learning to pickle

today i tried my first beet pickle that i pickled myself! earlier this month i was lucky enough to be invited over to shana and glenn's house to spend an afternoon learning how to pickle!



once we trimmed the beets of their greens, we plunked them into 2 big pots and started to boil them. while the beets were cooking, we sat down and enjoyed a beautiful lunch that shana prepared!





i think the soup that she served me was her famous immune booster soup - so delish!

but uh oh! mr. cooper (not to be confused with this cooper) got into the cookies and ate half of the plate - naughty beagle!

after lunch, while waiting for the beets to cool down, we started cleaning and sanitizing the jars.



then it was time to hunker down, cut the carrots and beets and then fill the jars!





once the jars were filled, shana did some quick math to get the right amount of brine for all the jars we had. then we filled the jars with brine and started to process them.

we processed the jars for about 10-15 min each and once the jars cooled and the lids popped they were ready!

i've given a lot of the jars away as christmas presents and hope to hear back soon about how everybody finds them!

thank you shana for teaching me how to pickle, letting me use your kitchen and your herbs and treating me to a delicious lunch :) maybe next year we can do a pickling session at my house and i can return the favour!

what do to - what to do!

originally when i took this photo in august, i thought it looked very wintery. now that we are in the midst of winter, it feels very summery with all the green leaves

after a super crazy november, i'm now officially off - although i do still have a few projects to wrap up. and what seemed like a nice, long chunk of time off, now seems to be all too short.

a possibly too ambitious list for my 2 weeks off.

• go to the ROM (to check out the Chopin exhibit)
  
• go to the AGO (to check out the Chagall exhibit)
  
• blog! i can't wait to get back to blogging again
  
• hot yoga
  
• enter in all my expenses for 2010 get started on my taxes
  
• practice planned departures for the boys - one day hopefully, they can stay home alone outside of their crates without any anxiety!
  
• train Duke to shake a paw
  
• paint all the baseboards in the basement
  
• finish painting the window trim
  
• paint the unfinished patch in the living room
  
• *gulp* update my outdated portfolio site
  
• organize and give away clothes
  
• set up guest room
  

some firsts

holiday card sketches

why yes that is a beagle on a bicycle!

i have been insanely busy, in a very, very good way these past several weeks. this has made me feel very productive on the business front, but i am starting to feel a bit burnt out.

so for the first time in the history of freelancing full-time, i'm going to shut down happy D designs for a full two weeks. i'm so excited but i'm also a little nervous to do so.

my clients have been notified and i hope to get some relaxation and rejuvenation time in so that i'm itching and roaring to go in the new year.

until then there are a few big projects to tackle, lots of small jobs to complete, a holiday card to finish, christmas shopping to be done and lots of stuff to be mailed. ... but i'm feeling really good about everything, which is a first during this time of year!

i hope that this momentum continues for me in the new year!

ork posters

i finally did it (now that vancouver is part of the ork poster line-up).

an ochre vancouver and a black and white toronto neighbourhood poster are on their way to the hashimoto-yeu residence! aren't they cool?

i like how there is just one designer behind all of these city posters and that she even turned down offers from urban outfitters and macy's to ensure she builds a business and not just sell out. read about designer, jenny beorkrem, in this toronto star article.

once i get them framed, along with my 'there's always room for ice cream' poster, i'll take some photos and post them up. finally, after 2 years, we'll have some artwork on our walls!