Gigi's Blog bio picture
  • Welcome to the Gigi Blog!

    Mother to six Little Women and Two Little Men. Married to a Happy Mortician. Caretaker to goats, chickens and many, MANY bunnies. Photographer. Homeschooler.Β Lover of Jesus, coffee & tea and all things pink & vintage.

Four Generations.

Sometimes, I wonder …

Will my girls will ever realize how blessed they are to have their great grandma living in the same town as them … able to come over for visits and tea and sewing lessons and read stories together? [I do.]

Will my girls realize how special it is to have (three – but two pictured below) two loving grandmas in their lives ….

Will they remember this amazing moments of love?

and encouragement?


Will they cherish these memories of their childhood like I do mine?Β  [Such beautiful memories.]

As Louisa May Alcott said …


“Every house needs a grandma in it.”
— Louisa May Alcott


P.S. If you have a grandma near you, go visit her today! Or call her. Or send her a love note in the mail. If you do not have a grandma for your child, there are so many wonderful ‘grammas’ out there waiting to adopt your child as their grandchild and love on them. Look around your church or your neighbourhood – you will find someone, I guarantee it!

March 9, 2011 - 7:05 pm

Special Aunt It also nice when you have 2-3 generations of aunts, sometimes we want to spend time with the kids, but does not always work in your favour, due to time and distance away, but you keep trying

March 9, 2011 - 7:01 pm

Special Aunt It does not have to be only grandma’s, aunts are also important in your child’s life

March 7, 2011 - 10:24 pm

Amy You just made me cry! This came at the perfect time! I’ll be visiting my grandma tomorrow who likey has only a few days left on this great earth. Thanks for this wonderful post to remind me of all the amazing times we’ve had together. .

March 7, 2011 - 2:43 pm

Amy Rasmussen-Harry beautiful pictures of the girls. I don’t have any grandmothers on my side but my husband has 4 generations on his side. We appreciate every moment when we spend time with them.

March 7, 2011 - 1:48 pm

Tabitha β™₯ I miss my Grandma soooooo much. Wish she was here to love on my men the way I know she would have πŸ™‚

March 7, 2011 - 1:47 pm

Tara C I often wonder the same thing. I love having my Grandmas around to spend time with and just love my kids. It’s so precious!

March 7, 2011 - 1:28 pm

Shannon Oh I love that quote! Thanks for sharing! Lovely pictures…such beautiful memories πŸ™‚
My kids have one of their grandma’s (and grandpa)under the same roof – what a beautiful way to grow up <3

March 7, 2011 - 1:19 pm

Brenda (Gillian’s Mom) Thank you for those DARLING pictures! Please make sure to send them to me, πŸ™‚
It just warms a Gramma’s heart to be with their grandchildren, especially when their parents are so free in allowing us to be there anytime! Thank you for ALWAYS having your door open to us, Gillian. We appreciate that! xo

March 7, 2011 - 1:08 pm

Dee I agree 100% with this post!! I am one who did not have any grandparents and feel so blessed that Hudson has two sets of grandparents and two sets of great grandparents. These pictures are beautiful!!

March 7, 2011 - 1:06 pm

Heather Rivlin Gillian, I just think that is extraordinary. I think the girls WILL cherish it. You’ve done, and ARE doing, such a wonderful job of documenting and capturing their childhood, their pink, their girliness and all of the joy and wonder of their moments, that whatever their little minds lose, their eyes will one day see, and cherish, and value. You’re such a great mom, and so very blessed to have such support in your life for you and your girls. Gotta love me some involved grandmas!

Think Big. And add some caramel sauce to that thought.

Thanks, everyone, for the comments left on the blog this week. You all make the blog more interesting and I really appreciate all your feedback and love!

So, it’s time to pick a winner of the Grace & ‘lil Grace jewelry set!

Using random.org – the winner is ….

#23 – Erin

Congratulations, Erin! I just need you to send me your mailing address so I can get you your prize in the mail! :)E-mail me at gillian@gigiphotography.com to get things sorted out. πŸ™‚

___________________________________________

The greatest discovery
of my generation
is that human beings can alter their lives
by altering their attitudes of mind.

~William James

I’m thinking about some things in my life … and thinking big. It’s going to take a while to evolve, but God willing, it will!

Wondering what kind of deliciousness is in my coffee cup today?

Let me share.

I’m sure you all know that I love homemade treats – they are usually healthier and cheaper – bonus! So this morning, I thought I’d try to make homemade vanilla syrup for my coffee. And homemade caramel sauce. It was super, insanely easy … if I can do it, you can!

I think it’s safe to call me cheap – or rather, thrifty – I don’t like spending $5 on a speciality coffee but I LOVE treating myself to a coffee (especially after a long, hard day) … so I thought I’d keep trying to come up with ways to drink them at home.

Here’s the recipe for the Cup of Heaven pictured in the above photograph:

You’ll need vanilla syrup, espresso shots and caramel sauce.

Here’s how to make your own vanilla syrup ….

1.5 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Bring to a boil in a saucepan, stirring lots, until the sugar is dissolved. And that’s it! Done!! Store in a jar that is easy for pouring – add to any type of coffee for a special treat.

Now on to the caramel sauce – yummmm … THIS can be used for so much – topping on a cake, dip for apples or drizzled over coffee.

Homemade caramel sauce (credit goes to The Joy of Cooking):
1/4 cup water
8 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt ( -> I didn’t put salt in, though.)

Place sugar in a small heavy sauce pan. Pour water evenly over the top. Turn stove top to medium-high heat. Hold sauce pan by the handle and swirl occasionally until sugar has dissolved. (Avoid letting sugar burn until completely dissolved.) Cover pan, turn heat to high, and boil for 2 minutes. Take off the lid and continue to boil until syrup turns brown around the edges of the pan. Again grab the handle and swirl syrup occasionally until it turns a deep amber and begins to smoke.

Remove pan from heat and add the butter. Whisk the butter and mixture together gently.

Stir in cream. If your sauce become lumpy, set pan over low heat and stir until smooth then turn off heat again.

Stir in vanilla and salt and store in the fridge.

[Okay, so sidenote – I didn’t follow these directions very well and kinda put everything in the sauce pan all at the same time – silly me. :S It still worked out though, but it probably would be a darker amber colour if I followed the instructions properly.]

Now that you’ve made your syrup and sauce, here’s how to make the fancy-schmancy coffee.

Vanilla Caramel Macchiato:

– two shots of espresso

-1/2 cup of steamed milk

– dash of the lovely homemade vanilla syrup

-drizzle homemade caramel sauce over top

AND ENJOY!

Happy Weekend! Yippeee!!

March 5, 2011 - 6:01 pm

Natalie Grist ummmm sounds so wonderful:) Will give it a try thanks!

March 4, 2011 - 11:19 pm

Sherri Smith Sounds divine!

March 4, 2011 - 9:50 pm

Tabitha Yum!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

March 4, 2011 - 9:22 pm

Brenda (Gillian’s Mom) Awesome recipes, Gillian! Sounds wonderful … can’t wait to try that out on my Sunday visit! xo

Coffee, please.

Something I defintely need this week.

Coffee.

I love coffee. And I am so happy to have 1) great coffee to drink 2) a super fun mug (favorite!) from a dear friend, and 3) a new way to spice up my coffee … since it’s winter in Ontario (still) and with four little ones, homeschooling, etc. I don’t get out much for a ‘fancy coffee.’

So I try to find ways to make it fancy at home.

Here’s the low down on this week’s fancy coffee …

Homemade Vanilla creamer …

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 Β cup milk

3 tsp. of vanilla

Shake it up in a jar and add to your coffee.
I’ve decided to try to have a tea/coffee break every day at 3 p.m. Β … no matter what the day is like.

Want to make your coffee taste so much sweeter?

Check out Three Avocados. For every bag of coffee you purchase, you help bring fresh, clean water to Uganda. That’s pretty awesome, if you ask me.

p.s. Lovelyn this week …

March 4, 2011 - 2:11 pm

Amy Rasmussen-Harry Lovelyn is beautiful. Coffee is not my thing but i can go for a good cup of hot chocolate.

March 4, 2011 - 11:56 am

Kate Beautiful shot of Lovelyn! Sitting here in Cambodia it reminded me of all the gorgeous babies I’ve met over the past couple of days – at cooking demonstrations where their Mums are learning what foods will keep them healthy and help them grow strong on a very small income…..

March 4, 2011 - 10:33 am

Tara I love her eyebrows so much!!
the coffee sounds yummy.

March 4, 2011 - 10:22 am

Grandma Gerr My youngest GREAT Granddaughter gets cuter by the minute! xxxx

March 4, 2011 - 10:21 am

Grandma Gerr My youngest GREAT Granddaughter gets cuter by the minute! <3

March 4, 2011 - 10:12 am

Brenda (Gillian’s Mom) Awh, Lovelyn is so sweet, precious, adorable, cute, ETC!!! What a sweetie!!! xoxo

March 4, 2011 - 10:07 am

Sherri Smith Sooo cute Love (as I drink my coffee too). All that baby bubbles and drool make her look like she is wearing shiny clear lip gloss. <3 She's gonna be a beauty and a heartbreaker at 15 I'm sure!

March 4, 2011 - 9:46 am

Miranda Would SO love to join you for a fancy coffee with our girls!
Love this photo! Look at how expressive her eyebrows are!!

March 4, 2011 - 9:45 am

Melissa Oh my goodness…… what an adorable picture. She is so cute

March 4, 2011 - 5:08 am

Sindy Collynn Your coffee looks very good, I love coffee too!!! the ritual of the day πŸ™‚

Fancy Nancy.

[Well … it only took me two days to write this blog post! Goodness! Between homeschooling, piano lessons, library trips, late nights with Lovelyn, early mornings with the rest of the girls … well, the blog post just didn’t get written. Till now. It’s 10:52 p.m. and everyone is – shhhh! – asleep. So here it goes!]

We all know little girls love being fancy.

And moms … well, they love a little bling, too, right?

Time for a giveaway from Grace & Lil Grace! I’ve been wanting to do this giveaway since the day a little glorious package arrived with such a sweet dainty bracelet for little Lovelyn …

… and then I bought one for a friend for her baby’s first year and totally fell in love. These are the cutest little bracelets for the little girls in your life!

These dainty bracelets will dress up any little girl’s wrist … I know Lacey was eyeing up these bracelets while I was taking the photos …

Today, Grace & Lil’ Grace is giving away two bracelets from their mother-daughter collection – what a sweet little gift for yourself and your little angel! You will win a matching mother/daughter bracelet combo … how?
To enter for the giveaway, just leave a comment here on the blog and head over and like her facebook business page. If you’re not on facebook, you can also check out her Etsy shop.

Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

Happy-was-supposed-to-be-Monday-but-now-is-nearly-Wednesday!

March 6, 2011 - 9:22 pm

Jenn Congratulations Erin!!! Jenn from Grace & Lil’ Grace Jewelry Designs.

March 4, 2011 - 1:39 pm

Jenn So pretty! Will have to check out the site πŸ™‚

March 3, 2011 - 9:54 pm

Tabitha Omigosh how cute!!! I love the bracelets with the ribbon and pearls! SO unique!

March 3, 2011 - 9:43 pm

Amanda Rowe Adorable blacelets. Can I get lucky twice? Thanks for hosting such wonderful giveaways!

March 3, 2011 - 4:46 pm

Kristi LOVE the last bracelet!! I know two little girls who would love these.

March 3, 2011 - 4:45 pm

Kristi These are adorable!! I would love to get one for my girls!

March 3, 2011 - 11:06 am

Sam Jeffs These bracelets are stunning. Would really love to win!

March 3, 2011 - 10:00 am

Mich These bracelets are so funky and stylish, I love the ones with the ribbon and pearls πŸ™‚ I have a diva at home that I would love to be matching with πŸ™‚

March 3, 2011 - 9:59 am

Lori Super cute bracelets! I’m really crossing my fingers on this contest πŸ™‚

March 3, 2011 - 9:26 am

Jody This is such a great idea. I would love to have matching braclets with my daughter. I just purchased matching pants from Tommy for my baby girl and I and my husband thought I was crazy. The bracelets would be a nice added touch.

March 3, 2011 - 9:18 am

Rachel Love them! Isabella loves bracelets, so I should check this awesome jewellery designers page out! I would love to get her one for her birthday

March 3, 2011 - 7:42 am

Julie Oh I loVe it…hope I win πŸ™‚

Perspective.

[Since I’m on a partial-maternity leave right now, please forgive me that a lot of my posts are personal and very much family-related. I hope you all don’t mind.]

The lesson I learned from my weekly Bible study:

Once a man came upon three rock masons at work.

“What are you doing
,” he asked.

I am carving these stones into the different sizes wanted,” answered the first.

I am earning six dollars a day,” replied the second.

I,” replied the third, “am helping to build a great cathedral!”

[Only he had caught the vision of the great work he was helping to do on a daily basis.]

Once a woman came upon three mothers at work.

“What are you doing?” she asked.


“I am doing the weekly laundry,” answered the first.

“I am doing a bit of household drudgery,” replied the second.


“I am mothering four young children who some day will fill important and useful spheres in life, and washing laundry is part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever,” replied the third.

Wow. This really spoke to me …

How is your perspective on your job, your daily to-do-list, your calling in your life?