June '21 Cooking Take-Ons

Back in 2018, I had decided to post any subsequent cooking experience on my IG account.

In October 2020, I posted on IG a pic of me holding my vintage handbag from ElekonChicBoutique (to see it, go there and CTRL + F "I was so").

A couple of months later, I started following a vintage store on IG that I had previously bought from. To my surprise, the store liked my handbag picture and followed me back. Shortly after, another vintage account liked the same picture.

These events dissuaded me from posting any more of my cooking experiences on IG. I'm not sad, because I didn't enjoy that much making these posts on IG. From now on, I'll take my cooking notes on the same sheets of paper that have the recipes written on them. (I had started in March 2020 to write on paper the recipes I had liked. It will probably become a slow cooker/simple food cookbook.)

As for this platform, around the end of each month, if I've made any new recipe(s), I'll mention it here. I tend to want to chronicle every little thing that happens during the process, but I'll try to be brief so that these blog posts are only meant to share the food I cooked and their recipe. How I cooked it or how I altered the recipe shall be written my cookbook-to-be.

First month to be featured is June 2021. All three recipes tried during that month come from the same website and were made using the slow cooker.

June 5th 2021 | Alfredo and Buffalo Pasta

[Recipe] (it's in French, but can be easily translated.)

I was impressed by the taste considering the few ingredients needed and the very easy steps.

Only I think there should have been more sauce because some of my portions didn't have enough and it was kinda dry with the rice. Also, I shall use sodium-reduced soya sauce next time (AND dilute it) because I thought it was way too salty.

June 13th 2021 | Alfredo & Cajun Chicken Pasta

[Recipe] (in French)

I thought it was weird to cut the chicken once it had cooked for 2.5 hours, but that's trivial; the dish was delicious. The taste of cajun is totally absent, maybe due to the spices I personally used.

Next time I make this recipe, I'll cut the chicken into smaller pieces and use 2 tbsp of butter instead of 4. It was a bit too greasy for my liking.

June 20th 2021 | Chicken Buffalo Pasta

[Recipe] (in French)

The presentation is bad; the dish looks dry as hell. That's because I put too much pasta (900 g) while the recipe asked for 2 cups. Idk, there's was a lot of liquid in the slow cooker and I thought it could undertake my gigantic amount of pasta. Plus, I wanted to use the whole package of fettuccine.

Fortunately, the taste is good. It is just enough cheesy and Buffalo-y. I'll probably make this recipe again, obviously with less pasta this time.

Sporadic Life Update #3

Heeello

A little over three weeks ago, I handed out my last paper of the winter semester! As for my summer semester, it started last Monday. (I am enrolled in two courses.)

This post is only an update on some important stuff to me or just random things that I was able to photograph.

🎕 I tried a strengthening hair mask from a hair salon (and used it up).

I had gotten tired of trying DIY hair masks that kept deceiving me and thought it was time I invest a bit more in my hair since it's dear to me. I got this reconstructing hair mask by Wella Professionals.

A lady at the hair salon recommended me this mask after I explained I was looking for something that strengthens my hair.

I wasn't too enthusiastic about her suggestion, because I had never heard of the brand (plz don't throw rocks at me if it's well-known), but especially because the lady proudly told me it didn't have sulphates – and I become immensely suspicious when a brand claims to be bio, vegan, silicone/sulphates-free (i.e. a saint).

Alas, my choice was limited to the Wella hair mask or another one by Kerastase that was very costly. As someone who isn't used to buy professional hair products, I thought it'd be wiser to start "smaller" with a 23 $ CAD hair mask, which was Wella's.

Here are my general thoughts on the product.

• Smell: ★★★★★
  The smell is really nice. It doesn't linger for long after my hair has completely dried, but it isn't a reason to rate the mask lower.
  
  
• Quantity: ★★★★★
  I applied the mask religiously every week, from my hair ear-length to the tips. Considering I first used the mask on March 21st, and that the last day was on May 22nd, the mask lasted me two whole months! I thought it would last me a month tops. My hair was down to my upper knees when I used it (so it's pretty long), but I don't have thick hair, so I guess that helped.
  
  
• Results: ★★★★ ½
  This mask gives me all the results I wish for and for a fair price. I give it 4 stars and a half because I feel it's unrealistic to give something 5 stars out of 5?

In a nutshell, I am extremely satisfied with this hair mask. I'll probably buy it again next time I want to treat my hair.

🎕 I started using professional shampoo and conditioner.

After months of thinking about it on and off, I switched from drugstore brands to hair salons' for my shampoo and conditioner. (Though I may switch back in the future, I really have no idea.)

I went with Paul Mitchell by the lady's recommendation at the hair salon. I had told her that my hair was prone to grease and that my scalp had started to itch (again). For info, my scalp usually itches one day after washing my hair, which is the same time that it starts to get greasy (already!).

The shampoo is clear and smells very nice – just like lemon pie. As for the conditioner, it looks like custard but smells like sunscreen. I don't dislike it, but it's the first time I use a hair product that carries such a scent. However, it goes away pretty rapidly once my hair has dried – at least in my case.

I tried to show the consistency and colour of the conditioner (╥▽╥)

I can't say I'm in love with the conditioner. It makes my hair, from the ears to the tips feel a bit waxy and thicker. Though I prefer this over greasy hair, the wax-like texture makes my hair subject to tangles.

Since using Paul Mitchell, my scalp itches less and my hair sheds less. It's a difference big enough so that I noticed it. However, I've been using the products since April, and because my hair sheds less during the summer, my observation could be due to the season's change instead of switching to Paul Mitchell.

🎕 I had my hair trimmed.

My last trim was in September 2020.

Every time after a trim, I vow the next one will be once my hair is under knee-length. Well, once again, I broke my promise. Last weekend, I impulse-asked my mom to trim a good chunk of my hair. I don't know how much exactly (see picture below), but my longest tips went from touching my upper knees to going back to a solid mid-thigh length.

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Both pics above are before the trim; only difference is that the one on the right is brighter to see better (and I don't know what's up with the vertical white streak in the middle of my hair!).

What my mom has cut!

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After the trim. Disliked the first pic on the left, so I took one myself.(We had already taken so many pictures and had to put an end to the photoshoot.)

I miss my longer hair, but the trim was a necessary evil. And I must admit, it's nice to have thicker ends.

🎕 I bought hair accessories.

I found these cute hair ties at Simons.

A white lace hair bow and a simple knot made out of burgundy satin

I saw a video on IG with a girl wearing an accessory similar to the one on the right, and the ribbons hanging on both sides of her bun made the hairstyle look so pretty. I'm not sure if I can make the same with mine since the hair tie is pretty tight, but maybe once it becomes looser with use.

Edit Sept. 19th 2021: Here are pictures of me wearing the white scrunchie. It's my favourite and goes well with everything. ♡

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I also bought my first hair fork! It is from 60th Street on Etsy.

Front of the fork

Back of the fork

Here is the fork's listing for anyone interested. You can also read the review I posted – it should be just under the listing's picture. I'm really satisfied with the fork. It's very solid and holds my hair in place all day long.

The only problem – and that's not the seller's fault – is that I can't make a nice-looking bun with the fork. Every time I try to, I always find an issue with it (too tight/loose) which prompts me to remove the hair fork. And yes, I did watch YouTube videos on how to make a bun with a hair fork. I'm a lost cause.

The bun pictured below is the best I could do with my non-existent talent in hairstyling.

This is the same pic I posted in my Etsy review (despite countless tries,

I only have pics of the one nice bun I managed to do lmao).

I think I just rolled my hair on itself, then rolled it into a bun and pricked the fork into it. Unfortunately, the hair fork was getting hidden by my hair which was slowly getting loser. I had to remove the fork pretty rapidly because the bun would have eventually collapsed. A shame since it didn't look too bad.

Another shot of the bun; you can see my hair creeping over the fork even more.

I was left with a dilemma: either I do pretty buns that don't last long, either I do ugly buns that stay on. I chose the latter, so I've been constrained to wear the fork when my hair has become greasy or when I do cleaning (so only when I'm at home). It's not absolutely bad cuz I get to wear it at least, but its primary use wasn't intended for that. TT

🎕 I bought the reMarkable 2.

A bit of context: During work, I often have to take notes rapidly, so they end up being quite disordered. On top of that, I get confused easily, so if I don't do anything and reread them the next week, I will have forgotten a lot of info and won't be able to recall it correctly. In the end, it affects my efficiency and quality of work.

Like most people, I rewrite my notes when I want them to look neater. However, rewriting my notes is definitely not part of my responsibilities at work, nor do I want to rewrite my notes from work in my free time.

While I was writing in my work notebook's last pages, I thought how the next notetaking tool I'd buy would help me organize my notes better. I ended up buying a Filofax notebook. I thought being able to move the pages was the solution to improve my content organization.

Unfortunately, I had to rewrite my notes after each meeting... and because the Filofax looked prettier than my former notebook, I was wasting even more time rewriting even more stuff to make everything look nice. Plus, when I wrote something spontaneously (e.g. an idea popped up), I would think a lot before writing to make sure to cover every info and in the right order.

During this short period of time, I wasted time rewriting stuff that didn't need to be rewritten in the first place, and wrote down stuff as if I was composing a final copy every time. I was the opposite of efficient with a Filofax, so I had to give it up. Nevertheless, this experience taught me that organized and usable notes didn't need to be necessarily aesthetic.

A couple of days later, I started looking for a tablet specifically made for writing. I had gotten the idea from my Explore page on IG – which often shows me pics of beautiful handwritten study notes on iPads. However, I didn't want a tablet with an array of options (I wouldn't use most of them), especially as they tend to take up a lot of battery life.

A few hours later, I had ordered the reMarkable 2 on the official website (t'was pretty much an impulse buying). I received it within a week or so.

I did hesitate before getting this tablet, notably because of the price, but also because of the limited colour options for the ink (only black, white and grey).

However, I came to the realization that I don't even need colours – I favour blue or black ink 99 % of the time when writing, depending on the pen I have on hand. Moreover, having the possibility of adding colours to my text would DEFINITELY be counter-productive, as I'd waste time on the aesthetic of my notes.

I really like the carton x paper packaging.

I think the tablet is wrapped in vellum paper?

For the case, I chose the book folio in polymer weave.

On the right side of the tablet, you can see the pen (it is magnetic!).

I went with the marker plus as it has an eraser, unlike the normal marker.

You can flip the front of the case completely under the tablet.

Again, very practical and makes it easier to carry around.

I've been using this tablet for about one month and I am LOVING it. It suits all of my needs perfectly. I like how the device is meant to be simple – just like pen and paper – but with functionalities that make it worth more than pen and paper. As an example, here's a situation where technology comes in handy.

A normal page of written text. (Btw, I believe this page layout

is "Margin small", but you can choose among lots of others.)

Suppose that I just thought about writing the paragraph at the bottom,

but it's meant to be under the bullet "Diapos 23-24 : SHITSUKE".

By using the Selection tool, I am able to move

my paragraph easily right under the bullet in question.

I typically use the Selection tool to copy a cluster of text and move it (either on the same page, on another page or in another document). My example may seem silly, but it is exactly the kind of functionalities I need in order to organize my ideas simply and efficiently.

At the moment, I'm only writing stuff on my tablet, but I'm thinking of importing lots of PDF readings. I would have way fewer books to carry with me when visiting my parents or going to work.

In my opinion, the tablet's major weakness is that you can't use it in the dark since the screen doesn't have a light. I read this was intentional in an effort to make the tablet feel like paper and pen as much as possible. Understandable, but considering the high price of the product, it goes without saying that the screen should come with a light imo.

Speaking of the price, I'm bringing it up so that if I ever come back reading this, I'll have a vestige of one crazy expensive purchase I made on a whim. So the tablet cost 599 $, the pen (marker plus) 149 $, and the case (book folio in polymer weave) 149 $. Which amounts to a total of 897 $ CAD. 🤠

Was it worth it? For me, yes.

🎕 I bought a new handbag: David Jones Paris.

Having been in a state of denial, I recently came to admit that I would not be able to go to work with my retro nor my vintage handbag (respectively, the black one from YesStyle & the beige one with gold scallop). 

Moreover, after purchasing my reMarkable 2, it was obvious I'd need a bigger bag to hold my stuff when shuttling back and forth between work and home.

My mom was the one who spotted this handbag at Marshalls. It wasn't love at first sight for me, but upon carrying it and seeing how well it blended with my style and wardrobe, I came to love it.

The handles can rest on the bag instead of sticking up stubbornly. 😌

I like how clean and subtle the brand looks on the bag.

The handbag has three compartments: two relatively easy to access/unzip, and a more discreet one in the middle. There's also has a zipped pocket at the back. So many compartments, me loves.

Personally, I much prefer zippers over other types of closures (e.g. magnetic ones) since they're more secure. In fact, my Liz Lisa bag gave me bits of anxiety whenever I thought that my metro pass or my keys had slipped out of my bag, only to find them seconds later.

My reMarkable 2 also fits perfectly in there~

The handbag came with a bag for storage, which was a nice surprise.

🎕 Miscellaneous (I couldn't categorize these things.)

Saigon chicken soup from our favourite Vietnamese restaurant. Mmm.

Weeks ago, I bought a ravishing and high-quality full slip to wear under my see-through dresses...

... and the day after, I tried it on with a dress and the dress' zipper caught a part of the slip's mesh. It had to be ripped off, FML.

🎕 After more than a year of staying at my parent's house, I'm now back at my apartment in Montreal.

I'll work at the office on some days (hybrid schedule), so I will probably restart posting on my OOTDs page.

Lovely (cork?) board that my parents put up

Among the new improvements in my apartment (thank you 👫), my parents installed a portable aircon so that I'm not repetitively hit by heat strokes this summer. It's been working since I've returned to Montreal, and my quality of life has improved so much... much more energy to cook and clean during the day (and basically just move) and better sleeping.

Last Sunday, I cooked General Tso's Chicken in my slow-cooker.

I shall talk about this dish more in detail in another blog post.

Oh, and finally, I got my first Covid shot last Saturday.

:D