Hooked on a Fabulous Desk

I love this desk/bookcase combination from Crate & Barrel! It would be perfect in our condo since we're a bit starved for space. Mind you it would only work for my laptop as I'm pretty sure that hubby's computer is too big. And I'd want it for his computer since his exsisting desk is a bit of an eye sore. But since I'm also thrifty (as my friends would say) I'll settle with the current desk! Oooh, but I love the Crate & Barrel desk so much!

Of course, I'd have to get all the great storage pieces that are displayed on the shelves. I'm a bit of an organizer.

Head on over to Hooked on Houses to see what others are Hooked on!

**Come back on Monday to see what's on my "It's the Little Things" list. I love knowing what makes others happy so, while you're here, why not link up your own "It's the Little Things" list. You can use photos, words, whatever you like, just show me the little things in your life that delight you! Mr. Linky will be waiting! Oh, and my first giveaway! You won't want to miss it!**

Super Easy Samosas

I made these for dinner last night and we love them! My husband claims he doesn't like curry but really likes these. He's strange...but lovable!

Easy Cresent Samosas

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked diced potatoes
1 cup cooked diced carrot
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
5 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp dried cilantro
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 dash red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp water
2 (8 ounce) packages crescent rolls (I used Pilsbury)

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes until onion is soft.
2. Add all other ingredients except crescent rolls.
3. Stir gently over medium heat for several minutes until well blended.
4. Set aside.
5. Heat oven to 375 degrees
6. Open cans of crescent rolls and unroll the dough.
7. Separate into 4 rectangles and pinch the triangular perforations to seal
8. Cut each rectangle in half to make squares (you'll have 8 squares per can of crescents rolls)
9. You may have to coax the dough gently with your hands to make it square and to close up the perforations.
10. Spoon a heaping spoonful of filling in the center of each square and fold over to make a triangle. (I made rectangles)
11. Pinch the edges to seal.
12. Bake on a greased cookie sheets for 12-15 minutes until golden.
13. Cool slightly on rack.
14. Serve warm with honey dipping sauce (recipe below)
15. Makes 16 samosas

Honey Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Mix sauce well in a small bowl. Enjoy!

Paper Toy Aeroplane

I found the perfect activity for kids to do in the cold winter months! A really neat hand painted paper airplane! It's even free! This bi-plane is hand painted by artist, Marilyn Scott-Waters.

If you go to The Toymaker site, you can find many more free paper toys by Marilyn. So neat!

Etsy Edition # 4

You know, I want to be a Mom. And there's no hiding the fact that I love to browse all the neat tools and cute things that are out there for kids. So today's Etsy shop is Loveyduds. A shop dedicated to making adorable baby wraps, nursing covers and belts out of the scraps. Cute fabrics!

Some Flowers For You!

Here are some flowers to brighten up your Monday! Enjoy!

Flickr - yoshiko314

Flickr - moonchild41

Flickr - sara+h

Flickr - alvidk

DIY Tea Bag Wrappers

I'm loving this DIY project, so cute! Great for all your girlfriends!

Hooked on Bedding

I'm bored with our bedding. I'm a simple gal when it comes to decorating but I think our bedroom needs a bit extra. I think I'm dreaming if I think my husband will go for a new set since we did get new stuff for our wedding about a year and a half ago. But, my husband has never stopped me from dreaming!

I quite like this one. Not too ornate. (See, I like simple.)

Home Outfitters

Isn't this one neat? I love the rushing! It's by Marie Claire

Home Outfitters

Boring. But I do like the red sheets! I could always do that quite easily with our exsiting duvet...hmmm.
Macy's

I think this is one my husband would like. Manly.

Home Outfitters

This one might be too boring again. Although it is calming!

Gluckstein Home

Go visit Julia at Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on!

Delicious Cheddar Biscuits

Oh my...we're they ever good! I made these for dinner on Monday which I served with a creamy vegetable soup. They are supposed to be like Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits. They're so easy to make too!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1-1 1/2 grated cheddar cheese

2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400*. Stir all these ingredients together in a mixer. (or by hand) Drop by spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Place in oven for 10 minutes.

While the biscuits are baking, melt 2 Tablespoons butter, add 2 tsp oregano and one tsp garlic salt to a little dish.

After the 10 minutes are up, remove the biscuits from the oven and brush the butter mixture overtop each biscuit.

Pop back into the oven for another 5-6 minutes.

Enjoy!

Twenty and Under

These could come in very handy for organizing.

$9.00 at See Jane Work

Here's another bag I could add to my collection

$5.99 at Aeropostale

Sooo cute - Chrysanthemum earrings

$9.00 at dangsworld's Etsy shop

Casual chic

$14.50 at Body Central

Etsy Edition #3

This week's feature is Fruitflypie. She makes the cutest ceramics! They are vintage inspired. She has everything from vases, cookie jars, hand towels, to spoon rests!

Gosh, I want so many things! Starting with one of the owl vases. Like the blue one at the top.

Besides Etsy, here's where you can find Wendy:

Website: http://www.fruitflypie.com/

Blog: www.fruitflypie.com/blog

Blog: http://www.makeitcute.com/

The Lamp Search is Over

I've been on the hunt for a lamp to go beside my husband's side of the bed for a very long time. The searching finally came to an end this weekend. I actually bought two, so we match. The searching was hard for me because I'm, shall we say, thrifty. Okay I'm cheap but I want good quality stuff! Not easy to fulfill my wants.

My Mom and I were browsing this weekend at our local mall when I spotted these real crystal base lamps. I was only going to get one, when Mom convinced me to go all out. 59.99 each. Canadian dollars. I thought that was a good price to pay. I'm setting them up today. And I'm going to love them forever...

What's one item you've been finding hard to find?

I've Fallen in Love...

...with red and yellow. Together. As accents around the house. Bursts of colour when things are still brown outside.

(click on image to see it larger)

Top row left to right: necklace from Etsy seller Dryan327, bamboo vase from Target, red mail door from CraigPJ.

Middle row left to right: lemons from Martha Stewart, bouquet of daffodils from Martha Stewart, yellow wall from mialman.

Bottom row left to right: red flowers and cupcakes source unknown, yellow pitcher from iprole, cherries from Martha Stewart

What do you think of the colour combination?

Hooked on Fridays - My First Handbag

Today I overcame a fear of mine: I sewed my very first handbag! I'm not quite sure why, but I've always found them sort of intimidating. Maybe it's the fact that they have linings, or pleats, or handles? I'm not too sure! I mean, I've done quite a bit of sewing in my lifetime and some projects were way more complicated than this one! I enjoyed doing this so much I'm hooked! I have grand plans to sew many more. I'll probably even venture over to a different pattern!

Here's the one I made today. (It only took me a day!)



The fabric is a neat blue and brown cotton. (I'll be taking another photo in the proper lighting by the way, that shows the correct colours!)

ETA: A picture showing the correct colours!

Okay, that's all for me, I've gotta get started on my next one!
Now, go see what everyone else is hooked on over at Hooked On Houses.

Ginger Crinkles

(photo by shannon2406)

These cookies are the best! My favourite part about them, besides the taste, is that they stay soft after baking! Go on give them a try!

Ginger Crinkles

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 molasses
1 ¾ cup flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon (or more!)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
¼ cup granulated sugar (for rolling)

In large bowl, whisk oil with 1 cup sugar. Whisk in egg until smooth. Whisk in molasses. In separate bowl, mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt. Stir into molasses mixture to form moist dough. Shape into balls, roll in sugar and place on baking sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350 degrees until flat, cracked and browned all over - about 12 minutes.

***I use my kitchenaid mixer as this dough becomes quite hard to mix.

Etsy Edition #2

For today's edition I'd love to feature one of my favorite sellers. Cozy Moments. I Love their products! They are in the business of pampering and feature a wide variety of body products. Ranging from bar soap, facial products and my favorite, the whipped body moisturizers. They have sooo many different scents to choose from. They even have a bunch of copy cat scents from Bath and Body Works, Philosophy, and Aquolina.

Check out a few of their products:

Vanilla Bean Noel (Bath and Body Works Type)

Lime Sugar lip balm (I love this stuff!)

Whipped body butter (I love the sweet smelling Pink Sugar scent)

Who is your favorite body product seller on Etsy?

Winter Calm

I'm not sure about you, but as soon as the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, I can't wait to put all the decorations away. Create a clean slate. No clutter, just space. I do keep a few accessories around but they're mostly candles or white/cream objects. Cozy throws are still a must because after all, it is still winter!

For me I find the inspiration in the snow covered views. Everything blanketed in white. The following photos are the definition of the winter calm, in my eyes.

(source unknown)

(source unknown)

(source unknown)

(Delightful Home)

(Design Inc)

(clockwise from top: restoration hardware, Martha Stewart, Inside Avenue, Restoration Hardware, Restoration Hardware)

How do you like to decorate in the winter after the holidays are over?

All You Wanted to Know About Vinegar

I love plain old white vinegar. It's delightful! :) I like to use vinegar for all sorts of things. Cleaning, since it's a natural disinfectant. Cooking, because some recipes call for it. Gardening, so it kills all those pesky aphids on my roses.

My favorite ways to use it right now are as a floor cleaner and a drain unclogger!

For the floor cleaner I fill a bucket with hot water, add some vinegar and my secret ingedient...a few drops of essential oil! You can't smell the vinegar once it's dry and the essential oils act as a bit of aromatherapy while you're cleaning!

My drain cleaner method works really well. I thought I would try to get one of our sinks to drain a bit faster by pouring a bunch of baking soda, then by adding an equal part of vinegar. This would be fun for kids! After the vinegar and baking soda calm down, pour a bunch of boiling hot water down the drain. I was so pleased with the results! This is also a great way to freshen the drain.

Since vinegar is a disinfectant and natual cleaner, I like to use it to clean the tiles in the washroom. (I don't do this very often because well, I don't like cleaning that much!)

You know that expensive Jet Dry shine stuff you throw in your dishwasher? Well vinegar works great as a cheap replacement! Trust me, that's what I do.

According to this neat website I found in my searching, you can use vinegar on your hands to take away onion smell. I wonder if it would work for garlic too? I'll have to try!

So tell me, what do you like to do with vinegar?

Hooked on Faucets

I thought I would join in on Julia's Hooked on Friday post. The idea of the party is to post about something that we're hooked on. Sounds fun!

For me, I'm totally hooked on kitchen faucets. My husband and I are going to be doing a few minor upgrades in our kitchen in the near future. Top priority is to replace our rotting orange counter top. And yes, it's just as lovely as it sounds, (sense the sarcasm!) Second priority is the leaky, wobbly faucet. I've got everything decided, except the faucet. My problem is, the fact that I'm "thrifty". Decent faucets are not cheap. I went the cheap route last time and now it's leaky and wobbly. One other factor is, we own a town home, not a forever home.

Enough chit chat. Lets get on to delightful pictures of my obsession!

This one's pretty! Pretty hefty price tag too!

This one is neat too, but a bit too modern for my taste.
I quite like this but I'm not a fan of two levers


I absolutely love this restaurant style! Too pricey though.

So far, I think I'm leaning towards something like this. Single lever, plain, pull out sprayer and chrome. Boring, but will appeal to more buyers when it comes time to sell our condo.

So tell me, what do you think?

Winter is Beautiful

(Photo by zurirolf)
(photo from stock.xchng)

(photo from stock.xchng)

(photo from stock.xchng)

(photo from stock.xchng)