Favourite Cake Friday: Birthday Cupcakes

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

3 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
2/3 cups cocoa powder-sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 tsp apple cider vinegar

In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients- flour,cocoa powder, baking soda- add salt and sugar and whisk together.whisk in 2 cups of water, oil and vanilla- once that has all been incorporated stir in apple cider vinegar. Divide batter amongst 24 paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees until tooth pick comes out clean- 20-25 min. Cool and ice

Butter Frosting

1 cup softened butter
2-3 cups icing sugar
dash of vanilla
3 tbs milk

With either an electric hand mixer or stationary mixer whip butter- sift in icing sugar by the cup and mix in between- I usually use about 2.5 cups of icing sugar- add vanilla and milk and whip until fluffy. Add desired colouring- Strawberry puree makes and excellent pink while blueberries are the perfect purple! Frost cupcakes- add candles and partay!


     Friends it is Friday- this week has been so busy I barely blinked and it's over- I think this weekend we will be taking it easy- hoping the sunshine makes a return- sticking close to home. Happy Friday Friends! xox

The Glam Event

        You all may remember reading about this little old blog being nominated for Vancouver Mom Top Blogger about a month ago- I posted a few links and if you are a Face book friend I may have incessantly pestered you for votes. Well last night was the big event- Glam - which was held at Secret Location- yah it's the swanky white and chrome restaurant at the corner of Water and Carrall st in Gastown with no sign.

        So here we all gathered - this years Top 30 and previous years as well- along with our support systems- AKA best friends, cousins, sisters and two husbands. It was such an interesting collection of women- such a wide range of passions and talents- to say it was all a bit overwhelming and hard to take in would be an understatement! I saw so many people that I wanted to talk to yet just did not know what to say- it was really a bit surreal- meeting people for the first time that I feel like I know already through reading their blogs!

        The over all Top Mom Blogger of Vancouver is Mitzi of East Van Baby- she gave a super lovely speech- which I am pretty sure she memorized- kudos for that! The evening also included past participants speaking on their own experience with blogging- Nat Nanton and Jen Kossowan both had inspiring words.

         I am sitting here this morning- looking at the lovely images of time spent with friends- old and new and I am still trying to digest all that transpired- words said- snippets keep coming back to me and buzzing around my head like mosquitos. These lovely ladies below made the evening super fun- Kat Chong and Amber Chong Smith- from the Momma Stuff Blog as well as lovely cousin Laura- thanks gals!

         And cue the grainy interior shots- because a few friends all are dying to know what Secret Location looks like inside! The restaurant is pretty beautiful- if you ever go there be sure to check out the painting in the bathroom- which I neglected to take a picture of! Gorgeous rugs, hip art work and that bar! Shut the front door- it was just beautiful- yes it is glowing!

      At the end of the evening a few of us needed more food and quite frankly I needed another drink so we hit Chill Winston's for a few libations and a meat & cheese plate- which was fantastic! Sitting outside in the warm June evening- surrounded by Gastown's twinkle lights I felt myself start to relax- it was a great way to round out a very fun evening!

       Thank you to everyone who voted for me and my little blog- who knew a year ago when I set out on this journey that anyone other than my Mom would come back here daily to read ramblings of a slightly sewing obsessed stay at home mom! I may not have won Top Blogger- but being part of this and meeting all these super women has been prize enough!

Valentine's Day & A Promise of Spring

       As much as January was dreary and tough for us to get through- a bit of a long haul- February has the exact opposite effect on me! So full of love and promise- P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!  One of my favourite holidays-we are planning an old fashioned Valentine exchange today- remember those envelopes that teachers would stick to your desk? Today to encourage random acts of love we have made our own little envelopes to stuff full of surprises- we are also delivering some secret admirer messages to friends in our building- pretty sure they will know who it's from!

    The promise that I find in February is the one of longer, warmer days- for us in Vancouver- Spring is right around the corner! Proof exists everywhere these days- today I spotted our garlic sprouting up in our garden- this is my first year plating garlic and it is super exciting to see those little green tips poking through the earth! Not to even mention how happy we all are about the days staying lighter longer- thank goodness things are starting to wake up again!

     Inspired by thoughts of warmer days I finished this cute little party dress yesterday- Miss Lo calls it a Princess Dress- but I think it is something much finer than that! The fantastic fabric was brought to me by my cousin from Ghana- she travels there regularly for work with Engineers Without Boarders- she brings back the most amazing finds! 100% cotton batik in two contrasting fabrics- loving the geometric pattern on the bodice- guaranteed to be a one of a kind dress on any playground!

    I still have to find some buttons to compliment the fabric- there are nine buttons that will be running up the back- decorative and functional- this is a size 3-4 with a very generous hem to be let down as the kiddo grows. Once the finishing touches are done I will be posting this  little gem up on my Etsy site! I have loads more in store for Spring 2013- including some goodies for the Mommas and the house- I can't wait to share!

   I wish you all a very lovey Valentine's day today- full of snuggles from Littles and lots of Fair Trade Chocolate- cause one can never have enough chocolate!

An Awesome Party

     As was much discussed last week our boy turned five- he is officially five years old now-with that great age comes great responsibility- like choosing what to do for your birthday party. The Boy thought that his friends might like an art party and so we headed over to our favourite little art studio Collage Collage on a grey Vancouver afternoon and jumped into an awesome world of colour and creativity.

     We have done loads of drop in classes at Collage Collage but never a party- we were so delighted with what we ended up doing. Just like a drop in class our party started off with a bit of warm up colouring while we waited for everyone to arrive, then we all settled in for story time- An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton was our inspiration for the art project we were about to embark on.

      Once the story wrapped up we all gathered around the great wood tables and started working on our Rocket Powered Unicorns- which was a pretty awesome thing! One might ask what a Rocket Powered Unicorn is- well obviously it is just as it sounds- Unicorns with rocket packs! Dreaming big and believing in the fantastic is what this book is all about- sharing ideas and positivity- anything can happen if you believe it can- including but not limited to Unicorns with rocket packs!

      The Littles were all really receptive and open to this fun project especially when Erin brought out the glitter glue- which also got a few of us mommas all excited- hello neon yellow glitter glue! I want some! We used pastels, paint, the aforementioned glitter, glue, multi coloured yarn and a whole lot of imagination to create nine very different but equally awesome unicorns all zooming around on roller skates, skateboards or one Unicorn who was on a scooter!

      Even Poppa and Momo came to town for the big event - Poppa got in on the action getting his hands dirty and helping out Miss Lo with her Unicorn. We do a lot of art in our house but even this Momma needs inspiration or direction from outside sources- coming to Collage Collage is just the ticket- we always leave feeling inspired and filled up creatively.

    Of course no party is complete with out a treat of some sort and so after our projects were wrapped up all the Littles feasted on juice and chocolate cupcakes- with blue icing of course. Once the cupcakes were eaten it was as though a switch was flipped- the sugar kicked in and suddenly the room was filled with crazy kids- but that was fine since it was time to go home- parents you are more than welcome!

       A big huge thank you to all of our family and friends- who are like family- for helping us make The Boy's big birthday so very special! Thank you to the Gals at Collage Collage for being super awesome and accommodating- this was by far one of best parties yet! We have some awesome new art on our walls, a new story to talk about and some happy kiddos- I don't think that a party gets better than that!

Party Prep

    Wow I feel like we are in some sort of birthday marathon here- then again February always feels like that for us! We have three birthday with in a week of each other this month- and now that we have kids that has become the main event- long gone are the birthday celebrations that revolved around the beer sampler at Yaletown Brewing! I know times are a changing and one day these Littles of our are going to want big parties with their entire class- so I am stretching the simple toddler party out as long as I possibly can!

   This year we are celebrating The Boy turning five at Collage Collage- our favourite art studio and crafty store! They offer a great venue for a simple and easy party $140 gets you an hour and a half, a story, a craft and eight kids- all parents need to do is provide the cake or cupcakes. One aspect of this type of party that I love is that Collage Collage is such a beautiful and inspiring space there is no need for decorations- the books, art and supplies are a lovely back drop to any celebration and are sure to get everyone's creative juices flowing!

    That said of course I could not let the opportunity for some creative cuteness slip by! We will be snacking on cloud cookies and blue cupcakes, sipping bevies through these awesome mustache straws from Dilly Dally Party Alley and posing for hilarious pictures with some fun props- like this artist mustache on a stick from Dilly Dally. All our guests of course will get to take home their art project- which I am keeping quiet on as it is a surprise- as well as cute little felt pins that I made based on our Valentine craft from last week. Five is a real milestone and I think this is the perfect party for our special kid- encompassing some of his favourite things; cake, crafts, friends and mustaches!

      It's Friday Friends! I am looking forward to kicking back Saturday after the party with a large glass of wine, or three, and having a visit with my mom and cousin. This also marks British Columbia's first Family Weekend and so Monday is a holiday- we will be celebrating another birthday and taking part in some of the family events the city of Vancouver is offering! I hope weather you have a long weekend or not that it is filled with family, friends and lots of love! See you all Tuesday!

Wedded Bliss Wednesday!

the beautiful bride with her mom and dad

      Yes this is another post about another beautiful wedding we were fortunate to have been a part of. Our niece Kayla was married to her guy Waylon this past Saturday in Oyama B.C. Located right in the middle of two lakes surrounded by orchards on a scorching hot Okanagan day they could not have asked for a more perfect setting!

 almost ready to head out- the tall blond is my other beautiful niece Tanya

       We have so many emotions surrounding Kayla who is now known as Mrs. Roy it is hard to get them all down- and most definitely you would not have caught the Mr. or I at the microphone during the reception as we would both have been blubbering fools! What I can tell you for sure is that I have watched Kayla grow from an excitable tom boy with braces and a confusing yet surprising fashion sense into a poised young woman who knows what she wants. She is smart, stronger than she knows and to top it all off beautiful. Kayla this is what we would have said to you if we could  have gotten the words out!

     The Mr. and I were so excited when Kayla asked The Boy and Miss Lo to be part of the wedding party- especially since The Boy would get to rock his lederhosen! The Mr. was the ring bearer in his big sister's wedding and so for The Boy to have this part in his cousin's wedding was a bit of a full circle family moment. The little's did a very good job although Miss Lo may have used her flowers as a soccer ball at one point in the day!

       I was welcomed into this family ten years ago and I could only sit and watch in wonder at my Sister and Brother in Law as they parented these two pre-teen girls. This was one of the tightest family units I had ever seen- and they truly loved being together! I remember thinking that I wanted to have a family like this- I wanted my kids to want to hang out with me! This tight family unit is even more evident today with two amazing grown girls as evidence!

    After a long day out in the blazing Okanagan sun we hit the beach to cool off before the reception- ice cream treats and a dip in the lake. Then some how these littles of ours partied until the wee hours of the morning- dancing up a storm with who ever they could find! This wedding day of Kayla and Waylon is one we will not soon forget- we are so blessed to have been a part of it- Thank You.

Our Girl Turns Three

    It feels just like yesterday that this sweet girl came into our lives- born on a muggy Vancouver morning in 2009- she chose our family as her own. I couldn't be prouder of who she is becoming- and it really doesn't have much to do with me- this is just who she is. I see many faces of her ancestors pass across her own but most often I see my Grandma Shirley through her eyes and the way she cocks her eyebrow.  Her favourite activity is drawing and her favourite food is cheese. This sweet gal of mine is growing so fast.

       This past Sunday found us at Kin Beach in Vernon celebrating Miss Lo with family from both sides of the tracks as well as some really special friends of ours. Our niece's wedding was the day before and so we wanted to decompress a bit but still make Miss Lo's day a special one- and so it was to the lake! All the adults sat around in the shade with a warm Okanagan breeze blowing over us chatting and catching up while the kids had fun ripping around on the grass & swimming in the lake- the way an August day in the Okanagan should be!

Allison hiding out in the teepee!

The teepee was a hit as all the kids tried to crowd in together- $110 Plain Jane Designs

Momo and Poppa brought the cake- everyone loved all the icing!

Uncle Kyle and Lukas chilling in the shade

    We are so lucky to have all these amazing people in our children's lives- Lola's Great Aunt Rosel and Great Uncle Stuart were there as was her Omi and Momo and Poppa. Surrounded by Auntis and Uncles and Cousins is how we want these littles of ours to grow. They are so loved!

Happy Birthday my girl! xox

8 Years and Counting...

    Eight years ago this invitation went out in the mail, in our typical style my Mr. and I decided to get engaged in May and have the wedding in July. I don't know how my mom pulled it off but she managed to put together a super special day for us including sewing my dress in under three months.

      July 31 2004 was a most beautiful Okanagan Saturday- clear skies and warm breezes- my parent's yard was in full bloom and we had need for very few decorations. I remember waking up in my old bedroom with my sister- we had a sleepover the night before, giggling way into the night, I feel we got very little sleep! The morning was fresh and new, coffee in my mug, surrounded by my mom, aunts, cousins and girlfriends. I remember looking at the list of things needing to be done and wondering what my Mr. was up to, missing him and looking forward to the party we were about to have.

My Bride's Maids- to my immediate right my sister Heather and next to her friend Stacey, to my left friend Michelle

     I remember thinking this day is going too fast- I wish it would slow down so I can hold onto every second. Then I was in my dress, Birkenstocks on my feet and walking with my dad towards my future.

The boys - from the left Brother in Law Kyle, Mark(my Mr.), Morley and Adam

     The ceremony is a bit of a blur- I do have it on good authority that I said "Fartner" by accident rather than "Partner" but there you go I was really nervous! I vividly remember hearing the song Sweet Home Alabama  and suddenly we are at the back door to my parent's house and someone is handing me a beer- and it was done! Let the party begin!

these guys- Tara,Don,Chris,Stacey and Adam- I think friend Heather took the picture

     In the eight years that have followed our wedding day I have learned to love this man of mine more than I thought possible. Watching him become a father to our babies, watching him work so hard in order for me to stay at home with those said babies- I have learned a marriage is not about the wedding day or the ring on my finger. It is so much more- our partner ship would have grown into what it is today regardless of a piece of paper. July 31 2004 was a perfect day with our friends and family but what has grown out of that day is even more perfect- a family that is so much more than my Mr and I.

    Next weekend my dear cousin Caitlin is getting hitched to her intended Kent. The weekend after that my sweet niece Kayla is getting married to her man Waylon. I can only wish for them to find a fraction of happiness in their marriage that we have found in ours. It is not always easy but really nothing worth while ever is! I hope they are content and happy with themselves so that they can bring a sense of confidence to their marriage. Above all though my wish for these lovely ladies is that they are loved and love back equally.

    For my dear husband- my fartner in crime- I love you still- madly- deeply. I always joked that I went to University to get a Mr. and although not evident at the time a Mr. is what I got! Who knew Art History would yield more than well art history? We have travelled around, then settled down, we became parents and now what- let's see where this adventure takes us next shall we?