Fresh-Season.com - 3/39 - The Adventures of a Newfie Grad Student Living in Ottawa

Favourite New Products

April 5, 2012 – 8:44 pm

I haven’t really been reviewing many products lately which is a total shame because I have stumbled upon some great products in the last month or two! So, tonight, I felt a little compelled to show you a few of my {newly} faves– check ‘em out:

01. Designer Skin’s Obsidian Tanning Lotion {Buy it here}

Okay, I know some of you may frown upon this… but yes, I tan. I’ve tried tons of lotions within the years {well over 15 different lotions!} and I need to say this: Designer Skin’s Obsidian tanning lotion is amazing. It has a “long wear 30x bronzing matrix” and is made with warm volcanic minerals with thermal geo-energy. What does that mean? Honestly, I don’t really know. But what I do know is that this product will give you the darkest tan possible and boy, does it ever last! If you’re looking to tan just once a week but still keep your colour, give this lotion a try! Although, I am a little pissed that this retails for $42.30 on Amazon but I paid $130CAD for it *dies*

02. Ring from Aldo

This picture actually doesn’t do the ring any justice… but day-um, I’m in love with this ring! I love how it’s blue on each side but then fades into gold. And sparkles!!! Who doesn’t love sparkles?

03. Bracelet from Aldo

Again, another sparkly product I recently bought from Aldo. I actually got this on sale, but I definitely would have bought it full price ;P

04. M. Asam Magic Fini

I got this product last month in my Glymm Box. At first, I was a little confused about what the product was; but after doing some googling and testing, I’ve grown to LOVE the product! This “magic fini” is a concealer of some sort– it conceals your uneven skin tones, smooths away pores, wrinkles and imperfections. And yes, it does just that! I love how smooth it is on my skin too. Once I finish up with the sample I got from Glymm, I will most likely buy the full size :)

05. Dermalogica’s Clean Start Lip Shine

A few months ago, I received a sample packet of this product from Sephora. I opened it one day, applied a little to my lips, and was instantly amazed about 1) how smooth this lip balm was on my lips! Like, incredibly smooth! and 2) the scent! I normally don’t buy lip balms, especially ones that don’t have any colour. But as soon as I was finished with the sample packet, I immediately dashed to Sephora before work, forked over the $23 and bought a full size tube of this oh-so amazing lip shine! Love your lips? GO GET THIS. You will not regret it, I promise you! :)

06. OPI’s New York Ballet Mini Set {Buy here}

In February, I reviewed OPI’s Nicki Minaj mini nail polish set. When I realized that OPI had another line out– the NY Ballet line– I checked out Trade Secrets, a beauty supply store here in Canada, and bought it. To be completely honest, I’m not sold on the majority of the colours. Actually, the only one I like is the sparkly one {ha… go figure!}.

PS– I have something really excited to share with you all! But I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post ;)

XO!

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Food

{Recipe} Sausage Borsetti in White Wine Butter Sauce

April 2, 2012 – 10:55 am

Happy Monday!!!

It’s been a while since I shared a recipe, so I decided to do it today {meal plan Monday!}. Last week, while at the grocery store, I decided to pick up a package of sausage borsetti. I’ve never had borsetti before, so I quickly began to google sauces to go with it as soon as I got home. Luckily, I stumbled upon a real good recipe…

Sausage Borsetti in a White Wine Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

Package of pre-co0ked sausage borsetti
1 Tsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Shallots, minced
1 Tsp Dried Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tsp Dried Herb Medley
1 Cup of White Wine
1 Tbsp of Butter
1 Tbsp of Flour
2 Tbsp of Ricotta
1 Tsp of Parmesan cheese
Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Cook the pasta as directed on the box.
In a saute pan, heat the oil and add the garlic, shallots, pepper flakes, and dried herbs.
After a few minutes, add in the wine and let reduce for five minutes. Whisk in the butter.
Once the sauce darkens, whisk in the flour. Remove from heat, whisking, until the temperature cools slightly and sauce thickens.
In a separate bowl, whisk the ricotta, Parmesan, and seasoning.
Add your cooked pasta to the saute pan {on low heat}. Stir pasta and mixture together.
Lastly, add the ricotta, Parmesan, and seasoning mixture to the pan. Slowly stir into the pasta.

This was SUCH a fantastic meal! You might wanna bookmark this one ;)

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Daily Life

Let’s catch up for a minute.

March 29, 2012 – 8:49 pm

My posts have been pretty few and far in between, I know. It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about, because I do have tons of recipes and reviews to share {not to mention new things/developments happening in my life}… it’s just that… my mind is full of clutter and I’m desperately trying to find a way to organize some thoughts and ideas and just get rid of others. In other words, a lot has been going on lately {not necessarily bad things!} and I haven’t really had the chance to sit down and decide what to write.

(1) & (2) It was so beautiful outside all last week {super hot weather}. Ken and I took full advantage of this and went for fairly long walks (~2 hours, twice) all week. This kinda makes me grumpy though– it has been freezing this week :(

(3) After a meeting late last week, I decided to hit up a Russian grocery store here in Ottawa. Bought a few of my favourite Russian snacks and a few new things. Please take note of my POOR HTC Raider phone in the background :/

(4) While out on one of our walks, Ken and I stopped into the Works on Bank Street. The Works is, by far, the best burger restaurant I’ve ever been to! Took me forever to finish my food though, lol.

(5) & (6) You’ll find the coolest things at the Works: Lemonade in a measuring cup, salt and pepper in a light bulb ;)

(7) Super quick dinner: Peppers and sausage {served with rice}.

(8) Pepper all pooped after a hard day of training {more about this later!}.

(9) I bought this book at Chapters last week. I haven’t started it yet, but I am excited about it. I love reading/learning 8D

I have a few posts coming up this weekend, one of them being a password protected post. If you’re interested in reading, you can either email me or dm me on twitter. I try to make most of my posts open to the public but I really want to vent about something ;) Anyway, I’m off to relax– I have an early rise tomorrow!

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Beauty & Style

What I Wore Wednesday #2!

March 21, 2012 – 11:23 am

I’ve been a complete slacker with my What I Wore Wednesday posts, I know. But I’m going to try my best to keep going with it, even if I miss a week here or there.

Anyway, here’s an outfit that I wore Monday. The last few days have been pretty hot in Ottawa {anywhere from 24 to 31 degrees!}, so I’ve been taking full advantage of my shorts ;)

Cardigan: YDE {from the Jean Machine} | Blouse: Dynamite | Jean Shorts: Dynamite {from the Spring 2011 collection} | Handbag: Dynamite | Sunglasses: Dynamite | Earrings: Aldo

Anywho, I’m off to a meeting and then enjoy the sun! Have a fabulous hump day everyone ;)

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Daily Life

Lately {in Photos}

March 19, 2012 – 3:08 pm

Happppppy Monday!

I am so incredibly happy today! Nothing really exciting has happened, but it’s beautiful outside {23 degrees!}, I’m off work for the day {well… my shift got cancelled at the last minute, ugh}, the apartment is cleaned, and well… isn’t that enough? For me, anyway! ;) Typically, this would be a Meal Plan Monday post, but because I’ve been somewhat M.I.A lately, I decided to do a “month in review” {thus far, anyway} sort of post. Ready? Ok…

(1) Date night @ East Side Marios at the beginning of March

(2) And this is what I was surrounded by *burrr*

(2) Testing out my new phone, the HTC Raider, as well as my new lash extensions ;)

(3) Ken! Last weekend his friend came into town for the night. We celebrated by heading out to a pub and snacking on Cora’s {a delicious Canadian breakfast & brunch place} the following morning.