Mystery Photo

All of those Florida vacation photos had me reminiscing of other trips I had been on recently. In the Fall Dave and I went to London for a couple of days and then met my youngest sister, mom and dad in Paris for a week. It was amazing. I have so many great photos from that trip and I haven't done anything with them. So in the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some with you!

Today I have a little game for you. While in Paris, I took a million photos in the hopes of ending up with a few gems to turn into artwork. Below is one of those gems. It looks like abstract art to me. Can you guess what it is? Don't scroll down until you have a good guess! Comment below too- I would love to hear your guesses!

Are you ready?

What is it?

Hmm

m.

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Cool Right!? Well, I think its super cool. I love the idea of taking close-up shots of everyday items and making art out of them. Its a simple and unique way to customize your art. Give it a try! If you come up with something neat send it to me and I might feature your ideas on D + D!

Dave, my mom and my youngest sister Bron (there are 5 of us girls!) strolling in Paris. I felt like I walked more in Paris in a week than I do in Toronto in a month. But I loved every second of it.

Happy Wednesday!



Fun in the Sun

Morning!
Ahhh... So I am back from my lightening speed vacay. Sorry for the lack of posts- no Internet, google reader, email... it was kinda great.
Dave and I did a quick trip to Florida to visit friends and relax. We left Thursday morning and arrived home last night. To be honest I could have stayed for a month. There is something about that Florida sunshine and the ocean that makes it easy to forget home. We had a blast cruising up the Intercoastal and flying over the sandy coast.

FYI- I vowed to never get in a plane this small... But I was swayed by a very persuasive man who joked I should "throw on my crash helmet"- NOT FUNNY. But it was amazing. We went up around 8:30 AM and it was beautiful, the sun was rising and the water was calm- I couldn't have asked for a better morning.

Aren't the colours and shapes in this picture amazing? And whats more amazing- they are natural and organic. LOVE IT.

We were told that this spot, just South of Daytona Beach, has the highest count of shark attacks in the world. Whether or not that is accurate- it is totally hard core. Oh, and the majority of the people on the beach that day were right there because its a surfer hot spot. Freeeaakkkyyyyy.

There's my guy. Such a great trip, but I'm happy to be back. We have the deck project coming up that will include lots of DIY projects that I can't wait to share with you and wedding plans to be finalized!

Have a great Tuesday.

HiLo: Perfect Pastels

Okay, I know these pastels are a little late for Easter, but I don't think they should be reserved just for a special Bunny Holiday. These springy hues are soft, comforting and have an airiness about them that reminds me of spring. I love the simplicity of all of these designs- I can imagine this necklace on top of a basic tee with a blazer- how chic! These gorgeous S & P shakers are going on my want list for our new deck... everyone needs a separate set of S & P shakers for their deck right?... hmm... I don't know that Dave will agree... We'll have to see.

 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Have a great Wednesday, its Friday for me... YAY long weekend. More about that to come!

xo

Question...

Did you know everything is closed on Easter Sunday? I didn't. Saying it like that makes it sound obvious- but I completely forgot and therefore had thee most random food in the house. So I felt it made perfect sense to make an equally random dinner. And guess what? It was great!

I will tell you another thing I learned this Easter Sunday... puff pastry needs to be baked within 2 to 4 hours of it being defrosted, not 2 to 4 days. My plan was to make this flatbread a tart on puff pastry which I threw in the fridge on Friday to defrost- I took it out today and it was black. Yah. Black. EW. My perfectly caramelized onions and bacon were cooked and ready to go so I couldn't give up on my plan all together. Enter frozen tortillas... I spread on some tomato pesto, topped with shards of parmesan, frozen peas, caramelized onions and bacon, then baked at 425 for 5 minutes. Taa Daaa. Top with a little more grated parmesan and torn fresh Basil leaves and you have an awesome, light flatbread!

You could do this with pitas and just about anything you have laying around in the freezer or fridge- try it! Be creative!

Have a super fab Monday!

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a great long weekend. I wish I could have a couple more days to get the house under control! Our trip to the cottage and back on Friday, golf on Saturday and installation of a new pendant light today was lots of fun. I need one more day to sleep though... How about you?

I went through the Timmy's drive-thru today and asked for a rainbow-sprinkle doughnut and this is what I got. I wanted to take some shots of it for the blog... but it was a Hawaiian-looking thing- not exactly what I had in mind. So I decided to make it all Easter-y instead. I do love doughnuts. But Maple Dip is my favorite by far- a friend jokes with me that I will never have trouble getting it at a doughnut shop because no one else likes it. I don't even like sprinkle doughnuts, but I thought the little round colourful sprinkles would be so pretty in a photo- oh well, this is pretty too!

Obviously I had to have just one bite...

Happy Easter!
xo.

Purple Potatoes

Have you ever seen them? They are so cool. Almost tie-dye looking. Purple used to be my favorite colour when I was little... my mom still has photos of me heading off to kindergarten in bright purple leggings and a sweet Northern Getaway "SPICE MICE" sweater. Trust me, it was hot! Hah...
I made this simple side dish the other night to go along with my beet salad and bbq'd rosemary-lemon chicken (rosemary, honey, garlic, lemon zest and juice) and they were a hit!

Lemon-Garlic Purple Potatoes

5 medium sized purple potatoes
1 smallish clove garlic
1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Boil your purple potatoes in salted, boiling water until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, mix in a small bowl, the zest of one whole lemon, salt, pepper, grated garlic and 3 tbsp of good olive oil. Use your rasp or zester for the garlic- it creates a garlic paste that is easier to distribute.
3. Drain the potatoes and slice into 1 cm thick slices and spread out onto a plate.
4. Drizzle over the lemon, garlic and olive oil mixture.
5. Top with chopped chives and a little extra salt. I use Maldon Sea Salt to finish for a bit of crunch!

Ps. This would be awesome with fingerling potatoes or baby new potatoes too!

Enjoy and have an awesome early Friday! YAY long weekend!

HiLo: One-of-a-Kind Edition

This weeks HiLo is slightly different from my normal posts. I wanted to show you some of the unique creations from the Spring One-of-a-Kind Show that I came across last weekend. While sifting through the business cards I collected, I noticed that many of them were for beautiful ceramic & porcelain pieces. This is one of my current obsessions- not old school, brown, creepy ceramics you find at garage sales, but modern, smooth almost Scandinavian inspired pieces. The simplicity of them all makes me calm and happy.

There is something about the look of them that makes me picture myself in a light flooded space with my hands wrapped around a warm tea. Why wouldn't you want to start your day with a mug that makes you feel like that!?

1| Bookhou: Modern Handmade Art and Design
2| Mena Dragonfly: Handmade Pottery Just For You
3| Ateliers Des Cent-Ans: Porcelain and Wood
4| Heyday Design: Modern Porcelain With a Vintage Beat

I hope you love these beautiful pieces as much as I do.

Have a fab Wednesday.

Magic Beets

Hiiiii!
Sorry for the late post today... computer problems... blah.
I had a lot of fun last night whipping up one of the freshest, most colourful meals I have ever eaten. I went to the St. Lawrence market on the weekend and I picked up some gorgeous heirloom beets and carrots. The woman that sold me my beets mentioned a simple salad recipe, which inspired the one below.
When I purchased everything, I thought I was getting regular red and yellow beets... until I started peeling them. Under the ruby red skin, the flesh was white! Do you know what that means!? CANDY CANE BEETS. They are slightly sweeter and incredibly beautiful. Seriously- look at these photos... (I know... I went a little trigger happy...). But honestly, if they made fabric that looked like candy cane beets, I would make a pillow out of it. (I am redic- I am aware.)

Heirloom Beet and Carrot Salad

2 large beets
4 carrots
1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp chopped chives
salt and pepper

1. Using a mandolin (that's what I used) or a box grater shred the peeled beets and carrots into a large bowl.
2. Drizzle 3 tbsp's of good olive oil over the veggies.
3. Add the zest from the whole lemon to the veggies, as well as the juice from the whole lemon.
4. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
5. Top with the feta cheese and chopped chives.

Enjoy!

Happy Tuesday!

Pasta for One!

Hi!
How was your weekend!? Mine was great- totally relaxing, hit up the One-of-a-Kind Show and the St. Lawrence Market for this weeks produce. I have some yummy recipe ideas that I can't wait to share with you- also, I want to show you my top picks from this years One-of-a-Kind Show.

I was on my own Saturday night for dinner and was craving something light, semi-healthy and quick. So... I made my Egg-liscious Veggie Pasta. Yeah, egg-liscious... I said it, because its the truth!

This one is super simple to make and you can mix it up with whatever you have lurking in the fridge. I used some spinach, sun dried tomatoes and leeks (which I love, by the way). Multiply the recipe by however many people you are cooking for and you will have a yummy weeknight meal in no time.

Happy Monday! xo

Egg-liscious Veggie Pasta

1/4 chopped leek
1/2 cup chopped spinach
3 diced sun dried tomatoes
3/4 cup spaghettini (about a quarter (25 cents) amount dried)
1 1/2 tbsp herbed cream cheese
1 egg

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the spaghettini. Spaghettini is spaghetti's thinner cousin.
2. Saute the chopped leek in a bit of olive oil, until softened, then add the spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
3. While the pasta is boiling, scoop about 4 tbsp's of pasta water into a mug, you will need it for the sauce.
4. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot, add the sauteed veggies and 1 1/2 tbsp's of herbed cream cheese.
5. In the veggie saute pan, add a tsp of butter and fry the egg until the whites are just set.
6. While the egg is cooking, stir the pasta together. You will notice the cream cheese is a bit thick, add 3-4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water, slowly, as you stir. This will loosen up the sauce.
7. Pour your pasta into a bowl and top with your fried egg.
8. Garnish with a pinch of chili flakes, salt, pepper and parsley.

Enjoy!