OMG! He totally slipped my mind...

Can I just say that Ryan Gosling is delicious? I've always thought so, ever since his Breaker High days. I didn't get to watch him on The New Mickey Mouse Club, we didn't have that show in Canada.... or maybe I didn't know that we did.... or maybe we just didn't have it in Winnipeg.

Anyway, then he's in The Notebook... SWOONING FOREVER!! Full on obsession. Then it died down... and life went on.

Finally, a month or two ago, after I watched The Notebook for a good old fashioned cry-fest, I google and youtube Ryan... just to see what this homegrown hottie is doing these days. I come across several of his performances on the MMC and this....

I cannot believe how talented this mother f*cker is!! He sings, he acts, he plays instruments, he can dance, he's GORGEOUS! I love him. He's my dream guy! But, I was with someone who was kinda the same. Played instruments, he danced, made his own music, had full on vinyl records!! No one has vinyl records these days...that I knew of. Anyway, I swooned, loved that he was so musically inclined and so creative, thought I was "esthetically pleasing" (come on, who says that?).... but he was dating two other girls besides me at the same time and thought that I should be ok with that and understand. I know it probably has to do with the person himself and should have nothing to do with the person's interests, but for me, that's/there's the connection.

I love my Mr. Fitness freak, who eats healthy and exercises regularly (and because I cook for a living and happen to value butter and salt, our arguments revolve around quality of food and I love to eat...everything), but does everything in his power to make sure that I'm happy and well taken care of. Mr. Fitness couldn't play an instrument to save his life, could possibly sing really well if he practiced, and I would rather not see him dance. But he belongs to me and its all good.

But if I could have Ryan Gosling too, that would be even more all good-er.

The New Kid on the Block

It's not what you think! Although, I wish I could say that they were coming to town, again, and that they were going to perform privately for me and some friends, again. Ok, the last one didn't happen.

I'm actually referring to this new cupcakery called Big City Cupcakes. Cool place. Very minimal decor. I don't know if its intentional, maybe because they've just opened and they haven't really gotten around to it. I don't know. It's nice though, it's good that the main focus are the cupcakes. Obviously. Cupcake store.

So, I had previously posted about the other cupcakery, Cupcakes, but I realized that I didn't actually talk about the quality of the cupcake. I thought should take this opportunity to do a comparison. Neato.

Alright! So my girlfriend and I tried out the new cupcake joint, which is located on Howe and Nelson, if any one is interested, today after work. Of course, my eyes were hungrier than my stomach and I went all out. I bought 6 cupcakes. Dammit. No! 7 cupcakes! I had to leave with a cupcake to eat right then!

From the top, left to right...

• Strawberry cheesecake cupcake, vanilla cake, filled with cheesecake, strawberry buttercream
• Coconut cupcake, vanilla cake, some kind of hardened icing (maybe a poured fondant-I don't know), with shredded coconut
• Truffle cupcake, chocolate cake, filled with ganache, iced with ganache and chocolate flakes
• Chocolate covered strawberry cupcake, chocolate cake, strawberry buttercream, I don't know if it's filled. It's too pretty to eat. I'll get over it soon.
• Chocolate-coconut cupcake, chocolate cake, that same hardened icing, shredded coconut, and chocolate swirlies on top.
• New York Cheesecake cupcake, chocolate cake, filled with cheesecake, cream cheese icing.

They are really good. But here's the real BUTT.

Too sweet, some weren't really moist and fluffy, the icing had kinda gritty mouthfeel... what else. Some of the Big City Cupcakes that I did try weren't balanced, in sweetness I mean. For example, the coconut cupcake with the chocolate drizzles on top. The icing on top was hard, too sweet and also had sweetened coconut shreds on top. The cake inside was dry... it was sweet at all but the icing overpowered everything. I couldn't even enjoy the ganache filling.

The other joint, Cupcakes, I find their cupcakes to be moist and balanced. AND reasonably priced. The other place is kinda pricey, but they do use quality ingredients and I'm sure it takes some time and labour to fill cupcakes.

I don't know maybe I'm biased and I haven't tried all that Big City has to offer. I'll keep you posted.