May Flowers

BB Dakota trench [similar] | Joe Fresh stripes [similar] | Hunter boots | Matt & Nat bag

The gorgeous weather of the past couple weeks had me believing summer had arrived early and would be shacking up with us for the foreseeable future. Apparently I am a little naive. Luckily, rain around these parts is as fleeting as that tease of a summer. I expect sunny skies and slightly cooler, but lovely weather on the horizon. 

Spring Fling :: product review

dress c/o eShakti [similar] | nude pumps | Matt & Nat clutch 

A little while ago, longer than I'd care to admit, eShakti contacted me about reviewing their Spring Line. I was familiar with the brand having seen some of my favourite bloggers sporting their frocks and agreed to check them out. I took my time choosing a dress, so long that the ones I settled on quickly went out of stock [people must love them!] a number of times. When I finally spotted the above I just snatched it up without a second thought.

I was pleasantly surprised that I got to choose my neckline, skirt length and pockets or none. I checked out a couple other dresses and the options even extend to inclusion of embellishments and sleeves! I absolutely love this flexibility as we all have been the victim of falling in love with a piece of clothing only to realize that the sleeves hit you all wrong, the neckline just doesn't work or the hemline, though appropriate on your friends, makes you look like a lady of the night... and I don't mean catwoman. 

Well, this lovely came together just right. I not sure about you, but it has me dreaming of a bike ride and a picnic and that suits me perfectly. I'm so pleased I may just get myself a post-birthday gift - which one do you like best?

Strapless Poplin dress | Colorblock Stripe Jersey jacket | Contrast Printblock Georgette dress | Emmeline dress

BIRTHDAY, hooray!

Today is my birthday! As per my birthday tradition it is calling for rain - thundershowers no less - but it doesn't even matter. Not a little bit. No sky is going to rain on my parade [or birthday as it were]. 

I'm not entirely sure what Jack has in store for us but I do know it involves playing hooky, sleeping in late, tasty treats and bike riding adventures - unless, of course, we are majorly rained out in which case swap in: cross-city road trips. Hope you all have lovely days with at least one adventure and while you're at it, eat a piece of cake in honour of my birthday why don't you? 

Blue, White & Trench

Jack by BB Dakota trench | James Perse top | Joe Fresh slacks | Franco Sarto pumps | Matt & Nat bag

As an East Coast girl I must admit I am completely floored by the gorgeous weather my new city has been experiencing. I am having a hard time believing that it's true - it's too perfect. Ashton, are you punking me? What's that, you can't control the weather? ...odd

My birthday has a habit of attracting rain though so I'm not going to hold my breathe just yet, it's not like I moved to Texas [gahhh, maybe someday]. Even still, let it rain, I've been spoiled this last week. I can be a nice birthday girl and let the flowers have their May showers.

You are Invited!

Last weekend may have just ended but I can't help but start looking forward to next Saturday - I have been invited in the inaugural Style Trade Montreal and now I get to pass the invitation on to you! 

I've always been so envious of other cities when they host large closet sales so I guess it's no surprise I can't wait! Not only will I get the chance to trade in some of my lightly-loved & never-worn pieces for some new-to-me gems BUT they will also have a stylist on hand to give advice, mini manicures throughout the day and a David's Tea bar. 

The event runs 10am - 3pm, Saturday, May 11th at 5524 Saint-Patrick suite 325 
Door A, with tickets currently on sale here. So, Montreal, am I going to see you there?!

Smitten

dress c/o Sugarlips | DolceVita booties | Longchamps bag | Vince cardigan 

Smitten with the weather. The gorgeous, no-cardigan-needed weather. 
Smitten with my new tresses. Cut by the talented Mischaela at Bowtique. 
Smitten with my weekend. Family, friends & back home to my husband for a lovely Sunday.
Smitten with this DRESS! Seriously - short, sweet, scalloped; what more do I need?! Sugarlips strikes again! They have become my go-to for darling little pieces I can wear on repeat. This dress fits like a dream and I've got my eye on a couple of it's friends 1, 2, 3. Who knows what will happen, my birthday is coming up next week after all...

What I ate :: Cookie Bowl & Ice Cream

Those of you who follow me on instagram may have seen a snap of my dessert last Saturday night. Jack and I had my sister over and we got a little ambitious. We started our meal off with savoury waffles topped with steak, peppers, onions mushrooms and a provolone cheese sauce - which we named... wait for it... Philly Cheesesteak Waffles! uh-yeah, we went there. After such an AMAZING meal [which will be posted next week] our dessert had to be equally amazing. Enter, pinterest.

I had pinned the cookie bowl recipe a while back knowing that it was sure to come in and handy - and boy did it ever! The process is as simple as the recipe and even though we tossed in some chocolate bits - weakening the structure of the dough - they still held up beautifully. I think my favourite ingredient for this one was the touch of almond extract which adds an amazing roundness to the whole flavour.

Mixing the dough with your hands is an obvious must if you lean towards the impatient, as I do. This also allows you to feel if the dough is too dry - which mine was. If this is the case just add a tablespoon of milk and then give it another try. I think I added two all said and done.

When it came to rolling out the dough, I placed mine in between two sheets of saran wrap. I was a little nervous my dough was too sticky after the milk and didn't want to deal with the rolling-pin mishaps because of that. I rolled out the dough to approximately an 1/8" - I may suggest you go a little thinner. Although there are no added rising agents in the recipe I'm guessing my flour had some and personally, I prefer a dainty bowl to a sturdy one.

I used the cutter from my Breville Personal Pie Maker to get the 4.5" rounds I needed but I think a larger rimmed bowl would have worked just as well. As we were trying to be good - or at least not full-on gluttons [remember this was proceeded by Philly Cheesesteak Waffles] - we only cut three bowls. We then separated the remaining dough into individual portions and froze it for another time- or to be eaten frozen at midnight, tomato - tomahto.

This part was a little tricky as the chocolate would cause tears in the dough where it folded over the edge of the muffin mold. I just tried to patch it up as best as possible and gently push the edges of the dough in closer so they were resting against the mold and less likely to hang. We used coconut oil to grease the molds.

We baked at 350 for about 13 minutes and then let them cool for 10. We then gently pried them from the pan using a spatula and stuffed them full of ice cream, strawberries and chocolate. I have no regrets. 

   

ingredients below 

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 3/4 cup flour	1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter	1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg	1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract