A movie and needle

Been a while

Life has been crazy!

At the moment I am sewing up a storm. Burpies, blanket's, sholippers, clutches..... just to name a few.

I actually haven't been sleeping due to the volcano of idea's and thoughts swarming around in my brain. www.Pinterest.com has become a new obsession for me and is only fuelling my creative spirit. 

Ah.... but this weekend I have no plans! A free weekend in the midst of an insane whirlwind of a summer. Yesterday when we were eating supper at about 6:45 I looked outside and realized..... what the hay!! it's getting dark earlier already....... did summer some how skip me?? Oh wait, nope.... I remember that hot week.... the week I truly thought I was going to melt. 

Okay, so I am ready for fall! The colours, the smells of pumpkin spice and apple pies, falling leaves  and warm cozy drinks. Yes, it's almost here! WAHOO! Cuddling under a warm blanket instead of being sweat stuck to my sheets.... yes, fall is around the corner. 

Well, I just wanted to take a break from the sewing machine for a minute and shout out to this big little world.

xoxoxo - me

Peek-a-boo nursing cover, made a bunch of these too

Fig, chicken, pear and brie bites.

So you want a wicked awesome recipe that is crazy easy to make. 


Well try this one out.  You can make it on any yummy bread... for this we will use a baguette. 


*8 slices of the baguette cut into 1 inch thickness. 


*Pre grilled chicken breast(or turkey is yum yum too) cut into 8 slices


* 1 large pear sliced (or canned pears would work too)


* Fig spread


*Brie cheese cut into 8 wedges (make sure it's nice chunk :)


Now you just have to assemble and toast! 


Layer fig spread on baguette slices, then layer pear, then chicken, then cheese and then TOAST! 
I use our little toaster oven and set it at 350, so the same thing would work in the oven but make sure you give them a quick broil for the tops. You want that cheese golden :) So when cheese gets all gooey and golden they are ready. 


Be careful they are super hot when they come out of the toaster oven. I made this for friends and they were gone then moment I served them. Huge hit and they look really fancy! This picture does them no justice :)
Your guests will be super impressed. 


Well I am in the midst of sewing up some clutches so I shall keep to it. This was supposed to be my supper break.... but here I am. Lol. Have a good friday and enjoy your weekend. 


Xo - The Bean

Ahhh... what an evening!

Well the trifle was a hit again! LOL! I managed to save a sliver for my lunch tomorrow. You need to try it :) The appetizer was awesome as well, amazing actually. YUM!


But...... the chow mein, which I spent the most time preparing was a flop. (At least for me). That is why I am going to blog my recipes from now on. I always wonder "how did I make that again?". But now I know! I strongly disliked the chow mein noodles I used this time.... never again. Mr. Goudas..... not even a chinese name, that should have given it away. Dutch cheese?? Huh? Well I will let you know the name of the good ones next time I see them.


But overall the evening went well. We love having Pip and Laura back in both of our lives. It was a long hard journey to get where we are, but the payoff has been great.


Sometimes in life we will never know why things happened the way they did but we just have to trust in the bigger picture. We all get hurt and people disappoint us constantly, but it's our choice how we deal with it. Take it from me, it's not worth letting it fester. Please just take a deep breath and... forgive. The greatest thing you can ever do for yourself is let go and just forgive. Find peace and set yourself free. Love heals, hatred hinders. Why hold on to things that are taking away your happiness... your quality of life? LET IT GO!!! IT'S AMAZING....... it's actually addicting!! (So is asking for forgiveness).


Well Mike is upstairs sleeping soundly and here I am writing, listening to Yael Naim.


I have always felt like my voice would never be heard... until yesterday. This is me, this is my freedom.


Night night world.


Blessings,


Beaner - xo

Easy Strawberry and Banana Trifle

So today we are having Pip, Laura and Baby 0 (who is still in mommy's tummy) over for dinner. 
America's Next Top Model has started, so every Wednesday during the ANTM season we take turns having a dinner party. I happen to LOVE entertaining, so I am super excited about our weekly get togethers. Gives me an excuse to make yummy things. So today I thought I would share a recipe with you for the dessert I made. 
It is so simple and wonderfully DELISH! I must confess I NEVER measure so I will try to guesstimate as best as possible.


My Easy Peasy Trifle


2 cups Frozen or fresh strawberries (I like to use both) + 3-4 for top decoration
2 tbsp sugar
1 or 2 Bananas (for a little or as much as you like to layer)
1 Banana pound cake cut into one inch cubes (our local bakery makes a mean one!)
1.5 cup whipping cream
1 pack vanilla or chocolate INSTANT pudding (the chocolate is my FAVE)
1 cup milk (you can add more if you want a different consistency)
1 Glass bowl


In a sauce pan on low-med heat cook the strawberries with sugar (more or less sugar could be used depending on your taste) simmer for a couple minutes until strawberries are soft. Remove from heat and let slightly cool.


Beat the whipped cream until firm peaks form, add the pudding and milk beat again until firm peaks form again (this is where you could add more milk if it isn't fluffy enough)


Now begin your layers


One layer pound cake, one layer strawberry with juices, one banana, one whipped pudding mix and repeat until you run out. Last layer whipped pudding and on top of that sliced strawberries. If you want to get fancy drizzle chocolate on top of it all! 


This recipe is best if you make the night before, so all the flavours melt together into one wonderful dish that your guests will be begging for more! Try it out and if you have any questions ask me! Like I said I just throw this together and don't measure a thing so my guesstimating might be off! Now I am off to start the appetizer and main course. Puff pastry filled with a basil pesto, spinach and feta cheese.... and for the main........ chicken chow mein.... YUM! 


Have a wonderful evening!


Blessings to you


Xo - The Bean.

My First Entry - feels weird

So here I am starting up a blog. 
I must say it feels strange, but you can't fail unless you are trying! 


Today I didn't feel like doing much but I had so much to do. 
It was such a beautiful day..... I walked out onto my deck and stood there with my eyes closed soaking up the essence of the sun on my face. It's in moments like these that I feel the most alive. The moments where I can feel God's ultimate peace.


So anyways, I thought I lost my purse and I was mentally trying to wrap my head around that. I can't imagine what a pain that must be to try and get your identity back. Have you ever had that happen to you? A woman is naked without her purse, it's our everything! I was going nuts trying to retrace my steps and figure out were I made the deadly mistake of letting my clutch out of my sight. How could I let this happen? I have NEVER lost my purse before! So I have my husband (Mike, who legally isn't really my husband.... I'll get to that at a later date... lol) searching his truck, the last gas station we were at in his truck.. me ripping apart anything and everything at home. Finally a little light bulb pops on..... MY DADS VAN! My mom and I had gone on a little road trip to Cobourg and Port Hope on Sunday..... Needless to say we had quite an experience and in that excitement of collecting all my SHOPPING bags.... I forgot my purse!! I got on the phone and called her, what a RELIEF!  But really if you knew about the day we had you would understand how I could forget it. :)


Have you ever been to Cobourg or Port Hope Ontario? They are both precious. Right when we arrived we both knew at the same time..... this fees like home. Situated on Lake Ontario... waves crashing against the white sandy beach.... the fresh air whipping at our hair and filling our city lungs. Even the stones on the beach were cute! The clouds were dark, the water blue, and the seagulls were singing the blues. We parked the car at the end of a little road lined with beautiful homes and took the boardwalk to the beach. We stood there together and soaked it all in..... it was beautiful. Then after a few minutes we decided to check out the downtown so we headed back to the car. As we are stepping from the sand back on to the boardwalk I bailed..... yes I some how missed the step and completely fell flat. To make it even better, people were taking pictures and that will be their beautiful background. HAHAHA! My mom and I couldn't stop laughing, that really would only happen to me. 


Well I will write more later, but it's been a long day and I am ready for the new season of Parenthood to start! 


Have a good night, bye for now! 


Blessings to you,


The Bean xoxo