Visit Yuppie Love at Market Collective!

Posted by kait / November 24, 2010

Hey Friends! I am going to be at the Market Collective on Saturday December 11 and Sunday December 12 with my jams, jellies, and gluten-free goodies! I am sharing the booth with my lovely Mom, Sew Pretty Sew Vintage and my friend Amanda, MEADOR. My Mom, Carrie, will be displaying her wonderful handmade items like Christmas stockings, beautiful decorative pillows, and little girl accessories! Amanda will be showcasing her latest collection of paintings & mixed media pieces. Our theme is loosely based on the notion of Domestic Bliss, so it will definitely be a lot of fun! I hope you can make it and come visit! I will be posting a full list of everything I will be selling at the market next week. In the meantime, stay warm! Brrr! That -27 C walk to work this morning was mighty biting! The strong North winds were blowing me away. Come on warm tropical South winds!!! Return to us!

Lunchbag

Posted by kait / November 22, 2010

It is a lot of work packing a lunch everyday but when you are on a budget it is an absolute must. The trick is making your lunch somewhat exciting so you don’t feel like tossing it in the garbage when noon rolls around. Last week, I tried out this trick.

Simple brown wax bags and string do up my lunch all pretty. Throw in an old-fashioned soda and you have an absolutely adorable lunch.

I made a turkey breast sandwich with goat gouda from the Bison in Banff, picked onions made by me and on the side — homemade potato chips.

A Day of Yum

Posted by kait / November 21, 2010

Wow, obviously I didn’t really keep up with the whole NoPoBloMo thing. Life got busy, life got hectic. And I slacked! But I am back on the keyboard ready to share the latest foods and yummy things and lovely days I have been having. Today was a particularly lovely day. A regular Sunday with tons of snow, making it feel extra cozy staying indoors. We made a trek to the drugstore and to the coffee shop, all bundled up in our furs and scarves and woolen coats. The wind chill is brutal though, I needed a face mask just to walk the 3 blocks to the coffee shop.

I got a lot done today too, it was quite productive. Cleaned up the house, organized all my paperwork, and made a plan to get crafty in the kitchen.

I have been thinking about gluten-free breads, rolls, and loaves ever since San Francisco so thought I would try making some today. These are extra delicious with basil and rosemary baked into them. With a little butter scraped on them, they are absolutely to die for! A couple people have already asked me for the recipe, which I will post soon.

I made a huge batch of pickles for the upcoming Market Collective where I am doing a booth with Sew Pretty Sew Vintage (my Mom) and MEADOR (my friend Amanda). I am so excited to put this booth together with them — I know we will be creating something really beautiful and unique — perfect for the Christmas Market. We will be there on December 11, 10 – 5pm and December 12, 11 – 5pm. I will be posting more details on what I will be selling at the market in the next week or so.

Tomorrow I am going to make a batch of classic Strawberry jam, so I started prepping them tonight. Delicious fresh strawberries dusted in sugar, soaking out all the good juices overnight. I can’t wait to make this jam — who doesn’t love Strawberry Jam!?

Lastly, I made an incredibly spicy dinner for Mr Honey and I. Szechuan Shrimp & Tofu with sweet onion, kale, and red pepper served up on some Asian white rice vermicelli. Our mouths were burning by the end of the meal but was it ever worth it! The whole thing was delicious. I love the tofu mixed with the shrimp — it adds something a little different.

I love Sundays because they are such a great day to get things done, but I hate how when you get to around 9pm you realize that it is back to the grind tomorrow and you will have to wait another 5 days to really relax again. I have lots to look forward to this week however — coffee with some of my favourite girlfriends, finishing off the strawberry jam, my Parents’ 33rd Anniversary ( LOVE!), and spending time with my sweetheart.

holidaze: november pictures

Posted by kait / November 15, 2010

Canadiana in Banff

Posted by kait / November 14, 2010

We went to Banff today for a doctors appointment. Yes, even though I haven’t lived in Banff for over 3 years I still go there to see my family doctor because she is fantastic. Not only is she a fantastic doctor, but she also has fabulous fashion sense. She had this amazing purple ensemble on today. Thick purple knit tights, and a great dress topped off with cute purple heels. So not typical Dr clothes.

I love this view from the highway. It is the first point where you can see the entire mountain range and let me tell you it is so breathtaking. Exciting!

Our first stop during the quest for Canadiana, we grabbed a coffee and gluten-free carrot cake from Wild Flour on Bear Street. Yum.

What a great big cup of coffee. Wild Flour sure makes a good cup. And also some great glutenfree goods. However I have noticed they seem to have less and less everytime I go.

Check out these beautiful Ralph Lauren boots at the Bay on Banff Avenue. These are so gorgeous…you could wear them with everything. Like all of your Hudson Bay Clothing.

I love this great t-shirt. It is such a spin on the Canadian Classic but so modern. I would wear this t-shirt with a pair of skinny jeans and the plaid boots. Throw on a great navy cardigan and then I would be set.

This beautiful blanket cardigan is on my wish list. It is so slouchy and comfy and beautiful.

Look how amazing this display is. Ultra Canadian!

This is my dream winter coat. So patriotic, so woolen, so beautiful. I would be the ultimate Canadian girl in this coat.

This isn’t the greatest photo, but I tried this traditional Irish Boxty with a Canadian twist — smoked salmon! A boxty is a traditional potato pancake made with shredded potato, egg, and green onion. The smoked salmon was heavenly.

Mr Honey enjoying a bison burger at the St James Gate pub in Banff.

Arcade Fire was on Saturday Night Live to finish off our day of Canadiana.

NoBloPoMo #7: Perfect Sunday

Posted by kait / November 7, 2010

canmore brunch, magazines & newspapers shopping spree, crafternoon, farmers market, rest. and its only 4pm. love the extra hour.

We woke up early today, thanks to the time change, and we decided instead of waiting until 10am — when all of the breakfast joints around our place open — we drove to Canmore for some brunch.

I heard good things about Communitea and also found out that they carry delcious gluten-free goods. It was easy to find too, though Canmore isn’t that big! We both ordered the Classic Breakfast Panini with a gluten-free rice wrap. It had scrambled eggs, tomato, avocado, hummus, and lettuce — and probably more that I can’t remember. Yum! The coffee was great too — after we wandered around the town for a couple of hours we went back and grabbed a couple lattes for the road. My husband got a Maple Latte! Amazingly delicious.

I would definitely take the time to drive out to Canmore again for breakfast or perhaps tryout their lunch/dinner menu. We also found out that they host live music including some pretty big acts including Cuff the Duke, Jason Collett, and The Good Lovelies! Impressive. Surely giving the Canmore Hotel a run for their money.

Also, beautiful spacious modern space with really friendly staff. Next time remind me to grab a gluten-free cupcake with matcha icing!

I also picked up a YYC Disloyalty Coffee Card at Communitea. I go to deVille daily of course and have been going to Beano and Bumpy’s for years but I can’t wait to revisit the rest of the cafes again and also try out Insomnia and Java Jamboree. Coffee addict. Yes. I. Am.

Elevation Gallery is a great little spot in Canmore to check out local Albertan contemporary art. We heard about the Gallery recently because our friend, artist Lisa Brawn was featured in a show there called “It Came from the Sky” and was featuring her latest collection, bird woodcuts. We stopped by the gallery on Sunday which also turned out to be the day after the show ended but lucky for us the show was still up.

The staff was pretty busy, probably preparing the next show going up but they were really friendly and greeted us right away. The gallery was well-lit and had a good selection of contemporary pieces. Of course, my favourites were the Lisa Brawn woodcuts, but I am biased. Next time I am in Canmore I will check out Elevation again and see what is new.

NoBloPoMo #6: Feel Good

Posted by kait / November 6, 2010

It’s time to get inspired. Winter is coming and we will be locked inside and we need to figure out how to keep ourselves busy. No bad news bears. Just happy hibernatin’ honey bears. Here is a little something to get inspired:

NoBloPoMo #5: stars

Posted by kait / November 5, 2010

We saw Stars on Monday at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. What a beautiful night. Young Galaxy opened and that was pretty magical. Stars played all of my favourite songs and I swooned more than once because of Amy Millan. She has such a beautiful voice and their songs are so unique and have such gorgeous lyrics. Byron and I hadn’t gone on a true date for awhile and it was nice to see a great concert in a beautiful concert hall on a Monday night. <3

NoBloPoMo #4: Sparkling Apple Jelly with Floating Cranberries!

Posted by kait / November 4, 2010

I bought a huge bag of apples and was inspired to make a crisp apple jelly. Here is the apples before they got all cooked and tender. I used the same process as the rhubarb — I strained the apples whole in the jelly bags over a large bowl and collected deliciously sweet juice.

Here is the apple juice cooking on the stove into a sparkling jelly. Steamy!

So much apple jelly! I decided to re-can the jelly and add fresh cranberries to it. I love the way the cranberries add a pink glow to the jars and I know that it will be delicious spread over toast or warmed up and poured over vanilla bean ice cream.

NoBloPoMo #3: Sparkling Rhubarb Jelly

Posted by kait / November 3, 2010

On Halloween night after giving out all of the trick-or-treating candy, we drove over to our friend Barb‘s house to pick up some rhubarb from her that she had frozen from the summertime. I couldn’t wait to try out the Sparkling Rhubarb Jelly recipe. First I cooked and strained the rhubarb into jelly bags. Look at the incredible ruby colour!

I rigged the bags to our cabinet handles with kitchen string. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Cooking the jelly down. Still that incredible ruby colour. Added some sugar and it was the most delicious taste ever. Rhubarb!

I poured the rhubarb jelly into the sterilized jars. It is perfect. I can’t wait to try some out on toast and a bit of butter though I am saving the majority of the jars for Barb. Hope she likes it!