Exciting News!

It has been awhile since my last post and so much has happened that I just have to share it with all of you.

I recently became certified as a Professional Wedding Planner with the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC) and have launched my own business: Sweet Bliss Weddings

Since my new company is keeping me very busy, I will not be maintaining this blog any more. However, I will be blogging for Sweet Bliss Weddings on a regular basis, and you can find that blog here .

Thank you to those of you who read and followed my blog. I hope that you will venture over to the Sweet Bliss website and have a look.  You can also join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter !

Thanks for reading!

Christina xx

Rainbow Cupcakes!

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays!!  So when I was looking for something fun to bake for our St. Paddy's Day party, I thought that I would try to make rainbow cupcakes.

(Okay, so I know you're thinking "St. Patrick's Day and rainbows?"  Here was my logic: St. Patrick's Day = Ireland = Leprachauns = Pot o' Gold = RAINBOWS!   See? It kinda makes sense...)

So using a box of white cake mix, here's how you do it:

1) Split the batter into 6 equal parts, one part per bowl.

2) Starting with the purple color, pour a SMALL amount of batter into each liner.  Then layer the colors: Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red. (As a side note, here's the rhyme my Dad taught me to remember the colors of the rainbow: "Run Oh Ye Great Big Irish Villan".  I thought it was appropriate since it was St. Patrick's Day!)

 And here's what it will start to look like in the liners.  You actually have to use a fork to spread each color in order to achieve that layered look.  Although, if you want them to look more like tie-dye, feel free to just drop the colors in randomly and swirl them around - just not too much or all the colors will blend together and look not-so-nice.

When the cupcakes come out of the oven, they will look like this:

 And here's the finished product:

To make the cupcakes a bit more festive, I decided to make some filagree chocolate shamrocks to put on top.

1) Trace some shamrocks onto wax paper.  After tracing the shamrocks, turn the wax paper over and placed onto a large cutting board or baking sheet.

2) For this part, you'll need some green melting chocolates.  Using a glass bowl and a pot of water, make a double-boiler to melt the chocolate in.  Make sure that the water in the pot does not touch the bottom of the bowl.  Put the melting chocolates into the bowl and place on the stove at low heat.  Keep an eye on the chocolate and stir occasionally. (You can melt the chocolate in a microwave, but I find that you run a greater risk of burning the chocolate than using the double-boiler method.)

 

3) Once melted, allow the chocolate to cool for 1 minute.  Then spoon into a plastic ziploc bag.  Make a small cut in one corner to make a piping bag.  Then carefully outline the shamrocks with the chocolate.  Then fill in the middle with little squiggles (so that the shamrocks won't break when you lift them from the wax paper).

4) Once finished, place into the freezer for 15 minutes.  Then gently "pop" the shamrocks off of the wax paper, being careful not to snap the stems!

And here's the final product:

Just a word of advice - these cupcakes took over 2 hours to make. Layering all the colors and spreading them out was very time-consuming.  I'll leave it to you to decide if the end product is worth it. :o)

Oscars 2011 - My Fashion Hits & Misses

The 2011 Academy Awards aired this past Sunday.  As most women, I largely watch the show for the fashion (and to cheer on my favorite movies and actors, of course!). 

There were a few visible trends this year: sparkles and jewel tones. 

Here are my top picks for Best Dress:

1)  Mila Kunis in Elie Saab:  I loved the girliness and romanticism of this lavender gown.  It was elegant with just a hint of sexiness stemming from the lace appliques around the bust line.

2) Mandy Moore in Monique Lhullier: I love the construction of this gown.  It's unclear to see from this photo, but this dress actually has a crew neck made of a nude sheer fabric, which achieves the effect of the crystals "floating" up Mandy's chest and arms.  I have seen some other dresses trying to achieve this effect, but without success.  Trust Monique Lhullier to have executed this dress design perfectly.

3) Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa: This gown, made by one of my favourite designers, is just perfect for the 14 year old actress.  It's young, flirty, fresh and AGE APPROPRIATE (which you don't often see in Hollywood, let's face it!)  The nude shoes and rhinestone headband accent the dress perfectly.

4) Scarlett Johanson in Dolce & Gabbana:  The critics seem to be torn on this dress; ranging from "hot mess" to "hot stuff".  Personally, I loved this dress.  The lacework is elegant and the magenta color makes this dress trendy and funky.  (Had it been made in white, I don't think it would have worked.)  The bedhead hair also compliments the overall look.

5) Natalie Portman in Rodarte: Here is that hot, jewel-toned magenta color again.  Natalie wears this dress well and the draping at the front ensures that Natalie herself is the focus here and not her "bump".  It's a safe and classic dress, which I suppose makes it ideal for a Best Actress Nominee.  However, I am not too keen on the Tiffany tassel earrings and would loved to have seen some more sparkle on her.

6) Melissa Leo in Marc Bower:  Another dress that the critics bashed (those lace-haters!), that I actually liked.  The white lace (which actually appears to be laser cut) is layered atop of gold fabric.  Looking past the lace, the design of the dress is very flattering to Melissa's figure and age.  The high collar and low v-neck give this dress the va-va-voom factor without looking desperate.  I don't care what anyone says - I liked this dress!


Here are my picks for Worst Dress:

1) Cate Blanchett in Givenchy: The first thought that came into my head when I saw this dress, was that Cate hired children to throw Dots at her.  Aside from the colorful barnacle/candy accents, this dress just looked very matronly.  The color is too muted for my taste and the shape of the top of the dress reminds me of football padding.  Honestly, I don't know what Cate was thinking stepping out of the house in this mess of a dress.

2) Sunrise Coigney in ?: Mark Ruffalo's wife wore this hideous black & gold dress to the Oscars...ah ha.  In my opinion, it looks like she's starring in the revival of Victor, Victoria. The gold tassel earrings look like an extension of her golden bob and, at first glance, made me think that her hairstylist made a boo-boo.  Unfortunately I was not able to find the designer who made this dress...perhaps he's not wanting to publicly put his name on this one! :o)

3) Annette Benning in Naeem Khan:  I did not care for this dress on Annette at all! Considering that she was a nominee this year, I thought that she would have appeared in something a little more up-beat.  If Morticia Addams was into S&M and Burlesque, this could be right up her alley!  I just didn't feel this look at all.  The only thing I liked were Annette's emerald earrings, which isn't saying much.

4) Michelle Williams in Chanel:  I thought Michelle Williams looked very cute and classic this year, but I wasn't won over by her dress of choice.  This beaded Chanel gown was plain, forgettable and dull.  Michelle looks utterly washed out in this dress - her hair, her skin tone and the dress itself are just too close in color to be flattering.  I would have liked to have seen her in something more youthful and with a bit more color.

5) Nicole Kidman in Dior Couture:  Maybe it's because I seem to set nominees to a higher standard, but I was not wow-ed by this "napkin" dress, as it's being called.  I don't care if it looks like a napkin or not, my issue with this dress is the embroidery - it just looks like your generic "bridal embroidery" that you see on every bride's dress. Being the style icon that Nicole is, I expected something more cutting edge.  And the shoes just scream, "Hey! I'm cashing in on the Orange-for-Spring trend!" 

6) Reese Witherspoon in Giorgio Armani Prive:  I couldn't decide whether Reese looked like she was knocking off Julia Roberts' gown from years past, or if she was inspired by a pint of Guinness.  Either way, this dress is boring and just not interesting enough for the Red Carpet.  And, now that I look at it again, looks like many a bridesmaid dress that I've seen around. Hmmm.


So there's my 2 cents worth!  Hope you enjoyed reading it!

Red (and Blue!) Hot Potato?

While looking through the many different flyers that I received at my home this week, something caught my eye in the Superstore flyer...this:

It's exactly what it looks like - red (and I mean, red!) and blue potatoes!! 

According to Wikipedia, these blue Adirondack potatoes and their companion red Adirondack potatoes, are hybrid potatoes that were bred at Cornell University in 2004.  They claim to have high levels of anti-oxidants and to have a light and fluffy texture when cooked.  The blue and red colors, respectively, come from polyphenols, which can also be found in berries and other brightly, colored plants. (Translation: genetically modified potatoes).

Now I don't know about you, but I'm a little torn on this.  On the one hand, I suppose blueish-purple potatoes are kinda cool; however, I hardly think that they will be replacing your traditional white mashed potatoes at the dinner table anytime soon. (Can you imagine what they would look like covered in brown gravy? Ew!)  On the other hand, I think that the blue potatoes in particular just look...well, rotten, somehow.  Although, I did buy those Blue Corn Tostitos when they came out...

And does anyone remember that colored ketchup craze?

Perhaps this is a new food fad.  Or perhaps it's another marketing ploy to get unhealthy children to eat healthier.  Who knows? All I know is that I'm sure that some "posh" restaurant near you will start offering blue french fries alongside their regular and sweet potato ones.  And when that time comes, let me know how it tastes.  Because frankly, I think eating a blue french fry would shatter my perfect, potassium-filled world!

Birds of a Feather

One of my vices is online shopping.  And one of my favourite places to check out is Etsy.

For those of you who are saying, "What on earth is that?", Etsy is an amazing website that allows artisans and crafters to have their own online store.  (Think Cottage Industry for the 21st century).

I can spend hours on this website browsing for anything and everything.  And since I'm on some kind of "bird" kick at the moment, here are a few of my favs: 

1)  Blue Bird Wire Pillow Cover from studio35

2) Tiny Woodland Terrarium Robin's Nest Necklace from WoodlandBelle

3) Songbird Baby Mobile with Flowering Tree from PinkPerch

4) The Little Blue Bird and the Love Letter Necklace from FreshyFig

5) Little Birds in Branches quilt from seekatesew

6) Valentine's Bird Nest from MenuetDesigns (I think this necklace is perfect for mothers! One egg for each child, plus a leaf for their initial!)

7) eReader Techee Sleeve from RogueTheory