Monday, December 5, 2016

Weekend snippets and a cookie recipe...

How was your weekend?
Ours was busy and we had the opportunity to go shopping, we enjoyed lunch and brunch out at two of our favourite spots, there was time for my knitting projects, then some baking and Mr. HB mowed the lawn as we heard that snow was in the forecast.


We picked up the newlyweds at the airport.
It feels so good having them back in town
and we look forward to spending Christmas together.

Their honeymoon was spent touring NZ and Australia where Nick grew up.
They had a wonderful time.
Except for the earthquake in Wellington, which sounds like a stressful experience and now that we have more details we can understand better what they went through.


Saturday we wandered through the shops downtown.
I particularly like seeing the shop windows all decked out for the festive season...


This cute little jacket is made for a toddler.


The Tapas Bar in Trounce Alley
where we ate a yummy lunch.


The Beehive Wool shop windows



I purchased more yarn so I could knit up some gifts.


Sunday brunch at 
The Beach House restaurant, 
the seas were calm and the skies were blue.


I love this wee table accent...so simple and festive.


Delicious food and a fabulous view made for a wonderful start to the day.
Avocado on toast with poached eggs and pea shoots.

Speaking of food...

I discovered this delicious cookie recipe on line.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/218878/citrus-shortbread-cookies

The cookies are tasty and you can make the dough one day pop it in the fridge and bake it when you have time.
That works well for those of us who like to pace ourselves
especially important at this time of year!


The Kitchen Aid does most of the work.




I will bake these today.

I am also sending Carol a gift as a token of her kindness.
Carol is giving the cookbook she won in the giveaway to Nadya 
who I hope will read this and send me her address
(bungalowhostess@gmail.com)


The neighbours' cat has settled down for a nap on our front porch in the sunshine.
I must get that oven heated up and bake those cookies so I will close for now...

Hope that you have a wonderful week.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

28 comments:

Marilyn said...

Those cookies look yummy. Glad your offspring are safely home.

galant said...

Such a lovely post again, Leslie. Love that dear little Harris Tweed jacket for a toddler! and that simple meal of avocado on toast with the poached egg on top looked delicious. Seeing your biscuit dough (sorry, cookie dough!) has reminded me I need (a) to bake our Christmas cake - still not done - and also to make an almond sponge cake for the weekend. This is just a simple sponge where I substitute half the flour for ground almonds and then put water icing on the top (not royal icing) and scatter flaked almonds on the still wet icing and wait for it to set ... if I can!
Margaret P
www.margaretpowling.com

Patricia said...

Welcome home to the newlyweds! Your house looks festive with those lovely green branches, a refreshing change from our parched home this Summer! Even the shop windows have pretty snow flakes, and the egg and avo on toast is absolutely my kind of delicious breakfast. Happy baking :)

DaniBP said...

Lovely Christmassy weekend made better by having your daughter and son-in-law back home, nothing better than that.
Oh gosh, if I had been shopping with you I would have bought that wee Harris Tweed jacket for my nephew, so adorable. Thanks for sharing such cuteness. xx

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I am sipping a cup of tea and have just tested the cookies for "quality control!"
They are yummy.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

The Tweed jacket is very sweet...Prince George would look very smart in it!
The Christmas cake sounds delicious as does the almond sponge...I make a Victoria Sponge cake and I have never thought to sprinkle it with almonds and now at your suggestion I will the next time I bake one! Thank you!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I had never had an avocado toast with poached eggs and now I plan to make it part of my brunch repertoire.
Your weather is hot! Jennifer is very fair and now has a few freckles despite wearing sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat! I think our cold snap is going to shock them a bit after enjoying the sunny honeymoon.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

The shop is called W&J Wilsons just in case you want to order it from afar!
I feel more at ease knowing that they are home safe and sound...they flew on 7 different planes over the course of their honeymoon.

Nadya said...

Thank you again! Everyone is just so kind here. Nadya:)

Kristien62 said...

I know the relief one feels when the children come back from a long trip. Youngest son and wife returned from Hong Kong yesterday and it was great to have them back safely on US soil.

Spent a wonderful weekend watching oldest granddaughter perform in our regional production of The Nutcracker. She was a rat and a bon bon. It has been delightful watching her mature from the roles for pre-schoolers to actually performing. We loved every minute.

Anonymous said...

The holiday spirit is everywhere. Shop windows, doors, lights, trees. Love it! How nice to have your entire family for the holidays. Nothing better! Enjoy - Susan

Stephen Andrew said...

How cute is that tweed jacket?! glad the newlyweds are home safe and congratulations to them! The cookies sound wonderful. I'm going to be posting my Christmas cookie recipe soon too! Such fun to bake this time of year. Hoping we get snow too!

Jeannine said...

Oh, I was hoping you would share the recipe you previously mentioned! Thank you so much!

La Vie Quotidienne said...

What a lovely weekend. I do so wish I lived somewhere where it was cold enough to wear a knitted sweater as I do love to knit. I am thinking about making a knitted throw for the living room - crochet is fun and quick but knitted item are so much more refined.

Anonymous said...

Happy to hear the newlyweds are home. It sounds like you had a lovely weekend. Your blog is always a treat to read. I am looking forward to making your cookie recipe. Have a nice week. We had our first big snowfall of the season in Michigan. It is beautiful.
Sarah

thepoutingpensioner said...

Oh Leslie, your post brought back memories - that wee jacket is exactly the same design, colour and cloth as my son's old school jacket which I bought in increasing size over the years. Aahhh, the years fly by eh?
The cookies look yummy.
Glad to hear the travellers have returned safely.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Nadya I popped your book in the post yesterday and I hope it arrives soon...perhaps you can let me know when you receive it and wishing you all the joys of the festive season.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It is a relief and I was not really aware that I was feeling this way until I hugged them both at the airport!
The Nutcracker is a traditional holiday production here in Victoria too...
sounds like the performance was extra special this year for you and your family!
If I were watching there would have been a few tears...I get so emotional watching the young ones on stage.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It is an energy and the hustle and bustle just add to the season...I love the smiles on the faces of the people we met in line ups, at the shops and those random acts of kindness that seem to come out of the woodwork.
Take care Susan.
XO

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

The jacket is quite sweet...and so very tiny.
Our son used to get dressed up in a navy blazer, and grey pants with a shirt and tie when my in laws would take us out to their club for dinner..
(there was a dress code) they had jackets and ties hanging in a closet in case guests came unprepared!
I will watch for your cookie recipe...

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It is a shortbread base with a twist! Hope you like it.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh an we have snow this morning so a sweater and layers are necessary.
I saw some bulky chunky knit throws in a magazine and they look so cozy...if you find a pattern perhaps you can share it on your blog?

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

We have snow too Sarah!
It started last night but it doesn't look like it will be that deep...i
t is supposed to snow for several days...such a pretty sight to see.
Hope you are keeping cozy and warm.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh yes Mary those years fly by...which reminds me of that song called "turn around" about a young woman growing up...cannot remember much about it except it evokes a very emotional response whenever I hear it!

La Contessa said...

If that is MY THEODORE send him HOME!!!!!!
Or better yet I will come to fetch him and have a few cookies with YOU!
Looks just like my CAT!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Theodore has a twin...and this summer we thought this cat was a stray and I fed it a few times as he kept meowing and he is quite skinny...after canvasssing the neighbourhood we discovered that the owners ive a few houses away and had just adopted a new cat so this one was not amused! We call him Blondie. My husband has decided that we will leave the cushions out all winter to make sure that Blondies is comfortable on our front porch!
The kettle id on and the cookie tins are full...I have to warn you though we have snow and it is cold...but I am going to hop right over to read you new blog post so I'll catch up with you.

Nadya said...

Thank you, I will. Also, if Carol ever wants to exchange emails with me I would be happy to do that too. If I can help her son in anyway with regard to political science I would be happy to do so. I research refugees in the Middle East but I have studied other subjects in the field too. sincerely, Nadya

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Nadya that is so kind of you to offer, I will send Carol an email.