Goodbye Summer 2014

Today is September 1st, marking the end of a wonderful 4 month long summer. To say that I am sad is an understatement. 

I already miss the boy. This was our first summer together after a long and tiring school year. Although he worked full time for these 4 months, we still managed to have so much fun, try new things, food and places and overall create amazing memories. Now with school coming, I have will have more things to worry about than plans for date night. I worry that our schedules will clash or that we will get too busy for each other. 

I miss the freedom. I miss being able to walk out the door with absolutely no plan and casually walk around the city among the blazing heat until my feet cannot take any more walking. Throughout this summer I've discovered so many new restaurants, cafes and hidden gems. I will miss having the luxury of doing whatever I desired that day. I will miss having all the free time in the world to workout and cook fresh meals each day.

I miss my friends. Most of them go to different schools and even though we were all pretty busy doing our own thing during the summer, it was still nice being able to come together once in a while and catch up. 

First year was hard. Ridiculously hard. I think because of that, I don't want to go back. I'm dreading going back to school but that's life and we have responsibilities. 

Signing off with a heavy heart now. 

Friday Goodies

Good morning and happy Friday!

 I recently received one of my favourite gifts to date, a Kitchenaid stand mixer! I've wanted one of these babies ever since I could remember and price factor aside, I thought that I would have no place to store it in our tiny apartment kitchen. As of now, it's proudly sitting on the desk in my room and until I figure out a better place, I don't mind looking at this beauty every day. 

It is in the shade Ice Blue from the Artisan series. So pretty!

I've been baking up a storm ever since I got her and let me tell you, it does make a huge difference. Before, I was using a cheap handheld mixer which had no speed control and splattered things everywhere. It was a beautiful moment when I realized I could be hands free and add things to the bowl while it was still running and that there was a super slow speed for when you have to dump flour into wet mixtures. If you're on the fence about purchasing one, get it. 

These cookies have been one of my first experiments with the mixer and I say it was a huge success. Thick, chewy and full of chocolately goodness mmmm.. I learned from Sally's Baking Addiction that the addition of cornstarch is what gives it the chewiness! These bake up in less than 10 min and are freezer friendly so just pop one in the oven whenever a cookie craving occurs. 

I will never resort to buying cookies from the supermarket again, these taste exactly like store bought ones and are ridiculously easy to make. I used the base recipe from her chocolate chip recipe and threw in some M&Ms that I had lying around but feel free to add in whatever you desire! 

Recipe can be found here

Mary Kate + Ashley

The world's most fashionable twins, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen will be featured in the September issue of Harpers Bazaar UK wearing clothing from their line, The Row. 

Mark your calendars and get ready to swoon over how perfect this spread will be. 

Ikea Runs

Ikea runs are hands down my favourite kind of errand to do. There's something about wandering around that maze of furniture that's specially designed to be time consuming that makes me really happy. It bring back a lot of memories of running around the kids section, "testing" mattresses, and dipping meatballs in the questionable lingonberry sauce. Now these runs mostly happen out of necessity for college life but once a while I do like to pop in to see what new products they have.

Just a quick outfit from earlier today. Tried the 'casually throwing a jacket over your shoulder' trend. Trust me, this is not a practical trend. Paired it with a silk tank top from the Australian brand One Teaspoon and my trusty faux leather American Apparel skirt. 

#TBT 3, Elie Saab Couture S/S 2011

I have yet to meet a person who does not adore Elie Saab's gorgeous gowns. I mean how can you not? They're incredibly feminine, intricately detailed and just look so luxurious. His couture shows have always been my favourite because well, they're stunning. Lots of opulent gowns worthy of red carpets. Spring 2011 was a favourite of mine because the dresses were just so darn beautiful. I think that would be the most appropriate word to use because I'll acknowledge that they were not groundbreaking in design. Beautiful as in you just wanted to admire and appreciate the craftsmanship that went into every single dress. Beautiful as in these are the dresses you would picture fairies and princesses prancing around in. Just beautiful. Take a look!

Toronto

Just a little update now that we finally have wifi back at the apartment. Here's a sneak peek at a little side project we've been working on. All custom drawn by yours truly. 

#TBT + Update

Apologies for the lack of posts! We've had no wifi at the apartment for nearly a week now and it's driving me crazy. For now, I've resulted to camping out at Starbucks. Not going to lie, it has been refreshing to not have to constantly check my email or social media. I've spent my free time reading, exploring new areas of the city and overall just things I've been putting off doing because I would usually be watching Youtube videos or something. Only a few more days to go, but it's been an eye opener for me. 

Like I said before, I really want to make a habit of posting some of my favourite old shows so here's another one. Canadian boys Dan and Dean from Dsquared have always been one of my favourite designers but their S/S 2011 show really caught my eye. They seamlessly blended feminine fabrics with masculine silhouettes and the result was a collection that was sexy, fun, and most importantly, wearable. Time to borrow your boyfriend's shirt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Do take some time away from your online presence, I promise you'll survive.