Backyard Life

Posted on May 25, 2018May 24, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

When we bought our first house two summers ago, after a decade of renting apartments, we took on an overgrown mess of a yard. We moved in at the end of the summer and didn’t really even know how much space there was or what was under and behind the tangled vines, hundreds of self-seeded onion and garlic shoots, and general garbage that had been casually tossed into the yard for years.

We spent all fall, winter (yes, winter!) and spring that first year trying to get it cleaned up. We pulled out all the weeds, defined the garden and lawn from each other, tried to fill in the spotty grass, cleaned up all the garbage and hauled out the cinder blocks and old bathtub, and rebuilt a section of fence. The house came with a decent deck and we were able to put some vegetables into the garden last summer, so we certainly enjoyed our first summer in our first yard, but this year, after another year of work, we’re really getting to a place where we love spending time in our yard.

We spent the spring getting the garden ready for planting, seeding in more of the lawn, and pulling out the over grown and sickly bamboo and replacing it with some more manageable shrubs. We’ve got plans to put in a small barbecue patio in an awkward part of the yard in the next few weekends, and then I think it will be pretty close to perfect! I’m very much looking forward to spend my entire summer in the backyard with Pepper and the hubs, sipping lemonade and enjoying the spoils of all our hard work.

Dress ModCloth
Jacket U.S. Polo Assn.
Shoes ModCloth (other colours)
Hair Combs Amazon

All photos by Matt Harrison.

Fleeting Seasons

Posted on May 22, 2018May 18, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

We seem to have skipped spring here. We had snow falling right up to the end of April then switched suddenly to 20°C weather with no going back. All the plants have burst into life. It seemed like the magnolia and fruit trees would never get their flowers until they were suddenly there. Then, I think due to the sudden start to summer, they had all fallen away and been replaced with leaves within a week.

I thought I had lots of time to photograph my beautiful crab apple tree in bloom, but the petals all fell away before I got the chance. It feels very representative of the way life has been going since I became one of those very busy adults. The seasons and the weather slip away before I knew they were here.

That’s why, this summer, I’ve got a list and big plans to accomplish everything on it. I’m going to spend time with the people I love at the cottage, and spend as much time as I can swimming, even if my only companion is the dog. I’m going to sit on patios in pretty dresses, drinking radlers, shandies and cocktails. I’m finally going to find a good place for breakfast/brunch in this city that I’ve lived in for nearly a decade. I’m going to put lots of vegetables I’ve never grown before in my garden. I’m going to work hard and spend as much time as possible outside on the weekends. I’m going to say yes to the things that make me nervous and no to the things that make me sad. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this summer before it slips away!

Top Banana Republic
Skirt ModCloth
Necklace Emery & Opal
Hair Flowers H&M
Earrings very old

All photos by me.

River Mermaid

Posted on May 8, 2018August 23, 2020 by Melissa Harrison

I love living where I do in the Niagara Region of Canada. I’ve always loved being near water and I’m so happy to live so much closer to the great lakes than where I grew up. When I was a kid, I would see them every couple of weekends in the summer, now I could go see Lake Ontario whenever I want. I also love that I live two blocks and a short hike down a small ravine from a stretch of water that was originally a small creek, historically a shipping canal, and now a large river flowing into a small delta before meeting Lake Ontario.

This creek is one of my favourite places in the whole city to visit because it offers so many different types of water eco-systems. Like most of the waterways currently cutting through the city, it’s a remnant of the city’s industrial legacy, so the point where I always begin my explorations is an old, decayed and long forgotten lock from when the creek was dug out and transformed into a now-obsolete portion of the Second Welland Canal in 1841 . The water here is deep, cold and thunderous with dangerous, quick moving rapids but if you walk a little further down, the water widens and slows into a calm looking river that nature has almost fully reclaimed from it’s significant nautical past. As a result of the river’s past life as a canal, the area is littered with small reservoirs and spillways for the operation of the canal that have now become little ponds, teeming with fish, frogs, ducks, geese, turtles and beavers. If you know where to look, you can even find the small stream that used to be the First Welland Canal! As you hike up the incline of the old towpath, now converted to a walking path, you get a spectacular view of the delta wetlands that this river gracefully transitions into before flowing to Lake Ontario.

The whole hike takes about an hour from bottom to top and back again. Since it’s in the middle of the city, the path comes out into a light commercial area with a Starbucks about a block away. Pepper, the husband and I love walking the trail on sunny Saturday mornings and stopping in for a tea, coffee and puppuccino before heading back home.

Top Sophster-Toaster
Sweater ModCloth
Shorts ModCloth
Socks McGregor Socks
Shoes Keds
Earrings street vendor in Panama
Necklace gift

Photos by me and Matt Harrison.

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Posted on April 26, 2018April 24, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

My best friend and I recently had a disagreement about whether cake and ice cream were best or worst served together. I said I always dreaded cake and ice cream time at birthday parties when I was growing up because I hated having them on the same plate but was too shy to ask to have them one at a time. Something about cold, soggy cake and crumb-filled ice cream eaten with a fork just filled me with a sorrow I have yet to recover from. He said all of those things were amazing and the best part of childhood. We absolutely could not find common ground on the topic. With his birthday coming up this weekend, I decided to make him something special: birthday cake ice cream with the cake crumbs stirred right in.

Ingredients

1 box of rainbow chip cake mix
- (+ 1 cup water)
- (+ ½ cup vegetable oil)
- (+ 2 eggs)
1½ cups whole milk
¾ cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla paste or extract
1 handful of rainbow sprinkles

Method

Prepare and bake the rainbow chip cake in a 13×9 pan, according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, bring the whole milk, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Beat the egg yolks lightly in a bowl.
Temper the eggs by slowly stirring a ½ cup of the warm milk mixture into them, beating constantly, then stirring this egg mixture into the milk mixture.
Cook over low heat, stirring often, until this mixture starts to thicken and reaches a temperature of 175°F. You’ve made custard!
Strain into a small, heat-safe bowl to catch any lumps of egg yolk that didn’t temper properly and chill in the fridge until cold.
Once cold, stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and churn in an ice cream maker.
While the ice cream is churning, crumble half of the cake into bite-sized chunks.
Place the cake crumbs and fully churned ice cream into a large storage container with half of the sprinkles and fold everything together. Sprinkle remaining sprinkles on top, lightly press a sheet of cling wrap down onto the surface of the ice cream, place the lid on the container and freeze overnight.

All photos by me.