friday favourites

Friday favourites time! :)

Love it!

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I need to find the courage to try and make macarons! These raspberry chocolate ones look YUM!

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Love the tiles, the wood...rustic goodness!

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I don't think you're ever too old for balloons! 

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xo

Mother's Day gift ideas - DIY

I'm back with some more Mother's Day gift ideas - DIY! :)

DIY clay jewelry bowls.

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There are so many free printables like this one.

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Or how about a diy painted tote! 

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Cupcakes always make great gifts! :)

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xo

mother's day gift ideas

Hello!

Mother's Day is around the corner and I thought I would share some nice gift ideas I came across. 

My mom lives in Canada and I miss her. I think what I would love most (and I think her too) is a mom-daughter day. Spending time together and creating memories is priceless. That said...gifts are sweet too but as I always say to my kids, it's the thought that counts. The time and effort not how big or expensive a gift is.

I love this cuff....it's too bad my husband doesn't read my blog! ;)

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Society6 (I already bought 2 pillows and love them so that I want to add my own drawings...I'm a little nervouse but I think I'm going to give it a try!) is a great place to find gifts, like this pillow Mother's Day poem.

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This has been on my to do or should I say to buy list. Social Print Studio is another awesome place for gift ideas like turning your instagram photos into magnets! YES please! I know my mama would love to have such personal magnets on her fridge.

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I love this print....and aint it the truth! Found this at Etsy (another great place to shop).

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Tomorrow I'll share more ideas for Mother's Day gifts - DIY style! ;)

xo

sneak peek - Simon

I can't wait for this stamp set to come and I had to share my little sneak peek! :)

I coloured with my Graph'it markers. With my blender marker 0000, I randomly placed it all over my little scene to get a 'wet' look....like water drops. I really like how it turned out. Colouring this is getting me excited for summer!

Also a little JD shop update....Pretty Peonies, Read All About It, DoNUTS, Mom and Spring Blessings will be ready for preorder soon (next week).

xo

friday favourites on a saturday

Hello!

Jumping straight into my favs! :)

Simple and casual. Did you know Essie is not cruelty free? I was shocked when I found out. No more Essie for me.

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Who doesn't love freebies! LOVE this printable!

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My DREAM chairs! And I can't find them anywhere!!!

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I love croissants and I love me some lemons so this is a recipe I have to try!

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P.S. 15% off all Jane's Doodles stamps!

xo

happy earth day + free digi

Hello!

Happy Earth Day! 

I'm celebrating sharing a cute little free digi and 15% off all Jane's Doodles stamp sets.

We need to love our earth more! I'm trying to teach my kids the importance in taking care of our earth. Recycle and just not to be wasteful. 

xo

life is tweet

 Hello!

I'm sharing a card I made using my Cats and Love Birds stamp sets.

xo

chocolate banana cake

Hello!

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

I made this chocolate banana cake over the weekend. Mia especially loves this cake. I think she could polish the whole thing off in one day if I let her!

It's so easy, no mixer needed.

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder(regular or Dutch-processed)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas(about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, safflower or canola oil(or other flavorless oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream

I tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray a 9x13 inch (23x23 cm) pan. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk oil and vanilla extract. Add the we ingredients to the dry and stir until well combined. You will notice the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completly cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Ganache:Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat (can also be heated in the microwave). Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy (I use a wire whisk). Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Can garnish with dried banana chips.

xo

friday favourites

Hello!

Happy FriYAY! I love sharing my Friday favourites...they just put me in a good mood. 

Yum!

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Stripes.

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It's NEVER too late (reminder to self).

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I LOVE LOVE wooden spindle beds....LOVE!

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xo

banana chocolate chip muffins

Hello!

I don't think I've shared this recipe here on the blog. My family LOVES these muffins...actually everyone who's tried them too. They're moist and yummy! In the original recipe it calls for white chocolate...I don't like white chocoate so I chop up some semi sweet chocoate into chunks.

1 3/4 cups (225 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar

1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (2 ounces) (65 grams) white chocolate chips or chunks

3 large ripe bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). 

In a large bowl combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. In a medium bowl combine the mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Do not over mix the batter.

Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

xo

lippies

 Hi!

I love lipstick...and nail polish. :) 

I can easily get carried away with these two products. When Society 6 had a sale on their pouches I just had to get one with Cat Coquillette illustration called Watercolor Kisses. These pouches come in three sizes (I got the smallest) and they're exterior is made out of a strong canvas-like exterior and the interior is made of a 50/50 poly-cotton black interior lining and is machine washable.

I bought two pillows from Society 6 and I have a feeling more will be purchased in the future. :) So many awesome artists....I'm even thinking about maybe doing a little art myself to sell at Society 6.

It's got a little pocket/divider in the inside.

While I had all my favourite lipsticks out for a photo shoot I thought I would swatch them for you. 

From top to bottom: Alverde Lipliner 16 Pretty Mauve, Lavera Soft Lipliner Rose 01, Alverde 20 Red-Pepper (limited addition), Alverde 27 Dusty Pink, Alverde 52 Primrose, Ilia Bang Bang, Ilia Neon Angel, Ilia In My Room, Logona Double Lip Pencil 01 

I LOVE Ilia lipsticks. Funnel of Love and Dress You Up are on my wish list. Alverde is a very affordable German brand and I LOVE their lipsticks.

I also want to try lipsticks by Axiology, Au Naturale and Bite Beauty but I have a rule....one in one out. So when I use up a lipstick I'll buy a new one or I'll end up with 50 lipsticks! I break this rule sometimes with Alverde lipsticks because they are so affordable. :)

One problem with lipstick though.....since I had my kids I don't wear it as much as I use to because it limits my smooching them! :)

xo

happy birthday + no bake cheese cake recipe

Hello!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. :)

I'm sharing a card I made for my best friend's birthday. I did some masking and used my Daisies and Spring Blessings stamp sets.

I used my Graph'it markers to colour.

I also wanted to share a quick and easy no bake cheese cake. I added fresh strawberries instead of the cherry topping.

Click here for the recipe!

xo

friday favourites

Hello and happy Friday! :)

Here are my Friday favourites.

I can't wait to plant cucumbers!!

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LOVE!

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So pretty.

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Love this kitchent. Don't know if I would be brave enough to paint a whole wall in black chalk paint but I'm loving this photo!

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xo