bringing it all together thanks to Brother printers.

as many of you know, a couple of weeks ago we played along with ali edwards and her week in the life project. this week we are bringing it all together with some help from the wonderful team at Staples. they had contacted me a while ago to ask if i wanted to try out one of their Brother printers - the Brother MFC-J6510dw Wireless Colour Inkjet all-in-one Printer to be exact....um....yes please!!!
and this, i thought, is the perfect project for it's initiation.

now it may come as a shock to many of you that i may be a little bit cheap. ha! no...i bet quite a few of you knew that! now that being said, over the past couple of years i have come to realize the value in the upgrade. i used to buy tony one $20 backpack year - then three years ago there was a well known brand one on for $70 so i thought maybe this would last longer? bingo. three years later and still going strong.
see - value in the upgrade.
this is true here as well. i would always go for the cheapest printer that had just what i needed and that was good enough for me. when staples asked me which i wanted i was presented with two options - one higher end and one low - and after careful consideration went for the higher end because i knew that without a review or knowing someone who had it, i would never splurge on it because of the extra expense. is it really that much better than the one i already have? am i really going to get my money's worth? also i am starting to think - don't i deserve better than just good enough?

my advice: splurge.

IT. IS. AWESOME!!!

now i am not a professional reviewer by any means but i am one to celebrate and spread the word like wild flowers when i find a great product....and i found a great product.

after a couple of tries and maybe some light choice words {!} we were up and running. it's unbelievable! the most start-your-own-command-center-but-i-still-look-great-in-your-home device i have ever seen! {yes, of course there is a random stuffed penguin on my table...what? there isn't one on yours??!!!}

it can scan, print, fax, copy {like a lot at one time!}, print photo's right from a memory card - there's a slot right in the front!! - IT'S WIRELESS {in my head that was said like stephan from saturday night live!} and since it's home will be the basement that's a good thing for me, and it could probably make the coffee as well if i took the time to find that command.

for me, though, it's all about the photo's. i wanted something that can help me to stay on top of some of my photo projects rather than always relying on uploading them and then going somewhere to pick up my prints. now i am not going to do everything on here - let's get serious...i am still am cheap!! but when i am doing, say my december daily this year, i can get most of it done right away with this little baby rather forget about it and have it still looking a me 9 months later begging me to finish it!!
yep, guilty party over here on that one. i should probably get on that.....

well, no more my friends! we have no more excuses - we are going to be caught up and looking sharp! just look at the quality of these photo's:

i printed those! on this!!
can you tell i am excited?? i have had the worst luck printing photo's in the past - this time they came out so awesome! i never knew a printer would get me this excited. maybe is the ease in which it came together or the fact that i am going to be more organized thanks to this amazing machine? what ever it is, i am thankful and hooked.
aren't you excited too??

i am off to finish my album and i'll share it here next week.  maybe seeing how fabulous it is will inspire YOU to go and get one of these for yourself and document a week in your life.
it's so worth it.

thanks staples for giving me the opportunity to test out this awesome printer! you guys rock!!

chicken stock....because i couldn't think of something more clever.....

chicken stock....
is there anything better?
it's like...a magic elixir.
the answer to everything.

dish not tasting quite right? add some chicken stock.
beef up that soup? add some chicken stock.
magic ingredient to mashed potatoes - chicken stock.
want to make a soup? hey...where's that chicken stock?

it has 100 and one uses.
everyone has some and everyone uses it.
and before you reach for the carton in your cupboard {which there is nothing wrong with - i have a few in there as well} picture this:

sunday night. you have prepared your family a beautiful roast chicken dinner - using my kitchen tip naturally, that's why it's so perfect - and while you were preparing said dinner you mysteriously placed an empty stock pot/dutch oven on your one free element on the stove. also you have placed an empty bowl on the counter top awaiting something only you know about. as you rummage through the fridge for the perfect potatoes, carrots, celery and onions for your roast vegetables you also absentmindedly place two onions, some of the carrots & celery + some not so savory looking vegetables {but NOT rotten} in the empty bowl and go about your business. also while you search for the perfect green vegetable to steam or sautee and complement your sunday night dinner you come across - half a red pepper maybe? some leftover mushrooms? a leek who doesn't look like he will survive the night? bowl. bowl. bowl. {one tip...broccoli is a little strong - i would steer clear of adding that.} as you chop up your star vegetables for your dinner, prepare them and pop them in the oven or steamer, turn your attention for the next five minutes to the less than qualified contenders - peel your onions {these can be quite nice ones}, chop in half and add to your secret pot. chop up some carrots and celery and secretly slip into the pot as well. next trim up your less perfect produce and pop into your pot on the stove. now your bowl should be empty and your pot full. the next step should take you all of two minutes so no need to worry about heavy labour or wiping the sweat from your brow. now listen carefully as this does take some technique.....reach in to your spice cupboard and grab about 5 to 6 peppercorns and dump into pot. grab about 3 bay leafs and do the same. have some fresh thyme in your yard? go snip about 5 sprigs. add to pot. and lastly throw about 3 unpeeled garlic cloves to your pot. done. leave on the stove, element off, forgotten about till your chicken is ready.

the prep, mixed into what you were already doing.....now that wasn't so hard was it?

now you turn your attention back to your chicken dinner and sides. once ready, pull your chicken out, cover with foil, let rest then uncover and stand back & admire your work. beautiful isn't it? i think a roast chicken is one of the most beautiful things ever.....now get your head back in the game. carve your chicken, plate your sides and take it all to the table. just before you all sit down steal your self away to the kitchen and pick clean your carcass - reserving all meat on a seperate plate. toss all bones, bits, discarded skin, juice from the cutting board - yes that too - into your secret pot on the stove. now fill with water till it's all just covered. place on the stove and bring to a boil. return to the table and enjoy your dinner. once the pot comes to a boil, turn down to a simmer and let it go, covered, for about an hour. after an hour and all the dinner is done and dessert has been savoured.....come on you made something right? maybe this...or this....or THIS.....once that's all done and you have collected the praise....turn your attention back to your pot. lift the lid and let simmer uncovered for about two hours. now too is when you can add other things - the wings weren't touched? clean them off and throw them in. there is a leg leftover? do the same - of course while reserving all the meat for sandwiches or to freeze for future soup use. now after hour one of simmering uncovered, check the water level - you want to make sure that everything is just covered so add a touch more water. now go bathe the kids or fold the laundry or watch AFV.....go do something. after another hour turn off the heat and let your stock cool slightly before you start straining. place a wire sieve {the smaller the holes the better} over a heat proof bowl; using a slotted spoon transfer your vegetables and bones out of your stock and into the sieve. let drain slightly {i press them down to get all the goodness out of them - they do act like sponges a little} then discard. do this with all contents of the pot till you are at the point of just dumping the whole thing over the sieve to catch all the little bits and to give yourself the purest chicken stock possible. let cool a little more and just before you crawl into bed, cover and place in the fridge.

the next day you will see your glorious stock just waiting for you. your stock will either be the liquid kind - like from the tetra packs - OR like a jelly. if you got the later - lucky you! be warned though - this style is much more concentrated! skim the top and now it's time to organize it for freezing or you may just decide that tonight is the perfect time for chicken soup!
for freezing: place either one cup or two cup portions in bags, flatten out and freeze. OR freeze in cubes in ice cube trays.

there you go! the base for all winter cooking and savoury dishes. with such a weapon in your possession you will be the star of your kitchen.

but you already, are aren't you??

;)

m. i. a.

this week i have been m.i.a.
i had so many wonderful things to share with you.
i just have one little problem...i seem to think there are more hours in a day than there actually are.
always have...always will.

this weeks situation?
we are deep in planning and creating mode for a certain someone's 7th birthday.
a mad hatter's tea party. alice in wonderland theme.
and we want it to look quite authentic.
therefore i have been working to the bone on making the decoration, making the cakes, wrapping the loot, creating the space.
it. has. taken. all. my. time.
thankfully my mom and sister showed up yesterday and did ALL the baking today. thank you!

plus throw in two soccer days and having to function normally in my day to day in taking care of a family not to mention working.....why do i do this to myself? {rhetorical, please do not answer husband!}

the reason:
i LOVE birthdays. {as you can see here and here.}
and i love to do them big.
i can sleep next week right?
yeah, that's what i thought.

gotta go - my wonderland cakes are calling.
have a great weekend! xx

these days....

it has been so cold here lately.
like waking up to minus 19 yesterday and we just couldn't get warm.
i turned the heat on everywhere - i hope i didn't spend a mint. oops!
finally we did warm up.

yesterday was just one of those day. you know the ones? where the tv is on all day long and everyone coasts from one room to another and actually being well behaved, playing nice together?
yesterday was that day.

i seem to have written myself a to-do list a mile-long and have been doing everything but what is on the list! i fixed coop's curtains from his room - they were driving me banana's. i was so excited to cross them off only to see that they had not made it on to the special guest list of things to be done. shoot!

i have decided to take this basement area under my wing and make it more functional. i want to use it more and be more comfortable in the space. i started here yesterday and have already carted out 3 big bags of garbage - bonus though is i found the pictures of the kids with their cousins that i have been looking for for a year. yes a year. why do i save so much stuff? wait, stop! don't answer that!

things i dream for this room - the back wall is aqua {yep you heard me! i hope the husband is on board with this.....}, there are two white floating shelves from the middle of the wall to the right, then there will be a photo/inspiration collage to the left. i would love a new table! - underneath the table cloth is my folding collapsible table that i used for the farmer's market and it bends in the middle when you press to hard - hopefully i can find something at a junk shop i can paint. i would love this bookshelf on the left wall, turned on it's side for a sewing table and i believe the shelves are high enough for my project life binders. i'm going to get some fabric for the window this weekend and i think it should be a yellow/white colour. right now it is stuffed with packing paper because on the opposite wall from my table is the computer table with all the husbands sound editing equipment and we didn't need looky-loo's peering in the little window and checking out all our swag.

aydan is still home from school and will be going back next monday. this holiday has been long! i love having her here but have really grown accustom to her going to school - does that make me a bad mom? it's been fun but i think she is ready to go back as well.

i told her to go and pick up some clothes to wear and this is what she came down in:

she always come down in something like this. she's hilarious! she has decided that she wants to be called fancy aydan after fancy nancy because she is dressed as fancy as her. love her.

highlight of lunch: coop's chicken piece was shaped like a heart. quite extraordinary really.

the boys made lego airplanes. they were everywhere.

in the afternoon big fluffy snowflakes started to fall. i love big fluffy snowflakes. love gazing out into a landscape of big fluffy snowflakes.

i discovered picnik and made this collage. i really like it and might gravitate there more often for things like this.

it warmed up a bit - enough for an evening skate - so we all went outside and enjoyed the rink.
wait - haven't i told you about the rink? friday i promise.

for dinner i wanted to have a green bean salad with toasted almonds alongside our leftover soup & i actually blanched and shocked the beans in cold water! i always want to do this but never go to the trouble because i find it confusing when making a big meal but since the meal was basically done i went for and it worked! it was really good. also i refreshed my baguette using a new technique i picked up from jamie oliver and i will share that with you friday. promise.

this morning we woke up to -8 so not too bad. also i had stuffed towels {very chic i know!} under the door jams and it seemed to keep the heat in. this weekend i am going to make some door and window snakes to keep this heat in - i'll tell you all about that on monday. i'm going to make this weekend a sewing one. quite excited about that.

for some reason i really needed this today.

i work at home - did you know that?
the upside: i get to spend the days with my kids.
the downside: i am constantly re-organizing and re-decorating my house in my head and stressing out about it.
i have already made my list for finnegan's market which opens the first saturday in may. i plan to go the first saturday of every month. i hope the husband is okay with that. i wish i knew about other junk shops in the area but that doesn't seem to be the vibe of this part of the world. they are nuts.
also we need a new rug and i have been on the internet trying to find a style that i like - harder than it looks. we need new drapes for the living rooms as well but i don't know what colours to go for because i don't know what to go for on the rug and we need a lamp there to (i would like a junk shop find that i could paint and make a shade for) and i don't know what to look for because there is no rug or curtains! what do you start with first?.....
and ta-da! that's how you get stressed out about it. the end.
i think i have an idea for the dining room - so maybe we should start there.

but what i need to do is...focus. there's that word again. i actually used it about 10 times yesterday and embraced it. off topic. focus. what i have to do is focus on one room at a time - get it done and move on. the problem is that all the rooms are almost there so i find myself creating mini-lists for them all and then getting worried and flustered. i need focus.

the living/dining i think will be my first points of focus .
after i paint the two walls downstairs and put away christmas.
yep. christmas is still up around here.
the garbage men don't come and get the trees till the 9th so i bought myself a little time.
i love holiday. the feeling of it. the twinkle lights.
especially the twinkle lights.

oh and the computer is not seeing the printer - so now i have to deal with that.
and aydan's crying over not getting the sparkly mask first.
my list has just gotten bigger. i better go.

hello december.

hello december. i wonder what you have in store for us this holiday season......

apparently a lot! holy moly. let's get our holiday on!

getting organized.

next week our little pirate turns five. we are all so excited. we have had a bit of the birthday fever around here, pushed aside christmas for a weekend, and the little princess was getting a little down about her wish list for santa. we all had trudged onto toys r us the other day to get HIS birthday gift, so we are not doing it the night before, and in her words "all we looked at were boys toys {with a little pout}". so armed with this new info i sat her down at the computer, online store layed out in front of her and said "the web is your oyster...have at her." and she did. she had a great time looking through everything, picking, inspecting, questioning her choices and came up with a great list. hope santa is good to her this year {although while writing this she has been flirting with the naughty/nice line.......}

**if you notice one of the entries, madam draculara, which was new as of yesterday, is one i grabbed out of a sale bin weeks ago thinking maybe she would like this too. and now it's on the list!! love it when i get it right!

**maybe a perfect printing workbook would be good too....i think we need to work on that.*sigh*.

new info.

i was passed on this article by the husband and i think it really has some great tips. we are all into saving a little at the grocery store are we not? to learn new tips for keeping our food fresher longer & cut down on waste?
a good read.

i also have a great post coming on some eco-products i have arriving soon.

things i've learned this week (or re-learnt)

sunday morning pillow fights with daddy rock.
working while sick is not the best combo.
re-learnt my love for pineapple upside down cake. yum!
a good night sleep is the best medicine.
husbands are mr. incredible in their own way.
that i want to accomlish more.
to slow down and take it all in (yes i know conflicts with the top remark as well as the ever growing to-do list)
that old navy on-line delivers. for free!!
that under the tuscan sun really is my favorite book and that i belong in cortona.
that we need to be indulgent and buy two laptops.
that i hate snow.
that i really want to take a photography class.
that your first colour choice is not always the best.
even the worst chinese food is better the next day.
that i am not the only one who gets jealous of other women's blogs and even with my small number of comments i have to remember why i do this an not let that bug me. and maybe they are not so great as they seem - or who are we kidding! they are fabulous in every way! love this post on the subject - equally love her description of the ultimate woman. this is why i think i don't measure up but of course she doesn't exist.
that i want to get back in touch with my sewing machine. it's been so long and we have been exchanging messages but haven't connected in a while. lots and lots of projects on the brain.
i want to find/create the ultimate chocolate cake recipe. haven't been excited about my last two choices. i would like the be the girl with the dynamite chocolate cake recipe who gets asked to potlucks for that purpose.
that pantry organization with food storage containers makes me happy.
i'm only as good as the sum of my parts.
that amazing weekends do exist and we just witnessed one.
that kids say the darnedest things - sometimes at the wrong moment.
that plans and budgets are important and that one should stick to them.
that it's okay to spend big money on eco-products like these cause you save in the long run.
that fresh baking for breakfast on a weekend morning can really brighten your day.
i love books & reading and want this.
that improvements are done on the house until the fall and i'm okay with that - except the bathroom walls, the horror!! haha.
that it's okay when the playdoh looks like this.

conquered.

january 1st. long list of to do's. one crossed off that day. sigh of relief.

on january first christmas gets put away - no matter what (one year i was SO hungover but it had to be done!). the opportunity to clear out and organize the storage room was taken at this moment as well. if the decorations were going to be put back into this space would it be better if they had a reserved spot and not just be gently "tossed" in? secretly i was quite excited to do this - to get my hands dirty, have a sense of accomplishment, write out a BIG check mark.

we moved out east in april and this room became a sort of dumping ground - the place where things that really had no place called home. (also when we moved in the previous owners had left the garage packed to the rafters so all things designated for there got put in the storage room till they came to collected their belongings and things never got back there as planned.) you had to navigate yourself sideways to make sense of the room and move this & that to find your desired treasure. between things like bankers boxes filled with tax papers, hockey equipment, books, memory boxes and all seasonal decorations the room was a real adventure.

that is no more. when the flyer came in the mail with the sale on $20 shelves i pounced on it got myself a couple and the transformation was underway. I have also turned the basement bathroom into a pantry of sorts which houses extra food, art supplies and my overflow of kitchen equipment (the types that you don't necessarily need at your fingertips). I took this time as an opportunity to also shift things around in this room and evaluated what is needed or not to make it more user friendly.

"de-clutter" has been a word that is being seen floating around this blog and that one and has been embedded into my thinking as well. i dug through the boxes of "empty" christmas decorations and examined what was not chosen this year. i decided out of these which to throw out and what to give away because if i did not use them this year chances are they are not going out the next so why hang on to them? i moved all the empty but usable boxes to the nook under the stairs for safe keeping and accessibility. also found was a box of childrens clothes that will be donated, things that were broken that will be thrown out and forgotten toys that will make their way back into rotation. all in all it was a good day and now you can go in, have a quick scan for what you need - rather than the big adventure of an all day dig.

an attack was preformed. little resistance. i conquered and was victorious.
the rise and fall of the storage room.
who is going to fall next? i'm thinking the garage and computer room.......

before the attack was taken!

fresh start. 2011.

my mind has been bursting! things i want to write about, inspirations, things i want to do, moments i want to capture.

i have decided on a few "weekly feature" posts i want to create that will have a - you guessed it! - weekly spot on the menu. also a few monthly ones.

I have been writing all yesterday and today trying to get my thoughts down on paper and out of my head. hoping i will type them out of my fingers soon! (this is why i need a laptop - dare to dream!)