Planning the perfect potluck and Red Velvet Recipe

Everyone loves a potluck. Potlucks are synonomous with drinking wine, hanging out with friends and a judgement free zone for stuffing your face. Naturally, as we get older and gravitate away from costume themed keggers and day drinking, we need to find a way to indulge on the weekends that isn’t so juvenile (joking, I am counting the days down till homecoming).

 

This year we decided to celebrate my lovely roommate Deanna’s birthday potluck style  – HAPPY 22nd DEEBEE! We noticed a few things:

1) EVERYONE BRINGS GOAT CHEESE DISHES, classic girl move, anticipate 4-6 over the expected quota.

2) People confused the invites “bring something homemade” food suggestion as a gift suggestion, but she got some adorable Mason jar crafts so that was alright.

3) Eyes are bigger than stomachs

I made the birthday cake for this lovely little gathering and it was met with a very positive review (mind you half the people were drunk, but I ate it again the next day for breakfast and I still think it’s the best red velvet I’ve ever had).

The recipe is a bit different from others, it uses sour cream and milk instead of buttermilk, which is why it is SO moist!
Try it for any upcoming holiday or just because you’re stressed with midterms coming up and want to carbload.

RED VELVET CAKE 
*Recipe makes 1 three layer cake (9 inch cake pans)

CAKE MIX
– 2 1/2 cups flour

– 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

– 1/2 teaspoon salt

– 1 teaspoon baking soda

– 1 cup butter, softened

– 2 cups sugar

– 4 eggs

– 1 cup sour cream

– 1/2 cup 2% milk

– 1 WHOLE bottle red food colouring (maybe a bit more for deeper red colour)

– 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
*This can be cut in half for light icing, but I reaaaaally think it tastes better with a lot in between each layer so I use these proportions

– 2- 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (I use a greek yoghurt one, tastes great!)

– 1/2 cup butter, softened

– 1/3 cup sour cream

– 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

– 1 1/2 16 ounce bags of confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. 
2. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy (TASTE IT! YUMM). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food colour and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended.  Pour batter into three cake pans (9inch) or you can do one at a time- just guestimate batter proportions.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost.
4. Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and vanilla extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
5. ENJOY A COPIOUS AMOUNT, YOU DON’T NEED TO SHARE, FEEL NO GUILT.

Happy Eating!

Monochrome Movement

Black and white fashion is the basis of street style. Blogs, Tumblrs and coverage of fashion week show a distinct focus on monochromatic schemes. It’s easy to wear, contemporary style that is kind of badass.

Take a peek:

Source: Instagram – Vydia

Source: queenofclassy.com

Source: Tumblr

It’s easy to incorporate this trend into your style profile, try reworking a staple tee-shirt with edgy accessories.

This is my take:

L-R:  Socks, Urban Outfitters | Boots- BCBG | Lipstick – MAC Media | Skirt- H&M | Glasses – ALDO | Wallet- N/A | Shirt- Zara

    

This trend is great to rock in the city. Try it for a night out or TO A BRAND NEW RESTAURANT OPENING!

I’ll be checking out WILBUR MEXICANA opening this week at King and Brant (so YES, I’m not posting a picture of me in this outfit because it’s too hot out today- like what is this weather? It’s basically October. BUT I’ll be wearing this to Wilbur.)
http://www.wilburmexicana.com/

 Hope your Monday’s not sucking too much!

A weekend with ‘The Weeknd’: King of the Fall Tour concert review

As Torontonians, we have seen our fair share of musical talent emerge from our city’s streets. From the likes of Justin Bieber, to K-OS, Kardinal Offishall and Drake, we are lucky to live in a metropolis brimming with such musical talent.
Currently, one of my favourites has to be Abel Tesfaye (better known by his stage name as The Weeknd), a Scarborough born R&B artist and record producer.

In 2010, Abel uploaded three songs to YouTube under the name “The Weeknd”, but remained anonymous. The songs garnered attention online through word of mouth, and caught the attention of fellow Toronto rapper Drake, who helped generate hype for the newcomer.

On Sunday, Sept. 21st 2014, The Weeknd performed for a sold-out crowd in his home town, closing out the Molson Amphitheatre’s summer season with his King Of The Fall mini-tour; and let me tell you, it was one heck of a show. His energy was amazing, you could tell he was incredibly humbled to be performing for such a big crowd in the city he was born and raised in. For over two hours he performed many of his biggest hits, along with some new music too.

As amazing as The Weeknd was, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the two opening acts that stole the show. Kicking off the night was the beautiful and talented Jhené Aiko. Jhené is an up-and-coming R&B singer, who just released her second studio album, to critical acclaim. She is perhaps best known for her collaborations with other popular R&B stars such as Big Sean, Drake, Childish Gambino, & Lil Wayne. I had the pleasure of seeing her perform live at Coachella music festival this past year, so I was very excited about seeing her again. The second performance did not disappoint.

The final opening act of the night was Schoolboy Q. He performed wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs Phil Kessel jersey, and completely blew the fans away. His fast-paced beats and skilled rhyming captivated the crowd and got everyone pumped up for the show to begin.

(Jhené rocking the stage)

Overall I would absolutely give this concert a 10/10. All three of these performers are individuals who are genuinely talented up and coming artists, with miles of potential. If you haven’t heard of them, I urge you to check them out soon, because they will be the next thing.

                                 

 (rain? what rain?…….)                                             (me & a few girls at the concert)

Stay classy Toronto!

TIFF 2014: The Volunteer’s Views

From September 4^th-14^th a spotlight of arts and culture shines down on our city. TIFF has grown from its humble beginning in 1976 to become the most recognized film festival in the world, second only to Cannes. Each year thousands of locals, celebrities,directors and film buffs flock to Toronto’s downtown core for the festival. From this years new introduction of “festival street” in front of TIFF Bell Lightbox, to red carpet premiers at the Elgin Theatre and late night after parties at the Thompson Hotel- TIFF does it all.

TIFF is a not-for profit organization that seeks to promote and preserve Toronto’s arts and cultural scene. The volunteers and staff at TIFF work year round to bring the community a variety of programs including: festivals, film education and preservation, exhibitions and community outreach initiatives.

This year I became part of the festival experience when I volunteered with the marketing department. Here are 3 reasons why you should do the same next year:

• The energy is amazing! Each volunteer, industry member and guest is excited about the festival and all it has to offer.
• The films are unique. TIFF is a great chance to see a new movie or even a genre of film you might not normally be exposed to.
• The celebrities. It’s definitely cool getting to see Channing Tatum hanging at the Calvin or Jennifer Aniston stopping into Holt’s on Bloor, but ushering Martin Scorcese into a premiere tops the list.

TIFF is definitely one of the coolest things Toronto has to offer, so if you have the time during next year’s festival (or throughout the year!) I would highly recommend getting involved.

Volunteer online here:
http://www.tiff.net/join/volunteer/applyonline

Happy Saturday!

Fall Flavour Profile: Pumpkin Spice Granola

As twenty-something #whitegirls, we spend all year looking forward to our favourite season: Fall. Depending who you are and where your interests lie, this could be for a variety of reasons… Maybe you’re excited for school to start. If you’re a fashionista, you can’t wait for fall fashion, aka cozy sweaters, scarves, peacoats, knee-high boots, leather jackets, etc. Or maybe you’re excited for Halloween, the one day a year when a girl can dress like a complete slut and no other girls can say anything about it (if you don’t understand this Mean Girls reference, leave now.)

However, if you’re anything like us, fall is your favourite because of the return of Starbucks’ #PSL. Ah yes, the pumpkin spice latte. An addiction of white girls everywhere. But luckily for you, it’s not only Starbucks that is providing us with these tasty treats. Coffee shops of all sorts have started creating drinks both hot and cold, as well as baked goods, in your favourite flavour. Personally, we’re getting a little tired of the fad, so we decided to try something new to reignite our pumpkin spice passion.

INTRODUCING: pumpkin spice granola!!!!!!!!!

Granola is one of our favourite healthy breakfast choices, perfect with milk as a cereal, or crumbled on top of yogurt with fresh fruit. Equally as delicious to munch on as a snack when you’re on the go.

Making your own granola is a lot simpler than you would think. We can’t get enough of the stuff, so we made a big batch and decided to share our experience with you!

What you’ll need: 

• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (can substitute for gluten free)
• 3/4 cup organic spelt
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup chopped nuts (we used walnuts, pecans, honey roasted cashews and sesame glazed almonds)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup honey (can substitute with real maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 325° F

1) Spread a thin layer of oats and quinoa onto parchment lined baking pan. Insert into the oven and toast for 10 minutes. When they’re about halfway done, take them out and give them a stir, to ensure that they toast equally. Then let them continue to bake for the remainder of the time.

2) Remove the oats from the oven, pour into a medium bowl, and combine the flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts and dried cranberries.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together your honey, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.  Combine the two bowls, and stir together with a spatula.

4) Spread the mixture back onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 more minutes, or until golden. We found ours had to stay in for 25-30 to get the crunchy texture we wanted.

Pour yourself a nice large glass of wine, and wait…

5) Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Put into airtight container as soon as possible, to avoid getting stale.

6) EAT AND ENJOY!!!

 

The majority of these ingredients were bought from our local Bulk Barn. It was super easy, and not too expensive!
The great thing about this recipe is that it can easily be customized to include any flavour imaginable!
Try other varieties of dried fruit, or coconut, pistachios, even chocolate!

The possibilities are endless.
xo

Welcome to new beginnings…

If you’re reading this, congratulations!  You’ve stumbled across the best blog in the city! (or you’re just friends with us and we gave you the link. That’s cool too.)

Our names are Emily, and Rachel. We both recently moved downtown Toronto, started at a new college, and met in class just last week. After both expressing the desire to start a blog, we impulsively purchased a URL and decided to begin writing about the trials and tribulations of life as a PR grad student. Our lives over the next eight months, (eight not 8- CP STYLE RULEZ) will be hectic and exciting and we can’t wait to share it all with you (anonymous internet folks included).

 

This blog will a collection of our favourite things & musings on the metropolitan experience. We’ll volunteer at Fashion Week, burn some baked goods and get several infectious diseases from the TTC (PS- we can’t wait to have our own town cars after this blog gets HUGE).

We won’t be sparing you any dirty details, so stay tuned!