::style:hits::

I am having one of 'those' days. 

The days where I feel as if I am a burden to whoever I encounter. I really don't know why I am feeling this way. I guess there are a few things happening that I haven't fully grasped yet and it is bothering me. 

It always happens on rainy days...which shouldn't because I adore rainy days. But it makes me feel gloomy. So I need to get out of my funk...

The apartment is pretty much all done...there are still a few things here and there that need to be finished up but we are slowly getting there. Again, I love this place. 

You guys will pretty soon get tired of hearing me say this over and over. 

I am sort of looking into some books that are geared towards positive thinking - I mean, I am totally not opposed to self help books. I don't know why they are so taboo. I also just love reading in general that I can read a book that really has nothing to do with me or my interests, just to learn. 

So there are a few on my wish list that I want to check out and eventually get. 

But, I am not going to bore you with that. 

I am going to share a couple style hits with you. :)

::guacamole::

In The Kitchen...

This past weekend was my birthday weekend and it was great! 

Lou'e, Trav and I did a Humane Society charity walk on Sunday and we were able to raise $281 for our local shelter, which is fantastic!

On Saturday we made our way over to Toronto to spend my day with Travis, Lou'e, my Sister Diana and her boyfriend Leyman. 

It was a great afternoon/evening with great food and good talks and a few too many Caesar's but whatever, it's my birthday weekend!

We got there in the early afternoon and immediately made our way over to Playa Cabana, a TINY {and I do mean tiny} Mexican restaurant. 

The food there was fantastic! We all basically got tacos/burrito's but the appetizer's were what made it for me. We got corn on the cob - I wasn't a huge fan of it though because the cheese was a little too much for me {I can get quite picky when it comes to cheeses} but looked absolutely amazing. Grilled and yummy. ;) We also had delicious chipotle shrimps {I love shrimps!} and the best chips and guacamole e.v.e.r. 

So now, I am on the hunt for the perfect guac recipe that I MUST try. 

So the other day I went through a bunch of recipes and found so many but decided to go the Alton Brown route. So my recipe for the day today is guacamole! Now I have to figure out where I can get those amazing chips...

Bon Appetit!

Guacamole

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown/Food Network

Ingredients
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions
In a large bowl, placed the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat.

Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve. 

How crazy simple was that?! 

Definitely trying this out this weekend. 

-S.*

::chicken:&:kale:pizza::

In The Kitchen...

Here is a nice and healthy recipe that is all served up on one skillet. :)

Chicken and Kale Pizza Bake

Serves 4 at 193 calories per serving.

{Savvy Mom}

Ingredients

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts cut in half

1 bunch of kale, centre stalks removed and cut into thin ribbons

2 teaspoons oregano

1-1/2 cups pizza sauce

1 cup shredded partly skimmed mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and pepper, and place it skin-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip it over and cook the other side for another two, then remove it from the pan and transfer the meat to a plate. 

Add another glug of oil to the pan and saute the kale until wilted, about 5 minutes. 

Season it lightly with some salt and pepper and toss to combine. 

Nestle the chicken and its juices back in the pan with the kale. Sprinkle oregano over top. Mix the pizza sauce with 1/2 cup water and pourit over the chicken and kale. Top with shredded mozzarella and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. 

Serve with crusty bread and a simple salad, which you can make while the chicken is in the oven. 

Simple, quick and all in one skillet. 

Not to mention healthy!

-S.*

::bianca:balti::

The gorgeous Bianca Balti by Rene & Radka for Marie Claire France June 2013.

I want her hair.

::my:darling:birthday::

Moooorning everyone! 

I have a bunch of recipes saved that I am going to share with you today. 

But before I do that, just wanted to say that I had a fabulous birthday yesterday and I am looking forward to even more fun festivities this coming weekend when Travis and I go to Toronto. 

I had gone to work where my boss and great friend treated me to a sushi lunch and a manicure. I was able to bring Lou'e so that was fab. 

The work day went by pretty quickly and I got a tun of birthday wishes. I got some great gifts (thanks Laura and Tricia!!) and spent it with my Lou. ;) 

When I got home, I just cleaned up a bit {so much cardboard!} and 'spruced' up. Travis got home with flowers and a sweet sweet card and we went out for dinner to Cafe 13 where we had a delicious dinner {I have to admit, I am seriously picky when I go out places to eat, there is hardly a time where I am in LOVE with the food; which reminds me, I must do a Yelp! review}.

Afterwards, we went home where we sat out on the balcony and played with Lou'e before relaxing in front of the tv and eventually passing out because we were so tired!

It was an overall fabulous day!

The last few weeks have been really good in general and I just wanted to share some pictures from the last couple of weeks. 

We honestly couldn't be happier in our new apartment, we are so glad we found this perfect place and got out of the basement! 

There is so much light in the mornings! And rain/thunderstorms are wicked to watch. 

We seriously love it. 

One of many resplendent sunsets from our balcony - the sunrises are gorgeous as well. The colours are brilliant and it  always puts you in a good mood.

::my:birthday::

Apparently curry day didn't happy yesterday! Lol! Oops! But it's another new day. Oh and...

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Another year. ;) I have turned 27 and it's getting ever closer to the dreaded 30! Lol. 

I have received a slew of birthday wishes so far today that has made my day. And a bunch of text messages from loved ones as well. 

I think I might lay low tonight...meaning, I am going to get home after work and do a little more unpacking and cleaning up, I still have yet to bath Lou'e then I will wait for Travis to finish work and we will go to a little restaurant in the new city we are living in, afterwards we will come back home, play with Lou'e, sit outside on the balcony, chat and have some wine and hopefully there will be a few thunderboomers! 

How I love thunderstorms. :) 

Then this weekend, Travis and my Sister have something planned so we shall see what that is! Whatever it is, I am sure it is going to be fabulous!

Going to post some pretty sugar-jar pictures to inspire and put a little sparkle into everyone's day. :) 

::slow:cooker:curry::

In The Kitchen...

This weekend flew by. Then again, every weekend seems to fly by. But the long weekends, man oh man. And what a great weekend it was too! It was very busy with lots to do, lots of unpacking and cleaning but we managed and we are almost completely done with the entire move into the apartment. 

Lou'e was a bit stressed out this weekend, acting slightly odd and throwing up but he seems to be okay now, my little guy. 

On Sunday we went to Ikea to pick up a shelf and believe it or not, we actually just picked up a shelf! Lol. It was a tad hard going through and not picking up every single thing you remotely wanted, but we managed. :P 

Just ran a bunch of other errands as well...had some Game of Thrones marathoning going on. 

Oh, used my slow cooker for the first time! 

I *love* that thing!!

It honestly is amazing. My Mom helped me out with the recipe, but I threw a turkey breast in there with some carrots and onions, garlic and butter, some water and threw it on high for 6 hours and voila! A delicious turkey dinner! Next time I will throw potatoes in there so it's a one pot meal...we made some gravy along with it, which the boyfriend ended up saving because I really almost fudged that one up and some oven roasted potatoes which are to die for. A recipe my Mom gave me, omg, so gooooood. 

Anyways, it was a delicious feast of food! 

Oh and we ended up popping the breast into the oven for 20 minutes or so to crisp up the skin. :) 

Yummm....definitely going to be using that slowcooker A LOT. So expect a lot more recipes on here that involve one. 

I think the next recipe I am going to try is a curry one {Travis is NOT going to like this one as we are trying to get a very strong curry smell out of the apartment}. I found a bunch on a few sites and will share them with you today. 

Slow Cooked Chicken Curry

Life is busy, and there's nothing nicer than coming home to the smell of dinner already cooked. Just slice some cucumber or cook some rice to finish off the meal. It's great for lunch the next day too. 

Serves: 4 // Prep Time: 5 min // Cook time: 4-6 hours

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken breasts

1 can low-fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon curry paste

3/4 cup dried lentils or mung beans

1-1/2 cups Korma sauce

Naan or pitas

Directions
Place chicken breasts, coconut milk, curry paste, lentils or mung beans and korma sauce into your slow cooker. Turn slow cooker on low and dinner will be ready in 4-6 hours. Portion into bowls and serve with naan or pita. 

So this dish has 483 calories per servings, a little high in the fat rage (23 g) but regardless...I want to try this dish. Now there isn't very much in way of spices that are added to this so I think I would add a little more to make it a little spicier. 

I would probably serve this over basmati rice as well instead of the naan bread. 

Either way, this is just one recipe of many to be posted.

It is curry day! Lol. :P

-S.*

::style:hits::

Some style hits.

::sail:away:kate::

Kate the Great. 

Why is she so damn gorgeous!?

Kate by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue UK June 2013.

::sag:awards::

This is an old post...just decided to put it up. 

I know this is going to sound horrible...well, not really, but the red carpet for the SAG awards was just plain old boooooring. Honestly, there were no WOW moments with regards to the gowns that were on display on these gorgeous celebrities. I mean, everything was totally safe...there were no risk-takers during this award ceremony. Don't get me wrong, everyone looked lovely...beautiful...put together, but again, there was no wow-factor there that I was looking forward to. I just hope that this doesn't happen at the Oscars!

And apparently J.Law had a "wardrobe malfunction" that ended up just being a tier in her dress that when hiked up exposed a sheer lining that was momentarily revealed. She looked a little panicked though when you see her face as she took to the stairs...but who knows. Either way, I love Jennifer. I just wish she chose a different dress! Oh well.

Let's pick some of these gowns apart. :P

::buffalo:chicken::

In The Kitchen...

I am a hot sauce fiend. 

I'm not even joking. 

I don't particularly think that it is healthy, the amount of hot sauce I am able to consume in one sitting. Quite frankly, I can get to the point where tears are streaming down my face and my nose is running and I don't even mind ~ other then the fact that I look like I had been bawling my eyes out for hours on end. 

Hot wings have to be extra hot, chicken sandwiches have to be zestful, Ceasar's have to be extra-spicy...it really is endless. I put Frank's Extra Hot Sauce on pretty much everything...quiche, bagels, eggs, pizza, veggies, fish, rice, salads...yea, I do admit I do slightly go overboard at times. 

I eat pepperoncini peppers out of the jar in the mornings, I will drink the juice, I love vinegar. I have a thing with acidic tastes that are likely to blow all your taste buds out of the water. 

::met:gala::

Just a few looks from the met gala. 

  

  

::crockpot:bolognese::

In The Kitchen...

I want to begin making my own spaghetti sauce; freeze it up and use it as I go along. I don't know what it is about the idea of making my own pasta sauce, would be even better if I had a little rustic kitchen somewhere in rural Italy and make it there! Who wouldn't though. 

Anyways, I have an obsession with Italian food and Italy in general so the idea of making my own sauce excites me to no end, especially considering I have a brand new slowcooker and I can make huge delicious batches and jar em up! I came across this recipe a couple of weeks ago and saved it and thought I would share it with you. I am going to tweak it slightly but I am sure you can do whatever you want with this sauce and it'll still end up being delicious. :) 

Bon Appetit! 

Crock Pot Bolognese Sauce

From SkinnyTaste site.Servings: 20 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup sauce • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 146.1 • Fat: 8.7 g • Protein: 6.7 g • Carb: 6.8 g • Fiber: 0.4 g • Sugar: 4 g

Sodium: 316 mg (without salt)  

Ingredients

4 oz pancetta, chopped (or center cut bacon)

1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)

1 large white onion, minced

2 celery stalks (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 carrots (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 lb 95% lean ground beef

1/4 cup white wine

2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I love Tuttorosso)

3 bay leaves

salt and fresh pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup half & half cream

Directions

1. In a large deep saute pan, sauté pancetta on low heat until the fat melts, about 4-5 minutes. Add butter, onions, celery and carrots and cook on medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Increase flame to medium-high; add meat, season with salt and pepper and sauté until browned. Drain the fat then add wine; cook until it reduces down, about 3-4 minutes.  

3. Add to crock pot. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper; cover and set slow cooker to LOW 6 hours.  

4. After the 6 hours, adjust salt and pepper to taste, add half & half and parsley; stir and serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti squash.

5. Makes about 10 cups. Leftovers can be frozen for future meals. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator then reheat on the stove or crock pot.

-S.*

::pale:love::

I planned on doing something this May 2-4 weekend {for those of you that don't know, May 2-4 is a long weekend in Canada - Victoria Day - don't ask me what it is about exactly because I don't know...so google it. Or rather, here is a link. ;)}. Anyways, I planned on doing something this long weekend but there has been way too much going on the past few months that nothing concrete was planned. Of course I had initially planned on booking a campsite with some friends but that didn't go down as it was too far in advance with regards to planning {January, ha ha} and now that I think of it, it was probably a good idea not to have planned anything as it is crazy busy around these parts. There is still so much to do with the apartment {*lots*} and I have so much catching up to do with school. So this weekend is going to be spent doing tunz of unpacking and cleaning!!! AGAIN!! But we plan on having it ALL done by next week. :) 

Oh and then next Wednesday is my birthday! I turn 27! Wow, I am totes getting old. We do plan on going for a nice dinner so I am looking forward to that. I love going out for dindins. 

Oh and I got my cast-iron skillet from Kev as a birthday present {THANK YOU KEVIN!!!} so I am soooo excited to use that this weekend as well. Making fritatta's and all that stuff. ;) I do want to try the cornbread recipe as well. 

So that is pretty much it for my rambling right now. Just keeping you up to date as to the goings on of my life. Lol. 

Here is an edit for you. :)

Branislav Simoncik photographs Zuzana Gregorova for Maxima Portugal.

-S.*

::sunny:skillet:breakfast::

I am really excited to be trying exciting new breakfast dishes with my new skillet that should be here today {YAY!!!} and this is one of the first ones I am going to try. You can also have this as a dinner meal! I am really going to be loving this one pot/crock pot/cast-iron recipes. Less clean-up!

With this recipe too you can add whatever you want! Some reviewers on the site suggested hash browns, more veggies and crumbled sausage. :)

Bon Appetit!

::darling:miss:blair::

Love Miss. Blair.

Selma Blair by Rankin for Hunger S/S 2013.

::something:about:carey::

I really want to see "The Great Gatsby" and I think that Carey Mulligan is absolutely sweet and just so damn pretty! 

Carey Mulligan by Tom Allen for Harper's Bazaar UK June 2013.

::cornbread:with:scallions:&:bacon::

So, as a housewarming gift from my parents, I received a slowcooker. I am beyond excited to start using it. The possibilities are endless and my great friend Kev also got me a slowcooker cookbook that has a TUN of recipes in there that I seriously cannot wait to try. So this long weekend I am going to try a couple of recipes in the slowcooker. You can do anything with it, chili, homemade spaghetti sauces {something I am really excited about}, turkey breast, pulled pork, stews, anything!

So this slowcooker is a fantastic addition to my kitchen, along with the new cookware I got from my boss. But I am also going to add another thing to my kitchen and that is a cast iron skillet. Cooking in cast iron is healthy for you, as you get that added iron from cooking with it and I don't get a tun of iron in my diet. I also like the fact that you can put this in the oven as well...I have been looking for something like this instead of constantly transferring from pan to baking dish. I decided on a 12" Lodge Pre-seasoned skillet that I found on Amazon's site; the link is here.

I also have been perusing some cast iron skillet recipes and there are a tun out there {of course}. But what I am really looking forward to is making fritatta's and just a lot of egg recipes. When looking through different ones I kept seeing that a lot of people make cornbread in cast iron. I have never had cornbread before but this had me intrigued and I immediately decided that this is one of the first recipes I am going to try with it. So here is a recipe I found on a site called Fine Cooking. Will definitely give this a try and let you all know what I think. :) 

Bon Appetit!

Cornbread with Scallions & Bacon
This cornbread has a moist, tender crumb. It gets a nice crisp crust in a cast-iron skillet. 

Serves 8. Yields one 10-inch round bread.

Ingredients
4-1/2 oz. {1 cup} unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

1-1/4 cups low-fat milk

2 tbsp. honey

1 large egg

1/3 cup corn oil

8 scallions {white and light green parts only}, trimmed and thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

3 thick slices bacon

Directions

Heat the over to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, honey, egg, corn oil, scallions, and 2 grinds of black pepper until well combined. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet {preferably cast-iron}, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Spoon off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are just blended. Crumble the bacon and fold it in; don't overmix. 

Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake until the top is golden brown, firm, and springy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes; a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a rack or serve in the pan, warm or at room temperature.

-S.*

::hamburger:buddy::

In The Kitchen...

There is no denying that I can make a mean bowl of pasta. I have perfected it, probably because I am obsessed with the starchy junk - I say junk because white pasta isn't good for you. It's unhealthy to put it plainly because it has been stripped of all nutrients. But it's still so damn delicious! 

I am trying not to eat it as often as I have been in the past - especially when I am also trying to lose weight; but at least once a week I will make a pasta dish. I am also trying to tweak recipes that I have already made as well as try new ones. My only thing though is that I don't like chunks of tomatoes in my tomato sauce and I don't enjoy large pieces of onions either so I steer clear, even though it does add a whole new depth of flavour, there is something about the texture that I just can't seem to appreciate.
My Mom used to make some creamy pasta's {but a much healthier version} and I just miss that and don't try new recipes often enough, so I was skimming through some recipes in the Google search engine and came across a recipe that sounds just delicious and is pretty healthy too! It was found on the Family site {link} but originally posted here {Eating Well} if anyone wanted to know.

Bon Appetit!

::style:hits::

Some style hits.

  

  

::don't:look:back::

What an insane last week or so. There has been so much going on, packing, unpacking, moving, cleaning, washing it has gone by so quickly and in such a blur. 

There is still so much to do. This coming weekend will be spent unpacking and cleaning everything up. We still have a couple more heavy things that we need to move but we are almost completely out of the house. 

I am honestly so in love with our new place. I just can't contain my sheer contentment waking up in the mornings and going to sleep at night in that place. One thing is for certain though, I will never move back into a basement again. Looking back I just don't know how I did it. Barely any light, always cool and dampish...this new place, the sun is streaming in and wakes you up in the mornings, it is just marvelous!

So you can imagine how happy I am...well, I will be happier once everything is completely out of the house as we have a couple more trips to go. But it is almost all done and over with. Thank goodness.

Anyways...I got a bit of a housewarming gift from my great friend Kev - the books on my wish list. :) All the fantastic cookbooks. I went through two of them yesterday {the other four are on their way} and they are unreal - in a good way of course. 

I am going to definitely do some reviews on these books once things settle down. :) 

Other then that let's do a little editorial and then a recipe a little later on. 


Dewi Driegen by Enrique Badulesou for Elle UK June 2013.

::cookbook:crazy::

So my parents have surprised me with a little housewarming gift for our new apartment. 

It is a slower cooker! :))

I have been looking around and prodding people if they use theirs because I just really wanted one!

I got hooked and wanted one ever since I was in California the other year and my Mom cooked up a delicious turkey breast for dinner in the crock-pot  I also like the idea and convenience of throwing everything into it in the morning and coming home to a dinner that is already made. 

I don't know the first thing about slow cookers though, or recipes for that matter ~ of course the world wide web is filled with recipes but you know me, I am a book worm and like my books and so I perused Amazon (so cheap!) and stumbled onto a slow cooker recipe book that has positive reviews and then I spiraled out of control and found more cookbooks that I want to get my greedy hands on. Ha ha. 

Honestly, looking at cookbooks right now is the only thing that is keeping me sane because of how stressful everything else is at the moment. There is something about cookbooks ~ the stories behind the food, fresh ingredients, the author itself ~ for me, it is sort of like reading a novel. I can get totally lost in a cookbook and will read it from cover to cover believe it or not. Some of my favourite cookbooks are by Sophie Dahl or Candice Kumai and not because of the recipes necessarily, but the way they explain food. Their take on it.
Ultimately, once I am done school I would love to write and publish my own cookbook. :) 

Food is my forte. It is a passion. I just love it.
So here are a few cookbooks that are out that have cajoled me and I must get my hands on.

Cooking Light Slow-Cooker Tonight: 140 Delicious Weeknight Recipes That Practically Cook Themselves by Editors of Cooking Light - $14.40 CAD
I really love the Cooking Light cookbooks, they are chock-full of recipes that are relatively simple, delicious and full of flavour. So when I saw that CL had a slow-cooker cookbook I knew I had to throw that badboy in my wish list. The CL cookbooks also have gorgeous full colour photo's beside every recipe, and you know me, I love my full colour food pics. ;) 

::scatterbrained::

I am in my own personal la-la land right now. 

There is so much going on that I am legitimately in a perma-brain fog right now. 

It doesn't help either that I woke up in the middle of the night with a huge headache and didn't have a restful sleep.

We did some more moving last night and hope to get a lot more stuff done tonight as well. I still have a bit more packing...that's a lie, I have a lot more packing to do and I just really want everything to be done by the weekend. 

My Dad is in town on business as well and he and my Sister are to come visit and help out tomorrow. Although I am not sure how much fun that would be for them but at least I get to see them. I just wish I had a bit more time to just hang out with them or go for dinner or something. There is time though. 

Anyways...my post probably makes absolutely no sense. 

-S.*

::move:in:day::

I am beginning to run slightly ragged here. I am on the peak of actually passing out as I sit here writing this before work and am in dire need of some sort of food because my stomach will begin to feed on itself.
I am in a complete brain fog right now and am pretty damn sure that this post is going to be a lot of 'random ramblings' by the 'darling miss G'. 

Packing is packing...can't do anything about that except throw everything in a big box and lug it over to the new digs. Unpacking is going to be interesting to say the least. I will share with you some pros and cons of the new place. 

Let's begin with the cons...because I am a negative person and always think half glass...wait, it's all the way empty! (just kidding)