Don't you just love finding a new blog that is a little gem? I usually waste insane amounts of time at interior and graphic design, wedding and artsy blogs but I just found a cooking blog that has some wonderful recipe inspiration - For the Love of Cooking.
On the weekend I made their Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins that uses yogurt instead of butter {I am always alarmed at how much butter is used in baking, and even more grossed out at the amount of shortening in some older recipes}. These muffins are marvelous! Note that I only used 1/3 cup chocolate chips...I'm a chocoholic, but 1 cup seemed like a lot. And I also tried making these with spelt flour {less gluten} and they were wonderful too...just add about 1/4 cup more of spelt flour so that it rises a bit better.
Enjoy! I'm definitely making these again soon!
This is a wonderful photo project that was featured on Design*Sponge last week - making 'picture frames' using jars. It can't get much simpler than this! I noticed a similar article in Martha Stewart Living this month, and also I clipped this photo {below} a while back, from I'm not sure where - a similar project.
What a simple, green, and just-plain-cool idea! Instructions can be found at Photojojo.
I recently finished a design project that I wanted to share here! I created a logo, business card, and website design for a new company called Little Party-Goers that offers child care at weddings and events. What a great business idea! Owner Maria Vrontos, doesn't just babysit children at events - she does crafts and activities and makes it fun for them. And armed with a background in Early Childhood Education, she knows what she is doing!
Maria required a logo that was professional but still fun-loving and kid-like. She wanted the colours blue, lavender and green to be incorporated, and for flowers to be used as a design element - however she didn't want her logo to be too girly-girl. Voila - here is the final logo and the business card which turned out great! The website is currently in development, but I will announce once it's up and running. Good luck Maria, on your new venture!
Yet another inspirational photo from the beautiful Anthropologie...can't wait until their Spring opening in Toronto. My once-in-a-while trips to NYC, or browsing their store online just doesn't cut it.
Have a great weekend and hopefully my blogs will be a little more inspired next week!
I am dying to see this movie with one of my friends but due to my ailments this past week, I haven't quite been able to drag myself off the couch and into a theatre. My husband refuses to see it, but I wonder if this attempt to prove the movie isn't a chick flick would change his mind? Justin Long cracks me up!
Has anyone seen the movie? Is it worth seeing?
Apologies for being M.I.A. for the past week. It was one of those crappy weeks - I had surgery for what turned out to be a pretty extensive case of endometriosis. And to make matters worse, my hubby got a terrible flu {that weird one that starts with a migraine} so I was quarantined at my dad's house, far away from my computer and from civilization it seemed! But thanks to my amazing doctor, the surgery was a success so I am back and will be up-and-blogging again in no time...see you soon...
This Anti-Monster Spray is sooo adorable, and probably worth the money for some moms and dads I know, just to buy a few good night sleeps! I love the fact that there are health benefits attached...take that scary monsters!
I gasped at the beautiful chunky knit shawl worn by Kim Cathers on Project Runway Canada this past week. Apparently it is a 'larry' - an over-sized hand-knit scarf made in Vancouver using alpaca fleece. I wouldn't mind getting cozy and warm with larry at all....
Unbelievably, this week is the 10th anniversary of my journey to Australia where I spent a year studying Plant and Wildlife Illustration. How the heck does 10 years fly by so quickly? I remember it all very clearly, and 10 years ago on precisely this week, I left in bone-chilling -40 degree Celsius Toronto temperatures {is that possible?!}, and arrived in Sydney in blistering +40 degree Celsius heat {is that possible?!}. And right about at this time, while trying to get accustomed to the 80 degree temperature difference, I was 'trampolining' off the thickest, sturdiest spiderwebs I have ever seen {don't get me started on the spiders}, reaching for my shampoo bottle only to grasp a leech that was stuck to the side, and watching in awe as a wallaby hopped past me on my university's campus. That year was such a wonderful experience that I'll never forget. There were many lonely times, there's no doubt - I was a 22 hour flight away from my family and they were usually sleeping while I was awake! But my adventure taught me how to depend on myself. I became very strong and independent...I grew up.
Aside from all that I learned outside of the classroom, I was able to concentrate on painting and drawing for a full year, which was a dream! To commemorate my 10th anniversary, above are some of the illustrations I created, in hopes of creating them into a children's book {I still hope to one day!}. They are patterns in nature, painted in watercolor, and the premise was to get children to look closer at nature, to gain an appreciation for it at a young age.
I will be posting a bit more about my Australian adventure, but in the meantime my thoughts are with those suffering from the horrific bush fires that have been roaring near Melbourne. Here is a blog that is selling various donated handmade items to raise money for those affected - such a wonderful idea.
...for my sister Melanie who has chalkboard envy and who is already planning the decor for her new house. The chair is a bit scary {wouldn't want to be impaled on one of those horns!} but I'm digging the huge magnetic chalkboard wall and the birch wallpaper. Yum!{from Wish magazine, another great magazine that has gone the way of Blueprint, Domino, and Home Companion magazines...too sad}.
This is my 100th blog post! Yay! Remember my post a while back about photographer Jan von Holleben and his Dreams of Flying project? This bride and groom photographed their Save the Dates in a similar style - so cute and creative! In fact, take a look at their entire wedding - the bride is a graphic designer and it's no surprise. Everything is beautifully done, and a source of inspiration from beginning to end. {via Once Wed}
Happy weekend!
As some of you may know from my previous company Kanvas Ink., our greeting cards were anything but ordinary! I love this quirky little Valentine's Day card...much better than the cheesy ones for sale out there. From Atypical Letterpress {via Ill Seen, Ill Said}.
Don't you just love finding a new blog that is a little gem? I usually waste insane amounts of time at interior and graphic design, wedding and artsy blogs but I just found a cooking blog that has some wonderful recipe inspiration - For the Love of Cooking.
