edensbouquet giveaway.

a few months ago sondra introduced me to the cutest of cute blogs/websites. it's a lady who makes vintage-y children's clothes that are absolutely adorable. she also happens to live in the most spectacular place called Windy Ridge with her 9 children. i've only been following her blog for a little while but sometimes i day-dream about being the 10th child over there at her estate. i'd love to romp around with edna, her goat, emily, her donkey & their guard dog simon.

if we were having a girl i'd probably squeal with delight every time i was on her site b/c of how many adorable options there are. her boy stuff is a bit more limited, but still adorable nonetheless. check out the clothing collections here but don't waste your time entering her give-away b/c I'm gonna win anyways!

happy birthday lucy.

one of the LOVES in my life has a big ole' birthday today. we'll be celebrating pretty low key this year. no hats or dressing up but we'll be sure to shower her with presents, Frosty Paws and even more love than she gets every other day of the year. these are just a handful of things we can do to celebrate our appreciation of her never-ending love & loyalty!

(click to enlarge & see the many faces of LUCY)
happy 6th birthday LUCY :)

happy poppy day.

happy Veteran's Day everyone!
Thanks to all those who are serving or who have served our country!

and to all my canadian friends and family...
happy remembrance day!

christmas countdown begins.

50 days until Christmas. Yikes!!!
Every year I try to begin early and get as much done as early as possible. This year - having SERIOUS trouble getting the momentum! Lots of distractions with house renovations, baby related excitement and work kicking into major high gear. Drats.

Last night I was reading an article on 'simplifying the holidays' and had to laugh aloud at the tip "try moving other projects to different parts of the year". don't see that in our future! there isn't the time, nor the energy, to be as creative and crafty as I usually like to be. that is probably the most overwhelming part.

Haven't set the holiday budget, made the lists yet, thought about Christmas cards, nothing. Better get cracking! I will take their suggestion to set small, attainable goals.

(i take that back, I actually have purchased some items and can cross one person off our list. consider progress made!)

it's a BOY!

yesterday we had our anatomical scan and got to watch Baby King live and in all his glory for about 25 mins. i started to feel his kicks last week and now a day doesn't go by where I'm not poked, prodded or kicked throughout the day. he (yes, i'll get to that part) was very active at the scan - alternating between sucking his thumb, giving the technician a few punches back when she wanted him to move her way, and when all was quiet looking at his heart and other internal organs - giving a few swift low-blow kicks to remind us he was there.
(i think he was waving at us in this one!)
him being a 'him' came into view quite clearly. and more than once! he definitely doesn't seem to be camera shy (who had any doubts?!) and he had a blast showing off his goods every time the camera came near his tush. quite the little acrobat already. she knew we wanted to know the gender but before she even had a chance to point it out it - i knew it was a boy!
it's quite fascinating all the measurements and photos (like 75!!) they take. they spent quite a bit of time on all the internal organs measuring all 4 chambers of the heart, the blood flow, size of the kidneys, lungs, spine measurements, stomach and brain scans. so far everything is looking good and the little one is measuring a week ahead of schedule.

everything is pretty easy to follow when you have a technician explaining everything but i'm afraid the recording may not have taken audio. i wouldn't know though b/c a) i forgot to ask and b) it's a VHS! i'll need to get that converted to a technology of this decade so we can watch it again.

until then - we're holding onto these memories of our already perfect baby boy!!

witch finger cookies.

now this recipe was tasty, festive & fun!

To take a break from attic renovations last weekend, we didn't go to Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe as planned b/c we had already made witchy finger cookie treats!!

Here's the recipe:
1-1/4 cups Sliced Almonds
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups flour

HEAT oven to 325ºF.

RESERVE 60 almond slices for later use as finger nails; chop remaining almond slices.
Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, extract and salt in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in flour. Stir in ground nuts.

ROLL dough into 40-60 (3-inch) "fingers," using 1 Tbsp. dough for each.
Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray.
Press 1 of the reserved almonds into dough @ end of each finger.

Shape for appropriate 'witchy-ness'. (Try using a sharp knife to make slits in top of each finger for the knuckles)

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned.

Cool a few mins; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

(here's my mother trying to imitate her exact finger) (i perfected the female witchy fingers)


they're like a dense almond shortbread cookie & are the perfect match to coffee or tea. (they perk up my decaf!)

objects in mirrors

are closer than they appear!

woof!

lucy's excited b/c we were headed for stroll @ the beach.