Ice Storm

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holidays filled with family, friends and joy!  I was forced to take a break from blogging for a few days since the ice storm took out our power and internet. I was planning on working on posts during the day Sunday for the week but mother nature had other plans. We finally got our power back on Christmas Day ( a Christmas miracle) and then with the craziness of the season I didn't get a chance to update the blog. It was a nice unexpected vacation. I thought I would share with you some pictures of the ice storm. While it sucked not having power, everything covered in ice was quite beautiful.

Jaclyn

Holiday Baking

I thought I would share with you what I am planning on making and sharing these holidays. 

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheese Cakes via Annie's Eats 

Shortbread Cookies with Red and Green M&Ms

Chocolate Covered Candy Cane Marshmallows 

Cake Pops 

I am also thinking about making some macaroons and other Christmas cookies but I haven't decided yet. What are you planning on baking this year? If you have any favourite recipes please share in the comments. 

Jaclyn

Gifts that Give Back

Why not give a gift this year that your giftee will not only love but that will also give back to others. Its a win, win, win.

Warby Parker - Not only are their glasses cute and functional for every pair sold they provide a pair to someone in need. So why not provide your four eyed friends with a gift card to Warby Parker and help give the gift of sight to someone in need. 

TOMS - TOMS also has a one for one model. Buy a pair of shoes and they will give a pair to someone in need. Their shoes are incredibly comfortable and go with pretty much everything. There are a ton of styles and prints to choose from. 

MetoWe - MetoWe is the Social Enterprise of Free the Children. It helps support the overhead costs of the charity. They offer socially and environmentally conscious goods made by artisans in developing countries and provide fair wages to Mama's supporting their families. 

Hosting For Hope (HomeSense) - The net proceeds from these gives go towards helping women and children victims of abuse through supporting local shelters and violence prevention programs in the community. 

Tory Burch Agenda - All profits from the purchase of the pink shade will benefit the Tory Burch Foundation, which Supports the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs and their families in the US. 

Cole and Parker - Cole and Parker sell fun socks that support a one for many model. They are partners with Kiva and proceeds from each purchase of socks is loaned to support entrepreneurs in poverty. 

Cookie Packaging

With all the Christmas baking I have planned I have been looking at different ways to creatively package my baked goods to share with friends and family this season. Here are some of my favourites: 

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I love the simplicity of these tins. They can be reused for years to come and I love how great they all look grouped together. Such a simple way to reuse tins or to fancy up tins from the dollar store. 

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Glass jars are a fun way to share treats with people. I think one cookie only would look best in these jars. Add a bow on top, a ribbon and a tag and you have a simple and beautiful gift for anyone on your list. 

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This reminds me of a box of chocolates. I like how they used liners to separate the different cookies. Beautiful presentation. 

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Chinese takeout containers are a favourite of mine. Even simply lined with festive coloured tissue paper and tied with a ribbon they look fantastic. Decorating these containers would be a great holiday craft for those with kids. 

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Kraft paper. Twine. Glitter letters. A touch of nature. Enough said. 

David's Tea Advent Calendar: Week 2

Day 6:

I was exited for this green tea today it was a nice change from all the Christmas-y teas that have been in the calendar lately. I don't drink green teas that often but when I do I remember why I love them and then vow to drink them more then drink too much and get a headache and upset stomach.  This is a nice mid-afternoon tea however. The only probably is that it makes me crave sushi which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The popped rice in this tea is super fun and adds an interesting almost sweetness to the green tea flavour. I might have to make this tea a permeant part of my collection. 

Day 7: 

Another new to me tea. They always pull it down at the store when I say I like fruity teas but its never been something that I committed to trying until today. To be honest, I didn't really like it. The tea has yogurt bits in it which I really didn't like the flavour of in my tea. I felt like I was drinking hot strawberry yogurt which was kind of a turn off. I thought the tart yogurt didn't really complement the tartness of the strawberry either. I don't even thinking icing this tea will save it. 

Day 8: 

I love the Advent Calendar because not only do I get to try teas that I haven't before but I rediscover teas that I love. Mango Madness is one of those teas. I made a large pitcher of iced tea.  I really like how light and fresh this tea is. This tea is more of a summer tea to me then a winter tea but it was a nice surprise in the calendar and has gotten me steeping pitchers of iced tea again to drink all day. 

Day 9: 

The smell of the leaves of this tea reminded me of black liquorice for some reason so we were already off to a bad start ( I am not a fan of liquorice). I took one sip of this tea and then threw out the rest of my mug. It was disgusting. It was like drinking flowers and the what I can only assume to be jasmine was way over powering. I can still taste nothing else. 

Day 10: 

I was happy to see Coffee Cake today after yesterdays tea. Black teas are my favourite and I was starting to miss them. This tea would probably be up there as one of my favourites (it doesn't taste like coffee at all) if it weren't for Red Velvet Cake. To me this is a less spectacular version of Red Velvet Cake. I do like the sweet hints that the cherry and pineapple bring out in the black tea and it makes for an exceptional latte. I was skeptical to try it the first time because of the name. I don't like anything coffee flavoured but this has no coffee flavour at all. 

Day 11: 

This tea is a great tea for before bed. It is calming and relaxing. I love the freshness of the peppermint mixed in with the chamomile. You get a hint of the chamomile first followed by the peppermint cooling after taste. This tea makes me want to cozy up in bed with a good book and then drift off to sleep.  

Day 12:

Another green tea. I was a little weary after the last one but when I opened the tin it was bright and fruity. The smells reminded me of one of David's other teas Green and Fruity (I wonder if that came out before this tea because that would be the perfect name for this one since the other one is a roiboos). Anyways. I really enjoyed this tea it was perfect hot and would probably be lovely iced. I sipped it while studying for finals. I think Genmaicha from Day Six (at the top of this post) is my favourite green tea I've had so far though. 

Are you doing the David's Tea Advent Calendar? Whats your favourite so far? If not, which would you most like to try? 

Jaclyn 

Ps. You can see my review of week one here. 

Gift Guide: Gifts Under $20

Eye Shadow. iPhone Case. Mittens. 
Terrarium in a Jar. Nail Polish. Journal. 
Pyjama Bottoms. Hand Cream. Charades. 

I put together some small gifts (under $20) that would be perfect for a Secret Santa gift, for a stocking stuffer or something small for a friend.

Check out my other gift guides: For the Boys.
From last year:
For the Fitness Junkie. For the Tea Lover. For the Cupcake Queen.

Link Love

Here are somethings I have been loving this week: 

• The Awkward Things of 2013
• The Night Before Christmas
• Little Girl Super Hero Costumes
• Pantene Ad on Women in the Workplace 
• Christmas Cookies

Gift Guide: For the Boys

Top Row: Record Player. Beer Making Kit. Sweater. 
Middle Row: Sun Glasses .Watch. Whisky Stones. 
Bottom Row: iPad. Glasses. Wallet. 

Gift: Hot Chocolate in a Mug

I knew I wanted to share some of the marshmallows I made with my friends and family. So I put together these super cute and simple mugs with everything they would need for a mug of hot chocolate.   

I found the mugs at my local dollar store. I was surprised by their super cute collection of Christmas mugs. I decided to add a small bottle of Baileys since its amazing in hot chocolate and found a sample pack at the LCBO. I add a pack of hot chocolate and some marshmallows then wrapped it up in cellophane. It was a quick and easy gift that I know they will love for under $10. 

My Wish List

Top Row: Print. Gloves. Measuring Cups. 

Middle Row: Jawbone Up. Kitchen Aid Mixer. Bracelet. 

Bottom Row: Travel Mug. Candle. Mug. Iphone Case.

Must Watch Christmas Movies

I love Christmas Movies. I love spending an entire Saturday watching those cheesy but oh so good made for TV Christmas movies. It is one of my favourite things about the holidays. I am happy to watch any Christmas movie that comes on and if there is a love story involved even better! Everyone has their own list of must watch movies at Christmas time. 

Here's mine:

Probably my favourite Christmas movie. The original is my favourite but I like the remake as well. I have to watch this movie at least once every Christmas (usually more).  

 

A modern Christmas tale. A big fun loving family not without its fair share of dramas. You will laugh and you will cry and you will occasionally cringe at SJPs character. 

I think this one speaks for itself.

One of those sad but oh so good Christmas movies. 

This was one of my favourites as a kid. Such a fun concept and the sequels aren't horrible either.

Perfect movie to put you in a good happy holiday mood. 

I just found this movie recently. Its not your typical Christmas movie but it starts out around the holidays so I am saying it counts. For sure a new favourite.  

Not really on my list, but top of the boyfriend's for sure. So I will be watching it. 

What Christmas movies are on your must watch list? 

Jaclyn

Homemade Marshmallows

First of all, I always thought it was spelt marshmellow but I guess I was oh so very wrong. Spell check and the internet gods have corrected me. Anyways. I was excited but slightly terrified at attempting these marshmallows. I knew that if they turned it they would be one of those things that had people saying you made what??? I didn't even know you could make those. But if they didn't turn out it would just be a huge, sticky, sugary mess. Luckily they turned out. They were also SO simple to make. I was really excited to use my brand new candy thermometer that I bought especially for this occasion ( I am really just picking recipes where I need to buy new kitchen gadgets - its a great excuse to go shopping.)  I used Smitten Kitchen's Recipe which was a bit different from others as it had the addition of egg whites. Since I have never tried making marshmallows before I can't tell you if adding egg whites actually makes them fluffier then if you don't (I am assuming it would plus Smitten Kitchen said so, so really there is no arguing).  But now that I know how easy they are I will have to try a different more classical recipe without eggs. I dipped mine in chocolate and sprinkled crushed candy canes on top to make them more festive. I cannot wait to try them in hot chocolate! 

December 1st

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It is December 1st. Which for me is the official start of the holiday season! Time to bring out the decorations, start listening to Christmas music, enjoy Christmas treats and break out my David's Tea Advent Calendar. Let the count down to Christmas officially begin!

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

I decided to make something different this year for the holidays and went with these Flourless Chocolate Walnut cookies (centre of photo). They were fairly easy to make. The only thing I was scared of was over beating the egg whites. The recipe called for 4 egg whites but my batter only needed 3 and others have said they have only used 2. My advice would be too add the egg whites one at a time mixing after each one. The batter is quite thick and resembles a brownie batter. Overall I was happy with the way they turned out and they tasted wonderful. The recipe is available here.

Toast 2 3/4 cups of walnuts at 350 F for 9 mins 

Mix together 3 cups of Powered Sugar with 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons of coco powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in walnuts once they have cooled slightly. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then add 2-4 egg whites (add egg whites one at a time and mix between each addition. Continue adding whites until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix).

Drop tablespoons of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets.  

Bake for 14-16 minutes at 320F until tops are glossy and slightly cracked. 

These were a huge hit this year and I got many requests for the recipe. There were a quick cookie to add to my cookie lineup and they provided something different then what I normally make around the holidays. Plus they are perfect for any time of the year. 

Enjoy! 

Jaclyn

Week 4: 24 Days of Tea

Another tea I have wanted to try for a while. While I don't know if it has any real health benefits I am enjoying drinking it. The first infusion was good but the second infusion was GREAT! So much smoother. I will probably end up purchasing some of this tea I have been wanted to add an oolong to my collection for a while now.

I wish I could comment on this tea but when I opened my door for the 23rd gogi pop was sitting there instead of Vanilla Oolong. I was very upset by this discovery because I wanted to try another oolong after having such success with The Skinny yesterday. Oh well.

What a perfect way to end the 24 days of tea. Santa's secret was nice and Christmassy. I loved the cute little candy canes in it. It had a slight minty fresh flavour to it and I really enjoyed it. I am really sad that the calendar has come to an end I have been enjoying trying all the different teas everyday and I now have a growing list of teas that I have to pick up from David's. Cannot wait to go on a mini (or not so mini) tea shopping spree.

What were your favourites from the calendar if you participated? And if you didn't what are your favourite teas? 

Jaclyn