Another Christmas

December started off with a few snowfalls, making it a white christmas which always makes you get into the holiday spirt.

Once again, we trekked through Horton's Tree Farm to find the perfect tree and chop it down. I think we managed to do okay again this year.

The Christmas eve gift was a lot of fun, the Kinect for the XBox. It was quite funny trying out the games and also quite exhausting. Maybe it will get those kids around the world off the couches for a few hours.

I got my new bookcase for all my cookbooks, all nice and organized for the new year. I think I am going to try to make one new recipe out of any book each week and I will blog about it. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a happy new year! Here's to a great 2011! Another new decade, I swear it was just 2000.

Tis the Season

Well winter has arrived this last week and they say there is more of the white stuff on the way. I finally managed to dig out the decorations and decorate the house.

Now I must finish the shopping and start the baking.

Toronto's One of A Kind Christmas Show & Sale

Toronto's One of A Kind sale and show is over for another year. I sold 112 bags this year compared to 68 in 2009. The 14 hour days were totally exhausting but also exhilerating when people stopped by to shop and admire the bags. Here are a few pics of my booth.

It's that time again. I will be at the One of a Kind Show for the last six days from November 30th thru to Dec 5th. Please come by and visit me at Booth# P33. I have lots of great new winter bags. Hope to see you there.

The Creative Mind

The Creative Mind is at work again. My sewing studio begins like this and when the creative mind starts to fire up, it ends like this!

I have been designing like a mad woman. I am in shows every weekend until the One of A Kind.

Here are some new bouquet bags.

I am in the Toronto One of A Kind Christmas sale again this year. I am in the last 6 days of the show, from Nov. 30th to Dec. 5th at Booth# P33B. If you plan on attending you can use the discount code above to get $3 off your ticket. I also have a few complimentary tickets, please contact me if you are interested in one. First come, first serve. Hope to see you there.

Last night, my neighbourhood gal pals went downtown to see the play Love, Loss and What I Wore. We were all a little disappointed in the play. It was just okay, no huge laughter like we were expecting it to be. However, we did have an excellent dinner at Fire on the East Side, on Gloucster Street. We had many laughs there and some terrific food. Who doesn't love a girls night out!

Great Fabric Finds

Fabric stores are a bit like a candy store for me. When I start looking around, I want to buy them all. Then I will hunt around, looking for something unusual and when I come across the perfect one, it's pure excitement. I envision which bags would look good in that particular fabric and then I scoop it up. I just found these two fabrics and thought they were beautiful. The top clutch is made from a heavy sequined suiting, very elegant.

This clutch is made from a black and silver metallic fabric, and it is absolutely stunning. It would look fabulous with a little black dress or a pair of dark jeans and a black sweater. It's going to be hard to give this one up.

I made wristlets in both the fabrics as well as the opposite side of the black and silver fabric. These wristlets are perfect for all those holiday parties.

Great Reads

I love my Sony Reader. If you are thinking of getting a digital reader, it is a great idea. It is compact so you can bring it anywhere, load as many books on it as you can. If you go away for a week, the battery lasts for about that time. I have read some great books this summer:

1. Any Known Blood
2. The Art of Racing in the Rain
3. The Book Thief
4. The Forgotten Garden
5. The Help
6. One Day
7. The Secret of Rain and Lightning
8. The Secret Daughter

These are all good reads. It is so easy downloading a book. As soon as I am done one, I just plug it into my computer and get another. The websites all have readers comments on the books and it really helps in picking a new one. A great Christmas gift idea!

Steven and Chris Show

My friend and I went to a taping of the Steven and Chris show this past week. The energy in the audience was truly energizing. We both had a lot of fun. Steven and Chris are both very entertaining. It was interesting to see what goes into the production of an hour long talk show.

There were segments on home decor, cooking, health and fashion that day. The program we saw will air on Tuesday Oct. 5th. Hopefully there are no bad closeups!

Fall Cooking

I watched my son's football game today. It was chilly sitting out in the damp, sunless day. I came home and tried a new recipe from Donna Hay's Seasons cookbook, out of the Autumn section. I made the Steak, Onion and Red wine pie. It was delicious.

Despite it took me a few hours to make, I would definitely make it again.

New Bags

The Sweat shop is in full production. I have been making clutches with a lot of fall's hot colours, purple, greys and some jewel tones. I have to supply my store in King this week and get to work on my production for the One of A Kind and another show in October.

These patchwork bags have turned out great. I have made a few of them using a variety of upholstery remnants in different colour combinations. Although, they do take a bit more time to do.

Apple Time

A friend and I headed out to the apple farm this past week. We visited Pine Orchards in King Township, a beautiful orchard with a small restaurant and store. We each picked a bag of Macintosh apples.

The apples this year are huge in comparison to the last couple years. They are delicious. Time to make some apple pie!

September is here and we must bid farewell to the joys of summer. Lets hope the fall and winter are as nice as last year's! I am back to work in the sweat shop, creating my fall and winter bags for the One of A Kind Show. I am in the last six days of the show, from November 30th until December 6th.

I have a lot of great fall/winter fabrics. I will preview a few bags here soon.

We just returned from Varadero, Cuba. We stayed at the Iberostar Varadero, which was wonderful. The rooms, the facilities and the food were all good. The hotel grounds were immaculate. The gardeners always working hard.

All the vegetation was very beautiful and some very unique.

The beach was exquisite. You could walk for miles and the water was crystal clear, turquoise and so warm.

You could literally soak in the ocean all day. We floated around with dozens of other tourists, many from Europe. I have never seen so many people in the water.

The people of Cuba are friendly and work extremely hard for next to nothing. The beach vendors would push there carts all the way to the beach and set up for the day, never bothering you.


We took a day trip in Havana. There is the new Havana which you can see above which consists of many buildings that were built before the Revolution in 1951. New Havana is named Las Vegas, because it consisted of casinos and hotels mainly built by the mob. There is barely anything new in New Havana.

Old Havana is full of beautiful, old buildings, some dating back to the 15th century. Unfortunately, many buildings are in ruin. There are old american cars every where, it is like a time warp back to the 50's. There are 3 million in Havana, probably even more. There is very little for the Cubans to buy and transportation around is very limited. People are walking everywhere. There is so much history in this city, it is a must see for anyone venturing to Cuba.

This purple car was in great condition, the majority of cars were not. Most Cuban`s can not afford a car.

When we went to Cuba, we brought with us some things to leave with the people since it is so hard to get things. We brought some baseball gloves. At the bus, four boys were asking people for things, so we took out the gloves and they went crazy. I gave a brand new small glove to this little boy, he was so happy. Giving me a big hug and kiss. We take so much for granted. If you ever plan a trip to Cuba, you must bring lots of things to leave with the people.

This is one of the goverment buildings in Revolution Square. It has the famous sculpture of Che Guevaro, on the front of it.

This is the cinema in Havana, I think the only one around.

This is what most of the city dwelling looks like in Old Havana. When we drove through new Havana which had homes, some old and some built in the 40's & 50's when the American's were there, but many are falling apart too.

Muskoka Summer Days. Went up to The Lake of Bays for a night to visit family who were staying at a lodge.

It was a fun time by all. There is nothing like Muskoka.

Time Sure flies! We celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary today. We went down to the old stomping grounds for dinner at North 44, it was fabulous. It was the same type of weather although we did have a sunny day, it was a hot one like today. I remember how heavy that bouquet was, but it was gorgeous.

I just finished a great book. I could not put it down once I was into it, I even stayed up until 2am finishing it. The main characters are very engaging and the story takes place over three different time periods. If you want a good summer read, pick up the forgotten garden.

The world's best turkey burgers! Someone wanted this recipe so I am posting it here:

3 green onions sliced
2 stalks celery finely chopped
1 1/2 green apples, finely chopped
splash of canola oil
2lbs ground turkey
ground pepper
1 tsp chiptole tabasco sauce
1/2 lemon juiced, 1tsp grated zest
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tbsp chutney (I use mango)



Saute the onion, celery and apple using the canola oil just until tender. Let cool. Mix the turkey with all the remaining ingredients and then add the apple mixture.




Form into burgers. Refridgerate for at least two hours.

Barbeque on a medium heat for about 7 minutes a side or until meat is cooked through.
Enjoy! These taste so good we have them more than regular burgers. You can make them up ahead of time and just throw them on the grill. Serve them with a bun and some chutney.