Call Me Crazy

It's sometimes necessary to stop and go back to the basics.  Keds have been around forever and will forever be known as the inexpensive, comfortable and sturdy shoe.  I put shoes like Keds in the same category as converse and Toms... not the most attractive, but you can't help to love them! Call me crazy, but right now... I'm craving a pair of these ever so colourful keds. Thoughts?

In my opinion, colour never goes out of style!

Bathing Beauties

This weekend has been spent in Montreal, doing some shopping, visiting the festivals, and seeing friends.  City weekends are great, but the hot weather is making me countdown the days until I can be back on the lake... Bathing suits can be so hard to find sometimes... there really is nothing worse than trying on a swimsuit in a intensely bright changing room, with hangers left and right and a bloated stomach.  Bikinis are great, and it's what most girls my age wear, but one pieces can be so flattering. 

flattering stripes

crazy colours, and an amazing low back cut

Modern Classy

Anthropologie has great one piece swimwear that is young, sexy, and amazingly original.  When it comes to family boat time, or days spent by a pool with aunts, uncles, and cousins, I ditch the itsy bitsy bikini and go for the one piece that makes me feel fun, cute, and great!

All these swimsuits can be found on anthropologie.com

Colours of Summer

Everyone needs a little colour in their world, especially during summer months, where sandals and bare feet become the norm. Essie has always been my go-to brand of polish.  I love the fun colours they offer and their brush size makes it very easy to apply.  There's nothing better that finding a great new colour find.  Here are some Essie polishes I'm loving:

Essie Lilacism

Although originally a spring colour, I love this polish with all my heart.  It works well with my skin and makes every open toed shoe look better.  Pastel purples are seen everywhere this summer in Montreal.... A good colour is worth celebrating!

The summer Red, Essie Clambake

Winter calls for dark reds and purples, but what about summer time?  This great red has a coral orange touch, which is perfect for warm weather and sunny days. Note: Looks great with white and beige tops!

Essie Watermelon

The first Essie colour I ever bought was "watermelon", and what a great choice is was!  Every girl craves a good vibrant pink polish once in a while, and if you are searching for the perfect one, I suggest this!

Essie Turquoise & Caicos

So surprisingly great!  I tried this colour once when I was in an adventurous mood... and never looked back.  Turquoise and Caicos really brings out tanned skin and surprisingly goes well with everything.

And last but not least....

Essie Mademoiselle

There's nothing like Essie mademoiselle.  It's my go-to polish and always will be.  It applies with no streaks, looks natural, and can make every girl feel classy! I've emptied bottles and bought more... it really is an obsession.  For the days when I have enough colour in my life, Mademoiselle is what I turn to.

These 5 colours definitely don't go together, but they are staple Essie colours I carry.  I know in times of colour crisis, one of these picks will do the trick.  Go to Essie for more info!

Gotta Love Guaca

Summer barbecues are never complete without salsa, tortilla chips, and most importantly... guacamole!  I have this weakness for sitting next to the chip bowl and filling up on salsa and guacamole before the actual dinner... once I start, it's all down hill from there.  My family and I have definitely made meals out of chips and guacamole, along with a great card game. My mother is known for having the best guacamole, and over the years, I have learned to master it.  Many thanks Maman!  The key to a successful guacamole is perfectly ripe avocados, and lots of lime. 

I most definitely consider this a fiesta on its own!

4 ripe avocados
finely chopped tomatoes
Lime juice (1 full lime)
Cilantro
Sea Salt ( as much as you feel necessary)

I don't have specific quantities because it changes depending on my mood.  The great thing about guacamole is each new batch has it's own flavor. Mix it all together and taa-daaa!

Glamour and their Lively Shoot

Glamour magazine just came out with their new issue featuring Blake Lively.  I love Blake Lively, and look up to her as a fashion icon.  She represents classic elegance, but stays young and innovative.  As the new face of Chanel, we are sure to see much more of her. Some favorites of the Glamour shoot

Lively at her best

I have no words for the dress, hair, makeup... amazing.

Polka Dot shorts, I love!

I Made, I Ate, I Wished...

As mentioned before, "Everyday Food: Great Food Fast" is currently taking up a large part of my cooking life.  I have so many new recipes I'm waiting to try and taste.  Having spent the long weekend in Maine on the lake, incorporating blueberries in my meals seemed only natural. I made blueberry crumb cake, ate blueberry crumb cake, and now dream of having more blueberry crumb cake....

My idea of the perfect reading material

A piece of blueberry crumb cake

Ingredients

4 tbs butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 1/2 tsp of sald
1/4 tsp of ground all-spice (makes all the difference!)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup of buttermilk
1 1/2 cups of blueberries (frozen or fresh)

For the Streusel Topping:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of cold butter

How to Make

Set the oven at 350F and in a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, all-spice).  In another bowl, beat the sugar and the butter until smooth, and add the egg.  In rotation, add the wet mix and the buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Once everything is combined (it will be very thick!), add the blueberries.  Put the batter in a 9x9 buttered dish.  

For the streusel topping, mix and flour and brown sugar together until combined.  Then, cut the cold butter into cubes and add to the bowl, beat until butter is combined.  Even spread the topping over the crumb cake batter, and cook for 45-50 minutes (check using a knife to make sure it is fully cooked)

I plan on making this again this summer, it was a great dessert and also eaten for breakfast the next morning. 

The Easiest Tart

This weekend I went a little crazy with trying recipes.  My book of choice was "Everyday Food: Great food fast".  I love this book because of it's simplicity and fun recipes.  One of my favorite things is going through a good cookbook with sticky notes and making a list of all the new recipes I want to try.  First on my list? An asparagus gruyere tart!

Grated gruyere cheese

Fresh asparagus rinsed, and all cut to the same length

Gruyere added once puff pastry has cooked for 15 minutes.

Olive oil brushed onto the tart to add flavor.

Finished product!

To make this, you will need:
- 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
- About 2 cups of gruyere
- Asparagus (a bundle)
- Olive oil, salt and pepper

Heat the oven at 400F and defrost and roll out the puff pastry.  turn the edges of the pastry to make it the proper size wanted.  Put the pastry in the over for 15 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare the cheese and asparagus.

Once out of the oven, add the gruyere to the pastry and the asparagus.  (make sure to put the asparagus in rotating directions so that the tart evens out!).  One asparagus is added, brush the whole tart with olive oil.  Put in the over for 20-25 minutes (until the sides darken).

Sprinkle a little extra gruyere one out of the oven and add salt and pepper.

I will be doing this again, it was a big hit with my family...  Enjoy!