beauty: your body and your body lotion

What’s in your BODY LOTION?

You’ve seen ingredients like Sodium Lactate, Glycerin and Ceramides right? Did you know that these ingredients in the bottle are the same ones in you body?

Sodium Lactate: is a salt found in lactic acid, which your body makes when you exercise. In lotion, it coats your skin and locks in moisture. (Ahava & Cetaphil are two that contain SL).

Glycerin: found in your skin’s fatty tissues is so good at preventing water loss that brands sometimes add a synthetic version to creams. (Vaseline Intensive Care, Eucerin & Jason contain glycerin as one of their ingredients).

Ceramides: are fats that help keep skin soft and strong. Moisturizers with ceramides are especially good for ultra-dry skin. (CeraVe lotion is a well known brand that contains this).

Every good lotion should contain oils which penetrate skin to help rehydrate, plump, and fill in tiny cracks. Coconut oil, olive oil & avocado oil are good natural ones.

Did you know?

Even lotions labeled “unscented” may contain masking fragrances that neutralize the smell of other ingredients – and companies don’t have to list them on the label. So if you have ultra-sensitive skin, you should do a patch test first when using a new cream or body lotion.

Care to share which body lotion you’re using?

FUN

style – I enjoy a good duster now & then

The Duster CoatA worn-out old duster. In the old days of the Wild West the coat protected your clothing from trail dust, but not much else. This type of coat was usually worn by deputy lawmen and a popular choice for bounty hunters. While it is called the Duster Coat, a true duster would be open in the back, allowing one’s legs to be protected while on horseback.

But this ain’t that!

A great transition piece for spring! And Spring is just about here. The open silhouette and sweater-like composition keep your look casually chic and—more importantly— comfortable. People compare it to the trenchcoat but it’s not exactly because trenches have belts and way more buttons and the fabric is different.

I prefer no collar and a hidden button or two but the styles can vary a bit. It’s so easy to wear because you just throw it over whatever you have on from jeans to a dress and it pulls everything together.

*Kim Kardashian West taken from Bazaar Magazine

If you need more warmth just wrap a large scarf or shawl and you’re ready to go. A neutral shade will keep you from getting tired of it although a bold color is nice too.

*Bazaar magazine refers to the coat Kimye is wearing as a Duster but only in the fact that it falls a few inches above the ground. It looks like a regular camel coat to me but she does look especially chic wearing an all black ensemble (especially the turtleneck) underneath. And it’s a little more cover than her skin tight latex dresses.

How about you – do you like them?

FUN

Confections – Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies

Chocolate + Almond = Delicious Cookies!

I was looking to buy a bowl of soup and Tourtière (a Québécoise meat pie) from Tartine bakery in Vancouver when I discovered this delightful bag of cookies. They tasted amazing, so light and chewy with the perfect combination of almond to chocolate. It really reminded me of another dessert I make – a chocolate almond torte but in cookie form. Since I don’t have their exact recipe here is the next best thing. Just add icing sugar to finish it off.

That’s a sour cherry tart in the middle – for a little variety.

Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter; room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Scharffen Berger)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds; coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

2. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after the addition of each egg.

3. Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn your mixer to low and gradually add the sifted ingredients; mix until just combined.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds. *Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

6. Measure the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Roll the dough in your hands until it forms a uniform ball and place on your lined baking sheet.

7. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly (about 3 minutes) and transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Yields about 30 cookies.

*Trick: stick the dough in the freezer for a little while to allow the flavors to marry and the dough to slightly stiffen. It makes it easier to form the cookies with.

Source: mybakingaddiction.com

Tartine Bread & Pies: 770 Beach Ave, Vancouver.

p.s. I think this post was influenced by yesterdays post.

DESTINATIONS

Travel/Culture – a tiny taste of Denmark

It’s a long way from Europe. If like me you have never set foot in Denmark but you like sunshine, Danish cookies & pastries, windmills and something bigger than the world showcase at Epcot Center, then you might want to check this place out.

Northwest of Los Angeles (just east of highway 101) and a short drive from Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Valley lies the picturesque village of Solvang. It vaguely sounded familiar and now I know why – it was mentioned in the movie Sideways. A movie which I loved by the way. The friend I was travelling with suggested we go on the advice of her sister who had just been there. If her sister suggested we go then that was enough for me to want to see what this town had to offer.

Okay, so it is touristy like we figured it would be with a population of roughly 5,000 people. But since we were already not too far away it was definitely worth the visit which included a stayover and lots of treats. It’s a funky getaway which appropriately translates to mean “sunny field.”

Founded in 1911 by Danish immigrants, Solvang now boasts many Danish bakeries. The woman who owned the hotel we stayed in the Solvang Inn also owned the restaurant across the street and several bakeries. She claimed Michael Jackson (his Neverland Ranch was in the Santa Ynez Valley) used to come in to buy her cookies. Turns out she owns half the town. There’s a Hans Christian Andersen Museum, four windmills, boutique inns and lodges with peaked roofs and monikors such as Svendsgaard’s Lodge and the Hamlet Inn, along with bedspreads emblazoned with the red-and-white Danish flag. Kitsch cuteness!

And you can’t escape the sugary appeal of Solvang’s multiple family-owned Danish bakeries. “There are more bakeries here than probably in the whole world” said one of the owners. So for breakfast we had coffee and multiple shared pastries. I chose the delicious Danish with custard but my travelling companions ordered a cinnamon bun and a bear claw – all pretty darn delicious. Not to mention non gluten-free and fairly fattening.

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the 2004 wine soaked movie Sideways, which was partly shot in Solvang, and wineries in the area owe a certain amount of credit to the tourist boom that followed the film. Kind of like the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” did for *Savannah, Georgia. *I will post soon about this most charming city.

Next to bakeries sit more than 20 wine-tasting rooms. One winery is called Lucky Dogg Winery which I should not even plug since I sent my dogs photo in to a contest so he could be chosen to be on one of the bottles for their “Doggone Wines” label but he didn’t make the cut. I sent one ~~okay three~~ amazing photos. It may have something to do with his nose. Nevermind.

And so we’re told with Solvang its like they took the best parts of Denmark and put them onto two streets (it’s really bigger than that). Which means you don’t have to walk very far to get good pastries, wine and cheese.

Source: taken in part from The Vancouver Sun Travel

THINKAboutit

contemplating… change

“We can’t be afraid of change. *You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as a sea, an ocean. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better.” – C. JoyBell C.

“Bottom line is, even if you see ’em coming, you’re not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can’t help that. It’s what you do afterwards that counts. That’s when you find out who you are.” – Joss Whedon

**Just when the caterpiller thought the world was over it became a butterfly.**

Life moves very fast. It rushes from Heaven to Hell in a matter of seconds.” – Paulo Coelho. Or, from Hell to Heaven – me

“The only person worthy of your love is not one who overstayed in the relationship without a single change, but one, who appeared like an angel, and used a single day to make a million changes.” – Michael Bassey Johnson.

“Some changes occur suddenly like a brilliant flash of lightning striking across a dark sky. These changes are stunning, exciting but can be quickly forgotten. Other changes happen slowly, gradually, like a flower blooming in early spring, each day unfurling its petals another fraction of an inch towards the warm, nurturing sun. These changes are as inevitable as nature running its course; they’re meant to be.” – Suzi Davis

Its time for us as a people to start making some changes, lets change the way we eat, lets change the way we live, and lets change the way we treat each other.

But memories last forever! Thank god for that. — **But memories last forever!** Thank god for that.

*Some people never leave the place they were born. They marry their high school sweetheart, have children, hold a steady but ordinary job and remain completely happy. Does that mean they have to change? I think not. They can be perfectly happy this way. As long as they’re fine with it, we should be too. It’s okay to push change but it’s okay to stay the same too – as long as you’re good with it. – me

Health + LifeStyle

health MATTERS: Anger can literally break your heart

Sometimes it can be difficult not to get angry. But anger can hurt you more than who or what you direct your anger towards. If your anger is left unchecked it can wreak serious havoc on your health and well-being.You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger – Buddha

Decades of research has shown that angrier people ted to have more heart problems than calmer ones. Explosive anger – those moments in which you may lose control and throw something or scream – can have especially negative effects. You’re more than twice as likely to have a heart attack during the two hours after a big blowup, according to a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology. That’s because changes in a ticked-off person’s heart rate can lead to high blood pressure and clots. Other research has connected sky-high rates of ire with an increased risk of stroke. But suppressing your anger is bad for you too. In fact, bottling it up can spike your blood pressure levels even more than letting go.

One study from a group of researchers at Harvard University found that study subjects who got angry regularly were 43% more likely to have gum disease than a calmer ones. Other studies have shown that those who have high levels of anger are at a greater risk of breathing problems and chronic pain. Part of the head-to-toe health damage could be due to the widespread inflammation that results from the frequent flood of stress hormones (like epinephrine) which are also involved in the anger response.

Sometimes anger is just a momentary reaction to a passing situation. But other times, it’s a signal that there’s a threat to something you care about deeply. So when anger strikes, don’t fight it – ponder it. Use it to help you identify what’s being threatened.

Have you tried crying instead?

Source: The Good Life – Inner Life

FUN

Feel-good Friday: Fun with Flamingos

The Flamingo may be the most Fabulous of all the bird species. Think about it.

100% natural – at the Marriott Resort Palm Desert.

They’re the bird of choice for *gracing peoples lawns since 1957. Other birds would be tickled pink to be so long legged and curvaceous. They look cool and live in “hot” places like Miami and the Flamingo Hilton in Vegas. They look good wearing sunglasses and move gracefully. It wouldn’t be so bad to be a Flamingo.

DID YOU KNOW?

The word “flamingo” comes from the Spanish and Latin word “flamenco” which means fire, and refers to the bright color of the birds’ feathers.

Flamingos are strong but rare swimmers and powerful fliers, even though they’re most often seen just wading.

When flying in a flock, the top speed of a flamingo can be as high as 35 miles per hour.

Flamingos hold their bills upside down while feeding, often for several hours a day, so they can filter out their food while skimming the water.

A flamingo chick’s bill is small and straight, but will develop the distinct “break” curve after a few months.

Flamingos are monogamous birds that lay only a single egg each year. If that egg is lost or damaged, they do not typically lay a replacement.

Flamingo chicks are born gray or white and take up to three years to reach their mature pink, orange or red plumage.

The pink, orange or red color of a flamingo’s feathers is caused by carotenoid pigments in their food, and a flamingo’s diet includes shrimp, plankton, algae and crustaceans.

A adult flamingo’s legs can be 30-50 inches long, which is longer than their entire body.

A flock of flamingos is called a stand or a flamboyance.

Flamingos have a wild lifespan of 20-30 years, but in captivity have been recorded as living up to 50 years or longer.

The most prominent threats to flamingos include predators, habitat loss and poaching for decorative feathers as well as humans hunting flamingos to gather eggs as food or to harvest their tongues as meat.

100% plastic. At "dazzles" courtyard Palm Springs — 100% plastic. At “dazzles” courtyard Palm Springs

*In case you are dying to know…Don Featherstone of Massachusetts is the inventor of the pink plastic lawn flamingo. You’re welcome.

Photos: d. king

FUN

beauty: BE Beautiful Tattoes

As a general rule I’m not into tattoos for myself although I can admire them on someone else.

I almost got up the nerve to have a tiny one engraved years ago when my sister and I booked appointments together in Toronto at a well known tattoo parlour. She went ahead of me and came out with a beautiful little butterfly but then when it was my turn I chickened out. I don’t like needles or pain so no tattoos to date.

But if I were to reconsider the BROW tattoo (to fill in some of the sparse areas) would be the route to go. If only because it comes highly recommended and I know someone who went and is happily satisfied with the results. Because her brows were thin and light and now they’re perfect and more natural looking (even though they’re tattooed). Sometimes we tend to over pluck and they don’t grow back fast enough and when they do, they don’t look the same. This sounds like a good solution. And it will give the appearance of fuller brows which I think is nicer than thin brows personally. Even though thin was in.

Cosmetic tattooing is designed to enhance and refine your beauty and can be a life changing option for many reasons. Every individual has a unique set of requirements when it comes to their own personal beauty. The pros at BE are trained and experienced to ensure you get the look you desire.

Brianna Errelat, founder of BE Studio, is an accomplished makeup artist based in Vancouver, BC whose work can be seen extensively in fashion, commercial, print, editorial and wedding applications. All services are completed by Brianna Errelat, certified in Permanent Makeup, Paramedical and Skin Revision.

QUESTIONS??

WHAT IS COSMETIC TATTOOING?

Cosmetic Tattooing, also called Semi-Permanent Makeup or Micro pigmentation, is the process of implanting color pigment beneath the surface of the skin by means of a tiny, sterile, disposable needle to produce the appearance of cosmetic makeup or to enhance the natural features of the face.

HOW LONG DOES THE TATTOO LAST?

Typically 1-3 years but a few factors come into play here. The ink is iron oxide based, which means if you have an iron deficiency your tattoo will fade faster. If you’re a sun worshipper, get chemical peels, AHA, Glycolic etc. it will also cause the tattoo to fade faster. I recommend wearing SPF 50 on your tattoo (and your whole face really as we know what the sun does to our skin!)

I’M NERVOUS…IS IT GOING TO HURT?

Don’t be nervous, I use an amazing topical anesthetic to numb the area before we start. Your comfort is very important to me! I also have a brow tattoo so I know how it feels. Everyone’s pain threshold is different. If yours is low feel free to take a NON BLOOD THINNING pain killer before your appointment like Tylenol. I continue to use numbing agents during the procedure as well.

DO YOU HAVE TO SHAVE MY EYEBROWS OR EYE LASHES TO GET THE TATTOO?

Don’t laugh, this is a common question! No it’s not like a body tattoo where the tattoo artist has to shave the area before we start. I use the natural hair growth of your brow as a guide to give you the most beautiful result, and if you have no hair I create a brand new natural growth look for you!

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHAPE AND COLOR TO USE?

I have 12 years of experience in the cosmetics industry, which has allowed me to work on every skin tone, brow shape, face shape, eye shape, and lip shape you could possibly think of! This gives me a major advantage when it comes to choosing the design and color that suits you. Having being “known” for brow design you can be confident you will walk out with a shape that suits your face and makes you look youthful, happy and polished!

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT

It is best to avoid alcohol, Aspirin, and Blood thinners (if possible) before your appointment.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AFTER YOUR SERVICE?

For the first 3 – 6 days, the color intensity of your procedure will be significantly darker, as well as larger and sharper than what is expected for the final outcome. Although the area will appear healed after 10 days, it will not be fully healed for 4-6 weeks (8 weeks for lips) to reveal the actual color, this is based on how quickly the outer layer of your skin exfoliates.

How do you feel about this? Would you do it?

http://www.bemakeuphair.com/

FUN

Vintage Style/Décor: Pink Canary

midcentury modern—has never been more au courantPink Canary offers VINTAGE and UNIQUE items for the home.
Specializing in midcentury modern, barware, art glass, pottery, and home furnishings. They have one of the largest selections of Vintage Glassware in the Desert.

New items are vintage inspired and include Candles, Pillows, Linens, and other furnishings.

Location: 160 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California

I like this for outside entertaining — I choose this set for outside entertaining

well afterall, it is Palm Springs — well afterall, this is Palm Springs

Photos: d king

FUN

Food: this Peaceful Restaurant serves Killer Chinese

Tuesday is food day on this blog but it doesn’t always have to be a posted recipe. It’s about food in general. Good food that is.

Sometimes we just want to share something we’ve tried recently that we found to be outstanding. Which brings me to your not typical run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia – Peaceful Restaurant. In a sea of Chinese restaurants this is quite the claim. While I’m at it, it must be noted that Vancouver has some of the finest Chinese restaurants in the world and, word on the street (according to my Chinese friends) is that they’re even better than a lot of the ones in China.

Okay, to be fair when Superstar Food Network Restaurateur Guy Fieri says something is hot you’ve got to at least check it out.

While I can’t vouch for everything on the menu, here are two extra special dishes. One is ordinarily served in every single Chinese restaurant and the other is a bit more unusual. I’m talking about Peaceful’s Special House Fried Rice & Beef Rolls.

You come to expect the same old, same old house fried rice. Not here. This one is extra flavourful and comes fully loaded. I don’t know which part of the world you live in, but if you make it over this way please try this *house fried rice. The beef roll ups, on the other hand are unusually unique and super tasty. The pastry is crepe like and flaky while the meat has the texture of pulled pork with an exotic mixture of hoisin, green onion and something a little spicy. It is simply put, delicious. No other words to describe it, you have to experience it.

They have three locations:

532 W Broadway #110, 2394 W 4th Ave in Kitsilano and 43 E 5th Avenue in Mount Pleasant.

http://peacefulrestaurant.com/

*the only thing I don’t like is the baby shrimp but you can pick them out or maybe ask them to omit them entirely from your order (if you don’t eat shrimp).