2013 recap and updates

Here're the top five posts of 2013:

{diy: bath bombs} I had been wanting to make myself some bath bombs for quite some time but I just couldn't find a recipe that was easy enough or had ingredients that I could easily source. Apparently, everyone felt the same way, because this was the most popular post on Idle Wife this year (and of all time). That easy and cheap recipe combined with the sweet pastel pictures was definitely a winner. Now I'm going to be hunting for something nice for the shower as having a bath tub is pretty rare here in Helsinki (and we definitely won't have one, anyway).

{friday fixation: coloured marshmallows} Who knew that one simple idea would turn into something so popular? Probably my most read comment about these marshmallows was, "Why?! What is the point?!" And since I didn't really explain why I was experimenting with this technique, I will now. I wanted something cute to put in a treat bag for Idle Husband on Valentine's Day, and I was sick of all the typical Valentine stuff cuz it's never updated or different or modern looking. And that's all there was to it. I was honestly quite surprised the idea even worked since water plus sugar usually ends in disaster. So to everyone who has ever asked WHY?! That's why I made them and you can do whatever you want with them. But if you really need more ideas, here are a couple; they'd be nice as a cake topper on a simply iced white cake or you could jam them on sticks for quickie, easier cake-pop-like treats for a bridal or baby shower.

{diy: heart headphone cord wrap} I still really like this diy and I use it quite frequently. It probably looks pretty simple, but it took many attempts to get it just right. I think I threw out more hearts than I ended up keeping. The biggest tip I can give you if you plan on making this one is to get the thickness right. Too thin and it'll break under the pressure of wrapping your cords (or just from putting it in your bag) and too thick and it won't dry properly and it'll look too clumsy.

{diy: painted bamboo cutting boards} Oh the cutting boards. I can honestly say I was not sorry to see these head to the goodwill when we were sorting and packing everything up for our big move. I initially painted the edges just to give them more interest in the kitchen, plus I saw some cutting boards with a painted edge that looked exactly like these in a magazine and I thought that would be the easiest diy ever. And it was. The problem for me was the cutting boards themselves. While that may have jazzed them up a bit, I still hated using them. So my next board is going to be non-slip (I'm so tired of boards sliding around on the counter while I'm chopping. It's so dangerous!), it won't need constant oiling, and I want to be able to use it for both meats and vegetables and then throw it in the dishwasher for cleaning (I have definitely changed my opinion on wooden chopping boards).

{diy: beaded necklace} I still have this and I've worn it on occasion. I just realized I'm not a big necklace wearer (even though I have quite a lot of necklace choices!). This design actually does go with a lot of outfits despite being more in, what I would consider, the "busy" category. Though, I think I'm drawn to simpler designs these days, so in 2014, I hope I can find some good quality jewelry materials (new country, and all), and then I can start making some new jewelry tutorials. Possibly more earrings and bracelets this time around.

I'm looking forward to coming up with more useful home diy tutorials in the new year. I want to have unique yet inexpensive things in our new space and two issues I already have to address is lighting and furniture, so expect more design ideas for small spaces. Moving to Helsinki with only our clothes has provided the opportunity for me to start fresh with a completely blank slate (I think it's pretty rare that someone gets that chance), so I'm pretty excited about coming up with new ideas for our home!

walking shoes

After much scurrying around, it became pretty obvious that we couldn't do anything remotely helpful to the process of moving to Finland in Edmonton, so we had to take an impromptu trip to Ottawa. We were there for a night and a day, and dummy here forgot the memory card for her camera, so I don't have many pictures of the trip. You're not missing much, though, as most of it was spent at the Finnish embassy or in taxis or in the House of Commons where pictures are not allowed anyway. (We super lucked out as it was in session that day and we had the opportunity to see the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition go at it over the most recent Canadian scandal. I won't bore you with details, but it was really exciting to be right there!)

Anyway, the Ottawa trip was pretty much the last straw for me. As someone who's always relied on thrift store shoes (I know. I should probably stay away from thrift shoes as I stay away from thrift underwear), I found myself pretty much out of shoe choices when deciding what to wear. Since the trip was so short, I had to pack ultra-light (and by that I mean, no suitcase) so my choices were made based on whether I wanted to lug a heavy bag across my shoulder all day or not. That meant I could only take one pair of shoes and they had to be on my feet. (Imagine how annoyed I was to find I was lugging around my big camera for absolutely no reason!)

Quite obviously, this was the second trip where I've been laid up with blisters, sore ankles and toes, and a limp exactly one hour after walking in shoes that were only meant to skip across a store for 20 minutes and then come off. Actually, I really couldn't have chosen the worst pair for this particular trip, either, as that pair is almost not even acceptable for skipping across a store for 20 minutes. Did they go with the clothes I'd be wearing the whole time? Sure! But they are practically like walking barefooted (little pebbles were my worst nightmare).

So that's it for me. I'll forego the shoes that work with everything, that are super cheap (the ones I wore to Ottawa still have the price tag on them -- $3.99), that are even super cute in support of comfort and all-day walkability. Nothing ruins a trip more than when your feet are aching and you still have to push yourself to walk another 2-3 hours. And nothing's worse than returning home and having to hobble around the house in loose socks, soft slippers, keeping your legs elevated for a day or more. So after what I would call an extensive search online (because I had to read through a multitude of comments), these are the brands and shoes that stood out the most to me.

{1} Clark's Wave.Trek: This shoe is first on my list since it's garnered the most positive reviews and the most mentions wherever I read about walking shoes. The Wave.Trek is designed with a rocker sole that conserves energy, absorbs shock, and cushions the joints which is probably perfect for walking over cobblestoned streets (of which I've been encountering a lot). I also like that it's waterproof as we found ourselves in cold, drizzly weather in Ottawa and literally had no where to go (unless we wanted to eat lunch again). The negative reviews center mainly on fit so I would definitely want to try these on and walk about the store a bit. My own negative is that I don't like how they look from the side (I don't like how the sole looks) and I wish there were more colour choices, but when I think about that, then walk to get a glass of water right now, I think, "Stop being so damned fussy!"

{2} New Balance 980 and New Balance 895 V2: The New Balance brand came up an awful lot in every comment section I read through, though I'm not yet decided on which type I like best. I love that the 980 is leather (I always seem to have a problem with my toe working its way through a fabric upper and leather is a really nice option in winter climates), and I like that the rubber is really subdued (meaning it doesn't have all the knobs and cleats and bumps sport shoes are all designed with) which makes it a little more of a stylish option. The few reviews I found on it were all positive, I just wish there were more reviews. The 895, however, has a lot of great reviews plus it's lightweight with a heel pillow and REVlite cushioning. It's also got more interesting colour options. I think I'd like to try them both on for a side-by-side comparison, though it might be smart to have two pairs in your suitcase to switch out during a trip. I find my feet get less tired if I change up my shoes every once in a while. And if the 980s are a little heavier, the 895s could go in the carry-on and the 980s could be your plane shoes (you don't have to remove your shoes through security anymore, thank god).

{3}  Merrell's Ascend Glove: Boasting that it's cushioned, lightweight, and durable makes this shoe sound perfect for travel. Not to mention the many times I came across the Merrell brand name during my searches. Breathable, washable, and good for long runs and treks over tough terrain, plus it looks like a fashionable sporty sneaker and comes in some pretty kicky colours (I'm starting to realize that if you're going to go with sporty sneaker, you might as well choose out-of-the-box colours so it looks like you were going more fashion than comfort the whole time, right?).

{4} Rockport TruWalkZero Pod Lace-up: These are lightweight, mimic the natural motion of walking, and have shock absorption that reduces foot and leg fatigue. As with the others, I chose them because the name kept coming up and I also liked the look of them. The sole itself looks tough and durable (read: thick) and the fact that it doesn't completely overwhelm the style makes all the difference. The colour choices are pretty nice, too. I think they would even look ok with a longer skirt, I mean, if you had to.

And I'm not the only one obsessed with sneakers right now! Check out this post by Miss Moss to find some kicky sneaks. What I like out of her choices are the Asics X Liberty London printed pair -- So sweet! And I surprised myself because I actually really dig the Nike Air Max bright yellow and beige pair. When I see them on someone, they look more like kicky loafers than chunky running shoes. What's really interesting is that the New Balance 980s show up on her list, too. They might be rising to the top of my pile!

Also, after walking on the extremely slippery streets of my neighbourhood (ONE snowfall. ONE. And I can't even walk out there), I've narrowed down on some winter walking shoes. I'm liking the Teva Forge Pro Winter Mid Insulated waterproof hiking boot and the Merrell Arctic Fox. Finland's a winter country as well, so I'll definitely need a good boot there, too (though we've talked to someone who lived in Finland and is now living in Edmonton, and she pretty much laughed her face off about how poorly Edmonton handles winter snow. I guess what we consider winter snow removal is almost a joke compared to what happens over there -- i.e. we're crap at it -- no surprise there.)

diagonals

06: diagonals

just one of (too) many driftwood pieces in my home

I decided to take my weekend and holiday photos through Instagram. So just in case you missed the August Break pictures from this long weekend, here they are again:

 03. yellow

fabric samples at Crate and Barrel

04. love

Hermes. More his love of his mirror than me of him.

05. close up

An accidental photo at a jewelry counter. I was taking a picture of a bracelet I wanted to copy, but a slip of the thumb produced this instead.

If you're on Instagram, you might want to follow me if you're not already. We've got a vacation coming up, so I'll be posting primarily over there. If you're not on Instagram, don't worry! I'll be sure to do a recap when I'm back in front of my main computer!

breakfast

 I'm on a raisin kick these days. Raisin bran; homemade whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread.

breakfast clematis

the august break

You've probably noticed there's not a whole lot of stuff going on around here these days. That's mostly because I've been feeling extremely uninspired and unmotivated to blog these last couple of months. Nothing has been exciting me and I've been feeling like there's no reason to even bother.

So I suppose it's kind of silly to participate in the August Break when I've already half taken a break, but I thought that having a specific goal and planned target every day might motivate and inspire me to take pictures and come up with crafts again.

If you want to know more about the August Break, go and check out Susannah Conway's blog where you can read all about it, sign up, get the list of daily photo prompts (which I'm going to try my best to follow), and download badges, pictures, and more.

You'll see me posting more often as I follow the photo-a-day challenge (which it is for me, anyway) starting August 1!

(I think I'm already a little excited about this.)

s'more d'oeuvres

We also went to Seattle for (quite literally) a bit, so aside from seeing the space needle, the one thing I really wanted to check out was a Trader Joe's. I'm sure you've heard of them. They've only been mentioned a millionty times on blogs, foodie or otherwise.

Maybe we went to a smaller one, but I wasn't as excited or impressed by it as I felt like I should be. Just like Target, Trader Joe's didn't live up to its hype. We still got a few things to try, though!

The guy at the checkout said these would be the best potato chips we'd ever have. They were good, but we've had just as good.

The salt water taffy, because Idle Husband had never had it; the chocolate covered cereal (think: Trader Joe's cheerios) was our least favourite; the white chocolate pistachio cookies were so good! and while the s'mores bits were quite delicious, they triggered one of my "I could make this!" thoughts. And I can! They're super easy and they taste pretty much the same.

As luck would have it, Idle Husband had been invited to a BBQ, so I thought it would be the perfect excuse to make my own version of Trader Joe's s'more bites. I really needed an excuse, cuz after a week of vacation and frivolous eating, neither of us could really stand the thought of more sugar and chocolate. But I really had to try making them. I couldn't get them off my mind!

This is more of a how-to than a recipe so it's pretty easy overall. Obviously it's a little time consuming and labour intensive, but if you set things up like an assembly line and get a few helpers, making a bunch of these would be pretty swift work.

I purchased regular graham crackers and used a serrated bread knife to cut them into quarters.

I had a few breaks, but overall, this worked really well. Just drag the knife gently across the top, scoring the cracker until you cut through. You don't have to apply that much pressure.

I also purchased regular marshmallows for this simply because I didn't have the time (or the energy) to make my own. All you have to do with them is cut them in half and squish the sticky (cut) side down onto the graham cracker quarter. You're all prepped!

While you melt chocolate in a double boiler, set up a pan with a cooling rack and a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper under it to catch the dripped chocolate once they've been dipped. This makes clean up a breeze and the pan makes it easier to transfer the s'more d'oeuvres to the fridge when you're done.

I found chunks of Callebaut chocolate in the bulk aisle at Save On Foods so that's what I used for dipping. I think it cost me $8 which is about the price of two good quality chocolate bars and I ended up with two larger chunks leftover after all 32 s'more d'oeuvres had been dipped.

 Since I didn't know how much chocolate to melt, I started with a small amount and melted a few more pieces as I needed them. I also used a combination of fork and spoon for dipping mostly because I didn't have enough chocolate to fully submerge each marshmallow. 

All you have to do is place a graham crackered marshmallow on a fork, dip the bottom into the chocolate and use a spoon to pour chocolate over the top. Tap the fork with the spoon until the excess drips off.

Then slide the s'more d'oeuvre onto your prepared cooling rack (choose one that's easy to clean! I have a mesh patterned rack and that would have been a real hassle had I used it).

Continue until you're done. Then set the tray into the fridge to harden. They don't take very long at all to set.

They're so very good and the cracker stays nice and crunchy!

inspired by Trader Joe's s'mores bites

Use desired amounts:

graham crackers

regular sized marshmallows

good quality chocolate

Prepare a large cookie sheet with a piece of wax paper, plastic wrap, or otherwise to catch drips and place a cooling rack on top. Cut the graham crackers into quarters. Cut the marshmallows in half. Stick the sticky side of a marshmallow to a graham cracker quarter. Over a double boiler (or in the microwave), melt chocolate. Using a fork, lower a graham crackered marshmallow into the chocolate, then use a spoon to cover the top with chocolate. Tap the fork to remove excess chocolate from the s'more d'oeurve and set on rack to cool. Once the tray is full, place it in the fridge to fully harden.

notes for the future: homemade marshmallows; flavoured marshmallows; piping the marshmallow directly onto the crackers; homemade graham crackers; sandwich something in between the marshmallow and cracker -- more chocolate, a strawberry, peanut butter; double dip them in chocolate for thicker coating; try different chocolates -- white, dark, mint; sprinkle sea salt on tops while still wet (why didn't I think of this earlier?!).

noted: the Callebaut chocolate was just about the best tasting chocolate I've ever had (and I only sampled two of the s'more d'oeuvres).

what we saw at the vancouver aquarium

We saw the beluga show. They don't do much of a show, really, just some smaller jumps and waves, but they were very pretty.

We saw various sea creatures in small tanks. We thought we'd experience more... magic. Like, dark caverns and rippling blue shadows and quiet, but really it was more like screaming kids, rooms that were bright enough not to be magical yet dark enough to make it hard for pictures, and wall-sized tanks where only about 1-5 people could look in successfully. That made it lose some of its appeal.

We saw a bunch of birds and animals that kinda didn't have anything to do with an aquarium. Let me describe them for you:

little monkeys that were having so much fun together but would. not. look. at. anyone. I also have four more of these monkey-back pictures.

two of the largest parrot species (the hyacinth macaw, I believe) who also could really care less that anyone was around them.

ibis in trees just out of a good viewing zone

and this guy who was extremely pissed off.

oh and bats flying around in a cage in the dark so you could kinda tell they were bats, but they were going so fast there was no point to even trying to watch them.

We saw one sea otter. He was pretty adorable, eating on shrimp. They're a lot larger than I thought they were. I don't know where I got the impression that they were a little larger than a gopher, but they're like a medium sized dog.

We saw penguins sleep. It seems like everyone's getting penguins these days. These guys just arrived at the aquarium and were in need of names. We just caught the end of their "show" which I think consisted mostly of them sleeping. At least they chose to do it near the glass. (I wanted to touch him so badly.)

We also saw porpoises and dolphins (and about the last 5 minutes of a dolphin show, actually), but I don't have pictures because all they did was circle their tanks. We saw sharks who did the same, so I got a video but I don't think it's worth it to post. Ho hum.

We did see some amazing jelly fish. I went back for more pictures because I loved them so much.

I think they were by far my favourite part and they were one of the first things we saw when we came in.

Here's a little video because this one is kinda magical (I think). I wish there'd been seats by these. I could have watched them all day.

I want to recommend the aquarium so badly, but, like, don't drive to Vancouver JUST for the aquarium and Stanley Park (both are together) or I think you'll be a little disappointed.

summer seeds

I've been dying to tell you all about this! Stephanie from N.E.E.T. Magazine contacted me a while ago and asked if I'd like to be a part of the June issue! I think I about died from hyperventilation and then after I had several people pinch me, I got to work on a little feature similar to my spring seeds post but for seeds that will grow perfectly well in the summer!

I'm so thankful for the opportunity! I don't think I've gushed enough about N.E.E.T. Mag, but I'll say it again -- if you're not reading it, you should be!

Head on over to N.E.E.T. Magazine to check out my feature (and other fantastic articles and inspirations)!

update

Sorry I've been a MIA this week! Things have been a little busy and hectic around here and I haven't really had the chance to work on anything creative.

But I did get the opportunity to help mom clean out her garage, so we finally went through boxes we packed (not kidding) about 10 years ago. It was like discovering treasure! Here're some of the things I came home with:

A couple antique pictures. My favourite is the one with the dogs. I find it so interesting that they used this "new" technology just to take a picture of their dogs.

Personal pics of our cows -- I miss them so much sometimes! They all had their own unique personalities -- and one of my gram on a motorcycle. I need to get that one framed.

Brass hand clip

Chicken salt and pepper shakers

The flying dutchman! Another weird and wonderful lamp

I realized that I had accumulated more chicken bones and stock in my freezer than actual meat, so I've taken to having soup for breakfast every other day (which works out pretty well since it's still snowing and it's almost May), so I was pretty happy to find this cute soup cup. Cups are my preferred soup container.

This is 6 feet of crocheted shelf edging. I was SO excited to find this! I've been lamenting about how we used to have it and wouldn't it be nice to find it again so I could put it here:

See that middle board? It was accidentally nailed in wrong.

But now with crocheted shelf edging, no one knows and it looks extra pretty!

This is a brass wall sculpture... brass art piece?... brass thing you hang on the wall. I think I should spray paint it. Or should I? Maybe gold or silver? I haven't decided yet.

I've also purchased this year's tomato plants. I'm kind of excited about them because Walmart had purple tomatoes available so I can't wait to see how they turn out. And I bought a ton of seeds! As soon as the weather straightens out, we're going to be designing our backyard garden and planting like crazy people.

And I'm babysitting these huge goldfish. They're in my garage and I'm freaking out about how they're doing! I would be so sick if anything happened to them. The water's cold and it's cold out there so they've just been laying on the bottom of the tank since they got here which is pretty typical for the temperature. Still, I worry-check them three times a day.

How's your week been?