Music Monday (116): PVRIS

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Recently, I've been listening to music by PVRIS again. I'm really excited for their new album, which won't be out until July 10, 2020. Luckily, there's plenty of music to keep me preoccupied until then. One of my favorite songs is Things Are Better.

Are there any albums you're waiting for? If so, tell us about them in the comments.

The Friday 56 (178) & Book Beginnings: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth...

Beginning: "I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites."

56: "I went out with some drones to do a little scouting and make sure there was no sign of anything big enough to, say, drag the little hopper off in the middle of the night."

Comments: I really enjoyed the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series. What are you reading this week? 

I Listened to Super Sunset by Allie X

Between playing copious amounts of Animal Crossing New Horizons and baking/cooking, I also listened to some music by artists who were new to me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m currently trying to expand my playlist, and during that search, I came across Super Sunset (2018) by Allie X under my Spotify recommendations.

I’m so glad I gave Super Sunset a listen. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was a refreshing pallet cleanser of an EP (extended play), and it was also a great introduction to Allie X’s music. It reminded me a little of Charli XCX’s latest album, as well as Lana Del Rey in the vocal department (especially the second song on the EP, Not So Bad In LA).

Some of the tracks made me nostalgic for synthpop. It was due in part to how much the overall sound of the EP was peppered with recognizable synth influences. However, the songs were distinctly modern and put a refreshing spin on the various samples and etc.. Songs like Science, Can’t Stop Now, and Girl of the Year were a good example of what I mean; although, if you listen carefully, you can pick up on the synthpop sounds in all of the songs. They reminded me of pop songs from the eighties and nineties.

There is also a different version of this EP called Super Sunset (Analog). The tracklist is pretty much the same as the regular version, but the songs have a slightly different sound. They have a live recorded sound to them. At the end of the day, I like both versions of the EP. 

Super Sunset is going on my playlist. Since Allie X released an album this year, I’m definitely going to give it a listen sometime soon. 

Have you listened to any music by Allie X? If so, have you listened to Super Sunset?

Music Monday (115): Laura Mvula, K'Jon

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Last week, Laura Mvula released a live version of her song, Make Me Lovely. I really liked her performance as well as that of the Metropole Orkest.

Andrea: One of the songs I've been listening to this week is On The Ocean by K'Jon. Although the song was released in 2009, I never get tired of listening to it. You can find out more information about K'Jon by clicking on the link.

Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

Favorite Recipe: Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Late in March, I was making a birthday cake for a relative. The flavor, by request, was supposed to be Black Forest, and the base to that is typically chocolate, cherry, and vanilla. Since I didn’t have a tried-and-true recipe for that type of cake, I tried something new. [Note: all pictures used in this post are ones I took myself.]

One of my favorite types of cake and doughnut is sour cream. I love the difference in the texture of the crumb. And this Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake recipe from allrecipes proved to be a perfect fit. Here are the results.

The standard size of cake I make is determined by the pans I’m using. The recipe called for three nine-inch pans. However, I used two ten-inch round metal pans instead. The recipe made enough batter for two good sized layers without having to make any additional batches.

This cake was super simple to make. One interesting part of this recipe was how the cocoa powder and boiling water were mixed and cooled before being added to the cake. It had a consistency like pudding.

[Note: I had to bake the cakes for about 10 extra minutes. It depends on your oven so follow the recipe, and check the center to make sure it’s done before adding any extra time. Also I put parchment on the bottom of each pan, and that’s just to keep the cake from sticking.]

So how did it taste?

It tasted kind of like an Oreo cookie. It had a strong dark chocolate flavor, and didn’t taste too sweet which I liked. I was surprised at the depth of flavor, considering that there was no coffee in the recipe. The cake proved to be a great combination with the cherry pie filling and cream cheese buttercream frosting that we added later. I’m not sharing any pictures of the final cake, because it was for a birthday. However, I did snap a few pictures with the crumb-coat on it, as well as how the inside looked after it was cut.

Between the texture and the flavor, I will likely use this recipe again in the future. Have you done any baking recently? If so, what was your favorite dish or dessert you made?