Creme De Coco

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Creme De Coco

Monthly Archives: August 2012

I can make it myself, for free!

29 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in food

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baking, cooking, eating, food, restaurants

Years ago I used to watch a hilarious British show called Goodness Gracious Me. It was a sketch comedy program that was all about Indians in Britain. One of my favourite sketches involved a family that would go to various restaurants and no matter what was on the menu, the family’s grandmother would turn up her nose and say, “I can make it myself, for free!”* I found this hilarious because that was the kind of thing my own Indian dad would say. He has never ever seen the value of eating outside of the home. Now, personally I love eating at restaurants. For me it’s a chance to eat something that is too time consuming or complicated for me to make at home. Or perhaps it’s something that I can make at home but it just doesn’t taste quite as good as the restaurant version. Either way, I love going to restaurants.

But lately I’ve noticed something. When it comes to certain foods, baked goods in particular, I find myself taking a bite and thinking, “I could make this at home and it would taste ten times better.” This was most obvious when I went to my neighbourhood’s new Loblaws. This grocery store was supposed to be especially spectacular because it features a bakery section done by local renowned bakery, Dufflet. So one evening I decided to try a variety of their cupcakes. I took them home and took a bite of the first one. It was nothing special. Then I tried a bite of a different one. Again, it really wasn’t to my liking. By the time I had tried all four cupcakes I was annoyed. I had paid an arm and a leg and yet they were mediocre at best. Since then I have found myself repeating my new mantra over and over. I finally understand why my dad believes that home cooking is the best and although I still don’t think he can always compare his cooking to a four star restaurant, I now get where he’s coming from.

*I managed to find an old clip of the show and the grandmother actually said, “I can make it at home, for nothing!” but you get the idea.

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Top 5 Back-To-School Movies

27 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in movies, Uncategorized

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autumn, back to school, dead poets society, fall, legally blonde, mona lisa smile, rushmore, school, strike

I can’t believe it but it’s almost time for kiddies and young people to go back to school. Of course I’ve been out of school for over a year but it’s hard to escape the back-to-school mentality that takes over our culture every August. Personally I love it! As much as I love summer vacation, I always got a bit pumped up to get back into the classroom. Each year at the end of summer vacation I found myself watching certain movies to get me in the mood for months of studying and essay writing. Here are my favourites:

1. Rushmore

This is the story of a student named Max Fisher who attends the elite Rushmore Academy on a scholarship. Unfortunately Max spends all his time doing extracurricular activities instead of studying. After he pulls a grand stunt in the hopes of impressing a young teacher, he is kicked out and forced to go to public school all the while competing with his mentor (played by Bill Murray) for the affections of said teacher.

2. Strike! (aka All I Wanna Do)

In 1963 a young woman is forced to attend an all girls boarding school after her parents find out that she planned on having sex with her boyfriend. She quickly falls in with a group of girls who try to save their school when they find out that it will be merging with the nearby boys school due to a lack of funds.

3. Dead Poets Society

There’s not much you can say about this one. Robin Williams plays an English teacher who inspires his students to think outside the box and question everything.

4. Mona Lisa Smile

This one is a bit like Dead Poets Society. Julia Roberts plays an art professor at Wellesley College who quickly realizes that while her students are brilliant, most of them are just biding their time until they can get married. She encourages them to look for fulfillment beyond marriage and family and reach their full potential.

5. Legally  Blonde

This one is a classic. A girl who appears to be a dumb blonde decides to go to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend. But along the way she learns that she actually has what it takes to be a kickass law student and that she deserves way more than what her ex had to offer.

I’m listening to: Best Coast

16 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in music

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best coast, i'm listening to

Hello, lovelies! I’m off to the west coast so I won’t be able to update this space for about a week or so. In the meantime, here is a band that I’ve been enjoying all summer.

 

In case you couldn’t guess, Best Coast hails from California. Their bouncy tunes will make you feel like you’re soaking up the sun on a beach just before heading to an In N Out burger.

 

The Fear

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in psychology

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fear, weight, weight gain, weight loss

A while back I realized that I was letting fear hold me back when it comes to losing weight. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly but I kept thinking, “I’m afraid, I’m afraid.” Eventually I realized that my fear had to do with losing weight, both the work I’ll have to put in and the fear that it might not work.

The first time I decided I needed to lose weight I weighed exactly 193 pounds. It was easy to lose because my doctor gave me diet pills, including one that has since been banned by the FDA. This time I’m on my own. In a way I’m glad because I know that I can’t live the rest of my life on diet pills. But still I’m afraid. I’m afraid that I’ll never be able to eat anything I want ever again. I’m afraid that I’ll try my hardest and still never get down to the size I want to be. I’m afraid that I’ll lose the weight and then gain it all back again.

But I know that I have to try. I can’t continue my life this way, gaining about ten pounds every year. I don’t want to die young and I don’t want to be held back by my size anymore. So I’m going to try for real. I know it won’t be easy but being obese isn’t easy either.

Summer Love/Hate

09 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in summer

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hate, love, summer

For several years I’ve always believed that summer was my favourite of the four seasons. I would start thinking about it in March or April, longing for the days of warm weather and sunshine. But now I think I’m changing my mind a little. I’ve been feeling a little bit miserable this summer and I no longer hold it in such high regard. As such, I’ve decided to make two lists: one is for the things I love about summer, the other is for the things I hate about summer.

Love:

1. Basking in the sun. I love the feeling of the warmth on my skin as I soak up some natural vitamin D. The extra sunshine also gives me a much needed break from the SAD that I suffer with in the winter months. It’s nice to have day after day of sunshine to perk up my mood.

2. Wearing only one layer of clothing. One of the things I hate most about winter is that before I go out I have to make sure I’m wearing a coat, scarf, gloves, hat, boots, etc. In summer I can walk out my door in just a dress and not have to worry about anything else.

3. Festivals and outdoor concerts. Toronto comes alive in the summer. Suddenly every neighbourhood takes turn having a weekend long party like Taste of the Danforth and Taste of Little Italy. There are huge festivals like Pride Toronto and Caribana. Yonge-Dundas Square constantly puts on free concerts and several areas around the city have free outdoor screenings of movies. There’s so much to do that it’s hard to fit it all in.

4. The Canadian National Exhibition, or as most people call it, The Ex. The Ex has been a Toronto tradition since 1879! Every year I go with my mom. We spend most of our time touring the Arts & Crafts building, buying homemade jams and taking advantage of all the free samples. Every year the food building features some kind of crazy concoction (last year it was a burger that used donuts as buns), the horses are shown off in trick riding shows, and exciting rides are featured in the midway. This is one tradition that I just can’t give up.

Okay, now here’s what I hate about summer:

1. The heat. Yes, I complain about the winter weather but summer can be just as bad. This summer we’ve had temperatures in the thirties with the humidex at times reaching 42°C (that’s 108°F). The heat and humidity become unbearable and at times have literally made me sick.

2. Sweat. This clearly relates back to the heat. I am a sweaty person. Even in winter I sweat. It drives me bonkers to constantly be wiping sweat from my brow because it’s so hot. What’s worse is that I can’t even wear makeup. I tried several times but I was so sweaty that even with primer and powder, my makeup just melted right off my face.

3. Bad skin. This one is of course related to all that sweat, which stems from the heat. See a pattern here? My skin has been pretty good since I did a round of Accutane but this summer has had my skin breaking out and I can only put it down to all the sweating I’ve been doing. It’s really odd to get pimples in the middle of my cheeks (the least oily parts of my face) and I don’t like it.

4. Awkward tan lines and sun damage. As much as I like to feel the sun on my skin, sometimes it gets to be too much. I don’t really burn but my skin just goes kind of red. And then there are the tan lines. Since I don’t actually try to tan, these lines just build up over summer based on what I’m wearing and I always get weird lines in the shape of my clothing and sandals. It looks awkward.

5. Mosquitos. I am one of those people that attracts mosquitos like moths to a flame. I don’t know what it is about me but I step foot outside and suddenly they are all over me. I’ve tried various tips and even some natural repellents but the only thing that works is spraying myself from head to toe with chemicals and even then I still get a few bites.

Well, that’s my list. Summer has both good and bad aspects but I think from now on I’m going to look forward to the more moderate seasons of spring and fall.

Escaping the shopping ghetto

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in clothes, Uncategorized

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clothes, shopping, shopping ghetto, size

I went shopping in the U.S. recently. I actually had a decent experience once I found a Macy’s but while I was browsing the one tiny plus size section of another store it hit me:     I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in the shopping ghetto. The shopping ghetto is what plus size women are relegated to, that tiny area of a department store, if it even exists, or that one small specialty boutique where we can actually find clothes in our size. And here’s the thing about being in the shopping ghetto: plus size women often aren’t wearing clothes because we like them, we’re wearing them because they fit.

 

This is something that women who fit into “straight” sizes often can’t understand. The reason so many plus size women aren’t able to properly cultivate a sense of style is because when it comes to clothing, we have to take what we can get. Putting on an outfit that doesn’t quite fit properly or just doesn’t work is far different that not being able to fit into a single item of clothing in an entire store.

I’m not trying to make this into a whiny, woe is me post. I know that plus size women have a lot more style choices today than ever before. But here in Canada the pickings are still quite slim. I could order clothes online but I usually avoid that because a) I like to try clothing on first and b) anything I order may come with $25-$50 worth of duty fees in addition to shipping fees. By the time I add it all up I sometimes pay over $100 for something that was only supposed to cost $40.

So that’s why I’m trying to change. As I’ve written before, I know that aesthetics aren’t the most important reason to lose weight. I should probably be more concerned about my joints or the type 2 diabetes and heart disease that runs in my family. But in the meantime, how I look is my major motivator. I want to feel good about my looks and I want to be able to walk into a store and know that I can try on whatever I want, not just whatever fits.

For the Love of Lush: Soap and Shower Gel

03 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in beauty

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for the love of lush, lush, soap

It’s been a while since I’ve explored the world of Lush so I decided that now was the right time to tell you about my favourite Lush soaps! Here we go:

1. Figs and Leaves

This may not be the prettiest soap but it has a beautiful light soap that is practically the essence of spring time. I usually use this soap in March when I’m praying for the weather to start warming up.

2. Honey I Washed The Kids

This soap smells like honeycomb. Need I say more?

3. Rock Star

This was the first ever Lush soap I bought waaaay back in 2001. It’s pink and smells like a candy factory and yet isn’t over the top.

And now for the shower gels:

1. Flying Fox

This one has been a bestseller at Lush for years and I think I know why: it is like sex in a bottle. Shower with this and I can guarantee you’ll feel like a goddess.

2. It’s Raining Men

This is another sexy smelling shower gel although it’s also got the honey scent of Honey I Washed The Kids. It was originally a limited edition item but there was so much demand that they made it part of the regular line.

3. Sonic Death Monkey

Normally I wouldn’t include something from the Retro line because it’s only available online but I had to include this one. Sonic Death Monkey was my first ever Lush shower gel and I was devastated when they took it off the shelves. It smells like oranges and chocolate and its name is a reference to High Fidelity. What’s not to like?

Best Coast – No One Like You

02 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by KA in music

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best coast

Sometimes you need a slow lovelorn song to get you through a hot summer’s night. This is one of those songs.

 

About Me

My name is Kirthan and this is my little corner of the internet where I write about pop culture, fashion, beauty, life as a plus size woman and whatever is on my mind.
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