In our garden today..

It's garlic harvest time!
Our 400 bulbs of garlic were harvested last week, much to all our delight! We are major garlic eaters and lovers, and so this time of year brings lots of happy smiles : )
Our backyard looks like we are trying to scare away hundreds of vampires, as all the garlic is hanging to dry.

What do we do with all that garlic?

We make our favourite vegan lasagna, with vegan Caesar salad dressing from the book Veganomics

Our dad likes to roast whole garlic bulbs in the oven and eats them on toast, in sandwiches, in rice, in dips, on pizza..

Our goal is to make our own version of Garlic Expressions: this super delicious salad dressing that we plan on sharing with you all very soon.

and of course....

We make lots of salad dressings! Our timeless favourite is the following:


Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tsp of Dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp of honey or maple syrup
1-2 whole cloves of fresh organic (not from China:) garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Crush and mince garlic until fine.
Step 2: In a little bowl, whisk together all other ingredients. Add the garlic! Whisk until it is all blended, usually a minute or so.
Add to your favourite salads! It lasts a week or so in the fridge, if it makes it that long! Enjoy!

Our Favourite Quotes Right Now..

It's the middle of the weekday, and if you are like us who are at work, you might need a little break, a tiny taste of words that will inspire you throughout the day.

Here are our favourite quotes right now:

"I have often wondered what was the source of her beauty, her radiance. It's not the size of one's nose, the colour of one's skin, the shape of one's lips or eyes that make one beautiful or ugly. So what is it? Can you, as a woman, tell me?
I shook my head.
I will tell you: It's love. Love makes us beautiful. Do you know a single person who loves and is loved, who is loved unconditionally and who, at the same time is ugly? There's no need to ponder the question. There is no such person." Jan-Philipp Sendker from the Art of Hearing Heartbeats

"Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

"The essence of a thing is invisible to the eye, U May said. Learn to perceive the essence of a thing. Eyes are more likely to hinder you in that regard. They distract us. We love to be dazzled." Jan-Philpp Sendker

"She wasn't doing anything that I could see, except standing there, leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together." J.D. Salinger

"I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living." Dr. Seuss

from our fave comic strip Calvin and Hobbes:

"Calvin: You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes: What mood is that?
Calvin: Last- minute panic"

"Put on Christ!" in your life, and you will find a friend in whom you can always trust, "put on Christ"and you will see the wings of hope spreading and letting you journey with joy towards the future, "put on Christ" and your life will be full of his love; it will be a fruitful life." Pope Francis

"Don't ever think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding make even more art." Andy Warhol

"Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith" Margaret Shepard

and another from our beloved Papa Francisco:

"Sing to the Lord a new song" (Psalm 95:1). What is this new song? It does not consist of words, it is not a melody, it is the song of your life, it is allowing our life to be identified with that of Jesus, it is sharing his sentiments, his thoughts, his actions. And the life of Jesus is a life for others. It is a life of service."  Pope Francis


Do you have a favourite quote right now? Share with us! : )

How to Conquer the Second Hand Shops

We love a bargain! Really who doesn't? While away we were able to visit a few second hand shops and flea markets. One of them is very popular in the area and you have to go early as there is quite the line. We went thirty minutes ahead and there was already people lined up. The anticipation and excitement gives our shopping hearts a real thrill! The competition! The adrenaline! The DEALS! Everything in these shops is between 10 cents and a couple of dollars.

A few of our triumphant purchases were: a pink J.Crew blouse, a turquoise apron from Belgium,  a  vintage polka dot skirt, a H&M blazer, a Calvin Klein t-shirt, a couple of men's flannel shirts, dozens of cut lace table runners, scarves, and our mama's big find: A china deviled egg plate. : )

Not all of us however get into this thrilling shopping escapade, Miss Leah is not a fan. She comes with us, helps us out, but really prefers to not touch everything that is a bit dirty, a bit smelly and of course there is all that Polish lady pushing. But bless her heart! This time Leah had a blast. After our thrift shopping adventure we came up with the following tips for all of you lovelies to go out there and conquer those deals! 

Helpful Strategies for Becoming the Conqueror of the Thrift Shops

1) Have a plan and a basic idea of what you would like to buy. Think game plan like in football. : ) Leah and I were designated to the Clothing section, with specific items we were looking for: scarves, denim anything, men's shirts, and of course whatever catches our eyes! Our mama and Charlotte went to the household items and were looking for wool blankets and anything linen and lace. Upon opening of the shop, our mama staked out her territory (three bins of cut lace work) and hurriedly claimed her deals. 

2) Know your labels. While digging through bins of clothes, before holding the item up and discerning whether or not it is worth it, we scan labels. They are the golden ticket. While shopping in the men's section I found a brand new Calvin Klein shirt( for our brother) for only a dollar, and it was just hanging on the wall for all the guys to see it. I didn't even register the pattern, just saw the label and tore it off it's hook. Leah discovered two cotton flannel men's shirts in mint condition! Sorry fellow shopping guys : ) Charlotte found a lovely pastel pink J. Crew blouse by digging into the bottom of the bin, and I discovered a classy H &M blazer in a sea of tacky coats.

3) Search, scan and then search some more! One of the best ways to uncover those hidden gems is to not be afraid to dig. Often times we find the best things underneath a huge pile, or in the midst of a big rack. After walking through the shop, Leah and I returned again to find Charlotte and found even more things that we missed the first time. Charlotte plunged almost half her body in a bin to uncover pretty blouses that fit her just right.






























4) Bring water and a snack to replenish after all that hard core shopping! : )

Have fun!

Do you have a shopping strategy? Share with us!

Our Lovely Charlotte..

Recently our third Daisy had a birthday, yes Miss Charlotte Anne Jacqueline is no longer a minor! : ) We thought to celebrate our dear sister, we would write a little list in praise of her:

Our Lovely Charlotte

We are grateful for her...

Deep love for God and her faith.

We are grateful for her: 

Love and great desire to create (her delicious popcorn recipe follows! yum yum!)

We are grateful for her: 

Courageous spirit and love of trying new things! Even gross gluten-free-dairy free food that we can't face..lol

We are grateful for her: 

Gift of joy and ability to make us all laugh, even as a baby she had us in stitches!

We are most grateful: 

That she was born into our family and is our beautiful sister!

Happy Birthday!  We love you!


And for you dear friends, a new twist on popcorn! Enjoy!


Charlotte's BBQ Popcorn































Ingredients:

1 tsp of dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of sugar

Popcorn of your choice

3 tbsp of melted margarine
nutritional yeast

Step 1: Mix together the first six ingredients in a small bowl, this is the BBQ seasoning : )
Step 2:  Add the melted margarine to your popcorn. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.
Step 3: Add the BBQ seasoning and mix well.

This popcorn is the best afternoon, or lunch, or pre dinner snack!

Friday Ritual...

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

Happy Friday!

Our Mama's secret trick for those nasty...

SUNBURNS!

We wore hats all week, lathered on sunscreen and some of us still managed to slightly burn our skin. Do you have a remedy for brutal sunburns that hurt, itch, peel and burn like crazy hot ants up your pants??
Well if you do please share with us in the comments below! We would love to hear from you.

In the mean time here is our Mama's trick for getting rid of that red painful burn:

Noxema!!





























Her mother used to use it on her and it worked so well she has used it on all of us. Noxema is not just a face wash, but a perfect soothing balm for sunburns.

The Secret Trick:
Apply lots of Noxema so thick that it takes awhile to absorb. You want a nice white creamy layer of Noxema on your skin. Wait a couple of hours until your skin is no longer white and then re apply another layer if your burn still hurts.

The Noxema might have a bit of a stinky smell, but it really truly works! The redness and uncomfortable pain will be gone before you know it. : )





























Do you have an opinion on sunscreen? Wear it? Yes? No? Go Organic? Let us know : )

Summer Reading

Reading is our number one activity while vacationing. Well it just might be tied with floating on the lake and eating huge s'mores. All of us brought our favourite novels and oh what a treat to finish a book in a day! :) Such a small but sweet success! The cottage we stayed at had a really cute sun porch that was screened in, so even during our no power day (a big thunderstorm knocked out the electricity) we could read all comfy and cozy.

 

Here's the titles we all perused last week:

The Search Angel by Trish Cohen: My mom and I read this one this past week and LOVED it! If you need a great summer read that is quick, insightful and pulls at your heartstrings then this is the one. It is the story of Eleanor Sweet, a woman about to adopt and in need of finding her own birth mother. It is full of relationships, people, babies and lots of love. 

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker. The title and the beautiful cover stole our reading hearts before we even cracked the pages. Charlotte is currently reading this fabulously written novel. It is a love story set in Burma, so think of fantasy escape novel-and also deals with father/daughter relationships. It is a gem and we will probably be quoting a few lines soon! 

Runaway Jury by John Grisham. We found this cheapie but classic oldie at Costco and Leah is reading it away. It is her first taste of John Grisham, and so far she is enjoying learning all about the law and the jury process. Our mom is a John Grisham fan and loves A Time to Kill-it is her number one fave. (and mine too:)

The House that Love Built by Beth Wiseman: Okay now this one is a super cheesy title, but actually a fun and enjoyable read. It is the story of a woman dealing with grief, of moving on and growing in faith. Add a mystery and romance and you have it all.

We also brought a few cookbooks:
We like to use a lot of vegan recipes as they are dairy free!

Vegan Cooking for Carnivores: by Roberto Martin.  Ellen and Portia's chef explains his secrets of how to make delicious vegan meals! He does use a lot of processed simulated meat products (which often contain wheat filler), so we haven't made tons of his reciepes yet..but Charlotte did make his Chocolate Chip Magic bars that are dairy and wheat free...and they were delicious! So yummy.

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This book is our number one fall back on vegan cookbook. These two chefs have created a huge plethora of vegan recipes that are hearty and actually taste really, really good.

our little brother was busy reading:

Eragon: A fantasy novel about dragon riders, elves and an evil king..not as good as Lord of the Rings, but still entertaining.




























Are you reading anything right now? Recommend it? Share with us!