etsy goodies

My sweet husband is now selling card sets of his gorgeous photos in his Etsy shop. There are three different sets, so go have a peek, and snag some all-purpose cards for those folks you want to impress. Or the ones you just plain like. (He's got lots more, so if something's in his sold items, never fear! Just send him a convo.)

Speaking of Etsy, Adam bought me these teeny-tiny vases for my birthday from this Etsy shop. They are so cute on the windowsill, each with one little snowdrop peeping out. I think the green ruffly one is my favourite.

In miscellaneous news, a large number of real e-mails seems to be landing in my spam folder. I used to empty it without reading the subjects of all the messages, until I started to see some real e-mails in there. So if you wrote to me and it either took me a really long time to respond, or you haven't heard from me, my apologies. I love hearing from you, and please try again. Happy Thursday!

the day after (and the winner!)

First, the picture - I have a pile of images that need to be properly named and filed, and picked one completely at random. More of my favourite white and green combination!

I had so much fun reading your birthday memories after yesterday's post! Thanks for sharing.

My favourite, and the winner of some of my soap (can you tell I haven't decided what to send yet?) is Austen! This was her comment:

"The year I turned 29 my sister arranged a big surprise party for me. As part of the distraction plan, she shipped me off for a visit with a friend, a visit which included an hour-long hike around the edge of Lake MicMac. (At the end of January. It was frigid.) Eventually my friend dropped me off at home and I rushed inside, ripping off my boots and jacket and making a beeline for a hot shower, yelling to my sister (who I figured was somewhere around the house), "Honey, I'm home and holy god, I'm freezing my ass off!" By the time I screeched to a halt in front of them, sweater off and shirt soon to follow, the two-dozen-odd people hiding in my living room were laughing too hard to yell "surprise." (Funny how the hot flush of embarrassment can warm you up in a hurry!)"

I think it's probably my favourite because a similar thing happened to me, which Konstantina mentioned in the comments. A surprise birthday party was waiting for me, and I entered our then-apartment with a yell of "Geez Louise, I have to pee!" On my way to the bathroom, past the doorway where everyone was lurking, some movement caught my eye and I nearly jumped out of my skin with a shriek that would have woken the dead. It was hilarious!

So, Austen, e-mail your mailing address to grahamsherrie [at] yahoo [dot] ca, and I'll send you some loveliness in the mail!

recipe-a-week #12: crushed raspberry tart & bonne fête à moi!

Snowdrops are just plain delightful. They're green and white, my favourite colour combination, they're the first flowers of the season, and they multiply and do their thing without any intervention whatsoever. I love birthdays anyway, but I'm especially glad that mine is at this time of year. I'm 28 today, and have no list of things I want to achieve over the next 365 days. That's my gift to myself.
Speaking of birthdays, Ingrid came over yesterday, and we made my birthday non-cake! She also brought me a Donna Hay magazine, which I intend to have a proper date with tonight. And some yummy tea. The non-cake is Donna Hay's Crushed Raspberry Tart, from her fruit book, and here's the recipe:

375 g (13 1/4 oz) block store-bought puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp caster sugar (we used regular granulated)
2 cups raspberries
1 tbsp icing sugar

sour cream filling:
1 cup sour cream (I think it would work better with the really thick type)
1/4 cup single or pouring cream (half and half; we used whipping, mmm)
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch and trim to a 20 cm (8 inch) square. Cut 8 strips measuring 1x20cm (1/2 x 8in) from the remaining pastry. Place the pastry square on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Brush with the egg white and place half the strips around the edge to form a border. Brush the borders with the egg white and place the remaining strips on top. Prick the base with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the pastry with caster sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. To make the sour cream filling, whisk the sour cream, cream, and brown sugar in a bowl until smooth. Combine half the raspberries with the icing sugar and crush lightly. Fold in the remaining raspberries. Spoon the sour cream filling over the pastry base and spoon raspberries on top.
One more thing: a great surprise on my birthday! My new Artisan mixer arrived this afternoon, when I wasn't expecting it until next week. Nice! I'm excited to try it out.

For those of you who are still reading, I'm hiding a little birthday giveaway in here. Leave a comment with your funniest birthday memory, and I'll pick my favourite tomorrow. The winner will be sent some of my fantastic handmade soap.

Happy Monday, and Happy Birthday to me!

before and after

Before the haircut, and...
after!

Our sweet boy after his haircut. (You can imagine away that hideous floor. After some hard work on our part over the next few weeks, your dreams will come true!) How sweet is that little face? I often wear my sunglasses on my head, so I think he was copying me.

Speaking of our wee one, he threw up all over me tonight, after my impromptu birthday gathering ended. All over. He's sleeping now, and I'm hoping that that was it, and he'll feel better in the morning. As for me, I had a horrendous day sick in bed yesterday, but today I feel human again. Good grief! Adam and I watched Hot Fuzz last night, which was hilarious. So was Shaun of the Dead, which we watched a little while back. Good mindless sick-day movies to watch.

And on a significantly happier note, the cherry twig I brought in to force has blossomed!
I have a great dessert recipe for you tomorrow, so "Be sure to... be sure to what?... what was Little Orphan Annie trying to say?... Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." Oh, wait. Be sure to check in for the recipe, having nothing to do with Ovaltine.