A Friday Ritual

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

Happy Friday!

Beauty

One of the blogs we like to follow and read is Mr Kate, a DIY creative blog full of lots of lovely ideas. Last week Mr. Kate wrote a post on beauty, asking her readers: "What is beauty to you?" For her, beauty is humor and she feels beautiful when she is silly, making people laugh. We three girls sat down and asked each other what beauty means to us. For Miss Charlotte beauty is creativity, and she feels the most beautiful when she is in her studio, in her natural state, creating a new stuffie. For the lovely Leah, beauty is service, and she feels the most beautiful when she is giving of herself to others. For me it is similar to both girls, beauty is love and I feel beautiful when I am loving others, whether it be by teaching reading, dancing with an elderly gentleman, or making our godsons laugh with whoopee cushions. We think the underlying theme is that when we are our most true to ourselves, we feel the most beautiful.

What about you? What does beauty mean to you?

Here's what a few others had to say on beauty: 

" Yes, yes, said the Beast, "my heart is good, but still I am a monster." "Among mankind, says Beauty, there are many that deserve that name more than you, and I prefer you, just as you are, to those, who, under a human form, hide a treacherous, corrupt, and ungrateful heart." Jeanne- Marie Leprince de Beaumont 

"I'm beautiful to the one person who matters."

"Yes, Hector's mouth is going to drop when he sees you" 

"Thank you, but I meant me. I'm beautiful to me" Rae Carson 

"God made a very obvious choice when He made me voluptuous; why would I go against what He decided for me? My limbs work, so I'm not going to complain about the way my body is shaped" Drew Barrymore 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Wilson 

"Taking joy in living, is a woman's best cosmetic" Rosalind Russell 

"There is no exquisite beauty... without some strangeness in imperfections." Edgar Allan Poe 

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Nail Art

We have a passion for OPI Nicole nail polish. Ever since we purchased our first bottle, we knew we couldn't go back to our old cheapie polish. The OPI Nicole nail polish is smooth, easy to use and has the prettiest colours. There is something about a painted nail that cheers us up, especially now at the end of January. Lately we have noticed a new trend on our friends and also while perusing Pinterest, we call it:

 

The Statement Nail!

If you are looking for a new way to jazz up your nail routine, try painting one finger on each hand, (we chose our ring finger) a different colour. We stuck with colours in the same colour scheme, just a shade lighter, but you can do whatever your little heart desires. We love the idea of painting the ring finger with a little sparkle, and so are now on the hunt for a new gold sparkly polish.














































































Check it out, give it a try and tell us what colours you are mixing up!

The Fino Cowl is Finished!

Last August we shared this post here about our projects in the works. One of the pictures was of the beautiful mint green silk and merino wool that I (Renee) had bought on an impulse buy.

I loved the colour and just had to make something with it. My plan was to make the Manos Fino Circle Scarf, in hopes that I could wear in the Winter...

Fast forward five months later and it is finally finished! I had to put it on hold for the Christmas season as I was busy knitting presents, but took it up with a fervoured passion in hopes to get it finished asap. After so many hours of mindless knitting, I am so happy to see it finished! If you are a new knitter and need an easy project, check out this circle scarf. It isn't the most exciting project to knit, but works well for those moments when you need to knit something without paying too much attention. : )

What's next for our knitting projects? ...two new bundles of joy enter our family in April, so time to continue the baby knitting! We promise to show a few of our favourite baby sweaters soon.
Have you finished any projects recently? Share with us!

Butterscotch Bars*wheat and dairy free*

Last week we were cold, hungry and craving carbs. All of us were tired from work and school, and didn't feel like making anything too complicated. Miss Leah took it upon herself to make something, and took out our falling-to-pieces-Mrs Field's-cookbook. In less than an hour she had made us the most delicious dessert:

Butterscotch Bars! Yum! The best is that they taste like butterscotch and they aren't full of dairy or wheat. So that makes them kind of healthy right? haha

This is one of our favourite recipes and is very simple to make. If you need a dessert to whip up fast, this is the one. We also love to bake this with kids, as it isn't complicated and always turns out great.  It's Monday and still winter, so give yourself a treat and bake these Butterscotch Bars!

Leah's Butterscotch Bars 

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups of spelt flour 

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1 cup of vegan margarine or coconut oil 

1 large egg

2 tsp of vanilla extract

2 cups of dark chocolate chips 

How to make them: 

Step 1: Preheat oven to 300'F. Grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan 

Step 2: Mix together flour and soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. 

Step 3: Using an electric mixer blend together sugar and margarine. Add egg and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Step 4: Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips and blend at low speed, do not overmix

Step 5: Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack to room temperature.

Enjoy! Do you have an old favourite recipe that you can't eat anymore due to diet restrictions? Share it with us and we'll see what we can do! 

A Friday Ritual

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

Happy Friday!

kale chips that are actually good!

A couple years ago I was convinced by a health food sales man to purchase a bag of kale chips. He swore they were tasty and that I would love them. I was skeptical but purchased them, figuring they couldn't be that bad right?

I was wrong. 

Those kale chips were disgusting! Basically they tasted like eating dehydrated lettuce. Maybe they were good for our health, but I couldn't convince anyone in my family to eat one. We ended up throwing out the bag of kale chips and I said never again. 

But now in the health food stores again, kale chips are all the rage. Thankfully Charlotte saved me from buying another brand and wasting another ten bucks. She used her talented genius of flavoring and came up with the following recipe for the BEST kale chips ever. They were so good, they only lasted half an hour in our home. 

What's so great about kale? If you are new to the kale loving goodness, check out our post for a delicious and easy kale stir fry here

 

Charlotte's Tasty Kale Chips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt, for sprinkling
• 1/2tsp of onion powder
• 1/2tsp garlic powder
• 1/4tsp Dill

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, spices and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20-30 minutes. Serve as finger food.

Enjoy!

DIY Valentine's Card #1

Do you remember being little and loving to exchange St Valentine's cards? The anticipation of opening tiny envelopes with heart stickers and scrawly writing? We still exchange St Valentine's cards in our family every year, even though we are all grown up. : ) 

St. Valentine's Day might seem like it's far away, but really it's only in a month. If you are a DIY kind of girl, you know that homemade anything takes some time and planning. We have a few handmade Valentine cards  that we have been working on, and plan on sharing with you all. We want to give you a few different ideas  leading up to St Valentine's Day.

Today's cute DIY card is: A Scratch Away Valentine! 

 

Do your kiddies or loved one love scratch away bingo, lottery cards etc? This card is an easy way for kids young and old to have fun discovering their hidden message. 

You will need:

card stock

white wax crayon

black sharpie 

red paint and paintbrush 

How to make it:

1. Draw a heart on white card stock. 

2. Write your message inside the heart and colour over top with  the white crayon.

3. Paint over the message with red paint. You might have to repeat this step a few times to cover the message. To speed up the drying process use a hair dryer at low.

 

 

There you go! How easy and cute is that? You can also do 5 Things I love About You and hide the message in the scratch away hearts. 

We are Grateful

We made it past Blue Monday friends! Apparently yesterday was the most depressing day of the year. A perfect solution to fight the January blues for us is:

1) buy yourself some chocolate 

2) sign up for an art class, we are teaching one at Peaberry if you are interested check out here

3) think of a few things that you are grateful for 

Here's our Beat the Blues Gratitude List: 

We are grateful for:

Our beautiful sister Elese whose birthday we celebrated on Sunday! She turned 28 and her baby girl in the womb is also 28 weeks. How special is that? Elese and our new niece modeled for us on the weekend, and we just love the pictures! 

We are grateful for:

Our furnace, hot baths, hot showers, heating pads, warm quilts. It's going to be a cold, cold week here in Ottawa and we are grateful for all the ways we have to stay warm. We pray for those who don't have the same. 

We are grateful for:

The shop and studio Peaberry that is so close to our house! The owner Renee is offering a few great classes to help us all stay inspired over the winter. Plus Peaberry is full of great finds like warm woolly mittens and beautiful journey. Make the trek to Aylmer and check out this lovely shop

We are grateful for:

Our Mama's talented ability to make scalloped potatoes vegan. We promise to share them on the blog soon :) They were a family favourite growing up and we love love that she was able to make them for our sensitive tummies. 

We are grateful for:

Beautiful wool that is on sale at Wabi Sabi! We bought super soft balls of mustard yellow alpaca and the most gorgeous blend of silk,acrylic and cotton that is perfect for baby knitting. Now that Christmas is over, it's time to pull out our baby knitting patterns! 

We are grateful for:

John's confidence and desire to bake desserts! Last Wednesday evening we came home to see that chef John had whipped a family favourite: Pudding Chomeur! It was our Grampa's favourite dessert and we always think of him when pudding chomeur is in the house. It was such a special treat.


We are grateful for:

Charlotte was accepted in a show called A Curious Collective  which is being held in Ottawa during Winterlude. If you are in the area around Feb 8th, be sure to come check out her booth!


We are grateful for:

A funny moment last week when we picked up our dog Clarence from the groomer. She had left his eyelashes long and he looked like Elizabeth Taylor. It made us all laugh and smile : ) Who wouldn't want eyelashes like this?

What about you? Anything ordinary that you are grateful for? Share with us! Let's beat those January blues! xo

A Fluffernutter Monday

For the past eighteen years, our family has been attending a Catholic family camp called Cana. It is in Combermere Ontario, put on by Madonna House staff and priests. Every summer 8 families from all over North America journey to the beautiful outskirts of Algonquin Park. Cana is on a beautiful lake and there is lots of time for swimming, fishing, reading and best of all mass/rosary everyday. There is a conference for the parents in the afternoon and local babysitters are brought in to watch the kids. If you are interested in a great Catholic family retreat check out more info here

 Last summer Leah, Charlotte and John were at Cana and met many new American friends. During the week the Timinski family was introduced to fluffernutters. Charlotte and John came back and told us (the older kids who stayed behind) about how yummy marshmallow fluff and peanut butter is together. We had to buy a jar and sample it and yes it really is delicious!

We found this recipe on the weekend for Fluffernutter Treats and thought of all our American friends. We decided to convert it for our sensitive tummies and came up with: 

 

The Crazy Daisies Fluffernutter Treats 

You will need:

Fluffernutter Squares 

40 regular sized marshmallows 

1/4 cup of vegan margarine 

1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter

5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal

1 1/4 cup of mini marshmallows 

Peanut Butter Drizzle 

1/2 cup of peanut butter, natural or creamy 

2 tbsp of coconut oil 

Extra Chocolate Topping

1 Dark chocolate bar chopped up into pieces 

1 cup of mini dark chocolate chips 

Instructions 

1. Line a 9 inch pan with parchment paper  and set aside. In a large pot, melt margarine over medium heat. Add marshmallows and turn heat to low. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and quickly stir in peanut butter. Add cereal. 

2. Fold in mini marshmallows. Pour Rice Krispies into the prepared pan. DO NOT PRESS THEM TIGHT. Just gently on the top with a piece of parchment paper. 

3. Prepare the peanut butter drizzle by melting the coconut oil and peanut butter in the microwave for thirty seconds or until melted. Spread over the Fluffernutter Squares and cover the drizzle with the chocolate chunks and chocolate chips. Allow to set, about one hour. 

Enjoy! 

A Friday Ritual

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

Happy Friday!

It's our Birthday!!!!!!!

The Crazy Daisies is officially one years old! We had a birthday tea party to celebrate and want you to join in on the fun. Pull out your fascinator and make your favourite tea and relax as we reminisce about our first year...

How the blog came to be:

A year ago the three of us were lounging in our living room, complaining about life. We were tired of winter, sick of January, bored and deep down very sad. We had just experienced the devastating loss of losing our Uncle in December, and had just gone through the first Christmas without him. It was one of the hardest periods that we have gone through as a family. We were all in a lot of pain, and didn't know what to do. Along came January and the grief had settled in.The three of us girls were moaning to our Mama about how restless we were and how we needed a project, anything to get us through this winter. She suggested a blog and that very night The Crazy Daisies was born.




















































Our goal was to just make a blog and have some fun with it, to enjoy each other and the process. We wanted to make a space to showcase art and creative ideas. The blog has been a huge learning experience for all of us.We went from knowing nothing about blogging, to learning about uploading photos, writing code, adding Pinterest buttons (which was actually much harder then you think! It took us a whole day) to purchasing a domain name and of course balancing all our schedules. Not to mention we have learned how to work together. You would think that by now we would have it down pat, but there were still some rough patches, some weedy areas that we needed to grow through and work out as sisters. Thankfully we did, and have loved the entire crazy journey.






















































Looking back on this past year and all our posts (this is post 246!), made us remember and ohh and ahh over a few of our favourites. We want to share them with you today:

A few blog posts we love: 





























Our very first hair style: The Milkmaid Braided Updo

This post where we shared about The Modern Girl's Petticoat































Before our sister Elese was married, we threw her a fabulous shower called: Let's Shower Elese with Love

































And then of course she got married and we learned a few things: 10 Tips for Those in Wedding Parties
































We couldn't pass up the opportunity to make Delicous Donuts! *Wheat free and Vegan* : http://www.thecrazydaisies.ca/2013/06/delicous-donuts-wheat-free-and-vegan.html

and the list goes on...





























From our hearts:
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to visit us and read our posts. It has meant so much to us  hearing all your positive feedback. Do you have a favourite post from this past year?
 Share with us! We always loving hearing from you! Your comments make our day. 

( PS our comment box is now open to all, not only those who are Google members. It only took us a year to figure out that one :)  

Here's to another great year ahead!

our love for blazers

We grew up watching What Not To Wear and loved all their tips. We were so sad when our friends Stacey and Clinton wrapped up the show. : (  One of their many helpful tips that has stuck with us over the years is: it is so important to have a great jacket. Whether it be casual or dressy, a styling blazer is the best way to spruce up an old outfit. We have a learned a few tips of how to pull off a great coat, and thought of sharing them with you all today.

Our jackets fashion no-no: Wearing brooches on both sides of the lapels and having huge shoulder pads.

Yes we know shoulder pads are back in, but if too big, they just make you look like you are a linebacker. Thanks Miss Leah for showing us oh so elegantly how not to wear a blazer. 

Blazers we love:

1. A cropped coat can be flattering! 

On Lady Charlotte Anne:

She found this leopard print pink number at the GAP during some boxing day shopping, and loved the bright pattern. It screamed out to her, and she just had to purchase it. She wasn't sure if the cropped length could work, but with a nice blouse it looks fabulous! Don't be afraid to buy a bright coat that can be paired with a neutrals, like Charlotte's ivory blouse. 

2. A sequined coat adds major pizzazz! 

On Princess Leah: 

Leah's sequined sparkly number is from Zaras and is a loose blazer. She likes to wear a super sparkly number like this one with a muted down loose grey blouse. The pattern on the blouse is small and so doesn't conflict with the pattern on the coat. The sequins on the blazer are tiny, which makes it classy and not ostentatious. 

 

3. An oxford blazer is a classic piece

On Mademoiselle Renee:

This purple and pink coat is a also a bargain deal from the GAP's boxing week sales. I love a good structured blazer. They are just such a great staple to any wardrobe and can be worn so many ways. My favourite way is the classic white shirt/jeans combo and of course with lots of jewelry. You can also pair it with a t-shirt, a dress, a skirt, the options are endless. As our Mama says, classic clothing is an investment!