So JOYFUL!

This adorable baby's laugh is infectiously joyful. You can not help but smile and laugh too!! Go ahead. I dare you not to laugh along with him!!

Morning Yoga

My body, particularly my neck, shoulders and back, have been feeling super-tense. Tension in these parts isn't particularly surprising since, like most people, I sit at a desk in front of a computer for 8 hrs a day and then come home and do it again at my leisure in the evenings. For me, the tension in these areas is exacerbated by training which leads to a constant soreness that, on the one hand is great because I know I'm building lean muscle but on the other, I sometimes wake up feeling like I'm living in an 80 year old body.

Enter yoga.  I've been practicing yoga for a few years now, albeit not on a very consistent basis.  It's great because it increases my flexibility and relaxes my muscles - there's really nothing better than a gorgeous plow posture to stretch out my neck and back.  So, back to the current stress in my body.  I've been feeling rather crap so turned to the internet for a routine and found this 1 hr hatha yoga series for the neck and shoulders on Yoga Yak.  I practiced it this morning and feel so. much. better. 

Check it out if your body needs some care and maintenance this long weekend Monday.

Blueberry Coconut Scones

I don't know what it is but I've been feeling the urge to bake of late. Last week it was cupcakes and this week it's scones.  I've been wanting a taste of these scrumptious blueberry coconut scones again ever since a colleague shared the recipe with me a few weeks ago. 

Here's my not-so-pretty attempt:

I used whole wheat flour in an attempt to make it a little healthier and because I wasn't really paying attention, cleaned it up a little further by using just over 3/4 cup of coconut cream instead of the 1 cup the recipe called for.  I also forgot to brush the tops with coconut cream before putting it in the oven.

These were my first ever scones so I was a bit worried I'd messed up the recipe since the dough was crumbly and didn't seem to want to come together - in hindsight, it was probably because I didn't use enough coconut cream - duh.  Check the super-homely before and after above.

Despite how ugly they are, they came out rather yummy, although not as coconut-y as my colleague's version.  I can definitely taste the whole wheat and there's just a hint of coconut...I'll have to make it as directed next time. 

I prefer my scones with a very healthy dollop of cream and jam spread atop it - certainly more than is pictured below - but it's late so I decided to go easy on the toppings.  I'm rather looking forward to breakfast tomorrow though!

Partition

I have a Macbook Pro that's been partitioned to run Windows as well as Mac OS which is great because until recently, there were some things that I could only do in the Windows environment, like track my finances using Quicken. (Yes, I'm a nerd.)

I've since gotten Quicken Essentials which runs on Mac and as my tax software of choice, TurboTax is now available for Mac as well, I have no need for Windows any longer.

My challenge then, is what to do with all the excess space on that partitioned hard drive?  I'll have to do some research to resolve that but I've been bumping up against the cap on my Mac hard drive so have begun the process of uploading all the inspiration photos I've saved to Tumblr here in order to free up some space.  I've saved more than 2000 images over the last 4 years so this migration will take awhile.  Meanwhile, it's lovely to revisit what struck my fancy in the past:

TGIF!

Finally!  The first long weekend of the year is here!  It's Family Day in Ontario (as well as in Alberta and Saskatchewan) on Monday so we have the day off.  To be honest, much as I was looking forward to it, it kind of crept up on me so I haven't got a whole lot planned.

I kicked it off with an impromptu visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario to check out the Maharaja exhibit after leaving work a bit early and was inspired to head out afterwards for dinner at Little India, my favourite Indian resto on Queen West.  Seriously - they have a great lunch buffet for $11.95 (IIRC) and there's a queue every time I've been there so call ahead and reserve!!

It's shaping up to be a bit of an eating weekend.  I thought I'd break out my waffle iron for brunch tomorrow after catching a fragrant whiff of them on my way home last night but after a quick stop at Loblaws tonight to stock up on my hair colour which is on sale and coming home with a jar of Devonshire cream too(!!!) so I've been daydreaming about scones ever since. 

I've come across a few recipes and thought I'd maybe bake some tonight but I generally don't stock butter and most recipes call for butter.  Gah!!  So...maybe I can stamp down this craving with some chocolate waffles...with buttery-maple syrup and Devonshire cream...?  Hmmm...maybe....

Royce' Chocolate

S&W served melt-in-your-mouth Royce' Cherry Marnier-flavoured chocolate direct from Japan after a crazy cheese course that included a decadent triple cream (!) Brie after shabu shabu last night.

Like most things Japanese, the packaging for these chocolates made from the milk of Hokkaido cows is impeccable.  When you make your purchase in stores, they provide you with ice packs to keep the chocolate fresh and the box comes with its own mini serving utensil - completely necessary since the moisture content of these chocolates is so high and therefore super-melty. 

I had 2 pieces and they were over-the-top!

Chocolate and Roses

What is it about chocolate and romance that it makes such a wonderful combination?  In the last couple weeks I've collected several recipes for tempting chocolate treats and decided to give this one I found over at Desserts for Breakfast a try.  I've had a bottle of rosewater in my pantry for ever so these double chocolate espresso pound cakes with rose-scented cream cheese frosting were just the excuse I needed to finally open the bottle!

The recipe as written called for 30-40 minutes baking time - I left them in for 35 but they came out rather dry so I'm thinking of cutting the time down to 25 the next time around.  I also couldn't find black cocoa at my local grocer so they didn't come out as rich and dark as Steph's.

Here's my attempt - amateur frosting technique or lack thereof - and all. I'm bringing them for dessert to S&W's where I've been invited for shabu shabu tonight:

And here's Steph's gorgeous cakes which inspired my efforts this weekend:

Photo via Desserts for Breakfast

The Calendar Necklace

Love dalla nonna's signature Calendar Necklace, available in silver, rose gold, yellow gold and white gold with your choice of 7 different sapphires.  I so want.

Super Easy Turkey Chili

It's Super Bowl Sunday and while I don't care about the football - I never learned the rules of the game so a bunch of guys running around a field in tight pants and protective gear has no appeal - I do like the excuse to make a hearty chili.

I wanted something healthy so I used lean ground turkey and skipped the salt, save for whatever sodium was in my canned beans and it turned out rather yummy if I do say so myself.  If you want a spicier kick, I'd add a diced up jalepeno or two - I personally prefer that my chili give me a friendly nudge.

Ingredients
1 kg of ground turkey
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp oregano
vegetable oil
1 red onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can of unsalted diced tomatoes
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of white kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of whole kernel corn, rinsed

  
Directions
1. Brown and drain the ground turkey. Set aside in a bowl and add the cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika and oregano.
2. Coat the bottom of a large pot with vegetable oil and toss in the onions and garlic to brown.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
4. Add the turkey, beans and corn. Stir and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

This makes enough for 6-8 people, depending on the serving size.  I've got plenty left over so I'll be refrigerating some for a lunch and dinner later through the week, and freezing the rest for a particularly lazy day.  Enjoy!

Fabio Rex

Came across these gorgeous graphic cocktail recipes by Brazilian illustrator Fabio Rex via Gizmodo. 

This led me to his flickr stream and that's where I came across his collection of Chinese Zodiac illustrations. Adorable, right?  That's me, the dragon - while I was born the year of the Fire Dragon, the dominant element according to my birth chart is wood, as depicted here. LOVE!

I like 'em big

I was browsing the Roots website and that's when I met Olivia here, a gorgeous brown leather satchel. It's not like I need another bag - I bought 2 on my last vacation, both on the large size of the spectrum. Technically I'm not allowed to buy it because I'm on a spending fast, but does it count if I redeem for gift cards with my Air Miles??

So. Tempting.