Beauty Parlour: Rose Gold & Champagne Blonde

I'm obsessing over champagne blondes right now. Anywhere from rosy gold to pink and pearly blonde. Trendy and current, this colour is gorgeous. It's not always easy to achieve (so see your stylist!) but you guys know how much I love a challenge. Going blonde can be drying for the hair, and sometimes it's hard to maintain shine when going lighter. My favourite way to make a champagne blonde sparkle like a glass of bubbly is with the right shine products! KEVIN.MURPHY makes two amazing products that dazzle on blonde hair... the YOUNG.AGAIN Immortelle treatment serum, and the SHIMMER.SHINE spray. Use both of these products to prep damp hair before heat styling (protect that hair!), and again on dry styled hair to finish and add the polish.  Both of these products are two of my newest must haves for blondes and will make your hair glisten like never before this holiday season!! Get your shine on!

(I'm loving my new workplace, PARLOUR.363 in Morden, MB!)

Recipe: Apple Pie

It's that time of year, when leaves turn golden, PSL's a plenty, and the apples are ready for picking! Here's the recipe that I use for a mighty fine apple pie! It's my husband's Grandma's way of baking them, and I try to stick as close to her method as possible... because I've had her pies and they are THE BEST. My sister Jackie took time a couple years ago to go and bake with her, and learn all her tricks. I think knowing how to make a good apple pie is an essential skill to have. I mean, who doesn't love apple pie?! Not to mention how your house smells all day... ahhh... oh yeah, on to the recipe:

Grandma Hoeppner's Pie Pastry

5 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 package (2 cups) Tenderflake lard

1 egg

1 tbsp vinegar

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cut lard into 1" slices and place in layers into the dry ingredients (sprinkle some of the dry ingredients between each layer of Tenderflake). Cut in the lard with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles "course meal".

Whisk egg and vinegar in a glass 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough cold water to make 1 cup (250 ml).

Make a deep well in the centre of the mixing bowl and slowly add some of the wet ingredients (egg mixture), mixing in between, while adding more of the dough and wet mix until all combined. You want the dough to just cling together, and not be too wet. 

Turn the dough onto the counter/tabletop and work together by gently kneading a few times. I divide this dough into 6 equal balls and chill overnight. It can also be frozen. (2 balls = 1 pie, bottom + top crust)

Apple Pie Filling

(yield: 1 pie)

6 cups Goodland apples, peeled/cored/sliced (You gotta have Goodland (best ever!!) but Granny Smith is a close second)

2/3 cups sugar

1 tbsp tapioca

1 tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp cinnamon (I prefer Saigon)

Roll out bottom pie pastry, and fill with sliced apples.  Whisk together sugar, tapioca, corn starch, and cinnamon, and sprinkle this mixture over the apples. Brush the edge of the bottom crust with lemon juice before adding the top crust. Pinch/flute the edge and cut excess. Add a design with vents to your pie pastry and brush with cream. Sprinkle with shimmering sugar (or regular sugar) and wrap the very edge of the pie with tin foil to avoid burning the crust. 

Bake at 425*F for 15 minutes, and then turn the oven temperature down to 375*F until it's done... around 30 more minutes. You can remove the foil for the last couple of minutes to get it evenly golden.

Enjoy! I hope you love this pie as much as we do!

Shift

(link)

On my mind lately, as I've made recent sacrifices and shift of focus. 

Crave: Pineapple

wallpaper/iphone case/Toms/card/charm/salad/DIY pineapple eggs

What's not to love about a pineapple!? I've always loved the fruit, so naturally I'm loving that it's a trend in home decor, fashion, and beyond.  That wallpaper is just the bees knees, isn't it? Hygge & West has a collab with Rifle Paper Co. that's releasing May 19th.  That salad is on my "to try" list of recipes for this summer, it looks so tasty. I also love grilling pineapple, and could easily say it's my favourite burger topping!  I wore through my glitter Toms this spring, so these pineapple print ones will make the perfect replacement! I may just add the pineapple Pandora charm to my bracelet as a little nod to our Hawaiian honeymoon in 2006 (we had fresh pineapple when we were in Kona, and it was a highlight of our trip!), and I don't think it needs to be Easter to decorate with those cute pineapple eggs. Would be a fun summer craft project to do with the kids. 

Pina coladas anyone?

Mother's Day Tea

I hosted a tea party for Mother's Day, and invited some special women from my family. It was a lovely time, and a good distraction from the cold, wet, windy weather.  My Grandma's china made another appearance, and Ryan's Mom's setting had a special cup & saucer that belonged to her Mom.  I was gifted it last week, so it was perfect timing. I'm loving the idea of having a collection of teacups & saucers.  It was Delilah's first "real" tea party, and I could tell she enjoyed it. She had her own tea, and listened quietly to all the conversation.  To me, it was the perfect way to spend a Mother's Day afternoon.

The menu included various teas (Pink Passionfruit from DavidsTea, and Earl Grey Provence from Mariage Freres were the favourites this time), scones with clotted cream & raspberry curd, lemon dilly cucumber sandwiches, lemon & raspberry macarons, and an adapted version of the Courtesan au Chocolat that I made for my Spring Tea (the dark chocolate filling is really good!).

I love any excuse to make sweets and set the table for a tea party! Mother's Day is certainly no exception. I wouldn't mind at all if this became a tradition.

The Spring Pop-Up Shop // Jenna Rae Cakes

Winnipeg has a sweet new cake shop, Jenna Rae Cakes, and they hosted a pop-up shop this weekend. With Delilah's birthday right around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect excuse to head into the city for some mother/daughter time. The pop-up was put together by several creative ladies from the area, and there was no shortage of loveliness! 

Floral arrangements by Fache Floral Designs were flaunting roses, ranunculus and peonies... oh my! I've such a soft spot for blooms lately. Bracelets by Sugar Blossom Design made for the perfect early birthday gift for my girl (she picked one out for us both). There was also the works of Julie Doan (calligrapher), One Plus One design, and Simply Rosie Photography. Let's just say there was enough eye candy to go around. Oh! Can't forget about the treats, either! Jenna is one talented bakerella, and she's got a good thing going with her new bakery open at 580 Academy Road. 

I vote for more mother-daughter dates!

Spring Tea 2014

What better way to welcome spring, than with a tea party, and what better way to kick off this blog! Welcome to Tea & Fancy! I'm so glad you're here! I look forward to sharing things that I fancy with you, along with bits and pieces of my adventures around my kitchen, and my home. I'm excited for something fresh, and I'm ready to finally venture back into the world of blogging. 

I celebrated my birthday last week, and thought it would be fun to put together a Spring Tea and invite some friends, new and old.  I made it a bit of a resolution this year, to throw more tea parties. It's a great time to sit and relax with friends & family, enjoy tea and sweets, and have an excuse to wear a dress. Oh, and don't forget the flowers, too.

For the decor, I went with a pink floral theme for spring. My grandma's china was perfect. The centrepiece was a DIY arrangement of O'Hara garden roses, freesia, and pitt, in a teapot. The smell is so lovely.

For the tea, each of my guests was able to choose a tea from my collection. This way everyone could try what they like, or maybe something new. There was a variety of black, green, herbal, rooibos, and even maté teas.

I served cream tea scones with raisins, sun-dried tomato & cream cheese sandwiches, mini malted milk chocolate macarons, and Courtesan au Chocolat (inspired by The Grand Budapest Hotel). It was a joy to prepare! A photo booth was a fun addition to the afternoon, as well. 

I'm already looking forward to an Autumn Tea, but let's not think about fall just yet..