friday fixations

{fantastic franks} Oh man, these house listings are killing me! Not only is the styling and photography fantastic, but they've also added gifs. For a real estate company, this is pretty killer (found here).

{what city should you live in?} This is a fun little quiz. I had to guesstimate on a couple of them -- I don't have a favourite Beyonce. But I got London, what did you get?

{craigslist mirrors} When I first heard about this, I was very much meh about it but now I can't look away. Some of these are surprisingly artistic! This is just one of my favourites.

{cereal tea} This idea makes me smile! Can you imagine getting a little box of CEREAL tea as a gift? I wish I would have thought of it first!

{chinese new year} I really like this song. And also happy year of the horse!

friday fixations

{the pretty one} This movie looks so interesting (plus it has my favourite New Girl guy). I really have to remember to see it! (Yes. I forget to see movies. It's a problem.)

{procatinator} You need another silly cat website. This one pairs gifs with music and some of the outcomes are really entertaining.

{tina} I love everything about this gif of one of my favourite cartoon characters.

{mushroom soup} Specifically, this recipe. It was easy and pretty much the best homemade mushroom soup I've ever had (which is saying a lot since I've only ever had MY attempts at homemade mushroom soup).

{wide leg pants} Currently, I can only dream about fashion, but I'm starting to really get into this vibe of wearing proper pants and button down shirts (and less jeans/t-shirts uniforms). I just extra love these wide leg pants right now, but I also had a pair of skinny maternity pants I was really sad to part with when I grew too large for them.

friday fixations: free printable calendars

Still haven't found a calendar you like? Why not print your own? 

From top left, clockwise: wrap around calendar, mood calendar, january calendar (including desktop, phone and tablet options. Also I would be surprised if she didn't post a full series of these over the year), year of colour calendar, patterned calendar, full year calendar

Not pictured: sweet new year calendar, full year gemstone calendar, diy linen calendar, polka dotted calendar, floral calendar (also with desktop option), extremely minimal calendar, pretty patterned calendar, glitter calendar

friday fixations: 2014 calendars

Clockwise from top left: huge colour-blocked calendar, shapes calendar, risograph calendar, perennial calendar, birth gemstone calendar, colourful hexcode calendar tea towel, colour composition calendar

friday fixations

{bird bnb} Oh god this is too cute! Look at him! He's eating popcorn on a couch! (This is my favourite picture from the bunch, obviously.)

{insane christmas wishlist} This made me laugh out loud. Not the list, the fatherly explanation of said list.

{cat flakes} This is silly, but good for a moment.

{different sized christmas lights} Maybe you do this already, but since we were lacking in decorations this year, we opted to go a little bit crazy on the lights. We bought a small ball-style light (the options in Finland are more for bulb shape and size instead of colour and movement as in Canada) and later we bought really tiny fairy lights that are in the same colour family as the larger ball light. I think the combination of a larger light bulb and a smaller light bulb makes the tree look a little more interesting and, dare I say, twinkly.

{jaffa cakes} These look like cookies but are totally cake-like. They've got a fruit topping which is more like a jelly instead of a soft jam, and it's dipped in chocolate. Jellies and chocolate? On top of a cake-y cookie? I want have to try more flavours.

{christmas gifs} I love a good gif and some of these would make great e-cards.

{finnish gifts} Twelve ideas for Finnish-themed gifts. Wouldn't it be great to get a pair of scissors? You can always brag about their strong Finnish design and your knowledge of said design. (My sarcasm doesn't translate here very well.) I would like to try that liquorice, though. I like things that can potentially be so divisive.

{lionel stitchie} Clever street art always has a place in my heart.

{gingerbread deaths} Those poor gingerbread men.

friday fixations: food edition

{shredded wheat} You're probably not going to be a fan of this unless you like mushy oatmeal, but this particular breakfast has some really deep-rooted memories for me. My gram used to serve this to me with hot water and brown sugar. A couple weeks back, I saw a commercial for shredded wheat, and I just couldn't stop thinking about having some again (ah the power of advertising). My favourite way remains the same, hot water, a little brown sugar, and now I add just a dash of milk for some extra creaminess. It's so good and really filling! (Plus I like that the ingredient list is literally one word long: wheat.)

{pumpkin} Well, duh, it IS pumpkin season. Who isn't hooked on it? But I think I've taken one extra step over the edge this year. I cooked up my own pumpkin puree last year and it took a lot of time and work, so now that we're leaving, I have a lot of frozen pumpkin that I just can't toss in the garbage! I have to do something with it! Besides adding it to meat sauces (this is a sneaky way to get it into foods plus it acts like tomato sauce when you don't have any tomato sauce) and soup, I've also been baking things with it (cuz I bought a big bag of flour last month like a dummy). I love this pumpkin sandwich bread (not pumpkin bread like banana bread) and I've got my eyes on these pumpkin gingersnap cookies (because I love gingersnap cookies AND I have a box of molasses to use up, too -- naturally).

{gingerbread oreos} If this is the last Oreo cookie I ever get to eat, it was a pretty damn good choice. They were bought on a whim and now I feel like I need to smuggle a case load of them into Finland.

{clumpy cranberry spice granola} I really want to try this recipe. I love granola that's got clusters in it, but the only recipe I have (that makes really good granola) is way too full of sugar (let's face it, like all things, it's really good just because of the two types of sugar). I'd never thought to add egg whites to granola to create the clumping effect instead of using double the amount of sugar. At least with this idea, I can still tell myself this snack is relatively healthy (compared to store-bought).

{pecan butter tart ice cream} If you're not into candy cane ice cream (like me), you might be interested in this one. Butter tarts really feel like Christmas because of that whole cookie-exchange vibe this time of year gives off (I mean, what bake sale or exchange doesn't have a plate of tarts?). Besides, this ice cream really does butter tarts justice.

friday fixations

{multi-coloured iceberg} This is just too damn pretty.

{scroll down to riker} Super cute.

{ramon todo} I'm so fascinated with the work of this artist. Especially the bones and rocks.

{world's largest ball pit} This seriously makes me so happy, I feel like crying.

{airbnb} I really love the idea of this rental website. Choose your destination, then find a home or apartment to rent in your budget and the area you like. I find this so much more desirable than getting a hotel room.

{nordic christmas magazine} Just a little something to get myself primed for a nordic Christmas this year. I really like the ideas for non-traditional Christmas trees. Depending on the size of our apartment, I'll probably be going that route.

{restaurant day} Basically, anyone who wants to can open their own restaurant for a day. I have dreams of participating and making marshmallows (or something else that's entirely impossible to find in Finland). I'm just slightly bummed out that I'll be missing this one since I want to experience one before trying to do one, but there's another happening in February so I'll keep you posted on how that works out!

{pie chart} A handy little guide to pies.

{no buy gift guides} While it's really fun to start fantasizing about all the things we want at this time of year, the process of moving and getting rid of most of my stuff has sort of changed my perception of gifts. There are already countless numbers of things that I've gone through and gotten rid of that I had that I didn't need or even that I didn't like, and some of those things included gifts from friends and family. While I felt badly (for a moment, really) for getting rid of the item because of the intended sentiment behind the gift, getting rid of it also felt really freeing. I realized that I wasn't looking at something thinking, "Look at this great thing I have! The details of getting this gift are so vivid in my memory! What a great time!" I was mostly thinking, "Remember when this person gave this to me? Nope. But they did and here it is." There wasn't really any emotion behind it which I think really negates the whole point of this season (and giving in general). So this year, I'm far more receptive to memory gifts. A dinner out, a nice walk, a movie -- they don't have to be expensive or fancy moments, just moments that I can remember or have pictures of which I think is a far better gift than a something. I couldn't think of any gift guides that focused on this concept except for the two existing over at Design*Sponge. So read up on them, (2013; 2012; 2011) and maybe start considering doing something a little different this year.

walking shoes

After much scurrying around, it became pretty obvious that we couldn't do anything remotely helpful to the process of moving to Finland in Edmonton, so we had to take an impromptu trip to Ottawa. We were there for a night and a day, and dummy here forgot the memory card for her camera, so I don't have many pictures of the trip. You're not missing much, though, as most of it was spent at the Finnish embassy or in taxis or in the House of Commons where pictures are not allowed anyway. (We super lucked out as it was in session that day and we had the opportunity to see the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition go at it over the most recent Canadian scandal. I won't bore you with details, but it was really exciting to be right there!)

Anyway, the Ottawa trip was pretty much the last straw for me. As someone who's always relied on thrift store shoes (I know. I should probably stay away from thrift shoes as I stay away from thrift underwear), I found myself pretty much out of shoe choices when deciding what to wear. Since the trip was so short, I had to pack ultra-light (and by that I mean, no suitcase) so my choices were made based on whether I wanted to lug a heavy bag across my shoulder all day or not. That meant I could only take one pair of shoes and they had to be on my feet. (Imagine how annoyed I was to find I was lugging around my big camera for absolutely no reason!)

Quite obviously, this was the second trip where I've been laid up with blisters, sore ankles and toes, and a limp exactly one hour after walking in shoes that were only meant to skip across a store for 20 minutes and then come off. Actually, I really couldn't have chosen the worst pair for this particular trip, either, as that pair is almost not even acceptable for skipping across a store for 20 minutes. Did they go with the clothes I'd be wearing the whole time? Sure! But they are practically like walking barefooted (little pebbles were my worst nightmare).

So that's it for me. I'll forego the shoes that work with everything, that are super cheap (the ones I wore to Ottawa still have the price tag on them -- $3.99), that are even super cute in support of comfort and all-day walkability. Nothing ruins a trip more than when your feet are aching and you still have to push yourself to walk another 2-3 hours. And nothing's worse than returning home and having to hobble around the house in loose socks, soft slippers, keeping your legs elevated for a day or more. So after what I would call an extensive search online (because I had to read through a multitude of comments), these are the brands and shoes that stood out the most to me.

{1} Clark's Wave.Trek: This shoe is first on my list since it's garnered the most positive reviews and the most mentions wherever I read about walking shoes. The Wave.Trek is designed with a rocker sole that conserves energy, absorbs shock, and cushions the joints which is probably perfect for walking over cobblestoned streets (of which I've been encountering a lot). I also like that it's waterproof as we found ourselves in cold, drizzly weather in Ottawa and literally had no where to go (unless we wanted to eat lunch again). The negative reviews center mainly on fit so I would definitely want to try these on and walk about the store a bit. My own negative is that I don't like how they look from the side (I don't like how the sole looks) and I wish there were more colour choices, but when I think about that, then walk to get a glass of water right now, I think, "Stop being so damned fussy!"

{2} New Balance 980 and New Balance 895 V2: The New Balance brand came up an awful lot in every comment section I read through, though I'm not yet decided on which type I like best. I love that the 980 is leather (I always seem to have a problem with my toe working its way through a fabric upper and leather is a really nice option in winter climates), and I like that the rubber is really subdued (meaning it doesn't have all the knobs and cleats and bumps sport shoes are all designed with) which makes it a little more of a stylish option. The few reviews I found on it were all positive, I just wish there were more reviews. The 895, however, has a lot of great reviews plus it's lightweight with a heel pillow and REVlite cushioning. It's also got more interesting colour options. I think I'd like to try them both on for a side-by-side comparison, though it might be smart to have two pairs in your suitcase to switch out during a trip. I find my feet get less tired if I change up my shoes every once in a while. And if the 980s are a little heavier, the 895s could go in the carry-on and the 980s could be your plane shoes (you don't have to remove your shoes through security anymore, thank god).

{3}  Merrell's Ascend Glove: Boasting that it's cushioned, lightweight, and durable makes this shoe sound perfect for travel. Not to mention the many times I came across the Merrell brand name during my searches. Breathable, washable, and good for long runs and treks over tough terrain, plus it looks like a fashionable sporty sneaker and comes in some pretty kicky colours (I'm starting to realize that if you're going to go with sporty sneaker, you might as well choose out-of-the-box colours so it looks like you were going more fashion than comfort the whole time, right?).

{4} Rockport TruWalkZero Pod Lace-up: These are lightweight, mimic the natural motion of walking, and have shock absorption that reduces foot and leg fatigue. As with the others, I chose them because the name kept coming up and I also liked the look of them. The sole itself looks tough and durable (read: thick) and the fact that it doesn't completely overwhelm the style makes all the difference. The colour choices are pretty nice, too. I think they would even look ok with a longer skirt, I mean, if you had to.

And I'm not the only one obsessed with sneakers right now! Check out this post by Miss Moss to find some kicky sneaks. What I like out of her choices are the Asics X Liberty London printed pair -- So sweet! And I surprised myself because I actually really dig the Nike Air Max bright yellow and beige pair. When I see them on someone, they look more like kicky loafers than chunky running shoes. What's really interesting is that the New Balance 980s show up on her list, too. They might be rising to the top of my pile!

Also, after walking on the extremely slippery streets of my neighbourhood (ONE snowfall. ONE. And I can't even walk out there), I've narrowed down on some winter walking shoes. I'm liking the Teva Forge Pro Winter Mid Insulated waterproof hiking boot and the Merrell Arctic Fox. Finland's a winter country as well, so I'll definitely need a good boot there, too (though we've talked to someone who lived in Finland and is now living in Edmonton, and she pretty much laughed her face off about how poorly Edmonton handles winter snow. I guess what we consider winter snow removal is almost a joke compared to what happens over there -- i.e. we're crap at it -- no surprise there.)

friday fixations: weird and wonderful stuff for halloween

{31 days of halloween} I've been so fascinated by these strange and spooky tales. Comprised of true stories, it's kind of like a macabre learning session.

{mica angela hendricks} This illustrator drew pictures of people's heads then let her 4-year-old daughter draw the bodies. What results is creepy but in a cute way.

{the richard balzer collection} Some crazy zoetrope gifs just cuz.

{harry potter butter beer} Get it at Starbucks or make it yourself (you know, take a rest from all that pumpkin you've been ingesting lately).

{halloween music} My Paper Crane provides a mix of vintage songs (she does one every year. It might be worth it to look through past mixes, too), while Hello Emma's got some newer spooky tunes, and Design Sponge went with some "lesser-known, low-key tunes" to inspire your halloween festivities.

{pumpkin templates} Still haven't carved one yet? Maybe these can help.

{skull decor} Everyone needs a stylish skull somewhere in their home, right?

{easy halloween-y recipes} Zombie boogers, mummy hot dogs, monster guts (although I would do these with pistachio pudding cuz I don't really like the idea of eating plain Cool Whip and food colouring -- good as it may be), bloody used bandaids, healthy boo bananas and orange pumpkins, and pretzel bones.

{stick figure costume} I'm very rarely entertained by baby costumes, but this one really made me chuckle.

friday fixations

{this spider gif} You're lying if you say this doesn't make you smile!

{flower explosions} Who knew that destroyed flowers could be almost as pretty as whole flowers?

{bird flipbooks} These are so great.

{state flowers print} I love this idea. I just wish she'd do one of Canada.

{unicone} I don't know why I love this photograph as much as I do.

{paper hummingbird sculptures} I spotted the hummingbirds first, but all of his sculptures are pretty damn amazing.

{the nibble pan} Um, yes!

{caramel covered cheetos} I don't even like cheetos, but this recipe really intrigues me (and strangely really screams FALL to me).

{domino magazine} It's returning (October 8th)! The quarterly issues were such a let down for me since they were made up of articles from the older issues (and I still HAVE all the older issues). I'm very excited (and hopeful!) to see some new ideas! (I hope I can get it in Finland!)

{steve martin} In particular, this picture of him with bananas. (You should also follow him on twitter.)

{larry david's rules for dealing with people} No one calls people out on their shit quite like Larry David.

friday fixations

{finland} We're going on another mini vacation to Helsinki! I know Finland's kind of a weird choice, but it just worked out that way (for professional reasons, mostly). I'll be sure to have some pictures for you when we get back because, if you're anything like me, you're totally wondering what the heck Finland's all about, too.

{oamui} You should know by now that I love me a good gif. I love the dancing polar bear.

{rachelryle} I must be on an animation kick cuz these are amazing and so so cute, too!

{fore-edge paintings} As if old books couldn't get more beautiful, I find out about these.

{fat but fit} I've always thought that BMI was a stupid way to measure someone's fitness since it doesn't take into account anything other than height and age. There are so many other factors that go into a person being healthy or not healthy, and it's about time the medical community started looking towards finding a better method.

{peas and carrots} Specifically, Greek mom's peas and carrots. I'm just going to assume that it's mostly the salt and home-pressed olive oil that make these super delicious because that's usually all there is to Greek cooking. Nevertheless, I still have to get the recipe cuz questions concerning what should we have for dinner since having them have been answered (in my mind) with, "just a big bowl of peas and carrots is fine for me, actually." And rice. Yes. The rice was delicious, too.

{budgie eating things} Hermes' big thing now is to insist on getting to sample whatever it is I'm eating. It's become some sort of a parlor trick as everyone has to see what new thing he's decided he really needs to taste (this morning's treat? Some Caprice). And don't worry about his health. I don't think he's really eating much of the stuff. Just crumbling it off in his beak. But I could be wrong because the foods that particularly interest him seem to make him stop everything he was doing and immediately eat a bunch of seeds soon after his little taste.

{cereal boxes} At first I thought these were a really awesome art project that I would totally consider purchasing. Like, have a few of these on a wall in the kitchen, so neat! And then I saw the price tag and thought, WTF! Are they out of their friggin' minds?! Is this some sort of joke?! So now this totally counts as the easiest and cheapest DIY you'll ever do for yourself ever. Plus you can use the cereal that YOU love the most AND you'll have a bunch of whole boxes leftover afterwards for snackin' (definitely less than their price tag). (Also, because they pissed me off so much with their ridiculous pricing, can I say that each "specimen" box's cereals make ABSOLUTELY no sense together at all?! If you're going to have raisin bran, grape nuts, and shredded wheat in a box, don't put fruit loops, fruity pebbles, lucky charms, etc all the other kid-friendly cereals in there, too. I have to assume they have very limited cereal choices which is weird cuz we have whole cereal aisles here. There's definitely more cereal to choose from than just those types and definitely enough adult cereal vs kid cereal to do boxes of each variety. I just realized I've talked too much about cereal. I guess I'm pretty passionate about it. Or maybe it's the pricing injustice -- and no discernible reason for such a price -- that's got me all wound up.)

friday fixations

{fabric birds} These are the most amazing works of art.

{cat marshmallows} Yes, I'll have a tray of these for my hot chocolate this winter, please.

{candid photos of lions} I think my favourite is the one of them in the rain.

{flower pot art} How awesome is this?

{"tuna" salad} This appeals to me because sometimes I think about mercury. A lot.

{beyond black and yellow} Great article about the lesser known species of bees. This gives me more reason to get on that solitary bee house I've been thinking about making for a year now.

{watermelon agua fresca} This seems to me to be a good use of watermelon.

 

{lullatone} Just a little song that I kinda think is the best song (and video) for the last (official) summer weekend of the year. Make your weekend count, September's in the headlights.

friday fixations

{my hoya plant} I've seen this plant flower before, sure; I've got lots of pictures of it. But this year, I don't know what I did differently. There's at least 10 of these flower clusters and more keep sprouting. I don't think I've ever seen it flower with more than two clusters at a time. The unfortunate part is that when they first open, the stink is pretty overwhelming and what's even more unfortunate is that it just happens to live in our bedroom (and obviously super likes it in there). This particular cluster must've opened some time last night because it actually woke me up this morning with the stench (I keep reading that they have a pleasant smell so maybe it's just me, but the flowers smell really musty and heavy -- it's a hard scent to describe but it's definitely not pleasant). I'm super sad about it because they're so pretty, but I think I have to cut them all off (after I take a bazillion more pictures of it, naturally).

{giant paper peonies} I want one of these on the wall in the bedroom (at least it's fragrance free). (Also who in their right mind would use these as an actual pinata?! Also I'm so sick of pinatas! No more pinata tutorials, okay, internet?)

{lazy wives club} This is the perfect pj shirt.

{it's it sandwich} These sound super delish.

{guide to talking to introverts} I am one and this is pretty darned accurate.

{cauliflower alfredo sauce} Like, what can't you do with cauliflower?!

{ceramic budgies} I stumbled on these sweet little guys and would love to have one (to add to my ever-growing bird collection that's getting crazy out of control and even extends into the yard now with a blue heron water fountain -- it was on clearance and I can't pass up birds AND clearance. I'm only human.)

friday fixations: summer tunes

{summer music} This mix is pretty good. I downloaded almost all of the tracks, so I figured I might as well just link you to it directly.



{solange} I'd listen to this on constant repeat, but I'm scared I'd get sick of it too quickly so I don't.



{the kinks} An oldie, but a goodie.



{alt-j} This song is good in all its incarnations.



{beck} I'll always love everything Beck does.



{lorde} Anything with finger snaps (or an equivalent sound) immediately gets on my playlists.

friday fixations

{pharrell} You're happy, too, aren't you? It's Friday before a long weekend!

{mike d's home} His space makes me want to start all over in mine.

{peanut butter and jelly} Every time I turn around, it seems like someone's coming up with something peanut butter jelly. Peanut butter jelly cake; brown sugar and cinnamon pb and balsamic strawberry jam; or try these fruit or peanut butter yogurt popsicles I made last year. Swirl in the fruit! I also made that Jeni's ice cream base with 1/4 cup of peanut butter mixed in with the cream cheese and added frozen chunks of peanut butter (basically just spread some peanut butter on a sheet, freeze it, then cut it into chunks, freeze again, then swirl into ice cream). It was positively sinful.

{snapdragons} I'm not really a big fan of annuals. All that money and work spent planting something that'll only last one season seems like such a waste to me. And not only that, but most annuals are kinda... unremarkable. I purchased some long-stemmed pink snapdragons to go in my mom's day bouquet and now I can't stop thinking about them. I don't really see them lining everyone's flower boxes like they used to, so maybe they're due for a modern day come-back.

{how keys work} I watched this for way longer than I probably should have. It's super fascinating.

{secret language of birthdates} I've always loved reading this junk and I thought it was pretty accurate (for me, anyway).

{movin' season} This made me laugh! It's so true.

friday fixations: biking

Obviously, when I was younger, the ability to listen to music while bike riding just didn't exist. But now I'm taking full advantage of that luxury and enjoying every last minute of it. (i.e. pretending I'm in a music video is even easier now.)

Track Listing:

{Generationals} put a light on

{Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell} blurred lines

{Katy B} katy on a mission

{Phoenix} trying to be cool (The Chainsmokers Remix)

{Peter Bjorn and John} breaker breaker

{Icona Pop} i love it

{Big Black Delta} side of the road

{Milky Chance} stolen dance

{Washed Out} feel it all around

friday fixations: jeni's ice cream

I don't remember where I first saw a Jeni's ice cream recipe or what possessed me to look it up, but whatever it was, thank goodness!

It's a little unorthodox for an ice cream recipe. There're no eggs. No hassle of making a custard at all which is pretty much the main reason I love it so much.

The problem for me with custards is the egg white. What on earth do I do with eight egg whites after I've made one tiny batch of ice cream that will (most likely) last about four days?

Besides the egg part, there're a few other reasons why I make a batch of this ice cream once a week:

First, it's dead simple to throw together. I've revised her exact method to suit my own laziness, but you can do it her way if you want. I just don't feel like you need to unless you like to get all complicated for no reason at all. Making ice cream now takes me as long as it takes for milk to boil plus 4 minutes. I like that.

Second, if you're making just the simple blank canvas base (maybe with some vanilla) you will be able to scoop the ice cream as soon as it comes out of the freezer. Most homemade ice creams make you wait for them to soften on the counter or make you beg a strong man to chip away at it for you. This recipe makes it possible to scoop out the perfect ice cream scoop the second you pull it out of the freezer no matter how long it's been in there.

Third, I read somewhere that you can substitute half and half with whole cream in ice cream to lighten the calories. I tried it, and it works fantastically and it's still super creamy. I really can't tell the difference. Now, not only am I making a super easy ice cream recipe, I'm also making a lighter version of it. I've even gone so far as to use 1% milk, and it's STILL CREAMY! What?! There's some mad science going on here.

I have pictured the roasted strawberry and buttermilk ice cream which is probably one of the best flavours I've yet to make. But the banana (I used shaved white chocolate instead of messing around with making my own white chocolate chips) comes in a close second (we're just finishing a batch). I just put a batch of salted caramel in the fridge to chill before churning (and it smells pretty delish already so I'm kind of excited about it), so the jury's still out on that one.

This is the base recipe (which can easily be altered depending on what flavour you want to make) the way I make it, with my changes in ingredients (which are minimal). 

from Food 52

makes 2 pints (1 L; 4 cups) 

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces light cream cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk (whole, 2% or 1%)

1 1/4 cups half and half (if you can find light, try it!)

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup (if you don't like to use corn syrup, I've also used honey in place of this and it works fine and tastes the same)

Get your stuff together:

The first major thing you have to prepare (or should have prepared at all times) is your ice cream maker bowl. I use the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker, and I just leave the bowl in the freezer all the time so it's always ready to go. If you don't (or have a different machine), make sure it's all ready to do ice cream (but don't freak out, cuz you won't be churning it until at least tomorrow).

Put your cornstarch in a small bowl (like cereal bowl size).

Put your cream cheese in another bowl (the same size is fine) and mix in the salt as best you can. Yes, I'm assuming you're taking it straight out of the fridge because that's what I do. Softening to room temperature is a step I find unnecessary. By the time the milk boils, the cheese is going to be warmed up a little bit (I leave mine sitting on the stove while I do the milk) plus you'll be pouring boiling hot milk into it, so it's going to mix up just fine. The idea of whipping the chunks out and the salt in beforehand has me cringing. So much arm and wrist work for no reason as I have yet to use room temperature cream cheese and have not suffered through cream cheese chunks.

In a large saucepan (boiling milk means you're going to need high sides to account for the expansion), pour in your milk. From that, remove a couple tablespoons and add them into the cornstarch. Whisk the cornstarch up into a slurry.

Back to the pot, add the half and half, sugar, and corn syrup. Turn your heat on high (or just under high as I do. A medium high high). With the same whisk you used for the cream cheese and the cornstarch, whisk the sugar and milk a bit. Now you play the waiting game. I kind of go back and forth whisking a little, doing other tasks, until the milk starts to steam. Once it's fully boiling -- rolling boil -- set a timer for 4 minutes and let it boil away. I haven't had it boil over yet, but sometimes it really wants to (for example, I don't know what was different with the caramel ice cream I just made, but it wanted to boil over so much, I couldn't even turn my head away). You don't want to clean up that mess at any rate, so just stick around and wait it out. It's just 4 minutes.

Once the 4 minutes is up, turn the heat to low and leave the pot on the burner. Mix up your cornstarch again (it settles during this time), then pour it into the hot milk mixture and whisk it in. Then pour a little of the hot milk mixture straight from the pot into the cream cheese. Whisk that up, adding a little more milk at a time until the cream cheese is smooth and melted (as I said). Put the pot back on the burner and pour in the rest of the cream cheese, whisking it in. I like it to sit and heat a little longer just to cook the cornstarch a bit. If you don't, I find it can have a bit of a chalky aftertaste.

Now comes waiting around part number two. Pour the hot milk into a heat proof bowl (like a big measuring cup) and allow to cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge. I usually leave mine in the fridge until the next day, but I've also gotten away with a 5 hour chill. Whatever you have time for.

Once chilled, the mixture will look like some sort of weird curdled pudding. Don't worry! That's normal. Just pour it into your ice cream maker as usual and churn until it's done (I do like the explanation from Food 52 for when ice cream is done from a machine: "The machine isn't freezing the ice cream anymore and it's pulling away from the sides." I used to take it out way too early and now I know). Store in a 1 L (2 pint; 4 cup) freezer safe bowl (or if you like individual cups, those small plastic freezer jam jars work great and fit one serving perfectly).

{unnecessary steps summed up} You do not have to wait for the cream cheese to come to room temperature. You can, but it's kinda dumb. Do not make an ice bath. I have to make ice cubes before making ice cream? That's like making two ice creams and it's just not cool with me. Do not pour boiling hot milk into a ziplock bag. I can't even fathom the number of ways in which this could go wrong. You don't need to let the final ice cream sit for 5-10 minutes before scooping. This only applies if you've added something else to the ice cream like fruit or other variegates and even then, the wait time is more like the time it takes to get bowls, spoons, and crunch up some cookies.

{common complaints} I read a lot of negative reviews for Jeni's ice cream, and, as most reviews go, a lot of them were pretty dumb. Some said it was too involved and had too many pots and bowls to clean up afterwards. Now I haven't made a traditional custard based ice cream for a while, but I seem to remember having to crack and separate a lot of eggs requiring at least two bowls, then having to do the pot routine with milk etc., then having to temper eggs (which you could really screw up requiring you to start over) then having to use my stand mixer for mixing. So... I don't see how this is MORE involved than that. This takes 1 pot, 2 bowls, 1 whisk, 1 bowl to chill it in (and you could really just leave it in the pot if that bothers you so much), and 1 spatula (if you're a freak about getting everything like I am). Another one was the mouth feel and yes, it's creamy ice cream but not in a traditional sense. It's different because IT'S different. Did you read the ingredients? It's different. Don't be all, It doesn't have that rich eggy taste I like! It's not a custard and it's not Haagen Dazs, ok?

{fyi} There're a lot of places where you can find individual Jeni recipes on the internet or you could buy her book, but I've read mostly bad reviews about the book (stemming from poor editing and missing information), so I'm not ready to shell out $20 for it just yet. I found this really handy Pinterest board that has a lot of Jeni ice cream recipes already pinned and we seem to be happy with just eating the base on its own (with cookies or sauce mixed in). Plus I don't really plan on making corn and blackberry ice cream any time soon anyway. Roasting strawberries, mashing bananas, and watching sugar caramelize was about as much work as I've wanted to bother with so far.

friday fixations

{solomon's seal} Last year, I brought some roots from my gram's house and transplanted them in my yard and they immediately died. Or so I thought! I peaked around the corner at the beginning of the month, and thought, "hey, isn't that where I put that seal?! Is that it?!" And it was! It's nearly bloomed now. I'm so happy about it. These things spread like crazy pants, and I'd like them to take over that whole area! (And they smell like candy when you cut them.)

{get lucky} I can't get this song out of my head.

{8 signs you're a cat} I am, it's true.

{disco the parakeet} What's a parakeet? A green and yellow bird that talks. But that's not important right now (Hermes loves this guy and so do I).

{peanut butter and pickle sandwiches} I thought I'd give this a go and I'm in love. But I like to eat them open-faced and without the maple syrup (I mean, why?!).

{the fringe} Finally, I've stopped identifying him with Dawson's Creek.

{my freshly painted fence} I finally finished it today (this is the first time anyone's ever heard me complain about rain). I keep wandering over to the windows to gaze lovingly at it. The colour perfectly blends with our siding and the fact that it's lighter makes the whole yard brighter and bigger looking. I'm so glad to see that awful yellow wood gone!

friday fixations: spring flowers

I spotted flowering bushes on the side of the road, so I biked there yesterday with a bag and some snippers. The tulips are from my yard.

It would be absolutely amazing to go to this. One day hopefully!

Flower skeletons

Secrets to extending the life of cut flowers

Make: edible terrariums

This book is on my wishlist

Need help? Take an online floral arranging class

Allergies? Hang this on your wall instead

friday fixations

{omelette} I think we all like to imagine our pets thinking this way.

{pattern gifs} These make me smile so hard! (Yellow found here, and because one just wasn't enough, I found grey here.)

{robin williams} Looks like someone's got his groove back! (in other words, this is probably the first time I've laughed at a Robin Williams joke in about 15 years.)

{darrell's house} We watch everything about a week after it's actually aired (or more), so I know this isn't new, but I laughed so hard at this sketch from Zack Galifianakis on Saturday Night Live last week. I feel like all the hours we put in watching mediocre sketches has finally paid off (plus everything's better with Jon Hamm, right?)! If you haven't, watch Part 1 and Part 2, please.

{kraft whipped peanut butter} I know it's not new. It's just new to me. And I really like it. It's softer and easier to spread (onto celery! -- also my new favourite thing) and has less calories than their actual light peanut butter. I also like whipping it into shakes, cuz, you know, it whips in easier.

{mom's day} Don't forget! Here're some of my favourite (free printable!) cards: superhero moms; pie; floral; watercolour; and the best gift tags that would also work as cards.