(This recipe is my attempt at the recipe originally posted on www.culinarycoutureblog.com)

Ingredients:

Dough-

• ¾ cup warm water
• 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup oil
• 4 ½ cup flour

Filling-

• 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)

Cream Cheese Frosting-

• 2 oz cream cheese (softened)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. In a mixer, with the dough hook attachment, add water, yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir a bit, and allow it to rise for about a few minutes.
2. In a small bowl combine the egg, buttermilk and oil. Once the yeast mixture as risen, add egg and buttermilk mixture to your mixing bowl, and the rest of the sugar and salt mix.
3. Add two cups of flour, and allow it to mix on low until the flour is incorporated (if you don’t mix on low, you’re going to be covered in flour…). Add flour, a little at a time until the dough isn’t sticky and the sides of the bowl seem clean.
4. Put the dough into another, non metal bowl and allow to rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Butter a baking dish. The original recipe says an 11×15 inch glass dish, but I used an aluminium one.
5. When your dough has doubled in size, flour a clean work surface and start rolling out the dough. It should only be a quarter of an inch thick, or so. Spread your softened butter on the entire dough. Leaving about an inch of space on one side of your dough square, sprinkle on the cinnamon and brown sugar filling, pressing it into the dough and butter to ensure it will stay inside of the roll.
6. Start rolling the dough from the opposite side of the square (from where you left your one extra inch, and tightly roll your cinnamon rolls). When you come to the last empty inch, lightly brush it with warm water and stick the end on.
7. Cut the ends of the dough roll off, and start measuring/cutting one and a half inch segments. Stand this in a buttered baking dish and allow to rise for another hour.
8. When they have risen again, preheat your oven to 350, and allow to bake for fifteen or so minutes.
9. While those are baking you can start working on your frosting. In a bowl cream together the butter, and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice, and continue to mix. A little at a time start incorporating the powdered sugar. Allow to mix for another few minutes, until the icing turns white.
10. Right when your cinnamon rolls come out, cover them with icing and ENJOY!

This was the perfect dessert for the Super Bowl! Every really liked them, and couldn’t compliment them enough! They make the entire house smell delicious!!

Tana Bach wakes up hung-over in a bathtub; the place she’d gone to avoid her ex-boyfriend, Aiden, at the party the night before. Upon re-emerging, she discovers the bodies of the school-friends with whom she’d been partying. It seems that she is the sole survivor until she finds Aiden trussed up in a bedroom with a chained up vampire.

Possibly infected and unable to go back home, Tana finds herself heading for the closest Coldtown, a walled city in which vampires and humans live side by side, but not often peacefully. A place that no one is allowed to leave.

The book The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is based on a short story of the same name that appeared in the anthology Eternal Kiss. Having read the short story a few years ago, I’d fallen in love with the world and was terribly disappointed that so much world-building had yielded such a short piece of fiction. Happily, it seems that Holly Black felt the same way.

For those of you who have read the short story already, the novel does not follow the same characters. For about two or three paragraphs this was a bitter disappointment to me. But then Tana happened and my fickle reader’s brain forgot all about Matilda.

Tana is young and dealing with the stress of a situation that is well beyond her. She won’t put the people that she loves at risk, which means that she’s relying on her own instincts and intelligence while at the same time trying to keep within her moral boundaries. Because of this, the plot isn’t as smooth as I’m used to for a Holly Black novel. It works though. Tana doesn’t always handle the situations she’s in well, but that’s what I like about Black’s writing. It’s messy and unreasonable in the way that humans are messy and unreasonable. Tana isn’t always in control of her emotions. Sometimes the horror of her situation puts her on emotional overload and she gets hysterical, or she blocks it out. Her reactions are real enough to pull you into the story and keep you there until the bitter end.

While Tana is by far the best part of Coldest Girl, the thing that makes the novel work is how real everything is. Black has a writing style that makes scenes palpable. You can taste the atmosphere, smell the blood and crawl into the characters’ heads to feel what they’re feeling. The plot unfolds around the way characters act; characters are not altered to suit the plot. And that creates a seamless chain reaction that is almost impossible to predict, but is wonderful to experience.

It’s safe to say that I’m biased when it comes to Holly Black. There is nothing about her novels that I don’t love to an unhealthy degree. I’ll reread pages for her writing style. I want to be friends with her characters and every single plot of hers feels like an adventure. Coldest Girl is no exception. It’s dark, the characters will not tolerate any sort of stereotype and it had me hooked from the start. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown – Holly Black

Orion Books (September 3, 2013)

ISBN: 9781780621296

Aura Borealis from See Steal Style Magazine blogs about Gomez-Gracia clothing.

From Grammy award winning singer Carrie Underwood to sexy supermodel Adriana Lima, designer label Gomez-Gracia has a client list of which most designers only dream.

Founded by Madrid-born, Miami-native Patricia Gomez-Gracia, the designs are influenced by her natural style and her exposure to a diverse range of cultures. Patricia takes inspiration from her passion for textures and fabrics as opposed to creating a theme, as is the more traditional method, making her creations unique amongst the endless rails of designer fashions.

Feminine and refined with an edgy, rock and roll twist, the designs feature sensual cuts and flattering lines in luxurious textured and often contrasting fabrics. Body conscious, fresh and innovative silhouettes, the brands signature traits manage to appeal to both the everyday woman and the celebrity superstar.

When asked about her designs Patricia stated, “I want women to enjoy wearing my pieces like I savour the visceral experience of creating something special. I want them to feel special.”

The luxury labels Spring/Summer 2014 collection, continues to illustrate a dedication to craftsmanship and style, and is sure to pop up on a red-carpet or two this awards season.

Spring/Summer Collection 2014

Spring Summer Collection 2014

Melanie Stevens has been going to Supanova since 2007 and cosplaying since 2009. This year marks her 11th convention. She’s a bit of an anime otaku (one who is obsessed with anime) and loves write and read, although is possibly the slowest reader in Australia. Mel spends large parts of her week with headphones on, watching shows and listening to hours of music, generally escaping reality. Her first novel, Bound, is out now.

If you are seriously asking me why people cosplay, with a straight face, then clearly you have no idea what it is and need to check out my friend Ruth’s previous cosplay blog.

Cosplay is awesome! There are no other words. Whether you know it or not, you probably are a cosplayer. You’ve just never strapped on a wig and tights before.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you buy your outfit online or skilfully handcraft each detail. If you love it and are 100% committed to looking and feeling awesome then you’re doing it right. However, for those of us born with the power to shoot a hot glue gun like nobody else, creating your own cosplays are what it’s all about.

A masterpiece in the making

[Don’t worry if other people can’t see your vision… yet…] (Me making boots I think ha-ha)

There’s nothing like letting your imagination go wild as you transform yourself from the normal you, into the super you! With this comes the main challenge. There are easy outfits and insanely hard outfits, no matter if you love games, television, movies, comics, anime, manga or any other aspect of pop culture.

Soul Eater

[It feels good when things turn out better than you thought!] (Me: Soul Eater, Tadpole Bomb)

I started off with something easy. But a lot of people, including myself now, enjoy a good cosplay challenge. I love thinking, “Wow. Imagine if someone did that as a cosplay!” and then of course, do it. Sometimes this requires a mixture of online purchasing, borrowing a friend’s sewing skills and painting the same headpiece five times until your inner perfectionist says “It’s…done!”

Mel as Kagome and Shugo Chara

[My first cosplay Kagome from Inuyasha from 2009 Brisbane Supanova and most recent from 2013 Brisbane Supanova, Amulet Fortune Shugo Chara]

So then what? Are you going to sit around your house? Maybe, but most people enjoy creating cosplays to show them off! Whether you plan to hit a convention or organise a full blown photoshoot, there is nothing better than allowing the world to see your genius. Cosplay can also be a door to other opportunities including careers in the arts.

Keik

[Keik Cake Store (yes odd name!) Underwater Miku shoot. Photographer: Pireze (Isaac Leung).

Finally, and most importantly, the reason why people cosplay is simply fun! That is my main motivation for burning my hands with glue and breaking the bank at Spotlight. Because at the end of the day, I cosplay because I love it!

Allegiant has been one of the most anticipated books of 2013! With the movie coming out soon, and Insurgent ending the way it did, Allegiant was on many wish lists of book bloggers and every day readers alike! I know a friend of my even had a count down on her phone, reminding her how many days were left until it released and was available in stores.

If you’ve stopped by and checked out my review of Insurgent than you might already know that I wasn’t too happy about it. The story was good, and so was the ending *MIND WAS BLOWN*, but I hated that Tris wasn’t the same Tris I met in Divergent.

Tris builds up her strength and courage throughout the entire first book, but for some reason all that is completely gone in the second. She was even too afraid to pick up a gun! The kick-butt chick I became to know and love just wasn’t in Insurgent.

So I completely adored Divergent, was a little bummed about Insurgent, but was still planning on reading Allegiant, with a small hope that Tris was back to normal.

I’ve already reviewed Allegiant on my blog, Turning Pages. And I feel that the best way to review such a popular and controversial book would be through points. Also I think it will more spoiler free this way for anyone who hasn’t gotten the chance to read it yet.

Tris and Four:

I was excited to see Tris was back to herself again, and she wasn’t afraid to pick up a gun! With this start to Allegiant I was excited to see how the rest of it would go… but it that didn’t last all too long. I was glad that Tris was through that weird phase, but now, Four was going through his own.

When he is first introduced, he’s this tough, hard guy, with tattoos. He seems to know what he’s doing, and being part of Dauntless, he seemed afraid of nothing. But during Allegiant, Four spent a lot of time either fearing his father, or following someone else’s lead (Tris or Nita).

Their Relationship:

I liked that Roth included a real relationship in this book, where a couple is going through its ups and downs, like in the real world. But Tris and Four had so many ups and downs it was emotionally exhausting. I felt that they would argue about small dumb things, but then make up by making out.

One argument the couple had was when Tris was telling Four that she doesn’t trust Nita. She never really gave a reason, besides jealousy. This argument seemed like one between five year olds, where Tris would yell, scream and stop her foot with no real reasoning.

Later in the book, when we find out what Nita is, Tris rubs it in Four’s face. Again like a five year old would. Tris almost makes it seem like she’s always right, and Four should just do what she says, all the time.

Liked it, but it was just a little too much.

Other Characters:

They had so much potential, but we didn’t get too see much of them. They were on the back burner most of the story.

The Ending:

This was my favourite part! You won’t believe what happens! I know I didn’t. I had no clue!! Best ending yet!!

So overall, I can say that Divergent was my favorite, then Allegiant, and then Insurgent. Allegiant comes into second because of the ending. I know a lot of people loved it, and I know a lot of people can agree with me. So feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts!