everyday outfit

This sort of simple outfit is a very common "everyday" outfit for me, especially when I'm at work. To be honest, I wear this skirt almost every shift - though I only work a few times a week!







Skirt - Old Navy
Striped top - thrifted Joe Fresh
Tights - Addition-Elle
Flats - Skechers
Watch - Payless

Try a New Recipe: Green Onion Cakes

Crossing "try a new recipe" off of my list of goals for the month. More "completed goals" posts coming soon!

Green onion cakes are one of my favourite snacks and appetizers. They are really popular in Edmonton, but I haven't been able to find any in Regina so I decided to make my own.

The recipe I followed was given to me by a friend, just over Facebook. I can't cite it any further than that, sorry!


You will need:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of cold water
1/2 cup boiling water

sesame oil
salt
1 cup green onions, minced (I used two bundles)

Directions:

1. Place flour in large bowl. Put 1/2 cup of boiling water over flour and mix well. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup cold water. Knead dough for about 5 minutes or until smooth. Add more water if needed. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand for 15-20 minutes.

2. Turn out onto lightly floured board. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Use hands to roll each piece into a ball. Roll out into a 10 inch circle. Sprinkle with sesame oil, salt and green onion.



3. Roll up each piece like a jelly roll, then coil like a snake. Press flat with palm of hand. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining dough.



4. Heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and fry pancake till golden brown, turn and fry other side. Repeat with other pancakes. Cut each pancake into 4 pieces.



Serve with hot chili sauce, soya sauce, and/or red vinegar. Enjoy!




If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it (I certainly did)!

Fancy Floral

I really love this first picture, because that's how I stand almost all of the time. Anyways, I wore this yesterday for a full day of classes, the pride centre's open mic night, and then out for a drink. Wednesdays are always so busy! Even though I'm wearing a cutesy floral dress, I felt very grown up in this outfit. I blame the button up and the granny-chic penny loafers.


I learned how to tie a tie (...well, tie a scarf like a tie) for this outfit.





Button-up shirt - Old Navy
Dress - Ricki's
Scarf - thrifted
Tights - Addition-Elle
Shoes - Skecher's

Oatmeal Cookies

I really love baking - and I especially love eating baked goods - so I've been trying to do it more often. I didn't bake at all last semester because I didn't have the supplies. Baking pans and dishes, flours, sugar, spices...where do you start? It wasn't until I moved out that I realized how convenient a stocked pantry is. I've been slowly collecting pans and dishes, and when I got groceries I decided to shell out and get all the baking supplies I need. The first thing I want to make were these delicious oatmeal cookies we used to make at home. I'm not a fan of most oatmeal cookies but these ones are just delicious! Thankfully my sister convinced our parents to scan the recipe and send it our way.



Here's the recipe, from the More-with-Less Cookbook:

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes

Cream together:
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
3 eggs

Beat well. Sift together:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice

Add to creamed mixture alternately with:
1/2 cup milk

Stir in:
2 cups rolled oats

This is where you stir in any "add ins" you might want. The recipe calls for chopped dates, coconut, and walnuts, but growing up my mom always made it with raisins. I, of course, add chocolate chips. (Fair warning: I added a whole bag of chocolate chips, which overpowered the subtle cinnamon flavour. Next time I'll add no more than 1 cup).



The recipe is said to make 6 dozen, but I found that is only make 4 dozen. (Only should be in scare-quotes, 4 dozen is more than enough!) This would change with the size you make your cookies, but I'm pretty happy with the size these ones are.

These cookies are great anytime, but I especially love them for breakfast. (What? Chocolate's a breakfast food!)

Do you have a favourite oatmeal cookies recipe?

Comical Spheres

Sorry that's in been so long since my last outfit post! I haven't been in the mood to photograph myself in a while and this semester's been busy so far, but it feels good to be back in the swing of things. One of the reasons this semester has been so busy already was that the first day of classes was also the first day of campaigning for the pride centre. We're the only student organization on campus not directly funded by students, and yesterday students voted on whether our pride centre should receive $1 per student per semester. Today I'm happy to report that our referendum passed (with 86% of votes in our favour!), securing our funding and our ability to continue providing services on campus. I'm so excited about this!





Dress - Penningtons (my grad dress!)
Tights - c/o of We Love Colors
Men's boots - Forever 21
Striped top - thrifted
Coat - thrifted (only $7)
Necklace - made & gifted by my sister



I absolutely love this Archie comic necklace from my sister, and other people seem to as well. I got a tonne of compliments on it - I don't know why I don't wear it more often!


Disclaimer of sorts (just because I'm always curious when people take outfit photos outside in the winter): It is bitterly cold and windy right now. I thought I could snap a few photos on my rooftop courtyard (...that makes it sound way fancier than it is) and while I clearly survived, I probably shouldn't have risked it. The weather had been pretty warm for a while there, but for the last week it's been terribly cold and with wind chills has felt like -40. It's supposed to warm up this weekend so I won't have to risk frostbite to snap a photo. I'm not really sure why I felt this needed a disclaimer, but I feel really weird trying to pretend it's "not that cold" when really, that the reality of where I live. Rest assured, I'm all bundled up under other circumstances.

Goals

I'm a bit late to be posting about my "new year's resolutions," but I still wanted to share my goals for 2012 and those for January. The problem with making goals for the new year is that an entire year is such a long time. Who knows what my goals will be in 6 months – certainly not me! So while I do have a few goals that may take all of 2012, or that won’t be accomplished until later in the year, one of my biggest goals is to make monthly goals. I hope this will make it easier to accomplish these goals (and I plan to share with you when I do!).



Goals for 2012

• get my license (finally!)
• stick to my budget
• keep all of my notes neat and organized
• get my own place and decorate (I can't wait!)
• read one just-for-fun book a month
• create monthly goals for every month this year
• get my passport
• send more mail! (who doesn't love receiving mail?)
• find out all there is to love about Regina

Goals for January

• make candy
• re-organize and re-decorate my room
• make cinnamon buns
• get a Regina library card
• ride my bike (since it's such a warm winter!)
• try a new recipe

Glitter + an update

It's only been a week since my last post but it feels like it's been so long. I got food poisoning on New Year's Eve (what an awful way to ring in the new year!) and was sick for a few days. I started feeling better just in time to fly back to Regina Wednesday, and my classes started on Thursday. After such a long holiday, it feels a bit weird to be back to the daily grind, but I think this semester will be a good one and it won't take long to get back in the swing of things.

Anyways, since I haven't taken any photos this week I though I'd show a quick snapshot from New Year's Eve (y'know, before I got sick).



sheer top c/o City Chic, glitter necklace made by me (last minute new year's DIY)