Pumpkin spice and polka dots

Marnie and I had to go to a celebration of life and we misunderstood what time it started so we had 45 minutes to kill.  Fortunately the ceremony was being held within walking distance of both a Starbucks and a Disney store.  Two excellent ways to celebrate "pumpkin spice" season.

I'm convinced this was orchestrated by the individual who's life we were going to celebrate. He would have gotten such a kick out of us fooling around before offering what comfort we could to his family.

First stop Starbucks.  For you guessed it, decaf pumpkin spice lattes.  Marnie had never had one before.  What?!  I know!  I actually introduced her to something.  Although we quickly learned that she needs a half shot of syrup because the sugar had her buzzing.

This was fantastic to watch as she zoomed around the Disney store trying on clothes and exclaiming over details.  I headed for the cars section and Marn went straight for the pajamas.  Apparently Disney pajamas are the softest, comfiest PJs on the planet.  And lo and behold, in honour of Halloween - she found these beauties:

 They are very soft.  They've got Mini.  Aaaand.... polka dots!

I spent fifteen minutes looking for the TV commercial where the woman is sitting on the bench talking about how much she loves pumpkin spice season and the guy beside her says "you mean fall?" And she says "yes, that's what I said".  But I couldn't find it anywhere so I'm leaving you with John Oliver's pumpkin spice rant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeQqe0oj5Ls

Flowers, Some Wildlife and a Marching Band or Five

This past Victoria long weekend we went to Victoria - it seemed appropriate - to meander the gardens and watch the Victoria day parade.  I got my spring flower fix. There's nothing so beautiful as a sun drenched flower.  And bonus, mother nature provided us with some company.

Those are turtles sunning themselves on that log.

Here they are up close and personal.  So great!

Not to be outdone baby ducks showed up.

Many of the flowering bushes were in bloom.  In my part of the world Rhododendrons are in season.

The colour of these flowers was extraordinary.

I also love them in white.

These purple gems were everywhere.  We've also got them growing at our house. Speaking of purple gems, my mother in law had these on her patio and I want them.

 Having been saturated in floral beauty it was time to turn my attention to the most energizing form of music on the planet - the march.  Victoria's Victoria day parade has such great marching bands. Most of them are high school students and they are local, from the mainland or from Washington and Oregon.  And holy smokes do they do a good job.  A spine tingling, toe tapping, goose bump raising good job.

I loved these guys because they were in kilts.  Such a great idea!

There's something about a feather in one's cap, no?

I love, love, love a drum line.  And this day I was not disappointed.  Also, how cool are these uniforms?

Every single one of these bands were mesmerizing.

Drum and tuba line - Squee!

I know very little about marching bands.  I can only imagine how much practice it takes to play an instrument and then play an instrument while precision marching.  The level of dedication of these musicians is phenomenal, not to mention the support teams that work like the dickens so they can practice, travel, look spiffy in their uniforms and perform.  It's actually exhausting just thinking about it.  And then I show up on a sunny day and get to be thoroughly entertained.  I am such a fan!

The icing on the marching band cake if you will, is the piper band.  I can't watch a piper band without getting chocked up.  I can't write about a piper band without getting choked up.  There is something so thrillingly dramatic about a bag pipe.  And more than one creates a haunting musical experience that reached right into my soul and squeezes.  Add drums to that and I'm lost.

My photo sucks - but you get the idea.  And to hammer it home, I'll leave you with a little tune these guys play that reduces me to a blubbering idiot of fanatical appreciation.

A Fiesta For Fifty

I was sitting at my son's school PAC (parent advisory committee) meeting when I found myself inadvertently criticizing the teacher appreciation lunch.  Once I shone a light on what was missing I was automatically in charge of the next one.  That's how it works, and I knew better, but I was tired.

So I agreed to organizing the school's teacher appreciation lunch.  And then because the budget was small, I thought "I wonder if I could cater it.".  Having been inspired by Ree Drummond and Nancy Fuller who cater for huge groups all the time, I thought "this might be fun".

It was!  it was a blast.  It was also nerve racking because I'd never fed fifty before and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  Fortunately I was not alone, and everyone bought into my ideas and was willing to help me make them a reality.  That's an awesome feeling and left me on an appreciation high for days.

Here's what we did:

I turned to fellow mom volunteer creative team Sara and Christine to implement my fiesta decoration ideas, with a little help from Party City and Sara's mom; who is essentially a party city unto herself. Sara combed Pinterest - that magical land of inspirational ideas -  and found this Mexican-esque table skirt.  Here's the link.

So perfect right?! 

Fabulous parent volunteers making the skirt

We used tried and true sombreros filled with tortilla chips as the center pieces

And hung  tissue paper pompoms from the ceiling.

 We had fiesta-themed music in the background; Gypsy Kings, Pittbull, Serena
Gomez; Lady Gaga; an amazing rendition of America from West Side Story done by the London Cello Orchestra, Sergio Mendez, Gloria Estefan and so many more.  Truthfully, my favourite part of this whole experience other than the outcome was sourcing this playlist.

To get everyone in a fiesta mood we offered mock Margaritas, in a marg glass with little lime wedges. Okay maybe that was my favourite part.

I wish I'd gotten a close up shot of these glasses.

 This is were Party City came in.  I sourced the sombreros and glassware from there.  They had such an amazing variety of fiesta themed products.  Alas my budget was very tight.

Everyone knows that it doesn't matter how pretty the glass is if the substance within is no good.  And our mock margaritas were very, very good.  I found this amazing recipe on the Colorado Lady's blog.  It was incredibly tasty, incredibly easy and fit in perfectly with the theme.

Sara even got one parent to carve a cactus from a watermelon.  The parents at my son's school are really fantastic.

And now what you've all been waiting for... the menu.  To quote Nancy Fuller - "fresh is best" and just about everything we served was homemade. Unfortunately in all the hubbub I completely forgot to take a photo of the spread.  You will just have to use your imagination and next year I'll assign a photographer.

We offered two kinds of tacos - soft and hard.  We served shredded chicken, taco seasoned ground beef and the most amazing meat on the planet - Morton's tri-tip. I buy it at the US Costco.  We also had Mexican red rice and refried beans - Thank you Yajaira!   And then everyone could dress their plate however they wanted.  We had homemade pico de gallo; homemade salsa; sharp cheddar, colby and jack cheeses, Homemade salsa verde; sour cream, olives, jalapenos, black beans, and this fantastic dressing that I took from Ree Drummond.  It's so good I could eat it like soup.

So there you have it.  A successful Tex Mex Fiesta for 50. Everyone enjoyed themselves but no one more than me.  What a coup!  I can't wait for next year.  I feel a Hawaiian Luau coming on.

Really, Life is Perfect

I get to do this:

The local outdoor pool opened and we were graced with sunny, 25 degree weather.    Because spring had just sprung, I had a hard time believing this was going to be fun. Marn insisted and sure enough we had a blast!

And eat this:

This my friends is sushi pizza with tuna sashimi.  It will blow your taste buds away.  If you live in my neck of the woods you can find it at Japolo in Burnaby.

And receive pictures like this:

The day after Marn and I went swimming she was off to Disneyland.  If you can't experience it yourself, having one of your friends head down to hang with the mouse is the next best thing. Especially when she texts you fun pictures like the one above.

I've decided no matter what your concerns, if your loved ones are healthy, you are safe and sound and there are fun experiences to be had - life is perfect.

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!

I've just spent the last three weeks purposefully and mindlessly consuming chocolate.  The Easter bunny was very generous this year.  It got so bad that I sent my husband off to work this morning with a grocery bag full of it.  Because if it stayed in the house it would end up on my butt.

It turns out that I have chocolate opinions.  The best chocolate can be found at Rogers' Chocolates,  It's not cheap but it is delicious.  Their milk chocolate is the best.

Followed by Purdy's tied with Laura Secord,

 We usually get a lot of Purdy's at our house.  It's the go to chocolatier in these parts,  plus it's a fund raising staple at the kids schools.

I have a very vivid memory of watching my mother thinly slice a Laura Secord egg.  These are big, and so tasty.  This was a highlight of my childhood egg hunts.  You can't find Laura Secord chocolate as readily as Purdy's especially on the west coast.

And then if you want to spend less, Cadbury is an excellent option.

I believe that Cadbury rivals Purdy's.  Cadbury can usually be found in my mouth when I am stressed or am looking to calm down.

Surprisingly, it turns out that.I can't get enough of these kit kat miniatures.  Marn and I made a special trip to Target to look at their Easter wares and found these bad boys.  I'm really glad they aren't available in my neck of the woods.  They are like Ruffles sour cream and onion potato chips.  I stop eating them when the bag is empty.

And so ends my chocolate recommendations.   Easter is the chocolate culmination of a year of holidays (If your year starts in October.)  Now we are on a chocolate hiatus.  My next chocolate opinion piece will occur just before Halloween.

But I'll leave you with this adorable video the kids' grandmother sent me. Scottish accents SLAY me.

 

(For more of this adorableness head over to Mark Nelson's Facebook page)

Easter Fun

Here I sit on Tuesday morning, staring at some plum blossoms, marshaling my thoughts to tell you about my fabulous Easter long weekend. I've got the washing machine humming away in the background and I'm surreptitiously looking up ham bone soup recipes, while cleaning out my email and trying to get a jump on this week's adventures.

I love a holiday long weekend, especially one that has a special meal.  That usually means decorations, lots of great food, fun activities, traditions, and family.  The build up is exciting with all of it's prep and anticipation; the execution is fun although sometimes I forget to live in the moment and enjoy it; and then you are left with a 'clean slate' feeling as thoughts move towards the next big event (in my case Victoria Day long weekend).  I also derive an enormous amount of satisfaction putting things away.

I've inherited these fabulous over the top purple dishes from my grandmother.  They aren't really my style but I have a deep visceral connection to my grandmother through them and I feel enormous pleasure in being able to have a dish that comes out only for one occasion.  What a luxury.  Plus they class up the joint.

Maritime Rose - aren't they fabulous?!

They graced my table three times this weekend, my favourite was for an Easter breakfast.

We also decorated eggs.  I love decorating Easter eggs.  This year Marn and I found a cool gadget that lets you spin the die all over them.  I had my doubts but it actually worked. I use fake eggs from the dollar store - amazing -  and they are actually die-able. So no more waste, or trying to blow out the actual egg which was just torture.

My kids and I usually get together with my friend Cathy and her son to decorate eggs. We've been doing this for years.  But as the kids get older they don't seem to stay as long. They will decorate a couple of eggs and then are off playing while Cath and I sit at the table for hours experimenting and 'zenning' out with pretty colours.  I've learned that the die that comes from a decorating kit is glossier than plain old food die. And don't forget glitter- glitter is the proverbial icing on the cake, if you will.

We also took the grandparents out go-karting, as one does at Easter.  My oldest is obsessed with formula one racing right now and although not nearly old enough, can't wait to drive. This is when I wish we lived on a ranch or working farm.  Because then he could get behind the wheel much earlier, even if it were only a riding lawn mower.

Easter colour at the race track

And no Easter themed blog would be complete without mentioning food.  This weekend we ate. A. Lot.  I roasted a bone in ham this year.  I used a bastardized version of the Pioneer woman's ham glaze - it was delicious.  But I've decided I prefer a spiral ham.  Turns out when I was talking to Marnie, she won't serve anything but spiral ham.  I need to listen to that girl more often.  Sadly, some things you just have to learn for yourself.  Spiral hams are essentially pre-carved and it makes everything so much easier.  I don't really know how to carve a ham and I encountered uneven meat and gristle that was a pain to present.  The ham was delicious but not easy.  And really, it turns out I am all about easy.  Plus at $2 a pound how can you go wrong. (And that's Canadian.)

These hams are always wrapped in red, I wonder why?

I also used Ree Drummond's recipe for croissant french toast.  This is one of the best recipes on the planet; and is absolutely perfect for spring, and summer,  Something about a blackberry.

Don't these look good.  Stole this picture from Mann Farms.

The rich custardy egg mixture that bakes into the croissant is divine and when I serve it on my grandmother's plates, well now, that's just perfection!

Who's Ping?!

Every spring equinox I hang these 'welcome spring' signs on my kids' doors.

I found them at the dollar store, they make me smile and it's something bright and festive to herald the changing season.

This is what my youngest (he's seven) did with his sign:

Crazy nutbar!