I love working with food, but one of my other passions is home decor, so I hope you’ll humour me with this post! I’ve caught the decor bug in recent years, and I just love every stage of putting a room together. The only problem is that I don’t have much time for home decor projects (I’ve completed 2 nurseries and an office in 5 years…lol), so I’ve been chipping away at this office at a snail’s pace. But I’m quite happy with how it’s come together. My goal was to create a serene and elegant home office with a lil’ bit of drama!
When we first moved into this house, we painted the office grey. We were going through a huge grey phase, but over time it started to wear on me, and I found the office was less than inspiring. I started to feel blah whenever I was in there (I also regret painting the basement grey…ugh!). One of my blog readers actually warned me about picking grey for an office, but I didn’t listen…you guys are always right! After going back and forth over what colour(s) I wanted to paint my office (I tested everything from spa green to super soft blush pink and, yes, even yellow!), I finally settled on a navy–charcoal blend and blush pink.
When I pictured my white office furniture popping off a dark, dramatic wall, I was sold. I didn’t want the whole room to be dark, so I kept the rest of the walls white for an airy feel. I’ve gone back and forth over whether I should do a bit of wallpaper on one wall (maybe the front wall where the windows are?), but I’ll most likely just leave it alone!
The only thing missing is the light fixture above my desk. The electrical needs to be put in and I need to pick out the light…any ideas?? Should I go with a chandelier…or a semi-flush or…?
First, I’ll kick things off with my TWO bosses…they are fairly new to their “directing” roles, but it’s like they’ve been doing it their whole lives…. ;)
And here’s how it looks during the month of December! Lately I’ve loved getting up extra early for some “me time” in the morning—I turn the Christmas lights on, sit at my desk with my coffee, and do some writing, reading, planning, etc.
By the way, just in case you missed my big holiday newsletter, you can find a round-up of my favourite festive vegan recipes here! If I don’t chat with you again before signing off for Christmas, I hope you have a fantastic holiday! Thank you for all of your amazing support, thoughtful comments, and for making and sharing so many of my recipes this year!
Office details:
Paint colour (dark wall) – Blue Note (Benjamin Moore)
Paint colour (white) – Distant Gray (Benjamin Moore)
French doors – Wrought Iron (Benjamin Moore)
Desk and two filing cabinets – Crate and Barrel
Blush rug – Pier 1 Imports
White shelf – Wayfair (discontinued)
Elsie desk chair – World Market
Floral storage boxes on shelf – HomeSense (Guess what’s inside? Toys!)
Two white faux leather chairs – Wayfair
Rose quartz slab (on desk) – Anthropologie
Basket – Zara Home
Grey mug – Crate and Barrel
Blush pillows – HomeSense
Dark floral pillow – The Bay
Large floral framed print – Minted
Prop shelf with dishes – Wayfair
Mirror – Zara Home
Mountain print – SisiandSeb on Etsy
Profile art – SaltandPrinter on Etsy
Desert scene art – SisiAndSeb on Etsy
Pink Blue Abstract Print – LittleValleyStudio on Etsy
Taurus print – SaltandPrinter on Etsy
Inhale Exhale print – ParadigmArt on Etsy
White vase on desk – HomeSense
Blush pouf/ottoman – Restoration Hardware
Pink vase – Anthropologie
Grey letter A – HomeSense
Pink “crystal” tealight holder – HomeSense
10 YEARS!!! Can someone please tell me how it’s been a decade since I wrote my very first blog post? We’re celebrating today with this incredible vegan dessert and a weeklong OSG Recipe App sale for charity (deets below).
When I started my blog on October 31, 2008, Eric and I were newly married and living in Toronto while I was working full-time as a researcher and wrapping up my Master’s degree. Life was pretty chaotic, and completing my degree was starting to wear me down (at one point I thought I was just going to cut my losses, throw in the towel, and move on!). This blog was the most amazing creative outlet during a time when my life was lacking the kind of creativity that I absolutely craved. It allowed me to explore a side of myself that I hadn’t since I was a kid (like my love for photography, baking, creative writing/journaling, and just being a goof). My blog’s first tagline was “Food. Fitness. Fashion. Fun.” Pretty epic, right? Lol. I’m grateful to Eric for encouraging me to “find a hobby” after years of exhausting myself with school and work. He still jokes that my “hobby” turned into my career, so I need to find a new hobby now. (Fine, I’ll start my own animal farm! YOU WIN!)
I find writing therapeutic in soooo many ways. In the early days, I didn’t have more than a handful of readers, and I found it quite easy to talk about my struggles online. I was like no one is going to read this anyway! It was an online journal of sorts, and I wrote about my history with disordered eating and how I was finally getting myself on a path to recovery. I shared the challenges I faced finding a career that I was truly passionate about (and, eventually, how I relinquished my need to people-please by completely changing my career path). I had the most supportive response from those first early blog readers (as well as my friends and family), so I kept writing with my heart on my sleeve.
After coming in the top 3 of the food blogging challenge Project Food Blog, an editor from a major publishing house emailed me saying she loved my work and was wondering if I’d like to write a cookbook. Pretty sure I fainted! It was the email that changed everything and solidified the fact that I was on the right path after doubting myself and my decision to change careers for so long.
So here we are 1 blog, 3 moves, 2 cookbooks, 2 kids, and 1 recipe app later…including countless late nights, self-doubt, and (ongoing) indecision for good measure! It sure has been a wild ride! I’m still learning and dreaming of new goals every day (all while not having the slightest clue how to get there!). Above all, I’m really proud of the fact that I’ve stayed true to myself and the values I have for this hobby-turned-business. The best part is that I’ve been lucky to meet so many of you amazing people online and in person, and I still can’t quite believe how freakin’ genuine, cool, and supportive everyone has been! It’s so crazy to think that some of my best friendships have been made through this blog. Forever grateful. Thank you from the bottom of my veggie-lovin’ heart for making this such a fun journey. And cheers to the next 10 years! Any guesses as to what adventures they’ll bring for you or me?
To celebrate OSG’s 10-year anniversary, we’re having a big OSG Recipe App sale this week with 100% of the proceeds being donated to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada. Right now our app is just 99 cents, so if you’ve been thinking about downloading it, this week is a great time to do so while supporting a fantastic cause that’s near and dear to my heart! You can find our recipe app on both the iTunes and Google Play stores. Thank you so much for all of your amazing support and for helping us give back to our community.
I had so much fun celebrating Canada’s food writers at the Taste Canada Awards Gala last night! We were nominated in the Food Blogs Health and Special Diet category, and I was so honoured to take home Gold! All I could think about was how grateful I am to have this recognition, especially so close to OSG’s 10-year milestone. Plus, Adriana and Arlo have been calling all of my food “YUCKY” lately, so now I can show them the award and explain that they’ve been outvoted, lol.
Last but not least, we’re having a little party to celebrate 10 years and this new dessert is on the menu. I hope you’ll enjoy every bite as much as we have! With Halloween tomorrow, I can’t think of a better time to indulge in some creamy, dreamy, chocolaty PB goodness.
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5 from 7 reviews |
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While dreaming up a recipe to celebrate Oh She Glows’ 10-year anniversary, I immediately thought of one of my all-time favourite flavour combos: salted peanut butter and chocolate! Hubba hubba. This salted peanut butter torte (of pure sweet heaven) is easy to throw together and only takes a couple hours to freeze. Its creative presentation will impress the heck out of your guests, and that irresistible sweet-salty flavour and creamy, crunchy texture will blow your taste buds away! I’ve also tested this torte with 3 different fillings: peanut butter, almond butter, and a nut-free sunflower seed butter version! And guess what? They’re all so delicious we couldn’t pick a favourite! See my Tips for how to make the sunflower seed and almond butter versions.
* Chill your can of full-fat coconut milk for at least 12 hours before you begin this recipe so that the cream on top is solid. After making the torte, you’ll have some leftover coconut cream in the can which can be used to make Coconut Whipped Cream for the topping!
** Feel free to use store-bought coconut whipped cream instead. I like “So Delicious Dairy Free CocoWhip!”
*** To a small pot over low heat, add the chocolate and oil. Stir until smooth and combined.
**** Of course you can use roasted peanuts instead. I’m not a big fan of them so I prefer to use walnuts.
Make it nut-free: In the crust, swap the almonds for sunflower seeds and in the filling swap the peanut butter for roasted sunflower seed butter. I like to add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup and a pinch of salt to this version—the filling tastes like salted caramel!
Almond butter version: Swap the peanut butter for roasted almond butter.
Don’t have an 8x8-inch square pan? You can make this in an 8x4-inch loaf pan or standard-size muffin tin (both greased with coconut oil).
