First Home Party !

Yes, you read correctly ! I'm setting up my first home party ever on September 13th. I am soooo excited, I don't know where to start. I'm setting it up for our fund raising for the Canadian Breast Cancer foundation, so pink will be the theme color. Of course, I'll have other colors on display, because not all girls will wear pink =P

Lollipop party invitations package, from piggytailsstationary shown in the picture above. Perfect for the little girl in you !

I have to be really creative and find some great ways to display the inventory. I also wonder how much inventory should I bring... I don't want to bring so much stuff (so people don't know where to look !) or not bring enough stuff (And sell out too quick).

I also found how it would be presented, and I'm pretty proud of myself ! It will start at 7h30PM, as a cocktail-themed night. I will wear a dress and heels, so will my mom sister and friend (host). Sangria and punch will be available, as well as little canapés for snack. I plan on ending it aounrd 10PM, and I asked that people confirm their presence 2 days before, just as an indicator on how much alcohol and food we need to buy.

I really hope this will be a success ! In the meantime, I'll work on my displays and post pictures of them. If anybody has advice to give for a first home show, go ahead ! I'd appreciate =)



-V

FOOD ! Yes, again.

I know, I only talk about food recently. But I've been experimenting a lot, and found some neat stuff to share with all of you, my readers. I can't make jewelry yet, we're not done classifying the supplies, but it should be done soon. Patience is a virtue they say.

Schwartz's Montreal Steak Spices

While this is done, I can still talk to you about my favourite steak spices EVER ! We'll start with the ultimate version of the Montreal Steak Spices, the Schwartz version. Schwartz is a delicatessen located on St-Laurent Boulevard, and it is known for the incredible smoked meat sandwiches and pickles offered there. They also sell spices. Awesome steak spices, that my mum and dad bought last year. The taste is incredible, but the price is too. I don't remember the exact price, but it was more expensive than the average spice container found in groceries. But well worth it. Yum !

Club House La Grille's Montreal Steak Spice

There's a cheaper but still good version made by Club House that is called Montreal Steak Spice as well. It is very good, and that's the one I'm using, since I'm too broke to buy Schwartz stuff. Price goes around 4$ canadian in regular groceries. Those spices are awesome on those little medallion steaks... Sprinkle spices on both sides, and cook until meat is rare. It's awesome, I tell you.

I used to hate spices on steak, but now I can't do without. Brings so much more flavor !

Nom nom nom. Take 2

Yesterday was a really busy day for me. In fact, I decided that I was going to be done with boxes, and that I would find a spot for every craft supplie that lies on the floor. This was the mission I gave to myself, and I must say that I was quite successful completing it ! Photos coming soon.

I also cooked with the milk I had left in the fridge. My biggest challenge, now, is to get used to buy stuff for two. I had to throw so much stuff because we couldn't eat it before it went bad... Just this morning, I had to throw a container full of cooked ham because we couldn't eat it all. I really should have put it in the freezer. I guess I'll get used to it gradually. Now I know when to buy milk, and which quantity is needed. I had to freeze 2 bags of milk so it doesn't go bad. I cooked some pudding with the rest. (Well, Blanc-manger pudding is awesome anyway.)

Old Fashionned "Blanc-manger"

3 tablespoons of Corn Starch

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 1/4 cups of milk

1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Mix the corn starch with sugar and salt. Gradually add milk.

Keep on stirring the milk mix on low heat until it boils (or becomes thick like a bechamelle) and be careful not to scrape the bottom of the pan. (At least if it sticks at the bottom, you'll be able to avoid the burnt milk taste.)

Let boil for 1 minute (Mine never gets to boil, because I keep on stirring like mad, but you'll notice a change in texture. It will become a lot thicker than it was.) Then, remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Put in the fridge, and serve cold with strawberry or blueberry jam on top. Or no jam. Your choice =)

This is a good recipe when you have a lot of milk and don't know what to do with it. I will come up with new recipes soon ! Since I moved, I cook a lot more and try a lot more things too.

Finally, take a peek at our new place !

My husband and I moved recently to Montreal, in the Rosemont - Petite Patrie area. We love our new place. It's very quiet (In a cul-de-sac, so not many cars passing by.) and we just feel really good living there. It's our home !

We're getting installed slowly, we've been there since August 1rst. We were able to get rid of a lot of boxes, but couldn't empty them all, since we were waiting for my dad to fix some little things and put some shelves on the wall. I went to IKEA last week, on shopping spree, too ! I bought the Expedit shelf units as well as the Kasset boxes made to fit on those shelf units. I also bought a living room table (Lack series, in birch tint) and wall shelves. This looks really nice, and I used the Expedit units to store my jewelry supplies as well as my paint and other fine art supplies. Clears off some space =)


My husband took some pictures of our place a week ago, they're blurry and dark, but I thought I'd put them up here before we get better pictures. The rooms are still a bit messy due to the boxes, but once everything is in place, I will take better photos and post them here.

So, here's our kitchen. Brand new appliances, Frigidaire brand ! You can't see the washer dryer set, but they're the front load type, and they're stacked. These are Inglis brand, working wonderfully, making washing and drying easy enough for my hubs to do. (That's a good thing. Will he do it though ?)

That's the left side of our living room. Notice the boxes on the ground near the bookshelf. That's gone now. I'll put all my scrapbooking stash in the little rubbermaid rolling cart placed between the TV and the computer desk. That's 2 or 3 boxes gone by the beginning of next week. I jsut can't wait, since we don't know where to walk without knocking our knees on something.

Now that's the right side of our living room, with the nice IKEA standing lamp that we got for reaaaaaaaaaaally cheap ! (19.99CAD) and our gorgeous sofa. Aaaaaaaaah the sofa. My favorite sitting thing in the whole house. It is comfy enough so I can fall asleep on it while watching TV !

Oh, and have you noticed the bamboo curtains ? They look soooo nice ! The only negative point about them is that we see-through a bit at night, so we can't really get changed in the middle of the room, if you get what I mean. But it's ok, we have a separation between our room and the living room that we set up so it's no longer a problem. (It's a double living room. They used to build houses that way a lot in the 20s and 30s here.)

I would gladly include photos of the bathroom, but it's not painted yet. It's going to be aqua blue and white, to match the shower curtains I got at Home Outfitters. (Photos coming soon, you'll see what I'm talking about !)

Wow, I wrote a novel. Almost.

Montreal Metro Transit Map cuff, 10$, from Betty Death shown above.

I made things to nom !

more animals

Yes ! I cooked ! My friend and I decided to split big batches of food, to stop wasting what we don't eat, and to save money on groceries. We ended up with loads of food, and a freezer full of goodies for when the paycheck is not as big as expected.

It costs a lot less to divide the food as well. I bought 40$ of fresh fruits and veggies at the market, and she bought 40$ of meat and pasta. we ended up with enough food for almost 2 weeks, and the only thing we have to do is pop it in the microwave when I get back from work, and enjoy a hot meal without the long cooking prior. It really helps on the finances as well as on the stress level and rest I can get when I get home from work.

Here's what we made :

Beef and veggie stew

Veggie soup (2 kinds)

Soy sauce macaroni

Chicken and pasta salad

Potato salad

Sea Food shells with bechamelle

Banana Bread

and finally, spaghetti sauce (2 kinds)

And seriously, we're set for the next two weeks, as I ate what couldn't be frozen this weeks, and will eat what's in the freezer next week.

If you can find a group of friends you'd enjoy cooking with, try it. It is worth it. Go cook for a day, as a group, and bring plenty of nice stuff home !

Have fun =P

I soooo knew it...

From the time I woke up this morning, to like right now, I knew it's be a horrible day. Let's name what happened.

I swear I have the worst luck in the world or something... Here we go :

I went outside, it was raining. Not that raining is bad in itself. Just that I recently moved and forgot my umbrella to my parents' house.

I saw the dreaded red and white piece of paper stuck on my windshield. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's a parking ticket.

My computer is so slow I can't work properly. No idea what's happening, it'd worse than usual.

I just learned that one of our best product buyers is leaving the company. I seriously almost cried about this one. (So did my collegues... Everyone is sad about it)


This is a very sad day today ! I think I'll go get a bucket of ice cream or something. Or not. I could just unpack my jewelry supplies, and sort them ! I'll put allll my frustrations into that task. And then will start making jewelry again, even if there's a serious lack of space at my new place. (I'll be posting pictures and videos soon !)

That is it. For today.

Tata !

TICKET SALE !

Ahah yes, you read properly. I am running a ticket sale, because I woke up to a 42$ parking ticket this morning, on a street with no signs in sight to prohibit parking. Anyway. I can't afford to loose a day of work to go to court (As it is going to cost me me than 42 $ in the end) so I am running a ticket sale. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade ! So my lemonade is giving YOU the opportunity to get 20% off all my items (Except the breast cancer items) because I got a nice red and white paper on my windshield !

Happy shopping =)