Love Song cover

I am a big fan of The Cure and just noticed Adele did a cover of their song Love Song. I like how she slowed it down and gave it a romantic sound. The original is here.

Also, I'll be posting pictures from this weekend soon - I had great seats for the Calgary Stampede Parade and saw Kate - although she blocked my view of William. Tomorrow, I finally get to see my friend Teira! She returned from her semester abroad and we are going to a pancake breakfast (there are pancake breakfasts all over the city everyday during Stampede - if you live in the area, find them at FlapJack Finder).

Saturday Evening Mish Mash

How is your weekend going? Mine has been pretty busy - but this evening, I'm just relaxing, finally!

Here are a couple of things I'm excited about:

• My new cup! Yep, I went back to Anthropologie to get one. This one isn't on their website and I love it! (And yep, still don't have a camera...).

• While at the mall, I wandered into the Kiehl's store to purchase some new face products. I have a friend who has amazing skin and has used it for years and years - but I didn't give it a shot. Then, while at the airport last week, the girl in front of me in the security line had pretty skin and I caught a glimpse of her belongings in the bin (I didn't mean to be snoopy - it just happened!). In her little zip-lock bag were travel sized Kiehl's products. I decided then I was going to try them. I bought some cleanser last week, and went back for more yesterday after falling in love with samples. My skin feels a lot better already. The price tag is a bit high, but a little goes so far, so it is worth it. Have you ever tried Kiehl's? I love finding new products.
  

• A Game of Thrones. I LOVE this book series, and I am so excited for the HBO mini series that is starting in 8 days (I've been counting down for awhile). Have you read them? Click here for a 15 minute preview. In July, the 5th book in the series comes out - I've been waiting for years and years!

• The Canadian Election - May 2nd. True, this is the 4th Federal election in 7 years, and yes, many Canadians are upset about it. I'm not one of them. As Rick Mercer wrote, "There is much discussion in this country about whether this is an unnecessary election. The Prime Minister went so far as to call it a dangerous exercise. There is no such thing. There are many threats to democracy—voting isn’t one of them."

• Easter weekend - I get to go to Brooks and spend time with my family!
  

• Las Vegas - only 38 more sleeps!

• Hawaii - My mom is there right now, probably relaxing on the lanai. Joe and I will be going back in October. It seems so far, but it will be so nice to be back!

• The chocolate milkshake Joe is making me right now.

I hope you are having a great weekend!!

Temptation

Yesterday, I was very, very tempted...

(via Anthropologie)

...to get one of these gorgeous over sized mugs.
But, they will have to wait for another day.

Day 18 - Favourite place to eat

My favourite place to eat is Jonas' Restaurant on 6th Avenue SW in downtown Calgary; a small, family owned Hungarian restaurant. When Joe and I first met back in 2005, we went there to eat because his family is Hungarian and I had never tried Hungarian cooking before. Boy, if you want to go out to eat, have a fantastic home cooked meal, and feel like you are part of the family, go to Jonas'. Try the chicken paprikash - so delicious! On Friday, they have a tasty special of potato pancake stuffed with beef and paprikash sauce. Oh my goodness - it is so good you have to call in to reserve a plate because it goes so quickly! Yum yum!

Love, laughter, food, friends and snowflakes

Oh Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday. Why can't you be Friday?

I hope you all had a great weekend! My friends came over on Saturday and we had a great time at Market Collective, ate yummy food, had an ornament exchange, and played Apples to Apples and drank wine for hours. Lots of love and laughter - it was perfect! I hope you all had a great weekend!

Last night I met my friends Grace and Kayla and we went to a great restaurant called Cilanto. It was delish!


Since I broke my toe and it is still pretty messy, I can't go swimming which makes me sad. Tomorrow I am meeting Mary and Teira again and going out for Vietnamese (soo yummy - and I am taking advantage of it too since Joe doesn't like it and he is away). This weekend I am going to Brooks to see my family again before I leave for Pittsburgh and then I am going out for supper with my brother Tyler on Monday. I am so looking forward to it all!

What are your plans this week? Doesn't it always seem so much more hectic around the holidays (in a good way)?

Also, I saw this post on Room Remix - how awesome are these snowflakes?! I LOVE them! Learn how to make them here!

Yummy!

Joe leaves tomorrow - but before he goes, he made me one of my most favourite things ever. Nutella ice cream! I love Nutella. I will eat it just off a spoon. It is dangerously delicious and it as an ice cream is even better! If you have an ice cream maker, I recommend you try!

Ingredients

2 large eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Nutella

Directions

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 more minute. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.

Pour about 1 cup of the cream into a separate bowl and whisk in the Nutella, a little at a time. Return the Nutella mixture to the remaining cream base and stir until well blended.

Then follow the directions of your ice cream maker.

Makes 1 quart

Enjoy!

Copabanana Cake

I loove banana bread, it is one of my favourites. When I was in grade school, I remember some friends and I had a Christmas party and a secret Santa. My friend, Amber, had my name, and for my gift, she gave me a loaf of banana bread that she had baked. It was one of the best secret Santa gifts ever!

Here is a recipe that I really love for Copabanana Cake from the Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook. It is just a fancy name for banana bread, but it is made in a square cake pan.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute, or 2 whole eggs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup mashed, ripe bananas
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream (I actually use miracle whip instead!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, egg substitute and butter on medium speed of electric mixer. Add bananas, sour cream (or miracle whip) and vanilla. Beat again until smooth.

Gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture, beating after each addition. Batter will be thick. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly using a spatula. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into 16 pieces and store in an airtight container. Makes 16 servings.

ENJOY!

PS - Janet and Greta Podleski are the authors of Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry, Looneyspoons, and Crazy Plates. They contain healthy and simple to prepare recipes that have easy to find ingredients that I often already have on hand. I have never made one that I didn't like. Plus, they have really funny illustrations, hilarious recipe names, and great cooking and health tips. I recommend!

Yum in my tum!

Hollie over at and baby makes three... posted a recipe for focaccia bread that she claimed was easy and delicious, and boy, was she right! I have never made bread before and this looked pretty simple so I gave it a try. It is very yummy and was, like she said, easy.

(sorry for the very yellowish photo - the battery in our good camera was dead.)

Here is her recipe, and go check out her blog, it's awesome!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110ºF)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 rosemary stalks, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 cups flour + a little extra (I used half wheat flour, half unbleached all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in the water and let sit for a few minutes. Add sugar & salt and stir.

In a large bowl, mix the flours, rosemary & garlic together.

Slowly add the water mixture, stirring with a metal spoon, until you have a sticky dough.

Flour your hands, then sprinkle a little extra flour over the surface of the dough. Begin to knead the dough either in the bowl, or on a flour surface. Add a little bit of flour as needed if the dough is sticking to your hands. Knead the dough about 10-12 times.

Cover with plastic and let sit for an hour.

Preheat oven to 400ºF

Spray a baking dish with olive oil, and lightly press the dough into the dish. Pour the olive oil over the top of the bread, then poke holes all over the dough, using your finger.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden & crisp.
(I also sprinkled the top with the grated cheese and let it melt, because I love cheese!).