Musical musings for June

The month of June is almost over, but I couldn't let it slip away without documenting the songs that helped me coast through it. Music has actually been a part of some of my most recent social outings. Firstly, there was the Xanadu excursion as mentioned here. Followed closely by Taming of the Shrew at Bard on the Beach, although music wasn't as dominant. Finally, I saw a screening of Rock of Ages last night and the musical element of it was pretty fantastic. I think I knew some of the songs courtesy of my Glee watching. Anyway back to the topic at hand, these are the tunes that made their way into my iTunes library this month with a strong Carrie Underwood presence:

1. One Way Ticket - Carrie Underwood
2. Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood
3. Wine After Whiskey - Carrie Underwood
4. All-American Girl - Carrie Underwood
5. Gotta Be You - One Direction
6. Postcard From Paris - The Band Perry
7. Next To Me - Emeli Sande
8. Blown Away - Carrie Underwood
9. The Fighter (feat. Ryan Tedder) - Gym Class Heroes
10. One Thing - One Direction
11. Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson
12. Wide Awake - Katy Perry
13. Last Name - Carrie Underwood
14. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

June's music can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Eggless brownies

I love having baking ingredient staples on hand because it means that if I get a craving for something simple and delicious then I can usually whip it up. I had been thinking about brownies for a few consecutive nights before I decided to actually make a batch. Whilst I might have found my motivation, I had lost my eggs to that night's dinner. Not to be deterred I scoured the Internet for an inviting eggless recipe. My search led me to the recipe I found here. A recipe or blog post that has easy in the title often persuades me. I used a nine by nine inch baking pan, which I roughly lined with parchment paper. I wasn't going for presentation with the brownies, but more so hoping they would taste delicious seeing as I was taking a risk going eggless. The oven was preheated at 350 degrees fahrenheit. Instead of buttermilk and oil, I used milk and melted butter. Before transferring the brownie mixture to the baking pan I added some Skor bits and semi-sweet chocolate chips to it for some extra scrumptiousness. As you can see from the below photos, the brownies may not have been so aesthetically pleasing, but I can guarantee you that they tasted delicious especially warm out of the oven.

Sandals and more sandals

Lately I have been spending a lot of time looking at shoe websites amongst other things as I edge closer to my best friend's wedding in November. I have the distinct privilege of being her maid of honour and cannot wait for the occasion. This week I booked my flight home for the two weeks I will be spending in Australia and with this it has really begun to sink in that it is happening. There has been quite a bit of email correspondence back and forth about the essential stuff like hair, make-up, the hen party, our dresses and shoes. This brings me to the topic at hand, sandals. Whilst browsing for the style and colour of shoe I need to adorn my feet on the big day, I stumbled across some cute summer appropriate sandals that I think my feet would look lovely in. Spring is responsible not only for my current sandal yearnings, but also the images below of said sandals:

The best bit is that all of these sandals are currently on sale so if I did happen to snap up a pair or two there wouldn't be too much guilt that followed.

Xanadu

It's quite late so I will keep today's post brief. I had to let you all know that I had a fantastic theatre experience tonight at the dress rehearsal of Xanadu. I love going to see stage productions and have been fortunate enough to see shows on both Broadway and the West End. Tickets for these types of productions obviously don't come cheap, which is why it is nice to watch a smaller local show. I definitely recommend getting along to a dress rehearsal if you have the opportunity because the tickets are below the normal pricing; ours cost $10 per ticket. Also it is kind of cool to see the performers iron out any last minute kinks and get any nerves out of their system before opening night. Throw in roller skates and things get interesting. Xanadu is based on the film of the same name and if you have no idea what it is about you should check out the movie trailer here. The dress rehearsal was awesome, so funny and entertaining. The musical numbers slotted in perfectly and you couldn't help tapping away to them. All in all it was a great night and I hope this is just the beginning of more theatre outings.

Oatmeal white chocolate caramel cookies

Baking is usually a happy time for me, but this weekend I ended up with a delicious treat and the discovery that my camera is more than likely broken. I don't want to focus on the negative, but it is part of the reason I wasn't able to take the photos I wanted to of my latest baking project. However, my lovely housemate did lend me her camera to take a few snaps toward the end of the process. I was still quite enamoured with the caramel sauce I used last week in my cupcakes as mentioned here. This is why I chose to bake some cookies that included this ingredient. I look at all the blogs on my list of favourites at least once a week and they fill me with not only inspiration, but also awe at the amazing talents on display. I mention this because the recipe I used on Sunday was from one of them and can be found here. The only changes I made to the recipe were that I used normal salt and I substituted the butterscotch chips for white chocolate chips. I used white chocolate chips mainly because that is what I had on hand, but also I didn't want to overpower the deliciousness of the other ingredients especially the caramel sauce. The cookies turned out well and I am pretty sure I have eaten one of the three dozen that the recipe made...oops!

Think big

I came home tonight and as always on a Friday night I was grateful for the weekend because I do so love my Saturdays and Sundays. I turned on the television and there on the screen was a man getting ready to tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. 

He is still completing this amazing feat as I type and it got me thinking about things. Well actually he just successfully completed this inspiring achievement; something no one else has done. Seriously how amazing is that and how inadequate does it make me feel right now because I don't have any aspirations at the moment that even come close to paralleling the enormity of this. Having said this, I feel like things are on a good even keel right now and I am really happy about that. Furthermore, I have fun things coming up, not just in 2012, but potentially for 2013 as well not that I want to get that far ahead of myself. I also have the privilege of watching two of the loveliest people you could ever hope to become friends with get married; one in Vancouver and one back home in Australia. So I might not be tightrope walking across one of the most beautiful sights you should definitely aim to see firsthand, I did so in September 2010, but maybe I can use this as inspiration to never become complacent and always push myself to achieve more regardless of how happy I am in the present.

Fun fitness activities

If you have ever been to Vancouver then you know it is a prime location to enjoy the great outdoors and partake in some exercise, even of the incidental variety whilst exploring. This especially resonates throughout those days and weeks during the summer time when the sky is blue and the weather glorious. One popular activity is that of the Grouse Grind, which has an amazing reward at the end of it if you are up for the ultimate stairmaster challenge. I did it just before my first summer here in Vancouver and it was quite the workout. I am sure it didn't help that my fitness levels aren't that high, but I suppose just under two hours is decent enough for my first and possibly only time. Maybe I can be convinced to do it again and curse through it quarter by quarter, which are signposted, as I regret my decision. Honestly though the views at the top of Grouse Mountain are breathtaking on a clear day and worth the effort. The same can be said about the wildlife. The below photos are courtesy of my friend Steph, who came to visit me in September 2010:

Although if the Grouse Grind doesn't seem like your kind of thing then there is always the gondola to ride up and down, which you have to use to get back down the mountain anyway. If you want to keep more of an even footing then the seawall might be more up your alley, which can be tackled on foot or via pedal power. The path takes you around Stanley Park as well as many of the waterfront areas and is definitely a must for any tourist or local. I have spent many an enjoyable morning, afternoon and evening wandering the seawall sometimes with ice cream in hand. 

Add a hike or two to these activities and a few rounds of tennis (I have a racquet) and summer should have a nice balance of outdoor activities that are good for me!

Chocolate chocolate cupcakes with a twist

It feels like it has been a while since I have done some weekend baking, although it was on a Saturday this time around. I made some cupcakes for a birthday celebration. I realised I haven't actually made a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting; instead I have done a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting and vice versa. Of course I had to be adventurous with my frosting, but I did choose the chocolate cupcake recipe from here. I only made twelve cupcakes, which may have been because I overfilled them a little bit. I was really impressed with how flat they came out and not because I had messed anything up with the process. I have to confess I was a little bit wasteful because I have found lately that my cupcakes have been fanning out a bit at the bottom, which means they haven't been sitting nicely in my cupcake carrier. Therefore, I used two liners per cupcake to help give them some more structure and it worked nicely. The twist with these cupcakes is that after they had cooled down, I used a teaspoon to carve out a nice little hole in each of them, which gave me an opportunity to taste the baked cake. However, this wasn't why I made the holes, instead I put a teaspoon of delicious dulce de leche sauce in each of them. I, of course, had to lick the spoon once I was done and it was so good.

For the chocolate frosting I did underestimate all of my measurements and came up one cupcake short. This worked out well though because it meant I had an excuse to lather on the last remnants of frosting on cupcake number twelve before cutting it open. As a result, I got the photo I needed and I got to devour a yummy cupcake, which of course I shared. My frosting ingredients were:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 & 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder, heaped
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

I chopped up the butter and whipped it on low speed for approximately thirty seconds before adding the icing sugar slowly until combined. I melted the chocolate chips in a metal bowl placed on top of a small water-filled saucepan that was on low heat. Once the chocolate was melted I added it to the butter and icing sugar mixture until combined. The frosting was a bit too stiff so I added the milk. Lastly, the cocoa powder was mixed in with the hopes of darkening the frosting to give it a richer colour, but I wasn't quite successful. The frosting was whipped for about thirty seconds. I predictably used my Wilton 1M decorating tip to put the chocolate frosting on top of the cupcakes and finished them off with some chocolate jimmies and white nonpareils. I didn't want to detract too much from the surprise inside, hence the lack of colour besides the cupcake liners.

I hope this isn't the first or last time I say this, but I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes and was really happy with the result!

Second best may be better

If you are anything like me then you more often than not discover things that if you were just a little bit richer or if it was just a little bit closer to payday you might make the purchase. Eventually though I either get over the desire to make that particular purchase or I walk past it one too many times with the object of my affection becoming mine. Alternatively, I sometimes settle for a cheaper version with the aim to be just as content with it as I imagine I would have been with the original item. With this all in mind I keep thinking about purchasing a stand mixer and my heart really wants a shiny, beautiful KitchenAid. This isn't the first time I have mentioned my desire to have my very own KitchenAid stand mixer, however I have started to think about whether there are any suitable alternatives out there. In all honestly if I did want one sooner rather than later, I would be looking for an alternative that will do the job, but won't break the bank. A possible, and very affordable option courtesy of Walmart is the Sunbeam - 12 Speed Classic MixMaster stand mixer. I imagine for the price I would still need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, but it might just be worth it because the main thing is the hands free functionality. This is something for me to ponder as I determine if I really, truly need or want what I think is the creme de la creme of stand mixers.

Sunbeam - 12 Speed Classic MixMaster stand mixer (image courtesy of Walmart)

Beauty go to

There is a lot in life that I am still trying to figure out and maneuver around, but when it comes to the beauty and skincare products I use, I have a few items that are here to stay. In no particular order, these items have been tried, tested and found to meet my needs (images courtesy of product websites):

• Aveeno skin brightening daily scrub

• The Body Shop refining bath lily

• Dove advanced care colour repair therapy shampoo and conditioner

• Jurlique rosewater balancing mist (Lush eau roma water is a close second)

• Jurlique rose hand cream 

• Fresh sugar lip treatment (Bath & Body Works - C.O. Bigelow vanilla mint mentha lip shine is a close second)

• Bath & Body Works pocket size hand sanitizer

I think this is quite a list of affordable, value for money products that definitely do the job I need them to do!

Marbled chocolate frosted cupcakes

Cupcakes were the subject of my latest baking attempt, which I was happy to make because it had been a while. Once again I had a reason to whip up a batch; my friend's birthday celebrations last week as mentioned here. In the days prior, I had a few ideas running through my head of what variety I would like to make. I decided on a marbled chocolate frosted cupcake, but I also now have another idea that I would like to try out at a later date. As I was looking online for a suitable recipe, I came across further inspiration and was reminded of how, as a child, I used to make marble cake with my grandma. We would separate the cake batter into thirds, leaving one third as is, using pink food colouring to change the colour of another third and adding cocoa powder to the remaining mixture. Wanting to recreate this in a cupcake, I decided on the recipe found here. I must admit I was a bit hesitant about mixing the ingredients all at once as the recipe called for, but it wasn't too bad. When the batter was ready I poured the vanilla portion into the cupcake liners then spilt the remaining mixture. I added a few drops of pink food colouring to one portion and the cocoa powder to the other. I put the pink cake batter into the liners before the chocolate, but in hindsight I think it would have made a better marbled effect if I had done it in reverse. As you can see below, I still need to work on my technique to get the effect right, but that is okay because I enjoy practicing.

For the chocolate frosting I went with my own measurement of ingredients, which is what I seem to prefer at the moment:

• 1 & 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2-3 drops of vanilla essence

I chopped up the butter and put it into a bowl with the icing sugar. I must have been a little bit distracted, as usually I would whip the butter by itself first. I whipped the butter and icing sugar together until it was combined. Next I added the few drops of vanilla essence and the cocoa powder, which I did not sift this time around. I mixed the ingredients together on low speed at first to avoid the powder going everywhere. Once it was all combined, I turned the electric beaters up to medium speed and whipped the frosting for about a minute. As per usual, I used my Wilton 1M decorating tip to apply the frosting to the cupcakes and give them a nice polished finish. The final step was a sprinkling of pearlized jewel jimmies. The photos below don't quite showoff the marbled effect, but that just means I really should work on my photography as well!

Way too long

This work week seemed quite long for some reason, which definitely wasn't helped by the constant rain. However, there were a few bright spots throughout it that kept me going until the weekend was here once more. Last night there were some lovely early birthday celebrations for my really awesome friend Corinne, a fellow Aussie living in Vancouver. Tonight was the other positive part of my week as I got to indulge in my favourite pastime of going to the movies. It has been a while since I last went, which I am pretty sure was when I last blogged about it here. I was really craving a cinema trip and so it was decided that Snow White and the Huntsman would be the movie of choice. However, it was only released today and the most convenient session time was sold out. This actually worked out for the best because the replacement movie choice of The Avengers was fantastic. It is such a well made movie with great special effects, action scenes and even some perfectly timed humour. We walked out of the cinema incredibly satisfied and happy that a sold out session led us to a great, maybe even better, movie option. If you go to see it you must stay until the end of the credits, which will take a while; there are a lot of people involved in this movie, but it will be worth it. Just like last time I wrote about going to the movies, I will also be going on Sunday to see The Five-Year Engagement, which should be a nice light-hearted movie. I think if my life got made into a movie, which there is no reason for it to, then Emily Blunt could play me at my current age. As you can see I dream big sometimes!

The Avengers movie poster (image courtesy of IMDb)