The Big Unveiling!

(image: Square America.com)

Head on over to Flea Market Style where an early delivery prompted an early cover reveal.

Check it out!!

Soup's On and Mush, Mush!

 If you are like me, you are doing what you can to survive the winter. We are going through a stretch of particularly cold weather. To keep warm, the handyman took me out for coffee yesterday, and this is what we saw on our drive over:

Well, I exaggerate, but not by much. Indeed, walking on the side of one of the busiest roads in town was a woman with a pack of sled dogs (five, I think) tied to her waist. And, boy, did they want to pull her! I figure that's what I would need if I decided I wanted to take up running again. A good pull. Or maybe a push?

Anyway, just in case any of you are thinking dog sleds can be seen in any of Canada's town or cities, this was a rare sight, indeed. It was one of those moments I wished I had my camera on hand to capture the actual scene! I am fairly certain she must be lost and yet to realize it is at least another twenty minutes drive to the North Pole from here...

Well, back to the soup. Every Sunday, I cook a roast turkey, chicken, beef or ham and use it later in the week for soup. Soup works very well for the afterschool onslaught of activities that keep the kids (and us) hopping.

The latest offering? Creamy turkey soup, which looks very much like the soup above, except with turkey, of course. Warm, hearty, creamy and full of good things. It is my version of take-out/eating on the run.

It must be why the handyman (aka Canny Scot) keeps me around.

Want the recipes? You can find them here and here.

Stay warm, everyone!!

Want a Prize?

Last chance to enter the give-away over at Flea Market Style. There are five great prizes for one winner, and your odds are very good.  Head on over here!

(contest ends at midnight tonight)

Okay. Remember that movie, The Birds?

Ummm...what does it mean when 52,000 crows fly over and around your home cawing and screeching and circling and diving?

I missed watching that movie, so is there something I should know about?

I know one black raven (I know, I know...they're all black, right?) circling overhead is a bad sign. Fifty-two thousand seems like a bad sign, too.

So, should I stay home this weekend?

All You Need is Love...

Valentine's Day...it brings out the scrooge in me. To me, it is the ultimate in commercial holidays. Because I love and feel loved every day of the year, I don't see the need for it/ But even I am tempted to play around with the odd Valentine's craft if it means putting  a smile on this little girl's face:

And Martha's Valentine's card ideas? Well, she just might have made this old scrooge drag out the coloured pencils, construction paper and glitter for a little mother-daughter craft day.

A little glitter always makes me happy!!

Do you believe in Valentine's?

The View From My Chair...

There is a big lump of irony in my stomach and this is what it is:

I write a blog that's all about creative decorating ideas and the ironic part is I haven't had any lately...well, not for my own house, that is. Other things have filled my plate and the cold weather has me at a standstill. It wouldn't be fair to send the handyman out to the unheated garage to build something from my wish list, and I feel like my walls and crannies have been filled. I long to get outside and do something creative out there. All of you who enjoy a warmer climate, take advantage of it! Because this is what I see when I look out my window, from my chair...

So, I think I'll just turn my head and look this way:

See any empty spots?

Nope?

I don't either!

What are you working on?

Pinking Up...

I bought myself something this weekend. It was a cardigan in the palest shade of pink I have ever been able to find. I fairly bolted into the shop where I spied it, and it quickly has become my favourite clothing purchase in a long time. Pink is a shade I have loved since girlhood. I love the way it makes our cheeks look rosier and how feminine we feel in it.

photographer: Paul Costello

That said, my daughter always questions why I don't have more of it in our home - which is a very good question, considering I always vow it is my favourite colour. Indeed, I read a very good book over the holidays, The Well-Dressed Home, by Annette Tatum, and it reaffirmed my belief that we should take inspiration from our closets (current or dream) when decorating our homes. Having seen this room - found in her book - featured in Country living a while back, I solemly (but silently) declared it to contain sofas slipcovered in the perfect shade of delicate pink.

While I have found my own pursuit of that perfect shade in accessories and furnishings elusive, here is what I found to share of some pink I just might consider for my own home if the world was the fantasy place we would all like it to be:

Morgan Harrison.com

Country Living.com

design by Sarah Richardson

I'm just not sure if the boys would go for any of it!!