A Sunshiny Kitchen for Friday

Hello weekend! It's been a very golden day for Canada at the Olympics, and our hockey team is heading to the gold medal game on Sunday. Can't wait. Will you be watching?

To end off the week, I thought I'd share a few pics of Lisa Moody's, of Grapevine Designs, kitchen. I shot it for House and Home magazine, and it's on the stands now.

What do you think of Lisa's kitchen? I loved her counter top with a built-in cutting board at one end of it. The table, with a window bench seating, was pretty great too.  I also can't believe how incredibly organized this busy mom of 3 is. Wow. 

Have a great weekend! 

janis

Baked

Hello all! Hope your week is off to a good start.

I've been baking a little more these days, and trying to make things a little on the healthier side while I'm at it. I went off the healthy rails with this one, but every now and then isn't going to hurt. Right? I played around with a basic coffee cake, that I've made forever, by adding orange, almonds and cardamom. It's pretty delicious. Love the light cardamom flavour. 

Orange & Almond Coffee Cake w/ Cardamom - 

To make the streusel topping/filling:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

6 tablespoons chilled butter, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped almonds

Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Blend the chilled butter in with your fingers until small pebble size clumps form. Add the almonds and stir to combine. Cover and set aside in refrigerator. 

To make the cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 large eggs

1-2 teaspoons orange rind

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups low fat* sour cream 

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

* this is my attempt at taking a little of the fat out of it ;) 

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Grease two 6"x6"x2" pans or one 13"x9"x2" pan and line with parchment paper for easy removal. 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add orange rind, ground cardamom, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, a little at a time, alternately with the sour cream.  Add the orange juice stir to combine. If using two small pans (like I did), spread about a quarter of the batter in each pan. Sprinkle about a quarter of the streusel over top each. Drop another half of the remaining batter on top of each cake and sprinkle with remaining streusel. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, then check to make sure topping isn't getting too browned. If you think it is, place aluminum foil, loosely, on top of each pan. Bake for about another 20-25 minutes (total of about 45-50 minutes) until a skewer, inserted in centre of cakes, comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pans, on wire rack, for at least 15 minutes before removing. Enjoy! 

If you try making this cake, let me know what you think. You may find it hard to leave alone! 

Have a great day.

janis

Keeping It Simple - Origami

Hello everyone!

Today I'm sharing a simple origami DIY, that has a variety of uses....plus it's easy and fun to do.

For this project, I wanted to make holders for mini succulents to be used as place cards for a brunch. You can use any paper you like, but I scanned two contrasting fabrics, double-sided, to make mine. I cut down the paper to 9"x12" to make my 3" containers/boxes. I also used a bone folder (seen in video) to make sharp creases (important in origami). I asked my husband to make a short video, as he was heading out the door, of the action - easier than step by step pics!

That's it! I've also made these for candle holders for backyard parties, and for holding individual servings of party snacks....like popcorn. If you give these a whirl, let me know! 

janis

BC Home + Garden Show Give-Away

Happy Monday! If you're in BC, I hope you're enjoying your "Family Day" holiday Monday.

For anyone living in the Vancouver area, or planning to be, I've got two pairs of tickets up for grabs, courtesy of the BC Home + Garden show. It takes place February 19th - 23rd, and it's shaping up to be a great event. Really looking forward to seeing some of the celebrity guests including,  Janette Ewen, Jennifer Scott and Jef Hancock to name a few.

To get into the home decor mood, I thought I'd share some images from a shoot I did with David Keeler, of Provide Home, for the March issue of Style At Home. David decorated this city townhouse for a family of three and helped create a modern, calm and inviting space.

David setting up for the shoot. 

Soft blues in the bedroom, that overlooks a pretty green space.  

Their tiny office, just off the master bedroom. Custom light fixture by Caleb Siemon.

Loved all the details. Cushion by Charlene Mullen, framed tea towel by Third Drawer Down and a trio of vases by Heath Ceramics. All found at Provide Home, in Vancouver. 

Lots more of this home can be seen in the March issue of Style At Home on news stands now.

If you'd like a chance to win one of two pairs of tickets to the BC Home + Garden Show, just leave me a comment. I'll be making the draw on Thursday February 13th. I'll see you at the show! 

Have a great day.

janis

Baked

I haven't done it in awhile, but I baked some cookies with my niece over the weekend, inspired by fast approaching Valentine's Day.  Even though I shot the Butter Baked Goods book, including countless cookies, I hadn't made the Butter's Shaped Cookies myself. We gave them a go this weekend....they're my favourite sugar cookie recipe by far!

Butter's Shaped Cookies (aka sugar cookies) - made about 60 1.5" hearts

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons pure vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350f. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Onto a large piece of parchment paper, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
4. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.
5. Shape the dough into a large disk about 1" thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
6. Divide the disk into two, and place half the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about a 1/4" thick.
7. Use the cookie cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. Carefully transfer to the prepared cookie sheet and place about 1/2" apart. You may have to combine the dough scraps and re-roll the dough to cut out enough cookies. Avoid doing this too many times, as the cookies will become tough with over-handling.
8. Use a rolling pin to roll out the second disk of dough to about 1/4" thick and repeat step 7.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges.
10. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing:

4 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup meringue powder
6 to 8 tablespoons water

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the icing sugar and meringue powder. Mix on medium speed until the meringue powder is evenly distributed throughout the icing sugar.
2. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the water, little by little, until the icing reaches the desired thickness and consistency.
3. Once the water is incorporated, beat the mixture on high to create some volume and lightness in the icing.
Colour the icing with a little food colouring of your choice.

We went with shades of pink, for our hearts, and made some mini bags to to package them up. So simple.

If you try this recipe out, I'd love to know what you think. Keep me posted!

Have a good day!
janis

City Living in a Duplex

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well.

I had the pleasure of shooting, jewelry designer, Leah Alexandra's, and music producer, Kris Dirksen's home for Style At Home, and wanted to share a few extra pics with you. It was styled by Joanna at The Cross Design. The entire story is in the March issue of Style At Home and you can also see it here.

Their home is small and perfectly organized, with a place for everything. Have to love that. Again, to see the whole story, and a lot more pics, check out the new issue of Style At Home. By the way, you can also subscribe to a digital version of Style At Home now (I've been waiting for this!).

Have a good day!

janis

Keeping it Simple for Monday

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Today I'm, well, keeping it simple. In fact, I'm trying to do that as much as possible, these days. It's my 2014 "thing".  For this project, I went back to the simple pleasure of making a hanging planter in 5 minutes. Gotta love that. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Oh, and the entire "project" cost about $6.

Take any rope, twine or sturdy ribbon, and add a few bangles as the anchor. I grabbed my bangles from the Punjabi Market near me (20 bangles for $4). Added a house plant from the corner store, and a pearly pot, I already had, and I was ready to go. 

I used 4, 8ft, pieces of cotton rope, and 3 bangles for this. Fold rope in half (so each piece will end up being 4ft), and loop through bangles. Pull the ends through to make a tidy little knot on the bottom of bangle. 

At about 14" down, I made a simple knot creating 4 sections. From there, I made 4 more knots, about 6" down by grabbing one piece from each pair, and knotting with it's next door neighbour. Does that make sense? I used to make this all the time, as a young girl, and never had a real plan of action, but they worked. Should make a criss-cross pattern. 

Knot all ends together, about 6-7" down and trim if you like. I left the ends the way they were. Place your potted plant in and hang wherever you like. 

What I really love about a project that's so simple, and with few materials, is that it doesn't look like a bomb has gone off in my studio, after I'm done ;)

I'm sure many of you have made hanging planters yourself, and often more elaborate, but I'd love to know what you consider a "simple pleasure". Please share!

Have a great day!

janis

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