weekly wrap up : mountains & music

Oh dear, where to even start! This week has been absolutely packed full to the brim for me... I kicked it off with a trip to Jasper National Park, where I was shooting an engagement shoot - so Caleb and I made a little getaway out of it and went snowboarding with my clients (so fun! I have the best job ever), ate lots of yummy food, stayed at a cozy little church, went snowshoeing, and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation! It feels like its been ages since we've been in the mountains, so this was such a treat for us! 

The rest of the week has been me being sick =( ...studying, writing papers, editing photoshoots, and then hitting up a great evening of wonderful music here in Edmonton at a local place called The Artery. A tad sketchy looking, but our friends were playing and it was such fun! Go check White Lightning's stuff on youtube, I promise they won't disappoint :)

 

p.s. ♥ clara

mint nanaimo bars

It's your lucky day!  We decided we should make something festive for St. Patrick's Day...so here we present you with: mint nanaimo bars!  We thought adding a minty green twist to one of our favorite recipes would be the perfect St. Patty's Day treat.  And boy is it good!  Mint + chocolate is the bomb.

Now I've included the modified recipe for these minty bars, but check out the original post here for more basic tips and photos!

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter [very soft]

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

5 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with

3 tablespoon of water

2 cups graham wafer crumbs

Middle Layer:

4 tablespoons softened butter

3 tablespoons milk (or cream)

2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder

2 cups icing sugar

1/4 tsp mint extract (add more to taste if you really like your mint!)

green food colouring (I used gel, and it worked like a charm!)

Top Layer:

1 cup chocolate chips [or 6 baking squares]

1 tablespoon shortening

Instructions:

Step 1

1.  Place melted butter, cocoa, vanilla, sugar, and flax seed mixture in a bowl.  Stir mixture until creamy.

2.  Mix wafer crumbs and coconut into the cocoa mixture.  

3. Pack into an 8x8 pan.  I usually line the pan with parchment paper, and when I am ready to cut the bars, I just lift it out, and place it on a cutting board.

4.  Refrigerate until the bottom is solid (about 30 mins).

Step 2

5.  In a seperate bowl, mix butter, milk, custard powder, icing sugar, and mint extract together.  Add a bit of green food colouring until desired colour is achieved.  

6.  Spread over bottom layer.

Step 3

7.  Melt chocolate chips and shortening together either in a saucepan or in the microwave; be careful not to burn! The shortening will ensure that the chocolate layer isn't too solid, so it wont crack when cutting.

8.  Spread chocolate evenly over middle layer.

9.  Refrigerate for approximately 5 mins.  

Step 4

10.  Once the chocolate has begun to harden, I like to score it with my knife.  This makes it easier to cut after it has totally hardened. 

11.  Place nanaimo bars back in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

12.  Once they have completely hardened, lift the parchment out of the pan onto a cutting board, and using a large knife, cut the nanaimo bars all the way.

13.  Enjoy!

I love the pop of colour on these babies...and they're sure to be a hit at any party!

These would make a wonderful dessert no matter the occasion, and are a nice change from our original version!

Enjoy!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

outfit post: plaid love

This is definitely a typical outfit of mine.  Plaid, my favorite black jeggings, and a jean jacket.  Oh yeah, and moccasins...which are basically slippers.  Comfy and casual.

 Plaid shirt: hand-me-up from Jordyn // jean jacket & jeggings: AEO // moccasins: minnetonka

I hope you all are having a lovely weekend!  Thanks again for stopping by!

p.s. ♥ kelsey 

diy: birdcage necklace

I'm not sure if this really counts as a diy...haha.  It kind of feels like I'm cheating!  I suppose I'm just drawn to simple projects, especially when making my own jewellery.  It doesn't have to be super complicated or expensive, and it feels nice to put stuff together yourself.

I found this darling birdcage pendant on sale at Michaels, and I just couldn't pass it up.  If you haven't noticed, I go to Michaels a lot.  Definitely a bit obsessed!  Their prices are a bit ridiculous, but if you have a coupon, or can spot a good sale, then you're good to go!

Materials:

-pendant

-chain

-jump ring
-pliers (or just very strong fingers!)

Directions:

First loop your jump ring through your pendant, and hold.  Then find the exact middle of your chain, and loop that chain through the jump ring as well.  Finally, use pliers (or strong fingers!) to close the jump ring.  Voila!  That's all!

Now I always make sure that my pendant, chain and jump rings all match since I'm a bit ocd.  There are so many variations of golds, coppers, and silvers that it can be a bit tricky!  I've found that sticking with the same brand makes matching much easier!  

Also, you may want to buy a longer length of chain, and then have the option to cut it into lengths.  You'll then need to purchase clasps as well, but those are super easy to attach to your chain...so experiment with whatever works best for you!

I love that this piece of jewellery is nearly one of a kind, and it always feels nice to work with your hands a bit!

And thanks goes to my gorgeous roomie for putting up with all my crazy blog stuff...and for modelling the necklace!  I am so blessed to have such patient and supportive friends!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

tasty tuesday : lemon & herbs chicken noodle soup

Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely adore cooking. So you may wonder, why there are so few "meal" recipes on ps.heart... the answer is this: I'm terrible at following recipes and I hardly ever do it, except for baking. So although I love cooking, since I don't follow a recipe, I find myself in a funk whenever I want to post a foodie on here that isn't a baked good.

I grew up with an incredible cook (my mom!) who I never once saw use a recipe book and did everything in the kitchen naturally by instinct. That being said, I absolutely LOVE recipe books and looking at different, new recipes, but I never follow them... I think it's just my being lazy, cause I don't often plan my meals ahead of time and kind of go with the flow of whatever is in my kitchen...but for the sake of the blog, lets just say I'm creative with food ;) At any rate, here is one of the very rare Clara "recipes" you'll see on the blog, a simple, yet highly delcious chicken noodle soup!

{ i n g r e d i e n t s } 

1/2 an onion                                                 salt & pepper (& other herbs like basil!) to taste

4 sticks of celery                                            fresh parsley

4 carrots                                                       chicken bouillon packets to taste  

2 cups of shredded chicken                             1 cup of egg noodles

*to add a little kick to my this tried & true soup, I tossed my chicken in some lemon & herbs spice...mmm.*

{ i n s t r u c t i o n s }

1. Dice your fresh veggies into manageable pieces.

2. Toss your chicken in some spices! I chose lemon & herbs to add a kick of lemon.

3. Boil a large pot approximately 1/3 full of water. Add in vegetables, chicken bouillon, and other spices. Let simmer for about 20 minutes on medium-high heat.

4. Add in egg noodles and chicken in and let simmer for another 10 minutes, or until noodles are cooked. 

5. Serve with some fresh parsley, and enjoy!

p.s. ♥ clara

weekly wrap-up: sister time

I've been looking forward to this weekend for such a long time, because Jordyn was coming out for a visit!  

Last year she was insane, and would visit me nearly every other weekend...but this year has been much busier for her, so we haven't been able to hang as much.  Let's just say we enjoyed some much needed sister time together!

That means a lot of nonsense, giggling, Doctor Who episodes, starbucks, and food.  Lots and lots of yummy food.

If you're ever in Vancouver you MUST visit Babylon Cafe.  It looks a bit sketchy, but they serve the absolute BEST chicken shawarma wraps you've ever tasted in your life.  Ahh...they're just so amazing. We didn't want them to end. haha.

And this shirt from urban outfitters was just hilarious....it has cats on it!  If there are any boys out there who would willingly wear this...please call me ;)

And...of course we grabbed some starbucks and walked down to the beach.  We were blessed with the most beautifully sunny weekend, and I'm sad to see it come to an end.  Until next time!


p.s. ♥ kelsey (& jordyn)