Red Quilt

I've been meaning to show you another change I made in our master bedroom.  When I finished our bedroom redo recently (which you can read about here), I decided I wanted to be able to change the bedding to get a different feel.  

I still love the Pottery Barn flowered duvet cover that we have used for the past ten years, but I wanted the flexibility of having another quilt to use sometimes.  So I went to Homesense to see what they had.  I was originally going to get a white quilt, but I couldn't see that lasting well with a dog that likes to sleep on our bed.  Then I spied the red quilt and was taken with it - I love gray-blue and red together.   

I also had a small cloth that I bought in Bangladesh last summer that I wanted to use across the end of our bed. The red quilt was a perfect compliment to the red, white, and gray in the Bangladeshi cloth.  So here is the alternate version of our bedroom.  

Perhaps there will be Christmas and Valentine's Day versions as well - the red is rather good for that.  
Do you decorate your bedroom for different seasons or holidays?

WISH Wednesday #46

Do you see the view out the window of this adorable bedroom - that is Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) - one of the most beautiful spots in the world.  When you read this I will be down in Nova Scotia myself, so this bedroom seemed a perfect choice for my WISH Wednesday photo.  Kate goes to university in Halifax, Nova Scotia and will be sharing a house with two other girls this year rather than staying in residence.  I'm helping her get her room set up - you know - visiting thrift shops etc to find furniture and getting a big load of groceries. We are going to squeeze in a little sightseeing as well. I love Nova Scotia so I'm really looking forward to my week there.
This house was built as a family vacation home. The whole home has a spare, clean, modern look. I'm not usually a fan of modern as it can look stark and cold, but I find this home very appealing in its simplicity.  You can see more photos here.
I think the children's bedroom is one of my favourite rooms with the similar, but different Indian quilts on the bed, painted floors, and soft gray walls with white trim ... oh, and a breath-taking view out the windows.

The outside of the house is also stark and modern, yet echoes the cedar-shingled traditional homes of the area.

I'll be back from the maritimes next week and I'll show you pictures of what we visit.  I'm not going to Cape Breton Island, but I know that I'll be taking a bazillion photos of the areas we do see.

Travelling in the the 1940s

I'm off on a roadtrip tomorrow to Nova Scotia.  It's going to be a brief visit - just a week - but long enough to get Kate settled into the house she will be living in next year at university and to see a few of the sites.  I'm so excited.  I love the maritimes and I love a road trip.  Sounds like the perfect end to the summer to me!

This photo of my Grandmother, my mother and my aunts on their way to the Georgian Bay cottage was taken in the 1940s.  When they went to the cottage in those days you really had to go prepared because it was a long way to the nearest grocery store - thus the big trailer full of goods.  We will be packing almost as much stuff, given that we have things for Kate's new house, but we will be in a truck camper.  I'll be posting about it when I get back and I have some posts lined up for when I'm away.

Have a good last week of summer - sniff sniff!

WISH Wednesday #45

I fell in love with this patio and had to share it (although I can't even remember where I got it from - bad blogger ... hanging head in shame).  I thought it would be perfect for a late summer WISH Wednesday photo.
I love the gorgeous stone building in the background. It looks French to me, especially with the pea gravel patio. Aren't the chairs painted such pretty shades of turquoise and teal - they are the perfect compliment to the rustic wood table.  I'm a sucker for simple table settings like the one shown here with jugs and vases filled with pink flowers, runners across the table, lanterns, and bowls of food.  I would love to have a quiet lunch here.

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And as always, here is the collage of all the August inspiration photos.  I see lots of cottage and outdoors photos along with plenty of soft blues and greens.  

Stir Fry

I have a favoutite recipe that I use for stir fries.  I make stir fries often, at least once a week, and the vegetables vary depending on what i have available.  I sometimes use meat (beef or chicken) and I sometimes use tofu.  The sauce is pretty standard though.  It is very easy and I can whip it up in a minute.  Kate wanted to have a copy of the recipe to take to university next week so I thought I would share it with all my bloggy friends too.

Sauce: 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tbsp cornstarch 2 tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp black pepper
Stir all ingredients together.  Put some oil in a pan and cook onion, garlic, meat, and veggies that have a longer cooking time (like carrots and cauliflower) together until the meat is cooked.  Add the veggies with a shorter cooking time (like green peppers and snow peas) and add in the sauce.  Cook for about 5 - 8 minutes until the veggies are hot, but still crisp.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Do you make your own stir fry sauce or do you use one of the bottled ones?  I have to say there are some really yummy bottled ones out there and they sure make it easy to get dinner ready in a flash, but this recipe is pretty quick too.