Looking Back in Time

While I was up at my grandfather's last weekend, I took a look through some old photo albums that he has in his living room. Every time I go there, I gravitate towards these books of my family's past. I love looking at the times I remember and even the times from long before I was ever born.

I cracked up the second that I saw this picture of my parents from back when they were dating. Between my dad's suede suit (bought in Vegas, no less!) and my mom's plaid skirt, this photo just screams "Late 70s". The car was my dad's 1934 Ford Coupe that he still had when I was little. I loved going for rides in the car!

Another series of pictures that caught my eye were of my grandparents' little Chihuahua mixes, Cocoa and Goldie. They were grumpy old dogs by the time I was around, but I still have fond memories of taking them for walks with my grandfather and always splitting a milkbone between the two of them when we'd get home.

When I look back at these photos of the dogs, it makes me realize why my grandfather took such a shining to Whiskey right away. My beloved little pooch seems to remind him of his own little guys.

This picture of my cousin playing with Goldie back in the 80s immediately caught my eye. At the very moment that I was looking at this photo, I could hear his son in the other room playing with Whiskey.

Flash forward and here is his son playing with Whiskey in the same house, less than 30 years later. Its amazing how no matter how much the world changes, some things (like a little boy playing with a friendly dog) never change.

Royal Wedding Breakfast Blackberry Scones

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Getting up ridiculously early to watch the Royal Wedding is not something I was capable of doing this morning, but I did get a chance to watch some of the recaps when I got up. Its hard to believe that only thirty years ago, my mother and her generation of young women watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding.

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My favorite part of the wedding was Kate's incredible wedding gown. It reminded me so much of Grace Kelly's dress when she wed Prince Rainer. Its classic and sophisticated, yet modern as well. She looked absolutely gorgeous in it.

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While watching the romantic carriage ride to Buckingham Palace, I decided to whip up a batch of freshly baked scones to celebrate the Royal Wedding. 

I couldn't think of another British breakfast treat that I enjoy more than scones. Well, maybe crumpets, but I ate my entire supply in the freezer last week. They just taste too good with blueberry jam.

I had some big plump blackberries in the fridge and they were a simple addition to this recipe that makes scones just they way I like them - not too sweet, but very light and biscuity.

What you'll need:
2 cups Flour
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter, chilled
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Milk
3/4 cup Blackberries

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add cold butter into flour. I cut it up into pats and placed it in the freezer for a little bit before adding it to make sure that it was extra cold.

Blown Away

It is quite windy in Toronto today. During my entire walk to the streetcar, my hair looked like this:

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Quite attractive, right?

And coincidentally I ran into my bookkeeper on her way to my office and she looked like this:

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We made quite the pair to say the least. Why is it that on days like this, it doesn't matter what I do, I look like a mess. Just once I'd like to look all cute and windswept like Kate Hudson.

...instead of like this guy...

Toto here gets what I'm saying:

Hope you're all having a wonderful (windy) day!

A Wonderful Weekend with Friends and Family

This weekend was a whirlwind of fun. There was plenty of food, great conversations and lots of family and friends around.

 

I even attempted to make a bunny cake, which turned out pretty darn tasty.

 

The best cake of the weekend was this amazing piece created by my mother's friend.

 

She painstakingly hand rolled every petal on those roses.

 

 

The little nests were made with melted chocolate and Shredded Wheat, filled with mini chocolate eggs.

 

Whiskey enjoyed all the festive excitement too and relished in the attention he got.

 

Zucchini Lasagna

After having great success with using spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta, I decided to do another Italian inspired recipe. The second that I saw some zucchini on sale at the grocery store, I knew that this is what I wanted to make. 

Lets be honest here, even if you used low fat ricotta, low fat mozzarella and extra lean ground beef, this is still not a "healthy" dinner, but its considerably healthier than what you'll get at restaurants and from the frozen food section of your grocer. I also found that I didn't notice that much of a difference without the pasta, it just wasn't as extra heavy as it can be with pasta.


What you'll need:

2 medium Zucchini

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

1 cup Onion, diced

3 cloves of Garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can of Plum Tomatoes

2 tbsp Tomato Paste

1 tbsp Fresh Basil

1 tbsp Fresh Oregano

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt & Pepper

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

16 oz Mozzarella

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan

1 large Egg

Remove ends and slice zucchini in half.

Slice zucchini into 1/4"-1/8" strips. 

Spring Shapeup Week 8 - Getting Ready for 100 Miles in May!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in Easter candy overdose right now. What is it about all the brightly coloured candy and delicious chocolate goodies that I just cannot resist? Lets just say that I feel queasy enough to make this a veggies-only day. The thought of anything rich or decadent makes me feel worse. Is it possible to have a sugar hangover?

Anyways, enough about my lack of willpower for sweets, today I wanted to talk about the upcoming 100 Miles in May Challenge!

I've had so many great responses and I'm hoping to add even more people to the list. With the weather getting so much nicer, I want to get everyone out there and moving! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!

When I first started thinking about this challenge a couple of months ago, there were three main reasons why I wanted to take this on:

1) Get back to running outside

Running in Siesta Key in March!

Last year I started running and I'd love to continue it again this year. Even though it was a real mental challenge to get up and start running sometimes, I always felt great afterwards and it was a great stress reliever. I've got a busy month coming up at work and I know I'll be needing something to clear my wandering mind and keep me focused when I need to be. Running seems to deliver that for me. I don't go fast and I don't go far, but I make sure I get a good workout.

2) Take Whiskey on more walks

Before I moved my office, I used to walk 30 minutes to and from work with Whiskey every day. It was not only an economical way to get to work, but it also was a great way for us to bond. Now that my office is a bit farther away and more difficult to take him with me, he is spending more time at home alone. We play and snuggle when I get home, but I think that we both need to get back to walking together not just to exercise, but also to bond. I miss my walks with my little buddy! I'm hoping the challenge will help me get back into the good habit of taking him on longer walks.

Easter Bunny Brutality

Happy Easter Everyone! I hope that you're all having a nice weekend full of chocolate and goodies!

When I got to my parents' place this weekend, my mom had decorated everything for Easter.

She made this sweet little Easter display on the mantle with fresh tulips and a cute little chocolate bunny nestled in a basket. She went to five different stores before she found an old fashioned looking bunny and was so happy when she finally found it.

And then yesterday I heard a scream come from the living room...

...she noticed that someone had taken a BITE out of her bunny's ears!

She immediately turned to me with an accusatory glare. Thankfully this time it wasn't me. It turns out that my little brother walked by the night before and just thought that the bunny looked too tempting to not take a little nibble out of it.

Another shock was when we plugged in the little egg lights that we bought at Target on our trip to the US. Instead of being nice little pastel eggs, they glowed like creepy alien eggs.

I kept expecting little creatures to hatch out of them.

I'm off to eat lots of chocolate and watch corny movies on TV.
I love an easy going Sunday :)

Peeps Cupcakes

One of my favourite things about having big family gatherings is getting the chance to make fun desserts that I'd never make for just myself. For Easter weekend, I thought I'd make some fun cupcakes using one of my favourite Easter treats - marshmallow Peeps.

Add a little rich buttercream icing on top of perfect little cupcakes and you've got a dessert that isn't only festive, but easy to make too!

They were a big hit with little kids and big kids alike.

Yesterday morning I got up early and gathered all the goodies to make these delicious little cupcakes to take to my family's Good Friday lunch. Nothing says "Easter Candy" quite like those sugary marshmallow Peeps! I also used some super cute Easter themed cupcake liners that my mom found during our trip to the United States last month.

While we were away we also picked up this fun Betty Crocker Spring Party Chip cake mix and it seemed like the perfect mix for these cupcakes. Following the instructions on the box, I made 24 cupcakes and let them cool before I got to decorating them.

Its a (very) Good Friday

I was a lucky girl this week and I was able to work all my hours at the beginning of the week and take Thursday until Monday off for an extra long Easter weekend. I've had a hectic couple of weeks, so this has been a much needed mini vacation.

I'll be spending as much time as I can with these two jokesters.

And excess amounts of cuddling with these little monsters.

(Although you can hardly call Shadow "little")

I've even got some time to start into a new book!

I'll be eating as much lovely chocolately goodness as is physically possible.

This morning I got up early to use these Peeps to make delicious goodies to take to my grandpa today.

(Recipe to come tomorrow!)

 I get to visit with the whole clan and catch up. It feels like forever since I saw them at Christmas.

I've even planned a special movie date with my favorite amateur film critic. We're going to go see Water for Elephants, which I loved reading and can't wait to see on the big screen.

I've got a weekend full of family dinners, potlucks with friends, visiting newborn babies and long walks in the beautiful weather. Its almost too much excitement for one girl to take! I hope that you all have a great Easter weekend!

100 Miles in May Challenge - Starting Soon!

As part of the Spring Shapeup Challenge, I was looking for something that I could do to increase the amount of walking and running that I do. Up until a few months ago, I used to walk with Whiskey 30 minutes each way to work, but now that I take public transportation, my walking as been severely lacking. It was time to kick myself in the butt and get back out there!

Thus began the 100 Miles in May Challenge!

And I want YOU to join me!

Starting on Sunday May 1st, participants are going to walk, jog, run, elliptical and even skate their way to 100 miles in the month.With the warm weather coming out, I thought this might be the perfect time to get everyone back outdoors!

There are already a slew of people who've signed up and I'd love for you to join me too! Participants will be listed on the side bar of my blog, with a running tally of their mileage. All that you have to do is keep track of your mileage and email in your running tally every Wednesday and Saturday.

I'd love for you to join me on this challenge and see how much ground we can all cover together! Even if you can't make 100 miles, do as much as you can!

If you're interested in participating, email me at smallhomebigstart[at]gmail.com. All participants will be entered in a draw at the end of May for some great prizes!

How do you track your mileage?
When I'm going for walks or runs outside, I like to track my mileage by mapping my route on Google Maps. At the gym, I just use the numbers on the treadmill.

If you're going on unmapped trails, or don't want to check your route every time, just go for a 1 mile walk and see how long it takes you. From there you should be able to guess how much you walk for any given time. Some participants are also using pedometers that calculate how far they travel on any given day.

If you have any more questions about the challenge, feel free to give me a shout!

Easter Egg Nest Cookies

All week I wanted to make an Easter themed treat, so when I saw this recipe for Easter Egg Nests at Bright Ideas, I thought I'd give it a try. In the end they turned out kind of crumbly and I had a hard time getting the toasted coconut to stay on, but they still looked cute and tasted pretty good.

I wasn't the biggest fan, but the boyfriend was happy to eat them up and he even added a few white chocolate chips to some (he's a huge white chocolate fan) and they turned out pretty good too.

I prefered to just eat the little chocolate eggs out of the centers :) I made some of them with the Whoppers Robin Eggs and others with the Cadbury Mini Eggs.


What you'll need:
1 cup Flaked Coconut
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1 large Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate Eggs

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Spread coconut on a non-greased cookie sheet. Toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until it turns light golden, about 25 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Turn oven temperature up to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.