Candy Bars

How many of these candy bars can you identify?

I'm at eight & getting frustrated by my lack of knowledge ;)

How big of a sweet tooth do you have?!

{Via A Cup Of Jo}

Summer 'To-Make' List

Here's a list of summer must makes! I'm loving all the berries that are in season right now. We are enjoying our fair share of crisps topped with vanilla ice-cream around here these days! Enjoy...

Nectarine and Strawberry Crisp

Strawberry and Cream Cake

Raspberry and Lemon Curd Tart

Blackberry Pie Muffins

Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

Easy Apple Cake

Rice, Asparagus and Avocado Salad

Avocado, Mango and Strawberry Lentil Salad

Chickpea Salad with Feta and Heirloom Tomatoes

Mini Turkey Burgers

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

Creamy Grape Dessert

S'more Cookie Bars

Rhubarb 'Big Crumb' Coffee Cake

Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites

Friday Favorites

1) My crazy hot huz. He sure is easy on the eyes.
2) Toms + Books + Sunnies
3) Ice-cream dates.
4) Saturday morning waffles. Love.
5) New family members (not mine)! We welcomed two cousins into our family this week. Adore!
6) Canucks candy apples. Amazing.
7) Weekend away to celebrate our anniversary.
8) Watching the huz golf and sneaking pics.
9) I'm still proud of this baby.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I hope you have a beautiful weekend and are able to enjoy something sweet! Here are a few of my favs...

Pinkberry

My in-laws live in California so when we visit we also visit Pinkberry. Daily. Oh, how I love thee. I'm beyond excited that a store is opening in Vancouver this summer!

My Dad's Art

My dad is incredibly creative and extremely gifted when it comes to putting his ideas on canvas. When you walk into his home there is art everywhere. It's fantastic. Check out some of his work here!

Tina Fey - Bossypants

Tina is HI-larious. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading her book on my commute to and from work (with a few embarrassing belly laughs in between).

Cake-Sicle Pan

This the coolest idea. Ever. Not that I need another reason to bake cookies but lucky for me, now I have one.

Bon Appetit - Rhubarb & Raspberry Crostata

I will leave you with this. Because this looks silly delicious and thinking of topping this with a scoop of ice-cream puts a smile on my face... and I can only assume that we smile about the same things :)

Raspberry & Lemon Curd Tart

I've told you about my mom before. She's amazing. And she made this delicious wonderfulness.

The sunshine lemon curd and vivid red raspberries paired perfectly with the flaky buttery crust.

We topped our slices with a dollop of whip cream and homemade raspberry sauce.

It was dee-licious. So were the left overs.

I love my mom. I hope you're celebrating your mom extravagantly this Mothers Day weekend!


Raspberry & Lemon Curd Tart
Adapted from: My Mom & Best of Bridge

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ( 2 to 3 lemons)

Crust

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confection’s (icing) sugar
2 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 cups blueberries or raspberries (optional)

Directions

Lemon Curd: In a medium saucepan, whisk eggs and sugar until foamy and light-colored. Add butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens and forms a ribbon on the surface when drizzled from a spoon. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate or at least 1 hour, until chilled, or for up to 3 days.

Crust: In a large bowl combine flour, confectioner’s sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs (you can also do this in a food processor). Gradually add lemon juice, stirring with a fork until dough forms a ball.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

If dough is stiff, let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, until it is more pliable.  On a floured work surface, roll out dough to an 11 inch circle.  Lift dough into a 9-inch tart or flan pan with a removable bottom and press to fit the bottom and sides.  (If the pastry tears, gently pat it in the pan; it’ll be fine once it bakes.)  Trim the edges.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F. Prick bottom and sides of crust to prevent shrinkage. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce over temperature to 350 F and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely.

Remove crust from pan and place on a serving plate. Spread lemon curd inside. If using, sprinkle blueberries/raspberries over top.

Mom's note: The crust is very finicky and is difficult to lift into the tart pan. Just press it together with your fingers in the pan and it will be good to go. I have to admit the crust was kind of tricky to work with.

365 days x 2

To my high school sweetheart, my best friend, my husband,

The boy I met at 16 has morphed into the man of my dreams and here I am, madly in love with you all these years later.

When you surprised me, showed up in a different country and proposed on the solid earth after skydiving out of a plane at 13,000 feet for me, I said yes.

Because somewhere in the six years of loving you, I fell in love. And I knew I couldn't live without you.

Two years ago today, you made me the happiest girl in the world because that was the day I was able to call you mine.

Thank you for making sure I laugh everyday, for picking me up when I fall down and for encouraging me to be the best I can be. 

I love you (x infinity²)...

Happy Anniversary! xo

A few of my favs...

Here are a few of my favourite things right now... all which I hope to enjoy this long weekend!

Magazines + Tulips

I love it when my InStyle magazine shows up in the mail. Nothing better than an easy read, a cup of tea and fresh tulips.

The Hunger Games

To say I've been obbsessed with this series would be an understatement. I haven't been able to put these books down. The Hunger Games are a pulse-pounding, page-turning trilogy. This gets 5 stars from me.

Coffee Mugs

I got these from Vancouver's wonderful decor boutique, The Cross. These paisley embossed mugs are so whimsical and feminine; perfect for my morning cup of coffee!

The Vancouver Canucks

Us Vancouverites are avid, fiesty and fearless Canuck fans. The NHL playoffs are happening and it's so much fun to get together with family and friends to cheer on the boys!
Go Canucks Go!

{Photo by Jeff Vinnick via UnDrafted}

DIY Projects

Decorating our home office seems to be the never ending (but fun) project. Recently, I used some pure white gloss spray paint on a few picture frames and I'm so happy with how they turned out.

Better-Than-Crack-Brownies

And then there are these. Perfect. Delicious. Sinful. Brownies. I've got a batch in the oven right now... Cause the Easter bunny told me to.

After I polish off the brownies, I'm burning my skinny jeans.

I hope you're having a wonderful long weekend, enjoying your favorite things and spending time with the ones you love!

The Anatomy of a Cupcake

I can't even handle all of this cuteness. 

This is such a fun composition of these sweet sins.

And now I really, really want a cupcake.

{Photo by Allen Hemberger via The Sweetest Occasion}

Valentine's Stickers

Twig & Thistle made these adorable downloadable fruit stickers for Valentine's Day. How cute would it be to surprise your significant other and add these to the fruit in their lunch on the fourteenth?

{Via A Cup of Jo}

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Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

Here are some pink and red Valentine inspired gifts for your sweetheart! Although you can never go wrong with a hand written card, a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolate truffles, it's always fun to give some festive goodies to your kitchen goddess.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day?

1. Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
2. Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries
3. Dulton Double Kitchen Timer
4. Cuisinart Corkscrew
5. John Lewis Sagaform Heart Bowl with Ladle
6. Jesse Steele Pink Paris Apron
7. Pandorabell Strawberry Handmade Lollipop
8. Lovely Little Parties Red Polka Dot Cupcake Wrappers
9. Kikki Mini Pegs: Sweet Hearts

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* Sparkly Champagne *

I'll have my champagne with feathers, please.

I've been swooning over these gorgeously playful and compellingly packaged champagne bottles.

How do you like your champagne? 

Click here to see more Zarb Champagne Bottle Designs.

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{Mom's} Amazing Cranberry Pie

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous time with your family and friends!

Have I told you about my mom?

My mom is Martha². Honest. Hand to heaven. Martha has a team and my mom’s creative genius is all her own. Not only does she bake incredible desserts (desserts that put mine to complete and utter shame) but she cooks the most creative, flavorful and delicious meals. She’s the full package deal and the first place I visit after I walk into her home is the fridge. Oh sweet, wonderful, delicious leftovers. Just to get my hands on anything that she has created. Unfortunately, especially for my darling husband, I didn’t inherit the cooking gene. There are still a few people praying (and take out is a Godsend).

You know what else is awesome about my mom?

Care packages.

They are probably more for her “Oh my, why don’t you feed him something else other than cookies” son-in-law but I happily accept whenever the care packages are offered (and may pack them and pretend to take credit for his lunches).

This Cranberry Pie was something of that form. She was sick and still managed to bring a few desserts to a family dinner. She packed the leftovers up and they got sent home with me. Once home, I snapped a few pictures before eating the en-ti-re c-are pack-age. Oops. It was divine.

I attempted to recreate this dessert using this recipe (which was good) but no where near as great as hers.

I have to start thinking of something good to bribe her with to get the recipe and it’s going to have to be something better than homemade dinner and dessert.

Here’s to amazing moms and a new year! Happy 2011!

PS - I  hope your New Year's resolutions work out better than mine did last year! :-)

Updated with Mom's recipe. Thanks, Mom!

Ingredients

3 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
3/4 cup pecans (toasted and chopped)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar divided
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp orange flavoured liqueur
2 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 ­ 3/4 c melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and lightly flour a 10 inch pie plate.

Place cranberries in pie plate and sprinkle with pecans and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, flour, eggs, butter ,liqueur, orange zest and baking powder until smooth. Pour over cranberries.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until top is golden and a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8.

It's Christmas Month!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's December 1st! Time to eat the first chocolate out of your advent calendar!

I love (x infinity) the Christmas season!

Truth be told, my tree was up the first week of November (don't judge!) but I held off on the Christmas baking. Until now.

I made these adorable snowmen cupcakes last year. They were a huge hit and will definitely be made again this year

I'm going to continue sipping on my gingerbread latte while I brainstorm some festive treats and count down the 24 sleeps left until Christmas morning!

Ho ho ho!

For the recipe and instructions for the Snowman Cupcakes, please click here!

Meal Planner

Life gets so busy at this time of the year!

Most days I'm feeling frazzled, beyond busy and unorganized and as a result I find myself eating ice cream out of its container and calling it dinner.

This meal planner is a great freebie and a great way to begin a new (and potentially healthy), organized week.

Meal planning is great because you can plan for busy days, you will eat a variety of meals and you will save money.

While this meal planner won't give me the self control to step away from my favorite ice cream I can at least plan to have a salad on the night I'm going to indulge in some decadent dessert!

To download a full size of the image above, click here for further instructions.

Enjoy!

Created by graphic designer Alma @ Ollibird.

The Sweet Room

Sleeping on these pillows will definitely give you sweet dreams!

I need those pillows in my bedroom. Stat.

Can you imagine, waking up to a cupcake?

The Sweet Room (above) is one of Hotel Maison Moschino’s gorgeous rooms located in the old neoclassical railway station in Milan, Italy. The common thread connecting each guest room is a fairy tale theme – because to sleep is to dream, and dreams are fairy tales that we are allowed to experience first hand.

I need to plan a trip to Italy (or just take up sewing). These are so fun!

New Design!

Delightful Bitefuls got a facelift! 

It was long overdue and I couldn't be more pleased!

HUGE thanks to Cheryl Rutherford, my friend, co-worker and gifted digital designer, for your creative genius, time and patience.

Cheryl is one of the most creative people I've met. Whether she is behind her camera, creating a t-shirt or designing a website she is always inspiring.

She's even written short stories and illustrated them with photographs! Come on now, she's amazing!

Check her out! Cheryl's ability to design and create will blow you away.

Cheryl Rutherford: Digital Designer

web + paper + life

Chery's CafePress Shop

xoxo

World's Largest Pumpkin Pie

This is the world’s largest pumpkin pie, certified by Guinness World Records.

It has a 20-foot diameter and weights 3,699 pounds!

The massive pie took over thirteen hours to bake in a specially made oven. Crews began actually baking the pie at midnight on Friday. They gave it about two hours to cool on Saturday before weighing it and splitting it up into roughly 5,000 slices to feed the hungry crowd.

Some crazy stats about this pie...

Ingredients include:

• 187 No. 10 cans of pumpkin
• 233 dozen eggs
• 109 gallons of evaporated milk
• 525 lbs of sugar
• 7 lbs of salt
• 14.5 lbs of cinnamon
• 3 lbs pumpkin pie spice

Largest Pumpkin Pie

• Diameter: 20 feet
• Thickness: three inches
• Volume: 132,300 cubic inches, 572 gallons

Did you know?

The canned pumpkin market is worth $141 million in the U.S., but about 80% of those sales come in the last three months of the year, according to research group IBIS World.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Cookbook for a Cause

What do celebrities Courteney Cox, Scott Wolf, Katie Lee, Mario Batali and The Pampered Chef have in common? A celebrity cookbook that is part of The Pampered Chef’s Round-Up from the Heart campaign to help feed the hungry.

Until September 30, visit The Pampered Chef and download the FREE celebrity cookbook.

For every cookbook downloaded The Pampered Chef will donate a meal (up to 140,000) to Feeding America.

This year, The Pampered Chef’s goal is to donate 10 million pounds of food. By downloading this exclusive cookbook, you play a big part in reaching that goal!

Click here to download the cookbook, cook like a red carpet star and know that you’re supporting to help end hunger.