Every Life Deserves a Lifetime

Last year on this day we used this headline and we are repeating it again because it's the very truth. It's not preachy, bold or in your face, just simple. Every life, whether young or old, deserves a lifetime. Today here in Ottawa is the annual March for Life. It's a day to pray and promote the importance of life. All of us are headed to Parliament Hill to participate and pray for our politicians.

Curious about what the March is? Check out their website here

We thought today we would share a few words from the wise about choosing life: 

"Give that child to me. I want it. I will care for it. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child." 

Blessed Mother Teresa 

"...don't kid yourself. Keep the baby-I have no other advice for you. Children are the best thing in the world." Elvira Baryakina 

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." J.R.R Tolkien 

"The right to life is the first among human rights" Pope Francis 

"The fight for the right to life is not the cause of a special few, but the cause of every man, woman and child who cares not only about his or her own family, but the whole family of man." Dr Mildred Jefferson 

"We're all human aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving." J.K Rowling

"Give us the grace..When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, to stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life." St John Paul II

"There was not a radical feminist standing up and yelling about how my rights had been violated that day. In fact my life was being snuffed out in the name of women's rights." Gianna Jessen 

"A young pregnant wife has been hospitalized for a simple attack of appendicitis. The doctors had to apply ice to her stomach and when the treatments ended the doctors suggested that she abort the child, they told her it was the best solution because the baby would be born with some disability but the young brave wife decided not to abort, and the child was born. That woman was my mother and I was the child." 

Andrea Bocelli

and if you have some time, take a few minutes and watch this video : ) Gianna Jessen is an abortion survivor who is a beautiful witness that every life deserves a lifetime. 

Traditional Gluten Free Pizza

"My love is pizza shaped. Won't you have a slice? It's circular, so there's enough to go around."
Dora J. Arod

Once a week our kitchen turns into a pizzeria. Our Mama makes homemade pizza all with individual toppings and requests. When we were young we used to order out for pizza, but after our tummies became sensitive, Supreme pizza with extra cheese was out of the question. Thankfully we have a creative Mama who is always trying new things, and is brave to try gluten free recipes for us : )

Just to clarify, we mostly bake with spelt flour, but occasionally go to gluten free flours. Our Mama has been completely gluten free for the past five months and has noticed big differences in her health and energy.

Pizza night is now back in our meal rotation and we are glad, so very glad! We are also grateful to have a Mama with endless pizza shaped love : )


























Traditional Gluten Free Pizza

You will need:

2 1/2 cups of gluten free flour blend* 
1/2 cup of millet flour
1 tbsp of xanthan gum
5 tsps of yeast
1 tsp of salt
1 1/4 cups of warm water
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of honey
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
-toppings of your choice (our new favourite is using pesto instead of sauce)

1. Preheat oven to 425'F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with vegetable spray
2. Combine flour blend, millet flour, xanthan gum, yeast and salt in a mixer.
3. In a separate small bowl mix together warm water, olive oil, honey and cider vinegar. Add to dry ingredients and beat on medium high for 3-5 minutes. If dough is dry add more water, 1 tbsp at a time.
4. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll out in a 6 inch circle between 2 sheets of oiled plastic wrap.
Remove top layer of plastic wrap and place 2 crusts (dough side down) on baking sheet. Remove the last layer of plastic wrap and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Repeat with remaining crusts.
5. After crust is cool, add your toppings and bake again for 7 minutes at 425'F.
They freeze beautifully! This recipe makes 6 pizzas


*Gluten Free Flour Blend

1 cup of brown rice flour
3/4 cup of chickpea flour
3/4 cup of potato starch
1/2 cup of tapioca starch

Combine all ingredients together. Voila! Makes 3 cups



























Do you have a favourite pizza?

You know you are a Craft/Art Showaholic when...

This past weekend was a fabulous art show in Almonte Ontario, called Handmade Harvest. Truly Charlotte had a booth and despite mud, rain and a cold barn, she did very well!

I also had an epiphany that morning..
It was 7:30 am actually and I was standing on the steps of the barn, holding my umbrella tightly against the pouring rain. I was securing my spot as numero 6 in line, so that I could get one of the most amazing SWAG bags ever!  All the vendors from the day were asked to contribute something to the Swag bags. It was genius! They were huge and I wanted one so very badly. : )
The show didn't start until until 9am and there was no way I was moving. It was then while chatting with fellow art fans that I realized I had crossed the threshold into a Craft/Art Showaholic.

Here are few signs in case you might be one too:


1. You start googling searching art shows six months in advance and have them scheduled into your phone. You also stalk their blogs, websites and Facebook pages.

2. You are dreaming of Swag bags a week in advance. It's all you can think of. A huge bag full of handmade goodies and coupons! You dream of carrying the swag bags and how great they will be to hold all your garage sale, rummage sale purchases.

3. You work out your schedule so that you can get an early ride to the show with a vendor : ) Even if it means getting up at five am.

4. You know the vendors all by name because you have spent so much time stalking their sites. Ya that's right, we are friends now : )

5. The hour and a half wait  in the rain goes by so fast because all the fellow art fans are also your long lost friends. Especially the ones that stayed up late last night making hot cross buns that say I <3 swag! Oh and the ladies who are selling things household items for craft show $$ : ) Great idea! Juicer anyone? No really check out my ad here : )

and you know you are a Craft/Art showaholic when...

6. You don't care about your appearance anymore because all that matters is comfort and warmth. So what if your hair is a bit disheveled, and make up is smudged, your hands are shaking from the cold:
SWAG BAGS ARE IN SIGHT!

Don't feel bad if you didn't know about this weekend's show because...
they have a Christmas one too! 
Check out their site here

Grateful

It's May! Hurray! : ) This weekend we switched over our clothes and jackets and said farewell to our wooly sweaters and winter apparel. It's the beginning of a new month, a new week and we want to start it off with a little bit of gratitude.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present an not giving it." William Ward.

We are grateful for: 

A successful show for Truly Charlotte! It was such a treat for her to be a part of Handmade Harvest! We are grateful for the creative ladies who put together such a fabulous show! It was such a great event! 

We are grateful for: 

Our local gelato shop Cassis! We love all their new flavour combos, especially grapefruit plus mango and strawberry and lemon. It is such a treat to be able to walk only a few minutes for great tasting gelato! mmmm 

We are grateful for: 

Our Mama for all the finishing touches she did to help Charlotte with her show. For the past week she has carried around a bag of stuffies ready for little finishing touches. 

We are grateful for: 

Baby cuddles. There is nothing like holding a little butterball baby after a busy day! 

We are grateful for: 

Middle of the week impromptu dinner party! It was special having wine, good food, friends, port, dessert on a Wednesday evening. 

We are grateful for: 

Nature in the city! While walking to the gelato shop we spotted a very odd creature: a fox squirrel. It had a black body and a blonde tail. We took photos and then had to google it at home. It was such a funny and unique animal! 

We are grateful for: 

The start of this new month May and all the promise it brings: flowering trees, warmer weather, Victoria Day weekend, Ottawa Race Weekend, and most important it is the month dedicated to Our Lady, Mama Mary. We are grateful for her yes to life and all those of the Mama's around us. 

What are you grateful for? Share with us! We would love to hear from you. 

A Friday Ritual

One photo without explanation. A moment captured- a time to be still, to breathe and remember.

Happy Friday! :)

Truly Charlotte Announcements

Adorable little stuffies have been popping up everywhere in our home and all for a very good reason, Truly Charlotte has a few shows coming up! If you are looking to support local artists, get inspired and just want a weekend escape, come visit us!

First: Truly Charlotte is going to be at Handmade Harvest this upcoming Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

Handmade Harvest is located in Almonte, just outside of Ottawa. The first 50 people get a fabulous gift bag with freebies from all the artists. Truly Charlotte is giving gorgeous hand stamped lavender sachets.

Second: In June is the New Art Festival  and this is Truly Charlotte's fourth year being accepted!

If you are in the Ottawa area, go mark June 21-22 on your calendar. It's a lovely weekend experience and worth checking out. So many talented artists hosted in a beautiful park here in the city. Also take a read at our post about it last year. You can find that here

If you are curious about Truly Charlotte's creations, check out her Esty shop next door! Her handmade, recycled stuffies make the perfect gift for that special someone.

DIY Graham Crackers

Growing up we loved having graham crackers for a late snack. There is nothing like a crunchy cracker, melting in your mouth. We also used them in our graham cracker crumb crusts and were sad when we had to say goodbye. We have used GF graham cracker crumbs and have tried the GF graham crackers with our summer S'Mores, but still nothing is like the original.
That all changed when Charlotte and her skilled internet skills discovered a recipe. These crackers are delicious and we can't wait to try them with marshmallows! mmm Summer S'Mores.

Homemade Graham Crackers
(adapted from Gwam Crackers by Isa Chandra) 

You will need:

1 and 3/4 cups of spelt flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of molasses
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of soya milk

How to: 

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350'F. Take out a baking sheet and set aside

Step 2: In a large bowl mix spelt flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in oil, molasses and vanilla. Give the liquids a good stir with a whisk and then mix the rest of the ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.

Step 3: Drizzle in the soya milk and use your hands to combine the mixture. Form the dough into a ball.

Step 4: Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on your counter. Place the ball of dough in the center and lay another sheet of parchment paper on top. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle as best you can, approx 1/8 inch thick.

Step 5: Lift up the top layer of parchment paper and using a pizza cutter score the dough into a checkerboard. Place the whole sheet of parchment paper with the scored dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 12- 14 minutes

Step 6: After removing crackers from oven, transfer crackers to counter and if needed score again. There you go!






Enjoy!