Monday, January 31, 2011

comfort food.

we had enchiladas tonight- so yummy! I used this recipe but I modified it slightly- used veggie ground round instead of chicken and added some other veggies to the mix. served with asparagus(our new favourite veg, we have been eating it like crazy!)





hope everyone had a great weekend.
highlights for us included: eating, lots and lots of eating. long walk along the water and coffee with our new friends! a post-wedding bridal shower for my sister with all my moms lovely friends which I made these for. except I didn't add food colouring but I put nutella on top! we had dinner with dereks family on saturday and a little pizza party with my family on sunday to wish my parents off to arizona for 3 weeks. I will miss them!


happy monday everyone!

--m

a scarf's story

my outfit: tee- american apparel,
jean jacket- h&m, scarf- kiliwatch

all my scarves have a different story.  some i love because of their design, some keep my warm on -50 winter days, and some are so versatile i wear them every week.  this one in particular reminds me of how i spent the best month of my entire life, in one of my favorite cities in the whole world, paris.

last june, i moved to paris for 6 weeks to attend school at the paris fashion institute.  travelling accross the world, by myself, was the most life-changing experience i have ever been through.  i met so many amazing friends, learned so much and got to experience it all -in one of the most amazing cities in the world.

so back to the scarf's story, one hot hot day myself and 5 other girls were trying to complete our weekly shopping assignments.  every week we were given a list stores that we had to locate, go into, and then write up a paragraph on regarding the interior, salespeople, merchandising, product etc.  sounds fun & easy?  not so much, when you have 30 to do in one +30 degree day.  kiliwatch was the last store on our list, and i could not wait to arrive, walk around for about 2 minutes, find a starbucks and hop on the metro home.  well when i arrived at kiliwatch i was pleasently surprised.

for those who don't know what kiliwatch is, it is a large vintage clothing store, that is arguably known as one of the best in the world.  and there is only one location: paris.


this store is nothing short of amazing.  hands down, the most organized vintage clothing store i have ever been in,  with the most amazing selection.  the biggest scarf collection, boots selection, party dresses from every decade to no end, hundreds of bags and thousands of clutches, watches made by anyone at anytime...like i said nothing short of amazing.

although the 6 of us were exhausted (working 5am at a fashion show that morning), dehydrated, decaffeinated and probably next to starving we took a good look around and at all the store had to offer.  i didn't have the energy to think about shopping, let alone trying something on.  so in the end, this scarf was the only thing i bought in this store.  in some ways that kinda disappoints me, that i didn't take advantage of this place, but i feel like buying this scarf will not only remind me of this store and my amazing month in paris every time i wear it, but remind me that paris and kiliwatch will always be there and waiting for me when i return.

*cA

Sunday, January 30, 2011

sunday night supper

happy sunday everyone!

with my parents in jamaica all week (lucky!!) my sister and i have not only been hanging out lots, but cooking some great vegetarian dishes together!  tonight for supper we made garlic shrimp, sautéed mushrooms, and stuffed potatoes. sooo tasty!!



and when we finished our supper, someone decided he would help out with washing dishes  : )

*cA

Saturday, January 29, 2011

saturday thought.

one of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
- luciano pavarotti

this is so true, and even nicer when you are accompanied by fabulous family and friends.

I have been daydreaming about sunshine today, especially since it has been raining all day long..  I came across this photo from the summer and it put a smile on my face.  I can't wait for summer!


I am off to devote my attention to eating! hope everyone has a great weekend.
--m

Friday, January 28, 2011

tgif.

thank god it is friday, seriously. in honour of my last day of work before the weekend, i felt red velvet pancakes were in order for breakfast this morning. i pulled this recipe from how sweet it is. they were pretty good, but sooo rich and sooo filling, in fact almost too rich and filling. i had two small ones, and couldn't even look at the crumbs afterwards, i was so full.




happy friday everyone!

*cA

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

happy wednesday everyone.  such a busy day for me! yikes- I am exhausted.
one of my friends just started a blog and I am loving it.  I got an awesome granola bar recipe from her, check it out! I added chocolate chips(of course), dried cranberries and apple sauce to mine and they turned out great! and another bonus- making my own granola bars is another step to becoming more sustainable.  check out this blog for simple sustainable solutions and this link also has some great ideas.



















another note: a fabulous shop on etsy, Looking Glass.  I love her work- and she is my sister-in-law. she just gave my sister a beautiful piece as a wedding gift.  very talented.  I just wish I could see her more often!

wishing everyone a great week!
--m

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

student life.

what a week. and it's only tuesday.  school is getting progressively busier... and busier... and busier.
I have been struggling to finish a lab report that I think I have now finally got cased.  can't wait to hand in this bad boy tomorrow(only to write up another).   after spending basically all day monday in the library working on that one particular assignment I was braindead by the end of the day.  the perfect solution- one of dave farmar's power yoga podcast episodes.  the particular episode was 08/08/10 which I download for free on itunes.  it was the best ever! especially awesome because there was live guitar and I love having a little music while i'm practicing.  in addition, i took an extra long savasana at the end which I felt was well deserved after a hectic day :) 

**picture from dave farmar website

--m


Sunday, January 23, 2011

creamy chicken chili adventure

I tried this creamy white chicken chili recipe from eat, live, run for dinner tonight- I was quite nervous how it would turn out because I have never tried something similar to it before and I made a HUGE pot of it. but it turned out, got an approval from derek, and now we have leftovers for lunch! success!

hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, ours was great :) I baked these smores bars and took them to a potluck. they must have been good because they all disappeared- another success! and bonus- they were easy to make. other weekend highlights included: a little father/daughter time, a sunday morning walk with D, a visit with some of derek's fam and a great friday night with friends.


--m

sunday morning baking

between my sister sara and morgan baking, what feels like ALL the time, i have decided to also get involved. this morning my sister and i baked some very cutesy pink sugar cookies from eat live run. we added the pink food coloring to the recipe ourselves, we thought it would make them look cute, which it definitely did! sunday is the perfect day for cooking and baking, and there is no shortage of it at our house today. for supper tonight my mom and i are making blackened salmon with homemade jalapeño salsa. can't wait!






ps, i think these were the easiest cookies i have ever made, and definitely one of the tastiest : )
hope everyone is having a great sunday!

*cA




Saturday, January 22, 2011

just a thought.

happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.
- margaret lee runbeck



--m

Thursday, January 20, 2011

newest shoe affair

twice in one week! my luck for finding great shoes keeps continuing.  while shopping at a great vintage/used clothing store in regina yesterday, i found this adorable vintage pair of vera wang flats.  it just goes to show, there are some amazing pieces waiting to be discovered everywhere, even in small cities!  and the best part of all... i paid $15 for them : )





*cA



Wednesday, January 19, 2011

sweet treats.

oh baby bars. the name is quite appropriate, I got this awesome recipe from eat, live, run. check it out! they were so easy to make- a perfect treat for tuesday night knitting and etsy exploring for the newest find(particularly awesome fabrics)



on my snow day, I had the chance to bake chocolate chip banana muffins and promised the recipe. here it is, simple and delicious:

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5-6 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour(I use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chopped nuts(optional)
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

*preheat oven to 350 F. spray muffin cups or use paper cups.
in large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. add eggs and bananas; mix well.
in separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and soda. stir in creamed mixture just until moistened. fold in nuts and chocolate chips
fill muffin cups 2/3 full. bake 20-25 mins or until golden brown.



yummmy!
--m

"gonna whistle their way to the top"


everyone has probably seen this video a million times by now, but i cannot get enough of it!  isn't she the cutest thing ever, and such a good little singer!


for those who don't know their story, jorge is a father of two very adorable little girls, alexa & eliana and is working his way through college.  they have more videos on their youtube channel, you should definitely check out.  and if you're like me, and really can't get enough of them, you can visit their facebook page for more adorable photos of the girls.

** and don't forget to watch ellen today, where jorge and alexa will be guests, i can't wait!!

*cA

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

a scarf's story


this pale pink, knitted scarf is the newest addition to my collection and definitely one of my favorites!  it's light material, solid & subtle color, and perfect length make it great for anytime of year.  it has an elastic throughout the entire length, so it can be worn bunchy or long.  my mom is usually very hesitant about picking out christmas presents that that i'll like, but i got to hand it to her; she did a pretty good job on this one.

rest of my outfit: flower headband- f21, tee- american apparel, leggings- joe fresh and my boots (newest find- $35 on clearance at the bay!)

*cA

Monday, January 17, 2011

things I am loving..

*january edition of real simple magazine.  particularly the recipes and the awesome menu planner/grocery list.  so fab!

*raspberries.  on anything and everything.  my current fave is putting them in my oatmeal in the morning-perfection

*florence and the machine, enough said.

*my kitchen: cooking, baking, dishes, flipping through the millions of recipes I want to try, daydreaming about the red kitchen aid stand mixer that I just can't wait to have in my hot little paws one day. anything and everything.

*this recipe i can't wait to try tonight!  i unfortunately discovered it just shortly before my ecology lecture- needless to say i didn't learn much about the aquatic environment today. all i could think about was these pancakes. cinnamon streusel pancakes.  seriously, can you blame me?

*wicked thai soup.  absolutely amazing.


*the artsy-ness of this mocha.  a simple touch but makes it that much better.


*my mom.  she sent me a thank you card in the mail that I just received(and we live in the same city) she's the best, right? I am so blessed to have such an amazing family.




happy monday!
--m

Sunday, January 16, 2011

wonderful weekend.

another great weekend. highlights included: babysitting my lovely niece abby, thai food, breakfast date with steff, a walk in the sunshine along the ocean, baking blondies, and chicken parmesan(check out this recipe!!)

also, spent some time exploring etsy, one of my favourite sites. check out these awesome shops: jessica swift shop, nest pretty things, and dawn correspondence (i ordered some ultra cute cards from her)

blondies- simple and delicious recipe from smitten kitchen.





hope everyone has a great week!
--m


on the red carpet at the golden globes

hands down, thee best part of any awards show, is the red carpet.  tonight while i was on the elliptical at the gym, i managed to watch the whole hour of the pre-show on the red carpet!  i got to see everyone's choice of dress for the evening, their date and burned a good 600 cals while doing so!  here is my top 5 dresses i fell in love with tonight...  (in no specific order)

Angelina Jolie in Versace

Emma Stone in Calvin Klein

Lea Michele Oscar de la Renta

Mila Kunis in Vera Wang

Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham
i am so into rich greens, and pale pinks/salmons right now, which pretty much explains my top five.  the emerald hues that angelina and mila are in look awesome on brunettes and definitely flatter any skin tone.  angelina's green is so different and has a cool vintage look to it.  mila's emerald is so rich, it has the most luxurious, classical feel to it, i love it.  again, same with the pale pink, so nice with dark hair, and definitely compliments sandra and lea's skin.  i feel like emma took such a big a risk with the color of her dress.  i would have never paired a salmon dress with platinum hair and a spray tan...but when all is said and done, she looks amazing.

what did everyone else think?
*cA

Saturday, January 15, 2011

jewelry making business: started.


my sister and i have recently really got into making our own jewelry.  we kept on talking about making more of it to sell, but were always putting it off.  today, we decided was the day, so after a slightly stressful 4 hours shopping trip to wholesale craft stores and of course michaels, we had $75 worth of supplies to start our business.  here are some pics of a few pieces we made tonight, earrings and necklaces.  our goal in the next bit is to put together a little catalogue to distribute to friends and friends of friends, as well as maybe set up an etsy account.  here are some previews on a few of our pieces!




*this last necklace is my favorite! it has a hoop half way up one side, that the other strand is threaded through, so it is very adjustable and can be worn a variety of ways and lengths!

*cA

my latest read.

one highlight for the holidays for me is getting the chance to catch up on my reading(not textbooks).  I did exactly that and now i'm just finishing up my holiday read, minding frankie by maeve binchy.  it was fantastic- I definitely recommend it.  next up on my list: room by emma donoghue which I received for christmas and can't wait to get started on! I better get going before textbooks become priority again..





happy saturday & happy reading!
--m

Friday, January 14, 2011

snow day too!


it’s seems everyone across Canada right now is dealing with mass amounts of snow.  and while morgan got to enjoy a real snow day and stay at home (lucky girl!), people in sask were not so lucky!  my dad and i just finished shovelling our driveway, which at one point was not possible to drive down without getting stuck.  Shovelling it turned out to be a 3 hour job, and somewhere underneath all of the snow i also had to locate my car and brush it off.  even d had to have his own personal path made in our backyard, or he literally would have drowned in all of our snow!




hope everyone and their puppies have a great snow day!

*cA

snow day..

I was fortunate this week to land a snow day- first one of the season for me! it was so fantastic to have a day off school and i enjoyed it to the fullest.  highlights included: extra sleep, banana chocolate chip muffins, yoga, coffee date with derek and mom, and a visit to our favourite nephew.. it was GREAT!


--m

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

podcast perfection..

podcasts are the best! I initially started listening to them while I was at the gym or driving but recently I have discovered yoga podcasts(thanks to a fabulous friend of mine)! they are amazing- now I can do my practice at home but still enjoy the benefits of having someone guide you through your class.  I also found some good classes on youtube that I listen to as well.  of course, I still really enjoy the class atmosphere and the hot room so I hit up the studio about twice a week..


my favourite yoga podcast: a real kick in the asana, vinyasa yoga with mark white
my favourite other podcasts include:  radiolab and the moth  check em out!

podcasts are free on itunes as well- enjoy!
also check out: corepower yoga for short podcasts and videos on particular poses



Monday, January 10, 2011

new year; new resolutions

over my long break from blogging, i have put some serious thought into my new year's resolutions.  i wanted to make some good resolutions this year that are not only going to make me a better person, but force me to try new things, get out of my comfort zone a little bit and of course pick resolutions that make me excited to actually do.  so, here are a few of my resolutions:

1.  shop smarter.  i openly and admittingly have a terrible shopping problem.  i spend money on clothes, shoes and accessories like the world is ending tomorrow.  the worst part is that since most of my purchases are done on a whim, i only end up liking them for a short period of time, and realize way too soon that i really didn't need them and don't especially love them anymore.  my goal for the new year is too really think about every item before i buy it.  check out the quality, and make sure the item is going to last more then three wearings and washings.  and lastly,  ESPECIALLY decide if i REALLY need the item.

2. read more blogs.  there are SO many great blogs out there, and if you have the time to search, you can find some great blogs that you will love and look forward to reading everyday.  here are some i am recently hooked on: whitney port's blog.  this one is great and she touches on everything: fashion, beauty, travelling, cooking...and more. and she updates it several times a day.  simple lovely blog.  this one is written by a trendy mom, who not only touches on her adorable little girl, but gives great fashion and lifestyle articles too.  and lastly, adventure in fashion.  this blog is 100% based on fashion, and this girl has got some amazing style.  she is big into vintage, with a very cutesy flare, and is amazing at putting together some great outfits!

3. convince my parents that if i got a tattoo, the chances of me ending up in jail for murder are still the same without a tattoo.  my parents are the epiphany of traditional/stuck in the moment/non considerate grown-ups.  my parents actually believe that if i was to get a tattoo i would be a coke-head by the end of the week, gang affiliate by the end of the month, and mass murderer within 6 months.  i have tried for forever to convince them otherwise, but they are too stuck in their ways.  my goal this year is to somehow convince them otherwise, and have a tattoo while living in their house, which i have been told since day one WOULD NEVER HAPPEN.


wish me luck, especially on the last one :)

*cA