hints that you may not be baking enough.

{This is the record of a real conversation}

Setting: I was icing cupcakes for a party & having a hard time with my new decorating kit.
Mat is in earshot.

****************

Me: "*grumble* *grumble* *mutter* *curse* *grumble*"

Mat: "Is something wrong?"

Me: "Yes! I only had a little icing left in the can & I needed it to finish off the last few cupcakes & I just dropped half of it all over my hand and arm."

Mat: "Can I lick you?

Me: "..."


{I know its been a while since I've baked but I didn't think it was this bad!}

I did bake this weekend, my tried & true Blueberry Muffins - they had to be blueberry especially since we just finished picking another 12lbs. Now bringing our blueberry weight to well over 100lbs.

Since it was also a quiet weekend {for the first time since February!} I did some scraping as well:

This weekend we have a wedding in Toronto that we are doing the photos for! I am so excited! Ryan & Rachel are such fun, silly people - its going to be a great day!

But I must send an early shout out to Luke who's birthday we will miss.
Hope its a good one buddy!

the best things...

There are a lot of great things about living in the country.

The long drives down unfamiliar country roads on weekends.


Seeing nothing but lush greenery, fields almost ready for harvest {especially corn!}

Cows - complete with horns.

But the best of all in my opinion is this:

Blueberries ready to be picked & eaten right off the bush.

the {not-so} jazz festival

What a crazy fun weekend!
I know its been three days since the weekend, but it has taken me this long to recover & gather my thoughts {& photos} of all of it.

& I'm going to tell you all about it in a non-chronological/ non-structured order.

Saturday {the mother-day of the weekend} I forced my adorable husband out of bed at what SHOULD have been a respectable time to get outta bed, but this particular morning, it was really a cruel cruel hour & a mean thing to do {more on this later}.

We headed out to Brambleberry Farms {aka my personal little paradise} We picked blueberries for a few hours - we lugged 39 lbs of those awesome little blueberries home with us. Then we had an awesome BBQ dinner with Adam, Andrea, Cameron & Cory. While the boys went fishing down at The Point, Andrea & I stayed at the house & indulged in all that girly talk. It was great - she is such an awesome person. You should all agree.

Sunday was church & the then another round of blueberry picking. Only 18 lbs this time though {but no worries, we'll be picking more this coming weekend! & no, I am not crazy.}

I don't really know what else we did that day other than go for a walk {where we were laid siege to by mosquito's} & waste ourselves away in front of the laptop watching MASH. So nice.

Back tracking the story, all the way to Friday: After work Mat & I took off to Toronto for the Beaches Jazz Festival. It's been a tradition between Mat & his friend Albert for the past three years. I have only been privy to it for the past two. It's a lot of fun, but I mostly just went for the kettle corn {I wish Albert never introduced me to that stuff, it's so addicting!}

The traditional stroll along the Beaches on the way to the StreetFest. Can you see the CN Tower in the distance there?

Someone who was rich enough to actually buy waterfront property in Toronto had this bizarre mirror fence set up. I had to get a picture...cool eh?

The StreetFest. See the two little kids in the bottom left getting ice cream!? Isn't that just SO cute!?

The 2nd {& best} band we saw all night. They weren't jazz, they were that salsa/Mexican music that I love. The accordion player was just getting right into it too. I never knew someone could rock out on an accordion, but this man proved me wrong. But {as was the theme of the night} 'Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD do it'

There were a lot of 'big band' bands this year. These ones were probably the most well dressed. Though the drummer (not pictured here) looked like he belonged in the mafia.

We had a short stop for some dinner in a park. This was probably the highlight of the whole night for me {next to the accordion player} This little squirrel got SO close to us, {no zoom required!} apparently he REALLY likes Subway bread.

Ahh, Toronto hospitality. Something I don't miss. {For those with bad eyes, the sign reads: "DON'T EVEN THINK OF PARKING HERE!"}

I'm always interested to see how the little shops and stores a long Queen street try to incoroporate a jazz theme into their window displays. The toy store had stuff animals on a mini drum kit & other stuffeds playing saxophones. But this dress was by far the best.

All in all it was a good night. Not enough jazz, & definitely not enough kettle corn vendors. Around 11pm we broke away from the bustling crowds & made our way to the Beaches again {they are so beautiful in the nighttime} We then proceeded to get horribly lost in downtown Toronto for probably close to an hour. {Who knew Gerrard just suddenly stopped being Gerrard & turned into a tiny little alleyway side street!?} When Albert finally got us back to our car, Mat had to change a busted light bulb {something he had never done before} Needless to say we didn't get out of the city until well after midnight, & finally pulled in to home around 2:30am. {THIS is why it was so cruel to walk Mat up at 9:30am...but he did it for me, & blueberries!}

A fun & busy weekend. This weekend is Adam's birthday {woot!}, a funeral, a bonfire party & more blueberry picking. I can't wait! {well, maybe I can for the funeral}

this weekend.

This weekend Mat and I celebrated our 4th anniversary.
Every year he buys me lilies {and every year I love them} This year I was hinting at yellow. They just looked so fresh and vibrant. He out two of them in bright blue planters (above) and one in a turquoise pot we got at a yard sale for a quarter. It makes me happy. Last night I was actually looking at them - thinking about how beautiful they are and it made me think of how beautiful God made this earth. There are so many precious and pretty things, lilies are just one of many. Berries are another.

For our anniversary we have pretty much have gone berry picking every year. This year we had to celebrate just a little early because next weekend we have Adam and Andrea's wedding! {sooo excited!!} It was really hard to find a farm that was letting people pick their own. We thought we had found one, so we drove all the way out to Rendersville in the pouring rain on Saturday and we got shot down at the door. {sooo disappointing}

It wasn't all a loss though. We stopped at an antique shop on the way home and I found some great 4 pane windows that have that aged look to them. {I have been looking for one for years, but they were always too expensive} The ones we spotted in this store were under $20! So when we move {hopefully this week} i'll be able to find a spot for it in our new house and go back and buy one.

Anyway, back to my berry story.
Sunday after church we thought we'd swing by a popular country market to at lease pick up some 'picked' berries to take home. {I was pretty bummed out} The season hasn't been so good in this area and with working 9-5 I thought I was going to miss out on the picking all together. But as we drove up to the market we saw people picking out in the fields! {I was literally beaming with excitment} We picked from 1pm until about 4pm. We now how a little over 50 lbs of strawberries to take us through the winter. The anniversary tradiation remains.

You little berries have NO idea how happy you are going to make me.

Mat made me this beautiful frame. I love the old barn board look and have drooled over picture frames in the store before that have that classic aged look. I am still amazed that he made this. The photo inside is one I took last weekend at Colleen's farm. When I look at it I think of farm fresh eggs in the morning (because that's what we were doing when I took this pic) So I am hoping to add this to our kitchen decor, which is kind of a diner theme - I think it'll fit in nicely.

Speaking of handmade - I have not forgotten my promise about taking pics of the projects I have on the go. I am working on that post as I write this one. I still have a few more pics to take but soon enough my lovelies. :)