Christmas Breakfast

This year we are staying at home for Christmas.  No running around.  No leaving presents unopened under the tree so we can make other people happy with our presence...no insanity.

My inlaws decided (in a huff) to go to Nova Scotia for Christmas so I invited my parents to come for Christmas.  The downside of marriage...complicated relationships.  Nothing will ever be the same as when you were growing up and that's not always easy.  So, this year, we will be hosting breakfast and as we know, these sorts of things take planning.  I sat down the other day and wrote a wee list of what I would like to serve...foods that are simple and easy to make!

Christmas coffee!  I am the only one in the family who doesn't drink coffee but I know the rest of the addicts wont be able to function without it!

Some sort of champagne cocktail!  I might toggle between orange and cranberry mimosas *hic*

It's not Christmas until I have stuffed myself with chocolate while opening pressies!

I tested these the other day and the Suburban Princes loved them so they are a go!  Put ham slices in a muffin tin or ramekin, crack eggs into them, season and bake!  Easy peasey, lemon squeezey!

Panettone!  Everyone loves this toasted with butter melting on it.  Pure bliss!  Slice it across and put on baking trays to toast in the oven.

Clementines and nuts to keep our energy and vitamin C levels up! 

Everything can be prepped in advance or easily made on Christmas morning to keep stress at a low!

Have a fabulous day!

100 Mile Diet Event - Part 1

I have had these photos on my camera for ages so it's about time time I got them posted!  We went to a 100 Mile Diet event close to our town and got the chance to meet lots of farmers, bakers, gardeners and more!

 

Our local chocolatier.

 

This farmer raises chickens and sells the eggs and meat.  His brother has honeybees and sells the honey...so he takes the beeswax and makes candles!

There were lots of great educational projects around the event. 

A woman who has sheep was there with her wool...

We got to see how she cards the wool and spins it into yarn!

She dyes her wool and sells it to all the local knitters.

I was tempted to ask her to knit me a birdseye sweater!

 

Produce galore!

 

One of my favourite cheese companies was there with samples!

 

Goat cheese samples!

  

These ladies had the most popular booth at the event!

 

Pies in every flavour imaginable!

 

Each booth had lovely autumn decorations.

 

Many varieties of apples were for sale!

 

Thanks to one of our local farmers we got a free apple!

 

Goat farmers had goat milk soap for sale and sample!

 

Everything under the sun was canned and ready to get us through winter!

Part 2 tomorrow!

Have a fabulous day!

The Sound of Silence

It is Wednesday morning.  The house is silent.  I can actually hear my own thoughts.

The Little Prince has been home from school for 2 weeks now while his nursery school has a summer break.  I had no idea how much my child talks.  Non.Stop.  He makes me seem shy and quiet!  Sooo we are having a day sans enfant to get things done, work, clean, tidy and everything else we have trouble doing with a 3 year old running around.  I miss him already.

The other day I made these...well, assembled is more appropriate.  Simply stuff raspberries with chocolate chips and enjoy.  The perfect summer snack!  All those antioxidants will help undo all the summer sun damage we have inflicted on ourselves lately. 

Dont forget to enter my Personalized Ribbon Giveaway!


Have a fabulous day!

Belated Birthday Presents!

With the horrible winter we had here and lots of renovations going on I hadn't had the chance to get together with High Heeled Life for a few months.  We went to their house a few weeks ago and she greeted me at the door with a HUGE gift bag...when I got home I opened it to find...

 

A ginormous martini glass!

I took the plastic off to find it was filled with lots of chocolates (40 to be exact since it was for my 40th birthday) and a pink bag!  Anyone in the know will know where that bag is from and know it must hold something verrry nice!

My very own personalized gallon sized cosmo vessel!

I opened the pink bag, unwrapped the tissue paper and found this stunning scarf!  It's the perfect size for tying onto a cute purse!

There was another parcel at the bottom of the huge gift bag...a beautiful notebook and cute emery boards!

It's not shopping if you buy 10 items or less!

Thank you so much High Heeled Life!  I have already been eating the chocolates and cant wait to make the biggest appletini of my life!

Have a fabulous day!

Birthday Recap - The Presents!

Happy Monday!!!  I hope you had a great weekend!

A huge thank you to everyone for the birthday messages!  I read and cherish each and every one of them!

I had a great birthday and took so many photos I need to do separate posts for each section of the big day!  Today is all about the presents!

The Suburban Prince gave me this fabulous tote! 

It's the spring 2011 limited edition! 

The Little Prince gave me these delicious chocolates!

My inlaws gave me $$ (the international language of love) to pay for the riding jacket I ordered a few weeks ago!

My neighbour left chocolates and...

Prosecco on my doorstep!

A big box arrived from Adrienne of Rich Life (on a budget) and I couldnt wait to open it!  How pretty is the wrapping!?

The trick to perfect wrapping...start by taping down the first end of the paper.

I was shivering with the antic-i-pa....tion!

A gorgeous ruffle scarf in pink!  It is so pretty - I wore it for two days!  It will go with just about everything in my wardrobe too!  Thank you so much Adrienne!  A proper TY is in the mail :O)

On my birthday we went to T&Co because the Little Prince wanted me to have this mug but unfortunately it is sold out in Canada :O(  So it's on promise for when it is finally back in stock.  Thanks the The Preppy Princess for giving me the great idea!

The winner of my birthday giveaway is TravelbugMom!  Congratulations!  Please email me by Wednesday night so I can get your prize out to you this week!

Tomorrow will be all about my birthday lunch!

Have a fabulous day!

Surprise from High Heeled Life

On Friday my nice mail lady brought me this little surprise from High Heeled Life!  A nice encouraging card (she really does write the best letters), a thing to plant and will grow wildflowers, a pink heart necklace from her trip to to South America at Christmas and a bag of chocolates!

Here's what I love about branding...it gives you a signature.  Mine is a crown, HHL's is a high heeled shoe...and look!  She found chocolates with high heels on them!  How adorable!

Thank you High Heeled Life for my wonderful present!  I can't wait to eat the chocolates, wear the necklace and watch the flowers grow!

Have a fabulous day!

Pink Champagne Truffles and a giveaway!

The Happy Baker has been hard at work in her kitchen coming up with all sorts of yummy treats!  Her recent newsletter incuded these very yummy pink champagne truffles and I loved making them...and licking the bowl!  To make them in time for Valentine's day you will need....

3/4 Cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp softened butter

300 Grams chopped dark chocolate

1/4 Cup pink champagne

Cocoa for rolling

Heat cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around edges. Add butter, stir until melted.

Place chopped chocolate in a bowl, pour heated cream over top. Stir until melted. Stir in champagne.

Pour chocolate in a shallow dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Place dish in fridge for about 30 minutes to set. Using a melon baller make small balls of chocolate. Place on a lined cookie sheet and set in fridge for another 30 minutes.

Dip your hands in cocoa. Roll truffles to smooth out texture and then roll in cocoa.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Dont they look delicious?  I can assure you they are!  The Happy Baker gave me a sneak peek at the recipe so I made them at Christmas for myself and High Heeled Life...she ate a few before going on her trip and said when she came back 2 weeks later the truffles were just as smooth and creamy as they were when I gave them to her!

The Happy Baker is also hosting a fun Valentine's day giveaway!  Lots of adorable baking supplies are up for grabs including a copy of her book!  Enter the Happy Baker's Valentine's Day giveaway!

Have a fabulous day!

Christmas Recap and Baked Eggs

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! 

We had a very low key holiday which included lots of driving, listening to our parents whine, me deciding we will be 'going away' for Christmas next year and the Suburban Prince has to deal with it again as it's his father's birthday today...so he will be going to see his parents...again.  I decided I will not allow the Little Prince to be put in a car again and driven around the province again and miss his nap...again.  So, I will be staying home with him and we will work on getting the house tidy again.

We didn't get each other much in the way of presents...neither of us need anything except house renovations so that's where we decided to put our energy and efforts.  I did give the Suburban Prince some of the books he wanted and a couple signed by the authors.  He gave me a T&Co scarf...the little skinny one, perfect for going around a wrist or tying on a purse and a LWhelan scarf she made especially for me and my need for cheeky monkey fabric.  I cant wait to wear both! 

The Little Prince gave me a TimeOut...he is quite pleased with himself!

I am already thinking about packing up some of the decorations - I dont usually feel this way but this year I just dont feel like dragging it all into the new year.  Start as you mean to go on!  So I will take some down every day and leave the tree with lights on until Epiphany (because I am just so religious) and that way I wont be trying to put it all away until Valentine's day!

The Suburban Prince will be coming home with his brother tonight so I needed to come up with something for breakfast tomorrow morning....here is one of my favourite dishes...so easy, inexpensive and very, very yummy!

I have always been a fan of simple breakfasts and this is a take on Barefoot Contessa's herbed baked eggs...it's basically the 'Husband-is-hungry-now' version!

Butter/grease/oil/spray a ramekin.

Crack your eggs into it.

Top with lots of sea salt with kelp, Italian seasoning, pepper and old cheddar.

Bake at 350 until the eggs are as runny or firm as you like them.

I serve them with toast and lots of coffee!

Have a fabulous day!

Christmas Pretzel Treats!

I will be making these today! Strange...I've never made them before! A cetain guy I know who loves sweet treats will be getting a bag/box/tray of them tomorrow.  I better make extras for the Suburban Prince to snack on in the car! 

I hope you are having a wonderful week leading up to Christmas!  I spent the weekend at home with the Little Prince relaxing and watching his favourite show...Housewives!  I am serious when I say he asks me to put it on all the time!  The Suburban Prince is thoroughly impressed...not!

Yesterday I took the Chilean exchange student to the city and the Eaton Center to look around and see the city done up - is it just me or does it seem a bit blah this year?  I wasn't blown away by the decorations in the city.  We did go to see Santa and the Little Prince was a superstar who diegned to sit on Santa's knee to get his photo taken.  Have I mentioned I have the most beautiful child in the world?  He takes a gorgeous photo! 

Today I am ringing the bell for the SallyAnn...in front of the liquor store!  I am sure to see lots of people I know passing by!  Then I have a book club meeting after dinner...the book is All My Friends Are Superheroes and I read it in just about one sitting..I couldn't put it down!  It's a short, very sweet book full of laughs, insights and colourful characters.  I highly recommend it!


Tomorrow we are heading to High Heeled Life's house for the day and will be leaving first thing in the morning and back home late at night and we are all looking forward to seeing them and their furbabies!  The Suburban Prince is excited to see the deer stand and the Little Prince can't wait to see his new auntie and uncle who fuss over him almost as much as I do!

I will wish you a Happy Wednesday now as I wont be able to blog tomorrow!

In the meantime here are the instructions for the yummy treats I will be making....
Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug
M&M's candy

Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.


Have a fabulous day!!

December Friendship Gifts!

I made these December friendship gifts back before our annual party and gave them out as favours as well.  I made extras so I have something to give everyone who visits over the next couple of weeks!

I got white paper bags from Michael's and put my own personalized stickers on them - I found the image online (three cheers for google!) and added in our names and printed them on sticker paper.

In each bag I put a packet of hot chocolate and a chocolate covered candy cane.  I folded the top down, punched a hole and tied it with a ribbon.  Easy peasy!

I completed these in one evening so it was easy to look like a superstar!

Have a fabulous day!

PS....please comment on the post below to help raise money for the charity Christmas dinner!