Tuesday 31 March 2015

Latte Moment: Goodbye to the adorable pink boulangerie at Starbucks



Hello Dolls!

If you have been into a local Starbucks or gone past one in March, you may have noticed the signature Starbucks green was no longer the focal point. It was this adorable light pink that adorned the pastry case and decorations in the store. Your drink's sleeve also had gotten a cute pink makeover. I was dying over the pink and the scalloped details as they were so cute!

The pink was done to celebrate the arrival of the "Boulangerie" pastries at Starbucks. True, most of the treats remained the same, but a few new ones were added like the chocolate/cinnamon brioche as well as the savoury cheese croissant. Some pastries seemed to just look a little different like the lemon cranberry scone, but for the most part, it seemed like the same goodies!

I really do hope the lemon raspberry swirl loaf does return this summer as it is my favourite treat! I was really upset when they got rid of their mini cherry pies as well as the chocolate cupcakes with the amazing pink buttercream....but they will forever remain in my memory. 

Let me know if you liked the pink change for the month and if you are liking the new boulangerie treats!

Now the drink in the picture is a Grande Extra Hot Green Tea Latte With WHIP

This is actually where the name to my blog comes from!!! I love love LOVE green tea lattes at Starbucks (plus the whip!) and I wanted my blog to a have a quirky cute name. So to put my own twist on it, I made it the Pink Tea Latte! I did not include the whip in the name since it would have gotten too long, but I have to have whip on my Lattes! And do you see my laptop screen! Working on Pinktea Latte because I love you guys!

I began blogging as a way to fill my spare time with a more productive activity. I was spending the majority of my free time by mindlessly browsing the internet or zoning out in front of the tv. Blogging seemed like such a great hobby for me to take up, so I got up the courage and set up my blog! The best part, blogging also allows me to not only share my love for fashion, products and goodies, but to also explore my interest in graphic design. True, I am a science student, but graphic design has always intrigued me. So now you know!


BYES

Saturday 28 March 2015

Seasons: Hello SPRING!



Hey DOLLS!


I am so happy and excited about SPRING finally being here! If you live in Vancouver, you probably already know we are actually RAINcouver. It has been raining and raining and been really chilly and cold out for months, so naturally I am happy for spring to be arriving!

The weather is warming up, the cherry blossoms are blooming and the sun is out shining its warmth down on us! 

I am a big lover of flowers, I will always be sharing with you when I get fresh cut flowers for home because flowers make me happy! They are so beautiful and how can you not help but smile every time you walk by fresh beautiful flowers! I always become so sad when my flowers begin to wilt because I love them so much and it breaks my heart to see something so beautiful leaving my life :(

I am happy to also be putting my parkas and wool coats away! They are so heavy and I am a tiny girl so its not easy lugging them around! And to ditch the Uggs and wellies for quite sneakers and flats! And did I mention... OVERALLS! I have been loving overalls and am really stoked to be rocking them again this season. I have an amazing long legged piece from Aritzia that is black with super sexy low cuts on the sides so you can rock or a cute crop top underneath and show your waist off! Plus these overalls are just a soft silky smooth fabric, I do not know how to describe them other than you have to wear em to find out! PS. I am sorry but Aritzia is a Canadian brand, there are a few American locations and shipping and at this time I cannot confirm if they ship world wide. 

So yay for the sunshine and beautiful flowers! Goodbye to the parkas and winter boots!!!

I look forward to sharing my fun spring fashion finds and spring goodies :) 

BYESSS! and bye to you winter!

Thursday 26 March 2015

Latte Moment: Happy Birthday to Starbuck's Beloved Frappuccino



Hello Dolls!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STARBUCK'S FRAPPUCCINO!

If you are confused as to why I am singing happy birthday to frozen coffee beverage, it is because Frappuccino is 20 years old! 

And in celebration of this fabulous birthday, Starbucks has released a special Birthday Cake Frap for only five days, March 26-30th. So I suggest you hurry on out to your nearest Starbucks and get your hands on this limited-edition drink because once it is gone, it will be gone!

The Birthday Cake Frappuccino is vanilla bean and hazelnut flavours blended together and topped off with a raspberry-infused whipped cream! I honestly just want myself a cup of that pink soft airy whip cream hehe :) because I love my pink!

Just a little history on the humble beginnings of the frappuccino. It debuted in 1995 and was only available in two flavours: Coffee and Mocha. But over the years, there have been many new flavours developed, secret menu frapuccinos and my favourite, the green tea frapuccino! 

I hope you all are excited and rushing down to your Starbucks for the glorious Birthday Cake Frap. Be sure to also document this once in a life-time moment on all your social media outlets ;) hehe

And heres to me hoping that amazing raspberry infused whip cream and its cute pinkness sticks around to top all my lattes!

BYES





Monday 23 March 2015

Paper + Pencil by 53 = exploring graphic design!

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Hey dolls!
I have always been intrigued by art and lately with technology flourishing at a rapid pace, graphic design is the new art I am fascinated with!

I came across Paper by 53 for the iPad was looking for apps to create my logo with. (Psst yup, I drew and put together my logo! hehe). At that time, i did not have the Pencil, so I pushed forward with a different app. 

I was in the apple store a few days ago picking up a charger when I saw the Pencil by 53. Now if you buy the Pencil (the stylus specifically designed for their app Paper), you get all the "brushes" in the app. If you do not get the Pencil, you have to purchase the different brushes in the app separately. 

Now, of course I grabbed the "gold version" cause hey! I love yellow gold! It matches my own bling I rock on a daily basis!

The Stylus is unique as along with features like palms free and charging through usb, it is sensitive to pressure in your stroke. If you angle the pencil and press more, you get a more thicker line. As well, I LOVE how you just flip it around and "erase!" like how you would do with a regular pencil! Now that was neat as it allows you to continue on in your drawing without switching settings. 

This is just my brief intro to the app. If you are into graphic designing or just doodling on the iPad, it is worth a check!

I will be doodling with it lots creating more graphics for my blog to make it more pinterest worthy!

BYES!

Product Empties REVIEW!


Hey dolls!
I have been going through quite a bit of products and now have emptied a couple of my regular routine skin care items. 

I thought I would share my reviews and opinions on each product!

Kiehls - Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser (150mL $26)

  • On their website, the cleanser is for removing excess oil and impurities as well it is lightweight that is oil-free and fragrance-free. As well reduces visible oil on your face.
  • Why I chose this? I have oily skin so I was recommended by the sales associate to try this cleanser over the regular cleanser. 
  • My thoughts? This definitely left my skin feeling clean and was not harsh nor leaving my face feeling stripped. I used it twice a day (morning and before bed), but you definitely need to moisturize afterwards... otherwise, you will be even more oily!
  • TIP: To get every last bit of product, cut the bottle in half and you will be able to scrape the last bits out with your finger for about two to five more washes! YAY!

Kiehls - Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter (340g $59)
  • It is described to deliver deep moisturization and be light on your skin, but also give your 24 hours of moisturization!
  • Why I chose this? It smelt YUMMM and plus my Daddy had offered to get it for me as a present!
  • My thoughts? Even though the price can be deter many from purchasing this product, it is most definitely worth every dollar! It is the softest lightest texture - like digging your fingers into freshly whipped cream! And it soaks amazingly into you skin. Furthermore, it lasted more over a year the big tub! 

L'occitane en Provence - Shea Ultra Gentle Moisturizer (50mL $56)
  • Shea butter is known to be a natural soothing balm that leaves your soft and reduces redness. It is hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. 
  • Why I chose this? I have always had troubled skin and want to try and wanted to get a good quality moisturizer that was not too chemical filled. 
  • My thoughts? Again, this is a pricier product option, but I'm investing in my future skin softness and clarity! The bottle is glass with a pump so when you get to the final uses... you cannot get every ounce of moisturizer. Especially since this is expensive! 
  • TIP: You can unscrew the cap and scrape the bottom bits out with the pump. 

Will I be re-purchasing any of these?
The moisturizer I will be getting again. I have another cleanser at home I have yet to use (it came in my Luxebox! Will do an unboxing of it as soon as my spring one arrives!) so I will be finishing my current cleansers. As for the body butter, I think I am going to try a Lush moisturizer since at this time, I cannot afford another amazing Kiehls Creme de Corps!

BYESSS


Saturday 21 March 2015

DIY: Recycling materials to make a beautiful cork board!


A few days ago, I received my first Nature box. The snacks were amazing (in fact, they were gone by the end of the second day), but I was left with the empty shipping box. I have been meaning to make my own cork board for quite some time now and using the cardboard from the box seemed like a good idea!

All the corks I got were by going to a restaurant and asking if I could have any bottle corks for a project. I was able to get all of my bottle corks from the first restaurant I visited! So no, I am not a crazy wine drinker! hehe

It was quite simple constructing this little board

First gather your supplies:


  • Card board cut to your desired cork board size
  • LOTS OF BOTTLE CORKS
  • Glue gun and refills
  • Knife
  • Cutting board
  • Scissors
  • Ribbon
  • Stapler/tape

Step One: Cut all corks in half lengthwise. I preferred to have a flatter cork board and snugger fitting corks, but you are more than welcome to use the corks as is.

Step two: Begin gluing the corks down with your glue gun onto the cardboard. 
TIP: Along the edges, try to glue them so about a centimeter hangs off the cardboard. This way, you will not see the cardboard from the side.  Also every time I started a new row, I staggered the corks

Step 3: Trim the sides so all the corks align. Again, feel free to leave it as is if you like the look! This is all about making something you love!

Step 5: Staple or tape ribbon to the back so you can hang your masterpiece! TIP: if you choose to use tape, be sure its something sticky like duct tape since scotch tape will unfortunately cause your piece to fall down :( 

Feel free to be as creative as you want. You can make your cork board different shapes. Or the glue the corks down in a pattern for example zigzags! Be as imaginative as you like! Maybe even paint it or frame it!

Side note... I LOVE CUPCAKES so I was all excited when I saw a lot of my corks where from a wine by "Cupcake Vineyards." The cork had a an adorable little cupcake logo on it!

I would love to see your creations so please leave pictures in the comments for me!

BYES

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Nature box arrived! Review and taste test of my first box!!!


I came across Nature box not so long ago through one of my favourite youtubers.  I love food and love snacking when I can. Unfortunately when you are out and about, the snacks we reach for may not be the healthiest choices. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance of a free trial box (+shipping!)

The trial box arrived in about two weeks (wish it had come sooner because I was really anxious to get my hands on the snacks!)

The trial box includes: four sample size snacks (28g each) and one full size snack (105g). The full size snack is a mystery; however, you will know what your sample size snacks are because Naturebox emails you after you place your order. 

My full size:

  • peanut butter nom noms - mini peanut butter oat cookies. (Not a peanut butter fan, but these were REALLY good. They were dense little bites full of energy goodness. I tasted nuts and coconuts and chocolate in my nomnom!)


Snack size:

  • cranberry medley - pomegranate and acai flavoured dried cranberries with blue blueberries (These turned out much sweeter than I had anticipated! They paired well with plain greek yogurt and granola since they sweetened the yogurt)
  • garden tomato crunchies - tomato-flavoured almonds (Major Yummy, would be good on a salad)
  • jalapeno cashews - jalapeno-flavoured cashews (yes! spicy goodness, I polished these off in minutes upon opening the package)
  • sea salt sun-crunch - sunflower and sesame seeded crackers (Had an amazing crunch. Sort of addicting, but I was not a fan of the big pieces of salt in them.)

The website is very easy to navigate and I love how you can put all the snacks that sound yummiest in your "pantry" and then rank them in the order of your likeness. When you decide to order your next Naturebox, you are delivered your top five snacks in your "pantry" (Naturebox will move down your "pantry" list if one of your top five ranked snacks is sold out). 

All the snacks expire within 6 months which makes me happy since its a sign of less preservatives! Also, the full size bag is re-sealable which will ensure your snacks stay fresh and not go stale before you polish them off (even though I doubt my snacks are going to last past a few days once I have opened the snack!)

They have a "sharing is caring" promo code on the back of their bag! use the code "share10off" to get $10 off your first box! 

side note - sharing is caring is my favourite saying when a friend pulls out yummy food!

BYES




Monday 16 March 2015

First day blogging, first day exploring!

As I begin my journey as a blogger, I explore how to use and make a pinterest worthy blog... Lets be honest ladies, if it aint pinterest worthy, it aint worth looking at.

Going to be finding the fun things in my life and sharing it with the world... and the first thing has to be good ol LUSH!

I wondered into the downtown Lush store yesterday, with my bae in tow and was greeted by the glittering, glistening sight of a GOLDEN EGG. I REPEAT GOLD GLITTERED EGG. Needless to say, I got one and also the shower jelly which was literally a pot of gold! Fit in well with the St. Patrick's day parade occurring that afternoon.

The smell of that golden egg bath bomb was a mixture of honey, caramel, toffee scents which are my favourite. I gravitate towards yummy sweet scents. Hence why i might have the biggest sweet tooth amongst my friends. I am a fiend when it comes to cake. I will pounce at and devour any cake in my reach.


I finished my day off by dining at the Boulevard Restaurant and Oyster Bar. It was my first visit to this restaurant, and the brunch was definitely bouggeee. I had a delicious red&white quinoa salad with toasted pistachios, arugula, dried cranberries and delicious goat cheese. It was garnished with some shaved white radish, yummy. 

I polished off my brunch with none other than a slice of red velvet cake. But it had the bouggee makeover with pistachios mixed in with the delicious creamy cream cheese frosting, dollops of raspberry coulee and a red tinted white chocolate triangle. 

All in all, a lovely day! I hope to ramble on about more amazing food, goodies and shopping! 

BYES
-gurly