Dad's Caesar Salad Dressing

My dad makes the best from-scratch Caesar Salad dressing I have ever had. I thought I'd share his "secret" recipe with you today:

Please note: If you don't like anchovies or just fish in general or can't find anchovies at the grocery store (as was the case with me the last time I made this) just leave them out. It's still very good without them.

Dad's Caesar Salad Dressing
dresses a large salad

1/4 tsp. Dry Mustard
4 cloves Garlic
1 tin Anchovies drained into measuring cup then add
Olive Oil to make 3/4 cup (if you're not using anchovies, use 3/4 cup olive oil)
2 Eggs
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Sugar

Puree all ingredients together in the blender. Cover & refrigerate unused dressing for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy your day!

~Steph

Before & After home tour (part 2)

  My Before & After home tour continues today. I've got a few a photos to show you of our home makeover.

  This is our main bathroom before. It was truly awful. In fact, when we first viewed the house, I think I laughed out loud when I saw this room. It was SO dirty & outdated. Pictures do not do it justice. Mauve toilet & tub, dirty lilac walls, dusty lace curtains for the shower curtain & on the window. Nasty, grimy lino floor. The tub surround only went halfway up the wall so we couldn't use the shower. The list of nastiness just went on & on.

BEFORE

BEFORE

This after picture literally makes me breath a sigh of relief! 

AFTER

  We (and when I say we, I should give credit where credit is due. My fabulous husband & DIY expert, James, did most of the work. I just picked the stuff out.) started by ripping out everything but the tub. We had it refinished in white since it was in good condition other than the awful colour. We did the tub surround in a simple white tile, tiled the floor, painted the walls a pale green (it doesn't make me look sick, I promise!) put a new toilet in, new vanity, light fixtures, & towel bars. 

  I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Since we painted this room, I've heard that you should never paint a bathroom green because it can make a person look sick. This shade doesn't. It's General Paint's Ocean Bath CL 2041W. Check it out if you want a nice, soft green.

Recap:

If you'd like to see our living room makeover click here.
If you'd like to see our kitchen makeover click here.

We're very happy with how our renos have turned out & I'm enjoying sharing the journey with you all.

I've got recipes, highlighting some favourite vintage finds, & this week's papercrafts coming up later this week. 

Enjoy your day!

~Steph

Park Tour 2011

At the beginning of this summer I had a brainwave. My kids are always asking to go to the park, so why not make it a bit more interesting & visit some parks that we've never played at? Thus began "Park Tour 2011". It's simple. Once a week, we seek out & play in a park we've never played in before. I've been taking photos along the way to remember where we've been. Here's a few we've gathered.

Do you have any summer traditions that you've started with your kids? I'd love to hear about them!

Enjoy your day!

~Steph

My Day Thrifting

A couple of days ago, I got the urge to go vintage shopping. I arranged to spend the day with my mom today & that's what we planned to do - go to every thrift shop, antique shop, & second hand store we could in one day. What a fun day we had!!

We started out at Value Village & the Salvation Army thrift store. We found a few little goodies. Then we moved on to the big dogs.

We headed to Creekside Country & Antiques. What a charming little shop! Here's a few tidbits from our visit: 

We really liked how she would put things like game pieces & puzzle pieces on display.

Her store was displayed so attractively! She definitely has a knack for it!

The pretty antique looking bracelet my mom got there:

The one nearest to her hand

Then we went hard core antiquing. You know the kind... dusty, piles of collectables, the places you have to hunt to find the little treasures you didn't know you wanted until they leap out at you.

Here were some favourite finds:

This guy's prices were OUTLANDISHLY high or I may have made an offer on this beauty.

Antique library card holder

We stopped at Calories for lunch & ate light so we'd have room for dessert. We were at CALORIES after all! 

My salad

Mom's super yummy mushroom soup!

Dessert case - how do you choose?!

Apparently you ask your server what's good... funny story... read on.

Funny side story: Mom & I had decided what we wanted for dessert & when we told our server he calmly said, "Disappointing choices, ladies." To which we started laughing & asked him what he suggested. The above were his suggestions. Mom had the carrot cake & I had the toffee cheesecake. They were both fabulous!

After fortifying ourselves with desserts, we marched on. This next store was my favourite, even though I didn't buy anything. It was a feast for the eyes!

Here are some delectable images from Past & Present Antique Shop:

This guy's prices were quite high. I'd like to barter with him to see if he would be willing to bring them down to the reasonable category. His store is PACKED with goodies. Don't go if you're in a rush. You need time to appreciate this place.

Stacks of old luggage... I now have a hankering to start a collection of old suitcases!

I'm a sucker for anything turquoise! 

Great old radios

Again with the turquoise.

More old suitcases & a pretty chenille bedspread.

This "Elevator" sign intrigued me. I wonder what old building it came from?

Look at that HUGE bass drum!

My mom was tickled to find something she already owned. Guess how much SHE payed for hers?? Hint: it starts with 50 & ends with cents. Let's hear it for garage sales!!

Check out all these vintage phones. What colour would you pick?

 After a fun day of epic proportions, here's what I came home with:

Chair: $12!! (Major score of the day)

Sleeping Beauty Record: .50 cents 

Vintage postal scale: $10

Black & White photo: free with purchase of above scale

Vintage silver clutch purse: $3.99

Wire basket: $3.99

Colourful crochet thread - big bag full: $1.99

I will definitely be going "thrifting" more often. I love the history of the objects I see. Wondering where they came from... Who's houses did they decorate?... Who bought this brand new? And I love the eclectic look the items add to my decor. 

If you would like to see what I did with my goodies click here and here.

I hope you enjoyed my day thrifting almost as much as I did!

~Steph

Rolled Squares Flower Card

I made this card last weekend. It took longer than my usual cards, but it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. You could change the colours to make it a bit more subdued, if you wanted. I was in a bright, summery mood so I picked bright colours.

Begin by making your card from cardstock, stamping your sentiment in the bottom corner, & adhering an additional piece of cardstock as a background to your flower.

Next, you need 12 squares of patterned paper, each measuring 1 1/4". Using a punch would definitely make this step go much faster.

Roll the squares into cones & staple the ends. Staple them as close to the end as you can. I did some too high & then had a hard time hiding the staples.

Arrange the cones into a circle on your card & adhere. Glue Dots work very well for this.

Thread some twine through a large button & adhere to the middle of the flower. I didn't have a button big enough to cover the staples on my cones so I added a cardstock circle under my button to help.

Punch some circles from scraps of patterned paper, cut them in half, & adhere as a border along the edge of your background. Or use a border punch. Cut a strip of patterned paper & adhere over the edge of the circles.

You're done!! 

Enjoy your day! 

~Steph