Christmas Party!

Last night was my companies Christmas party. A companies success is truly reliant on great people, and that is one thing I am really proud of is being surrounded by incredible individuals. We gave out loads of prizes and danced the night away!

This dress from Sirens got incredible feedback, everyone went nuts for the solar system! 

Elephant necklace from Le Chateau (picked him up during black friday sales yessss) and the earrings are from Forever 21.

4 Places I'd Like to Visit

Day 4- 4 Places I'd like to visit!
I am hopeful that as I actually get to visit these places I'll get to add pictures to this post!

#1. Paris!
The city of love and filled with history! This is definitely my first stop.

#2. The Netherlands!
My Nanny is originally from the Netherlands so this has always been one place I know I need to visit, to see where she grew up.

#3. South Korea!
I think I mostly want to visit South Korea for it's western similarities! However with the beautiful Asian flare! Also I find North Korea fascinating so I'd love to have a closer view... Safe close view.

#4. Egypt!
As a child I've always been obsessed with Ancient Egypt, it's a culture like no other and I really hope I'll get to see it for myself someday!

What I Wore Today

Day 3- What I wore today!

Today isn't the greatest example...

Black shirt *yawn* and old man pants!

Like look at that sexy pattern! I got these pants at Joe Fresh probably 3-4 years ago! I just love them!

Day 2- A Book Well Worth Reading

To I tried to write this post on the app in bed last night... Terrible things ended up happening and the entire post was lost! So here is my second attempt at Day 2...

A Book well worth reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book has been out for awhile and was recently made into a movie, but it definitely is one of my favourites and I felt the need to talk about that fact! I'm a big fan of history, WWII especially and this story about a young German girl risking her life to read and keep her family safe is incredibly captivating!

If you haven't already read it- I highly recommend it! Heck! If you have read it, read it again!!

Homemade Sheppards Pie

I have been craving shepherds pie for ages now!! Here we go!

1lb Lean Ground Beef
1/2 Onion, chopped

In a large skillet, cook ground beef until browned and sauté onions. Once beef is cooked place into a 9x9" pan.

2 cups mixed vegetables

Cook vegetables to desired softness (I use the epicure rectangular steamer for my vegetables)

Layer the vegetables on top of the beef in the pan.

Mmmm... veggies

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into smaller pieces for easy boiling

1 tbsp Margarine

1 tsp Epicure 3 Onion Dip Mix

30ml Milk

Boil potatoes until soft, add the margarine, spices and milk and mash potatoes until fluffy.

Layer the potatoes to the pan and sprinkle with 1/4 shredded cheddar cheese

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and enjoy!

10 Likes And Dislikes

To consume myself into the blogging experience I decided to start a little journal challenge, it includes 14 days worth of subjects- mostly of me (yes a feel my ego blowing up just saying that)

Day 1- 10 Likes and Dislikes

Likes! 

1. Volunteering- I love volunteering! It gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can't even begin to describe!
2. Animals- Nothing more adorable then a fuzzy little kitty
3. A good book
4. A nice walk
5. Crafty things- I love to work with my hand!
6. Cleaning!! (Shh.. I know I'm weird) but a nice clean house is a house to be proud of!
7. Gardening- lets made the world a more beautiful place
8. Cooking- You will rarely find a box of frozen food in my freezer!
9. Makeup! It's an art form that I can take anywhere with me, and companies like Ipsy make is so easy to experiment with new products!
10. Anything geeky! Star Wars, Doctor Who, Mario, Disney... You name it I love it!

Dislikes!

1. Folding laundry... As much as I love cleaning this one step in the laundry process aggravates me!
2. People who don't know how to drive in extreme weather... Stay home or move to a warmer climate. Snow happens every year people!
3. Negative facebook status' -they just make me sad.
4. Roller Coasters- hate em'
5. People who seem to be missing common sense. Thinking before saying is my favourite thing!
6. ABC gum.... There's not much that turns my stomach but that really really does!
7. Guilt...
8. False advertising in products... I want it to work!!
9. Horror Films... Overactive imagination over here... Can't do it!
10. Telemarketers... The other day they started calling at 6:30am!!

Done! Day 1 complete!

Meatless Monday- Meatless Burgers!

This was absolutely terrifying! Only because I was using ingredients I'd never dealt with before, but they came out delicious and I will definitely be making these again!

Meatless Burgers

1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (and you can save some for a garnish at the end if the mood suits you)
2 tsp epicure beef and steak spice
2 fresh garlic cloves (or 1/2 tsp epicure minced garlic)
1/4 cup flour (plus a bit extra for rolling the patties)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 (14oz) can corn kernels

• In a food processor (or in my case all I had was a blender) process chickpeas, cilantro, spices garlic, flour, salt and pepper. Pulse until well mixed. 
• Add corn and pulse until you have a good texture going.
• Form the patties and allow to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Heat a greased skillet or griddle to medium heat and cook each side of the patty for 5 minutes.
• Garnish to your desire and enjoy!

Meatless Monday- Vegetarian Quiche

So this recipe ended up making an insane amount of vegetables but they were delicious and I ended up using the leftovers for stir fry the next day!

Recipe for Vegetarian Quiche

1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped zucchini

Sprinkle salt over top of zucchini and let sit for 10 minutes

1 9" pie shell

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook pie shell for 5 minutes.

After the pie crust is cooked reduce heat to 350 degrees.

2 tbsp margarine
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 clove of garlic

Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onions, peppers, tomato, mushrooms, garlic and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes or until they're nice and tender.

Add some salt and pepper to taste then gently put the veggies into the baked off pie crust.

5 Eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 grated mozzarella

Mix eggs, milk, and cheeses in a bowl. 

This is enough egg mixture for one quiche however there's enough veggies for like.. 4! You can make the call on how many you want to make :)

Pour egg mixture over top of the veggies and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 Let sit for a few minutes before digging in. Then enjoy! 

The finished product!

Picattoo

My Picattoos came today! This was definitely an impulse purchase on my part but they're so cool I couldn't resist!

Picattoo creates unique temporary tattoos from your own Instagram photos. Each set comes in packs of 12 with free shipping worldwide. Picattoo is perfect for showing off your Instagram photos in a fresh creative way!

They're based out of the Netherlands so that made the free shipping super exciting to me!! They're regular $14.99 but I swooped them up for $12 through Influenster.

This was super exciting to get! Although I don't have much personal use for my instagam photos to be turned into tattoos, the quality is great and it would be so much fun if I had kids! I will definitely keep this product in mind for future events.

In the meantime it works great for showcasing how much of a crazy cat lady I really am!!

Head to www.picattoo.com to get your own and if you sign up for www.influenster.comyou can still take advantage of a few dollars off.

Rainy Day... Delight

So this is what I came home to today

Canada Post decided to leave 3 packages totalling close to $300 on my front porch today... In broad daylight in the pouring rain... Included in this pile is a $100 camera for a Christmas present for my Nanny. I'm not even sure if I should turn the camera on, the box was completely soaked through.
This is not the first time this has happened on my porch, a few weeks ago my roommate ordered a $400 camera and that was also left in the rain!! It's no wonder Canada Post is dying if this is the service that we are receiving...

Peach, Mango, Strawberry, Banana Crisp

Oh baby- something tropical on this mild autumn day.

Here's my recipe for a Peach Mango Strawberry Banana Crisp!

Topping

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp melted margarine

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, set aside.

Filling

3 cups combined of mangos, peaches, and strawberries (I use frozen)
1 sliced banana
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest

Combine all ingredients and pour into a 9" pie pan, gently pour oat mixture over top of the fruit mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until it starts to bubble.

Homemade Granola Bars

I wouldn't necessarily consider these to be a healthy alternative, however they are delicious! I'd take them over a store made bar any day!

1 cup Coconut
3 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1 can condensed milk
1/8 cup Margarine

Gently combine all the ingredients in a bowl and spread onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in a convection oven, or 10 minutes, turn the pan and another 10 minutes for non convection ovens.

Meatless Monday- Thai Ivory Cuisine

Instead of cooking this week we decided to do meatless Monday out on the town!

We chose Thai Ivory Cuisine in Dartmouth

http://www.thaiivorycuisine.ca/

 Appetizer Spring Rolls

 (top) Spicy noodle stir fry

(bottom) Vegetarian Pad Thai 

Deep fried Banana

This was one of the best restaurant meals I've had in a long time! Everything was delicious from the appetizer to the dessert! I'd been to other Thai Ivory Cuisine locations and was less then impressed so the fact that an absolutely delicious meal was presented in front of me was a very pleasant surprise!

10 Facts about Christmas

So attempting to put personalized messages in all my Christmas cards to extended family came out very dry... So I decided they may appreciate some fun facts about Christmas! Here were my 10 favourites!

1) In ancient times, mistletoe was considered sacred because it remains green and bears fruit during the winter.

2) Christmas Shopping accounts for 17% of all retail sales in America.

3) Evergreen trees have been symbols of eternal life and rebirth since ancient times.

4) Artificial Christmas trees have outsold real ones since 1991.

5) Contrary to popular belief, the poinsettia is not poisonous!... However holly berries are!

6) The first Christmas was celebrated on December 25th AD 336 in Rome.

7) The traditional Christmas eve meal in Armenia is fried fish, lettuce and spinach.

8) The traditional Christmas eve meal in Japan is fried chicken and strawberry shortcake... Yum

9) Nova Scotia leads the world in exporting lobster, wild blueberries and Christmas trees.

Awe yeah Atlantic pride!!

10) The song Silver Bells was originally called Tinkle Bells... Hehe wonder why it didn't catch on.

Homemade Beefaroni

This is something I love to eat but to get it in a package can be so full of sodium! So I make my own!

2 cups Elbow Macaroni
3 heaping spoonfuls of Cheez Whiz

Prepare macaroni as you like it and add the Cheez Whiz

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1/2 an Onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Epicure Beef and Steak Spice
1/2 a Tomato mixed with 1 tbsp Epicure Poco Salsa Mix

Fry up everything in a skillet on medium heat. Once the beef is fully cooked, drain any fat and add the macaroni.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy!

November Ipsy Bag Review

My November Ipsy Bag arrived on Thursday! I swear this is my favourite time of the month.

This month's theme is Girl Meets Glitter, the bag was definitely very glittery however I really only got one sparkly item :\

That item in question was the Gem Eye Pencil by Starlooks

At first I wasn't sure I'd like the Olive colour, but once I had it on it was very soft and shiny and more like a gold shade then an olive shade. Glitter galore! Good thing too, like I said... It was the only glitter item in the bag...

Second up was the Birchsap Moisturizing Lotion by SeaRx

This was a really nice lotion! Apparently supposed to help with anti aging but being 23 I.. Don't... Really know (I hope anyway) that I'll see a difference in myself!
The only thing that threw me off with this was the disclaimer warning on the back... Not to be used by pregnant or nursing women... First thing that went through my mind is: What is in this lotion that is fatal to babies??
I immediately took a look at every single lotion in my house to see if any other ones had a similar warning- it is definitely not something that comes on moisturizers normally!
Other then that warning on the back that made me a tad uncomfortable it is a nice lotion with a very soothing scent to it, reminding me of the ocean which I believe is what they were going for.

Third is *drum roll*..... Bye Bye Under Eye by IT Cosmetics

Plain and simply put... I.. LOVE this!! I'm the kind of person you can tell if I didn't get enough sleep at night. The morning after this concealer arrived I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep topped with getting up at 5:30am... You would have never guessed! The formula is so thick it hid all my lovely dark circles! Definitely my favourite product in the bag!!

#4!.... Wonder Lip Paint by J. Cat

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one.. I'm rather picky towards lip products but I have to say this product really impressed me, it was easy to put in and lasted for quite some time. The shade is a very pretty pink and I can see wearing this quite often. I'm looking forward to seeing what other colours I can get by J. Cat!

And last but not least Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Volume Shine Hairspray by Marc Anthony

I don't find myself using hairspray very often and this one is fairly basic in the feel. My hair felt a little bit softer then with the normal hairspray I use. I'm looking forward to a foggy humid day when I can really put this stuff to the test!!

All and all I'm very happy with this month's bag (aside from the lack of glitter and weird warnings...). I'm looking forward to next months!

Homemade Christmas

Decided to give this Christmas a little personal touch with handmade card! Each one will have a personal message of love and holiday cheer! 

Light Alfredo Sauce

I love Alfredo sauce! But I'm not a big fan of cooking with heavy cream so here's my delicious recipe for a light Alfredo sauce!

1/4 cup Margarine
1 cup Milk
2 tbsp Flour
1 Clove of Garlic (or 1/2 tsp epicure's minced garlic)

1 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Parsley for garnish

Melt the butter down in a saucepan over medium heat. Add milk and flour and let simmer for 2 minutes while stirring constantly.

Add garlic and cheese and whisk it up until thick and creamy!

Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Apple Sauce

To honour out fallen veterans today I decided to fill my kitchen up with the delicious smell of apples and cinnamon!

Here's my recipe for Brown Sugar Apple Sauce!

7 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Place then in a saucepan with,
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon

Bring all the ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are nice and tender.

Give it a good mix, let it cool (or y'know do what I did and eat half of it while it's still in the pot..) And Enjoy!

Christmas At The Forum

So today was an amazing day I went to Christmas at the forum with my best friend. We grazed the exhibits which were all wonderful but nothing stole my heart like the spray painting artist from New Brunswick!

I told him my bedroom was purple and to give me something uniquely him and he made this masterpiece right in front of me!

I was a little sad to find out he is based out of New Brunswick but I am definitely going to look into more of these paintings in the future. I want one for every room! 

Like look at this masterpiece!! I have a video of him making it!

Blood sucking vermons

Princess peach has fleas!! A feeble attempt last week to control them has failed, I became Hertz next victim of their ineffective products ... I guess I put too much trust in companies- assuming their products will do what they say they will. 

I've done some research to attempt to make her more comfortable until we can get to the vet, at 6am we were having a bath! I really hope for how much splashing we did together she got some relief and hopefully making her fur lemony fresh will deter those little buggers even further.

1 whole lemon cut into slices 

To

1 pint of hot water

Soaked for 8 hours then sprayed on your kitty.

I'm hopeful that this will produce her at least some relief! It just breaks my heart!

A Little Bit About Me

Hi!

My name is Nicole! I'm a 23 year old crazy fool with a cute house, a funny looking car and the most beautiful kitty you ever saw!

~Born and raised in Nova Scotia, and I plan to stay here as long as I possibly can!

~Pastry Chef by trade and I love creating delectable desserts

~I am an Epicure consultant and love sharing my healthy meals with my family and friends! If you are in the Halifax area and want to know more just drop me a message!

I have come accustom to a certain lifestyle (not even an overly glamorous one but hey it's mine) that I'm going to try to maintain without killing myself at my job anymore.

Wish me luck! And if you have any advice I will gladly take it :)

Taking a Deep Breath

You never think it'll happen to you- waking up one morning and realizing you are in a vicious cycle where your dead-end job takes hold of you and every aspect of your life.
How did this happen? Thaaat's the first thing that goes through your mind! However the better question to ask is.. How am I going to get out.

I've been asking myself some big questions lately
1) Where do my skills lie?
2) What do I love to do?
3) Where can I make the living that I've come accustom to?

I've lived my whole working life in retail, which I absolutely adore (heck I remember playing "store" when I was 5 years old!) however being needed 24/7 is absolutely exhausting and it's not a path I really want to continue to take anymore. I need to have more control over my living schedule.

~I love crafts!! I am a DIY queen and can't get enough of working with my hands.
~I love to cook!! You won't find a box of frozen anything in my freezer, and I always make a meatless monday recipe every week.
~I love my kitty!! Her name is Princess Peach :)
~I love my home!! I became a homeowner at 21 (I was single I might add) and I've had a strong sense of ownership ever since.
~I love to be busy!
and lastly for now... ~ I LOVE money! Like I seriously think my love for it is borderline medically unhealthy... But hey everyone has something!!

I plan to combine all my loves and all my skills to create a life that I am proud of... Hopefully I can make an online footprint that will actually make a name for myself. Wish me luck!