My December Adventures!

Its the last day of December. Isn’t that crazy? I’m doing this on the last day instead of tomorrow since we have 2020 business to take care of then so shifting things up a little. We’re going through the very busy December and all kinds of recap and seemingly a bunch of shopping and gifts and fairs and outings, etc.

Fingers crossed that all will go as planned as writing in December has been a bit all over the place… (it hasn’t because this is going up much later than expected)

CRHS Annual Craft Fair (December 1)

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The @officialcrhs annual #craftfair was today! There were a lot of stalls showcasing all kinds of unique things. In the end, this was my #shoppinghaul . #Teas from #NamasteKitTea ; #Snowflake #Ornament by kids (can't remember the store name..Little Fairies something); #Anthurium from #CactusofHope #cactusdelespoir (for a charitable cause); #Crochet #Wand as a gift from #2SistersCrochetandKnitting

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Dec 1, 2019 at 12:55pm PST

DIY Christmas

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Its December already! And it means channelling the #crafty #diy side of me! I've made a few #wreaths but couldn't resist making a #branchwreath for the first time. Here's how it turned out! #plushie #snowman #cupcakes #sparkly #glitter #gingerbreadhouse #gingerbreadman #pinecones #berries #Diywreath #christmas #christmasdecor #decorations #xmas #holly #winterberries

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Dec 2, 2019 at 7:00pm PST

You can see the post on it HERE.

Next up, I went along and tried out some Marbled Ornaments as well! Which was mostly a failed attempt in general but did decide that its a project to further pursue and figure out. Plus, its some nice way to use up old nail polish so that its not just thrown out without some form of recycling/repurposing. You can check my post on that HERE.

Marché Casse-Noisette & Mini-Comiccon

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Went to check out the #MarcheCasseNoisette and #MiniComiccon today both at @palais_montreal #palaisdescongresdemontreal ! Here's some fun little items I picked up (and a gift) – #catcollar gift from @surprisesdephoebe for my cat at @zoelulupetboutique – #scarf at @leoncemtl (for the husband) – #maplesyrup aged with #TennesseeWhisky from @virgin.mady Then some free #posters from Mini Comiccon for upcoming #films, #TheGrudge and #FantasyIsland as well as a little card for #selfpublished #comic by @erik_teren_mullins . #mtl #events #shopping #shoppinghaul #buyinglocal #quebecproducts #quebec

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Dec 7, 2019 at 1:28pm PST

Marche Casse -Noisette took place from November 28 to December 8 at Palais des Congres which happened to overlap with Mini Montreal Comiccon held December 7 and 8 also at Palais des Congres just one was in the main hall and the other was upstairs. With that said, it made sense to go and check out both at the same time. While the haul wasn’t particularly a lot, it was a first time visit for both place for myself. Some nice discoveries to be found. I will definitely go check the Marché Casse-Noisette again but probably not the Mini Comiccon as its rather lackluster.

Salon des Metiers d’Art 2019

• Coach House Shortbread Company: Dark Chocolate & Salt; Almond & Rose; Ginger
• La Nougaterie: Salt Flower Caramel; Dark Chocolate; Christmas
• Nutra Fruit: Chocolate Covered Cranberry; Dark Chocolate- Cranberry Spread
• Cidrerie du Minot: Des Glaces
•  Choco Chocolat: Dark Chocolate; Dark Hazelnut

A lot of the SMAQ 2019 sales is about the same as previous years, the exception being that I bought the spread from Nutra Fruit and the chocolate from Choco Chocolat, which I believe is a new booth this year at the Salon. Most of this stuff is for festival party time and gifts and whatnot.

Ottawa Day Trip

We took a quick trip with a friend to go to Ottawa to do some quick errands. We had a nice lunch at Fatboys (post about our first time HERE) and then finally found time to go grab some donuts at Mavericks Donut, which they had 4 dairy-free flavors and the husband and the friend each chose 4 to get a dozen. After that, I finally brought home Pumbaa from Disney Store to join Timon at our place and then picks up some wine at LCBO and some food in preparation for NYE dinner plans at T&T Supermarket.

Holiday Festivities: Christmas Dinners & NYE Hotpot

Christmas Eve dinner was a ton of fun with a lot of people at the in-laws. It was a fun little event with some surprise gifts for ourselves which we didn’t expect to get anything in the first place. My mom wanted to have a turkey feast (as shown above) so she held a dinner and invited us and some of her own friends for dinner and here we have the overzealous food galore. Everything was delicious as usual. NYE is a hotpot meal and part of the Battle of Ingredients festivities so a separate post will be done for that.

Boxing Day Shopping Haul

Boxing Day this year has been a little less exciting. It has to do a lot with the fact that we’ve been trying to decrease expenses and its truly changed the spending habits into being very cautious with our expenses. Its not going to seem it since we’ve done a lot of shopping this past month…seemingly..but then its all useful things or food. Either way, without further ado (as this is the last part before this post ends)..the shopping haul from Boxing Day.

• Adidas outlet: Running Shoes
• Dynamite: Sweater and 3-pack scrunchies
• Steam Sale: Life is Strange 2: Complete Edition, Detention, Gris, The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, Glass Masquerade
• Playstation Holiday Sale: Overcooked 2, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
• Amazon: Playstation 4 Controller Charging Dock
• Walmart: John Wick 2

Cute Kitty Pic

That’s it for this December Adventures!
How was your holidays? Had a lot of fun with family? Did you do some Boxing Day shopping?

DIY Crafts: Branch Wreath (1st attempt)

Signs of the early years of Tranquil Dreams is coming back into shape this December as I get through some housekeeping for the blog going on in the background, I’m having this sudden urge to get back into doing some DIY crafts and also some cooking and baking planned as well. Its going to be (hopefully) a fun little December that will get back on track on all the positive things that I’ve always liked doing as a crafty and creative outlet that is a very wonderful release for me when I manage to put together something nice.

First project to tackle is a branch wreath. I’ve put together all the wreaths at our current home and while it might not be as economical as a store-bought one, all of mine are unique to what I want on there and how I want it to look like. Feeling like a bit of a change, I went for a branch wreath at Michael’s during the Black Friday Sale and picked up a bunch of wreath decorations to see what I could do.

Here are all the supplies that I had bought:

• Branch Wreath
• Wreath Decorations

There’s something very different from doing a branch wreath than doing a pine wreath. It has to do with the whole messy elements of trying to put all the elements in. Putting in the decorations is trying to find that spot to hold them in place while hiding the sticks holding them up also. I didn’t use any wire which you could get or go with using hot glue to keep them all in place. With that said, designing branch wreaths are more minimalist in some ways where less is more.

Here’s my first trial which didn’t quite look like how I wanted so it was quickly pulled apart to rethink and redo…

Back to zero, I did some research on Pinterest on how branch wreaths usually are structured and then thought about a new structure where I would go find some supplies that I had bought before but never used. There some gold hollies and berries that I had picked up a year or two ago at Michael’s at a previous sale but never found a way to implement in anything else.

The final branch wreath turned out like this:

The final one looks like this.

It is a very simple first attempt and I can see some places where I can improve at filling in the gaps and making it feel more full and giving it some more volume as well. Overall, I am fairly happy with it as it does have the fun little elements of Christmas that I like and its along the lines of what I wanted to do.

Branch wreaths are this very interesting element to discover because of the whole fitting the pieces into a more classy style and it also has this less is more element to it while giving it space for the branches to have its compliment to whats put on it. I’m definitely having some more ideas on what themed wreaths to do. But there’s still time to maybe spruce this one up as nothing there is set because I also like my wreaths to have the chance to change it up when I get tired of looking at it. This version doesn’t have any glued elements and just held from strategically placing them to hold in place by the branches under and some of the wired holders on the wreath decorations.

*As a side note, I am working on a second one as a gift so expect a post on the new one (along with an update if I do change something on this one). That one is looking a lot more refined than this first one in my opinion so far but the theme isn’t fitting in as well as I’d like it to so its still in the making. *

Christmas Decorations 2017

Its almost a tradition now to start off the holiday marathon with my Christmas decorations. There’s always a bit of the same and still manage to get some changes in there. If you’ve seen the previous one (and actually remember it), then there will be something new still. Christmas is a big deal at our place especially with my husband and his family so in our 9+ years together from dating to marriage, its been a huge part of our life and honestly, one of the most exciting times of the year when we do get to decorate. At the point of this going up, we still have some possibly outdoor decoration to put up but not sure when that is happening as outdoorsy wires and rigs are up to my husband and he hasn’t found the time just yet. Its our turn to host the family party this year so I’m guessing it will happen.

Let’s go!

Bay Window Lights

It seems fitting to look at the display for the outside. Our bay window lights haven’t changed using a layer of white and blue lights. My poinsettia has been the same for the last three years. Its a little sad but I’m hoping it’ll turn red soon. You can’t see it here but I ended up adding in a garland to line the bottom of the window and putting a candy cane decoration on the top.

On top of the stairs

One of our new purchases this year from Michael’s are somewhat rustic which matches our dining room ceiling that extends over our stairs. Its little people hanging on in their winter getup on some rustic string.

I can’t remember where I put this reindeer last year but I think it was in the den. This year we took away the candle and put it here by the shoe rack drawer by the front door.

On top of the piano are these singing chipmunks that when pressed sing Up on the Rooftop. On its side is a little gift from Starry Traveler which was a little puzzle and I put it together and decided to use it as display instead of ornament this year.

Our new wreath this year that I put together is with a empty wreath and wrapping around a garland of white poinsettia, adding in three elves, one little santa, two tricolor berries along with a bell ornament that I used to put on the tree but fills as a ribbon. There are some pine scented Scentsicles buried in it.

Dining Table Decoration

The santa here was bought this year as a possible tree topper but we decided to use it as a dining table decoration with some white beads as the bottom. The candle holder on the side is also a new purchase and used for the table decoration. We don’t have a big table so these items will move when we have the party.

Moving into the den, we have a little berries display with some IKEA shards in the vase to keep it in place. I have a red snowflake candle holder along with a little Merry and Bright panel.

On the other side by the closet door is the first wreath I made for the house. I added in some new Scentsicles. I couldn’t find the berry ones so I also used pine for this one as well.

Moving over to the office, I used to only have one strand of light on the bookcase but we found another smaller one so I connected it up and draped it over the new art I had put up this year. I love it as it keeps me in a great mood and motivated to get work done.

FINALLY…

To wrap things up, the christmas tree! We’ve had the same one as the last few years. Its a 7 foot Christmas tree from Costco. This year, we have the colored lights and then after a very painful hour, I managed to strand a shorter but brighter strand of LED colored lights around the middle. We didn’t get any new ornaments this year but did keep it between the fun and fancy ones and held off on some of the solid color ball ornaments.

That’s mostly it for this year’s Christmas decorations!
What do you think?

My Weekly Adventures: Christmas Prep and Decorations (plus a new DIY skill)

C’mon! You knew this weekly adventures was all about Christmas 😉

What other time would I be able to, right? This year, I actually got my house decorated earlier than two days before Christmas.  Last year, we took so much time looking for decorations and ribbons and beads to decorate the tree that it took us 3 weeks to get it all done. This year, I did my shopping on Black Friday weekend and took care of mostly everything.  We did the outdoor decorations just this past weekend and its also the reason why I only did the update now.  Plus, we’re right on track! Remember 1st and 15th from last post where I was going to attempt this new schedule for Weekly Adventures segment? Right on time! 😉

Its these little achievements that make me happy!

I’ve rambled enough! Let’s talk Christmas! 🙂

1) Christmas decorations around Montreal!

Le Atrium @ 1000 de la Gauchetiere West

Place Ville Marie

Restaurant Costa Del Sole

I know I know…its so little.  I haven’t really had a lot of wandering adventures yet. At least not a lot of new decorations so I’ve already talked about it in previous years.

2) Salon des Metiers d’arts de Montreal (aka Montreal Arts and Crafts Show)

I go to this show every year. I’ve probably talked about it before and showed you my purchases.  The show seems to be getting smaller and smaller but this year, there was quite a few new vendors and they had some rather awesome new products.  We usually go for the foods, snacks, wines and ice cider varieties. Mostly because those are great for parties and gifts for family and friends. This year, I had set a budget and it got me this loot right here (plus a co-gift for my chiropractor which is not shown here).

Starting from the top left to right and next row, here are the items:

• Des Glaces, Ice Cider, Cidrerie du Minot
• Cidre du Feu, Fire Cider, Union Libre
• Bise d’Automne, Vendages Tardives (“late harvest”)/dessert wine, Domaine du Ridge
• Cidre Feu, Fire Cider, Domaine Labranche
• Peppermint Bark, BLINK Chocolate
• Honey and Almond Soft Nougat/Lavender Soft Nougat, La Nougaterie
• Champagne Lychee & Cranberry Jelly, Nutra-Fruit
• Shortbread: Sugar Plum, Almond and Sugared Rose, Pecan, Coach House Shortbread Company

Ice Cider is kind of a Montreal thing.  Quebec has a ton of apple orchards and a bunch of them will also produce ice ciders.  As of last year, Fire Ciders came onto the market from Union Libre and I just loved it.  That’s why it was on my hit list for this year’s show.  Much to my surprise though, Domain Labranche is a new vendor and has this product too except they chose to give us a second option of trying it heated it.  He described it like drinking Sake.  Now, I’m not a fan of sake because its too strong for me but this one tastes absolutely fantastic.  As I drank it, I could picture heating this up, stirring it with a sprig of rosemary or thyme or cinnamon stick (as he suggested to us), and sitting by the fireplace while watching an awesome movie.  Look, if your product can give me a vivid image like that, I just couldn’t refuse getting it. Blink Chocolate is dark chocolate and lactose free and it taste so good.  Its good for little tastes of dessert. As for La Nougaterie, I just love their products.  Last year, I was introduced to Coach House Shortbread and I gave all of them away.  This year, its going to be also a little dessert with tea or coffee or something like that.  It’ll be so awesome.

I’m loving my purchases so far.  This year, there’s not so much about gifts but thinking about how to be a great host for the Christmas party.  I think I’m set! 😉

3) Christmas decorations at my place!

Last year, we just bought the house and I hadn’t moved in yet so all we did was put up a Christmas tree.  This year, since I’m around, I stepped it up.  We took two weekends or so to decorate.  The first to go up was the Christmas tree and some little decorations, then I made a new wreath (I’ve already shown you my other wreath last year so I’ll skip that), and finally some outdoors decorations we set up this past weekend!

Berry Sprigs with Color Lights in a Vase

New Wreath: Blue and White theme

Inflatable Santa with his little companions, Polar Bear and Snowman

Its always nice when plans happen to work out. I still have one more garland to put along my inside stairwell.  I also showed that last year. I have a little bit of rearranging for that one before putting it up.  We’re still debating whether to wrap a ribbon around the Christmas tree.  Those outdoor setup looks really nice. Our area is all about side entrances so no one uses their front doors.  Its a little weird but hey, Santa’s guarding it for me 😉 And my fave goes to my husbands idea of having a few layers of lights on the bay window: clear lights surrounded with a backdrop of blue lights.  I love it! 🙂

As for the last minute addition right before sitting down to draft this post, its the book shelf.  Its newly installed and I just arranged all the TBR books that I own, so the bookworm in me felt like it deserved a little decoration. I guess its also a sneak peek of next year’s reading list, if you can see the titles 😉

4) Making Ribbons the FIRST TIME! 🙂

As you can see that I made a new wreath up there, I had to learn how to make a ribbon.  Last year, I was super lucky and one of my girl friends made it for me.  Hers was much more complex and its on my older wreath thats also hung up somewhere else.  But, I just had to make one this year so I chose that simpler model and found a link on Pinterest that I followed.

Here’s the zoomed in version of the bow:

DIY Bows for Wreath

Pinterest instructions: http://lizoncall.com/2014/09/17/how-to-make-a-big-bow/

Its not perfect, but its my first shot and took me like 20 minutes or something to get it looking fairly balanced.  I’m starting to think it looks a little oversized for my little wreath.  But hey, for a first time, I think I did decent. I’ll give it another shot next year and maybe change to another ribbon if I have to 🙂

5) What is going on with the Weather!?!?!

Its more of a thought than an adventure but I don’t know about all of your whereabouts since I’m guessing it varies but we had one little sprinkle of snow so far and all we’ve gotten was rain.  Last Friday, it was 15 degrees Celsius! That’s a little crazy for being in winter and all.  For my guests sake, I really don’t want to have a storm on Christmas day but I would like to see some snow on the ground by then.  Maybe its just me being Canadian…

The best part however is that the mild weather gave me a chance to go out this past weekend and clear out the rest of my pots on my patio that I didn’t get a chance to do before.  And guess what I found: mint growing in my garden…. Its December and my mint thinks its still okay to grow.  Yikes! Mojito anyone?

6) Upcoming: CHRISTMAS!

You know what? Its Christmas month pretty much with a few days of like after Christmas posts and before New Year’s wrapping up the year posts for that last week.  That’s what you’ll be expecting here.  I wrapped up the first round of Netflix.  The Random Chat Show also kicked off our Christmas Show. I have a few movies planned but this year, I want to get back to DIY crafts and baking so it’ll be a mixed bag.  I’ll have a few really overdue book reviews and extra posts going up that I promised I’d do. My guess is the next weekly adventures I’ll get to talking about plans for next year and 2015 recap and all that good stuff. I still can’t believe there’s only 16 days and 2015 ends! Its a little crazy!

FINALLY…

To wrap it all up, an adorable and somewhat hilarious video of NHL Montreal Canadiens doing a rendition of Frozen’s “Let It Go”.

Happy Tuesday, my lovelies! 🙂