What I've Been Up To ...

Long time no post!

In my defence, it isn't always easy to find time to sit down and write - let alone actually do stuff worth writing about - when you have a busy infant. 

But as busy as I am, life is amazing. Evelyn is just the best and I feel so privileged to get to watch her grow everyday. 

She is days away from 9 months and crawling, cruising on furniture, and just this Wednesday she took her first few solo steps. 

I swear I blinked and my baby turned into a kid. 

I am so in love with and so in awe of her. 

The other reason I've been away is because I've started a collaborative blog with my friend Kayla! 
It's all things lifestyle so you can expect a nice mix of recipes, fashion, parenting, DIY projects, travel, and more. 
While I definitely tend to be a lone wolf on a lot of things (I'm certainly introverted but may also have some control issues...), I have to admit that it is really fun working on a blog with another person. Having someone else's opinion and take on topics is wonderful and the collaboration means I don't have to stress about posting something every few days. We share the load (if you didn't say that like Samwise Gamgee then I'm disappointed).

Check out my other blog here! 
I'll try to keep posting here as well but it will likely be less often than over at birch & bubbly. 

Tuesday's Child : 27 & 28 Weeks catch up!

I missed last week as we were in Chicago so I've doubled up this week.
Check it all out here
And hopefully soon I can get a Chicago recap up!

Tuesday's Child : 26 weeks (6 months!)

My little doodle-bug is half a year! Where did those 6 months go?

Read all about what she's been up to here (plus check out her adorable 6 month picture. So begin the sitting pictures because it's impossible to get her to lay on her back anymore).

Gluten Free Brownies, or, baking with coconut flour

Guess what I did?

I baked!

two items!

I've been invited to a baking party next weekend and since two of my friends are gluten intolerant, the challenge is to find a gluten free recipe.

I've baked with rice flour before and wasn't particularly wowed by it, but I pretty much substituted it exactly for regular flour which you can't always do.

I debated buying the gluten free all purpose flour but decided to be more adventurous and instead I bought coconut flour to experiment with.

Turns out you have to make a few adjustments to your recipe when using coconut flour as it tends to be more absorbent than your standard all purpose flour.

After scouring Pinterest, my first experimental recipe was for a lemon loaf. 

It sucked.

It tasted too eggy, which was no surprise considering it called for 6 eggs. 

I tried again.

Brownies.

A big winner.

There's a nice hint of coconut (there would have been more if I had used coconut oil and coconut milk as the recipe calls for) so if you like the taste of coconut, grab some flour and give this recipe a whirl.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a brownie pan with parchment paper.
• Over medium heat, combine 1/3 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup honey until melted. In a heat-proof bowl, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour oil & butter over chocolate and allow chocolate to begin to melt, then stir until combined. 
• Add in 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 eggs. 
• In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix into wet ingredients with a whisk to get rid of lumps.
• Pour into brownie pan and bake for 25 minutes.  

Tuesday's Child : 25 Weeks

One day I'll do something worth blogging about again. 

One day.

In related exciting news though - keep an eye out for a new collaborative blog hopefully coming in the near future that a friend of mine has proposed! 

It will be all things lifestyle related - recipes, DIY projects, home renos, style, you name it, we're hoping to blog about it!

In the meantime, my kiddo slept overnight in her crib for the first time last night and it was bittersweet. 

Read all about it here :)

Tuesday's Child : 23 Weeks

It's Tuesday!

Kiddo is asleep on the couch beside me. 

I blogged!

Read all about it here

Tuesday's Child : 22 Weeks

It's Tuesday.

It's 7:16 am.

I've showered. I can see spots on my head where my hair has visibly thinned. I've had one cup of coffee. I've posted my Tuesday post.

Baby E was up at 5:45 this morning....

Today might be a long day.

But we're experimenting with solid (bit of a misnomer as it's 75% breast milk and not solid at all) food!

Read about it and watch the cutest video here 

And send long baby nap vibes my way today cause coffee ain't cutting it.

Hosting a Book Club Party?

I'm up next for hosting book club and if you don't know, I love planning parties. 

I thought it would be fun to coordinate snacks with the titles of the books we've read so far.  

John and I brainstormed a bit last night in bed (which admittedly went on longer than it should have, knowing that we were losing precious minutes of sleep because this baby of ours is up by 7 am every day) and then today I took some of my favourites and edited pictures.

Yes, this is what I've been doing in my spare time today.

Sorry household chores. 

Mama's getting creative.

To be slapped onto the outside of a bucket filled with ice, keeping our vino chilled.

To be put on a baguette. Ride that grain, girl.

(This one is also my favourite, editing wise).

I couldn't find the proper font to match and couldn't space out the letters to make it a perfect fit but I think I can be forgiven in the name of goat cheese.

I also like this one. I was going to flip around 'GIRL' to 'GRIL' but... too much work. 

Again, I can be forgiven in the name of sweet, sweet grilled pineapple.

Bear Paws and Teddy Grahams. Deeeelish.

Also contenders: 'I am Malollipops', 'Stilton Alice' (for the cheese plate), 'Eleanor & Pork'

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

As promised, I've been baking!

The icing is coming but I've done the cupcakes so for now you'll get the recipe for those.

With a small child who requires entertaining, baking these days gets done in stages or not at all. 

I'm only blogging because she's been napping like a champion today. I suspect a growth spurt.

For John's birthday we're doing a 'Ron Swanson' theme (from Parks and Recreation) because they share many likes and dislikes. 

Taking Ron's love of breakfast food I googled some bacon cupcake recipes.

This one does not disappoint.

Recipe from the glorious website Bacon Today

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

(makes about 10 cupcakes)

• Fry 6 pieces of bacon then mince into small pieces. Set aside about 1 tbsp of bacon grease and allow it to solidify in the fridge.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin.
• In a bowl, cream together 4 1/2 tbsp butter with 5 tbsp brown sugar. Add in 1 tbsp bacon grease. Add in 1 egg and 4 tbsp maple syrup.
• In a separate bowl, mix together 1 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt. 
• Mix half of the flour into wet ingredients, then add 1/4 cup milk and the rest of the flour.  Fold in the minced bacon (about 1/4 cup).
• Pour into muffin tins (filling about 3/4 full) and bake for about 20 minutes. 

Bacon!

Maple icing recipe coming up soon :)

Tuesday's Child : 21 Weeks

Guess who made the most of baby's short nap to blog?

This mama.

Read all about it here!

Now we're off to pick up passport photos and cat litter. 

Busy day.

P.S. John's birthday is on Saturday so stay tuned for a savoury cupcake recipe!

Tuesday's Child : 19 Weeks

Someone was up at 6 and then took a nice snooze from 7:30-8 so that I could get todays post up!

My first mother's day was wonderful and got me thinking about what being a mother means to me.

Read it here!

Coffee Cake Muffins

This week has been long with my little monkey who can't stay asleep for naps after noon. 

She gets so overtired and fussy and I get irritable and am now completely spent.

I'm very much looking forward to the weekend!

Especially since Sunday is Mothers Day.

I'm hoping for an hour long bubble bath.

Also maybe muffins.

Here's a recipe for some delicious coffee cake muffins you could make for your mom!

This recipe is pretty much word for word the recipe on the Martha Stewart site, only I substituted  raspberry yogurt (full fat. It's tastier) for sour cream (which I didn't have).

1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Prepare streusel topping: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into small pieces until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs; refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Butter and flour a jumbo 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup muffin tins). I used a silicon pan which made removing the muffins without only taking out the tops SO easy. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp baking soda.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup yogurt (I used raspberry), 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, until well combined. With mixer on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
4. Divide half the batter among prepared muffin cups. Top with half the streusel mixture, then remaining batter, and top with streusel. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
   
   
   

   Happy Friday!

Tuesday's Child : 18 Weeks

Last week I finally got around to making those coffee cake muffins. 

This week I will post it.

It all depends on the doodle-bug taking some much needed naps....

Read why this week has felt long already here (it has to do with naps and squealing)!

Life Hacks: Episode 1

So... I tried (so far unsuccessfully) to make coffee cake muffins today. 

Baby E was fast asleep in her car seat after our walk home from mommy & me yoga (which we had to leave early because she was tired and refused to sleep. She felt crying would be better) so I put her up on the table and reclined her and decided to spend the quiet time getting some baking done.

But my brown sugar, having been relegated to the back of the cupboard for too many moons, is hard as a rock. So while I attempt to soften it up I decided to start a series of life hacks. 

I got the idea from my talented friend Danielle over at Ginger Rose who comes up with incredible food hacks for Kraft Canada. 

Instead of food hacks (because 1. I'm not clever enough to think up any and 2. I can't get my ingredients in order to actually do this) I'm going with life hacks. 

Life hacks for the sneaky and lazy woman. 

So here you go. 

Episode 1. 

Enjoy :)

P.S. Don't tell John he's been getting duped for weeks. 

Tuesday's Child : 17 Weeks

Sorry for the lack of posts - last week I was out of the house most days and truly I've done nothing worth blogging about.

Hopefully that will change this week!

Here's my Tuesday baby post in the meantime - complete with another video!

Birthday Baking Part 2: Cracker Jack Cupcakes

Part two of the delicious birthday cupcakes is up!

Again, recipe is courtesy of The Brunette Baker.

Start with the base:

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

(or no-nut butter if you're like me)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with muffin cups.
• In a bowl, cream together 2 cups packed brown sugar, ½ cup butter, and 1 cup peanut butter/no nut butter. Add in 3 eggs, one at a time, and 2 tsp vanilla. 
• In a separate bowl mix together 2½ cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp salt. Mix into the peanut butter mix, alternating with 1¼ cups buttermilk.
• Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 14-18 minutes then allow to cool.  

Then pull out the salted caramel you made before and whip up some salted caramel icing

(it's maybe the best icing I've ever made):

Salted Caramel Icing

• Cream together ½ cup butter (softened), 4 cup icing sugar, and 1 cup salted caramel. If your frosting isn't the right consistency (mine wasn't) then add cream or milk 1 tsp at a time until the desired consistency is reached.  

Put it all together by topping your cupcakes with caramel corn and peanuts (I don't think I have to mention that I skipped the peanuts) and then drizzling with salted caramel. 

These cupcakes are so tasty and very decadent so you probably won't want to eat more than one. 

But if you do, go for a second without any hesitation!

Tuesday's Child : 14 Weeks Old

It's Tuesday!

AND - my dad's birthday!

Happy happy birthday Daddy-o! 

I love you :)

Birthday Baking Part 1: Salted Caramel

My dad's birthday is on Tuesday and we're planning a baseball-themed party.

I volunteered to be in charge of desert so I'm making an appropriately baseball-themed desert: 

Crackerjack Cupcakes (& cake balls)!

Because there are a few steps involved I thought I'd share and break the process down into two posts.

First up: salted caramel.

Be warned, this is DELICIOUS and you will have a hard time not eating most of this before you use it. 

Make extra.

(Recipe from The Brunette Baker)

Makes 2 cups.

• Over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup sugar with 4 tbsp water and bring to a boil. Without stirring, allow sugar to boil until it turns a golden-amber colour - about 6 or 7 minutes. **Do not leave the stove as this colour change happens quickly** 
• Remove from heat and carefully add in 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tsp vanilla. Do this carefully as the mix will bubble up. 
• With a wooden spoon, stir in 3/4 cup room temperature butter and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir until butter is melted and incorporated.  Pour into a container and allow to cool. 
• Dip everything in your kitchen into a spoonful of this sauce and try not to eat the entire jar. 

I want to make so much more of this sauce. 

So much more.

Save at least a cup of this for part two of the cracker jack cupcake recipe!

Oven Roasted Jerk Chickpeas

In my new ongoing quest to find quick snacks that are also healthy, I came across roasted chickpeas.

Believe me when I tell you that these are incredibly easy to make and are so tasty - especially if, like me, you can't enjoy nuts.

You can use pretty much any kind of seasoning you want. 

I used jerk seasoning because I had a lot of it on hand.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Open a can of chickpeas and drain out the liquid. Spread the chickpeas out evenly on a baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with desired seasoning.
• Bake for about 30 mins. Then let cool and enjoy!

This snack is about 125 calories per 1/2 cup and is loaded with protein and fibre! A much healthier alternative to chips....or chocolate, if we're being realistic about my snacking habits. 

Tuesday's Child : 13 Weeks Old

The love-bug officially turned 3 months old on Monday!

And boy is she becoming more aware of herself and her surroundings.

This weeks post has pictures and videos!

Check it out here

Healthy Homemade Granola Bites

For book club I really wanted to make something. I also wanted to make some healthy and filling snacks that I could easily shove in my mouth while entertaining a 3 month old.

I googled granola bar recipes and came across a tasty-sounding one from Oh She Glows.

(You can find the original recipe here)

I changed it up a bit as I didn't want any nuts and didn't have any seeds. 

So here's how to make my Oh She Glows inspired granola bites

• Start by dehydrating some fruit. I used strawberries and pineapple because I had them on hand and like the way they taste dehydrated. Thinly slice your fruit and put them on parchment paper, or tinfoil, or a silicone mat and bake in your oven at the lowest setting (mine was at 170 degrees) for about hours.
• On another baking sheet, toast 2 cups rolled oats in the oven at 350 for about 10 mins.
• In a bowl, mash 3 bananas (heat them in the microwave first for about 30 seconds for easier mashing) together with 1 tsp vanilla extract. 
• Stir in the toasted oats and chopped dried fruit (plus whatever else you want to add - nuts, seeds, etc) plus 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Spoon mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper and press down to make the surface as even as possible. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 mins until firm and slightly golden along the edges. 
• Let cool for 10 mins then remove from pan. Allow bars to cool for at least another 10 mins in the freezer (or longer in the fridge) before cutting into bites or bars.

(Based on the recipe above, sans nuts and seeds, and cut into 25 bites, each bite is about 42 calories)   

The bites are tasty but if you like them a bit sweeter brush the bites with a bit of maple syrup.

Tuesday's Child : 12 Weeks Old

Last week there was no post because we had no power/internet.

But we:re back with week 12 here!

Hard to believe it's been almost 3 months since the little monkey came home with us.

Gosh I love this kid. 

In other news, I've got a recipe for an apple-coleslaw that I plan to post this week.

My cooking recipes ain't so fancy anymore. 

It's all about quick & easy these days!

Red Velvet Madeleines

I baked!

I fished out the ol' madeleine pan and whipped up two types of madeleines for a family birthday party this weekend.

I made the delicious lemon madeleines that I've made many times before and I tried out a new type as well.

For the lemon madeleine recipe - click here.

For the red velvet madeleine recipe, see below!

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
• In a bowl, mix together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 cup melted butter, and 2 tablespoons red liquid food coloring
• Add in 1 1/3 cups cake flour, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Fill madeleine pan and bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool then dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Child : 10 Weeks Old

As per usual, I can't believe another week has gone by!

This morning we registered for a baby & caregiver yoga class on Thursday mornings.

This mama is excited about the warm weather and getting out to meet other parents in the area!

I'm fortunate enough to already know a lot of new moms who are incredibly supportive. 

Incredibly.

So this week's post is all about the most important thing I was told as I adjusted to life as a parent.

Read it here! 

Tuesday's Child : 9 Weeks Old

The blog post is up!

My goal is to find something other than my kid to post about this week....

I'm thinking.

In the meantime, check out the Tuesday post here!

And check out my friend Kayla's blog.
She recently took some photos of our little family that you can check out here. And while you're there, read through her other posts about finding the beauty in everyday life.

Tuesday's Child: 8 Weeks Old

I almost missed posting on Tuesday's Child yesterday but remembered at about 9 pm last night.

Check out the post here and check out that cute little one-week old bug in the picture above!

We got her newborn photos back and she's grown so much. Her face has filled out and her arms and legs aren't quite so skinny anymore.

I can't believe she's almost 2 months old already.

P.S. John made the mobile hanging above her!

Salt Dough Crafts

I wanted to do something for my parents and in-laws for the Valentine's Day/Family Day weekend, as well as for us.

I've seen lots of craft ideas using a child's hand and footprints and figured I would do something similar. 

Originally I wanted to shape her footprints into a heart but have you ever tried this with a kid who can't bear weight on their legs?

I also tried to do her handprints but that is just as difficult as she would make a fist every time I tried to press her hand into the dough.

Even when asleep.

Maybe if I had rolled out the dough thinner...?

Anyway, I got enough of an imprint to paint it which helped it stand out.

If you're feeling brave, give this craft a whirl. 

• In a bowl, mix together 1 cup flour with 1/2 cup salt. 
• Add in 1/2 cup water slowly as you may not need all of it. Mix together, careful not to let the dough become too sticky.
• Knead the dough then roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut out desired shapes.
• Struggle to get your child's hand or footprint on the dough.
• Allow dough to dry overnight, then bake at 170 degrees for 2-3 hours until completely dry. 

And let me know if you try this with an infant and have a foolproof method.

Tuesday's Child: 7 Weeks Old

This post was almost late - sorry!

Our furnace has been on the fritz so we spent a lot of the day getting space heaters set up and starting a fire. 

We're nice and warm in the living room and we'll probably have a sleep-over of sorts out here tonight. 

I feel childish saying I'm excited. It's like being a kid again on the weekends when my parents would pull out the sofa bed and my sister and I would sleep in the living room and watch tv until late at night. 

But here it is, the ol' Tuesday baby blog post!

This week she's started smiling and almost laughing a lot more. It's the best. 

Tuesday's Child: 6 Weeks Old

It's Tuesday!

And this week there's a picture with my post. 

I'd planned (and already started) to do a monthly photo to see how she changes but I think I'm going to do weekly photos too and then put them all in a 52-photo frame then hang it up in her room so that it takes up her entire wall and she can see how crazy about her we are. 

But in the meantime, check out the blog here !

Book Club Recommendation Run-Down

In the summer I joined a book club with some friends. 

As an avid reader I loved the idea of having books recommended by friends and reading books I may not otherwise have known about or given a chance. Not to mention having the chance to discuss plot and characters over food and drinks with good company.

I thought I'd pass along my humble opinion on some of the books we've read so far in case any other avid readers who stumble upon this blog post are looking for suggestions for their next book.

1. Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell). This book is the story of two teenagers from very different families who fall in love and the challenges of that young love. It was an easy read and the story was sweet (I read this while pregnant and hormonal and teared up the first time Eleanor and Park held hands) and engaging. It also made for good book club fodder since the story hints at events that may or may not have transpired. It makes for good discussion. Recommended.

2. Wild (Cheryl Strayed). If you don't already know, which you probably do, this is the true story of a woman who decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail to put her troubled past behind her and to come to terms with her mother's death. I liked the way it bounced between her present on the trail and her past. I also cried (her mother owned a horse... and, spoiler alert, her mother also dies). As a fan of the outdoors it also made me want to go hiking. The movie is good but, as per usual, I think the book is better. I missed this book club meeting but from the recap it seemed like our group was pretty split on whether they liked Cheryl or not. Makes for good discussion! Recommended.

3. Still Alice (Lisa Genova). This was my second read of the book and I think I liked the book even more the second time around. This should be a must-read for everyone. It's the story of a woman who is diagnosed with early onset dementia and how it effects her professional life and her family. I feel like I don't need to tell you that I cried but I dare anyone to read this and not cry. It's an incredible book. I really want to see the movie. Alice makes a plan to kill herself when her dementia gets to a certain point. This made for great book club discussion on how we rate quality of life. 100% recommended.

4. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn). This story starts with the disappearance of a wife on her 5th wedding anniversary and explores the did-he or didn't-he involvement of her husband. I can't say much more without ruining the story but if you like smart, twisty and dark stories then drop what you're reading and read this. I loved this so much that I bought the other books Gillian Flynn has written. You love and hate the characters. This might be the ultimate book club book because once you finish it you want to talk to people about it. 100% recommended.

5. Never Let Me Go (Kazou Ishiguro). I had high hopes for this one, having loved the twist of Gone Girl. I was promised a twist and had read that this book was one everyone should read. While it does deal with an interesting ethical question, I found it really slow and hard to get into. I read The Goldfinch in the summer and also found it slow but stuck it out til the end. I couldn't stick this one out.  I may try to go back to this book just to finish it though now that I'm home all day with my tiny one. The general consensus with the book club was that we've picked better books. I'd be interested to here from anyone who read it and really loved it. It might give me the motivation to finish it.

Our book for February is:

6. The Bear (Claire Cameron). This one reminds me of Room by Emma Donoghue (a must-read) in that it's told from the perspective of a child. In this case it is 5 year old Anna who is now caring for her 3 year old brother after a camping trip in Algonquin park gone wrong. As expected, I've already cried. I'm about half way through this book and recommend it already.  It's easy reading and very easy to just want to keep reading. I'll update my recommendation that you read this if I'm not as impressed when I'm finished but for now my verdict is: recommended. 

Any books you'd recommend for my book club's next selection? 

Tuesday's Child: 5 Weeks Old

It's Tuesday!

The bug is 5 weeks old today!

Read this weeks musings here

Raisin Bran Muffins

Firstly - our little love bug is one month old today! 

Where did that month disappear to?

At her check up yesterday we learned that she's gained a whole pound and grown a quarter inch since her last visit.

She is one healthy, happy, and very loved kid.

Secondly - Last week in my efforts to do some baking I also got around to making raisin bran muffins.

The idea was to make something healthy that I could grab quickly. Muffins aren't necessarily the healthiest... but the bran makes it easier to pretend that it is. 

If you wanted a slightly healthier version, substitute the vegetable oil with unsweetened applesauce. 

• Preheat oven to 375 and line a muffin tin with muffin cups. This recipe will make one dozen muffins.
• In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup bran with 1 cup buttermilk. Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, and 1/2 tsp vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Add to bran mixture and stir until just combined. 
• Add in 1/2 cup raisins and stir. For my muffins I used golden raisins and dried black currants. Pour into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Happy 1/12th of a year, bug!