::birthday:kisses::

A HUGE Happy Birthday to my wonderful, stunning and amazing Mamma.

I hope you have an amazing day with tunz of presents!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Marilyn Monroe

-S.*

::turkey:time::

Thanksgiving.
Nomnom. 

Back home in Poland we don't have Thanksgiving but since we moved to Canada since we were little my parents definitely celebrated all the holidays that happen here...and still do. A lot of the times we would go to my cousins for dinner where there would be a ginormous turkey with lots of other side dishes - not your typical American / Canadian Thanksgiving of course, but even better. ;)
Since my parents moved to California and I am now on my own and living with my boyfriend I am trying to uphold family tradition as much as I can. 

Sometimes it can be difficult as my time is usually filled doing things with my boyfriends family. I hope to one day just have my own traditions and to do my own thing. I think it would be cool to do just that, your own thing. 

I also wish though, to be able to spend more holidays with my own family as they all live all over the world and it's a little difficult to get together at times. 

Anyways...

Last year I made my first turkey on my own, in my own stove. As much as it looks hideous when it came out of the oven, it was damn delicious. 

Oh, I forgot to mention to all my American/European/Worldly followers that Thanksgiving in Canada is next weekend.

So therefore, since I can't make my own Thanksgiving turkey that weekend {boyfriends family is having a shindig} then I am very much considering doing my own thing this weekend. :) 

It also just gives me an excuse to pig out like there is no tomorrow...and this way we will also have a crapload of leftovers for the week so a lot of grocery shopping and meal planning isn't needed. 

Mind you, I didn't plan this very well and I have A LOT to do if I plan on making a turkey...and my fridge is so tiny that I am going to have to borrow my boyfriends Moms fridge for half of our food. Oh well, anyways!

Making a turkey can be tricky business and there are a lot of sites out there that can help ya out with picking out and turkey...

Obviously, my go-to lady {other then my Mom when it comes to asking for help in the kitchen} is Martha Stewart {who else!?}.

So here is a turkey recipe - to get ya'll ready for the delightly delicious Thanksgiving weekend. :) 

Roast Turkey with Herb Butter

The herb butter can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before using. 

Everyda Food, November 2005

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 5 hours
Yield: Serves 10

Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon each chopped fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 whole turkey {about 12 pounds}, thawed if frozen, rinsed and patted dry, neck reserved {set aside giblets for stuffing, if desired}

Cornbread and sausage stuffing {I will pass on this one}

4 to 6 large carrots, halved crosswise

2 large onions, cut into 8 wedges

2 stalks celery, halved crosswise

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the lowest position.
Make herb butter: In a small bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons butter with chopped herbs; season generously with salt and pepper.
Prepare and stuff the turkey.
Loose skin: Working from the neck end, slide fingers under skin until you reach the end of the breast, being careful not to tear the skin; rub herb butter under the skin.
Fill neck cavity: Place turkey breast side down. Fill neck cavity with stuffing; avoid packing. Close up by folding skin over and fastening with skewers or trussing needles.
Tuck wings: Turn turkey over; bend wing tips underneath bird so they stay in place {you may have to break the bones}. Loosely fill large cavity with stuffing. 

Tie legs: Using cotton kitchen twine, tie legs together securely {they will overlap} so bird retains its shape and moisture during cooking. 

Cut neck into pieces; mix with carrots, onions, celery, and 2 cups water in a large roasting pan. Set roasting rack over vegetables in pan. 

Life turkey onto rack; rub with remaining tablespoons butter. Season generously with salt and pepper. Tent turkey loosely with foil. Roast 1 hours, then baste ever 30 minutes with pan liquids, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh {avoiding bones} registers 125 degrees, about 3 hours.
Remove foil; raise oven heat to 400 degrees. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, until thigh reaches 180 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes more. Tent with foil if bird browns too quickly; add more water if pan becomes dry. Transfer turkey to a serving platter; cover loosely with foil, and let it rest at least 30 minutes before carving. 

I plan on making my turkey this year with stuffing, corn and peas, gravy {last years gravy was baaaad, lol}, garlic mashed potatoes and yellow wax beans. :) 

What are you guys going to have with your turkey for Thanksgiving? 

-S.*

::fall:teas::

There are so many things out there that make us healthy, unhealthy, sick, strong, weak, energetic, etc. 

It's totally a given that people love to indulge and splurge a little from time to time.

Okay...maybe a lot sometimes. 

I am not a chocolate or sweet fan, so I don't have a huge problem where I crave pies, cakes, muffins, pastries, chocolates, candies and the like...

Although I have a really random hankering today for some Reese' Peanutbutter Cuups...weird. 

Anyways...

I love my starchy foods. I love freshly baked warm bread, garlic, pasta, meats, croissants, chilis, soups...anything comforting, hearty and warm...and salty. Lol. 

When it comes to drinks, I am definitely an H20 diva. I love the stuff...I cannot get enough. I am constantly in the bathroom 24/7 because I probably drink gallons of the stuff on a daily basis. 

I am also a tea drinker...not so much coffees...from time to time I like to indulge but lattes and such can have a crapload of calories which I'm not very often interested in. 

I love green tea...chamomile, berry teas, etc.

I am starting to get into mint teas as well. 

When I indulge, of course I'd like to have a glasso f wine {but in reality, I'd like 4} or pop {which is becoming a superbly nasty habit lately which I cannot shake!} or rarely a beer {makes me bloated}.
But...you can always indulge, get those antioxidants and good-for-you ingredients with a sweet zing to boot in teas. 

My boyfriends brothers fiancee recently posted on twitter that she got the Fall collection at David's Tea {a specialty tea store} which includes some mouth-watering teas such as "Mom's Apple Pie", "Caramel Spice", "Buttercream", "Pumpkin Chai", etc. 

I know I said I don't like sweets, but I do love the smell of them...I am just not a fan of how rich they can be {and how sore my teeth get!} but from time to time, if I do crave something a little sweet, then a tea that mimics it is the way to go. 

There are a few different collections at David's Tea and I would definitely recommend picking one {or two!} if you are an avid tea drinker and tea lover. 

I am going to definitely pick some up this weekend and give them a whirl and let you guys know what I think of them. :) 

-S.*

::must:have:for:fall!::

There are a tun of things that you should get to make the most of your Fall season to make it the best that it can be...not only should you decorate with miniature pumpkins, browns, oranges and reds, scented candles, soaps and huge blankets BUT!!! 

You also need to have a little 'something something' in the background to get in the mood. ;) Huh? Huh??

EW! 

Get your mind out of the gutter!!!

Sheesh. 

I am talking about movies people!

Every year around this time {especially in October} I have a bunch of movies that are played on rotation in the background - whether I am watching them or not, cooking or cleaning...it's on so that I can hear and it gets me in the Halloween'y and Fall spirit. :)
Here are some of my favorites. 

What are yours?

 

But wait wait wait! 

Let's not forget the awesome TV shows - the Halloween episodes, like Home Improvement, Family Matters or Fresh Prince of Bel Air?

And last but definitely not least! 

Another thing that reminds me of Halloween and all things Fall-isk!

Archie comics! ;)
LOOOVE the Halloween Archie comics...

Which reminds me, I gotta see if I can pick one up this year. 

What gets you guys in the mood for Halloween and all things Fall? 

-S.*

{Images from Google Images}

::fall::

I guess I sort of want to start off with a poem. 

My boyfriend and I are going through a lot of our things in our apartment and throwing out the items that we barely use, or haven't used in years...this means, that I have to go through a lot of my magazines and chuck 'em. This is difficult...as I have been collecting fashion magazines since 2005.

But as much as I adore them, and they are kept in absolute mint condition, I am getting older and there is just no point in buying all of them and just having them sit around and collect dust. 

My boyfriend told me that I should start throwing them out after I read them like my Mom does. HA! That will never happen. I will start throwing out the magazines up to 2009 though...and then I will get more picky and choosey. 

For example, I will not throw out my fitness/health magazines - those will never go out of style. There is always information that I can pick up after a year of having it...I can throw out, however, the Vogue Australia issues from 2005 as, the fashion is old and I am not going to be re-reading the same articles about what place to travel that year or the background stories of the "it" models of that time. 

So...therefore, I shall be keeping my Glamour mags, Self, Women's Health, etc. The fitness mags I haven't really started buying since halfway through last year, so there aren't that many...but I do love my Glamour mags, so I am keeping those {oh, and special edition Vogues, Elles and Marie Claires}.
This is going to be tricky....but it really has to be done.
Anyways!
Other then that, old bills, cards, clothes, shoes, kitchen stuff, bedroom stuff...all of it, out in the garbage, or to our local Salvation Army. 

So! Back to the point!

I was going through some old Birthday/Holiday cards and almost every one of them that came from my Mom and Pops has a little poem in it. 

My Mom finds these cute little poems or blurbs and writes them on the inside of the cards. They always put a smile to my face. She puts forth that extra effort to make the card mine and personal. 

When I was younger, I used to write a bit of poetry as well...I would be inspired on a regular basis, whether it be by music, art, illustration...even the weather...that would inspire to pick up my little notebook and scrawl down words as fast as I could think them up. I definitely think that some poems or even song lyrics, can evoke a lot of emotions and for me, Fall and anything to do with Fall, does that for me. 

I was never able to choose my favorite season in the past, but I know now, that Fall is my favorite. 

Anyways - a little Fall poem for the day. :)

Autumn Fires

(by: Robert Louis Stevenson {from A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885}). 

In the other gardens

And all up the vale

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over

And all the summer flowers, 

The red fire blazes, 

The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer, 

Fires in the fall!

-S.*

::comforting:tastes::

It is beginning to get cooler and cooler in Canada as Fall has finally approached. 

This just means that we can fire up those stoves again and crank up the heat and envelope ourselves in huge warm blankets and over-sized chunky knits. 

I love comfort food - then again, who doesn't?

I love the heartiness of it and regardless if you gorge yourself on a comfort food meal on a cold Wintery night, you aren't doing much of anything else so just laze about on the couch or throw on some skates and go outside to burn those calories. Eithery way, your tummy is warm and kindled like a fireplace and ready to undertake anything you want to do during those blistery days. 

I love pasta, chilis, soups, warm breads and the like on my cooler days - whether it's snowing out or it's a gorgeous rainy Fall day {which I adore!}. 

I have just began experimenting with different types of soups. I don't particularly like onions or celery in my soup so I can be quite picky and I make sure that the recipes I find are to my liking; or I tweak them a bit to make them my own and to satisfy my palette. 

Regardless, with soups, you can add pretty much anything you want and most of the time you can't go wrong {easy on the seasoning though; it can be a total killer}. 

This next recipe was found on Martha Stewart's Everday Food website. 

It's a vegetarian dish but you can add chicken or beef to it if you'd like - I think I might throw in some shredded chicken for that extra heartiness. :)
What are your favorite foods during the cooler/freezing cold {!} months?

Bon Appetit!

Vegetarian Lentil Soup with Croutons

This aromatic soup is brothy rather than thick. The lentils should be cooked until they're just tender so they stay intact instead of falling apart in the soup. 

Everyday Food, December 2007
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 bag {1 pound} brown lentils, picked over
2 cans {14-1/2 ounces each} reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 dried bay leaf
4 ounces sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes {about 1-1/2 cups}

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add carrots, lentils, broth, bay leaf, cayenne, and 3-1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes.
Discard the bay leaf. 

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss bread with remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Serve soup topped with croutons.

Cook's Note
A look at lentils: This earthy-tasting member of the legume family is available in a range of colours and sizes. Lentils are a good source of protein, iron, and phosphorus, and keep for up to a year in an airtight container. 

There are definitely a tun of recipes out there for the comfort-food lover during the sub-zero temperature Winter months. ;)
I will be posting more soup recipes so stay tuned!

-S.*

::bloggers:block::

Hello everyone!

I haven't been blogging too much - this is due to what I would like to all "bloggers block" - that and I had a crap-tun of things that were going on that I needed to deal with first and foremost. Things are slowly being pushed to the back-burner and things are going pretty good. I still have tough days here and there but nothing that I can't tackle. 

I do hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their gorgeous Fall season! :)
There are some exciting new things that I'd like to undertake within the next few months...such as doing some online courses as well as getting back into art & being all around creative. I also need to get out of my writing funk and get inspired. There are many things that I would love to share with you guys and as always there is the fashion/editorial aspect of it. :) Of course! Lol.

When I was in California with my boyfriend our eyes were opened up (finally after much struggle with trying to lead a semi-healthy lifestyle and just eventually saying "to hell with it!") to a lifestyle of health and self-love. 

My parents are very conscious of what they put into their bodies and how they take care of themselves. This means daily exercise no matter what kind it is, portion control, healthy food, healthy drinks, and just taking care of oneself. 

It's easy for young people that move out on their own to gorge themselves on junk food, drink pop or beer, sit on the couch and watch TV all day because they just can...you don't have your parents sitting there "nagging" you to clean your room, to help with the yard work or walk the dog. 

This is what leads to a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle that ultimately leads to some major health problems if you don't take particular care of yourself.

Anyways...while on our trip we ate healthy (of course we had little splurges here and there) and did some form of exercise on a daily basis...we both lost around 10lbs in 10 days...which I would say is pretty good! 

What's even better, is we took this new knowledge and self of renewal with us back to Canada and despite the weather being cold and rainy, and soon snowy! We will still be doing some form of exercising daily...we are eating way healthier as well and just have a new attitude and a lease on life which I am happy about! :)
It's not about a diet anymore or losing weight, it's about being healthy and feeling good about yourself everyday.

I just wanted to share that with you guys. Because ultimately it's what you want out of life and if you're happy and surrounded with love, then that's all that matters. :)

Anyways, I think we are LOOOOONG overdue for a recipe!
As some of you may know - because I ramble on about it - I am a HUGE lover of cookbooks, I just started "collecting" them (if you will) about a year ago (much to the dismay of my boyfriend and our bedroom space, lol). 

But there are just so many darn great cookbooks out there with gorgeous photo's that just make your mouth wwwwwatttter. 

I just picked up the new Michael Smith cookbook that has some awesome recipes you guys should check out (Amazon has it cheaper then your local bookstore). 

I will try and share some recipes from my cookbooks in the next little while since I know that I share a lot which are online. 

But we can't forget the online sites such as Kraft, Canadian Living, Everyday Food, AllRecipes, etc, etc, etc. 

Not to mention some amazing blogs out there that a lot of you post about some delicious recipes!

This next one I found on the Kraft site. 

I find their food isn't *astounding* but it's pretty darn good and simple and quick to make. There are a tun of recipes on there that you can check out and make  under 30 minutes or less. 

This recipe I made myself last week and thought it was delicious (I made it with yellow wax beans and some garlic mashed potatoes). It was sooooo good! I love pesto too (and cheese! who doesn't?!) so that was a total bonus with this recipe. 

Anyways, give it a try and let me know what you guys think. 

It's quick, easy and healthy!

Bon Appetit!

Crispy Baked Pesto Chicken

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 4 servings, 1 chicken breast (150g) each

What You Need4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1lb./450g)
1 pouch Shake'N Bake Coating Mix

2 Tbsp. Pesto

1/4 cup Kraft Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

Make It

HEAT over to 400ºF.
COAT chicken with coating mix. Place in 8-inch square baking dish.
BAKE 20 minutes or until done (170ºF).
TOP with pesto and cheese; bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. 

Kraft Kitchens Tip / Serving Suggestion
SERVE with hot cooked rice and steamed fresh vegetables.

-S.*

::style:hits::

Some outfits on celebs that I thought were hits - what do you guys think?

 

 

-S.*

::chartreuse::

Ugh.
GORGEOUS.

Chloë Memisevic by Peter Gehrke for Elle Sweden September 2011.

 

 

 

-S.*

::autumn::

When I have a few *extra* minutes sometime this week I am going to seriously go on a tangent about Fall. 

Obsessed!

-S.*

{Source: GoogleImages of Sleepy Hollow}

::fall:on:its:way::

Hello all. 

I know I haven't posted in quite a while. I have been visiting my parents in California for about 2 weeks and it was a beyond amazing 2 weeks. :) It was absolutely fantastic to get away from where I live and just spend time with my Mom and Dad along with my boyfriend. 

California is absolutely gorgeous and you guys should definitely visit there one day if you can. Everything is just absolutely fabulous there. 

But now, my bf are back in Canada and Fall is in the air. The leaves are slowly beginning to turn and you can definitely smell it. 

You know that smell...the smell of decaying leaves (who would have thunk that it would smell awesome!?)...I love everything about Autumn. 

The colour orange, cinnamon, hot cocoa, chunky sweaters, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, pies, gorgeous boots, pies...LOVE FALL! :)

Anyways, I have a lot of catching up to do, I know. :) 

Let's start off with an editorial. 

Sara Blomqvist by Ben Toms for Harper’s Bazaar UK.

-S.*