Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

My Wednesday was devoted to staying in my pajamas, studying, and baking cookies. Since I had the day to literally do nothing but lounge around, I tried to mix relaxing with being productive. You can probably guess which won the battle. I mean, I only changed out of my pajamas to go grocery shopping early in the afternoon, and even THAT was a challenge. Sometimes pajamas are just the best things ever.

Anyway, onto the cookies!

I used this recipe to make these delicious cookies.

Instead of leaving them in the oven for the full ten minutes, however, I baked them for 8 minutes and let them sit on the cookie sheet for another minute or so. This left them a bit softer in the middle.

I also scooped the dough onto my cookie sheet with a 1 tbsp. measuring spoon 

& flattened them with a fork.

This gave me approximately 40 cookies!

I hope you all had a great day! xo

The Weekend via Instagram

Despite a fairly uneventful weekend that mainly consisted of coffee, cookies & running (who knew that cookies and candy aren't the best fuel for running?), it was still an enjoyable one. It is the second week of school now, and I am already learning a lot of stuff I never knew before, especially in my textiles class. Additionally, Saturday marked the day I purchased my first "big kid" winter jacket - perfect timing too since the snow has began falling here in Vancouver. There really is nothing better on a snowy evening than baking cookies, too! I hope you all had a great weekend. Here are some snaps I took!

1. Homemade chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies... Three left!

2. Apparently leaving curls pinned to your head makes for crazy hair when you finally take it out (four hours later). Needless to say, I wore my hair up that night.

3. Messages in the snow! Funny how that happens.

xo

Snaps of the Week

This past Sunday was Brandon's birthday, so we headed out to Brown's Social House in Richmond for some dinner & drinks! Being the girl that I am, I had to go for the mimosa on special rather than the Caesar - SO yummy, so filling!

A project of mine on Tuesday at work involved a lot of ribbons. Lots, and LOTS of ribbons (and continued on until Wednesday).

New running shirt from Skinny Runner. I love it already & have used it on the majority of my runs!

Soft, delicious oatmeal banana cookies. I used this recipe, but used 1/2 cup raisins & 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. These babies are so yummy, especially fresh out of the oven. Bonus: make the whole house smell fantastic!

A couple treats before my last exam this past Monday evening. Sometimes it's nice to just sit by the window in a coffee shop and see what's happening - most of the time you see some pretty darn funny things, too! I enjoyed a shortbread cookie (with white chocolate icing, um hello, heaven!) with an almond milk caramel macchiato. Oh, and in the bag are some shoe ornaments for the little tree in the apartment!

Hope you've all had a good week!

Happy Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween, fashionable friends!

This past weekend has been all about the Halloween festivities & celebrations here in Vancouver. Every where you go people are walking around in their costumes. It's amazing what people will be! The cool thing about Halloween is that you can dress up and be someone else for a night. Sure, it's a short lived fling, but Halloween is the time to get creative and have fun! Plus, the candy doesn't hurt either.

Here are a couple other Halloween photos to get you in the spirit! I just recently got excited for the holiday (as in, last night I came up with my costume, which will leave me scrambling to get ready today before school), so I am furiously searching the internet for things I need to get for my costume. I'm not giving you any major hints, but my costume is SUPER DUPER girly and cute!

What are you doing/what did you do for Halloween this year?

  

Love the idea of Halloween themed nails. I have seen lots of pictures pop up on the internet, and I especially love the mix of black + glitter (a spooky Halloween night sky!) and the cob webs. So cool!

 

What is Halloween without the fun cookies and treats!? Although I didn't do any Halloween themed baking, I indulged in a small bag of 5cent candies while I was downtown Saturday afternoon. Halloween = candy cravings (and the dreaded sugar-induced tummy aches)!

Stay safe! 

xoxo

Photos from weheartit

Cookie Friday

What's a better way to celebrate Friday than with some delicious cookies? 

Approx. 1 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)

Note: I used a tiny bit less flour since I was putting in lots of oats.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oats

2 eggs

4 tbsp. softened butter/margarine

1 tsp. baking powder

Approx. 1/3 cup raisins

1 small scoop of hemp seeds

1 med. apple, grated (you could add chunks if you wanted)

A couple shakes of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients well. Bake on a greased cookie sheet, 12-15 minutes. I flattened mine with a fork, but that's up to you!

 Thursday night treats - Brandon had the turtle pecan waffle bowl (loads of caramel & pecans and whipped cream!), and I opted for the turtle pecan cluster blizzard. Not bad, not bad. Definitely doesn't measure up to my Georgia mud fudge though with all them brownie pieces ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Friday, cookies or not!

Picture Mishmash

1. The boyfriend & I before I went to work yesterday. Wow, do I look ridiculously pale or what?

2. I scored these runners yesterday at Sportchek. They were originally on sale for one hundred bucks, but I got them for sixty! I was originally looking at a pair by New Balance that had pink on them - yes, I wanted them solely because of the pink, but these ones fit so much better and felt so much more supportive. I think it's a little more important while running than having stripes of pink on your shoes. Practicality over aesthetic, for the win!

3. New nail polish from Sally Hansen. Yes, I don't need any, but it's preeeetty!

4. New issue of LouLou! I love this magazine because there are so many contests and fantastic style inspiration amongst all the pages. It's like heaven in one magazine (besides countless others that I love).

5. Cookie bites! I flattened the second batch with a fork so they look more like cookies. Clearly the taste beats the appearance of these babies. They're almost gone!

Recent Shots

1. Goals, To-Do List, and an outline of my work out routine that I will be starting today! I have decided to run a race this June, so I have two months to train. It's not a long distance by any means, and I'm not doing it to be competitive, but I thought it would be one of those things where I could honestly (and proudly) say, "Yeah, I did that!"

2. Baking some cookies! I found the recipe on Carrotsncake.com - they are called Matt Damon cookies, for any of you treat fiends out there!

3. Seeds, seeds, seeds! If you know me, I love me some seeds in ANYTHING - yogurt, oatmeal, cookies, sprinkled on roasted veggies, in the palm of my hand... I added hemp seeds and sunflower to these cookies for some added chew! Oh, and some chocolate chips so my dad & Brandon wouldn't be totally freaked out by oats + seeds.

4. Om nom nom! I devoured a small one (I made smaller ones for myself so I could still get a sweet treat without having one half the size of my face) last night.

5. Plate o' goodies!

6. Me lookin' fly for all you readers. Yeah, my shirt says Trees Are For Hugging, and yes, I have a pony tail bump in my hair from my day at work, and YES, I am not wearing make up!

7. Painting my nails. I also took a picture of my toenails, but it didn't turn out that well. Ah well. Another day.

8. I used OPI's Tickle My France-y. It's usually my go to colour for my nails, as it's work appropriate (for the restaurant anyway) and fits in well with the whole nude/neutral infatuation that's been happenin' these days.

Happy Monday everyone! I'll be spending the afternoon at work, but I have a couple things I want to check off my To - Do list, like buying new runners and a food processor. Perhaps today will be the day!

Cookies & Colds

1-2. I made cookies on Thursday night. I used a basic cookie recipe and added in coconut, pumpkin & sunflower seeds, and a couple sprinkles of chocolate chips. The end result wasn't pretty, but they sure tasted awesome!

3. A comfy outfit for work on Friday. My dad is sick, Brandon is sick, and my sister was sick last week. What is the out come when that happens? I get sick. Great!

4-6. Details of my outfit! Mom's SheShe Accessories infinity scarf, thrifted cardigan, Payless Shoes red ballet flats (I got these in grade seven or eight... So comfortable!), and Pashu skinny jeans. Oh, and those earrings were on sale for $3.25! Score!

7. This is how I feel about catching a cold. Boo!

Sunday Inspiration

1. Bows, bows, bows. I think this would be cute this spring paired with a bright coloured top and nude heels. Simple accessories. Perfect for a night out too.

2. Young love. Maybe not this young, but seriously. How adorable are they? Note to self: Buy heart shaped glasses ASAP to relive my childhood.

3. Gold fish! I was so obsessed with gold fish when I was younger. However, my parents insisted that I have Beta fish first (and so did the pet store lady, as they live longer)! RIP Mr. Tickles (my Beta fish... Ironic?)

4. Valentine's Day cookies in pretty pinks and reds. What is everyone doing this Valentine's Day?

Just a quick post for you guys! I worked a double shift at work today, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. Besides, I didn't wear anything exciting - black pants, black shirt & a black cardigan. Can you tell that my work's dress code is BLACK?

Luckily I have tomorrow off! Woohoo! Happy Monday to me (and to YOU too)!!

Red, White & Knit

1. Thrifted Grandpa sweater, Old Navy oversized red shirt, Pashu skinny jeans & the same Payless gray ankle boots from Wednesday's post.

2. Silly smiles in the bathroom!

3. Cookie Friday! Thank you to Tina from Carrots N Cake for introducing me to this. I was convinced that my day would be fueled by healthy eating - spinach salad, veggies & an orange for lunch, lots of water, and a bowl of oatmeal to get me through the morning - but I was tempted by the bakery down the street from my work. I ended up buying two of these cookies. One for me, one for Brandon.

4. I whipped up a gingerbread smoothie when I got home (also from Carrots N Cake). Seriously delicious! In the mix: light soy milk, a handful of ice, banana, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon and ground ginger. Try it. You'll like it!

Happy Friday lovelies!

To Infinity & Beyond

1. The most comfy slipper like shoes you'll ever place upon your feet (if you buy them, that is. I don't like sharing!). I purchased these at a store called Wall Street for a whopping $13.00! They are made by Roxy, and were originally $30.00 or something like that - I'm glad I grabbed them when I did!

2. Today's outfit, worn with Pashu skinny jeans. This infinity scarf is so warm and cozy! My mom bought it at a SheShe accessory party and so kindly let me borrow it to wear to work today (and around the house, as I am right now). I wore it with a royal blue long sleeve shirt from Smart Set and a striped cardigan from Smart Set as well.

3. My sister and her friend Rachel baked some cookies last night for Rachel's mom's birthday. However, Rachel forgot nearly half of them here (she took some for the gift, left some for us). Lucky for me though, I went for a run yesterday morning (and this morning, as I snuck a cookie when I got home), so I didn't feel too bad about having a cookie or two! They followed a standard chocolate chip recipe, but instead of the regular milk chocolate, they used white chocolate and rainbow chips. Yum!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday night! My friend is having her 19th birthday party tonight, so I'm wanting to check that out for sure!

Holly xo

Cleansers, cookies & stripes.

1. Zoya nail polish is seriously fantastic. It comes in a rang of colours, stays on for hours, and it's so pretty! These are two of my favourites. From left: Richelle, Blyss. Of course, I also have several other favourites. Perhaps I'll have to do a whole post on nail polish (I have a disgusting amount)!

2. My favourite cleanser! It is SO gentle, and it's made with all natural and organic ingredients. The best thing is that it's made in Victoria, a city about 45 minutes away from where I live!

3. 100% Purity is an all natural and organic line from California. I LOVE, love, LOOOVE this eye cream! If you've had a late night out and wake up with puffy eyes, the caffeine in this cream reduces the puffiness. I generally use this before I go to bed, but I also use it in the morning as a day cream for my eyes. It's great all around, plus it has a nice light scent and a little goes a long way!

4. The carrot and the pineapple scrub are FANTASTIC! They have jojoba beads inside that gently buff away dead skin on your face without making mini tears in the skin. They smell amazing, and your skin is ridiculously soft and smooth and moisturized after (although using a moisturizer after is recommended for silky skin)!






1. Picture session in the bathroom at work. I tested one of the bronze coloured lip glosses (with a separate testing stick, since my cold is getting worse!) and this is how it turned out!

2. I went next door to The Book Nook to get my rice & veggies heated up for lunch, and I got a free cookie out of the deal! She was unable to sell it because unlike the other cookies, this one had spread out too much while in the oven & was too thin. Oh well! Good thing I had a healthy lunch!

3. Yogi Tea has the best phrases on their tea bags. Plus, the tea is delicious!

4/5. Boots by American Eagle for Payless, Cardigan: Suzy Shier, Leggings: Gifted, Shirt: Bluenotes, Belt: CostaBlanca


I tried to divide the picture lists from above into the skin care section & the section about my day. Unfortunately, it seems as if my cold is getting worse now. Near lunch time at work I was walking around like a zombie with the sniffles and a pounding headache that somehow made me feel drowsy all at the same time. My dearest mother made me some apple cinnamon chamomile tea, so hopefully that will sooth the barely there pain in my throat (I can feel it, I can feel it!). Later on tonight while Brandon is at work, I'm going to a friend's house to catch up and watch movies. Hopefully my willpower is feeling strong tonight to resist the chips. What is it about thinly sliced potatoes with a sprinkling of flavour that gets us reaching for more? Ugh.

Nevertheless! I hope you guys have a wonderful night. Wow, what a long post!

See you tomorrow!

Holly xoxo :)