And I'm Back (With New Polishes)

Due to some technical difficulties, I have been away from my blog for a while.  But thanks to my awesome hubby, I now have a shiny, brand spanking new Macbook Air.  Sigh!  This is heaven, for sure!

So, without further gushing about my Christmas gift, here are some holiday nail polishes I have been rockin' this December.

I'm loving Zoya's Gems collection.  Holly is a beautiful emerald green, perfect for Christmas.  Izzy is a deep pink, almost fuchsia, but not in the summertime sense.  It's more metallic, and the colour reminds me of pink tree ornaments. It's a nice break from the traditional red and green shades of the season.  Noel is a light, almost dusty teal-blue - it looks great with a bunch of my holiday tops in the same colour.

Zoya Gems

Holly

Izzy

Noel

My other favourite holiday nail polish, and my personal choice for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, is China Glaze's Blue Year's Eve.  If Zoya's Holly is the colour of emeralds, Blue Year's Eve is the colour of sapphires.  A gorgeous blue that's not too dark and not too bright.  My only criticism would be that it takes three coats for total coverage (versus Zoya's two coats).  I also need to give a shout out to the other festive, cool-toned shades in China Glaze's Winter Ice nail polish set.

Blue Year's Eve

Winter Ice

Christmas Day

As the year comes rushing to a close, I would like to offer one last toast
May the people that you love the most be with you on Christmas day
- Neil Finn

Thanksgiving

My family is coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, and this year I'm determined to keep the menu simple.  It should be good, and not too much work!

Cheeseball (new Cook's Illustrated recipe) for "happy hour"
Turkey (probably buying a fresh one)
Mashed potatoes (traditional recipe)
Gravy (using a packet as a starter)
Corn
Broccoli salad (Mom supplying)
Buns (another item homemade by Mom)
Pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon whipped cream

Fall Evenings

We had really crappy weather this summer, but fortunately it has turned into an amazing fall.  The leaves have stayed on the trees for longer than usual, and it has been so warm during the day and slightly cool and crisp in the evenings.

This is my favourite season and the evenings are my favourite time of the day... especially when my hubby and I take our puppy for a walk.  It's so important to soak in these moments because before you know it, fall is over.

First Mate Nail Polish

For many years, I have loved navy blue nail polish.  Despite being a chronic nail biter throughout my childhood and teenage years, I was able to stop for a few months during grade 8, and I remember buying the most magnificent navy blue nail polish.  Pretty sure it was Cutex or another cheap brand.  But it looked awesome when I wore it with my Crowded House 1987 tour t-shirt. 

Classier, softer and less goth-looking than black, navy just seems to suit me. 

Here is my latest foray into navy blue polish -- China Glaze First Mate (from the spring 2011 Anchors Away collection).  It's a sophisticated and rich navy cream.  Please excuse the current condition of my post-gel nails (I'm working on growing them out)!

Baby Shower Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes for a co-worker's baby shower.  The baby's gender is unkown at this time, so we went with a theme of rubber ducks.  For flavours I made two kinds -- lemon poppyseed with lemon frosting and butter pecan with buttercream frosting.

SS Kyle

This is a familiar scene from my childhood.  It’s the SS Kyle, a boat that is currently banked on the shores of Harbour Grace, not too far from where my grandparents lived in Newfoundland.  We would often drive past this boat on our many sightseeing trips to the small fishing villages in the area.

This boat has definitely seen better days, but in this picture, all the blemishes are smoothed away.  I love the moody, atmospheric quality of this photo.  I took the original black and white and doctored it up to have a purple cast. 

Originally the Kyle transported people and goods from Carbonear, Newfoundland to Labrador.  It was also a major help in transporting soldiers from Newfoundland to mainland Canada during World War II.  It's hard to believe that its maiden voyage was in 1913 – almost 100 year ago!

Red Velvet

One of my favourite cake flavours is red velvet.  It's the combination of the light chocolate flavour, deep-red colour, and the thought of the American South that does it for me.  Just top it off with some buttery cream cheese frosting, and I'm a very happy camper.


Last time I was in the U.S., I went to Williams Sonoma and picked up some Sprinkles brand red velvet cupcake mix.  Sprinkles is a California-based cupcake bakery, and they are famous for their simple but sophisticated cupcakes that feature a signature dot decoration.  The cupcakes turned out really well, and the Sprinkles' dot just added something special.

Guerlain Holiday 2011

When I saw the new holiday compact from Guerlain, I knew I would have to buy it. 

It's called Parure du Soir and it can be used as a blush and highlighter.  Can't wait to see it in store.  Available in October!

Source: www.britishbeautyblogger.com

Pajama Club

I’m really looking forward to hearing Neil Finn’s new band, Pajama Club.  The self-titled debut album is scheduled for release on September 13.

This new band features Neil's wife Sharon as one of the singers.  She has provided back-up vocals on some of his albums in the past, but usually shies away from the stage on tour. 

Can’t wait to hear the new tunes!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

If you love garlic, you have to try this!  It is an excellent recipe from Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network). I love her low-maintenance, casual cooking style.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-with-forty-cloves-of-garlic-recipe/index.html




It makes a very potent, flavourful sauce, so I like to serve this chicken dish with a baked potato or plain rice (something that doesn't compete with the sauce).  I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, instead of the whole chickens as indicated in the recipe, and it turns out great.

Wedding Cupcakes

I mentioned in a previous post that I made cupcakes for a wedding last year.  Here is the end result!  The bride decided on chocolate and coconut cupcakes, both with buttercream frosting.  In addition to the cupcakes, the bride and groom also wanted a small cake they could cut. 

Overall, I'm happy with how it all turned out, considering it was my first official baking job.

Haunting Nail Polish

I want need the new China Glaze nail polish collection for Halloween!  It includes glow-in-the-dark and crackle polishes.  And I love how it's not overtly Halloween (like the traditional orange and black).

It's supposed to be available some time this month, so I'm going to keep an eye out for it.

Sunday Night Dessert

Last night I wanted to try making something different for dessert, and since it was quite warm in the house, I didn't want to use the oven.  So I had a thought…

A few days ago I watched an episode of the Barefoot Contessa and she made Eton Mess (named for the famous boys school).  It is an English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, pieces of meringue and whipped cream, which is traditionally served at the Eton College annual cricket game.

It's one of those recipes where quantities aren't important, so I took some liberties. 

It turned out to be really tasty.  It complemented my hubby's homemade hamburgers quite well, and rounded out the summer meal.









Here is my semi-homemade version of Eton Mess.

Ingredients:

·   Strawberries, ¾ lb.

·   Whipping cream, about ½ cup

·   White sugar

·   Vanilla extract

·   Meringue cookies, crushed (store bought), about 4

Directions:

1. Wash strawberries and cut into small pieces.  Put half of them in a small saucepan with some sugar.  I used about 4 tablespoons, but do it to taste.
2. Cook the strawberries and sugar over medium heat.  Stir and mash the strawberries frequently.  Cook for about five minutes (the strawberries should start to break down).
3. Add the cooked strawberries and sugar mixture to the reserved fresh strawberries.  Mix and refrigerate until chilled.
4. Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form.  You may add a dash of vanilla and a tablespoon of sugar if desired.
5. Spoon all components into parfait glasses, layering strawberries, whipped cream, and crushed up meringue cookies.

Snow Village Halloween

My Department 56 Snow Village has recently expanded from just a Christmas village to a proper Halloween village. 

I already had a few Halloween accessories, which I displayed during the fall season along with some of my less snow covered buildings.  But last year, some official Halloween buildings were added -- the Screech Owl Farm and Screech Owl Farmhouse (a birthday gift from my sweet hubby). 

Now we need to decide which piece(s) to add this year!

MAC Haul

A few weeks ago I picked up some soon to be discontinued MAC products.  I was pleased with how well all the items work together (considering it wasn't planned that way).  Gotta love that smoky purple-burgundy look!

• Too Chic beauty powder
• Rain of Flowers nail lacquer
• Lap of Luxury lipglass
• Sorcery and Memorabilia eyeshadows

Cupcakes

Here are some cupcakes I made last year for a prospective client (bride).  Some are yellow cake with buttercream frosting and some are coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. 

The colour scheme was ivory and turquiose, so with that in mind, I created four prototypes to present to the bride.

And oh yeah, I got the job! 

Inspiration

Why blog?

I decided to create a blog so I have a place to think, plan and reflect.  It gives me a chance to practice my writing and editing skills, and it allows me to play with technology and some graphic design ideas.

The title of my blog is also the name of a Tim Finn song (possibly my favourite from his Feeding the Gods album).  And my visual inspiration comes from an old Toronto subway photo.  How cool is that?