Books become a part of your memory in a sacred way. Choose loving memories and inspiration to guide your life in love and compassion. Gentle, peaceful children’s books grace my new Bookshop, which is now open featuring “Antonia’s Bakery!”Antonia is a very special character, and she now lives where all of my characters live, in the Town of Pink Love. This magical place is now ready to explore. More new books for all ages are coming very soon! XOXO ~Amor Milagre
Antonia’s Bakery
by Amor Milagre
NEW BOOK! Antonia is clever, curious, and sweet. She builds a loving home in the Town of Pink Love. Sharing nature’s organic goodness with new friends is pure magic! Antonia’s Elephant Tales #1.
Antonia’s Bakery provides fresh local garden organic plant-based food for all her new friends. (Vegan, vegetarian, non-GMO food & recipes). Sustainable, ethical, non-toxic, organic children’s books. A Gentle Life Book Collection: Peaceful, beautiful, healthy inspiration for a Gentle Life. Take our books with you everywhere you go! Give the gift of Love & Peace!
Original Children’s Book Series: Antonia’s Elephant Tales #1
Gentle Organic Life Inspiration for: Empaths, Synesthetes, Highly Sensitive People, and All!
This story is 28 pages full of gently hand-painted watercolour illustrations.
The organic ribbon bookmark colour for this series is a sweet coral pink.
Text Language: English (More languages coming soon!)
All books are signed by the author. For custom inscriptions written by the author, please send your personalized message here.
There is a beautifully dedicated space, designed for you to write your own inscription, to show your Love for Dear Ones.
Original artwork, art prints, and stationery for this item are coming soon to The Shop at Dove Cottage!
Amor Milagre The Bookshop: Encouraging the Imagination & Celebrating Individuality for Children of All Ages!
Responsibly Handmade Paper Books
Printed on FSC Certified and approved sustainably harvested and processed paper, 100% post consumer recycled, ethical, legal papers using zero waste printing & non-toxic ink. Amor Milagre uses only matte paper for pages and covers, choosing not to use toxic gloss film coatings. Thread binding and ribbon bookmarks are certified organic cotton. The ribbons are coloured with an organic, natural, non-toxic, vegetable dye and colour-coordinated for each book series.
All books are made to order and handmade with Love by Amor Milagre. From the spark of the initial story idea to the sending off of these gifts to you, every book is lovingly invented by one gentle person, Amor Milagre. The original book illustrations are hand drawn and painted on certified watercolor paper, which is firstly hand measured and cut. Original artwork and art prints of the book illustrations are exclusively available to purchase here in The Shop at Dove Cottage. Writing, illustrations, book layout, publication, and assembly are all mindfully done by Amor Milagre.
Translated Texts for People of Many Languages to Enjoy Amor Milagre Books
Sustainably Handmade & Affordably Priced
Our products are perfect for unique gift giving for all ages and spaces! Quick shipping for optimal gift giving.
Some ideas for you:
Holiday, Birthday, Baby Shower, Bridal Shower & Groom & Bridal Party, Children’s Room and Nursery, Office, Any Room in your Home, House Warming Party & New Home, Events and Celebrations, Get Well Soon, Valentine’s Day, Engagement, Retirement, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and especially for Yourself to inspire you to be purely you!
A Gentle Life Book Collection: Peaceful, beautiful, healthy inspiration for a Gentle Life. Take our books with you everywhere you go! Give the gift of Love & Peace!
Wash the day off, unwind the senses, and you may find a balanced mind and body rising to the surface. Let go of impurities, embrace goodness, and deep airy waves of breath circulate and lift you up to see the view you were always privy to: your unique and pure state of real love. Be there always. Stay forever. Be purely you!
An oatmeal bath for baby and me is softening and gentleness. Wrap organic oats in a permeable cloth, such as this organic cotton baby cloth, and tie a knot one way, and then another way. Drop the bundle gently into a warm bath, gaze at the clouds outside and in your mind, watch them clear to see a lovely sky of beautiful colours and fresh air. Let the bundle dry out and shake the oats into the compost bin. Carefully rise, as this creaminess can be a little slippery. Rinse your tub, with no mess, just soft nourished skin and a calmer nervous system. Continue on, after your bath, walking, talking, and thinking in beautiful softness. (For showers: Make/buy organic oatmeal soap bars for the same soft skin feeling.) Being in water can be reflective, soothing, and connects us to the natural world.
Helpful books to resolve your life’s puzzles are coming soon to our bookshop!
Natural foods with lots of water hydrate you inside and out. Research hydrating foods to incorporate extra ways of keeping yourself refreshed and nutrient-rich every day. Drink lots of water, go out in the fresh air for natural moisture on your skin, hair, lungs. Breathe…
Strawberries have always been our favourite food. They taste wonderful and the after effects are wonderful, too. (Coming soon: More about how to grow them in your own organic no-dig garden.) We love them so much, that very soon, you can check out our upcoming children’s book featuring all things strawberry! What is your instant soothing food and health-boosting routine?
Spring to your wardrobe and sort out what is truly you, fits you well, and inspires lightness, kindness, and enhances your natural beauty. Sell or donate the rest. Learn about what colour tones and hues are right for you and your home. Colour has a massive impact on our reaction and way of living. We wear mostly creams, pale pinks, peaches, and whites. We also plant flower seeds of the same colours in our garden, and paint walls to compliment our skin tones, pajamas, and hats. It’s all connected…so I like to coordinate it harmoniously for a peaceful home life.
Choose soft, healthy fabrics as your skin absorbs whatever is on it. Make clothes by hand and/or check the company brand for more information about the fabric, how they treat & pay their makers, what kind of dyes they use, and where the materials come from. If the information isn’t listed on their site, contact them with questions. How durable is an item? Choose items that speak to your authentic self. Who are you and what do you love? What helps you feel amazing? Which items are made well and will last? Which fabrics are you allergic to? Which fabrics are detrimental to the environment, workers, and wearers?
Sustainable style is not just about how items are made, but how they live on in your life. All ages deserve healthy clothes on their beautiful skin. A wardrobe with a few items, of lovely quality that are made with care for all, is a great tool for a joyous lifestyle. This is a great formula to use when buying anything. Take time and loving thought to assess the seemingly invisible questions faced when buying even a tomato. The fashion industry, and all industries, need to switch over to sustainable practices for the workers and customers. Help give them an incentive to transition now, research your items before purchasing, ask questions, give feedback, and watch how the world will change for the better. This, in turn, will make shopping easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. ‘Hunting’ is not a restful or healthy practice, whether shopping in person or online, it’s overstimulating for the senses. The shops can be set up to embrace the senses, instead of overwhelm them.
If you would like help with your personal style, please message us for professional fashion & style design advice & tips.
Grow a beautiful year-round garden to provide yourself with your own fresh, organic, real, plant-based food. Bask in the organic natural beauty of plants. Their language is something wonderful to share. Children adore tending their plants and eating them, too. Fill your senses up with their shapes, colours, flavours, textures, sounds, scents. Listen to them and help them thrive. Every day of growth is a miracle to be respected and nurtured.
Real plant foods taste amazing. Get to know what real food offers: better overall health in every way and amazing flavours. Taste a fresh carrot, fresh lettuce greens, a fresh vegetable soup! It’s easier, it’s delicious, it’s a beautiful lifestyle. Stretch and breathe in good health, breathe out love for yourself, your family, the Earth, and love for everything around you. Be real, be purely you, unlimited, unharmed, awake, and truly alive. Know yourself, listen to your body, and respond with gentle love and mindful care. Be love! ~Amor Milagre. (This and other healthy topics are featured in our upcoming book collections for all ages. We’re so excited to share them very soon!)
To Plant
Save or buy organic, non-GMO seeds. Plant them in organic, plant-based compost (homemade or bought). Water (with saved rainwater if you can). Use green and/or reusable materials. No-dig compost gardening is simple and fantastic. Use your body/hands and your senses as gardening tools. Check on your plants, speak with Love. Balance water, sunshine, and fresh air. Grow outside if you can. Start inside if your summers are short. Grow plants inside all year for fresh herbs, veggies, and more!
Starting seeds costs less than buying more mature plants. You can grow many more plants. You save money and benefit from helping your plants grow, ensuring the best quality and strength for them. They heal you and lend these qualities to you, too. Breathe them in. Pot them or plant them when they outgrow their space. Tend until ready to harvest. Many plants can keep going throughout the season, and some can be brought back inside for colder months. Research your seeds, plants, their life cycle, health benefits, and optimal ways to prepare for maximum nutrition. Enjoy the beautiful botanical realm we can live in again.
Gather children around the table. All ages are welcome, ages 0-1000. Draw faces, zig zags, and pretty little designs. Everything works just fine. Cut out some egg shapes, string, and delight your seasonal tree with Spring-inspired pastels and fresh, smiling faces. Art expressionist fun can be interior design fun as well. Match your crafts to your home and feel refreshed for a new season of bright possibilities. A beautiful tree for day or night! Happy Spring and Happy Easter! ~Amor Milagre
Pick spring flower colours for crayons and threads and unwind your imagination! Save the scrap paper and thread. Stay tuned on how to use them. For more information for this craft and other fun ‘How To’s’, check back for my upcoming book, ‘The Crayon Club.’
A topiary of lettuce seedlings makes a delicious fresh salad and a beautiful window garden to enjoy all year. Growing plants from seeds is especially rewarding when you share your new friends with someone. Seeds make lovely gifts, and they can be easily slipped into an envelope with a letter to a friend. (Look for organic non-GMO seeds). Children and babies love to nurture their toys and their baby plants. Gentlycaring for plants shows you how to gently care for yourself. Gardening is beneficial and healing for children of all ages from 0-1000. Plants improve air quality, and freshen up your life. Fresh food feels good in the soul and body. The practice of topiary is old and loving. Create, inspire, enjoy!
Shape the lettuce topiary by following the shape of your desired dish. Trim the leaves lightly, not too low/short, allowing to regrow. Place the leaves into a bowl for a fresh green salad. This dish is egg-shaped, just in time for Spring and Easter. Enjoy eating your tender salad greens. Set the planting dish back on a sunny windowsill. Water as needed so the plants regrow to provide another salad.
More Spring and Easter inspiration for you and your dear ones is coming up! (Try to either reuse a container or if buying a new one, look for ceramic or non-toxic, sturdy materials. Avoid flimsy plastic when possible. Think longevity, renewable, natural materials.) . You can use/make 3-D wire topiary frames in the shape of bunnies or baby chicks for a very Springy, Easter feeling, too. The possibilities are endless! We also grew rainbow Swiss chard, seen above. Our newest plantings include cherry tomato seeds, spinach, garlic, and some teddy bear sunflower seeds, that will live in the garden later. More organic salad recipe inspiration coming soon!
Whether you are travelling to a Paris cafe or to your local inn’s tavern, it’s fun to go out for a bit and experience positive ambiance. Tasting the culinary flavours of Europe, or any country, builds a layer in your library of senses. It is a very handy tool to use in the kitchen, at home, when thinking of cozy holiday recipes. Inspired by English pies, we piled spinach into a beautiful teatime crust. Rich little desserts are simple to make and last the week. They remind me of pretty Italian dishes brought out after dinner. A smooth sweetness paired with fresh fruit is entirely lovely. They are handy to set out when friends pop by, and for relaxing with velvety licorice tea during the evening’s unwinding time. The Small Valentine here is our Greatest Love! Sharing healthy, beautiful, garden fresh food with children is endlessly amazing. Conversations and moods brighten with warm teatime surprises. Paper hearts are exchanged, followed by cuddles, smiles, hugs, and kisses. Simplicity is complex with happy tones. Food made with love feels good in the soul. Happy Valentine’s weekend! ~Love, Amor Milagre
Cinnamon Salted Chocolate Raisin Almonds
Warm or cold, these lovely little bites are sure to entice. The flavours unfold slowly, allowing appreciation for every stage of recognition. For children, just raisins and nuts, no cacao yet, but no nuts for very young ones until they’re ready. Be ready for allergies, too.
Non-GMO, organic, vegan ingredients:
Arrange some raisins and almonds on a non-stick pan, and sprinkle over a pinch of pink Himalayan Salt. On the stove, on low heat, hover a heat-safe bowl over simmering water in a small pot. Slowly melt a cup or so of dark cacao nibs or a broken up cacao bar. When lovely and pourable, add a tsp of cinnamon and stir. Pour over the raisins and almonds, drizzling, until all the cacao is transferred. (It’s nice to have some almost bare almonds, too). Eat warm, or chill in the refrigerator until firm. Carefully crack with a knife on a cutting board, making little pieces. Set them on a plate for dessert with fruit. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (This simple recipe lends itself well to more warm spices, too.)
For this vegetable pie, the ginger can be sliced fresh from the root or used as a powder. Fresh spices are important, too. There is a local spice business here, which is very nice for refreshing our spice cabinet when they have gone stale. We’ve been trying out a new one, called za’atar, an ancient Mediterranean / Middle Eastern spice that helps improve memory, something we all could benefit from. It means ‘thyme.’ It’s usually dried in the sun and eaten with pita that is dipped in olive oil, then into this spice.
Combine1 tbsp each of: Ground Cumin, Chopped Fresh Thyme/Oregano or Chopped dried Hyssop Leaves, Sumac, Sesame Seeds. Stir in 1 tsp each of: Pink Himalayan Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. This makes around 1/4 cup. Store in an air tight container.
It smells and tastes wonderful! Use it for vegetables, grilling, roasting, salads, breads, and pies like this! We love growing hyssop in the garden as the bees adore them, the seeds are easy to collect, spread, and store once they dry on the plant. We make hyssop tea, which has a licorice flavour that I love. Fennel seeds can also be used, which also have a licorice flavour.
Ginger Spinach Vegetable Pie
Sweet ginger and shallots love and hug every ingredient in this pie. When we want an extra feeling of home and comfort, a pie like this is transcendent.
Use our vegan pie crust recipe to make 2 crusts: 3 C Spelt Flour (Or einkorn flour or your favourite flour), 2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt, 1 1/4 C Vegan Shortening, 8-10 tbsp Very Cold Water. Divide into 2 and press one into a pie dish with lightly floured hands. Press out the other on a lightly floured, flippable non-stick surface, and save for the top of the pie. (Add a little extra flour if too sticky.)
Line the bottom crust with a large pile of spinach. Add on top a lightly sautéed combination of: Chopped carrot, turnip, parsnip, 2 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 2 stalks of celery, a pinch of za’atar spice, pink Himalayan salt, cinnamon, and 1-2 tsp of chopped or powder ginger, some water to make everything like a gravy, and some of the same vegan shortening used for the crust (mostly made of sustainable coconut oil, not hydrogenated oil, no dairy, etc). The sauté is moist yet kind of crispy at the same time. It softens more as it bakes. When you think you cannot add any more spinach, go ahead an add more spinach on top. It cooks down as the pie steams everything. Add the top crust, crimp the edges, and cut a few slits in the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until your pie crust is golden.
This pie beautifully scents your home. Everyone reads lovely stories as we wait in happy anticipation of this glorious simple pleasure.
A cup of tea by the fireplace, at the inn down the road, makes a cozy Valentine’s Day for our family. If more places had local, organic, affordable, plant-based dishes in their menus, we would love to explore them. The local inn is one of two places we’ve seen near us that has started to have even just a few organic, locally grown ingredients. But, they mix them with not organic & not local foods, so it’s not helpful for us when trying to dine out. You want to feel well after a meal out. We always feel well after a meal at home. When we’re ready for it, a little later in our lives, we’ll invite everyone to the Amor Milagre Cafe, that serves beautiful, fresh food, grown on site, in our organic gardens. I’ve been designing it for ages now, and it’s always been a part of my company design plan. It’s all connected. To the Love of Nature!
We love to share valentines with dear ones in February. We also love to make valentines to share love with local communities, such as elderly homes, children’s homes, and hospitals. A simple message to know that the universe loves you just as you are is a very powerful thing, especially if you’re sick, scared, or hurting. We encourage this easy and happy gift for you to share with your neighbouring communities. There is always room for more love!
The very loving & talented toddlers in our Crayon Club made cheerful drawings on the back of these little valentine’s day cards. (A responsible paper choice is important, too.) View our little film, showing more drawings, below. As I edited the film, grouping these lovely drawings and offerings of love together, they connected to form a powerful and peaceful statement, one that I express in everything we do. If everyone loves, then everyone feels loved. For more fun ideas, for any age, check back here in our journal and for our upcoming Crayon Club book! Happy Love Day! ~Amor Milagre
Art is a wonderful way to express emotions, release, and dream. Art therapy is easy and free to try. Just pick up a crayon, pencil, paintbrush, and let go. See what amazing colours, shapes, and imagery you can explore. See how much better you feel by adding this relaxation technique into your regular routine. Unwind your mind and sleep well. We incorporate lots of healthy, therapeutic art & storytelling techniques in our original series of Classes & Clubs. Know yourself and love yourself.
There are so many people who would love a visit from a kind soul. (It’s best to visit only when you’re healthy. It’s the same for making cards to send to critically ill people. It’s always good to be mindful of the whole picture). Many nursing homes and hospitals have a space set up for colouring and crafts. Art has endless possibilities. It improves memory and has a calming effect. If more people lovingly and gently visited others, who maybe don’t have many visitors, these communities might get more funding, updated interiors, which may improve health conditions, and they would definitely benefit from something new to talk, sense, and think about. They would feel more loved and listened to. Everyone has many stories in their book of life, and so many people would love to share their life with others. This kind of sharing is so inspiring, even on a subconscious level, for some, if not immediately touching the heart on a very aware level.
Helping others in ways that you can help, while setting healthy boundaries for your own health, sets off a loving chain of events into the universe. Teaching children to help others is important in forming a well rounded perspective. (Always keep a good watch over your children, in general, even when helping out. Talk to them about their experiences and help them sort emotions. Prepare them with information and tell them to ask for help if needed. Moments can feel overwhelming, so communication is key.). If we help ourselves first with basic needs, when possible, we can help others much better. If everyone helped, even a little bit, then everyone would feel more loved. Many people are resting and ill, so when you visit, consideration and empathy are always good tools to bring with you.
Some Ideas for Care Centers: Better, more natural facilities, with views of nature would help everyone want to come and spend time there. Encouragement and appreciation for the caregivers, volunteers, employees, and visitors. Safer, more ergonomic ways of lifting and moving for patients and caregivers. (So many injuries happen when transferring a patient to a bed.) Non-toxic cleaners. Open flow with lots of space for wheel chairs and rolling beds. Great security, friendly employees, and a welcoming entryway that is family friendly. If elevators are outdated with yellow flickering lights that are scary, not only for children, add natural daylight light bulbs and freshen up the elevator walls with new paint, and clear directory signage for floor layout. Well designed, beautiful, cozy, comfortable, homey shared spaces, rooms, and nooks in between the bedrooms for everyone to sit peacefully, enjoying visits, reading, or movies. Restful rooms with windows and a respectfully healthy space for each person would encourage health to improve. Small rooms designed only for the bed- and wheelchair-bound encourages diminishing health and abilities. More natural light, better updated lighting, and an air circulation system for fresh air. In house: doctors, therapists, beauticians, cooks, holistic healers, and other helpful people would greatly improve the quality of daily life for patients, caregivers, visitors, and others. It’s important to ensure that the caregivers are up to date on their qualifications, not overworked or understaffed, and kind and gentle with the patients. Ideally, if everyone helped, donated, and made care centers a healthy place to live and work, they could be a lot more affordable and less stressful for everyone involved. Another idea is safe pathways to take a walk in gardens outside. Perhaps a garden room inside for people who would greatly benefit from ‘greenhouse’ air. Feeling close to nature is so calming and connects you to the world.
Local people could take turns setting up a time to come in and share their talents: Musicians can sing or play soft, sweet songs. Artists and crafters could come and sit and paint or knit, allowing everyone to see the process. If allowed, gardeners could donate a few window boxes and patients, gardeners, and school children could plant seeds together, watching them grow every day. Herbs have calming scents. Make an environment that hugs the senses, and there will be a waiting list of excited people to come share their gifts. Read a nice story. It would be especially nice for students who ‘need’ community service for their schooling requirements to do something they love in a beautiful place.
Everyone is a baby after all, and so many people are tucked away unseen. We encourage everyone to make a positive change in the care centers just down the street or on your block. (No need to travel far in order to help someone. Though there are so many people, especially children, who do need immense and immediate help all over the world, there are probably people who also need help right next door. It’s good to go through proper channels for even a day of volunteering, even if it’s as simple as an email, so you can be accounted for). You don’t have to donate monetary things, but you can sit and listen pleasantly. That would make all the difference in someone’s day. Give what you can. Give only one afternoon. Give an afternoon every week or month. Make a garden outside the windows. Celebrate holidays. Call or email ahead to ensure healthy security. Teachers or anyone who sees someone being hurt or sees signs of someone being hurt, don’t turn a blind eye, seek help for those people. It only takes one person to try to destroy someone’s life, and it only takes one person to try to help someone’s life. Be the helper. Seek help for yourself if you need it, and keep seeking until you find it. Sadly, many people whose job it is to help can add to the existing problems. Assess your comfort level, trust your instincts, and be careful.
If no one visits, then no one sees the positive changes that can be made. Let’s treat people like people, and not like storage boxes left in a room to collect dust and painfully deteriorate. There are so may opportunities to make people a priority. Just as we think there are many ways to set up beautiful activities for local families with children at a library or the town meeting hall, it is the same for people of all ages and abilities. You never know when you may fall on difficult circumstances and need a shelter, hospital, or care center. Making these places wonderful for those who need them now helps everyone in the future, too! If the food was fantastic and the places were lovely, then people would feel comfortable living there at any age, of any ability, and before they are not able to move or do anything. Design the spaces for everyone, and everyone will come. Design the spaces to have different ‘landmarks’ with colours, artwork, sections of gathering spaces so the patients are not wandering, lost in beige hallways, unable to find their bedroom. Visitors need to be able to navigate, too. This is especially important for sensitive people, like empaths, who often feel immensely overwhelmed in crowds (more than 1 person) or large housing facilities. Donations of books, homey things like lamps, bookcases, etc might be great tools for designers to play with and arrange when making these spaces. Local shops like grocery stores or art stores could donate supplies. Others could volunteer their time to help patients use the supplies.
How inspiring and fun would it be for the clean up crew to have a nightly gallery viewing of all the artwork made that day? (Using pin boards or magnets.)
There are so many children that need safe, healthy, positive, loving homes and family. There are so many people being abused that have nowhere safe to go and no one to help them. There are so many opportunities to help in positive ways. Everyone has beautiful gifts. Let your light shine! Help others so they can let their lights shine!
Join our Fun & Free Family Crayon Club! Silly, wiggly dancing hearts.
Parents: Colouring with your children is a great bonding practice. Ask them about their pictures, get to know their beautiful thoughts, and ease their concerns. Play is a good way to communicate and learn about one another. More information about these topics is in our Crayon Club books and upcoming books! Giving artwork to others is a great way for children to participate in helping their community. Write their age and date. Others will adore and marvel at their beautiful and smile-inspiring pictures.
Amor Milagre Stationery Collections are coming in 2019! We encourage expression. The insides of our cards are blank for our customers to express their love. A handmade card or note means so much more than just signing your name. Take a moment to share your love. It is unending and grows when you share it. Children of all ages, 0-1000, can make their own cards.
Giving Real Love Feels Good in the Soul ~Amor Milagre
Tools are everywhere. From your hands, feet, mind, heart, soul, expressions, and body to your hat, spoons, musical instruments, food, sun, moon, and pencils, everything is a tool to help us inspire positivity. Every room in our home stores our favourite tools. In the kitchen, a wooden spoon is always there, ready to use. Screwdrivers and hammers dot the basement as we finish a room. Paint brushes dry out by the sink, while lamps await our touch so they can shine their light for us. Notebooks excitedly lay and turn pages for new stories and friends to be invented. Hats shade our eyes, as we walk in the deer tracks in the snow, meditating in nature. What are your favourite tools?
In the kitchen: the wooden spoon, a sharp knife, fresh food, and a favourite pot. When you have favourites, you don’t need anything else. Everything in our home is our favourite. Minimal belongings help us be organized, uncluttered, and serene. Old things are mended or sold, donated, or given as a gift to someone who sees it as their favourite.
Gravity is a great tool when paired with some great techniques. A twist in the hand, and you have fresh, ripe fruit. Wild ones eat fallen fruit, seeds, nuts, and plants. The wind spreads seeds everywhere as a wonderful transportation system/ride. Nature works together, and we try to have the things in our home work together with us, respecting nature. We make as much as we can by hand. This has been a goal of mine since birth. I always wanted to learn how to make everything.
Babies learn to use natural tools such as their voice, energy, and body. If we teach them gently, they will live, think, and love gently, too.
So many tools to help us do what we like. Umbrellas, for baby and me, take us on a tour of a world under water droplets and reflective light. When paired with natural rubber rain boots, a grand adventure is upon us. Saved and stored foods bide us time to cook with all year long. With our tools come the processes, and then the results, adapting to our ever changing tastes.
Scissors snip hair to keep healthy habits fresh. Sconces shine sweetly on a dimmer sweet on the eyes, not too often on cloudy days, as I paint starry skies and ocean waves.
Just like choosing fresh ingredients for baking and cooking, tools must fulfill their destined purpose, function, ergonomics, and feel good to use. A tool that gives you splinters needs the help of another tool to smooth it out, making it safe for your hands. This can gentle mending be applied to everything from relationships to learning new things. If you’re stuck, try something else. Light and shade, in balance, are healthy for the nervous system and for good rest, following Nature’s clock.
From paint brushes and chisels to pencils, we use a large number of tools every day. We take care of our tools so they work for us for a very long time. Then they can be passed on to work for others, too.
Colours colours everywhere! I use art and design as a tool to work with moods and emotions. I arrange artwork to create a feeling for each space. Wallpaper and bedding. Interiors & exteriors. Garden plant design. Children’s book nursery illustrations. Custom house paint colours. Mixing colours is a large part of what I do. These primary coloured watercolour paints were found on a trip to Hungary at one of the last remaining pigment mills that uses water power. Good craftsmanship for any tool lends ease of use. I only have to use a tiny bit of these colours to mix extraordinary hues. A knife that is sharp slices a tomato gently and nicely. It’s not crushed and the user is not strained. Take care of your tools so they take care of you. Ergonomics are important, especially for constant use. How is your body aligned when using your favourite tools?
To read more about our favourite tools and organization for a beautiful day, please check back for our upcoming lifestyle and design books. Our book collection is coming very soon. I source responsible paper and materials. All books are made to order and handmade with love and care by me. I sign each book and can write custom messages to your dear ones. More on this soon!
A little film about some of our favourite tools, Part 1.
Gather round the table and share freshly baked bread. Carve your initials or favourite symbol in the crust before dough becomes bread in the oven. Four simple ingredients and you have something beautiful. Hands to knead in love and positive energy. Hands to break and share. Smiles and homemade soups to dip into. Everything comes together eventually. You love and plan and work, and then it finally falls into place and dreams come true. Enjoy every moment! Building on these moments, we are grateful for what is here. ‘Awake’ is the state of Real Love. “Live in the Light!” ~Amor Milagre
Artisan Crusty Round, An Everyday Basic Bread
A relaxing, soul soothing exercise. Try this recipe. Tell us if you like it. Apply this simple recipe example to everything. All you need is love to simplify. Everything in balance and close to nature. Eat this with a hearty homemade vegetable soup for a lovely meal. This basic bread recipe lends itself wonderfully to variation. Add seeds, nuts, dried/fresh fruit/vegetables/herbs/spices. Have fun!
Real bread, no sugar, we only eat little bits here and there, because bread breaks down into glucose/sugar. Wonderful fresh organic plants. A garden to grow with us.
4 Cups of your favourite flour. We used what we had: 2.5 C organic whole wheat pastry flour and 1.5 C Organic Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour (Which is a beautiful light ancient grain which we’re looking into for our garden. I’ll post an einkorn flour cracker recipe shortly. They’re light and delicious!)
2 C hot water
1.5 tsp salt
1 organic baker’s instant dry yeast packet (.25 oz. or 2.25 tsp)
Mix the ingredients together and knead with floured hands. Divide into two rounds, sprinkle with a little flour, and place on a baking sheet with a damp cloth over top. Let rest to rise for 1 hour. Score the surface. Bake at 450 degrees for 22 minutes. Let rest 10-20 minutes on a wire rack, then enjoy this simple pleasure. Store in a paper bag.
Some Simple Things I love: Fresh laundry that fits well, a bath under the stars, blank paper and a pencil, music, and knowing-choosing-making what we’re eating.
A sweet vegan family recipe that warms the winter chills, after playing in the snow. Spiced roasted butternut squash scents the kitchen as we rinse and marvel at these beautiful seeds of an ivory ceramic like finish in the center with rustic golden edging. So gorgeous to see, feel, smell, taste, and hear them. Little hands learn how to grow food and what it looks like at all stages. The amazing lesson of recycling and rebirth of positive energy can be applied to a lifetime of purely good health. By saving seeds while cooking, we’re creating a cyclical sustainable garden seed library to use, plant later, and cook even more! One seed grows one plant, which produces many vegetables, and each one has many seeds…and it goes on and on…
Slice a butternut squash evenly and place in a baking dish, removing seeds as you go, setting them in a strainer to rinse later. Sprinkle over a little salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add a 1/8″ bed of water. This helps them steam and roast so they’re soft on the inside and crispy on top. Roast in the oven at 350-375 until the squash is soft and the spiced tops are golden brown. These ones took about 30-40 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy! This is also a wonderful soup when blended with some water or vegetable broth.
Remove seeds from the butternut squash and continue to prepare and roast the squash. Prepare the seeds as it roasts in the oven, to save for planting later. We also dry rosemary stems in a bowl, cooking with them when fresh, and also when dry. Both ways are great for different kinds of dishes and baked goods like rosemary bread. Rosemary is a lovely, natural salt substitute, and tastes and smells beautiful.
Butternut Squash Health Benefits: Vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, manganese, and potassium!
This is a favourite here for baby & me, just like sweet potato, banana, and other healthy & scrumptious options! I include children in the cooking, and they love the beautiful colours, natural shapes, and stories that each one tells.
Save your Seeds as you prepare meals. Store and label with the date and name. Plant later in your garden! There is a bounty of seeds in each fresh fruit or vegetable, save the seeds by rinsing, and let dry on a plate, store in a cool, dark, dry place until planting time!
The magic of a first snowman inspires some heartwarming meals for the whole family. We pick our sage leaves in honour of our upcoming children’s book series. We cook up a weekly soup that is delicious and nutrient packed, so that we have more energy to create new families of characters. We rest and plan out new gardens for our organic edible plant farm. Straw hats peek from behind snowy windows, searching for La Primavera, when new adventures will chase them in the freshly flower-scented breeze. Sweet new songs lift upon new notes as thought of in that moment. Imagery elegantly scrolls out, awaiting new readers in patient anticipation. Every day is a chance to breathe back into being purely you!
Black Turtle Bean Vegetable Soup
A beautiful blending of colours, textures, sounds, scents, peaceful organic growing origins, and flavours makes this dish a happy experience for people like me, with multiple synesthesias. A wonderful weekly soup for the whole family.
Soak garbanzo and black turtle beans in a large pot of water overnight. The next day, add in (washed and chopped up): potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, radishes and leaves, celery, turnips, a few tsp of local sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Add a lid and cook until all are tender. Eat as is or blend for a soup or a dip. Enjoy this naturally flavourful dish! (You can also use rosemary as a salt substitute.)
In a 350-375 degree oven, roast a dish of cut potatoes/whole baby potatoes, diced garlic, sage leaves, a pinch of local sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, freshly ground pepper, and your most natural, local, and fresh oil. (You can also use rosemary as a salt substitute.) Toss gently to coat and mix ingredients all together. Cook until tender and crisp, about 35-45 minutes.
(I’m working on a new recipe, to share with you, to replace the use of processed (olive) oil. I want to find a fresh, daily way to use my own fresh vegetables to cook with as a coating/binding ingredient. We mostly just use water to steam, but for some things like this, we’re looking to crisp. Any (organic, vegan) ideas, leave us a comment on this post or here. I think it will end up being a puree of our weekly soup or herbs. Oils are expensive, not local, require recycling of the bottles, and are not very healthy sometimes, too. I’m hoping to come up with some great alternatives that are easy and found in our own garden.)
Designer Style Tip: Extend the seasons! Wear your summer dresses with sweaters, cozy knit tights, and tall OTK boots for a fresh, delicate, winter snowflake mood.
Balsamic Green Beans
Aged balsamic vinegar, from Modena or the Emilia region in Italy, sweetens these greens in a savory light dressing. Soak up any extra on the plate with freshly baked bread or better yet more veggies. A simple, yet fully satisfying, recipe passed on from the Italian women I originate from. These were always a side dish on the table, and never were there any leftovers. It’s the same here. So scru
In a large pan, with a little water and a lid, very lightly steam up some garden fresh green beans with a tiny bit of salt or rosemary and freshly ground pepper. This takes only a few minutes. Plate and dot lightly with balsamic. Sprinkle over some toasted nuts and seeds, too, if you like! Enjoy warm or later at room temperature.
We see faces on houses, in the trees, and on our plates! Little, sliced up, rolled up hummus wraps are great for little ones. Green beans are always a treasure to find and crunch on as we stroll the gardens.
Winter Tree
A tree for every season! By removing our holiday ornaments, and leaving the felt woodland animals on the branches, we have our 2018 Winter Tree! When winter melts into Spring, we’ll change it again. How fun for little ones to adorn their very own tree, with ornaments that double as toys with very lovely names, reflecting the native trees and animals that live in the surrounding woods. What animals and trees are native to your area? Explore our children’s books to see illustrated book characters inspired by our neck of the woods, and yours, too. Watch our new ‘Winter Tree’ film, above, and hear my new original musical score to inspire your bright winter days. “Love all you do, and do all you Love!” ~Amor Milagre
We pair this fun tradition with homeschool classes about the animals we see in the garden and around the world. We do activities to learn about one animal a day. We use library books, drawing, crafts, stories, songs, role play, seeing animals in nature, listening to the audio from a video, nature recordings, or audiobooks, (or a very brief viewing of an educational video for older children, as screens as very harmful for humans, especially for early development, empaths, and highly sensitive people.) Learn more about our animal day class in our upcoming children’s books.Follow and listen along with our animal of the day, here on our Amor Milagre youtube channel.
Once upon a time, in a snow dusted home called Dove Cottage, a family connected at teatime. They shared delicious delights and took small, little bites, telling stories in between each serving. Sipping warm licorice tea and cozy hot cacao cinnamon carob drinks, they snuggled and gazed up at the fluffy, falling snow. They couldn’t get enough fresh salad greens, and grew them on the windowsill. Playing teatime with dolls and woodland animals is fun, but the real thing is even better. Here are a few of the teatime meals and snacks from the past few months. Hope you have a lovely week, Dear Ones. ~Amor
All of our food is made of non-GMO, organic, fresh, vegan ingredients.
Something sweet: Little crispy phyllo dough pies and tarts, filled with anything you please. Here are cinnamon apple, shallot spinach mushroom, hazelnut cacao, raspberry, and apricot.
Adding in some nuts, seeds, and bread and butter chip pickles enriches a lovely little salad wrap.
Growing herbs near the windows allows us to expand our savory and sweet cooking options. Roasted sage potato and sweet potato fries dipped into dill mustard is our weekly must have, along with beet/parsnip/turnip/carrot fries, too. Dip, dip, dip! So many mustards to try. One day, in the garden, I’d like to grow our own mustard seeds. Amor Milagre Home of Love Logo Artwork prints are now available in our SHOP.
Each week inspires a new twist on our basic recipes. This little lemon cake is refreshing, along with all of the white cloaked trees in our windows. (I used lemon juice and zest. Works well with oranges, too!) A warm treat after a snowy garden walk is comforting and fun for all ages. Raisins, dried cranberries, cauliflower, celery, and cucumber taste amazing mixed with various lettuce greens and light dressings. Oranges, on the side or in the salad, are sweet and juicy. Fruit is our regular dessert.
Colourful, bright yellow peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli make a great snack. Little ones love the interest of colourful foods and creative arrangements and designs. Garbanzo and cannellini beans are added to almost every kind of meal. They’re great on their own with fresh herbs, cooked al dente from dried beans, added to salads and soups, and smashed with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Ginger lends our vegetable soups a beautiful aroma, taste, and a healthy boost that is calming for the whole body, senses, especially the stomach and throat. As any parent or caregiver knows, for little ones to learn all the amazing things each day, it takes a lot of gentle communication and repetitive explanations. Making a ginger root tea is easy and, I find, immediately beneficial. For non-verbal communicators, ginger tea is still very calming, along with an arm massage and a soothing pampering of the hands. Our weekly soup style varies, but a go-to is carrot, onion, ginger, potato, garlic, celery, and anything else we have like parsnips, turnips, and shallots. Having a little soup a day is a nutritious habit.
Avocado, pear, cranberry is one of our favourite and very healthy snacks. Thanks to Mother Nature, for her clever food packaging, it’s easy for our senses to tell when food is ready and ripe. Avocados are soft, bananas brown, and pears spot. Little ones like picking out their own selection each day, sensing for ripeness, and learning about what kind of plants each grow on.
Broccoli, lightly steamed or raw, is a lovely, sweet, and healthy snack. I’ll be posting info and a little film about our Winter Tree very soon.
We write new ideas for everything, especially for new books, as we eat our meals. Our handy notebook and pencil is always on the table next to the plates. Just a few weeks of watering, and our lettuce seeds have grown beautifully. We opened a holiday gift and found seeds and a pretty dish. We got started right away, and soon we can enjoy these in a salad. Salad wraps are our fun, occasional snack.
We encourage the exploration of the imagination here and in our shop. Our upcoming books are imagination helpers to inspire new connections and good health for our readers.
Cashew butter and banana seed toast is delicious and filling before resting time. Apricot and raspberry (sugar-free) fruit spreads are a good accompaniment for nut butters, too! Goji berries are fun toppers!
Sautee up some shallot, garlic, salt & pepper, a tiny splash of Marsala wine, and mushrooms in olive oil for a scrumptious pasta sauce. Roasted peppered sweet potatoes and dill mustard are a bi-weekly treat. Roast sliced vegetables on a baking sheet at 350 or 375 degrees until crispy and tender. Turn if you like during roasting time.
Playgrounds look so different covered in snow. Shadows become dramatic, and new kinds of adventures, like skating on top of icy snow as you swing, become new muscle memories.
Warming up some unsweetened coconut milk with cinnamon fills the home with comfort. Add cacao and/or carob powder, and whisk until heated and smooth. For children, we use just carob. If you want to sweeten your drink, add a little natural fruit, like a sugar-free fruit spread such as apricot or cherry.
Cinnamon equals love in my food memory. I add cinnamon to most things. It’s healthy and enriches natural flavours. This week we’re painting our atelier/office/schoolroom. Stay tuned for the interior design reveal!
Soft, fluffy, organic toys rest, as we sit and laugh, enjoying teatime together. Creating traditions and designing your routine to suit you are the themes of our new, upcoming book, and are woven throughout amormilagre.com . Happy winter days! We hope you enjoy your new year, designed purely for you!
The essence of Italian cooking: A few simple, fresh ingredients, prepared a certain way, combines to make a simply delicious meal!
After carving out a path in the snow on a blustery day, a warm meal is welcoming and sweet for the whole family. Enjoy this tender dish, and stay warm this beautiful January! Set the table with Love, sit, and laugh over wintertime tales. We’re working on one to share with you soon!
When choosing items for your home, take your time, and wait to bring home something very special that you connect with on an ageless level. Wait for something you really love! Connect with nature inside and outside.
Creamy Italian Tomato Rosemary Risotto
A heartwarming dish for a baby-and-me lunch! Wonderful leftovers for tomorrow’s dinner, and a sweet garlic-scented home! We often make risotto because it takes on flavours so well, is filling, and is very delicious.
(Another favourite here is mushroom risotto. Sautee up some shallot, garlic, salt & pepper, a tiny splash of Marsala wine, and mushrooms in olive oil for a scrumptious flavour. This is a year of catching up on all of our various projects, organizing, and sharing new books & product collections in our shop!)
In a medium-large pot, warm a few tbsp olive oil on medium-low heat, and add in a chopped shallot (or two smaller ones), 1-2 minced garlic cloves, a diced tomato, some dried rosemary, a pinch or two of pink Himalayan salt, and freshly ground pepper. After a few minutes, add in 1 cup organic arborio rice, stir, and cook for 3 minutes. Add one cup vegetable stock or water and stir. Let cook until most of the liquid has cooked down. Repeat this last step two more times patiently and attentively. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed and serve warm and enjoy!
Add a few fresh basil leaves if you like. (We grow them near the windows in the kitchen and eat it all the time.) Store in an air tight glass container and reheat with a little liquid the next day.
Set yourself up for a simply beautiful meal. Have fun with table settings to keep your week fresh, chic, authentically romantic, and pleasing.
Glistening ice and shimmering ocean waves reflect and ripple Love out to the universe. Shall we? This new year is just another day, but every day, every moment, is a chance to choose goodness, softness, gentleness, and Love for ourselves. This translates into everything we do, what we say, how we act, and who we are. Every branch and petal is Love, and so are we. Be Love. Be yourself! ~Amor Milagre . (More loving inspiration is coming soon in our original line of books and Art & Design Collections.)
Reflect and plan a year of bliss for yourself! A healthy perspective kisses dreams, and then they bloom!
What would you like this year? What do you desire today? Say it with Love! Let it come to you!
Living in a snow globe!Design with nature’s ever changing view in mind!
Organize and play, one game at a time, leaving space for the imagination to run wild and embrace your dreams.
Plant seeds of goodness to grow into a truly lived life! Plant food in your window’s light. Little hands can grow a garden for lunch.
A thought of safety: Protective fire blankets, for just-in-case times, hung, simply on a hook by an elastic hair tie, in every room, at a height little arms can reach.
An organic children’s nursery full of light and nature creates a calming environment to process all the new things to learn!
Live in the Light! Be the light! Minimal, light layers of organic skin care products and/or natural foods can renew and enhance your natural beauty. No make up needed, just a healthy face and natural hair, happy skin and nails, and a rested body. Let the world see your unique light shine!
Our favourites are sustainable, organic: Fruits and Vegetables, Lots of Drinking Water, various vitamins, Vitamin C Cream & Vitamin E Cream for face, hands, feet, and body, Pure Argan Oil for skin & hair, raw coconut oil for body-cooking-massage, nourishing apricot face wash, coconut papaya bar soap, clean towels & sheets, and a calm, peaceful, clean home. (Look at the ingredients, keep it minimal and pure! Clean your home with natural ingredients for a fresh, relaxing routine and healthy skin.) What do you love? Leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear about any organic, natural products that soothe your wintry weather.
The joy and freedom of starting fresh is one to be looked upon with openness, excitement, hope, and dreams. Hop into this New Year with positive thoughts to replace old, stale, stuck ones. Taste the sweetness of learning something new! Visit old favourites for a surge of inspiration to guide you in authentic directions. I’m excited to be sharing many new things with you this year. Very soon, one of our dear book characters will hop into our shop! Hopes for a happy, healthy New Year! xoxo ~Amor
Enter our Shop to Create your Custom Haven! Artwork, Books, and More by Amor Milagre
Bunny, Star, Full Moon Cookies
Little ones will see how fun, playful, and enjoyable it is to help and learn in the kitchen. Including everyone creates a most rewarding and kind feeling, sweeter than anything.
Dough: 2C Spelt Flour, 1 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt, 2/3 C +2tbsp Vegan Shortening, 4-5 tbsp Cold Water. (This is our classic go-to pie crust recipe. It’s so useful for all kinds of baking!)
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Gently cut out shapes with cookie cutters, dipped in flour to help prevent sticking. Gently lift and place on a baking sheet. Add a tiny dollop of sugar-free organic fruit spread, we chose apricot and raspberry, and spread around the center of each cookie. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tender and lightly golden. Serve warm and enjoy!
Add some organic, dairy-free cacao-hazelnut spread, while the cookies are warm, for a decadent delight!
The second snowfall of the season blankets and quiets the whole town. Everyone sleeps, dreams, and slows down for old & new holiday traditions. Here is one to try! By pairing positive affirmations with the visual growth of a beautiful holiday flower bulb, you can practice a healthy pattern of thinking so your wishes come true! A wonderful practice for children of all ages from 0-1000. Watch the film below to hear more about this! For more holiday and health inspiration, wander our new Collections at The Shop at Dove Cottage for yourself and custom gift giving inspiration! This flower idea is featured in our upcoming healthy lifestyle book, more here at amormilagre.com, and Happy Holidays & Happy Winter!
Some flowers are more scented than others, so if you’re sensitive like us, place the bulbs to grow in a less used room. We love having our herbs and veggies growing on the windowsill during the winter for our favourite scents to grace the kitchen. We’re always in there!
What do you wish for? Write it down and decorate the back, attach it gently to the growing stems, and as your flowers bloom, may your wish come true!
Visit our shop for more holiday gift giving inspiration!
Make a wish!
Amor Milagre Presents The Organic Cotton Graphic Toddler Tee Collection for baby and child. Snap up this limited series is based on our original children’s book characters. These soft tees come in size 2T and 4T. Fly around on powerful wings, learn and play at amormilagre.com. Excellent gifts all year round, but especially fun for the holidays and birthdays!
Give the gift of knowing this holiday season! By knowing yourself and the people you give gifts to, holiday gift giving is a fun tradition because of the beautiful details that go into your ideas. Our Amor Milagre boxes are fun to enjoy all year round, but are especially delicious to open during the holiday. Check out our shop and order your custom gift box today! Give a box of customized, unique goodies from our shop, or prepare your own box, for your loved ones full of trinkets and treasures you know they love, new ideas for them, things to help them celebrate the season like ornaments or stationery, a heart-felt hand-written card, a DVD of home videos with loving and funny messages, favourite snacks, and include your children’s artwork, if you can, for a special and unique gift from innocent dear ones.
There are many ways to give gifts. The best way is to be peaceful, compassionate, loving, and gentle. Let this love for yourself radiate out into the universe! Plan fun, festive events to see. A walk in the snow is definitely a magical inspiration! Send sweet cards to hospitals. There are endless ways to share joy and love! Personalize your holiday to suit you, and plan ahead on a lounging, cozy day to ensure a healthy and happy New Year!
Write a personal note in your holiday cards so they are treasured for all time. Advent calendars are a fun way to appreciate each day of the holiday you celebrate! Here, a felt mouse hops into the numbered pockets with the turning of the day, moving down the tree, getting closer to Christmas Day!
Amor Milagre wishes you a very sweet, joyous, peaceful, compassionate, and restful holiday, full of giving generously with your heart!Add a homemade organic snack mix into your holiday box. It’s always nice to have something to eat while opening gifts, or save it for a walk outdoors, or on the way to a play or choir concert! (Organic: Crackers, nuts like pine nuts, pistachio, and almonds, dried fruit like cranberries, goji berries, and raisins, and add anything your friends like. Do keep allergies in mind.) Wrap with a bell necklace for fun! An orange is a classic holiday gift. Place one in a stocking for traditional holiday charm.
Simple ways to celebrate are often the best! A little tree of white lights, a cup of tea, a biscuit fresh from then oven, and some oranges sliced up with a light drizzle olive oil and freshly cracked pepper make delightful holiday memories! (This is an easy organic recipe to prepare for yourself, guests, and for dessert!) View our Wishing Bulbs journal post and film to inspire more holiday celebration ideas! Celebrating the seasons, like this winter, is a lovely way to appreciate all that the moment can offer in ‘being present.’ That is the best gift you can give to yourself. Our upcoming children’s books encourage just that! Stay tuned for more winter appreciation!
Custom portraits are now available in our shop! Order one of yourself, your house, your pet, your family, loved ones, favourite animals or scenery. There are endless possibilities here to help you give wonderfully personal gifts and to create a haven for yourself that is lovingly suited to you! You’ll know our lovely boxes when they arrive at your door, stamped with our cozy home logo! Our shipping materials are made of recycled post-consumer materials for a sustainable choice. Reuse our boxes to keep letters from dear ones, for storage, and for gifts!
When writing your cards and filling up your custom boxes, think out-of-the-box for inspiration. Interestingly enough, a film of a crackling fire is still very cozy, and somehow the brain does think you might be sitting a little too close at times! Simmer cinnamon, cloves, oranges, vanilla water on the stove if you aren’t baking that day, but still desire delicious scents in your home. There are many ways to lend a holiday atmosphere in your home while you are busy musing over present ideas and baking holiday treats. Music is the easiest way and is very transcendent, so make sure you’re feeling good memories with your selection. Record your new traditions and memories in a holiday book to look back on each year, including your annual holiday cards, scribblings of what you ate, where you went, and who you spent time with. Add photos, if you like, to see how everyone has changed and grown! You may not believe the difference a year can make! If you know where you’ve been, you have an easier time seeing where you want to go next! These holiday books also make wonderful gifts. This one was given to us, and we love organizing our thoughts in it. It also tells about the origins of certain traditions. It’s nice to read aloud to children and to yourself as well.
Join our Crayon Club! Here are little tree ornaments, handmade by some very talented toddlers, featuring little elves with cotton ball pom hats. Have fun naming them! More information from our Crayon Club and children’s activities are in our upcoming Crayon Club Book!
Autumn’s cool pumpkins and local adventures inspire us in colour, texture, unique organic shapes, and tickle the senses with warmth, magic, and mischief. Feel the leaves, sniff the oven, see the light, hear the garden seeds in the wind, taste your inventions, and rest your soul on a velvety thought. Make up a season of your favourite everything for a time of pleasure, good health, and a pampering of the senses.
European Christmas Trees are soft yet bristly in texture. We saw all sizes from tiny to our height at a local nursery today. There are so many kinds of holiday inspiration to help you celebrate being yourself, living your dreams, and sharing love.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Little, sweet roasted greens take off their layers and warm their leaves by the fire.
In a small baking dish, place some Brussel sprouts (wash and trim bottom slightly and remove a few outer leaves), a few tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in an oven heated to 350 degrees F and roast until tender, about 35 minutes minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!
Paper white bulbs grow as excitement over the holidays does, too! Keep your neck and throat cozy and bundled for a health-filled holiday season! Eat bits of garlic, lots of veggies, drink water, wash your hands often, dress warmly, and think positively to help yourself, too!
Organic Toddler-and-Me Snack: Rosemary Crackers, Raisins, Goji Berries, Pine Nuts, Dried Cranberries, Dried Mango, and some Roasted Red Pepper Hummus to dip the crackers into. Serve a few of each item with water and enjoy!
Yoga Stretching and Deep Breathing: Stretch up to the Sun like a plant in need of energy!Holiday displays of that certain kind of happy spirit can be seen, lighting up in town, in homes, and at local shops!
Potato Broccoli Soup
A heart-warming memory of this onion-scented soup fulfills the soul’s call for coziness this time of year. The nutrients and health benefits of the soup give you good energy and zing! you’re ready to write a new book or go out for a good walk! This is a great soup for the week to pair with dinner or to have for lunch or a snack. It tastes better each time you have it!
Place the following ingredients into a large pot and cook on medium, with a lid on/tipped near the end, until tender: 5 potatoes cut into small squares, 1 large clove of garlic minced, 1 chopped onion, 4 chopped celery stalks, salt and pepper, a few tbsp of olive oil, water to cover all. When almost done, take 1/3 of the soup and place into a bowl, mash up with a whisk and return to the pot. This thickens the soup. Add broccoli, cut all of it up into smaller pieces, and steam everything with the lid on until the broccoli is slightly tender. Serve warm and enjoy!
How lovely to have a garden’s harvest of veggies for the fall/winter. We hope to have lots next year as our garden plans grow. Stay tuned…After eating a healthy meal, you’re ready for a good night’s rest, just like these very relaxed, lounging sheep at a local farm.
Detail of Illustrated Garden Alphabet Letter D and Bunny Rabbit in the Grass
A gift to yourself, your beloved, your blessings. Give love. Give smiles and light up in the grace of nature’s universal light. Unending colours, textures, shapes, senses. All connected…all the same. All wanting to be loved and to love. My Shop at Dove Cottage celebrates these truths, graces, and sweetnesses. Hop about life, spreading a pocket full of light-filled seeds. ~Love, the Doves at Amor Milagre.
Create a Gallery to Grow with you over time! Detail of Illustrated Garden Alphabet Letter X.
Start with an idea, let it grow and change with you. Smile at your beautiful recycling of ancient dust, and marvel at how gloriously inspiring everything can become again and again. Nothing is ever lost or broken. Everything constantly changes. Direct it into the light and shape it into happiness.
White Bengal Tiger and Illustrated Garden Letter L Gold Leaf
What is around you shapes you. Kiss your words before letting them travel. Hug your ideas before introducing them outwardly. Believe in your soul for it is purely you and that is beyond words…just right for anything you wish or hope. This is a funny plane to rest on. What would you like to do here?
A cozy, organic nursery to grow in grace over time for your whole family to enjoy!
Create a sacred place within, and if you can, in your home. Keep it with you always. Create a bubble of peace around you whenever you need it. This is especially necessary for empaths, highly sensitive people, and synesthetes. (More about all of the topics in this post are in my upcoming book.)
Illustrated Garden Letter W Gold Leaf and Golden Bunny Rabbit
Keep a letter of love. Cherish a painted picture. Flutter through a box of saved memories. Unpack and frame them, bring them into the light, to see and inspire you. Very soon I’ll be releasing some simple and unique ways to frame artwork. Stay connected for more…(Message us for any custom artwork or design projects you may like.)
Detail of Illustrated Garden Alphabet Letter L Gold Leaf, The Cosimo Boot
All of my work is connected. A painting is on your wall and in my book, and soon on educational tools for minds of all ages to explore and learn about. There are so many things to share with you. More in our shop every day. Many of my books will be releasing soon in the hopes of creating a positive wave.
The Apricot Ballerina Shoe, Design your Own Custom Word, Name, Initials with our unique Illustrated Garden Alphabet Letters (Olive, Bruno)
My custom name artwork collections provide fun gifts for the holidays and every day. Stationery is coming soon! Isn’t is nice to have your very own name on something special just for you? I remember never seeing my name at gift shops when young. We love doing custom orders, so children of all ages get a surprise tailored just for them! It’s very special for us to be a part of spreading joy and wonder, making things to last and be kept dear. One such kind of stationery card will be in our shop soon. It is specifically designed for re-use in a fun, new way.
Illustrated Garden Letters, Collect the Whole Alphabet or Group with our Sweet, Gentle Animal Collection and other Artwork for a personalized art gallery for any age and any space! Detail of our Letter O, V, A, B, C, and White Bengal Tiger.
If you can, write out little messages on your holiday cards this season. “Little” things that are hand-done with love are very much appreciated by the recipient. Just like a sculpture or a rock found on a walk, you can feel the energy put into something. Food cooked with love, a card written with humble admiration, or a handmade gift will delight and be cherished over a lifetime or infinite lifetimes like a large mossy rock, played on and shared by children of various centuries.
Illustrated Garden Letters O, F, X, D. Details of our White Bengal Tiger and Elephant.
Teaching children their ABC’s and 1,2,3’s on a walk through a wandering song is memorable and fun! Write out your name with a stick in the mud or sand. Line up some acorns to count and divide them. So many memory triggers can be beautifully designed using nature’s fractals and senses. Breathe as you go!
Illustrated Garden Letters L, O, V, E, D. Detail of Letter H.
~Peace and tranquility from Amor Milagre’s Shop at Dove Cottage.
Our shop is now OPEN! What a wonderful birthday gift for us and for the season of gift giving! Is there anyone you’d like to give a token of love and appreciation to? Perhaps to yourself, too! Another lovely birthday here, complete with a hot apple pie, sharing a wish, and garden herbs all potted up. All cozy in the kitchen, we dance and get excited for this holiday season. Treat every day like a holiday! Treating everyone with kindness and love every moment feels good. (Musical dance inspiration below! What is your favourite dance song?)
From custom gifts to creating your own collection, Amor Milagre’s Shop at Dove Cottage has lots to explore and hold dear for this holiday season and all year!
The little ones here love having fresh herbs on everything! We potted up some basil, sage, and rainbow Swiss chard.
Make a wish on your favourite dessert! It gets dark early now that winter is approching. Our home radiates with a loving glow.
Apple Pie
Warm pie from the oven is already a birthday wish come true. Not adding sugar allows the pie to be naturally sweet so you taste the apples and cinnamon.
Filling: 5 Apples, 1 tsp of Saigon Cinnamon, 1 tsp crushed anise seed. (Apples sliced, with skins on.)
Dough: 2C Spelt Flour, 1 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt, 2/3 C +2tbsp Vegan Shortening, 4-5 tbsp Cold Water.
Mix dough and press half into a pie dish. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fill pie with apple mixture. Press the remaining half of the dough onto a flat surface and flip it over the top of the pie. Trim the edges, pinch/fork the edges, and cut a few slits in the top for steam to release. Bake for 40-50 minutes until tender and golden. Serve, add a candle, sing, make a wish, and enjoy!
Fresh basil on a vegan pasta dish is delicious and scented of licorice. A childhood favourite.
Growing organic edible plants from seeds is so rewarding. Before Jack Frost comes to visit your garden, pot up some herbs and veggies and bring them into your kitchen, or a sunny room, to use as daily cooking inspiration! Basil is particularly sensitive to cold. I chose these little planters because they fit on the window sills and get lots of sunshine.
Join our Crayon Club to have fun learning art and storytelling! Learning how to play AND rest is very important for a balanced, happy lifestyle. Click here to view our Classes & Clubs Page for more details. A trailer film for this club is coming shortly!
Amor Milagre Presents The Illustrated Garden Alphabet Letter Collection amormilagre.com The perfect gift giving collection for anytime, anyone, any space, and any age. Especially charming in a baby nursery or children’s room. Message us for custom artwork. Watercolor and Ink paintings. Letters, names, words, or the whole alphabet! Endless possibilities! Group with my other artwork collections for something very magical and uniquely special. A perfect gift to give yourself to inspire a garden in your space and for you to be purely yourself! Art prints, Original paintings are in The Amor Milagre Shop at Dove Cottage. amormilagre.com Stationery and our Children’s Book are coming soon for this beautiful collection! For design help, message us and visit our design page. These paintings make for beautiful interior design.
