Mail in All its Different Forms!

After exams, I spent the week resting from all the hard work I had done during the semester. I baked cookies, drank hot chocolate, (pictured above!) practiced photography, and caught up on sleep!   However, school soon started up again, and I now I am as busy as ever. A couple weeks ago, a parcel arrived for me in the mail. My lovely aunt in Hawaii had gotten me a new camera!

A couple days later, I received from my cousin in Hong Kong some lovely airmail inspired stationary. Oh she knows me so well!

Speaking of mail, please check my tumblr for some posts regrading the snail mail I send and receive! The link is at the top of this page. I am still new to the whole idea of pen pals, but I am loving it so far and would love some more pen pals!

Love,
Charlotte

24 Things to Do Before 25

      Inspired by Sewon's list and Marlou's list, (click their names to view their lists!) I decided to create my own list of things I would like to do before I turn twentyfive. It's nice to have little goals in life. I think that without their existence, many people wouldn't be where they are today. That said, I often set goals for myself in life, but never end up accomplishing them. Perhaps this time, by setting some more short term goals and making a list, I will be able to complete them! Now, without any further wait, here are the twenty-four things I want to have done before I turn twenty-five!

1. Start a teacup collection
2. Host an afternoon tea
3. Host a dinner party

4. Volunteer in a third world country
5. Attend a yoga retreat outside of Canada
6. Stay at a hostel during one of my travels

7. Sew together a stuffed animal
8. Exchange letters with my penpals for years to come
9.Complete my sketchbook

10. Grow my own herbs
11. Remake a pastry from my Laduree recipe book
12. Bake a loaf of bread

13.Visit an antiques market
14.Fold an origami rose
15.Knit something

16.Make a terranium
17.Publish a zine about teacups
18.Publish a zine about stars

19.Learn Elvish
20.Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
21.Finish a videogame

22.Go stargazing with people I love
23.Improve my photo-taking skills
24.Keep a blog

And a little bonus: Climb Mt.Fuji in time to watch the sunrise from its peak!

Joyeux Noël and a Happy 2013!

Christmas was spent watching both seasons of Sherlock, having a wonderful dinner party with friends, and spending ten days in California. Alas, I ended up with the stomach flu near the end of Winter Break, but it has been a wonderful year, and I don't think I could have ended it any other way!

It had been a wonderful night filled with warm laughter and everlasting memories. If only the turkey hadn't been under cooked!

Interlude

I apologize for not making regular blog posts, but as I focus more on my studies, this blog will be put onto hold. (No  surprise here...) That said, I do not plan to abandon this blog. I will be making posts from time to time if I have interesting things to share. Until then, here are some photos of the past two months:

See you guys soon! <3

Cookies and a Wish for Warmth

It's getting colder and colder in Canada, and I'm wishing and wishing for summer to come. Oh how I long for the days where the sun sets at nine in the evening, and the light that fills my room is golden! Ahh, those days are my favourite. But I digress - today's post will be on something simple, whimsy, and absolutely delicious. Cookies.

Do you have a favourite cookie? I love shortbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and those buttery Hong Kong style cookies. That said, I'm very picky about each one. My shortbread cookies must never be too sweet or too hard - I love the ones that are buttery and crumble into a sandy texture in my mouth. I refuse to eat chocolate chip cookies that are not chewy or warm, and I turn my nose at Hong Kong style cookies that are chocolate flavoured. For some odd reason, those never taste right - perhaps it is because I'm picky about chocolate too...

Anyway, I would like to share with you a cookie recipe given to me by one of my closest friends. I first tasted her cookies about a year ago and I was absolutely hooked. I'm not quite sure which category this cookie fits into, but I suppose with its buttery and crumbly texture, and the list of ingredients, it is a type of shortbread cookie..The picture below are a batch of the cookies given to me a week ago by my friend...They disappeared two days later. ;)

Recipe

Ingredients 

100 grams of butter

25 grams of icing sugar

75 grams of low gluten flour (All purpose flour works fine too!)

25 grams of cornstarch

Materials

Pastry bag 

Pastry tip

Parchment paper

Baking sheet

Instructions

1. Soften the butter using either a microwave or letting the butter sit out in room temperature. 

2. Combine softened butter with the icing sugar using an electric whisk or by hand. 

3. Sift cornstarch and flour together before combining it with the icing sugar and butter mixture. 

4. Once the mixture has been combined thoroughly, place the batter into the pastry bag fitted with a flowered pastry tip. Pipe out circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

5. Place the piped out cookies into the oven at 350°F (180°C) for twelve minutes or until golden brown. 

6. Once cookies are ready, take them out of the oven and let them rest for at least eight minutes. 

Sunsets, Snow, Sushi, and School!

It's been a while since I've made a post, but I suppose that is because I haven't been in the blogging mood. Nonetheless, here is a post, albeit a very short and quick one. Here are some assorted photos from Instagram.  (username is Charlslotte if you want to follow!)

Captured the shot above before heading to school. The weather was beautiful that day! Gorgeous, golden, sunlight - just the way I like it. 

Took this photo on my way to a ski resort. The farm is pretty and all, but do you know what is sad? There is no snow in the picture. There has been so little snow in Canada this winter. Fortunately, there was enough at the ski resort for some decent snowboarding.

Yum. Sushi! Not the best sushi out there, (Bought it at a supermarket and left it in the fridge overnight.) but it was still good.  One can never go wrong with Japanese food!

Last but not least, some photos from when I went snowboarding! After getting off the ski lift, the most picturesque scene awaited my friends and I. My photos of the sunset definitely do not do it justice. A bright red sun in a pink tinted sky was slowly inching down to meet the quilt of snow covered valleys. The scene took my breath away.

And that's about it! I'll be going to a winter festival tomorrow, so look forward to pictures of that! <3

Food !

Although exams were over last week, I haven't been able to find the time to post because I had a jam packed full weekend. On the Wednesday after exams, I went to Go For Tea with a couple of my friends. We each ordered our own cake and a drink. I got a peach tea, which was amazing. It was extremely aromatic - I could smell the scent of peaches in the air even though I didn't have the cup to my lips. The fact that it was served in an adorable, almost vintage-like tea maker made the experience even more wonderful!

The cake list consisted mostly of cheesecakes, which I love. That said, I wasn't in the mood for any that day, so I ordered a Tiramisu instead. It was pretty good for a tea shop that didn't specialize in cakes. The marscapone was light, and the coffee sponge (They weren't lady fingers, unfortunately.) flavourful and airy. They were generous with the cocoa powder too. My friends ordered a cheesecake, albeit different kinds. If I remember correctly, the one on the right below is an orange lemon cheesecake , while the one on the left is a chocolate brownie cheesecake. I stole a small bite from them both, and my goodness - it was delicious. Not as good as the one from Ruelo, (A review I will save for a later date.) but they came close. The orange lemon cheesecake was extremely light, just the way I like my cheesecakes. The citrus and cheese flavours married each other perfectly, and there was something refreshing about it. As for the brownie cheesecake, although it was slightly heavier, it was still pretty good. The cheesecake was made perfectly - not too cheesy and not to sweet. My fork slid easily into the cake, and the bite I took was wonderful. Cheesecake with a scent of chocolate. While the citrus cheesecake was refreshing, the brownie cheesecake warmed my heart.

For some odd reason, I don't remember what I did on Thursday. On Friday however, some close friends of mine and I headed to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) again. There is something that I love about museums - perhaps it is the refined and educated aura, or maybe it's just because I'm a bit history dork. Who knows? Anyway, we spent the day in the Roman Empire section and the European Movements exhibition. I had fun - those are my favourite exhibits in the whole museum. The museum was surprisingly crowded - there were school groups and families everywhere!

After a couple of hours browsing through the collections ROM offered, my friends and I hit the streets for something sweet. We originally planned to visit Nadege Patisserie, but the walk was too long. In the end, we decided to get some frozen yogurt instead. I mean, what better time to have frozen yogurt than in winter? You won't have to worry about it melting!

Lychee and mango frozen yogurt with mango and lychee bobas.

My week ended with even more food. On Saturday it was Korean BBQ, and Sunday was sushi night at home!

Until next time!

Men in Black and White

 Before I dive (headfirst!) into studying for my exams again, here are some photos for a series I am doing. The title is nothing fancy, just "Men in Black and White." The subject of each photo is a stranger to me, men I have no affiliation with. They are merely people who stuck out to me while walking around town. After taking a many photos, I realized most of them were of men who were nearing their...senior ages. I wonder why?  I think I am attracted to the experience and wisdom that they hold from living for so many years. Anyways, enjoy the photos!

The photo above was taken in Central Park, New York City. I was walking with a couple of my friends when I heard a melody that literally sent chills down my back. It entranced me, and next thing I knew, I was running away from my friends and searching for the source of the music. I soon found this man playing the most beautiful song I've ever heard on the hammered dulcimer. My friends soon caught up with me and began to record this man's music. I on the other hand, just stood there, dumbfounded. It was only near the end of the song that I regained my senses and snapped this photo. 

It's Einstein's lost brother! :D Just kidding. This photo was taken during the summer while I was waiting for a boat to Centre Island with my cousins and their children. The man was near the front of the line, and alright, I''ll admit it - his mustache was what caught my eye. For some odd reason, I didn't bring my DSLR that day and instead had on hand my point and shoot camera. Although there were certain settings that I couldn't control such as the depth of field and aperture, I think the photo came out pretty nice, no?

Lastly is this photo, which I also took in Central Park. This man was sitting near the John Lennon memorial, and what caught my eye was his rough leather jacket and the suitcase he carried around with him - it was decorated with feathers and canes of different sizes. I usually try to take pictures of my subjects without them noticing in order to show their true nature, but I asked this man for permission because something in my gut told me to do so. 

After a spending a couple of minutes walking around the John Lennon memorial gathering my confidence, I finally went up to him and asked politely, "Can I take your picture?" The man nodded with what I think was a sigh, as if he was almost tired. I didn't ask him to pose for me - I wanted to capture him in what he felt most comfortable in. I wanted to capture a photo of him in his nature. What do you think of this man? I can't help but feel as if he had a troubled past. 

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this post. I'll probably have another post up next week. I haven't decided on what yet - it could be a recipe, a pastry or chocolate review, or it might just be a blog post about my week. We'll see! But until then, why don't you comment below with some of your favourite photos, be it ones that you have taken yourself, or photos taken by others but think are beautiful. I love looking at photos taken by others! <3

Cold and Cozy Winter Days

I'm a really selfish person. When it's hot, I wish for snow. When it snows, I curse it and wish for warm and sunny days. Since I live in Canada, I am fortunate to experience all four seasons. There are things I dislike about each season, and things that I love. Right now it is winter, and today is one of those lucky days where the sun decides to come out instead of hiding behind stormy grey clouds.

As much as I dislike large amounts of snow, (It's such a bother, traffic-wise!) it has only snowed twice this year. Twice. It's late January and I there is not fluffy white snow covering the grass. This, my friends, is abnormal. I went snowboarding last week up north, and the hills were extremely icy. During the couple of times that I fell, I grew bruises on my knees and got myself a swollen hip. This is abnormal. The snow should be soft during mid-January.

Nonetheless, the temperature for the last couple of days have been dropping. Not a steady drop mind you, but  it's getting there. Today I finally had a chance to put on a fluffy scarf (Abercrombie and Fitch) and a pair of mittens (Hudson's Bay Co.) without beginning to sweat five minutes later. The air outside, while cold, is also very crisp. I like crisp air - it's really refreshing. It's also put me into a cheerful mood, even with my upcoming exams. I've taken up knitting again, an activity that I enjoy but lack talent at.

In The Beginning...

Here I am, with half a dozen (quite literally) projects that need to be completed next week and four exams to study. What am I doing? Creating a blog to document thoughts, inspirations, recipes, and just day to day life. I am slightly scared to be honest - I've always been afraid of starting something because I have to start from the beginning, the bottom.  But who knows where this blog will go? Maybe in a few years, it will become something big. Whatever its future is, I'm sure it's going to be an adventure.