Review: Cities: Skylines

Let me start by saying I have over 100 hours logged on Cities: Skylines since I purchased it in June 2017. It is one on my favorite games to play and stream on Twitch.TV. 

Cities: Skylines is basic at its core. It is a City builder much like Sim City, however, it is much more. You start by building roads and zoning property for residential, commercial, or industrial use. You then need to plan your education, health and death care, emergency services, waterworks, and city services like garbage collection, and public transit.  

If you play the way the game is intended, you will have a budget, manage loans and taxes, and natural resources. You may also choose to focus strictly of designing and building by turning on unlimited money and resources. You may also choose to unlock all achievable items right of the start or earn them as you progress with population sizes. Cities: Skylines adapts to any gamer, whether looking for a challenge or to just play casually to unwind.

With the PC version, you can also experiment with community mods from the Steam Community. Mods include custom buildings like local staples and landmarks, and game mods to make the game easier such as auto demolish for abandoned buildings, and items. Downloadable Content (DLC) is also available for the PC version including Mass Transit, and Natural Disasters. 

Cities: Skylines is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Mushroom Madness - CAL Week 17

Week seventeen of our CAL. This week is the Black Mushroom! 

All these graphs are the same and are just for colour suggestion (except the 60 x 60 graphs are larger). You can use any colours you would like our colours are just suggestions. 

Follow us on facebook we will have the event created. You can post progress and square by square there. If you finish the square of the week and post the finished product to us on facebook, we will send you the next square early! 

Once your blanket is done share it with us and we will send you bonus pillowcase graphs! 

Geometric Design - CAL - Week 4

I was going to try to stick to natural colours and then realized that the natural colour of these flowers is yellow also. So instead, I coloured the bees yellow and I did the flowers in different shades of blues and purples. Unfortunately, the background doesn't come out here as well as it does in person. This is probably because I went for two light browns. I feel like this makes everything else stand out well. 

For this page I think I am going to try to stick with just a few colours. I would like to keep the diamonds all one colour and just different shades. To do this I may have to fix pencils and markers together.

Mario Mondays - Koopa Troopa

Super Mario just wouldn't be the same without the bad guys. So this month is dedicated to all the bad things trying to kill poor Mario. This is the Koopa or as some will refer to it, the "Turtle". We are posting two graphs for this one because the Koopa can be red or green. Choose which colour matches your blanket better or make both! 

This graph is 25 x 25. Most of the graphs to come will be 20 x 20. 

These graphs requires: 

                                   - White

                                   - Black

                                   - Orange

                                   - Red / Green

                                   - Background Colour (Any colour you choose)

Mario Mondays - Small Jumping Luigi

This graph matches Small Jumping Mario. This is the way Mario and Luigi looks when you very start the game or when they are on their last life! It is a 20 x 20 graph and is one of our suggested 20 x 20 squares for the first layout. Unlike last week, he is jumping this week. Keeping the same colours as usual.

This graph requires: 

                                   - Green

                                   - White

                                   - Yellow

                                   - Light Beige / Skin Colour

                                   - Background Colour (Whatever colour you choose)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a very sweet dessert but it is usually a crowd pleaser! It is very simple to make and is really only a few ingredients. And it can be made any time of year.

What you'll need: 

Canned Pineapple Slices 

Maraschino Cherries

1 Box of Cake Mix (We used Super Moist White)

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of Butter (Optional)

Milk

Butter

Eggs

Traditionally, Pineapple Upside Down Cakes are made in spring form pans because they are easier to turn upside down when the cake is finished baking. (Also because most spring form pans are non-stick.) You want to make sure to grease your pan with butter first. 

Place one cup of brown sugar (give or take - whatever it takes to cover the bottom of the pan) into the bottom and pack it down gently. You can leave it just like this, the juices from the fruits will do what the melted butter will do so you can skip that part or you can equally pour one fourth of a cup of butter over the base of brown sugar. 

Place the pineapple slices around the pan, cutting them in half when needed. (Make sure not to drain the juice but not to add any more juice than necessary to the brown sugar.) Fill the holes between and inside the pineapple with cherries. 

Prepare the cake mix. As the tip on Thursday showed us, the best way to make a box cake mix is to make a few changes. Mix the cake together changing the water to milk, and the oil to butter if needed. Most cake boxes call for 2 eggs, if it calls for 3 chances are it is a "moist" box mix and won't need an extra egg. 

Once the cake mix is finished, pour over the brown sugar and fruit mixture. Cook the cake according to the box instructions. 

Tips and Tricks! Boxed Cake Mix

For today's Tips, Tricks and Tutorial Thursday comes from social media. It is somewhat common knowledge now. Most recipes, and even home chefs will call for these simple changes to transform a Boxed Cake Mix into a cake that tastes like it came from one of the best bakeries in the world.

Book Club - Chapter 3

The third chapter shows Cinder and Iko preparing to go the the junk yard to retrieve a Magbelt to fix Adri's Hover. Cinder admits she knows Adri would never let her go to the ball as there will will always be more chore that will prevent her from going. This confuses Aiko. While discussing this, Peony interrupts to ask Cinder to fix her Port hole. We learn that Peony is nice to Cinder and asks to go to the junk yard with Cinder and Aiko so she could get away from Adri acting crazy over the ball. Reluctantly, Cinder agrees. 

1) What similarities does this story already have with Cinderella? 

2) Why do you think Peony is nice to Cinder?

3) Why does Cinder agree to allow Peony to tag along to the Junk yard?

4) Do you think Cinder will go to the ball?

5) Do you think Cinder will be punished for taking Peony to the Junk yard?

Salads in a Jar

Today we are talking a little about New Years Resolutions. The most common resolution is losing weight, eating healthier or just practicing better life choices. Today we are sharing a post from Tip Junkie about Salads in a Jar. 

In our experience, it is a lot easier to keep some of these resolutions but making easy to grab meals like these salads ahead of time. They are pre-made and the jar keeps them fresh for a few days (up to a week). They are easy to grab and go and they make up really quickly in bulk. 

Sunday Cooking Orzo Salad

Orzo, also known as Risoni "Big Rice", is a form of short-cut pasta.It looks like a large grain of rice. It works greats in soups and salads and is also sometimes used in Risottos. 

This salad doesn't have much flavour but because it is pasta and vegetables that don't have strong tastes so much, you have to be very careful when adding the "dressing". 

What you'll need: 

1 Box of Orzo (450g)

1 Bag of Sugar Snap Peas (8 oz)

1 Can of Water Chestnuts (Slices or whole)

1 Bundle of Green Onions

1/4 Cup of Soya Sauce (we use HP)

1/4 Cup of Garlic Hoisin Sauce (again we use HP)

To start you will want to set two pots of water to boil (one large, one small). Adding salt and oil to the pasta water. Once both have come to a boil, add the pasta to the larger pot (with the salt and oil) and the Sugar Snap Peas in the small pot. Make sure to keep your eye on the peas, you do not need to cook them long, you want them to still have some crunch. 

Once the Orzo and the Sugar Snap Peas are cooked you will strain them (rinsing both with cold water). Place the Orzo into a large mixing bowl and bring the peas to a cutting board. (The peas may need to be peeled, even though you are chopping them. You will notice if a string is left behind when you cut, remove it).

Roughly chop the peas, and green onions, keeping in mind you want them bite-sized or smaller. You want to have the same mindset with the Water Chestnut. If you are using whole Water Chestnuts you will want to slice them and then quarter them, if you are doing sliced Water Chestnuts you can quarter them if you find them too large - we recommend this. Add all your chopped vegetables into the bowl with the Orzo and mix well. 

The trickiest part of this salad is dressing it. We recommend starting with 1/4 cup of both Garlic Hoisin Sauce and Soya Sauce and then taste. The flavours will be strong but they will settle as the salad cools (keep that in mind), if you find it too sweet, that means there is too much Hoisin Sauce if you find it too bitter that means there is too much Soya Sauce for your taste. Adjust the measurements accordingly. This also depends on the type of Soya Sauce and Hoisin Sauce you use. 

This salad serves cold, keep in mind that will cause the sauces to gather at the bottom so mix well again before serving. 

Netflix

Today we are talking about Netflix! It is no secret that Netflix is a great place to go to Movies and Tv series. They also have original content to officer such as Fuller House, The Ranch, Stranger Things and a few other great TV Shows. 

Fuller House is based on the old show Full House starring Bob Saget, John Stamos and most notably the Olsen twins. This new series focuses on the Tanner girls (D.J, and Stephanie). It follows D.J Tanner, now Fuller (played by Candace Cameron Bure) and her family. She is a widowed mother of three boys and has moved back to her family home. In the first season, we see Stephanie, played by Jodie Sweetin come home for a short visit from her DJing career. After seeing the trouble her sister is having being a single mom she decides to stay home and help DJ raise her children. This also inspires recently divorced Kimmy Gibbler, played by Andrea Barber, to also move in with her young daughter. 

The Ranch is a Netflix original and follows the Bennett family and their Ranch. Colt Bennett, played by Ashton Kutcher, comes home after being away for fifteen years trying to follow his football dreams. His father Beau Bennett, played by Sam Elliot is a hard-working rancher and for the last fifteen years he and Colt's older brother Jamieson "Rooster", played by Danny Masterson, have been working on the family ranch to keep it afloat. The whole show is a roller coaster ride of emotions, showing real-life problems and situations that arise in families and small towns.

Mushroom Madness - CAL - Week 16

Week sixteen of our CAL. This week is the Fuchsia Mushroom! 

All these graphs are the same and are just for colour suggestion (except the 60 x 60 graphs are larger). You can use any colours you would like our colours are just suggestions. 

Follow us on facebook we will have the event created. You can post progress and square by square there. If you finish the square of the week and post the finished product to us on facebook, we will send you the next square early! 

Once your blanket is done share it with us and we will send you bonus pillowcase graphs! 

Colour Along - Week 3

I originally thought these were acorns, as I coloured them I wasn't so sure. But they were fun to colour and it turned out beautifully. I decided to make the background blue because I wanted the other colours to really stand out. I enjoyed the different fall colors all together. I king of wish I had done this in pencil more so the colours wouldn't have been so harsh but I still like the way it came out. 

This page is obviously bees and flowers. I am going to try to stick to their natural colours. I think I would like to do a soft background again with maybe darker colours in the foreground just to give it that little pop.

Mario Monday! - Bullet Bill

Super Mario just wouldn't be the same without the bad guys. So this month is dedicated to all the bad things trying to kill poor Mario. This is Bullet Bill. You find him mostly on the ships in Super Mario Bros 3 but he is sometimes in the other levels also. The graph posted is a small example of Bullet Bill, but he also comes in larger forms in the game. 

This graph is 20 x 20. Most of the graphs to come will be 20 x 20. They are just other squares to fill in your layout. Or to help complete the all 20 x 20 square layout.

This graph requires: 

                                   - White

                                   - Black

                                   - Background Colour (Any colour you choose)

Mario Monday! - Small Luigi

This time around we are giving Luigi a little love so this week and next week are going to be Luigi matching graphs.

This graph is 20 x 20. This graph requires:                                             

                                             - Green

                                             - Skin Colour (darker tanned brown?) 

                                             - White

                                             - Yellow 

                                             - Background Colour (Any Colour you Choose)