Gingerbread Fun!

So, as most of you know, Vancouver doesn't really get winter weather until at least the end of December, sometimes even not until January. There are many pros and cons to this... generally we don't get a white Christmas, but at least we don't have to deal with -40 degree weather. Some of us can barely handle -1! Of course, I kind of find it hard to get into the Christmas spirit without some of that white stuff on the ground... Some of the first winters I remember were up in Prince George, and there was always so much snow there! So, I'm trying to find fun things to do to get myself into the spirit of Christmas, it is only 2 weeks away now!

Today was just disgusting outside. So much rain, kinda cold... really not a day that I wanted to go out and do anything, so I thought I'd bring the festivities inside tonight and do something fun and tasty! With so many Christmas parties and different things going on, I thought I'd get some of my baking out of the way and have a fun time with Alex decorating some Gingerbread cookies. Honestly, I've never made gingerbread before, but the wonderful world of the internet lead me to some great recipes, and I was excited to give them a try! I even bought some festive cookie cutters from Michaels! =)

I really love to bake. I'm not a bad cook, (I make a pretty mean chicken lasagne!) but if I could only use my oven for one thing, it'd be baking! On a side note.. if you're looking for some great cooking recipes or ideas, you should go check out Hilary's Kitchen as she is crazy about cooking and baking and I'm always super jealous of everything she makes. (just my little blog plug of the day - go read Hilary's blog.. but finish my post first!!)

Anyway, I decided that I would give gingerbread making a try... there are so many recipes out there, so here is my take on the many that I saw - I call it:

Kyleigh's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe (made from various other recipes mushed together!)

Makes: Roughly 36.. depending on how thick you roll the dough, size of cutter and if you burn some..

2-1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 butter or margarine (I used margarine!)
1/2 cup fancy molasses**
1 egg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

** Many recipes I looked at called for various kind of molasses.. some light, some cooking, but I found most called for fancy. It's easily found in your grocery store, I'm not really sure why it's called fancy! It's really thick, rich and sugary, so if you prefer a more savory cookie, I'd take out a bit of the sugar, but the molasses is really the only liquid holding the cookie together!

Put all ingredients in large bowl. You can use a mixer to mix everything together... I don't have one so I just used a spoon to get it all combined. Cover, and put in fridge for 1-1.5 hours. (this is actually important, the molasses needs time to kind of harden, or you're going to be covered in sticky dough!)

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out dough to approx. 1/8-1/4 of an inch thick on a floured surface and use cookie cutters to make shapes. Place on greased or parchment cookie sheets.

BAKE COOKIES FOR ONLY 7 MINUTES CHECKING FREQUENTLY!!!!! (the caps are actually necessary) I seriously burnt about 16 cookies because I left them in there maybe 1 minute too long. They are super easy to burn, especially if they are as thin as mine, and since they are already brown it's really hard to tell if they are getting "golden". Trust your instincts, but I found 7 minutes to be the magic number with this recipe!

Icing

Honestly, I'm not super stoked on the icing. It was okay, but really sticky and messy and a pain in the butt to work with... and it basically tasted like icing sugar. When on the cookie it tastes great, but on it's own it's nothing to write home about!

1 cup of confectioners sugar
Milk to consistancy (less than a 1/4 cup if you are wanting a real icing, about a 1/4 if you want more of a glaze)
Splash of vanilla (only in coloured frosting! It makes white go brown! Use almond extract for white icing!)
Food colouring. I use gel colour so it doesn't dilute the frostings I make, but if you are using liquid makes sure to consider that liquid adding into your icing!!

So, here are some pictures of the final products. As you can probably tell, we aren't exactly decorating professionals, but they taste awesome!!

Perhaps if you are attending one of the many cookie/Christmas party/get togethers that I'm going to you will get to taste one of the delicious cookies! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh. 

My House Looks Like Christmas!

So, last week when I posted I shared a few pictures of the Christmas trees that we put up at Alex's place, but when it comes to my house, we always go a little over board! We don't live in a huge apartment or anything, but we have a lot of decorations! We also have a very large collection of snowmen. I'd say we have about 15-20 placed randomly through the house, not to mention all the little snowman ornaments on our tree! I'm not really sure where all the snowmen came from, but I love them!

We also have a lot of ornaments where Santa is wearing swim trunks, and lots of kiwi birds! My aunt and uncle live in New Zealand, and they send us a cool ornament every year from down there. It's funny because Christmas is really in the summertime there, so there are lots of Santa on the beach, and we have a bunch of traditional New Zealand things too. When I get my own Christmas tree, it's definitely going to look like Christmas in summer! My brother and I probably have nearly 20 each, and we can't really fit them all onto our little tree, but we love them because they are so unique - not too many people here have ornaments from New Zealand on their tree! =)

Since I shared some pictures of Alex's trees, I thought I'd share a few pictures of my crazy house decorations, because it's definitely looking a lot like Christmas now!

A few of our larger snowmen...

The stockings were hung on the support beam with care...

Our lovely counter garland and lights!

Even my fish got some fancy decorations this year! =) He wouldn't get into the picture!

 

Our tree isn't huge, but it's just the right size for our apartment! 

I hope that you're all enjoying the season as we get closer and closer to christmas! Only 15 more days! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Preparing for the Christmas Season...

Wow. Christmas is only 20 days away! Where did all the time go? I like Christmas. It's lots of fun, there's always something to be doing, and you get to spend time with the most important people in your life, your friends and family!

This year, I have been super bombarded with a crazy December, and this also being the first Christmas season I've worked in a salon, it feels twice as busy as it really is. Salons are always so crazy around the holidays, and mine is no exception. It's awesome because it makes it so busy and exciting, but man does it make for exhausting days!

Along with being super crazy at work, everyone and their dog (or should I say puppy?) is having a christmas party, get together or cookie exchange! I love these things too, as it's always full of laughs and it's always a good time, at least with the friends I have! =)

Alex and I also have a few little things that we like to do around the holidays, like the Stanley Park Christmas train, driving around looking at lights and getting photos with Santa. It's always nice to have small holiday traditions, and I love to do ours, especially since he goes away for Christmas, so we have to make the most of the time he is here and not in Saskatchewan!

I also suck and haven't finished Christmas shopping. I think everyone has that one person that it's just like "what the hell do I get them this year?" and that person for me is my brother. I guess I'll be going out on one of my upcoming days off to try and figure something out... I promised myself I wouldn't leave shopping until the last minute this year!!

We also decorated Alex's place last weekend which really gets you into the Christmas spirit. We wont do my house until this coming weekend just because there is so much to do and we really need a whole afternoon to rearrange the house! But here are a couple pictures of Alex's trees (yes, trees... he has two!)

I hope you are all enjoying the countdown to Christmas! =)

Blog, and be happy.

Kyleigh.

Blog Facelift and Getting Organized!

In order to try and entice myself to blog more, I gave my blog a little facelift! I'm pretty sure I haven't changed the background and layout since I started this blog a couple of years ago!

I've had this blog since the first of November 2010! I think that's totally crazy. I don't blog quite as frequently as some people I know, especially this month since it's National Blog month (or whatever that thing is called!) but I really want to get back into writing posts and sharing things. It's almost therapeutic to write down things that are great, or not so great, in your life!

So, I switched up my background, changed the fonts and perhaps I will do a little more when time permits another day.

I also wanted to include a few little things that I've been up to lately on the organization front. If you have ever seen my room, you would know I am not organized at all. I am actually pretty messy, and if you ask my mom or my boyfriend, I may have some hoarding tendencies... but it's not that bad I swear! I really only hoard books... and stuffed animals... and shoes.... and clothes... okay I might have a little bit of a problem throwing things away! But I've been getting better lately at purging and reorganizing! I'm setting a goal to try and really focus on keeping my room clean and organized. It's hard, because I suck at those things, but it's a good challenge!


Over the past few months I've been scouring Pinterest for DIY organization things, and searching websites and stores for useful hooks and hangers and trying to make my room at least slightly organized. It has proven to be a tedious task, but I have done a few things that have really made a difference in how clean and organized my room is, and I thought I'd share some with you!

Magnetic Makeup Board

This might be one of the best things I have EVER made off of Pinterest. It cleaned up my dresser, keeps everything all together, and it actually looks really cute too! For the approximately 15$ I spent to make it, it ended up being one of the biggest morning time savers too. All of my makeup is laid out in a way that it super easy to see, and it's so easy for me to take off an eyeshadow, and slap it right back up once I'm done using it!

Scarf Hanger

This is by far one of the best things I have ever found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I am a scarf collector. I have at least 30 scarfs, and believe it or not, come the fall and winter I wear a scarf nearly every day. If you are ever looking for a Christmas present for me - scarfs are always a good idea! Being a scarf addict, I always have them laying all over the place. They end up in various drawers, hanging on hooks.. all over the floor... basically everywhere! But with this awesome hanger, they are all in one place and I can always find the one that I want! If you are a scarf collector like me, you should go invest in one. I got it for about 13$, and it has made my love of scarfs even more wonderful!

Door Purse Hanger

Along with collecting scarfs, I also collect purses. I love my purses, and I love to be able to look at my purses! Prior to finding my wonderful purse hanger, I had them hanging in my closet, and I didn't like it. I found this cool purse hanger at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and it works perfectly for keeping all my bags and purses in one place! I also didn't have to put holes in the door or wall to hang them up, as it works with an over the door hook!

So... I'm getting organized! It actually feels really good to look around my room and not be overwhelmed with clutter! =)

Oh, and one last thing - I have to share her cute little face because I just love her so much.

She's not even my dog and I just want to love her all the time! I think little Layla here might get a little spoiled this Christmas... Such a cutie! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Apples Apples Everywhere! (some yummy apple recipes!)

At the end of September, the weekend before our beautiful Thanksgiving weekend, Alex and I went apple picking. Apple picking is now my number 2 favourite fall activity - it comes in at a close second behind anything and everything to do with pumpkins - the patch, the carving... I love autumn for pumpkins and all the fun stuff that comes along with them! Of course, living in the lower mainland of British Columbia, there aren't exactly a lot of apple orchards around - we have lots of blackberries and blueberries here, but this isn't really apple country, and I wasn't driving all the way to the Okanagan to pick apples! So, I set out on a quest to find a place to pick apples that wasn't a 4 hour drive away, and I found The Apple Barn out in Abbotsford! While it's still a good 45 minutes away from where we live, it was much closer than our other options, and it was awesome!! While we are now at the tail end of apple season, it might not be of use to you now, but if you ever get a chance to go there, I highly recommend it! (they also have a pumpkin patch and lots of kid friendly things like a corn maze and hay rides, so even if you can't pick apples anymore, it could be worth a look, especially if you live in the closer surrounding areas!)

Now, when we went they had two kinds of apples available for picking, Jonagolds and Fujis. I am by no means an apple connoisseur, but these apples are delicious! We definitely picked way too many though... clearly we have no restraint and ended up with 15 pounds of apples. For Thanksgiving, my mom and I made a delicious jonagold apple pie which my family will attest to be one of the most delicious pies ever, but after eating straight apples for the last 3 weeks, I was looking for something new to do with some of the apples that I have left (I've pawned off so many apples, and I still have 3/4 of a 5 pound bag!)

So, this morning while trying to figure out what I wanted for breakfast, I made some freaking amazing apple cinnamon pancakes. I, being lazy and hungry, just used the good ole' Aunt Jemima pancake mix, but if you are more daring and less hungry than I, you could make the whole mix by scratch of course!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes: 

3/4 cup of Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
1/2 of a large egg
1/2 cup of milk
OR Your favourite pancake mix in a box, bag, or made by scratch!

1 small-medium apple (I used fuji because that's what I have left, but anything would work I guess - just don't use one too big or you'll end up with a LOT of apple in your pancakes!)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (or to taste, I love cinnamon, so I use a lot when I make anything with apples!)
a dash of nutmeg*

* I suppose the nutmeg is optional, but in my opinion, nothing makes apples taste delicious like nutmeg! The pancakes taste like apple pie with the nutmeg in them - just trust me!

It's a pretty simple process, mix together the pancake mix with egg and milk, add spices and then add apple slowly to get it all coated in the mix. When you cook the pancakes, just make sure they aren't too big, as the apples make the mix go a lot further than you'd expect (I got 3 HUGE pancakes out of this, and I definitely couldn't eat all of them!) As I learned, make sure you cook them on a medium heat, as the outside will cook a lot faster than the middle, especially because the apples can get in the way of the middle cooking right through!


If you love apples like I do (which I love them a lot!) then you should definitely give this pancake a try - as a chocolate chip pancake person, I can say that this is up there as one of my favourite fall breakfasts now, and definitely turns a cloudy, cold morning into one a little bit nicer! =)


I have also been using my excess of apples to make mini desserts when I'm craving something sweet, yummy and warm! While on Pinterest one afternoon I came across a recipe for single serve apple crumble in the microwave! It has bascially been life changing, as I love apple pie and apple crumble, and this hits the spot when I don't feel up to baking a whole crumble (which is always!)

I don't have a picture of this, as everytime I make it it's gone in about 5 minutes, but here is the recipe so that if you love apple crumble as much as I do, you don't have to make a whole pan-full and feel guilty about eating it all! =)

Single Serve Apple Crumble! (this comes from a recipe on My Happy Place, although this is my variation after much trial and error, I like to give credit where credit is due!)

1 small-medium apple

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp. oats

1 tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste, I often use more than this!)

dash of nutmeg

1 tbsp. of butter, or margarine

Thinly slice the apple and place in a mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 1/2 tbsp. flour, nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. cinnamon. Coat the apples with the dry ingredients and put in a microwave safe dish (any microwave safe bowl will do) Mix together the rest of the dry ingredients; put on top of the apples. Break up the butter into small pieces and place on top. Microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, or until all the butter is melted. The thinner you slice the apples, the less time it will really need in the microwave, I have found that if you like your apples less mushy and more crunchy, leave them a little thicker, or cut the butter up smaller so that it will melt without the apples cooking to mush (you'd be surprised how fast this happens!)

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful Autumn as much as I am! Pumpkin time is almost here, I can't wait!

Enjoy apple season, friends!

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Fun and Exciting Things...

I haven't blogged since April 30th (apparently) and I couldn't tell you what I blogged about without looking it up. My dedication to my blog has severely dwindled, which is quite disappointing, as dedication is one of the few traits I pride myself on. Motivation on the other hand... not exactly my cup of tea, but I've decided to give it another go and share some of the very exciting things that have happened recently, as well as some super exciting upcoming events that I'm too excited not to share!

I suppose I can go back to June 15th, which was my 21st birthday. It was great, I was spoiled rotten, and I enjoyed some delicious food and drinks courtesy of my wonderful friends and family! I was treated to a beautiful Coach purse and wallet (and for those of you who don't know, Coach is pretty much my only designer weakness.) I am generally a person who loves to find a good deal - I love Value Village and the Salvation Army, not only for the good deals, but for their contributions to the community - BUT the one concession I make towards spending ridiculous amount of money are on purses. I. LOVE. PURSES. When in doubt, buy me a purse - which is pretty much what my mom and boyfriend did this year. Gotta love 'em!

My new favourite purse from my Mom!

The awesome wallet I got from Alex.

My grandparents also bought me a super nice diamond necklace which I'm generally too afraid to wear because it's just too nice for everyday attire, but I love it too!

After my birthday, my brother graduated from highschool, which was pretty freaking fantastic! Definitely super proud of him!

One of my favourite photos. Me, and my brother Connor with his best friend Paul and his sister, Sami!

Me, Connor and our Mom! =)

July has now hit, and we are now enjoying the wonderful weather of summer here in BC. The one wonderful thing about Vancouver is that we always have awesome summers (when they arrive, if they ever do!) and this summer seems to be no exception now that is has decided to join us! The last few days have just been awesome, and this sunny weather is priming me for the next, big exciting thing planned for this summer - Vegas! Alex and I had plans to go to Oregon, but they sort of fell through so we planned a super fun, jam-packed 4 day trip to Viva Las Vegas for the first week in August! I am super stoked. The trip is booked, my passport came in the mail a couple of days ago, and I am just ready for it to be August 1st! Of course, we still have a few weeks to go, but I'm ready for a vacation!

This also reminds me that I set a goal to lose 5 pounds before we go to Vegas, which didn't seem like a lot, but is turning out to be a harder goal than I originally had thought, I'm working super hard though, and even if I'm not seeming the results I really want quite yet, I'm feeling healthier and better about myself, which is always nice!

I really have missed blogging, even if I only blog for myself and no one really reads it. I often wonder how many people out there really read my blog, or if all my pageviews are just me looking at my blog! (just kidding, I don't check it THAT much... I hope!)

I think it's about time that I go and even out this horrible tan that I got from the beautiful weather we had yesterday! My right shoulder is far more lobster-like than my left one, and I'm looking a little lop-sided. Until next time!

Blog, and be happy.

Kyleigh.

Somewhere between excited and nauseated...

Today is April 30th, 2012.
Tomorrow is May 1st, 2012, and I am sitting somewhere between excited and nauseated at the thought that tomorrow I start my new job.

I am excited for obvious reasons... I have been looking for a job like this for 6 months! I spent countless hours pounding the pavement, answering phone calls, going on interviews and searching Craigslist trying to get a job like this one. I really can't tell you how relieved I was to get the phone call 2 weeks ago when they offered me the job. Now, less than 24 hours until I'm suppose to walk through the door for my first day of work, I am a little less relieved, and a little more nervous than I thought I would be.

I'm really not sure why excitement is turning into a freak out.... I think the reality that I am starting my career tomorrow - the job I plan to do for the rest of my life - is starting to set in. I've never really felt so locked in and tied down.... all the other jobs that I've ever had have clearly never had this much impact on the rest of my life.

I'm also freaking out because I'm going from working 2 days a week to working 6 days a week, as I'm also keeping my other job as a secondary source of income...

Last year on this day I also felt pretty freaked out. On April 30th, 2011, I had just finished my very first week of hairdressing school... The last week of April in the last 2 years of my life have pretty much been life changing.

I have decided that I am going to spend the rest of the day trying to pump myself up for this new job, rather than freaking myself out and making myself nervous and paranoid like I normally would do. I'm not very good at this... so we'll see how it goes.

Blog, and be happy...

Kyleigh. 

1 Fish, 2 Songs, and 3 Books You Should Read.

I have been struggling with blogging as of late as I have been pretty under the weather, both physically and emotionally. It's been a pretty tough go these past few months, and I've been feeling just so stressed and under pressure that sometimes it's easy to forget the little victories and happy surprises that come with every day life. So, I thought that I would share with you some small things of comfort for me in this rather frustrating time!

1 Fish.

My first little victory is my fish, Pekoe. He is a little blue Betta fish that I acquired last weekend, and he is awesome. He is beautiful, and I have managed to keep him alive for a whole week (see, the little victories!) I am quite impressed by his resilience, as I know that I am probably not the best fish owner in the world having never owned one before. He seems quite happy and content in his little tank, and that's really all that I can ask for! He has become quite a spoiled little fish... it's surprising how a 4$ fish slowly becomes a 50$ fish over the course of a couple of weeks... oh the things you do for the pets you love, right? He's a funny little thing, and he makes me smile once or twice a day!



2 Songs.

2 songs that I have discovered to be amazing.

First. "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye. It is all over the radio right now, and I just love how unusual and experimental it is. 



If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to Gotye's complete album, I recommend it to everyone. As I discovered, his album is a journey through every genre. It is enjoyable on so many different levels, that even if this song isn't your cup of tea, you should look it up. Brilliant musician, and brilliant music.

The second song is 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars.  Even if T-Swift, or country music as a whole, isn't your cup of tea, it's hard to argue how hauntingly awesome this song is.




I can't get enough of this song, and perhaps it's because of the context of the song in the movie I am so dying to see - the Hunger Games. This leads me to the next portion of my post:

3 Books You Should Read. 

If you are so far behind as to not have read AT LEAST The Hunger Games, I think it's time to cave and read it. Believe me when I say you need to pick it up and give it a go, as it may be one of the best trilogies I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

I am not a very picky reader, in fact I will read almost anything you throw at me. It does, however, take a LOT to get on a list of must read books for me. A very small victory for me is finishing a fantastic book, and I have had the pleasure of finishing a few great ones over the past few months, starting with the Hunger Games Trilogy. (I am aware that these are 3 books on their own, but I read them in one go on my Kobo so fast that I don't know if I can tell you where one ends and another begins..)

I read all three books in less than a week. I was engulfed in the story, and there was very little that would make me put these books down. I loved them so much, I want to read them again (and the ONLY book series I have ever read more than once is Harry Potter, so this is saying something!) I honestly feel that even if you don't think you will enjoy them, you should read them anyway. The genre doesn't appeal to everyone at first, but there is something in there that will make you love it, I promise!

I was way behind on reading this book. It has been on everyone's must read list for a LONG time, and I just managed to get around to reading it. It didn't seem like my cup of tea, but it was SO good, I now have to tell you that if you haven't read it yet, you should. It's fantastically written, and actually makes for an easy, light read if you aren't looking for something heavy and deeply woven. I enjoyed it A LOT. Read it.

I could probably have a blog all on my own for my deep burning admiration and love for Philippa Gregory's books. I love everything about them, and I have written many a review on her books. If you DON'T know who she is, she wrote The Other Boleyn Girl, which is another fantastic book you should probably read. If you aren't so much into historical fiction, I get it, it can be dry at times, but Gregory always fills the pages with deep detail unlike many historical fiction authors!

In any case, this is her latest book, and it was brilliant. I enjoyed it a lot, and if you so happen to be a fan of historical fiction, or want to give it a go, this book was awesome!


Anyway, I wrote this post to kill time in the middle of the night as I haven't been sleeping well.... I really should head to bed and try to sleep the rest of the night.

I sincerely hope that you are enjoying all of the small victories that life throws your way, as sometimes it's really the only way to get through the more difficult patches. I am looking forward to the coming weeks, and may have some exciting things to share with you soon!

Until then,

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.