Cinderella Undercover

I am utterly enchanted by this dazzling peacock necklace that has enough sass for an army of flappers.



Handcrafted in Ottawa, Canada by Andrea, this chic necklace features a unique combination of cool semi-precious stones and dazzling hot Swarovski crystals. Antique gold balls join the unique combination of stones in this fierce one-of-a kind find.



Everybody knows that no peacock-themed necklace is complete without bona fide peacock feathers and this necklace doesn’t disappoint: two gorgeous feathers dangle playfully from golden beads, just begging to be touched.



I have been known to pair this opulent peacock necklace with a glam little black dress (and a sweet gin and tonic) but it looks equally gorgeous with a navy blue tunic, skinny jeans and gold flats.



...um, was that decanter full when I started the photo shoot? Quick, somebody call for more Bombay Sapphire!!

Labels: Gorgeous Things Undercover

Lindsay and Sean are expecting their baby boy, their little Work In Progress, any day now.

In June, I and a cross section of their friends threw them a baby shower to welcome little WIP (or "Baby Adonis" as he is also affectionately known).

The five of us decided that the baby shower should be co-ed because it takes two, baby, and it made for a really fun and relaxed party.

We weren't big on traditional baby shower games but we came up with a game that was fun to watch and hopefully fun to play! Lindsay and Sean love good food so we enlisted a fellow foodie to whip up some delicious meals, then puree them into baby food. There were 5 meals: sushi, vegetarian pizza, pork chops and applesauce with potatoes and two desserts -- a chocolatey one and a caramelly one. Lindsay and Sean squared off against each other, tasting each glob of gourmet mush and wrote down what they thought they were eating. The winner won a gift certificate entitling them to 24 hours of freedom from diaper duty. Way to go, Lindsay!

I volunteered to make cupcakes for the shower and nope, I'm not sick of them yet! My challenge was to make at least one flavour that was gluten-free. I choose vanilla after finding a wonderful recipe here (scroll down to #116).



For quick reference, the recipe is pasted below. It is absolutely delicious and I'm glad to say that our gluten-free guest really enjoyed them!

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes
From The Food Philosopher

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1¼ cups brown rice flour mix (found at Bulk Barn)
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (not actually a gum but a powder...you can buy it at Bulk Barn)
½ cup canola oil
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place cupcake baking liners in 12–cupcake baking pan.
Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed.
Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oil, milk and vanilla; beat at medium speed for 1 minute.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Place in center of oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until center springs back to touch and cake is very lightly browned.
Cool on rack for 5 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from pans onto rack and cool completely before icing.
Top with your favorite icing.

The other cupcakes were chocolate and lemon. Remember the recipes from my cupcake post? The chocolate and lemon cupcakes had blue icing to help distinguish them from the vanilla gluten-free ones. A nice subtle blue, right? :)



For giveaways, we made gift bags containing all blue candy. Did you know that Bulk Barn has 5 different blue candies and all of them match? The little bags were tied in peacock blue and white yarn. You can see the bags in the background of the cupcake photos.



Finally, my piece de resistance -- the Hemlock Ring blanket. I am a huge fan of this pattern and I was lucky enough to make it twice this summer (photos of the adult-sized blanket to come soon). I found it on the Rainey Sisters blog via Brooklyn Tweed. After four false starts, I was on my way and I am so happy with how it turned out. Here it is modeled by a bear:



Congratulations Lindsay and Sean!

Labels: Gorgeous Things Undercover, kniticisms, The Undercover Kitchen

Who here lo-o-o-ves "Absolutely Fabulous"?

The other night I was watching it and came across this nugget of dialogue:

Edina: I'm opening a shop, Pats.
Patsy: Ooh, what are you going to sell?
Edina: Oh, just gorgeous things, you know.
Patsy: Ooh, lovely.
Edina: Gorgeous, tasteful, little stylish little gorgeous things."

That excerpt was my inspiration for a special Undercover feature. The next few posts will be dedicated to showing off the gorgeous things that I have been working on in secret for the past few weeks.

First up, we have this gorgeous little heart which comes straight from Knitty.

Since this was a wedding gift, I wanted a rich, jewel-toned red and went with Estelle Watercolours, a mohair/acryllic yarn that I've used before and loved. The heart took about 3 weeks to knit up.



Front



See...Life-sized

I had some trouble visualizing how the second artery was supposed to work and I had to perform last minute vascular surgery. With minutes to go before we left for the wedding, I was able to graft the artery where it belonged. Next step: framing.



Back

The glass in the frame didn't give the heart much room to breathe so Joe removed it and so we were left with a lovely open-faced framed heart.



Framed



And: an action shot

Hope you like it.

Stay tuned for more handmade gorgeous things,

Erika.

Labels: Gorgeous Things Undercover, kniticisms

Voila! Finally pictures of Joe's birthday scarf. I used leftover Rowan felted tweed from Joe's Birthday Vest (2008), in dark blue (133-22B6), denim blue (141-5M5), tan (157-3015) and dark brown (153-19B3). I love how it turned out and so does Joe!



The best part, in my mind, is how nearly reversible the scarf is. Have a look:



The top two triangles are the wrong side and the bottom two are the right side.

***
In other news, happy birthday to Cooper!

In the summer of 2008, he was just a little guy:




Now, in Spring 2009, he's an absolute furry giant:






Have a great day,

Erika.

Labels: Cooper, kniticisms

I've been cupcake crazy for the past month and a half and I have a ton of photos to share with you!

These lovelies were for Joe's golf-themed birthstravaganza. The icing, despite all appearances, is not mint but vanilla icing dyed golf green. I plopped coconut macaroons on top in hopes that they would look like golf balls. Maybe not any golf ball you'd find on Earth but I'm sure they look like this somewhere in the galaxy.



The cupcakes were made using my Grandma's "Prize Chocolate Cake" recipe. It's my family's go-to cake. My dad likes it best with boiled icing but my favourite is when it's filled with apricot jam and topped with mom's amazing coffee-chocolate icing. It's our version of Sacher Torte.



Next up, the spring-themed cupcakes that I baked for Joe and Mom's joint birthday bash. These are also "Prize Chocolate Cake"...see below for the recipe!



I went a little crazy with the food colouring (again!) and this time, I topped the cupcakes with maraschino cherries. Yum!



Grandma's "Prize Chocolate Cake"
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups of sour milk (make the milk sour by adding 1 tbsp vinegar)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease pan or line muffin tin with paper.
Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix wet ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until batter is rich and smooth.
Put batter in pan or muffin tin and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.



The Cupcake Elf...don't worry, he wears a hair net in the kitchen!

I made these lemon-filled cupcakes on Monday and this is all that's left:



They are more modest than the other cupcakes but no less delicious. I filled them with homemade lemon pie filling and they tasted like pure sunshine.

That's it!



Erika.

Labels: Cooper, The Undercover Kitchen

Canada’s Food Guide recommends that women in my age group consume 8 servings of fruit and vegetables every day. But what happens if you are like me and you don’t love fruit? My parents raised me to consider fruit as dessert (“grapes are nature’s candy”) but when I moved out, I left that good habit behind. Years ago, Joe and I visited Diane and she made us an amazing oatmeal topped with fresh fruit, nuts, seeds and milk. Oatmeal was transformed from bland to decadent. Since then, I’ve been an oatmeal devotee and now I want to share my version. It contains 2 ½ servings of fruit (and covers 3 servings if served with ½ cup of orange juice).

Serves One

1 Peeled Macintosh Apple – Diced or Grated
1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1/4 Cup Raisins
2/3 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Oatmeal

Peel and grate (or dice) one apple and place in a pot. Add blueberries and water and bring to a boil. When water is boiling, add oatmeal and raisins and reduce to simmer. Check the directions on the bag of oatmeal for cooking time (mine is 15 minutes).

Variations:
This is delicious on its own and gets even better with any combination of the following:
Milk, yogurt or soymilk
Maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon
Nuts and seeds (I like unsalted sunflower seeds)
In summer, use any combination of your favourite fresh fruit to create a new fruity oatmeal every day!

Time Saver
You can make this breakfast the night before or even up to three days in advance. Cook as directed and then store in the fridge using Tupperware or be like me and use a mug. ☺ The next morning, heat it on the stove or in the microwave and you’re ready to go.

Enjoy!

Bit of a glum day yesterday but some aimless website hopping led me to a great
poster (by way of Inchmark Journal and ReadyMade Magazine):



It's Nick Dewar's take on wartime art created in the US between 1933 - 1943. Check out Steven Heller's article in ReadyMade magazine for the whole story and to see all 5 posters.

Have a great day,

Erika.