14:52:00.004-04:00

The scent of spearmint and tea remind me so much of my grandparents who have both passed away.

As I brewed up a batch of Assam loose tea with fresh mints from our yard, I thought about how

funny it is that the things which stir up memories of those we love are usually so small.

For me it is almost always the little details that stir my heart.

The soft feeling of a knit blanket, the smell of mint or Avon powders that my other grandmother used to collect and display in her bathroom, kindly smiles, hands holding small bouquets of flowers, cedar linings in chests, a lock of hair, poetry and books, the taste of freshly caught and fried perch, a laugh, a crinkled nose, fresh air on clothing....

those little things fill me with nostalgia and make me long for a hug from grandparents who are gone.

Enjoy the little moments with those you love.

Who knows if we have another day with them.

Live for love!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

thankful for little goodnesses...

2011-04-12T15:00:00.003-04:00

If I am truly honest I don't really love living in the South the way I loved living in Vancouver but focusing my attention on this is not a healthy way to live, so every day I find little things that I am thankful for, to breed cheer and to not feed depression.

I am sure that we all have things we wish were different, some big things and some small.

I do miss family and friends from home, don't get me wrong but focusing on that would surely get me down in the dumps very quickly.

Today I will feast on these thankful thoughts:

I find the weather in the South this time of year quite lovely. I love our friends here! I love our church. I love the flowers from our yard that I bunch into bouquets in wine bottles and glasses throughout our space. I love the fact that our yard reminds me of back home. I love our new chicks and our children and their friends.

"Cultivate the thankful spirit! It will be to you a perpetual feast." ~John MacDuff (1818-1895)

What is it that your heart is feasting upon today?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

thought for today...

2011-04-11T13:25:00.000-04:00

"There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you."

Deuteronomy 33:26,27

peep show...

2011-04-08T15:30:00.002-04:00

So there you have it: a peek at the newest members of our home.

As you can imagine our kiddos are loving them.

Happy weekend to everyone!

We'll be hanging out with some cute chicks.

(Sorry, I just couldn't resist;)

xoxo

Love,

~dee

north carolina mountain vacation...

2011-04-07T10:18:00.005-04:00

You would not even believe how much fun we stuffed into a four day visit with my sister, Lori, her husband, Steve and my lovely niece, Amy from Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Oh the tears of sadness since they left.

This family knows how to laugh and live to the full.

How how I miss them so!

xoxo

Wishing you all as much laughter and life as you can have today!

Love,

~dee

P.S. Thanks so much for still reading our blog in spite of my Spring laziness. Your thoughtful comments made my day yesterday, Cat and Bev! :)

trends...

2011-04-05T23:54:00.001-04:00

I sometimes wonder at adults who change their perspectives, faith and lifestyles to fit trends as if they were clothing. So what if one's faith doesn't fit with the going trend. So what if one is considered "out of it" because of not feeling the need to have to conform to what the average person is thinking. Wouldn't one be even more "out of it" if they changed their mind constantly to go with what is in vogue to pursue in life? Personally, it is my opinion that I should consider myself more of a follower or sheep if I took to heart the latest motivational speaker of the month's thoughts, or read the latest book by some fad writer with great devotion rather than to sort out one's own thoughts and adhere to what they know to be true. If I was so daft as to surround myself with only like minded friends to justify my desires, I would hope someone would hit me upside the head with a very large book and tell me that I should do further investigation and stop being a follower.
Sometimes being loving might mean telling someone that they are a sheep without knowing it.
Just sayin'.

weeks that are full and overflowing....

2011-03-15T12:27:00.001-04:00

Some days blogging seems impossible. Do any of you feel the same? I have so much to share but so little time to do it in. Who would have thought that 4 children, their friends, our friends and church could fill a life to the brim and overflow it. Time and money seem to be the hardest things in life for me to budget. We get going every morning and by night I am wondering how to slow things down so that we enjoy each other and life more.

Perhaps it is due to only having one vehicle, so I am driving 2 hours a day some days, just so that I can have use of a car. This makes me think living in the center of a town or city would be smarter for us.

Then other days, I think my life wouldn't be so busy if I lived in the country. I would have reasons why I couldn't be as involved in some activities and therefore I would cut out a lot of the superfluous things in life, live off the land and spend more time doing chores with our kids and talking more one on one with them.

Then there are those days where I realize it is all in choices we make.

We really don't have to go to the store because we can make do until evening, we don't have to be as involved in some activities that we think are necessary and we can spend more one on one time by saying, 'no' occasionally to our children when they have just one more thing they want to do or one more friend they want to visit.

So all in all, my choice as of late is to slow things down, learn to say no occasionally and only include things that are healthy for all concerned in this little home of ours.

I am sure you all have had weeks like these last few weeks of ours' and I am pretty sure you will all agree being unplugged and loving life can be very healthy from time to time.

Our two oldest children only have a year or two before they head off for college and with a three year old and a middle school child in our home too, there is a deep need for my time, attention and training to be focused on them right now so that they will head off into this world with their hearts in a good place as they grow into lovely, productive members of society.

If there are days and weeks where I don't take the time to write or post something you will know those are the days I am stealing time with our children and readying them for life on their own.

Wishing you all a good week ahead!

I am curious what you are all up to.

Love,

~dee

xoxo

may I be like a child...

2011-03-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

full of joy, humility and life.

Happy weekend to all of you!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

under the influence...

2011-03-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

(I just finished this painting of blossoms done with acrylics on a big canvas we made ourselves.)

(Local honey drizzled in jasmine tea and over strawberries made a delicious breakfast this morning.)

(Our plum blossoms this morning.)

Feeling under the influence of Spring...bouncy, cheery and full of warmth and love.

What a fabulous influence to be under!

Happy week to you, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

sunshine on a cloudy day...

2011-02-25T12:20:00.001-05:00

It is interesting how little things can add a little sunshine to a cloudy day.

Isn't it kind of like that in life in general?

We can focus on the negative and be overwhelmed with the grey or we can find the little rays of sunshine and make that our perspective. We can choose love or bitterness from the cloudy days full of trials and all of the grey things that come our way.

I hope that love will motivate my every action and yours'.

Hoping you will choose love in all you see and do this weekend, friends.
Wishing you all a cup of sunshine or perhaps at least a sunny cupful of caramel macchiato.

Love,

~dee
xoxo

thankful for little goodnesses...

2011-02-22T12:26:00.000-05:00

Hoping your week is going well.

We had some unexpected little changes, like a broken down dryer and I am surprised to say that I don't really mind hanging our clothing on a line.

Love,

~dee

xoxo

waiting...

2011-02-18T11:08:00.013-05:00

As of late, waiting seems to be my latest life lesson. Not that I have never had to wait before, but it seems lately we are waiting for so many things. Waiting for Garren's body to heal while his family endures this painful time having no idea of what the outcome will look like exactly has been emotionally difficult for everyone. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be in Geoffery and Nancy's place. Don and I have been praying along with our children that God will heal Garren's body completely but like all involved, we wait. Wait on God, for daily miracles and waiting for the natural healing time of his brain along with the rest of his body.

As I was digging around in my compost, I realized that it had turned into beautiful soil, not overnight, trust me. When we first moved here our soil was rock like clay, near impossible to dig and completely unworthy of planting anything in. We added to the pile: left over rotting veggies, peels, grasses, more soil, cardboard and water and slowly but surely the soil became rich and lush. I was actually stunned as I was digging in it last weekend, at the beautiful loamy earth that turned over with ease. Time just passed with this and I was oblivious to the waiting. Sometimes life is like that, you just wait unaware but usually the waiting is very noticeable.

Remembering our empty backyard upon moving here is also incredible to me. We slowly added plants and vegetation, raised beds, trees and flowers until it was so lush last year that I almost felt as if I was back home in Vancouver. However, over the years I thought it would always be sparse and barren.This year as I look out at the dead grass, empty beds, brown backyard, it feels like the wait is forever and possibly the colours will never return.

Don and I have been working towards some big life changes that have kept me from blogging as much and I feel as if I am losing so many great relationships from in this blog world. People who are so inspiring to me, I have spent so little time chatting with as of the past while. All of our focus seems to be in prayer, running around after kids, chauffeuring and working on our life plan. I will tell you part of the plan is to live a lifestyle similar to this , we are also in the beginning stages of roasting our own coffees, along with a lot of other changes I will save to tell you all about later. All of this is creating more waiting. Waiting and not knowing what the outcomes of relationships, work, life in general and a lot of other things will be, seems to have become our story as of late.

It is kind of humorous the amount of trust in the past I have put into a false sense of control of our lives.

Ultimately we are always waiting but sometimes we simply don't see it. While our children are at school, we are trusting God with their lives as they bus, sit in classes, etc., we trust that our jobs will be there for us everyday, that our paychecks will show up, that nature will continue in the same manner, that the Earth will continue on its safe path around the sun, so it is funny to me when I occasionally really wake up to the fact that we aren't in control. In those moments I find a great need to grow in patience and trust.

Patience and Trust while we wait are beautiful gifts and attributes. Trust that we are in the place we are meant to be in at this very moment, trust that you can rest in every circumstance and trust in a God that is good and he is able to take care of us at all times, both at the times we have our eyes opened to our own lack of control over our universe and even in the times we don't. When we trust knowingly, patience seems to grow in us as we wait.

Someone said in a prayer group we attended recently for Garren, that the underside of a rug or tapestry is not so beautiful to us. Not many can see the beauty from this side of life's tapestry but I believe on the other side we will understand.

Until then, we wait.

Hoping you all will be patient with me while we busily make some life shifts and changes.
If some of our blogging friends would like to connect with us more regularly throughout this time feel free to add us on facebook.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Love,

~dee

xoxo

sweet distractions...

2011-02-14T09:52:00.001-05:00

I have had so many sweet distractions that keep me from having a heavy heart over the past week as we have been in prayer for Garren. Our own family has grown closer together, we have grown closer to friends and church members as well as to God.

As we have been praying for our friends and their son, Garren, I have had faith along with intermittent bouts of heaviness. I think whenever one is on the path of an enduring nature, there are highs and lows. As a young person I would often go mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies which are gloriously beautiful and yet rather difficult to climb. I remember one wilderness trip went for two weeks outdoors and a very long journey up a mountain. There were so many moments that I doubted I could make it to the top. I would wish I were back at home in the comfort of my room. Yet something bigger and greater, something far beyond myself pushed me to keep climbing. The desire to reach the summit, to look down and know the beauty and awe that came with that.

I have never had to watch my child lie in a hospital bed for longer than a couple of days, so I can only imagine the fear and doubt that would plague the hearts of parents watching their sleeping son for 10 days with no definite answers. Even with little hopeful glimpses, like Garren's eyes opening and his ability to breathe on his own now, I am sure there are so many questions and doubts that can fill their minds. I don't think I would be as brave and strong as they Nancy and Geoffrey have been.

Although one thing I do remember from my mountain climbing experience is this; friends and camp leaders encouraging words overcoming my doubts and pushing me forward.

All of this to say that I believe along with Garren; Geoffrey, Nancy, Kara and Kelsey will need our enduring faith, patience, understanding, prayers and encouragement.

If you belong to a church, I would encourage you to ask your pastor to go to Geoffery's blog and add Garren and his family to their prayer list along with our entire church as we continue to uphold the Janes in prayer or if you would like to pray or add the side button to your blog as a reminder, I would send big hugs of gratitude your way.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

Wishing you all much love,

~dee

a time to pray...

2011-02-07T11:06:00.002-05:00

We will be spending the next days in prayer for our pastor's son. He is only 13 and passed out in his phys. ed. class on Friday. He was rushed into the hospital and they found bleeding on his brain. His father, our church's pastor has a blog that can explain more here. Being in prayer for him and his family is of utmost importance for us right now. If you feel moved to join us, we want to thank you.

Love,
~all of us

intentional gardening...

2011-02-03T14:54:00.000-05:00

I started our little garden a week ago and I am already salivating over my intentions for the fruits of these plants.

I hope to dehydrate the tomatoes and basil add some sea salt so they are like tomato chips and dip them in some local chevre cheese. Oh why do plants have to take so long to grow??

xoxo

Love,

~dee

etsy luvin'

2011-01-31T15:26:00.000-05:00

things that warm my heart.

just a quick peek into our weekend...

2011-01-31T10:00:00.036-05:00

I am busy carving and molding 150 ceramic feathers for a sweet lady who is getting married this year, so I thought I would simply share a quick little peek into our weekend.

It was full of good memories and even a romantic dinner date of prawns and lobster with just my love and I when we got back from our trip.

How was your weekend?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

morning adventure...

2011-01-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

We set out on a morning adventure today and came across this snazzy pony much like one I had as a child.

Isn't she wonderful?

It is kind of fun bringing things into our little girl's life that I had as a child and somehow it makes me feel like we have an even deeper connection.
Bella was a little afraid at first and then after bouncing for a few minutes, she turned to me and said, "Mom, she isn't really scary at all!"

What adventures are you up to this week?
Hoping they are good ones!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

wee indulgences...

2011-01-26T15:00:00.001-05:00

Sometimes a little indulgence can be a beautiful thing! For instance: when you have a great accomplishment in life, when you share a special occasion with one you love, sometimes when you need a little cheer in your day or like me today; when a good idea is about to take you in a new direction.

My choice of indulgence would be fudge brownies with a coconut milk latte hands down!!

I don't really know, nor do I really want to know the fat or calorie content in these sinfully delicious treats.

I just slowly intake them like they are the last meal I will ever enjoy.

I am super excited about this idea of which I have been thinking about for months and am in the process of making happen, so today this is my celebration indulgence!

The pairing of the chewy brownies with a chocolate topping alongside a latte mixed with coconut and sweetened condensed milk is purely heavenly!

What would your ideal indulgence be?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

found joy...

2011-01-25T13:57:00.004-05:00

I found a great deal of joy this morning in my cup of jasmine tea with honey, a handful of lychees and a great book by a fellow blogger.

Also here is a little gift for you: the recipe for delicious bits of cinnamon-y goodness, a secret recipe that I am no longer keeping a secret from my tea house back in Canada!

I miss the days of making these every morning but I am pretty sure my body isn't missing those extra calories right now.

And for family and friends, a slide show of our little girl:

(She came up with that outfit all by herself right down to the zebra shoes that are on the wrong feet. I love her!!)

I really feel like I have a whirlwind of things to share but it may have to wait a bit.

I am ever so anxious!!

Hope your day is full of goodness!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

a little peek into our week...

2011-01-21T10:07:00.004-05:00

making cinnamon rolls...

Bella playing with fluffy plants from our nice neighbors' yard...

pretty flowers from my love...

English style fish and chips...

its almost the end of January and I still am not sure if I am awoken and living like our calendar suggests for this month in our year of adventure.

Are you?

Things are getting better here in our home and healing is happening in my heart but I still am a little numb and lacking in life.

I feel a lot like the season right now, barren and cold but with the hope that new growth and goodness are just waiting to happen.

I miss you all and I would love to hear what you are up to!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

one thing I enjoyed this week...

2011-01-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

This week was a difficult one for me. I don't really want to get into the details as they are rather personal but I would like to apologize for not really being very inspired or in the moment, blog wise.

I am rather heart-sick and worn out but I did enjoy making this muffin recipe we made filled with tasty goodness from a 1944 cookbook I bought back in Canada at a thrift shop a few years ago.

It is good to have some sweet memories even in the midst of pain.

I may not be blogging as much over the next few weeks but I will do my best.

Talk soon,

~dee

xoxo

we still have snow and ice....

2011-01-12T10:08:00.008-05:00

and we are cherishing every little bit of it!!

Snowball fights, sled rides, walks in the woods, campfire and double chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven are some of our favourites finished off with the family all cozied up in the living room to enjoy a movie together.

What do love to do when it snows?

xoxo

love,

~dee

taking a much needed break with all four kids at home...

2011-01-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

a little peek into our week...

2011-01-07T12:27:00.000-05:00

fun celebrating friends and a beautiful 17 year old's birthday...

Happy birthday, Mackeever!!

organizing our living room for the new year...

completing my bird sculpture

beginning a new painting...

and watching Bella enjoying her new easel from Ikea.

We have had a lovely but rather busy week.

I am so curious as to what you are all up to too.

Thank you so much for all of your kind encouraging words and for inspiring me daily through your blogs and comments.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

adventure in art...

2011-01-05T16:06:00.002-05:00

As some of you may have noticed I am working on a new project which involves mediums I don't normally work with, namely; papier mache and ink. I really think for this year I am going to spend more time playing with new mediums in projects instead of worrying if something is going to sell in our shop. I want even art to feel like an adventure into the unknown for me, in hopes of creating joy and a child like wonder in my life.

I still have a lot of work to do on this piece. I need to paint the branch and work on the bird but I kind of like the feeling of the black ink on the stark white papier mache cube. It is a bit of work since the ink doesn't dry instantly and I am having to go back over areas and re-ink them in some areas. Learning from my mistakes and growing is all a part of life's adventure.

I am looking forward to a year of fun and adventure in every area of life.

Hoping you find a child like wonder and adventure in your lives too.

love,

~dee

xoxo

some things I am working at...

2011-01-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

getting back on track on my diet....

beginning some sculptural artwork...

(This little chest/dresser was my love's grandparents' first dresser and it was given to us by his wonderful parents.)

re-arranging furniture to fit in some special pieces like this one...

and re-lacing this cowhide area rug that was my brother in law's from where he grew up in Argentina,

while our puppy, Mazzy keeps getting in the way.

Isn't she a cutie?!!

Also a quick note to let you know we just put up our 2011 calendar on a permanent discount of 25% off.

What are all of you up to, friends?

xoxo

love,

~dee

and the winner is....

2011-01-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

I positively loved reading each and every one of your adventure comments. I am super inspired to do posts on adventure after reading about yours'.

Although we only have one winner for this giveaway, I want to thank each of you for your inspiring comments and I wish I could give each of you a huge hug for the smiles you brought to my face!!

Congrats to our fabulous winner and I hope you enjoy our 2011 calendar which will be on its way to Australia very soon!

Have a lovely week and a beautiful year ahead!

xoxo

Love,

~all of us

2011-01-01T15:04:00.001-05:00

2010-12-31T11:11:00.000-05:00

(Don't forget to enter our calendar giveaway!!)

give it away now....

2010-12-29T00:01:00.002-05:00

Its almost 2011 and we want to party like its 1999 to celebrate this year's fantastic calendar!!

Join our fantabulous giveaway by leaving us a comment about your favorite adventure.

Gain an additional drawing entry by posting this phrase on twitter.com

"I entered to win the 2011 illustrated calendar by Don and Dee Sullivan @
http://deesullivan.blogspot.com
You should enter too!"

The winner will be announced January 3rd. Check back then to see if you've won!

The Best of Luck to all!!

xoxo

Love,

don+dee

wintery wonderland...

2010-12-28T14:22:00.000-05:00

We had the first snowy Christmas here since 1945....lucky us!!

We have gone sledding, made snowmen and warmed up with Italian cookie lattes and yummy lemony blueberry breakfast cake.

Its feels like home here this winter and I love it!

How was your Christmas?

Love,

~dee

xoxox

holiday wishes...

2010-12-24T09:35:00.000-05:00

Love,

~all of us

xoxo

a little must read on etsy....

2010-12-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I have only met Jemima through on line notes and overheard phone conversations with my brother but even from the teensy bit of communication, I think my brother has a total sweetie for his girl! (I was very impressed when I found out she was a fellow Etsy seller with such fun and beautiful products. I thought to myself, he picked a good one, just sayin'.)

She is from Australia and is living in British Columbia working her craft with a magical touch of creativity for her company called, Sparky Jones!

You can only imagine my surprise and delight to see her featured on an Etsy interview this morning.

I had to do a double take.

You will definitely want to read her endearing interview.

She also has a cute blog that I visit.

Hope you love her work and interview as much as I did!

xoxo

Happy Wednesday, friends!!

Love,

~dee

P.S. A big HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Don's wonderful parents today!!

a little tea party...

2010-12-21T12:35:00.001-05:00

Bella and I are enjoying a little tea party today simply made with some art paper and a clementine crate that we adhered to the crate using acrylic polymer emulsion, trimmed with scissors and then coated with a couple of layers of the emulsion to protect its finish.

It was a fun little project we worked on this morning.

Happy Tuesday, friends.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Love,

~dee and bella

xoxo

just a quick peek into our week...

2010-12-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

 candy cane cupcakes I made for fun....

 getting ready for Santa...

 paper trees I made from a vertebrate anatomy book...

 enjoying a little kitchen helper...

 making a paper forest...

and my sister's quote from facebook was up on the bigscreen on Larry King's finale last night...I thought that was a fun tidbit of our week.    Way to go, Lori!!  I miss ya!  We will miss you Larry!!

Happy weekend, friends!

I am off shopping with a friend today.

xoxo

Love,

~dee

truffle recipes to share...

2010-12-16T14:40:00.003-05:00

Oh happy day...

I finally put my recipes together to share...

White Chocolate Coconut Truffles

200 g unsweetened shredded coconut

100 ml heavy cream

70 g icing sugar

70 g unsalted butter

200 g white chocolate

1. In a mixing bowl combine coconut and icing sugar.

2. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over low heat ,stirring occasionally,
until the butter has melted. Pour the mixture over the coconut and sugar.
Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

3. Using a melon ball scoop, shape 3-4 cm in diameter balls of the mixture.

4. Place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

5. Melt the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot,
not simmering water or in the microwave. Using a toothpick dip each ball in the warm
melted chocolate, place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Place in the fridge for 30-60 min to allow the chocolate harden before serving.
I sprinkled the tops of mine while still
unhardened with snowy looking sprinkles.

Homemade Turtles

1 c. butter
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1 lb. brown sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla Dash of salt
30 oz German dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate
1/3 bar paraffin
Pecans

In heavy pan, melt butter, add brown sugar and salt.
Stir in syrup gradually; cook to 245 degrees or almost hard boil.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pour in buttered 9 x 13
pan. Cut into squares; press pecans into each square of caramel
and form into small circular shapes. Melt chocolate and
paraffin together and pour in small circles on parchment paper.
Press caramel and pecan bunches onto semi hardened chocolate
circles. Pour more melted chocolate over caramel pecan patties.
Then drizzle with a different colored chocolate over the top
if you like. (As shown in photo.)

Enjoy!

Wishing you all the best!

love,

~dee

xoxo

a little play time in our day...

2010-12-15T14:51:00.002-05:00

We have been spending our day making paper chains and playing in a blanket fort by the fire after a 4am wake up time this morning to go drop off our oldest son for a trip to Atlanta for his high-school arts group.

To be honest, I think I am too sleepy to do much else.
 I would love to sport one of these today that I found here.

xoxo

Happy Wednesday!

Hoping you find some time in your day to play too.

Love,

~dee

a little peek into our weekend...

2010-12-13T10:40:00.002-05:00

Our weekend was filled with a little Christmas party with our wonderful neighbors and family,

cider and treats,

listening to Christmas carols, going on a long drive to look at pretty Christmas lights and watching snowflakes fall to the ground and melt away.

What filled your weekend, friends?

Happy Monday!!

Love,

~all of us

ooh my this week has flown by...

2010-12-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

I got myself a new shorter haircut in a lighter, brighter red...

worked on making labels for some canisters which I think are kind of cute...

wrapped up a canvas to make our living room more festive...

hung some stockings with care...

found this wonderful sled for only 15 dollars (it reminds me of snowy days back home) and the adorable hand painted Santa is from Don's mom (isn't he a cutie?)...

was gifted with these cute boots by my love...

and enjoyed all my trips in and out of our home due to the Christmas-y door decor.

It has been a busy one and I didn't even realize that I hadn't blogged all week.

Hoping your season is lovely and I would love to hear the highlights of your week.

Also lastly but not at all least:

Its my sweet little sister's birthday today!!

Wishing I was with her.

She is the bestest!

Happy Birthday, Lori!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

weekend full of warmth, goodness &....

2010-12-06T14:26:00.003-05:00

candy cane lattes made by melting candy canes in hot coffee, adding two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and topping with whipped cream and a candy cane...

soft peppermints shared with our sweet little one...

making sweet Christmas-y cake stands with planters, ice cream cups, plates and vintage Christmas ornaments....

whipped up some white chocolate coconut truffles...

and we received a surprise visit to our neighborhood from Santa himself!!!

What a weekend!

How was yours?

Wishing you a happy week ahead!

xoxo

Love,

~us

our pre-christmas sale...

2010-12-04T13:35:00.001-05:00

Send me a message prior to your purchase and I will adjust your price to 30% off between December 5th all week long until December 11th!!

Enjoy your weekend, friends!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

oh christmas tree...

2010-12-01T15:31:00.000-05:00

She isn't a real one like we planned but she is a pretty pencil tree in her glory and a very generous and lovely gift from Don's parents this year.

We decked her out in Ikea along with some decorations we have accumulated throughout our years together. For next year I am thinking we may try out some greys, whites and metals but for this year she is wearing candy cane red and white.

She is the glory of our living room this season and Bella's joy to light up each morning.

Happy December 1st, friends!

Enjoy your day!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

P.S. For those of you who asked for the turtle recipe, I will try to do that up soon. I made the recipe up myself, so it may take a bit for me to figure out how to word things and give you all proper measurements. Thanks for your patience.

a sweet weekend...

2010-11-29T14:46:00.001-05:00

Busy making homemade turtles, caramels and sugar coated peanuts.

It has been a great long weekend full of sweetness with family and friends.

How was your weekend, friends?

xoxo

Love,

~dee

onwards with the christmas cheer....

2010-11-26T13:43:00.001-05:00

starting with a little bouquet of baby cedar trees that I wrapped up in fabric and tucked into a vintage bowl...

and a Swedish Christmas greeting, "god jul" done with one dollar frames and letters I did up in different fonts and then printed out...

We are definitely on our way to a very Merry Christmas indeed!

Best Wishes this lovely Friday!

Happy weekend, friends!

I am working on making some chocolates and cleaning house today!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

P.S. Thank you to Don's parents for an amazing Thanksgiving meal yesterday!

His mom wore herself out on that wonderful meal while we relaxed like we were in a spa. We ate so many incredible tasting foods that I am pretty sure we put on some weight.

Spoiled us. ;)

2010-11-25T07:51:00.000-05:00

xoxo

Love,

~all of us

cleaning day in our nest...

2010-11-24T12:43:00.002-05:00

(This original watercolour of Bastion Square from 1978, done by artist, Nada Lozkovova was found here in the South by my sweet mom-in-law and it makes me so happy because you will never guess where it was from....

If you guessed Victoria, B.C., you are right and you may know by that why it made me so thankful to her for finding it. She has a wonderful eye for finding interesting and pretty things. You should see all the wonderful things she finds in thrift shops.)

Today our kiddos are all at home on holidays for Thanksgiving here in the USA and I have a million errands (okay a slight exaggeration) to do. I have them helping me out, doing chores like dishes, vacuuming and laundry. It is so funny how they always tell me that their friends don't have to do these things and yet I talk to their friends' mothers and they say something completely opposite. I really think if they don't learn how to keep a home clean when they are young, they will have no clue when they are older. So house cleaning is a family thing in our home. I am sure they think I am a slave driver and super mean mom for having them help out but you know...

one day they will seriously love the fact that they know how to do the small tasks it takes to live on one's own successfully.

So as we clean this house of ours, feel free to say a prayer for my poor children, whose mom loves them so much that she wants them to learn basic living skills which happen to include various household chores and not a day full of games and play. I know kids need time to play, but seriously video games and skateboarding will not be a priority when they have a family of their own.

(or at least I would hope not....aaack)

My morning rant is over now.

Go on and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

you know its a good morning....

2010-11-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

when it begins with a chai and chocolate chip cookies, right?!!

Hoping your morning is going just as good as ours'.

Its a week of thanks and I am thankful for a decadent breakfast, a handsome husband, beautiful children, a snuggly baby, wonderful friends and a cozy home.

Wishing you all some warmth, goodness and of course a little bit of chocolate for your Tuesday!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

a tiny project for my day...

2010-11-22T15:26:00.002-05:00

I am not usually one to purchase things like scented wax but on this weekend Don and I went to a little shop in Marshville, NC where Don's parents and I visited earlier in the week. They had these incredible little pieces of wax that were scented with oranges and cloves. A scent I couldn't get out of my mind. I only have a small burner for essential oils so I didn't want to buy more than a couple but we went back to pick up a couple more when I got creative with old metal star cookie cutters and some antique metal measuring cups.

Fun looking and a great little way to re-purpose these plus I can't describe how magnificent they smell.

We had a great weekend and so much to be thankful for!!

A BIG HUGE hug and thank you to my gorgeous and very talented friend, Barb of Knack for her lovely words on our calendar!!

I am so excited that she is going to have her very own book in 2012!!

I can't wait to see it!

Her work is perfection.

Happy happy day!

Hoping yours' is too!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

little pleasures of my week...

2010-11-19T14:11:00.005-05:00

the coffee I am loving this month is a sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte with low fat whip and a drizzle of honey...

this sweet little pillow I picked up yesterday....
the little corner table Don's father made and I lucked out on receiving...

the creating of this Swedish 40s/50s Christmas tree I did mid-week...

twig and greenery tie backs I had fun making...

the little wreaths below, I made from some branches of our willow tree and Ikea deer cut outs...

and some calendar loving from my sweet cousin, Dawn and dear friend, Melissa!
Christmas is coming early in our nest this year.

Thank you both so much and a big thank you to everyone who scooped them up so quickly.

I am feeling warm, cozy and loved today.

Hoping you are too!

Happy weekend, friends!!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

christmas early for our friends...

2010-11-17T16:54:00.003-05:00

doing the happy dance...woohoo!

We have a special offer for the first 3 orders of our 2011 adventure illustrative calendar. We are going to send two for the price of one if you let me know in a message on Etsy that you read our "Early Christmas" blog post.

So snap up this listing quickly and you will have a free Christmas gift for yourself or a friend.

Merry Christmas early to everyone, deck the halls and all that jazz!!

Happy Wednesday!

Love,

don+dee

p.s. Please let us know if you would prefer our calendar a little more understated and we can have your calendar done up in gray-scale instead of the brightly colored version.

a little sneak peek at our 2011 calendar...

2010-11-16T09:38:00.002-05:00

Are you eagerly anticipating these incredibly fun-tastic calendars???

I am and I am just itching to get them up in our shop!

I apologize for the delay due to some computer problems here in our little love nest. I hope to have them up in our shop by early tomorrow.

What a wild ride it has been in creating these.

Our computer's power supply went on the weekend along with this being my first illustrative collection and all of the new things I am learning through trial and errors but oh what fun and how truly suitable for a calendar focused on adventure.

Woohooo.. the wait is almost over! We will be getting a new computer part this evening and these hot little numbers should be up and ready for you to purchase tomorrow!

(Praying and crossing my fingers & toes!)

Aren't they the best calendars ever?!! (just sayin')

They make me want to sing and dance and live out the new year with a truckload of adventure and fun!!

Happy Wednesday, friends!!

(I have missed having my own computer to check out your blogs and emails. I am sneaking my honey's MacBook Pro right now but not for long as he needs it back for work.

Promise, I will be back once I have my big computer up and running!)

Love,

~dee

xoxo

remember....

2010-11-11T09:09:00.007-05:00

While our American friends and family honour Vetran's Day here, we Canadians and many other countries honour a similar day called, Remembrance Day.

I also steal some moments as I remember a wonderful best friend, Dion who died 24 years ago today on his way into Edmonton, Alberta to hang out with us for an evening, while riding with my boyfriend at the time who ended up in a coma, turning my world upside down at the age of 17.

I felt lost and alone for a long time, other than my relationship with God which grew stronger and more cemented because of these tragedies.

Wikipedia's definition of Remembrance Day is truly well written, in my opinion:

"Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries to remember the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. (Note that "at the 11th hour", refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.)
The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.^[1]
The red poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war."

As you go about your day, I hope you will remember those who fought for our freedom.
I will remember them and my best friend whose passing changed my life and journey.
Love and best wishes,
~dee
xoxo

yum....

2010-11-10T13:50:00.000-05:00

We pruned all of our fruit trees this week and I found a lot of good uses for their beautiful branches but my favourite use was the one below.

Although, these are definitely not weight loss appropriate, I do have to say they are healthier than most.

I found their delicious recipe here.

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

I am off to work on some projects.

(& yes maybe steal a bite of Bella's caramel apple...notice her pout ;)

xoxo

Love,

~dee

ta-da...finally....

2010-11-09T14:51:00.001-05:00

ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 quarts popped popcorn

Directions:

	Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
	In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
	Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces. Finally for those of you have been wanting this recipe I have this recipe post put together. We have had a crazy busy time of it but I had a few free minutes and its up in all of its deliciousness. I love my cousin Jodie's comment, "I too enjoy gaining weight the quick and easy and delicious way...why prolong something you can get done quick and efficiently?!" She is the cutest! Well friends, I have more caramel-y goodness for you tomorrow. Sorry dieters and sorry to my diet too. Happy Tuesday! Hoping yours is sugary sweet and full of goodness! xoxo love, ~dee

a weekend of warmth and goodness...

2010-11-08T14:38:00.003-05:00

This weekend was a mix of a warm visit with family (Don's), candles, carting in the last bits of greenery before the frost and enjoying every little moment we all have together on the weekend. Oh how I wish weekends could be a little longer.

I promise I am going to try my hardest to get that recipe up before this evening.

I am trying to re-arrange and clean things up around here after a busy weekend bustling here and there.

How was your weekend?

Wishing you a happy Monday and the very best for your week ahead!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

little pleasures of my week...

2010-11-05T15:08:00.002-04:00

Our 2011 calendars are almost ready (Just a few more illustrations along with a little bit of digital playtime before they will be full of colour and ready for packaging)....

little glowing tea lights arranged softly around our home...

a wee bit lighter eating this week...

vintage workbook pages I make prints of for little Bella to colour...

simple non fat stove-top lattes...

and a wee bit more kid art to love thanks to our youngest son.

I don't really know what we are up to this weekend but I hope both yours and ours will be good ones.

I would love to hear a little about your week.

Happy Friday, friends!

xoxo

Love,

~dee

P.S. I will get that recipe up for my mom's caramel corn very soon.

mmm christmas...

2010-11-04T14:16:00.002-04:00

Don and I are heading out next Friday to pick up some Christmas presents and decor and I am so excited I could burst.

I have been lighting candles and filling pots with cider because I can't stop thinking about it.

We are going to have a real tree this year for the first time since we have been married.

Ikea will definitely be visited for Christmas ideas, along with vintage malls, thrift shops, and various other places, I am sure.

I just love the planning and plotting of Christmas decor, the feel of going out to find friends' and family's presents and an early Christmas date with my love, so even though it is early I couldn't help myself but create this little collage of ideas with found photos. (I apologize for not knowing where they all came from.)

Enjoy your Thursday, friends!!

~dee

caramel corn...

2010-11-03T16:01:00.000-04:00

I've put back on 10 of the 20 pounds I had lost and I am thinking my mom's caramel popcorn recipe may be the culprit.

If you want the recipe, let me know;)

You too can put on weight quickly and easily.

HA!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

xoxo

love,

~dee

the highlight of bella and my week....

2010-10-29T16:37:00.001-04:00

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

random...

2010-10-28T14:54:00.002-04:00

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

(caramel apple cider)

Too tired for words....

love,

~dee

xoxo

unconventional...

2010-10-26T11:41:00.001-04:00

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....

2010-10-25T12:34:00.001-04:00

(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!

~dee