December 31, 2013

Oh, hello 2014!


Wow guys, it's hard to believe that another year is coming to a close already. Oh my gosh, 2013 has been one whirlwind of a year, that's for sure! We will be posting our highlights from the past year and our favorite posts in the coming days, and we will also be sharing our New Years resolutions and goals for 2014. (This is my favorite time of year, I love dreaming up new goals and ideas for the future!)

We also just wanna take a moment and thank you guys for all of your continual love and support, we seriously couldn't do it without you all and we appreciate each and every one of you! Thank you sooo much! :)

So, do you guys have any special plans for ringing in 2014?! We would love to hear them! We are probably just going to keep it on the low key side and spend the evening with close friends and family. Hope you all have a safe and fun New Years Eve!

See you in 2014! Lots of love,
Stef & Erin
XOXO

December 25, 2013

Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas lovelies!! We hope you all are having a wonderful relaxing day with your friends and family! :) Sorry things have been a tad on the quite side here for the past few days, but this year we both have had our hands full with so many gatherings, parties and get-togethers! We will be back tomorrow with a bit of a post-Christmas recap post for you though! Also, for all of you local lovelies our shop, Rhymes With Orange, will be open for boxing day tomorrow from 12:00pm - 5:00pm so you should definitely pop on by and say hello! 

Now go relax and enjoy this lovely day!

Lots of love from our homes to yours,
XOXO, Stef & Erin



December 20, 2013

Happy happy birthday, Erin!

Oh man, where do I even start with this lady? Saying that she is the best friend a gal could ask for would be an understatement. This year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs for both of us and knowing that at the end of the day I could always count on having her to lean on made everything seem more bearable. This past summer I lost someone close to me very suddenly and I was totally beside myself. As soon as I told Erin what had happened she immediately showed up at my house with a bunch of homemade meals for the week, fresh baking, and of course my favorite bottle of wine. She then spent the entire evening by my side talking me through it and giving me a shoulder to cry on. I was so blown away by her amazing compassion and empathy and the way she just took me under her wing and took care of me. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to get through that time if it wasn't for encouragement. Obviously we have always been close and I've always known what an amazing person she is, but during that difficult time our friendship was brought to a whole new level and I could really see what a truly incredible woman she is. I feel so ridiculously blessed to have her be a big part of my life. Love you so much lady.

I'm so glad to be spending the day with you as you ring in your 29th year! Can't wait to see what next year holds but I do know one thing is for sure: mirror selfies & Passion Pop foreva. Te amo, girl. xo
-Stef

December 19, 2013

A simple toffee-covered marshmallow recipe.

We know how things get super hectic right before Christmas, and with all of the parties and gatherings going on, it's nice to have a back-up plan for something sweet to bring along. This recipe is one of my favorites for the holidays, and it's really simple to make!

You will need:
A double boiler. (I used two pots that stacked on top of each other and filled the bottom pot with 2 inches of water)
1 bag of large marshmallows
1/2 C. margarine
1/2 can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
250 grams of Macintosh toffee (or other wrapped caramels will work) This comes out to one and a half bags or 32 pieces.
1 3/4 C coconut
1 3/4 C crushed cornflakes

All you do:
-First get your double boiler set up with a bit of water in the bottom pot, but don't fill it all of the way. Bring the water to a boil and then place the top pot on it.
-Put the margarine, the unwrapped toffees and the sweetened condensed milk in the top pot and melt. You just want to slowly melt the ingredients above. Once it's nice and creamy, turn down the heat.
-Grab a fork and start tossing a few marshmallows at a time in the caramel sauce. Once covered in toffee, stab one marshmallow at a time and transfer to the bowl with the coconut/cornflake mixture and move it around until it's covered. I used my hand to toss the mixture as well. It sounds complicated, but it's really not, you'll figure it out quickly. It does get a little messy, and will be tempting not to eat the mixture without the marshmallows in it! Now place on a cookie sheet and set aside. You can use parchment paper if you like, but I prefer to put them straight on the baking sheet. Pop them in the freezer and once they are frozen you can twist them off of the baking sheet and serve! It's tradition in my family to eat them semi-frozen with a cup of tea, but they are equally delicious at room temperature!

Enjoy!

December 18, 2013

Happy Wednesday.

We normally post this kind of post on a Friday, but are making an exception this week because it's my (Erin) birthday on Friday! I hope you guys are having a good week so far! 
Snog Productions quite simply has the most beautiful office ever. So much greenery!

These watercolor sayings by Rocketrictic are so beautiful. You can shop some of them here.

These Moscato poached pears are perfect for the holidays! Recipe found here.

These wedding photos taken in Venice are completely dreamy. 

These honey-gingerbread cookies nearly look too cute to eat!

December 17, 2013

Life lately.

Last week Erin shared what was going on lately in her life so I thought I should give you guys an update on what's been going on in mine. Basically as soon as the temperatures dropped here I have been in full-force nesting mode. It's crazy to think that we have already been at our new house for six months; that's half a YEAR already! Whoa whoa. Since we moved in at the beginning of summer, there were lots of decorating jobs and projects that got pushed to the wayside because I just wanted to enjoy as much time outdoors as possible and save those jobs for the long cold winter months. So now that those months are upon me it is time to get myself into high gear and get that stuff done! Here is a peek at some of the jobs (and other things) I have been tackling around the house lately:

It's a tad hard to tell in this photo I snapped for Instagram, but a few months ago I painted my hallway in my front entrance a pale minty pistachio color. I absolutely love it and recommend it for those of you looking for a pretty muted paint tone, it's called "Artichoke Heart" by Martha Stewart. I also finally got around to un-packing boxes of old photo albums, so I decided to hang up a little collage of a few of my favorites photos. I hung a big portrait of my grandmother, a Polaroid of my parents when they first started dating, some old photobooth pictures of Emery and I, and my favorite photo from our wedding day. It's a warm personal touch when you enter our home.

Another new addition to our entrance way is this gorgeous southwestern rug that my parents brought back for me from Arizona! Since most of my walls are either white or a pale tone, I wanted a nice pop of print and color for when you walk in, and this rug is everything that I wanted and more! They also picked up a smaller one for me to use as a wall hanging that I plan on hanging above my staircase.

 I was always sort of notorious for constantly arranging and re-arranging furniture at my old house and this house is no exception. However, in my defense, I had to move a few things around to make room for my Christmas tree, but I am actually really liking my bullet planter in this corner of my living room. 

 I also recently bought this print on Etsy and I totally love it! Found the perfect spot for it in a little minty nook in my bathroom. (Print for sale here)

 Many hot beverages have been consumed and plenty of time has been spent in my new kitchen. I have also been making excellent use of my gas cooktop, in fact I think it may be my favorite part of my kitchen.

 This past weekend I also had the privilege of meeting my new little nephew, Nash! My sister-in-law gave birth last week and and we all got together for a family lunch and to say hello to the newest addition to the family! He really is quite scrumptious.

There's nothing quite like a warm clean house, a glass of red wine, and old vinyl spinning on the record player on a cold December evening.

Oh yeah, I have also spent lots of time in bed sleeping. I don't know about you guys, but this cold weather sure makes me want to spend as much time under a blanket as possible...

XO, Stef

December 16, 2013

Christmas in the Thiessen home.

It feels like it was mere weeks ago that I did a post about Christmas in my home! That said, a lot has happened in the past year, but there hasn't been a lot of change when it comes to my Christmas decor.
 I put up my sad charlie brown aluminum tree, filled my terrarium with greenery and berries, and bought a bunch of balsam fir scented candles.

You can't set up your Christmas decorations without a giant mug of hot chocolate with a few too many marshmallows.

The mantle on my fireplace is the most festive looking corner in my house, with a new addition of Ikea star lights and Danish candle holders.

This photo was taken while decorating the shop, but I thought I'd throw it in for good measure.

Festive pretzels and nutella? Great combo.

I got some new bar ware as an early Christmas present and I love how the gold looks in my living room.

Sugar cookies galore!

More gold and greens around my home. 

Happy Holidays everybody! I hope you enjoy the last frantic few days before Christmas!
Xo, Erin

December 13, 2013

Friday the thirteenth loveliness.

T.G.I.F. amigos! I have the day off today and plan on possibly... hopefully... finishing up the last of my Christmas shopping! *fingers crossed* I am trying my very hardest to beat previous years and actually get it done before December 23rd this Christmas, ha. Maybe there is something to be said about not always doing everything at the last minute. ;)

To start your day off on the right foot and hopefully give you a little boost of motivation, here are some pretty things we have been loving as of late:
Beautiful vintage enamel brooch collection belonging to Jenny of Mikasa Su Casa.
(If you haven't already, you should be sure to check out her blog, it is packed full of vintage goodness.)

Mid century modern meets southwestern decor. Super into this decorating style right now.

Check out this clever way of wrapping a bottle of wine in a tea towel! Absolute genius. What a perfect hostess gift! I will definitely be trying this.

Need we say more?!  Recipe found here.

Always proud to be Canadian, especially when I see stunning winter images like this cabin on Lake O'Hara in Alberta. So breathtakingly gorgeous.


What about you, how much holiday shopping do you have left to do? Or do you thrive under the pressure of leaving it until the last minute?

Happy weekend! XO

December 12, 2013

Let's do-it-ourselves this holiday season!

We know how money seems to fly right out the window around the holidays, so we thought we'd share some of our favorite gift and crafty DIY ideas that we came across on Pinterest so that you can save a buck or two. You can follow us along on Pinterest here.

Our friend Mandi from Making Nice in the Midwest shared this great gift idea on her blog and we are definitely going to try out the recipe!

How great are these oversized ornaments made from big balloons? 

Mmm these peanut butter & pretzel bars look tasty!

This DIY garland is pretty darn cute, hey?

Give the gift of herb honey this holiday!

December 11, 2013

A big hello to CrushVintage!

Our feature sponsor this month is a lovely vintage shop called CrushVintage! Read a little bit more about their shop and their great products:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrushVintage?ref=si_shop

At CrushVintage, gorgeous and one of a kind pieces are what we strive for. Researching brands and designers assures an authentic vintage piece. We scour the country looking for these unique finds that will blend perfectly with a modern wardrobe. We bring pretty dresses, suits, coats and more from the 1910's to the 1980's to any vintage girl in this modern world.

Here are some examples of the beautiful pieces they carry in their shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrushVintage?ref=si_shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrushVintage?ref=si_shop

Be sure to check out their shops CrushVintage and CrushVintageCandy because both are jam-packed with lovely vintage gems! You can also follow them on Pinterest and Instagram (username: crushvintage) for more vintage inspiration!

XO

December 10, 2013

Life in slow motion.

I can't believe that Christmas is 2 weeks away! Things have been pretty busy around these parts, but I've managed to get a lot of relaxing squeezed in. What have you cats been up to?
Sometimes you have to go to your parents' house, soak in their tub and drink your dad's nicest wine.

Drinking apple cider and reading go hand in hand, and i've been doing lots of both.

There's no shortage of snow here in Winnipeg!

A few weeks ago I decided it was finally time, to stop saying and start doing. So, I went to see my good pal Amy at Freshair Boutique here in Winnipeg, and chopped off most of my hair. I am definitely a short-haired girl at heart and couldn't be happier with my new 'do!

I've been doing a lot of cooking, and this means many trips to my go-to asian grocery store - Dong Thai.

Seeing as how I've been hibernating as of late, that means lots of cleaning/purging/re-arranging around the house. 

I've had many cozy nights in to myself with big glasses of wine and good movies.

I spent the day at my mom's house baking up a storm last week. Lucky for me I got a gym membership last week to even out all of the cookie eating I've been doing!

I hope your days have been cozy and relaxing in the weeks leading up to Christmas!
xo, Erin