Time of Use

I figured I should do a post with the summer and winter schedules for time of use (just a reminder for us of the dates and times). The summer schedule becomes effective tomorrow (May 1).

Not sure if you pay close attention to your Hydro use. We try when possible. I try to get laundry done during cheap hydro time which is between 7:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. or on the weekends. Some times it's unavoidable and I have to use power during on-peak time (i.e. dinner time), it sucks but what can you do.



Click on the image for the source.

Fabric

I just realized I have not yet posted a photo of the fabric that we bought for the curtains for the Boler (aka Bitsy). Now I just need to learn how to use my sewing machine ... actually, first I have to unpack it and find a place for it.

Boler half day 8

So i was able to spend a bit of time on the Boler today. It is now ready to get painted. I feel that for what I spent and what I wanted to spend on it in time I did not to bad. I hope to get a couple years out of it before I need to think about doing up a whole new frame. I hope to pick up the rust paint some time this week and get it done after work.

All I can say is, not to bad of a welding job for a guy who just started welding.

17/52 Peek-a-boo + Car Ride

This past weekend was a really busy one for us. On Saturday, my grandma hosted a dinner for the family and on Sunday we had a pizza dinner at Oma and Opa's place to celebrate Oma's 60th Birthday.

On our way down to the city we stopped at Royal Distributing so Byron could check out their tent sale and Hugo just loved it there. He probably could have spent the rest of the day there playing with all the different John Deere tractors.




Who needs candy when you have John Deere Tractors!

Hugo decided to wake up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and only had a 15 minute nap on the drive down to my Grandma's place. Considering he was really tired and in a place he had never been before he had a good time. As soon as Raquel arrived (she is 5) Hugo did not leave her side. He wanted to play  peek-a-boo with her and he was fascinated with her cute shoes and tiny nose. He kept giving her hugs and blowing her kisses. It was so interesting watching him interact with her.

 

I tried really hard to snap a good photo of our Lil Man and Baby Girl as we headed to Oma and Opa's house on Sunday, but if one was not moving the other was, so it was an almost impossible task.

 

 

 

 



 

 

PINK + ORANGE CHECKERBOARD CAKE

Today is Oma's Birthday -  her 60th Birthday!!! We celebrated Oma's birthday this past Sunday with a pizza dinner at her place. This past weekend was super busy for us, so I did not have the time to make a cake {insert sad face}. Yesterday, when Oma came over for her weekly visit I made dessert - (recipe HERE) for us to enjoy with a cup of tea.

 Since I was not blogging yet at this time last year, I thought I would sneak this post in today --- Oma's Birthday cake from 2012 - Pink + Orange Checkerboard Cake with 3D Chocolate Butterflies.

 

Last year for Christmas my awesome sister gave me a Wilton Checkerboard Cake Pan Set (you can find it HERE) and I love it! She always finds me cute things for the kitchen. I decided to use it to create this cake. I used the following Classic Vanilla Cake recipe from Better Homes and Gardens (I reduced the sugar a lot - from 2  2/3 cups to 1 cup).

Iced Cake, ready for butterflies.

 

 

For the 3D butterflies and dragon fly I used melted chocolate chips and coloured chocolate melts.

 

 

Here's  the inside of the Pink and Orange checkerboard cake...

 

 

 

Overall the cake turned out neat looking. I was not a huge fan of the cake texture though. I found it was very dense and not very fluffy. It also did not rise very high. This may have been because I worked the batter too much when I added the food colouring ... I'm not too sure. Either way, if you want to give this cake a try, here is the recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you if you make it!

I had to share a quick picture of the card I made for Oma this year...

As I am sitting here writing this post I realised that for some reason I always seem to pick a PINK and ORANGE colour theme (obviously not intentional) when it comes to Oma. I usually try to use the colour Orange as it's a Dutch colour and then I find that Pink just goes nicely with it. Last year Oma's cake was Pink and Orange.  This year her birthday gift was also Pink and Orange -  it was an Apron in a Jar (pictures HERE).

Well that's it for today. We hope Oma is having a lovely Birthday day!

Beer Can Chicken {3 of 10}

This is another one of the top 10 favourite dishes in our house ... Beer Can Chicken.

It is honestly such an easy way to cook chicken and it always turns out super moist thanks to the beer and tastes great. It can be done on the BBQ or in the oven, which means it can be made throughout the year. Add some mini garlic roasted potatoes and sesame seed roasted Brussels sprouts in the oven and away you go. The entire meal is made in the oven ... super easy dinner and it helps warm up the house in the winter [and saves on power too, since the oven is already on to roast the chicken]. Usually we make this meal on the weekend and Byron looks after the chicken, but for this particular day that the following pictures were taken, it was my first time making beer can chicken and I just had to snap some pics.

First you need to get your chicken ready to be cooked. Squeeze some lemon juice all over it and then sprinkle some garlic powder on the inside and all over the outside.

Assemble the holder [we bought ours at Crapy Tire opps sorry I mean Canadian Tire when it was on sale], and put the beer can inside [we just use cheap beer & we empty about half the can]. Then sit the bird on top and close off the top of the bird so the steam doesn't escape while it is cooking.

Depending on the size of the bird depends how long it needs to be in the oven for. Our birds are usually about 4 lbs so we have it on for about 1 1/2 hours at 350°F. If it stays on longer it's no big deal, it won’t dry out. We always put a round Pyrex underneath to catch all the fat that drips off the chicken.  A lot of the chicken fat falls off when it is cooking and the chicken isn't sitting reabsorbing the fat - which is nice.

I had to share the image that was on the beer can. I think Byron grabbed this type specifically because of the pinup girl!

That’s how we prepare our beer can chicken. Do you have a specific recipe you follow?

{April . 12 . 2013} Storm

It's hard to believe that a week ago today we were blanketed with  a sheet of ice outside. While this past Monday the temperature  reached a high of 14^oC  (the first day this year I was able to put clothes out on the line). The ice buildup on Friday was so bad that I could not get into my vehicle through the driver's side. I had to drive around Friday morning entering the vehicle through the passenger's side (I'm sure a couple people had a good laugh). The right side of our property was hit really bad. The laundry room and spare bedroom windows were even covered with a thick frosted layer of ice ... it looked really neat.

After a good 30 minutes trying to get the ice off the windshield of the car and getting completely drenched because it had started to rain, I was finally on my way to my appointment with a minute to spare {not very happy at that moment}.

I tried to get a photo of the thickness of the ice on the driver's side door handle but it is hard to see ...

All the parking lots were icy

Once I was done my running around and Hugo went down for a nap I went outside and snapped some photos {the one nice thing about the storm -- I was able to snap some cool looking pictures}.

 

 

By this point a lot of the ice had melted off the clothes line.

 

 

 

 

Another thing that also sucked was the power went out for about 2 hours, just before I was about to warm up my lunch. I had to come up with a way to warm up my soup...

Man was I grateful I have a fondue set. It worked like a charm! Hugo was napping during this part and it was so weird not being able to hear him through the monitor. It's crazy how many things we count on that require power. It is not until times like these that you really notice them.

Have a great weekend!

Date Day {April}

March has come and gone without a date day. It was a bit of a busy month. This month, however, we thought we would get our date day in earlier in the month since we really had to find the material for the blinds for the boler. So we had our April date day this past weekend - April 13, 2013.

We just went to Fabricland and I was quite surprised (once we really started look) with the variety of material and patterns they carry and their prices  weren't too bad either. Surprisingly I have not yet snapped a photo of the material, but once I do I will post pictures. I was going to do it when we were in the store, but it was crazy busy.

I did however, take some photos of our lunch as I always do. (I probably look a bit weird doing it, but oh well).

This time we went to Milestones. It was our first time eating at a Milestones restaurant and we found the atmosphere really reminded us of Moxy's (which we really enjoy). Their menu on the other hand reminded us of Kelsey's but more pricey.

 

Byron ordered the Prime Rib Beef Dip (thinly sliced AAA Prime Rib on a Ciabatta bread with Gorgonzola butter and crispy onion strings. Served with roasted garlic au jus) and a side of roasted garlic Caesar salad and coffee of course. He found his lunch choice was a bit plain for his liking.

 

 

 

 



I ordered the Smoked Turkey Ciabatta Club (double-smoked bacon, house-made avocado salsa, diced Roma tomato, and whole grain mustard mayonnaise dressing on pumpkin seed and cranberry ciabatta bread). I had a side of roasted garlic Caesar salad and ice tea to drink. I was unable to finish all of my sandwich so Byron finished it for me and he said my lunch choice was better.


Overall, the atmosphere was nice at this restaurant, but we were not particular crazy about the meal ... it was OK. It was edible and their was a fair amount of food on our plate, but for the price it cost, I do not think we will be returning there for lunch. I did not look at their dinner menu, so I do not  know about returning there for dinner (We are a bit picky when it comes to our food).

Have you eaten at Milestones? What's your favourite dish if you have? Maybe we just ordered the wrong dish.

16/52 {Garbage Day}

Hugo just loves trucks, cars, trains ... anything with wheels.  He really likes watching the garbage/ recycling truck go up and down the street on Garbage Day. As soon as he hears it going by on the other street, he immediately stops what he is doing and runs to the front window to wait for it. Usually I am to slow getting the camera out to snap a picture, but I managed this time ...

Hugo with his crazy hair & Teddy.

 

 

 

As the truck goes by he makes the sound Vroooooomm

 

 

What a Boy.

 

 



Fajitas for dinner ... Yes Please!!! {2 of 10}

This is one of the top 10 favourite dishes in our house – fajitas made by Byron from scratch. Don’t ask me what he throws in the pan. I’m just in charge of doing the prep (chopping the peppers, onions, etc). I know there are herbs because I see him searching for them in the spice rack, but other than that, I don’t know because I’m not allowed near the pan. It always smells and tastes sooooo good when he makes these.

 

We always enjoy the fajitas with a nice bottle of red wine that Roxy must approve ...

 

 

 

 

Once it has been Roxy approved, she gets off her thrown and we can enjoy Byron's famous Chicken fajitas ... yum so delicious!

 

 

 

Boler Reno day 7

So Sunday was a Boler day for me. I had one goal and that was to get my new axle mounted. So I finished making the riser blocks I needed, they turned out to be the perfect height from what I can see. It was hard work flipping the trailer back and forth so I could make sure the welding didn't get to hot in one spot. I can also say I am feeling the pain today. I took out the trailer just around the block once it was on and everything seems to work fine. I also installed new safety chains seeing as the style that where on there before are no longer legal. Everything is mounted using grade eight fine thread bolts. I got an awesome deal on these as well as 8 lbs of welding wire and all new stainless steel mounting hardware when I put the tube back on. Seeing as number 6 screws held the tube on before, 1/4-20 should be overkill.

Next week I hope to get the frame painted.

A Special Day

I don't normally blog on a Sunday, but today is a Special Day. One year ago today, my little cousin J married his high school sweetheart. It was such a beautiful wedding!

For our little family it was one of our mini vacations for 2012. It was Hugo's first time staying in a hotel (he was 5 1/2 months). Unfortunately I do not have many photos of this special day.  I only brought my little purse camera that I have, which I discovered does not take the greatest inside photos. I was also in-charge of looking after their guest book and snappy Polaroid pictures of guests as they arrived, so I did not have a lot of time.  I managed to find a couple photos though.

Hugo after the awesome party and
spending his first night in a hotel.

I just love weddings (we attended two beautiful weddings in 2012 -- the following one and a Country themed one. In 2014 we will have another wedding which Byron & Hugo will be in).  I find there is always an abundance of love in the air on a wedding day and there are so many things to look forward to.

Dressing up in something Fancy - I personally like an opportunity where I get to do my nails and dress up all nice and fancy.

The last time I gave myself a French Manicure

I find when you have a kid you just don't have time

for these things any more.

 Byron, on the other hand, hates it.  Hugo, on this particular day was ok with being in a suit. He just did not want anything to do with wearing his shoes.

Getting dressed and being naughty

sticking out his tong.

 I found a place online were I was able to get Hugo and Byron matching ties (I ordered them from My Favorite Pal). I did not get a good family picture of us, but before we headed to the ceremony we snapped the following pictures and I am so glad we did.

The Ceremony - the moment when you get to witness two individuals express their love for each other and give each other their hearts for a lifetime.

The importance of a wedding ceremony did not sink in until I got married myself. Before then I barely ever went to the ceremony. The wedding ceremony was always earlier in the day and seemed so impossible to get to on time. Plus there was always the question -- what to do once the ceremony  was over and you had to figure out how to spend the four hours between the ceremony and the reception? After our wedding my view completely changed and I quickly realized that the ceremony was the most important part of the entire wedding day, next to the beautiful bride of course. Without the ceremony there would be no wedding. I now try really hard to get us to the ceremony.

J & N's wedding ceremony took place at the following church. I found this photo online on the photographer's website (Samantha Erin Photography) - this was not the photographer they used but I thought it was a great shot of this cute little church.

Photo from Samantha Erin Photography website

I am not one to get all teary eyed (I usually leave that to my mom) but at a wedding ceremony there are usually three parts when I get a tear or two in my eyes. The first is when the bride walks down the aisle towards her Knight in Shinning Armour (I think it's because of the music). The second part is during the following reading which was one of the readings at our wedding and is so often used at weddings we have attended.

The third part is when I hear the couple say their vows. In all three cases they are tears of joy of course. I guess these three parts always bring me back to the wonderful memories of our own wedding day (which was almost 5 years ago) - a day that we planned for months and past by so fast.

J+N's transportation for the day

The First Dance - J & N did an awesome job with their first dance. They had all their professional dance moves down to a "T".  They danced to such a beautiful song by  Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I am (I am actually listening to it as I write this post).

The Meal - another thing I look forward to at a wedding -- usually a very delicious one.  One year ago today our meal consisted of a traditional Portuguese soup - Caldo Verde (starter). I will have to post the recipe one day. Followed by a mouth watering delicious Prime Rib Roast Beef served with grilled veggies and potatoes. Then we were served a chicken piece stuffed with a pistachio & goat cheese filling and a salad. (I was quite stuffed by this point but it was delicious. I have searched online for a recipe that replicates it but have yet to find one that is similar- I really want to try and make it at home. To be honest I'm not a fan of goat cheese or cheese in general, but this chicken was so tasty). For dessert we were served crepes and ice cream. By that point I was stuffed like a turkey, but some how managed to finish my dessert. Later in the evening there was more yummy food.  I did get the following photos of the yummy dessert and the late night buffet table.

  

The Details - The final thing that I look forward to is seeing all the details - the dresses (bride and bridesmaids), the flowers, the favours, the centrepieces, etc. The items that require so much time planning, but bring the wedding together and make it outstandingly beautiful and perfect.

I thought this was a neat idea. As guests arrived at the reception this is what they saw next to the framed seating chart. The wedding photos from the bride and groom's parents and grandparents.

The beautiful white hydrangea centrepieces. Hydrangea's are one of the top five flowers I really like. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the ones in my garden do better this year.

 

At each place setting there were these cute little boxes filled with Hugs and Kisses from the new  Mr. & Mrs. At the bottom of each chocolate there were little stickers with the couple's name and wedding date.

 

 

 

These are the details through their photographers lens (Shawn Bettencourt Photography) ...

 I absolutely loved the bride's dress and shoes -so pretty.

 

The reception took place at a Yacht Club and was a beautiful venue with lots of windows to let in lots of natural light. Since the wedding was in April there weren't any boats in the water but it was still a gorgeous backdrop behind the head table.

As guests left they were given a cute little  seedling.

Here's the custom card I made for their very 1st Anniversary (traditionally known as the Paper Anniversary). The 3D tree has the lyrics from their first dance and is affixed to premium cardstock.    The two hearts have the couple's initials. The inside reads "Happy 1st Anniversary" followed by their names and their 1st Anniversary date. The envelope had part of the sheet music of their first dance.

While I was working on the above card I also made the following card ...

The roots of a Family - 3D Tree Card

 

Close-up of verse and heart embellishments

 

This card will work great for either another anniversary card or even a wedding card. The 3D tree has the verse ... The Roots of a Family Tree begin with the Love of two hearts. It is affixed to premium cardstock. There are two small heart embellishments hanging off the tree. The inside of the card is blank for your own personal message.

(This card is currently available for purchase)

I seriously can not believe its been a year already since J & N tied the knot. We are so happy we were able to be a part of their special day. It was a gorgeous Spring Wedding! We wish them many years of happiness together filled with a lot of wonderful blessings!

The Happy Couple 1 Year Ago