Cuddles

My daughter and I had a long afternoon of playing and for some reason she wasn't able to take a nap (one of the first times in her almost two years of existence). We had our evening routine of playing around the house, having snack, taking a bath (and enjoying bath teatime), dancing while she dried off and settling down with a few books. After her books, she knows it's time to cuddle and turns her body around to hug me and I wrap her blankey around her. She was especially tired today and she just melted into my body like when she was a baby. She didn't want to budge and held onto me so tight.  Unlike when she was an infant, she shows emotions and would pause here and there while we cuddled to turn her head and kiss my neck or cheek so sweetly. 

Yoga and Yogurt

After a long hiatus from a structured yoga studio class, I returned to the same studio where I took my pre-natal yoga class.  It was a very tough yet completely fulfilling class.  The teacher kept telling us to take deep breaths (and I definitely needed the reminders).  She also said to let go of whatever was burdening us and I kept wondering if the class was long enough for me.  My friend was in the class as well and we went back to her place after the class along with another friend for coffee, homemade mini blueberry muffins and yogurt parfaits with her homemade granola. We sat outside in the morning sun and enjoyed our breakfast and conversation.  It was such a fulfilling, relaxing and nourishing morning for both my mind and body.

Watching a Movie

After some ups and downs of the day, I settled down to watch a movie and cuddled with my dog.  This was the only part of my day spent in solitude and it was quiet and uncomplicated.

Foodie Friday

My daughter and I often go to the farmer's market on Fridays, which is much less busy than Saturday and a bit easier to navigate with a stroller.  She loves seeing all the fruits and veg and of course she loves the samples!   The displays these farmers have are just amazing and all the colors of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and fruits are so wonderful.  We got these unique purple peppers, lots of heirloom tomatoes and beautiful Heavenly Bliss white sweet corn.  I can't wait to cook with all these things this weekend. 

Our trip to the market was followed by a visit to my friend's place for coffee and cookies. We sat on her deck and watched my daughter play with her dog, sipped our coffee and talked about many things, including food. She's definitely my foodie friend and we had a great foodie Friday.

Meijer Gardens

I feel very fortunate to live so close to Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.  We have a membership and have definitely used it each year and often visit at least once a week.  In fact, I've enjoyed the gardens three times this week.  On Tuesday, Audrey and I went to play in the Children's garden and listen to the free concert, last night I went to a Brandi Carlisle concert with the girls and today we went with family to walk the gardens and let my daughter play. I absolutely love the Chihuly glass exhibit that is spread throughout the entire gardens and look at the glass sculptures in awe each time we go. I actually grabbed my camera this time to get a few shots of my favorites.  Today was the absolute perfect summer day to be there as well.  It was around 70 degrees and sunny with a breeze. We took in the gorgeous weather, the beautiful sculptures, all the nature surrounding us and had a very fun summer morning that ended with a yummy lunch.

My Reiss Milkpot

I love the shape, the color, the spout, the everything about this little pot.  It has a little sister too...she's green and just as cute.  I found these enamel milkpots in England several years ago and for some reason I chose not to buy them.  I was completely unsuccessful in finding them online so I actually waited to go back to England this past year and get them from my favorite cookshop in Alfriston, England.  I wasn't sure if I would use them very much, but I really do.  I've warmed milk in them for hot chocolate (lots this past winter), made warm sauces and made dreamy chocolate ganache in them.  I've used them for basically anything that is liquid and would need to be poured out as they are so handy with their little spouts.  In fact, I just used it to make tea infused milk for these cupcakes I made today.

Yoga on the Patio

Since I had my baby girl, I haven't taken the time to go to the yoga studio where I enjoyed a pre-natal yoga class that allowed me to stretch my growing body and breath deep focused breaths into my body and my baby's.  Instead, I've done yoga at home with a yoga app on my iPhone. In the winter, I would take some time in the morning to do the routine by the fire while it snowed outside. Now, I've been doing it outside, at least on the nice days.  We've had some great refreshing cool mornings lately and it's nice to step outside (still within reach of the monitor frequency) and breath in some deep breaths of fresh air. It wakes me up more than my coffee or tea and I feel like I'm doing something for me. I'm taking just a few minutes to help center myself so I can take care of everything and everyone else all day. Today I did my yoga on the patio downstairs...a place I feel as if I haven't ever spent enough time the past three years I've lived here.  Several deep breaths, nice long stretches, trying to clear my mind and dive into another day.

Peach Slices

I often make Audrey a mixture of plain yogurt with fresh fruit. Today, she had diced fresh peach in her yogurt. The peaches that my Aunt gave me are perfectly ripe and quite big so instead of saving it and seeing this beautiful peach get brown, I sliced up the rest to enjoy myself.  I put it in this old, chipped yet beautiful green tinted glass dish that was my grandmothers.  And, while Audrey enjoyed her yogurt with peaches, I enjoyed juicy sweet slices of fresh peach for breakfast.

New Focus

I have reason to want to focus on the things I truly savour about my daily life. As simple and routine as our daily lives can be, we need to reflect on the little things that make it wonderful. It may be something I eat, a beautiful sight, a moment I treasure. But, whatever it is, I want to capture it now so I can reflect on them during those times that may not seem so wonderful. I’ve decided to move my baking blog, now named “Kneading My Dream” to http://kneadingmydream.blogspot.com/ to demonstrate my detailed baking trials. Here I want to share my daily treasures with anyone who is interested and primarily show myself what I have to be thankful for, which is a lot.


I remember receiving the book “1,000 Things to be Happy About” as a gift and loved reviewing through the pages and pages of lovely things. I actually saved aside a document filled with the things from that book that truly made me happy. That’s what I see this blog turning into – a place that I journal the things that make me happy. However, it won’t be something someone else wrote, it will be things I experience, see love and savour every day.

While all my baking posts are moved over to “Kneading My Dream,” I have retained a few of my favorites here. They aren’t necessarily the ones I took the best photos of, the most difficult or the fanciest, but the ones that I enjoyed and that a few people commented on.

I do plan to post something every day. I’ll see how good I can keep up with it, but here it goes…