11/21/12

Wobbly Wednesday - A Sparkling Holiday Minosa..


The holidays are upon us! YAY! (note my happy dance here)  :)  If you're like me, you'll no doubt be entertaining and hosting guests, and attending your fair share of gatherings as well. If you're wanting to serve something other than the regular old wine, highballs and beer this one could be for you! This recipe is not only easy, but it will warm the tummies of all your guests and impress them while doing it! 

What you need: 

  • 1/4 cup or cold orange juice
  • 1 oz amaretto
  • 1.5 oz vanilla vodka
  • cranberry simple syrup (we'll share that recipe too)
  • Ice cubes
  • 1/4 cup frozen cranberries
  • 1/4 cup sparkling wine

Garnish with an orange zest twist! (optional)

What you need to do: 

In a cocktail shaker combine the orange juice, amaretto, and vodka. Shake really well. Pour about 1.5 tablespoons of the cranberry simple syrup into a glass filled with ice. Add the orange juice mixture. Top with frozen cranberries and sparkling wine. Garnish and serve! Your guests will love your little holiday cocktail! 

Cranberry Simple Syrup Recipe

I've got to be honest, I've been wondering what simple syrup actually was made from. I see it all the time in recipes and wondered how to make it or where I got it. Well now we all know! Turns out it's easy peasy and now I've got all these ideas of what kinds of flavors I could make and how I can use them! 

What you need:

1 bag of frozen cranberries (12 oz)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

What you need to do:

Mix together, and cook over med-high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat 
to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour through a wire mesh strainer and discard the solid bits. It's helpful if you use a spoon to squeeze out the liquid. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. 

Makes 1.5 cups! 

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday! 
Tam xo

Photo and recipe via Pinterest

11/18/12

Matt and Katie's Photography Workshop - A Styled Shoot by Blue Lily


Earlier this summer two amazingly kind and wonderful photographers from Australia (Matt and Katie), were coming to town to share their knowledge with some of our local photographers.  Lara Eichhorn was organizing things on this side for them and asked if I would get a team together and style a shoot for them all to practice on! I was over the moon excited and off we went! A few meetings and a dozen emails later, we had our team and our couples! 

The idea was to have 3 different real life couples so we could portray 3 separate looks for the photographers.  We decided on a woodsy more boho look, a more formal and traditional look,  and an engagement couple (who are actually engaged!) :) YAY!

I can't express how much fun the day was. It was crazy busy rushing around with hair and make-up appointments, dressing the boys, and setting things up in time for the class to be ready for the "shooting" portion of their workshop! I don't think I've ever carried furniture for that many blocks before ;) haha  All in all the day was such an incredible experience, and I'm so grateful that I was able to participate :) 

Big love to our incredibly talented team and to our gorgeous and oh so patient models! and of course to all the photographers who so graciously shared the photos with us. xo These are a few of my favourites... there's quite a few as they were all so pretty I wanted to show them all to you! 



































Our Team:



Our Couples:

  • Formal Couple - Lisha and Kevin
  • Engagement Couple - Carla and John
  • Boho Couple - Stephanie and Casey


Above Photos courtesy of: 


Love to all! 
Tam xo


11/17/12

What's on my table... Thanksgiving edition



Thanksgiving is one of my most favourite holidays. I love how it's simply to be thankful for what we have and to appreciate our loved ones. In my family, it's kinda turned out to me be "my holiday", which means that everyone comes to my place for dinner. Suits me just fine! :)

I kept my table fairly simple this year. Keeping with my "Frugal but Fun" budget, I didn't want to spend too much on decor but wanted to make sure it looked lovely at the same time.  I am a true believer that you don't have to spend a fortune to make everything look wonderful!   Plus, there was going to be 15 of us, and 12 feet of table in my dinning room! Kinda a tight squeeze, but we made it work. :)


Vintage brown bottles filled with craspedia, wax flowers and sunflowers added some colour to my table. They were simple and small and didn't take up the much needed room for food and my guests! Plus I thought they looked sweet. :)

I finally got a chance to pull out my new wine glasses that I got on sale this summer. LOVE them :) Harvest gold napkins tied with twine completed this look. The family loved it and I think it turned out nicely. 














Wishing all my friends south of the border a very happy Thanksgiving for next week! 
Love Tam xo


11/8/12

Things I love ....fall and winter fashion

Now that the weather has cooled off, it's gotten me thinking about some new additions I'd like to make to my closet... 

Some of the girls and I have decided to get together for what we call (please excuse the language), a "Bitch and Switch". We've all cleaned out our closets and will be getting together one night very soon to have a big old hen party where we'll have a glass or two of wine, visit with friends and swap clothes! We've never done this before but we're super excited about it.. We thought it would be a good way to beef up the closet without breaking the bank in the process! and really... who doesn't love hand me downs! 

If I could find some of these little gems at the party, I'd be one happy girl! 


{I think my friend Sarah calls this look casually put together }


 

{This is one of the loveliest holiday dresses I've ever seen}


{this entire look is on my wishlist and you know finding the right denim shirt has proven to be not so easy}
 {A whole lot of sparkle... YES PLEASE!}



Hope you all have a lovely evening! I'll be sure to post pics of the treasures I find at the party! 

Love Tam xo

sneak peeks...