Bright Pink Lipstick Day AUS

This Friday, September 26th is Bright Pink Lipstick Day in Australia.  A campaign that has world-wide recognition and importance, it is dedicated to female breast and ovarian cancer awareness.  It encourages families to be open about health history to determine individual cancer risk.

You can support the campaign in many ways, for more information visit the Pink Hope Website.  Upload your bright pink lipstick picture on social media and add #brightpinklipstickday #pinkhopeaus #lumabyjesshart.

Here are my bright pink lips for Bright Pink Lipstick Day, where are yours?

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Hug a Vegetarian Day!  Are there any vegetarians out there in need of a good hug?

International Eat an Apple Day

Today we celebrate International Eat an Apple Day!  With orchards around the world at the peak of their apple harvest, why not make a day of apple picking and baking!  This week I had my fair share of apple season celebrations baking all sorts of goodies for the family... apple pies, tarts, cobblers, dumplings, the possibilities were endless.

It doesn't matter what shape or form, make sure you get your apple in today (to keep the doctor away... as they say) ;)

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Old-fashioned apple pie with cheddar cheese crust, a little twist!

Cream cheese apple cinnamon danish bread (braided)

Parisienne croissant with homemade spiced apple butter

Pull-apart apple fritter monkey bread

Classic French Tarte aux Pommes, one of my French favorites

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Coastal Cleanup Day, and National Cleanup Week in Canada is September 20-28. Click here to search and sign-up for a cleanup nearest you.  Help keep our beautiful shorelines clean.

A snapshot from my cleanup at Second Beach, Vancouver, BC

Travel Ontario: Collect Rocks Day on Flower Pot Island

Today is September 16th, Collect Rocks Day.

From cavemen who collected rocks for tools to miners who gather ore for mineral extraction, rock collecting has spanned across time and technology... why not join the fun?!  Pick one! Any.  The earth's entire lithosphere (outer shell) is composed of rock.  If you ask me, one of the best places to collect rocks in Canada is Flower Pot Island, where the world-renowned rock formations are the main feature of the island and the rock-abound beaches are a testimony of the beautiful work of nature itself.  Take a look, then take a trip.

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Play-doh day! Let's get creative ;)

More Herbs Less Salt Day

Today has been dubbed More Herbs Less Salt Day, how smart!  With salt being a leading cause of stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease, and now shown to increase risk of osteoporosis, stomach cancer, asthma, and MS, we should adopt More Herbs Less Salt Day everyday.  Organizations such as WHO and World Action on Salt & Health have global initiatives dedicated to this very issue, click to read more.

It's easy to eat a low-sodium diet and a no-salt diet (note: almost everything has sodium, but by actively avoiding sprinkling salt, sodium chloride, you make a huge sodium intake difference). Any dish can made flavorful and tasty with less salt and the right combination and amount of herbs.  Here are a few popular dishes I've prepared with no extra salt, more tasty than the original salted edition.  What can you make with less salt and more herbs?

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Caesar salad with homemade salt-free Caesar dressing, parmesan, and homemade croutons seasoned with chili flakes

Traditional jerk chicken seasoned with onion, garlic, chili peppers, thyme, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, a little sugar, and lime

Healthy kale chips flavoured with tahini, tamari, vinegar, garlic, onion powder, stevia, and chili flakes

Shepherd's pie with black pepper, garlic, onion, and fresh rosemary and thyme leaves

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Lemon Juice Day, and just for that, I added an extra squeeze into my caesar salad dressing ;)

Just Because Day

To:

آقا سکسی, بیبی لاو, لولو, جیگر

You once told me you liked documentaries on Afghan snow leopards, so I drew you one... just because.  Just because it's Just Because Day. Just because دیوونتم.

Be careful, it might bite ;)  Happy Just Because Day!  Go do something... just because!

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Panthera uncia, the Afghan snow leopard

From:

کلویی, بوس بوس بلاه بلاه بلاه

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

Travel Ontario: Happy Relaxation Day from Niagara-on-the-Lake

What better way to spend August 15th Relaxation Day than to head to wine country.  What better way to enjoy wine country than a relaxing bike ride through it.  This way, you're not stuck with the choice between drinking or driving (though an easy choice), and you can go as slow as you want (or as slow as your tipsiness will take you).  Just be sure to stay on the bike paths and shoulders, and if you've had too much, why not stop and take a nap on the grassy knoll by the lake, in the shade of a fruit orchard/vineyard, or on the patio of a winery... with another glass in your hand ;) How relaxing.

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Ice wine grapes

Reif Estate Winery

Inniskillin Winery

Pellar Estate

Nicole :)

Roses offer early detection for fungal disease

Riverbend Vineyard

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Men's Grooming Day, if your man will let you come near him with a brush...

Running on ambition

I suffered a PCL injury late last fall.  It was the worst day of my life.

The first few weeks following involved me teaching my knee basic function again.  I attended countless physiotherapy sessions and four months later I was still fearful full function would not be regained.  My doctor could offer no promises and advised me to take it easy on my knee and wait for the MRI in July.

For the 8 months stretching between last November and this June, I struggled with my knee and the shock over sudden inability to be as active as I had once been.  I hopped (or more like hobbled wearing a knee brace) back and forth between reluctantly idle, due to recommendations to "take it easy", and over-exerting myself, due to restlessness and jealousy of those fully mobile.  In the end, I fell back into the idleness called "rest" and my once-routine exercises fell to few and far between.

Then I returned to Hong Kong where I met up with my mom's brother, a 60-year-old passionate for running world marathons.  He invited me to tag along with him on a weekly volunteer run with members of the Hong Kong Association for the Blind and Blind Sports Hong Kong.  My knee had been less irritated lately, so I decided to join for a light 5K jog.

As a Guide Runner you use a lead rope and your voice to guide a runner who is anything from an avid exerciser to a training marathon athlete.  I had an enriching experience that day, meeting new people, bonding with my uncle, and getting my knee going again.  I realized that along with the need to rest for full recovery, it was important and possible to stay active in other ways.

Following my recent MRI assessment, I was notified that I had suffered a full PCL tear.  While I wait for news regarding possible surgery, I foresee countless weeks I'll be spending inert in bed, the loss of knee function I'll be experiencing again, and the muscle atrophy that will be inevitably following.  I dread the pain of immobility more than the pain of the surgery.  The thought of the lack of an energy outlet is already mentally exhausting.  Then I look back on my experience with those visually impaired runners - people who stay active despite their impairment.  Post-surgery, it will important to rest the knee for months, but also to not lose hope by staying active in other ways.  I have a plan to keep my upper body and left leg active with stationary exercises and weights.  I have a goal to be diligent with my rehab exercises, without reaching physical strain.  With an abundance of determination, a strength to face adversity, and a recognition of who I am at the inner core despite my outward impairment, I am going to stay patient, wait for full recovery, and finally one day achieve a half marathon.  Shoot for the stars!

Photos courtesy of my Uncle Henry.

Post-run workout for the win!

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

National Junk Food Day!

A few days ago, my sister connected me with my first customer who requested a variety of not-too-sweet mini cupcakes for a work function.   I'm not starting a business here, but I would never pass on another opportunity to cook for a party.  As I was brainstorming ideas for cupcake and icing flavours, I realized, July 21st is National Junk Food Day.  Just in time! And what way to celebrate than pigging out on a bunch of bite-size cakes and sampling creamy icing? Time to get down and dirty in the kitchen!

A box to go

We settled on 5 varieties: lemon cream with vodka icing, red velvet with cream cheese icing, pistachio pudding, classic vanilla, and coconut almond (photo above, top to bottom).

A great opportunity to practice my piping skills and experiment with more decorative icing.  More to come!

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Get out of the Doghouse Day, so if you have a doghouse, and you've been living in it... GET OUT!

International Permaculture Day in my garden

I'm a big advocate of gardening: grow what you eat, eat what you grow.  It's a therapy to bring peace to the mind, a connection to mother nature, a chance to craft something that grows more beautiful by day, and (perhaps most importantly) the first step in making your meal.  The possibilities are endless in that regard. You can grow herbs for pizzas, berries for pies, stone fruits for cobblers, vegetables for ratatouille, and anything you fancy the neighbour's kids will like when they get locked out of their house (that hearkens back to my childhood days).  Here's what edible wonders I've grown in my garden.  How about you?

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Renewal Day and Star Wars Day (for all you Star Wars fans out there... I'll be celebrating with my Yoda figurine toy!)

Celebrating International Day of Happiness with family cooking

Happy International Day of Happiness Everyone!  What makes you happy? Well, go do it!

Today I reflect - nothing makes me happier than cooking for people, especially family.  I love holidays, feasts, celebrations, parties, guests.  Any opportunity that puts in front of me some people that I can cook for and, more importantly, watch eat makes me verrry happy.  I just love watching people eat.  I would actually say, in jest, it's a favorite pastime of mine and a great motivation for my culinary efforts :P

So, that's what makes me happy, feeding loved ones and having them satisfied and bellies full.  The following are a mishmash of some special dishes (in the sense that they hold special meaning to me) I have happily made for family and loved ones...

Starting with Vietnamese pho:

Gathering the essential flavours

$80 of flank, chuck, bone, and knuckle, for a good bowl of...

My mother, an amazing cook herself, taught me this one, my all-time favorite Chinese dish:

Schezuan-style pork and string beans

An old Quebecois lover inspired me to make pulled pork one day, and since then it has been one of my classics:

Pulled pork, crispy cayenne potato chips, and spiced apple-pear sauce

Chickpea squash stew on a cold winter day for the bro and sis

My classic salad, my classic dressing

Pear and roasted portobello mushroom quinoa

Bon appetit!

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

P.S. Today is also Ravioli Day, Kiss Your Fiancé day, Won't You Be My Neighbour Day, and Snowman Burning Day... all stuff I have to try next year.