Happy New Year! Christmas really did happen for us over here but we were too busy having fun for me to post anything about it. I had my mama in from the west coast and we met up with Karl’s family from New Brunswick at an incredibly gorgeous home on the beach. It was superb! Here are a few pics from our cozy Christmas. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I’m here to talk about the new year: my hopes for it and what I’m clinging to this year. After 2017 and the year it was (‘nuff said there) I really feel that my word for 2018 is NEW. I’m saying goodbye to the old things and looking forward to the new. On New Year’s Eve as I was lounging at home with my favourite human I really felt the verse from Isaiah 43 being spoken over me. “Look, I am about to do something new. Do you recognize it? That’s the key. We don’t call it New Year’s for nothing. You may be thinking “Obviously 2018 is new!” Don’t worry I recognize that, but will I recognize the new? Will I wallow in what was yesterday or will I pursue what is new? I had a lot of struggles in 2017, as many many others did, I had a medical professional tell me I needed to pursue the new, to “shake things up” as he put it. His advice was this: try something new, if you like it and it works for you: keep it, if you don’t and it doesn’t: toss it aside and try something else. Change doesn’t come overnight, it comes from trying things, and trying some more things, and trying some more things, until enough of them have stuck and you find yourself somewhere new. The new is right in front of you, it’s thousands of opportunities every day. Will you recognize it? Look. There are a few other translations of the verse above that I really liked too. The NIRV says “I am about to do something new. It is beginning to happen even now. Don’t you see it coming?” The Good News Translation says “Watch for the new things I am going to do. It’s happening already — you can see it now!” The Amplified Bible really got my attention, “Listen carefully,” how carefully are you listening and looking for the new? “Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?” The CEV says, “I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it?” it’s right there, no THERE! The Message lays it out clear (as it always does): “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I am about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is!” The easiest way to find the new: be present. I love that. I also love that this isn’t an old new. Ya know, like a good thing you’d love to have again, like the freedom you felt as a child, or the joy from a previous year. This new isn’t a recycled one of those it’s BRAND-NEW. It’s different and better than reliving anything old. “Don’t keep going over old history!” And don’t worry, this new isn’t something subtle you will look back on in the future and think “I guess that was pretty nice.” It’s not gonna slowly build until finally it’s here at the end of 2018. It’s BURSTING out. See it. Take hold of it. The translation I am committing to memory this year is the Good News Translation: “Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It’s happening already—you can see it now!” I've made it into a background for my phone. Feel free to use it too. I am ready for the new, I can see it now. I am so excited for the new things that 2018 is going to bring. My favourite thing I am already looking forward to is a new marriage in 2018. KARL AND I ARE ENGAGED! I am so excited about my new engagement, and the new titles we are wearing of fiancé! This is not a drill people! I’m getting married!!! I hope 2018 is full of new and wonderful things for you too!
I am thrilled to be sharing in the new with you, thanks for joining me in the journey! Truly. Tasia.
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Long time, no see! Let’s start with the elephant in the room: I’ve been MIA for quite some time and I had promised to be cooking up something good. So what it is? Where have I been? Let’s start with where I’ve been. Well…I’ve been right here at my home in Halifax, but I took the summer off (which turned into taking the fall off as well) to get settled into my new job. I am now working outside the home at a home staging and decorating company called Staged for Upsell. There I’ve been staging vacant properties and model homes for sale and doing decorating and interiors work as well as a tiny bit of exterior redesign and backyard landscape design. It’s been a blast so far. We do so many different styles and I love being able to work in design everyday. Being back in the workforce is quite an adjustment though and my own work (and blog) faded into the background. I can’t promise to be fully back to it yet, but it’s time to finally show the world what I’ve been working on. I am pleased to announce and unveil for the very first time my shop! I have opened an Etsy store where I am selling handmade housewares designed and made by me! It turns out the design and construction process can involve a lot of trial and error. Man, I had to try a million different techniques to get some of this stuff right and I still haven’t been able to figure everything out. But I can’t wait any longer to get this stuff out there. So if you’ve got some Christmas shopping to do I suggest you take a gander over to my shop tab and check out the home goods and even some Christmas items! I’m really excited to show you what I have. It’s just a few items so far but I hope to be adding more soon. I hope you like what I have and I’m always open to suggestions if there’s anything you’d love to see in the shop. Thanks so much for all of your support. Truly. Tasia.
P.S. Check out the items below! Hey friends, sorry this post is late, blame it on my dimwittedness. I made this delicious recipe on Sunday and then flat out forgot to post the blog. We are all human. Today I wanted to share with you a super simple recipe for a delicious summer treat. You’ll only need 2 ingredients with a few optional ingredients for added flavour. Ok, gather up: -2 cups of frozen strawberries (or any frozen fruit you love) -1/4 cup of coconut milk -a pinch of salt (optional, but it helps to draw out the flavours) -a drizzle of honey (optional, but it can sweeten up a sour batch of fruit) -mint (optional, but totally delicious) Chop the berries or fruit up. This helps to measure more accurately and also helps your blender or food processor to puree the fruit. If you are using something like raspberries this is probably an unnecessary step, but I used whole frozen strawberries so I gave ‘em a quick coarse chop, aka in halves or quarters depending on their size. Go ahead and toss that fruit in your blender or food processor, I have in immersion blender so I threw ‘em in a measuring cup. Blend it up, adding coconut milk as you go. This is also where you can add the other optional ingredients to taste. Tasting as you go is key, to pretty much any cooking related endeavour I do. Blend until it is a smooth, thick consistency, similar to ice cream. If it begins to melt as you blend pop it into the freezer for an hour or so to refreeze it a bit. Voila! Serve up that delicious ice cream. Garnish with fresh mint if you’re fancy and enjoy this tasty treat.
With summer coming I’m sure I’ll be making this more and more and trying out a bunch of different recipes. I hope you have fun with this recipe and I hope you have fun this summer. Enjoy the simple things in life like ice cream on the patio, or trips to the beach. May your attitude be as sunny as the summer. Truly. Tasia. |
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AuthorTasia Craig recently graduated from Dalhousie's School of Architecture with a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies and now hopes to showcase her design work on her very first blog. She is currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archives
June 2017
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