Let's take hold of this winter thing

Notice the cuddly scarves and knit toques? It's winter time people! And we love it over here in Canada. ;) Yesterday my brother Wes and I embraced the icy breeze and went for a walk up our road. It's a rare thing where we live for the sky in winter to be sunny AND not raining AND not raining. Did I say not raining? Today also happens to be this guy's 19th birthday! So, for the rest of the day we'll be celebrating with lots of cake and a little surprise we have for him. :) I hope you all have a wonderful day on this New Years eve!

Much love, Vivi

Salted Chocolate-Caramel Clusters

What's not to about love crunchy pecans and chewy caramel covered in white and dark chocolate? These chocolate caramel clusters are delicious on their own, and just as tantalising with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt for a finishing touch. I enjoyed more than a couple with a cup of holiday chai by stash tea. Also, these require no baking! So go ahead and eat a bunch while you're putting them together. No judgement here. 

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package pecan halves, toasted
1 14-ounce package vanilla caramels, unwrapped
1 tablespoon milk
1 12-ounce package dark chocolate pieces
2 ounces white chocolate, chopped   

...

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Arrange pecans in single layer clusters of five halves each.
2. In a small heavy saucepan combine vanilla caramels with milk. Heat and stir over medium heat until caramels melt and mixture is smooth. Spoon caramel over each cluster of pecans and let stand for 30 minutes or until firm.
3. In a medium heavy saucepan heat and stir the dark chocolate pieces over low heat until chocolate melts and is smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup of the melted chocolate. Spoon remaining melted chocolate over clusters, gently spreading to the edges. Let stand until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. Microwave white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute or until chocolate is smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread white chocolate over tops of clusters. Pour reserved dark chocolate into a resealable plastic bag and snip a very small hole in one corner. Drizzle chocolate over each cluster. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt. Makes 20- 24 clusters.

 Much love, Vivi        

Cranberry Almond Biscotti

A few nights ago I made some biscotti for the first time. Scratch that, a few weeks ago I made biscotti for the first time. With school wrapping up for the year, (cue tests, quizzes, abyss of homework) I completely forgot I had this post, patiently waiting to be finished. Forgive me, biscotti, you sure were delicious.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
1 tablespoon sugar

....

1. Preheat oven to 325* F and line two large cookies sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the middle. In a small bowl lightly beat the eggs and egg yolks. Stir in the melted butter. Place the egg mixture in the well in the flour mixture and stir until the dough starts to form a ball. Stir in almonds and cranberries. (dough will be crumbly) Use your hands to kneed until the dough comes together.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three equal portions. Shape each portion into a 14-inch roll and place about 3 inches apart on prepared cookies sheets, flattening each to about 1 1/2 inches wide. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until rolls are firm and light brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks for 15 minutes.
5. Transfer rolls to cutting board. Cut each roll diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Cool completely.
6. Dip one end of each biscotti into cream cheese icing and place on wire racks over sheets of waxed paper. 

Cream cheese icing: 
Beat 3 ounces softened cream cheese and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract until creamy. Beat in one cup powdered sugar, adding milk as needed to make an icing of dripping consistency.  

Store at room temperature for up to three days or freeze for up to a month! 

Happy Baking!   

Much love, Vivi  

Christmas time

thankful for this December....

light covered fire places 
apple cider with cinnamon sticks
foggy mornings
warm winter gloves
Christmas novels
The Polar Express  
volunteering at a Pioneer Christmas event for kids
cranberry almond biscotti- recipe coming soon :)
typography
learning in biology class

Two more weeks of classes and I am officially finished school for the year! Grade 12 is a lot more work than previously expected. I've been focusing more on that fact that Christmas is fast approaching. (yippee!) Who else is just itching to dig into a hunk of turkey? Or maybe you're classy and eat with a knife and fork. Don't worry, I do too. But it's Christmas time, you gotta live a little! ;)

Much love, Vivi 

Five things to love

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts, so I thought doing a summer themed one would be fun! Here is a little piece of what I've been loving this summer so far....

{ chocolate fondues on picnic blankets outside }

{ peach and pink nails with a touch of sparkle }

{ my favourite shorts and sandals for touring this lovely place }

{ purple pants! I have so much love for anything purple }

{ wild flowers that add a beautiful touch to any space, in this case, my room :) }

Summer days

{ iced coffee outside in the sunshine }

{ fresh strawberries from our backyard plants }

{ 60 second chocolate cake that will have you wanting another... and another }

{ the first of many summer DIY's: Pastel African animals on handmade cards }

{ next DIY: chevron necklace! }

{ and my favourite DIY so far, delicate gold rings }

{ iced caramel macchiatos with this lady }

{ breezy summer outfit: H&M dress, handmade necklace, and payless leather sandals }

How have your summer days been so far? :)

Much love, Vivi

Five things to love

{classic burger and fries at a local 50's diner}

{two golden rings stacked together}

{springtime flowers looking vibrant on our back deck}

{quaint lights strung up along ongoing construction}

{receeding shades of grey along the shoreline of the lake}

This week has included the oh-so interesting events of intense nose blowing, vitamin C consuming, and lemon tea drinking. I know. Momumental week for me. Thankfully, all of the mountains of tissues are scaring this cold off and I'm feeling much better! What have you been up to this week? Was nose blowing on your radar too? :)

Much love, Vivi

Of lattes and long walks

You know when you eat way too much and you feel bad so you go on a really long walk in the rain to burn off a fraction of the calories? So fun.

A couple of days ago my family and I took a trip to our favourite cafe, Milsean Shoppe. We've spent countless happy Sunday afternoons at this adorable cafe, drinking lattes and being silly. Just doing what we do best.. .:)

I tried the Milsean DCB latte for the first time and it definitely didn't disappoint! Topped with homemade butter crunch, whipped cream and swirls of caramel and chocolate, I was in latte heaven.

My latte really needed a friend. So I was nice and gave him a steak and Guinness pie for some company. Just one look with those big creamy eyes and I couldn't help but cave. ;)

Back home, we went for a long walk and it started pouring rain! We were all drenched by the time we made it back home, but we had so much fun!

Much love, Vivi