Happy Friday!! (The 13th!!!!)
Is anyone out there superstitious? I can’t say I am but know many are. :)
Wow this week just flew by! I feel like I have so much to do before the wedding photoshoot tomorrow. As I type this post, I am currently sitting in my favourite REN face mask. It is so amazing! I know it is going to make my skin glow for tomorrow!
Thanks for everyone’s help with the hot yoga questions. It sounds so interesting and is definitely something I would like to try for myself. I am a bit sore from yesterday’s yoga! I did another 5mins. last night to wind down. My shoulders are pretty stiff from the down dogs I think.
Eric did the funniest thing last night. He always makes fun of me when I do yoga (especially if the instructors are funny) and so as we were getting into bed I said to him, “Do a down dog for me” and he lunged into the bed and did his ‘World’s Ugliest Dog Competition’ pose. LOL! Sorry it is kind of an inside joke, but it was hilarious. On our honeymoon we watched this World’s Ugliest Dog Competition on TV and we kept trying to imitate the dogs with our faces and bodies. It was a hoot. :D The best way to ease anxiety is through a good laugh!
FAQ: Installment 21
171. Elina asks, “The brownies look amazing! I want to eat them through the screen :) And do you happen to know where your brownie pan is from? I’ve never seen such a thing but it looks perfect! I make brownies all the time but have a hard time cutting them into normal sized portions. This should help ;)”
It was my first time using the pan and I loved it. The trick is to grease the separator VERY well so it doesn’t stick when you remove it. My mother in law purchased it through AVON. I hope they still have them for sale as I was thinking of getting another! Once it is cooked and you remove the separator, it pops up into a serving tray for easy side-free removal. What a dream!
172. Sarah asks, “You look great! Can’t wait to see the glammed up pics. Who is the designer/brand of your wedding dress? I love it!”
Thanks Sarah! The dress is by Sottero & Midgley- a sister company of Maggie Sottero. I purchased it Spring of 2008.
173. Eliza asks, “Given the "natural" theme of your bakery, it would be really nice if you used biodegradable or recyclable packaging. I’m not sure where you can get these, but I know I’ve seen them. It might bump up your cost a little, but its always worth it to do what we can for mother Earth!”
I think that is a fantastic idea and is something that Eric and I were talking about doing only a couple weeks ago. It is something I plan on looking into. If anyone has any resources for natural packaging products I would love to get some information.
174. Haya asks, “Where is this wholesale craft place?? and b) where did you order your bakery supplies? i have those treat bags and i love them a lot, but i can only find them at michael’s sometimes and would like to have a reliable source.”
There are a bunch of Wholesale craft places in the Greater Toronto Area. You need a GST number to be able to shop there. I ordered my bakery supplies from a fantastic online store called ‘ Off The Beaten Path Cookie Cutters” the website is: www.cookiecutter.com. They have the most cookie cutter shapes I have ever laid eyes on!
175. Jen asks, “Hi Angela, with your research experience, what are your thoughts on salon vs store bought shampoo’s and conditioners? Is there a store bought shampoo/conditioner just as good as salon?”
Well I can’t say that I have any research experience with hair products, but from everything I have read in consumer reports and unofficial magazine testing, it seems that you can most certainly get some great hair products in the drug store without having to pay an arm and a leg. 90% of the hair products I buy are from the drug store. Pantene Pro-V always tends to be high on the favourites list for drug store brands. It is my ‘go-to’ brand if I am not in the mood to try something new.
176. Sally asks, “Does anyone else find the font used for writing comments to be very difficult to read?”
Do you still find they comments are hard to read? If so, I will look into it.
177. Meaghen asks, “I know you’re trying to cut costs on your groceries and I was wondering if you’ve ever thought of making the Mary’s Crackers yourself? You’ve had such great success with the hummus and wraps. I’ve been really tempted to buy them, but they are a little expensive.. plus I have two other boxes of crackers I’ve told myself I have to eat first!”
Yes, I have thought about making these crackers myself! Whenever I think about it I never have all of the ingredients on hand so I need to remember to write it all down before I go to the store. It would be fabulous if I could make a similar cracker because they are quite costly ($3.99 CAD for 1 box).
178. Nicole asks, “How do you clean your blender after you make a green monster? I make them now and I can’t get this funky smell out of it after I make a smoothie!”
Haha…Well I haven’t noticed a small, but the way I clean it is simple. After use I put a squeeze of dish liquid into the blender and then fill up the blender about ¾ full with water. I put the lid on and turn the blender on and ~PRESTO~ you now have a self cleaning blender. It gets a lot of the stuff off, but you still have to clean the rest by hand. Try it though, it is fun!
Keep those questions coming! :) Let me know if I missed any as it is always possible!
I’m off to make a green monster and get cracking on some work. I can’t believe TOMORROW is the photoshoot…I am a bit anxious!
See you this afternoon!
PS- I still can’t see where I add tags to my post! I can find the categories thing at the bottom left but I don’t see tags! Help! :)
“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.” ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast
Two things: If Nicole’s blender still smells after following your suggestion, she might try filling it 3/4 of the way up with warm water and putting some sliced lemon in there. Blend it up and let it sit, then continue with normal cleaning. (Incidentally, this also works in the microwave if you’ve got a bunch of caked on food on the top and walls – put sliced lemon in a bowl of water and heat it up. The steam will loosen the food and get rid of the smell. All you have to do is wipe it with a damp cloth!)
Second, in regards to the salon hair products: there are products you can buy at the grocery store that mimic salon quality, but they’re not all created equal. Shampoo should feel smooth to the touch and create thick, smaller bubbles (rather than big clear ones, which indicate that there’s a lot of water in the formula). Also, conditioner should be thick, not runny. In addition to Pantene Pro-V, I’ve found that Tre Semme is great. And cheap!
I’m so excited to see pics from this weekend – the dress is so beautiful, and you will have so much fun!
good luck with the shoot you, you get to be a model for a day! how fun. cant wait to see the pictures!
I’m so excited to see pictures from your shoot tomorrow! I have a stylist friend who says if you must use Drug Store Hair Products, Pantene is the best brand!
Diana
Haha, Eric is hilarious :-D
Can’t wait to see the photos!!
HAPPY FRIDAY ANGELA!!
Regarding blender cleaning- growing up my mom always taught me that you must unscrew the bottom of the blender pitcher, remove the rubber ring and clean all three pieces. Liquid oozes down below what is visible to the eye and grows bacteria (veeeeeeery unsanitary!). Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know to do this.
TRES Semme has always worked wonders on my fine, blonde, tangley locks. I also have really enjoyed Dove brand conditioners for their wonderful new scents (hello, lemongrass citrus!!)
Have fun at the shoot tomorrow! It will be a blast!
You know where the categories are in WLW… well the tags are right next to it… you just type them in and separate the tags with commas.
Hey – just wanted to let you know that I posted about a Green Smoothie today – and every day for the past month! haha!
Diana
How cool! I can’t wait to see the photos! I am waaaay superstitious only b/c we JUST had a friday the 13th-one I can handle, but two months in a row?! :p
Thanks for your answer, Angela. I couldn’t find it on Avon, so I did a little research and found the brownie pan on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Slice-Solutions-7-Inch-Precut-Brownie/dp/B00186YXJO/ref=pd_sim_k_2). Slice Solutions apparently also makes pre-sliced bread pans and cake pans. I think I need all of them to better control portion sizes :D
Good luck with your shoot!
I still find the comment font (the font when writing the comments, not when viewing the comments) to be hard to read but apparently it’s just me. Sorry to be picky!
First, I love your blog!
Second, I bought some biocompostables for our outdoor wedding. The price was very good (I think because of gov’t corn subsidies?). We haven’t tried them yet (wedding is in August). I believe they offer sample packs.
http://worldcentric.org/biocompostables