Genious.

from Soapopotamus's Etsy Shop

How amazing are these? I stumbled upon them while searching ‘toast’ on Etsy (Nick loves toast, and I wanted to see what ridiculousness was available in hand-crafted toast form). The seller also has toast-shaped soaps, donut-shaped soaps and rice krispie-shaped soaps. I showed them to Nick, thinking he’d love them, but he admitted he’d feel a little weird rubbing toast all over himself. That’s fair.

from Soapopotamus's Etsy Shop

Genious! Etsy is such a treasure trove. Also, there’s soaps in the shape of roasted chickens, but I’m not sure what to make of those just yet…

Sleepy days.

Spring is on the way! Sherlock has been slowly coming out of his hibernation but still spends most of his time snuggled up in bed. However, the days have  been getting longer and brighter so we’ve been out for more hikes on the weekends. Hence why this little bear is sound asleep, all tuckered out.

Pesto Portobello Mushrooms

I love this recipe. It’s from a vegetarian recipe book that my mother gave Nick for Christmas, and it’s one of the fastest and yummiest dinners I’ve had recently. It only takes a few minutes to prepare (also why I love portobello mushrooms instead of meat) and a few minutes to cook. It’s a healthy and absolutely delish meal. Which is why I’ve eaten it many, many times in the last few weeks.

Take your portobello mushrooms (1-2 per person, although 1 was enough for me) and clean them.

Remove the stem and brush a small amount of olive oil onto the underside of the mushroom cap.

In a food processor, mix bread crumbs (mine were gluten free) and some pesto paste together until the mixture is moist but fluffy (like couscous).

Place a spoonful or two of the pesto-bread crumb mixture to each of the mushroom caps and place them on a baking sheet.

Add some on-the-vine tomatoes to the baking sheet and put the whole tray in the oven at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Tea flavoured chocolate.

from Choclatea via AT

I love science. Or maybe it’s gastronomy. Either way I’m going to try to make tea-flavoured chocolate sometime soon. Oooh, can you imagine Earl Grey chocolate?

I’m continuing my AWOL-tendencies on account of it being my birthday week, so off I go, into a merry weekend of revelry and fine (ha!) wine. Enjoy your weekend!

I need a vacation.

I am so incredibly busy lately it’s been a complete whirlwind. My daytimer is crammed full and I’ve had to put in seemingly obvious things like “walk the dog” and “do laundry” because I have so much going on that I’ll forget if I don’t schedule it in. I’m doing a practicum placement, taking an extremely in-depth breastfeeding course (for health care providers) and studying for my immunization certification exam. And that’s not including stressing about my RN exam, finding a job or finding an apartment. Oh and moving. Needless to say, I’m totally exhausted. I’d love to spent about four weeks lying on a beach, frying to a nice golden brown.

For now, I continue to work away, largely ignoring the blog (because I have to eat and shower at some point) and getting in quiet time when I can. I have decided to blog when I can, about what I want, and not feel guilty. I’m too busy to feel guilty.

Indie folk wonders.

BasiaBulat.com

If you haven’t heard of this phenomenal Canadian indie musician, I suggest implore you to go and check out her music. I have her first album and ADORE it, and I’m off to buy her new album today. The title track of her new album, Heart of My Own is my new favourite song. She’s just fantastic.
Another musician that I was recently introduced to is Tessa Kautzman, a friend of a friend who put on a spectacular performance at an event this past weekend. Nick and I were so blown away that we bought one of her cds from her on the spot. Money well spent.

There you go, new music to get you through your week! Go forth, and be impressed by these multi-talented women.

Boys and their toys.

Sherlock and his best-buddy Morley. Know how you can tell which is the real dog and which is stuffed? Morley only has one eye and a half chewed ear. Sherlock’s next dog is going to be made of kryptonite so that he can’t destroy it in the first seventeen seconds after it’s come out of the shopping bag.

More retail temptations.

Most of my posts lately have been of a fluffy variety, but I don’t really care. It’s gray and awful outside, so I’m posting about things that are fabulous and cheerful. I save all my deeply political and important conversations for morning coffee with Nick. So, continuing in the fluffy theme, I found THIS website. These dresses will be my financial undoing! They’re just so fabulous. This website has a section of actual vintage items, but they’re usually one-of-a-kind and sell quite quickly. Their new but vintage-inspired section of dresses is far, far too tempting. And don’t even look at the shoe section. Goodbye first new job paycheque…

Golden Days dress from Mod Cloth

This one is a definite favourite.

Lost in Grace dress from Mod Cloth

This is just so classy.

Style Promotion from Mod Cloth

To die for.

Betsey Johnson from Mod Cloth

Polka!

Ginger Dress from Mod Cloth

And finally, this one. This is the coup de gras, my favourite of them all! I have to have it. I don’t care if I already have a couple (five) polka dresses in my closet. None of them look like this one. All my others are slim-lined and black with white polka dots. And yes, that is reason enough to add a sixth to the wardrobe.

Oh, those hipsters.

From Unhappy Hipsters (Original Photo: Dwell)

He sipped his tepid coffee and pondered how to tell her that, in fact, the pants made the sack dress even less appealing. (from Unhappy Hipsters)

This website is too funny. Add this to the “Evolution of the Hipster” series and you’ve got yourself an afternoon of sweet satire. Not that I don’t fall into one of the categories (cough, 2007, cough).

Mug cozy success.

So to follow up on my post about the mug-cozy, I made one. I just forgot to create a follow-up post about it. Oops. Either way, it worked! It was fast and easy to crochet, granted the one for sale on Etsy is of much better quality. And a smaller stitch may have worked better so that less heat would escape (I crocheted mine and so there’s some pencil-sized gaps due to the way it’s stitched). But still, I made it! It’s pretty superfluous but I love it anyway. I threatened to make a Sherlock-cozy but I’m fairly certain Nick would leave me. (But only out of jealousy for not having his own cozy, I bet.)

I started it the same way that I make hats, but then backstitched to leave a space for the mug handle. It’s a stretchy stitch as well so I’ve been able to put it on a few different sized mugs. This one is a bit long so it may work better on a taller mug.