#hugto

I would die for Emiru Aisaki, I love her with all my heart

And her friendship with Lulu is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I also would love to see Lulu become a PreCure

#hugCookies 2011: @hipurbangirl's Cookies & Champagne Party

Last Tuesday, I proudly brought my four dozen cookies (read: blog post on baking these cookies) to the #hugCookies event at Distillery District. The second annual Cookies & Champagne Party hosted by @hipurbangirl was a fun ladies' networking event that included a mini-Christmas market with local vendors and a cookie swap.

As soon as my colleague Amy and I arrived, we received a goodie bag with samples from CeraVe (admittedly a brand I had never heard of until now), a gift card from Blowfish (which I intend to make use of), and a glass of bubbly from Barefoot Wine (which I loved—and I'm a picky drinker! Ok, I am.)

It was nice to finally meet some Twitter friends, chat with others who I only occasionally see, and make new friends in the process. I couldn't believe how many people I missed at the event though despite the small venue. I suppose when you have 200(?) girls in a confined space and the smell of cookies in the air, everything starts to blur—especially after a sweet glass of champagne!

The cookie swap was wild. I think we all started out well-behaved, moving clockwise as instructed; but before we knew it, we all let our hungry eyes control our hands and feet. I filled my tupperware with cookies faster than I thought I would. And even now, I still haven't eaten my swapped goods yet. Better start on that tomorrow! Can't wait to try all the different types. Already looking forward to next year!

Of course, I can't forget to mention the beautiful pocket watch necklace I purchased from Fredrick Prince at the event. I must have returned to her booth thrice; it was impossible to take my eyes off of her jewelry. I finally succumbed to a fabulous piece with Swarovski crystals on the chain—picture soon!

Click here to see more photos from the event by Olympus Canada.

Baking for #hugCookies 2011

It had been a long, long time since I last baked. I mean, I did some "baking" with Shake 'n' Bake a while ago, but that's not real baking. The last time I really baked was probably in university when my roommate and I made shortbread cookies (which I found to be ridiculous, because I couldn't believe how little ingredients it took and how easy that was). So when I heard about the #hugCookies event by The Hip & Urban Girl's Guide, founded by Lisa & Wendy, I didn't know what to do.

I knew I was excited because of the cookies aspect, but what made me excited also stressed me out. 4 dozen cookies?! What the @#$%^? It was either I bake 4 dozen and I get cookies, or I bake nothing and I get nothing. And I wanted cookies. So after some convincing by my coworker and a few tweets from the @hipurbangirl ladies, I was game.

My dear friend Heather gave me a ridiculously fantastic recipe for one of my favourite cookies ever—the chocolate chip macadamia nut. I wasn't sure how it'd turn out, and at first I was a little concerned at the cost (damn, those macadamia nuts are expensive!), but it was such a fun time making them! I did the 48 cookies in two sessions—with some help, of course—and they turned out better than delicious. Apparently they event went pretty quickly at the event! I'm so proud of the scrumptious result. Expect more baking/cooking adventures in the future!

Thanks again for the recipe, Heather! xo