Bake Shop Hop

I feel like this post should come with a warning - possibility for some mouth-watering action ahead.  My sister is totally into baking.  And she's becoming quite the pro; she makes her own peppermint patties.  And homemade ice-cream.  I recently tried her personal-sized S'more ice cream cake: graham crust with fresh toasted marshmallow ice cream and chocolate ganache on top.

So for her Christmas gift it only seemed natural that we would do our own little tour of some bakeries around Kitchener-Waterloo.

First stop: Honey Bake Shop on King Street (Uptown Waterloo).  We shared an apple fritter and a maple bacon cupcake.  Both tasted amazing.  Price was decent, but not cheap ($2.50 for the cupcake).  The best part about Honey is the atmosphere.  I'm a sucker for good graphic design and colours and this place is A+ in my books.  Also, call me weak, but I was already feeling a good sugar buzz after this.

Therefore, we felt it necessary to make the next stop something savoury.  Vincenzo's.  More of a gourmet market - but the sandwiches are seriously amazing.  Only $5, which is really good considering they slice whatever meat you want right then and there.  And the toppings range from the typical lettuce, onion, tomato, to bruschetta (hello!), artichokes...  So we shared a sandwich.  But definitely stopped to check out the bakery there - baklava, cannoli, macarons!

But back to the sweet stuff.  Right beside Vincezo's is the Bauer Kitchen.  And beside that, the tiny Bauer Bakery.  At this point it was time for coffee/tea, which they had.  But some tarts to go with it, of course.  Ferrero Rocher and white chocolate pistachio.  I can't remember how much they were - but definitely not much for a gourmet little treat.  Unfortunately there's no where to sit, so we sat outside until we couldn't stand the cold.  Consider me officially sugar-buzzed.

Alas, we must go on.  So we wander downtown King Street to scout out some more bakeries.  We see Nova Era, a Portuguese place that Jody's heard good things about.  Their signature item is the custard tart - sign us up!  And we decide to get something we've never seen - a "rice cake".  More like a tall lemony muffin.  Both amazing.  Price was the best (it's straight up homemade, no frilly gourmet-ness to drive the price up).  Atmosphere - meh, we didn't really want to stick around.  But I'm pretty sure we've both thought about that custard tart since.

At this point I'm ready to crash, but we figure we should squeeze in one more - City Cafe Bakery.  A bright colourful place.  Kind of cool inside - you can pick what you want, then pay on your own.  Totally on the honour system!  We had their signature item: deep dish pecan tart ($2 I think?).  Consider me officially over the edge in sugar-ville.

Oh Bake Shop Hop, you did me in!  And there are so many more, I know we've only scratched the surface.  Until next time...

New Lamps!

Hey there!  So lot's has happened since my last update - including a move!  Yes, I mean moving houses.  It was a big one too... we moved all the way ... across the ... street.  Alright, so it wasn't that big.  Still, all of our personal belongings were paraded across the street for the neighbourhood to see (fun!)  But it is a bigger place, calling for some more DIY action.  We're loving it so far.

And of course, we just don't leave anything untouched.  I think we've been covered in dust/drywall compound/paint since February from all the hole filling, sanding and painting we've been doing.  Even now, we're in the middle of a weekend long cabinet painting adventure...again.

In the midst of it all, I've also managed to do a bit of thrifting.  I had been on the hunt for a nice big pair of matching lamps for our bedroom.  They had to be big.  And they had to have a good shape.  Oh, and they should work too...

When I laid eyes on these beauties in the Bibles for Missions store in Guelph (worth the drive to Guelph!) I knew it was meant to be.  And by that I mean I practically threw myself over them to fend off the others who might be interested.  Actually, who am I kidding?  After the moment of thrill I started to second guess myself.  Should I hold out for something better?  Was $12/lamp too much?  I would have to buy new shades as well, which can be pricey.  So I wandered over to Target (also worth the drive to Guelph!) to talk myself into/out of it.  But when the perfectly sized lamp shades were on sale at Target, I snapped.  I bought them, hurried back to my car and prayed the whole way that no one else had seen the lamps and snatched them up.  But as I said - it was meant to be.  In total, they ended up being $30 each.  But that's a steal because even at Target the lamps were $50 + you still had to buy the $15 shade on top of that!  Here's the makeover!

We have a headboard for that bed, it's just not up yet!  Soon...

have a lovely weekend!

image via Etsy

Divine Desserts

Each year my church hosts a Ladies Dessert Night a few weeks before Christmas.  A small group of ladies are each asked to "host" one table - set and decorated - for the guests.  I absolutely love being part of it, and seeing the amazing creations from other table hosts!  Even more than that, I love meeting new people (and the Brownie Cheesecake doesn't hurt...)  Here's a little peek at my table!

stripes + floral

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm really into mixing patterns lately.  I especially love the stripes + floral mixing going on in these outfits!  It looks like the best way to begin is with a plain black and white striped shirt, and pair it with a floral skirt or scarf.  

Also, these stripes + aztec, just for fun.

Find the links for all of these photos on my Pinterest board.

a little update...

Hellooooo everyone!

I thought I'd take a few minutes to post a bit of a house-and-DIY-update, if that's okay with you!  We've been pretty busy around here lately, with little tweaks and changes.  Bryce and I joke every Friday because he comes home and everything's been moved around.  What?  I can't help it!  That's what happens when I get left alone for awhile.  I start thinking up new projects.  So here's the result of some of that:

 First up, these lovely chairs from my Grandma.  I loved the wood and the shape, and I thought they would be simple enough for a first real reupholster job.  (In hindsight, still not that easy...but that's how I usually roll.  You know, underestimating the effort.  But the risk is part of the thrill of DIY!)

This was the previous layer underneath.  My Grandma had already covered them a couple times - which was good because her experience was critical to our success!

Seriously, she's awesome.  She even sewed the seat cover for me!

Also an important mention is my Grandpa's pristine wood glue job on a piece that broke off.  Can't even tell.

Lot's of pulling and stapling!  And then finishing with a double welted cord glued around the top (over the staples).

Also, I made that pillow!  And a matching one for the other chair.  (You can see the first chevron ones with a tutorial here).  Also in my pillow making spree, my friend Autumn and I made these for the bed:

Before - the white pillows were okay, but not long enough.  You can see that the back ones are pushed to the middle, and the second row pushed to the outside to give the illusion that they do.  But sadly, that Greek pillow in the middle is falling through the crack... (don't mind the fabric samples :)

After!  Much better proportions.  And I love the contrasting patterns.  It looks even better in person!  Next step is to get a headboard to fill the wall a bit.  And to add some more art - that poor canvas is a little lost on the big wall.  Also, some matching lamps for the side tables (with a lime green glass base or something bright to bring out the green in the pillows.)  But we're getting there!

A collage wall with pics above the long china cabinet: (although I have that light fixture on Kijiji because it's totally in the way!  It's nice though, if anyone's interested...)

And finally, I saw this sweatshirt idea on Pinterest and I had a blank navy sweatshirt so I figured why not?  It's probably one of my favourite items now...

I've got lots of other projects in motion - such as painting something on this huge blank canvas... perhaps tomorrow?

Anyway, hope you've taken some time to hear leaves crunching under your feet and sip some hot apple cider!

DIY Envelope Pillow

Call me crazy, but when my first package from Tonic Living arrived this week, I felt like Christmas morning.  I had spent too much time thinking about what patterns and colours would work best for some pillows I wanted to make, that I was starting to have commitment issues.  Even when I ordered 10 samples to narrow down the choices, I still had a hard time deciding.  But I finally committed!  My first project - the chevron print pillows for the couch.  Here's the instant replay for you:

My pillow form was 16"x16".  So I cut the back piece to 17" wide (allowing an inch for seams) and 23" high.  

Then, cut it in half so that you have 2 pieces that are 11.5" (still 17" wide).

Cut the front to 17"x17".  If your pillow isn't square, you want to make sure you cut the width to match which way you want your pattern to be.

Take half of your back piece and iron a hem - start by ironing 1/4" up...

Then hem and iron again at 1/4".  Ironing helps to make sure the hems are straight!

Do the same thing with the other piece, then stitch the hems straight across.

Lay the front piece, right side facing up.  Line up the unhemmed part of the square with the bottom of the front piece.  This piece should have the front side facing down.

See how the right sides are together? 

Then, lay the other piece on top, with the right side facing down.  Line up the edges with the front piece.  The 2 back pieces should overlap by 4 inches or so.

Pin it all down to secure it!

Then, stitch all the way around.  At the corners it helps if you leave the needle in the fabric, then lift the foot and just pivot the fabric to start the new side.  Saves thread :)

Trim all the edges to 1/2" seams, then turn it right sides out.  Push the corners out so they look neat and take time to iron all the edges to be nice and crisp.

Stuff in your pillow form - you may have to knead it a bit to fill out the new pillow case.

Voila! Once you get good at it, this type of project will take 30 minutes or less.  Oh, and another tip?  I used 2 different fabrics because the patterns I chose were up to $25/yard...not outrageous, considering I could make 2 pillows with 1 yard, however I wasn't willing to double the cost to have the pattern on the back as well.  So I just found something solid that matched and was half the price :)  Happy sewing!

I've got some more fabric for pillows - hopefully to be completed this weekend.  One pattern I'm particularly excited about - stay tuned!