DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    Chinese New Year  starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors. The sacrifice to

   This diy comes from  www.makethebestofthings.blogspot.com  .  Another really cool decoracting Idea.  Enjoy! 3 D effect with hot glue I've been kicking this idea around in my head for awhile and I just decided to do it. How can I get a dimensional, 3 D image on a vase, jar, box or even a canvas? I considered cutting shapes out of foam and gluing them on, or gluing on store bought appliques or even jewelry charms. But all of those require a bit more effort or money and I knew there was a simpler way. So here's what I came up with..... The standard thrift store cheap glass vase. The sticker on the bottom says fifty cents, so it was a bargain. Now for my design.... Aha! It's my "leaving the house and my hair is a mess" hat. I got the pretty applique for $1 and it makes it look less like my "bad hair day" hat and more like a stylish statement. That's what I tell myself, anyway. Lol! So, I love the look

Sunday, February 7th, was....*gulp*...my birthday. Whew! There. I said it. I know my mom's proud and shocked. It has taken me years to admit my birthday publicly to friends, students, and strangers. Usually I don't tell anyone and don't even celebrate the day of my birth. I also turn off my cellphone to avoid well-intentioned phone calls from relatives and my ex-girlfriend. I really don't like commemorating the 7th of February, but interestingly, food blogging is the catalyst behind my decision to slowly change my perspective.    For weeks, I have been planning out what type of cake I wanted to make for my birthday. Like I said, I don't usually do anything for my birthday, but now that I have just started baking, I decided to make something special for it. (My friend guessed right that I made this cake for the blog more so than for my birthday haha)    I wrote down notes for my quintessential cake. I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to ha

   The  Festival du Voyageur ( Festival of the Traveller),  is an annual 10 day winter festival which takes place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during February. " Voyageur"  refers to those who worked for a fur trading company and usually travelled by canoe. This event is held in Winnipeg's French Quarter, Saint-Boniface, and is Western Canada's largest winter festival. The event celebrates Canada's fur trading past and her unique French heritage and culture through entertainment, arts and crafts, music, exhibits and displays. History     The idea for the festival was first proposed in 1967, in celebration of Canada's centennial. However, due to a lack of sufficient funding from the city council, the proposal was not acted upon. In the summer of 1969, the mayor,  Ed Turner , and the city council of Saint-Boniface granted their support under the condition that the Festival became an incorporated organization.  Judge Robert Trudel