a forest full of songbirds

vegan beluga lentil + farro salad with roasted veggies and leeks

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:05:00 +0000

I threw this salad together last week and loved how the flavor so came together, definitely saving for future use! Makes great leftovers too.

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 leek, diced

1 cup dry beluga (black) lentils

1 cup dry farro

3-4 tablespoons high heat oil (I used avocado oil)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spread out the cubed sweet potatoes on one and the cauliflower on the other. Drizzle with the avocado oil (or other high heat oil). Bake for 25-30 minutes. I've found sometimes the sweet potatoes need a little extra time, so check their tenderness with a fork when removing the cauliflower and leave them in for another 3-5 minutes if needed. Meanwhile, cover the lentils in water and simmer covered on medium low 20-25 minutes or until tender and cook farro according to package directions. Once veggies are done and lentils and farro are drained, combine them all in a large bowl and add the leeks, oil, vinegar, and salt. Stir well and enjoy!

petzval 58

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 05:50:00 +0000

Wow, it's been awhile! Life has been pretty busy ever since I started trying to simplify by getting rid of as many of our belongings as possible...so many things to sort, photograph, measure, list and send off to their new homes...it really eats up one's free time! Anyways, I got my Petzval 58 lens in the mail Friday and I couldn't be more thrilled with it! Had to share!! I had backed the project through Kickstarter and had been waiting about 7 months to receive my lens...so happy to finally have it in person!

First of all, as you can see in the photo above, the lens itself is just beautiful...solid brass! We visited our favorite botanical garden this weekend to try it out. It was easier to use than I expected and I just love the fact that I can control the level of bokeh in my photos. (If you're not familiar with what a petzval lens is or what it does, read about it here.) I didn't think I would want to use the strongest bokeh setting (level 7) very often if at all, but it turned out to be so dreamy, I love it. I'm excited to take this lens on my future adventures and try it in many different settings! On to the photos:

hot ginger pear cider

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:39:00 +0000

While we were in Canada, I got an amazing ginger pear cider in Calgary and wanted to duplicate it at home. A little experimentation in the kitchen happened, and this drink came out awesome! It's perfect for autumn too... (if only we had some cold weather here!) I had to share!!

Hot Ginger Pear Cider

serves 2

Ingredients:

20 ounces organic pear juice or cider (I used R. W. Knudsen which only has juice from raw pears and absorbic acid)

1-2" fresh ginger root, grated

3 tablespoons ginger juice (or to taste, I like mine on the spicy side)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

splash of lemon juice (optional)

Instructions:

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Strain out ginger chunks if desired and serve. Enjoy!

what I wore // botanical gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 04:27:00 +0000

This past weekend we took a little trip to my favorite bakery and then hit the botanical gardens for a nature walk.

outfit details:
dress - free people via poshmark (score!)
sandals - MIA

vegan Moroccan-spiced red lentil, chick pea and kale soup

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

This soup was simply delicious and definitely something I will make again!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil (coconut oil or avocado oil will work too)

1 large onion, diced

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste

1 can coconut cream

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups chick peas (I used canned)

2 large tomatoes, diced

4 or 5 cups vegetable stock, or according to your preference

2 cups roughly chopped lecanto kale

Instructions

In a large stock pot, sauté onion in oil. Add chopped carrots and spices and cook 5 minutes over medium low heat. Add vegetable stock all other remaining ingredients except the kale. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in kale and continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until kale is barely tender. Remove from heat and serve.

our Canadian adventure, part II: Jasper

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 04:51:00 +0000

The second half of our trip was spent in Jasper National Park. Jasper is less touristy than Banff. It has less in the way of shops and restaurants but more in the way of wildlife. We saw bighorn sheep and elk on a daily basis, they even came within inches of our car! I had definitely never experienced anything like that before. We saw a couple of coyotes too from a distance. Although I had been terrified yet fascinated by the prospect of seeing a bear, we never did see one on this trip...I guess I was relieved/mildly disappointed lol. I was a bit sad that we never saw any mountain goats either, even though we drove to the areas specifically recommended for them multiple times...maybe it was the wrong time of year or something. But I can't complain too much!

Another awesome experience we had in Jasper was the glacier tour, where we got to walk around on the Athabasca Glacier! We even sampled some of the chilly water from the glacier stream. I also had the first-time experience of seeing an aurora in the sky at night :) We managed to get a (somewhat blurry) long exposure shot of it.

Here are a few other highlights of our experience in Jasper: Peyto Lake-more gorgeous turquoise water, Athabasca Falls, Maligne Lake (I highly recommend the boat trip to Spirit Island!) and Maligne Canyon, Mount Edith Cavell, the Angel glacier, Pyramid Mountain, Medicine Lake, and horseback riding at Jasper Riding Stables.

The restaurants that really stood out to me were Coco's cafe, who served up a delicious ginger latte and a "grown up grilled cheese" featuring caramelized onion chutney and green apples (going to have to re-create it at home!) and Jasper Brewing Company, where we had dinner twice, enjoyed some serious mugs of beer, and tried our first serving of poutine...which was good but super rich!

Now for the photos:

bull elk

on the Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Falls

Athabasca River

another elk

Maligne Lake

Spirit Island on Maligne Lake

bighorn sheep

Maligne Canyon

Northern Lights!

Mount Edith Cavell

Angel Glacier

Lake Cavell

baby elk

Pyramid Mountain, Patricia Lake

aspen trees

Pyramid Mountain

Tangle Creek Falls

one of the gorgeous vistas off of the Icefields Parkway

Mount Edith Cavell, Cavell Lake

Jasper Brewing Company

poutine

bighorn sheep

baby bighorn sheep (lamb? kid? I'm not sure lol)

our Canadian adventure, part I: Banff

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 19:28:00 +0000

Last week, the hubs and I returned from our vacation in the Canadian rockies. The scenery there is like nothing I've experienced before...surreal and utterly magnificent. The mountains are towering and beautiful, the water is serene and the most perfect shade of turquoise. Our first stop was Banff National Park. I highly recommend visiting this area of the world.

Some of the highlights on my list from this park include: Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Agnes Tea House, Big Beehive, the Banff Gondola, Lake Minnewanka, Castle Mountain, Johnston Canyon, and Bow Lake. I would recommend looking for hotels in Canmore (where we stayed) or Harvie Heights, as staying inside the town of Banff itself is quite pricey.

As far as restaurants go, we loved Chaya for awesome Japanese food, Nourish Bistro for creative vegetarian/vegan cuisine, Wild Flour for baked goods and hot drinks, and Whitebark Cafe, another great coffee shop with some yummy lunch options as well.

We went the first two weeks of September, which I felt was a great time to be there because the crowds had thinned down (from what I hear June-August is packed with tourists), the weather was cool but not freezing, and we got to watch the autumn colors start appearing during our stay.

On to the pictures!

Bow Lake

saw a ton of these cute chipmunks

waterfall at the edge of Lake Moraine

our canoe trip on Lake Moraine

Lake Moraine

Lake Moraine (with the Lensbaby)

from the top of Sulphur Mountain

top of Sulphur Mountain after the gondola ride

Johnston Canyon

upper falls at Johnston Canyon

Lake Minnewanka

Mirror Lake and the Big Beehive mountain (we hiked to the top)

trail to the Big Beehive

Pica near Lake Agnes

Lake Agnes (the teahouse is the little building on the left, so good after a long hike!)

Lake Louise from the top of Big Beehive

Lake Louise

view from sitting at the teahouse

Lake Louise from the teahouse trail

Lake Louise

Lake Moraine on our first day, before it snowed!

We went to Jasper National Park for the second half of our trip, more about that next time!

Have you been to the Canadian Rockies? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments :)

Montessori style color mixing

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 17:15:00 +0000

Lately little A has been fascinated with transferring water between containers, so I came up with this project to let her practice transferring and mixing colors at the same time...and I loved how it turned out to be a colorful flower!

You will need:

3 small bowls

Red, blue and yellow food coloring

Flower shaped tray (I got ours from Hobby Lobby for $2)

An eye dropper

Water

What to do:

Put some water in each of the three small bowls and add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each one. Encourage your child to mix the colors using the eye dropper and make each petal a different color.

This project kept my 3 1/2 year old busy for at least 40 minutes, we would dump one "flower" out and she would fill them again and again with different variations of each color. We added in some plain water at one point to make a more pastel looking flower. Have fun!

Fab Etsy Finds

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:00:00 +0000

Some of the lovely handmade goodies I've stumbled upon as of late:

face pot by GusandRami

on to our next adventure tote by WinterCabin

tiny book ladder by BrookeWay

bird king ring by RockCakes

Goodnight cushion by studiomeez

book washi tape by danika58

bits and pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 22:36:00 +0000

Since I've started homeschooling little A, I've found less time for blogging, but I'm hoping to still pop in from time to time to share updates and recipes, etc. Here are a few pics from the last few weeks:

We bought a year pass to our local zoo and have been making regular field trips there. My zinnias have been blooming like crazy and I love the pops of color they add to the front of the house. The weather has been insanely hot and I'm already so looking forward to our trip to Canada in September for some cooler temps! What's new with you?

warm turmeric milk tea

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 19 May 2015 18:31:00 +0000

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes today. This soothing, slightly spicy tea is so nice for sipping at night before bed or in the morning instead of coffee. It is also excellent for reducing inflammation and pain.

warm turmeric milk tea

serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2" fresh turmeric root, peeled

2" fresh ginger root, peeled

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cardamom pods

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups unsweetened hemp milk (or other milk of your choice)

honey or maple syrup to taste

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, add hemp milk, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cardamom pods. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Using a microplane grater (or a regular grater if you don't have one), start grating in your peeled turmeric and ginger. Turn heat down to low and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla and sweetener of your choice and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a strainer to pour into serving container. Enjoy!

Product Review: Love Mae bamboo dinnerware set

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:39:00 +0000

I recently bought little A the peacock bamboo dinnerware set from Love Mae (available here). I chose this set because I don't like plastic dishes but needed something appropriate for a 3-year-old.

Love Mae is an Australian based company who makes whimsical, vintage-inspired products.

This dinnerware set includes a 8" plate, 5.5" bowl, and a 12 ounce tumbler. They are all beautifully illustrated with a peacock, feather, and flowers. My favorite part is that they are toxin-free and biodegradable. We've been using this set for about three months now and still looks brand new! I've used the cup for things like carrot juice and smoothies with beets with no stains left behind. I love that the designs are fun but not babyish, I can see us using this for years to come. The dishes are dishwasher safe on the top rack so that's a plus. The only negative thing I can say about this set is that it isn't able to be used in the microwave, and it's a little pricier than most dish sets. Overall though, this is an excellent addition to our dish collection and I recommend it to anyone looking to avoid BPA and other toxic chemicals in plastic.

*All opinions are my own. I was not compensated in any way for this review.

night walks + long exposures

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 03 May 2015 19:00:00 +0000

This weekend we took a late night walk with some friends to see fireflies and experiment with some long exposure photos. These were all taken around 11 pm with the shutter left open around 10-30 seconds on each one. I'm diggin' the ethereal effect...

Have you experimented with long exposures? I'd love to hear about your photos and how they came out!

DIY Rosemary Lemon Kitchen Spray

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 03 May 2015 03:54:00 +0000

I've been phasing out all chemicals from my house cleaning products for the last few years, and while I have found some natural cleaners that I like, they are a little on the pricey side. Since I got the Everyday Oils collection from Young Living for my anniversary gift from hubs this year, I've really been getting into using these essential oils as many different ways as I can. I made this counter top cleaner recently and I loove the way it makes my kitchen smell. I also love how inexpensive it was to create! Keep reading for the recipe I used...

Rosemary Lemon Kitchen Spray

You will need:

1 (16 ounce) glass spray bottle

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup vinegar

10 drops rosemary essential oil

10 drops lemon essential oil

Directions:

Add all ingredients to your spray bottle and shake well before use. I found the kraft paper labels at Target, made by Avery. They are compatible with most printers and I recommend them if you would like to add a label :)

Bits and Pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 13:30:00 +0000

A few photos from the last week...

I gave my hula hoop a makeover by wrapping it in strips of vintage fabric, love how it turned out!

taken at a pool party we went to last week with frineds

I love century plant blooms!

from our family brunch outing, we saw a volkswagon show on the way

Shop Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 23:37:00 +0000

I finally got some time to add some new goodies to the shop!

ginger peach smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 00:30:00 +0000

Not only is this icy treat refreshing, it's very soothing if you have any tummy troubles! On to the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen peaches
1 banana, fresh or frozen
1" fresh ginger root, peeled
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions:
Add all ingredients to your blender and blend on high until smooth.

serves 1-2

What I Wore // Sunday Brunch Date

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:32:00 +0000

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Yesterday hubs and I went out for a brunch date and tried out a restaurant we hadn't been to yet. It was a breezy, not-too-hot day and perfect for strolling around downtown and by the water too.

outfit details:

dress - threadsence.com

shoes - Lotta from Stockholm

necklace - made by myself and coming soon to Belle Hibou!

grapefruit mimosa and a spicy bloody mary, yum!

cilantro lime crab cake benedict

beef and chorizo burger with manchego cheese, tomato marmalade and roasted garlic mayo on a pretzel bun

chocolate beet cake with miso buttercream

What did you do this weekend?

Book Love

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 14:00:00 +0000

These are some of our current favorites:

1/2/3/4/5

Vegan Black Forest Cake Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 00:14:00 +0000

We got a huge bag of frozen organic cherries from BJ's the other week, so they've been making a regular appearance in my smoothies :) Who says you can't eat clean and treat yoself at the same time? This cake-inspired smoothie is a delicious treat and it's packed with antioxidants...yay!

Vegan Black Forest Cake Smoothie

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen cherries

1/4 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup cashews

1 cup coconut milk (I used the So Delicious culinary lite coconut milk)

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:
Blend cashews and coconut milk until smooth. Add all other ingredients and continue blending. Enjoy!

DIY Sleepy Cat Air Freshener with Essential Oils

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 17:00:00 +0000

I recently did a thorough cleaning of my car. While it was nice to finally have it clutter-free (I hate to admit the thing had been neglected for months :/), it still wasn't smelling as fresh as it could...So I came up with the idea to make my own air freshener with essential oils since they are way better for you than the artificial chemicals used in the store-bought car fresheners. I wanted something with some personality, so I decided on this patchwork kitty :) This project is a good way to use up any felt and fabric scraps you have laying around. It also makes a great gift, I made one for my hubby and mom as well. Each cat takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Skill level: Intermediate- must know basic hand-stitching, however, you can find tutorials on youtube for all of the stitches mentioned.

You will need:

about a 6" piece of felt in the color of your choice
small scrap of fabric of your choice
regular sized needle and thread
long needle with large eye
black embroidery floss
chalk
scissors
your favorite essential oil(s)
hemp cord or yarn for hanging

How to:

1. Use your chalk to sketch a cat outline on your felt. I made mine about 4" tall. Cut it out and use it to cut out a second, identical piece out of the same felt.

2. Cut out small triangles to fit in the ears and a belly out of your fabric. Start sewing them on one of the cat-shaped pieces, on the opposite side of the chalk marks. I used an overcast stitch for the belly and a straight stitch for the ears.

3. Using 4 strands of the black embroidery floss, create a sleepy face. I did three stitches in a curved shape for the eyelids, three or four eyelashes, three stitches in the shape of a triangle for the nose, one vertical stitch under the nose and two slightly slanted horizontal stitches, one on either side of the vertical stitch for the mouth. Then I did three stitches for the whiskers on the side of the face, or you could do french knots instead.

4. Once you've finished the face, it's time to stitch the two cats together. This will hide the messy stitches on the back and make for a sturdier cat. I again used the overcast stitch for this.

5. Using your large needle, thread the hemp cord or yarn through the top of the cat's head and make it into a loop to hang.

6. The last step is to add your essential oil. I used Young Living's Thieves oil and applied 3-4 drops on the fabric part of the belly, but it can be put anywhere on the cat. It will look wet at first, but once it dries there was no spot where the oil was placed. Enjoy your new air freshener!

Shop Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 22:15:00 +0000

These pieces were added to the shop recently:

Koala Crate Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 15:30:00 +0000

Last month we signed up for the Koala Crate. It is a subscription box for 3-4 year olds. It includes all the materials needed for three hands-on projects. Every month is a different theme, this crate was colors.

This is everything that came in the box:

jumbo crayons
watercolors
banner and cord
soft color dice
color sheets
coloring flashcards
instruction booklet
Imagine magazine (partner with Highlights)

First we played the "color scavenger hunt" where your child rolls the dice, then finds the color sheet to match the color rolled, then searches for an item in the house of that color and places it on top of the color sheet. Little A loved it!

Next, we decorated our banner triangles with crayons and watercolors...

Then we experimented mixing colors by holding two of the color sheets up to the light to see what color is made.

Then we used the watercolors again to paint the flashcards.

I loved that the magazine was reminiscent of Highlights magazine, because I used to read that as a child :) Little A spent quite some time paging through it, we have yet to finish all the activities inside.

Bottom Line: I definitely recommend this subscription. I felt that the materials are high quality and it is a great hands-on learning tool. We love getting surprises in the mail and the Koala Crate doesn't disappoint! You can find a coupon for your first box here. This company also has subscription boxes for older children as well, so be sure to check them out!

Have you ever tried a children's subscription box? What did you think?

What I Wore // Among the Wildflowers

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 14:00:00 +0000

The wildflowers are in full bloom where we live...it was lovely seeing them and all the bees buzzing around them on our family nature walk the other day.

outfit details:

tee and sweater- Urban Outfitters

jeans- Gap

mocassins- Minnetonka via Amazon

crystal necklace- Belle Hibou

earrings- Modcloth

sunnies- Urban Outfitters

Fab Etsy Finds

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:38:00 +0000

We've been having computer issues for the past week or so and I haven't been able to blog, but hopefully they're resolved now :) Here are some of my favorite finds from Etsy lately:

House shaped glass terrarium from boxwoodtree

Library Book Necklace from PegandAwl

Arctic fox figurines from Barruntando

Simon & Garfunkel inspired kitchen art print from TheIndoorType

Snowy Mountain Necklaces from shlomitofir

Ceramic Face Bowl from MarinskiHandmades