Well people, it is finally here. My dream, my joy, my very first book, Scotland: Celebrations & Soul Food. This is my around the calendar, around the country tour of Scotland’s unique celebrations, complete with history, photographs and of course recipes to give you the full flavour of each event. For those of you who […]
Feb 15, 2015 | 0 comments | View Post
To continue on the theme of “My Fabulously Talented Neighbours”, I am pleased to introduce you to the lovely Vicky Gangel of The Glass Angel jewelry and home accessories. A busy mum and local artisan, Vicky creates a wide variety of glass objects from fusing her work in a kiln from home. Although she had […]
Sep 30, 2011 | 3 comments | View Post
Suffice to say that my heart has run the gamut of Olympic level emotion this past week. I had the incredible honour of attending my niece Allie and her new husband Calvin’s wedding in Vermont. I love all weddings but this one, in particular, was extra fun as almost half of our immense family was […]
The part of the Finland that we visited was in Kaaresuvanto, which is in a narrow northern arm of the country that borders both Sweden and the coast of Norway. In fact the ‘town’ spans a river into Sweden where it name changes to Karesuando (famed for knives apparently). Any way you slice it, it’s […]
Well people, it is finally here. My dream, my joy, my very first book, Scotland: Celebrations & Soul Food. This is my around the calendar, around the country tour of Scotland’s unique celebrations, complete with history, photographs and of course recipes to give you the full flavour of each event. For those of you who […]
Feb 15, 2015 | 0 comments | View Post
Apologies to all for the lateness of this post, but there have been big doings here in Jeantopia of which explanations will follow soon. Additionally, a very important bit of information in viewing these images is that I have very wonky ankles. May seem random information I know, but it does have relevance I promise. […]
Synchronicity is an amazing thing. Like most people, these past few months have had their fair share of ups and downs, but one of the most unexpected positive developments has been that we have been learning Norwegian. Competitively. Against each other…like you do. LOCKDOWN It all started when we noticed my daughter was losing interest […]
Sep 04, 2020 | 2 comments | View Post
The part of the Finland that we visited was in Kaaresuvanto, which is in a narrow northern arm of the country that borders both Sweden and the coast of Norway. In fact the ‘town’ spans a river into Sweden where it name changes to Karesuando (famed for knives apparently). Any way you slice it, it’s […]
Synchronicity is an amazing thing. Like most people, these past few months have had their fair share of ups and downs, but one of the most unexpected positive developments has been that we have been learning Norwegian. Competitively. Against each other…like you do. LOCKDOWN It all started when we noticed my daughter was losing interest […]
Sep 04, 2020 | 2 comments | View Post
Today, my heart is so heavy I am tempted to hide away and let the horror of this past week’s events wash over me. But as I lay in bed scrolling through the recent headlines, I have my young son snuggled up next to me and I know that isn’t an option. Not for me, not […]
Oct 28, 2018 | 0 comments | View Post
On my ferry journey to Shetland, I met a fabulous woman named Peg (who just happened to be American and also had a blog) and her lovely daughter Salem, so I had some fun buddies to enjoy the processions with. After a very fun and full day of enjoying the town of Lerwick, the darkness […]
Jan 27, 2014 | 3 comments | View Post
There just ain’t no getting around the fact that this post is going to be a doozy! I tried, I have really, really tried to get the story, the images and the adventure that is Up Helly Aa into a single blog post but it is just not possible. So instead, there will be four; […]
Whoop, whoop…Swedish Linn of Cardamom Buns fame is back in the house! This time she is here to share a fantastic contemporary treat inspired by a Swedish Christmas classic. This recipe comes from chef Cecilia Vikbladh from her book Cecilias Fikastunder, which roughly translates to ‘Cecilias Coffee Brakes’ but it actually means much more. The partaking […]
Nov 16, 2013 | 2 comments | View Post
This may have been the event that started me on this journey. During our courtship my soon-to-be husband would send me wild, weird or groovy tidbits about the land which I would soon call home. The Burryman of South Queensferry grabbed him in particular as it was under five miles from where he spent most […]
Nov 01, 2013 | 2 comments | View Post
So, the day had finally arrived…my children were in school full-time! This is THE point in time where (ideally) years of creative preparation were to emerge from development to magically transmute into reality. As per the fickle finger of fate, the starting gun was waylaid by a horrendous multi-week cold. However, don’t feel too sorry […]
Sep 06, 2013 | 3 comments | View Post
It is just not easy being me. As it is Monday, and I savour the mix of post-emergency room embarrassment, missed Father’s Day guilt and travel exhaustion, I feel I must share my tale of woe to try to ease your life journey with a cautionary tale from my own. For the past several years, our […]
Jun 17, 2013 | 7 comments | View Post
First things first, I HATE baking. Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate baked goods per say, just any personal involvement in the act of baking. Here is my beef with the whole thing: I can not stand how baking requires you to dirty multiple bowls, utensils, instruments & pans to generate an expensive and labour-intensive […]
May 05, 2013 | 16 comments | View Post
I owe the lovely owner of this next shop a huge apology for my tardiness in posting this blog, but it is still tres au courant given recent events. As I am a relatively superstitious person, part of my New Year’s preparation is to make sure everything in the house is fresh and clean by the time the […]
Feb 25, 2013 | 3 comments | View Post
Well contrary to popular belief, apparently I was very good this past year! I have been itching to share my excitement over the lovely things Santa brought me this year and have finally found a quiet moment to do so, so sit back & relax as this is sooooo cool! From left to right let […]
Jan 01, 2013 | 7 comments | View Post
We are blessed with the most ridiculous variety of world-class foods right here in my nook of the woods. In fact, in my county of Fife alone you can get not only local farm produce and grains, but also dairy products,wild game, beef, pork, chicken and of course spectacular fish & shellfish. So in an effort to […]
Dec 01, 2012 | 4 comments | View Post
I think I may have recovered from this trip just enough to share this journey with you. The setting is relevant so bare with me a moment… I was returning from the most fun family reunion ever at Mont Tremblant, about an hour north of Montreal, Canada. As per usual, I seriously kicked up my heels during […]
Oct 28, 2012 | 5 comments | View Post
I (like many folks of a creative bent) can get knocked off my perch with disheartening ease. For me, this book was the most recent culprit. It is well written, highly acclaimed and billed as “The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More”. So naturally I thought, “Hey, this sounds fabulous for […]
Oct 13, 2012 | 7 comments | View Post
Now I know that these have been quite the rage amongst the healthy folk of North American in the past few years, but let me tell you a bit about the role of kale in the Scottish diet…’cuz we like own kale babe. For a quick refresher, kale is a member of the cabbage family […]
May 01, 2012 | 8 comments | View Post
Due to an unforeseen miracle of changing Freeview boxes I now (after 10 years mind you) get a few precious hours of the Food Network a day. That is the good news – the bad news is that the window in which this miracle occurs is limited to between 8-10 pm so I have been watching the same […]
Apr 27, 2012 | 6 comments | View Post
The region or county that I live in is called Fife, more commonly know as The Kingdom of Fife. Long before there was a notion of a land called “Scotland”, this peninsula of land was said to be the lower Kingdom of the Picts (or Painted Peoples) known as Fib. These ancient boundaries and names persist very much into the present […]
Jan 08, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
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