Life Hacks: Episode 1

So... I tried (so far unsuccessfully) to make coffee cake muffins today. 

Baby E was fast asleep in her car seat after our walk home from mommy & me yoga (which we had to leave early because she was tired and refused to sleep. She felt crying would be better) so I put her up on the table and reclined her and decided to spend the quiet time getting some baking done.

But my brown sugar, having been relegated to the back of the cupboard for too many moons, is hard as a rock. So while I attempt to soften it up I decided to start a series of life hacks. 

I got the idea from my talented friend Danielle over at Ginger Rose who comes up with incredible food hacks for Kraft Canada. 

Instead of food hacks (because 1. I'm not clever enough to think up any and 2. I can't get my ingredients in order to actually do this) I'm going with life hacks. 

Life hacks for the sneaky and lazy woman. 

So here you go. 

Episode 1. 

Enjoy :)

P.S. Don't tell John he's been getting duped for weeks. 

Adventures In Knitting : The Cable Stitch

My mother in law made us this incredibly beautiful and intricate Aran wool sweater for our pup for Christmas.

Woven into it were cable stitches and I decided that I wanted the cable stitch to be my next knitting adventure.

Turns out it's not as hard as I thought.

For a first try my cable wasn't too bad but I'll work at making it tighter and making it pop more.

I knit it into a baby blanket that I made for my good friends who are pregnant with their first child, due this summer.

They're not as impatient as me so they're planning to wait to find out if they're having a boy or a girl until the baby arrives.

Not that I want to be accused of gender typing, but I decided that grey and white was a good way to go.

It also matches with most colours so should be fine with whatever room they decide to paint the baby's room. 

If you want to learn to cable stitch, I recommend this youtube video, which was the one I watched and seemed pretty straight forward. Although I did practice a few times before I started incorporating it into the blanket.

And if you don't like that one, search around a bit because there are a ton of great video tutorials online.

I made up my own pattern which went somewhat like:

row 1: knit 25, purl 14, knit 25, purl 14, knit 25

row 2: p 25, k 14, p 25, k 25

row 3: k 25, p 2, put 5 on cable, knit 5,  knit 5 off cable, p 2, k 25, p 2, put 5 on cable, knit 5, knit 5 off cable, p 2, knit 25

row 4: p 25, k 14, p 25, k 14, p 25

row 5: k 25, p 14, k 25, p 14, k 25

row 6: p 25, k 14, p 25, k 14, p 25

row 7: k 25, p 14, k 25, p 14, k 25

row 8: p 25, k 14, p 25, k 14, p 25

row 9: k 25, p 2, put 5 on cable, knit 5,  knit 5 off cable, p 2, k 25, p 2, put 5 on cable, knit 5, knit 5 off cable, p 2, knit 25

then repeat rows 2-9 until you reach your desired length.

I don't know what I want to try learning next in my knitting adventures... 

suggestions?

Christmas: 15 days to go!

First things first, here's your christmas song for the day.

 

 

We made the journey to Ikea yesterday to (finally!) pick up our tree.

2 things:

 

1. We literally just missed THIS. Seeing this made me the most disappointed I've been in a long time. You may have seen this on the news. If only I'd parked in the upper parking lot.

 

2. I think this might be the best tree we've ever picked. It's so full and green and smells like the stuff that dreams are made of.

 

 

I compiled a few cookie recipes last night that I will be baking up this week.

Most of them are classics or takes on the classics but....

one of them sounds a bit ...different.

 

Tomorrow: Mint double chocolate cookies

 

A Different Spin On Gingerbread Houses

I love the countdown to Christmas. Almost more than I love Christmas.

I wake up on December 1st almost as excited as when I wake up on the morning of the 25th.

This year was extra exciting as I went to the Bieber concert on the 1st.

But I digress.

Last year I counted down the final days by sharing some of my favourite scenes from holiday movies.

This year I thought I'd start the Christmas Countdown with some of my favourite Christmas songs.

 

Enjoy some Buble while you read the rest of this post.

 

 

 I did some Christmas shopping today and, as is wont to happen, I bought a few little trinkets for myself.

One being a new cake pan!

 

 

I went a little crazy editing it with picmonkey's holiday themed overlays.

I plan to make a gingerbread CAKE house rather than the cookie houses I attempt only to have the walls or roof inevitably collapse in on themselves.

 

Here's a recipe for Gingerbread from Martha that I plan to use:

 

INGREDIENTS 

Nonstick cooking spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup light molasses

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup firmly packed minced fresh ginger

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the lower third of oven. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper, then spray the paper. Dust the entire pan with flour and shake out the excess.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, turbinado sugar, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together molasses, eggs, oil, and buttermilk.
4. Dissolve baking soda in the cup of boiling water. Fold the baking soda and molasses mixtures into dry ingredients until combined. (Do not overmix.) Fold in the minced ginger.
5. Scrape batter into the prepared baking pan; bake until cake is set around edges and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Wedding Wednesday: Videos that make me cry

Call me lazy but it's John's birthday so I'd like to spend some of the evening with him (even though he's going to his hockey game tonight).
Also I have one more week til the big CRNE so I'm trying to study.
And I'm making pulled pork cause I'm an excellent procrastinator.

I saw this video on Saturday night on Perezhilton.com and proceeded to cry for a solid minute after it finished.

Proposal videos always get me deep in the emotional majority of my brain. I also cry at literally everything.

Enjoy this clever and unique proposal video.
I dare you not to get at least a little misty eyed.

Gone Camping!

In the early hours of tomorrow morning we're setting off for Algonquin Park. A long weekend canoe trip extravaganza. I even got my fishing license today so that I can give it a whirl (legally).

We've got the kebabs in the freezer (chicken, steak, and some cheese ones - mmm), the s'mores essentials, a thermos jug filled with fruit for sangria, and a 4L bag of wine which will be slapped and finished off before the sun rises on Monday morning. Hopefully.

All in the classiest way possible.

I'm excited to get going. We're camping with some of John's work friends and I can't wait. They're such fun people.

AND the weather is supposed to be beautiful so I've packed more bikinis than I'll wear.

It's just what I do.

Hope you all have wonderful long weekend plans!

A happy birthday this weekend goes out to my Aunt Wendy also <3

Here are some of my favourite camping clips.

Enjoy!

Fubar:

And a few from my all-time favourite movie of all time ever: Wet Hot American Summer

(also the reason I cannot seriously watch Christopher Meloni on Law and Order).

Integrity vs. Appearing Intelligent

Yesterday I wrote a med quiz at a hospital where I may have been considered for a job.

I needed 80% on the quiz to move on in the process and I'm seriously concerned I failed it big time.

I was expecting 30 questions, nothing too intense and instead I got 47 questions, some of which I was slightly unprepared for.

I had a total brain fart on the 8 'rights' when giving medication.

I couldn't think of what the abbreviation 'pr' meant (I figured I should put something so I put down extra strength. It really means 'by rectum'. I think I could argue that some people would consider that an extra strength medication).

I also blanked on what digoxin was for - I cirlced atrial fibrillation first then thought I was crazy so I changed it to coronary artery disease.

It's for A fib.

ALWAYS trust your first instinct.

I was very tempted to cheat as I have a med app on my ipod that could have very quickly told me what digoxin was for, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. 

Sure it may have meant I got an extra question right and could have helped me move on to an interview, but I couldn't.  

What I did do (because I always need to know if I'm a big loooser) was to google search and med app search every question I could remember. I also got my friend to look some up for me at while I was on my way home.

I know I got at least 5 wrong. I can only get 9.5 wrong to get that 80%.

Does anyone else feel the need to know what questions they got wrong right away?

It's a terrible feeling but it has to be done.

Homer sums it up best.

Anyway, to cheer myself up I've been watching a lot of Key & Peele on youtube this morning (after my 4.5 mile run this morning whoop whoop whoop - 10k in just over a week, maybe won't die!). Big thanks to John for recommending I watch these guys.

Hilarious.

Enjoy!

Favourite Things: Rain Storms

I was sitting watching Bachelor Pad (what?) and browsing the internet when all of a sudden the apartment went black. All light just disappeared. I peaked outside and noticed it was raining.

I love rain and I love thunderstorms but this was unlike any storm I've ever seen!

It might as well have been a hurricane! The trees were being assaulted and the rain started to pound down into the normally sheltered balcony - at which point I had to turn the camera off and go inside for a few minutes!

If you like storms as much as I do - enjoy!

NKOTBSB!

Yesterday I was whisked away (while unfortunately pretty hungover) by my best friend on a surprise adventure.

That wonderful girl took me to the NKOTBSB concert in Hamilton!

Our seats were amazing AND the aisle we were sitting next to at one point was roped off so we got up pretty close and personal to Howie, Brian, and Jordan Knight.

How close were we?

This close:

I've got food posts coming up for this week but for now enjoy some photos from the concert!

Matthew Morrison aka Mr. Schuester opened for the boys

Donnie Wahlberg.

Yes please.

BSB

NKOTBSB



My Drunk Kitchen (in London!)

Another installment.

Don't cheat and go to her youtube page.

Let me post them all for you.

Because everyone likes Mac & Cheese...

More Drunk Kitchen

Because I cam absolutely in love with this girl,

My Drunk Kitchen presents: Not Easy, Bake Oven.

"Cream together the butter? Oh, I really don't know what that means!"

I've only baked drunk once before. The result was the most amazing chocolate cheesecake I've ever had.
Perhaps it is once again time to go down this road...

Since I've been gone...

I'll start off by appologizing, once again, for my extended absence.

I've been working 40 hour weeks and surprisingly it's kept me busier than when I was in school AND working part time.

Weird.

Things I promise to update you on in the near future: my knack for softball, the things I plan on baking this summer, books I have and will read (and recommend you do too), and more.

I can't promise I'll be around to post too much this week, however, as I am taking a one week intensive class on Occupational Health & Safety.

In theory, one week of class is a much better idea then taking it once a week from September to December.

In theory.

In practice it is a lesson in patience and hard work.

My attention span isn't the greatest and I am a super fidgety person. I blame this fact for my constant knuckle cracking. I can't sit still from 8:30 in the am until 6 in the pm. It's too much to ask of one person.

Yes, we get breaks and yes, my bladder is too small to allow me to go more than 2-3 hours without urinating but it doesn't change the fact that I was not meant to sit for hours on end.

The class itself is alternately interesting and super boring.

I have my first quiz tomorrow morning and then the final 2 quizes on Friday.

The completion of the final quiz will subsequently lead into my wino-style drinking celebration of not having to sit in a classroom again until September.

Speaking of drinking,

my good friend shared this hilarious video series with me and I am hooked.

I think you will be too.

I'm angry I didn't think of this first, though admitedly I don't have Hannah Hart's comedic timing and wit (though I do in my day dreams - not the same thing).

Anyway, I will post a video for every day this week to keep you entertained and to make up for not posting more frequently.

Enjoy!

Hart & Co Present: TACOS!

Lady Gaga

From the concert at the ACC on July 12th.

She is FANTASTIC live. What an entertainer and what a voice!