Coldwater Steampunk Festival - August 8, 2015

Coming up on August 8th is the 5th annual Coldwater Steampunk Festival. We went a few years ago and had a fantastic day of walking around Coldwater and seeing all there was to be seen. You can read more about our adventure from a few years ago here, here, and here.

It was all wonderful, but we really enjoyed the costumes, the Knights of Barrie Swordplay Association, and the steam powered corn roaster.

Costumes

Knights

Corn roaster

Yummy corn!

There is so much more to see and do, and I am particularly excited that the costume contest this year is themed 'Wild Wild West'. I am obsessed with westerns at the moment, so I can't wait to see all the amazing costumes.

So if you are in the area check it out on August 8th from 9am-4pm. If you are from out of town, think about planning a trip to Coldwater. This festival is really a lot of fun.

To find out, more check out the following links:

Coldwater Steampunk Festival website

Coldwater Steampunk Festival on Facebook

Coldwater Steampunk Festival on Twitter

Puppy Dog Cake #FoodPicFriday

Our friends Colleen and Brendan recently threw a puppy birthday party for their son. There were hot dogs, dog shaped cookies, cheese and crackers (with the cheese cut out as dog bones), as well as assorted treats served in new puppy bowls. All very cute and well done.

Colleen, who decorated the Beholder cake from last month, also made the dog cake for the birthday party. She used a combination of piped icing and fondant to make this cute little guy. A lot of work, but the result was adorable. Her son had a very happy birthday!

Trudy-Versary

A year ago today we adopted our sweet Trudy-cat. It didn't take us long to fall in love with her and it didn't take her long to fall in love with us. She is not as in love with the other cats (nor them with her) but she is one of the family and is happy to be here.

Resting on her favourite blanket

Trudy has decided I'm her BFF (best friend forever) and she follows me around the house when the mood strikes her. She isn't a lap cat, but she likes to be near me. She'll lie at my feet when I'm at the computer, or she'll sit at the other end of the couch if I'm on it.

Her first time sleeping on the couch with me

She is a very social cat (with people). Periodically I'll feel a cat paw poking at me if it's time for pets or playing. She is the first cat I've known that really loves belly rubs. She rolls onto her back and demands them. She is so silly and fun.

Give me all the belly rubs!

We have come up with various nick names for her over the past year. There is Trudy-Bear, Trudy-Doody, Tru-dor, Trudinator, Big Gray, Big Grump, Tank, Pretty Eyes, and a million more that we make up while talking to her. We love her!

Tank sitting on some boots

Pretty Eyes sitting on a pillow

My Favourite Bun Deal

Generally I make my own buns for sandwiches, but if I'm in the grocery store at the right time, I don't mind picking up a bag of deal buns. The local Foodland has an amazing bakery and getting a bag of the 'end of the day buns' is the dream. It is always crammed full and is often incredibly assorted. It used to be $2.00 for the bag, now it's $2.49, but it's still a great deal. Bought individually the buns are anywhere from $0.80 to over a dollar. The buns are still fresh for a few days, so we normally eat as many as we can and put the rest in the freezer for later.

This 'end of the day' assortment had bagels, plain rolls, garlic and plain dinner rolls, a cheese bun, an onion bun, and two soft pretzels (not pictured because we ate them). The pretzels tasted like they had been dipped in all the butter. Yum. A few times we've gotten a chocolate chip danish in the bag. So good! We love the bun bag!

Hot Pepperettes #FoodPicFriday

On July 4th weekend, we had a nice time walking around the Sales Barn (aka Elmvale Flea and Farmers Market). The weather was beautiful (if a little hot), there were lots of people out, and lots of stuff to look at. There are some crazy book deals this year, with one vendor offering six books for $5. I got a pretty good haul of books last year, and I'm rather particular about what I own (even if it's less than a $1 per book), so I didn't add any books to my collection this time around.

I did pick up some hot pepperettes, which weren't lying about their name. Sometimes food listed as "hot" is actually more of a "medium" spiciness, but these didn't disappoint. They were Hot Hot Hot and super fun and easy to eat. The pepperettes were 12/$5.