Our 1990s Christmas Backyard, Endless Snow, Baking & Crafting

      Hello Everyone! I have a really odd collection of things to share with you today. Remember how in my last post I mentioned buying only some new outdoor decor items? Well, here they are - a couple strings of nostalgic, colourful, 1990s vibes Christmas lights! 

Raccoon strung them up along the fence, and I also acquire a small wreath to hang on the one entrance. 

It started snowing a day or two later, and I went out to capture the beauty while the flakes were coming down. Little did we know, this was about to be the beginning of a very long, hard winter. 

As you can see, just after our first initial snowfalls, we were already getting quite buried. That rug draped over the table completely disappeared at this point. Honestly, it may appear in April. Or it might not show up until May, who knows! 

And then, the big snowstorm arrived. Barely past the middle of November, and we were BURIED. I mean look at our living room window! And this was only snowstorm one. 

Plus it got a lot worse. The city really doesn't care much, and really underfunds the department needed to actually be able to deal with the snow. I say they don't care, but I mean, the government here, REALLY DOES NOT CARE.

So. It was a lot warmer than normal. And all that snow started melting. And since it had just been packed down, it created massively deep ruts, which for all the small car drivers like me, has created a wild situation. 

Just look at this mess - photos do not do it justice. 

We have also gotten a LOT MORE SNOW since and RAIN and radically changing temperatures. 

Oh, and my car slide on ice, got thrown into a frozen snowbank, and now I have to replace a bumper come spring. 

My stress levels and over all anxiety has been wildly high this winter, so not going to lie, really struggling. And we still have a couple months to go. I really want to be transparent that my life is definitely not what you mostly see on media platforms. Of course, I highlight the good and don't talk about the challenges much, but I try to still "keep it real" now and again. 

On a totally different note, I love Bob Snail Fruit Snacks and have started collecting the little toy snails that are all wearing different costumes. So far, I have 5 of these cuties and they are such a boost of serotonin. 

I have also perfected my Banana Bread and have made several loaves of it. What a delicious snack! Plus, I get free bananas from my work all the time. 

My first Christmas as an herbalist in training and I decided to make a good portion of my gifts. 

I made Lavender Sugar Scrubs and Lemon Cuticle Oils. Both of these I have had to adjust a few times to get them to where I want them and I still think I could make subtle little improvements, but it's been so fun to create and use these, and now, gift them to others. 

Also how cute are these little jars and roll on bottles I bought?! Giving all the apothecary vibes. 

I thrifted the little bowls holding my gifts - I love vintage china! 

Tomorrow I am going to have a GIANT post for you and if you like Christmas Trees, you won't want to miss this one! 

Decorating For Christmas & The Great Canada Post Strike (Again)

      Good Morning! How is your week going so far? I am returning to work after holidays, and I am also going back to 5 days a week, so guessing it is being quite an adjustment for me, as, per usual, I am posting all these way in advance. Who knows how I will keep up with everything after this! 

Y'all know that Remembrance Day hits, and your girl is full on into Christmas mode. Which is exactly what I did this year. I am nothing if not predictable. LOL 

Now, the lovely Canada Post union decided to make questionable decisions and go on strike late November, so despite me having all my Christmas cards ready to go early, they won't be going out until January sometimes. 

Which in some ways, is alright, because it does make Christmas last longer. 

It's become a sort of tradition for me I watch the animated Grinch movie while writing cards, as it is one of my favorite movies. 

This year I decided to not buy any new Christmas cards, but use ones I already owned, and just include a little note about how someone may be receiving the same card 2 years in a row. I really want to make a push towards using up what I have, less consumerism, and just living a little more simply. It feels really good to do these sorts of little things. 

Here is our lovely, little living room space, all cozy and bright for the festive season. 

And yes, same tree theme as always. I didn't add any new ornaments to it this year, and I didn't buy any indoor decor at all. The only decor I got this year was a few new outdoor pieces, which you will see in another post! 

“Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever.” ~Richelle E. Goodrich

I really love this soft, fleece blanket I got last year, and was so excited to pull it back out for another holiday season. I really do end up using a blanket every day and sometimes more than 1. We try to use as little heat as possible, to keep our power bill a bit lower, since the type of heaters we have in our basement suite really spike up that bill! Plus, one can always dress warmer! 

“I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.” ~Fred Rogers

“Christmas Day is in our grasp, as long as we have hands to clasp! Christmas Day will always be, just as long, as we have we! Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand!” ~Dr. Seuss

Looking forward to sharing more cozy, holiday moments with you before long! 

La Kitchenette Souris: Mom's Homemade Lasagna

 I am so pleased to be finally bringing you this recipe, as I have been wanting to for a while now. 

Consider yourself warned, it is very time consuming, and in essence is two recipes combined. My Mom had a few recipes she blended, and this is the end result. I made one small adjustment myself with the cheese filling and it was delicious! 

Now, if you feel like really dedicating an entire day to this, you could make homemade pasta, which I would love to do one day! Can you imagine how delicious that would be?!

This recipe is a little challenging for me to write out, because I doubled some things and tripled others, as I was making multiple Lasagnas, but I will do my best! 

Also, I am just assuming you know the top layer of a Lasagna is some amazing mozzarella, and loads of it. So I am also going to assume you have taken Step 1 and have a large amount shredded and ready for the tops of your Lasagna. 

Anyways, step 2, we need to make our Italian Meat Sauce. Let's begin. 

❤

Italian Meat Sauce

2 cups chopped onions

4 gloves minced garlic

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

4 cups water

12 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (approx.)

 2 6oz cans tomato paste 

1/2 cup snipped fresh parsley

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

3 teaspoons crushed dried oregano

1/2 crushed dried thyme

2 teaspoons salt

2 Bay leaves

4 pounds hamburger, browned

Cook onions & garlic in hot oil until tender.

Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 2 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Remove Bay leaves. Blend with hand held blender.

Makes approx. 9 cups. 

Note: I tend to eyeball a lot of things, so I think I made a bit more as I wanted to use up some tomatoes and beef. Hehe Honestly, if you know your basics, you can't go too wrong when making a good meat sauce. I wouldn't hesitate to add some more spices, maybe peppers, more garlic and so on. 

Now for Step 3

❤

Cottage Cheese Mixture

1 1/2 cups full fat cottage cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried crushed parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

Whip the egg for a minute or so, just till its blended, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend.

NOTE: You may need to double or triple the batch depending on how many Lasagnas you are trying to make. Again, I just eyeball things and go for it. 

And now we are ready to start with the layering. 

Basically, I just put down a layer or sauce, then noodles, then the cream cheese mixture, until the pan was full and topped it with shredded cheese. 

It was by no means fancy or photogenic. But dang, does it taste delicious! 

Also, I have NO CLUE if that was the right way to do it. Probably not. I don't care. I learned a lot!

Now, I just popped mine straight into the freezer. When it was time to cook, I took it out and let it thaw a bit, but you could cook it straight from frozen; just make sure to cover with aluminum foil first. I baked mine at 375F until it hit around 165F degrees internally. I believe from thawed that was an hour and a half in my oven. Obviously that time will change based on your oven. 

I hope you all will enjoy, if you decide to get adventurous in the kitchen! I recommend this on a rainy, slow sort of day, as it is time consuming. 

Have the best day ever! 

Rye Bread & Winter Moments

     Hiiiiiii, did you think I was gone for good again?! Nope, just busy trying to survive full time work and part time school, plus maintaining relationships, keeping up with housework, spring/summer arriving, never ending appointments, and oh yeah. Burnout. 100% in a bad Burnout Season of life. But I really didn't want to disappear from the blog for another 5 years, and I love sharing my photography elsewhere besides social media platforms, so here I am! 

I have curated and edited around 360 photos to share with you, so hopefully I am able to sit down and get a lot of blog posts up in the near future. Thank you for sticking around! I saw my visits number went way up in my absence, so hello all your old-school folks! 

I made a return to bread baking. I am definitely a little rusty, but it still turned out very delicious, and I am looking forward to making more in the future. 

You can find my recipe ~HERE~ 

This is homemade butter! Every time my workplace has heavy cream to write off, I take whatever I can and we make butter. Just stick it in the freezer, and use as needed. So so yummy! 

Speaking of work write offs, here I am, curled up in bed, separating rosemary leaves from their stems. They arrived frozen, but there was still plenty of good pieces to be spared! 

Living music evening at a cute cafe with S. 

One of MANY piles of thrifted books. Guys, regardless of how INSANE my TBR book piles everywhere, it hasn't stopped me. Haha! 

At this point, I have read 56 books this year, but am on a current reading pause. See aforementioned burnout. It really does affect everything. 

Anyways, I have had some amazing thrifted hauls and even posted my first book haul video on Tiktok, so I guess I am moving into the BookTok world?! 

For a while I was spending a ton of time, sitting in our lazy boy, reading away. Here are some of the many books I tore through. 

I have been snapping a lot more random moments that I share on my Instagram stories, but I really loved the vibe of this one. Cozy moments are worth documenting over and over. 

Heading out to Manitou Springs, for a proper soak in the mineral spa. 

We had the opportunity to attend a Blades game and sit in box seats, compliments of my workplace! 

It was a really fun night, and now, it feels extra special, because one of the coworkers I attended with has since passed away, and she had a real impact on me. So these last moments with her feel insanely special now and I am grateful for them. 

At this point in January, I was fully caught up on snail mail. Oh my how times have changed. LOL

Another one of my many hobbies that has gotten to the "insanely overwhelming" point. Who knows, maybe I will get rolling on them soon too. 

Always adding random cactus to my collection that we then proceed to kill. True story. As I type, this guy is still alive somehow! 

Well, that's all I am going to share for now, but just getting rolling on blogging again feels great! Step by step, I really want to get the overwhelm shed off my shoulders and maintain my burnout a lot better. 

I hope you guys are all doing incredibly well.