Lipstick Lifestyle

We love making our home all pretty and stylish, but only have so much money budgeted towards interior design. That’s why we were thrilled when Marie Claire Paris decided to bring their line of attractive and affordable home wares to North America – well, Canada actually. Choose from stunning bed linens, soft and luxurious towels, coordinating dinnerware and drinkware - really anything to make a house into a gorgeous home. The best part is that everything is available at very reasonable prices. We were particularly taken with the tea and coffee collection. Each piece oozes contemporary French sophistication.

Create a little magic in each room of your home.

Marie Claire Paris
www.homeoutfitters.com
Available exclusively at Home Outfitters in Canada and online at www.homeoutfitters.com

It used to be that when we heard the word “steam” a vision of Dr. Mark Sloan (a.k.a. “McSteamy”), from Grey’s Anatomy, would permeate our mind. You have to admit he is pretty darn delicious. But, he isn’t as delicious as the meal we made in our Breville Health Smart Food Steamer last night - scallops, asparagus and wild rice - all cooked to perfection.

Breville’s three stackable steamer baskets provide maximum cooking versatility, letting you prepare an entire meal at once, without losing any of the vitamins or nutrients from the food. Did you know that boiling your vegetables reduces their vitamin C content by 70 per cent but steaming them reduces it by only 40 per cent.

In addition to being an asset to our healthy lifestyle, we love its sleek stainless steel design and appreciate the easy to read LCD screen. To top it off, the warming function is just what we need. It automatically activates after steaming is complete and keeps food at the correct temperature for up to one hour.

Now our word association is with tasty food rather than “tasty” actors.

Breville
www.breville.ca www.breville.com
Available at Macy’s and Best Buy in the U.S., and the Bay in Canada

We love pie, we just don’t enjoy all the time it takes to make one. If you love to bake, you know most recipes don’t make enough for just one or two. You bake one day and then you eat for 10 and that’s just not good for your waistline, or your neighbours, who get the run off of your delicacies. But we’ve just come across the coolest bake ware since, well, ever—the individual pie slice pan.

This nifty bake ware allows you to make just a single piece of peach cobbler, apple crisp, chicken potpie, or whatever your little heart craves. They come in sets of two, so splurge for three sets and you’ve got enough to make a whole pie when you have guests and avoid the messiness of cutting. They’re individual so you will also be keeping portions under control (each one holds only two-thirds of a cup).

King Arthur Flour
www.kingarthurflour.com
Available online at www.kingarthurflour.com

We’re all trying to do the best for our bodies by drinking more water. Isn’t it annoying when you have to wait for your water to filter? Drip, drip, drip, you patiently wait but soon your thirst takes over. You decide to jump ahead and then end up pouring water all over your counter.

Clear2O solves this problem – with a hose that tucks into the handles and connects to your faucet - filling up in less than 40 seconds, as the water pressure forces water quickly through the carbon block filter. It eliminates 43 more contaminants than its competitors including cadmium, lead, asbestos and mercury. Clear2O holds the equivalent of nine eight ounce glasses, compared to other water pitchers which average six glasses. Its easy to know when the filter needs replacing - a flow meter on the lid gives you the go ahead with green, a warning with yellow and turns red when you need to replace the filter. And even better – the filter is recyclable.

Clear2O
www.clear2o.com
Available in Canada at Canadian Tire and in the US at Target and Wal-Mart

Cupcakes have been around since the early 20th century and are loved by both young and old. How can you not adore those little darlings? So pretty to look at and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Here is everything you need for cupcake perfection:

500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly
“The only cupcake compendium you’ll ever need” covers an astonishing array of flavours for every occasion, every palate. These easy-to-follow recipes have been tried and tested by Fergal Connolly, a chef and food stylist located in London, England.

Sellers Publishing, Inc.
www.rsvp.com
Available at Barnes & Noble, Crate and Barrel and online at Amazon.com

Barefoot Contessa Vanilla Cupcake & Cream Cheese Frosting Mix
If you’re better with a mix than baking from scratch, you must try the Barefoot Contessa’s cupcake mix. Flavour combos include: straight coconut; vanilla with milk chocolate frosting; chocolate with chocolate frosting; chocolate with peanut butter frosting; the classic vanilla cupcake, made with pure vanilla and topped with smooth cream cheese frosting – our personal favourite. Yummy.

Barefoot Contessa
www.barefootcontessa.com
Available at Crate and Barrel and online at www.stonewallkitchen.com

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