A gallery wall

A gallery wall makes the heart smile. Especially when it showcases so much of your favourite art!

If you're like me then you may or may not get a bit...uhh, high strung (?) when it comes to hanging art and finding that perfect ahhhh-like placement. One option I've seen is to create paper cutouts that correspond to the shapes and sizes of your frames then arrange them on the wall using tape. But if you're like me, you're way too lazy for any of that.

So here's what I did. After arranging all of my framed artwork on the floor and playing with their placement, I hung one of the centre frames on the wall. I then stuck easy-to-remove painters tape around the art to help guide the placement of the surrounding frames. Using the painter's tape was such an easy way to maintain an organized yet relaxed feel to my gallery wall. Is also helped make sure each subsequent frame was level...or at least as level as the first frame! ...They all look straight, right?

Images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Stay Close

Meow loves my new Stay Close art print by Kelli Murray almost as I do. I'd had my eye on this print for months, and it looks even better in person than I'd imagined!

To see more of Kelli Murrary's amazing artwork, or to learn more about the artist, visit her Etsy shop or website.

Images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Spring balcony

A Spring patio makes the heart smile, complete with a new barbeque!

Images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

His & hers Pinkberry

On a sunny day, his & hers Pinkberry definitely makes the heart smile. Just LOOK at them!! My Pinkberry of choice this time was original yoghurt with heath bar, brownie, and cookies & cream toppings. Mitch got his usual, chocolate with ALL brownie bits. Classic Mitch.

Images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the celebration, I made this Mexican-inspired quinoa salad. Toasted tortillas strips add crunch to this mix of black beans, sweet corn, and red bell peppers. A lime, garlic, cilantro, and chipotle dressing holds all the flavours together. Actually, the dressing was a bit spicy so I crumbled some goat cheese into the mix as well. Mucho delicioso! Recipe from here!

Image copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Dinner time

Gus and Mickey love family dinners. No paws on the table.



Images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Here's hopping you're having a wonderful long weekend!

Image copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

It's the cirrrcle of life...

Celebrating the first sunny and not frigid weekend with...a baby Lion King impression! Also, lots of wine and relaxation on the balcony.

I don't know what Meowface is looking at in these photos, but he sure looks lovely in all that eyeliner.

All images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

What's a Pinkberry?

THIS is a Pinkberry salted caramel frozen yogurt with cookies and cream, brownie bits, cinnamon streusel, heath bar pieces (which I'd read as health bar pieces), and fruity bears. I'm already thinking about what I'm going to get next time...mango yogurt with fruit for sure. Yum!

Image copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.

Coconut red curry soup

While this coconut red curry soup with sweet potatoes and chickpeas is delicious and hearty on it's own, it's even more filling with a few spoonfuls of rice, quinoa, or noodles. And although I love a good soup, I don't always love eating the same one everyday for three to four days in a row. But by switching up some additional ingredients, leftovers can be a new-ish meal every time.

One day, I even reheated this soup in a pot with an egg dropped in the middle. Stirring the egg into the soup created a thicker, stew-like dish.

Coconut red curry soup with vegetables and chickpeas
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp grape seed oil
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1-2 tbsp red curry paste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 small can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 quart low sodium vegetable stock
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp fresh Sambal chili paste (I used one by this one by Huy Fong Foods)
1/2 cup cilantro stems, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Optional additions
Brown basmati rice
Quinoa
Rice noodles

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and half the red peppers, and cook until onions are translucent. Next add jalapeño, curry paste, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes, then mix in sweet potato cubes and chick peas.

Stir in coconut milk, vegetable stock, tamari, brown sugar, and chili paste. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then add remaining red peppers, carrots, and cilantro stems. Cover, and let simmer for another 10 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are cooked). Dish into bowls with fresh cilantro leaves. For an even heartier meal, serve with rice, quinoa, or rice noodles. Yum!

All images copyright © 2012 Jasmine Habart.