Friday Potpourri

Ahh ~ another week gone

and already the middle of the month

where on earth does the time go??

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it has been a hectic week

changes at work ~ new responsibilities

learning ~ learning

who says you can't teach an old dog...

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packages in the mail

goodies make me smile ~ will share my wares soon

I have been reading posts on my phone

so forgive me for the lack of comments

but I am here and visiting...

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thank you for the lovely comments on 

our love story

Valentines was low key

whipped up some pasta and shrimp for supper

was treated to flowers and a new charm for my

Pandora bracelet

I bought him chocolate ~ his 2nd love!

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more cooking on the agenda this weekend

a couple more sweet things

plus some dinner planning for next week

March will be the month of celery and lettuce I think

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hoping for a movie date with my girls

we will see ~ teenagers are busy you know

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hope your week was full of

love & hugs

and that your weekend is full of sunshine.

Our Love Story

with Valentines day

right around the corner ~ like tomorrow

I thought I would share our love story

I met Trevor through my cousin Donny

back in high school

we were friends first

always a little spark ~ but nothing we really acted upon

we spent many summers together

he was at family gatherings ~ parties ~ celebrations

he was an adopted son of the "Stiles" clan

we went to dances and he had seen me at my best

and my not so best

this was 1983

with my cousin's Donny and Gina

and Trev and I ~ bookends

we look so so young!

we got close a couple of times over the years

but by then he had went away to school

then got a job in a neighbouring city

we would joke ~ when are we going to get married I would ask

quit your job ~ move to Saint John and I will marry you

no deal ~ I need a ring first

and I was climbing the corporate ladder ~ career focused

I loved what I did

fast forward to Easter weekend 1999

Donny was having a bonfire ~ a little party

did I want to come out to it?

Will Trevor be there?  Yes!  He is living back in Moncton

and he is coming out for the night

so off I went and Trevor was there

we both stayed over

and stayed up all night talking and holding hands

he said he would call ~ and he did

we got together the following Friday

and have been together ever since

there was no pretence ~ no acts

because we were friends first 

I think that helped our relationship

I knew that I had fallen in love with this boy

when one day I drove him to where he was storing his vintage truck

(I always wanted a boy with a pickup truck)

as I was following him back home I feared 

what if there is an accident and he gets hurt

what if I lose him

yes ~ that was the day that I knew it was meant to be

we moved in together that September

and the summer of 2000 we set a date to get married

the following summer

August 2001

one of my favourite days ever

I still love this boy of mine

with all my heart

we have been through so much

and at the end of the day ~ he is the one I want beside me

in sickness and in health

for richer for poorer

in good times and in bad

he still holds the key....

In The Kitchen

I am having so much fun with this cooking challenge

and although I have not been too adventurous

it has given me the excuse to sit down and

research some of those "pins" that have been

keeping me on the computer for hours at a time!

one of the recipes I had first on my list

was my Grammy Brown's butter tarts

I have had the recipe for years and truth be told I was 

afraid of the pie crust because I have not made it from scratch

since grade 9 home economics class

and that my friends was more than a couple of years ago

I pulled the pie crust recipe from the Crisco site

and it turned out perfectly!

Mom said that Gram would be proud

and that made me smile

when I found this recipe I knew that it had to go on my list

I am a lover of anything dill and that there was cheese in them

well that is just a bonus!

I did not have fresh dill so I used dry ~ I added by the teaspoon until
it looked about right... about 3-4 tsp.

I also made dump cake as I have been wanting to try it for awhile now

it was fun and easy and good

I also whipped up a little breakfast casserole this morning

taking ideas from a couple of different things I have seen

and made it my own

see ~ that's what I love about cooking

taking a recipe and making it your own

all in all I checked off 5 more recipes this weekend

so that's 11 out of 28

I can do this!!

Saturday was s now day here ~ it was snowing when I got up

and still snowing and blowing when we went to bed

43 cm in total which is about a foot

blowing and drifting created a 5 foot drift in the back yard

so today was spent shovelling walks and decks

and snow blowers could be heard for miles and miles!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Friday Potpourri

Ahh Friday

so nice to see you this week

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we have seen the sunshine most of the week

but along with the clear skies

has come frigid temperatures again

not my favourite part of winter to say the least

after my cooking extravaganza last weekend

I have only made one new recipe this week

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 these are 2 of the things on my to make list

and I am so excited that one of them is my

Grammy Brown's butter tart recipe

I have had it for years and never tried them

wish me luck!

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 snowstorm in the forecast for tonight into tomorrow

so making comfort food ~ and snuggling under blankets

are high on the priority list

along with hot chocolate and cuddles

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 hope you have had a great week

and that the weekend events whatever they may be

make you smile.

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!

Friday Potpourri

Hello February
so nice to see you

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after the mild weather we have had

the last couple of days

our snow is gone

I am talking green grass people

of course I know it will not last long

but we sure enjoyed the warmth after the frigid days

we experienced last week!

busy week ~ getting back into the routine

vacation is definitely over!

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I am excited to be starting this today

follow along on Instagram

you can find me at @nbwildflowers

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I am also starting the recipe challenge

28 recipes in 28 days

also happy that Simone & Mikal

are joining in on the fun

along with a couple of more lovely ladies via Facebook

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this yummy dessert is on the menu this weekend

as thebestneighborsever are coming over for game night

not sure whether I am going with a layer cake

or cupcakes ~ time will tell

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this is also on the list ~ yummy

it is going to be a full week-end
with lots of fun and things to do

what is on your agenda
something fun?  I hope so!