Friday 31 January 2014

Friday Faves: The things that made me smile this week:

     Its all about the little things in life. It could be anything from a new song I heard on the radio, or a new food I tried. These are the things I'm lovin' this week!

January 31st- 

Fitsugar's Treadmill workout- I love running outside when the weather is nice, especially through trails or even around the city while window shopping, but winter makes that next to impossible. (I'm not crazy enough to run in -15 weather- no thanks!!) So, lately the treadmill has been my only running fix. The problem is, I find the treadmill super boring and I dread doing it, so much that I actually went two weeks without running this winter. For people that know me and how much I love running, that was just crazy. I ended up going to yoga instead, but my body needs both strength and cardio. So, I figured this workout would be the perfect cure to boredom, as it combines hills, endurance and sprints. I tried it out and I was right. It was awesome! It was designed by celebrity trainer, Alycia Stevein and apparently even Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are hooked on it. I can see why. It was a great workout and I'll definitely be doing it again and looking for others like it to beat the winter treadmill boredom!

 http://www.fitsugar.com/30-Minute-Treadmill-Workout-33778091

Suki hydrating oil- The winter makes my skin so dry, but I am in love with this oil! I put it on before my make up and sometimes even skip the moisturiser. It is that good! It smells like a spa treatment and costs only 30 dollars for a huge bottle that will probley last me all year. I got it at the place I get my eyebrows done, Honey and Fig, but you can get it online here too:

http://sukiskincare.com/products/delicate-hydrating-oil.html

"Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy" by Helen Fielding- I was excited when I heard there was going to be another Bridget Jones book coming out. The movies go down as some of my favourite chick flicks for sure! Then, I heard the book would take place when she was in her 50's and I wasn't as excited. I decided to give it a chance anyway and the book didn't disappoint. Bridget Jones was still the same crazy girl everyone fell in love with years ago. The book was enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone looking for an easy, mindless read.

http://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Jones-Mad-About-Boy/dp/0385350864

Sombre- I've always been kind of scared to do the Ombre trend with my hair. I don't like my hair to be too high maintenance because I only get it done every 3 months. So, when I saw the sombre (subtle ombre) trend on pinterest, I thought it would be perfect for me and I was right. Loving this hair colour!

Sunday 26 January 2014

Oscar Buzz!


     I love love love the Oscars! Cant wait until March 2nd to see all of the actors and actresses glammed up on the red carpet and being my own “fashion police,” criticizing what they wore. I also like to see a lot of the movies nominated, so I know whats going on. Got to stay in the know! Going to the movies is also one of my favourite things to do, especially in the winter when I just want to do something low key. Lately, I have seen a lot and finally there have been some good ones that I have thoroughly enjoyed! One of which being, “The wolf of wall street.” I have loved Leonardo DiCaprio since Titanic, but “Catch me if you can” has always been my personal favourite. Until now, because, “The wolf of wall street” has taken its place as my favourite, with Leo playing yet another lovable criminal. He plays sketchy stock broker, Jordan Belford who opened a stock firm, scamming people into buying penny stocks. The firm utilizes the “pump and dump” scheme, selling a particular stock whole heartedly to all of their investors, to artificially bring it up and sell it to them for more than it is worth. This is based on a true story, that took place in the 90's and Jordan Belford got incredibly rich off of it. The film shows Jordan Belford's luxurious lifestyle- beautiful people, drugs, yachts and all. When I heard it was 3 hours long, I was skeptical a film could keep me captivated that long, but that just wasn't a problem here. It was just such a good story and Leo portrayed Jordan Belford amazingly! Jonah Hill was also great playing Donnie Azoff, Jordan's lovable best friend and business partner. I wouldn't be surprised if Leo and Jonah took best actor and supporting actor oscars, as they definitely would be my first choice! Jordan Belford's wife, Naomi Lapaglia (played by Margot Robbie) was also great and just gorgeous! This was the first time I have seen her in anything, as she is a fairly new actress, but I can see why they took the chance on her. She was perfect for the role and very believable, playing a woman Jordan Belford would have no problem leaving his his wife for. All in all- a great film, highly recommend seeing it, if you haven't yet!

Friday 24 January 2014

Friday Faves: The things that made me smile this week:

     Its all about the little things in life. It could be anything from a new song I heard on the radio, or a new food I tried. These are the things I'm lovin' this week!

January 24th-

"Namaste" Toque- Sometimes a girl just has to treat herself, so when I saw this "Namaste" toque on instagram, I just had to have it. Lately, yoga has been my new obsession, so I think this hat is quite fitting. Can't wait til mid-Feb when this ships! (They were sold out, so I pre-ordered for February)

http://spiritualgangster.com/collections/accessories/products/namaste-pom-pom-beanie

Matcha Tea- A couple of weeks ago, I heard about this tea on Dr. Oz and I was curious to try it. It is supposed to boost your metabolism and burn calories. It is loaded with 10 times the antioxidants as a normal green tea because is comes in a powder, instead of tea bag. So, instead of drinking the brewed water, you ingest the whole leaf. It's also a cancer fighter,  is loaded with nutrients, lowers your cholesterol and blood sugar, while calming and relaxing you. Sounds too good to be true! To make it you just take a teaspoon of matcha powder and whisk it with hot, but not boiling water. I picked mine up at David's tea, but you can probley get it at any speciality tea store. I really liked the taste of it and it was even better when I added a little agave nectar. It also gave me a great burst of energy. Bonus: The girl at David's tea told me that if you get bubbles when you whisk, its good luck!

Cupcakes- The last couple of weeks, I have been taking the Wilton course 1- Decorating basics class at Michaels. It has been so much fun and I've learned so much! This week was cupcake week. We learned how to fill them, ice them and create different kinds of flowers for the top. My favourite part was making the leaves. They were hard at first, but once I got the hang of it, I couldn't believe how great they looked!



Jason De Rulo ft. 2 Chains- "Talk Dirty"-  This song makes me wanna dance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHc-efXduXY

Happy Friday!

Saturday 18 January 2014

Strawberry White Chocolate Mini Muffins

     I've had a mini muffin pan for a couple of years now and its one of those kitchen accessories I could probley live without (hello donut pan sitting in the back of my pots and pans drawer that I used once after getting for Christmas last year), but mini muffins are more practical than donuts. So, I probley should make them more. They are perfect for that 10.30 am snack attack I seem to get every day at work. So, I've been meaning to make them and looked for different recipes specifically for mini muffins. This one looked super tasty: http://spoonful.com/recipes/strawberry-white-chocolate-mini-muffins (and bonus! I already had strawberries and white chocolate chips) But I noticed there was some easy swaps I could do to make them more healthy. It is resolution time! Ignore the chocolate chips ;) Recipe makes about 36 mini muffins.


Here is what I used:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (If you don't have you can use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour)
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
2 eggs
3/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 snack size unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup strawberries diced small
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Here's what I did:
     Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Grease a mini muffin pan. I dont use mini muffin holders because I find them too small to fill. I prefer just greasing my pan, but grease thoroughly because when replacing oil with apple sauce, things can get a little sticky!





     In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, whisk the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined. Add in the strawberries and chocolate chips. 
Pour mixture in a mini muffin pan 3/4 of the way full. I found I had extra mixture and it filled about 1 1/2 mini muffin pans.
Lower heat to 400 degrees F. (Starting with a higher heat makes the tops puff out) Bake for 16-18 minutes. They are ready when a toothpick comes out clean. 
Eat and Enjoy! I freeze em and take them to work for snacks!



Welcome to "What's Baking Baby?"

Hi, Im Amy! I'm a 26 year old female from Toronto, Ontario. Starting a blog has been on my list of to do's for some time now. Finally, the time has come. On, "Whats baking baby?" I'll share with you things like recipes, health tips, movie reviews, restaurant reviews, fashion ideas or really just anything awesome! But, first a little about myself. Im a marathon runner, yoga enthusiast and amateur baker. Im not a chef, nor am I a personal trainer, all of my interests are purely for fun. So, when I share baking or health tips, it's just based on my own experience. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!