Roger Duvoisin

Hello!

I thought I'd pop in today to share a cute book with you. I have a small collection of vintage children's books. I get a great deal of joy and inspiration from these books. This sweet book, I picked up recently by Roger Duvoisin, Veronica

Veronica is such an endearing character. The story is totally adorable.Veronica the hippo dreams of fame and leaves her home to find herself. She ends up on the streets of the city where her Hippo ways cause trouble for everyone and she ends up in jail. Finally, a little old lady comes to her defense and Veronica is saved.



Roger Duvoisin was a fantastic illustrator and writer. He married author Louise Fatio and they worked made many children's books together.

Here are a couple of other books available by him,
Petunia // The Happy Lion (written by Louise Fatio) // Donkey-Donkey



I'm working on some drawings and collages at the moment. I hope to have a few new prints available in the shop in the next month or so.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

♥ Andrea ♥

Party!

We had a party here over the weekend. My son turned four and we had a great time!

I was so happy to find these biodegradable paper plates. Here's a link to some biodegradable plates available at Grassroots. You can buy them on line or purchase them at one of their stores in Toronto if you live in the area. Giving a party is a lot of work. Lately I'm really feeling the crunch to cut down on labour in all areas of our life. But of course I don't want to go against my ethics. Sometimes this dilemma causes stress. Clean up was so easy after lunch and I didn't feel guilty about putting all of the plates into the compost bin. I will use these again for sure.

After some food and fun, the kids made crafts...



I worked at a Micheal's Arts and Crafts store for several years while I was at school. One of the jobs I did while I was there was to facilitate arts and crafts birthday parties. One thing I learned while doing crafts with kids, is that when it comes to art, kids are told what to do way too often. When this happens, kids are paralyzed creatively and have difficulty thinking for themselves and beginning projects. So, when I do crafts with kids now, I always show some examples of work done by others for inspiration and let the kids decide what to do. Every time I do crafts with kids I get at least one child who asks in a surprised tone of voice, "Can I make anything I want?" I love the look on their faces when I answer, "yes!"

Here are some of the awesome crafts that were made...

I stuck with the arts and crafts theme with the loot bags and gave craft supplies and some chocolate for the kids to take home. Handwritten name tags gave the loot bags a little personal touch.



Overall, it was a great weekend. My son said his birthday was "awesome" and that's music to my ears. He received some really lovely things. My favorite of course being a little handmade dog to go with the cat the kids got a couple of weeks ago. They were made by our friend across the street. This is the sewing kit she used. It looks like a great first sewing kit for kids.



And he got a Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story 3. I must say, I love this toy! He's really very adorable and huggable. He talks and sings songs too, all about how much he wants to get hugged.

Here's an adorable commercial that's made to look as though it's from 1983 that Disney Pixar created for Lotso. I was 6 in 1983 and I would have loved this bear! Even as an adult, I honestly can't stop myself from hugging this toy!



Happy Monday to you!

♥ Andrea ♥

Tomato Soup

Last week I felt like having a tomato soup.I went looking for a recipe on line but I didn't like anything that I found. I seem to cook like I play snooker. Oh oh, I feel a story coming on...

Years ago when I was just barely of age to drink, I went to this little dive of a bar with some friends and had a few too many. Seriously, this is just like the bar we were at...

I put a dollar on the pool table and then to my surprise proceeded to beat the pants off of every guy around the table (okay, maybe the guys weren't quite as rowdy as the ones in the video). This wasn't the first time this had happened though. Once in a while, it's like I'm struck with a divine super power and I live in 'the zone'. On other days when I try my hand at pool, I can't hit a ball on the table to save my life!

Like snooker, much of the time me + the kitchen = disaster and bad food. But other days, like in the case of this tomato soup, I cook like a seasoned chef! I would be happy to eat this tomato soup in a fancy pants restaurant. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as myself and my family did.

Here's the play by play...

First I sauteed my veggies; 1 large carrot, 2 celery stalks, 1 sweet onion and lots of chopped garlic.



Here's a great time saving tip. We chop up a whole bulb of garlic once or twice a week and keep it covered in extra virgin olive oil in a sealed glass jar in the fridge. There usually is not a day that goes by that I don't need chopped garlic around.



While sauteing my veggies, I chopped eight tomatoes.



Then I added the tomatoes, lots of sea salt, 2 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 1/2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp of maple syrup and 3 tsp fresh chopped parsley and sauteed until the tomatoes were well done.

Then I added the whole mixture to the blender.



I blended the soup for a long time until it was very smooth.



This is a nourishing and delicious soup. We had it with a lovely side salad of mixed baby greens, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, celery and balsamic vinaigrette.

Spring is really in the air around these parts. Every year, I find myself surprised by what a relief spring is and how enlivening it feels. Just as I start to feel that I can't possibly take another cold and gray day, the air changes bringing feelings of hope and rebirth.

Here's my favorite photo from yesterday's bright and sunny afternoon...



May sun be on your face and hope be in your heart this weekend!

♥ Andrea ♥

Homemade Granola

Mmmm granola... I made it recently for the first time in years. Now I wonder why I waited so long? It is so simple to make and incredibly delicious. This is the mix I chose, but you can use whatever nuts, seeds or dried fruit you like.

Granola

Dry

4 cups of rolled oats
1 cup whole raw almonds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw black sesame seeds
1/4 cup raw flax seeds

Wet
Mix together separately:
1/2 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions

Mix dry and wet well and spread out evenly on cookie sheets.
Bake for about 15 minutes in the oven at 350, flip the mixture and bake for another 10 minutes or so.
Remove from the oven and add your choice of dried fruit

I added:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup Thompson raisins

Mix well and let cool.
Once cooled and dried, store in an airtight container.



I like to eat my granola with really crunchy flakes, unsweetened almond milk and sliced banana. But we've all got our own opinions on how we like cereal, so serve it any way you like; with yogurt, berries, whatever!

Enjoy your weekend.

♥ Andrea ♥

Shop Update: Baby Blankets

Over the weekend, I made two lovely baby blankets. This first one, Central Park, features Kate Spain's fabulous fabrics, Central Park and Children Zoo as well as Japanese import Kei Honeycomb Dots. I'm saving this one for a gift for someone special. I just know she's going to love it!



This second blanket I am in love with. The Groovy Rainbow blanket is so the blanket I would have loved to have as a little girl! I am going to list this one in the shop. It features Alice Kennedy's Mommo Forest Pals (so adorable!) and Riley Blake Design's Feeling Groovy Clouds. It measures 33" x 38".

Both blankets are made with 100% cotton fabric and batting.

If you like the Central Park blanket, I still have enough to fabric to make another one. I always welcome custom orders. Please, send me an e-mail.

♥ Andrea ♥