Sarah Richardson's House Up-date and Giveaway Winner

A few weeks ago there was some serious Sarah Richardson house stalking going on (which you can read about here).   Many thanks to a tip from an anonymous commenter who told me that Sarah's house is now up for sale and the MLS listing can be seen here.  

I don't want to have the real estate police after me so I'm not going to post the photo of the gorgeous kitchen, but if you follow the link you can see it.  I was very surprised to see a published photograph of it before the show has aired.  I'm curious to know how they got a photograph of the landscaped front yard when we have had feet of snow ever since we visited the house.   The house is for sale for a cool $1,o26,000 and this is how it is described in the listing:

Absolutely gorgeous brand new custom home designed by Sarah Richardson and built by Double Oak Homes, backing onto The Silver Creek Ravine in Georgetown. Features Sarah Richardson design and decoration throughout, soon to be seen on HGTV Canada. Over 5,000 square feet of elegantly finished living space. Full walkout basement, media room, open concept main floor, and over $200,000 in upgrades. A home for the most discerning buyer!

Any takers!

 

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I also wanted to post the winner of the $40 CSN gift certificate.  

The winner is Shannon from The Fam who said she would get a stroller if she won.  I will contact her by email.  Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway. 

 

Anniversary Memory Book

Valentine's Day also happens to be our wedding anniversary.  Since this year is our thirtieth anniversay we decided to go out for dinner to an Indian restaurant with all the kids and some friends to celebrate.  After dinner we all came home and had some champagne and cupcakes (which you can see pictures of here).  It was a lovely evening and I can't think of a better way to spend our anniversary than being with family and friends eating yummy food. 

I have been working on an anniversary memory book in secret over the past month and now that I have given it to hubby, I can share it with you.   I made him a scrapbook with a page for each year we were married containing a brief description of what we did, where we went, and how old the children were, along with some photos from each year.  

First page from our thirtieth anniversary book.

Fortunately I had done the first twenty years we were married on our twentieth anniversary so I only had to do the next ten years.  

First page from our twentieth anniversary book (the wedding invitation was taped to the inside of the cover).

These just happened to be very busy years, though, so there was lots to remember.  There were emails flying off to all the kids peppering them with questions about what year they had done this or that and how old they were when such and such happened.  I think I got most of the facts right, which is good as my memory for the details is not going to get any better than it is now.  I kept a little book with me at all times for a few weeks in which I would jot things down as I remembered them.  When I finally had all the details right, I wrote up each year in a little text box and then printed them off.

One of the pages from the twentieth anniversary book (which might account for why I look so young).

Then Kate helped me decide on the photos.  This was no small feat since half the photos were in actual photographs and half were on discs.  We did some rapid sorting and then I colour photocopied all the photographs and printed off the ones that we wanted from the CDs.    I cropped the pictures and played with the arrangement so they would fit on a page.

Detail of one of the pages from the thirtieth anniversary book.

I used some scrap-booking paper to add a bit of colour to each page.  I had far less time to make the book this time so I just did my best to get all the information in, some representative photos from each event in that year, and a fairly even number of photos of each person in the family.  

It is a fair amount of work to do, but so worth it to remember the main events of each year.  I was shocked how much I had forgotten when I re-read the twentieth anniversary book.  If  you have weak memories like we do then this is a great present to make for a significant anniversary.

There are plenty more pages in the thirtieth anniversary book so I will be adding to it for our fortieth - or maybe I should start doing it every five years so it isn't such a strain to remember everything.

at the Indian restaurant

 Happy anniversary love.  I'm looking forward to the next thirty years!

Linked to Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Spring Fling Strawberry-Pineapple Cupcakes

Yesterday I made cupcakes - not just any cupcakes, though, as these ones:

• were made to have with family and friends along with some champagne to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary,
• were a trial-run of the recipe that we'll be using for Malcolm and Christie's wedding in May,
• and were used by me to practice taking food photographs.

If you recall in a previous post (here) I looked at eight ways to take better food photos.  I have never taken a picture of food that I was happy with, until now that is.  I'm not looking for perfection, just photos that make you want to try the food.  I knew I had done just that when William walked by the computer and said that my pictures made him want to go and eat a cupcake.

The cupcakes tasted fantastic and just in case you want to make some for your sweeties for Valentine's Day, I've posted the recipe. 

The recipe is from the recent Kraft Canada What's Cooking magazine.  Christie's Grandmother has used the recipe in the past and recommended it.  It's one of those recipes that is easy to make, yummy, and looks good.

The original recipe called for using an angel food cake mix, but I used a white cake mix - either way would be good. 

To make the icing you mix together:
1 pkg (4-serving size) Jell-O Vanilla instant pudding
1 can (14 fl oz/398mL) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping

You gently stir the ingredients together and then spread it on the cooled cupcakes.  Top each cupcake with a half strawberry.

The photo-shoot of the finished cupcakes was a lot of fun.  Here's a look at my set-up.   I taped some craft paper to a chair and then changed the backgrounds in the pictures by using a couple of pieces of scrapbooking paper, a paper doily, and some different plates.  I made sure the light coming in from the window was at 10:00 as per the tips in my food photography post.  And that's as fancy as I got.

And just so you know - the cupcakes were sampled and come with our stamp of approval.

Linked to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style 
and Bokeh Party at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures
and Friday Photo Challenge at Razmataz

We've Got Snowdrops Too

A few days ago Sharon from My French Country Home posted this photo of snowdrops in her garden.

Just so you know, France isn't the only place with snowdrops.  We have some too. 

Yep, there's been a lot of snow dropped on us this past month. 

 Whenever there is a lot of snow the kids spend their recesses rolling snow

 into snow forts,

and snowballs that look like an alien lost his marbles all over the schoolyard.

And sometimes the kids look like they lost their marbles - like these ones who were playing soccer in the snow.

Poor tykes - I think they're dreaming of green fields and summer days!

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Just a reminder that there are only a few days left to put your name in to win a $40 CSN gift certificate.  You can find details about the giveaway here.

Peck Slip and Pirates

The Brooklyn Bridge holds a special place in my heart, because immediately south of it in Manhattan is a street called Peck Slip. My mother has done some genealogical research on our ancestors and traced them back to the family that this street was named after. 

Photo taken by Kate in December 2010

My ancestors Johannes Peck (also called Jan) and his wife Maria met and married in New Amsterdam after emigrating from the Netherlands some time before 1650.  The family name has also been spelled Pake, Peek and Peake - amazing how that quirky spelling gene has gone down through the generations.   

 Malcolm on Peck Slip with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background (February 2006)

As you can see the street is quite broad.  It used to have a wide bay down the centre of the street where ships could be moored.  Peck Slip was once the heart of a busy maritime seaport and was even mentioned in the novel Moby Dick.  What was once a busy seaport, later became a fish market, and is now a parking lot with restaurants and businesses on either side. The street is slated to be redeveloped in the next year or so and be turned into a sea-inspired park. 

The ship's mooring posts still evident along Peck Slip (photo taken by Kate December 2010)

Me on Peck Slip with the ramp up to the Brooklyn Bridge in the background (February 2006)

 Peck Slip (you can see the Brooklyn Bridge reflected in the lower left-hand window).  Photo taken by Kate.

Looking toward Peck Slip from the Brooklyn Bridge (photo taken by Kate)

Detail taken from above photo of the buildings along Peck Slip

Postcard showing shops along Lower Hudson Street c. 1865.  Notice the name on the shop in the middle of the photo - John Peake

My ancestors Jan and Maria Peek were quite the colourful couple.  They were the owners of Peek's Tavern and on more than one occasion they lost their licence due to serving liquor after-hours and on Sundays as you can read in this account:

JAN PEEK LOST HIS LICENSE TO TAP AND HAD TO PAY A FINE BECAUSE HE WAS TAPPING ON SUNDAY DURING PREACHING AND ALLOWING DANCING, JUMPING AND THE ENTERTAINMENT OF DISORDERLY PEOPLE AT HIS HOUSE. THE DRUNKARDS MADE SO MUCH NOISE ON A SUNDAY THAT THE SHERIFF HAD TO TAKE ONE OF THEM AWAY IN A CART.

Finally, in 1664 Maria was "accused of selling liquor to the Indians, fined 500 guilders, and banished from New Amsterdam".    My Mother told me that they moved to Peekskill in upper New York State - a town that was also named after them ("kill" meaning stream in Dutch).  Eventually one of their descendants came to Ontario with the United Empire Loyalists.
 

Gravestone of Samuel Pake taken last summer in Prince Edward County, Ontario

In  writing this post, I decided to look up some of the dates and spelling of names on the internet because my parents are away in Arizona so I couldn't check with my Mother.  I found this article online and discovered that Jan had many different jobs.  Not only was he a tavern-keeper, but he was a trader, an explorer, a broker (due to his fluency in both Dutch and English), a hunter, and even once was described as a PIRATE.  That was something I had never known, but was pretty excited to find out.  I mean who wouldn't want to know they had some pirate blood in their past.  My kids figure they are much cooler now!

Painting by Naima Rauam of the South Street Seaport and Peck Slip

All I can say is that I'm from a wicked lot - serving liquor on Sundays and a pirate.  What more can I say me mateys!