Sarah & Scott's Baby Shower

Yesterday we hosted a baby shower for our wonderful friends Sarah and Scott, who are expecting their first baby (girl!) in January. It was a casual, nontraditional shower filled with friends, food, and drink. I had so much fun planning, preparing, and decorating for the big day!

Guest Book

The decorating was mostly just fabric bunting that I made with Sarah and her friend Scarlete (using nursery fabrics!) as well as the 4'x5' painting that I worked on this fall. The painting is for Sarah and Scott's apartment and perfectly represents them: bright, colourful, and beautifully rooted.

Painting and Bunting

I went a little crazy with the bunting... It's so cute!

There was also a surprise element to the shower: Sarah's longtime friend Robin flew in from Thunder Bay to celebrate with us -- and Sarah had no clue!

Putting Robin to work before Sarah and Scott arrive

Surprise!

Let the party begin!

The only shower 'games' we played were Guess the Birth Date and Guess the Birth Weight. The lucky winners (to be determined!) will receive gift cards to Farm Sum, a stand at the local farmer's market that sells Chinese peasant food made from ingredients from Long Road Ecological Farm.

The rest of the time was for chatting and eating! We had about 30 guests come and go, all from different parts of Scott and Sarah's life.

What a perfect way to celebrate the upcoming arrival! Wishing you all the best, Sarah and Scott! We can't wait to meet her!

Me & Sarah ♥  

First Day & First Snow

Steve graduated from Teachers College a year and a half ago, but there weren't any jobs available until now. The teaching supply list finally opened for application in October. Steve applied, was selected for an interview, and got the job! He is officially a supply teacher for the Limestone District School Board.

Interview Day

Yesterday was his first 'day' of work -- an orientation at the school board office. I packed his lunch and the girls made him a lunch note. ♥

Bye Daddy! Have a nice day!

That morning there was also a light dusting of snow on the ground, so as Steve was leaving the girls decided to put on their snowsuits and play on the deck. Fun! I stayed in the kitchen and packed their lunches, though I got distracted a few times to take pictures and collect snowman-making gear.

Yummy?

Trying to gather up enough snow to make a snowball

This year's first snowball!

They tried to build a snowman, but they ran out of snow and their ball was too hard. I'm sure we'll get more snowman-making opportunities soon enough!

Weekend Recap

We had a busy, family-filled weekend! Grammy and Johnny came to visit us on Friday, then they took us all (including the cousins) to see the new Peanuts Movie on Saturday. That was followed by a triple-birthday celebration (Steve, Grammy, and Uncle George) at the cousins' house.

Family gatherings continued on Sunday with a delicious supper at Nanny and Papa's house, since Steve's cousin and her family were in town.

Second cousins

The girls are fast asleep now, ready for another week of school!

New Recipes 3

Here are the new recipes we've tried over the last month. We found a keeper lunch (for me) and have perfected a sweet and sour chicken dish from the past.

1/5 - Terrible. Couldn't finish.
2/5 - Not good.
3/5 - Ok. Would not recommend.
4/5 - Good! Would recommend.
5/5 - Amazing! Love it. Add it to the list.

New Recipe #13
???

We made this chicken dish over a month ago and neither Steve nor I can remember what it is! Something this forgettable couldn't have been more than 3/5... Farewell mystery chicken! And from now on I'll record and rate the recipes as soon as we have them.

New Recipe #14
Chard and Apple Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette - 4/5

I really liked the combination of ingredients in this salad (bacon, apple, and camembert with a warm vinaigrette). The only problem is that it's a bit too much work to prepare as an everyday salad.

New Recipe #15
Creamy Shells with Ham and Peas - 3/5

This meal was easy to make but pretty boring. The sauce was not as 'velvety' as I would have liked, and the flavour was just fine.

New Recipe #16
Seared Scallops with Bacony Brussels Sprouts - 5/5

Steve doesn't eat scallops, but every so often I buy them for myself for lunch. They were great pan-seared, and I especially loved these lemony-bacony Brussels sprouts to go with them. I will definitely make this simple, delicious meal again!

New Recipe #17
Green Bean Salad with Basil and Balsamic Vinegar - 4/5
(Yellow) Bean Salad with Tomatoes, Red Onion, and Feta - 4/5

I've been using leftover beans to make bean salads for lunch. It seems you can't go wrong with a good vinaigrette and typical salad ingredients -- basil, feta, onions, nuts, and tomatoes.

New Recipe #18
Sweet and Sour Chicken - 5/5

This is a new recipe we tried months ago, and have since altered the ingredients and cooking steps to make it just to our liking. We felt the original recipe was too sweet and the chicken was dry from cooking for too long. Here is our adjusted recipe, which has been added to our regular rotation. The only problem is that the girls hate the smell of the sweet and sour sauce, so we have vowed to only make it for lunch while they're at school.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1/3 cup cornstarch (in a bowl)
2 eggs, beaten (in a plate)
coconut oil
Sauce:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp ketchup
3/4 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder + 1/4 tsp salt)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix sauce ingredients in a pot and simmer to reduce. Season chicken with s & p, coat with cornstarch, then dip in egg. Working in batches, pan fry chicken on high heat (with coconut oil) for 1-2 minutes per side. Place chicken in a baking dish, and toss with 2/3 of the reduced sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, tossing after 10 min. Save 1/3 of the sauce for tossing when done. Serve over rice.

Remake of Recipe #2
Indonesian Style Pork Kebabs - 3/5

We remade Recipe #2 from the first New Recipes post and it has been demoted to a 3/5. We made every change we thought was necessary to make it better (marinated it for longer, cooked it for less time, and made a dipping sauce (using extra marinade)), but the flavour was mediocre, the meat still a bit dry, and the sauce was too strong. Fail!

New Recipes 1
New Recipes 2