Month: August 2014

Five things

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How was your week, everybody? My guys have been away visiting family for half of it so mine’s been quiet. In a good way, ‘tho. I’ve done a little reading, a little running, a little cleaning (too little) and a lotta sleeping. Oh! And a little window shopping yesterday at The Drake General Store, which opened in Ottawa a few weeks ago. Have you been to the ones in Toronto or browsed online? So many carefully curated finds, from housewares and accessories to kids’ toys and gifts. And some unique Canadiana too.

I’m crushing on the cactus wallpaper, among a dozen other things. Wouldn’t it look fab in a powder room or an office?

I’ve done next-to-no back-to-school shopping, but I did pick up these cute Old Navy slip-on sneakers for my daughter. Do you have any shopping to do? How’s it coming along?

This week So Fawned published my latest DIY: this easy-peasy sign for your first-day-of-school photos. I can’t believe that’s next week already!

The Farmers market was ridiculously crowded today, but I standing in line for some of these tomatoes was well worth the wait. My favourite time of year is just around the corner: apple season!

And look who opened a second location near me! DAVIDsTEA! Are you a tea drinker? What do you drink?

Summer accessories

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While we’ve still got a few weeks left of summer, part of me is itching to put away this season’s clothes and fill my closet with my favourite cozy layers. Part of it is the compulsion to get organized that always comes with this time of year, part of it is the real need to pull out light cardigans to wear in the cooler evenings we’ve been having.

One thing I’m not eager to tuck away: my summer accessories. And who says you have to when they’re as versatile as these?

Aldo wallet, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail colour in brisk blue, and my Joe Fresh aviators.

Alright, maybe not the sunglasses. What do you think? Can you wear white after labour day? What accessories do you wear all year round?

Oh! And speaking of accessories, I’ve got the perfect one for your first-day-back-to school photos. Check it out here on So Fawned!

Five things

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How have you been? Gosh it’s feels like forever since we last got together here. I’ve been sick all week with a nasty bug but I’m up and around today. Shall we look at some highlights from the past couple of weeks?

I did a photo shoot with for my girlfriend and her daughter. These are a couple of my favourite pictures.

Up, up and away!

You know I loves me some gold shoes, and these little loafers I couldn’t resist. GAP end-of-summer sale, $3.97! 

My daughter came home from the hospital a week and a half ago with matching bracelets for her and Foxy, which I thought was pretty cute. We were worried the less furry one had developed a serious infection after a bout of the flu and took her to emerg to check it out, but it was nothing. (Phew!)

My DIY ring toss was published on So Fawned this week. It’s easy to make and even more fun to play!

And today I picked up some spray paint for another DIY. I love any excuse to buy craft supplies, don’t you? I’ll show you what it’s for when it’s posted on So Fawned in the next couple of weeks.

How to make a heart-shaped hard-boiled egg

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How could I keep you waiting all week on these eggs? You’ve been dying to know how to make them, yes? Mi scusa, peeps. Just things. But enough already! Let’s do this!

Sidebar: I would never actually serve these on a bed of parsley, it just happened to be the only green in the house. I picked up a bunch last week to make Aneta’s fresh quinoa salad but haven’t gotten around to it. I know, I know. Damn salad’s not going to make itself. But back to the eggs.

What you need is one of these little babies, the Eggspress heart-shaped boiled egg mould. I found it at my local stationary store, but you can also order it from amazon. It’s $8.95. Which I hope my hubby doesn’t read, as he’d probably turn as white as these eggs. “Is it gold-plated?” he’d ask. Shit, man! Don’t go spoiling my fun!

Now the directions say to boil and peel your eggs and put them in the mould when they’ve cooled, but I tried five of them that way and it didn’t work with a damn. No, you wanna work with them when they’re still hot but not so hot that you’ll burn yourself. Peel that egg under some cold water so you can handle it, then pop it in the mould straight away.

I used large eggs ‘tho the package calls for small, and most of them fit just fine.

Next, you put the mould in a cup of cold water and let it sit for 10 minutes. I put mine in the fridge. Can’t hurt, right?

Ideally you’ll open the mould after 10 minutes and have yourself one of these. That’s ideally, mind you. I tried a dozen times and got only two eggs that looked like this. (And of course they’re nowhere near as defined as they are on the package.) The others were either split at the top (which may be a large-egg problem) or heart-shaped on one side and misshapen on the other. Which ain’t worth $8.95 if you ask me. That said, I am tempted to see if it’d work better with the star shape (which you get with the heart for $4) or maybe even the bunny and the bear, because they are just so ridiculously cute. Am I a sucker? You tell me. (No don’t tell me, that would be mean.) I just really want these to work.

Have you tried any kitchen gadgets that flopped? Would you try one of these moulds?