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28x29

The ultimate birthday cake.

heyitsbex · March 7, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I love me a good birthday cake. I’m also a sucker for sprinkles. Seriously – have you ever just tried adding sprinkles to your ice cream creation at Marble Slab? Or perhaps toss some sprinkles in pancakes? They have a strange ability of making decently tasty things even more incredible. So this year, when my lovely friend Chelsey told me her favourite cake was anything chocolate or ‘birthday cake’, I obviously jumped at the idea of more sprinkles!

Enter the Ultimate Birthday Cake from ‘Baked Occasions’. This thing is LOADED with sprinkles and my heart couldn’t be happier. After a quick read through the ingredients, I decided it was do-able. I set off to the grocery store after work (which, I had to work late so this cake baking escapade had me strolling into the grocery store at 7:30 pm to raid the shelves and get what I needed.

I made a pitstop at the liquor store to grab a bottle of the good old white wine that Kara has gotten me hooked on, grabbed probably a kilo of sprinkles from Bulk Barn and headed home.

I have to admit, I don’t often sift flour for baking, nor had I ever made basically a meringue for a cake batter mix, but this cake mix, as weird as the steps were to me, was absolutely to die for raw. It looked incredible and somehow tasted better. I popped my cakes in the oven, figured I’d get a few rounds of Fortnite in while they baked. Nope. Wrong. The frosting required 15 minutes boiling on the stove (what?) following by another 7-9 cooling the mixture off in a mixer before adding some butter to it. I told you – instructions – weird.

Needless to say, I pressed on. This cake was going to be the dang best ‘birthday cake’ birthday cakes I ever did make. And let me tell you, it really was one of the best cakes. Chelsey and the boys loved it too!

I will say though, the icing did not turn out as intended. I think I went wrong in the boiling the milk and cream step. Despite it being on medium, and my whisking, it was starting to burn. I think I ended up taking it off the heat before it was thickened enough. It was kind of a happy accident though. Aside from the brown goop of liquid that had collected on the edge of the cake board from the liquid mixing with the sprinkles, the icing ended up kind of melting into the cake in the middle layers and infusing it with a sweet delicious moisture.

Overall, it was a huge win.

Oh, and the best part, even though I didn’t intend for cakes to make up the majority of my ‘trying new recipes’ for my 28×29 list, this one checks that off too! Boom.

What’s your favourite kind of birthday cake? Share your pictures or recipes with me!

garlic ginger ramen.

heyitsbex · January 12, 2019 · Leave a Comment

My Mathew babe was super overwhelmed with work this past weekend, so I was trying to be super-girlfriend-extraordinaire and take care of all the nuisance things that life throws our way so he could focus solely on crushing through some work.

I didn’t really want to cook, but I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on both calories and dollars to get some take-out. So, I did what any technologically-dependent human in the 21st century would do, stood in the middle of the grocery store and googled, “easy cheap and quick one pot meals.” It’s how I stumbled upon this garlic ginger ramen recipe.

The ingredients were straight forward enough, it was also like -35 degrees Celsius outside so it was the perfect fit.

photo from original recipe website

Overall, the recipe was pretty good. I left the mushrooms out as I’m definitely not a fan. It tasted like it might have been missing a little something, but I never could figure it out (maybe it was those mushrooms…)  It would have been nicer to have the flavours simmer for longer, but we were hungry. I’d definitely make it again.  Recipe win.

Do you have any quick and easy one-pot go-to recipes? Share them with me please!

Grain free oatmeal.

heyitsbex · January 5, 2019 · Leave a Comment

At the beginning of the year I made a gutsy goal to try to do whole30 again, but this time for 90 days. For me, having the restrictions with what is allowed keeps me healthy. Otherwise, I have absolutely zero self-restraint.

A few weeks in, I was looking for easy alternatives for breakfast. I was sick of eggs, yet again. Enter grain free oatmeal – which is really just apple sauce with cashews in it to make it a better consistency.

The recipe is pretty straight forward. Cutting as many apples as the recipe calls for is oddly therapeutic for me. The smell of the apples simmering on the stove with the vanilla bean is absolutely heavenly.

The hardest part about this recipe is remembering to soak the cashews the night before you’re planning on making it. They need that overnight soak to get the proper consistency, so it’s definitely not a recipe you can just decide to make last minute.

I’m sure some people will question the calories in this or the number of grams of sugar. In my opinion, it’s healthy, whole foods. I portion it out into 1 cup portions and serve it with a couple raspberries. Trust me, this option is MUCH healthier than my usual bacon and egg mcmuffin from McDonalds, so I’ll take it! Having some containers in the fridge means I can grab them on my way out the door and heat them up at work.

Bex does Iceland.

heyitsbex · September 30, 2018 · Leave a Comment

I decided to go to Iceland on quite a whim. I was super annoyed I hadn’t travelled recently, bothered nobody wanted to come with me, and just over the whole working thing. So naturally, I looked up flights and Iceland was the cheapest one! Boom. Decision made. There was less than 5 weeks from when I booked my flights to when I was leaving on my first solo trip!

I had 6 full days plus two travel days. I had read that Iceland wasn’t that large so you could drive around the entire thing. The total distance was less than half of the distance I drove when I moved across the country to Alberta. It just so happened a road trip was on my 28×29 list. I stumbled across a TripAdvisor post about driving the Ring Road in four days and my itinerary was set.

I did a bit more research and found out although my flight was cheap, everything in Iceland was fairly expensive. So I did what any rational, solo traveller with a backpack on a budget would do and purchased some backpackers meals and oatmeal packets for breakfast and dinners. Top it off with a box of Clif bars for lunch and I was set to save all of the dollars on food!

Itinerary overview:

  • Day one: Blue Lagoon + Reykjavik (72km)
  • Day two: Reykjavik > Vik (201km)
  • Day three: Vik > Egilsstaðir (441km)
  • Day four: Egilsstaðir > Akureyri (256km)
  • Day five: Akureyri > Reykjavik (152km)
  • Day six: Golden Circle (240km)

Day one:

The first stop when I landed was the Blue Lagoon, which seemed like the perfect way to start a trip! It’s on the way to Reykjavik so I would say stop on your first day or plan to go just before the airport when you leave. This place, though definitely touristy is absolutely 100% worth it. The water was so beautifully turquoise thanks to all the silica reflecting the sunlight. It was so warm and relaxing. The steam was refreshing as they give you a face mask. I could have soaked in the lagoon for the entire day.

After the lagoon I drive to Reykjavik and spent the rest of the day adventuring the city. It’s such a charming city and the people seemed incredibly nice. I adored all the bright colours on the houses, the views beyond the water and some of the coolest buildings.

Day two

I woke up bright and early excited and eager to start my road trip around this beautiful country. Based on the drive from the airport, I was so excited to see all the landscapes. Iceland is like a fairytale with scenery right out of fantasy. I learned this day that there are many many waterfalls to take in; the first of which I saw was Seljalandsfoss. You’re able to walk behind this waterfall which provides the coolest vantage point to see the falls.

Seljalandsfoss

From there I decided to head a bit further off the ring road to find Gljúfrafoss. Naturally, I didn’t do near enough research before going so I assumed this waterfall was up the mountainside a bit. I hiked up for probably 45 minutes before I gave up and assumed I wasn’t going to find the waterfall. I headed back down and saw some people on the other side of the ridge so I gave it another shot. Turns out you have to walk along the stream, scale a bit of a rock wall while holding onto a chain and then you’re rewarded with the prettiest waterfall coming through into the little alcove.

Gljúfrafoss

After Gljúfrafoss I was on cloud nine. I was so proud of myself for not giving up, for being brave enough to go through the darkish crevice and climb along rock walls. I was so enamoured with how breathtaking the waterfalls were. I felt like I was on another planet.

Next, it was onwards Skógafoss where I was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow over the waterfall. This was seriously shaping up to be the best first day of my adventurous solo road trip. At Skógafoss you’re able to climb up stairs (527 of them!) and hike the trail along the water that runs down to the waterfall, which is called the Fimmvörðuháls Mountain Pass. The trail provides some of the most beautiful views – I really could not get enough of the landscapes in Iceland. It really is otherworldly.

Skógafoss
Fimmvörðuháls Mountain Pass

The final stop before I got into Vik was the black sand beach with an abandoned plane crash. The sign at the beginning of the path warned it would be incredibly windy and would take three hours. I, however, did not listen and figured I could take my raincoat windbreaker off since it was no longer rainy. I also thought the sign must be lying because the dot on google maps did not seem too far away. I was wrong on both accounts and endured what was the windiest 45 minute walk of my life. The plane wreck was pretty cool. Apparently, I missed the epicness that is the cliffs along the black sand beach but by this time my day was quite long and I wanted to get to my hostel and get some food in my tummy.

Sólheimasandur plane crash

Day three:

Today was the longest planned drive of the whole ring so I got up early and head on my way. If I had more time, I would have spent a couple days in Vik. It looked like there were some pretty cool hiking spots. On the agenda for day three was Diamond Beach, a glacial lagoon, Svartifoss, and of course the most beautiful landscapes out the window the entire way.

Diamond Beach
Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
Svartifoss

Day three ended with quite the stress. I had a friend tell me to “keep going, it seems like you’re going the wrong way but just remember you’re literally going up and over a mountain.” Little did I know, highway 1 had been rerouted to continue along the coast in the year between my trip and hers. So needless to say, I turned left and took the mountain pass. This led to 90 minutes of pure anxiety as my little Kia Rio attempted to drive up steep gravel roads littered with potholes. It was also raining, which, at the top of a mountain turned to snow. All the turns were super tight and there were no guardrails, just steep drop offs. I’m fairly certain I closed my eyes for more than half the drive but somehow I made it to Egglistaðir. I decided against continuing on to the next town where my hostel was booked (since it was up and over a mountain, though this time paved). Instead, I splurged and stayed in a hotel, got a glass of wine, and ate my backpackers meal in style.

Glass of wine and backpackers pantry pad thai,

Day four

I woke up in my cozy hotel bed amped up and ready to take in the day. I got down to check out and the lovely concierge informed me there was a snowstorm and the buses were turning back so I should wait an hour before leaving. Cue up another panic attack at this point. I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue on my trek around the ring road after the previous days events or just turn around and drive the coast back the way I came since it was familiar. After some back and forth, I decided I was going to turn back, only for the concierge to inform me an hour and a half later when I went to leave again that turning back was actually the note dangerous route due to some super windy conditions. Ultimately, I continued in towards Akureyri. The photos below really captured exactly how I was feeling during this stretch of the drive, which really is quite a shame because I’ve heard the northern parts of Iceland really are a sight to be seen. I’ll just have to go back at some point!

I finally arrived in Akureyri and it was the most adorable little town. I explored for awhile, ate some food, and stayed in my very first capsule hostel. This was an experience in and of itself – I thought for sure I would feel claustrophobic, but I absolutely loved it!

Downtown Akureyri

Day five

By this point I was simply eager to get back to Reykjavik. I didn’t want to drive anymore — guys, let me confirm it here, driving the entire ring road in 4 days while doable, I officially do not recommend. There are so many beautiful sights to see! Even just a couple more days would have been excellent and I think would have remedied the rushed and exhausted feelings I had. I spent most of day five just driving back to Reykjavik. The views were still incredible, just like the rest of the ring road. I was surprised to come up to the Hvalfjörður Tunnel, which is an incredibly long tunnel (5.7km!) and it gets quite steep. I clearly didn’t do enough research before my drive. Me and my anxiety managed to make it through and it was a really cool experience.

Day six:

For my final full day in Iceland, I headed to the Golden Circle to take in some sights closer to Reykjavik. I started the day in Þingvellir National Park. Some snow made its way into the weather forecast so rather than drive in it, I decided to find a waterfall that was close by. Seeing the frost as the water hit the rocks at the bottom was beautiful! Definitely a different waterfall experience than the others I had to date.

Þingvellir National Park
Öxarárfoss

When the snow let up, I headed towards Brúarfoss. I had read this was a bit of a hike from the parking but also was entirely worth the trek so I was determined to make it there. I hiked a good 4km round trip according to my google timeline. I passed some horses on my way, walked through a ton of mud, and took in the beautiful, rich autumn colours around me. Even if it was just a hike with no waterfall as a reward at the end, it was beautiful. When I finally turned the corner to see Brúarfoss there were no words I could use to capture how I felt. I hadn’t seen pictures prior and the beauty of this waterfall simply took my breath away. There are a million little crevices that all come together in the middle to the most beautiful, vibrant turquoise little waterbody. It was by far the highlight of my trip and a vision I won’t ever forget.

Brúarfoss

Needless to say, post Brúarfoss I was on cloud nine. Mother Nature agreed and even gave me a rainbow! I was pretty happy with my self-portrait skills with my handy dandy little tripod.

Following Brúarfoss, I was headed to the Geysir geothermal area to see some geysers erupt. This whole phenomenon is pretty sweet. Strokkur erupts every 5-10 minutes and the power of the water shooting into the air sounds incredible. It’s definitely worth hanging out to watch a time or two. I wish I had captured a shot of the water shooting into the air but sadly I only recorded it. Following the geysers was the last waterfall of the trip, Gullfoss. This waterfall was definitely one of the larger ones I had seen and reminded me of the beauty of Brùarfoss I had seen earlier in the day with its multi-level cascades of water.

Strokkur
Gullfoss

The final stop of the day was Kerið, a volcanic crater lake along the Golden Circle. There was a small fee to be able to view this sight, but it was worth it to me. The colours were so vibrant and photos really do not do justice of just how deep and wide it is. Try to see the people in the photo on the other side of the crater’s edge – they’re tiny! It’s unlike any of the other natural wonders I had seen along my journey around this beautiful country, which leads me to my conclusion that Iceland is indeed otherworldly.

Kerið Volcanic Crater

Overall this trip was one I’ll never forget. It was my first solo trip and I stretched myself far beyond my comfort zones. It was a big adventure and spontaneous. And I was ultimately rewarded with the most beautiful week of my life so far. I highly recommend anyone who is thinking of going to Iceland to book the ticket and go!

Have you been to Iceland before? What was your favourite spot?

Bicycle adventures.

heyitsbex · August 9, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Back in my college days, shortly after I had broken up with my boyfriend at the time, I found myself without a car and needing to get to work. Thankfully, I lived along Lake Ontario, so I strapped on my rollerblades and trekked the 14 kilometers to work.  

Present day, I live a good 15 kilometers from my current job and I have a pretty decent hybrid bicycle that gets just about no use. So I thought it would be a fantastic idea to ride my bike to work one day (so it ended up on my 28×29 list!).  

I faced two challenges: 

  1. Waking up early enough 
  2. Choosing a route that was safe enough 

The waking up early was just going to take sheer willpower. The route took a little more research. I normally take two main highways to work and there was no way I was riding on those. There’s a township road that runs right along the highway, so I opted to take that way – not the most direct route, but it would do.  

I roped my co-worker who lives around my neighbourhood to come with me. Needless to say, I was late in the morning so we ended up going along some neighbourhood streets and took the smaller of the two highways for a small stretch. Overall a good 10km ride.  

The ride home we took the township road. It was so beautiful – farmland everywhere. So peaceful. A way nicer commute than the highway speeds and cars all around. The only downfall was the air quality was a tad bad because of the smoke moving in from the wildfires in BC. This route was definitely longer at 15km but by far the better option.  

I’m hoping the weather stays nice for a little while longer so I can get some more rides in! 

Have you ever taken an alternate method of transportation to work? 

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