Carol-Anne Barnes Bespoke Wedding Flowers

02/24/2024

Hummingbirds typically arrive during the 3rd week of April in the GTA.

These little guys migrate all the way from Southern Mexico or Central America so they’ll be hungry and tired. Without many flowers in bloom for them to feed on, setting out feeders early will give them the boost they need for breeding. After all it’s Spring and love is in the air 🪺

02/12/2024

I thought this was ingenious 🪳♥️

02/08/2024

In case you forget 🤨

01/06/2024

Sand between our toes, fun and laughter with my loved ones. Cherishing these beach days and making memories for a lifetime. Family vacation time at the beach.

❤️ ❤️

12/24/2023

Who needs store bought ornaments when you have the ultimate crafting team?!

Nana and Matthias are making precious memories and turning Christmas into a masterpiece one ornament at a time.



🎄

12/05/2023

Sorrento, Italy

12/05/2023

Never tired of visiting beautiful Barcelona.

11/17/2023

11/01/2023

Can we just take a moment to admire and appreciate the last tomato from my garden.

She’s a beauty! With just a sprinkling of flaky sea salt, I ravished her plump, juicy, silky flesh😆. Savouring every bite, knowing this incredible taste would my last until next July.

Ahhh, the joys of gardening!

10/30/2023

After 3 weeks away and 4 days on the road it’s good to be home and sitting down with (finally) a decent cup of tea!

It’s a ritual for me. The second we get in I pop the kettle on and brew us a nice hot cuppa.

What’s the first thing you do after a long journey?

10/20/2023

Savouring these last days of Autumn.

Photo
Cake
Styling

10/19/2023

Did I mention how much I love Fall?
I’m absolutely giddy in September and October. 😆

For me, it’s the best season…recipes where I get to use up most of squash and potatoes from the garden. I love a cosy sweater. Sitting around a campfire. S’mores! No bugs! And maybe the best, Mother Nature’s fantastic display of colour 🍁🍂

Photo

10/19/2023

10/19/2023

It’s a family affair when owning a small business. Everyone pitches in and helps. I think its pretty obvious The Boy enjoyed this shoot!

Thank you for supporting Michelle and her business “baby” Aide Bodycare. You have no idea how much it means to us all. Pop in, there’s always something new to sniff and try. We’d love to see you!

With the Holidays fast approaching please .

10/14/2023

One more floral arrangement created with an Autumn inspired palette. ⁠
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When I suggest a Fall palette to some, their mind goes to the bright oranges, reds and yellows of the trees and immediately dismiss it (and so do I).

Let Mother Nature have the final hurrah with her bold palette and instead consider this sophisticated scheme when decorating with flowers.

10/13/2023

An autumnal colour palette is hands down my favourite!

I draw so much inspiration from them. Not just for my flower arrangements, but for interior colour schemes, knitting and sewing projects and my watercolour paintings.

I can’t get enough of rich ochre, caramel, sienna, aubergine, and deep almost black reds and purples.

They play so well with neutrals as in the floral arrangement of mine 🍂🍁

10/13/2023

I wonder what the problem is?

09/28/2023

Anyone else hate the slimy hands and cleanup from carving pumpkins. Just ooh!

Love this idea from . Easy peasy and no carving or disgusting cleaning.

Best of all it’s sooo creepy!

09/20/2023

Come on! Who doesn’t love a good Dad joke???

Busy harvesting, weeding, and disassembling teepees. Just the winter squash and potatoes left now.

Most importantly I’m tagging my beautiful perennial flowers so they don’t get pulled in the Spring.

If you need me I’ll be in the kitchen telling The Boy this joke while processing🍅♥️

09/09/2023

QUIZ time. Can you identify these plants? They get harder as you progress through ☺️

09/07/2023

These are going to be delicious with our roast chicken dinner this weekend.

I honestly was shocked to find I had any potatoes at all. The beetles were sooo bad and the leaves died down immediately after I applied DE. My crop looked like nothing more than a mound of dirt and dead foliage.

I’ve learned a lot about vegetable gardening this summer. The main thing is patience.

So glad I gave these taters a chance, even when they looked so sad and pitiful.

Can’t wait to try them roasted with a bit of fresh rosemary, cracked pepper and sea salt.

09/05/2023

Here’s just a small sample of the canning I’ve done these past 4 weeks with the veggies from our garden. All organic. All super tasty. Spaghetti sauce, dill pickles, pickled jalapeños, salsa, mild and medium, pickled beets, powdered tomato skins and merlot pepper jelly.

Someone said that’s a lot of work! It’s not work if it’s something I enjoy doing. If I wasn’t enjoying it I wouldn’t do it!

When I consider the cost of organic fruits and vegetables, preserving is a no brainer and I love that I’m providing fresh, healthy pantry staples for my family and friends to enjoy.

Anyone interested in trading homemade goodies???

08/31/2023

The kitchen’s been filled with the aromas of salsa this week while I work my way through the bonanza of tomatoes from the garden.

I’ve been tweaking the recipe as I go and feel I’ve got the flavours down pat!

Chips and salsa✔️ Nachos ✔️ Eggs fried or scrambled ✔️ On top of fish, chicken and shrimp✔️YUM

To get my recipe comment mild, medium or hot ⬇️

08/21/2023

It’s Dahlia season!

Which one’s your favourite?

08/19/2023

I've really missed working with flowers this year so I've decided to beautify the veggie patch next Spring with lots of blooms. I've learned that flowers are a part of my soul and are what truly make me happy. ⁠
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I've already started designing what I hope will be the prettiest veggie garden, where berries, flowers and herbs co-exist beautifully. I'm paying particular attention to size, form, and scent so I can create magnificent arrangements once again.

08/18/2023

No filters required for last night’s harvest.

True story…you may have noticed my plot abuts construction fencing where a massive expansion to an adjoining site is taking place. They’re building an access road on the opposite side of this fencing. After a couple of days away I came back and noticed my butternut squash had grown through the fencing and all the way down to the newly laid tarmac 😳! Well squash had already developed on the vines making it impossible to pull it back through the fence🤭 I resigned myself to losing those squash but hoped the construction team would be gentle when they cut my squash vines back.

Last night when I returned to harvest this bounty, I discovered the crew had gently lifted up the vines and laid fresh sod underneath. While taking this kind and caring gesture in, a guy in a big watering truck came along watering the newly laid sod AND the squash! He gave me a friendly wave and off he went.

Regrettably, after weeks of construction the crew and their equipment were gone this morning. 😕 I had so wanted to share my harvest with them as a show of appreciation.

It’s little gestures of kindness like this that leave lasting impressions ♥️

08/15/2023

I’ve been using this same old enamelled pot for preserving my pickles, jams and jellies for YEARS.

And it wasn’t anywhere near new when I got it! Does the mushroom pattern give that away?

The pattern has a name…Happy Mushrooms maybe?? I believe it was a popular pattern…maybe in the 70’s perhaps?

Do you have a favourite pot for putting up preserves and pickles? Know the name of this pattern? Let me know😆. Bet knows!

08/08/2023

It doesn’t get more delicious than a bacon and tomato sandwich and a side of crunchy dill pickles.

First I rubbed a clove of garlic across toasted low carb Carbonaut bread for a nice garlic kick that works sooo well with tomatoes. Then I slathered on mayo, topped with bacon, tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh basil, S & P. Yum!

Trev’s sandwich had the addition of cheddar cheese then grilled on in a panini press.

Crispy refrigerator Dills were a snap to make and last a month in the fridge.

The best part…all produce was fresh picked from my garden! 🍅🌿🥒

08/02/2023

Holy squash!

I’d given up on my squash and cucumbers in June, the beetles were so devastating. Just look at them now!!

All I did was prune off the damaged leaves and fruit, sprayed the beetles with soapy water and squished what I could catch. Pretty much ignored them after that…and they came back!

The problem now is when do I pick these beauties?

They’re all between 25.5 and 20.5 cm or 12-10” and they’re Heavy🏋️

I’ve read wait until the vines die back, but won’t they be monsters by then and pretty much inedible??? Another article said pick when they turn yellow.

Who do I believe? Now? When they’re yellow? When the vines die back?

These babies deserve to be enjoyed in sooo many of my delicious low carb recipes.

I’ll swap a recipe for your advice ☺️🤤😋

08/01/2023

So here’s the true spirit of community gardening.

I got a text from one of the gardeners at our allotment with pictures of my flopped over tomatoes shortly after I posted. Serendipitous? I explained I was aware but couldn’t make it back to the garden until Friday.

So Peggy and Audrey took it upon themselves to fix the problem with some found stakes.

Now that’s what I call community ♥️🍅

Thanks ladies, you’re the best! 😘