Everything in our house is glowing from the bright sun shining in. It’s so lovely. All the windows are open (all 17 of them!), the breeze from the ocean flowing through and Luna running around the house in just a tank top. I sometimes just stop what I’m doing and watch my life as it’s happening. Then Luna trips on a toy and the oven timer starts beeping. Life moves forward once again.
Hope you guys had a fantastic Mother’s Day weekend. We had the first warm weekend of the year and guess where everyone went? The beach! Happy Belated Mother’s day to all the beautiful mom’s out there. xo, Nerissa
So here’s to the first ever banana bread I’ve made that actually turned out. I don’t know what it is about me and banana bread but i’ve tried making it a couple times before using two different recipes and they both turned out so dry that Luna wouldn’t even eat them. But the other day, I just had a craving for homemade banana bread and I thought of giving it another try using a different recipe.
Well, thanks to Martha Stewart for saving the day! Let me tell ya, this banana bread is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It is so moist and so good! I couldn’t stop eating it that I had it for dinner too. Yikes, bad on the calorie count but good for my happy stomach. I used this recipe from Martha Stewart but made some little changes:
- used greek yoghurt instead of the sour cream
- used 2 bananas instead of 1
- added shredded zucchini on top
I plan to make another loaf this week. Even though it’s amazing as is, I might cut down the sugar to just 1/2 a cup instead of 1 cup. And maybe I’ll try adding shredded carrots on top to change it up.
Give this recipe a try, trust me, you’ll love it!
Not very far from where I live, there’s a little Island called Westham Island. To get to this Island, you have to cross a 100 year old wood deck swing bridge. It’s my most favourite bridge. I’ve been there a few times where I’ve had to turn off the engine of my car while I wait for the old man who manually turns part of the bridge for the boats to get through. It’s such a nice thing to watch and makes me feel like I’ve been transported to another time.
Once you cross the bridge, the scenery is beautiful. Lots of country houses, barns and farmlands surrounding you. As you keep on driving, you will notice all the beautiful mailboxes on the side of the road and they come in all shapes, colours and sizes. Some look like they are handmade and some look like they are custom painted by the owners. Aren’t they so cute?
Spring is here everyone! We’ve had the craziest weather the past few days. From sun to hail to snow to rain and back to sun again. Very strange. But today is glorious and it really looks like Spring has arrived. Hoping to pack away the wool coats soon and getting out the trench coats. I opened a few windows this morning to get the fresh spring air in, though, still a little cold for that, but i’m willing to shiver a bit to get some of that spring air into my home.
It’s so fun to make food at home & gather with friends & family. It’s seriously one of my favourite things to do. And with all the food that we eat and make at home, why not document them? Here’s a list of what you’re seeing:
Coq au vin / Vegetable soup with dijon / cherry tomato pizza with oregano & farmers sausage / Whole wheat bread / Coconut waffles
All photos taken with Instagram. If you’re not on Instagram, you can still see & enjoy the photos here.
Who doesn’t love Heath Ceramics? With it’s mid-century modern & classic bauhaus-inspired design and simplistic beauty, I can’t help but fall in love with everything Heath makes. I recently bought a few studio mugs online in mist linen & opaque white as Heath is currently offering a free shipping promotion for all online orders. With me living only 5 min away from the US border, I do most of my shopping online taking advantage of cheaper shipping rates or in this case, free shipping! I love these mugs and they come in a perfectly small size – just the perfect amount of coffee I can drink.
I also have the aqua/turquoise vegetable bowl which I bought on a recent trip to Portland. It’s not cheap, it cost me $75 but I love this bowl and everything I put in it looks even more beautiful.
The fact that these are all still handmade in their factory in Sausalito, CA makes me really appreciate the craft and love put into every single piece Heath makes.
I am excited to do a soft launch of our new Bon Journey, Riviera Blue. I am loving this new colour. Perfect for Spring picnics & beach holidays. This is currently not available in the shop as we have limited quantities of these for now. We are waiting for our big shipment to come which will hopefully arrive by early April before we can make these available in the shop.
In the meantime, we have a few of these available for purchase. Send me an email at shop [at] thenewdomestic.com with your name & shipping address and I will issue you an invoice via paypal. Upon purchase, your bag will be ready to be painted and shipped to you!
Happy Travels! xo, Nerissa
Around the house lately…
1. Luna’s little shoes. I wish they came in my size too.
2. New wooden serving spoons. Can never have enough of those!
3. Ginger tea. We’ve been sick the past week and ginger tea with honey is helping soothe the throat.
4. Another homemade whole wheat bread with flax seeds.
5. Experimenting with a new colour for Bon Journey.
Our kitchen/dining area faces west and on bright sunny days, the sun shines in quite strong which makes everything glow so beautifully. It’s been gloomy and raining here the past days so sunny days like this makes me happy.
Happy Valentines Day everyone! I woke up this morning and found this on my studio table with a note from Peter. A Chemex Coffeemaker. Nice! What a wonderful Valentines present. Can’t wait to try it. Sending out lots of love to all of you. xo Nerissa
On our first night in Portland, we had dinner at Little Bird Bistro. It’s located just a few blocks away from our hotel which made for a convenient place to eat after a 5.5 hour drive from Vancouver, Canada. Little Bird Bistro is a charming little french bistro with the coziest space. We were seated upstairs and right away, they had a highchair set up for Luna and a glass filled with crayons for her. I was immediately impressed by their effort to make Luna comfortable right away.
To start, Peter ordered a cocktail and I had a glass of wine. As we sipped our drinks, Luna was happily busy colouring on their craft paper table covering. It was also nice sitting upstairs as it felt even cozier and made for a nice view of the whole restaurant. We ordered Luna a Macaroni Gratin (french for Mac & Cheese), Peter went for the fish of the day which was Seared Ahi Tuna and I had the Cauliflower Crépe with Carmelized onions, Poached Egg and Mornay sauce. Our server, Kristen, said the Macaroni Gratin usually comes out sizzling hot but for Luna they would bake it to a kid-friendly temperature. When Luna’s Macaroni Gratin arrived, it was oozey, melty good and at just the right temperature for her to eat right away. Obviously, they’ve served kids before. Totally impressed again!
For dessert, Luna sweetly asked for chocolates. So we got her the Chocolate pot-de Creme with buttermilk donuts. It’s basically a bowl of dark chocolate creme and two miniature donuts on the side. She completely ignored the donuts and went straight for the bowl of chocolate with her big spoon. Peter and I happily ate the donuts. When the bill came, it was accompanied by three complimentary miniature macarons which I have to say are best macarons we’ve had outside of France!
I would highly recommend this restaurant. Everything we had was so delicious and the service amazing.
