Favourite Things

2/10: Hanging Plant

I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to jump on the DIY bandwagon – I’m having so much fun! For me, every stage of the process is exciting: scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration, going in search of the materials at various stores, sitting down and completing something that’s pretty, and finally seeing it around me in its finished state! It’s such a simple idea, to take some basic materials and recombine them into something beautiful. I love that.

I’ve been collecting lots of DIY ideas lately (see the board here), but one that really stood out to me was the simple hanging plant. I immediately loved the look of it (simple yet colourful) and it didn’t look too hard either – bonus!

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How to Pipe Icing Roses

As you may know, I love to make cupcakes. I have my trusty vegan cupcake cookbook, which honestly contains the tastiest recipes I’ve encountered. They are so good, and I’ve never come across someone who wasn’t flabbergasted to hear that they were vegan. You would never know it by eating them! They are delicious, moist, and the book is full of flavour combos that I love.

Prior to this year, my cupcakes were topped with a big smudge of icing, and maybe sprinkled with some pretty sprinkles if they were lucky. I didn’t have a piping bag, and I definitely didn’t know how to use one. But then, for some reason, I caught the “domestic goddess bug” (I blame this blog) and promptly stumbled on to the idea of piping bags, pretty piles of icing and food colouring. I’m still getting the hang of it.

One method that always left me in awe was icing roses. Golly gee, let me tell you – pictures of that technique blew me away. It looked like the most complicated thing on the planet, but boy were they pretty. Then I learned something amazing! The whole process hinged on just one jumbo icing tip!! Aha! Suddenly the complications seemed to fall away, and icing roses were in my grasp.

Little did I know how difficult it would be to find a Wilton 1M tip with which to pipe. Granted, I could have bought it online, but I decided to check every cooking shop in the surrounding area first. Finally I located one at the local Bulk Barn when I was home for the holidays. (Montreal doesn’t have Bulk Barns, and it pains me greatly.) That night, I whipped up a batch of plain vanilla cupcakes and buttercream icing, and my Mom and I learned how to pipe icing roses like pros!

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Life lately has been filled with so many splendid things. The boyfriend came to town for a short but lovely visit, bringing along a massive box for yours truly! (Inside was an ice cream maker – I’d jokingly asked for it in an article here, but didn’t expect to actually receive it! Very sweet.)

We spent the time that he was here spending some quality time together, decorating cookies, doing a little holiday shopping, exchanging gifts, sleeping in, and going to a really fun dinner with my sisters + their boyfriends too! That was fun, and we got to play some poker and Trivial Pursuit after as well. Cute.

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Home for the Holidays

Well, I made it through exams in one piece, caught my train, and passed my driving test (today! Yippee!! No more driving tests…ever!). The rest of my time at home so far has been spent quietly baking, trimming the tree, DIY-ing Christmas gifts (shh! It’s a secret!), having lovely cups of tea with lovely people, and admiring the lights. The kitties have been keeping me company, and it’s nice to be back in such a loud, boisterous household full of opinionated women. I’m still adjusting to it, but it’s nice.

Hope your holidays are off to an amazing start!

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