Daytripping in Goderich with Special Guests Alaina and Luna

Once in a while we find ourselves in a fantastic situation where we both have the day off work.  Earlier this month (March) this is indeed what happened. And so what does one do on a day off?
ROAD TRIP!!!

We picked up our niece Alaina, grabbed Luna, packed a light lunch and headed to Goderich!

Goderich is a small town in Ontario located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. It has about 7,521 people and it's one of the best places to view the setting sun. It's cute, full of nature and of course has great views of beautiful Lake Huron.

Unfortunately we didn't get any sun the whole day, but we had a great time nonetheless. There was something a little mystical about it with the encroaching fog and remnants of snow.

We started off our day at the playground going crazy on the monkey bars and swings.

After a couple of hours at the playground we made our way down the steep trail towards the water.   Working on our stone skipping skills and finding fossils.

Alaina fell in love with this rock.

Luna watching the stones skip.

We found so many fossils on this part of the beach, it was crazy!

We had a great time and didn't even see all that Goderich had to offer. We're definately coming back when it gets warmer. :)

A Fun Find from A Fellow Blogger

Blogging truly is a fantastic way to explore procjcts and ideas from all over the globe, and today we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a terrific blog called Little Birdie Secrets.  The blog is run by two friends who post about crafts, sewing, tips and tutorials for many projecs that interest us. For one of their latest posts called Festive Cookies, they tell of how a friend had brought them beautifully decorated cookies and how they were made using a simple icing embroidery design technique.
They linked a turotial on how to make these amazing cookies.  We watched in awe as the tutorial demonstated the true simplicity of this particular technique...using a paint brush! Who knew:)  Here is that very tutorial:

SweetAmbsCookies

We are so glad that we came across this tutorial and many others like it because it has inspired an exciting idea for our 2012 March b-day cake project. 

Cupcake Birthday Cake

Last March we decided to celebrate three birthdys at once.  Because three of our fams birthdays landed in March, it seems like a great idea to get together and have triple the fun!
So with all the plans in order, we still had one detail to figure out - what to do for the cake.  Ms. Cass had been playing with the idea of doing some type of cupcake presentation instead of the typical b-day cake. So we decided to try it and also to add to the challenge we also chose to make the cupcakes gluten-free and dairy-free. 

We were determined to make them moist, soft and delicious! This is how they turned out :)

Ms. Cass bought the rotating bonbon tree at a Goodwill store for a buck. Worked out perfectly we think!   In order for the cake to look full and fun we added fresh flowers and colorful candles.

Another detail that made the cake look visually appealing was the different cupcake sizes and the icing designs.
For the cake batter we used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Cake mix.  Because Ms. Cass is lactose intolerant, we also ensured the batter was dairy-free. The recipie called for sour cream, but we substituted it with a mix of lemon juice and soy milk. (Which sat for 20 mins.) The icing was made from a combination of icing sugar, shortening, almond milk and vanilla extract. And of course turquiose Wilton food coloring :)

To give our cake a spring feel, we chose Shasta Daisies and a few varieties of Chrysanthemums.

When lit, the cake looked magical!  Using aluminum cupcake cups really helped illuminate the cake beautifully.

This year, we have a few ideas about how we want to make the birthday cake for our three birthday guys - Christian, Bob and Cory.  So check back in two weeks and see what we've come up with! 

The Owners

Hi! I'm Ms. Cass

 
I enjoy doing lots of things..actually, I enjoy doing too many things! It seems there just isn't enough time in my day to accomplish everything I want to do.  So my hopes are that through this blog, I can finally stay motivated and somewhat scheduled in order to sustain a continous flow of  creativity.  I share my life with my boyfriend and five very unique cats, which I have dreamed to one day dress up in petticoats and bowties.


Hiya!  I'm Ms. Tam - also known as Princess Poobert...or really, it's just Poobert, the Princess part is a little overdone, I know :)  

I suppose I have always felt that I have never had any real outstanding talents but the one thing I can and could always do is create anything with my hands.  Music, nature and culture are my inspirations. Aside from spending time with my sister, I time share with two other beings - my Corito and my Luna.

We were so fortunate to be raised by a mother who taught us, from as far back as we can remember, how to use our hands, to create works of art with the most simplest of supplies and to have fun doing it with her. Crafting became a natural form of self expression for us and has been at the core of our relationship with each other. 

And so we have created Tea Time at Neptune's Saloon, an ode to the ocean and of simpler times. A place where our imaginations run wild and lovely.
We hope to help motivate, and inspire others to explore their own creative outlets. So check us out - we would love to know what you think!