If you give home baked goods this Holiday or if you host a Thanksgiving dinner party, why not share your recipes with your friends and family? To help you write your recipes down, you can print these etsy-orange recipe cards designed by Julie Green of Up Up Creative. Keep the comment empty for your friends to fill out once they tried out your recipe.

+ photo by Up Up Creative

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Another find on etsy. This one would make a great holiday gift. I like the concept behind the writing slates produced by a a half kiwi-half canadian couple living with their cat in Vancouver. It is effectively simple. You have a choice of two permanent titles: “Today” or “This Week”.

+ Writing Slates – Planning edition $20 USD

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These personalized gift tags would be perfect for your holiday baked goodies. I particularly like the snowflake. Pretty Smitten sells them on etsy. You choose the icon, the color and the font.

+ Pretty Smitten Holiday – Rectangular Gift/Favor Tags with Personalized Winter Motifs $9 for 12 tags

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It is that type of the year again: I love Christmas cards. To help you make your choice, I will feature my favorite cards for the next 4 weeks. After the Holiday cards for a cause, I went for mod and snowy.

+ The Mod Holiday series proposes 4 illustrations: a tree, a gift, a wreath and baubles. I like the 4 equally.

+ Red Mittens
+ Snow Dude

Holiday cards at Feterie cost $24 for a set of 8 or $4 if you only buy one card.

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I always admired the stylish design of Ovopur, the eco-friendly water filtering system developed by a Quebec brand called Aquaovo. I think the egg shape glazed porcelain jar looks even better dressed in black.

CAVIAR is a limited series available in two patterns: Marcato and Legato. I love both. If I could find a spot in my home, I would like the have one. You fill the top reservoir with tap water. That water will be filtered as it falls on the main egg-shape reservoir. The egg shape reservation prevents water stagnation. Combined with the thermal property of porcelain, your water stays fresher longer. It is simple, elegant and eco-friendly. Except for the filtration cartridge that you need to change 3 times a year, there is no waste.

OVOBAR is a beverage dispenser. It is basically the OVOPUR system without the top reservoir and water filtering system. When you need it, you can use the main reservoir of the OVOPUR as a beverage dispenser. Since it is easy to clean, I do not foresee any problem to convert it for the need of a party. To be safe, I would ask Aquaovo.

SOURCING:
+ Aquaovo collection
+ Ovopur (white) $689 CAD

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Having a few Polaroid flower vases floating around at different heights is a stunning sight. I read on Yanko design that the line holding the frame is a wire, the wire bone’s connected to the light bone, and the light shines on the plant.

I wish I could recycle the idea for Christmas ornaments. The difficulty in making your own is how to install the light. Any ideas?

+ prototype of the Polaroid Flower Vase by Jung Hwajin
+ via The Unreliable Girl

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Every year, my husband and I baked our batches of holiday cookies. They become our signature hostess gifts during the Holidays. I make sure to select a beautiful reusable container. It is part of the gift. Naturally, I am always on the lookout for new ways to wrap my baked goods.

It became a tradition. I look forward for the inspiring cookies recipes presented in cute containers every November on Canadian House and Home. This year, three ideas stand above the rest. First, the white and blue Asian bowls. Similar bowls are easy to find at your local Chinatown.

Another practical idea is the wooden wine bottle box. I have a head start since I collected these boxes. You simply flip the lid over to hide the wine label.

What is noteworthy about the third idea is the recipe. Earl Grey marshmallows sound divine. I never make marshmallows but this recipe is a good reason to start. Apparently, the gentle Earl Grey tea pairs well with hot chocolate. I know that I want to try those.

If you are looking for cookie recipes, they are plenty of choices in their best cookies recipes. If you are looking for more ideas, check out what were the best cookie wrapping ideas in 2007.

MORE:
+ Canadian House and Home, November 2009: photography by Angus Fergusson, food stylish by Eshun Mott

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After making delicious pies and designing a popular dinnerware line, Sophie Conran created a line of wallpaper for Arthouse. Except for Spectra, which is part of a special line exclusively available from B&Q, all her patterns are traditional. Her main collection should be available through many retailers.

Main Collection

For her main collection, Sophie Conran was inspired by magic of fairytales and her childhood memory of summer where she stayed in a turreted chateau high atop a cliff in the Dordogne. Therefore, the patterns feel vintage and French.

Good news for UK readers, you can participate in a giveaway where five lucky Livingetc readers will win £160 worth of Sophie Conran wallpaper.

Styles from Other Designers

More great wallpapers are produced by Arthouse. The blue and silver Divine paper at the top is an eco-friendly wallpaper made from recycled paper and water-based inks in factories that have environmental improvement policies in place. The yellow paper is the Radiance pattern from the Vintage collection. They are both equally pleasing to the eye.

MORE:
+ photos via Arthouse

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At $6 per knob or pull, the Equestrian Hardware at Pottery Barn can add lots of character to a home office or a gentleman dressing room.

+ Equestrian knobs or pulls $24 USD for 4

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I went to Toronto for two days last week to research stories for my blog, to attend a social media event and to meet people. One thing on my list was having a formal tea service. When I saw that Windsor Arms starts serving their tea service at 1 pm, I jumped at the occasion. Some people find it old-fashioned but I like the luxurious feeling of sitting in a classical tea room. For me, the more formal style is part of the pleasure.

I went with Ian Barr and Brenna Flynn of Rocket XL, the firm that planned the Pillsbury Baking Challenge for which I am a judge. Since we only communicated by email or on Twitter before that day, I wanted to actually meet them. The tea service experience was enhanced by our lively conversation.

What comes with the Full Tea Menu at Windsor Arms?

We each chose a tea blend. I opted for the Earl Grey tea with blue flowers. The lavender adds an exquisite touch to the classic Earl Grey blend. Brenna enjoyed her Earl Grey tea with roses. Since they had to go back to the office after, they ordered the Full Tea menu. I indulged by ordering the Complete Tea menu, which added a sparkling wine (or a sherry) to the full tea menu.

We started with elegant sandwich rolls. They look so much more elegant than basic triangles. They served us three delicious sandwiches:

• Smoked Salmon and Salmon Caviar with an Oven-Roasted Tomato Cream Cheese
• Baby Greens with Asparagus, Cucumber Salsa and Chive Cream Cheese
• Grilled Chicken with Citrus Essence

The smoked salmon sandwich and the asparagus one were my favorite. The scone with raisins pleased me. I did not try the plain scone. Besides the sandwiches, the scones and the sweet desserts that I captured on photos, they served us a goat cheese and caramelized shallot tart. The finale was a small bowl of strawberries with whipped cream. As you can see there was a lot of food. Overall, I am pleased with my tea service at the Windsor Arms.

For almost any tea service, you need to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. I knew it but I didn’t reserve! Still, they have accommodated us by sitting us at a nice table.

Business and Pleasures

A while ago, I read an interview where Martha Stewart mentioned that she booked her meetings around her daily activities. For me, it a pleasant way to talk business. When I asked Ian to join me for lunch at a place that I was researching for a blog post, I made him laughed by making this reference to Martha Stewart.

+ Tea Menu at Windsor Arms

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The easier road for stress-free entertaining is to equip yourself with versatile tableware. Casual chic tabletop is what most people are aiming for these days. After all, you celebrate amongst close friends and family. As I shopped at IKEA yesterday, I took pictures of tableware that delivers that spirit. I spotted affordable tableware that you will be able to use over and over.

The first thing that caught my eyes was this tabletop set for a fondue meal. Blue is popular at IKEA this season. I would serve water in turquoise patterned SNÄLL narrow tall glasses for a change. And you do not have to invest in RIEDEL wine glasses with the SKIR glasses. It definitely not the same quality but you get the look.

Then, I pay attention to the Dinera collection. Guys will love the blue-grey and the brown colors. I like the fact that plates come in many formats. You could mix colors or mix all solids with the ones with a white interior. I am partial to tableware with a white interior because typically food looks more appetizing against a white backdrop.

For entertaining, I keep a stack of tiny bowls for individual serving or to serve sauces. Believe me, they can transform a table. I bought a pack of small POKAL glasses for serving affogato. The POKAL  glasses are suitable for hot and cold liquids. You could get two sets: one to drink espresso and the other ones to serve your dessert. Keep in mind that the grey Dinera espresso cups and saucers (second picture) will look better, if you are willing to spend more.

If you are curious, I bought the small and the tall POKAL glasses, the big VÄNLIG glasses plus a few Christmas decorations and napkins.

SOURCING:
+ SNÄLL glasses $6.99 CAD for 6
+ SKIR glasses $6.99 CAD for 2
+ DINERA 18-piece dinnerware set $29.99 CAD
+ CHARMÖR small bowls $3.99 CAD for 2
+ POKAL glasses $4.99 CAD for 4
+ photo of affogato via Food Network Canada

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I like the style of the string shopping bags. At moment it feels European while at other time it feels bohemian. I wish to know if you find them more practical than the Envirosax or the RuME bags? I am thinking of trying them. Here are three models that caught my eyes.

+ Stretch Bag by Artecnica is made from recycled billboard. There is also a leather version vinyl $16 USD, leather $95

+ Black Organic Cotton String Bag starts at $6.95 USD
+ ECOBAGS EarthTone Cotton String Bag Set with Hemp StuffSack 5 bags $29.95 USD

Do not forget to tell me what type of reusable shopping bags you use.

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