Paint Party Friday - Diamond Solitaire

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I've done a diamond solitaire engagement ring today. I've outlined it with a fine point marker and finished it with pencil shadings. It's (6.5" x 4.5") on cardstock. I'm influenced by all the newspaper jewellery ads at this time of year. I also love this style of ring!  What's your favourite?

Please visit some of the other talented participants!

Apple Pear Upside Down Cake

M, K and I finally went to see the new Skyfall James Bond movie.  M thought the movie didn't have as much action or gadgets as it usually does.  I thought it had lots of stunts and action but I went to see what all the fuss was about.  Daniel Craig does a good job as Bond and I liked the new theme song by Adele.

I was inspired to make this cake on the weekend as I browsed through the current edition of Healthy Living Magazine. The Apple pear upside down cake is on page 46 of the current edition, I think.  My version is actually just with apples as I didn't have any pears on hand.  It also called for buttermilk, but I used plain yogurt as that is all I had.   I also used almonds instead of pecans.  It turned out to be quite delicious!  If you like the magazine, you can sign up for a free online subscription.  It has all kinds of interesting health information.

On gift giving

Seasonal Sightings

I've starting delivering a few gifts. I dropped off some nice chocolates to the management and staff of my favourite McDonald's this year. My favourite attendant was there to receive it. I got a big smile and thank you from them all. It was totally worth it! That same day, I took a container of similar chocolates to my mom's pharmacist and also received a big appreciative smile and thank you. They had a bunch of interesting health flyers for the taking, information on the glycemic index and general healthy eating. I've never been sure if potatoes and corn belong in the grain or the vegetable category. So according to these flyers, they are considered grains, more's the pity!  That must mean popcorn is also in the grain category.  I was hoping it counted as a vegetable, lol.

We've been enjoying this box of 'Ferrero Collection' by Ferrero Rocher. It was a gift from a girlfriend. It contains dark chocolate, regular chocolate and their coconut flavour. Well, they are all fine flavours, including this new coconut one!

But to get back to the gift giving, I must say it's so much more fun to give than to receive sometimes, it does wonders for the self-esteem!

Creative Tuesdays - Mittens

Welcome to Creative Tuesdays' Mittens theme! This one is acrylic on cardstock (11" x 8.5"). If you look closely, you will see the mittens hanging off the tree, a seasonal contribution, if you will!  I actually took a photo of such a scene, except the tree was filled with birds that day.  I had the idea to replace them with warm mittens.

Please drop by the other participants to see their 'mittens' interpretations!

Food Find

I bought these Brome Lake duck sausages from Costco. It's a sundried tomato and garlic flavour that I sampled there. I baked it from frozen at 350 F for about 20 minutes after pricking them with a fork. They are delicious!

In other news, K got a small Christmas bonus from his part time job this past weekend!  It's nice when a company can do these little things for the workers.  The envelope had a nice little Christmas sticker on it and they were surprised at getting 2 envelopes instead of one paycheque!

Sunday Sketches - Liqueur

For Sunday Sketches, I drew a bottle of this popular liqueur.  I saw it at the back of  the liquor store magazine and gave it a festive touch!  Actually the festive dots came about when I accidentally splotched some of the gold paint on the background.  I just decided to add more dots!  It's acrylic on cardstock (4.5" x 6.5").

Please visit the other talented participants.

Extreme Pita

There is a new franchise at our mall eatery called 'Extreme Pita'.  We love it there.   We've tried the falafel and the chicken shawarma.  They are served with the freshest vegetables and sauces such as tzaziki and hummus and a light tasting pita bread.  It's undeniably healthy fare compared to Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell (which we also love!)  Pictured above are some of their yummy fruit smoothies, one is mango based and the other is strawberry banana.