CUPID'S FRENCH TOAST • Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed Red Velvet French Toast

I love love. There is a quote on my body all about love. I tell everyone in my family I love them daily. I try to spread love as best as I can. So I get pretty excited about Valentine's day, because it's a holiday about LOVE!

Since Valentine's Day is a on a Tuesday this week, Dustin and I will be busy with work. So I wanted to do something a little special on Saturday to celebrate! I decided on a breakfast spread ♥ Included is the recipe for the french toast below.

We had Cupid's French Toast, homemade caramel iced coffee. Along with the usual bacon, eggs, and hash-browns as well as a side of peppered avocado for myself. I think we'll go see a movie on Valentine's Day this year or watch something at home. Just keep it simple and between the two of us.

I hope you all have a wonderful love filled valentine's day!

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

CUPID'S FRENCH TOAST

Heart Shaped Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed Red Velvet French Toast 

Don't stress over the specifics of this recipe - if you can make basic french toast you can make this no problem! You can also add a strawberry compote by simply refrigerating a bowl of chopped strawberries mixed 1/4C of sugar over night.
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SERVES: 2 perhaps more


STUFFING:
1 PKG (8oz) CREAM CHEESE, softened
1/4C POWDERED SUGAR
1C DICED STRAWBERRIES
2TSP ROSEWATER
1TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
LEMON ZEST

BREAD / EGG WASH:
THICK-CUT BREAD (THINK TEXAS TOAST)
COCOA POWDER
RED FOOD COLOURING
4 EGGS
1C MILK (I used part milk, part whipping cream)
2TBS SUGAR
2TBS COCOA POWDER
1TSP CINNAMON

OTHER:
SOFTENED BUTTER
KNIFE
STRAWBERRIES TO GARNISH
POWDER SUGAR TO GARNISH
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE (optional)
CHOCOLATE SAUCE (optional)

1. Combine together the all the stuffing ingredients (cream cheese, powdered sugar, diced strawberries, rosewater, vanilla and lemon zest) in a bowl and set aside.
2. Cut your bread slices into heart shapes and set aside.
3. Mix together eggs, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon and desired food coloring and whisk until blended.
4. Soak each slice of bread in the eggwash until completely soaked.
5. Heat the butter in a large nonstick pan/skillet over medium heat and fry the bread until cooked through, turning once.
6.  Between two slices fill each slice with filling. You can return to fryer on low-medium heat if you wish, if not, plate and garnish as you wish.

ENJOY!

MY FAVOURITE ANIME OF 2016

I didn't get to watch as much this year as I would have liked to, but I completed enough to be happy, 17 to be exact. So I've summed up a few of my favourites that I watched in 2016. If you're interested in seeing some of the other anime I've watched you can check out MyAnimeList here (keep in mind I don't update regularly yet). Hope you enjoy these! 

• • •

YAMADA KUN & THE SEVEN WITCHES 

Now this one isn't anything crazy captivating and it doesn't reach you on a deep emotional level. Honestly this was my "casual anime" the one  where I only sort-of pay attention to while simultaneously painting my nails or online shopping - REGARDLESS, this was a fun anime. Yamada is our lead (obviously) and he's a feisty blue-haired dude who is overly dramatic. The witches are girls who either are unaware they have a special power or they keep it secret, but each has a different power. Yamada and his friends go on a mission to find all 7 Witches after discovering the pretty blonde girl was one of them and she can switch bodies! The different powers are pretty interesting. I'm honestly just a sucker for any rainbow haired girl filled anime (think, Shuffle, Sailor Moon, Sword Art Online, etc) It's a fun slice-of-lie/fantasy anime with good animation so you can't really go too wrong with this one.

ReLIFE

This one is such a unique story-line. The lead, Arata Kaizaki is dismissed as a 27-year old loser. He quit his job, has no friends, lives alone and genuinely has given up on himself (his mom has too) - until he one day meets a lad named Ryou Yoake who offers him a pill and to become a part of the ReLife Program. AKA take a pill and turn 17 again! It's like the inverse of 13 going on 30. As a part of the program Arata is sent back to high school where Ryou studies him, the trick is that Arata cannot tell anyone about the program or his real age. The series follows along with Arata, Ryou and their new friends as he navigates being 27 while living as a 17 year old high school student. I initially found this as a manga and I think I actually preferred the manga in place of this anime but none-the-less I still really liked it. Mostly due to the interested plot and the snarky/sass of the characters in it.

YURI ON ICE

I thought this anime was way over hyped - until I watched it. It's the perfect sports anime, showcasing the spirit, the sport itself with it's dynamic animation, comedy, and the perfect romance. I loved this anime from start to finish. Now I am 100% biased but the character JJ was amazing. They created a scene that was so Canadian it hurt, I absolutely loved it. A  definitely become a new-age classic in my opinion and it's definitely become a cult favourite. My only complaint was that it ended - season two can hurry up any day now!

ORANGE

This one is a drama. Get ready to cry because this really pulls at all the heart strings! Without going into too much detail, this anime is about the history of a group of friends, and if they can change what happened in the past. In their twenties these friends receive letters from their 10 year younger selves. Instructing them on what is going to happen and what they need to do in order to change the chain of events. This is a short series anime but it's worth the watch. It's nice to watch an anime that touches on such serious issues. I'd love to say more but I can't really without ruining a lot of it. All I have to say is - watch it.

NATSUYUKI RENDEZVOUS

This one is a Romance/Drama. If you were to ask, this would likely be one of my top 5 favourite EVER. This has everything I look for in an anime - beautiful artwork, a compelling story, intense emotions with a bit of comedy. IT's everything and more (at least to me). This was the third time I've watched this anime and it still never disappoints me. It's the story of Hazuki who has fallen for Rokka, the woman who owns the local flower shop. Hazuki can't bring up the nerve to ask her out, so he gets a job at her shop instead, falling more in love with her. Only thing is; she's followed by her dead husband Atsushi, and Hazuki can see him - hilarity ensues! This anime has a beautiful story line but even more beautiful art. Most of the anime is located in the Flower Shop and one thing I love more than real plants - are anime plants.

Feel free to comment your favourite anime of 2016 below and I'll check them out! 

MY 2017 RESOLUTION & GOALS

Every year I make a Resolution -  typically it's geared towards a serious lifestyle change. Additionally, I also make Goals, these can be concrete and more basic things. I like to add to this list all throughout the year. The reason I set smaller goals is because it gives me a better sense of accomplishment and I can keep track and notice the changes more without becoming discouraged.

I think it's very important to note the differences between the words Resolution and Goal - because they are two different things. In my opinion, if you want them to be effective, you need to treat them as two different things.

 VS. 

Essentially, a resolution is a commitment you are making for yourself -it's how you intend to live your life going forward. For example: Living a healthy and active lifestyle, could be your resolution.

Your goals, are things you can achieve - your objectives. For example: if your resolution was to live a healthy and active lifestyle - then your goals could be things like: Lose weight, join a gym, etc.

Now that you have an idea of the differences, below are my goals and resolution and you can decide for yourself what your goals and resolution may be.

I like to start with 10 goals, then go with the flow as I add to it.

My Goals:
- Drink more water
- Make Weekly Affirmations
- Meal prep like a pro
- Buy a nice vacuum
- Stick to the YouTube game plan
- 10K on Instagram
- Stay dedicated to your Bullet Journal
- Go to more social events
- Add more editorial work to Portfolio
- Plan and save for a trip in 2018/9

These goals honestly remind me more of a to-do list, which I believe is why if you set your Resolution to something that is more of a lifestyle change rather than a check-off you'll be more likely to stick to it. In my experience, goals like the ones above are harder to stay dedicated to when you prioritize them over your lifestyle. Your goals should be things that will help you with your resolution when they can as well.

My resolution this year is one I'm really excited about. I've already been actively doing this since November, but I really want to make it a priority for me going forward in life.

My Resolution:

Live more consciously.

To me this means, paying attention to how I react and respond to the world, how I consume, where the things I get come from, being more conscious of my relationships, etc. I think by trying to live more consciously, it'll open up my viewpoints and allow for more serenity and clarity - which I could definitely use more of.

Comment below and let me know what your new years resolution is, or if you're going to give this a try!

As always,

Stay hydrated!