he's scooting!

Video! Leo scooting around the kitchen a video by lealoulemonade on Flickr.

I think it's time to start baby-proofing :)

stella & dot garden party - what I actually did (and didn't do)

So sometimes you have grand ideas about parties and then when it comes time to putting them altogether, they don't turn out exactly the way you envisioned. For example, I didn't put all my food out because as I was putting things out, I quickly ran out of space. Then today, I found the cute fabric tape I wanted to use on my marshmallow sticks... I had just totally forgotten about it.

Nonetheless, my Stella & Dot Garden Party was fun and really it's all about the people who come anyway!

Here are a few shots of the table -- and although I forgot to take pictures of Lisa's fabulous table, she has had some professional shots taken by Nataal Colalillo Photography that I added here, which are way better than anything I would be able to take anyway.

These are some delish chocolate treats from Sweet Olenka's (I say delish like I actually ate them yesterday [refer to this post for an explanation] but I have had them before and would likely live soley off of the brownies if it were nutritionally possible).


My carob and skor dipped marshmallows (without the fabric tape flags grr! I guess they wouldn't have worked anyway because I put them right side up)


The healthy stuff - veggies and hummus and my cocktail tomato, basil and bocconcinis


And the drinks!


Here are some fabulous shots of Lisa's Stella & Dot summer table (again all photos by Nataal Colalillo Photography)






Fun stuff! Thanks to Lisa for coming out and putting on a great show!

Happy Sunday!

sometimes ya just need a muffin

Ever since I had this boy, I've had to change my eating habits. It seems that even though I was raised on raw milk on a dairy farm and have no allergies whatsoever, my son has taken to breaking out every time I eat anything wheat-based, dairy-based and recently I realized corn-based (no popcorn for me?? WAAA!). (I should clarify that this is because I breastfeed and eventually I won't have to eat this way anymore)

Do you know how hard it is to go out in public and not be able to eat anything? No muffins, no cookies, no regular lattes, no scones, no pasta, no sandwiches, no pizza(!), no nuthin. On a recent trip home I ate my fair share of chicken salads. That's all that's available to folks like me.

Anyway I needed to bake something - anything! I found quinoa flour at Bulk Barn and went to town making these quinoa muffins this morning. I had blueberries, so I threw those in. I didn't have eggs so I used a trick I found for a ground flax seed substitute (I've used this before and it works wonders!). Also, I used goat milk and butter instead of the cow versions -- for some reason Leo can tolerate those!


And you know what? They're not half bad! They're cakey and do the trick. I even went a bit fancy and made my own parchment liners so I could pretend I bought them somewhere.

I think I'll make a habit of keeping a good stock of these so when I leave the house I'll bring them with me. So what if I look like the geek that brought her own muffin!?

stella & dot garden party - food fun

My Stella & Dot garden party is this weekend and I want to have some fun munchies for my guests! Cake pops perhaps? Cupcakes for sure. Chocolate is a must. And I guess I should have some food that provides a bit more substantial nutrition right?

Here are some pics I found that have given me inspiration for some fun food for the party. Sweet stuff first of course:

Marshmallow pops? Yes please!

Source: hostessblog.com via Sam on Pinterest

cake pops!

Source: thesepeasarehollow.blogspot.com via Annie on Pinterest

So refreshing

Source: papermash.co.uk via Stephanie on Pinterest

The healthy (but cute) stuff

Source: celebritybabies.people.com via Virginie on Pinterest

One can never go wrong with tomatoes, basil, balsamic and cheese

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Ok my tummy is growling...

this kid is up to no good...

My poor cat doesn't know what's coming...

Stella & Dot Garden Party - decor ideas

I'm having a little Stella & Dot jewelry party (I've got a little contest coming soon!) with my sister-in-law Lisa in a couple of weeks and I thought I would have some fun with it and make it a bit of a garden party. It's going to be small so I don't want to go overboard, but I wanted to do something different than what I usually do for get togethers.

Here are a few photos of inspiration for decoration - some of these might be a bit over the top for my party but it's fun to get some ideas this way:

Source: u-createparties.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: u-createparties.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: simplyrosie.ca via Megan on Pinterest

Source: creative-party-themes.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: littlelovely.typepad.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: jldesigns.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: blog.iplanitright.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Love Stella & Dot? Check out Lisa's Facebook page and website to get some of your own fun jewelry!

tick-tock

Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Don't you just love this clock? It's from Clock Work Universe. I thought it was a painting at first, but it's a real life clock from Russia in the '50s! I just love it!

I was considering getting it but I have a zillion clocks around the house (ok not quite a zillion but I have a few) and I'm in a I'm-not-spending-anything-right-now phase (which likely won't last long).

dinner al fresco

I've been enjoying the weather here in Toronto immensely and have pretty much spent every waking minute outside, including at dinner. The other night Mark and I ate dinner out back and didn't come in until close to 10 (ok that may still be early for some of you but for me it's bedtime :)). I even started pulling weeds at 9:30 (I had a bit of a motivation spell).

Do you eat dinner outside a lot in the summer? Wouldn't you just love to eat dinner here (ok maybe those stumps wouldn't really be comfortable but the chairs would be!)?

Source: a-mad-tea-party-with-alis.blogspot.com via Oxana on Pinterest

barn doors

We decided to put barn doors in our basement on all of the door openings and originally we were going to put raw, reclaimed wood but it's not going to go well with the floor we chose. I'm really loving some of these other options for colour.

Source: birchandbird.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: google.com via elaine on Pinterest

Source: desiretodecorate.com via Nicole on Pinterest

love this green door too!

Source: birchandbird.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: remodelista.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Cindi on Pinterest

Source: re-nest.com via Amy on Pinterest