Sara's Lounge

Back to School

2011-09-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

Summer’s over and the kids go back to school. Thank god.. because I think the boredom was really starting to get to them! Rebekah starts college this year, Meghan grade 7 and Emma grade 5.

Pretty crazy…

Back to school also means… lunches… I really hate prepacked, overpriced and over processed items and so today we’re busy making some snacks. On the menu for school is some toffee brownies and some smores granola bars. Also making some peanut butter oatmeal cookies for an afterschool snack since they can’t have pb at school.

These turned out great . I found these Peanut Butter Coconut Oatmeal cookies at Daily Unadventures in Cooking blog.

These Chocolate Toffee Brownies were in my American Heart Association Healthy Family Meals cookbook- I definitely recommend it.

SMORES Granola Bars! What is not to love about this? Find this recipe at Sweet Peas Kitchen blog.

I also made a delicious Zucchini Spice Bread

I think the kids are set for food this week Desserts anyways…

second guessing

2011-06-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

ok maybe i won't repaint the living room... i do have many other rooms in the house that need repainting more desperately then the living room - but with that said something indeed needs to be done to that room.
i love the idea of decorating but i hate decorating... constantly second guessing myself and it all requires so much commitment!
ugh....

time to paint..... again?

2011-06-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

well ian is probably going to kill me but i think it's time to paint again. i really just don't like the living room - its dark and not functional at all.
i came to this decision today as i was trying to (unsuccessfully) rearrange the photos on our on blank wall. nothing was working and now i have an empty wall full of holes.....
it's much harder creating a random design then i thought!
anyways i'd like to repaint now and also do something with the fireplace. anyone got any ideas or advice?

hello?

2011-05-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Holy crap - has it really been since 2009 since my last post!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear it's only been a few months.
Going to have to remedy this - the last two years have been more or less like a fog, and frankly its time to wake up and snap out of it!

I'll be back...

coconut chicken pineapple curry

2009-11-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

someone posted a link to this recipe on twitter the other week and i've been wanting to have it ever since!but with kids having dance almost every night or me

working at the dance studio, i just haven't had the time. but tonight no one had any plans and i had all the ingredients in the pantry.

dinner was a little late getting on the table but it was so worth it. delicious and the girls liked it too! :)

the pineapple was so juicy and perfect in this dish for a twist! give it a try and tell me what you think.

new items in the shop!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

miracles of all miracles.... i've actually uploaded some new items at piggy-tails!!!! can you believe it? i didn't think it was going to happen. but i'm determined to get my life back on track and get motivated again!

new xmas cards sets have been listed.

And to celebrate... Today only! Save 20% on anything in my shop to celebrate finally listing new items!!

check out piggy-tails for more info.

it was a wet and rainy weekend

2009-07-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

hasn't this summer been great?

nothing but rain.. and more rain.. and more rain.

last weekend ian and i went camping at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park in Mattawa to meet with our 2 little ones who have been camping there all week with their grandparents, two little cousins and their Aunt. it really hadn't been the best of weeks..kind of cold and well.... wet. but what are you going to do? summer only lasts for so long here and you can't waste a single minute of it. crappy weather or not.... i guess.

friday

we arrived and got our tent up just in time before it started to rain. not just a little rain either.... a downpour and it lasted all night....

saturday

thankfully when we woke up the rain had stopped. had breakfast at the trailer with the family and then we headed out for a canoe ride. it was anna's (our cocker spaniel) first time in the canoe... and surprisingly enough she did really well! she enjoyed checking everything out and kept trying to stick her head in the water to drink. for some reason she thinks that the lake is a big giant bowl of water and must keep drinking it until it's all gone!

after the canoe ride anna had a good time chasing a stick in the water. she hasn't had a whole lot of experience camping and really doesn't enjoy it much, but she seemed to enjoy the wat

er. she was hesitant though when the stick went a little to far and she couldn't touch the ground anymore. of course after she went swimming she was freezing and wouldn't stop shaking until we went home on sunday. needless to say, next time we go camping, anna will be staying home. she's just to much of a princess and doesn't like to be outside day and night..

oh i forgot to mention... during the canoe ride... it rained.

the sun did come out though for a bit in the afternoon. ian was a

ble to grab a little snooze in his hammock. my mom came out to visit us for dinner and then guess what? yup.. just as she was about to leave it started to rain. and once again.. not just a little rain.. a downpour! so much for a campfire and marshmellows :(

sunday

woke up in a not so pleasant way....

anna had been sleeping in the car (yes with a crack in the windows.. plenty of ventilation, but she stank like a wet dog and we didn't want her in the tent. it's a very small tent...) but some lady thought that she would stand outside our car, very early in the morning, and talk to anna. "oh aren't you a cute doggie" getting her all excited and then she started barking. i, being a courteous camper, didn't want my barking dog to wake everyone else up so we had to get up and let her out. of course the lady was long gone by the time i got out of the tent... which probably was a good thing.

since the rest of the family was still sleeping, ian and i went for a nice long walk. checked out some campsites that we'd like to reserve for another time. and i was able to get some shots of the loon and her baby.

even with the telephoto lense it was hard to get a nice close shot from the beach. there were some kayakers out who were getting some shots. soooo jealous.

after breakfast we went for another little canoe ride and got back just in time to get everything loaded up before..... yup... another downpour! ahh the joys of camping.

the kids were able to get a lot of pictures from their week of camping. look for those coming soon.

we're off to go camping the long weekend.... let's hope we have better luck this time with the rain.

Blog Out Loud

2009-07-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last night Ian and I attended Blog Out Loud at the Raw Sugar Cafe in Ottawa.
Really cute little cafe with great retro furniture. It was great being in a room with bloggers.... with people you have something in common with.. with people who get it.
There wasn't very much room but we did manage to find ourselves a seat in the corner. And of course, as usual, I was as shy as ever, but at least I was there. I don't actually find it necessary to talk with people and mingle to have a good time... in fact, I'm much more comfortable sitting back and just watching.
Unfortunately in our little niche in the corner of the room, we weren't able to see the bloggers who were brave enough to get up and talk. Nor was I able to see Ian read his post but maybe he was thankful for that...;) But it was great listening to the stories.. it was kind of like listening to talk radio. And I'm so happy to have a new list of local blogs to read. I've been trying to connect with local people who blog and recently a whole slew of new Ottawa twitterers.
Here is a list of the blog readers

a peek inside the fishbowl
Capital Mom
Coffee with Julie
Coloured Marbles
Crosswind
Curried Jane
From Nat's Brain
Hella Stella
In a Jar
Knitnut.net
Life is Good....at the Beach
Mare ad Mare
Postcards from the Mothership
Thoughts of a Smother Mother
Tales from a Grouch
Turtlehead
XUP

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Family trip to BlueMountain Resort in Collingwood.

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Watched this movie last night. What a great tribute to Canada.

Check out why Canada is Cool. Lots of fun interactive facts. Enjoy!

http://www.canadacool.com/COOLFACTS/MapofCanada.html

Some Garden Love

2009-06-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ok.. first off.. I have to admit, I am sooo not a gardener. I love the look of a garden, I like to go to the nurseries and pick the flowers, I like to pretend that I garden. But really.. Ian and the kids are the ones that do all the work. I pick and I place and that's all I do. But I really do love to take photos of the garden. And I do love to eat the fresh veggies that come from the garden.

I'm really proud of our flower garden.. neither of us know what we are doing and have no idea what should go where or what flowers would be best. We just go with what we like and go from there! I only like to do perennials really and so we get only a few each year. I'm looking forward to our garden maturing throughout the years.

On the side of house is our little vegetable garden. It's really (other then the front of the house) the only place that gets sun. Here we have some tomoto plants, a couple hops plants ( Ian's idea) a couple cucumber plants, a jalopeno plant and some beans. Unfortunately the slugs have attacked the beans but we're hoping they'll recover. The girls love fresh beans!

This year we are also trying something new. We have a hanging tomotoe plant and a hanging cucumber plant. It's dual purpose this way as well as we have flowers on top and the veggies on the bottom. The mums on the one plant have died and I keep forgetting to replace them.
Here's a how to video that Ian made

I don't know what these flowers are called but they are a lovely shade of orange with a purple inside. These flowers are in a pot at the front of the house.

Moving on to our flower bed in our front yard.

This flower is absolutely beautiful...;)

I love the colours of these

And hosta ville

Our front flower bed

TRANS CANADA ROAD TRIP

2009-06-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

The road trip has now entered Ontario. First stop is me .. Piggy-Tails!

Read about it on our Trans Canada Etsy Blog

Canada Day Road Trip and Giveaway!!

2009-06-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Canada Day Road Trip and Giveaway!

The Trans Canada Etsy Team is having a virtual road trip and we are giving away two amazing prizes! The promotion runs from June 20th to July 1st.

During this time, when you make a purchase from a participating shop, you automatically earn one ticket into a prize draw for every $10 you spend (before shipping is added to the total). So if you spend up to $10, you will get one ticket. If you spend $50, you get 5 tickets.

If you mention the promotional code "Road Trip" in the notes to seller when you check out, you can earn one additional ticket into the prize draw.

There are two incredible prizes!

A $350 Prize Pack consisting of all these handmade items:

And a $175 Handwoven Rag Rug:

The rag rug was woven by Pegg, FiveForty, using tshirts that were sent to her from all the participating team members across Canada. It's gorgeous and big, measuring 34"x55"! It is a wonderful collaboration bringing together our members from coast to coast, and beautifully executed by Fiveforty through her artistry and skill.

So here is how you win! From June 20th to July 1st, any purchase you make from the participating shops will get your name into the draw. You get one ballot for every $10 that you spend. On July 2nd, we will draw for the winners. Remember, if you mention the promo code "Road Trip" when you make your purchase, you will get one extra ballot!

Here is a list of participating shops and prizes that each shop has donated to the prize pack. Remember, you earn 1 ticket for each $10 you spend (prior to shipping costs) in these shops:

Enthral
(prize pack contribution: three pairs of earrings and a set of hair elastics, retail value $22)

Five Forty
(prize pack contribution: a suncatcher, retail value $42)

MyHandboundBooks
(prize pack contribution: leather journal, retail value $39)

i Heart That Dance
(prize pack contribution: handmade bag, retail value $35)

Laura Bucci
(prize pack contribution: cup cozy, retail value $12)

RJ Charms & Designed by RJ
(prize pack contribution: earrings and a bookmark, retail value $17)

Rikrak
(prize pack contribution: bib, retail value $21)

Off the Hooks
(prize pack contribution: crocheted hat, retail value $20)

Too Aquarius
(prize pack contribution: two necklaces, retail value $20)

Pixel8ed
(prize pack contribution: recipe book, retail value $10)

Tangente
(prize pack contribution: a catnip mouse, retail value $8)

Inkyspider
(prize pack contribution: brooch, retail value $9)

Kootsac
(prize pack contribution: set of reusable produce bags, retail value $10.50)

Prairie Peasant
(prize pack contribution: journal, retail value $20)

Carvel Country soaps
(prize pack contribution: $20 gift certificate)

Bovine Bubbles
(prize pack contribution: $20 gift certificate)

Sea Glass Designs
(prize pack contribution: necklace)

Piggy Tails
(prize pack contribution: stationary)

String Me Along
(prize pack contribution: set of hair pins, retail value $27)

Paisley Baby
(prize pack contribution: wet bag, retail value $13)

WillowCatVintage
(prize pack contribution: gift certificate)

We hope you have fun participating in our virtual road trip, Happy Canada Day!

WestFest 2009

2009-06-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous day! It's about time summer arrive.... Ian, Meghan, Emma and I headed to Westboro for the yearly WestFest. Lots of activities were going on and a good crowd too. Music, dancing and of course face/body painting! Meghan got a turtle and Emma a dolphin, both on their arms. (Such a better place then on your face..)

Before we went home we sat on the grass and the girls had a peanut butter cookie baked from Harvest Loaf. Yummy!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you for participating in the Transcanada Etsy Team Easter Egg Hunt!! Our winner of the $15.00 GC to participating stores will be announced April 13th at noon central time at out team store transcanadateam.etsy.com

making cupcakes

2009-04-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

after seeing the cupcake birthday party package, the girls were inspired. "let's make some real cupcakes... with chocolate icing!"

i let the girls do all the work themselves.....aren't i nice?;) i did however do the eggs though....not to trusting when it comes to little hands and raw eggs...

they had a great time, had a lot of fun, and they turned out delicious!

look at the team work!

2009-04-09T09:15:00.001-07:00

going to take a walk to Bridgehead for my pm java break

something sweet at piggy-tails!

2009-04-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

new!!!! new designs and new packages available at piggy-tails! packages now come in 2 sizes. check the shop for details! we have the birthday party BASH pack which includes
8 invitations & envelopes
8 thank you cards & envelopes
16 gift tags
8 cupcake toppers
1 birthday banner

with the BASH package you save $10!

you can also get the party package with includes everything but the toppers and the banner.

invitations, banner and cupcake toppers are also available seperately

TransCanada Etsy Team Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

Spring has Sprung!
The Easter Bunny hopped over to the TransCanada Etsy Team and left some eggs behind!

So we decided to host the first ever TransCanada Etsy Team Easter Egg Hunt. There are 29 shops hiding 20 eggs and one person will win a $15.00 coupon* to redeem at any of the participating Etsy shops below!!! (*not redeemable for cash)

How to play
Visit all the Shops and look for an egg. The egg will be hidden within the first 10 listings. Of course, some shops won't have an egg, so keep a list of all the shops that have an egg. When you find all 20 eggs, send the list to us by convo through the team shop TransCanadaTeam.etsy.com or email us at transcanada.etsy@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn from all correct entries on Monday April 13th and announced here by 6pm Etsy time!

SHOP LIST
BabyBunnyNaturals.etsy.com
bovinebubbles.etsy.com
carvelcountrysoaps.etsy.com
claychicks.etsy.com
cleanbright.etsy.com
enthral.etsy.com
fiveforty.etsy.com
inkyspider.etsy.com
kootsac.etsy.com
laurabucci.etsy.com
louloubell.etsy.com
loopy4ewe.etsy.com
mieldesigns.etsy.com
mybellebijoux.etsy.com
MyHandboundBooks.etsy.com
offthehooks.etsy.com
paisleybaby.etsy.com
phunkythreadz.etsy.com
piggytailsstationary.etsy.com
prairiepeasant.etsy.com
rikrak.etsy.com
seaglassdesigns.etsy.com
starryeyedstudios.etsy.com
stringmealong.etsy.com
tangente.etsy.com
minouette.etsy.com
tooaquarius.etsy.com
wildwomanjewelry.etsy.com
willowcatstudio.etsy.com

Good Luck and Have fun!

love to mop?

2009-03-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

i do now!
never have i enjoyed mopping. i've tried numerous mops, swifter wet (or whatever it's called) ..nothing ever seemed to clean the floor well, and i hated carting a bucket around and i never seemed to get the cleaner:water ratio down.
but now i am a mopper! heck..i just finished mopping my kitchen floor at 9 pm..and i'm blogging about it. yup, guess you can say, i've been transformed! and it's all due to the

shark steam mop!

it cleans with only water using steam. and i can use it on all my flooring (well obviously,not the carpet though...)no more chemical cleaners, no more bucket! i am in love.. and i have clean floors!

CBC Interview

2009-03-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Last week was a great week to welcome back spring and wake up out of this hibernation that I've been in. I definitely have spring fever and have been feeling much more energetic! In fact so much so that I've been having insomnia at around 3 am every morning! So what do I do during that time? Well i've been working on some new piggy-tails designs and revamping the store. Keep an eye out for updates!

Something also exciting happened for piggy-tails last week. I was asked to do a short interview with CBC radio to talk about Etsy and my shop. It aired Saturday morning but you can listen online here. Click on the Etsy under March 21.

It's going to be a very busy week. Meghan's first dance competition of the season is this weekend. We'll be leaving Thursday night to head to Peterborough and won't be back until Sunday night. Hope to have a few pics to post next week! Until then, have a good week everyone!

Baking and Biking

2009-03-16T15:17:00.001-07:00

I know, I know.. it's been a long time since I've updated! And boy have I missed blogging.
I think the winter really put me in hibernate mode and now that Spring has started to sprung, it's time to get going again! ;)

It was a great weekend here, the start of March Break, and no dance! That meant extra time!
Friends of ours from Germany just moved here (in our neighbourhood no less, talk about a small world!)and they came to visit on Saturday for coffee. What a great excuse to get some baking done. We made a crumb cake and some oatmeal and raisin cookies.

Sunday was a gorgeous day! Some warm weather and sunshine. Emma had outgrown her bike from last year so we headed out to do some bike shopping. Ended up getting Meghan a new bike since she was able to move up to the next size and Emma got Meghan's bike. Since I thought she should get something new as well, we got her a new pink helmet.And while the kids enjoyed biking around; Anna enjoyed being outside with the family as well.

Ottawa River Cruise

2008-10-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving weekend was absolutely gorgeous weather wise! We enjoyed a nice afternoon downtown taking photos and taking a cruise along the Ottawa River.

Sharing with Photos

2008-10-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Life has been hectic with work, dance, birthday parties, Thanksgiving.... haven't had much of chance to do anything online lately and I miss it so!

Emma had a Little Ray's Birthday Party at our house last weekend. The girls had a great time, and we were told that this was the first all girl party he had hosted! Go girls! :) These are the reptiles that visited us.

NEW TO PIGGY-TAILS!

2008-10-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

FIREFIGHTERS! I just love this new set, and it's great to get some more boy party packages in the shop.
Do you have a little Firefighter that is celebrating a birthday soon?

Celebrate your little boy's or girl's birthday party with this coordinated package!Each package includes:

8 invitations with fire engine red envelopes
8 Thank-you cards with fire engine red envelopes
16 gift tags

**LET ME KNOW THE AGE OF THE BIRTHDAY BOY/GIRL AND I'LL ADD IT ON THE HAT!**

Printed on white 110lb Smooth Cover stock
Invitations are 4.25x5.50
Thank-you cards are 4.25x5.50

***CUSTOM BIRTHDAY BANNERS AND CUPCAKE TOPPERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13569226
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13612365

*PERSONALIZATION OF THE INVITATIONS ARE FREE OF CHARGE!
please list your details in Message to Seller
please also state which colour envelopes you'd like. Orange or Purple

**ADD ONS ARE AVAILABLE!
Invitations: $1.50 each
Thank-You cards: $2.00 each
8 gift cards: $1.00

**** please do not hesitate to ask any questions! I'm always available via the contact form or email sara@piggy-tails.com

Where is the time going??

2008-09-08T16:07:00.001-07:00

Wow I can't believe it's all ready Sep.8! Crazy!
I am really sorry for the slacking I've been doing on the blog lately. But it has been for good reason.
I've started working full time! A friend of mine was able to get me a job as a receptionist at an Ear Nose and Throat doctor's office. I love getting out of the house and working for a change. I've loved being home with the girls, but it was time to do something different and I've been feeling great! It's definitely hard getting used to everything, but I think I'm making the adjustments really well. Heck.. didn't know I could be so organized! It's kind of scary actually! HAHA!

I will try and get back to at least blogging once a week.

Things at Piggy-Tails have been going well. I've had some great new orders, and also I am proud to say that Piggy-Tails cards and party packs are now available at a cute little online girls boutique, check it out 2 Sweet Girls in Pink

I have a couple new designs in the work. Keep an eye out for new cards and party packs coming to the store.

Aargh Matey!

2008-08-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

New to the shop.....PIRATES!

Do you have a little Pirate that is celebrating a birthday soon?

Celebrate your little boy's or girl's birthday party with this coordinated package!Each package includes:

8 invitations with kraft envelopes
8 Thank-you cards with kraft envelopes
16 gift tags

Printed on white 110lb Smooth Cover stock
Invitations are 4.25x5.50
Thank-you cards are 4.25x5.50

***CUSTOM BIRTHDAY BANNERS AND CUPCAKE TOPPERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13569226
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13612365

*PERSONALIZATION OF THE INVITATIONS ARE FREE OF CHARGE!
please list your details in Message to Seller
please also state which colour envelopes you'd like. Orange or Purple

**ADD ONS ARE AVAILABLE!
Invitations: $1.50 each
Thank-You cards: $2.00 each
8 gift cards: $1.00

**** please do not hesitate to ask any questions! I'm always available via the contact form or email sara@piggy-tails.com

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Blog Feature

2008-08-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

Piggy-Tails is featured on Kim's Wonderful World of Crafts blog today!
Thank-you Kim for the wonderful feature!

Calling Cards

2008-08-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

New in Tangerine Owl.. Calling Cards. Use these for personal or business purposes.

Treasury West

2008-08-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

Created a treasury today at Etsy.
What a Girl Wants

Blueberry Cobbler

2008-08-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Emma and I were out the other day and we picked up a huge basket of blueberries. Got to love when blueberries are in season! I was browsing the Bread and Honey blog when I came across their Red,White, and Blueberry Cobbler recipe. I had to make it! I didn't have any strawberries so mine was a strict blueberry cobbler. I didn't really have a deep baking dish for it either, so it kind of made a mess in my pan, but it was a great blueberry juicy goodness mess!

Blueberry Cobbler: adapted from Vegan Planet, and Bread and Honey

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar or natural sweetener
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons hard margarine, cut into small pieces (butter can also be used)
About 1/2 cup milk ( i used skim milk)

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries , the 2/3 cup sugar, the 2 tablespoons flour, and the cinnamon. Stir to blend and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and stir gently until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and spoon into the bottom of a 9" baking dish.
In a food processor, combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, salt, and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Blend in the margarine with short pulses, until the mixture becomes crumbly. With the machine running, add the milk through the feed tube and blend until the dough just starts to hold together.
Drop dough by large spoonfuls on top of the fruit. Bake until the fruit is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, 30-40 minutes in a 325F oven.

The Girls

2008-08-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Just sharing a layout that I made yesterday of the girls last summer.

Welcome To The New Blog

2008-08-05T08:01:00.001-07:00

Well I wish I can say that this will be my last new blog.. but well.. my new moto is to not make promises that I can't keep :)
I wasn't liking the free wordpress at all, so now I'm giving Blogger a chance. And now also, instead of having separate blogs for family and friends, piggy-tails and tangerine owl.. it will all be in one. Much easier for me to maintain and keep track of!
Please let me know what you think of the new blog and any ideas or critiques you may have.

I have some exciting news for today. Piggy-Tails is in the Indie Fixx Galleria for the month of August. I am so excited and hope that this will bring some new traffic to the shop!

Well now that I've spent my entire morning working on switching blogs. I need to do some cleanup from breakfast and then hit the post office and a trip to Costco. I may be back later though!

Coming Soon...

2005-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:00