Happy January, Happy New Year!

Hello friends!  It feels good to be back after several weeks since my last post.   Let me begin by wishing you a very happy new year!  I do hope 2015 is off to a great start for all of you!

I want to say a big thank you to my blog friends and followers who come to visit every once in a while,  read my posts, and take the time to leave a comment.  Your comments make me smile!  They let me know that yes indeed, there are people out there who enjoy reading what I post!  So, again, thank you for your friendship and support this past year.  I hope to see a lot more of you in 2015. My world is a happier place with you in it! 

Are you curious as to what I have been up to these past few weeks?   Well, let me show you! 

December is a very busy month for our family.  Both my husband and I celebrate our birthdays in December, and of course there's Christmas, and the holidays!  Those two precious weeks of Christmas holidays are my favourite time of the year.  My husband tries to schedule the same time off  work as our girls have from school, so that we are all home together for Christmas break.  Lucky for us, it worked out perfectly this year! 

My darling husband, Nuno, celebrated his birthday on the 14th of December!  I baked him his favourite cake, Victoria Sponge (filled with homemade buttercream and raspberry jam) and decorated it with vintage cake toppers - evergreen trees, chopped wood and an axe, He recently taken on a new hobby - collecting and restoring old axes - so it was the perfect theme for his cake!

These are some of the presents waiting to be open on Christmas day.  Isn't the tree skirt beautiful?  I especially love the ruffled edge!  I had been searching for a red/white gingham tree skirt but to no avail.  One of my dear friends found one and mailed it all the way from the USA to my door!  How lucky am I?

And this is what Christmas morning looked like at our house!  These were the first gifts my girls wanted to open - their gifts to each other.  Annabel bought Peter Pan for her sister with her savings (Anita LOVES Peter Pan) and Anita bought her little sister this giant Mickey Mouse stuffy because "Mom, she always hugs it whenever she walks into The Disney Store!".

This is me with my husband and my girls celebrating my 38th birthday in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  This is where I spend my birthday most years.  It's my favourite little getaway! A place that's far enough away, but close enough to home.  Niagara-on-the-Lake is a couple hours drive from where we live and has become a much anticipated birthday tradition for all of us!

This is the famous gazebo situated at Queens Royal Park, overlooking Lake Ontario.  On clear days, you can see the CN Tower and the Toronto skyline across the water! Many couples choose to perform their wedding ceremonies here.  Isn't it romantic?  This gazebo was actually built for a movie filmed in the 80s, called Dead Zone,  When the movie was finished, the gazebo was donated to the town.  Whenever I visit NOTL, I always stop here to take a picture.  

This is Queen Street and in the center is the Memorial Clock Tower/Cenotaph .  This heritage district has plenty of shops, one-of-kind boutiques, galleries, and eateries.  It's quaint, historic, romantic, and I fall more in love with it each time I visit!  I took this photo before the sun came up, around 6:30 am on a frosty morning stroll through the deserted streets. 

This is the lovely hotel where we stayed for two nights.  It's our second time staying here, and we hope to visit again soon! 

I will leave you with one last photo.   I took this shot the morning before we left for home.  As you can see, it started to snow!  Niagara-on-the-Lake always looks so magical in the snow.  The snowflakes fell fast and furious and within minutes, everything was covered in white.  I couldn't resist taking a photo at the corner of King and Queen Street where the glorious Prince of Wales hotel lies.  Isn't it a beautiful scene?  It was pure magic!

Here's wishing you a magical 2015!  May this new year fill our homes with love, peace, joy, and laughter!  Happy January, friends, and happy new year! 

  

It Takes Two to Tapa!

Last Saturday, we all woke up, got dressed, and went out for a family breakfast.  We went to our most favourite breakfast place in all of Barrie - the Country Kettle Restaurant on Essa Rd.   We had eggs over-easy, crispy bacon, home potatoes, and toast.  It's a small, cozy little place, where you are welcome with a hot cup of coffe and where you can always feel "at home".  It's quite special to go out for breakfast, as a family.  I know that one day, I'll look back and reminisce about all these good times, as the girls grow older (and us too).  It's always the little things!

After breakfast, we went grocery shopping.  Nuno and I decided to make Tapas for dinner, instead of cooking up one big meal. We picked up some chorizo, mussels, shrimp, baguettes, and a few other items.  If you don't know what Tapas are, they are types of snacks, or appetizers - finger food, if you will.  Tapas originated in Spain, but they aren't just Spanish appetizers anymore.  They have evolved into a whole new cuisine.  People are serving them at parties, dinners, get-togethers.  And the best part, is that they encourage conversation, laughter, and a more relaxed atmosphere.  It doesn't have to be all about the three course dinner anymore. 

Nuno and I, working together on our tapas dinner



These are teeny tiny quail eggs.  We even had a couple with double yolks!

Toasted baquette slices, brushed with x v olive oil, and topped with sliced chorizo and quail eggs

Steamed mussels and shrimp in a wine, garlic and herb sauce

On the dish in front, you can see bacon wrapped brussels sprouts with dipping sauce.  My friend, Laura, shared the recipe with me.  They were absolutely incredible!!  Thank you, Laura! I will definitely be making those again. 

Here are the tapas, served on our living room table, with chilled white wine.  We ate, while we watched some TV with the girls.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful, relaxing Saturday!

By the way, Recipe to Riches aired again last night.  Yesterday's episode was Appetizers.  The winning recipe came from a New Brunswick man, John Grass.  His recipe for bacon-wrapped, grilled chicken skewers looked very tempting and simple enough to make at home.  Nuno has to remind me that the show is geared to shoppers wanting to buy simple, fast, pop-in-your oven, grocery store products.  I laugh and agree.  I can compromise...buy them at the store, then make my own at home. 

Thanks for stopping in to read today's post.  I hope you enjoyed.   See you soon! xo