Gift from Elizabeth Arden at The Bay 2011

From April 27 till May 15, when you spend 38$ or more on any Elizabeth Arden product, you'll receive 7-piece gift. good time for mother's day shopping :)

I personally never tried any of their products , but for anyone else interested "Happy shopping !"

Mania

Obsession du jour : Fabulous Jewelery

I am still sick :( typing and coughing at the same time. enough of that and let's talk something beautiful :)

This has been my current obsession for the past few months. I've been into jewelry as long as I remember. I think they are an important part of any outfit and can make anything as simple as a t-shirt glamorous and special.  but recently I am all about over-the-top, unique and vintage designs. I came across so many beautiful pieces but some of them are very hard to find and even if I found them usually they carry a heavy price tag. so I taught even though  I can't get them, I can share some of the pieces with you and see what's your taste on jewelry:

Suzanna Dai Cofru Necklace, I love the gold one and it is 350+ $ !

Matthew Campbell Laurenza Pink Sapphire and Amethyst Cuff which I have no idea how much it is !

Love the combination of black onyx and yellow gold, like this necklace by Chan Luu which is 200+$.

Here were just some of them. so what about you, do you love over-the-top, statement jewelries, or you prefer to be on the safe side ;)

wish you all a great day   

Pistachio Cake

I never baked a pistachio cake before and let me tell you that I was missing big time. this cake is no ordinary cake because of pistachio and almond. it has a unique texture to it. It is a dense cake,and it reminds me of those cake that you could get at "Au Pain Doré" or "Première Moisson" which are 2 of my favorite French bakeries.

For ground almond and pistachio, I got them as whole and ground them myself. just be careful they shouldn't be salted or anything; I get them from Costco. so now let's get to the baking:

Ingredients:
250g ( 1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
225g ( 1cup) of sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 eggs
100g ( 1 cup) of ground almonds
100g (1 cup) of ground pistachio
50g (1/3 cup) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon  baking powder
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan ( or any other shape pan you like).
Mix the butter and sugar until they get light and creamy. mix the lemon zest and vanilla extract. add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between.

now add the ground almond, ground pistachio, flour, baking powder and salt. mix everything well and pour the batter into your pan. 

Bake it in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool down.

I just loved this so much and I am sure if you try it you won't get disappointed.
Till next time :)

Mania

My Hair besties series- E2: Regular Trim

Different people have different choices when it comes to hair length.some people think hair ( women's) should be long and some people like me basically do not care what should be but what is fun and nice!

So far I had hair that was long enough to get to my waistline or as short as 1 cm. I don't care how my hair length is as long as it looks healthy and nice. even when my hair is short I do have regular trim every 2-3 months, and I will tell you why is important to get it trimmed:

On average hair grows about 0.5 inch ( 1.3 cm) every month,so it means in average your hair grows about 6 inch in year and typically hair should be trimmed every 2-3 months. if you are growing your hair long you could cut about half-inch every 2-3 months and still gain 3-4 inches each year. I know it is a slow process, but the half-inch you cut is the oldest part of your hair and most damaged part. they've been through so much (sun, wind, blow-drying,heat stylers,pony-tail holders, harsh shampoos, smog, pillows, and even poor diet) and are ready to retire. believe me even the half-inch cut makes a huge difference and you will be happy with the results. 

I don't know if you heard this or not but some people think that if you trim your hair regularly, they grow faster which is NOT CORRECT; it will get rid of split ends and makes it healthier but does not effect its growth rate. 

If you are not planning to change your hair style you could even trim your own hair. just do it section by section and cut only half-inch. the first hair trim is always the hardest part since you have to let go of your hair, but after that it will become a regular habit for having a smoother, healthier-looking hair.

So as I always said to myself :  hair ends are dead It's time to let them rest in peace ;)  
Till next time :)

Mania

Turkey Reubens

 The Reuben sandwich is a hot sandwich of layered meat, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with a dressing.In my opinion it is a simple sandwich but with more exciting and delicious favors. I used smoked turkey breast and sliced havarti cheese but you can use any kind of meat and cheese you like. I think originally they are made with swiss cheese but you can't go wrong with any other type,right ;)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of butter

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 cup of sauerkraut

1 small apple, peeled and grated

2 tablespoon of mayonnaise

2 tablespoon of chili sauce

8 slices pickles & 1 tablespoon of pickling liquid

8 slices of bread (I used sandwich toasts, rye bread would be great too)

1 pound of deli-sliced turkey ( I get the oven roasted turkey breast from Costco)

8 slices of cheese ( I used Havarti but any type you like would work, even instead of slices use grated cheese)

salt and pepper

First heat 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. add the scallion whites and cook till they become light brown ( about 4 minutes or so).Add the sauerkraut and apple and season with salt and pepper. cook about 12 minutes till all get slightly brown.  then add the half of scallion green and cook for about 1 minute.

Preheat the broiler. mix mayonnaise, chili sauce and remaining scallion greens and dill pickling liquid. 

Place 4 slices of bread on a foil-lined baking sheet (you could butter your bread which I did not in that case the buttered side should be facing down). spread each of them with mayonnaise mixture, then layer with turkey, dill pickles and sauerkraut mixture on top.

and finally put a layer of cheese and broil it till the cheese starts to melt for about 2 minutes. 

Spread mayonnaise mixture on the rest of breads and put them on the melted cheese and put them back to the oven for about 2 minutes till they get golden. then turn them and let the other side to get little toasted too.

I made them at night and we had it as our next day lunch as a cold sandwich. sauerkraut usually has a strong taste of vinegar so if you're not a fan maybe rinse it with water before using so vinegar taste gets weakened. other than that, this is so yummy and easy sandwich but special.

So till next time :)

Mania 

Estée Lauder gift with purchase at sears 2011

It is gift times again for those who have some spring and summer shopping to do. with minimum purchase of 34$ you could choose your gift:

Gift1 ,Warm & Sunny Gift Includes:
Pure Color Lipstick - Bois de Rose – 3.8 g
Pure Color Eyeshadow Duo - Sugar Biscuit & Chocolate Bliss
Sumptuous Mascara - Black 2.8 mL
Gentle Eye Makeup Remover – 30 mL
Advanced Night Repair – 7 mL
Resilience Lift Extreme SPF 15 - Dry Skin – 15 mL
Blue Pattern Cosmetic Bag

Gift2 , Cool & Fresh Gift Includes:

Pure Color Lipstick – Plumberry – 3.8 g

Pure Color Eyeshadow Duo - Tranquil Moon & Provocative Plum

Sumptuous Mascara - Black 2.8 ml

Gentle Eye Makeup Remover – 30 mL

Advanced Night Repair – 7 mL

Resilience Lift Extreme SPF 15 - Dry Skin – 15 mL

Blue Pattern Cosmetic Bag

and with purchase of 75$ or more you will get small bronzer, blush and shimmer powder pack with its own makeup bag. 

Happy shopping :)

Mania

Mille-feuille, Napoleon pastry

This is one of my favorite desserts ( I have a lot of favorites BTW). it is called the Mille-feuille (French 'thousand leaves'), Napoleon or some other names ( vanilla slice,شیرینی‌ ناپلئونی). it is a pastry made of several layers of puff pastry, filling in between each layer with something sweet like pastry cream, whipped cream or even jam and glazed with sugar icing.

Some believe that it is originally from Naples with versions like puff pastry filled with spinach, cheese or pesto.

Although its origin  is not clear, Napoleon name is the French adjective for Italian city of Naples, and it doesn't have to do anything with the name of "Emperor Napoleon I" of France. I don't think he was into baking that much to have his own pastry ;)

So enough with the history, let's back to my love for this pastry. despite my love for it, I think the last time I baked was few years ago due to long and hard process of making the layers. I tired different versions of already made pastry that are available in the groceries fridge ( with name of puff pastry) but honestly they don't taste as good as homemade ones. 

There are different versions of pastry dough, I choose the quickest and easiest form. it has a soft and buttery texture and needs to get very thin with use of rolling pin (quite a good arm workout here!) and baked in the oven. since they are too thin they bake fast so it requires a good attention. it is a very long process but believe me when I pass out on the couch having coffee with Napoleon pastry, it's worth it ( or not and I am just  obsessed with dessert !!)

Now let's get to the baking part :

Ingredients for dough:

5 cup of all purpose flour

400 gr of unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 1/2 cup water

2 teaspoon of fine sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix everything well together to get a soft uniform dough and put it in the fridge for about 3 hours.

Ingredients for the cream:

2 eggs

1/2 cup of sugar

2 cup of milk

2 tablespoon of flour

1/2  teaspoon of vanilla

200 gr of whipped cream

In a bowl mix eggs, sugar and vanilla well till they get a light yellowish color. 

In a sauce pan put the flour, add the milk and put it on medium heat. mix well till they become slightly warm and flour and milk get mixed well. now add the egg and sugar mixture to the milk pan very slowly and mix at the same time.  

Mix till the cream become thick then turn off the heat and add whipped cream. mix till you got yourself a thick, uniform cream. now store the cream in fridge.

Direction for pastry:

When about 3 hour passed dough is ready. First thing first, heat the oven to 400F. take the dough out of the fridge and make them into small sphere in size of lime. when rolling the dough into thin pastries, they should be cold, so it is better to keep them in fridge and take them out one by one. 

Dust your workplace with flour, place the dough in center and dust it slightly with flour. roll it to a thin pastry, don't worry about the shape. just try to roll it as thin as possible.then poke some holes into it with fork to inhibit its rising.  

Place it on the baking pan and pop it into the oven. bake them till they get golden. it will take about few minutes depending on its thickness. but be careful they get burned very fast. continue till all the dough is baked into pastry. now it is time to do the final step.

Take a rectangular sheet (or tray) and place the pastries together in a way to fill all the surface. it is like doing a puzzle but it does not matter if the pastries overlap or something. 

Then cover the whole surface with cream ( you made earlier) and then add another layer of pastry. 

Do that till about 3-4 pastries left, so just top the last layer of pastry with cream ( or you could use only whipped cream), then take the last pieces of pastry and break them with your hands into small pieces and spread over the cream evenly. 

Almost done; sprinkle the pastries with icing sugar so they become white. 

Now take the tray and put it in the fridge. let it rest for few hours ( 2-3 hours) so the cream absorbs to the pastry.

In the meanwhile you could clean the mess you made ;) or if you are a very organized baker and do not mess the kitchen (unlike me) relax till the pastry become ready. 

When they are ready cut them into squares and enjoy them with your favorite hot beverage!

Till next time :)

 Mania

Estee Lauder Double Wear Shadow Creme review

Few weeks ago, Estee Lauder counter at The Bay downtown Montreal were giving a full face make up make over with a photo-shoot. I am very into makeup and beauty related things (dah..) and always into trying new products so when they asked me if I like to participate I jumped in right away.   

There I asked the make-up lady for intense smoky eye, which I think nobody asked her for that since she asked me "Really, are you sure!?" but since I was getting a photo-shoot I know with the lights and flash there if I wore any other make up ( like natural colors) it won't show.

Ok long story short, I got a smoky eye and she used cream eye shadow in color Midnight Kohl as base and then used black moon shadows ( shimmer white and dark gray) to blend the edges and make that cat eye effect on the corners. It was a wow make up and really funny looking in the middle of day, I did my photo and then tried to tone down my makeup to make it more wearable for middle of the day :). 

Picture taken at Estee Lauder counter

After the makeup session I fell in love with their cream eye shadows. they are gorgeous, I got them in 2 colors: Midnight Kohl and Precious Jade ( each 19.50 $). their formula is something between cream and powder. they have an amazing staying power, it is like they got glued to the eyelids.  their color are build-able and can be worn by themselves or as a base as powder shadows. since they have a great staying power, using them as a base for your other shadows help your make up to stay longer. 

Few weeks ago on weekend I had the green one, before going out  around 9:00 in Saturday morning and till about 2:00 in the Sunday morning, when I was removing my make up before going to bed, I still had my eye make up the same as I had in the morning; no creasing on my eye lids even though I have kinda oily eye lids. 

I love this product however since they are kinda stick to the eyelids, more caution is required for removing them. definitely  need a good make up remover and don't rub your eyelids sometimes it causes irritation and red eyelids. 

Precious Jade worn lightly in the morning before heading to office

I highly recommend these products specially if you are looking for long lasting eye shadows; and their color selection is great :). I am going to get more colors soon ;)

So are you a fan of cream eye shadows,what are your favorites ?!

Mania

Tomato Cheese Toasts

I cooked this few nights ago, one of those nights that we were home around 8:30. really after a hard day at work and 3 hours of workout at gym, the last thing I want was to stand in the kitchen and prepare something. this took me about 15 minutes to make and pop it in the oven. it was fast and delicious, what more I could  ask for. now let's get down to the recipe :

Ingredients:

4 small ripe tomatoes

salt and pepper

6 slices of toasts, or other thick sandwich bread ( I used slices rye bread) 

3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese ( cheddar cheese would be also fine)

3/4 cup mayonnaise

5 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 small zucchini, very thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 F,   and thinly slice tomatoes if there are seeds hanging out  loosely take them out. place a colander in the sink and put the tomatoes there; then sprinkle them with salt. let them be for about 10 minutes. the salt help to draw water out of tomatoes which prevent the toasts to get soggy!

In meanwhile, take a pan and put the bread slices there and pop it in the oven till they get golden on top.  then take them out and place the toasted-side down on the baking pan.

Combine the cheese, mayonnaise, scallions and parsley in a bowl. spread the cheese mixture on the toasts, reserve about 1/3 cup of it and set aside for top.

Shake the excess liquid form tomatoes, distribute zucchini and tomatoes on the toasts. at end dot with the remaining cheese mixtures and season with peppers. pop them into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

We had them both as warm ( right out of the oven) and cold, both were yummy; the scallions and mayonnaise add a special flavor to the whole thing.

As you noticed there is no meat involved in this recipe but you can add things like crispy bacon, ham or anything else you like. hope you try this and enjoy :)

Till next time ;)

Mania

Yummy Carrot cake :)

Personally, I am not a big fan of carrot cake, I think carrot should be used in soups or generally in cooking not baking. I had tried carrot cake before, always was "naaaaaah,... I don't know...!" but this recipe was tried by one of my lovely blogger friends ( Juliet) and she claims that among 3 different recipes she tried this one is the best. since I trust her  judgments on cooking and baking subjects, I decided to try it myself.

It is the best carrot cake I ever had, so soft and delicious. without further do let's get down to baking, shall we.  

  

Ingredients for the cake:

2 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of  cinnamon  

1 teaspoon of ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of butter at room temperature

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 of water

2 1/2 cup of shredded carrot ( about 8-9 carrots)

1 cup of toasted crushed walnuts 

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup of cream cheese at room temperature 

1/2 cup of butter at room temperature

1/4 cup of whipped cream ( 35%)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

First heat up the oven to 350 F, and grease your baking pan and dust with flour.I used a 9" Bundt cake pan. 

Then in a bowl mix all the dry ingredients except sugar( flour,baking powder,baking soda,cinnamon,ginger,salt and walnuts) and set aside. 

with electrical mixer, mix butter and sugar till they get to a fluffy cream ( about 3-4 minutes), then add eggs one by one and mix between each one for about 1 minute. at the end add vanilla, water and carrots and mix for about 2 minutes. lastly add the flour slowly and try not to overdo the mixing so the cake would rise well in the oven . 

Pour the batter into your pan and cook for about 30-35 minutes or till a wooden stick comes out clean form the center of the cake. 

When it is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool down for about 15 minutes and then transfer the cake out of the pan to the cooling rack. 

when the cake is cooling down, you could prepare the cheese frosting if you like.

Cream cheese frosting:

First in a bowl mix the cheese and butter well ( remember they should be at room temperature). when they get kinda fluffy add vanilla and mix for about 4 minutes. then add the cream slowly and mix till the cream gets nice and thick. It's that simple :)

When the cake is cool, spread it with cream cheese frosting. the cream part is completely optional but it make a huge difference in the taste of the cake.

So for any carrot fan out there, this is really delicious; try it ,you won't get disappointed :)

Enjoy!

Mania

Movie talk: Solitary Man

We saw this movie this past weekend at one of our friends.we started the movie without any idea what is its story or how it would be. 

In this movie Michael Douglas plays a handsome, cool  middle age man ( named Ben Kalman).  the movie starts with a scene  in doctor's office when doctor drop the bomb ( bad news)  on Ben, and then we jump more than 6 years ahead and shows how his life is now. which I guess was kinda sudden and hard to follow  because the scene in the doctor's office comes too early ( since we have no background on the character) and then  everything goes fast so it was like we were trying to figure out the story and try not miss any points. 

The first part of the movie follows Kalmen as he takes his girlfriend's' daughter to collage campus and since there is no background on his life so far, there I figure out he is as alumnus and donated to that collage which kind of effect his girlfriend's' daughter collage application.while at the collage, something happens which you could never guess ( and I won't give it away), I literally screamed OH MY GOD ( and I might woke up some friends that were napping during the movie !!!) but that was a great shock and also key moment in the movie; from there his life goes downhill, and about 5 minutes to end of the movie everything comes clear and you kinda get the whole story of his life and why he became like that, although I did not buy the explanation.

It is a weak movie; with nice story. Michael Douglas performance was good ( oh did I mention that he was very handsome !! ); he is the main character and was in all the scenes.apparently he had a great life but destructed himself. although he did everything to himself, his performance kinda makes you sorry for him. it was a negative point that we did not see his journey from his normal life to the man he was after 6 years, I think more of that story would have been better. the movie shows how everything in life is connected that a act that may seem unimportant could lead to Domino effect of events and changes everything; and finally nothing explains better than this quotation from John Donne :

"No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;..."

So have you watched this movie before, what was your thoughts on that!? do you have any good movie suggestions for me ;) 

Mania

30 Day Yoga Challenge experience

I did start my 30 day Yoga Challenge at Feb 12  ( related post here) ;which was doing one session everyday, my whole challenge sums about 35h and 20 min of Yoga in 30 days.I also kept my regular workout sessions. 
The heart of the my challenge ( or any other one as a matter of fact) were commitment and focus. it means making a promise to yourself, and follow it without any excuse for failure. and that was my goal; I personally enjoy doing Yoga ( I've been doing it about 4 times a week for more than 2 years). Yoga for me was more than a physical practice from the beginning and it had incredible effects on  my life. this is my personal experience and as I said before it won't be the same for everyone. if you started Yoga and you did not feel anything else other that its physical effects it's ok, maybe it is not the right time for you or not the right instructor and many other reasons.   
Before I started my challenge I sat and analysed my personal schedule and figured out a perfect program for 30 days that could work for me and highlighted the classes that I could take or the ones that came as back-ups in case some emergency came up. few months I received an offer from a Yoga studio which was one month of unlimited yoga classes for 18$, it was pretty good deal ( the studio was close to my work place so I took some sessions there during my lunch breaks). there they had Yoga-Wall studio which I never tried before, superb opportunity for me. 

Here is the picture that I took with my cell. in most of the poses the wall used in the place of floor, poses like hanging downward dog , back stretching, hanging back bends, flying. I loved it , at first it takes time, because it is important to gain trust on the straps, there are poses that sole of the feet are on the wall and body is completely is parallel with the floor and the only thing is keeping you up there are the straps. I fell down once from straps when I was going for the twist pose because I was kind of afraid that straps would fall of the hooks. but trying Yoga wall was a nice experience. 

I am not those people who suffer doing Yoga I always make sure I am breathing comfortably; from the start, I never pushed myself in any pose, if my body wasn't ready to do it I didn't care;and since I started Yoga from beginner's level I know the levels of most poses, so sometimes I do the advance version sometimes I do the most basic one. as one of my Yoga instructors says all time, being advance in Yoga does not mean do the poses in extreme it means knowing your options. I did get better in some postures, the ones that I never expected from myself , like; 

Bakasana, Crane pose; for me happened out of the blue. from the first sessions I always practiced by alternating my feet, and suddenly that day both of them were up and I really did not need to bring it down, this is where I can go so far comfortably.one of the important points of this pose is to have a Drishti in front of you, because we all go where we look, so look front :)

I can do a full Chaturanga now and go deeper in so many other postures. Practicing Yoga help to be more flexible and also helps to get stronger muscles. it  also let us practice patience and helps  to know our body, our limits better. 

Some poses looks very simple but all Yoga postures are about details, like the way body is facing, position and direction of the knees, position of toes, neck , shoulders, even our gaze; paying attention to them is necessary to avoid any pain or injuries. All I can say that the challenge was hard but very effective and I am happy I did it. after I finished my challenge I am back to my 4 times a week yoga routine.


Final Note: 
Challenges of these kinds also could help to create a habit. habits are powerful, and once they formed they play a great role in influencing the direction of our life. Habits could be both bad and good, and it is intresting to know that creating a good habit has the the same procedure as creating a bad one. I am sure you all heard this quote by Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."


But don't set or have unrealistic goals or expectations. whatever you commit yourself to, do it for 30 days and you will improve your chances of turning it to a habit. It does not guarantee that you keep that habit for life, but it will be a step in a good direction. so take the leap, and make sure you enjoy your journey throughout of your challenge.


Wish you all a great day,
Mania

Cream Puff Pastry

I am big fan of puff pastry but never bake them myself because I had a feeling that it would be a very difficult thing to do, but finally few weeks ago I made it and everything took about 1 hour. it was very simple and it turned out to be delicious. after I made the paste I used tablespoon to put them on the baking sheets since I did not have those big icing tips, but if you use those you will get them the same shape as the ones made in bakeries. 

So let's get down to baking, shall we. 

Ingredients:

White flour : 1 cup

Salt: 1/8 teaspoon

Non-salted butter melted : 6 tablespoon 

Water: 3/4 cup

Eggs :3

Whipped cream (35%) : 1 cup

Icing sugar: 4 tablespoon

Step1, turn your oven to 400 F and  slightly grease a baking pan.

Step2, sieve the flour with salt, set aside. then put a sauce pan on the medium heat and add the water and butter to the pan and let it come to boil slightly. then add the flour and salt mixture in one shot. 

take the pan from the heat and mix them well with wood spoon very well for about 1 minute. then put it back on low heat and again mix well for about 2 minutes. 

Step3, take a small bowl and mix one egg there set aside; now 2 unbroken eggs left. so take one egg and add it to the flour mixture, mix it well and add the last unbroken egg to the flour mixture and mix well. lastly take your already broken and mixed egg from the bowl and add it slowly to the flour mixture. and mix for a short time so you get a nice smooth paste. when you take out the spoon from the paste, they should fall out of the spoon easily. 

Step4, take 1 tablespoon of the paste and put it on the baking pan, do that for all the batter and bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, till they all rise and get golden on the top. 

Step5, in meanwhile you could make the cream, mix the cream with icing sugar till it becomes thick then pop it in the fridge. 

Step6, finally the puffs are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool down, then with a small stick or knife make a hole on the bottom of the puffs and fill them with cream ( I used small icing tips for that). then put them in the fridge to cool down for about an hour.

I did take pictures from each step, but since I did give all my attention to the puffs I did not notice that I did not have a memory card on my camera ( very silly of me, what I was thinking !!!) . so I have only one picture of my attempt to make cream puffs.

Just as final comment, the mixing part is the key since it lets air to get in the paste and make it puff in the oven, so mix well.  if you are a fan of cream puffs, I highly recommend this recipe. it is very easy and you won't be disappointed at the end.

Enjoy!

Mania