Friday, March 29, 2013

YOLO: The Ironic Drunk


This is a drunken typo of a person I know quite well now that I will not name. She was being all YOLO and wrote to me: You Only Liver Once! I found this typo so hilariously ironic. I've never seen
irony being self-exemplified to this extent. It's too much, too funny, too perfect!

We all know "yoloers" who get massively intoxicated to tell themselves that they are "living it up". The type of YOLO that makes your liver drop. And so yes, as this typo says, YOLO practitioners who get wasted to try and keep the YOLOing alive indeed only liver once. And then that's it. 
It was so perfect in the circumstances that I made an image out of it. Here ya go!

 Hope y'all be YOLOing to the max this Easter weekend, whatever your YOLO is! 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie

I was inspired when Ashley brought a jusjugojuice peanut butter chocolate banana smoothie to class. I kind of went all like banana-chocolate-pb-vegan-omG-sweet-Jesus-food-is-amazing and danced in my head. But it was Illustrator class. So I contained it.

Then I got home and attempted a version myself. Only the health nut job in me decided to make it a green smoothie. GREEEEEENS.



WAIT! Before you attempt to dismiss green smoothies, please read the following instructions thoroughly. Actually, you can skim through it if you want, as long as you don't deny green smoothies a try!

Leafy greens, especially the dark ones are, rich in many vitamins, helps your brain stay youthful and make your skin glow like there is no tomorrow. Ever. (read more at hellobeautiful)

I went for 3/4 of a large banana (no less ha!),
a cup of rice milk,
a tbsp of PB
and a half a tbsp of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread.

Then I went all out and added about a cup and a half of raw baby spinach (I don't know why I just mentioned it was raw... cooked spinach smoothie.. mh...)

Then I blended the whole. It made a little under two cups of vegan wonder.

So sweet and tasty. I think the two key elements of approaching green smoothies is to:
1. Start with milder greens and small amounts, then increase as you get used to it. I never found that I really tasted the leafies, but I won't go and say they don't taste at all since tastes vary among people. And...
2. I personally suggest using ingredients that have strong tastes. For example, pineapple, bananas, chocolate, molasses, etc.

So that's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed the beautiful day!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Got The Munchies Recipes

I'm really into food documenting. Food is simply beautiful! Especially fresh veggies; the colours are mesmerizing. I remember preparing for the day the little organic grocery store I worked at and being fascinated by the wonders earth provides! Amazing crispy fresh kale, bright peppers, juicy tomatoes... so wonderful! !

My body feels fantastic when I eat fresh, raw produce. Though not all of the following is raw and fresh, I hope these foods inspire you to eat fresh and be energized by what the planet provides without modifications or additives.



If you have any questions about these recipes, please do let me know! I'll be more than glad to answer.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Toronto Adventure Pt. 2: Bernhoft

What you've been waiting for! A miniature glimpse into Bernhoft's concert in Toronto. I've also included some views from my Couch Surfing host's flat balcony. Lovely view!

But back to Bernhoft. Obviously, my writing and photography skills cannot convey the grandeur of Mr. Bernhoft's tiny concert. But until I get to see him again, it'll have to do. The man's an incredibly talented musician and has a fantastic sense of crowd entertainment and, well, it's no secret, is a fairly good looking lad to say the least. I'm trying hard not to gush like a little girl, since that ain't worthy of a classy, composed young woman, but gah! So much skill and it's blowing my brain circuits. I wish the concert had never ended (or at least nearly never ended). I'm going to need to attend another one of his concerts. It's so inspiring to me to witness such adroitness in music. It gets me wanting to pick up all the instruments I own and play all day. All. Day.

Ok ok I hear you! Enough already with the babbling! Here are the pictures.



Sorry about the chair haha. It's symbolic of my return to Montréal... (actually I just thought it was pretty. pftt.)

So that's it for Part 2. See Part 1 here. Any chance more Bernhoft fans out there reading this? Let's connect and all move to Norway together! (or, well, not.)

Monday, March 18, 2013

Toronto Adventures Pt. 1

And so I left! It was still dark when I got on the bus and I hadn't slept much. Perfect recipe for a morning sleep on transportation. Here is a first glimpse of my wanderings in Toronto. I met so many nice people during my short stay. I always felt like Ontarians were friendly.








Aaand a total tease from the upcoming Part 2 article of my Toronto Adventure. BERNHOFT'S guitars. True, I waited two hours before the show, but I was also nearly on stage during the concert (meaning that's how close I was.. I'd never go as far as actually being nearly going on stage...)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Adventures in Montreal

The reading week started with an adventure out in Montreal! I'd never actually been to Jean-Talon Market, so that was awesome. I swear, it doesn't take much to satiate my taste for adventure haha. Also, my friend Gene's been eating healthy. WOOT! You'll see in the following pictures the amazing kale salad we had and hopefully it will inspire you to go out there and buy you summm kale :)






Stay tuned for the Toronto Adventure and Bernhoft's concert (iiiihhh!)

Monday, March 11, 2013

Hitting the Road: Toronto

It's that time again- that time where I get up and just go ! It may not be far, but I don't think that's a requirement in order for it to be a genuine travel experience. You know what? Just to make it an official adventure, I'll document it. Woohoo!

(ok, I'm back and done packing)

Here's what I'm putting in my bag. I always like those very neatly styled "What's In My Bag" photos, so here's mine! Tried to pack light. One day, I want to go on a long (a few months) with only a day pack.


This is what I'm putting on myself...


Aaaand it all fits :)

 We'll see how the rest goes!

In any case, I'll update soon with our trip to the Jean-Talon Market aaaaand get this: Eugene eating incredibly healthy with BEAUTIFUL veggies (including luscious greens).


Saturday, March 9, 2013

DIY Weekend: Kawaiiii hair ties

Ha! It's been some time since you've seen one of these posts eh. Yep, I'm back with some DIY for you. I have been wanting to make these hair ties for a while so I decided that today was the day.



    You'll need:
  1. -Sculpey or proxy material to make your hair tie charms out of
  2. -Thin elastics
  3. -A toothpick
  4. -20g wire
  5. -Toothless plyers



Poke a ball of your clay and wiggle it around to make a big enough hole for your elastic and proceed to shaping it the way you want it (in this case, it's a kitty and further you'll see I made bows and skulls as well). Take the toothpick out and bake it according to the instructions. Make at least two.


Thread your charms as shown if the elastic is long enough to allow overlap. As you will see in the next photo, this elastic was not long enough. I therefor needed to secure one side at a time.

Note: A great length I found was 24cm of elastic for 2,5 x 2 x 1,5 cm charms used on a medium thickness of hair. That is what I used for the kitty hair tie.


Now I'll admit I found this part a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it's alright. I first creatied a hook shape and then pressed it down around the elastic pieces with the plyers.


I used this technique where you first clamp the base of your wire with the plyers and fold it over in a loose loop as shown. Then apply pressure with the plyers at the two spots indicated by the blue dots. (oh-em-gee that rhymes.) Repeat this until you reach the end of this side of the elastic and continue wrapping to secure the other side. If your elastic was long enough in the first place, you can do this step all at once by overlapping the two ends while wrapping.



Tadah! Here are a few examples that I've made.

And here's a Photobooth selfie of me modelling one of these lovelies. 

They're strong enough to hold up my weave yo.

Don't hesitate to ask any question you may have and I shall do my best to answer appropriately :)

Thursday, March 7, 2013

My Adventures In Munich

Rings a bit cheesy to my ears, but it also rings true. I feel like the need for adventure, when genuine, permeates the very being you exist within. I'm bringing this up in the light of my trip to Toronto, which on the surface may seem quite banal, but in fact it's still an adventure regardless of its magnitude and that's all that counts.

Woot! Also I'm going to Jarle Bernhoft's concert. This is probably the first concert for which I have no idea what to expect though, oddly enough, I've watched pretty much all of the live Bernhoft performances I could lay my cursor on.


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Stop The Glorification Of Busy

I used to be one of them: that person who creates a sense of security that her life is going somewhere with big pockets full of empty busyness. It wasn't an obvious behaviour, but when carefully deconstructed, I realized that most of what I was overly busying myself with was superfluous, just some busy fluff. What carried on my behaviour for over a year was my unconscious fear that if I stripped down from all of this 'busy', the core meaning of my life would be pretty empty, which indeed, it was.

I've taken on a new kind of 'busy' lately. This kind of busyness is created by doing the things that truly inspire me and ignite my desire to take on the world. It makes way for a totally different outcome. The new 'Busy' let's me hang out with friends, let's me sit down with a book or a movie, let's me walk down the street at an admirably slow pace, it even let's me nap in the afternoon. I may not be extremely financially successful or have much social recognition at the moment, but I am happy. This kind of life examines the priorities in terms of my values and allows me to live them out (for example: connecting and nurturing the relationships in my life).


You can perform a self-check to ensure that you are not hit by a case of 'Busy Fluff'
Ask yourself:
  • Why am truly doing anything I do? At the core of things, peeling the superficial layers off of everything you do, what is the motivation behind the activities that make you busy?

  • Have I got the time to hang out with my family or my friends or my pets? They are your personal support group, whether you're having a crappy day or a fantastic everything-is-going-my-way day, they'll be there. For example, paint brushes are good listeners but they don't hug, or laugh or share mutual connections with you. What is the goal to your crazy busy life that surpasses the importance of nurturing connections with family and friends?

  • What will I have achieved in the end with this insanely busy lifestyle that will truly leave me feeling fulfilled?

  • Maybe this is a wake-up call or maybe this is a confirmation that you are fulfilling your life's worth. Only each individual can know for themselves.


On that note, thank you for reading ! Joyeuse mi-semaine à tous!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Chai Latte Maison Pour La Mi-Session

Ça y est, nous y sommes presque! Bien que les sessions sont un peu dépareillées cette année, les étudiants de Dawson vont bientôt passer la mi-session pour enfin pouvoir se détendre pour quelques temps. De mon côté, puisque j'ai les vendredis off, je suis à ma mi-semaine! Le temps parfait pour un thé chai au lait de riz pour me pousser jusqu'à la fin. Merci à Samm pour le thé de Davidstea ♥

J'y suis allée simplement en ajoutant du lait de riz au goût, mais je suis certaine d'avoir un même plus grand succès en suivant une recette puisqu'il y toujours de ces petits détails cachés qui ajoutent à l'expérience. J'aimerais bien essayer celle-ci.

Bonne fin de semaine à tous ! Et n'oubliez pas que vous pouvez m'encourager au concours Big Blog Exchange en cliquant ici et en votant pour moi :)

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Big Blog Exchange: Time For Another Adventure

I just entered the Big Blog Exchange competition that will grant 16 bloggers the amazing opportunity to be flown somewhere on the wide Earth and exchange blogs with someone. The top 25 of four different regions will get the chance to be juried by the HI judges.



Yesterday I was writing my letter of motivation for why anyone should vote for me and I kept repositioning the word 'Earth' in the text and it was late AND out of nowhere I got a strange feeling about that word. I kind of got to thinking about how odd it was that we're sat on this odd and complex clump of matter and that we do things. Just, well, doing. Every day doing things on this complicated assemblage of matter.

Anyway, that was the context; here's the doodle.




Friday, March 1, 2013

Homemade Cereal Recipe (Deliciousss)

So remember the list of things I made to remove from my life and carry me on to a more sustainable lifestyle? Well number 2 is well on its way to being crossed off! I just made très yummy homemade cereal from a recipe I found on Willow Bird Baking.


I did some mods since I used finely ground nuts (peanuts, almonds and cashews) instead of the nut based flour and I am thinking that it absorbs more liquid in that form. I actually had to use exactly twice as much milk and water to make it liquid enough (because as it mentions in the recipe, the "dough" has to be real wet). I also decided to add about two teaspoons of honey.
Best of all: They can stay in milk for quite a period and not get all soggy (err...soggy cereal...)



My next plan is to try some vegan ones and then go on to adding some dried fruit, coconut and try different shapes. Soon, my experimentations will be thorough enough for me to feel like I can cross it off my list. I'm high on life and homemade cereal right now (a.k.a. I'm really excited that these cereals worked out and that they taste excellent... I didn't actually put anything "special" in them)!

Try it yourself and I swear you'll be kicking that overly sugary, overly packaged pre-made breakfast cereal to the curb in no time! FINALLY something addictive AND healthy.