Tag Archives: photography

After Eight Brownies

9 Oct

Is there anything tastier than chocolate and mint together?  For me it’s one of my favorite flavour unions.  Deep rich dark chocolate with a hint of that fresh minty taste just satisfies my sweet tooth like nothing else (see recipe for my Chocolate Shortbreads with Minty Ganache Filling too).  And the mint just gives me the idea that it’s healthier.  It is green and grows in my garden after all.

For these brownies I did not use my own fresh mint but I did use an entire box of After Eights.  I made a double batch of my favourite brownie recipe and poured half the batter into the bottom of a glass rectangular baking dish.  I then covered the top with After Eight chocolates before pouring the remaining batter on top.  So easy and so tasty.  And of course the mint makes them really healthy and low fat.

These made the perfect little treat for a dear friend who just turned 50.

 

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A Kid’s Life: New Zealand

8 Oct

Time for another post in my A Kid’s Life series.  This series is a great way to learn about other countries and cultures by looking at families and their daily routines and traditions.  I love hearing about what people from a different country eat, how they spend their free time, what sort of activities the kids do and about the local school systems.

Today we are visiting with Hana from New Zealand.  Hana is a self proclaimed eternal optimist and dreamer.  She has the blog A Happy Adventure  where she writes about parenting and making her daughters lives as magical as possible.  I absolutely adore her Little World series!  I’ve never met Hana but I just know she’s one of those cheerful, positive,creative and witty people that we could all benefit from spending time with.

I’ve always been interested in New Zealand and I loved reading about Hana and her family’s daily life there.  She talks about Christmas in such a different way than I’m used to (camping and beach!) and now I’m curious about what pikelets and kumara are!

So let’s meet Hana and her family…

What country do you live in?

New Zealand

Are you and your husband the same nationality?

Yep – we are both kiwis – in fact we both grew up in the same part of NZ, meeting at High School.

Do you both work?  Or does someone stay at home?  

My husband, Barry, works outside the home, and I stay at home with our girls.

How many languages are spoken in your house?  What one(s)?

One – English.

How many kids do you have?  What are their ages?

We have three girls – Ava will be five next week, Lola is three and Belle is 21 months.

At what age do kids start school in your country?

Children in New Zealand generally start school on their 5th birthday.  Although, oddly, it isn’t a legal requirement to be at school until they are 6.

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Traveling With Kids Column on Classic Play! (Sleep in the Hay, Switzerland)

4 Oct

Today over on Classic Play! you can read my newest Traveling With kids column.  This time I write about our recent “Sleep in the Hay” experience in Switzerland.  We stayed at a beautiful farm in the Swiss mountains above Lugano and the kids were in heaven the entire time.  Breathtaking views, wonderful walking trails, lots of animals, farm fresh cheese and goats who shared our sleeping quarters.  What more could a kid want?  Check out my post here.

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Folkabilly Apron #2

3 Oct

Last year I received some really beautiful vintage apron patterns from my mother who had inherited them from her mother.  I think they are from the 50’s and 60’s and I have a (long term) goal to make as many as I can.  Last year I wrote a post about an apron I made from the collection and it turned out to be very folkabilly (cross between happy homemaker from the 50′s, a folksy peasant lady and rockabilly).  In the end this latest one, in my opinion, turned out pretty folkabilly as well.

It seems like the type of apron one of the ladies from this amazing festa would wear.  Seriously, all those gorgeous people in the photographs look so unbearably cool.  I want to be them.

So my sewing group and I decided we’d kick off the year by making one of the vintage aprons.  We thought it would be a quick and easy starter project.  We decided on the pattern with the handkerchief skirt (bottom row, 2nd from left, red and white apron).  In the end it wasn’t a one morning project.  With all the bias and fancy edgings etc it took a lot more time than we thought.

Very pretty on the mannequin.  Pretty ridiculous looking on me.  From the pattern you can tell women had very different shapes back in those days.  Tiny weeny little waists and a full bosom.  Wow, I just used the word bosom on my blog for the first time.

I can just imagine a good 50’s housewife greeting the man of the house after a long hard day of work in this apron.  Maybe with a drink and the newspaper as well.  Oh my poor husband and the fact this scenario will never happen under my roof.

The back view of the apron.  Very fancy.  And difficult to put on.  There were obviously no housewives wearing sweatpants and crocs back in the 50’s my friends.  And that was a good thing.

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Bits and Bobs

1 Oct

I’m in a state of shock that it’s already October.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was lazing at the lake in 40 degree heat with the kids?  Or popping by the local gelateria two times a day for ice cream?  Or picking beautiful tomatoes from my lush and over-growing veggie patch?

But I do so love the fall as well.  I love the golden autumn light in the late afternoon.  I love seeing old men in tweed hats with baskets scouring the woods for funghi.  I love digging out the wool sweaters and leather boots.  I love the smell of roasting chestnuts.  And I really love the fact that the mosquitoes will soon all be dead and leave us in peace for a few months.

Here are a few shots of our September:

Our yearly visit to La Festa Della Zucca (Pumpkin Festival)

Care package.

I’m so happy my daughters didn’t inherit my intense fear of touching bugs of any kind.Listening to scary stories around the bonfire with their ears plugged.  All three of them!

Cupcakes.  Or as the locals say “cap-keeks”.

Walk to the lake on a warm and sunny September Sunday.

Delicious savory mini pretzel buns.  Recipe to follow soon.

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The Sad Little Chair

25 Sep

Last week I popped by my favorite local Mercatino Usato (2nd hand shop) because I was on the hunt for some vintage fabrics.  While there I came across this very old, sturdy and sad looking child’s chair.

Obviously I didn’t need the chair because all of my kids are big and lanky and tall.  But for 3 euro I just had to take it home with me.

First I gave it a few coats of primer (because I hate to sand).  Then I gave it a coat of a nice white high gloss paint.

And then I started washi-ing it.  I couldn’t stop.

Like the old Japanese proverb says “Washi makes everything more beautiful”.  It’s a very old saying.

After I had finished taping it I sprayed it with an acrylic paint varnish.  That way the tape is on there sicurely and won’t peel off.
I might have gone a little overboard but the chair is definitely not sad anymore.  And now I must go clean those windows in the picture.

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“Traveling With Kids” column on Classic Play! (Travel Disasters)

20 Sep

Time for another column in my Traveling with Kids series on Classic Play!  This time I thought I’d discuss the fact that there is sometimes an unfortunate situation or a bump in the road during traveling with children.  Travel disasters happen and we have to embrace them, solve them and move on.  Sometimes this is easier said than done but if we remain calm it usually irons itself out so we can enjoy the rest of our travels.  Pop on over here to read my post and I’d love it if you took some time to share any unfortunate situation that has happened to you while traveling with kids.

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Gnocco Fritto

20 Sep

This past week-end the parents of an Italian friend of ours invited us to their annual end of summer party.  It’s an occasion for the extended family and friends to get together before winter starts and it, of course, revolved around food.  But not just any food.  Aunts and cousins from the Emilia-Romagna area of Italy came up to prepare the famous gnocco fritto.

Gnocco fritto is a fried dough that is served with cold sliced meats and cheeses.  They are absolutely delicious.  And addictive.  And rich.  Imagine eating a piece of fried dough with cheese and pancetta on top?  I managed to scoff down a good 4 or 5 but I did see some people who were closer to 20.  I’m surprised I didn’t see some of them passed out under the various fruit trees by the end of the afternoon (especially since there were many bottle of Lambrusco consumed as well).

These ladies started preparing the pasta early in the morning and worked straight through to late afternoon frying up pan after pan of these light and crispy gnocco.

My dainty daughters who have miniature sized stomachs managed to eat 1 1/2 gnocco.  This is Nico eating his 8th (and they wonder why their little brother who is 2 years younger weighs more than them!).

I took along some mini cupcakes.  The Italians thought they were the sweetest looking cakes they’d ever seen.  I’m pretty sure only my kids actually ate them though.  I saw many of the Italians eating the gnocco fritto with fruit salad on top for dessert.  They told me it “cleaned the gnocco out of their system”.

The party took place in a lovely field with fruit trees of every kind.  And 6 alpacas staring us from the other side of a fence.  I think they were probably thrown at least one gnocco fritto during the party.

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A Kid’s Life: Belgium

18 Sep

In my life I have ties to three countries.  Italy, Canada and Belgium.  I’ve already done an interview with a Canadian and an Italian family and now it’s time to hear about daily family life in Belgium.  These three countries mean a lot to me and have three very different cultures.  Like I’ve said in the past, we’ve adopted different aspects of all three cultures into our daily routine and it really seems to work for us.  My kids eat dinner relatively early like in Canada, eat chocolate for breakfast like in Belgium and they eat gelato every day in summer like in Italy.

For my Belgian interview I immediately called my sister-in-law Julie.  Julie and I have a lot in common and have known each other for more than 15 years.  We met as young and innocent (!) university students and now we have 6 kids between us and have both opted for the stay-at-home-mother route in family life.

Julie lives in a beautiful house that is full of colour and style.  They’ve slowly renovated it over the years and they were even on a house make-over show in Belgium showcasing their kid’s room in the attic (gorgeous!).  They just welcomed their third child a few weeks ago so they’re busy to say the least (this interview was before little Billie arrived).  And can I just say that Julie and Michael’s kids are absolutely gorgeous?  And I’m not just saying that as a proud aunt…they’re seriously beautiful (and funny)!  Let’s take a look at what their life is like…

What country do you live in?

Belgium.

Are you and your husband the same nationality?

Yes.

How many languages are spoken in your house?  What one(s)?

One, Dutch.

How many kids do you have?  What are their ages?

Two and a half.  Corneel is 4, Rosalie is 1 and there is a little one coming up in August.{Jillian: Little daughter Billie was born on August 29th!}

At what age do kids start school in your country?

At 2,5, but we only send them when they are  3.

During the school year what time do your kids usually wake up?

Around 8 o’clock.  Rosalie wakes up around half past 7.

What do your kids typically eat for breakfast?

Toast and jam or breakfast cereals and  Rosalie still has a bottle of milk.  On Sundays Corneeltje eats some slices of sugar bread with raisins … his favourite! {Jillian: I have to add here that most Belgians start their day with chocolate.  Whether it’s a chocolate spread, chocolate sprinkles or actual pieces of chocolate on bread…it’s a Belgium custom that wasn’t too hard for me to adopt!}

What time does school start?  What time does it finish?  What is the weekly school schedule? 

It starts at 8.45 and finishes at 4 every day except for Wednesday, then it also starts at 8.45 but it ends at 12. On Saturday and Sunday they have the day off.

Do your kids learn a second/third language at school?  From what age?

Yes, they learn French from the age of 9 years old.

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