I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris has lots of little caramel nuggets of ideas, just like my Mum’s. It’s a big hunker of a book, filled with lots of recipe ideas and hosting ideas (like hiding marbles in your bathroom cabinet to trick nosy guests.) I wish Amy was the next door neighbor who would invite me over for fancy themed dinners and stop by with cupcakes and homemade lemonade on Sunday afternoons. In Montreal we had Mr. Piedlourds as a neighbour, and in Alberta most of our neighbours are strangers. Would you take cupcakes from a stranger?

Actually, I might. But they’d need to have a LOT of colourful icing.

If I can’t sway you to buy the book  (for yourself, a friend… your grandmother), maybe Amy can. Here she is in her own deliciously wacky promotional video.

Amy talks about two things a lot in her book: cheese balls and her rabbit. Maybe you have some time this weekend to make a cheese ball for your family. You can follow along as she makes them on Martha Stewart right here. I wish I had both these things, except I am poor and can’t afford cheese at the moment, and Chris is allergic to every conceivable animal. So, in honour of Easter, let’s take a peak into the world of Amy’s Easter Bunny-ish cupcake store. If I lived nearby I would visit every single day.

However, since I do not live nearby I decided to celebrate Easter another way. I visited every single candy store in town, and bought something gooey from every stop.Wooo! There are pics from the Sugar World Tour right here (and to your right if you click that little Flickr image.)

Hope you all have a great Easter weekend eating hams, perogies, cakes and cookies with your Mums!

xo Sarah

Chris and I are getting ready to move.. and doing a lot of (much needed) cleaning. I woke up today, did some packing, and decided to move some furniture in the bedroom. Not a very exciting Monday – until – I found 20 dollars hidden in a “little” pile of dust. Woooo!

And I realised suddenly: my Mum was wrong! Dust is fantastic! Artist Maria Adelaida Lopez makes cute little houses from vacuum cleaner lint that you can take a peak at here.

American artist Scott Wade hangs on to his dust and grime, too. He “paints” mini works of art in the dust that piles up on his car. Take a look-see.

Sure, Martha would not approve. If you’re still feeling guilty, she might have some good tips for your bedroom.

Now, I’m off to the store to spend that 20 dollars on candy and allergy pills.