Ghosting

Venice Beach

 

Salted Caramel Gelato

I’ve been feeling down lately, so I decided to share two photos that brought back positive memories. The first photo was taken at Venice Beach during my LA trip. The second photo is a scoop of salted caramel gelato I had on Canada day. You’re probably wondering why I associate gelato with positive memories… and I guess it’s because desserts make me happy LOL. In times of sorrows, I’ve learned to find something positive to look forward to. Though these past few weeks have been tough, I’m looking forward to the month of August. New post will be up Friday as I have an essay and group presentation due on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday M!

I’ve been having bad headaches lately so blogging hasn’t really crossed my mind. It’s also my last week of class, but I still have so many assignments due, the stress level is building up. I celebrated M’s birthday yesterday but didn’t stay to watch the fireworks because I was planning on working on my essay, but ended up going bed early because I had another headache.

I made M some macarons filled with cream cheese frosting. Macarons are tricky to make! This time, I still had troubles with the oven temperature as the bottom and top browned too much.

I love making cheesy birthday cards for my friends 😛 Here is the card I made for M, with a picture of Andrew Garfield on the cover.

M’s friend got a strawberry mousse cake from T&T for her birthday. I thought it tasted ok, but I would have liked more cake because there was too much mousse.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and thanks for reading!

Punctuality: How to Be on Time

As you’ve probably noticed, I blog mostly about food, my life and the occasional post about fashion and beauty but I’ve been thinking about changing it up a bit. So I thought about it, and I’ve decided to add an “insight” category where I will be sharing with you some helpful advice and information I have come across or read. As a psychology major, I read and come across a lot of helpful and interesting information, so I thought I would share some of this knowledge with my readers. I hope you enjoy the new addition to the blog and feedback will be greatly appreciated 🙂

The first post under this new category will be on punctuality. If you know me, you would know that I hate being late for anything, regardless of the importance of the event. Experts say that being late suggests incompetence, self-centredness and a lack of integrity. Plus it causes stress and self-loathing that can affect almost every aspect of your life. I came across this article from Globe and Mail, so I thought I would share it with you guys.

Tips on being on time

1. Get Yourself to Bed

• If you wake up tired, you will probably have a sluggish start which will bleed into the rest of the day
• If you’re one of those people hitting the snooze button for half and hour in the morning, you’re most likely going to be late
• Getting an ideal 8 hours of sleep will likely mean going to bed earlier, which is usually not possible for busy people, so try creating a nightly routine (dim the lights, have a cup of decaf tea, read) to let your body know it’s time to power down

2. Keep a Centralized Schedule

• Decide on one place to keep all of your appointments and stick with it. With technology these days, it’s easy to record appointments directly on your devices, but unless they are all synced up to your system, try keeping your appointments on a daily agenda.

3. Be Realistic

• People tend to underestimate the amount of time things take, whether that’s getting up in the morning or packing for a trip. We all tend to remember that one time when everything went smoothly, and use that as our reference point. Just because you took 20 mintues to get ready and it took you 20 minutes to get to work last time doesn’t necessarily mean you will take the same amount of time the next day.
  – What if you have a 3 minute convo with your spouse? What if there’s an accident on the route you take to work? What if your power goes out? Break down their schedule in a realistic way, then add about a half-hour of cushion room.

4. Adjust Your Bad Attitude

• Many of us subconsciously use lateness as a way to express resentment for an obligation, whether that’s a job or maybe a dinner at your in-laws.
• Examine why you might be showing up late. Are you getting distracted while getting ready? Are you purposely showing up late for work because of resentment? Maybe you simply don’t care about being late.

So that’s a summary of the article, but I would like to add my own tips on how to be punctual:

• It’s always better to be early than right on time or late. It allows you time to prepare, relax and diminishes the stress of having to be on time
• Be considerate of person waiting upon you. How would you feel if you were constantly waiting for someone?
• Prioritize. If you’re planning on meeting someone at 12, don’t start watching a movie while you are getting ready or don’t start baking a cake thirty minutes before you are suppose to meet. You can do those things later, but for now, focus on getting ready and being on time.
• If you class says it starts at 10:30, it doesn’t mean be there at 10:30. When calculating how much time you need, try to arrive at least 10 minutes early. If it takes you 30 minutes to get to school, try leaving at 9:50 instead of 10:00 so you can be at school before class starts.
• Pick out an outfit the night before. This saves a lot of time in the morning if you are indecisive on what to wear. It also allows time for some adjustments.

So those are my tips, I hope you enjoy this post and feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

Cooking at Home: Katsu Sandwich

Inspired by Marulilu’s katsu sandwich, I decided to make my own katsu sandwich at home. The outcome was a delicious and satisfying sandwich.

Components include a panko breaded and fried pork loin, a lightly toasted 9 grain ciabatta bun dressed with okonomiyaki sauce and tartar sauce, avocado and spring mix.

The finished product. I ended up drizzling some more okonomiyaki sauce for more flavour. I love adding avocados in my sandwiches for some added creaminess. Next time I’ll skip the tartar sauce, it got lost in the other components and added no flavour.

Hello, Farewell

I had an uneventful week, but my weekend is a juxtaposition to my boring week. I have a job interview today and I’m hoping I get the job, I could use some extra money. I’m also dog sitting my cousin’s dog Yuki again, my favourite thing to do 🙂 Here are some pictures I snapped with my phone during the week:

{Free food from school}

{Korean food with S.A.W}

{Doughnuts from Lucky’s Doughnuts}

Refresh

The weather has been very nice lately, albeit too hot for my liking. I know I shouldn’t be complaining, it’s a lot hotter and humid in many other places but I detest hot weather. I went to Donalds Market yesterday to pick up some things, which included these:

I wanted something refreshing on a hot summer day and the pomegranate peach passion white tea caught my eye. Also bought a package of blueberries since they are in season now. The tea was very refreshing and I enjoyed the taste.

Best part of summer for me is eating watermelon and blueberries. Great healthy snacks for a hot summers day.

I apologize for the lack of posts, I’ve been really tired lately and haven’t been doing much except for school work. My camera has been sitting on my table collecting dust, so hopefully I can take some photos this weekend.

Earl Grey Donut @ Cartem’s Donuterie

I absolutely love anything Earl Grey, so when I read that Cartem’s Donuterie had Earl Grey donut, I had to get my hands on some!

Donuts seem to be the next “it” item, but I must admit I’m not a big fan of donuts, with the exception of mini donuts. When I entered Cartem’s, I was greeted by a lovely lady who offered to take photos of the donuts for me. That’s what I call service! The picture above is taken by the lovely lady, who informed me that she is a photographer.

The Earl Grey donut is made from organic ingredients including Earl Grey tea steeped in fresh butter. It’s topped with a ground tea glaze and sprinkled with rose petals. I wished the Earl Grey flavour was more prominent though, but I still enjoyed the donut, especially the texture of it.

Last Day of Magic

I’ve had a bad week to say the least. I spent all week stressing and working on my essay and the hot weather has produced undesirable amounts of body acne. I did however, watch Magic Mike with M yesterday and I wish I didn’t, I could have saved myself time and money. Worst part was the immature teenager sitting beside me squealed every time she saw Channing Tatum, which was many times. Enough with my ranting, I present to you some pictures I snapped during my week with my phone.

{My unsuccessful attempt at making macarons. The bottoms browned too quickly producing an overly crunchy macaron. At least they look ok}

{I really like this infinity love sign I found on Instagram}

{Oysters & chips (with a side salad) from Sockeye City Grill in Steveston}

Writers Block

I’ve been experiencing writers block lately, both for my essay that is due on Thursday and for my blog. I’ve been stressed lately so it seems like everything is getting on my nerves. I like looking at old photos I have taken as a stress reliever, it brings back some good (and not so good) memories. While browsing through my old memory card, I came across these photos:

Waffles from Sweet Iron Waffles in Seattle. These are probably the tastiest waffles I’ve had; freshly made to order and dusted with powdered sugar (or with prosciutto and creme fraiche for the savory waffle). There are some tasty liege waffles in Vancouver, but nothing compares to the freshly made ones at Sweet Iron Waffle.

I hope everyone has a good day and thanks for reading 🙂

Apple Rhubarb Crostata from East Village Bakery

I mentioned in previous post that one of my favourite bakeries is East Village Bakery. I decided to take a break from writing my essay and biked down there to get a treat. I ended up getting a apple rhubarb crostata.

The filling is a bit tart but I enjoyed the combination. Like their other crostata’s, the crust is buttery and delicious. I still prefer the blueberry frangipane crostata more, you can read my post on it here.