Friday Potpourri ~ Life Lately

Rain ~ rain ~ rain

taking away all our wonderful fall foliage 

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I feel like it has been so long since I just did a 

random what I have been up to lately post

well today is the day

last month the weekend before I flew to Toronto

I got together with my Eaton's girls

we talked ~ we danced ~ we sang

and we may have consumed a few beverages

I laughed so hard ~ my voice was horse the next day from signing

and I my knees may have been a tad sore from busting a move or two

I love my times with these girls ~ they are forever friends

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trying this cake soon ~ looking for an excuse to make it

tomorrow night is game night with

#thebestneighboursever

trying to figure out which dip to make to take

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 Thanksgiving weekend we had 2 full days

and one relaxing one

Saturday we headed to the camp ~ it was fall clean up

so while the boys were outside cleaning out the shed and putting

away the summer stuff ~ the girls were inside sorting through

things in the loft and purging what we could

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before we had supper the 5 of us walked down to the river

I read a poem ~ we sprinkled some ashes in the river

then each threw a yellow carnation in 

the photographer in me wanted a shot of the 5 flowers 

floating along with the current

but it was a sacred time ~ not a kodak moment

it is burned in my memory though ~ it was beautiful

#prayingforOttawa #Ottawastrong

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I have never made apple butter but this recipe is the best excuse to try it

catching up on my shows ~ loving Nashville

and Thursday nights are my favourite

also caught up on my blog reading ~ feels good

currently reading James Patterson ~ 12th of Never

cannot put it down

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Thanksgiving Sunday I hosted dinner

there were 7 of us around the table ~ it was a stress free day

I had everything done up early and a lot of the dishes went into the oven

hoping to pull it off again at Christmas!

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the flannel sheets and quilt are back on the bed

the summer clothes are put away

now to do the same for the outdoor stuff

praying for a nice day on Sunday

Hoping you have a great weekend!

Celebrating 49

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today I light 49 candles

and celebrate life

I look back at the years stretched out behind me and smile

so many memories ~ so many good times

I am blessed to be where I am today

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the future is a mystery but one that I look forward to 

with faith and love

friends and family

there is a whole lot of living and loving coming

and I can't wait to experience every single moment

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so today I share some of my favourite things

and hope that a little pretty will bring a smile to someone's face

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and this weekend I will make this ~ I think for Easter brunch

and maybe just maybe ~ a mimosa to go with it

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and I will place my order for one of these

love ~ love ~ love

I hope you had a great week and that this weekend you are surrounded

by those that you love.

Sunshine & Fresh Air

It's Sunday night and I am getting ready to snuggle in on the couch

and watch The Good Wife

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meals have been prepared

errands all run

chores are completed

and we also took some time to just kick back too

it was a gorgeous weekend

can I say finally ~ I think I can

the windows were open yesterday

the sun was shining

birds were singing ~ snow was melting

the house smelled like heaven

oh how I love Spring

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the first week back to work after vacation is always a long one

it was busy and I made it through the other side

now I am gearing up for a short week

and it is an exciting week as my birthday is coming up

and on my birthday I turn into a 10 year old

and go all diva and princess like it's my day or something

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I am sure it will not go by unnoticed 

because I won't let it ~ ha!

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as you can see I am in Easter mode

as on Friday ~ Good Friday that is ~ and also my day

we are getting together with family ~ 22 of us

will gather around and celebrate family

and just maybe there will be a birthday cake there for me

because I am 10

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the gathering isn't for my birthday though 

it is Easter dinner that because of people having to travel and such

is being done on Friday instead of Sunday

and that's ok

love getting together with this group

there is always new memories made and this time

will not be any different

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wishing you a wonderful week

I hope it has warmed up and the sun is shining

the flowers have poked their little heads out of the ground

or they are blooming in beautiful colours

face the sun and let it shine upon you

and smile.

Girls Night

I have been on vacation this week

and promise not to talk about the weather anymore

because sadly ~ it depresses me

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I did have a good week although I had to cancel my plans on Tuesday

due to said weather we will not talk about

the balance of the week went along as planned

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an afternoon of retail therapy where I bought everything from 

shoes to a new pillow to rest my weary head on at night

and all was good with the world

an afternoon with Mom ~ appointments and a lunch date

then back to her place to get a couple little things done

plans on Friday with my nieces brought home made pizza

and the Hunger Games

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it was so nice to snuggle on the couch with both Kat & Sam

and spend some quality time

I do have a question though ~ do teens ever put down their phones?

I had a rule at both the supper table and breakfast this morning

but every waking minute they were here ~ they were on them

too funny!

I also baked this cake yesterday

it was Colin's birthday ~ aka one of thebestneighboursever

so we took it over last night and sang Happy Birthday

then ate our faces off and was on a sugar rush the rest of the night!

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this may show up on the brunch table tomorrow

if I can get the ingredients together ~ if not next weekend for sure

Hope you are having a great weekend

In the Kitchen

If I came to one conclusion this weekend

it is that I enjoy cooking more than baking

with cooking you have variables

you can omit this and add this

it's all about your taste

with baking I have to follow the recipe step by step

I guess I am more of a free spirit than I thought I was!

As you know I started my cooking challenge on the 1st

and I ate take out on the 1st

yeah ~ I know!

the thing is to cook 28 recipes that are new to you

ones that you have never cooked before

expanding your horizons ~ and your taste buds too

you can do one recipe a day or mash 5 into a weekend

like I did.

Saturday morning I hit the ground running

I will tell you that this cake is in my top 10 now of favourite cakes ever

even after all the grief it gave me

after I mixed it up and plopped it in the oven

my cake runneth over

oh yes it did

so picture this ~ the cake is still not cooked

but every time I open the oven to check on it

smoke pours out ~ the smoke detector went off

the dog is howling from the pain in her ears

and we have the windows open on this balmy -20 C

that's -4 F to my friends south of me

Trevor says to me ~ so we are not going to make this one ever again.....right?

yeah right ~ after we tasted it ~ it was worth the cold

and the smoke

the recipe can be found here

and the cooking time is not correct ~ it took about another 20 minutes or so.

Next up was a recipe I had pinned but never tried

slow cooker rolls ~ recipe here

2 thumbs up!

which went great with this soup

the best part I likes about this recipe is that I used it as a base

and made it my own by adding a few of my own things to it.

It was game night on Saturday

and this dip was a big hit

picture and recipe found here

since it is a bacon double cheeseburger dip

I added a couple of tablespoons of relish

which added a little something extra

and we all loved it.

After all the cooking on Saturday ~ I was ready to just relax today

but before I did that I made these

it's chocolate and peanut butter so basically it is a no brainer

a little more work than your normal everyday cookie

as you make the chocolate balls

then the peanut butter balls

flatten the choc into a disc and mold around the pb

well hello there ~ they are worth the extra time 

all in all my weekend was a success

every recipe that I tried ~ I would make again

so that's the glory about trying something new

this little man celebrated 6 candles yesterday

my Cooper cat

in his Playcat pose ~ just for you

he is going for a haircut tomorrow morning

shhh ~ don't tell him ~ it's a surprise!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend

I am now headed around to catch up on some blog reading

see you soon!