Bloor West Arts Festival

...Or something like that. I'm not too sure what the exact name of the fesitval was but it was one of those blocked off streets and vendors everywhere kind of thing. It was a pretty great way to explore the Christie Pitts park and the Bloor downtown area. On the way we passed U of T St. George and the Royal Conservatory of Music (of which I had a total fan-girl moment). 

To me street festivals are mainly composed of street musicians and barbeque. Both of which I am very happy with. Sometimes you'll get nicely organized ones (such as the Junction Music Festival --see post) that come with free buttons, pamphlets, timetables and easily distinguished signage. Bloor A&C (arts and crafts if you didn't catch on) wasn't so much or maybe I missed it but it was still nice to roam around. I went pretty late in the evening after work which was great to get all the late deals. And by deals I mean cheap drinks, food, and other local vendor deals. But everyone just goes for the food right? 

Well I went with a friend and we parked in this random alley/parking lot across from the Bathurst subway station which was nice and close to everything yet easily accessible and off the main drag. We walked thrugh Christie Pitt's Park and up and down Bloor West where we were met with late go-ers and vendors packing up. But we did discover a few gems and some that were less shiny. Let me start by sharing that I love tacos. So when I see a sign saying $3 tacos there's no other option for me. I should've kept walking but my inner student kept saying "$3? What a deal!" and so the taco adventure started and aburptly ended. They-sucked. Some weid tofu vegetarian thing they called a taco but looked like a dog spit it out. I won't name the place because the service was nice and it was late. From now on I will think about my taco purchases. Let this be a lesson to you all as it sure has been for me. 

All in all my friend and I got some good chinese dumplings to fill our empty (again) stomachs and some not-so-bad beer. We heard some rooftop music which sounded great (good vocals, minimal accompaniment), and had a good time! Next year I'll make it a day-time gig rather than an evening one so I can enjoy more of the festivities. 

Below I've included a link to a really nice band I heard that nice which completely makes up for the tac fiasco of 2014. If anyone knows their name I'd be much obliged to know! They have a really groovy sound. Also here's some pics because I document my life in pictures. 

http://youtu.be/FGisOFfjT9g

Jackson Browne

Can we just talk abut the fact that I went to see Jackson Browne in concert? It was pretty amazing so I though I'd share some pictures with the 3 people that actually read this.

 

 

DIY : Wave/Beach Spray

I  don't know about you but I have wavey/unruly/kind of crazy hair sometimes and sticking it up in a ponytail just isn't cutting it for me anymore. I've previously talked about how I read the posts from The Beauty Department quite often and when I saw that they made a wave spray I decided to give it a try. Now TBD is great and has tons of great tips for the 'every-girl' but they're stuff can lean towards the pricey side. Often they cite a great makeup tool, or special ingredient that they 'just can't live without' and I'll tell you straight up: you can. But it'll take some compromise and a little thrifty-ness. So here's the spray I made using TBD's measurements and ingredients, but with a twist.

For the most part you can google, or check pinterest, on how to make a beach spray and they're all very similar with different people claiming a certain ingredient is great for them, but might not be so great for you. The basic formula is Leave-In Conditioner+Sea Salt+Coconut Oil+Gel. You'll see that basically anywhere. My hair is already a mix of wavey/spirally (thanks for the Irish heritage Dad) and the hair is fine, so I wanted to even out the texture with a spray. If you're hair is similar or you're just looking for a fast/cheap/easy way to get a wave then keep reading.

The Beauty Department's Spray:

Ingredients for the DIYkendra Wave Spray:

1 cup hot water

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp sea alt

2 tbsp leave-in conditioner 

I ended up skipping the water based pomade (which would act as the gel in the aforementioned formula) when I realized how expensive it was and how little of it I needed. If you have any lying around by all means use it.

Here goes!

Step 1: Have everything ready to go.

Step 2: Fill the measuring cup up with 1 cup of hot water. Enough to dissolve everything that's about to go into it.

Step 3: Add the seal salt and mix thoroughly until its dissolved. Some may fall to the bottom depsite your attempts and that's ok. 

Step 4: Add the leave-in conditioner. My sister has some serious extensions in her hair and has this special conditioner and it was the only one I had. But any one will work. 

Step 5: Add the coconut oil. This stuff is hard to dissolve so I would suggest running your tsp under hot water to help with the process. And of course give it a good stir to dissolve. 

Step 6: Mix it all up! Now pour into your spray bottle. Here I used a teal bottle from Dollarama.  

I ended up doubleing the amount in order to fill the bottle. No biggie just multiply everything by 2. 

Step 7: Spray lightly onto hair either dry or towel-dry. 

Now here is the before-during-and after photos!

Before: Dry har brushed out. 

During: A little damp now. 

 

Aaaaaaand after! I am very pleased with the result :) The leave-in conditioner makes the hair super soft. 

Hope you enjoyed the post and feel free the comment if you have any suggestions or questions!

-DIYkendra 

DIY : Homemade Lemon Cranberry Scones/Biscuits

Late at night I like to bake...or feng shui...or clean. But it's mostly baking. I'm not completely sure why but something about the house being quiet, and everyone is (assumingly) asleep. I presume for the most part that it's because nobody is bothering me and therefore I get to try new things without interruption. It's kind of therapeutic and I highly recommend it. But I'm not a doctor or anything. 

When 1am rolls around I'm probably laying in bed looking at pictures on the internet of cats doing hilariously stupid things, or over-analyzing a situation which occured during the day that didn't quite go as planned. Don't you just hate that? I'd rather take cats any day. Yet, I had scones on the mind. So I guess that's ok. 

Here's the recipe I followed for basic scones, for which I later added the cranberries and lemon without instruction. I know ... I'm a little risque. If any of you recognize this recipe from the Good Housekeeping cookbook circa way-before-my-time don't get rid of it. I repeat: do not get rid of it. It's probably torn and tattered like mine but this is hands down the best cookbook for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Trust me, I'm a doctor (seriously I'm not). 

DIY : Lemon Cranberry Scones 

2 cups all-purpose flour (the white stuff)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt (Note: I skipped this. I never add extra salt in my food)

1/4 cup of shortening (Crisco)

3/4 up of milk

2 cups-ish of cranberries

2 tbsp of lemon concentrate 

Step 1: Preheat the over so you don't have to wait when you're ready to bake. Then pre-grease a cookie sheet so those bad boys don't get stuck. 

Step 2.: Mix everything with a fork EXCEPT THE MILK. Apparently there's a funny littl trick to making the shortening easier to mix, but honestly I just put it in and went to town on it. Good ol' elbow grease. 

Step 3: Finally add the milk and with the fork give it a good thorough mix. 

Note: I added enough cranberries until I could see them everytime I mixed. It was about 2 cups. For the lemn juice I added 2 tbsp because then I could smell the lemon from the batter. If you're looking for a little extra citrus punch add some orange zest. 

Step 4: Use a spoon with the fork and place them onto the cookie sheet. The batter should be gooey. About 1 inch apart on the sheet. 

Step 5: Place them in the oven approx 12-15 minutes depending on your oven. They don't take long and they should look cripsy and well risen from the outside. You could also -carefully- touch the tops while they're in the oven and if they bounce-back then they're ready. Or stick a fork in them and if they come out dry then you're good to go. 

Step 6: Take them out of the oven and eat those bad boys. I almost want to make more just by typing this out. 

Enjoy and bon appetit! 

-DIYkendra 

Tips & Tricks : Never Lose an Earring Backing

I'm always scrambling to find those little clear plastic earring backings that hold so well. They're definitely a nuisance to put on the back of your ear but it's worse when you drop one. I can't even count how many times I've said 'screw it' when I've dropped one on the floor. 'Guess I'm not wearing earrings today' is the only solution I can think of after that happens. So the other day when I decided to spontaneously clean out my jewelry drawer I decided to do something about it. So voilà! My tip to keep all those little earring backs together! And the best part is you get to eat chocolate. Check out the picture below to see how:

A KINDER SUPRISE EGG. No joke. It clasps closed just enough to not open accidentally and opens easily enough to get what you need in a rush! And what's even better -if this could get any better- is that it's small enough to stay in my earring drawer! Booyah. 

What I'm Trying : Oil Pulling

Oil pulling was originally brought to my attention on the Kitchen Beautician page of The Beauty Departments website. Essentially this page is for the DIY-er who wants to make their own beauty products at home. In my case I'm just poor and think beauty products are radically over charged. But in any case I visit the page regularly and was pleasantly surprised to see a new article on natural teeth whitening. 

Here's a little back story for you folks who don't already know why I'm obsessed with my teeth. When I was 'little Kendra' and teething I caught the chicken pox. This interrupted what should have been my natural teething process and turned it into years of oral-financial stress and endless Ortho/dentist appointments. My two incisors (right beside the two front teeth I believe) didn't come in naturally when the baby teeth fell out, leaving me with gaps. Ever since then I've had veneers attached to a very discreet retainer in my mouth. Anyone meeting me after this point can never tell so I'm pretty happy with the outcome. This can make whitening your teeth a challenge though because the veneers are made to match all your other teeth. 

Here's where the oil pulling comes in handy. Although I receive endless groupons for teeth whitening treatments and see about a half dozen 'New client whitening' ads everyday I still don't feel comfortable chemically forcing my teeth to change colour. I tried a formula last month using Hydrogen Peroxide, water, baking soda, and toothpaste (containing fluoride) but the results just didn't do it for me. So we shall see if the oil pulling technique can walk the walk. 

Here's the website with the steps I followed: 

http://thebeautydepartment.com/2014/03/kitchen-beautician-8/

And here's what I did: 

Step 1: Get coconut oil. Seriously it has almost endless uses and I bought a huge can of it at Wal Mart for $2. You can use to get make up off, as a moisturizer, cooking, hair treatment, etc... It's pretty amazing stuff. 

Step 2: Grab a teaspoon and scoop out a fair share amount of the coconut oil. Because the coconut oil is solid I heated up a mini dish in hot water and let the oil melt into the dish. 

Step 3: Let the coconut oil melt and use the spoon to mash it up. Basically until it's at a liquid consistency. 

Step 4: Ok. Put it in your mouth. It's gross in the beginning but I tell you after 1 minute your own natural saliva kicks in and you don't even notice what's going on. Swish for 20 minutes. 

20 MINUTES. 

Step 5: Spit into a garbage. This is important because coconut oil will cool and harden in your pipes.

Step 6: Rinse your mouth with water and spit into the garbage. 

Step 7: Brush your teeth as normal and don't forget to floss!

Canvas Maps

 

       

 

These I made on a hot afternoon a couple of years ago after initially finding out I'd be graduating soon.  With the inevitable end of my 'Ottawa social life' and the impending doom of moving back home with my parents I realized I wanted something to symbolize all my experiences. While I have lots of little knick-knacks such as ticket stubs and .... Well it's mostly ticket stubs (and Facebook photos) I wanted something a little more general and all-inclusive. 

 

I'm not sure where I got the idea of the canvas maps but the project was very easy and I'm proud to say of how happy I am of how they turned out. Here's the directions below: 

What you need: 

- 3 blank canvases (found at Dollarama) 

- a general road map of Ottawa (Staples or Wal Mart) 

- white liquid glue (not glue sticks) I bought a 3 pack from Dollarama

- water (check your kitchen) 

- whisk 

- mixing bowl 

- paper towel 

- scissors 

- painting brush (basic from Dollarama)

- pencil and ruler 

What you need to do: 

Step 1: Choose the three sections you want and trace the canvas on top with a pencil. Do this lightly so the pencil markings won't show up on your finished product. Make sure you put paper towel down around you so as to not get glue on the floor. 

Step 2: Take your ruler and measure 1/2 inch (depending on the thickness of the canvas) around your outlined area. This will allow you to wrap your sections around the canvas so the sides aren't bare. 

Step 3: Cut out each section and place them over each canvas to make sure they fit and placed properly. Now take each section and crumple them up like a bad draft of an essay. This creates the 3D look. 

Step 4: Create your glue paste with a 1:1 ratio of glue and water. So for every amount of glue there needs to be the same amount for water. Example: 1/2 cup of glue = 1/2 cup of water. Mix with the  whisk until completely mixed with no clumps.

Step 5: Position your canvases with your mapped out sections.  Now take the paintbrush and slather your 1:1 glue ratio onto the canvas. Really the more the better. Now quickly take the map and place it on top in all its crunchy glory. Take more glue ratio and slather some more on top of the map for a shiny effect and extra hold. So basically it's the hairspray of your project.  

Step 6: Repeat step 5 for the rest of the canvases. Make sure you glue down the sides of the canvas as we'll so the entire canvas is covered. Allow to dry. 

To hang: Initially I used thumbtacks to hang my canvasses because it allowed me the freedom to easily move them wherever I wanted. But when I moved home I used 3M's with the Velcro (Home Depot) so as to not damage the walls. Their final placement is one inch apart roughly. Voila! Beautiful canvas maps to represent the city I'll never forget.