Thank You 2011

Hello all you Try To Keep Up-ers!

As 2011 comes to a close (what an eventful year) I want to thank all of you new followers that joined me this year.  I essentially doubled my readership this year (LOL) and I hope to keep that trend into 2012!  Tell your friends I'm real funny :)

And a big ginormous hug and sloppy kiss thank you to all my loyal longtime followers!  Among which include Jill, Amy, & Mum, who text me when I don't post new stuff.  Keepin' it real. 

I'm thankful for the kindness of other bloggers.  I've received some beautiful and inspiring comments in the past two months which have helped me get through this difficult time.  I look forward to passing on this kindness in 2012 and hopefully inspire other bloggers, old and new.

I'm really looking forward to 2012 for a few reasons

1). I got a new Silhouette Cameo for Christmas!  So I look forward to sharing many swear-filled posts about my new creations.

2). I am getting married in August!  I will keep you posted about all the craziness that will undoubtly ensue.

3).  I will be co-hosting an awesome recipe link party in January!  Can't wait! Stayed tuned for the deets!

4). I am starting a new (additional) dance teaching job!  Don't worry, it's only an extra 3 hours a week, but it should be an inspiring challenge.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog this past year and that it has brought some light and laughter into your day.  I am truly humbled when I receive your comments and messages about projects or recipes I've made.  Thank you for stumbling into my online life and I hope that you'll stick around.  I wish you a very safe, happy and prosperous New Year.

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

 With Christmas just behind us, some of you might be wondering what to do with that leftover turkey!  Well, do I have the recipe for you!   This recipe comes is from my sister Jill (Envirocraftiness).  It's from a collaborative cookbook that she made with the rest of her grade 8 class (over 15 years ago!)  So cute right?  What You'll Need1 can cream of mushroom soup2 cups mixed veggiesI used onion, celery, carrots & broccoli1 cup left over turkey1/2 cup milk1 egg1 Cup Betty Crocker Bisquick Baking Mix  HOW TO?Preheat oven to 400 F.   I briefly sauteed the veggies before putting them in the pie plate.  Since you're only going to bake this for 30 minutes, I thought it was a good idea.  Turns out I was right!

In a 9" pie plate mix soup, vegetables, and turkey

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg, and baking mix (man I love Bisquick!  If you've never tried this do-all baking mix I highly recommend you run out after reading this and buy some!)

  Pour this 'batter' mixture over the veggies creating a crust. 

 Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

This is a whole meal deal, so don't feel like you need to add anything to this meal.  There are tonnes of vegetables and the crust is light and only on the top.I forgot how good this recipe really is and how great it is to use up leftover turkey.  Especially because you can only eat hot turkey sandwiches and left over turkey buns for so long!

Nifty Gifty

With all the flying back and forth to Saskatchewan this fall, I was a little low on cash for Christmas gifts.  So I wanted to make as many gifts as possbile.  That was a great intention....only problem was that by the time December rolled around I really had run out of time.  But I had enough time to crank out this nifty gifty.

My sister-in-law and I have grown quite close over the past 7 years.  We are very much alike and find humour in the same things.  In a very weird way we have bonded over the movie "I Love You, Man" with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. 

Maybe because the movie emulates our lives?  Ok maybe not.  Anywho, we often quote funny lines from the film.

To outsiders we just look like weirdos doubled up in hysterics...but we think we're pretty funny.

So for Christmas I decided to embroider her tea towels with lines from the movie.  Here's the first one

Incase you haven't seen the movie,

here's the scene the line comes from

Here's another one

 And here's the scene from " I Love You, Man"

(I'm so sorry, I'm laughing so hard.....I love me some Paul Rudd!)

Here's one of my favourites.  It's of Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) trying on tuxedos for his wedding.

Here's the scene it's from

There are so many funny things in this scene.  I also made a tea towel that says "Why does everything I do sound like a leprechaun?" with an embroidered leprechaun! LOL

I made a couple when I was in Saskatchewan and then finished these three at home.  Here they are in all their glory!

I can't wait to see her expression when she opens these!

Ugliest Thing I've Ever Made!

It is SO hard to buy Christmas gifts for Ty.  The guy doesn't need anything, and when something cool comes out (new Playstation game, accesory etc) he goes out and buys it for himself.  Add that to the fact that his birthday is December 22nd and it makes birthday & Christmas tough!  And I always feel guilty that I haven't got him enough.

 Well this year I think I out did myself.  I was stressed about what to get Ty for his birthday (he's turning the BIG 3-0) and for Christmas.  With Dad's illness and passing and me starting two new jobs and not having a great cash flow, I was worried.  Then I went into Homesense and found this....

It was one of those things that I forgot I wanted to get Ty.  Believe it or not, globes are not easy to find let alone cost effective; and then I saw the perfect one at Homesense (like Homegoods).  It was HUGE and only $120!?!?!?  So after some research (also looked at a very different table top globe at Chapters) I decided to get this one!

Only problem.....no box.

Crafty Lady to the rescue!

Step One: Find enough cardboard.....

Step Two: Try to make random pieces of cardboard fit together as a new box!  Easier said than done.

If you're wondering what the heck I'm using to keep the cardboard together, I used clear Duck Tape.  It was stronger than packing tape and really worked.  If I had a staple gun or something like that, it would've been handy.

Woo Hoo!  It fits......Feeling pretty darn pleased with myself!

Sealing up the sides was the hardest part. 

Mainly because I had to fit in a piece of

cardboard that really didn't fit well. 

Duck Tape to the rescue!

Once it was all done (relatively speaking)

it was time to wrap it up!

Thank goodness I had a HUGE roll of mega wrapping paper!

Time to get in the box Globe-y

  You might be wondering what those arrows are.  I thought a nice gesture would be mark all the places we've been over the past 7.5 years we've been together.  I also placed an arrow pointing to Bora Bora with the year 2012, for our honeymoon.  I hope he likes it.

I ran out of cardboard and couldn't make a lid.  So I just wrapped across the top.  As long as Ty doesn't poke it, it should be fine!

I took a picture of the gift beside the tree, just for scale. 

Our tree is a 6 foot tall tree.....

Stay tuned for Ty's reaction.  He's wanted a globe for quite sometime, so I think he'll be surprised.

Grey Cup 2011

If you've been reading my blog lately, you'll know that my Dad passed away in late November.  That meant I was back home in Saskatchewan at the end of last month.  While I was glad we were able to go home and be with family, we also had tickets to Grey Cup.  Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League (CFL) equivelant to the Super Bowl. 

So it was a pretty big deal that we had tickets. 

Dad's funeral was on Friday and Grey Cup was on Sunday.

As you can imagine, we were in a bit of a predicatment. 

After talking to my family they agreed that it was ok for us to go, and that Dad would've wanted us to.  My Dad was a HUGE Saskatchewan Roughriders fan.  So we literally flew to Vancouver on Sunday morning and drove from the airport to the train and then took the Skytrain to Vancouver.  To put in in perspective we left Saskatchewan at 11am (9am BC time) and arrived in Abbotsford at 1:15pm.  Grey Cup started at 3:15pm!

Here's a map to show how far we had to go

Miraculously we made it! 

Thanks Dad-he was totally looking out for us as we drove!

Here we are.  In our seats and on time! 

Ready for the game!

Here's our stadium, aptly named BC Place.  We just got a new roof installed (well it took like 2 years)so it was a pretty big deal!  It used to be an inflated roof, but now it can open and close!

Love those camera men lying down. 

Do you think that's a good angle?

The Felions Dance Team....

I use the term 'dance' loosely

Setting up for the halftime show. 

Unfortunately the Half Time Show was Nickelback.

It was the only part of the game I boo-ed!

We thought for a second that Nickelback

might have blown up.....no such luck

I might not have liked the music, but the show was pretty good!

Saskatchewan Roughrider fans represent! 

I would say the majority of people who weren't wearing orange for the Lions, were wearing green for the Riders!  Woop woop!

Also I would like to mention that the Rider Cheerleaders (left) are the only Co-Ed team and the only team that actually perform true cheer stunts!

LIONS WIN!

There it is- the Grey Cup!

And yes Americans, those are Mounties;

Real honest to goodness mounties. 

And yes that is what they always wear. 

And yes they are awesome!

Lions are #1

But the Riders will always be #1 in my heart!

The game was bittersweet.  My Dad and I often texted eachother during football games or hockey games to discuss what was happening....the delay made things really funny!  It felt weird, because I half expected Dad to text me when things got tense toward the end of the game.  But I know he was watching and stressing out just the same!

Best Holiday Cocktail

 

When I was a kid, Dad worked at the Westin Hotel in Calgary Alberta. The Westin Hotel is where the Caesar cocktail was invented in 1969 (several years before Dad worked there).  I'm pretty sure my Dad met Walter Chell, the drink's originator, and in my most humble opinion Dad learned how to make THE BEST Caesar. 

When Jill and I were kids, Dad would make us virgin Caesers on special occaissions....mostly around Christmas  It always made me feel important, special and oh so grown up.

The Caesar, for you Yanks, is like a Bloody Mary but INFINITELY better! It's a savory drink that is a perfect replacement for appetizers.  Over the years I've become something of an expert Caesar maker, with a few Leslie variations.  My father in law often requests this cocktail when I visit.  It means so much to me that I am able to share a part of my Dad through this drink.

Daddy Lou's Classic Caesar

Lime

Celery Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Worcestershire Sauce

Celery

Tabasco Sauce

Vodka

Mott's Clamato Juice

With your lime wedge (or lemon in a pinch) moistened the edge of the glass.  Then in a shallow dish, rim the glasses in either celery salt or Caesar rim mix. 

Fill the glass about half way with ice. Add about 4 dashes of Worchestershire sauce, 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce, and fresh ground black pepper.  Pour 1 1/2 ounce of vodka over spices.

Top off with Clamato and garnish with a fresh stalk of celery.

Through the years I've come up with a few variations that I think improve this already yummy drink.

Leslie's Caesar

Moisten edge of glass with lime wedge and rim in celery salt.  Fill glass half way with ice.  Squeeze lime wedge and place in the glass.  Pour 6 dashes of Worchestershire over ice.  Pour in 1 1/2 ounces of Silver Tequila. Top with Clamato. Add about 1 teaspoon of prepared horseradish and stir well.  Garnish with a spear of pickled asparagus.

It's basically a drink in a glass!  I like to make mine with Silver Tequila, because it's delicious!  You can use vodka, silver tequila or white rum in your Caesar.  Other variations include using more Tabasco (I always omit it), or garnishing with pickled beans, olives, pickles, or peperoncini .

I know it seems like a weird drink, but give it a try.  This cocktail has definitely become something of a legend in my family and certainly a beloved holiday tradition.

Nuts & Bolts Part 2

This is such a "Go-To" gift for me.  Mostly because I know that when I share Dad's Nuts & Bolts, people can't resist them. 

This year I made a full batch to use for gifts...
OK, you got me, I didn't use all of it for gifts ;) 

Both the dance studios I work at have been very understanding and caring in light of my Dad's passing, and I owe some of the girls big time for subbing for me while I was away. 

Enter, Daddy Lou's Nuts & Bolts.....festively presented.

I hope you have hoarded some good sized glass jars with lids.  Great!  To get that pesky label off, soak the jar in hot water in the sink for a while.  Ideally the label should lift right off.  If there's some glue left on the jar, grab your plastic dish scrubber and scrub it off in the hot water. Voila! Make sure to run them through the dishwasher so they are nice a clean.

Once the jars are dry, fill them up. 

Now, no one wants to get a lovely jar of Nuts & Bolts, with a Paul Newman spaghetti sauce lid.  Spray paint to the rescue!
( I touched it up with some black acrylic paint to make sure everything was covered)

Once the spray paint is dry, close the jars.

Next grab your favourite festive ribbon, preferably french ribbon (with the wire edges).  Cut about a 2 foot long section and wrap around the lip of the jar and tie in a beautiful big bow!

 Cut ends in points.  To get that perfect ribbon end, fold ends in half legnthwise, and cut on a diagonal from the 'outside' for the ribbon, up to the 'middle' (fold) of the ribbon (pictured on left).

Fluff bow appropriately. Or if the ends are too short, tuck them into the bow like in the picture on the right, above. Sneaky!

And there you go!  You could always add the recipe in a card and attach the card to the jar (I do that sometimes-but I'm stingy with the recipe) 

This is such an easy gift to make and give.  Plus people always love to get handcrafted holiday gifts, not to mention delicious goodies in said gifts!

Stay tuned-tomorrow I share my Dad's Classic Holiday Cocktail.  You won't want to miss it!