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.

Some Glimmers of Hope.

I am very passionate about a lot of things, I have a strong tie to social justice and the rights of human beings, and while I didn't chose human rights as my career path, it consumes my extra curricular time as I spend it contemplating different things, writing long winded letters, and supporting those organizations who do such amazing work. As of late, I have been focusing a lot on mental health as it's a theme that I will be working closely on this coming year, but there are few things I am more passionate about than LGBT rights and freedoms.

I have a very strong connection to the LGBT community, they are my family, my friends, and some of the people I care most about. If you have read my blog previously, you will know my connection to LGBT rights runs deep, and if I could only pick one human rights area to put all of my energy into, it would be that one.

As I have been spending so much time working on the idea of mental health, it is in those times, when I am down and out, listening to music about suicide and depression, reading stats on how many people go undiagnosed for the variety of illnesses that are out there (not at the same time, as that would be too overwhelming), I seem to come across glimmers of hope for the LGBT community, which only bring a smile to my face (and maybe a couple of tears to my eyes). I thought that I would take a moment to share a few of those things with you.

I hope these glimmers of hope reflect the way the world is moving. One day, I hope not to fight for LGBT rights and freedoms, and that they will just exist as normal working parts in our society as a whole. I hope you feel this way too.

On a side note, it is World AIDS day today. I hope you went to Starbucks, bought some MAC Viva Glam lipstick, or did something else wonderful for the World AIDS Foundation. I know I did!

Blog, and be happy.

Kyleigh.

Holiday Hair! (My Shameless Promotion...)

So, I haven't blogged in nearly forever. I am clearly not participating in NaBloPoMo (or what ever that thing is called) I just haven't had time, and so I'm not really bothering with it this year. To those of you bloggers who have found the time, energy, and ability to blog every day, I applaud you!

This post is really shameless promotion. I'm sure many of you know, I graduated from hairdressing school October 28th! This was quite exciting for me, but I made the decision to step away from hair after being rejected multiple times by several salons (not because I'm not good! But because they had all already hired their winter help!) because of this, I decided the right move for me at this time was to take the full time job I was being offered over the Christmas Holidays in order to have Christmas money, and postpone my efforts of finding a salon space right away. My hunt shall resume in January, I haven't given up yet!

That being said, I know that Christmas is upon us, and that many people are in need of nice hair for various parties, shindigs and hooplas... so I have decided that the most reasonable thing to do is to spend my spare time helping out those of you who are in need of a make-over, and do hair in my living room (or perhaps your living room, I'm not picky!)

Because of my lack of salon space, and because it certainly is quite far from a tranquil salon experience, I am charging low prices.... my goal is to charge to make back my product costs, with hope that you may pay me a little bit for my time too! I have decided that I'm not going to set a strict price list, but try to do it on a fair pricing scale... it's Christmas, I know money is tight, so I figure the best thing to do is offer you all cheap services that aren't set in stone, but are a bit more flexible. I don't want to call it a "pay what you can" scale, but if I'm making back my product costs, I have no problem doing your hair!

If you (or a friend) need a new 'do' for the holidays, shoot me an email at ky.kyleigh@gmail.com, facebook me (or if you're a really good friend, I suppose a text works too!) and we can hammer out a deal that works best for both of us! I'm just waiting on a final work schedule, and then I will know what days, evening and weekends work best for this second endeavor! =)

Posted below is a rough sketch of what my "flexible price scale" looks like. These are my desired prices, but as I am employer-less, I have no problem working with you to find a price that works best!


Haircuts + Trims:
Cuts: around 15$ - my mom hates me doing cuts in the house, so I'm going to have to bribe her, thus this is a more a location cost than anything else! =)
Trims: Trims between 5-10$ depending on how much you'd like cut off!
Bang Trims: Free - I will do bangs all the time, any time. Drop me a toonie if you like, but I won't charge anything for a 2 minute bang trim!

Colour: (Will require a consulation)
Short Colour + Roots - around 20$
Medium Colour - around 30$
Long Colour - around 40$

Highlights - This is where it gets tricky.... (I may request you come in for a consultation before appointment, just so I have an idea of what you are looking for!)

Root highlights - around 35$ (partial sets slightly less, super blondes slightly more!)
Full length highlights - around 50$ (again, partial sets slightly less, super blondes slightly more!)
Toners- +10$

Any other type of highlights (peek-a-boo, crazy colours, ombre style) will have to be by consulation only, as I really can't gauge price without seeing your hair! =)

I'll also do styles and up-dos as well... styles around 10$, up-dos a little bit more!

My goal is to charge around half of what the average rate it in a salon for a stylist to do your hair
After doing some rough calculations, I figure these are pretty fair, but again, I'll work on pricing as it comes up!

So... yeah! I'm excited to try and fit in as much hair as possible! Again, if you're interested, email me, facebook me or shoot me a text or phone call! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Editorial Photo Shoot - The Goods!

There is nothing that I find more inspiring or motivational than working with people who genuinely love what they do. Throughout my rudimentary hairdressing education (which is quickly coming to an end), I have met some incredibly inspired people... people who love what they do, and love to share it with the people they teach.

This past weekend, I was blessed enough to work with two fantastically inspiring people, Alina Friesen, and her husband Kale Friesen. Alina is absolutely one of the most fantastic editorial stylists in Canada (As she is nominated for Canadian Hairdresser of the Year, BC Hairdresser of the Year, in the Contessa awards), and her husband is a truly amazing and well rounded photographer. Between the two of them, they are truly an art power couple - and I can only speak volumes about how motivating it was to work with them, even if only for one day.

At Vancouver Hairdressing Academy, we are blessed with the opportunity to do a final photoshoot... and while it was stressful (as it was a mere 3 days before our final exam!) it actually turned out to be an amazing experience, and one that I will surely hope to build on.

I thought that I would share some of my final photos with you. All of the photos star a very kind and patient friend, Devin Kim, who clearly loves me very dearly to sit around for 6 hours letting me do the following to her hair.

All the photos are copyright of Kale JF Photography, and any and all credit goes to him for the photos in this blog post.

I also must mention my make-up artist from Vancouver Film School, who's name is unknown at the moment, but of whom I greatly appreciate! When I have the information to give her proper credit, it shall be done!

They turned out pretty epic considering how little preparation I did, and I know exactly how much work I need to put in to get the result that I want.

All I can say is, I can't wait until the next shoot! =)

I've got a lot going on, but have a lot to blog about, so be prepared for a peppering of posts as soon as I have time! My life is getting exciting, and I can't wait to share my future plans! I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life doing fantastic hair! 

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

P.S. If you have any passion for editorial hair or editorial photography, you should explore the vast talent nominated in the Contessa awards this year! The Contessa Awards website on salon52.com has all of the finalists, and I know several of them (all of whom deserve to win big time!) I can't wait to see who takes home the prize, it will be VERY exciting! =)