neonfoxtongue

Creative Goals Monday: Mending, Baking and Relaxing

Ahhhh - what a wonderful weekend!  Apart from the great gig The Leopard had on Friday night, I had absolutely no obligations and it was awesome.  I did laundry and groceries.  I surfed the interwebs.  I watched a really good (but slightly unnerving) movie.  I caught up on my sleep.  I went for a run.  It was great!

I didn't do any crafting and I'm kind of glad.  I just needed a mini-break from it.  Instead, I did some mending and fixed two pairs of pants, a jacket and a pair of slippers.  So glad to be all caught up with that. 

I also did a bit of baking, which is something I don't do a lot of, but always enjoy.

(Pic is from the PC site - food styling is not my forte)

I found the Applesauce Bran Loaf recipe a couple of years ago and it's been a great baking staple since then.  Very easy, very yummy and healthy enough that you don't feel guilty about having a second third slice.  I've used all-purpose white flour in a pinch and it's still been great. 

After such a relaxing weekend, I'm ready to take on my second week of work.  I'm also ready to set some creative goals:

• knit!
• finish up a paper project that's been hanging around for a while
• start planning cards for some upcoming celebrations

Do you have any creative goals you'd like to accomplish this week?  I'd love to know about them, so feel free to comment below!

Friday I'm in Love: Birthday Treasures and Treats

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday on Wednesday with their good wishes via comments, twitter, e-mail and facebook!  I had a really great day, so for this week's Friday I'm in Love feature, I thought I'd share some of the handmade things that contributed to making it extra special.

As I enjoyed a breakfast of crêpes and fresh strawberries courtesy of my father-in-law, The Leopard presented me with this beautiful necklace made by our friend Jasmine Virani.  I'd been eyeing it for a while so I'm very happy to have one of my very own. 

And yes, it's just a beautiful in person!

Later in the day, my Mom brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers from the florist we worked with for our wedding.

Same flowers from our wedding too - just in different colours.

After dinner, we enjoyed the very yummy cupcakes that The Leopard had made.  Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcakes with caramel buttercream (note: these recipes might vary slightly from the ones The Leopard used).  They were really delicious - not too sweet, very moist...yum!  I can't wait to try more recipes from the book.

Sooooo good!

And last but not least, I bought myself a little birthday treat - a screen printed tea towel from the Sevilla Rock collection by skinny laminx.  I really love Heather's work, especially the Sevilla Rock collection, which is based on ancient cave paintings near Cape Town, South Africa.  I'm seriously considering getting some yardage to recover our kitchen chairs, but I'll have to wait for a few paycheques first.  So for now, I'm just going to enjoy this beauty.  Heather's having a WOO (Window of Opportunity) Sale right now for her lovely tea towels too - shipping (from South Africa!) is only $0.50 until July 6.  Be sure to take advantage if one of her great designs catches your eye!

 

So lovely!

Of course, celebrating my birthday with my family, including my two grandmothers, was the real treat.  I couldn't even remember the last time that happened.  This is definitely one of the benefits of living closer to your home town!

I'm starting my new job next week, but I'm determined to keep up with the blogging.  After four months off, I'm looking forward to working again, but I know I'll have to be more organised with my time, especially with regards to my creative goals and activities.  I think I'm up to the challenge. :)

Hope you have a great weekend and happy 4th to my American readers!  

(Friday Love font is Little Lord Fontleroy by Nick's Fonts)