Tis the Season

Christmas is in the air and so are a few other traditions that go along with this time of the year. I am all for little family traditions, I sometimes just laugh at what we do in December sometimes though!
First of all we cut down trees to hang up in our houses...which is kinda random when you think about it and might be frowned upon at any other time of the year or any other type of tree...BUT non the less is very exciting to participate in!
One of my favorite random traditions is the gingerbread house. Decorating a cookie house COVERED in candy that I do not plan on taking ONE bite out of! Ha. 
It is fun to look at but never tastes great. This year in particular I made a poor judgement. In going out to purchase a gingerbread house I was looking for a bargain of course. I found a house on sale for $7.99!!! Well this is a deal as they can cost $11 or $12 at some stores. So I purchased the $7.99 one and was proud of my good deal until I opened the box realizing that this gingerbread in particular smelt as though it could be 7 years old!! It literally smelt like cardboard and not a pinch of gingerbread! I don't normally plan on eating them anyway but I would not mind a nice smell while I work on building it!! I had a great time building it of course,minus the cardboard smell and icing that was like caulking!! This house is never going to break. But I must admit it still looks cute and inviting :D
As for my luck the new years gingerbread houses went on sale at the grocery store for $9.99 the next day almost. Next year I might spend the extra $2! 
Even though some of these traditions seem kind of silly, I love taking part in them. It is such a fun time of the year and there is much to celebrate and be grateful for!
Merry Christmas! 
-elycia!

old school

So I know Pinterest is ALL the rage and I love it myself. BUT something is very exciting still about flipping through a magazine and finding great picture ideas and yummy projects. I guess it's a bit of the old school in me. I just took a trip to my beloved thrift store lately and picked up a stack of old magazines. They were 25cents which is a great cheap entertainment! I like to browse through them on saturday mornings when I eat breakfast! Normally I fold over pages of things to try but when they get put back I don't ever remember I folded pages in them. Recently I have ripped some out and stuck them on my fridge. I challenged myself to try to make one of the recipes I had up that week.
Well this has become alot of fun for me and now I am starting a recipe journal of things I rip out and writing in the foods I substituted for whatever  I didn't have...because seriously some of the things they think people have in their kitchen at home daily is odd to me. But normally I am able to come up with some sort of substitution :D And sometimes I treat myself to extra grocery list items for a
recipe! There are definitely some new spices that have joined my spice rack but mostly it's been exciting to use things that I already have in my fridge to be able to make different tasting meals! Just mixing them up a different way makes a whole new flavour!!
This was a really easy one I tried this week and it turned out delicious!

 Roasted Red Pepper Chicken

 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup

1/4 cup roasted red pepper
1/4 apple juice
2 tbsp ketchup
4 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp basil leaves
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 cups rice

Directions
1. Brown chicken in skillet, reduce heat to medium
2. Stir in soup, peppers, juice, ketchup, garlic, and black pepper. Heat to a boil and then reduce heat and cover until your chicken is fully cooked
3. Add basil and stir. Serve over rice with some grated cheese on top!
4. Enjoy!!

My magazine rip outs!

my counter top when I am getting busy in the kitchen!

Our delicious meal

I have a few more to try out this coming week and we will see how they turn out! :D
Happy cooking...and eating my friends.
cheers
-elycia!

Operation Carrots!!

So silly me thought I got a good bargain this week but maybe over did it a little. While strolling around the grocery store I looked at the price of a bag of baby carrots and it was $2.88. I grabbed some as I usually do....and as I kept walking there was a large bin of HUGE carrots in a bag for only $1.88! Well I thought to myself 'What a deal!' Sure there is a little more work to get these ones prepared but whatever, I am saving a dollar and getting three times the amount of carrots! My husband of course agreed to my thinking without looking at the size of the bag I put under the cart.He later told me he was not "really" listening when I asked him what he thought. HA
So anyway we get home and I then realized how large this bag really was...it took up a huge part of my shelf in the fridge and there are only two people in our house to eat these.
So operation carrots has begun! We will see what I can do with them in the next little bit. My first attempt was a carrot cake. We will be packing them in our lunches for a while, that is for sure!!
-elycia!
 

My large purchase that was a grand deal :D

We didn't even put a dent in the bag after some baking and cutting some up for the fridge!

First Project...Carrot Cake!! 

Neat Breakfast idea!

I made this the other weekend for breakfast! It was delicious and felt fancier than just eggs and toast!

Grease Pan, butter bread and fold into muffin tins. They actually fold into it really easily.

Add a bit of cheese into the bottom.

Crack an egg into each cup and add some salt and pepper.

Sprinkle graded cheese on top.

Put in oven at 325 degrees for approx. 10 minutes or until the egg is cooked the
way you would like it.(possibly higher...I have an old oven)

Viola! Slip out of muffin tins using a fork and knife.

Serve with other breakfasty sides and enjoy!! 

Pumpkins Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

I made home made pumpkin bread and it was DELICIOUS. I needed to share this with people because I was so excited to use real pumpkins and was so excited about how great it turned out! First I cleaned out the pumpkins and then steamed them on my stove top til I could poke a fork through the skin easily....

 Then I scraped the pumpkin off the skin into a bowl and mushed it all up together. It already smelt so good!!
After it was ready to be used I started following the recipe. I doubled it so I could do a batch of pumpkin muffins as well.

 Ingredients:
5 oz pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/3 cup veg oil (or I used olive oil)
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar( white or brown-I used a bit of both)
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ginger

 And I added chocolate chips because I literally can't bake without adding chocolate to almost every recipe. And of course it tasted amazing. But it is optional. :D ( Just not for myself)

So mix the wet ingredients up and then sift in the dry. Grease the pan with butter and flour and bake at 375 for 40-45min.
I have an ancient oven so I lesson the heat by 50 every time or it burns things. So know your oven and adjust accordingly.  :D

And this my friends was the results. It tastes SO moist and delicious!! Not to mention it made our home smell wonderful too! I was planning on sharing it with family but we kinda ate half of it already!! Good thing I froze extra pumpkin to do this again next week.
I LOVE this time of year and the tastes that come along with it.
Happy Fall!!
Enjoy!
-elycia

Simple Pleasures

Brownies.
Cup of tea.
A good book.
Song on the radio that fits your mood perfectly.
A note from a friend.
A kiss at the end of the day.
Minty breathe after brushing your teeth.
Bubble Bath.
A morning walk.
A soft warm sweater.
Looking at the stars.
A sweet thrift store purchase.

Life is busy. Every day I like to take time to enjoy a small simple pleasure whether it starts my day or ends my day. All the little moments add up to be great days :D

Today was a brownie day..mmmm. Homemade too :D And I enjoyed it on a $1 plate I purchased at my favourite thrift store!! GRIN

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Inspiration

I am beginning the adventure of changing jobs and building on my career experience in working with young children. I am passionate about being a reflective teacher and want to continue to challenge and stretch myself so that I can grow and learn.
With change comes excitement and sadness. I am so looking forward to beginning my work in a new place but good byes are always so hard. Especially when I am leaving a workplace that truly was wonderful and inspiring. Working in a Reggio Inspired centre with the individuals I have had the opportunity to work with, has help to mold me into the educator that I am. I have learned so much and been inspired by other co workers, mentors, and of course the children. Parts of me did not want to change but I know that when opportunity is given I must accept the challenge to continue to challenge myself as an individual.
I feel blessed to work in a field of work that I am passionate about. I honestly love my job. I love the children I work with and being able to get to know them and enjoy their company at the stage in life they are in is a blessing on it's own. I was given a beautiful ornament gift from my boss at work that had this inscription written on it that I wanted to share;

'Like each leaf of a tree our life is full of colourful and unique moments that define us as individuals'

I believe this statement to be very true. I know there are many moments and people that have impacted my life thus far and I love that they are each a part of me in a special way. This job that I am leaving has a special place in my heart because of how I know it challenged me and helped me grow. I made this painting in response to the inspiring message and for the people I work with. I guess you could call it a little of creative therapy while I thought through the whole process of the changes ahead.
 I can only hope that where I go next will impact me in it's own unique way just as all things have in my life upto this point. Here is to living life passionately and intentionally!
Thank you for listening.

-elycia

skills

This year yet another one of my new skills that I have been practicing is cutting hair. Ha I laugh at this because I by no means know what  I am doing. This is how I know that my husband loves me. Because he TRUSTS me to cut his hair. The first time I did, I must admit he flinched a few times-mostly because I was freaking out and laughing the whole time. The experience was a little odd to me. The feeling of having somebody's hair just drop to the floor after your actions of snipping felt oddly awesome. It brought me back to times of trimming barbie doll hair. Ha although my sister frowned upon this activity happening to her dolls, mine on the other hand took a bit of a brutal love and care look.
Ha anyway it has been fun using the scissors on someone's real hair.Although if I screw it up-it is my husband that I have to stand beside where ever we may go anyway :D
So either way we might both get embarrassed. Lately because of the hot summer I have been buzzing his head which I realize does not require that much skill and talent..but it still feels awesome lighting up someone's head so much. And would you trust me with a weapon like this? HA Although thus far sweeping up the mess afterwards I have only found hair on the ground..no ears or anything so I think we are good. ;)

Too much fun perhaps?

My weapons :D

But I do love adding it to the list of things I am capable of doing.... GRIN. And no one has said he looks funny yet anyway...
Until next time.
Cheers
-Elycia

something new.

So I would have never thought myself to be a blogger but since I discovered pinterest I have found that there are so many amazing people in the world with awesome talents and ideas that they are sharing! I love to create and try new things and I wanted to share in the fun since I found myself taking from others..I though I better give some too! 
I have recently started a new chapter in life- I just got married last fall and experienced having to cook for the first time and getting to decorate a new place! Which I must admit has been amazing!! I a have been so excited  trying new recipes and being able to enjoy my love of food in a new way..now I don't just get to eat it- I also get to make it! It has been an amazing year so far as I am finding my role as a wife and learning to live with another person. I love to be creative in many different outlets which I plan on sharing with you in the future! 
I thought I would attempt my first post about a simple pleasure I enjoyed today. Homemade tea.
I have very proudly planted my own potted garden this summer in my small outdoor space! It has been fun trying to keep it alive and I have proudly made a very tiny tomato crop and I have two green peppers growing as we speak. By far the most successful and  useful of my plants has been my herb plants. I have learned to add them into many different recipes and have been making peppermint tea with real leaves as well as lemon balm tea. Funny story though. I accidentally picked some leaves off my sage plant ( since I am new at all this plant stuff) and I made myself a sage tea. Ha that was not my intention and it wasn't awful but it was not good. I realized I picked the wrong leaves  and am now sitting down to a fresh cup of lemon balm leaf tea :D
I am excited about being able to take something from my potted plants and serve it on the table.There is something neat about being able to see that process yourself and take part in it. 
I work as an ECE with young children and have had the blessing of growing a large garden with my preschool class this summer. It is by far the garden I am most proud of since it is right in the ground and a nice big size. I have been learning so much about taking care of the plants and have loved watching the children look in awe at our tomato's and strawberries ripening! Children always show us the most heart felt wonder at what happens around them. Their excitement about it at school has made me get more excited about it at home even if it is a smaller portion.
That is all for today. This is your first encounter with me. I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to sharing more about my life and it's simple pleasures and creations I can enjoy along the way! 
GRIN

my potted garden

my herb garden

fresh lemon balm tea :)

my grand tomato crop

-elycia