simple things

this week i did my first wine tour with friends in niagara on the lake.

it was lovely.

the first photo gives you a hint of which winery we toured...

linking up here today:

hot taco rice

before i get to my first recipe post ever,

i want to remind you of the design giveaway i'm doing.

please check it out here.

anyone can enter - you just have to join and leave a comment!

it closes tomorrow at midnight!

this is a favourite recipe around here and with guests.

it came from my sister who discovered it in a church recipe book.

i just had a look and couldn't find my copy of it, 

so here's my adapted version:

hot taco rice:

1lb ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken...)

1 chopped onion

1 cup of tomato sauce

1/2 cup of salsa (or so)

1 bouillon cube

1 can of beans (no salt added)

1 can of corn

toppings:

chopped peppers

grated cheese

green onion

olives

lettuce

sour cream

tortilla chips

(whatever else you would put on tacos)

serve on:

(brown) rice

in a skillet or large frying pan, brown the meat with onion and drain the fat.  

add all the other ingredients to meat, 

heat to boil and then simmer on low for 20 minutes.

prepare your rice and toppings

serve in a bowl with rice, then meat mixture and allow guests to top as they like.  

no need for a fork, as you can use the chips to scoop!  

delicious.

for the those i've given this recipe to:

can you comment if i missed anything?

thanks!

linking up with the simple things today

the beach (in october)

we spent an hour or so at the beach yesterday.

yes, it's october and people were swimming,

and yes, we're in ontario...

it was amazing!

 jude and i were able to head back to the beach after dinner for the sunset...

rockway gardens

we love this place...

(check out simple things this week for some great giveaways)

simple things

i took the girls to the pumpkin farm yesterday...

it was lovely.
the perfect outing with friends, on a beautiful day!

simple things

this was a fun and memorable week:

emery's birthday, a new cousin, and a wedding to attend!

 a more simple thing happened that was also very special.

friends of ours gave emery a gift this week.  

  

steph and aaron own a salon in town, and they tell me that 

the new trend for hair, is feathers!

they generously gave emery one for her birthday.

on friday (before the wedding), the girls and i got to spend some time at the salon.

it was so fun watching the girls get pampered, 

and emery loves her new feather:

i was very grateful (and a bit emotional) as i watched aaron 

make the girls feel so special while doing their hair.

he even set aside a pink 'highlight' for selah 

so she would have something new and exciting too.

 thanks to our kind friends, 

my girls and i were all feeling pretty stylish for the wedding!

hope you all had a great weekend,
and took some time to reflect on the simple things in life that make you smile...

simple things

here are two simple things that made me smile today:

making marshmallow pops for my birthday girl
(a treat to share with her classmates tomorrow)

emery brought home her grade 1 planner today - loving it!

i love the marshmallow pops idea!

i was thinking of doing cake pops, but used all the cake for her party on sunday...

then i saw this idea and knew it would be perfect!

i love the planner, because i'm a calendar and list girl!

emery and i spent about 20 min on the couch this evening

looking through it, filling things in and reading together.

it was nice.

i must say - i'm enjoying the both girls at school thing.

life feels calm and balanced again!

simple things

quick post to share a simple thing that made me smile.

bubbles...

during a trip to storybook gardens with nan this week,

the girls got to play with bubbles!

though this photo is quite busy, i love the moment captured...

emery was so excited about the big bubble she had created,

that she didn't even notice the even larger one that was growing right above her!

simple things

a simple thing happened this week that made us all smile!

it makes for an extra cute smile for emery:

i was amazed at her patience with this tooth.

it became loose 3 weeks ago.

everyday, we checked it and i asked her if she wanted it out.

everyday, she said "no, i'll just wait for it to fall out"

coming from emery, this approach surprised me,

but it worked!

in the middle of the night on thursday she woke up to her tooth falling out, right into her hand

~

love this girl,

and love her new smile!

linking up here today:

treasure hunters

just got home from spending a week in a rustic cabin in quebec with my family.

we had a fun time exploring the land and sights (photos to come)...

we also explored an abandoned house on the property.  

call me crazy...

but this was the highlight of the week for me.  

it is something i have always wanted to do!

you know those old houses you drive by on country roads, with the doors wide open...

there's one on the way up to my parents' place and i've always wanted to stop to look inside.

i wish i had captured a photo of the house and how it looked...

  (you can see it in the background)

it was crazy inside, ceiling down, floors tilting every which way, 

cupboards leaning so much that doors are wide open and dishes are sliding out one by one,

yet there was unopened mail sitting on the little table in the kitchen...

we brought these items out to save them (it was clear that house hadn't been touched in years),

but willing to return each piece if removing them would upset anyone.

 i think it's crazy that all these 'treasures' were left there untouched.

 can you see the old hockey skates?

what would you have chosen from the collection?

upon receiving the okay - my sisters and i each claimed one of the black chairs.

i was also able to bring home the globe

(which my mother bravely rescued from the very slanty room at the back of the house).

~

if you know of a old house that needs exploring, let me know!

have you ever explored an old abandoned house?  

what treasures did you see?

simple things

rocks,

sand,

pool noodles,

buckets & shovels.

it's the simple things that make my girls smile.

linking up with:

simple things

s'mores!

just looking at the word makes me smile...

but even better than that is giving two little friends their first s'more experience.

we used simple pleasure's chocolate wafers for these ones - so good!

what was a simple thing that you made you smile this week?