summertime living

1. ice cream. every day.

2. new instax film

3. barbequed pizzas on the back patio

4. mason jar vases and lupins

this summer it has been hot. and i have been working. a lot. little things like the pictures above make me happy, and the thought of europe in the fall is getting me through long (twelve hour!) work days.
the five week countdown started today, time is flying flying past.

is there anything better than summertime living?
until next time xxxxx

shortbread baking

friday night i decided to bake shortbread (naturally.. this is what everyone does on a friday night, yes?) despite my kitchen being completely under renovations. anyone who knows me would not be surprised. when i want to bake, i want to bake.

so i used the recipe i've been using since i was four. yes, my mom let me bake shortbread when i was four years old. flour on the ceiling was not an uncommon occurance in my house. i used some tiny cookie cutters i bought recently, and i loooove them! look how cute that little bunny is.

so now i have one million teeny animals.

anyone want to come over for milk and cookies?

xx

apple galette

i've been scouring elephantine for days now, reading posts and looking at recipes. finally, after noticing a few almost-bruised apples on the kitchen table, i decided on the apple galette. partially because of the apples i had and partially because of the oh-so-adorable video accompanying the recipe.



i mean, does that not make you want to go and bake this immediately?

i'm pretty pleased with how mine turned out - not quite as pretty as the original but you know what? it was delicious. my mom and i both sat down with the cool breeze from the back door blowing in and had a piece with some vanilla ice cream, and it was perfect.

i know i should probably give some sort of explanation why i dropped of the face of the internet for so long but really, i don't want to. nothing major happened, aside from my computer breaking in november and not being able to buy a new one.

the important thing is i've come back, and i'm excited about blogging again. it's been a while since i could honestly say that!

until next time (not too long!)

xxxxx

chocolate hazelnut butter and the sweetest mail

hello hello dolls!

oh i just have to start by saying i am so happy today. i am bursting with it. good music, good weather and good company have all contributed to this day, and i am absolutely loving it. 

i went on a little thrifting adventure, walked all around the city by myself and then hiked signal hill with my brother. it was wonderful.

this little post is to share with you a recipe for chocolate hazelnut butter and a gorgeous package i received a few weeks ago that i've yet to share!

for the chocolate hazelnut butter i followed this recipe. it was super simple.

you basically toast hazelnuts for a few minutes until they smell amazing, then whir them away in the food processor until they're nut-buttery.

then you add some cocoa powder, a bit of oil and a bit of honey and whir a bit more and voila! delicious chocolate hazelnut butter. my only complaint about this recipe is it didn't make enough! i will definitely be doubling it next time.

i pretty much ate most of it straight from the little jar with a spoon. but some of it made it on top of my oats a few mornings, and i did microwave a wrap with peanut butter and the chocolate hazelnut butter which, needless to say, was unreal.

now onto my package! the ever so lovely sarah sent me this a few weeks ago and i can't say i wasn't like a kid at christmas when i got the postal slip in my mailbox to go pick it up.

i was at a coffee shop right after i went to the post office and picked it up and was going to wait until i got home to open it but i literally could not, haha. so i opened it while sipping a caramel macchiato and every time i pulled something new out i was happier and happier!

sarah sent me a lovely card, a little notebook (which i'm still trying to decide what to use it for! i'm so fussy about new notebooks), a tiny polaroid of her hanging paper cranes, a lovely notecard and envelope and a bunch of paper cranes for myself! they're on all different patterned paper and i can't wait to hang them in my room like she has done in the little polaroid.

i have to take a minute here and thank sarah for this beautiful package. over the past few months she has become one of my closest blog friends and i absolutely adore reading her blog whenever she updates. we also follow one another on twitter now, and i have to thank modern technology's brilliance for allowing two people who live so far apart to be able to connect like we have! it's magical. so thank you a million times sarah for being such a great friend and loyal reader. 

and i have to say thank you to everyone else who shows up here too. it blows my mind that people read this, it really does! i get so excited to discover new blogs and meet new people. 

my happy day has turned me into a sap, it would seem.

i hope you are all having as amazing a day as i have, and that you are full of love and light.

love, love, love xx

sunday summary

now, these pictures have nothing to do with sunday (they're the cupcakes from the previous post dressed up all pretty!) but i actually didn't take any photos on sunday (only with my disposable camera) and wanted to do a summary of my day anyways. so here goes! and prepare for cupcake overload!

woke up super super early with quite a bad headache :(

had a delish bowl of oats with tons of cinnamon and banana

worked until five

attempted to go minigolfing with pat, but neither of us had cash and his bank card wouldn't work because he was playing with magnets earlier (seriously, who plays with magnets?)

ended up renting the king's speech and watching it at his house. well, i watched half and then fell asleep.

came home, chatted to samantha, read a bit of identical strangers and then went to bed! 

it was a good day.

how was your sunday?

tonight i'm going to see super 8 after work! i've heard good things, i'm pretty excited.

xx

early morning baking

hi loves!

just wanted to pop in and share some pictures of my little baking adventure this morning. 

my friend emma's birthday is today so i baked some cupcakes for her party tomorrow night. 

(of course i had to taste test one, you know, to make sure they tasted fine!)

they're not frosted yet, but i'm thinking pink buttercream is in their future.

have a lovely weekend dolls! 

ps. i completely missed celebrating my 100th post! a little giveaway is most certainly in order. soon! 

free

i can't stop watching this gorgeous movie. sophia coppola is a genius. 

somewhere needs to be in my life very soon.

i've been eating frozen grapes like they're going out of style. this guy was a monster!

followed by a lil baby grape. 

this video is beautiful. kids are so free, i love it. i want that infinite abyss of imagination and possibilities back.

i told you i had some exciting news - over christmas i got cast in two plays! i auditioned in november and had given up on getting a callback, let alone a part, let alone two parts - and then within the span of four days i got offered two roles!
one is a minor role as a burlesque dancer (ooh!) in an 1870's piece called the fights. the other is major role as a girl named erin in an oedipus/antigone type spinoff called ismene!

i can't even tell you how excited i am for both. i've already had three rehearsals for the fights, and everyone is so amazing and i'm so ridiculously happy to be acting again. the play opens in two and a half weeks and runs 6 shows in 5 nights. ahhh i could talk about it all day!

sorry for the somewhat sporadic post, i'm getting a little stir crazy in my apartment. luckily i had a coffee break with my girls from home tonight. i wish i'd taken pictures, the cafe is gorgeous with red walls and a giant gold mirror and it was so nice to be with friends.

i have a few post ideas lined up for january - just a matter of getting them done!
see you soon dolls <3
love, love

holiday baking + answers

hi my lovely little reindeer!

so cheesy, i know ;)

well it has definitely been too long since i last blogged. oops! 

not too much has happened since i wrote about halifax - except i went home for a week and it was so so amazing. 

i baked, and cleaned, and ate homecooked meals, and saw a santa parade (i didn't take my camera though, which is a shame because it was a really nice parade!).

i cut out my gingerbread houses and glued them together, but i'm saving them to decorate for when my brother is home. our gingerbread houses usually end up looking kind of crazy, but i looove them.

i made some big decisions that i'll probably share after christmas. they are good decisions though, and i'm a lot happier because of them.

i almost forgot about the questions you asked me! 

here we go:

emma asked: who's your ultimate style icon?

to be honest, this is kind of a tough question for me! i admire a lot of styles. i do love rachel bilson's style though, as well as vanessa hudgens. i like casual styles, not too much fuss, but still cute and put together!

sarah asked what's your favorite snack?

this is a hard one too. i'm totttttally a snacky person. i love cookies, pretty much any kind. i love ice cream in the summer. i love dark chocolate, especially mint. i love peanut butter + nutella wraps too. fruit is always a yummy snack, especially bananas and pineapple. i could go on and on haha :)

answer my dream asked 1. who do you look up to/who inspires you?
2. what's the best book you've ever read?
3. what are your favourite things to do on a lazy day? (apart from the obvious of being lazy)

1. i look up to people who do what they love passionately. people who are honest, and strong, and know who they are and the type of person they want to be. i strive to be that person some day. 

2. the best book ever? my go-to answer for this seems to always be extremely loud and incredibly close by jonathon safran foer, because i find something new every time i read that and as cheesy as it sounds it really moves me. but of course i'm going to have to mention harry potter as well, i grew up with that series as i know so many others did, and i really can't not mention those either.

3. on lazy days i love reading blogs, watching tv/movies, journaling, napping, creating things and baking!

rebecca asked if you could visit anywhere in the world for a week to explore and discover the culture, where would you go?

there are so, so many places i want to go in the world. i have not done nearly as much traveling as i would like, and i'm hoping my twenties will allow me to do much more. i think i would have to say greece, though. i am fascinated by greek history and mythology, and would love to have the chance to experience it firsthand and see the sights i've read about in books and learned about in school.

that was a lot of typing!
if you have more questions, feel free to ask whenever and i'll make another little post like this sometime again! i love answering questions.

i'm off to go to a wine and cheese/ugly christmas sweater party now! i don't like wine, but i'm very excited.

hope you're all well and that the season is inspiring you and warming your hearts <3 

love, love 

i like it in the city when two worlds collide

i'm back with the rest of my pictures from halifax!

we took a walk down by the waterfront. it was so so so cold but beautiful there.

kept an eye open for sailors of course ;)

the next day was a lot warmer, we walked into the city and went to a park which was so beautiful, the fall colors were gorgeous! and look at that bridge and little house, it's like something from the movie a fairy tale. do you remember that? i used to own it, but i'm not sure if i have a copy anywhere anymore. it was such a lovely movie!

had to keep the trees from falling down!

we stopped into second cup and sat in the window seats. the seats were eye level with the street, so we could people watch and sit in the warm sun! 

mint chocolate chiller. delicious.

we may or may not have made another trip to susie's.. and i may or may not have gotten three shortbread cookies. macadamia, coconut and original frosted. they were delish!

after, since it was so nice out, we walked up to the halifax citadel. it was so beautiful and warm, and you can look out over the city and the harbour.

samantha and me <3

..i also may or may not have bought four cupcakes to take home. but they weren't all for me! i got jason a peanut butter cupcake and a susie's original, we split a gingerbread one and, well, i did eat a whole coconut one myself. what can i say, i love coconut. and cupcakes. obviously.

on my last night there, samantha and i made paper chains and snowflakes to decorate her apartment for christmas, and we baked shortbread cookies! 

i want to go back. 

i'm making a lot of big decisions right now, and i want to go home. it's tough trying to stick out this semester. i've been talking to my sister a lot, which helps. 

tonight i am sitting at home with some hot chocolate. i made a little owl picture and watched 500 days of summer. 

hope you're having a lovely weekend, dolls

love love