Gift Guide for HIM

Men are some of the easiest; yet simultaneously difficult to shop for. Clothing is always a safe bet. My go to are cozy sweaters like Roots' Cabin Shawl Pullover, button up shirts, polos and the occasional leather belt. It may not be the most exciting gift, but like I said, you can never go wrong with clothing for guys. 

I know all the boys are going to be excited to see the Razer Keyboard on the gift guide. Gaming keyboards are definitely a male-centric gift, so I can guarantee you that they will love it. I too have fallen in love with Razer's keyboards as the mechanical keys make the most satisfying clicking sounds. Definitely a must for all the ASMR lovers. 

For some odd reason, my male friends often ask me for hand cream which they then proceed to smearing over their faces. Men may not want to admit it, but they too appreciate a good facial and hand cream. Male grooming products are still pretty underrated and mostly focused upon beard care and hair styling products. There are some really great unscented facial moisturizers that I am sure every man would secretly enjoy receiving. I love Kiehl's as it is moderately priced and is packaged in an unsuspecting white tub with plain text. I know Kiehl's has specific "male" focused products, but I really do not think there is much of a difference between this moisturizer and the creams in "male packaging." Do not forget the hand creams as men too hate having dry hands in the winter! I am currently lusting over this indie brand, Barr Co. The Sugar and Cream scented hand cream has a subtle sweetness to it. 

Every man should own a high-quality leather laptop case. I am talking about the zippered bags that have top handles and a shoulder strap. They are big enough to fit a laptop and work documents; yet are still compact that pair well with both business and casual outfits. Coach has stunning leather goods which includes an extensive men's collection. The Metropolitan Double Zipper Business Case from Coach is a splurge, but its craftsmanship and buttery soft leather speaks for itself. 

As an owner of two blunnies myself, I have only positive things to say about them. For over five years, Blundstones have kept my toes cozy warm and dry through Vancouver's rainy cold Fall/Winter and Spring! So if they do not own a pair, this is the perfect opportunity to give them the most amazing pair of boots ever. 

Guys tend to not buy theirselves accessories, so a nice pair of gloves, or scarf or toque for the winter or a tie, socks or belts for the summer. Lots of great options! Of course it definitely comes down to the individual and what they could do with. If it is not apparent already, I have always loved Roots' cabin collection. The gloves from the cabin collection are cozy warm and are going to serve them well for many winters. 
I am curious to hear what ideas you have for men in terms of presents. What are you thinking of gifting? Let me know in the comments below!

Post 5/31

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Gift Guide for HER

It is the holidays which means there is a whole lot of shopping ahead for all of your loved ones, special someones and mandatory workplace gift exchanges. I love giving gifts. I actually spend a long time picking out the perfect present tailored to the individual, but what I really look forward to is actually seeing their reaction after tearing off the wrappings. Oh and did I mention I am a huge wrapping paper fanatic and probably take just as much time wrapping the gift as I did purchasing it. 

For 2018 I wanted to really focus on giving meaningful gifts. Items that the individual will use or cherish. I always try to avoid novelty gifts as they inevitably wind up in the trash can. 

I often like to pick up items that I know my friends would never get for themselves as it would be a big splurge, but secretly they want it super badly. I would say Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks are just that! These lipsticks are phenomenal. They are comfortable to wear all day long and the colour pigmentation is superb. But these copper-toned tubes are a hefty $55 a piece, so why not splurge for them! 

I know a calendar is a weird present, but this is great for those who are big stationary lovers and enjoy journaling. I have used two Rifle Paper Co calendars and I am definitely going to be picking up this one for 2019. You can pair it with nice pens like the fine felted Le Pens and include some nice stickers. Another weird present are boardgames and you are probably wondering why would you get an adult Monopoly or Life or Uno? It is nostalgic is why! Not to mention do you not miss sitting around the coffee table and spending the evening laughing with your friends and family as you play a boardgames. 

The hanging sloth planter is equal parts adorable and functional. This is the present for the plant lady in your life. Be sure to give the sloth a succulent buddy. The Llama also fits into the functional and cute category as this cuddly plush houses a heat/cold pack. It is a great snuggle buddy and can be soothing for those extra brutal cramps or the hot summers. 

Everyone needs a blanket cape in their lives. Last winter I was gifted the owl-themed blanket cape and it ranks pretty darn high on the greatest gifts I have ever received. This year they have a beaver that gives me serious Canadian vibes. The cape is a blanket with a hood and features a couple of buttons on the front which ensures the blanket does not fall off. 

Gucci is my BAE and will always remain my favourite luxury brand. When in doubt, gift Gucci because everyone deserves a little bit of gucci in their lives. 

Post 4 of 31

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Shattered Beauty: I get artsy with my photography

A month ago I received a gorgeous bouquet from Amy, the owner of Garden Party Flowers, for my 25th birthday! White ivory avalanche roses and deep mauve roses were framed by various greenery like dollar eucalyptus and sedum, but the real piece de resistance of this arrangement was the massive dinner plate sized cafe au lait dahlia! 

However to my complete and utter dismay, I managed to knock over the entire bouquet and with it shattering my favourite tall hobnob clear glass vase. This happened within the first 30 minutes that I brought the flowers home. I usually am not the most clumsy person, but this fall, I have managed to knock over, bang into and break a lot of things. 

For the first fifteen minutes I sat on the floor staring at all the broken glass and crushed flowers. Most of the roses survived; however, the massive cafe au lait dahlia did not fair too well. The arrangement had toppled over dahlia first. So the glorious $10 per stem cafe au lait dahlia was absolutely destroyed!

I did not want to let the flowers go to waste, so I decided to get artsy fartsy with my camera. I think they turned out really well! In the words of the legendary Rob Ross: Happy Accidents! 

Now I just need to replace my hobnob vase. I had originally purchased it and two shorter ones from another Main Street floral boutique, Flower Factory, but they have since stopped stocking hobnob glass vases. If you have seen these vases in Vancouver, could you please let me know in the comments below as I am bummed that it broke. 

Post 3/31

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Testing Oh Sweet Day!: A Celebration Cookbook

I never imagined making so many lovely new friends because of my blog. I am so glad that I started blogging because if it were not for Pink Tea Latte, I would have never met Fanny Lam. I first came across Fanny's baking company, Oh Sweet Day, on Instagram. I would not meet Fanny in person until a year later. This fall, I finally met the lovely Fanny at the New Westminster Farmer's Market. The effervescent mother of two took that as her opportunity to invite me to the launch of her very first cookbook! 

I am a huge believer of mystical energies and joojoo powers, so it had to be no coincidence that our in person meeting coincided with her book launch. I am so glad Fanny traded in her high-stress marketing job for oven mitts and cookies because she is a truly talented women. 

Fun Fact: Fanny was actually approached by the publishers and was pitched the cookbook to HER! 

The cookbook has several sections like cakes, cookies and tarts. I decided to give the molten chocolate lava cake a try as the recipe is fairly simple and I am always looking for a great chocolate cake recipe. The only thing I had to go out and purchase were the ramekins. If I am totally real, any excuse to go to Crate & Barrel, I am all in! 

What really drew me to the chocolate lava cake recipe was the little tip Fanny had included. The batter can be made a day or two in advance until you are ready to bake and eat them! Fanny has included lovely tidbits and advice with most of her recipes in the book. 

As I had mentioned earlier, the recipe is very easy, but I still managed to completely screw it up! So the recipe called for 2/3 cups of white granulated sugar. Well using the 1/3 measuring cup, I added in 3 of them in .... so I put a total of 1 cup of white granulated sugar, not 2/3 cups like the recipe called for. Now my mixing bowl had a bunch of eggs and a cup of sugar. To remedy the situation, I dumped half the mixture out and added in a couple more eggs and hoped for the best. Thankfully this recipe is super forgiving because the cakes still turned out fabulous. 

Also another pro tip from Fanny, you can purchase bars of dark chocolate from Ikea for 99 cents! 

The recipe yielded 6 lava cakes. As per the recommendation in the cookbook, you can refrigerate the batter and bake it at a later date. To test it out, I baked two cakes on the day of, two the next and the remaining two on the following day. All 6 cakes baked perfectly and had a rich chocolatey molten centre. This recipe is also great for when you just want to treat yourself to something sweet. 

If you are wanting to make these lava cakes, guess you will need to go out and get your hands on Oh Sweet Day's cookbook! 

Post 2/31

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Molten Chocolate Lava Cake that I made from Oh Sweet Day's Cookbook

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake that I made from Oh Sweet Day's Cookbook. I dressed it up with macerated strawberries

Get Excited for Blogmas!

Vlogmas is a Youtube favourite and is often done by beauty gurus and vloggers. I myself have watched countless vlogmas videos and look forward to them every year.  If you are at a complete loss at what I am referring to, Vlogmas typically entails posting new content every single day leading up to Christmas. Since I am not a Youtube vlogger, I thought I would go the written route and do "blogmas." After a quick Google search I soon discovered I was not the mad genius that I thought I was because numerous bloggers have already done it!

So I am currently sitting in bed typing this blogpost and truth be told, it is only just starting to dawn upon me the massive undertaking that I am committing myself to. Not to mention that I do not celebrate Christmas, so I am going to continue posting all the way up to New Years; therefore, I will need to publish 31 uniquely weird blogposts! 

Did I mention that I have absolutely ZERO blogposts written. Also every single blogpost is often accompanied by pictures and in some cases even some creative graphics and typography to really give it the extra oomph. I am sure my fellow bloggers can attest to the massive amount of work that goes into a single blogpost so 31 posts is going to be no easy feat. 

Throughout the 31 posts I am going to be sharing some of my local adventures, delicious food and product reviews as well as the stuff I am up to on the daily. I will be covering Oh Happy Day's fabulous new cookbook, my current skincare routine, mornings at Capilano Suspension Bridge as well as my love for vintage furniture. 

I am a little nervous undertaking this challenge because 31 posts consecutively for the entire month is insanity. If you want me to blog about something in particular over the duration of Blogmas, leave it in the comments below. Words of encouragement are also appreciated!

Post 1 of 31 complete!

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The Udderly Perfect Stool at Krause Berry Farms

Puns have never been my thing, but this stool is udder perfection! I caught a glimpse of this work of art during my recent jaunt to Krause Berry Farms. It lives behind their wine bar, but as soon as it caught my eye, I could not resist the having an impromptu photo shoot inside Krause Berry's Wine Tasting Room. 

The staff probably thought I was weird, but come on, it is a spotted cow stool WITH PINK UDDERS. Yes, underneath the stool are four glorious pink teats. I tried to keep my pictures nonchalant; however, deep down inside I just wanted to perch on top and pretend to "milk" it. Super classy! 

I was not planning on writing a post about a hand-painted wooden stool that for the most part gets used as a step stool to reach wines from the top shelf. I had posted a picture to Instagram and to my udder - keeping the puns going - disbelief, everyone loves the stool too! Did I mention that this stool is one of two, the second is smaller; however, it too is painted to resemble a cow and features pink udders! 

Unfortunately Krause Berry Farms does not sell these stools. As I had mentioned earlier, this stool lives behind the wine bar, so most patrons never see it. I am a frequent guest at Krause Berry Farms and I too only saw it for the first time a few weeks ago. I do recall seeing a tag on the underside of the stool and the PR team is looking into getting some more to sell in their market as a lot of you showed a great deal of interest in purchasing one. Fingers crossed that they are able to locate the artist, so we can all have our very own milk cow udder stools because no home is truly complete without one. 

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Charlotte Tilbury Lipsticks and Lip Liners

I am by no means a beauty guru and honestly consider myself to be an average young adult in Vancouver. I have a fairly simple relationship with makeup. I pull it out for special occasions, but for the most part, I am au natural. So when I do purchase makeup, I usually splurge on higher-end brands. 

A good lipstick can give you a pretty pout, but a great lipstick can transform your entire look. Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks happen to fall in the latter category making its high price point justifiable. At $55 a tube, Charlotte Tilbury falls into the luxury makeup category. I feel the brand has only recently come into the mainstream. In fact, Charlotte Tilbury was picked up by Sephora a mere few months ago! Prior to that, in Vancouver I could only find it at Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom, two of the worlds biggest luxury brand retailers. 

Their lipsticks are packaged in a lovely metallic copper-hued tube with ridges and the logo stamped on top of the lid. These lipsticks definitely stand apart amongst the sea of black packaging that we usually see. 

Last year I had picked up Secret Salma and Penelope Pink, two neutral everyday shades that I have come to adore and love. Honestly, I have used a fair bit of the Secret Salma stick because it makes even an everyday look more polished. This year I have gone with bolder hues, a bright coral pink named Lost Cherry and a dramatic deep plum that goes by the name Hel's Bells. 

When I hear Lost Cherry, I think red, but this lipstick is actually an orangey-pink coral tone with a matte finish. Definitely not a bright red. Aside from the misleading name, its a fun colour that reminds me of spring and summer. It would go well with a  natural look and rosy cheeks. I cannot wait to rock it in 2019. The best part, though being matte, it does not sacrifice moisture making it comfortable to wear. 

Hel's Bells is the complete opposite of Lost Cherry. The deep plum purple is super vampy and does wonders for my complexion. I cannot help, but feel sexy when wearing it. This too is a matte finish and is comfortable all day long. I have always loved berry coloured lipsticks, so it goes without saying that I am elated to finally own one! Perhaps its an extension of my immense love for fresh berries - Strawberries and Raspberries! 

As I mentioned earlier, I did get two lip liners, which are completely new to me. Walk of Shame is the reddish tone while Love Trap is a darker nude brown colour. As the name implies, it is used to define the shape of your lips before applying your lipstick of choice. Unlike the lipsticks, the lip liners are very firm, making them hard to apply. Granted, I honestly have never used a lip liner before in my life, so maybe all lip liners are like that? I probably will not be exploring the world of lip liners and with these two shades in my collection, I can pretty much pair them with any lipstick. 

All of their lipsticks have fantastic pigmentation and are seriously long lasting. I am a lazy person and am infamous for never touching it up, so I need something that is going to last me through an event and eating and drinking. They almost "stain" your lips, which is why even after vigorously rubbing my arm under warm water, you could still see the colour. 

With the days getting cooler and leaves steadily piling up at the base of trees, I certainly see myself donning my new dark berry shade, Hel's Bells more and more. 

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