Pursuing dreams, and leaving perfectionism by the wayside.....I have an Announcement!

Well, from my title post I'm sure you can guess that I have a little announcement. It's something I've been thinking about doing for quite sometime now. But my sister gave me the push I needed yesterday. We were talking about some paintings that I've been working on, in preparation for a studio tour in September. She was so encouraging, telling me that often people who visit her (very hip, I might add) Etsy shop, ask where they could find paintings like the ones in her shop photos.......

Select Modern

She told me she's always wanted to give them my shop name, and send their business my way. Well....... now she can! The husband and I sat down last night, and set it all up, and I'm so pleased. Not to say that it's perfect, or exactly what I had envisioned. I have to be honest though, one of the reasons I had not set up the shop just yet was due to my laundry list of reasons not to. Such as I don't have a good enough camera, I don't have the time, etc, etc. Because I have an expectation of exactly what I think it should be, I'm nervous of letting it fall short of that. Which has kept me from doing anything! Isn't that just silly. The Husband was very encouraging too, and said, you can always go back and tweak it later. Yup, that's true, and had not previously occurred to me.  And I have already adjusted some things since last night, and will continue to do so for a while I'm sure :)

So with out further delay, I am so pleased to announce my own Etsy shop...KatrinaAnja! Over the next few days, I will be adding several more paintings. So check back regularly. Add it to your favourites! Tell your friends and relatives! 'Like' my shop on facebook! I know, shameless self promotion here, but who's gonna do it if I don't!?
Below are some of  my  most recent paintings. Most of my work is Arcylic and mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas. Thanks for your support friends, and remember I take commissions as well!

See me through

Simply Present ~ SOLD

Learning to Love ~ Info to follow soon

Arise ~ SOLD

No Title ~ Info to follow soon

 Thanks for taking a minute to read my ramblings, and look around my NEW SHOP! Have a wonderful weekend friends, be well!
~ Katrina

Master plans, update!

The last time I wrote about my master bedroom was, well.... a while ago. But, believe me, it has not left my thoughts. We'll it's been aging.  I have been collecting ideas for a few months now, over on Pinterest. I just love Pinterest. Yes, sometimes it can be a black hole. But, it's really provided a way for me to collect all the ideas and images that I have found. After a while of collecting, I sat down and looked at all those images with The Husband, and certain things became apparent to us......

1. We really want an upholstered headboard, with nail head detail. Like this....

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2. A deep, dark accent wall.

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3. White, airy linens a la west elm.

4. A lush upholstered bench.....

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  In a cool graphic print.....

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5.Large flanking mirrors.

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6. Small dressers as night stands.

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7. This rug. sigh......

8. And finally, this color pallet......

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I think that about sums it up!
~Katrina

Something to write home about.....

Eggplant meatballs. Yup. I'm kinda excited about it. So much so that I emailed my mother the recipe the next day. This is kind of a big deal you see, cause I have never cared for eggplant. And being a vegetarian I am almost required by law to love it, and yet I have never encountered an eggplant dish that I was happy with. That was till the other day when I stumbled across this lovely little blog, via pinterest. Please go take a few minutes and check out her recipes as they all look fantastic, are vegan, and I can't wait to try many of them! So here they are (these are midwestveg's photos)! The pictures say it all.

For the recipe click here!

I'm looking forward to the farmers market tomorrow. I'm going to go buy a few eggplants, and make a big batch of these and freeze them! Hope everyone enjoys them as much as we do!

Be well, and have a great weekend!

~Katrina

The Long Weekend and Our Childless Revelry!

Happy August Long Weekend to my Canadian friends! One of the many reasons I love living in Canada. Made up holiday weekends in the summer, so everyone can go to the cottage, soak up as much vitamin D as possible, and drink a little more than they should. Bless you Canada, Bless you.  

Oh, and cooking happens. I love the morning of a long weekend. I get up and just start cooking and baking and I love it. Truly I do. Today I made a crust less spinach quiche, blueberry muffins (technically for the new neighbors, but they don't need to know they were going to get six!), and frosty no bake granola cakes! But that's not all...... I made The Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle salad. If you haven't tried it yet, go, make it tonight. It just might change your life. For real. Best salad- as- a- meal, ever. I also made gazpacho, and last but not least, garlic scape pesto.

That would be the pesto on my quiche. I also added a few dollops to the quiche batter. You say, 'pesto? in quiche? weird.' I say, 'don't knock it. The Pioneer Woman herself recommends it. Therefor it is gold.'
So without further ado, Garlic Scape Pesto.
8-9 garlic scapes (I did 10, cause we all know more is better)
1/3 Cup olive oil 
1/3 Cup walnut or pine nuts ( I prefer pine nuts, also really good with pistachios)
1\2 Cup, packed fresh basil
Squeeze of half a lemon
dash cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
Place it all in a food processor or blender. And blend, blend, blend till smooth.


All this cooking glory would not have been possible if it were not for my awesome in laws, who took all three kids for 3 days and 3 nights. At first I thought, I won't even know what to do with myself. That thought didn't last long at all. I helped my neighbor and friend pack and move, I painted some new canvas (not finished yet), slept in. Took the puppy for long walks, and drank a cup of coffee while sitting at Starbucks! Went to the movies, and sat in a friends hot tub till 1am.

Went to a Jays game and drank cider with the husband. And just generally enjoyed ourselves.

I think we used our time pretty well. We called it our 'Stay-cation.'  And it was fabulous.

And finally, my Blurb photo books came in, and I am quite pleased with the Instagram photos. I will certainly be making more books with them. 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, long or not!
Till next time,
~Katrina

If I'm Lyin' I'm Cryin'

As I sat down to write this post, the kids were watching Mater Shorts. For about ten minutes I stared at the title line, and could think of nothing but "If I'm Lyin' I'm Cryin!"' So I just went with it :)

Just wanted to share a few things 'Instagram' that I've come across the past few days, that I am loving!

First up is Instagrid a sweet little web gallery for all your Instagram photos. I love Instagram, so this is kinda perfect! If you aren't already come follow me on Instagram! Oh, and I should mention that they can print your Instagram photos as a poster for $25! So awesome. I will defefinitly be doing this soon.

Next up, is Blurb. They are a photo book company, based in Canada. I had some Groupons that were about to expire, so I started making my first ever photo books. To my delight, they gave me the option to upload my photos from Instagram and and adjusted the resolution. I should be getting them in the next day or two. I'll be sure to post on the finished product. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! But till then here is a little preview.

2011 | Make Your Own Book

It has become clear to me now, that this post was nothing short of me professing my love of all things Instagram! But seriously whats not to love?

Till next time, Suit yerself!
~ Katrina

Garlic scapes and picture frames.

With my girlies in tow Saturday morning, we headed to the farmers market. It's one of our favorite things to do on a Saturday. We also like to hit a few yard sales on the way. I found some real beauties in one stop, I love it when that happens.

 3 large vintage frames, a vintage ship watercolor, and an ugly brass lamp, don't worry I have plans for it.  I paid $10 instead of the $19 asked for all of it! Most of the time, stuff at flea markets and yard sales, is marked up. They expect people to haggle. So do it! The worst that can happen, is they say no.

Farmers market bounty. Aaaahhhhh, I love summer in southern Ontario.

Top to bottom; Apricots, Niagara Peaches, Golden Plums, Garden tomatoes, Black Cherries, wild blueberries, and Garlic Scapes. Wait, garlic scapes, you ask? yes. They are fantastic. We tried them last year, and added them to soups, stir fry. But we liked them most as pesto. Oh yes. In my book pesto is practically perfect. It's license to eat, an otherwise inappropriate amount of garlic! Mmmmm, garlic. The husband may, or may not have a different opinion ;) Recipe to follow soon!

I'm back, baby!

So, it's been a while. Haha, a long while. But I'm really looking forward blogging regularly again. I think before, blogging was starting to feel more like a chore. I had made a lot of parameters for myself, and those parameters excluded a few things that I really enjoy, like food, and fitness. I'm not really sure how it will all come together, but I think I will make less rules for my self this time. I like being free to be me.

 I wanted to share a photo today of #3, my baby. He is walking now, and climbing everything! The other day he pushed this little chair to the table, climbed up, and said with a squeal,'did it!' Oh my, my. That face says it all.

I'll have some exciting features in the days and weeks to come, so check back regularly Y'all :)
 
~Katrina