A little sparkle here, a little sparkle there

I want to go over a few new things that I added to my blog just recently and maybe not so recently

♥ Related posts: I want to make my older posts more accessible esp to new visitors so I added the related posts at the bottom of each entry. Easier to navigate and prevents entries from being buried
♥ This goes hand in hand with the Labels I added to my right side column. Same concept but in word form. Here's a baby description of each.

-Beauty: posts on makeup, hair, skin care
-Cindee: personal thoughts, a lil about me, tags
-Creativity: art, projects, creative ppl, artists, ideas
-Daydreaming: my thoughts, inspirational photos
-DIY: do it yourself projects
-Fashion: designs I've created, style tips, fashion elements & design
-Fitness: weight loss, workout tips, gym music, motivation
-Health: posts on living a healthy lifestyle, nutrition
-How to: a mini guide to life
-Links: features links i've collected, loved and want to share
-Outfits: my outfit posts
-Personal Growth: articles regarding personal growth
-Quotes: just like it says. quotes =)
-Spirituality: ideas on how to connect with ur inner essence, holistic systems, authentic living
-Wanderlust: Anything & everything to do with exploring & traveling the world
-Yoga: my insights on yoga, philosophy, practice tips

♥ I have also included a menu underneath my banner. Home, Once Upon A Time, Cindee-rella & Contact Me. Its pretty much an introduction to who I am and what my blog is all about. I plan to add more to this menu later on
♥ Facebook like: I always have fun "liking" things that are posted on FB so I decided to add it to my entries as well. They are at the very bottom of each post
♥ Share: Share posts on ur twitter, FB...etc. Sharing is caring right? hehe. Who remembers the Care Bears?
♥ Made in Calgary/ Made in Vancouver: I have been collecting a list of local bloggers that I enjoy visiting. Some of them are friends and some I have been developing a friendship with. I love it bcos it makes us all more connected.
♥ Links: On my other list of links on the right side column I have collected links that I absolutely adore and think my readers would love too! If your blog/website should be on this list I would be delighted to exchange links with you.

White Blackberry Bold 9700 for sale

SOLD

This was my cute white blackberry with Hello Kitty posing as the Statue of Liberty. Goes so well with the white. Unfortunately it stopped working so I sent it in to get it replaced. In the process of waiting for my new blackberry I impulsively went and bought an iPhone instead. At first i was a lil iffy about it bcos I was addicted to bbm. But now that I have an iPhone I wont ever switch back to berry.
Anyways...long story short. After a week my new berry arrived. Its been un touched...still in its case with the plastic sticker still stuck to the screen(i like to test myself & see how long I can keep my fingers from peeling it off). So if anyone is interested pls contact me.
♥ Model: Blackberry Bold 9700
♥ Color: White
♥ Includes: charger, white case, battery & SD card
♥ Provider: Rogers but you can get it unlocked
♥ Price: $250

Gobble gobble. How to eat turkey

Its thanksgiving in Canada today. So Happy Turkey day!

I had such a huge dinner with my family last night and another one today *rubs her tummy* I think I can do it. I always look forward to these dinners. I just have to learn how to moderate my food intake bcos I can be such a glutton and that's not really what its about. Thanksgiving is about appreciating what we have in our lives and feeling gratitude towards the ppl that have become a part of it. I lose sight of these things from time to time when I live inside my head and forget to live in the present moment.

So this thanksgiving, when you eat your turkey, eat the drumstick first hehe and become mindful of the abundance we have in our lives.

Cake artist

One of the things that really excites me is when i meet very talented ppl. You can tell that the things they create and express are coming from their heart. So today I'd love to share with you a piece of sweetness that I think you'd very much enjoy as well.

When I say a piece of sweetness I meant it literally. This girl creates such delightful looking cakes and desserts that are as appealing to the eyes as they are appetizing to the tummy. But then, I always have a hard time eating things that look too lovely =P

See for yourself.

♥ Tell us a little about yourself, what is it that you do?
My name is Jeanie Lam, and I recently graduated from SAIT's Baking and
Pastry Arts Program. I specialize in wedding cakes and special occasion cakes (ex.
Baby Shower cakes, Birthday cakes, etc..).

♥ Where are you from & how did you get into this industry?
I was born and raised here in Calgary, Alberta.
I've always enjoyed baking and making pastries. Growing up, watching my
grandpa make moon cakes every year with different designs and different fillings
and the little 3D piglets. He was inspiring.
I also loved watching all the different challenges they would have on the
Food Network and awed at all the competitors. I wanted to be like the competitors
on those show, or even like Buddy from Cake Boss. They're so inspiring and creative.
My friends would always tell me to go to SAIT and take the baking and pastry arts
program, since I baked all the time for farewell parties or birthday parties. So I
applied, went thorugh the course interview and got in. Survived two years of studies
and hands-on work and now here I am just steps away from fulfilling my dream.

♥ What did you deam of becoming when you were a little girl?
Growing up I always wanted to become a pediatrician. I never even considered
becoming a baker or a pastry chef. Now when I think back to it all, I'm not even
sure why I had that desire dream of becoming a pediatrician. In junior high I had
that dream and even wrote that in the year book and on a piece of paper that went
into our time capsule. I guess we don't know what we really want to be until we
really grow up and think about what we really want to do with the rest of our lives.

♥ What inspires you when you are creating a piece of work?
When I receive a cake order, I ask the client who it's for and if they can tell me a
little bit about the person it's for. Whether they have a cake in mind or a picture
they would like to use as their template and we go from there. I give the client my
ideas and suggestions and draw up a cake with both of out ideas. I always try to
spice up the cake with my own designs and combine that with the persons characteristics
and personality.

♥ What services do you provide (custom, from catalog...etc)?
Most of the cakes that I've created are custom. Some of the others
are templates from catalogs with my own little twist.

♥ Use three words to describe your creations?
classy, moderate, and creative


♥ So if we are interested in ordering from you, how do we go about?
E-mail right now is the best way to contact me.
jeanie.lam@hotmail.com
send me an e-mail, with details about the order and when you
need the cake or desserts. Preferably two weeks before the event,
that will give both of us time to discuss the details of the cake.

Wanderlust Wednesday - Langkawi Lagoon, Malaysia

Run away with me!

I've decided to start a Wanderlust theme on Wednesdays. Since traveling and exploring are my most favorite thing, I want to share my discoveries & experiences with you. It delights me to capture memories onto film and it would feel wrong and rather unsatisfying if these photos go unseen. So pls enjoy.

First on my list is a resort called Langkawi Lagoon Resort that we stayed at. On their web site it says that it is a "5 star jewl of Langkawi, Malaysia". Langkawi is a cluster of 99 islands in the NW side of Malaysia & as we would find out soon enough, that it is a place of secrets and legends. As a birthday gift me and my darling sister decided to bring our papa here for his birthday.

When we first arrived at the resort we were greeted with these tropical drinks. It was perfectly refreshing considering how hot and humid it was that day. What are some of your favorite summer-time drinks? I still love my mojitos. Gin gin gin...cin. wait. Mojitos have rum. Not gin....

The rooms were traditional, clean and quite roomy. I thought it was rather cute how they incorporated a bit of modern into their decor, yet still remained true to the culture. Going somewhere exotic wouldnt be the same if the places you stayed at looked like a Hilton. Take me away....I laid on the bed so I could enjoy the air-con but only for a moment. There was something else I wanted to enjoy more. To the beach we go!

The Sea Villas are not attached to the main resort. These suites are what I call honey moon suites. They seem romantically alluring as they stand in these stunning, vibrant waters. Everytime I go somewhere so beautiful I always want my imaginary soul mate to come with me. Now its more than imaginary ♥

As we walked along the path we noticed on the outside of a suite were a fragrant arrangement of flowers. Taking a look closer, it was an entrance to Embunspa. Shall we walk thru the door that leads to bliss? Unfortunately we didnt get a chance to try any of the many services they offer. Perhaps next time? When I come back for my honeymoon? hehe. Asia is definitely one of the best places to go for massages.

She sells seashells by the seashore. She sells seashells by the seashore.

One of my simple pleasures is collecting seashells. Its interesting what kind of treasures you come across. I would like to stumble upon a seacomb adorned with pearls. that's what mermaids use.

This place is so photogenic. Wouldnt you agree? I didnt have to change the settings on my camera or position myself to get good lighting. It was just perfectly and naturally ready for its close up. These photos are obviously photoshopped for my own amusement but the originals didnt need to be retouched at all.

This resort was definitely a jewl and very pleasing to all my senses. Everything is so peaceful during the day and also at night. You can hear the stars twinkle as the waves gently arrive at shore....the slight breeze makes the leaves of the palm trees dance - expressing itself thru them. Stars, waves, breeze and leaves gather nightly to tell stories of the legends of this Island.

Gym Bunnie

I am a gym bunnie. I can't imagine what my life would be like not to be active, workout and practice yoga. I have gone some days without and it already makes me feel like a lethargic couch potato. My motive for hitting the gym used to be to shed some pounds but over the years it has become a different kind of animal. I notice the shape of my body has changed and I feel that my life force (prana, chi...) is more dynamic. I feel stronger not just physically but mentally as well. Before I would have to force myself to show up at the gym but now its become something i want to do and love to do. Passion or obsession? lol*

I like finding ways to creatively motivate myself when I have days that are a little lacking but I've also learned when to back off and rest. There's a difference between laziness and exhaustion but its a very fine line.

Challenge yourself and try to be more active. When you take big bites its hard to digest so start off with small bites and savor the flavors that come with it. Make sure your intention(this will be different for everyone) is set and just have fun.

Read one of my previous posts to get started:
Building the right foundation

Journal Scribbling

I found this piece I wrote in 2005 & I wanted to share it with you guys:

Dec 09 2005

" i*ve often struggled with my own sense of identity. who am i in this big world & where do i fit in? My appearence has changed & will continue to. Each day I experience moods, emotions & inner states that sometimes are so contrasting that I seem to be different ppl with each different circumstance that i come across. All these external changes can effect me inwardly just as inner change can alter you externally. But is there something that always remains the same? how do we know who we are?

well...i believe in a soul.I guess its not really who u are as an individual but how we experience IT (or God, to some) in us. We are all connected bcos we all share that essence inside. We CAN define ourselves as individuals but that doesnt explain who we really are esp since so much can change within & outside of us. Ultimately, who i am is who you are, who you are is who i am.

We are really not as seperate as we make ourselves to be bcos when you really touch on that essence inside it activates something we cant define. We start connecting with each other instead of setting ourselves apart...we see the innocence in others that we also recognize in ourselves. Sometimes we are brought to tears when someone has done something out of the kindness of their heart for us bcos their soul literally touched ours.

We always look up when we pray to God...thinking that he is somewhere up there or outside of us but what we dont realize is that God is IN us & when he speaks he speaks thru us from inside ur heart or in the actions & words of another person. If only we stop and take time to listen we would see lil signs that there is more than meets the eye. And if we paid more attention to ourselves inwardly, we can begin to open our eyes and that makes a world of a difference."

The art of Bento Box

When you create, you share yourself with others

When I saw the shape of these loaves of bread, it got my creative juices flowing. I remember seeing some images floating around on the internet before of cute little bento boxes and pulled some inspiration from there.

This is what I came up with up...

This was my first time making it so I still have room for improvement. Its so fun to make esp when you are creating it for someone else. I made this for my sister and her hubby when they were going on a road trip to Fernie. They were delightfully surprised =)

So what is Bento Box art anyways?
In Japan, it is a trend for making cute lunch boxes for children. This form of art is also called "charaben" which means character bento. Instead of the plain paper bag or ziplog container that comes to mind when you think of a packed lunch, ur lunch is packed in bento boxes which contain different compartments for you to place your food. There are different techniques and even kitchen tools you can buy specifically for this. There's even molds to make your eggs heart shaped, star shaped...u name it(you can buy it on . I love japanese pop culture. They always have a way of making everything so cute and pretty.

How can you make your own?

You can start off with whatever containers you have at home. If you wanna dive in right away & invest in some bento boxes, there are so many cute ones you can buy online. Or if you have a DAISO (japanese $2 store. LOVE IT!!!) near you, u can search for one there. They also sell cute toothpicks, chopsticks, napkins....etc.

Some other things you'll need would be cookie cutters so you can cut shapes out of things like bread, cheese, veggies, fruits. Circle or face shaped hole punchers to make the eyes and faces out of Nori seaweed or you can just be like me and use sissors to do it. It takes too much time tho and as u can see in my photo, its not quite even. heh heh

Think of a theme or an idea you want to tie ur box around. "Under the sea", a heart theme, an animal...? Search the internet for examples. There are tons of photos out there. It usually containts 3 parts carbs, 1 part protein & 2 parts fruits, veggies and sometimes a small treat so keep that in mind when building your box.

When its time to pack ur boxes, make sure to fill it completely and tightly so everything will stay where it belongs. You dont want any room for your food to shift around after you close the lid.

So there you have it. I hope someday I can open up my lunch box and be surprised by a cute arrangement staring back at me °(• ᴥ •)° I would gobble it all up in a few seconds....of course after admiring it and take a few photos of it first. You know how asians are. We take pictures of everything - especially of food.