Ah, December. The beginning of a season that is filled to the brim with all things magical. I become alive this time of year. The next couple of months are bliss for me, as my senses are tickled by sights, sounds and smells that have the ability to transport me to places, that sometimes only exist in my imagination.
The sense of smell is powerful. It can trigger a long lost memory of baking with your grandmother, that you didn't even know you had. Or bring you to that magical Christmas Eve midnight mass - when the incense burned silently as a marker of the excitement that lied ahead in the wee hours of the morning. Scent triggers emotion.. and during a time when the joy of the season can easily become lost.. I like to use scent as a tool to bring me back.
So here are some easy, inexpensive, natural tricks to get your home smelling magical for the holidays.
Pomanders First used in the middle ages, where people would wear them on long chains (like jewellery) to ward off infectious diseases, and to simply smell better. Back then they were made of all sorts of crazy things. Today they are simply made of Oranges studded with Whole Cloves. Once made, they will dry out and can last for years as air fresheners, and even can be useful in linen closets and drawers to repel moths.
You will need:
1) A few confectioners scoops of whole cloves (purchasing whole cloves at a bulk food, is far more cost effective than buying them pre-jarred)
2) A few Navel Oranges of varying sizes
Simply push the cloves into the orange in any pattern that you please. You can completely cover the orange in cloves, or you may choose a design such as stars, or swirls. Or in the case of my brother's creation in the picture, you can't opt for the "Mr. T" pomander :)
Potpourri Crock Pot
Tossing a few spices and fruits into a crock pot (or regular pot) will fill your home with a warm Christmasey scent. It's dead easy, inexpensive, and is a great way to get rid of any fruit that might be starting to spoil.
What you'll need:
1) A couple of fruits of your choice, such as: Apples and Oranges - cut into slices or quartered (you can use anything from pomegranates to cranberries to pears.. it matters not.
2) A few cinnamon sticks, or a couple of tbsp of ground cinnamon
3) Some whole cloves
4) Some nutmeg
5) Water
Combine a random amount of these ingredients into a crock pot, or large saucepan; fill about 2/3 of the pot. Fill pot with water to about 3 inches from the the top. Simmer on low.
I've left this for a couple of days at a time; turning the stove/crock pot off at night, and when I leave the house - and refilling the water as it cooks off.
Balsam Fir
Balsam Fir trees smell divine! If you opt for a real tree at Christmastime, you should get yourself a Balsam. It's true that Fraser Fir is the longest lasting tree, however nothing comes close to the scent of the Balsam! I'd say put off your tree trimming until 2-3 weeks before Christmas, so that you can take advantage of the loveliness of Balsam's fragrance.
If you do not use a real tree, that's still okay. You can still take advantage of Balsam's scent by grabbing up a few of it's branches to adorn your mantle, use for a centrepiece, make a wreath, or use in your outdoor urns. You can either buy these branches where ever you would pick up your tree - such as a nursery - OR if you have any friends or family who are getting a Balsam for themselves, ask them if you can have the scraps they trim off from the stump.
Little known facts about opting for Real Christmas Trees:
- More environmentally friendly
- Christmas trees are often grown in soil that no other crops can grow in
- The trees take years to mature; in the mean time provide habitat for wildlife, as well as clean the air
- When people are done with their real trees, they are recycled and used as mulch - where as fake trees end up in landfills
- Fake trees and wreaths are made from non renewable petroleum
- For every tree that is harvested, 2 or 3 seedlings are put in its place
Happy scenting! AND If you have any more Scent-sational tips, I'd love to hear them! Leave your comments below :)
It's that time of year again, when we dust out the big ol' soup pot from the top shelf, and get our veggie weapons of choice ready for melding. For these chilly months, my first choice and family favourite is always my Gramma's French Canadian Pea Soup.
For as long as I can remember I have loved this savoury treat - and culinarily speaking, I look forward to nothing more each Autumn.
This recipe was passed to me from my Mum, which was passed to her by her Mum, and so on and so forth. It has French-Canadian roots generations deep; back to when the soup-bone was shared between the neighbours so everyone could make their own batch. Enjoy!
French Canadian Pea Soup
-1 Ham Bone or Pork Hock (traditionally this soup is made with a Ham Bone, however it is very difficult to find just the bone anymore without buying the whole ham - unless you are near a Honey-Bee Ham Co. - Pork Hocks are available just about everywhere, and you can use the meat in the soup afterwards)
-1 Pkg of dried split green peas (about 3 or 4 cups)
-1 large cooking onion, finely chopped
-1 large carrot, grated
-2 bay leaves
-1 tsp. dried thyme
-1 tsp. ground sage
-salt and pepper to taste
Rinse split peas well in cold water, set aside.
Fill soup pot with water to about 2" from the top. Bring to a boil with ham bone or pork hock - simmer on low for about an hour.
Add remaining ingredients, including rinsed peas, and simmer for 2 hours, or until thick.
Remove pork hock, and cut away the ham to add to the soup.
Serve hot with a side of crusty French bread.
After a few requests from people wanting to know how I did my updo in my pickling video, I decided to make a little tutorial. I personally have found it difficult to find tutorials on vintage updos, so I hope this helps others looking for some retro-updo inspiration. Enjoy!
While in Portsmouth, England in August, my Husband and I went to the Portsmouth D-Day Museum. My Husband has always been interested in anything WWII, but to be honest I've always been quite ignorant on the subject. The extent of my education was that Hitler was trying to take over the world, killed a horrifying amount of innocent people in the process, and the rest of the world banned together to stop him. I have been shocked by facts that I have recently learned through my small education given by my Husband, through the Portsmouth D-Day museum, and now through my own reading. Now I'm kind of getting hooked :)
What has been intriguing me most of all about war-time, is the way people pulled resources together in a time of emergency. I picked up a couple of re-printed war-time books in the gift shop at the D-day museum. The first "Wise Eating in Wartime" and the second " Make Do and Mend"(both books also available on www.Amazon.com for $5 or $6 ea.). Both books were a fantastic read - tips and tricks to get the most out of what you had available to you. The necessity of these books came about mainly because Hitler had sent submarines to take out the import ships carrying food and goods to England. He did this to try to weaken the British people. But instead of panicking and feeling sorry for themselves, the English Ministry of Information began to produce ad campaigns, and books to help people get by as best as they could without needing any imports. How-to books of all sorts began to pop up, how-to grow your own food; recipe books with all sorts of fantastic recipes, even vegan recipes (because veggies were the most readily available food) recipes that stretched your pocket book, but gave you the most nutrition. How-to make clothing, and make clothing last. How-to reuse things; re-purpose things. Studies at the time even showed that people were healthier because their diets were better, and somewhat happier because they took nothing for granted and took pride in what they were able to do for their families and country. Inspiring isn't it?
So, when one of my oh-so-comfortable, canvas shoes I had purchased brand-new for our trip overseas, had sprung a nasty toe hole, I decided to fix it myself, properly. My initial thought was, "darn, I love these shoes, now I have to throw them out!". But instead I opened my trusty little "Make Do and Mend" war-time book, and taught myself how to Darn. Darning is the term used to mend an article of clothing - but more than that, it means to actually continue the existing weave, as opposed to just whip stitching.
My first attempt is clearly rookie... but I think with some more practice, I could make the Darn blend right in. And with the money I saved on not buying a new pair of shoes, I can put it towards a pedicure ;) , or extra grocery money... or even if I don't NEED anything.. I can invest it maybe? Saving money in this manner doesn't just benefit you if you are trying to scrimp and save, but also if you have an investment/money-making mindset - the money you don't waste on new shoes when it's not necessary, could be put towards investments, just the same.
I'm going to continue educating myself on these war-time household practices.. we all have our own "states of emergency" and these retro housewife tips and tricks could benefit everyone for their own reasons. What is your reason?
I've always wanted to learn how to pickle. I'm particularly fond of Dill Pickles, but have been shying away from buying them at the grocery store lately, because simply, they can be expensive, and I don't know what I'm eating. I've not taken the initiative until now to learn how to pickle, because I thought the process was arduous and lengthy. But boy oh boy was I wrong! It's dead easy! And now that I know that the ingredients going into my pickles are organic, and free of harsh preservatives (not to mention I'm saving some moola too), I can go back to good ol' pickle heaven.
Now that I know how to do it, I'm going to be trying all sorts of pickle combinations. But until then, here is how you make good ol' fashioned dill pickles. Also, below you will find an excellent recipe for pickled beets as well :) Happy Pickling!
Yummy Pickled Beets!
Scrub your beets well, and cook whole, in salted boiling water until a fork easily penetrates them.
Plunge cooked beets into ice water; slip skins off of beets and cut away any rough parts. Slice your beets :)
In a large saucepan combine and bring to a boil, the following: 2 cups beet cooking water 2 cups vinegar 4 cups organic cane sugar 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced 4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
Fill your sanitized jars with your beet slices. Ladle the canning liquid into the jars. Pop the tops onto your jars and submerge into your canner for a couple of min. Remove jars from the canner, do a quick release of the air (as seen in the above video) and place your finished jars on a rack to cool! :)
The only time a midwife had ever come into a frame of reference for me, was while watching the made for tv movie "The Dionne Quintuplets". Even then, it was something so foreign, that I never even gave it a second, curious thought.
As I reach a time in my life where giving birth could happen for me within the next couple of years, I am becoming a sponge. I want to expose my brain to all there is to know about becoming pregnant, and giving birth. Mostly because the thought of the physical activity of giving birth used to scare the bejeezus out of me, and I thought, the more I know, the more control I can have over my birth experience, and maybe it would be less terrifying. So, when a friend recommended I take a look at the film "The Business of Being Born" I jumped right in, and rented it from iTunes that very night. From the name of the film I anticipated a "Micheal Moore" style documentary about how corrupt the US medical system is.. But what I actually viewed was a life-changing, unbiased film - yes, about how childbirth can be a business in North America, BUT more so about what a woman's childbirth experience can be/should be. Basically it was an education about the reality of childbirth (as opposed to the terrifying, worst-pain-of-your-life, unavoidable, medical emergency, that I have always misconceived) If you're interested in reading more about this film, please see my blog post on Childbirth Enlightened.
Today I have a treat for my Canadian readers, specifically living in Ontario. I was able to obtain a radio interview from 100.9 Canoe FM, with Rebecca Weeks-Toth. Rebecca is a midwife practising in Ontario - and the wealth of information in this interview is so absolutely vast - It's a bit lengthy, so I encourage you to listen to it while you work, or are surfing on the net. If you're interested in obtaining a copy, please feel free to email me at julia.darby@theretronest.com. Rebecca discuses the myths and truths about midwifery, around the world and specific to Ontario as well. It's brilliant, enjoy!
If you're looking for more information specific to obtaining a midwife in Ontario, I encourage you to visit the Ontario Midwives website; You can find them on Facebook as well! :)
We are all too aware that cancer and degenerative diseases have become an epidemic. Who among us can honestly say that they do not know someone who has suffered the wrath of some kind of cancer, if they haven't suffered themselves. Too many people have suffered unnecessarily; and it's just that, unnecessary, and guess what... PREVENTABLE.
I have seen too many lives ripped apart by disease, and I personally fear nothing more than losing a loved one to poor health. So HOW can I help? WHAT can I do to ensure that my family and friends, and myself, get to live to a ripe old age, in good health? The answer is easy... simple nutrition.
In the past 100 years or so, our civilization has advanced more rapidly than it has in all of it's history. This is amazing, it's inspiring even. But is it possible that sometimes advancement can go too far? While globalization is good in many respects, it has unfortunately robbed us of some simple pleasures. We have become so accustomed to blindly trusting what is presented to us in the grocery store; it looks great, so it must taste great and be healthy too, right? But as Socrates says "The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living". So I encourage you to examine what you consume a little bit closer. The above video is a brilliant example of a little girls unexpected lesson into what is going on beneath the surface of our grocery store veggies:
So if we know that mass food production has spiralled out of control, focusing more on making money, rather than supporting nutrition and human longevity... then what can we do to save our families and ourselves from the harmful effects these tainted veggies will inevitably have on our health? We can take the control of what we consume back.
A friend of mine recently posted some fantastic "mobile uploads" of her "Home Farm" on Facebook. I was immediately struck with inspiration and curiosity, and couldn't resist picking her brain on how I could follow in her footsteps to become a home farmer... here is our discussion.
Julia: Ericka! :) Why did you decide to grow your own veggies, where does the inspiration come from for you?
Ericka: My fiance's grandparents owned a huge working farm, they grew mostly corn and raised hogs; His grandfather ran a roadside veggie stand until he died years back. My Fiance's Grandmom still owns the farm although it is no longer a working farm.We decided when we bought our house that we would try growing our own, because with a large family fresh produce get's expensive. Also, it's something we can do together as a family, and everything in the garden is organic and just taste's fresher!
We started out small with just tomatoes, a couple different varieties of peppers, zucchini, eggplant, cantaloupe and cucumbers. The 1st year the garden was a trial & error learning experience. The eggplant grew terribly slow and produced very few fruits the cucumbers and zucchini died and the tomatoes didn't do very well. The peppers however were insane but they tend to be very hardy to begin with. It was very, very hot here last summer and peppers thrive in hot temps.
Julia: So for someone like me, who has no idea where or how to begin growing my own food, what advice could you give me?
Ericka: Basics for starting a home farm are of course figuring out where you want your garden, and how much yard space you're willing to give up for it. Our garden this year is a whole lot bigger than last year's. We also split the yard and made a dog run so the dog run fence also serves as a trellis for our vine plants - honeydew melon, butternut squash and pumpkin. We tilled the area and added Miracle grow garden mix and blood-meal. At the end of the season last year we tilled all the dead vegetation into the soil; you want to do that as it helps make the soil richer. We've gone to both the Home Depot and the Farmer's co-op for our supplies. I grew the tomatoes, peppers and butternut squash from seed. I have a new crop of butter-crunch lettuce in the ground grown from seed as well since we've eaten all the romaine and red-leaf from the garden already, lol! The cabbage, cauliflower, honeydew, corn and eggplant I got from the local farmer's market and it is much healthier than what you get from Home Depot..and the plants were a lot cheaper too..$1.80 for a 4 pk versus $2.98 a 4 pk at Home Depot. Cauliflower is our experiment this year, it's more a cold weather grower so we'll have to wait and see if it flowers towards fall, the plants themselves have gotten huge. Regular watering is essential, rain collection barrels are great but only if you get a lot of rain. We haven't had much unfortunately.
Julia: How did you learn how to do all of this? Ericka: Home growing is really a hands-on-learn-as-you-go thing. Books and internet are helpful, but what works for one may not work for another because of differences in soil, etc.
Julia: How do your kids feel about growing their own food?
Ericka: Right now my 10 yr old is fascinated with the corn which is probably 6 ft tall now, He goes out and inspects the garden, and helps with weeding. My 12 yr old could care less she has more important drama to attend too..lol! My 3 yr old comes out and helps me harvest, and tries sampling. I've got a ton of ripe grape tomatoes on the vine so she eats them right off the plant; can't get any fresher & with no pesticides to worry about!
Julia: Speaking of pesticides, naturally there will be pests/bugs eating away at the goodies. How do you address that? Do you think commercial pesticides have contributed to the failing health of the general population?
Ericka: We haven't really needed to spray with anything. I was noticing an abundance of ladybugs the other day, they are your garden's friend and it is a good sign when you see a lot of them. I did have cabbage worms on my red cabbage a few weeks back, so I sprinkled flour on the plants which causes them to bloat and die. I now have some nice heads of cabbage forming out there.
You can make your own natural pesticides from just dish soap and water in a spray bottle. If you need something stronger you can add garlic, onion and cayenne pepper..bugs do not ever bother my hot pepper plants which explains why adding cayenne to your mix acts as a deterrent. Commercial pesticides are poisonous and the veggies and fruits probably do absorb quite a bit of it which defeats the purpose of organic. Yes I do believe pesticides have contributed to the fact that people are sicker nowadays. There seems to be a lot of children who have assorted difficulties, just like fish have become poisoned by mercury, we've poisoned ourselves with commercial pesticides; not a good thing.
Julia: Why do you call it "Home Farming"? Ericka: "Home Farming" is just what people here are calling it guess it sounds cooler than "I have a veggie garden"..lol..maybe because people are expanding it to being bigger than just growing a few tomato plants.
Julia: You mentioned "Rain Collection" earlier. Can you expand on what that is? Ericka: Rain collection is easy. Just put your containers out and collect the rain! You can fashion an irrigation system I suppose, but we haven't done that yet. There's not been a whole lot of rain our way, so in areas with little rain it might take forever to catch a good amount of water. We tried the soaker hoses but they don't really work very well so we just water by hose every evening. Now that we have a real pool I don't have the kiddie pool water to recycle but the county has a garden allowance you have to apply for. The county figures out what your average usage is and the excess use is reduced by 50%, so that's pretty cool.
Julia: Home Farming actually sounds a lot less scary than I thought. The benefits are clear, healthier food, bigger pocket book at the end of the day, and not only physically rewarding, but mentally I'm sure too, no? Ericka: Home farming can be back breaking depending on the size of your garden. We didn't use a tiller, everything was done with garden tools. It's very calming however, to go out and weed and spend time walking through to see how everything is growing. I was noticing the other day how HUGE my Roma tomatoes are this year..I started these from seed and they've just flourished; probably in another month we can start canning. Julia: CANNING... I CAN't wait to learn more about canning (pun intended he he he). That is a topic for another day I suppose :) Thank you Ericka for your insights; looking forward to learning so much more from you.
Ever wanted to learn how to pull off a vintage hairstyle? Don't know how to pincurl? Don't know what setting lotion is? look no further..this week's vlog post will answer some of your questions, and point you in the direction of the best of the best in vintage hair-styling tutorials.
Today I took a trip over to the Historic St. Lawrence Market, to visit the flower market "The Greenery Patch" . I met with the ever-so-lovely Dahla MacKenna, who agreed to make for me, a most beautiful vintage inspired centrepiece for a VERY important dinner party I have coming up. I can't wait to share Dahla's fabulous creation with all of you in a couple of weeks, but until then enjoy the teaser video ;)
This past weekend was full of adventures; one of them being Woofstock, an annual 2-day, all-about-dogs festival at the historic St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto! We stopped at a couple of our favourite vendors to learn more about our favourite doggy products.
"Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural part of life. But birth is also big business.
Compelled to explore the subject after the delivery of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies.
The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.
Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?" - excerpt taken from The Business of Being Born website
I was turned on to this documentary by a good friend of mine. Since the hubby and I are trying to get ourselves baby ready (whatever that means ha ha) I am like a sponge right now when it comes to anything pregnancy or baby related. So I grabbed the film from iTunes (you can rent for $4.99, or buy for $9.99 - such a good deal!) popped some corn, and cozied in on the sofa.
I cannot recommend this film enough. Created by Ricki Lake, and directed by Abby Epstein, this film completely changed my view of childbirth. I think every person who is either thinking of having children (men and women alike), or anyone who is pregnant, should be required to watch this film before giving birth. There is so much valuable, and even powerful, information in this film, that I am sincerely changed by having watched it.
"Until recently, Love was a topic of poets, novelists, philosophers. Today it is studied from multiple scientific perspectives. With mammals in general there is immediately after birth a short period of time that will never happen again, which is critical in mother/baby attachment. Until recently(such as prior the to last 75 years of human history), in order to give birth, a woman, like all mammals, is supposed to release a complex cocktail of love hormones. As soon as baby is born, when mother and baby are together, both of them are under the effect of a sort of morphine, an opiate, natural morphine endorphins. We know the properties; they create states of dependency, addiction. When mother and baby are close to each other it is the beginning of an attachment. "But today, most women have babies without releasing this flow of hormones... I'll just give you an example of animal experience. In general if you disturb the normal balance of a female giving birth (in the animal kingdom), it's simple, the mother does not take care of the baby. If monkeys give birth by cesarean section, the mother is not interested in her baby. It's simple....So you wonder, but what about our civilization? What about the future of humanity? If most woman have babies without releasing this cocktail of love hormones, can we survive without love?"
My husband taught me to swing dance when we were dating. Not only is it a blast, but it's a fantastic workout, you meet lots of super fun people, and what I have been turned onto recently is the fashion!
Last Valentines day we bought tickets to a Big Band Valentines dance. It seemed such a special event, that I wanted to go all out and channel a 1940's style. I found a decent dress, and turned to YouTube to find a tutorial on vintage hair-styling. It was then that I foundLisa Freemont Street's YouTube channel , and little did I know then how she would change my style, and my life. The queen of all things NeoVintage, she has tutorials and advice on everything from hair-styling to make-up to product reviews to where to shop, and even recipes! Check her out, because I guarantee you will fall in love.
Ninevah Makeup Ministries recently interviewed Lisa Freemont Street; check it out here.
And check out Lisa Freemont Street's Blog and Facebook page too!
"I hope that it will eventually become the 'norm' again, for a woman to take pride in her femininity by dressing up at home (much less the grocery store), for a man to wear a blazer to the movies, and for a child to cut his hair. If only...." -LisaFreemontStreet
First used in the middle ages, where people would wear them on long chains (like jewellery) to ward off infectious diseases, and to simply smell better. Back then they were made of all sorts of crazy things. Today they are simply made of Oranges studded with Whole Cloves. Once made, they will dry out and can last for years as air fresheners, and even can be useful in linen closets and drawers to repel moths.
