Goodbye 2010...Hello 2011!

So, a new year is almost upon us so I thought I would take some time to reflect back on some meaningful things I have learned or rediscovered in 2010 and will absolutely carry them with me into 2011 (in no particular order):

1.   Take more time to indulge in the important things in life.  Live in the moment.
2.   Maintain a positive focus as it is amazing how a simple shift in perspective can change a situation.
3.   If you are feeling pressured into something, stop and get out and allow yourself time to think.
4.   Hold on to the friends you truly enjoy spending time with and help bring happiness into your life.  Dump the ones who don't.
5.   Discipline children with love.  It is far more effective and healthy.
6.   Always have a goal.  It keeps you striving further ahead in life.
7.   Be above those who try to bring you down due to their own jealousy or insecurities.  Choose to understand it is their problem, not yours.
8.   Try something new every day - or week.
9.   Take the time to keep an orderly, clean house.  It will make you feel good to be home.
10.  Don't be afraid to dress up once in a while. It will make you feel great about yourself and boost your confidence!

Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup

Simply delicious!  This is one of my favorite easy soup recipes that is great to warm up with over the holidays!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

 Hot House Tomatoes, diced

1 can whole or diced tomatoes

Sprigs of fresh or dried basil

Dash of salt and pepper

Vegetable or chicken stock

Parmesan Cheese

Bay Leaf
Milk

(use your own proportions to taste)

Simply put all of the ingredients together in a large pot except half of the stock, milk and parmesan cheese.  Let it simmer on medium heat until the flavours infuse together (approx. 10-15 minutes).  Take the pot away from heat and blend with either a hand blender or food processor.  Put pot back on stove and add balance of stock, milk and parmesan cheese and bring to a boil. Take out the bay leaf and your soup is ready to serve!  As a garnish, you can add fresh basil and/or sour cream to the top!  To make this soup a main course, I also like to add pasta.  This is also a favorite with toddlers :)

Enjoy!

Holiday Fete

Holiday Fete by daniellej333 featuring strapless evening dresses
All the wonderful things to wear over the holidays...if I had them :)

Feel Empowered.

Instructions:

1. Listen to the music below.
2. Clear your mind.
3. Allow yourself to be Inspired.

Caution: Be prepared that this will immediately change your mood and energy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdTBml4oOZ8&feature=related

Let it Snow!

If, like me, you are not a fan of the winter season and after one month you are already looking at booking a vacation to the sunny south, well, it may be comforting to know things could be worse:

You could be walking your dog next to 8 ft snow banks that took you 3 days to shovel

You could be stuck on the highway during a major snowstorm with no place to go

This could be at your front door step...

I feel better already!

Santa, I am going to have to get used to you again!

So, we took our little bambino to visit with Santa yesterday to get her photo taken at the mall!  It was so amazing to see her face light up when she saw the Jolly Big Guy.  He could not have been mistaken for any relative, neighbour or friend, this Santa was the real deal!  It brought back lots of memories of when I was a kid and actually believed in Santa.  After the magic of the event dissipated, I came to realize, we are well on our way to creating a big fat lie for our daughter.  "Santa is real?!?!. "There is a part of me that wonders who created this fictional character and why?  I would never want my daughter to lie to me and now I am well on my way to lying to her!  I was full of mixed emotions about it but later thought, it really is Jolly Ol' St. Nick who creates the symbolism of giving at Christmas and as a result, developing closeness to family and friends which is really what Christmas is truly about.  He is just a symbol of the beauty and magic of Christmas and even though HE is not REAL, he does bring alot of TRUTH and REALITY to the world around Christmas of the importance of family, friends, love and happiness.  He helps us to remember and reprioritize what is really important- and THAT is so real.

I realized that I have to remember what is was like to believe in him again in order to recreate the magic of him for my daughter. At the same time, I also find myself starting to relive his magic too.  Its then that I realized that we really DO carry the magic of Christmas with us forever...and this is how it all begins :)
Merry Christmas Maya xoxo

From the Herb Garden...

Garlic!  Through my homeopathic studies, I came up with a short list (so far!) of herbs and natural remedies that I have come up with that provide fantastic results for anti-aging both internally and externally over time.  The first one on my list is garlic.  Either you love it or you hate it.  If you love it, great - definetly keep eating it! If not, my goal is to hopefully change that for you.
Garlic has an abundance of properties that help reduce cellular damage (free radicals) not only help to prevent anti-aging, has antimicrobial properties, helps to decrease blood pressure, improve the efficiency of the digestive system, helps prevent certain types of cancer, treats some skin disorders and helps to improve circulation.
Going back in time, the Ancient Egyptians even gave garlic to their laborers to give them strength to build the pyramids. The Roman gave garlic to their soldiers for strength in battle. During the First World War, before the widespread availability of antibiotics, garlic was used on the battlefield to disinfect wounds and prevent gangrene. Garlic is rich in sulfur, foods rich in sulfur help to maintain healthy joints and assist in their repair. Now if that along isn't enough reason to start eating it, I don't know what is!

Garlic truly is one of many of the earth's gifts to mankind (no, it isn't that new Kate Spade handbag you have had your eye on, trust me!) In a nutshell, it really is an all in one healer for various symptoms and really should be given much more credit.  As my hubby says, if it doesn't taste good, its probably very healthy :)

If you are like many and are not a fan of the taste of garlic, try adding it to your favorite recipes to help hide the flabour, or even roasting it in the oven. This one took me a couple tries to get used to but it really is great, and a quick easy way to get tons of garlic intake! 

Roasted Garlic Recipe:

A few bulbs of garlic
Olive Oil
Salt

Slice the end off the bulb of garlic and drizzle olive oil on top so that it seeps in between the garlic cloves and covers them nicely. Use your fingers for even spreading. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven at 250F for approximately one hour.
The taste will be less potent and the texture will almost melt in your mouth! 
Not the most delicious recipe I have tried to be honest but definitely one of the most healthy!

Christmas Art

So how many of you have old picture frames that you do not use and are on the verge of throwing them out becuase they might no longer match your decor or look aged?  Well, do I have a tip for you!  Don't throw them out!  I too had these kicking around my home when I decided to get creative and think of ways to use them.  So I decided to make Christmas Art from them!

All you need is:

• A picture frame of your choice
• A Christmas ornament of your choice
• Lace or ribbon
• Fishing line
• glue gun

So what you do is remove the glass from the picture frame.  Then you take the Christmas Ornament and glue it to the back of the picture frame so that when it hangs, it sits in the middle of the frame.  Glue the fishing line to the back of the picture frame.  Make a bow out of the lace or ribbon and glue it to the center of the fishing line so that when you hang the picture, it sits in the middle covering up the nail in the wall.  Voila!  A beautiful, Christmas Decoration made in less than 10 minutes!

Natural Handwipes/Babywipes

In my efforts to save money, good health and the environment, I thought I would make my own handwipes.  I don't think these can be any easier to make!  What you need to do is fold dry paper towels like an accordian so that they are still linked together which makes it easy to pull out of the box or bag.  Then you put the paper towels into either an old baby wipes container (with a pop open lid) or a plastic ziploc bag (for the diaper bag).  In a seperate cup, mix approximately 1 cup of water with 1 tbsp olive oil and any essential oil (I use lavender as it is also antiseptic) of your choice.  Pour this mixture into the bag or container with the paper towels and there you have your own hand wipes!

These are especially great for babies not only becuase they contain zero chemicals but also because the essentials oils provide a therapeutic relief!  (I will post more about essential oils specifically!)

Padraig's Baby Slippers

If you have a child, you know how easily those socks fall off or how quickly they trip over those big, huge slippers in the shape of an animal!  Well, I have come across a pair of baby slippers that are heaven sent :)  My mom actually made these for Maya - beautiful wool slippers with a leather sole that tie up around the ankle.  Alot of my friends had asked where we got them and were disappointed to hear they were not purchased (meaning, they could not buy them!)  To save my mom the efforts of trying to make dozens, I heard of these ones both online and through a referral from a friend. 
If you live in Canada in the winter, you will understand :)

Fruit and Ricotta Cheese Danishes

Danishes have always been one of my favorite pastries.  I remember the days growing up when we were skiing and would stop at a local coffee shop to get a danish and hot chocolate on the way home. As I got older, I realized that most coffee shops no longer carry those delicious danishes, now they seem over processed and very high in sugar.  So what is the Danielle solution?  Make my own!  Here is my recipe that has been refined to perfection:

Fruit and Ricotta Cheese Danishes:

Dough:
1 package of instant dry yeast (approx. 3 tsp)
2/3 c milk
1/4 c water (warm)
1/4 c sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp sale

1 c unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:
1/2 c ricotta cheese
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
Fruit Jam (any flavour you like!)
Fruit (I like to use peaches or berries but you can use whatever you like!)

Directions:

Whisk milk, water, yeast, sugar and egg and set aside.  In a seperate bowl, combine the flour and the sale.  Add the cubed butter into the flour until it is coated.  There should be visible chunks of butter.  Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.  Please the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chilld for at least 5 hours or overnight. 

For the filling, combine all ingredients except fruit and jam. 

Once the dough has been chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle.  After it is rolled out into a rectangle, cut it into squares.  On each square, make a small cut at the corners half way in towards the center of the square. 

Fill the center of each square with the filling, jam and fruit.  Then take the edges of the dough and bring them together to meet in the middle, partially covering the filling.  Do this with all the squares.  After they have been filled, brush with egg wash (just warm water and egg) and pop it in the oven for 25 minutes or until they are a golden brown. 

Holiday Survival Tip #1

Its the Holiday Season and we know that dreaded thought of spilling red wine all over your new white blouse!  Well folks, it happens to the best of us.  This is tip #1 of the Holiday Survival Guide coming straight from the comfort of my living room.

How to Remove a Red Wine Stain

On delicate cloth, first soak spot with alcohol and then flush with white vinegar to remove residual stain. On sturdy fabrics, coat the stain with salt and leave it for five minutes to absorb the wine. Then stretch the stained area over a heat-proof bowl and secure it with rubber band. In the sink, carefully pour boiling water over the stain from a height of at least a foot. This should do the trick!

Creative Ornaments!

Christmas is just around the corner so if you aren't in the Christmas spirit yet, this might help! Get your creativity on by designing your own ornaments!  Not only will these be a great conversation piece when your guests come over but also to give away as gifts during the holiday season! 

These are a few that I am going to try this year!

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Again, these are wonderful and popular at social gatherings!  I usually make at least one kind (will post more variations soon!) of open faced sandwiches when I am expecting guests and they seem to vanish quickly!

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Rye Bread (can use any kind of bread, pumpernickel is also nice!)

Smoked Salmon

Lemons

Capers (or dill works as well)

Cream cheese (you can use flavoured cheeses like salmon cream cheese also!)

The directions are easy!  You take the bread, spread it with cream cheese, lay the smoked salmon on top.  Cut up the lemon into fine slices and place that on top of the smoked salmon.  You may also like to drizzle the juice from the remaining lemon pieces over top to add tangy flavour.  As a garnish, you can place a few capers or chopped fresh dill on top. 

Enjoy!



Zesty Deviled Eggs

This is a great receipe to try when having a social gathering.  It is very easy and usually most of the ingredients can already be found in your fridge!

Zesty Deviled Egg Recipe

6 hard boiled eggs (this will give you 12 deviled eggs)

Mayo to taste

Parsley for garnish

Paprika to taste and garnish

Pickles chopped to taste

Mustard to taste

Hot Sauce to taste (I like it warm, not spicy hot!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

First you take the hard boiled eggs, peel them and cut them in half length-wise.  Then you scoop out the yolks and put them in a bowl where you will mix them with the remaining ingredients to taste.  I usually cook according to my own tastes so rarely use measuring spoons, this way I will leave it up to you!  When all the ingredients are mixed together, you simply spoon the mixture back into the egg whites and garnish with parsley and paprika and serve! 

Danielle's Carrot Salad

Do you sometimes wonder what to do with that large bag of carrots you just brought home from the grocery store?  I wondered the same thing.  Then I discovered a whole new world in cooking with carrots!  Salads, soups, breads, stews galore!

 Danielle's Carrot Salad Recipe

5-6 carrots, washed and grated

1/2 c of raisins

1/2 c of chopped cilantro

1/3 c of olive oil

splash of lemon juice

dash of salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste



Mix all of the above ingredients together.  You may want to change the proportions according to your personal taste, this is just what worked for me.  It is a very simple recipe but oh so tasty!



Danielle's Carrot Salad

     (will post more carrot recipes soon so stay tuned!)



You CAN Afford to Buy More

I recently came across various websites that offer discounts in my local area.  I was surprised to learn how many great deals there are out there if you just look for them!  Just like the best things in life, sometimes you have to open your eyes to see something right under your nose!
http://www.groupon.com/
http://www.onespout.ca/
http://www.dealfind.ca/
http://www.wagjag.com/
http://www.travelzoo.com/

Basically, if you subscribe to these sites, deals are sent to you daily for your city.  To take advantage, you simply purchase the coupon that you print off and apply to your instore purchase.

What a great way to buy more Christmas gifts :)

Snowy Day Dinner

So I opened my fridge last night to find not much besides ground beef, cranberry sauce, bacon and brussel sprouts.  I was feeling a little creative so decided to put my cooking skills to the test. This is what I came up with:

Cranberry Meatballs

Cranberry Meatballs

1 pkg of ground beef

half cup of bread crumbs

1 tbsp of garlic

half an onion finely chopped

1 tbsp of oregano

1 tbsp of parmesan cheese

a splash of worchestershire sauce

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all of the above ingredients.

Form the meatballs and put it on a pan and pop it into the oven for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, pour cranberry sauce over the meatballs and place back in the oven for 5 minutes and serve!

 

Bacon Brussel Sprouts 

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts (as many as you can eat!)
Bacon (as much as you like!)
Dash of salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic (if you like)
Pinch of each rosemary and thyme
A few splashes of water

Sautee up the bacon in a sauce pan until golden.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cover sauce pan and simmer for approximately 7-8 minutes until brussel sprouts are bright green.  Serve!

To my surprise, these recipes went over quite well with the family! As much as I know everyone loves brussel sprouts, this recipe was actually great because you could not taste the brussel in the sprout - it was more like bacon sprouts! Served with jasmine rice, I was actually impressed with the combination of tastes in both dishes and would actually definetely make this meal again!

Our Nursery xo

Before Maya was born, like every expecting mother, I spent some time thinking about what I wanted her nursery to look like.  I was thinking neutral colours (creams, beiges, light yellows, white) and different textures (satin, fleece, ribbons, cotton and plush suede type materials). I would accent this with light pink (maybe pillows, picture frames etc).  I wanted it to smell of love and closeness.  I also wanted to make up for the lack of girly colours with a small chandelier.  The idea was perfect.

I was browing some websites and came up with this photo that I fell in love with:

You know when you see something and you just want to stop looking because you know its the one.  Well this was it for me.  My dream nursery.  So ...naturally, I called up my mom :)  She is the master in the family when it comes to any type of hand work so she offered to make the bedding, curtains and pillows for Maya.  They turned out BEAUTIFULLY! 

(will post photo of bedding soon)

So after putting up the finishing touches black and white photos from my pregnancy shoot in 10 x 13 white frames and putting her name on the wall above the white elegant crib in pastel colours, we were ready for baby! 

Happiness

My intention with this post is to help inspire you and refresh your perspective of happiness. In my world, I think that we are obligated to be healthy and happy individuals. I have found out over the past 30 years of my life that happiness truly doesn't come from money, other people, fame or material objects, it has to come from within.  This really hit home for me after I had heard this concept at a young age and naturally wanted  to test it. To make a long story short, the tests did not fail and what I learned was that it was true.  Happiness must come from within - true happiness. For some, this takes time as nothing is a quick fix.  I am a believer that there is no such thing as a quick fix.  This only gives you the opportunity to procrastinate in areas where you need the most attention. The most effective way to solve a problem is to learn about it and simply shift your mind and apply a bit of effort.

Over the years I have come up with the following list of ways that I found that make me happy on a regular basis. Here are 5 keys to my happiness and I will post more in upcoming weeks!

1.Surround yourself with Incredible People

This is one of the most powerful ways to improve your level of happiness.  Incredible People are the ones who make you feel incredible just by being around them. They emote positive energy and are truly happy.  Stop wasting time with people whose goal is to only bring you down (usually to their level).  Surround yourself with those who truly want to see you happy and succeed. 

2.  Regret Nothing.

We have to understand that everything in life happens for a reason, good or bad. Have you ever considered that sometimes not getting what you want can be good luck? Don't waste your precious time with questions of "what if I had done this differently" or "what if I hadn't broken up with my ex?".  Those things are not real and the world does not evolve around them. Be real and don't look back.  Everything you do is because that is the decision you needed at that very moment to get you where you are today.  

3.  Appreciate the Simple Things.

Of course I think that my dad is one of the smartest people in the world.  Him and my mom went from nothing to something over time through hard work, a winner attitude and appreciating the simple things in life. I adopted the appreciation of simple things from them.  I noticed this started to make me more happy.  It is really the simple things in life that make you happy like laughing with friends, hugs from your children, and breathing in the fresh air.  Sometimes when things don't go your way, just know that others may have it worse and that find the positive in the situation.

4.  Educate Yourself

Read alot.  It will change your perspective and maybe even your attitude towards different aspects of life and make you more happy. It doesn’t matter what you read, as long as it is inspiring and relevant to you. Information is a powerful tool that we have easy access to now more than ever before.  Learning keeps you young, intrigues the mind and helps to unfold new thoughts and ideas.  There have been many times before that I would be inspired to do something after reading a book.  Inspiration gives you momentum and momentum sometimes has the ability to change your life so don't stop reading!

5.  Move your Body and Eat Healthy

Your body is meant to do physical work and is meant to perform at its optimal level with a diet of whole, natural foods.  If you take away from this prescription to health, your body will tell you through ailments and disease.  Getting fresh oxygen into your blood through the form of exercise is important to sustain a level of happiness and it help to balance your hormones, improve your memory, fight disease and keep you happy. Without health, it can be difficult to be happy so no matter what your fitness level, move your body. 

6.  You are In Control

Everything in life happens becuase of your choices and actions. You are in control of your life and nobody else.  Accept the fact that where you are in your life today is because of YOU.  Take responsibility and if there is something you do not like about yourself or where you are, change it.  Being happy is a choice and you are in the driver's seat.

Dec 2nd...the day after the first chocolate

 This year, in honour of my hubby's love of Kinder Chocolate, we went to the obvious choice - the Kinder Advent Calendar.

After the first chocolate on day #1 yesterday, I realized that Advent Calendar's actually help to enforce an important concept of teaching patience to a young child (and hubby).  The first chocolate was a small, round Kinder chocolate ball but that was enough to set up the anticipation for the month to come :)

How to Build a Toddler Bed for $50

As Maya never enjoyed being in her crib from day one, we had toyed with the idea of buying her a toddler bed early on.  It seemed the toddler beds we came across were not the nicest looking or cost effective not to mention she would only sleep in it for another year or two before growing out of it.  The single beds we found were much nicer and had more variety to choose from but that compensated for the cost and also the fact that if we were to buy the bed, we might as well buy the whole bedroom set so that when she gets older everything would match.  That was something we just weren't ready for yet so we decided to do something simple - make our own toddler bed!

I found a fantastic design online at designmom.com.  It is a platform style bed, low to the ground and very easy to make.  http://www.designmom.com/2009/07/build-two-toddler-beds-for-75/

Here is a photo of the bed from the website:

We decided to use a soft cream suede for our base and our total cost was $50 for the bed as we chose a slightly more expensive, stain proof and soft fabric.  We put the bed up against the wall and added a matching pink bed rail for $25 and voila!  Now Maya has a bed for years to come!


This is our pink bed rail from Toys R Us which matches perfectly with the bed



Yes, I watch Cake Boss!

It has been a busy past few years of weddings, baby showers, birthdays and more!  I have to say with no formal education in culinary arts, after watching the Cake Boss, I was still inspired to make my own cakes.  I love to bake, get creative and save money so it made perfect sense! Below are some of my works of art!  Enjoy :-)

"Babies in a blanket" cupcakes made for my baby shower



"Sleeping Baby" cake made for my baby shower
(we obviously knew she would be a girl!)



My Wedding Cake - we wanted an exotic but classic inspired theme so this is what I came up with!

Berry Custard Tarts were part of the extensive wedding treat table!

Birthday Cookies for Maya's 1st Birthday Party!

Birthday Cupcakes for Maya's 1st Birthday Party. These were a big hit!