Coconut chocolate mini cakes

I don't know if you noticed but I love dessert. I have been teaching myself how to cook, but baking came naturally. I think it has something to do with the fact that I never say no to sweets. This recipe is something I learned how to make from my mom; she is one of those people who reads the recipe, never measures anything and makes delicious food. I am definitely NOT that person; therefore she wrote recipe to this "Ruske Kape" aka coconut chocolate mini cakes

Ingredients (crust):

• 5 eggs

• 14 tablespoons of sugar

• 25 tablespoons of flour

• 3 small coffee cups oil

• 3 tablespoons of cocoa

• 1 baking powder 

Ingredients (filling):

• 1 liter of milk

• 20 tablespoons of sugar

• 10 tablespoons flour

• 250 g margarine

• 100 g of coconut

• 100 g chocolate

• 3 tablespoons oil

How to:

In a large bowl whisk eggs until foamy, add sugar and mix until well blended together, then add flour, baking powder, oil and mix together. Add cocoa and mix. Bake the crust at 375 degrees for 17 minutes and allow cooling. (You can use cake mix, add cocoa and follow baking instructions).

Mix milk, flower and sugar to put on the stove to boil. Stir the mix while cooking and cook until the custard thickens. Take off the stow and let the mix cool for 3 minutes and add cold blended margarine and mix well. Using a shot glass or circle cutter, cut the crust.

Connect the circle pieces by layering the custard filling in between, spread the filling around the connected pieces, and then roll in coconut.

Melt chocolate with oil and top each mini cake with chocolate.

Fun fact: this one of the first dessert I ever learned now to make.

How to Take Better Photos

Taking good pictures can be hard. Some people have a knack for capturing the most amazing images from just the right angle. Some take the most beautiful pictures of people where they look stunning and effortless. However if you are like me, here are few tips that I use in order to take better pictures. 

Look your subject in the eye – This goes with my next point; in order to make your subject look their best and flattering, imagine you are making eye contact through your lense. If they are sitting on the ground, try and angle your lense like you are trying to make eye contact (most likely sitting or kneeling at their level).

Use flash outdoors - Sometimes it’s too bright, too sunny, the sky is too blue and it washes you out or the lighting is just not right. By using the camera's flash setting in sunlight-it brightens and evens out skin tone.

Move in closer – Instead of trying to zoom in or out – physically step closer when you are taking photos. This will give you better quality images.

Move your subject from the middle – I am guilty of this more often than not; so when  taking photos adjust your camera so your subject is not in the middle. Play with it.

Know your flash's range – When you are taking pictures with little light or indoors, there is no point in taking a picture with your flash on when your subject is five meters out. Your flash only covers one meter in front of you. Sometimes taking a picture from too far leaves your subject looking dark and if you are too close, your subject is illuminated in a white light.

Body language – Taking a picture straight on can make the smallest person look awkward and not flattering. By extending one leg out in front, turning a little to the side, and planting the corresponding hand on the hip makes the world of difference. Sometimes it’s just as much up to you as the photographer to move around to prevent this.

Little fixes – A little bit of lip gloss, little blush here or a dab of concealer there makes for a better picture. There is nothing worse than taking a great shot only to realize your subject looks pale or has dark circles – yes those can be fixed via photo shop but lets be real, it’s harder to correct this on photos as many times light is distorted and the image is blurry or disfigured.

OOTD - White-Out

Sometimes in September when winters stared in #YEG I put away all the white clothing I own. With weather, temporarilty, taking a turn for the better, I brought out all my white clothes. When it’s done right, all white outfits are sophisticated and crisp. I opted out for black accessories (vs, white trainers) because Edmonton is cold and boots are essentials. What do you guys think of all white outfits?

shoes: Hudson's Bay

purse: Chanel

denim: Reitmans

sweater and hat: Marshalls

Top 5 Nail Looks for Spring

Spring is here, and with that comes fun nail colours and patterns. Here are my Top 5 picks that I've pinned on Pinterest and I can't wait to try.

source
Polka Dots- Nothing screams Spring more than polka dots, I love this look it has everything I love, purple, black and sparkles. 

source

Flowers- I love the mix of colours, I normally don't like pink but this combination is amazing.  Blush pink, and a lovely blue mix with flowers.
source

Yellow- These nails make me happy! Yellow makes me think of sunshine and sunshine makes me happy. Go get these your nails done in yellow and put a smile on your face. 

sourc
e

Bling- I love bling anytime of the year but when I saw this I thought it screamed Spring. I love the colour and the matte finish. The bling is subtle but so pretty. 

source

Butterflies- These nails are the definition of Spring, I love this look it has bling, sparkle and butterflies. 

What are you doing with your nails this Spring? 

OOTD - Casual Monday

After wearing dress clothes and suits all week most weekends I cannot wait to put on a jeans and a t-shirt. However, most weekends still require me to dress up to some extend; like why is it unacceptable to roll in to brunch in lulus and a hoodie? I paired my favorite pair of cut off denim, plaid shirt and my brothers hoodie for brunch. Casual yet sort of presentable.

denim: Floc Boutique

shirt: Marshalls

shoes: Christian Louboutin

How To Do A Fiscal Fast

 Generally, January seems to be a great month to prepare your mind of this huge feat but better late than never right? At least one month a year, it pays to attempt a fiscal fast. Many of us blew threw so much money in December due to the holiday season and than continued to spend and never recovered. Now is a great time to fast on your spending. Few pointers on how to complete a month of fiscal fasting:

No Eating or Drinking Out: This one is pretty self explanatory. No lunch. No dinner. No coffee. No smoothies. No beers. 

Cupboard Cleanse: Use the stuff in your cupboards you haven't gotten around to in a while. The sample toothpaste from the dentist. The hotel shampoo and conditioner. The bubble bath from a gift exchange. Make up samples taking up room in your collection.

Groceries: Limit what you purchase. Don't restock everything. Try not restocking anything. Finish that jar of pickles. Make a recipe using only things in your pantry. Deplete everything in your freezer. Skip the non-essential purchases - snacks and soda

Gifts/Parties: These are non-essentials and unless you've properly budgeted for gifts, you will have to find a way around purchasing presents. Turn down invites to parties that aren't free. Time to get creative and hibernate at home.

Find the Free: There are so many ways to find fun, free things to do. Most cities and towns have websites loaded with ideas. Hammer down on the pile of books you've been meaning to read. Catch up on all those PVR'd shows. Write that book that's been brewing in your head. 

You CAN do this. Share your tips and stories that could help make the next fiscal fast successful for all of us! 

OOTD - Gingham Top

Honestly, I didn’t think this gingham trend would ever appeal to me, but it did.  The trend has been everywhere for a while but I just recently got this gingham off-the-shoulder top. I paired it with black jeans. I love the buttons on this particular gingham blouse – I think this top will work well with the wider pant cut or a denim skirt. What do you guys think of the gingham trend?

jeans: Floc Boutique

shirt: Reitmans

shoes: Hudson's Bay

Top 5 TV Shows

I have been watching a lot of interesting TV lately and wanted to share a few of my favourites. You will see that many of them are not what I normally watch as I found some interesting shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime.



source

Four More Shots Please- I love this show, you will need to turn on sub titles though, as there is English but it's mostly in Hindi. The IMDB description says Four female friends from different walks of life deal with romance, work-life conflicts, ambitions and anxieties in modern-day India. Which accurately reflects what the show is about but so much more. Seriously watch it! It's available on Amazon.



source

Queer Eye- Season 3 is up on Netflix and I may or may not have binged watched the entire thing this past weekend. I can't help it, it's sooo good. I love them all, I want them to be my friends. Check it out on Netflix. Also I have been told you should have a tissue box on stand by, if you are dead inside like me then don't worry about it. You will get the feels, but no tears.



source

After Life-  IMDB describes the show: after Tony's wife dies unexpectedly, his nice-guy persona is altered into an impulsive, devil-may-care attitude taking his old world by storm. This is an understatement Tony walks around saying whatever he wants and to whomever he wants, he's basically lost that filter we all have not to say everything that comes to your mind.



source

Life in Pieces- This show is so funny and interesting in the setup. Every episode is separated into four stories, told through the point of view of different family members. I love it, it's been on air since 2015 so I was able to watch all three seasons on Netflix. If you have cable the new season starts April 18th.



source

One Day at a Time- This show is so funny, I love it.  It follows three generations of the same Cuban-American family living in the same house: a newly divorced former military mother, her teenage daughter and tween son, and her old-school mother. It's like the Full House, feel good TV, while still tackling todays issues. Check it out on Netflix.

What are you watching? What can I binge watch next?