Michelle’s blog

Happy Friday to you all -- hope you enjoy today's Words of Wisdom.

[Human rights begin] in small places, close to home--so close and so small that they cannot be seen on
any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the
school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every
man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.
Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen
action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

Hi all. This is basically a cross post from Facebook.  Yesterday I shared photos of my latest cake project on FB and decided to share with you here as well.  I was requested to bake and decorate a Sweet 16th Birthday cake for my hubby's niece which was held on Sept. 5th at a Banquet Hall. The theme was purple and silver so I added purple roses with silver non-edible leaves with lilac rosettes/drop flowers.  The birthday girl was very pleased with the results which made it quite worth my effort.  Again, I'm not trained in cake decorating and to say the least i'm my worst critic.....LOL Overall though, I was very proud of myself.  I try not to use the word "proud" too often but I will be honest here -- it turned out amazing so why not right?
And if you're wondering, it was a yellow (sorta pound) cake - vanilla flavored with all buttercream frosting.  Photos below for your viewing pleasure.

Michelle's Cakes

 Enjoy and have a very happy Wednesday.

This is just a quick post to update you about the availability of 100 percent pure range of products.  I know many of you will now be happy to know that you can finally shop this range on their canadian website.  Are you excited as I am? I hope you are...LOL
Finally here is another trusted range of products available to us and making it easier for us to choose safer products.  Their range consists of fruit pigmented lip products, baby wash, skincare, body scrubs and much more. Go take a peek at their website here. And if you're on twitter be sure to add the founder of 100% pure -- Susie Wang. I'm looking forward to her twitter updates.

Stay well!

Hi girls,

I trust that you all had an awesome weekend.  I can hardly believe we are finally experiencing the true summer heat in mid August -- thought we'd never have at least a few nice days but at last it's here.  Today I plan to get a lot done despite the heat and humidex.  I came across this neat article and thought I'd share with you guys.  I'm sure those of you beauty divas out there might even add to this list;o) So here goes some of the most common beauty mistakes:

SIN 1: THE MASK

"The idea is to even out your skin tone. Foundation should be the same colour as your skin, not darker. If it's darker, you'll get a mask line."

- Eddie Maleterre, L'Oréal Paris

SIN 2: CRUSTY CONCEALER

"Go easy with concealer. Pat it on with your finger or a small, flat brush. If you don't, by the time you add foundation and powder, you end up with crustaceans."

- Laura Szucs, makeup artist, Judy Inc.

SIN 3: DIVA LINER

"The worst sin is dark lipliner worn with a lighter shade of lipstick. It just looks ghastly, like a bad tattoo. Or worse, like an exotic dancer."

- Laura Szucs, makeup artist, Judy Inc.

SIN 4: BAD BROWS

"People wear the wrong colour in their eyebrows. You want the exact shade or one shade darker.(If your eyebrows are really light, you'll look older.)If you use eyeshadow, take a small brush and blend. If you use a pencil, stroke in the same direction and angle as your eyebrow hair. Always finish by brushing with an eyebrow brush; it blends everything beautifully and naturally. Nice eyebrows frame your eyes and give you more expression."

- Anya Ellis, makeup artist, The Artist Group, Vancouver

SIN 5: TOO MUCH BLUSH

"Don't wear too much blush. Bang the handle of your brush against your hand to knock some of the powder off before you apply it, then just dust on a little so you look fresh."

- Eddie Maleterre, L'Oréal Paris

SIN 6: THE SLASH

"A lot of women like the idea of a dark-red-lipsticked mouth, but it's too severe, especially as a woman ages. Lip gloss is the secret to looking young and natural - it's like an instant facelift - especially in a colour that's just a little pinker or peachier than your natural lip shade."

- David Goveia, makeup artist, The Artist Group

SIN 7: TOO FROSTY

"Only apply shimmer, glitter or highlighter to a few key facial features. Lightly dust a powder highlighter onto cheekbones, brow bones and décolletage. And if you're using a liquid highlighter, pat it onto your face using a damp makeup sponge. Over-application will make you look like a sweaty disco dolly."

- Chase Aston, The Body Shop

Sin #3 made me LOL!

Have a Happy Monday!

Smoking Hot Chillis

I'm not exactly a planter but this year for the kids' sake I have decided to plant some chilli peppers just so they can see how things are grown.  I plan to cut these up and add vinegar and maybe some other goodies.  They are amazing over top just about anything.  These are always served at our favorite Chinese Restaurant here in Toronto -- Chung Moi Restaurant, yum! These photos were taken during last week so more peppers have since emerged as opposed to photos.  We live in a condo so I didn't want to plant too much -- reserved some extra balcony space for other projects.  The children are so excited to water the plants and now have a better  understanding of how plants grow. 

The fruits of our Summer project!

This was truly an educational project especially for my youngest who is only 3 years old.  He's a pretty smart boy who's ready for Kindergarten.  Sadly, he has one whole year before he will be admitted. Oh well, he's stuck with good ole mom.....LOL

Hi everyone,

Here's a most recent Nail Art that I have created -- summer inspiration theme.  I think this one is so fresh and perfect for summer.  The sky is the limit with this design and you can improvise using your own colors and even alter the design to suit your taste.

Hope you enjoy this one and again Happy Nail Painting!

Hi everyone,

These were done this past weekend however I managed only yesterday to take photos. I know, shame on me but i'm so so busy.  For my finger nails, I used the French Manicure concept but with Green and Gold on the tips. I'm really pleased with the results and the color combo is simply amazing.  Toes were done in a random design -- cute though.

So here are the photos (finger nails):

Toe Nails as follows:

In all honesty I should be in bed but here I am posting away, ha! Hope you like this one!

Have an awesome day/night.

These yummy recipes came in the May 7th Gooseberry Patch's Newsletter -- do share with us should you try any of 'em. 

Fruit Kabob

Fruit Kabobs with Poppyseed Dip
from Coming Home with Gooseberry Patch

6 c. fresh fruit like strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, honeydew, cantaloupe, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
6 to 8 wooden skewers
1/2 c. vanilla yogurt
1 T. honey
2 t. lime juice
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. poppyseed

Arrange fruit cubes and slices alternately on skewers. For Poppyseed Dip, stir together remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve dip alongside fruit kabobs. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

AppleCake

Warm Apple Cake & Caramel Sauce
from Comfort Foods cookbook
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
2 c. apples, cored, peeled and shredded
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Mix together egg and apples; add to flour mixture. Stir in walnuts. Spread in a lightly greased 8"x8" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm, drizzled with Caramel Sauce. Makes 9 servings.

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/8 t. salt
1 c. water
1 T. butter
1/4 t. vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, flour and salt in a small saucepan. Gradually add water; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for one to 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.

And here's a quick fix for those upcoming hot summer days: