winter's solstice

Yesterday, on a spare of a moment type thing, I decided to take a holiday break from Facebook.
It was a decision I made, as I felt that I was becoming all too consumed with what was going on in the online world. I wanted to take a step back and be present in the moment. I wanted to stop reading sad stories, and wanted to stop feeling so far away from others. Instead of feeling connected, I was feeling disconnected from my family.
I find that because here in Beaver Creek, I am so far away from the rest of the world,  I tend to use Facebook as a way of staying in touch with it. It truly does feel sometimes like I am in my own little world here, and Facebook helps me to connect- or so I say and think it does. I'm not so sure. But I do know that it feels right to take a break. I think that says something.
Winter's Solstice was spent celebrating at our house with close family friends. 

We had two couples over who are both very good friends of ours, and the kids adore them. We made popcorn, had mulled wine, made rolled beeswax candles, and then had a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and a salad. It was warm, crafty and cozy ... and the perfect way to spend the darkest night. As our guests made themselves at home, and we kept filling up our cups, I was struck with the feeling of peacefulness and contentedness. It felt so nice to be surrounded by good friends and to spend our time together. I'm thankful for our "Northern Family" and wonder how we will do it next year when we are in a bigger, busier, faster, community.
But for now I am enjoying our quiet little Christmas and these things ...

~ the barely there light throughout the day. How it begins to darken in the mid afternoon.
~ getting outside for our winter walks. Yesterday Noah found a fairy snow home. We decided to leave the fairies with a little Christmas tree (I tiny piece of a spruce tip).
~ making homemade treats to have and give.
~ two excited little ones. Counting down to Christmas.
~ going to the post office and finding all kinds of Christmas cards and packages in the mail.

Mulled Wine

3 cups of red wine
1/4 cup of vodka (some people use Brandy. I didn't have any and found a recipe that used vodka)
1/2 cup sweetener (honey is nice, but you can use sugar) ...add more if you want it more sweet

2-3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 an orange cut into thin rings
5-6 whole cloves

2-3 pieces of sliced fresh ginger

Simmer on low-medium for at least half an hour... longer is better. Do not allow to boil. 

This can be made in a crock pot too. 

the sunny path

Fall is here and there is the most beautiful golden hue everywhere you look. The Aspens are all gold and reflect the warm Autumn sun in the afternoons. I hate to get all romantic and such, but really, there is no other way to explain it. I soak up these Autumn days, because it goes by so quickly here, and soon the Aspens will look like skeletons against the grey skies and white snow.
Lately we've been waking to cold mornings. Frost on the grass and back deck. It reminds me that winter is just around the corner. There is no hiding from it. This morning, without even thinking, I dug through the bins in our front closet, organizing the mittens and hats, sorting through the old and replacing them with the new items that I have purchased. Here in the Yukon, we start planning and ordering our winter gear at the end of August. Our first year in the Yukon, we received 2 feet of snow on Sept 23rd. It's never too early to be prepared.
Other random things. For Noah's birthday this year, we decided to take a risk and we bought him his first Lego set. I wasn't sure if 4 was too early for it, but it turns out that he loves the stuff, just loves it. I don't like to get attached to "stuff", but I have to say, Lego is seriously the most amazing thing to come into our lives. I have never seen Noah be more engaged or have something hold his attention like Lego does. When he wakes in the morning he runs for his Lego. When he gets home from school, he heads straight to his Lego. Before dinner, yup, it's Lego. This stuff keeps him so happy and the best part of all is that he is creating things with it. Buildings, vehicles, people.... he's just so engaged, and I love it! score one for Lego!
Today I had a moment of "I love it here". I decided that we would take a drive down to Beaver Creek (the actual creek, not our town) and that we would have our snack down there. On the way, I listened to Q on CBC and for a moment felt both connected to my immediate surroundings and the rest of my country. I love how CBC does that.
We drove down to the creek, I brought my coffee and our almond chocolate chip cookies with us (best healthy cookies ever!) and we walked along the beautiful sunny path. It was one of the moments where it really did feel good to be alive. I felt blessed and fortunate, and that's a really good way to feel.

Here is the recipe for these delicious cookies. I got it from Leanne. They are a healthy indulgence.

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

2.5 cups of finely ground almonds (I pulse whole roasted almonds in my food processor-it's loud though!)

1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

.5 cups (or more if you like it) of semi sweet chocolate chips 

1/4 cup of maple syrup

In a mixing bowl blend the ground almonds, b.soda, cinnamon together. Slowly pour the maple syrup in and mix. It should hold together in a ball but slightly crumble apart. Add in the chocolate chips.
 Place formed balls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and "bake" for 5-7 mins at 350.

Really you aren't baking these, you are just toasting them. Pull them out, press down with a fork and let cool. They are amazing and gluten free!

play time

 everyone say "Gak"!!!!!

 meanwhile baby sister was practicing her crawling 

 rain rain go away! 

Our summer has consistently been chilly and wet this year. When you live up North where the winters are long, dark and cold, you really come to look forward to summer and I think it is safe to say that we feel a wee bit cheated about the lack of summer happening here. Summer is looked upon as a much needed break from the long winters. The sun and warmth are celebrated, savoured and enjoyed. So lately I've been feeling jaded about this wet soggy summer.  It's true.
On one rainy morning this past week, we decided to stay in and make a craft. I had wanted to make GAK for a long time and it seemed like the perfect morning to do it. We make and play with a lot of play-doh, but I thought it would be fun to switch it up... and it was! Noah loved making it with me in the mixing bowl and then he spent a good hour and a half playing with it.
And while big brother was entertained with his GAK, little sister took it upon herself to practice her crawling. Yup, every chance she gets these days are spent practicing her crawling. She is getting quite good at it and can move herself around a fair bit.
So if you happen to be having a bunch of rainy days, or perhaps you are on the other spectrum and it's too hot for you to go outside (if that's you, then I'm jealous), try out this recipe. It's a sure way to entertain little ones for a chunk of time, and it lasts if you keep it in a tupperware.

GAK

2 4oz bottles of white school glue

1 teaspoon of Borax (found in the laundry section) 

water

food colouring 

-Empty the white glue into a large mixing bowl (both bottles). 

-Stir in your food colouring.

-In a separate bowl mix appox. 1/2 a cup of water with the teaspoon of Borax

-Stir in the water/Borax mixture into the glue. Stir stir stir.

-Get your kids to use their hands to mix it. This is messy at first until it starts to form a large mound.

-Take your GAK to a play surface and have fun cutting it, rolling it, bouncing it, squishing it....

HAVE FUN! 

handmade holidays

I love to give handmade gifts for any occasion but I especially enjoy giving handmade at Christmastime. Last year I made and gave a few different gifts like these little pins for my friend's children, chocolate bark and some of my prints packaged up nicely. This year I decided early on that I would try to make a sugar scrub to give to my girlfriends. I looked through a few different recipes until I found one that looked simple enough and then made up a batch before Katia was born, as I knew I wouldn't get anything done after she was born.

The results were great! I really was impressed and happy with how easy it was to make the scrub and how lovely it felt on my skin (I had to test drive the product first!).

I also had a lot of fun packaging up the scrubs in little mason jars with cloth covers and little wooden scoops. I bought the scoops in a shop in PEI this past summer and knew I'd use them for this project. I would suggest scouring dollarstores for little spoons or a kitchen shop or a shop in Chinatown for something similar (if you have a Chinatown...we don't here in the Yukon).

I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to give it a go. It was a super easy project and like I mentioned, the results were lovely... it really softens the skin and I love to use it on my feet! And bonus, you most likely will have many of the ingredients in your cupboard!

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

3 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of olive oil

a few drops of peppermint essential oil

In a bowl mix the sugar, oil, and essential oil together until well combined. Experiment with how much peppermint oil you want to use. Start with less and add in more until you get a nice but not too strong scent. When you have a nice scrub consistency, spoon the scrub into little jars and decorate them however you like. This scrub can be stirred up if it settles.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe. Stay tuned for my simple handmade baby gift...I'll post about that soon! And how about you? Did you get up to any crafting this holiday season?

xox

good things for today

Good things for today...

taking a nap in the afternoon... making delicious smelling homemade potpourri (recipe below) ... having a big thick pink strawberry milkshake at the diner with my friend ... receiving a "baby" care package in the mail from my best friend ...

Homemade Potpourri

I love making this potpourri because it is 100% natural, safe to use in the home and it smells so delicious. It reminds me of autumn and Christmas all at once.

In a small pot include:

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tablespoons of whole cloves
• half an orange or lemon (squeeze the juice into the pot)
• enough water to cover everything (about a cup)

Bring everything to a boil and then lower the heat to min so that it just simmers away. In a few minutes you'll begin to smell the delicious scent of everything combined. Keep an eye on the pot and continue to add water to the pot as it evaporates. This mixture can be kept and used again at least once.

lunch box adventures ... never going back

As a child, Campell's tomato soup was a staple in our home. It was a comfort food to me and we ate it often at lunch time. My mom would put a tiny pat of butter in it and it was pure warmth and comfort to me.

Upon growing up and realizing that, that particular brand of soup isn't really all that great (it's full of sugar and flour), I have been on the look out for a simple and easy tomato soup recipe that could replace my childhood favourite comfort food and I think I may have just found it!

As I was scanning Pinterest one night I looked through tons of recipes for tomato soup until I found one easy enough and simple enough that I would like to try. As usual, I gathered ideas from various different sources and made up my own version (taking away and adding things that I like). And this my friends is my new favourite comfort food. I will never go back to that iconic red and white can of soup.

Favourite Tomato Soup

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 box of chicken stock (use home made if you have any)

half a white onion finely diced

2 garlic cloves crushed and minced

2 tablespoons of butter

Italian seasoning

a few tablespoons of cream

- In a large heavy pot, lightly saute the onion and garlic in the butter.

-Add in the Italian seasoning (about 1 tablespoon give or take). Continue to saute for a few minutes.

-Add the box of chicken stock (approximately 3 or 4 cups of stock)

-Add the can of crushed tomatoes. Stir well and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

- Ladle the soup into bowls and stir in a tablespoon of cream into each bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

farewell October...hello November

Last night was full of fun, wonder and excitement. It was Noey's first time going trick-or-treating and answering the door to the other tick-or-treaters. At first he didn't understand why he couldn't eat all his treats right there and then when they were given to him, but soon he understood the idea of going door to door. I was actually quite happy that he only managed to have 2 treats. One was a mini pack of m&ms that he couldn't finish and the other was a bag of chips, he ate like 3 chips. So thankfully we didn't have too many behaviour problems last night. I think his favourite part probably was when he watched me as I was putting my cat makeup on in the upstairs bathroom. I asked him if he'd like a mustache and he said yes so I painted one on him. Again, he was so proud to be a fireman!

But with any special day, it must come to an end and I am secretly happy that autumn and Halloween can be officially packed away for the year. We have snow now and all I can think of is getting ready for Christmas. Baking, crafting, hosting, oh and of course having a baby! We'll see how much I actually accomplish from that list of mine!

This afternoon I made a cup of white hot chocolate and poured it into my favourite Christmas mug (one that I keep out all year long actually). My friend Yuki brought it back for me from Japan a few years ago and it remains one of my very favourite mugs. It has The Snowman on it from the famous British movie. If you've never seen this movie, you simply must! It's all hand illustrated and has no words, just beautiful music and a sweet story. Very magical indeed! I toped my hot chocolate off with some homemade peppermint marshmallows that my friend Leanne made and will be selling at some craft shows this season. I'm getting so excited already for the season to start!

Happy November everyone!

xox

ps. My sister Katie wanted to know if Noah had a special bag to go trick-or-treating with and so I made one yesterday afternoon. Here's a pic for you Katie!

White Hot Chocolate for two

2 cups of warm steamed milk (2%)

2 tablespoons of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of real white chocolate chips

a peppermint stick, whipped cream or marshmallows to garnish

-Warm your milk in a pot on the stove. Careful not to let the milk boil.

-Reduce the heat and add the vanilla to the milk.

-In 2 separate cups place 2 tablespoons each of the white chocolate chips.

-Pour the milk over the chocolate chips and stir until melted.

-Decorate your drink with a peppermint stick, marshmallows or whipped cream... or all 3!!!

coziness

We've been home for 3 days now and I'm starting to feel like we are getting back into our daily rhythm.

This morning we woke up before the sun, sat around in our pjs and enjoyed the quiet of the morning. Coffee was made, yoghurt and pumpkin muffins were had for breakfast, while CBC radio 2 was on in the background. It was a familiar feeling for me.

This time last year we were just starting to settle into our life in Whitehorse. I remember having a feeling of excitement as our first autumn and winter were approaching. It was getting darker by the day and more chilly. I was excited and full of anticipation. What would our first autumn and winter be like? Feelings of coziness, comfort, quiet and slowing down surrounded us then and now these same feelings are coming back to us.

The days are getting shorter and we are now bundling up when heading outside. Frost greets us each morning as we look out our window and the last of the leaves speckle the trees. It's time to hunker down, bring on the hearty meals like soups and pastas. I wanted to share this recipe that I adapted for pumpkin muffins. They are a hit in our house and I like that they are healthy enough to eat more than one.

Hope your days are cozy and warm.

xox

Pumpkin Muffins

Dry

1cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of wheat bran

1teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

-whisk to combine

Wet

1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup or your favourite sweetener

1 14ounce can of pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 eggs

1/3 cup of veg oil

-stir to combine

-fold in 1/2 raisins or chocochips (optional)

Add the wet mixture to the dry. Spoon into lined muffin tins. Bake for approx 40mins... check along the way. Enjoy!

a special dessert and so much more

This year for our anniversary we kept things as simple as possible and for me, the end result was exactly what I had hoped for. I have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on special occasions such as Christmas and Valentine's Day, but I am learning that going all crazy and Martha Stewart like, only leads me to disappointment and the inevitable crash when I realize that I can't do it all. So this year we agreed, just cards and for me flowers (because a girl loves flowers) and for him a special surprise of a homemade Turtle's cheesecake.
Winslow doesn't have the same kind of sweet tooth as I do but I know what he likes, nuts and chocolate. So I went ahead and decided to make a decadent and romantic dessert for our anniversary. It was super easy to make, thanks to my new spring form pan and we all (including Noah) enjoyed it very much.
Earlier in the day my sister Sarah asked me over the phone, what are you going to do with all that left over cheesecake and really in all honesty I though, "duh...I'm gonna eat it". But then I thought twice about that and decided that it would probably be best if I shared some of it with my girlfriends. So after dinner and while Winslow was getting ready for his night shift, I packed up some slices and brought Noah along, and we took a piece each to our well deserving friends Sarah and Carol-Ann. Then today I popped over to my neighbour Suzie and gave her a piece too. Good, now I don't have to feel so guilty about all that extra cheesecake.
This anniversary that just passed got me thinking quite a bit about the importance of putting my marriage and my sweetheart at the forefront of my priorities. I'm not sure if it's with time passing, or having seen relationships around me fail (my parents and other people I know) but more and more I am so thankful that I am realizing that a real strong marriage takes work.
I don't think I had the best examples of what a good marriage was while I was growing up. For me, when I got married at the tender age of 25, I really don't think I knew what being married would involve. For the first year, it was all about our first apartment and fun getaways and the blending of our old selves into a new self. It was fun but also a very young time in our lives. Since then we have experienced so many things together and have grown in so many ways. We experienced the pain of having a miscarriage and then the joy of bringing a baby into the world. We experienced excitement as we bought our first home, making us real official adults having to pay a mortgage. We felt fear of the unknown when we decided to take a transfer that would move us all the way across the country and up to the North. And felt the excitement as our careers and dreams have become a reality for us. From the good to the bad we have been there together for it all and I really feel that this is something to celebrate and remember.
And so this year to me isn't just another year on the ol' marriage belt. No. It's been a year of realizing that I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life. That I am blessed to have someone to share my life with and who helps me realize my dreams everyday. I've been taking notes and learning from people around me that when you have something this good in your life, you better work hard to hold on to it. I'm trying and will continue to try.
xox

a slow kind of day

After Noah's nap he woke up very hungry

and enjoyed some chicken soup on the back deck

The paintings that I am working on

It's a slow day here at our home. This morning Noah woke up extra early this morning and because of that, everything has been off a bit. He was up at 6:30 (instead of his usual 7:45) and he was just tired and groggy all morning. To keep Noah awake as long as I could, we went for a walk to the park. The park is straight through a small wooded area behind our house, so we did a little bit of a walk through the woods and tall grass to get there. Noah enjoyed running in and out of the woods and liked picking up the pine cones that he found along the way. At the park, we walked around the perimeter of the playground on the wood that keeps the sand in. I made up this little exercise for Noah so that he can practice his balance. It's certainly not a difficult task, but the perfect one for his size and age and he loves doing it. It makes him feel proud when he does it. We did some drawings in the sand with sticks and then headed home to get in the car to run a few errands.

The rest of our morning had us end up at Canadian Tire to pick up some potting soil and The Great Canadian Superstore to pick up some peanut butter and zucchinis. I have a craving for peanut butter cookies and we were out, so that's what we had to get. Poor Noah was so tired that he fell asleep in the grocery cart and stayed asleep while I finished my shopping.

We came home (Noah still asleep) and I had a chance to talk to my mom, work on some paintings that I am doing and start a lasagna that I am preparing for dinner.

It's been a slow morning...but maybe not so slow when I stop to think about it.

Soon Noah will wake from his nap and we will have lunch. Homemade chicken soup left over from yesterday. My friend Lisa asked me over Facebook how I make my chicken stock and so I thought I'd leave you with my recipe for Chicken Soup. It's certainly not fancy or anything, but it seems to do the trick every time we want a warming nutritious soup.

Happy Tuesday friends~ !

xox

Chicken Soup

To make the stock, boil the carcass of one whole chicken or pieces of chicken and bone in a pot with about 5-6 cups of water. Add largely cut up carrots, celery, 2 bay leaves, lots of garlic and onion, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and a tiny pinch of hot pepper flakes. Taste the stock along the way and add more salt if needed. Let this simmer away for a good hour or so. Once the stock has simmered remove the chicken (with meat and bones) carefully and place into a large bowl. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle remove all the meat that is edible. Save the meat and the liquid. Strain the liquid through a colander, discard the left over bones/veggies/onions ect into your compost.

-5-6 cups of chicken stock

-a good cup or so of chicken meat

-peeled and cut up potatoes (bite size)

-peeled and cut up carrots (bite size)

-peeled and cut up celery (bite size)

-any other cut up veggies (green beans, parsnip, corn would be nice)

-more salt+pepper and hot pepper flakes to taste

In a large pot add your chicken stock, chicken meat, peeled and cut up potatoes, carrots and celery. Let this simmer for a bit till your veggies are tender. I like to add new carrots and celery so that the veggies aren't too mushy. Taste and see if you need more salt and pepper and flakes.

While my soup is simmering, I like to make a cup or two of brown rice in our rice maker.

Once the soup is ready, scoop a spoonful of cooked brown rice into the bottom of your bowl, ladle the soup and it's yummy contents on top of the rice. Enjoy!

sweet as jam

It's Friday and because Fridays are so so sweet I'm going to leave you with some photos of Sarah's and my jam making day.
Last Sunday my dear friend Sarah came over for an afternoon of strawberry rhubarb jam making. It was both our first time making jam and we really wanted it to turn out.
We spent the afternoon cutting, sterilizing, cooking, filling and processing our jam. It was a serious yet fun affair and it got me in the mood to can other treats. Next on the list is Dilly Beans....yum!
I hope you've had a great week dear friends. Thank you so much for the kind and concerned comments that were left after my last post. I'm still feeling tired and somewhat drained but I'm trying to slow things down and not take on too much. It's an on going lesson for me. Still working on it. Must keep repeating "keep it simple...keep it simple".
So happy weekend dear friends. I hope it's just as sweet as homemade strawberry rhubarb jam!

And if it's not...may I recommend making some jam? It's kinda therapeutic and makes you feel accomplished.

xox