By Guest-writer Alicia Woodside

While waiting to be seated this holiday at Earls, I was pleasantly surprised by an offering of warm, delicious mulled wine. The popular restaurant was using a very unique and appealing way to keep customers pleased during the busy holiday rush. After quickly finishing my mug, I requested Earls’ recipe, which uses a simple and flavourful array of ingredients that would please guests at any gathering this winter. Mulled wine is a winter evening delight and a great addition to bring warmth, comfort, and style to any occasion this winter.

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles red wine: A Zinfandel or Merlot (avoid oak-aged wine, and choose a decent bottle- it doesn’t have to be expensive as it is just being heated anyway)
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup cognac
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cracked cardamom pods

Directions:
Heat-up the flavour elements by bringing the two cups water, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods to a boil in a saucepan. Once it boils, lower the heat, and add the wine to the aromatic mixture you have created. Gently heat the wine to a simmer, without allowing it to boil, for anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours. Just before serving, stir in the cognac.

Tips:
For a gathering, continue to steep the wine as guests arrive to welcome them with the amazing fragrance of fruit and spices. Serve in mugs, and keep the wine warm throughout the evening in a thermos, as guests are likely to want more

Cheers, Vanessa Choot
Editor-in-Chief
Modern Mix Vancouver

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all;
.

Additionally, a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.

]]> http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2008/12/25/merry-christmas-from-mmv/feed/ 0 http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2008/12/23/playlistcom-holiday-music-playlist/ http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2008/12/23/playlistcom-holiday-music-playlist/#comments Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:47:46 +0000 vanessa http://modernmixvancouver.com/?p=1319
For the past month, I have been half-heartedly looking for some unconventional holiday tunes to listen to. Other than the well known Mariah Carey Christmas CD or that 8 Days of Christmas song by Destiny’s Child, I really didn’t know where else I could find a modern mix (heh heh) of winter tunes. Anyway, finally, I came across the Playlist.com website which allows its users (for free) to compile music files found throughout the internet into one playlist. Think of it as bookmarking your favorite tunes from the internet, and compiling them together to build a series of bookmarks – your playlist, with the ability to share, send and stream your selection.

Playlist.com happened to have a “Holiday Playlist” with fourteen awesome tracks on its main page, so I took those songs, compiled it into my own playlist, and embedded the music player into this blog entry:

1. Winter Song – Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
2. All I want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey
3. This Christmas – Chris Brown
4. Home for the Holidays – Perry Como
5. White Christmas – Katy Perry
6. My Only Wish (This Year) – Britney Spears
7. Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
8. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
9. I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Jordin Sparks
10. Mistletow – Colbie Calliat
11. Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano
12. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Christina Aguilera
13. Winter Wonderland – Johnny Mathis
14. Oh Holy Night – Kelly Clarkson

So yeah … enjoy it. This playlist will pretty much be the cherry on top of the icing to get you into the holiday spirit!

Bigelow & Co Rose Salve $5.50

In a recent issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine, a hundred celebrities listed out their top beauty must-have and “Smith’s Rosebud Salve” came up twice. In my confused eagerness, when I saw the similarly packaged Bigelow & Co Rose Salve at Bath & Body Works, I snatched them up right away. Only after re-reading the article did I realize I got the wrong product, but I’m sure this one works just as well. Packaged in a cute vintage/retro tin, the rose salve has the consistency of petroleum Jelly (ie. Vaseline) with a slight rose scent from its 0.9% rose extract. This product actually places #1 on the Bigelow Chemists top-sellers’ list. As a bonus, you can use this product on your elbows, cuticles and any other skin that feels dry! What a well rounded product. I bought this at West Edmonton Mall (only 5% tax!), but you can order it online here.

Kiehl’s Lip Balm SPF 15 $9.50

I really wasn’t going to open the new tube of lipbalm I got. But in my rush to head out the door and being unable to find my tin of rose salve (see above), I grabbed my new tube of Kiehl’s lip balm. I don’t know how else to describe it, but as soon as I put it on my super chapped lips, my lips felt like they were melted into moisture. This product comes in three shades – 30G (”light golden with peach tones”), 58B (”cooler red tones”), and clear. I generally don’t buy lip moisturizers tinted with color because they make me feel “unhealthy”, but this one’s not bad and the 30G color is very subtle. I got mine at Holt Renfrew but you can pick one up at any freestanding Kiehl’s store as well – such as on Robson and Burrard or order online here.

Smashbox Lip Exfoliant $18.00

This Smashbox product is a sugar-based and peppermint-infused lip exfoliant, and enhanced with vitamins and soothing conditioners for your dry lips. If you’ve ever used bath products with coarse exfoliants, this feels the same, but for your lips. Basically, you rub this grainy product on your lip until it feels smooth and leave it on for a couple of minutes and then wipe it off with a tissue. I didn’t personally buy this but I borrowed it from my mom’s collection. As far as I’m concerned, you can buy Smashbox products at selected Shopper’s Drug Marts or online here. On a sidenote, I was surprised to find a whole ton of beauty deals (samples, free shipping, bonuses, etc.) on the official Smashbox website. Way too many details to list out here, but check it out for yourself. It might even be wiser to buy online because of all the bonuses than from an in-person cosmetics counter.

Lastly, as “runner ups” in this article, I would also recommend Burt’s Bees and Softlips as products to use on chapped lips.

Anyway, I hope these suggestions have inspired you to ditch the lipsticks and go for the healthier moisturizing products instead. Let me know if you’ve used any of these products or have any lip moisturizing recommendations for chapped lips. But by the looks of it, I have enough lip products to last me through this winter and the next!

By Guest-writer Melanie Tremblay of Mink Make Up Artistry

While Vancouver might not experience the driest of winters in Canada, West Coast women still have to contend with the cold and wind which can seriously dehydrate and chap our faces, lips and bodies. There are a few revolutionary foreign products on the market that are often used in the modeling and fashion industry for serious skin care but aren’t the most accessible nor well-known. It’s time that Vancouver women became intimately familiar with a few multi-use products that are the Holy Grail for your winter skin routine.

To moisturize your face you can’t go wrong with Embryolisse 24-hour miracle cream. It combines excellent emulsifiers, moisturizers and anti-irritants. It is non-greasy and silky smooth, sinking right into the skin for a long-lasting moisture barrier. Developed by a French physician in the 1950’s it has become THE moisturizer used by models and makeup artists alike. Click here to order from a Canadian supplier. Tip: use moisturizer right after showering as it well help lock in the moisture your skin just absorbed from the water.

To moisturize and protect lips try Homéoplasmine, another French product. This product has multiple uses: it has antiseptic ingredients so can be used to heal any skin irritations, but is an excellent, thick moisturizing gel that is excellent for lips. It will create a beautiful smooth surface for your lipstick or gloss, while healing and protecting this most delicate of skin. Tip: use baking soda in the shower to scrub dead skin off lips, then apply this ointment.

As our skin cells die they tend to cling on for dear life to the surface of our faces. This is where a good exfoliator comes in to save the day to help rid our faces of flaking and dull skin. Skin can benefit from a once-a-week scrub with baking soda or sugar added to one’s cleanser, but more than that it could irritate your skin. A gentle and extremely effective exfoliator is Juvé’s Miracle Peel. It is an enzyme-based exfoliating gel that dissolves dead skin cells. Place the product on your face for two minutes then massage your face. The dead skin cells will literally ball right up and come off your face as you scrub. This is a miracle for winter skin and totally non-irritating.

While you add these products to your arsenal, remember that a sunscreen is still essential during the winter to prevent UV rays from prematurely aging your skin. Prevention of skin damage is the best way to keep your face lovely for years!

If you’re out in Abbotsford, here’s another Christmas Show and Market for you to check out!   The West Coast christmas Show & Marketplace is debuting at the Tradex Exhibition Centre (1190 Cornell Street, Abbotsford) from November 28th to 30th.  Expect holiday entertainment to be brought together under one roof including holiday décor, gifts, food, personal services, festive seminars and celebrity stage presentations. 

Visitors to the West Coast Christmas Show will discover amongst the many exhibits new ideas and products for holiday gift shopping, entertaining and home decorating. Amongst the many exhibits visitors will find holiday decor items, holiday spirits & wine, specialty foods, condiments, seasonings, chocolates along with unique and hard to find gift items both from artisans as well as unique manufacturers.

General admission is $10 with free re-admission for all three days with a hand stamp.  Donate a non-perishable food item for the Salvation Army Meal Centre at the Tradex main entrance and receive $2 off the Adult entrance fee.