loveliness.

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    • favourites

      Posted at 12:16 am by jasminedesirees, on January 15, 2014

      A few things that are making me happy right now:

      This article from thought catalog. It’s very true, if you can do good work and be confident in your own abilities, you can achieve the things you want to.

      Also, this. Allie Brosh is a very talented blogger, and her blog Hyperbole and a Half has now been turned into a book. Hers is the first blog I ever read.  I’m really excited for her and I had really been wanting to read it but just hadn’t gotten around to ordering it.

      Then a few weeks ago I was in the Phoenix airport on the way home from Mazatlan and needed something to read. I always bring library books with me or download something onto my Kindle when I’m flying, but this time I had forgotten, so I decided to buy a book at the airport. I walked into the store, and there it was, the very first book I laid eyes on. I bought it immediately, funny how things work out like that. You can buy her book here.

      David’s Tea makes the most amazing tea I’ve ever had. It’s a bit expensive, but where else can you get tea that tastes like Red Velvet Cake, Birthday Cake, or has little gold balls in it that dissolve and make your tea glittery?
      And then this video. It’s pretty hard to be sad when you’re watching that. It’s 24 straight hours of pure unadulterated joy and happiness.
      Posted in favourites, happiness | 0 Comments | Tagged Allie Brosh, David's Tea, happiness, Hyperbole and a Half, red velvet
    • pipe

      Posted at 12:39 am by jasminedesirees, on January 14, 2014

      This video of the Bonzai Pipeline on Oahu makes my heart hurt. Hopefully I get to go home soon.

       from Eric Sterman on Vimeo.

      Posted in beach, Hawaii, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged beach, Bonzai, Hawaii, North Shore, Oahu, ocean, Pipeline, surfing, waves
    • macarons

      Posted at 12:57 am by jasminedesirees, on January 10, 2014

      Is it just me, or does it seem like everyone in the world is obsessed with macarons? I’ve been hearing about these dainty little cookies and seeing pictures of them for years, but I’d never tried one until I received a box for my birthday last year.

      I had heard a lot about them though, that they are very difficult to make, and as a baker, I’d always wanted to try so I could showcase my skillz (with a z). I decided to give it a try. I found this recipe from CHOW, gathered all the ingredients (almond flour better be secretly made of gold because it is super expensive) and set to work.

      It was kind of a long process, just in that it’s a lot of waiting to do things, but other than that it wasn’t bad. I can see how it would be hard to get all of the cookies to the exact uniform roundness, but I have to say mine were pretty good for a first timer (NBD).

      They may have been a teensy bit crooked but they were delicious, although truthfully I bet you could put chocolate ganache in between two pieces of cardboard and it would still be pretty good.

      The next thing on my baking to do list is chocolate souffle, I’ve wanted to make that for as long as I can remember, which I realized this morning was probably a strange thing for a kid to think about? But then I thought about it a little more and had a flashback to watching Beauty and the Beast with all of the dancing pies and souffles, and my life made a little more sense.

      I wonder how many other things in my life I’ve wanted to do solely because of childhood influence by a beloved cartoon character? I realized a few years ago that the likely reason for my choosing Journalism as a university major was because of my undying obsession with April (and her saucy yellow jumpsuit) from the Ninja Turtles.

       

      Posted in chocolate, recipes | 0 Comments | Tagged baking, chocolate, macarons, recipes
    • italy in mexico

      Posted at 12:57 am by jasminedesirees, on January 9, 2014

      One of my favourite days in Mexico, my sister, my mom and I went out shopping to the downtown market. They have really cute clothes and shoes there, and it’s always really unique things that you would never find at the mall at home.

      It’s also neat to see all of the different things they sell there, in one stall you can find colourful tapestries and art pieces, and then you turn the corner and find yourself staring at a row of severed pig heads.

      Once we’d exhausted ourselves and spent most of our pesos, we went wandering the streets near the market looking for a restaurant we’d heard amazing things about, and we found ourselves in the most adorable area. It had very European architecture and so many cute restaurants.

      We ended up at a little Italian place on the corner, drinking glass after glass of cool white wine, and sharing a cheese plate and bruschetta. We sat and talked for hours, and we even saw a girl in a beautiful red dress on the way to her quinceanera.

      Once the sun started to go down, we wandered a little further and found a cute little art gallery with beautiful paintings and sculptures that also served delicious margaritas.

      I’ve been coming to Mazatlan for most of my life, but had no idea this little area existed. It just goes to show that there is always something new to discover, even when you think you know a place inside out.

      Posted in family, Mexico, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged art architecture, Europe, mazatlan, mexico, travel
    • moulin rouge

      Posted at 9:03 pm by jasminedesirees, on January 7, 2014

      One of the things I did on my jam-packed weekend in Bend a few months ago was check out some of the cute little antique shops that are scattered around. There is something about finding an item that you love, and knowing that it has had a whole other history that you’ll never know about before you found it that’s really neat.

      When I was creeping through the old hardcover books and magazines at the back of one store, I found this magazine, A Night at the Moulin Rouge, published in 1939. It has pictures and descriptions of all of the different performing acts, and lots of beautiful women.

      I bought it right away, but I haven’t decided what to do with it. I wanted to frame it and hang it on the wall, but the photo spreads inside are wonderful so it would be a shame to only have the cover on display, but it’s also pretty old so I wouldn’t want to just leave it laying around without protecting it somehow.

      Posted in art, photography | 1 Comment | Tagged antique, art, magazine, moulin rouge, photography, women
    • mazatlan

      Posted at 12:49 am by jasminedesirees, on January 7, 2014

      We spent a really great week in Mexico with my family over Christmas and New Year’s, it was so nice just to relax. We had a bit of a harrowing experience right when we arrived, I was trapped in the tiniest elevator possible with 5 people and two giant suitcases in 100 degree heat, on Christmas day.

      We weren’t sure how long it would take for someone to come save us, and it was a bit scary. We got out eventually, and after a few margaritas I pretty much forgot about it, although I refused to get back on the elevator for the rest of our trip.

      Posted in family, life, Mexico, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged Christmas, family, life, mexico, travel
    • 2014

      Posted at 8:26 pm by jasminedesirees, on January 3, 2014

      I was just reading back through some of my old posts from last year, and remembered this post about all of the things I wanted to accomplish in 2013.

      The one thing on my list that I absolutely wanted to do was the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which I did with my mom and sisters in September. I also wanted to take a class, and I took several last year including pottery, chocolate making and a blog design course online.

      I did work on my spanish a bit more than I previously had, but not nearly as much as I wanted to, so that will have to stay on the list for this year. I did, however, learn to make pico de gallo, and it was friggin’ delicious.

      My other goal for 2014 was to eat more adventurously. It was a pretty broad goal, that could mean almost anything really. I did eat fish a few times, I even made it myself at home once, generally though, I’m going to have to call that one a fail.

      For 2014, I would like to:

      1. Work on my Spanish. For real this time.

      2. Travel. I have some really big plans for 2014, they aren’t ready for sharing yet but it’s going to be a very exciting year.

      3. Volunteer. I’ve volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Foster a Dream and a couple of other charities a few times, but I’d like to do it a lot more. It’s fun, it makes you feel good, and it helps someone else, so there is really no downside.

      4. Get wedding dress pictures done. I’ve been wanting to get some cool, artistic photos taken of me in my wedding dress ever since the wedding (so a year and a half now) but I keep putting it off.

      5. Finish a novel. I’ve been working on writing a novel for a few years now, I actually have two going because I kept switching back on the plot in completely opposite ways to the point where it was really two totally different stories. I’ve been scared to talk about it or tell anyone about it but I’ve decided that maybe posting about it will give me the push I need to finally finish. I don’t even care if it’s never seen or read by another living soul, I just want to know that I was able to do it.

      6. Experiment artistically. It is entirely possible that I have no artistic talent whatsoever, but in the last year I’ve started playing around with painting and pottery, and even though nothing I have made so far will never been seen by anyone (except my lovely husband who adores all of my experimental endeavours. Probably.) I think that the attempt can be just as important as the outcome. Plus, it’s fun.

      7. Photograph things. I bought myself a really nice camera last year for Christmas, and even though I absolutely love it, and just the fact that I use it instead of the old battered point and shoot that I used to take all my pictures with has improved my photographs exponentially, I still don’t really know how to use it. There are tons of cheap photography classes around, and even free meet ups where you can learn about photography, so there is really no excuse, except for possibly that the entire series of Friends is on Netflix and I can’t leave the house or shower until I finish watching it.

      It’s probably unlikely that I’ll be able to do all of these things as well as I’d like to be able to, but it’s important to set goals for yourself, even if it’s only so you can see how much farther you still have to go.

       
      Posted in happiness, life, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged 2014, art, goals, happiness, life, travel, writing
    • read me

      Posted at 6:03 pm by jasminedesirees, on January 2, 2014

      Now that the holidays are over and I’m back from vacation, I’m kind of excited to do nothing. This time of year always makes me reflective, and I tend to want to stay home, make plans, and focus on projects and things I’d like to accomplish over the upcoming year.

      We just got back from Mexico last night, and with only two days until the weekend, there isn’t really anything that sounds better to me than snuggling up under my new fuzzy blanket with a mug of hot tea and reading a good book.

      Here are some that I am excited to read in the next little while. I wish I was patient enough to try and wait my turn and get them from the library, but since patience isn’t among my many virtues, I will likely end of paying $10.00 each and downloading them onto my Kindle.

      Instant gratification may be expensive, but it is oh so sweet.

      The Summer We Read Gatsby– Danielle Ganek

      We are Water– Wally Lamb

      Manuscript Found in Accra– Paulo Coelho

      I am Malala– Malala Yousafzai

      Ordeal– Linda Lovelace

      Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy– Helen Fielding

      Posted in books, life | 0 Comments | Tagged books, bridget jones, Gatsby, reading
    • bonita

      Posted at 3:29 pm by jasminedesirees, on December 30, 2013

      I’m having so much fun in Mazatlan, I don’t want to leave.

      I remember now why when I was little I always wanted to move down here to go to university, and I’ve got a renewed determination to learn Spanish.

      Posted in family, Mexico, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged family, mexico, travel, vacation
    • unplug

      Posted at 4:00 pm by jasminedesirees, on December 26, 2013

      I watched this video a few days before I left for Mexico:

      I think she is definitely right in that we need to re-evaluate our relationship with technology, and make sure it’s not taking the place of actual person-to-person relationships.

      I’m taking this week away to unplug and really be present in the moment and enjoy the time with my family, and I suggest you do the same.

      Posted in family, happiness, life, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged happiness, Sherry Turkle, technology, unplug
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