July flowers

Here's a handful of flowers from my yard. I don't have much time for gardening these days, but thanks to my mom and mother-in-law - who have shared cuttings from their own gorgeous gardens and in most cases, even planted them for me - I have some really stunning plants that are bursting into bloom now. I really like my garden to be filled with plants in shades of pink, white and green and this bouquet showcases some favourites: hydrangea, hosta, ivy, lily, and some foliage from my bleeding heart bush that blooms in spring, and whose flowers have now faded. Beautiful!

Mom's birthday: White Chocolate Cloud Cake

Sometimes we want a classic chocolate cake for a birthday celebration, but sometimes it's nice to go with something a little lighter. Last week we celebrated my mom's birthday and she asked for something with strawberries. So of course I went on a hunt for the Perfect Cake.

This White Chocolate Cloud Cake turned out fabulous. It's from one of my favourite dessert cookbooks, Another Cup of Sugar by Anna Olsen. I swear I have never been disappointed by this book. Every recipe turns out great. The Lemon Ice Cream from that book is TO DIE FOR if you are a diehard lemon gelato lover, as I am. I made it to go with this fluffy cake and they were both delicious. The cake is flourless and is made of mostly egg whites and melted white chocolate, which causes it to rise dramatically(kind of like a souffle) and then fall down, leaving a nice hollow which is then filled with vanilla whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and white chocolate curls. It was light and sweet - just right for a hot summer day.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Let's definitely keep this recipe on hand with our other favourites.

Whose craft is this, anyway?

I pulled out my sewing machine the other day to sew some pillow covers for our patio furniture. Ronan was busily playing on the same table with his cars and crayons (the pictures on the table are ones he has drawn of cars on race tracks). Pretty soon, the scene looked like this:

Note the green truck parked between the sewing machine and the pincushion.

Apparently, my cutting mat makes a great race track...

Before I had a little boy, I had no idea you could combine crafts and toy cars!

Beach bound bag

It seems like everyone I know is going someplace warm and sunny, or just coming back from someplace warm and sunny. Cuba...Dominican Republic...Mexico...Florida. You get the picture. At eight months pregnant (and counting down the weeks!) I am definitely not going anywhere. But all the tanned, happy people around me are radiating sunshine these days, and I'm just enjoying the relaxed vibe.

My cousin and his girlfriend are heading south for a week's vacation, and she needed a new beach bag. So my mom obliged by making this pretty pink striped bag.

It folds flat for easy packing, but has plenty of room for towels, sunscreen and all the trashy novels and magazines a girl can read in a week. Plus, a handy pouch for small essentials like lip gloss and sunglasses. Maybe next year I will need a beach bag before I jet off to some sunny resort...

Handmade Christmas

Just a few things that will soon be wrapped and put away until Dec. 25...

:: nearly finished earflap hat for a certain little cutie (pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts).

:: my famous brown sugar shortbread

:: Eleventh Hour Scarf

:: Cowgirl Cookies from Bakerella

And a few more small projects that will be ready just in the nick of time. Happy holiday crafting!

Mom's Garden: Before and After

Last year my parents sold their house, which was located on about one acre of property. The maintenance of their yard and gardens was becoming a lot of work and they wanted something more manageable where they could relax and enjoy their retirement.

For my mom, the new house presented a blank slate for new flower gardens. Nothing had been planted or maintained, other than a few tired-looking perennials that were ready for the compost pile. The existing flowerbeds in the front and back yards were overgrown with weeds. Mom started by digging up the few scraggly perennials that were still struggling out of the unkempt beds bordering the backyard and planted new beds. The "before" photo...
After she cleared out the old plants and weeds, she dug new beds and enriched them with better soil and compost:

Next came planning. Many lists were made. Much time was spent observing the light and shade of the new garden. Then she started planting. There were many, many trips to garden centres to get healthy new plants. Here's how it looks one year later:

Gorgeous. Lush, green, colourful, and thriving. She's got the greenest thumb I ever saw. Here's another before/after, looking at a back corner of the yard:

And this is only the BACK yard. Next post will show the front yard - plus the new potting shed. Great job, Mom!

Knitting for babies

A few new projects on the needles: a baby blanket, using colours that we'll be using for the baby's room (I think). The pattern is from Debbie Bliss's new book, "Blankets, Bears and Booties" and the yarn is Baby Cashmerino. It's the first time I've used this popular yarn, and I have to say that it's the softest, coziest yarn I've ever knit with. I love it. I can see that I'll be using it for more projects in future.

Here's a peek at the blanket from the book. Look at that cute little mouse in matching stripes! I am a sucker for stripes on kids. I'm modifying the blanket pattern slightly to make it bigger. I started knitting it as per the pattern directions, but soon realized that the finished blanket would only be about the size of a dish towel. So I cast on about double the number of stitches, and I think it will be the right size for tucking around a little one in the stroller or carseat.

Here's another sweet pattern that I'll be making up (in different colours) for my goddaughter. The adorable photos in this book are enough to make me want to knit everything in it. There are booties, sweaters, toys and even a beanbag chair that looks like a big bird - all modelled by the most beautiful babies you ever saw. Definitely recommended.