snake soup

I made it on the weekend and called it "snake soup" because of all the onion strings.  The kids thought it was totally gross, except for the first born, J-man, who likes all kinds of soups.  Well maybe not all kinds of soups, he has an aversion to anything bean, but at least he will still eat it. 

Even though they hated it, we, meaning the grown ups, loved it.  So much so that I've made another batch and will be eating it for lunch again, today. Any good recipe is always worth sharing so here you go: french onion soup. Enjoy

treasure hunt

I wonder if thrifting has magical powers because I get the bug around the same time every year. It could be attributed to cabin fever and a need to get out on the town, but it usually starts around this time and continues on regularly, through the summer. 



It's not something I ever did as a kid, my mum just wasn't into that sort of thing.  She loves to go with me now and I think in someways it is a little outing we can share together since I'm not one for shopping in malls and such. My kiddos love a good treasure hunt too so when I announce "I'm going thrifting" they scramble to their piggy banks gathering a few coins in case they find a prize, it's the one outing they never want to miss. 



I have a wonderful thrift store just a hop away from my home.  It's in the middle of nowhere really, but oh so close and convenient. Truth be told I probably stop there once a month, but once the warmer weather hits we will make a trip there weekly. Last week I stopped by and stumbled upon this teacup and saucer. I couldn't resist the bright turquoise colors and oh, that bird!  I knew it had to come home with me. I can't imagine who tired of drinking tea in this masterpiece but I'm sure glad they did. 
Can you guess where we are going today?

ipod cover is going to...

Oops, I meant to get this post up yesterday, forgive me for the delay.  We spontaneously went out of town for part of the day to an aquatic centre to give the kids a break from the winter weather.  It was a good decision since things are going to be downright chilly the next few days.      



Onto the giveaway.  I enlisted the help of miss J in the drawing of names, she makes a lovely assistant doesn't she?  I'll let the pictures tell you the rest of the story. 







Congratulations Karen from Hawaii! Karen's original comment was:

"I am from the US- from Hawaii

I have an iPod that would look great in there!

I like the Olympics but don't watch TV, so it's been awhile since I've seen it."

***Please send me email me your mailing address and I will drop your ipod cover in the post! 

And just so the rest of you don't feel left out, if you commented in the original "news and a giveaway" post I will give you 20 % off the listed price of the ipods currently in my shop PLUS the free shipping until February 28th.  At point of purchase, type in the notes "I commented" and I'll apply the discount.  Over 50 of you commented and there are 7 ipods in the shop so don't wait too long or they may all disappear.  Thank you everyone for playing along :) Happy Monday, xxx.

low key and lovin' it

Trying to figure out what to do day-in, day-out can become quite puzzling after awhile.

So that's when I throw my hands up in the air and say "why fight it"

It becomes contagious and pretty soon everyone is doing it. Or some version of it.

That's how our February's roll here in the duckyhouse.  Our motivation for anything uber structured is low as we grow tired of winter's length.  We do puzzles, sit with our books for read aloud stories and we make lots of popcorn for a favorite afternoon movie.  It's low key and I dare say I like it that way.

PS, I'll be closing comments sometime this evening for the giveaway.  I kept them open a little while longer as one site that was promoting the giveaway had a different closing date and I just want to give them a little extra time to correct their dates.  Thank you everyone for participating, I'll announce a winner over the weekend.  Stay tuned. 

4:1

I was baking cookies with the kids on Friday. In the past when they were younger it was hectic, but somehow easier to bake as a whole family.  You'd think it would be the opposite but it seems as kids age they have their own way of doing things and require less direction for the task to be fun.  I always want the kitchen to be open for cooperation so if it means mixing things up a bit then I'm all for it. 

This time around I broke up the 4 into groups of two.  The girls and I did the first batch of cookies; I rolled they cut.  We had wonderful time cutting shapes like bunnies and hearts.  I love their innocence, this age is still so magical ~

After we had worked our portion of the dough, I turned the kitchen over to the boys.  They still wanted me on hand for the rolling in case they couldn't get it even, but the cookie cutting was all them.  The oldest, being 12 now, pre-teen and avid farside reader (thus the humor), was okay about doing hearts as long as he could put his spin on them. He thought broken hearts were in order and proceeded to crack up his cut cookie.  Of course when he did that, the room was full of giggles and laughter just as if they were little again. silly boys. 

And so we have it: magical hearts and bunnies from the wee girlies of our family and broken hearts from the pre-teen and his faithful sidekick.  Valentine's day and a 12 year old's sense of humor is a crazy
combination but I think I'm finally starting to learn how to work with being outnumbered
4 to 1 in the
kitchen.

ETA: I iced the cookies with yummy royal icing.  I sourced it from the Joy of Baking website.  In the past I have made royal icing with egg whites but this time around I tried meringue powder and am just as pleased with the results. 

ps, don't forget the giveaway, there is still time to enter!

news and a giveaway

I did it. I took the plunge and officially opened my etsy shop.  I registered the name back in July 2008 thinking grand thoughts that I'd fill the shelves of the shop with goodies. Hah! that never happened.  Lofty ideas for someone in the midst of huge upheaval (a move and renovation).  Well, I re-adjusted my ideals and the shop has sat quietly waiting to be opened.



Craft Hope was just the kick in the butt I needed to pull some ideas together and get sewing.  Heck, if I can make items and list them for a good cause (for love of Haiti), I can make items and list them for a good cause (for love of duckyhouse).



To kick off this new inspiration I am having a giveaway.  The winner will receive a linen (with green vintage) fabric ipod cover - photo below- made by yours truly.  It fits the classic iPod, the iPhone and iPod touch. I started working on the pattern quite a while ago, after a few prototypes I am more than over the moon with this design because it not only holds my iPod but also my ear buds.  Yay, no more tangled ear bud mess, a very important feature!



To enter the giveaway:

• leave a comment
• tell me what country you are from
• and your favorite olympic sport, if you have none then your favorite crafting sport.
• If you twitter, facebook or blog it, let me know and I'll count it as a second entry...but you do have to let me know.

~ Comment will close mid week and I'll announce a winner shortly after that.~
continued below...



But it's not over yet, in addition to the giveaway, all items in my shop for the duration of the Vancouver Olympics 2010 - that's Feb 12th to Feb 28th will ship free anywhere in the world.  Shop now

ETA - Feb 18th - comments now closed.  I'll announce a winner over the weekend.

let the games begin!

Canada plays host to the 2010 Winter Olympics, makes me wish I lived closer to the west coast. Having played sports my whole life, watching live is far more entertaining then the tube.


But given the distance I'll have to make an exception for a few events, starting tonight, with the opening ceremonies. Go Canada!
PS, stay tuned for some news and a giveaway this weekend...xxx

layout

Last week I left you at sewn, cut and stacked.  Yesterday I made a little more headway in between cleaning out my pantry - what a big job that was - it's amazing how much clutter can gather in a food zone.



Before I even began cutting my fabric I sat down one evening and drew out the direction for this quilt.  I'm discovering that this step really helps and excites me when I have specific fabrics in mind.  When I draw it out, it isn't meant to be an identical interpretation of the layout rather it is more a visual aid to see if the colors work together.  So from the drawing I am now at the layout.



I've taken no less than 20 photos of the layout.  I then upload the photos to my computer and that gives me a chance to see where the bulk of the color adjustment is needed.  I've moved things around and am leaning toward this layout.  What do you think?

that groundhog

I'm sneaking in before the weekend starts with a quickie post.  Things are set to get pretty busy over the next couple of days as we have a family wedding Saturday and another outing planned for the kids on Sunday which will involve lots of indoor water fun.  I think we really need the latter right about now, come February we all start to feel a bit house bound.  On more then one occasion this week I've heard it voiced by my little people that they are quite done with winter now and ready to move on to greener pastures.  But whoa, not so fast, I just heard the groundhog saw his shadow and well, we all know what that means.  I guess we'll just have to figure out fun ways to keep ourselves occupied.  For me that will be a little easier now that I've drawn up the plans. So far I've:

•• sewn ••



•• cut ••



•• stacked ••



I think that is as far I will get for now, the weekend promises to be filled with lots of living.  Happy Friday, xxx.

process

I've been dying to make one of these for a long while.  I already have the person in mind for whom this would be perfect.



The fabric selection has been made ••



and cut ••



now to get busy...