Getting 'er done!

Yesterday was a great day, making progress on my plan. I had a meeting with a local contractor to see what he had to say about the renos i'd like to do on the Princeton house. Good news.. it's within my budget and totally do-able. 
Just need to figure out that little thorn in my side... how to get a staircase in without taking up the entire house! Ideas welcome... and if anyone has any idea if spiral staircases are an option within the building code in BC.. lemme know!


The sun finally came out for a bit today and i got to finish painting the lanterns i started on a week ago.
My hubby is coming up for the weekend, so i decided it was time to do a little baking. Best part of baking is all the "waiting" time, for rising and such... so actually a great sunny day activity!
Made homemade pizza:

this one's for Midnite... i ate mine already:)

The recipe is from Peter Reinhart's Artisian Breads Every Day. It's a fantastic book. Best bread book ever. Great recipes that ALWAYS work. And this is coming from someone who's not a baker!


I'm not going to write out the recipe here.. if you want it, message me, or better.. go to your local independent book seller and buy your own copy. You will not regret it!
(Barbara Joe's Books to Cook in Vancouver is where i picked my copy up)


I will tho, share with you my recipe for homemade pizza sauce.. yummy!

PIZZA SAUCE

1 CAN CRUSHED TOMATOES

4-5 CLOVES OF GARLIC

BUNCH OF FRESH BASIL

BUNCH OF FRESH OREGANO

LITTLE SALT

LITTLE PEPPER

*dump your can of tomatoes into a bowl, add a little water to thin it out if it's very thick 

(pizza sauce should be on the thin side, so that it heats very quickly and cooks a little while the pizza does)

*rinse your fresh herbs and start chopping them up

*Now... i peel and smash my garlic and dump it in with my somewhat minced  herbs....

then Chop chop chop.. mince all that delicious garlic and herbs up...

*Dump herbs into the sauce 

*Add some salt  and pepper, mix it all up and leave on the counter to allow the flavours to meld..

No cooking! yay:)

So since i was on a roll with the morning pizza dough adventure, i figured i'd take things just a little further and whipped up a batch of these babies... for tomorrow's breakfast!

I will take better pictures in the future.. hadn't thought of blogging it at the time... newbie mistake!

xo

Jen

Alright.. here we go...

Princeton 2011

OK, so its time to get down to business. The reason i started this blog is because i have plans to move to Mexico in the next two years. I guess writing about it is an attempt to hold myself accountable to that dream..
So two years might seem like a long time, but we all know how time flies!
There's lots to do, most importantly, getting my house in order to make it more sellable in the event that i need to put it up for sale.
So.. a little about the house. 
In february of 2007 after working copious amounts of over time, i was told to take y banked holiday... so  i was on a month off from work, the owner of a new little lab/ rotty pup and a lot of time of my hands.
It was a sunny warm February Sunday and my hubby and i decided to take a drive to the country and run the dog...
We headed east, the Harrison hot springs... and once in the car, we realized there was no rush to go home. SO after a stop at the lake, we just decided to keep going... A few hours later we found ourselves in Princeton BC, just as night was falling.
We grabbed a hotel room, a bit to eat and went for a little walk.
When Midnite and i decided to move in together, we thought about renting a new place, fresh start and all, but with two kids and the need of a three bedroom in Vancouver, we realized that the place that we lived in was going to be our most affordable option.  We decided we'd be better off staying put and saving our money to buy something we really loved.


So back to the fateful day in February. We are in Princeton,  enjoying a stroll through the small town and i remember that i had seen a little country home online for sale in town.... so i mention it to Midnite.
We walk around a bit, figuring we might just end up strolling by it (not a big town). We don't, head back to the hotel and hit the sack.


The next morning, we get up, dressed, checked out and head for the coffee shop. As i am adding the cream to my strong americano, i look up at the bulletin board overhead and lo and behold... THERE IT IS! an ad for the very house i had seen online!
Long story short, we looked at the house and two weeks later found ourselves in the bank office signing mortgage papers!

house princeton 2008

We've had some great times in this house, gardening, fishing and most importantly our 2009 wedding.


It's  beautiful house, an old miner's cabin, one of the oldest in the neighbourhood. But it's small. really really small.
Just before the wedding, Midnite made a bedroom in the attic, so that added a little space. But really it's a studio at this point, not even a real one bedroom. The bathroom is small, with a shower only and the house is split into two rooms. Kitchen and living. The center wall tho, divides the space in such  a way that the amazing wood burning stove doesn't offer enough heat to the kitchen area. It's needs a reno is what I'm saying.. so that's the project.
How do you get a staircase into a 350 square foot space! 
off to the Internet i go for design ideas... comments and idea welcome!
xo

An end.. and a beginning.

Well, it's been nearly a year since my mom passed away.
It's line that i've seen before, and will see again i'm sure as our parents grow older and pass on.
I think death of a parent has a different meaning for everyone, but it has a deep effect on each of us. For those who've lost a parent, you know what i mean. For those who haven't. Brace yourselves.
It's ruff.
No matter what your relationship was like with you parents, they have a deep place in our lives, good or bad.
So for me one year later, it's a ending and a beginning.
It's the end of a horrible battle with her partner, and the beginning of a true healing period for me.
It's freedom, in a sense. Freedom from hurt and fear.  A chance to begin anew, with hope and love for her, despite it all.

They say you never really get over the loss of a loved one. I think that's true. There is always a space there, that remains forever empty... it cannot be filled with something else, you can build up around it, but I don't think it can be replaced with something or someone else.
What do you think?

Baby season....

It's baby season!! Look at these two little skunks! They look like slippers!


I love this time of year up here at our country house in Princeton, BC. 
It's such a nice little home to come back to after a drive around the Okanagan. These two little babes were snapped in Cawston.
Midnite saw a baby bear on his way up Friday night and last weekend, on our nightly frog hunt we came across a tiny little wolf pup. No shit.
Best.

Colonial Dream Posada Tamarindo!

This house is amazing and turn key.... what do you think?

Colonial Dream Posada Tamarindo!: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

I think I'm in love...

Merida, Mexico. You’ve bitten me and you will not let go....

Right now we live in one of the MOST expensive cities in the world. Vancouver is a beautiful place, but everything is so over priced! If only i’d bought that apartment ten years ago!

Tht said, there is a way to move to my new favorite place... I am going to sell everything. Seriously, everything. 

Here’s the plan, sell all our stuff and use the money to buy new stuff. For real. Sell the couch, use the money to buy a new couch. Sell the coffee pot, that dough goes into a new coffee pot. It’s an experiment. Follow me on the sell off journey.

Oh my god, now i blog!

Welcome to my blog. To be honest, i never thought this would happen.. but alas, here i am.

Let me tell you the catalyst for this little progect.

I’m Jen and my husband is Vancouver’s Prince of Pop 12 Midnite.

After nearly 12 years with Canada’s public broadcaster, i decided i’d had enough of the news business. I quit my job and decided that I would take the time to figure out what i actually wanted to do with my life.  Now after nearly 6 months of not working, and a quick trip to Mexico, I think i’ve got it figure.

WE ARE MOVING!

Sounds easy enough right? Move to mexico, start a business... not so hard?

Well, maybe for some, but if you have a husband like mine, with two teenaged children and a ton of stuff.... it’s not as easy as you may think.

Stay tuned!