Something new is on the way

Big Changes are Coming!

A collection of low carb pancakes that actually taste good

There are times when embracing a low carb way of eating is so very easy peasy. However, there are other times, take today for instance, when it can be absolute torture! Why today, you ask. Well, you see, it's pancake day. That glorious day that I looked forward to as a child when it is perfectly acceptable, no, absolutely necessary to eat pancakes for dinner. When I was  younger, my mom would put foil wrapped coins into the batter; however, now that I'm an adult deep in the throws of low card eating - the prize is simply getting to eat pancakes at all.

So here are a few delicious, low carb pancakes recipes for all of your Atkins, Paleo, Keto, South Beach, low carb eaters to enjoy (and modify to suit your dietary preferences).

Dirty Blondie Pancake Stack from RuledMe via I Breath I'm Hungry - Hello deliciousness! What's not to love about a stack of brownie batter and maple pecan pancakes? Seriously - get into my mouth now!

Light and Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes from All Day I Dream about Food 

Cream Cheese Pancakes from I breathe I'm Hungry - These little breakfast gems allow you to enjoy pancake Tuesday, even if you aren't eating nut or coconut flours. 

Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes from Running to the Kitchen - If you aren't eating honey, you can easily substitute with your sweetener of choice

There are many more low carb pancake recipes to be found online. This is just a sample of some of my favorites. Enjoy. Happy Pancake day!

An apple of an idea

Mmm, all of these tasty new hard ciders coming onto the market make me want to host a cider tasting party this fall. Actually, it's the perfect way to celebrate with drinkers and non-drinkers alike, since including a few selections of both hard and non-alcoholic cider is easy as apple pie!

Vintage pyrex in Toronto (well east of Toronto, really)

Just in case you'd thought that this blog had turned into an endless Weight Watchers meeting for one, you'll be pleased to know that I come baring some fabulous "non-chubby girl related" news ...if you're a collector of vintage Pyrex and or milk glass. My darlings, something wonderful has happened in the city of Pickering. Roadshow Antiques has opened up a brand new location in the southern wing of the Pickering Flea market. They're still just getting situated, but among all of the lovely antique furniture, jewelry and tea cups you will find two fabulous little stalls! I kid you not it was as if I could hear angels singing when I walked by. These shops are adorable little nuggets of retro goodness.

The first shop is straight back from the main doors and there you will find shelves filled with vintage Pyrex - from Fridgie Minis to Cinderella bowl to gorgeous lidded casserole dishes. Lots of different patterns and colors. However, if you're not just into vintage Pyrex, but into all things vintage you will positively swoon over the vintage luggage, a cute kitchenette set and a sweet little pink typewriter that just might not be there past this weekend if I have anything to say about it.

Here's another shot of this shop

One aisle to the left of this first shop is another shop that I like secretly call "The money remover" since it is filled with my first love (of the collectibles world), milk glass! Not just thrift store bud vases, but the good stuff. We're talking goblets, large vases, candy dishes, etc. All except my unicorn, the Fenton Hobnail cake stand (*sigh*, someday). There are also some lovely melamine dishes and a chrome canister set that  would be delish in a retro themed kitchen.

Here's a peek

So if you love vintage Prex, milk glass or other delightfully kitschy kitchen bits and you're in driving distance of Pickering, Ontario, stop in to Roadshow antiques. Personally, I suggest going during the week when the flea market side is closed and parking lot is empty. Unless you happen to enjoy flea markets. If you like flea markets, then by all means go on the weekend and make a day of it.

Roadshow Antiques - Pickering

1400 Squires Beach Road, 

Pickering, Ontario 

Visit them on Facebook and tell them Domestinista sent you!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roadshow-Antiques-Pickering

If you know of a shop that sells vintage collectibles in Ontario, please let me know and I would be happy to snap some pictures and post a review. I'm looking to map out all of the best places for milk glass, vintage canister sets, melamine dishware and vintage Pyrex in Toronto and the surrounding areas.

A Sweet, Dreamy lavender 1st Birthday Party - part 1

 I confess, I have been a very bad blogger. However, in my defense I have been extremely busy planning and designing my daughter's 1st birthday party. This is probably the one and only birthday where you can get away with doing something that you really love, as opposed to building an entire theme around the latest fad toy, cartoon or totally hot boy band. So, I admit, I did this sweet, dreamy, lavender 1st birthday party for me.


The theme for our lovely lavender birthday party was extremely subtle, and based entirely around something that would be sentimental to my daughter, my husband and me - the two songs I've been singing to her from the day she was born - Baby Mine from Dumbo, and La la loo from Lady and the Tramp. I used a symbol from each song - a heart from Baby Mine and a star from La la loo to build the invitation and decorations, and then just splashed the whole theme with soft shades of lavender, mauve, and white.







Since the theme was based on songs that put my baby to sleep, I wanted everything to be dreamy, soft and floaty. To me, that meant baby's breath and soft colors...

 Plenty of personal touches

  


Age progression banner

 Personalized chocolates

"Grow Like Jo" mini seed packet favors containing lavender and camomile seeds










 Personalized water bottles, cup stickers, and straw flags









Cutlery bands











 and...

Yards and yards of tulle

Tulle on the cake

Tulle peeking out from the Rice Krispie pops

    Tulle on the door 

We also did a tulle table skirt on the sweet table and (my personal favorite), my little girl's super poofy tutu!

It was a wonderful day, and now that it's over, and with Spring around the corner, I'll get back to sharing my gardening experiments and never-ending quests for milk glass.

Credits

Tulle - RibbonsTec

Straws -  KrazyLady Supplies

Baker's Twine - CustomCotton Etc. 

James Braid Photography - Photography

Custom Printables - SimplySoirees

Confessions of a party momma

As I sit here next to a stack of 1st birthday invitations that have been pocket-foldered, and festooned with ribbons and floral adornments, with a custom-made baby tutu on my dining room table, a half-completed tulle table skirt hanging from my banister and scads of custom-created party stationery in my computer, I may finally be ready to admit that I've gone a tad over-the-top with my daughter's 1st birthday party. And you know what? I'm ok with it!

Is it motivation season yet?

Two of my lovely ladies

Last year my gardens were a disaster. Not kind of bad, not slightly sub par, but a complete disaster. So sue me, I'd just had a baby and kneeling in the dirt was the last thing on my mind. This year I'm hoping to redeem myself...if I can just find the motivation. Looking at photos of my hydrangeas is slightly helpful; although caring for "the ladies" isn't the problem. My tangled wildflower (now mostly weeds) garden is, along with my veggie garden, which was no more than the domain of several rogue cherry tomato plants (weeds all on their own if you ask me).

Perhaps I'll turn to Pinterest and  photos of bountiful square foot gardens for motivation...assuming my attention isn't stolen by photos of luscious chocolate dessert and opulent tablescapes.

A lovely parting gift

Today is the day! I'm moving all of the party talk over to my little side venture's very own blog - PartyOn!
And with Valentine's Day lurking just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a lovely parting gift. So check us out at http://affordablepartyplans.blogspot.ca/ and get a free printable Valentine's Day Invitation!

Affordable DIY party planning

SimplySoirees is taking on a life all of its own. So, it's time to give it its own platform. I'm starting a brand new blog that puts the focus squarely on affordable DIY party planning and everything it entails. Get ready to PartyOn! Coming soon.

Hosting a hot sauce tasting party

My husband is a HUGE chili head (this isn't just a reference to his red hair, I promise), and there would be no better way to celebrate his birthday than with tongue burning endorphin rush. So I took what I already know about cookie exchange parties and applied it to hot sauce to create an interactive hot sauce tasting party! So we not only have a hot sauce tasting, but a bit of a competition for guests to get creative about the type of hot sauce that they bring to the party.

Inviting guests to your hot sauce tasting

Not everyone is into spicy food, in fact some people downright hate it, so if you're planning a hot sauce tasting, make sure your invitation tells people exactly what they're in for! That's not to say that the faint of tongue aren't welcome, especially if you're celebrating a milestone birthday. Just be sure to have a few mild options on hand.

When inviting guests, instead of gifts for the birthday boy or girl, ask them to bring a bottle of hot sauce (you may wish to specify craft sauces -in other words, no Tabasco, Frank's, or anything most people have already tried). If they're stuck for ideas, you can always steer them toward one of the dozen websites that specialize in selling interesting hot sauces. Let them know that you will be giving awards for things like the best tasting sauce, the hottest sauce, and most unusual sauce. That's sure to help get their creative juices flowing.

Setting up

On the day of the hot sauce tasting party, set up a table where guests will sample the sauces. You'll want to add tiny bowls, ramekins or disposable shot glasses into which you will decant some of each sauce for sampling. Also, be sure to place dishes of saltine crackers or tortilla chips on the table that guests may use to taste each sauce. If you wish, you can separate sections by Hot, Hotter, and Hottest.

As guests sample, have them take note of each sauce and then vote their favorites. In addition to awarding the best sauces, you might also enjoying giving awards to guests that are best able to handle the heat as well as to those who can't take it at all!

In my next post, I'll talk about turning your tasting into a full blown hot sauce tasting party! Stay tuned.

Return of the roller skating birthday party!

I grew up in California, in the 80's, which means that when it comes to birthday parties, the roller skating birthday party was the best thing ever! Honestly, about 50% of my birthday parties took place at the skating rink. LOVED!

So when I started researching party trends for my shop's new batch of birthday cards, I was completely stoked to see that the roller skating birthday party is on its way back! It seems that that ladies are definitely leading this trend, and not just little girls! Teens and 20-30 somethings have been behind a return of roller derby. Talk about girl power!

Roller Derby girls were definitely my inspiration for the new 

Sk8tr Grrlz roller skating birthday party invitation:

In fact, I love it so much that I'm planning to create a matching printable party pack. Who knows, this could be my 40th birthday theme in a few years...or maybe I'll go with something less likely to land me in emergency.

The #1 tip for planning men's birthday parties

There's no doubt about it, when it comes to adult birthday party themes and party styling, women's birthday parties always come out on top. Chances are it's because the parties are planned for women by women. We know what we're into and plan events accordingly, whether it's a spa theme, shabby chic decor, or the latest book. And if theme ideas are scarce we can always rely on pretty -pretty colors, pretty flowers, pretty designs.

For men however, their parties tend to require purpose. You typically can't just do a citrus-themed party for your guy just because it's pretty.

So we research. Unfortunately, if you've scoured the internet looking for men's birthday party ideas lately you've probably discovered that there are approximately 4 themes to choose from: professional sports, beer/booze, poker, and the now ubiquitous mustache theme. But what happens if your guy isn't into any of those things?
The answer is simple, and my #1 tip for planning men's birthday parties:

Think like the man you're planning the party for

Figure out what your husband/boyfriend/dad/grandpa/etc is into and build a party around that. Practically anything can become a party theme, from mastiffs to mountain biking, muscle cars,  money, and even mustaches. And if you think you won't be able to find things like invitations and party decor to go with that theme, think again. There are invitation designers who can create them for you, many at very affordable prices. So don't be afraid to dream up something that really speaks to your guy.

Gum bottle plus Puffs equals happy baby

I confess, I'm a container horder. Most of the time this just results in a stockpile that eventually goes into the trash. However, sometimes, it really does pay to hold on to some things. A prime example of this is empty gum bottles.

I was at the kitchen table today, trying desperately to have my lunch while my daughter squirmed and protested in her highchair. she had already "enjoyed" her lunch and her toys were oh so yesterday. The bottle of Puffs was still on the table and my husband's empty gum bottle was on the counter, when suddenly I got the idea to drop a handful of Puffs into the gum container. GENIUS! My little girl was entertained for at least 45 minutes (hey, you take what you can). I left the single serve flag on the bottle open, so whenever she tipped the container a certain way a Puff would fall out. She loved it, and I got to enjoy my lunch and my baby's happy smile.

Hosting a holiday wine exchange party

This year you won’t have to break the bank in order to have a successful holiday party, because there’s a new exchange in town! Move over cookies, it’s time to swap wines! The wine exchange is an exciting new party theme that  is perfect for a gathering of non-baking friends, when you want more than just a ladies’ night in, or when there simply isn’t time to bake 6 dozen dulce de leche shortbread cookies. Best of all, a wine exchange is affordable to host, because it’s essentially BYOB. It allows you to concentrate your time, effort and budget on providing elegant, wine-friendly bites. 

With a new baby in the house you can be sure that my entertaining budget is practically minuscule this year, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to take a pass on holiday entertaining. That's why I am sooo in love with the idea of a wine exchange. It's elegant, entertaining and definitely brings a hot, new twist to the old white elephant gift exchange.

There are essentially two parts to a wine exchange party: sampling and swapping 

When inviting guests, ask them to bring two bottles of one favorite wine (be sure that they understand that it has to be two bottles of the same wine) within a specified price range. One bottle is for guests to taste and the other is for swapping white elephant style. Easy as pie, right? All you have to do as a host is provide the food and atmosphere. 

Of course I've already started pinning some ideas for decor and tasty nibbles to serve with the wines. You can find my board here http://pinterest.com/digwriter/holiday-wine-exchange-party/.  I've also created a wine exchange party printable set for my Etsy shop -Simply Soirees by Domestinista. My Winter WinederLand and NEW Sleek and Chic Wine exchange sets includes an invitation, wine signs, party circles, tent cards, a wine label, along with a few other printables, including a detailed how-to sheet.

I can hardly wait to get this party started!

Cookie exchange invitations on the cheap

I won't lie, this will not be my best and brightest year as far as holiday soirees go. While there may be supermoms out there who can plan a fab fete while balancing a 7 month old on one hip, I'm simply not that talented. So we'll be pairing back this year and just going with a cookie exchange, not that it has to be just any cookie exchange.

If there's one thing I love it's making fun paper crafts for my parties, and cookie exchanges are no different. What is different is the fact that I've decided to share this year's theme in my brand new Etsy shop! I know, I know, shameless plug. But as readers of my blog know, the other thing I love is a bargain. so you can be sure that I have my fellow cheapskates in mind. Check it out in my brand new printables store, Simple Soirees!

Vintage Pyrex -Domestinista's dream-come-true!

Now, you all know how much I love milk glass. It's understated and versatile and definitely has a place in pretty much any room in the house. However, it has definitely got some competition in the colorful world of vintage Pyrex!

Hello cute Autumnal vignette (in progress)! I found this lovely Cinderella bowl in the
butterfly Gold pattern at my favorite Antique shop in St. Jacobs over the long weekend. It is in perfect condition. No scrapes or cracks. Positively mint.  Best of all, it's fits my requirements for any collectible piece -it can't just look pretty, it has to be useful as well.

This is my first piece of vintage Pyrex, but definitely not my last. I think something in the Snowflake pattern will be just perfect for Christmas. Looks like I might be making my way back to St. J for some late fall antiquing.

BTW - if anyone has any thoughts on what I should add to that gap between the pitcher and Pyrex bowl, I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Where to find milk glass in Ontario

While I definitely have a favorite shop when it comes to finding milk glass in Ontario, I'm always on the look out for new places to expand my hunt. So I thought I'd start a post here to be updated whenever I make new milk glass discoveries.

A note about party or wedding milk glass

Before I get into the more serious haunts, for those who are searching for milk glass in Ontario as part of  wedding, shower or other party decor your best bet for the vases and planters that seem to be the most sought after party or wedding milk glass pieces is definitely a consignment store like Value Village, Goodwill or the Salvation Army, or on Kijiji. The great think about consignment store milk glass is that it's dirt cheap. You can find a stars and bars patterned vase, like the one seen below at $.99 for a short up to $2.99 for a tall.

The not to great thing about sourcing the consignment shops for your milk glass in Ontario is a) the vases are often quite dirty inside(not that you won't be washing them anyway) and b) it can turn into a scavenger hunt, since you rarely find more than 3 or 4 vases at a shop at one time.

As for Kijiji, this is probably your best bet for wedding decor milk glass, since you can always find a few people selling lots of milk glass vases, most likely after gathering them via consignment store for their own wedding/party. You can get the vases you need, usually in one easy purchase, and without the added expense of USA to Canada shipping that goes with purchases made on Etsy or eBay.

Collectible and decor Milk glass

Market Road Antiques

 Patriot Antiques

Orono Antique Market

I love all three of these antique stores. they all have a great selection of glass and make for a fun weekend of antiquing.

Let them eat ruffle cake!

Ruffle cakes -they're vintage cute, they photograph beautifully and they are absolutely everywhere. Thankfully, they're also very easy to make. I created this strawberries and cream ruffle cake for Lady J's baby dedication reception a few months ago using this ruffle cake tutorial from Duncan Hines.

Domestinista relaunch

Domestinista is on its way back, thanks to a good deal of mat leave and a ferociously renewed interest in all things domestic. It's amazing how inspiring a baby can be.
Stay tuned!

I have a very good excuse for being MIA

My garden has suffered, my blogging has stopped entirely; however, I have been doing a little baking:

 

I'm going to do my best to get back to blogging, but this little bun in my oven has proven to be a mighty tough distraction!