Pseudo Healthy Cookies

I've been making these cookies for a few years now but I feel like they've just recently earned their new title of "Pseudo Healthy".
As I mentioned the other day my husband and I are trying to eat a little healthier, drink a little less and exercise a lot more. This goal seems even more important as I just counted that we only have 10 weeks until we'll be lying on a beach in Cuba celebrating the union of some great friends. 10 weeks might sound like a long time, but I think its a realistic time frame to shape up the right way (no fasting or fad diets for us!).

However that being said I am not the kind of woman who can cut out sweets completely. I need balance!  I believe that gently giving in to cravings is better than trying to hold back from something too fiercely and then bingeing later. And by adding healthier ingredients I feel a little bit less guilty when I do give in to those sweet cravings.

Simple Baby Cap

I've really been enjoying knitting these adorable little hats. They are so quick to make and quite adaptable. I think I'll do some more with stripes, stockinette stitch or maybe moss stitch.

Babies can never have too many hats right?

 The pattern came from "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" by Hadley Fierlinger which has lots of cute patterns.

Happy 1st Birthday Little Blog!

Well it's been one fun year here at Domestic Bliss! Thanks to all my readers for following me throughout my domestic adventures and thanks even more for sharing with me when you've been inspired by something here on the blog.

Out of the 208 posts on this blog the following are the top 10 most popular posts from the last year:

1.Green Onion Cakes  (way to go E-town!)
2. Chocolate Crack
3. Old Fashioned Cocktail
4. Recycled Skirt and Dress
5. Pink Floral Dress
6. Shift Dress
7. Rumtopf
8. Quinoa Patties (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack time? so versatile and filling, glad that you all love these too)
9. Cherry Tomato Pizza Margherita (one of my favs as well)
10. Knitted Pillow Covers

And in honour of this special day I've rounded up my personal top 10 favourite posts (in no particular order) from the last year. Enjoy!

Thai Cucumber Salad - This is one of my go-to salads to make for my husband for lunch. It's light and refreshing and takes mere minutes to throw together.

Goat Cheese Spinach Quiche - Although this dish takes a bit more time (due to making the dough) it's completely worth it. This is one of our favourite rich hearty meals that makes great leftovers too.

Striped Full Skirt - This has been one of my favourite skirts this summer and soon to be fall. It's seen better days (it got a good dose of bike grease within the first week of wearing it) but I still cherish it.

Flour Tortillas - Flour, lard, salt, water, and baking powder = one the tastiest damn things to come out of my kitchen in the last year. My favourite part about making tortillas is that one batch will usually last a week or two in my fridge, so I can have hot fresh soft tortillas anytime of day with very little effort.

Tomato Foccacia - an impressive bread that somehow doesn't feel like it takes as long as some other yeasted breads. Try it soon before the cherry tomatoes disappear!

Macaroni and Cheese - Now that the slightly cooler weather is upon us all I can think about is making some Mac n Cheese! Maybe paired with some yummy roasted broccoli? Don't mind if I do...

Kimono Robe - This was one of my first handmade garments and I still love it so much. I wear it pretty much every morning when I wake up, although maybe this year I'll make a slightly warmer winter version.

Long and Narrow Patchwork Quilt - Both my husband and I would be lost without our beloved quilts. They're usually folded and stacked in our living room, never too far from our reach on the couch where they keep us bundled and cozy.

Log Cabin Rug - I just can't get enough log cabin! This rug is looking a little worn these days...or perhaps I should say it's looking well loved. I think I'm going to make a variation of this in different colors for a bathmat soon.

Pizza Dough - Last but certainly not least is my all time favourite pizza dough. If there's one thing I hope someone out there has taken from this blog it's this great recipe.

Lemon Plum Iced Tea

September in Nova Scotia is a bit of a magical time of year. The days are still warm while the morning and nights are perfectly cool, and the farmers markets are bursting with everything you could ever want.
Labour Day felt like the perfect representation of September. It was cool enough in the morning to put on jeans, but the sun has came out and called me to the lake. I made rich and hearty blue cheese scones for breakfast, a cold soba noodle salad for lunch, a spicy corn chowder for dinner and this delicious and refreshing iced tea for every moment in between.

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

For about the last two weeks I've been eating and drinking with dear friends to my heart's content and have loved every minute of it. But as we all know that lifestyle can only last for so long. A few nights ago while indulging at one of our favourite bars with a friend visiting from away, my husband and I quietly made a pact that as soon as our visiting friends leave we're going to get back into our usual rhythm of eating healthy mostly home cooked food and exercising. 

This cold soba noodle salad is the perfect first healthy meal to kickstart our little detox. Fresh raw veggies, a light and zingy peanut dressing and of course buckwheat soba noodles. Yum!

Baby Button Up Hoody

I finally finished my first baby sweater for a friend. It's just so darn cute because it's so tiny! Even my husband couldn't help but smile and giggle looking at the teensy tiny sleeves as I knit them up. 

I'm still rather new to knitting in pieces that are sewn together, and truthfully I think my next sweater will be knit in the round. It just feels so much easier. Also I totally didn't clue in that knitting a sweater like this in stripes might not make sense once it has to be sewn together with one colour of yarn. Oh well, on to the next one!

Plum Vanilla Jam

I wish I had an good excuse as to why I've been withholding this gem of recipe from you. I guess I could say that it's because I've been swamped with keeping up with my preserving mayhem while hosting multiple house guests AND working a few shifts at the family biz.
But who cares what I've been up to, all you need to know is that this jam is so flavourful and perfectly tart that it's easily won the title of "My Favourite Jam Ever".