The Eats: Corn & Bell Pepper

I like to try and kick up redundant side dishes at times. This is one of my favourite ways to add a little life to corn. It is very simple and quick to make. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of frozen corn (can use canned as well)
1 bell pepper, diced (I prefer to use orange for this recipe)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp chipotle chili pepper (add more if you like lots of heat, or use cracked black pepper)
chopped fresh cilantro (as much as you desire)

Method:
Cook corn as per directions, try not to over cook so it retains firmness.
Add butter, sea salt, chipotle chili pepper, cilantro and bell pepper. Stir together and serve. Tastes great served warm or cold. If there are leftovers, I often reheat in a skillet.

Enjoy!

Lovely Lucy

We are so blessed to have welcomed a new addition to our family. In late May, Lucy joined our family. Which means that our girls are only 13.5 months apart... crazy I know! Yet, it is all working out great. We definitely have our crazy days, but feel so blessed to have our babies so close together. Our lives have become extremely busy, hence the late blog posts. 

Welcome to the family sweet girl. We love you!

Less than a day old.

Bottom three photo credits: www.papercastle.ca

Thank you Julie for always taking such cute pics of our family!

The Home: It's Just So Hard To Say Goodbye

The time has come to move on from my dream home. I had always dreamed of contracting the build of my own house. Little did I know that I would get the opportunity to do it a decade earlier than I thought I would. Designing it right from scratch was a great journey and I would do it again in a heart beat. Due to location, we decided to move and let go of what we put our blood, sweat, and tears into. At the end of the day in life, it is just a house. Here are some pictures our realtor took for the listing. 

Goodbye to the house that really was my first true home!

The Fun: Pink & Yellow 1st Birthday Party

The Birthday Girl!

A few months ago we celebrated Stella's 1st birthday. In keeping with the theme of her room colours, I styled the party in pink and yellow. I chose to keep things simple. We had a great day with family celebrating our special girl.

The Home: Stella's Nursery

Part of the joy of having a baby is that you get to decorate another room!

I had so much fun putting together a little nursery for Stella. We have actually moved on from this house and I really miss her room. It was a happy space to spend time bonding with our little munchkin. 

A big thank you goes out to my friend Amy's mom Etta who sewed Stella's curtains:)

I'm Back!

Wow.... it has been so long since I made a post and so much has happened in our lives. We moved twice and had another baby since my last post.... crazy how life goes.

Now that things are stabilizing somewhat, it is time to start posting again. 

It's good to be back:)

The Fun: Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. I understand that some do not enjoy it, but I cannot help but love it. Now that I have a little one, it is not just about a romantic dinner with my hubby. We decided that we want Valentine's Day to be a family event. Fun cookies, cards that express our love for each other, and a special dinner together is what it is all about for us. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

Hugs & Kisses

xoxo

The Events: Stella's First Christmas

Life is certainly passing by at a rapid pace, including the Christmas season. It feels as if December went by in a blink of an eye. We enjoyed watching Stella look at the Christmas tree and rip wrapping paper off her gifts. She definitely got spoiled being the first Grandchild on both sides of our families. My favourite thing about Christmas is getting together with loads of people. Even tho it makes things crazy busy, it is part of what the season is all about to me. Here are some memories from Stella's first Christmas.

Stella getting into the ribbon during her Christmas card photo shoot. 

Baking Christmas shortbread cookies with Stella's Great Grandma. This is a family tradition that goes back as long as I can remember. We get together as a family to decorate cookies. It's wonderful. My Mother, Grandmother and I made 120 cookies this year. The rest of the family joined us for a yummy slow cooker meal, then we decorated. I really cherished this day so much with my Grandmother. It was so special to me to have Stella watch us and be there with my Grandma who has been one of the most inspirational people in my life.

Stella having a blast ripping off paper.

Oven baked Bruschetta. One of my favourites to serve to company. I served this at Christmas Eve along with some other appetisers. Calabrese bread drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and topped with vine ripened tomatoes, black olives, spinach, diced garlic, and Parmesan cheese.

Our first family Christmas picture.

I hope you all had a happy holidays and now that we have entered 2013, may your year be filled with joy, love, health, and prosperity.