| Hint of Vanilla

"Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."- Winnie the Pooh

Are you stressed today? I sure was.

Everyone gets stressed once in a while. Work is a big stress causer for most people. University and school, too. Trying to achieve a goal but you're not quite getting it right. Feeling like you have too many things to do in one day. Being hungry but not having the time to go get groceries so you eat porridge for the 3rd meal in a row. Not being able to operate a camping can opener (or maybe that's was just me).

You feel the anger storm growing in your mind. Everything seems to be against you and you just want the world to give you a few minutes to breathe! Nothing is going the way you want it. The anger storm is going full blast now. Eventually, you give up, wallow in your self-pity, and act the victim. At least, that tends to be my cycle of rage. It doesn't always get to the last bit, sometimes I can intercept it before it gets to be too much. The one thing that I do to de-stress that will almost always work?

Baking.

Posted by : Anonymous
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Lemon and Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée

Custards | Fruit

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I like reading. I mean, I really like reading.

But only specific books. I don't like reading textbooks, even though the overall content might be interesting. Books for english classes, not fun. If you're told to read it, it ruins the fun of reading something, well, for fun.

I used to go to the local library and choose out 2 or 3 books. Not little 200 page books, either, I'm talking big 500 page whoppers. The cover would spark my interest, or the title. If it was a small one, I just passed it by. I probably missed a lot of good books that way, but I wanted a book that would last me a week or two. Small ones would last me one night. I'd go through a huge process of elimination with my books. I'd pick out 7 or so, then slowly whittle it down to a couple. I would get home and sort the books according to which one I wanted to read first. I would then go about reading said book. But carrying those back home was a workout, let me tell you.

Posted by : Anonymous
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Hazelnut Biscotti

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Ah, the weekend. Everyone’s beloved pair of days. I finished my midterms as of Friday, but I didn’t get to take the whole weekend off, as much as I would’ve liked to. Research paper due dates are looming and I don’t want to be busily writing them last-minute, like I do every semester. Procrastination is a temptatious friend.

I started on a paper on Saturday and managed to get 250 words. In 3 hours. Not the best start, but a start nonetheless. And, as I tend to do when writing papers, I rewarded myself for all my hard work. I told myself that I would bake biscotti tomorrow. Once I made up my mind that the reward was already going to happen, there was no way I could write any more, even if I wanted to. This is a reoccurring problem for me. I do a tiny bit of work and reward myself with an hour break or a cookie or an episode of Family Guy. Needless to say, I don’t get a lot of work done unless it’s due the next day.

Posted by : Anonymous
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Spiced Apple Cider and Ginger Molasses Cookies

Cookies | Drinks

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Fall has arrived in Vancouver! We had a great start to it with almost two full weeks of SUN! If you've ever lived in Vancouver, you know this is a big deal. If you haven't, well, we get our fair share of rain. More than our fair share, actually. We get two months of sunshine in the summer, if we're lucky, and the rest is rain. So sunshine in fall is a big deal.

The boots have been brought out. The cozy sweaters have been brought out. The scarves have been brought out. The knee high socks have been brought out. All of them.

That's right. You heard me. Knee high socks. Love 'em. It started out with one pair that I would secretly wear under my jeans on really cold days. Then, ever so slowly, they started to make public appearances. They would peek out from under my gumboots sometimes. Or maybe I'd wear boots and tights with my knee highs.Then I got bold. I started wearing them... with dresses! There's not many occasions where you can wear a dress and knee high socks and look appropriate, but I think I pulled it off.

Posted by : Anonymous
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Silky Dark Chocolate Tart

Chocolate | Tarts

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This tart. Oh man, this tart. It's just too good. I made this heavenly creation in the morning and it was a sheer test of my willpower to not eat the entire thing. I ate (read: inhaled) that slice sitting there on the plate and immediately glared at the tart. I glared at it. It was daring me to eat more, just one more slice, maybe two, no one will know. I didn't need to share this with anyone, I could have it all to myself. Despite the temptation, I resisted! Sort of... I had another slice, but after that I stopped. I'd be a terrible drug addict, I'd never be able stop. I guess I am a bit of a drug addict, except my drugs are desserts. My willpower dissolves when it comes to desserts of almost any kind. It's always, "Oh, just one more cookie" or "Maybe another bite of cake" or most often, "You're not going to finish that? Well, I can't let it go to waste, just give it here"

Posted by : Anonymous
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