Marshmallows, bubbles and sunshine.....

Happy Sunday Everyone :)

Hope you all got out and enjoyed this much needed sunshine this weekend :) I had the nicest day today :) I got the dreaded task of mowing my lawn out of the way at 9am this morning. I'm sure my neighbors were loving me, but at least I waited until 9 :) After the lawn was done, I set up camp at the picnic table on my patio and got down to some business. I have a wedding that I'm doing in a couple weeks, and I needed to put the final touches on my spreadsheet and just make sure all my ducks are in a row. Feeling good about it all, it's going to be tons of fun and I can't wait! I'll share all the details with you once it's done!

My little 3 year old nephew Caleb came over this afternoon for a playdate and we had the bestest time! Had a campfire and roasted marshmallows, put our toes in the lake and blew some bubbles on the dock. We got some "Auntie/Kid" time in today and I loved every minute of it. :)  Here's a few pics from our day :)

{ Bubbles on the dock }

{ Someone had a marshmallow and apple sauce face }

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and enjoy your evening!

Love Tam xo

Restful weekends = good friends, campfires, and banana boats...

Happy Sunday Morning :)

I had such a busy week last week. Between contract work, meetings with brides and other clients, and my own stuff, I burned the midnight oil a few times! It was really nice to be able to spend at least one day of my weekend doing whatever I wanted. :) Friday night I got together with some friends at a local pub. So great to catch up and just laugh. I'm pretty lucky, I really do have the bestest and funniest friends ever. :) Love them all.

Saturday was puttering around home and getting ready for the bestie who's visiting with her kidlets from Banff, to come over for some "pretend camping". We told Thomas that when we're able to go swimming we'd really camp out at my house. We had a campfire, roasted hot dogs and made banana boats for dessert! sooo yummy and it brought back memories of the days when the bestie and i used to be in Brownies together. See how lucky I am?... I've known her since we were 6!

{the little cutie pie Emily... she was ready for the weather! }

Just in case you all don't know what a Banana Boat is, I'll give you the scoop! Best camping treat ever and super easy to make. The kids can make their own. :)

{Yummy, Banana Boat}

What you need:
a banana
2 teaspoons of mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon of chocolate chips
tinfoil
a sharp knife or steak knife
oven mitts

What you need to do:
With the banana still in the peel you need to make one cut down the entire length of the banana. leave about 1 cm on each end. Stuff the marshmallows and chocolate chips into the slit. Feel free to stuff in as many as you can. Wrap the banana in tin foil leaving a room for a bit of air or steam to move around inside. Place directly into the coals of the campfire for about 10-15 min. Remove from fire and let cool. Open up and eat directly out of the peel with a spoon! So terribly yummy!

Kim suggested that ice cream would be heavenly with is as well.

Hope you all have enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love Tam
xoxo

What's on my table...

I'm very fortunate to be blessed with so many wonderful friends. :) I wish I was able to see some of them more often, but even though I don't get to see some of them as often as I'd like, I love them just the same :) Everyone has been so busy with the holidays, switching jobs, and their families that we thought it was time for a quick little get together. A few girlfriends and one certain Mr. came by for lunch and a visit. Was really great to see everyone, it's been a while since I laughed that much and it was just what I needed!

It's always nice to try and make your table look pretty. My best friend Kim gave me a great tip for keeping your table festive and it's super cheap. Instead of using whole table cloths, which can get pretty pricy and take up alot of space, (believe me I know), she suggested just using bits of cloth for table runners. It's great because you can always find bits of fabric in the discount bin, or because you're only making a table runner, you can splurge and get the fancier stuff that may have been too pricy if you were making an entire table cloth!

What's on my table:
Swatch of navy blue with white polka dotted fabric
Vintage milk glass vases from my personal collection. (one was a gift from Emily)
Yellow mums from the grocery store. ( I think they're mums)

What was on the menu:
Carrot, Yam, Apple and Ginger Soup
Spinach, Bacon, and Feta quiche
Spinach salad
and Caramel Apple Pie Crumble for dessert! (from Safeway, not homemade but sooo yummy)
oh and white wine of course ;)

Have a great night everyone!
Tam xo

Pickle Fest 2010....

I can confidently say that my mom makes THE best pickled beets ever! I've never tried pickling and Lisa and I were keen to learn so we asked if my mom would teach us. We went over to my parent's place and spent the next 12 hours.... yes... 12 hours pickling everything you could possibly imagine! So much work, but so much fun as well.

Did you know that the secret to crispy dill pickles is to soak them overnight and right up until you're ready to put them in the jar in basins of ice water? Seems reasonable, but we had no idea.. :) It was a really nice day spent passing down family traditions and recipes and with good friends. This is a photo of our finished product :)

Hope you all have a good night!

Tam xo

Things I love....

Things have been so very busy for me lately, it's all a bit nuts really, but I'm loving every minute of it! I wouldn't change it for anything. My little Brownies have wrapped up for the year and wedding season is in full swing! I'm super excited about it :) These are a few pics of some of the things I'm loving and have stumbled upon the way...

{vintage glass bottles and whimsical art prints}

{my 1950's tube radio}

{flowers in my backyard}

{my vintage piggy bank - I'm saving for a Thrift Store road trip with Em}



{beautiful bits of nature at my workplace}

Hope you're all out enjoying the sunshine!

Love to all,
Tam xo

Tofino... truly one of my most favorite places to be

A few weekends ago some friends and I made the trip to Tofino for the day. A couple of the people that I went with had never been there before, so it was nice to be able to show them just how beautiful it really is. I think every surfer in the area was out that day. I've never tried it, but it looks like so much fun and is definately on the bucket list!

Our day was spent puttering around town, playing shutterbug on the beach, and just generally taking in the beauty of it all. I love our little piece of the world. :) These are a few of my favorite pics from the day...

{you never know what you'll discover in the little nooks and crannies}

{surf boards}

{going out to catch the waves}

{on the way back in}

Love to all,

Tam xo