Last week, my office had a meeting at which we got to decorate our own cupcakes. It was SO EXCITING.

Over the weekend, Steve and I went to a May Fair. It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to eat Indian food at fairs/festivals, and this one was no exception.

The other day after frolicking, a few friends and I went out to eat. I had delicious sweet potato-apple-walnut-brie quesadillas with a side of cheesy fries and strawberry habanero sauce. I’m a little obsessed with strawberry habanero sauce–it’s pretty much the best thing ever.

And last but not least, an iced dark chocolate to celebrate the warm weather!

Now, here are a few of my favorite posts I’ve read about INDD:

-The Fat Chick Sings: International no longer dedicating my life to dieting day.
-Kyla the Great: International No Diet Day, May 6th, 2013.
-Fat Girl Posing: Happy International No Diet Day (content note: eating disorders and suicidality).
-Virgie Tovar: Remebering lost tiramisu on International No Diet Day.
-The Queer Fat Femme Guide to Life: Three ways to reclaim food awesomeness on International No Diet Day.

Enjoy the spring weather (if you’re in the Northern hemisphere), and the joy of eating and sharing food (anywhere)!

Lately, my days have been filled with reading journal articles, presentations, and essay writing. I have major deadlines coming up but I gladly welcomed a break away from the books tonight. Yelp Brisbane invited me to their May Elite Flower Potluck and I happily obliged. Yelp Community Manager, Lani was inspired by Kinfolk Magazine who was hosting flower potlucks all around the world and she decided to host one right here in Brisbane!

Yelp Flower Potluck

My gal pals and I headed to The Box in West End with hands full of flowers and foliage as our contribution. After checking in, we found ourselves walking into the most adorable courtyard welcoming us to paradise with fairy lights and painted wall murals. The tables had been set up with flowers in front of everyone’s seat with a cheat sheet for our upcoming flower arranging class!

Our finished products!

Lani welcomed us and gave us a rundown of what was going to happen and that she’d be visiting us from time to time with goat pies from the goat pie guy and hot chocolate from Bunker! I do not like chocolate but I have to say that you MUST run to Bunker and grab a cup or three. They make the best hot milk/dark chocolate you’ll taste in Brisbane. They are so friendly and I will be heading to Milton just to see them.

Then, Beck of Flowers in Hand took center stage and taught us the art of making beautiful bouquets! I am a big big fan of flowers as they make me really happy. If I could, I would have fresh flowers in my house every day! After showing us an example, she let our creative juices take over as we put deep red celosias (my new favorite), bright yellow sunflowers, crisp green chrysanthemums, white gerber daisies, purple irises, and pink carnations together. I got a bit carried away and after I was finished, I realized that my bouquet would NOT fit into the vase Lani had provided for each of us. Oops. Not to fret, other people had extra flowers lying around so I made a much smaller bouquet to fit in the vase! I love symmetry and that was the focus of the vase bouquet.

After finishing up our bouquets, Lani informed us that the flowers would be going home with us (YEAH!!!). We headed inside The Box for more goat pies, hot chocolates, and desserts from SOL Breads Organic Bakery. Mike of the goat pie guy was awesome and I fell for his Himalayan meat pie! Tender chunks of slow cooked goat meat in a rich Nepalese curry with ginger, tomatoes, and fragrant spices. YES, please. He also has a Moroccan and Malaysian goat pie that I am wanting to try. I told him how I love chili and he said that if I call ahead, he’ll make me a few special ones! I’ll be taking him up on the offer and will have to post about how the spiciness measures up.

Goat Pie Guys Rocks. Try the Himalayan.

We came with hands full of flowers and foliage and left with the most beautiful flower arrangements. As Jasmin and I were taking the bus home, I could see people’s faces light up when they saw our floral bouquets! Flowers seriously have a power and can lift spirits. Flowers make me so happy and I have found the perfect place for them, my desk, to cheer me up while I am studying! All good things must come to an end so I am signing off to get back to my books. Hope you enjoy the photos. Go and bring someone you care about (including yourself) a flower or bouquet today! I promise you’ll feel much better. Flower Power!

Brightening up my desk and life!

Bear with me, I live an exciting life….

Since it’s also WIAW I’m throwing in my typical eats too. It shouldn’t be too difficult- I eat the same thing every day.

7am- alarm goes off. I’ve been waking up at around 6:50 lately (rude!) but it all depends on how nice it is outside. The nicer it is, the earlier I wake up. I can’t wait for summer when I’m springing out of bed at 5:45 in the morning with nowhere to go but directly into the ocean. It’s like the marina purposely makes my life difficult and doesn’t open until 8 so I have some entertainment.

7:15am- out the door for my run. I don’t have class until 10 but I’m loving the whole wake up and run mentality I’ve got going on these days. It really gets my day started on the right foot-  pun intended.

8:15-9am- get back from my run and hop into the shower. Yes, I actually shower right after my runs these days. It depends on how far I went that determines what time I’m showering. I don’t take 45 minutes showers. You’re lucky if they last 10 minutes. It means I made sure I was extra clean.

forget about making sure my clothes aren’t wrinkled. pick your battles.

9-9:45am- getting ready for the day and breakfast. I used to be someone that got up at the last second before I had to be somewhere but I’ve really embraced the morning relaxation time. I usually read a few blogs in this time frame and then read a few more throughout the day.

9:45-10am- stop at gas station for hot chocolate, drive to school. Yes, the gas station man knows me now. Every time I give him my card to buy my hot chocolate, he says “have a good day, sweetie. Enjoying the weather?” It’s worth it for hot chocolate.

yesterday I made the mistake of putting 4 shots of the sugar free caramel syrup in. You don’t need that many. trust me.

10-11am- light chemistry or pop culture, depending on the day. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are my science day, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my communications day. I didn’t even plan it that way.

11-12:30- last minute homework, blogs, socializing with people. Oh and I have a snack usually too.

not a bad view from the library

12:30-1:30- analytical chemistry. Oh, what a joy. Usually at this point I’m starving and staring at the clock until class gets out.

1:30-2- lunch.

2-6pm- homework (or watching movies… I mean what?). Oh, and I eat my snack around 3 too. Or yoga or internship things.

6-7pm- dinner. I have been really good about mixing up my meals lately. Last week I didn’t eat the same thing more than once for dinner. That doesn’t happen often.

can’t go to bed without ice cream obviously.

7-11pm- homework, group work, studying, and hanging out with friends in the library. Oh, and usually some more procrastination by way of finishing up posts or texting my friends.

this is how I rebel against the authorities. by parking in a spot I’m allowed to park in so I don’t have to walk an extra 10 feet to the library.

11pm- BED. Or at least I try to be… it depends on the week.

What does your average day look like?

Clearly I live a very exciting life. I really hope yours tops mine. If not… I don’t even know. It’s weird not having practice in the afternoons to fill that 3 hour window.

Chocolate Cake and Hot Dark Chocolate

Chocolate Cake

A chocolately meal at Sophie Bakery was marked by a slice of Chocolate Cake and a cup of Hot Dark Chocolate. The Chocolate Cake consisted of layers of chocolate sponge, sandwiching chocolate cream and coated with chocolate ganache. Texture wise, we enjoyed the moist and soft chocolate sponge. It wasn’t dry nor crumbly, and complemented the harder chocolate ganache. The chocolate taste was evident, not overwhelmingly rich, but was rather sweet. Overall, the Chocolate Cake was simple and decent, though not fantastic.

The Hot Dark Chocolate was a tad disappointing as it lacked the richness and viscosity that we were looking for. Though supposedly to be dark chocolate, the level of sweetness seemed to be on par with milk chocolate.

Sophie Bakery
167, 169 Telok Ayer Street

Just Adorable, all boyfriends should be this cute(:

However,  the one thing you do see all over Portugal and most of Europe in terms of food services are cafes that are situated on most or all street corners. They are small cafes which really are  little espresso bars that served a variety of pastries and sandwiches. The great thing about these “little espresso bars” is not just that they serve the best espressos and coffees but that they hold true to their simple interior and nature of service that provides a true  European service. The atmosphere is friendly and very relaxed and you often see people sitting outside, relaxing and drinking their coffee.

Since not everyone can travel to Europe, there is a cafe that brings the atmosphere of a European cafe to South Africa and that of course is Vida e Caffè which means life and coffee in English and of course they wouldn’t be one of my top places to eat at without having chocolate on their menu. From chocolate filled croissants to a delicious hot chocolate which you receive a complementary lint chocolate with, you can’t go wrong with Vida e Caffè. They also serve a variety of other foods like sandwiches which they use traditional Portuguese rolls with as well as traditional Portuguese pastries such as pasties de nata and one of my favorites pasties de coco. However the best part is their loyalty cards and of-course their coffees which come pretty close to the ones in Europe.

So when you are feeling like you want a really good cup of coffee, hot chocolate or a small bite to eat, try  Vida e Caffè cause it worth every penny.

Hey everyone, when one of my favorite bloggers Luchessa (check out her blog here: http://luchessa.wordpress.com) posted about May Photo A Day, my first thought was, “I can’t keep up with that everyday!” but I still wanted to participate somehow. I decided to post 6 or 7 days of photos at once, (I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty happy with my solution!) and here’s the first!

Day 1: I Bought This!

I picked out this floral sundress from JCPenney for $25, it’s great for summer with fun, bright colors. The shoes were from Target, I got them on clearance for just $6!!! I love them, and they look amazing paired with the dress!

Day 2: Morning ritual

I try to keep my mornings simple. My routine includes much more than this, but I try to keep my pictures looking somewhat decent. Here are 3 of my essential items, Clean&Clear Morning Burst Facial Cleanser, My toothbrush (yep, love my toothbrush), and TRESemme Hairspray.

Day 3: This Is Really Good!

Last I week I made this AMAZING éclair cake. Whip cream, pudding, chocolate frosting, graham crackers… seriously, what’s better than that?

Day 4: In My Cup

Mmmm hot chocolate. I don’t know about you, but that’s what in MY cup. Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa is the best!

Day 5: Paper

I was walking around my house looking for some papery item to photograph when I found some of my favorite sheet music. I can’t actually play this particular song, but I can still photograph it!

Day 6: Broken

I had some trouble with this one, the whole day I was trying to think of something I could use. Then last night I happened to break a glass cup…

Now that it’s almost time for day 7 of the challenge (it’s almost midnight!), I’m finally ready to post.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I loved making it! Please comment and follow, it makes my day!

~Sam

Greenwoods is an English tea room and restaurant with two locations in the centre of Amsterdam: one at Keizersgracht 465, the other at Singel 103. As those who are familiar with tea rooms may have come to expect from the form, both locations specialise in breakfasts and teas. There are full English breakfasts; Eggs Benedict, Florentine or Royale; breakfasts with smoked salmon; yoghurt and muesli; and a global assortment of teas, with Darjeeling, Jasmine, Sencha and Lapsang Souchong alongside fresh mint and peppermint, Earl Grey, and what is described as an ‘English mélange’.

Both serve a selection of classic sandwiches, plus varieties containing ‘Granny’s meatballs’ and organic lamb; high teas with jammed and buttered scones; and a concise range of cakes. Keizersgracht 465 also boasts snacks, and a dinner menu comprising traditional English mains like fish and chips, steak and ale pie, and bangers and mash. The team rooms are cosy and compact, both featuring outdoor seating areas which look upon their respective canals; and they open daily at 9.30 am.

My partner and I visited the Keizersgracht Greenwoods a few days ago, and sustained an experience which was perfectly pleasant. My partner had two scrambled eggs, smoked salmon with dill, and brown toast; whereas I had the Eggs Benedict (two poached eggs with ham on toasted English muffins). I forewent the Hollandaise sauce meant to accompany the dish – an acceptable liberty even in the area of the world after which the sauce is named. We shared a hot chocolate, full of real milk chocolate and topped with plenty of cream.

A curiosity exists in that Greenwoods is ranked as one of Amsterdam’s very best restaurants – standing presently at number 7 out of a total 1,905. Perhaps this belies a relative lack of obvious breakfast alternatives in Amsterdam; perhaps it indicates something about the biases of TripAdvisor; or perhaps it simply shows that Greenwoods fills a need comfortably, capably and efficiently, in two busy parts of the city. I wouldn’t say that you absolutely have to go to Greenwoods; but if you are hungry and it is morning time, do not fear taking whatever brief detour leads you to one of their doors. Greenwoods goes about its business well.

http://www.greenwoods.eu/

Riddle of one in two hundred

Two hundred or so people were out for a tipple

listening to blues on a bank holiday

sat facing away with my mother by the water

hot chocolate in hand, the sun shining away

I asked my mother of the color of the water

she said it was blue, it was white, it was green

I took a bottle, I climbed down to a raft

placed the bottle under, then what did we see

I raised the bottle up to the sky

clearly right through it we could both see

of the people there, I then asked my mother

“who else around here would find what we see

that the water is clear” she did not answer me

I said to my mother that one person here

would find what we see, that the water is clear

mother can’t you see that this person is me

some of my favourite things!

This weekend was the first time we have really felt the onset of winter in Durban. I also have a terrible cold and just wanted to cuddle up and stay indoors. I made a huge mug of my very comforting and decadent spiced mocha hot chocolate and did just that. I love that the spices give the mix of coffee and cocoa an extra edge.

Ingredients:
2 cups of milk
Half a cup of boiling water
2 tablespoons of coffee – I prefer strong coffee
Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon – of course I add a little extra to mine because I’m obsessed
4 tablespoons of sugar – or more if you want it really sweet, you could use condensed milk instead if you are so inclined (I definitely am)
Quarter of a cup of cocoa
A pinch of chili powder – I like extra fire so I add more

Brew the coffee and boiling water in a saucepan, and then add the milk. Once it’s heated up add your cocoa and stir till it has completely dissolved. Add the sugar and dissolve. Then add cinnamon, chili and vanilla. Heat the mixture together until almost boiling but not quite.
Garnish with whipped cream, chocolate curls and a cinnamon stick this recipe would serve 2-3 people.

It is quite rich and heavy, so you probably want to have a small cup instead of a mug if you aren’t as greedy as I am Enjoy!

This time I opted for the famous ‘chocolat chaud l’Africain‘, for me it was similar to drinking a creamier ganache, I couldn’t even finish this cup, it was so thick and rich, chocolate overload. My mother on the other hand did manage to finish hers and really enjoyed it, but together we couldn’t finish the small jug of hot chocolate. I would say you have to be a hot chocolate fan to enjoy this and as I am a big fan of coffee I really struggled to drink what little I managed.

This time I chose the Mont Blanc for my sweet, the trademark gateau for Angelina.

Inside the Mont Blanc.  Outside were strings of chestnut, delicious! Inside was similar to a meringue with cream folded through. A little too sweet for my tastes, I wasn’t able to finish this one either, it’s extremely rare for me to leave any part of a dessert on my plate but it was that or be sick. The combination of the hot chocolate and Mont Blanc was wrong (silly, greedy me!), my advice, get one or the other but not both in one sitting.

{Photos by Lauren}

A series of blackouts for us here in Atlanta. Having no power allowed us to put our phones down and just enjoy our Tsokolate Batirols (Hot Chocolate), a game of Jenga and these beautiful flowers. My husband calls it the Paleo life.

Time definitely slowed down today.

In Mexico, this holiday is simply the remembrance of a victory against the French in 1862 and not that big of a deal. However, Cinco de Mayo (and all other holidays) is obviously much celebrated in the food blogging world, and in America in general. It has evolved into an all around celebration of Mexican culture, complete with food, parades, and $5 burritos (Moe’s, anyone?).

I considered making flan or something pina colada flavored, but settled on these Mexican hot chocolate pancakes. Mexican hot chocolate is made by adding two Mexican spices, cinnamon and chili powder, to the original drink, so the same additions were made to chocolate pancakes. Using pancake mix makes them super easy.

We may have to retire hot chocolate soon because the weather is absolutely gorgeousss. But pancakes can be enjoyed all summer, no matter how hot it is! Yay!

But who I am I kidding, hot chocolate is acceptable any time of year.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pancakes adapted from Betty Crocker, serves 3-4

• 1 cup Trader Joe’s wholegrain pancake mix + 1 tbs applesauce or 1 cup Bisquick pancake mix
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 1 tbs cacao or cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate soy, almond, or dairy milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• Chocolate chips
• Mini marshmallows

To top: Cottage cheese, whipped cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, chili powder, and mini marshmallows

1. Whisk together first eight ingredients in a medium bowl until combined. The batter should still be slightly lumpy.
2. Cover and refrigerate the batter for several hours or overnight.
3. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter per pancake on a heated and greased griddle and sprinkle with chocolate chips and marshmallows.
4. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, until the top is bubbly around the edges. Flip pancake and cook the other side another 2-3 minutes and flip onto a plate.
5. Store pancakes in a warmed oven until ready to serve.
6. To serve: place a dollop of cottage cheese on each pancake and top with a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle on cinnamon, chili powder, and mini marshmallows. Drizzle with maple syrup.

Conclusions:

These were really good. The chocolate flavor was great, the marshmallows were really great, and the spices were detectable but not overwhelming. Did you notice the cottage cheese on top? That was my attempt at adding protein. Because honestly I need protein with every meal or I just get very sad. The nutritional value of this recipe is actually rather good compared to your usual pancake, especially if you use the multigrain pancake mix and soymilk. I subbed in maple syrup for sugar and applesauce for oil with no negative effect on the dish. This way, it’s acceptable to top them with whipped cream! Now I’ll have to try actual Mexican hot chocolate

Link Parties:

Sweet 2 Eat Baking’s Sugar and Slice Sunday Link Party

The Velvet Moon Baker’s Sweet and Savoury Sunday

Homemaker on a Dime Creative Bloggers’ Party and Hop

Flour Me with Love’s Mix it Up Monday

Jam Hands’ Recipe Sharing Monday

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms’ Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Pint Sized Baker’s Two Cup Tuesdays

Nap Time Creations’ Tasteful Tuesdays

Inside BruCrew Life’s Time to Sparkle

Be Betsy’s Brag About It

Ginger Snap Crafts’ Wow Me Wednesday

Mom on Timeout’s Your Creative Timeout Party

Bubbly Nature Creations’ Make Bake Create

Hope In Every Season’s Homemaking Party

Buns in My Oven’s What’s Cooking Wednesday

The Best Blog Recipes Weekend Retreat

Glued to My Crafts’ Crafty Thursday Obsessions

The Crafty Blog Stalker’s Blog Stalking Thursday

A Handful Of Everything’s Great Idea Thursdays

Angel’s Homestead Saturday Spotlight

Six Sisters’ Stuff Strut Your Stuff Saturday

SITS Girls’ Sharefest

My Fashion Forward Blog’s All Things Pretty Thursday

Product Description

Perfect for both personal use and entertaining, this single-serve home-brewing system offers the user fresh gourmet coffee in under one minute. More than just a coffee maker, the unit features a hot water button that dispenses hot water for instant coffee, soup, tea, and hot cocoa. This compact coffee machine delivers delicious coffee and tea quickly, using pre-measured K-CupsTM to make beverages that are as smooth and perfect as the ones you’d buy at your favourite coffee shop. The K-Cups are filled with only the highest quality ingredients, and are available in 5 cup sizes. The K-Cups can also be filled with any gourmet ground coffee, to suit personal tastes, and the unit has a convenient storage space for your K-Cups. To ensure a pure and smooth brew every time, the rinse control instantly cleans the inside of the brew chamber, while the charcoal water filter reduces impurities that could interfere with the taste of beverages. An extra large, removable 80oz water reservoir offers impressive capacity, eliminating the need for frequent refills. The coffee maker is fully programmable with auto on/off and adjustable temperature control. The blue backlit LCD with digital clock brightly displays information for easy reading. The unit employs innovative quiet brew technology. The coffee machine comes with a 12 K-cup starter variety pack.Capacity: 2½ quarts/2.4 litresDimensions: 13½”L × 10¼”W × 12-1/8″HWarranty: 3 years limitedProduct of ChinaNOTE: Cuisinart Single Serve Brewing System, model SS-700

Tag : @$@Cuisinart Coffee Machine – Single Serve, $Cuisinart Coffee Machine – Single Serve, #Cuisinart Coffee Machine – Single Serve, *%Cuisinart Coffee Machine – Single Serve

I’ll definitely be back at Tea Cosy as they’re few places in Plaza Singapura that has put as much effort in their decor. This place sure reminds me of those obscure indie cafes but as Tea Cosy is so conveniently located, no sweat at all! Be sure to drop by if you’re in the vicinity and bring along your camera!

Tea Cosy
Plaza Singapura, Level 5
Tel: 6341 9318

Product Description

V500 Features: -Black & white touch screen allows you to easily select and customize the settings. Brews in under 1 minute.-Customize your own temperature and strength to ensure your coffee is just the way you like it.-Removable water reservoir makes refilling and cleaning a cinch.-Large capacity, Removable 60 oz. water reservoir with easy fill, flip-top lid.-Variable brew size choices between 4 and 16 oz.-Enjoy beverages hot, frothy café style or brew over ice.-Removable drip tray.-Cord Storage. Dimensions: -Overall Dimensions: 12.7-15.3” H x 13.75-15.3” W x 12.7-13.75” D.

Tag : @$@Keurig V500 Vue Brewer, $Keurig V500 Vue Brewer, #Keurig V500 Vue Brewer, *%Keurig V500 Vue Brewer

My words exactly when this yummy goodness was placed in front of me after ordering a hot chocolate. Not what I was expecting but I’ll take it! Happy Saturday folks!