Blogging over Coffee! Coffee Culture (Markham Road and Ellesmere Road)

So we went here to work on my friend’s blog and Coffee Culture officially has my favourite carrot cake ever… now I’m not the biggest fan of carrot cake in general but when people are making it into a cheesecake hybrid and drizzling caramel all over the place who am I to hate, right? This cake isn't even the weird kind which is basically just carrot cake with cream cheese frosting piled on top. Just two classic cakes made into one amazing dessert. It was really creamy, dense, while being light at the same time. There were pieces of carrot cake throughout but they didn’t even omit the graham cracker crust, which I crave when eating cheesecake! Winner! And being the major cheesecake junkie that I pride myself in being, I seriously don’t know why I’ve never had this before… so many days of incompleteness #regrets. The only negative I have to say is the size of the piece… sure enough they weren’t joking when they literally cut me a 5cm slice…

Brunch at The OMNI King Edward Hotel (King Street E and Victoria Street)

Yesterday was a major food adventure for my family and I. I’m actually getting bloated thinking about all the food we consumed. We first started by going to The OMNI King Edwards Hotel for the brunch buffet. The price of the brunch service is $53 per person (before tax) and runs every Sunday from 11am to 1pm. $53… I know steep… but fortunately for me I have an amazing older sister that foot the whole bill so I’m still going strong with my $53 LOL.

Review and Swatches: Kat Von D Lolita and Lolita 2

Kat Von D Lolita and Lolita 2 Liquid Lipsticks

Hey!

So today I’m just doing a quick review on the Kat Von D Lolita Everlasting Liquid Lipstick and the Lolita 2 Everlasting Liquid Lipstick. You can get these shades at Sephora or Sephora.com for $24CAD each (before tax) for 0.22 oz. There was a special limited edition duo released for the 2015 holiday season but that sold out ridiculously fast so why are we even talking about it right now?

Whole 30/ Paleo Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Doing The Whole 30 Program has had a lot of challenges so far and for me the biggest issue is thinking of different things to eat. When you’re essentially eating proteins and vegetables for every meal, things can get boring and on top of that, finding different recipes that contain ingredients compliant with Whole 30 rules can be a huge pain in the behind. The other day I was coming home late from the gym and I literally had no energy to use my mind and think of something creative. I ended up throwing together a few things and it tasted so bomb dot com I thought I would share the recipe… Its interesting how when it comes to cooking sometimes when you go along with the flow instead of following a recipe or thinking things through you get really surprisingly good results. So yeah, here’s a recipe for a simple Stuffed Bell Pepper that won’t disappoint. Here’s what you’re going to need:

Tea Time! Afternoon Tea at T-Buds (Yonge Street and Snowdon Avenue)

Hey! 

Meeting up with old friends is fun, especially when you’re partaking in a fancy activity while catching up. Yesterday I met up with one of my high school friends for afternoon tea at T-Buds and had a great time enjoying all the tea-time delicacies and reminiscing about how annoying but easygoing high school life was, so bittersweet!

T-Buds is a cute little cafe and unlike a lot of the other high-tea spots in Toronto it’s pretty casual. You definitely wont be needing to bust out the elaborate hats or fascinators for this party haha. As you walk in you can already see the hundreds of different kinds of tea's they offer because they’re displayed on the wall. It's encouraged to go over, open them up, have a whiff and buy some if you'd like. The prices are all displayed so you won't be judged slowly exploring all the teas, unlike at most stores where you have to keep asking for the workers to show you different teas based on the names.  

As for service, we didn’t interact with the servers that much but they were generally pretty nice and informative when we needed suggestions to order.

Oh So You Want to Stay Healthy?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Photo Credits: Cameron Bartlett, Instagram: @snappedbycam

Hey guys!!

New years, new me! Could I have thought of a more cliché way to begin a New Years post? …LOL I’ve actually been saying that quite often and I’m pretty sure people around me are going to start an angry mob if it happens one more time.

But anyways, its time for change! Making New Years resolutions are often criticized by many but I really don’t understand why. Yeah I guess you shouldn’t wait for something to start before trying to live your life or maybe people desire to take life as it happens …but at the same time, I think having goals is so essential for self betterment. And no one should knock others trying to better them selves. That’s just my two cents for anyone that cares.

I do have a really long bucket list of things I want to complete in my lifespan but I find resolutions are more, I guess you could say, urgent and short term. Kind of something you want to work on right away that’s going to add more meaning to your life immediately.  This year I don’t have a huge list of things I want to try and accomplish but I do have one that probably every single New-Years-Resolution-er has as well:

…TO STAY HEALTHY!

Becoming healthy isn’t about loosing weight, I can’t stress how bad of a mindset that is. Looking good is important but feeling good is ultimately what matters. And yes, everyone says that they’re going to become healthy in the New Years but then hops off the bandwagon in February… March at the latest. Making the resolution is the first step and its easy, everyone’s doing it, but the actual implementation part is where people struggle with especially when it involves major health changes. And I don’t think its only because of laziness, don’t get me wrong most people are just lazy, but some people just don’t know how to begin to do those initial lifestyle changes that will successfully Segway them into getting more fit forever. I haven’t jumped on this healthy bandwagon but for about six months now I’ve been trying to get into the best shape I’ve ever been and hope to achieve it in 2016. Here are some of the main tips that have helped me in my journey so far.

Golden China (Markham Road and 14th Avenue) ♥

Exploring Markham is on my “to do” list and what better way than to hit up the local restaurants? For some reason Markham’s food industry is off the chain. Especially in the last four years some really great restaurants have opened up. Last week my family went out to a Hakka restaurant called Golden China and have been raving about the food. Unfortunately, because I had other commitments I wasn’t able to go but I did check it out today with a friend. 

All You Can Eat at Spring Rolls Fairview Mall (Sheppard Avenue East and Don Mills Road) ♥

Hey people… Be right back while I recover from my food coma…

It all started when my friend was craving Tom Yum soup so the only logical thing to do was to get some, obvi. We ended up going to Spring Rolls at Fairview Mall and good thing we did because my mom also broke my beautiful Rose Gold Drop Bottle and some emotional binge eating was in order haha. I mean everything does happen for a reason, right ;)? And not to mention I was starving as I was running late initially getting there. The traffic was crazy on Sheppard passing Victoria Park to Don Mills station. I was literally on the bus for about 45 minutes on that stretch before I just asked to get off and walked.

Review: Peter Thomas Roth “Strawberry Scrub Fruit Enzyme Polisher” ♥

Sticking to a skincare system is so important! But lately I find that because I’m keeping myself busier I just don’t have time like I used to for a full skincare routine and I end up omitting a step… which is usually exfoliation. I mean you have to remove your makeup, maybe apply a mask, then exfoliate, later cleanse your face, then tone, apply serum, put on a moisturizer and then finally eye cream. I mean if I’m being honest I really can’t say I don’t have time, everyone has time for some self TLC but I guess lately I just feel really lazy by the end of the day to do so many gradually tedious steps. All I want to do is pray, hit my bed and catch up on some television shows… speaking of TV did anyone catch that Miss Universe pageant… like awks LOL.

Easy Last Minute Flatbread Pizzas ♥

Easy Last Minute Flatbread Pizzas

Hey guys!

I made the mistake of watching pizza recipes last night and woke up literally starving. Tip for life- never watch Food Network after 11pm… seriously it’s like torture! You become extremely hungry but can’t get food because everyone will wake up and start an angry mob, well at least in my house they will. But anyways, when I woke up this morning I literally walked straight into the kitchen and began making pizza. So yeah here’s my recipe for a quick flat bread pizza that you can make with basically any of your favourite pizza toppings of just random stuff in the fridge. This is what you’re going to need:

Birthday Dinner at Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar (Yonge Street and Gerrard Street) ♥

Hey everyone,

Last night my friends and I went for dinner because IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY #TwentyFun! I was super excited to see everybody as it’s been a long time since we’ve all got together and luckily mostly everyone was able to make it. The night was filled with good food, sharing great memories and a lot of funny stories.

I’ve been to Scaddabush before and I must say the food is always consistently good, at a great price point and they’re open late which is essentially why I chose this place for a large group. Oh also speaking of big groups I didn’t make a reservation so I was pretty scared driving down but they were able to seat us… which is really commendable considering there were more than ten people. The waiter was also super sweet and patient the entire time, but that being said the service was pretty slow like any other time I’ve been.

For appetizer I got the “Buratta” which they infused with honey and truffle cream and served with focaccia crostini’s. Can I just say if I could without being judged I would go all the way downtown just to buy this dish! All the mozzarella appetizers are freshly made to order and so light, full of flavour and perfectly stringy. This particular one had a more of a mozzarella texture on the outside and the inside was a lovely creamy filling similar to the consistency of cottage cheese and mozzarella combined. The flavours were on point also, the honey was dominant but not overly sweet, even if you don’t like sweet dishes I would still recommend this to you because the balance was absolutely textbook. The bread it came with was perfectly crispy but not so much so that the roof of your mouth gets scarred… I know you guys know what I mean. The portion size of this dish was also really generous! Definitely would be ideal to share amongst 3-4 people but it was my birthday so I managed to be a little more glutinous and ate the whole thing by myself.

 Buratta- Infused with honey and truffle cream, focaccia crostini

Beef Burgers ♥

Hey everyone!

So basically in my house we barbecue all throughout the year including in the harsh Canadian winters,  well actually it's just me haha... but ANYWAYS today looked like a good day for some burgers. This is a super easy burger recipe, that’s really juicy and full of flavour with no added fats. Here’s what you’re going to need:

Pho Vietnam --- Vegetarian Day One (Kennedy Road and Shropshire Drive) ♥

Hey people,

My friend and I wanted to go out for dinner after she was done work, and after a quick Google search we decided on Pho Vietnam. When we first walked in, I have to say I was pretty taken aback with the interior design… it was extremely clean very unexpectedly chic for a Pho restaurant.

We were seated by the window and the lady came over pretty quickly served us green tea (which is free btw) and gave us our menus as well as a piece of paper and a pen to write down our order. Definitely thought it was a little strange that we basically took our own orders but considering none of the staff spoke English this did make the entire process more convenient. And speaking of the staff, have to say they were very polite and friendly.

My New Pet Fish "Gary" and Fancy New Tank (Back to the Roots “Water Garden” V2) ♥

Hey fabulous people,

I recently purchased a Back to the Roots “Water Garden” V2 as a present for my friend’s birthday on Amazon and after watching like a million videos on it I had to get my self one too… well actually my dad bought it for me but minor details. The Water Garden is an Aqua Farm which is basically a hydroponics system. In simple, fish in the bottom and plants grow on top. 

Not that you can become a full blow farmer or anything of that sort with this unique tank but it is a pretty neat sustainable farming method which apparently uses 90% less water than regular farming. The fish produces ammonia-rich waste and helpful naturally occurring bacteria, which grow really well in in the plant pots, convert the ammonia into nitrates. As the plants continuously take in the nitrates as nutrients, they are also cleaning the water for your fish! So scientific, I know.

The kit is designed and manufactured in the USA and it is especially great because it comes with everything you need, like the fish tank, gravel, organic seeds, grow stones for the pots, natural fertilizer, a silent submersible water pump… they even include fish food and a coupon for a Betta (which can only be used at Petco… boo for us Canadians).

Gluten Free and Vegan Baked Samosas ♥

Hey guys!

Today I woke up and was randomly craving samosas… brown girl probs, am I right? So yeah, the only logical thing to do was to make some! I was feeling experimental so I tried things a little differently and made them vegan and gluten free. They turned out perfectly crispy and each one came out to be only 61 calories, which is crazy compared to a normal samosa which is usually about 200 calories. So if you’re trying to cut calories, have celiac disease or you’re just on one of those gluten-free hipster diets this is a great recipe for you to try. Here’s what you’re going to need:

Maybe Sometimes You Just Need to Take a Step Back— My Kate Spade Wellesley Agenda ♥

Hey, Fabulous!

Some people let go when the summer time rolls around but I REALLY let go. I left my job, I didn’t return my overdue library book and went away for 3 months. This summer was one like no other. It was nothing like I expected, life was busy. Although I really was sleeping most of the time, I found myself super tired at the end of almost every day. Reason being, I always forgot about things I had to do and ended up rushing to get them done. One of the biggest issues for me overall was that I always lost track of what I was doing or when I was supposed to be doing it. One day, when I was back in town, I even accidentally went ALL the way downtown for my friend’s birthday dinner, which was actually the NEXT DAY... Not only did I feel like an idiot for wasting all that time but I was also hungry :(. So right then and there I decided that I had to find a way to get myself organized.

Reviews and Swatches: Christopher Kane for NARS "Parallel Universe" Eyeshadow Duo ♥

Hey Fabulous!

I think everyone around me knows that I’m like a mega NARS junkie so it’s an understatement to say that I was absolutely excited for the limited edition Christopher Kane for NARS collection. Christopher Kane, for those of you who are like “who the hell is he”, is a designer who has a British based fashion label. He generally likes to use neon’s as neutrals and therefore neoneutrals were the inspiration behind this makeup line. Although the entire collection is beautiful, I definitely couldn’t convince myself to be irrational and buy everything so I settled with just the eyeshadow duo -and this has nothing to do with the fact that the single eyeshadow in the collection was sold out *guilty face*-. You can get the Parallel Universe Duo Eyeshadow from any NARS counter or at Sephora for $40 CAD (before tax).

Reviews and Swatches: NARS Dual-Intensity Blushes ♥

Hey, Fabulous!    

NARS Dual-Intensity Blushes

So today I’m super excited to be reviewing the new NARS Dual Intensity Blushes. These are a brand new product from NARS and like their new foundation these blushes give a “second skin” finish. They retail for $52 CAD (before tax) each and they come in 6 different varieties, which have two shades apiece. 

I’m not going to go too into detail about the packaging because it’s similar to all NARS products. They are clean and minimalistic with the rubbery “NARS material”- you know what I mean- all around. How it differs majorly from the original brushes is that the shape of the box is a square and they have a magnetic closure, unlike the rectangles that had a clasp. There is also a good sized mirror on the inside. Lastly like I mentioned before, the blushes have two colours each and are divided in different pans. This may not be a big deal to most people but this is in fact a great extra detail they took so the colours don’t harass each other.

Review: Caudalie Vine Body Butter ♥

Hey everyone!

Caudalie "Vine Body Butter"

Today I’m going to be reviewing the Caudalie “Vine Body Butter”. I know winter is here and everyone, including myself, is freaking out about their dry skin. And because I’m guilty of pretty much never drinking water, as soon as it starts to snow my body will almost instantaneously feel and look dry and dehydrated. If you’re like me and don’t want to be an Ashy Abby –totally made that saying up- this winter you need the Caudalie “Vine Body Butter” in your life. It’s priced at $43 (CAD) before tax for 225mL and you can purchase it at Sephora or the Caudalie website.

Caudalie "Vine Body Butter"

The product comes in a plant based white plastic container with a purple lid. The jar is very sturdy which is ideal for people like me who drop everything. Its also great for taking with you when you go away on a skiing trip or something because you don’t have to worry about it cracking in your suitcase and ruining everything else in its vicinity.

Something that’s really great about the Caudalie “Vine Body Butter” is that it doesn’t contain any animal ingredients like most nourishing body butters …and extra bonus, its not tested on animals either! It has a beautiful citrus smell, which is really delightful when get a whiff every now and then. This body butter is great for everyone with dry skin but I would especially recommend it to people with sensitive dry skin because its 95% natural and contains grape-seed oil which is very light and easily absorbed deterring allergic reactions. Grape-seed oil additionally stimulates skin tissues regeneration. Another great ingredient in it is the organic fair-trade shea butter, which provides moisture and exceptional healing properties for the skin.

It’s super lightweight yet smooth and creamy but doesn’t have a greasy finish. Give it a try people; you’ll definitely love it!

xoxo

Naheedz ♥

Review and Swatches: NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush ♥

Hey everyone!

NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush

NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush

So today I’m going to be reviewing a product from my favourite brand NARS and it is the Highlighting Blush in the shade “Albatross”. NARS is notorious for having great blushes and though it may be a “highlighting” blush it does not fall short. This product is an illuminating highlighting powder, which gives the skin a light-reflecting luminous glow. You can buy it on the NARS website or at Sephora for $35 (CAD) before tax.

NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush

Although initially this product smells “makeup-y”, seems chalky, and looks a weird whitish yellow shade this is truly overall a great highlighting product. What I love about it the most is the versatility. This isn’t one of those deals where you need a different highlight for the bridge of your nose, and brown bone, and cupid’s bow, etc. You can use Albatross everywhere you want to highlight and it even works great as a sheer eye shadow. On a day where I don’t feel like doing anything I love popping some of this stuff in my tear duct, applying mascara and running out the door.

You can wear it alone or pair it with other cheek products to create beautiful dimensions on the face.  I find that when I apply a peach or coral blush and I use “Albatross” to highlight with it I look more sun kissed and when I mix it in with a pink blush it becomes a great dupe for NARS’ “Orgasm” blush.

 

NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush

It’s very finely milled, has no glitter chunks and blends like a dream. This Highlighting Blush is also very buildable. In fact, a little goes a LONG way. Like with most NARS blushes, you have to remember to be light handed with this shade, which isn’t necessary a bad thing because it’ll last you forever. Depending on how much you apply its can be great for everyday wear or even a full face of makeup and it literally looks good on everyone including pale skin tones all the way to darker complexions.

NARS "Albatross" Highlighting Blush Swatches

This is also the highlight for you if you’re looking for that Hollywood glow…if it matters at all supposedly Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist uses it on her a lot. I highly recommend getting the NARS Highlighting Blush in the shade “Albatross”; it’ll give you a perfect glow. And if you’re just not sold on it definitely give it a swatch the next time you can, I know you’ll love it. :)

xoxo

Naheeda ♥