Hamilton Happenings: May 2012

 Image via thetwosparrows 

I think the first two weeks of May are the busiest two weeks in Hamilton all year! There is an insane amount of things to do and each event sounds too good to miss. A difficult situation for someone like me, who both loves this city and is hopelessly indecisive. Help a girl out... what are you doing in Hamilton this month?

AGH Art Sale: May 3-6 / "After spending the winter months visiting artist studios and province-wide art fairs and exhibitions, AGH Art Consultants have selected a variety of works for the home, office, and finally... the garden! Enjoy a bright and dazzling selection of original art from emerging and established artists."

Sew Hungry: May 4 / 11-3 / Ottawa St. / Touted as Canada’s largest food truck and restaurant rally, this seems to be the event everyone is talking about. 15 of Ontario’s best food trucks and 6 of Ottawa Street’s top restaurants will be serving lunch curbside, including fan favourites Gorilla Cheese, El Gastronomo Vagabundo, Smokes Poutinerie, and more. My advice from attending last year? Take the afternoon off and be prepared to wait.

Art Grab: May 4 / 7-9 / 155 James St N / $71 / A fundraiser for Hamilton Artists Inc, this event presents a gallery full of 5 x 7 anonymous works by local artists, celebrities and community leaders, which you will get a chance to sntach right off the wall! There will also be door prizes, refreshments and entertainment.

Doors Open: May 5-6 / This is one of my favourite events of the year. Hamilton has so many beautiful heritage sites and this is your chance to peak inside them, completely free of charge! Being a tourist for a day in your own city may be just what the doctor ordered.

Spring Sprint: May 5 / 10am / Dofasco Park / My family fundraise and participate in this 5k walk/run for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada every year in honour of my father, a brave brain tumour survivor. If you can't make it out to the event to cheer us on, please consider sponsoring me here, or at least send us happy thoughts as we huff and puff around the track Saturday morning.

Simple Apron Sewing Class: May 10 / 6-9 / 174 James St N / As far as I know there are still spots available in the class I'm teaching at Needlework this month. Just in time for Mother's Day!

Vintage Dress Sale: May 11-12 / 133 James St N. / For the first time White Elephant is bringing Victoire's successful bi-annual vintage sale from Ottawa to Hamilton! Together with vintage enthusiasts Love In The Afternoon from Toronto and Hamilton's own Peacock Chic, they have sourced the most incredible dresses from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Tulle, silk, lace, taffeta, bows, crinoline, oh my! Who knows, maybe my wedding dress will be hiding in those racks?

Mother's Day: May 13 / all day / Don't forget!

West Hamilton Artists Tours: May 12-13 / 10-5 / A unique opportunity to peak inside the studios of your favourite local artists. This year's tour features 22 artists in 10 locations throughout the Locke Street and Kirkendall neighbourhoods.

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

We've been trying to eat a little healthier around our house lately. Not so much cutting back as eating more regularly and snacking on foods with a little more nutritional bang for your buck, so to speak. These everything-but-the-kitchen-sink muffins are the perfect solution. With carrots, bananas, raisins, and oats, the nutritional value is off the charts. Plus, I beefed the recipe up even more by adding dates, cranberries, cinnamon and honey. If you're going to get spontaneous with your baking, this is probably the recipe to try it with. They're super easy. Have fun and please remember to let me know how they turn out!

I found the original recipe on Pinterest, pinned from the blog Pip and Ebby, who I just noticed took it from Martha Stewart. Here I thought I was finally posting a non-Martha recipe. Oh well. There must be a reason they are the only ones that make the cut. All hail the Queen!

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins*
1/4 cup chopped dates*
1/4 cup cranberries*
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

*if the raisins, dates or cranberries are tough, soak them in water for 10 minutes or so to softeneat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats, raisins, dates, and cranberries. Add oil, egg, milk, carrots and banana and stir until blended.

2. Fill each muffin cup with 3/4 cup batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. To store, keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

We're Engaged!

So I stood you up after all. However, I think I have a pretty solid excuse. Mike completely caught me by surprise and PROPOSED! Not a typical Thursday evening, to say the least. Out of pure shock and nervousness, I'm afraid we both bumbled the event a little, but it was certainly romantic and true to us, and I must say he did an amazing job with the ring. It's exactly what I wanted and I'm over the moon in love with it! I can't stop looking at it, which I've discovered can be quite dangerous when driving a car or cutting fabric. Ha! Despite many people trying to convince us otherwise, buying antique was important to both of us, and I'm so glad Mike refused to give up the search. It feels like he found a hidden treasure that was meant just for me. I suppose that makes him a cross between a knight in shining armour and a pirate. Regardless, I'm one lucky lady!

Miss Poppytalks-a-lot

1. winter water factory 2. loop loft 3. Wind & Willow Home 4. winter water factory 5. pebblestone papery

Remember my newsy post from last week? Well the very evening I posted that, I got some more exciting news! I'm going to be a regular contributor for Poppytalk! After telling a few friends about it over the weekend, I realized I needed to polish my schtick, so here goes. Poppytalk is a Canadian design blog dedicated to collecting inspiration and promoting new design talent. Poppytalk also hosts an online monthly-themed marketplace which showcases handmade and vintage goods from around the world. It will be my job to promote the artists in this handmade market. I'm super excited to be a part of the Poppytalk community and I hope you'll follow my work there.

My first two posts are up here and here.  Thanks for all the comments so far — I feel so welcome! While you're there, you should also check out my sweet bio on the contributor page and my "table" in the market.

Oh, I almost forgot. One more thing. Poppytalk also produces a monthly lookbook to accompany the handmade market. It's really beautifully done. Check it out by clicking on the image above or visiting the direct link. 

I'm determined to not let this blog suffer as a result of this new responsibility. So I plan to meet you back here by the end of the week. I hereby give you permission to kick me in the pants if I stand you up. :)

Cue Soundtrack: Bittersweet Melodies

I first read about the work of Argentinian photographer Irina Werning and her Back to the Future project a little while ago. I bookmarked it, intending to share it on the blog, and that was the end of that. Honestly, sometimes I think I was a squirrel in another life. Anyways, the point is, this week Feist gave me a second chance, as she has incorporated the introspective photos into her video for "Bittersweet Melodies". It's so great to see two artists I admire collaborating together in such a perfect way. It couldn't be better timing for me too, as this week I was reminded of just how helpful and generous the art community is here in Hamilton.

Collaboration is good. Let's do more of that.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
E xo

Shop News

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! Besides a lovely visit with my family and scoring an amazing new dress from Sweet Trash, my weekend was pretty disappointing on the whole. A clear case of expectations getting way out of control, I think. Anyways, I'm quite happy to put it behind me and look forward to all of the exciting things happening for Dear Edna over the next month!

I'm proud to be taking part in the Poppytalk Handmade Market for their Mother's Day and Eco-themed month. If you're unfamiliar with the Poppytalk market, it's a curated online marketplace that showcases handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world. I hope you'll take a moment to visit my virtual table and all of the other fantastic artists I'm sharing the space with from today (April 9) through May 4th.

I'm also thrilled to announce that for the entire month of April, I'll be donating 10% of all sales to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada as part of their annual Spring Spring event. My family fundraise and participate in this 5k walk/run every year in honour of my father, a brave brain tumour survivor who has remained tumour-free for four years now! To learn more about the foundation or to sponsor me directly, please click here. Go Team!

In case you missed my messages on facebook and twitter, Needlework is a beautiful new fabric shop and workspace that opened in downtown Hamilton in February. They sell gorgeous designer fabric, notions, patterns and books; host fun craft nights; and provide a wide range of classes. As you can probably guess, it just might be my favourite space in the city. And I'm super excited to let you know that I'm becoming a part of it. That's right, you're looking at Needlework's newest instructor! My first class is on May 10th and I'll be teaching how to sew a basic apron. Just in time for Mother's Day. Pencil it in to your calendars now — more details will be announced closer to the end of the month.

Happy Easter!

sleepyking; bomobob; Plushable

applenamos;

Melimebabybeeshop; Zandie; TextilePlatypus

There's something special about Easter isn't there? It's the only time of year you'll see daffodils and tulips in bloom, little girls in little Easter dresses, and mini eggs that aren't over four months old.

I hope everyone has a lovely, relaxing holiday with their families! I'll see you back here next week with some exciting announcements. :D

E xo