Home-made Pizza

Pizza is one of my favourite things to make. It's easy, quick and a lot tastier than frozen, and take out pizza! I buy ready made pizza dough from the grocery store, in order to reduce time.

Step 1: Roll out dough to desired size
Step 2: Drizzle olive oil (or marinara sauce)
Step 3: Load on toppings! On this pizza I put prosciutto, brie, mushrooms, arugula, marble cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top.
Step 4: Put in oven for 400 F and bake for about 15mins
Step 5: Set to cool
Step 6: Enjoy!

ON THE RUN

On the night of Wednesday, July 9th many girls and guys could be seen walking the streets of downtown Toronto. The girls in shirts with phrases like "flawless" and "I woke up like this", headbands baring words "surfboard" and "bow down". The guys were seen in shirts saying "Tom Ford" and "99 Problems". So where were these people headed? They were making their way to the Rogers Center (formerly known as the Sky Dome) which is normally home to the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 9th, however, it was home to screaming fans bowing down to Queen Bey and Hova. Beyonce and Jay-Z have finally given the fans what they wanted and made Toronto the 6th stop on their 16 city, first-ever, tour together. 

The On The Run tour is a spin off of the song "Part II (On the Run)" by Jay-Z which features Beyonce. It also has origins from their first ever song together "03 Bonnie and Clyde". In May of this year the couple released a fake movie trailed titled "RUN" to give the fans a taste of what to expect for their concert. The trailer left fans dying to watch this movie, which starred several familiar faces. Fans even went to the extent of petitioning for it to be made into a movie. Even though this will not be happening, I must admit the concert was OUTSTANDING. Or should I say FLAWLESS. I was never a devoted fan to Beyonce, but I am a huge fan of Jay-Z. The couple did an amazing job, and I would go see it again and again. 

So here's a RUN-down. The couple finally came out on stage, about 45 mins late, to a stadium of anxious & screaming fans to the sound of Bonnie and Clyde. Behind them on the jumbo screen was a video compilation of clips filmed from their RUN trailer. In tune with the theme of their tour, there was a outlaw criminal aspect to the atmosphere and stage / lighting design.

The couple had a 42-song set list (for a full set list click here), with crowd favourites of each artist's solo songs, and collaborations they have made together. Both artists did a combination of both their older and newer hits; which didn't disappoint the fans. Beyonce with "Single Ladies" and "Partition" and Jay-Z with "Dirt Of Your Shoulder" and "Clique". Some of my favourite songs the two performed together were "Crazy In Love" and of course "Drunk In Love".

I loved the way they shared the stage, letting each have their turn in the center. Beyonce would sing a few of her songs with Jay-Z chiming in in the end, followed by the two singing a song together. Beyonce would exit and give the stage to her hubby where he would spit his rhymes that had me and my friends jamming out. This continued for the remainder of the 2 and a half hours, my only complaint being that there wasn't more. Queen Bey and Hova ended the concert singing Young Forever and Halo (with Jay mouthing the words). Mr & Mrs.Carter walked out center stage, hand in hand, all smiles with several video clips of the two and their beautiful daughter Blue Ivy. 

What I loved just as much as the music was the incredible wardrobe the two donned. Beyonce in several bodycons, leotards and even a beautiful ivory wedding dress! Like always- she showed us how flawless her body is. Jay-Z wore a number of T-shirts, gold chains, hats and a striking white suit in the end. 

So what did my friends & and I wear?

Left (Me, C)

Outfit: top- Forever 21, shorts- Forever 21, cardigan-express

Accessories: necklace- Forever 21, earrings- Heritage 1981, bracelets (not pictured)- various gold ones that I layered

Shoes (not pictured): black Michael Kors sandals

Center

Outfit: top-Urban Planet , shorts-Garage Clothing, cardigan- Aritzia

Accessories: silver hoop earrings, pandora bracelet (not pictured)

Shoes (not pictured): beige Archer sandals by Dolce Vita

Right

Outfit: navy blue and black leopard print romper from Top Shop

Accessories: earrings- tory burch, statement necklace, knuckle rings and black and gold clutch

Shoes (not pictured): orange/gold sandals- Spring

Beyonce may seem perfect ladies but just remember...

*we do not take credit for any of these photos

Purple Ombre Nails

Must Have Summer Pieces

Guate's Up?

Last month I (C) had the most amazing opportunity to go on a medical volunteer trip to Guatemala, with a charity called Vida Volunteer. Vida Volunteer is a non-profit organization that gives university students from all over North America the opportunity to volunteer in either Nicaragua, Guatemala or Costa Rica. Our job is to set up and work in clinics in local communities. It is a great learning experience for students like me who plan on pursuing a career in medicine. They also have trips that are geared towards dentistry and veterinary medicine!

This trip was hands down, the most amazing experience of my life. Guatemala is such a beautiful country with a rich culture, and not to mention a lot of tortillas and refried beans! We had 6 clinic days, and on our off days we had various activities planned out for us. We went ziplining and had a city tour of Antigua (the ancient city and former capital of Latin America). When we were living in the mountains with the Mayans (literally we were all split up and lived with Mayan families) we had a hot spring day which was extremely relaxing. Here are a few pictures from my trip!

Ancient city of Antigua

Me and one of the cuties who came to our clinic in Santo Tomas

outdoor market in Antigua

Convent in Antigua

View from the rooftop patio of one of the restaurants we went for lunch in Antigua

View from our clinic in Xebaj

Mayan children coming to our clinic in Xebaj

View from the hot springs at the top of the mountain

Hot Springs!

View from the place in Antigua where we went ziplining

Pork Tacos and some Guatemalan beer!

If you would like more information about Vida Volunteer visit http://www.vidavolunteertravel.org/ 

Music of the Moment:

This past March I (C) got the opportunity to go to the Imagine Dragons & the Young the Giant concerts. They were all in one week and it was a great way from me to de-stress from the 5 brutal midterms I had just had.

The Imagine Dragons was first, it took place at the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto. Imagine Dragons had The Naked and Famous opening for them. The Naked and Famous performed some of their most well known songs such as Young Blood and Punching In a Dream. Imagine Dragons played all the crowd favourites from their debut album such as Its Time, Demons, On Top of the World and of course Radioactive. They also did a cover of Tom Sawyer by Rush, Toronto natives. For their encore they did Bleeding Out and Nothing Left to Say. Overall their performances were amazing, and neither band disappointed. I left the Air Canada Centre in awe and with a new appreciation of one of my favourite bands.

A few days after the Imagine Dragons concert I attended the Young the Giant concert, another one of my all time favourite bands. Since Young the Giant isn't as mainstream as Imagine Dragons this concert was at a smaller venue, the Koolhaus, also downtown Toronto. Vance Joy opened the show, for those of you who've never heard of Vance, he's an amazing curly haired Aussie with one hell of a voice. I definitely recommend you check him out. He performed his most popular songs such as Emmylou, Snaggletooth and of course Riptide. Once the band came out the crowd roared as we heard the soothing voice of lead singer, Sameer Gadhia. Only one word can describe his stage presence, groovy. They started off with Anagram, one of the songs from their new album, Mind Over Matter. They performed other songs off the album like Crystallized and of course the self-title. Along with the newer songs they performed all the old favourites like Cough Syrup and for the encore, My Body.  They also performed a cover of Stromae's, Formidable. Both Vance Joy and Young the Giant were amazing and I look forward to their return to Toronto.

The Naked and Famous

Imagine Dragons

Vance Joy

Young the Giant