T'was a Magical Night

Hello lovelies,

I hope you aren’t too busy with end of the semester craziness. My schedule has been packed with meetings and study groups but I have been able to cram in some fun times here and there. Last weekend, I hosted a dinner party for 20 of my closest girlfriends and we had a magical evening. I decorated our house and it was so much fun (but sometimes stressful) to throw a party. I love throwing parties, but not your typical university party. My friends kept teasing me and saying that I was going to throw a huge kegger à la Project X. I was like NO WAY! I figured that 20 guests was the maximum number of people I could feed under my budget and this way everybody got to socialize with everybody there. There were some elements that I absolutely wanted to incorporate into the evening:

1. Hand-written and delivered invitations. I set off on my bike with them in my basket and delivered them to my friends' houses. In the age of Facebook, it's so refreshing to get mail and this way it adds a little element of surprise with regards to who would be there.

2. Whimsical decorations that make you feel like this is a special evening and not just another dinner party. Think DIY balloons and garlands, floral everything, and candles scattered throughout.

3. A good meal that was interesting and different, but that wouldn't require that I slave away in the kitchen all week or that would break the bank. The solution: Grilled Cheese Bar. Yes, that is capitalized because it was ah-ma-zing. I loved the buffet-like layout and our house is perfectly set-up for the make-grill-eat sequence. I had three types of cheese, bacon, ham and various spreads and toppings.

 4. Party games were also a must-have. A few years ago my mom made a Jeopardy board for either an office christmas party or a family reunion, I can't remember which. Since then, we've been customizing it for various occasions and it's made an appearance at more than one of my parties. We also played the "get the Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands" game. That game sure is great for pictures ;)

5. The last thing I really wanted to see happen, was goodie bags. I love to give my guests a little something to take home! I put together little s'mores kits and put them in little brown paper bags that I had jazzed up a bit with my flower hole punch and japanese eyelet paper.

We had such a wonderful time and I couldn't stop telling my friends how happy I was. I know this sounds really cheesy but when I was surrounded by all my friends I couldn't help but think how lucky I am. I made the best decision of my life coming to Bishop's and it really showed last Friday night. 

I made my grandma's wacky cake cupcakes with buttercream icing for dessert and I got these cute little hot pink foil liners to go with them. I also got tall candles and they looked fabulous on my cake stand. 

Here are the basics for a grilled cheese bar:

1. Have a few different kinds of cheese. I had jalapeño mozzarella, cheddar, and goat cheese.

2. Have your toppings labelled. On the night of the party you'll be pretty busy and you won't have time to be running around telling people what's what. 

3. Have enough bread! You can't make a grilled cheese without bread. 

4. Think big with your toppings and add something for everyone. At the party we had two vegetarians, two gluten intolerants, and one vegan, so I wanted a good balance. Some of the toppings included caramelized onions, ham, bacon, herbed cream cheese, red pepper jelly, and pesto. 

5. Have many frying pans on the go, or a big pancake griddle and rotate the sandwiches.

There were even sparklers!

I mentioned last week that Maggie was coming to visit me. We had a great time and I'm so so so glad she came. Everyone was amazed at how similar we were and how we laughed at all the same things. It brought me back to high school days when we'd always get scolded for giggling at all the wrong times. We went to a Great Gatspy (GABspy) party and I loved getting all dolled up with my best friend on my side. I even pulled out my grandma's fox scarf and it was a hit!

 xox Gaby

So you think you can knit?

Hello my lovelies,

Today is a special day because it's Prince Charles's birthday! Oh, and mine too :) This is yet another example of how I'm related to the Royal family. On that note, look at this cute picture I found:

What gossips!!

I am getting really excited because this weekend one of my best friends, Maggie, is coming to visit me!! I love visitors so this will be great fun! My friends are also hosting a Great GABspy party on Saturday night that will be a bigger crowd than my birthday dinner party on Friday. I have a strict budget to follow and so far I'm on track. The grocery store must think I'm trying to murder a lactose intolerant person because I bought three big blocks of cheese, spreadable herbed cheese, goat cheese, and 2 giant things of ice cream. If I haven't mentioned, I'm having a small gathering on Friday night with a grilled cheese bar. Yes, you heard right. A grilled cheese bar. I'm pretty pumped too :)

On another note, tonight is my first knitting club meeting of the year. Last year, this lovely woman in our community offered to teach Bishop's students how to knit. I jumped on the occasion and LOVED it! Wendy is so sweet and such a good teacher. She even offered to Skype with us if we got our stitch mixed up. She really brought us together and we're going to donate the hats we made to a refugee centre this winter. I stepped up to the plate this year and sent in the appropriate forms to our student representative council so that we can get some funding. I have gotten incredible demand for the club and we're going to have over 30 knitters this season!!! I can't wait for tonight.

Okay, okay, I'll get to what this blog is supposed to be about. Here is a recipe that I made a few weeks ago on a cold afternoon. They are delicious and a must try!!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup quick oats

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup melted coconut oil

• ¾ cup dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened is fine)

• ¼ cup milk chocolate chips

• 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

✿ Preheat oven to 350 degrees ℉. 

✿ In large bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

✿ In bowl of an electric mixer beat together melted coconut oil and brown sugar until smooth. Add in egg, milk and vanilla; beat again for 2 minutes or until smooth.

✿ Add in flour & oat mixture to the wet ingredients; mixing until well combined. Slowly add in coconut and chocolate chunks.

✿ Drop dough with cookie scoop or by large rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges just being to turn a golden brown. Do not over bake; we don’t want crispy cookies! Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

 Enjoy!!

p.s. Watch this video. I never cry at movies, but tears were just rolling down my face this morning when I watched this. If you're wondering, yes, I watched the full 27 minutes… pathetic I know.

Hello Old Friend

Hiiiii!

Woah, this time it really has been too long! The past few weeks have gone by in a whirlwind and I'm so glad I can finally blog again. I had a little hiccup in my blogging a few weeks ago. As a true food blogger my laptop is always around food and drink... And my beautiful little piece of technology was having a bit of a nap because of said food and drink. With a little help from the computer Gods (a.k.a. the Apple store) and wishing on every 11:11, my laptop is in tip top shape and I'm ready to rock and roll.

Since I last posted, a lot of exciting things have happened to me. First, I got a position on the Bishop's University Commerce Society (BUCS) as Relations Executive Assistant. I am so pumped about my new role and I look forward to working with the profs of the Williams School of Business. I am also organizing the first BU Knitting Club meeting of the semester. I've had such great feedback on Facebook and our school's e-mail newsletter, that I am eager to see all the new faces this Thursday. Speaking of Thursday, it's my birthday in less than a week and I don't fool around with birthday parties. This year I've decided to go with a girl's-night-in theme with a hint of classic childhood birthday party staples, think loot bags and party games. I am thinking of dedicating a post to it, in the coming weeks.

On another note here's a recipe that will knock your socks off! I made them for Ellen's birthday and we polished off the leftovers in no time at all.

Sandy's Meatballs

Meatballs:

- 2 lbs of beef

- 1 cup of milk

- 2 eggs

- 2 cups of breadcrumbs

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp dry mustard

- 1 tsp salt

Sauce:

- 1 bottle VH garlic spareribs sauce

- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

- 3/4 cup water 

- 3/4 cup vinegar

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp dry mustard 

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together and forms 2 inch balls. Place in an oven proof dish.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl then pour over the meatballs. 

3. Cook at 350 degrees for one hour. 

4. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Enjoy!

xox Gaby

p.s. Shout out to Ariane for coming home to me last night, curled up in the fetal position under my covers clutching onto my phone scared that there was a man lurking around our house. I was obviously paranoid but I SWEAR I heard footsteps and then an alarm went off nearby. Anyways, she warded off all the monsters and I was able to fall asleep. You da best, roomie!!