outfit post: leather and plaid

This outfit was inspired by a character from one of my favourite British tv shows, John Mitchell, from Being Human.  Everything from the leather jacket, the plaid shirt, right down to the combat boots.

I have a serious love for plaid, but a few months ago I donated most of my awesome plaid shirts to Kelsey.  So last Saturday we went on a shopping spree and I found this lovely red and black plaid shirt.

I absolutely love the pop of colour it brings to an outfit, and the long sleeve collared shirt lends itself well to being worn with my shrunken leather jacket.

shrunken leather jacket:  H&M // red plaid shirt: winners // black skinnies: AEO // vintage ring: thrifted (by grandma) // combat boots: steve madden

These are by far my favourite piece of footwear I own!! I probably wear them 5 days out of 7.  I call them my adventure boots.

You may recognize these boots from last week, Kelsey has the same pair in brown!  and I am fairly certain I have blogged them before, and I probably will blog them again.

Do you have a favourite article of clothing you wear almost everyday?  Maybe a scarf or a special piece of jewellery?  Let me know!

p.s. ♥ jordyn

diy : movember sharpie mugs

In honour of Movember, I'm bringing to you a wonderfully easy, delightful, and hairy DIY in the form of moustache-y sharpie mugs! I've loved seeing these sharpie mugs all over the internet and some of my favs include this cute couple set from A Beautiful Mess, this lovely Pride & Prejudiced themed one. 

For my moustaches, I simply made an outline first and then filled it in with doodle-like scratches. 

On the other side of the mug, I "named" the kind of moustache the cup was representing... I got my inspiration from the photo below =]

Once you're done doodling, put your mugs in the oven and bake away!

Here's my end products: 

I just love how these turned out and can't wait to have a movember tea party with these mugs! 

Disclaimer: Hand-washing these mugs turned out fine, but I would definitely not recommend putting these through the dishwasher. 

Cheers,

p.s. ♥ clara

tasty tuesday: mom's chocolate chip cookies

Jordyn and I definitely got our love for cooking and baking from our mom, and we are so blessed to have been encouraged to help in the kitchen from a young age.  We were (and still are) always free to experiment in the kitchen, no matter how many mistakes or giant messes we make...and we are so thankful!

Now, this recipe is an absolute classic in our house....and there are almost always a few kicking around, whether it be in the cupboard, or in the freezer.  Chocolate chip cookies are my dad's all-time favorite, which is the reason for their abundance!

This recipe is the brain child of our mom, who combined and modified 2 different recipes until she had her own creation that she was happy with!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups Butter (or margarine) - at room temperature!

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Baking Soda

4 1/2 cups Flour

2 heaping cups of Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the butter and both sugars.

2)  Add in your eggs and vanilla, and mix until nice and fluffy.

3)  Gradually add in the flour and baking soda.

4)  Stir in the chocolate chips.

5)  Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet (using a silpat on your cookie sheet is best!).

6)  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

Jordyn and I love using a scoop when putting the dough onto our pan.  It makes the job nice and easy, and helps keep the size your cookies uniform!

Another tip is to always pull your cookies out a little bit before you think they're done.  Cookies tend to bake a little after you pull them out of the oven, and will set as they cool.  

In my opinion, there are two ways to enjoy these cookies.  Either warm out of the oven, or cold out of the freezer.  I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for frozen cookies!

Now, go ahead and make these cookies!  They taste like home, and are perfect when paired with a glass of milk.

p.s. ♥ kelsey

weekly wrap-up: i heart autumn

I just really love autumn.  Here in Vancouver, we've been blessed with one of the most beautiful autumns I've ever seen.  Full of sunshiny days, and colourful leaves that don't seem to want to leave their trees...it's been perfect.  

And I stumbled upon the most magical red and white giant mushrooms on my way to church, I almost didn't believe they were real!

This week was also full of lovely notes from my roommate, and writing letters to dear friends!

I always take the railway train when I come home for a visit, and I absolutely love it.  Maybe it's the Harry Potter fangirl in me, but I always dream that I'm on my way to Hogwarts.  And this week I was surprised by the most beautiful sunset occurring over the river, which was so special to see!

And, as usual, I've been spoiled with treats since coming home...including cupcakes!

image via: tuttistudio - etsy

And today we remember all of the men and women who have served our country, and those that continue to do so.  The photo above is of my great-grandpa, who served in the army as a mechanic in world war II.

Lest we forget.

p.s. ♥ kelsey

outfit post : the countdown begins...

Welcome, dear readers, to an Edmontonian's November outfit! That's right, we have snow...LOTS of it, and I am absolutely loving it!! So it was only natural for me to do a Christmas-y outfit, because I began the countdown as soon as Halloween was over =] 

 

Toque : Korea  |  Scarf : thrifted  |  Sweater : thrifted & made from this diy  |  

Leggings : Forever XXI  | Boots : Urban Outfitters

Happy Countdown to Christmas, friends!

p.s.  ♥ clara

diy: paint chip bunting

Those who know me well know that I am obsessed with bunting.  Seriously obsessed.

I just love it so much!  It's so whimsical and fun, and can easily brighten up any space or cake!  When Jordyn made two birthday cakes for her friends (who are twins!), we knew they needed something special to finish them off.  I instantly thought of bunting!  And in just a couple minutes I whipped up two mini strands, and popped them on top of the cakes!

Now all you need are a few paint chips (I grabbed a stack from Home Depot!), or you can use coloured paper or cardstock!  Construction paper would work too!  I just loved the idea of using paint chips, since you can really pick up any shade(s) you want!

Materials:

-paint chips (or: coloured paper/cardstock, construction paper, etc.)

-wooden skewers (or: anything that will hold up the bunting!)

-string (or: hemp, fishing line, floss, etc.)

-tape (or: glue)

-scissors

Directions:

1)  First, gently press your skewers into the top of your cake in order to measure how far apart you want them. Hold up your string between the two skewers to measure how much you'll need, and cut. Be sure to leave a bit of extra string at each end so that you'll be able to tie them to the skewers. 

2)  Now start cutting out triangles from your paint chips!  You can choose to make them bigger or smaller depending on how many you want to arrange on your string.

3)  Remove the skewers from the cake, and tie the string to each end.

4)  Now, fold the widest edge of the triangles over the string, and tape.  (Alternatively, you can cut out diamonds, fold them in half, and glue them over the string.  That way, your bunting will look cute from the front AND back).

5)  Arrange the triangles along the string until you're happy with how it looks.

6)  Finally, carefully insert your skewers back into the cake...and voila! You're done!

*This is also the same method we used for simple paper bunting!

1) cut out triangles. 2) fold over string. 3) trim edges of triangles. 4) admire your work!

These cakes are mocha!  Click here for the recipe!

I love this simple way of dressing up desserts!  I think I might try an even smaller version on cupcakes!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

tasty tuesday: mocha cake (and cupcakes!)

Now I discovered this recipe last year when I was searching for the perfect mocha cake recipe for a series I was doing called "Mug Shots".  My dear friend Eryn and I had adapted different drinks into a cupcake equivalent, and it was so much fun!  The first time I made this cake I paired it with a peppermint frosting to emulate the peppermint mocha served by Starbucks!

I was skeptical about trying any other chocolate/mocha cake recipes since I was certain that I had already found the best (I made them HERE).  However, this cake definitely holds its own....and brings its own uniqueness to the table.  It's fluffy, moist, and chocolatey....and the coffee in it complements everything brilliantly.

This recipe works best when you use good coffee rather than instant.  Jordyn loves to use espresso to really bring out the flavour!

Mocha Cake

from: the Food Network

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup of strongly brewed coffee or espresso
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup hot water


Directions:
1) In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
2) Add in eggs, vanilla, coffee and oil, and mix until batter is smooth.
3) Slowly add in hot water, until well mixed.
4) Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  (For cakes, bake for 25-30 minutes.)  Or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.

You'll notice that this cake is extremely dark...almost black!

We iced the cupcakes with an incredible caramel butter cream (click HERE for our basic butter cream recipe!).   The caramel flavour went so well with the mocha....but let's be real here, just about any flavour goes well with mocha.

As you can clearly see...not all of the cupcakes lasted through their photo shoot. hehe.

Jordyn volunteered to bring the cake for a birthday party for two of her friends (they're twins!), and used this recipe to make two different layer cakes.  I helped her put them together....and then made some mini bunting to help finish them off (psst...stay tuned for this week's diy where I show you how I did it!).

p.s. ♥ kelsey