Wedding Brainstorm

As some of you may already know, I got engaged this past October. And so now my head is filled with wedding paraphernalia and possiblities. Now that the venues have been chosen (and paid for!), I can finally let my creative juices flow and think about the fun stuff.

I've already decided my theme/colors for my big day, and thought that I'd give you a small peak:

 

Holiday Treats

It's that time of year again!!

Personally, I don't get the Christmas Spirit until I start my yearly baking while singing along to Christmas Carols in my kitchen.

So I thought that I would share one of my favourite (and easiest) holiday recipes. (Although it's so good, I guarantee you'll make it all year round!)

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

What you'll need:

• 12 cups air-popped popcorn
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white corn syrup
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups mixed nuts
• a can of butter-flavoured PAM non-stick cooking spray
• wax paper
  

1) Pop the popcorn. (duh...)
2) Cover 2 baking sheets with wax paper.
3) Lightly coat the wax paper with the butter-flavoured PAM spray, to prevent sticking.
4) In a medium saucepan, combine: butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Once mixture begins to boil, stop stirring and let boil for 4 minutes.
5) Remove from heat.
6) Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will become frothy (it's pretty cool actually!)
7) Stir in mixed nuts.
8) Pour caramel over popcorn and stir thoroughly to complete coat popcorn.
9) Pour caramel popcorn onto the baking sheets.
10) Allow popcorn to cool completely before breaking and packaging.

I tend to make a large quantity of this recipe. To store the popcorn once it's made, I keep it in the fridge in a Freezer-safe Ziploc bag.


Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

To "Glow" or Not to "Glow"

While I love make-up and beauty products, the truth is that in my day-to-day life, I really don't wear a lot of make-up. Some concealer, eyeliner and lipstick and I'm out the door.  If I'm in a real hurry or I'm supposed to be "roughing" it while camping, I sacrifice all the other stuff...except for my lipstick.

You see, I feel that without lipstick my face is washed out and pale. I was always jealous of the girls who could just throw on some lipgloss and look great. To attempt this while still getting some color in my lips, I have tried a few items: lip tints, lip stains, etc. and had complaints about each one.

Recently I heard about Dior's "Lip Glow".  It's basically a lip gloss that claims to "...respond to the color chemistry of your lips to create a shade that is uniquely yours."  It also provides protection from the sun with SPF 10.

So I went down to Sephora and doled out a whopping $35 just to try this thing!

My first impression was: "Oooh! Pretty packaging!" Okay, seriously. It's a colorless, fragrance-free lip gloss. And after wearing it for 2 days straight, I can say that it's probably one of the longest lasting lip glosses I've ever used. It lasted all day without my needing to reapply. It also kept my lips well hydrated, even through eating and drinking.

As for the claim that it "creates a shade that is uniquely yours", I didn't find this at all. It does add a natural-looking color to your lips, however I didn't think that it was "unique" to my "color chemistry". It did allow me to leave the house without lipstick on, which was a refreshing change.  I also found that adding a bit of clear gloss on top really complimented the Lip Glow.

All in all, I think Dior's Lip Glow is a great product that I would love to use regularly... if it weren't for the $35 price tag! I will keep an eye on how quickly I go through a tube of this stuff and pending the results of that test, it may become a staple to my everyday routine.

Vive Le Livre!

It's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. The summer has winded down and autumn (and more recently, winter) seems to be on the horizon. And I've been busy...with stuff...and relaxing. :o)  And since for me, "relaxing" usually involves a warm blanket, a glass of wine, and a good book, I've decided to blog about some of my favourite books of all time.

1) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This is the story of the violent death of 14 year old Suzie Salmon and how her family and her community deal with the tragedy.  (I wish I could be a bit more specific, but I don't want to give it all away). If you're not a reader, you can always see the movie, which comes out January 15, 2010.

2) Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

I can't say enough about this book! I have read it multiple times as it always seems to be my "back-up book" when I have nothing else to read. If you've ever wondered what Jesus was like growing up, or what he did during those missing years of his life, it's all in here. Well, not factually speaking. This book is clever, hilarious and very entertaining. Just don't take it literally. :o)

3) And Then There Were None - by Agatha Christie

Ah, Agatha Christie. The Queen of the Mystery Novel. While this does not feature my favourite character, Hercule Poirot, it's still a very well written mystery novel and is perhaps your classic "whodunnit?" This is another book that I have read multiple times (due to my ability to always forget who the murderer was!). In all of the mystery books that Agatha Christie has written, I have never been able to successfully piece all the clues together. I probably never will.

4) Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Young or old, you cannot NOT love this book. It's a sentimental take on the circle of life. I personally get all emotional when the boy sings the song to his elderly mother at the end...okay. Tearing up just thinking about it. Onto the next book...

5) Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - by Mary Roach

So I realize that I may be getting a few weird looks at this point. "Human cadavers?? Are you serous??" This book explores the many places that your body could end up if you were to ever donate it to science. From being a crash test dummy to being the lucky recipient of a post-mortem face lift, you'd be amazed at who gets their hands on you once you've vacated your body! Journalist Mary Roach investigates this very sombre and scientific topic and blends it with humour and wit.

This is just a short selection of some of my favorite books. I would love to hear if any of you have read them and if so, what you thought of them!

Making Free iPhone Ringtones in 10 Easy Steps

Some time ago, I had posted a link on my Facebook page that showed how to create free ring tones for your iPhone using your existing mp3's in iTunes.

What Apple wants you to do is to buy the ring tone version of a song separately, even if you already purchased the corresponding mp3 from iTunes.

Here's a way to get around this:

**Please note that this only works with mp3, ACC and AIFF files and that they must be DRM-free (meaning that you can't use mp3's that you downloaded from iTunes)**

Step 1:   Open iTunes and check your Import settings by clicking on Edit --> Preferences. Then click on the Import Settings button under the General tab. Make sure that you are set to either AAC Encoder or Apple Lossless.

Step 2:  Select the song that you would like to turn into a ring tone. Play the song and write down the start and end time of the part of the song that you would like to set your ring tone to be. (Make sure that your ring tone is 40 seconds or less).  After you have done this, right-click on the song and select Get Info.

Step 3: Under the Options tab, click both the Start Time and End Time boxes. Enter in the start and end times of the song that you want for your ring tone. Then click OK.

Step 4: (Make sure that your song is still highlighted). Click on Advanced in the menu bar.

Step 5:  Select Create AAC Version or Create Apple Lossless Version.  This will create a copy of your song. (You may need to use the search feature to locate both titles). The new version of the song will have a shorter playing time.

 

Step 6:  Go back to the original version of the song and uncheck the Start Time and End Time boxes.

Step 7: Highlight the duplicate song and drag it to your desktop. Once the file is on your desktop, you must delete it from iTunes completely or else it won't allow you to import the new ring tone file.

Step 8: On your desktop, rename the file so that it has an .m4r extension. This turns your song file into an iPhone ringtone file.

Step 9: Drag your newly created .m4r file back into your iTunes library. (In the upper left corner of iTunes). You should now see your .m4r file in Ringtones under your Library.

Step 10: Sync to your iPhone and you're all done! :o)

Bump What ??

By now I'm sure that most of you have heard of these new things called Bumpits. Basically they are "volumizing hair inserts" which, after a short stint in the Infomercial World, are now available at a retail store near you.

I saw these on a recent trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond and decided to give them a try.

The box includes a styling guide, one Hollywood Bumpit, one Large  Bumpit and one Mini Bumpit as well as a teasing comb. They are available in Black, Brunette, Medium Blond and Light Blond.

Here's how it works:

1) Part your hair at the crown and tease your hair slightly - I have fine hair, and so I found that I had to tease it quite a bit to get the Bumpit to grip my hair. Also grab more hair than you think otherwise you won't be able to cover the Bumpit.

2) Firmly place the Bumpit behind your part line - It helps if you wiggle the Bumpit back and forth to help it grip your hair better.

3) Pull hair over the Bumpit to cover - This isn't as easy as it sounds. First of all, I found that it's actually quite hard to completely cover the Bumpit. You may have to move hair around and hairspray the heck out of it just to make sure that it's completely covered.

4) Pull in ends and finish with a bobby pin - This is the "basic" Bumpit look. However you can also throw on a headband or make a ponytail. There are other ideas in the instruction guide.

Here's an example of the Mini Bumpit, which is designed for your bangs:

So, what did I think of Bumpits??

Well, they do what they're supposed to - provide volume to your hair. The first time I tried these, I was not happy with the results at all. However, my second attempt was a lot faster and cleaner. I think it takes some experimentation in order to determine how much hair to grab and how much teasing you need to do for your hair type.

I was actually surprised that the Bumpit stayed in, even when I head-banged my way to a headache to try and knock it loose. I think that if your Bumpit falls out, then you didn't put it in correctly - either you didn't tease your hair enough or you didn't use enough hair spray. That being said however, I did find the Hollywood Bumpit (the largest they offer) to be less secure in my hair than the other two. The sheer size of it meant that I could really feel gravity pulling it down, even though it wasn't going anywhere. I also didn't like how I could constantly feel it on my head. I even started dipping my chin down for the first little while as if I needed to try to balance the Bumpit on my head. The Hollywood Bumpit was also even harder to cover up than the other two.

All in all, I didn't regret the $10 I paid for Bumpits. But I probably wouldn't have paid much more than that for it, and I probably won't use the Hollywood Bumpit. While it is quick and easy to do (once you get the hang of it), I just don't like the idea of teasing the hell out of my hair. So I probably wouldn't use this daily. Plus I think that Bumpits is a "for now" thing - as in, "five years from now, this thing will be outdated". But for $10, I'll ride that trend train.

In Edmonton, Bumpits are available from Icing by Claire's for $14 or Bed, Bath & Beyond for $10.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

Usually I wouldn't mix "business blog" with "pleasure blog", but I just had to share this picture of one of my favorite pairs of shoes.

Maybe I'll explore this project a little further...watch this space!

i [heart] iPhone Apps

Hello. My name is Xina and I am addicted to my iPhone. It's the first thing I check when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I do before I go to bed at night. I always have it with me, even if that means I'm just sitting on the couch, watching TV.  I recognize that I have a serious problem and that I probably should get help...

But when there are so many cool apps for the iPhone, it's REALLY hard to, well, not play with it.

So I decided to blog about some of my favorite apps that I've come across:

iZen Garden Lite - This app is actually pretty simple: you place some rocks and fountains in some sand and use a rake to make patterns. You can change the color and shape of the rocks, the color of the sand, and the depth of the rake strokes. You can also choose between mellow-sounding wind bells or a rain storm as a background sound. And the best part? You just shake your iPhone to start all over again!

Koi Pond - This app is along the same lines as the iZen Garden, except this involves colorful Koi fish swimming in a pond. You can change the color of the water and the number of fish and lily pads. You can also choose from wind, rain, crickets and thunderstorm sounds. What I especially love about this app is that you can "interact" with the fish. If you tap the screen, you scare the fish away. And if you leave your finger on the screen for long enough, the fish come and "nuzzle" your finger (activating the vibrate feature in your iPhone).

 

Gratitude Journal - This has to be one of my favorite apps available. The idea is that you find 5 things a day that you are grateful for. The app itself has a great layout and is very pretty. You can also rate your day on a scale of 1-5 stars and add a photo to your daily entry.  Once you have completed your daily entry, you also get an inspirational quote. Plus you get a cute little Buddah-like icon on your iPhone.

 

Grande Getter - This app will find your nearest Starbucks based on your current location.  It will also utilize the map function to give you directions on how to get there.  I find this very useful on business trips when I just need to get my fix!

 

 

Paper Toss & Paper Toss: World Tour -  I love this game! (And so do my 4 and 2 year old nieces!) You basically flick a ball of paper into a wastepaper basket from various distances. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's more challenging than you think.

The new "World Tour" edition is also pretty cool.  The only real difference is that each level takes place in a different country.

 

I'm always on the look-out for some cool new apps, so if you have a favorite, let me know!

Red Velvet Bliss

This February, Starbucks came out with a selection of cupcakes that were to die for! However, my elation was short-lived as I was told that their cupcakes were a "seasonal" offering meant for Valentine's Day only. I was so upset that I was going through Red Velvet withdrawl.

So I desperately searched the internet to find a Red Velvet cupcake recipe that was both easy to make and amazingly tasty. I tried a few that weren't that great, and then I found it! The One. 

Now whenever the mood (or the cravings) hit me, I have it within my own domestic powers to silence the beast within.

 

  

And since I love to share my sinful indulgences with others, here's the recipe:

~ 1 box white cake mix (I prefer Duncan Heinz)

~ 1 box of instant vanilla pudding mix (102g or 4 serving size)

~ 4 large eggs

~ 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

~ 1 tablespoon white vinegar

~ 1 cup milk

~ 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or you can substitute apple sauce - less calories and it won't affect the flavour)

~ TASTELESS red food coloring (this is very important. If you use regular red food coloring, you will get a horrible taste and your cupcakes will not be dark enough. Specialty food stores should carry this. In Edmonton, Pretty Party Place in West Edmonton Mall stocks it.)

~ Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

~ Decorative Red Sugar

- Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, cocoa, vinegar, milk and food coloring. Beat for 4 minutes on medium speed.

- Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full.

- Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.

- Frost once cool, topping with red sugar.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes. If you like, you can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes and thaw and frost them at a later date.

Enjoy! :o)

Momiji Dolls

While I was living in London, I came across these little Asian dolls called Momiji Dolls. They were just so cute and unique that I fell in love with them and started my own mini collection.

  

 

Momiji also features guest designers who will create their own line of dolls, which get retired every year. (I know, a bit reminiscent of the whole "Beanie Baby craze"). There are just so many cute and funky dolls that my collection doesn't do them justice! There is also a place under each doll to write a note to a friend or to "hide a secret".

Each doll has a different name, costume and "likes".

You can view the entire collection of dolls at: http://lovemomiji.com/dolls/cat_47.html . In Edmonton you can buy them at Dansk in Southgate Centre and I have also seen them on Whyte Ave. They're about $20 each.

My Awesome New Discovery

I, Xina, am a beauty junkie. I have an extensive collection of lip glosses and eyeshadows dating back to who-knows-when. Not to say that I still use them, but I just can't bring myself to part with them either.

Being a beauty junkie, I'm always willing to try the newest thing and spend money on more products that I don't need. But this product is different - I think it's a must-have.

It's Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Basically what it does is it prevents your eyeshadow from creasing whlie also giving your shadow more vibrant and longer lasting color. I picked some up at Sephora for $17 and it did everything it was supposed to. I won't wear shadow without it. (And it comes in such a cute little bottle!)

Welcome to my Blog!

My very first blog post and the pressure is on! So many things to worry about: "Will I have anything useful to say?",  "Will anyone even read this?" , "Do I have VPL?"

Right off the bat I have to be honest about something: the whole idea behind starting this blog came when I was looking at blog backgrounds for my company blog, and fell in love with this purple damask one. Since I couldn't use it for my company, I decided I could get around this problem by starting my own personal blog. Odd and a little crazy, I know. But hey, that's just how I roll.


So now that I have my pretty background, normal convention dictates that I have to actually write something.  So here goes...enjoy and even if you don't actually read my blog, just lie to me and say that you did. :o)


~*~ Xina ~*~