Friday, December 31, 2010
Lululemon indecision!
Today I went out for coffee with a friend by Coquitlam Center and decided to exchange the green Lululemon hoodie I bought for the black packpack. The pack I have now has had it and I love the Lulu one, of course :D
I heart fashion!
Bridesmaid Dresses, Cocktail Dresses, Special Occasion dresses from...
$82 - sungboutiquela.com
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$82 - sungboutiquela.com
Bridesmaid gowns »
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Hi my name is Darcy and I'm addicted to Lululemon
I seriously have ZERO willpower when it comes to Lululemon. I went out for brunch at my all-time favourite breakfast place, De Dutch with my friend and former co-worker, Elinor. Afterwards I wanted to pick up some eye makeup remover from Cranberry Lane so we headed over there, and then we decided to nip over to Coquitlam Center. I originally set out to get MAC bronzer, but we ended up parking by the entrance that's right beside the Lululemon...and Elinor dragged me in! Totally against my will. Le sigh...I walked out of there with this hoodie in cactus/lime, a black sports bra (on sale, actually quite cheap!) and a black non-slip headband. My only consolation is that Elinor spent way more than I did haha. All in all it was a great day with one of my favourite people.
Tomorrow I'm going into Coquitlam again for coffee with my friend Erin, and then I'm carrying on to Burnaby to go out for yam fries and to check out the Metrotown Lululemon with my friend Jen. I've told her she's not allowed to let me spend any more money at Lulu! Maybe I should give her all my cards to hold on to, just to be safe :P
Tomorrow I'm going into Coquitlam again for coffee with my friend Erin, and then I'm carrying on to Burnaby to go out for yam fries and to check out the Metrotown Lululemon with my friend Jen. I've told her she's not allowed to let me spend any more money at Lulu! Maybe I should give her all my cards to hold on to, just to be safe :P
Flirting with Grad School
Recently I've been doing spending a lot of time researching Masters programs. I'm not 100% sure about teacher's college, and I've found some really cool programs for library studies. I would want to be a children's librarian, so I could hopefully find a library job in a school. I'll be applying to SFU to do teacher's college prereqs, and two Grad schools (one in Ireland and one in Ontario) for sure. I'm looking at two others in Alberta and Quebec. I would really really like to get out of Quebec though haha. Lots of exciting options for next year!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Recipe: Low-Fat DC Cupcakes New Year's Eve Strawberry Champagne Sparkler Cupcakes
Servings: Serves 12
Ingredients
Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes (36 mini cupcakes, 3 per champagne flute)
- 1/2 cup fresh strawberries , diced
- 1/2 Tbsp. good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)
- 2 1/2 cups flour , sifted
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder , sifted
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 Tbsp. (4 ounces) unsalted butter
- 4 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cup zero-calorie sweetener (e.g., Splenda)
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature
- 2 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract plus seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 1 1/4 cups skim milk , at room temperature
Champagne Buttercream Frosting
- 16 Tbsp. (8 ounces) unsalted butter
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar , sifted
- 1 tsp. skim milk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)
Strawberry Layer
- 24 fresh strawberries
- 1 cup good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)
Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups high-quality dark chocolate
Directions
For Serving:
12 glass Champagne flutes
12 long spoons
12 indoor-safe sparkler candles
Step 1: Baking the Mini Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 mini cupcake pans with 36 mini baking cups or grease pans with butter if not using baking cups.
Dice up 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and soak in 1/2 cup of Champagne. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
Mix in applesauce slowly.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
Combine the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.
Gently fold in the diced Champagne-soaked strawberries, just until incorporated.
Scoop batter into baking cups and bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. If using paper baking cups, peel off all the paper baking cups from the cupcakes at this time.
Step 2: Making the Champagne Buttercream Frosting
Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the confectioner's sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract, milk, salt and Champagne, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Place frosting in a disposable piping bag with a large round tip.
Step 3: Preparing the Strawberries
Slice 24 strawberries lengthwise and soak in 1 cup of Champagne for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Melting the Chocolate Ganache
Break the dark chocolate into small pieces. Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or 2 of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the dark chocolate pieces in a medium glass bowl over the saucepan and melt slowly. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the saucepan. Pour the melted chocolate into a plastic squeeze bottle. (If a squeeze bottle is not available, you can drizzle with a spoon.)
Step 5: Assembling Layers in Champagne Flutes
Line up 12 glass Champagne flutes. Insert 1 mini strawberry Champagne cupcake in the bottom of each glass. Next, pipe a swirl of Champagne buttercream frosting on top of each cupcake. Add several slices of Champagne-soaked strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate. Repeat layers. Finally, place a third mini strawberry Champagne cupcake at the top of each glass, pipe with a final "Georgetown Cupcake signature swirl" of Champagne buttercream frosting, and top with a final drizzle of melted chocolate.
Step 6: Serving
Insert 1 indoor-safe sparkler candle in the top of each glass. Light the candles at midnight, serve with spoons, and enjoy!
12 glass Champagne flutes
12 long spoons
12 indoor-safe sparkler candles
Step 1: Baking the Mini Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 mini cupcake pans with 36 mini baking cups or grease pans with butter if not using baking cups.
Dice up 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and soak in 1/2 cup of Champagne. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
Mix in applesauce slowly.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
Combine the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.
Gently fold in the diced Champagne-soaked strawberries, just until incorporated.
Scoop batter into baking cups and bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. If using paper baking cups, peel off all the paper baking cups from the cupcakes at this time.
Step 2: Making the Champagne Buttercream Frosting
Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the confectioner's sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract, milk, salt and Champagne, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Place frosting in a disposable piping bag with a large round tip.
Step 3: Preparing the Strawberries
Slice 24 strawberries lengthwise and soak in 1 cup of Champagne for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Melting the Chocolate Ganache
Break the dark chocolate into small pieces. Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or 2 of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the dark chocolate pieces in a medium glass bowl over the saucepan and melt slowly. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the saucepan. Pour the melted chocolate into a plastic squeeze bottle. (If a squeeze bottle is not available, you can drizzle with a spoon.)
Step 5: Assembling Layers in Champagne Flutes
Line up 12 glass Champagne flutes. Insert 1 mini strawberry Champagne cupcake in the bottom of each glass. Next, pipe a swirl of Champagne buttercream frosting on top of each cupcake. Add several slices of Champagne-soaked strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate. Repeat layers. Finally, place a third mini strawberry Champagne cupcake at the top of each glass, pipe with a final "Georgetown Cupcake signature swirl" of Champagne buttercream frosting, and top with a final drizzle of melted chocolate.
Step 6: Serving
Insert 1 indoor-safe sparkler candle in the top of each glass. Light the candles at midnight, serve with spoons, and enjoy!
Recipe from Oprah website
Christmas!
Christmas Break so far has been nice and relaxing, just the way it should be! I got many wonderful gifts for Christmas, such as:
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| A tshirt from Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl campaign |
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| The New Red Mitten from The Hudson's Bay Company |
 |
| I bought this cardigan from Plum in charcoal grey with money I got for Christmas I also got a long-sleeved black shrug to wear with the dress I got for my friend's January wedding, and a black jewelled clutch, also to wear with the dress (all from Plum). Yesterday Mom and I went out to see if we could score some more Christmas bargains, and we found some great things at Pier 1! I got this beautiful sparkly silver Eiffel Tower ornaments, a box of mini different coloured disco ball ornaments, a sparkly fleur de lys ornament, and napkins that say, "Peace, Love, Shoes." I also needed a strapless bra to wear under the dress for the wedding, so we went to the La Vie en Rose outlet. Everything was buy one get one free! I found a great strapless bra as well as a sparkley black one. I got panties to match the sparkly bra and a second pair, because they were free anyways. I wanted new nail polish for the wedding too, so we went to a salon in the same mall as the outlet, and I got this gorgeous shimmery gunmetal grey OPI polish, as well as a travel-sized Aveda hand lotion and brown Cargo mascara. The mascara was 25% off and everything in the salon was 15% off on top of any previous discounts. Score! Today I went shopping with a friend because she had gotten a gift card to the mall. She got some great things, and I found a 10$ ivory coloured slouchy tank to wear under my grey Plum cardigan. And now I'm on a spending diet :P |
Saturday, December 25, 2010
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