Cream Soda - Taste Test

It was family dinner night (with the De Winters), and after the babies went to bed me, a couple of my brothers and my parents were involved in a very lengthy conversation about cream soda! From, when was cream soda invented, to what brand of cream soda was it that we drank as kids to what is the best available brand of cream soda you can get now?

I thought I would arrange a little taste testing session for our next family dinner. I didn't realize we were such cream soda snobs. It was hilarious!

I brought out a little of each can/bottle in a wine glass for each member of my family to try. Each member then rated the cream sodas out of 10. Here are the results:

1. Henry Weinhard's
2. Jones Soda
3. Crush
4. Dad's 
5. Blue Sky
6. Zeevia



I really wanted to include Stewart's and Schwepp's, and Boylan's but I wasn't able to locate these in time. We might have to do it again...

Henry Weinhar'd bottle lid. How appropriate, for all 8 of us who tasted, we all agreed that Henry Weinhard's was our favorite by far!

Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad - From My Kitchen

This year my dad decided to put a couple tomato plants in the garden to see how they would do. They did very well! From only two plants there is about 15 pounds of tomatoes. Since I am one of his favorite people, he gave me a few. I made this delicious salad featuring protein packed quinoa, fresh basil, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Very often in my kitchen, I won't use a recipe. Only recently have I started to write some recipes down. I thought I would share this one:

What you will need

For the quinoa:
1/2 lemon, juiced and zest
1 cup of water
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
3 Tbsp of your best olive oil
2 tsp dry oregano

For the rest:
approximately 2.5 lbs of fresh diced tomatoes (I used 3)
1 long english cucumber diced
1/4 white onion finely chopped
1 cup of fresh basil chiffonade
1/3 cup of feta cheese crumbled or cubed
a few garlic cloves finely chopped (optional)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Serves up to 4

Method
1. Squeeze the juice out from half of a large lemon into a measuring cup. Fill the rest of the cup with water up to the one cup mark. Add these to a medium sized saucepan with the zest, vegetable stock and quinoa. Bring pot to a boil, then immediately bring the temperature down to simmer with the lid on until the quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and fluff.

2. For the rest... combine ingredients into a large serving bowl. I didn't add garlic to mine since I still have a pregnancy aversion to it. I did however, add a dash of garlic powder at the end.

3. Once the quinoa is cooled to room temperature, mix in the olive oil and dry oregano.

4. Add the quinoa mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the large bowl and gently mix with a wooden spoon.

5. Add pepper to taste. You may want to add some salt as well, but I didn't since the feta is already salty.

I made this one night when it was just me and Ezra eating for dinner. He really enjoyed it! I made sure that the quinoa was really soft for him. I made a huge batch because I wanted to have more for left overs. I'm glad I did. It was very yummy.

A Tip!
If you feel intimidated to cook with quinoa, or have found that when you have in the past its been bland, make sure you are adding flavor during the cooking process. That way you can get the flavor deep into the grain. To do this, simply substitute the water for a different liquid(s) such as: stock, juice of any kind (diluted), vinegar (diluted), salsa! You name it!

Once I realized that I could do this with quinoa, it quickly became a main staple in my pantry. It is such a protein packed grain that it leaves the body satisfied for a long time.

Enjoy!

Gabrielle

Birthday Date!

Friday night, we celebrated my 28th birthday. These pictures were taken behind Jesse's work's building in yale town before we hit the town.

19 week baby bump!

Outfit details
- black and white striped cami - Winners
- mustard sweater - Target
- floral screenprinted scarf - thrifted
- maternity pants - Zara
- sandals - Urban Outfitters
- black square cocktail ring and earrings - PiecesIEnjoy 
- silk purse - my auntie gave it to me when I was little

PIE Birthday Giveaway - Ooooooo!

Hello folks! So today is my 28th birthday. In celebration of it I am doing two things:

1. Win a Sky Blue Vintage Japanese Glass Pendant by Pieces I Enjoy!

I will be drawing a name on the 1st of October 2012 for the winner. In order to get your name in my hat, you must be a fan of Pieces I Enjoy on Facebook and wish me a Happy Birthday comment here on this post on this blog. The contest will be closed 11:59 p.m. on September 30th, 2012 PST. Only fans from Canada and USA may enter please. 

The winner's name will be announced on October 1st and will be requested to send me their mailing address by e-mail. The prize is non exchangeable and it is lovely! I will of course pay for shipping as well.

2. Every purchase made at my Etsy store between now and 11:59 p.m. September 30th, 2012 PST will receive a 30% refund (not including shipping) made through Pay-pal IF you wish me a Happy Birthday in the comments during check-out. Please allow up to two days for your refund.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! 

Thanks for all of the Happy Birthday wishes in advance! 

Gabrielle

Update - The Contest and Sale are now over! Thanks to all who participated. CONGRATULATIONS RHONDA! You won the contest. Please email me with your address so I can send you your gift. pie{dot}gabrielle{at}gmail{dot}com.

My Matryoshka Doll Collection

The thing I enjoy the most about the best collections is that there is usually a story behind each piece.

When I was a little girl, my parents gave me my first Matryoshka doll for Christmas. I was thrilled! I played with my first set a lot and my mom decided that she liked the idea of giving one to me every year; and so my collection grew. When I was a teenager she stopped the tradition since she thought I was too old, but my collection kept growing because I had not and still have not grown out of it.

Today, I have 20 nesting dolls in my collection and there is a definite sentimental value in each one. Not all of them are Russian or Czech made, but they are all legit to me.

When we moved to North Delta I wanted a place where I could put them on display where I could see them because they were so special. My dear husband, Jesse helped me put up these white shelves in the kitchen.

I really can't say which one is my favorite. There really is a great story behind each one. Here are a few:

This one was given to me by my mother for completing a music theory test for the Royal Conservatory of music when I was young. I worked very hard studying for it and achieved with honors with distinction. This doll has the most number of dolls inside and is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest sets I have. 

Look how tiny it gets! How can I not like this set? There are 10 all together. 

I found this one myself when I was 16 traveling in France. It was a big deal to me that my parents allowed me, trusted me and supported me to go since it was with school and that I would be away from them for almost two weeks.

 This one was given to me from a missionary when I was about 13. He was visiting the church I used to attend sharing what he does with the congregation. He asked that when I saw it, it would remind me to pray for him and his family. It still does and I still do.

 I liked my collection so much as a girl, that I even fantasized about being proposed to with one of these dolls. I imagined opening the dolls up until at last, I would find an engagement ring! It didn't happen that way, but this doll IS from my husband. He gave it to me on our 5th wedding anniversary. It is traditional for the gift to be made of wood for that year. There also happens to be five dolls: one for each year we had been married. He got it from Russian World in Vancouver. What a thoughtful gift.

This collection is beautiful too. They came in handy this month when I helped my mom decorate for a "Garden Tea Party" themed bridal shower. I used my nesting doll collection, the Potted Plants in Ladies' Blouses, and a few old books to decorate each table. They worked so well because I could open them up and they filled the space well. I wish I could have done more, but I only had a half an hour to set up. They were special for the bride to be too since she also happens to have a nesting doll collection!

As precious as collections are, they need to be used and shared. If you have read this and you have a beautiful collection that is collecting dust somewhere: bring it out! Share it with the people you love and display it so you can enjoy it.

Enjoy!
Gabrielle

The Maternity Style Dilemma

A few posts ago I announced that we were going to have a second child! Well, as excited as I am about it, sometimes its hard to feel good about yourself while being pregnant. It might have SOMETHING to do with your hormones doing backflips, blowing chunks, being tired almost all of the time and hopefully not, but yes I do, worry about being ready for another baby.

It might seem petty, but one of the things I learned from last time is not to give into the frumpy dumps! You know? When you just don’t care how you look anymore and you want to just stay at home in your pjs, eat ice cream and watch Star Trek? Maybe its just me, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has struggled with this, or a version of this.

I looked back at some of my maternity belly photos this week and realized that when I felt the best: had the most energy, felt the most optimistic and even excited about the future while being pregnant I also happened to have a cute outfit on. I also remember at the end feeling like I had no creativity left in me. That had something to do with it I’m sure.

These are a few of those outfits from my first pregnancy where I still feel good about two years later: 

19 weeks in my first pair of maternity pants from Thyme maternity. In the beginning of my first pregnancy I thought I could get away with wearing pre pregnancy pants with extenders and Bella Bands, but I got to a point early on when I just couldn't stand the feeling of having any restriction on my tummy. The were a definite life saver first time around, and I'm sure will be the second time too. 

25 weeks here! I loved my first pair of maternity jeggings so much, that I went back to Thyme and got the same ones in a dark denim colour. The rest of this outfit is from Urban Outfitters. I was glad to be able to find lots of long non maternity tops that definitely work for maternity. 

27 weeks here. Dark even wash jeggings by Thyme again. A bright non maternity top by Gentle Fawn and non maternity black blazer by Kensie (unbuttoned of course!). This is definitely the LAST picture of my pregnancy that I feel good about. Thats so sad to me now because pregnancy is and should be a time where I felt beautiful! I was growing another human being! Its a miracle. 

This time I have a plan to combat the Frumpy Dumps, among other things. One of the small ways I hope to keep myself aware is to upkeep this blog: including what I wore. I’ve always enjoyed fashion, so why not share it.

So far I think I’ve been doing okay... These are a few outfits I’ve worn so far in this pregnancy: 

13 weeks and barely a bump. Besides my hair, and the fit of the cardigan I like this look. I'm wearing a dress as a skirt here with the the straps tucked in. The dress was thrifted and I wore a simple white cami with it.

15 weeks along here. It was a hot day. I wore this refashioned lace dress over a white cami and slip skirt. Its pretty sheer if I don't. I added a simple thin black belt and black heels.

17 weeks and probably one of my favorite looks because you can barely tell I'm pregnant here, even though I am bigger than in week 15. I found this loose fitting dress at the Bay of all places. Department store WIN! Paired it with some statement jewellery from my PiecesIEnjoy line and presto!

It will probably get harder as the belly grows, but I’m up for the challenge! Hopefully I'll have some more maternity outfits to share in a few more weeks while the bump gets bigger, the weather gets colder, and my creativity gets harder to muster up!

Enjoy the rest of the summer!  

Potted Plants in Ladies' Blouses

This last weekend I helped my mother decorate for a "Garden Tea Party" themed bridal shower for a dear family friend of our. We had these little potted flowers on every table but thought we could make the boring green pots cuter with a bit of love, fabric, buttons and do dads (that's a word, right?). I thought I would share how I did it.

Supplies:
- potted flowers from your local nursery
- unbleached/off white light weight fabric (I used about 1.5 meters for all of my 12 pots)
- glue gun and sticks
- 3" paper doilies, ribbons, buttons
- extra little bits to make each one unique like cameos, bits of chain, lace etc.

Here is how I did it:

1. I started with your regular tapered small green flower pot. First cut a long strip as wide as the height of your flower pots. 

2.Then wrap the fabric around a pot so that there is about one centimeter overlap at the widest part (it's almost like you are thinking of it as a cylinder rather than a tapered pot when you are cutting the fabric you need for one pot). I did one at a time since not all of m pots were exactly the same width. 

3. Hot glue the first edge straight down, starting from the top rim. Wrap fabric around and add a dot of hot glue to the back of the pot to hold the fabric securely down. 

4. Hot glue the last edge down overlapping the first edge. 

5. Pull and pinch the fabric on the bottom to make a gather. This will me an arm. Don't do it too much because you still need some for the other side. Hot glue the fold down and hold it until the glue has cooled enough to hold firm. 

6. Repeat step 5 with the other side. 

7. Fold a three inch doily in half. 

8. Cut as pictured to make two collars. 

9. Plan out the rest of the decoration on your work surface before you hot glue them onto your blouse.

It is fun to make all of the blouses different, but you could all do the same if you wanted, or if you didn't have a mad stash of crafty bit to pull from like I do.

Enjoy!
Gabrielle