Favourite Things

Photo Walk: Apartment Details

Lately, I’ve been inspired to continue adding homey touches to the space I call home. I spend a lot of time in my little apartment, and though the walls are starkly white (yellow in the kitchen), I think it’s important to make this space feel like a reflection of me.

Clearly, as these photos show, I adore bright colours and funky patterns. I’ve always been this way, ever since I decorated my childhood bedroom lime green with a curvy orange stripe. In high school, I plastered one wall with paper flotsam and jetsam: magazine cutouts, cards, photos, etc. It was perfect for me at the time, but I like to think I’ve matured (if only a little!). Now, I have one gallery wall that is slowly growing – it houses the same type of stuff, but framed and arranged a little more neatly. Even though this space isn’t permanent, it is my home for at least a little longer, and I love how all the little details I’ve added help it to feel cozy.

My “gallery wall” (clockwise from left): my childhood dreamcatcher, a framed card from a close family friend, DIY poster art, my framed Ryan Gosling autograph (yep, I’m a nerd), a beautiful print my sister brought back from China, my own photo.
 1. Flower wall decals in my kitchen. 2. A spray-painted can that holds my pencils and pens. 3. A frame I found on the street, filled with postcards from a Riopelle exhibit and my own photos. 4. A succulent that has taken the place of my old plant in my DIY hanging container. 5. Happy Buddha that a friend brought me back from NYC. 6. Poster from the 2012 Montreal International Jazz Festival. 7. A carved turtle that was my Grandfather’s, collected shells and stones from Mexico, and a carved wood figure of lovers. 8. Mason jar filled with lavender. 9. A butterfly ornament and terracotta “peace” letters. 10. The feathers from my dreamcatcher. 11. My favourite candles on a vintage cake stand. 12. Paper lantern from NYC Chinatown. 13. My own photo. 

Cinnamon Buns

In order to prepare fully to write this post, it was necessary for me to eat yet another of the buns in question, smothered with cream cheese frosting. Necessary. For research purposes, you understand? A necessary evil that comes with blogging about food. Such is the life of hardships that I lead. (Not.)

I have enjoyed every second of the creation (and subsequent consumption) of these buns. They re-affirmed the fact that, apparently, I actually love working with yeast/kneading dough? I love it. For a potluck over the weekend, I made another loaf of X bread, which turned out better than the first time and was a giant hit. I love that I had the skills to do that. Soon, I’m hoping to set a bread-baking goal that is a little loftier than 4 loaves! I’ve conquered my fear of yeast, now I just need to practice.

The dough for these buns is sweet, stretchy, and very fun to work with. The icing is amazing, perfect, delicious, incredible. Make these, and your house will smell like a Cinnabon. Your friends will love you when you bring them a hot one on a paper towel. You’ll make new friends if you wrap one up in tinfoil for their roadtrip home (Hi Adam!). You’ll feel like Martha Stewart when you bring a plate over to someone’s house. You’ll feel like you’re building a home that smells like cinnamon. These are all awesome feelings.

Welcome to my crazy crazy kitchen life.

So who what where when how?

Who: Sweetapolita’s recipe is perfection. Very easy to follow, clear, and gets great results.

What: Cinnabon-Style Gourmet Cinnamon Buns

Where: HERE.

When: NOW.  

How: It’s simple! Make the dough, let it rise. Roll it out. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll up, slice, let rise again. Bake. Make the icing, eat only a small amount of it, GLAZE. Eat. Sigh of contentment.

Chow time? Chow time. Happy nomming.

By the way: this is the fourth and last bread for my 2012 bread goal! I’m so excited. But who knows? Maybe I’ll tackle a few more. See the rest of the breads here.

The Happy Life Manifesto!

Today I’d like to share with you my very first e-book. Calling it an e-book might be a little generous, because it’s less than 20 pages long, but it’s a mini book I’m distributing electronically, so e-book it is!

This mini book/manifesto is a collection of my favourite quotes, thoughts, and ruminations on happiness. I (obviously) still have a lot to learn about being happy, so this is not meant to be a “step-by-step guide” from an expert’s perspective. I’m nowhere near an expert! I simply wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned and epiphanies I’ve had that have slowly taken me from sad to glad. Think of this book like a conversation with someone who cares: I’m trying to share in the hopes that what has helped me on my journey may be able to help you in some small way.

You can get a free copy of The Happy Life Manifesto by joining my monthly newsletter here! The download link will be sent your way as soon as you enter your email. Thanks, as always, for your support!

Resources

I mention a few people/ideas in my little bibliography. I want to give them their due here.

  1. Gretchen Rubin
  2. Tara Whitney
  3. Marie Forleo

Thanks

As always, thanks for your support. I am really proud of this project, as well as the podcast that I recently started. But I’m not sure I would have been confident enough to pursue either one if not for the love and support of my family, friends, and all the wonderful readers that stop by here and leave great comments. Thank you!

Please leave comments on the book here, or email me! I’d love to hear your feedback. Thanks for reading.

Sweet Potato Tacos

Today, because of the fact that life is so, so sweet, I give you these sweet potato tacos. They’re not literally sweet, obviously, but most sweet things in life aren’t, are they? Take yesterday, for example: one of the sweetest days of my life, recently. Sweet because I had the day off. Sweet because the sky was a bright blue with a couple of beautiful white clouds. Sweet because I spent the whole afternoon running around an amusement park with my best friend, laughing, getting dizzy, eating poutine. Sweet because I was outside all day long, appreciating how gorgeous the day was. Sweet because I got to go up on one of those tall, spinny, swing rides? The ones that sweep you out and around in a circle? I always seem to feel so alive on those. Life is made sweeter because of days where you remember just how sweet life can be.

These sweet potato tacos make my life sweeter. They are, strangely, a conglomeration of most of my favourite ingredients. They baffled my mother when I replicated them at my family home. They don’t seem in the least bit strange to me, however it’s possible that’s because I have them at least once a week. Shall I share? It’s not too complicated.

Set your oven to 425.

Roughly chop your sweet potatoes down to cubes. Try to keep them relatively consistent, but it’s not a big deal. You can rinse them first, but I almost never peel them. I like the cooked texture of the skin.

Put them in a bowl, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and spices of your choice. I usually add some granulated garlic. Then put in about 1 tsp of cornstarch per half sweet potato and mix until there is no sign of the white cornstarch anywhere. Add more oil if necessary.

Space out the pieces evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

I adore eating sweet potato fries with ‘garlic aioli’ as my family calls it. Basically, put about 1.5 tbsp of mayonnaise in a little bowl and press 1 clove of garlic into it, and mix. You can add lemon juice, if you like. I usually have a little bit of this in my fridge, and I find that adding just a tiny bit to these tacos gives them a nice flavour. Feel free to leave it out!

Chop your favourite toppings. Mine are fresh red onion, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, fresh lime (for squeezing), and guacamole. I’ve started occasionally buying this “Wholly Guacamole” product instead of the fickle avocado, because it keeps longer. It’s also very tasty, unlike other pre-made guac I’ve tried.

Ready? ASSEMBLE. I usually heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds so they get soft.

And there you have it! One of my current favourite meals. It’s simple, and delicious, and wide open to interpretation. I’ve made these with black beans, salsa, grated cheese, etc, but this is my favourite combination. Try it for yourself!

xo. Have the sweetest day.

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