Happy Canada Day 2011 !!

We will be celebrating Canada Day with a Family and Friends

EH! BBQ...

Wishing all a fabulous July 1st, Canada Day!!!

How will you be celebrating Canada Day?

Let the Celebrations Begin!!! Another BlogLand Friend is Published...

As someone who is working on her own novel, I know the ~ sweat, tears and yes sometimes blood that can go into writing a single sentence, on some days. So, when a friend sees her dream come to life after completely her novel ... I want to celebrate her achievement and share it with the world!!!

So, pour yourself a cup of tea or bubbly (coffee and ice-tea or lemonade will do too!!) and let me introduce you to one of the most fabulous,creative, inspring and brilliant writers I am honoured to know and whose writing I am privileged to read with my morning tea/coffee. (and who I hope to one day share a cup of tea and bubbly with).

My dear friend Carol just announced the release of her novel Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines . I am over the moon delighted for her!!! If you read the blog she writes, Facing 50 with Humour you already know she is a brilliant writer and has been working on her dream for  quite some time. I still recall the French doggie post about the petite chien that ate her last chapter.

Carol's book is available for downloading and will be available in print very soon!

If you are not already reading Facing 50 with Humour , what are you waiting for? Click on over there and be prepared to be entertained, and insipred by fabulous writing and adventures. You can also order Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines through a link on her blog.

Rainy Day in the Country

It's raining and gloomy in the countryside AGAIN!! (going on 4 days)

I know great for the gardens. But I sure miss the sunshine and being outside!

So, today I will ....

Stay in bed a little longer and read ....

lounge and catch up on some letter writing ... (even though Canada Post is on strike)

my letters and pracels will be waiting by the front door ready to be posted, when the strike ends.

Enjoy a warm cup of tea, while visiting old blogfriends and meeting new ones...

And after a day of lounging... what is a girl to do?

relax, enjoy a nice bubble bath and listen to some music...

Hope there is sunshine in your corner of the world and that you are out enjoying it!

 If it's raining where you are, take the day to relax and rejuvenate...

What is the weather like where you are?

joining...

Comfort on a rainy day...

Before my inconvenient detour, I never understood when people would say "this weather is killing me" or "it's going to rain, I can feel it in my bones and joints". Well, now that I am one of those people, I can tell you its no bowl of cherries.

On days when the weather is determined to keep me down, I find comfort with a good book ,currently reading Murder on the Boulevard (by our own BlogLand Friend, Kori Donahue, aka Blonde Episodes ). This is the perfect book to read when you are curled up on the sofa and have the day to enjoy reading. Each chapter keeps you on the edge, eagerly wanting to find out what happens next. The characters come to life with each turn of the page. Definitely one book that MUST be on your summer reading list!

Of course a rainy day is not complete without a warm cup of tea to warm up those creaking joints and aching bones. And of course cookies and chocolate ....

How do you spend rainy days?

Where have you been...

Summer, I have missed you terribly ... but the temperatures and calendar say that you are back!! So to celebrate your return I think some bubbly is in order... How about a Bellini?

The Bellini cocktail was created 1943 by Giuseppi Cipriani at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy in honor of the painter Geovani Bellini. The original recipe was made with fresh pureed white peaches with a bit of raspberry or cherry juice to give the drink a pink glow.





Original Version
2/3 cup white peach puree (use yellow peaches if white not available)
1 teaspoon raspberry puree
1 bottle chilled Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine )
Place 1 1/2 tablespoons puree in bottom of each flute and add 2 - 3 drops of the raspberry puree. Add Presco and serve in tall champagne flutes.

I recently came across this recipe while unpacking some boxes ... oh the fun memories of sipping this delight with the girls on the patio of my city home. I hope you give it a try, I know I will be again, soon!!!

What's your summer signature drink?

Joining some great blog hops...

Tea with Coco Chanel ...

Coco's quote " My Life didn't please me, so I created my life". ... inspires me to move forward and to create a new life, instead of wasting time looking back to a life that served me well, but is no more. For this reason I have chosen Mademoiselle Coco to be the first in my series Afternoon Tea with ... read more click here...

My Favourite Things Mystery Giveaway ~ Revealed

Thank you to everyone who entered the

Pre-Blog Launch Follow Mystery GiveawayS

for my new blog

ATTEATUDE and Chocolate ...

The Mystery Giveaways were based on some of my favourite things:

Journaling and sending cards to family and friends,

are fun ways I keep up with my writing.

One lucky follower of A&C will be able to do just that with   

this fabulous journal and card set ...

To make sure that I eat healthy when on the go,

 I take a lunch bag with me.

How cute is this lunch bag? Now one follower of

A&C will have a chocolate fun way to carry their lunch!

It's important to slow down at the end of the day (or afternoon, if you are able). I like to treat myself to a little chocolate, while listening to some soothing music and a sleep mask enables me to dream away.

This fabulous trio will be a wonderful welcome at the

end of a long busy day for one follower of A&C

One of my newest favourite things is sipping chocolate!

One A&C follower will also be enjoying the rich, creamy smoothness of

Bellagio sipping chocolate, great anytime of the day!

One of my most favourite things is to pour myself a cup of tea

and immerse myself in the latest on-line issue of Belle Inspiration ~

So, one A&C follower will be receiving a

year's subscription to this great on-line publication and

I'm sending you some samples of my Chocolate Tea, so you can enjoy it too!

So, who are the 5 lucky followers of ATTEATUDE and Chocolate,

who have won these great items?

Click Here to find out ...

and if you are not yet following ATTEATUDE and Chocolate,

click on over

start following and commenting, to qualify

for future RANDOM Giveaways!!!

Pasta Al Forno ~ Cooking with High Heeled Life

One of the many things I miss post Detour in Life is cooking, but with some help and the almost finished kitchen renovations- see the new floor I am getting back into the kitchen. David Rocco is one of my favourite celebrity chefs, and he is a local resident, so I decided to use a recipe from his cook book David Rocco's Dolce Vita. I chose Pasta Al Forno ...

Ingredients;

• 1 lb (500g) Rigatoni pasta
• 4 Tbsp. (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 15 infornate olives or any black olives, pitted and chopped
• 10 large sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 dried chili peppers (optional)
• salt
• 3 cups (750 ml) tomato puree
• 3/4 lb (375 g) mozzarella cheess, shredded
• Smoked scarmorza cheese, roughly chopped
• Freshly grated Parigiano-Reggiano cheese, for sprinkling 

My helper for this recipe was RehabGirl ...

She was in charge of making sure I didn't forget I was coking , didn't burn down the house, or carry too much weight with my right arm ~ no more than 2lbs 

of carrying the water filled pot and getting the pasta going.

The Sauce...

In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil and brown garlic; make sure oil is hot before adding the eggplant, olives, sundried tomatoes and chili peppers. Saute everything until the eggplant becomes soft and is slightly golden. Add some salt and the tomato puree. Simmer 5-10 minutes or until pasta is ready.

Drain and return pasta to pot. Add all the sauce, mozzarella and scamorza cheeses.Stir really well.

Pour the whole thing into a large baking dish. Top with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano and

bake 400 degree F. (200 degree C.) oven for about 30 minutes or until beautifully golden and crisp.

Finished Pasta Al Forno

serve with a Ceasar or Caprese salad

olive bread

and a nice red wine ...perhaps a Chianti ... Enjoy!

This was a fairly simple dish to make and

the clean up minimal (so good for the person who did not cook).

What your favourite pasta dish?

Click Here

Check out the Blog Hop Tab (under header) for some great linking parties.

Merci ~ Atteatude and Chocolate ~ Giveaway Announcement

When I started blogging just over a year ago, I wasn't sure how long this "project" would last; what I would write about; who would read what I wrote - if anyone; but, with the encouragement of my speech therapist and the psychologist at the time, I agreed it was worth a try. After all, I really needed to work on re-developing my writing and communications skills.

So, I started writing ... I still recall the feeling I felt when I realized I had my first follower; when I hit 10 I thought wow! But what really touched me were the heart felt, supportive and encouraging comments people were leaving. All I can say is MERCI... without you, I may have given up yet another "project" to try and get me communicating back with the world and getting a life.

Much has happened along the way ...  a few more people clicked their heels on over and before I knew it, I was learning about new things, like Lilly dresses, who knew that a simple dress would make my life so much easier. I also discovered that I could write and post at anytime, so on days when I'm feeling drained I can write at night or when I feel energetic. Discovering the pre-scheduled feature was like eating ice-cream on a very hot day. I started to visit other people and reading what they were writing ~ I found many inspirational posts. What I also discover was that I was building genuine friendships in this virtual world. I have even been fortunate to have met a couple of you in the non-virtual world and you inspire me even more ..  Sandy ; Barry  ; Suburban Princess.

You are probably thinking ... ok... but what is

Atteatude and Chocolate and what's the Giveaway?

Well because of you wonderful readers, and your supportive and encouraging words and sharing of your own journies and success... I am happy to say that I have begun to embrace country living and the simple life that comes with it =  starting to embrace the slowly emerging "Me Version 2.0".

I have discovered a cup tea while visiting and reading your blogs,  is actually very calming and almost theraputic for me; I find on days when I would have just curled up under the covers, I'm accepting my lap top from Mr. G - to check in on you or if you haven't posted for awhile I'm hoping to see a post from you, meaning everything  is ok on your end. With all your wonderful posts on chocolate (pre-accident my friends referred to me as the chocolate aficionado ~ after not so much interest in it) I started exploring and discovered sipping chocolate is like heaven in a cup, igniting my taste buds. I have also learned that - attitude, really does matter to moving forward .... put it all together and you get....

ATTEATUDE and Chocolate

My new blog where I will write about my deepened love and appreciation of tea and new found passion of sipping chocolate, my dreams for the future, the small things that really matter and the comfort I feel when I take a moment to enjoy life and truly live in the moment.

And to celebrate it's launch I'm hosting a great Mystery Give-Aways (I can tell you its going to include many of my favourite things and there will be multiple winners)... all you have to do is click on over become a follower of ATTEATUDE and  Chocolate and leave a comment there, saying you are now following, before the official launch, which will happen within the next few weeks ENTER GIVEAWAY at ATTEATUDE and Chocolate ~ click here

Don't worry I will still continue posting here and to share my journey  ~ challenges and triumphs to creating Me Version 2.0 and hopefully continue to inspire others to keep going forward one step at a time.

Check out my Blog Hop tab for wonderful linking parties I'm joining...

My Story was published...

I recently submitted my story to Brain Injury Society of Toronto, to be considered as a survivor speaker for their up-coming conference. Imagine my surprise when I was contacted and asked if they could use my inspiring survivor story on ther website ... YES, I did not even have to think about it, if my story can help one person facing transition in their life, I will be better able to be on my road to acceptance of this Detour my life has taken.

I hope you will take a moment to go over and read my story CLICK HERE I would love to get your feed back.