Tantalizing Teal

Hello everyone,so sorry I have been kind MIA for the past week. But I recently started to take on more projects than I am used to and sometimes it just gets overwhelming. I also started taking riding lessons, I am super excited about. I used to ride a little bit when I was younger, but gave it up because I had many other extracurricular activities, in which I invested my time into. Anyways, today is just a lazy Sunday, and I was going through my nail polish collection trying to decide what colour to pain my nails. Because almost every week on Sunday I paint my nails, just so I have fresh nails for the week ahead, plus it a change of scenery. So, as I try to decide what colour to choose, I come across what I think is the perfect homage to spring. The colour is called Turquoise & Caicos, which I thought was so cleaver.



 

But anyways that is how I spend my Sundays. I also read currently I am reading the New York Times best seller 50 Shades of Grey, its not my typical read, but so far I'm enjoying it. I also catch up with any work or projects that didn't get done during the week, like today I am recovering my dinning room chairs. But thats all for now, until next time.
ttyl
xoxo
C for P

Fresh Baked Muffins

Hi everyone, I hope all you reader are doing well. I know that I am feeling great. Stress free, getting all the projects and errands that I need to get done, well done. And what I great feeling and sense of accomplishment when you actually complete your entire to-do list. So, yesterday I didn't really have much going on, so my sister(age 10) and I decided to make muffins. We were flipping through different cookbooks, and came across Raspberry Corn Muffins, in the Barefoot Contessa cookbook by Ina Garden. I am a huge fan of Ina, and I want to live at her home in East Hampton, Connecticut. But anyways, at first I was little sceptical about the muffins because they have medium grind cornmeal in them, and I really didn't just want to make cornbread, but in muffin form. But we gave them a chance, and they turned out great. They probably one of the best home made muffins I have had. Now the key to these muffins is the the jam(see recipe below), you must use good jam, I recommend any french brand, because they typically make the best of everything.

Here are some pictures of how the muffins turned out.

Once the muffins were cooled I stored mine, on a cake plate with a lid, to keep them fresh. But you could also store them in a cookie tin, or even a Tupperware container. 

The great things about these muffins, is that they are so versatile, you could change up the type of jam, add different things to the mix, or have them with a glass of milk or a cup of tea.

Below is the recipe for Raspberry Corn Muffins

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of medium grind cornmeal

2 tbs. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups of whole milk

2 stick of butter (melted)

2 large eggs

3/4 cups raspberry preserve

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Line 12 large muffin cups with paper liners

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt

In a separate bowl combine milk, melted butter and eggs

Once mixed, add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until blended

Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top

Bake for 20 minutes

Once muffins have cooled, cute a hole in the top with either an apple corer or a melon baler. Scoop the excess out in one piece. Spoon in the raspberry preserve until the top, and replace the cut-out piece or the lid.

Repeat for all the muffins

Store in a dry, air-tight container

Enjoy!

I hope everyone decides to try the muffins, because they are delicious and nutritious(well minus the jam that is).Anyways thats all for now.

ttyl

xoxo

C for P

7

I am finally finished school. After 18 months, a year and a half I am finally finished. Not finished for good, but for now.For the next five and a half months I am taking it easy, going to my cottage, and getting some much needed sleep. 

I officially finished on Thursday, and so to celebrate with my family (mom, step dad, brother, sister, and grandparents) we went out to dinner. We went to this relatively new restaurant 7, it is located downtown Oakville. It has been open for about 2 months, and I think I have been at least six times, its just that good. The food is rustic italian, so they have amazing pizzas, homemade pastas, some seafood. And they also change their menu about every three days to reflect what is fresh, and in season. Now every other time I have gone to 7, the food was really good, but there was something about this time that make it spectacular. Maybe it was what I had or i'm not sure. Anyways here's what I had: for a primi(appetizer) I had a dandelion salad with blood orange slices, walnuts, pistachio, and radico, now doens't that sound amazing. And for my secondi (entree) I have squab, which if you don't know it a bird, its actually a pigeon. And tastes like a combination of lamb and chicken, its delicious. And it was served with a side of butter gnocchi and swiss chard. I could just go on about how delicious this meal was. But anyways if you are in the surronding Oakville area go to this restaurant, it is located downtown Oakville in the town square, where the ice cream parlor used to be. Anyways that's all for now.
ttyl
xoxo
C for P

M.I.A.

I has been forever since the last time I blogged. I have been sorta M.I.A.(missing in Armani) for the last week and a half. I just have been really busy with school which I am officially finished this thursday, and I just started a new job, but theres really no excuse. But anyways, what new with me? Like I said I just started a new job at Zara, which I am really excited because it seems like a great company and theres a lot of work to be done.I also only have three actual days of school left and then i'm finished. I will close one chapter of my life, and open another five months later. I have begun to start to think about what i'm packing, what furniture i'm bringing and whats staying at my house here in Oakville. Even though I have over five months to figure all of that out, I am super eager and excited so its hard not to think about it. Which leads me to my next point, when my dad and I leave for our road trip in september there are various stops that we are making along the way, Chicago is one of them. Which means that I am going to take full advantage of the amazing shopping on the Michigan Mile. So I have decided that it has can to a point in my life, where I should invest and buy my first Chanel Handbag. I have wanted to own a Chanel since I was probably three or four, but I have never been able to afford one plus I think that they are something that is so special that a younger person would not appreciate. But my problem now is I have to decide which one I want to get. Right now I am torn between two options the jumbo flap or the tote, but i'm sure I will change my mind fifty times over before september. But anyways now your caught up with everything thats going on with me. Thats all for now.

ttyl

xoxo

C for P

Back to T.O.

So im finally back from LA. I found a great apartment walking distance to FIDM. My my friend who is living with me and I both really love it. The complex has two pools, tennis courts, amazing gym, tanning salon and really cute courtyards. If you are thinking of moving or just want to look it up, its called the Medici and you should really take a look. Anyways I actually came back late Saturday night, but spent all Sunday and yesterday getting back into the swing of things. I unpacked and got really organized before getting back to school. I only have three weeks left and I am so excited to finally be finished school. Yes, that means that I will have more than five months before I start school in LA. I wasn't planning on getting a job, and for the first time ever my parents are on board with that. I just plan on taking it easy, spending some time at my cottage, getting into shape, and plan my drive across the country with my dad in September. For the first time in probably four years I will actual have a summer to myself. Last summer I have school for the entire summer, the summer before that I worked full-time for my dads infrastructure company, the summer before that I worked full-time for an insurance company, and the summer before that I was a babysitter for my aunt. What i'm getting at is that I am so looking for to not having an real schedule for five months, but I am also fortunate enough for not only my parents allowing me to do this, but that they can afford for me to do this. I am also in the process of finding furniture for my apartment, I want a mix between Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Pottery Barn Teen. If anyone has any suggestions for furniture stores either in Toronto, LA or even one that you can purpose online please let me know. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

ttyl

xoxo

C for P

How I travel...

So tomorrow I am heading off to Los Angeles. This trip is sort of dual purpose. My aunt and uncle, along with their four almost five kids (yes my aunt is pregnant with her fifth child) live in Calabasas, Los Angeles, so it will be nice to visit with them. I am also apartment hunting, because I am moving from Toronto to Los Angeles in September as I am attending a fashion school(F.I.D.M.). But anyways, I leave tomorrow and I find that when I am packing I tend to have different takes than other people, and have different strategies to get all of my clothes into my suitcase neatly and organized. 

First of all I make a list of everything I am going to bring whether it be clothes, shoes, accessories, I even write down my toiletries in order to not miss anything. And I typically make this list about one to two weeks before my actual trip, in order to make room for adjustments. 

Next, I then decide what suitcases, carry-ons, purses, etc. I want to bring for my trip. For this trip I am gone 10 days, so I am bringing a reasonable sized suit case (I actually use duffle bags because they are lighter weight and you can fit more in them), my Longchamp tote bag(see below), Louis Vuitton Speedy 40 in the monogram print(see below), Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 in the Azzur pattern(see below), and my macbook in a pink laptop sleeve from Apple.

Now I know that seems like a lot for only ten days, but I always come home with so much stuff because the deals in California just can't compare to those up here in Canada. After I have decided what bags I am bringing, I then decide what is going where. Then I start to pack, and this is where I differentiate from most people. I first start by rolling all of my t-shirts, tank tops, long sleeve shirts to save space and prevent wrinkling. Then I pack all of my items that need to be hung, and when I pack them I bring along with me hanger on the garments so they can hang once I get to the hotel(in this case I am staying at my aunt and uncle's house) so that once again they don't get wrinkled and stay crumpled in my suitcase. I then pack all of my makeup bags, accessories, and toiletries. I put all of my liquid foundation, or anything in a bottle that could potentially spill in snack size ziploc bags. And I do the same for all of my shampoo, conditioners, hair products, hairsprays, lotions, or anything of that nature in freezer size ziploc bags.  I then put all of the makeup that I have decided that take on the trip in my Coach makeup case. As for my accessories, I bring with me my travel jewelry carrier from Anthropologie(see below). 

Now after all that is done, however all that may take. I print off another copy of my packing list to ensure that I brought everything. And I am set, I print off my boarding pass and get my passport ready. And finally I am off to the airport. I am officially not leaving until Saturday at 8:30am Toronto time, but I will keep you updated with my trip and post pictures along the way. Hope everyone has had a great week so far. 

ttyl

xoxo

C for P

Rainy Tuesday

Today, is quite a boring day - I have school early in the morning which I also dread. And when I say early I mean 8am which doesn't seem that early but because I live so far away from my school I have to get up two and a half hours before class starts. But enough about that, I just have to suffer through the next month and then I will never have an 8 o'clock class again, well at least until October. Then main reason for todays story is to share one of my most recent loves, no it isn't a Chanel purse, or Louis Vuitton luggage. It's my new kitty, she is small and grey with goldy-green eyes. I found her on the side of the road one day in the middle of a busy intersection, and her name is Amelia. My mom named her, after Amelia Earhart because they were both adventurers. Her full name is Amelia Pickle Shales, her middle name is pickle because we have two other cats (Atticus (named after Atticus Finch ins To Kill A Mockingbird) and Atlas (named after Atlas who held the world on his shoulders) and she is constantly picking on them, but I think it is just her way of saying that she wants to play. And if you think that all of our cat names starting with the letter "A" happens to be a coincidence, then you are very mistaken. My mom is obsessed with the letter "A" and all names starting with the letter "A". My name (Arabella), my brothers (Aidan), my sisters (Ainsley), our cats (Atticus, Atlas, and Amelia) all have names that start with the letter "A". We even live on a street thats name starts with the letter "A". But anyways back to my kitten, she is my seventh cat that I have had in my life and many of my family members and friends have cats, so I consider myself somewhat of a cat expert. And never have I ever seen a cat sit the way Amelia sits. (see below)

Dont you find it bizarre, she sits like she's a little person, which I think cats are. But anyways that's my new kitty, I will also be posting pictures of my other cats Atticus (I call her Atty) and Atlas(I call him kitten, yes it can be confusing sometimes). I hope everyone had a great weekend.

ttyl

xoxo

C for P