Birthday Party Ideas for a 2 Year Old

{This post is a little later than I like to be with my post. It's been a challenging week: my week first began with writer's block then all of us got sick, again. :( Nothing serious just another cold. I really thought once summer was here we be cold free for a while...any ways here I am with apologies.} 

I am currently working on designing my son's 2nd birthday party. We were away last year for his first birthday so I want to give him a big one this year. 

Venue: Our Backyard (minus the laundry)

Time:  Late Afternoon - After nap time to avoid any meltdowns

Theme: Still on the fence but it's probably going to be Toy Story Inspired. My son just loves those movies.

Cake: I already own a T-Rex dinosaur cake pan (a great find I picked up at a yard sale) that I will make into the character Rex from the movies.  

Partysaurus Pan from Wilton http://www.wilton.com/shapedpan/Partysaurus-Pan#

Games: Still working on it...pin the antenna on the alien, guess how many army guys are in the jar, maybe a piñata...

Party Favours: Still working on it....searching for lots of options on Pinterest

Image from Party City

Theses a just a few ideas. Check out my pinterest page to see more of my ideas http://pinterest.com/homeandfashionc/toy-story-inspired-2nd-birthday/.

Stay tuned for party pictures in three weeks. 

 

Trip to Newfoundland: Bonavista & Upper Amherst Cove

The highlight of this trip, besides seeing my mom, family and my best friend which is always a highlight, was going back to the town where my dad grew up and the surrounding towns where I spent most holidays, long weekends, and two weeks every summer. 

First, we (meaning my mom, my son, and myself) went to the town of Bonavista, Newfoundland where we stayed at this beautiful inn called The Harbour Quarters Inn.http://www.harbourquarters.com/. (Bonavista is a fishing community of approximately 4000 people.) 

Second place we visited was the town, Upper Amherst Cove, Newfoundland, where my dad grew up. Lots of memories in this place. My family spent many holidays and summers there. The population of Upper Amherst Cove is about 35 people. The below picture was taken on our way to supper at the Bonavista Social Club http://bonavistasocialclub.com/. The food there was amazing. I had the most mouth watering moose burger with delectable, homemade potato chips. 

This shot I wanted to show you is more of an artistic shot, where I am looking through a clothes line out towards the ocean. I also wanted to show that the sun does shine in Newfoundland and the weather was beautiful for the majority of my trip. 

Adventure to Newfoundland

So, this week I am off to visit my home province of Newfoundland with my son. We are going to explore the beach, parks, great food and spend time with family and friends. Can't wait to share my stories and photos.

Here's a little taste from a previous trip.

St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland

My Favourite Things - Summer Edition

Very excited for Summer so I thought I would share some of my favourite things that I love about the season.

1. Ability to Hang out Laundry Outdoors - There is nothing better than the smell of freshly dried laundry outside.                                                          
2. Beautiful Colours- Everyone talks about beautiful Fall colours and it is but my favourite colours are  Summer ones. Purples against vibrant greens, fushia, chartreuse, and the bright blue sky.
3. Reading Outside - Sitting in my lounge chair or swing reading a great book. {On my To-Do list is find a good read}
4. Summer Drinks- Some of my favourites are Margaritas, Sangria, and Coronas with Lime.
5. Going to the Beach & Camping. - This one is a tie. And if you are really lucky you can do both at the same time.  

Breezeway Reveal: Organaztion Sneak Peak

So I am working on my breezeway makeover and thought I would share some of my organization solutions that I am using in this room. This room connects my garage with my house so it needs to have lots of storage so it is not interfering with all the foot traffic.

Dilemma #1 : Shoe Storage
I was at a yard sale last weekend and came across these vintage wooden crates from fruit orchards. At first, I wasn't sure what to do with them but when I got home I thought they would be a great place to store our shoes. I stacked the crates and it works awesome. We have lots of places to put our shoes and my bucket of clothes pins and it looks cool.

Shoe Storage - Vintage Wooden Crates 

Dilemma #2 - Toddler Safe Storage

For this storage dilemma, I decided to hang baskets up vertically on the wall to eliminate too much stuff on the floor and to save everything from my toddler constantly dumping things out. I already had the baskets and they weren't working where they were before (in an old bookcase I decide to remove from the room). 

I love how both these storage solutions turned out. Check back for the big Breezeway Reveal. :)

Vertical Storage - Woven Basket

DIY Art - Home Sweet Home

So my spring makeover project is our breezeway/porch. The finished project is almost ready for the big reveal but it still needs a few more finishing touches.

I have a very tight budget for this makeover so I had to get creative. One of the ways I found that I could be creative and not spend much money was to create my own artwork. I found some inspiration on Pinterest, where people had made different pieces of art with a neat phrase in a cool font. For this project, I selected to do "Home Sweet Home" as my phrase as it is the entrance to our house that we use every day. The colour scheme is yellow and a soft grey. It didn't turn out exactly as I had invisioned but still really nice.

DIY Art - Home Sweet Home

Steps:

1. I took a canvas board from the art store and painted it the yellow.
2. Traced out letters (any font style) and cut them out of cardstock.
3. I laid out my letter stencils for the 2 "Home" words. I stuck them down with painters tape. Then painted over the letters in a stripe with the grey paint. {In hindsight, I should have used a light spray adhesive because the letters moved on me so I had to go back and free hand a little with a small artist brush.}
4. Then for the word "sweet", I freehand wrote it in with the small artist brush.
5. The background seemed too plain, so I added some polka dots with the tip of the brush in grey. 
6. To add depth to the piece, I traced the outline of everything with a silver marker (which will shimmer in the light).
7. Lastly, I attached a wall hanging hook to the back with some hot glue. 

Wall Hanging Hook

Ta Da - The finished product. 

Mexican Calzones with Pretzel Crust

This week's recipe is Mexican Calzones with Pretzel Crust . I was watching The Pioneer Woman cooking show and she was making Easy Calzones which look so yummy. It also happened to be Cinco de Mayo inspired me to make my own recipe but with a Mexican twist.

Mexican Calzones with Pretzel Crust

Crust

1 c. warm water

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. quick rising yeast

3 c. all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten for egg wash on crust

Kosher Salt, for the pretzel crust

Filling

1/2 lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp. chipolte chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

1 can tomato paste
1 c. water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add sugar and yeast to the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. In a bowl, add the yeast mixture to the flour. Stir together until it forms a ball. Next, knead the dough for 10 minutes and then let rest, covered, in a warm area for 30-60 minutes. 

While you dough is resting, you can start to make the filling. First, brown the ground beef and then add the onions and peppers. Sauté the mixture until the onions and peppers have softened. Next add the chipotle chili powder, cumin, worcestershire and salt. Stir the seasoning into the meat mixture and add the tomato paste. Cook for a minute {allowing the spices and tomato paste to deepen the flavour and then add the beans and water. Bring to a bubble and turn off heat to let cool.

Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into about 6-8 balls depending on the size of the calzones you want. Roll the dough out until it is a 1/4 inch thick round disc. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the filling onto half of the rounnd disc making but making sure to leave a 1/2 inch free for crimping the edges of the dough together. Fold the other half of the dough  over the filling and crimp with a fork. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and sprinkle with kosher salt and cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until brown. Serve with a little sour cream.