this moment

From Soulemama - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

this moment

From Soulemama - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Winter wedding

It was magic. It was family. It was Christmas spirit. It was love. It was a Christmas wedding.

This princess married her prince and she couldn't have looked happier.

Except for maybe Finn, who was about to go over the top on the Bride's homemade gingerbread!

Or maybe these little ones who couldn't believe Santa was crashing the party.

Or these five who were celebrating being together again!

No, wait, she takes the prize in the end for the being the happiest of them all...

and she rocks it like nobody's business!

Congratulations Anne and Brendan!

What will you do today?

Today I will embrace the white stuff that has blanketed the area and head out for a little winter fun with Nate and Finn. 

I will be inspired by how much joy they find in shaping the snow into forts...

and how a passing snow plow can stop them in their tracks and capture their full attention as it rumbles past.

I will remind Finn that eating snow recently pushed up onto our yard by said snow plow is probably not a good idea! What will you do today?

The count down has begun!

We've all excitedly begun the official count down to Christmas! And we are so thankful for Aunty Kelly who organized this ambitious Advent calendar craft for 7 nieces and nephews to help them count down the days!

 Envelopes had been cut in half, taped together on the cut side, and each child decorated the outsides which were then numbered and stuffed with a little treat! They were then hung with clothes pins on a length of yarn. Nate's and Finn's now hang in our kitchen, constantly reminding them of the coming holidays...

and tempting them to dig into the treat that awaits them each morning. 

Oops! What happened to Day 8??

What better way to start the 4th day of Advent than with a chocolate Kiss!?

Just because...

it was Sunday. No special Sunday in particular. Just one of those ordinary, blah Sundays in November that called for cheesecake! Vegan chocolate cheesecake to be exact. With raspberry sauce. Takin' the ordinary to extraordinary in under an hour! Just because. 


Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Crust:
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C melted vegan margarine
- Press into a spring form pan


Filling:
1 12oz package of silken tofu
1 8oz container of soy cream cheese
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C vegan milk
1/4 C cocoa
1 tbsp potato starch
1 1/2 C melted semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Using a hand mixer or a blender, blend together tofu, soy cream cheese, sugar, milk, cocoa and potato starch. Using a double boiler, melt chocolate and mix into the tofu mixture. Pour into a graham cracker crust and bake at 350F for about 45 mins. or until firm in the centre.


Raspberry Sauce:
2 C frozen raspberries
2 tbsp rice syrup
1 tbsp potato starch
- Place raspberries and rice syrup in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat until raspberries have melted. Mix in starch and set aside until ready to top onto cheesecake. 

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

It was a dark and rainy November evening. The house was now pleasantly quiet with the boys tucked snuggly into their beds. Looking forward to catching up on the news of Prince William's engagement, and other such celebrity gossip, I had barely loaded up dlisted when I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Was that the fridge door? I knew what those thieves were after - they were trying to steal my freshly baked batch of chocolate chip cookies! Batches of cookies have been disappearing without a trace lately and I was determined this night to put an end to this cookie-stealing crime spree! I could see the glow from the refrigerator light from the top of the stairs. I tip-toed down the stairs as quietly as I could. I peeked around the corner to get a better sense of what I was dealing with here! Hey, wait a minute - I recognize those socked feet peeking out from under the fridge door! Busted!

*this photo is a re-enactment of the crime

"But I didn't get a bedtime snack!" whined the ginger-haired cookie thief. My cookies never stood a chance of making it to next day's lunches with hungry bedtime tummies! "Oh alright! You can have ONE - but first you have to let me take your picture recreating the crime!"

All was quickly forgiven as the cookie thief and I sat down together to enjoy a still-warm chocolate chip cookie. But like all good cookie thieves, in blink of an eye he was quickly grabbing for more! I want to share the recipe with you, but it comes with a warning - may attract wee cookie thieves! The recipe can be found at beautythatmoves - super yum! I added a few extras - like 1 mashed up banana and 1/2C soy nut butter which made them even more nutritious and delicious for a bedtime snack!