BEETROOT & WALNUT HUMMUS, BABA GANOUSH & GARLIC FLATBREADS (a journey to River Cottage, part 1)

I am unapologetically, unashamedly, unabashedly obsessed with the River Cottage phenomenon and the “real food” philosophy of back-to-basics tour de force Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! This one-sided love affair began when we (my husband, L and I) were invited to afternoon tea by a friend sometime during the early summer last year. Upon the bookshelf behind me sat a […]

CHRISTMAS CRAFTING WITH PAPER SCRAPS & OLD BOOK PAGES (upcycling vs recycling!)

I was intrigued when my local library advertised a pre-Christmas paper crafting night that would feature the use of old books, otherwise destined for the recycling heap. Being a keen recycler and a curious “newbie crafter”, I decided to attend the event and invited a friend to join me. The weather was terrible that night […]

THE COMPLETE BLESSINGWAY ROUND-UP (with LOTS of FREE printables, great blessingway/baby shower activities + links to all recipes & tutorials)

So, Baby Cupcake is due to make an appearance in the world in less than 4 weeks (yes, less than 28 days!). After having had complications from the very start (plus a diagnosed high risk pregnancy condition) and spending months literally counting down the days to full-term, I finally find myself on its doorstep. And now […]

OUR HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE (+ recipes for Black Bean & Pineapple Guacamole, Veggie Quesadillas, Cornmeal & Pineapple Cake with Whipped Coconut Cream… AND a DIY Sparkle Jar!)

Happy New Year, all! I hope that 2013 is off to a great start for you and that your New Year’s celebrations were fabulous! Being rather heavily pregnant (35 weeks), still on sick leave and having a 21 month-old little guy in tow, I decided it wise to have a small family party at home […]

DIY CONFETTI (it’s so easy… I can’t believe people sell this stuff on Etsy!)

This post is going to be very short… mostly because this is one of the easiest craft projects I have ever undertaken! As part of Project Pinterest, The Blessingway Edition I decided to make my own confetti to sprinkle on table tops, in gift bags, etc. I chose two paper punches for this purpose from […]

THANK YOU TAGS FOR PRETTY GIFT BAGS (& a free download for you!)

My blessingway/baby shower was yesterday (it was lovely ) and now I finally have time to post about all the projects I undertook in preparation for the day. As there were so many little projects, I really don’t know where to start, but I suppose here is as good a place as any . I […]

TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS (pretty & easy DIY decorations)

I am determined to apply DIY motivation to as many aspects of the upcoming blessingway/baby shower as possible, and the decorations are no exception! Thank goodness for Pinterest and my wonderful Project Pinterest board, onto which I had pinned this fabulous tutorial for gorgeous paper flowers. I have modified the steps somewhat as I am using […]

PROJECT PINTEREST, WEEK 3 (The Big Fat Pregnancy Edition)

After last week’s veritable baking frenzy I have decided to step away from the sugar packet and focus more on all things pregnancy-related. I have been pleasantly surprised thus far at how easy it is to be motivated by my weekly Project Pinterest boards and how simply having a visual cues (in the form of […]

SUPER-GIRLY GLITTER FRENCH MANICURE

Another of my Project Pinterest agenda items doubled as a “me making time for me” project. I don’t exactly know why, but I have recently crossed over to the other side in terms of recent nail wear tastes. I have put my baby blues on the shelf and gone in search of all that is […]

PROJECT PINTEREST (AKA Just do it!)

Ok, so I have officially been using Pinterest for a year now and despite 396 pins thus far and over two dozen boards, until yesterday I had yet to make even one pinned recipe or complete a single DIY/craft project. It is one thing to simply collect images and ideas that momentarily make you feel […]