Doors Open Toronto: St. Russell Carhouse

I had the opportunity to attend Doors Open Toronto, where for one weekend, you can visit 155 of the city's historical, architectural, cultural and socially significant buildings. There were so many places to visit, however, I got to visit TTC Russell Carhouse where the city's streetcars are repaired.

Hanami 2: Shoot in High Park

I had the opportunity to take some pictures in High Park, Toronto. We had taken a few photos, hoping for better weather but unfortunately it rained and I got pretty drenched. The photos turned out pretty nice:

Banana-Pecan Cupcakes

I baked Banana Pecan Cupcakes for my co-worker Stacey's birthday. I wanted to try something different other than red velvet cupcakes! This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart. 

This goes well with cream cheese frosting or caramel buttercream. 

Ombre Hair: Before, After and Aftercare

I've been wanting to get ombre done for such a long time, I even created a dedicated Pinterest board to styles of Ombre that looked good on darker hair. A lot of my Ombre hair inspiration comes from Lauren Conrad and Michelle Phan. I got referred to Hannah Hwang who works out of Goa beauty salon in Koreatown, Toronto, ON right by Christie station.

My Pain Points

“It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” ― Chuck Palahniuk

(via weheartit)

Hanami 2014: Part 1

Hanami is the Japanese custom of enjoying cherry flower blooms. Each year, there is a period of one week where the cherry blossoms come out to bloom. In Toronto, hundreds make the pilgrimage to High Park to see the cherry blossoms bloom.

Happy Mother's Day

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ― Washington Irving

4 teeth lighter, and a little bit wiser

My wisdom teeth have been causing me pain every couple of weeks since the year started, to the point where I actually had difficulty speaking and loss of appetite. Although only one side was bothering me, I decided to have all four remove to prevent future cases of impacted wisdom teeth.

(via weheartit)

The surgery itself was not bad at all, the recovery however was a bit cumbersome.

Homemade Crispy Calamari

This was a very easy recipe I modified from Allrecipes. There are 6 ingredients all together and I finished this within an hour. It was a great addition to the Creamy Pesto Fettuccine I made and this was a hit with my friends and family that tried it.  

Creamy Pesto Fettuccine

I'm a big fan of all things pesto, so when contemplating my next pasta I really wanted to include this as a main ingredient. 

Exciting site updates!

I'm excited to tell you about some updates the site has been undergoing these last few weeks:

My blog has a domain name - sparrow.nu!

I actually owned this domain name a few years ago and was happy to see no one had taken it over the last few years after I let it expire. To clarify, I still host my blog at  http://blogger.com, however, I have linked a domain I purchased through http://nunames.nu to the blog. That way, I can still enjoy free hosting, have my own "domain" for 18 euros a year and not break the bank!

Classic Short Bread Cookies

Its very exciting to be back and blogging again. After a very packed three months, I have found the time and motivation to blog (and bake) again!

I decided to bake them for a friend's birthday potluck as a dessert.  This particular recipe only uses four ingredients, and results in soft, crumble in your mouth cookies. 

With radio playing in the background, and a little "mini lightbox" setup to take photos I was done in about 1 hour (including chilling the cookie dough for 20 minutes in the fridge).  Let's get started!