Phoenix in the City

Gone to Pot

2011-11-06T01:24:00.000-05:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love orchids? They're beautiful to look at, are fairly easy to maintain but most importantly for me, they provide the best value if you want fresh flowers in your home because their blooms last for a few months at a time.

I've purchased 7 orchids in the 3+ years I've lived in my condo - when the blooms of the first one dropped, I bought my second, and when the blooms of the second faded, I picked up my third because the first one was still dormant. I've had to get rid of one because the leaves were looking rather sickly and of the 6 that remain, some of which have re-bloomed, I haven't yet figured out how to get more than 4 or 5 buds to flower on a stem like these crazy-gorgeous specimens at Bangkok International Airport:

Nor have they synched up to bloom consecutively for me. One's currently in bloom and 5 are sleeping so I decided now was the time to give the latter some new "bedding" if you will - time to re-pot! Da-da-dum!!

I googled "re-potting orchids" and found a ton of tutorials on what to do, including this one featuring Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" as background music. For reals! Talk about blast from the past!

Anyway, here's my attempt below - this particular pot had moss as its growing medium, and can I just say it was kinda gross removing it all? I had to trim some of the roots that were "mushy" and then returned them to the pot using the "exotic potting medium."

Fingers crossed that I did it right!

Chocolate Cravings

2011-10-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

So. For some strange reason, I've been craving baked goods - chocolaty cookies specifically - for the last, oh, 2 or 3 weeks. I don't know why because I'm not one to usually crave chocolate but there you have it. Problem is, cookies don't really fit into my clean eating diet so I've been trying to fight it, but I'm done fighting. I resorted to a healthy-ish recipe for "Best-ever Chocolate Cookies" from a hospital calendar my mom requested a little while back with a number of substitutions and tweaks because a) I was out of a few ingredients (namely brown sugar and oat bran) and b) I wanted to try baking with spelt flour, which aside from being a rich source of niacin and other minerals, also has fewer calories than whole wheat flour.

Anyway, they taste AWESOME! They don't taste "healthy" at all! Here's the original recipe which is credited to The Dieticians of Canada with notes on my substitutions:

Best-Ever Chocolate Cookies
Makes: ~42 cookies (1 per serving)
Preheat Oven: 350F (180C)

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (I used the aforementioned spelt this time but whole wheat the last time)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I used all natural sea salt - I know, la-di-da)
2 eggs
1 cup margarine or butter, softened (I used butter this time around - I went half-butter, half-organic applesauce last time but I was all out of the latter tonight)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (no brown sugar but found this tip on a substitution)
1 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup bran cereal, not flakes (I was short a full cup but had wheatgerm and flaxseed meal so went 1/3 each)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (not a fan of white chocolate so used semi-sweet)
optional: ~3/4 cup chopped walnuts*

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. (I didn't sift - I actually don't own a sifter - and they turned out just fine)
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, margarine and brown sugar. Fold in flour mixture. Stir in oats, bran cereal and chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (15mL) about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, onto ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until just crisp. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool completely.

* I like the texture of nuts in my cookies and chocolate and walnuts are a great combo in my book

Per Serving:
94 Calories
2.1 g Fat
0.3 g Saturated Fat
44mg Sodium
18g Carbohydrates
3g Fiber
2g Protein

Making the Classic Sexy

2011-09-27T10:50:00.001-04:00

I haven't always been a fan of Burberry. When I was younger, I found their check pattern "old lady" but I've since come around and can count 2 pieces in my collection, both classics: the quilted jacket and more recently, their 3/4 trench I love it so much!

Anyway, I signed up for their email list with my first purchase at their outlet in PA a few years ago and their latest campaign touting their "nude" collection landed in my inbox:

Granted, there are some pretty fantastic re-imaginings of their trench, in particular this gorgeous lace version. I mean, HELLO! Will you please come home with me?

Seriously though, Nude = Beige. I get it, Burberry, you want to make it sexy! and young! and appealing! But really. I thought you were better than that.

Shady

2011-09-18T00:54:00.002-04:00

My kid brother bought a resale condo last month 2 weeks into my vacation in Thailand. This is crazy for 2 reasons: first because he only just started talking about getting a place of his own maybe 2 weeks before and second, he's my kid brother and OMG he's all grown up!

Anyway, we spent the early part of the afternoon at Direct Interiors looking at couches, broke up the day with my mom's singing recital - oh ya, you read that right! - and hit up a HomeSense 30 minutes before closing where we found the awesome lamps at right.

To be specific, I found a pair of the shades at left first. Totally awesome graphic, right?? Guess how much they were? You'll never guess.......are you guessing???.......Go on....Guess...You'll never guess...They were a total steal..........Did you guess yet???

I seriously considered buying them for myself even though I don't have a need for them right now and storing them at my mom's until there is a need but my brother actually liked them, which was a surprise. Anyway, they were $16.99 each. Yah. That's right. $16.99 each!!!! And then we got the pair of lamps with the funky geometric-patterned teal base that came with the rectangular shade which was perfectly fine, but don't they look so much more interesting with the graphic print? Super-mod, non? I LOVE them so much and wish I was decorating a place of my own...this is the next best thing though. :)

Bachelor Pad

2011-09-05T00:49:00.001-04:00

Initial thoughts for my kid brother's bachelor pad...

Bachelor Pad by phoenixc on Polyvore.com

Lounge 93 Slipcovered Sofa
$1,999 - crateandbarrel.com

BDI Avion® Series II Home Theater Cabinet 8925
$1,399 - yliving.com

CB2 - facil dining table
$349 - cb2.com

Ikea Ikea Stockholm Rand
$199 - ikea.com

CB2 - go-cart carbon five-shelf bookcase
$199 - cb2.com

Aluminum Wood Side Table | west elm
$179 - westelm.com

Random Base Side Table | west elm
$149 - westelm.com

Ikea Tobias
$80 - ikea.com

Millstead Walnut Natural Glaze 1/2 in. Thick x 5 in. Width x Random...
$5.78 - homedepot.com

Plus 10

2011-08-08T11:11:00.001-04:00

Holy crap it's ridiculously humid here in Siem Reap.

We arrived in a propeller plane from Bangkok this afternoon to cloudy skies and by the time we cleared passport control and collected our bags it was pouring rain outside.

I checked the forecast for the next few days as we'll be touring Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples and the temps are in the low 30s but with 90+% humidity it feels 10 degrees hotter. I'm not sure I can handle it...I mean, it's so humid in our room that paper is soft. Like, for reals. And my skin! The humidity is making me breakout. Not. Cool. So glad I packed my mud mask!

There is a silver lining though - our hotel has happy hour between 5 and 7 so drinks that range from US$1.50 for Asian draught beer to US$3.55 for a cocktail are half price...needless to say, we indulged. Good times just chilling and taking advantage of free wifi. We actually had a skype chat with my cousin A. How wonderful is that? :)

Off now to catch up on a week's worth of gossip over at LaineyGossip before calling it a night!

Cheers!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

20 hrs and counting...

2011-08-01T13:38:00.004-04:00

I'm tapping out this particular post from Beijing International where I'm waiting at gate E12 for my 5:05pm flight to Bangkok.* I've been up now for over 20 hours and am definitely feeling it - i.e. I'm cranky and impatient.

Despite the grumps, Chingrish never fails to make me smile.

My plan to stay up the 12hr flight from Toronto worked as planned - I watched Morning Glory, Temple Grandin, Just Go With It, and the documentary about NYT style photographer Bill Cunningham which I highly recommend if you come across it.

I was rather hungry and in my sleep-deprived, cranky state, I was craving the familiar like McDonald's or Starbucks, neither of which I was able to find. How is that possible?? You've got the high-brow designer names like Burberry, Chopard and Ferragamo but tall-non-fat-no-foam-extra-hot-lattes are MIA? Instead of settling for fast food Chinese and Beijing sushi, I opted to mix one of my protein meal replacement shakes. Not what I wanted but really the path of least resistance.

Flight is supposed to start boarding in 4 mins...can't wait to finally get to Bangkok where I can meet my friend, have a late din and get some real sleep! Fingers crossed for no jetlag!!

* Don't have the brain power to figure out whether there's free wifi here...can't seem to get it to work if it is so when this actually posted I'll be in Bangkok where my hotel has free wifi.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

ONE. MORE. SLEEP.

2011-07-31T02:23:00.001-04:00

After much planning on my part, I'm pretty much packed and ready to go tomorrow for my 3 week jaunt to Thailand/Cambodia.

And for the first time ever, I feel like I've packed fairly light: 4 tank tops, 3 t-shirts, 2 dresses, a skirt, 3 scarves, 3 pairs of pants in varied lengths, a cardi and 4 pairs of shoes/sandals. OK, so maybe I'll buy some clothes there - they'll be more appropriate for the weather anyway. (I'm still surprised by how much I've come to like orange of late - see how much it figures in my wardrobe to the right) - when I've never really liked it before and have been meaning to write a blog about it but have obviously been lazy on that score.)

I'm super-excited! There will be scads of temples and buddhas to ooh and aah over in the next few weeks. I've plans for a cycling tour, as well as a cooking class in Chiang Mai; a fish pedicure in Bangkok; maybe learning to snorkel around Koh Samui; 3 days touring Angkor Wat with a private guide; maybe an elephant ride; and if at all possible, a massage every day.

There will be free wifi in all my hotels (that was actually a pre-requisite) so I'll try to blog while I'm gone but I shan't make any promises.

Until then, จะดูแลและจะปลอดภัย!*

* Take care and be safe in Thai.

Feeling HOT HOT HOT!

2011-07-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

This is seriously bananas: Toronto is officially in the midst of a heat wave which I can not be happier about because the last few summers have been so crap. LOOK AT THE FORECAST FOR TOMORROW! 38C but feels like 48C?! It's hotter in Toronto than it is in Thailand (eeeeee!!!) where I will be in 12 more sleeps! I must admit, the fantastic weather here makes me feel a teeny-tiny bit regretful that I'll be leaving on vacation soon and missing out on the rest of the summer here.

And despite the heat, I haven't yet turned on my A/C, which surprises me a little given that I'm south-facing. I reckon having the lake nearby makes a difference since there is a nice breeze coming off it and keeping my shades down all day helps too. Feeling rather virtuous and green, never mind how happy my checkbook is for not having to spend the funds to cool down. :)

Weekend Update

2011-07-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

How's your summer? The weather in Toronto has been fantastic and planner that I am, based on how the last couple weekends have unfolded I'm learning that sometimes it's best to let things evolve organically.

Last weekend, I saw Hugh Jackman live in concert - he is amazing amazing amazing! - with WL and this was the only thing we had planned. But afterwards, we browsed bicycle shops, had dinner at Jules and ended up watching Bridesmaids which was hilarious!

This weekend, WL and I had plans to watch Harry Potter 7B. The End. Such bittersweet feelings for the end of an era...I almost wish I had taken the time to re-read the series from The Beginning, but at the very least, we saw HP7A again the night before, which was a good thing because there was so much I had forgotten. It did NOT disappoint and I cried, although not as much as I thought I would.

Over lunch at Khao San Road afterwards we talked about the movies and how, while HP7B was wonderful, it wasn't as wonder-ful as the first, because it was in the first that we were introduced to the magical world of Hogwarts personified. Sigh.

Anyway, we walked through the U of T campus on our way to Yorkville to do some shopping and met up with our friends S&W at Anthropologie. While WL already had dinner plans, S&W and I made our way to Fanny Chadwick's and then I walked home. All in all, I walked the distance of a 1/2 marathon yesterday...which, considering that I'm contemplating training for an actual half, wasn't all that bad. I opted out of a run this morning though and just went to hot yoga which was just what my tight body needed. I felt amazingly loose and chilled out...so chilled out that after lunch, I took a nap out on my balcony. Every weekend should be like this... :)

I hope you're enjoying our perfect summer!

One last hurrah

2011-07-08T00:09:00.000-04:00

I'm headed to Thailand in about 3 weeks for 3 weeks - 5 days of which will be spent on the beach. So, in order to get bikini-ready, I told my trainer, K that we needed to cut short our build phase to get into burn, which is all well and good. Burn means sets in the 16+ rep range and lighter weights and protein days that involve a limited carbs and no fruit because of the fructose, which the body immediately converts into fat.

I've gotten the protein days down and I've cut fruit before and gotten great results but it's summer now. And that means lychee are in season - a short season but still. So I'm being REALLY bad. I picked up a bag of lychee Tuesday night from my local Chinese grocer that was on special for $0.99/lbs. They were sooo sweet and juicy, with small seeds and lots of meat.

I have fond memories of eating lychee as a kid. My parents used to own a Chinese grocery themselves and I remember sitting with my family outside, eating them from the case. Those were the days...

I went back to my grocer after work today to check if the lychee were still on special and picked up 4lbs. These will be the last of the season for me. I promise - never mind the 2 pints of strawberries I picked up for $3.50. I think I'll freeze most of them to bake more scones since my mom really enjoyed the coconut berry ones I made last.

Baked goodies for my Piglet

2011-06-28T23:06:00.000-04:00

I'm spending this Canada Day long weekend in Vancouver. My flight leaves Thursday afternoon and I'll arrive in time for a late dinner with my family - which includes our newest addition, GMC, aka Baby Boy.

My Piglet was apparently having some trouble adjusting to not being the centre of attention anymore, which I could sympathize with as the eldest child, if only I remembered what it felt like at 17 months when my sister was first born.

I've spent the last couple nights baking - chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies favoured by my Piglet and coconut berry scones for my sister. I used frozen blueberries and strawberries in the latter which melted as they were mixed in my food processor, resulting in a rather wet dough. The star- and heart-shaped scones were rather goo-y (left) but turned out reasonably well once baked (right). I like to serve them with Devonshire cream and jam (mmmmmm) but my taste-test suggests that they're also fine as-is.

Soooo looking forward to cuddles with my Piglet and eskimo kisses with Baby Boy!

The Best Laid Plans...

2011-06-27T00:15:00.000-04:00

I finished Terry Fallis' The Best Laid Plans this morning, which turned out to be the perfect literary palate cleanser after reading Sarah Blake's The Postmistress and Peter Cameron's Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You.

As is usually the case, I always feel the need for something light after reading a novel set in WWII - the third section of The Postmistress, Spring 1941, was particularly hard to read at some points as Frankie Bard, the intrepid radio broadcaster rode the trains through Nazi-occupied Europe to get the real truth about what was happening to the Jews.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You was a recommendation by Lainey. The writing is smart and funny and it's set in Manhattan 2003 which was different enough for me but I still felt a little unsettled by the ending...it wasn't the "happy ending" I was looking for...so I browsed my bookcase and settled on The Best Laid Plans. Perfeito!

The Best Laid Plans had an unconventional start as a free weekly podcast by its author, Terry Fallis. It's a book about, of all things, Canadian Federal politics and it's FUNNY! SO FUNNY! I know...it's totally weird for me to see politics and funny in the same sentence but it's true! Read it for yourself, or listen to the podcast here.

From the back covers:

Terry Fallis got tired of waiting for a literary agent or a publisher to decide to take on his book. So he recorded a reading of his novel, and released it, chapter by chapter, as a podcast. People really liked it. Encouraged by that reaction, he published the book on his own. Again, people really liked it.

Then it won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour, beating out major authors published by the big houses. And people really liked that.
...
It's a satire on Canadian politics, especially the modern Ottawa version, and it's full of unforgettable characters and a story that will sweep you along. Sex in the hallowed halls of Parliament, caucus manipulation, melon-throwing violence, culturally stunted engineers, chessboard battles, and even a personal hovercraft all feature in this plot. Not to mention true love, and good guys winning.

In 1940, Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Massachusetts. Iris knows more about the townspeople than she will ever say - for example, that Emma Trask has come to marry the town's doctor, and that Harry Vale watches the ocean for U-boats. Iris believes her job is to deliver secrets. Yet one day she does the unthinkable: slips a letter into her pocket, reads it, and doesn't deliver it.

Meanwhile, Frankie Bard broadcasts from overseas with Edward R. Murrow. Her dispatches beg listeners to pay heed as the Nazis bomb London nightly. Most of the townspeople of Franklin think the war can't touch them. But Iris and Emma and Frankie know better...

The Postmistress is a tale of tow worlds - one shattered by violence, the other willfully naive - and of two women whose jobs are to deliver the news, yet who find themselves unable to do so. Through their eyes, and the eyes of everyday people caught in history's tide, it examines how we tell each other stories, and how we bear the fact of war as we live ordinary lives.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is the story of James Sveck, a sophisticated, vulnerable young man with a deep appreciation for the world and no idea how to live in it. James is eighteen, the child of divorced parents living in Manhattan. Articulate, sensitive, and cynical, he rejects all of the assumptions that govern the adult world around him - including the expectation that he will go to college in the fall. He would prefer to move to an old house in a small town somewhere in the Midwest. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You takes place over a few broiling days in the summer of 2003 as James confides in his sympathetic grandmother, stymies his canny therapist, deplores his pretentious sister, and devises a fake online identity in order to pursue his crush on a much older coworker. Nothing turns out how he'd expected.

Hot and cold

2011-06-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

So, I've been into hot yoga in a big way the last couple months and today was the first class I took that wasn't hot and let me tell you: what a difference in my flexibility and practice!

I checked out The Yoga Sanctuary on The Danforth this morning with my Passport to Prana and they have a beautiful corner studio to practice in with the exposed brick, and warm hardwood floors. Back to practice though - my body felt pretty tight to start which wasn't surprising first thing in the morning but even when I was "warmed up" I still felt tighter than I've normally been of late practicing in a hot studio. Now, I'm not crazy about literally sweating buckets in practice and leaving the studio in clothes that are soaked through but I do love how amazingly chilled out and relaxed I feel after practice.

Perhaps it's still early to say, but I'm beginning to think that once you go hot, you can't go back...

Perfect Saturday

2011-06-19T00:08:00.000-04:00

How was your Saturday? I hope it was a good one as the weather was perfect.

I got up at 9am and was out the door an hour later for a good run through Harbourfront. The sun was shining and there was a lovely breeze off the lake, and given my fair-weather tendencies, I could not have asked for better weather.

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My plan for the afternoon was to check out a class at Downward Dog with my Passport to Prana but my neighbour invited me out for ice cream at Cool Hand Luc so ix-nay the yoga and yay for ice cream and what turned out to be a perfect Saturday because we just wandered through our neighbourhood: We met up in the lobby at 1pm and headed out for ice cream. Afterwards, we wandered down to Kensington Market for papusas at Emporium Latino - yes, that's right, dessert before lunch! - and then browsed in Good Egg for a bit and sighed over the beautifully designed cookbooks. Then it was back to Queen West where we stopped in Jacob & Sebastian for some goodies en route to Dark Horse for lemonade (me) and coffee (neighbour). While this is my 3rd full summer in the 'hood, I'd never stepped into either The Healthy Butcher or The Leslieville Cheese Market. K had to pick up a few things for a BBQ later tonight so in we went and I ended up picking up a bottle of David's Special Steak Rub at the former which I plan to use on chicken breasts and a small block of Raspberry Bella Vitano, a firm almost parmesan-like cheese that was rubbed in raspberry ale at the latter. Final stop of the day brought us nearly full-circle back on King West at Soma. I really do love my neighbourhood and its fantastic food and retail options. :)

Anyway, I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening indoors. I was feeling lazy about dinner so had a bagel with cream cheese and whipped up some scrambled eggs with chives and cheese. Mmm. Chives and cheese. Now, I'm not usually one to have dessert at home on my own but I had a pint of strawberries in the fridge from last weekend that I'd forgotten about during the week and my all-time favourite yogurt, Liberte's Mediterranee Lemon (OMG SO GOOD!) so I thought, why not put them together? The combo was freakin' awesome! So easy and so tasty!

Perfect end to a perfect day!

Going to Pot

2011-06-12T23:59:00.000-04:00

I spent all afternoon gardening on my balcony - or, as my new English friend JD says, re-potting my new plants into larger/decorative containers. I'd thought about not doing anything out there this year since it's basically a dustbowl thanks to the construction site I currently overlook, but the sight on the other side of my glass wall was just too depressing:

So I'm bringing in some old and new - I grew grape tomatoes and basil last year which made for yummy salads all summer long so they're back, but instead of grape tomatoes, I went with Romas. And for flowers, I've gone with hydrangeas - "The Original" Endless Summer Bloom to be specific - just thinking about the gorgeous blowsy blooms to come makes me happy!

It took twice as long and as much soil as I thought it would to re-pot everything - in addition to the 2 hydrangeas, the tomato and basil, I also had to re-pot a newly-purchased jade plant and the money tree I got from Ikea a couple years ago, never mind the post-planting clean-up of debris, soil and dirt - oh the dirt! I shudder at the memory of the thick layer of construction dust that had settled on the cover of my patio furniture. Ewww.

Anyway, back to happy thoughts. Here's what my balcony looks like now:

Left to right: sweet basil, roma tomato, hydrangea, and behind the glass, jade plant and money tree.

I'm not sure how acidic the soil is since that's what determines the colour of the hydrangeas - acidic soil yields blue blooms and alkaline yields pink. I'm hoping for something in-between like these gorgeous purple ones, so will have to do a little research to figure out how to make it happen. So excited though!! :)

Hmm.

2011-06-08T10:04:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile since I blogged but things have been crazy but not if that makes any sense.

Nothing earth-shattering to report here...taking a break from a problem in my financial model that I need to solve at work while Excel continues to vex me - I have a love/hate thing for Excel and right now the switch is flipped to hate.

Anyway, just realized that there's this one guy at work who 2x now in as many weeks has matched the colour of my dress with his polo shirt -completely coincidental. Silly observation, I know, but last week it was a deep lavender and today it's a dark taupe. That's all.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Brilliant!

2011-05-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

WC shared this with me last night so I'm sharing it with you.

Enjoy!

Flights are BOOKED!

2011-05-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

Well, it's done. The flights for my trip to and from South East Asia are now booked! I was a little anxious to check this to-do off my list because I'm flying on points and if you've flown on points, you'll know that availability can be limited...so what did I do but book my return flight back from Bangkok using my British Airways Executive Club points first to make sure I could secure the last First Class seat back.

Here's the scoop on how I had enough points for First Class: I have friends who are rather keen on loyalty programs and they were the ones who told me about this opportunistic redemption offer for flights to Asia from North America on the best airline I've ever flown - Cathay Pacific.

The facts:
- if you have an RBC Avion Visa, you can transfer your points over to Executive Club about twice a year at 1.5x the points, i.e. if you have 30,000 Avion points, you'll get 45,000 Executive Club points upon conversion
- Cathay is a partner airline to British Airways through OneWorld
- an economy flight redeemed through Aeroplan from North America to Asia is 75000 points, as is an economy flight on British Airways through Executive Club
HOWEVER
- an economy flight redeemed through Executive Club for the same trip on a partner airline is only 50000 points
- recall that Cathay Pacific is a partner airline

So you could save 25000 points on your flight redemption flying on a superior airline. No-brainer, right?? First Class might seem rather decadent, but I figured, why the hell not? I had the points and I'm going back to work the next day so maybe I'll be able to get some shut-eye.

My flight to Bangkok is in economy and I used my Aeroplan points because I didn't want to pay cash to top-up for Business and as I'll be arriving in the evening, I'll just check-in to the hotel, go to sleep and wake up refreshed and free of jetlag. That's the plan anyway.

I can't remember when I decided that I wanted to go to Thailand - for the longest time I've been Euro-centric with my travel preferences but I suppose it probably started with a Summerlicious work lunch to Bangkok Garden a couple years ago. I loved the look of the carved wood decor so it's been in the back of my mind. And when I had high tea with A late last November in London, and we were talking about vacation plans, we both mused about how we wanted to go to Thailand and that's when we decided that we 2 single chicks should go together.

Fast forward 4 months and we're talking dates and I'm researching places to go, things to see and do and organizing all the data points in my handy-dandy spreadsheet. Current itinerary includes Bangkok, Chiang Mai, various beaches, a hop over to Siem Reap, Cambodia to take in the wonder of Angkor Wat with perhaps a swing through the capital, Phnom Penh, and finally a few days in Hong Kong before returning to Toronto. So much to plan! So excited!

(Quinoa) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-05-07T01:42:00.000-04:00

It's 12:30am and I'm hungry and I know it's not the best choice for me to make to sate that hunger but I'm weak and have been wanting to try baking with quinoa flour and because I have all the ingredients in my pantry, I decided to try the recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies in my Quinoa 365 cookbook.*

The recipe says you can freeze the dough for up to 4 weeks so that's what you see to the right - the dough, rolled up into balls to freeze before I store them in a ziplock bag.

Anyway, fast forward an hour and the 6 small cookies I baked are out of the oven and I've gotta say....I'm not sure I like the taste of these cookies. I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies but these ones have this nutty, almost bitter(?) taste of quinoa that I've decided I'm not particularly keen on. Ah well.

* How's that for a stream-of-consciousness-run-on-sentence?

Breakfast duty

2011-05-05T23:51:00.000-04:00

Every Friday we take turns bringing in breakfast for the team. It's my turn tomorrow and normally, I take the easy way out and pick up pastries or whatever from the grocer but my new team - there's a lot of extra effort put in with homemade baked goods like scrumptious home-made scones (specifically coconut-blueberry which sparked my latest obsession with baking with coconut if only I wasn't on burn and had to eat super clean!), pancakes on a portable griddle, made-to-order omelets and fruit smoothies, so obviously I had to kick it up a notch, even though I trained tonight and couldn't start baking until after 9.

I browsed my recipe box and settled on these 2 quick and easy loaves: nutella coconut quick bread and super easy oatmeal raisin breakfast loaf. Both were indeed as advertised, although the time to bake was off. I had to tack on an extra 15 for the former and an additional 8 fir the latter.

One risk is that this is my first time using these recipes so fingers crossed they taste good. We're expecting 25-30 people tomorrow do I'll also be picking up bagels on the way in to work.

The nutella loaf turned out quite well but I'm a bit concerned by how flat the oatmeal loaf looks in comparison. I'm sure it'll fine...

Update: I left the loaves out overnight and when I woke up, the nutella loaf was HARD. So I got worried and cut one end off to try it...and it was fine. In fact, that loaf was quite the hit and I was asked for the recipe. So, yay!

Karen O'Leary's City Prints

2011-04-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

I can't remember how or where I first stumbled upon Karen O'Leary's gorgeous paper cuts and city prints but ever since, I've been waiting for a Toronto print to appear in her Etsy shop, studiokmo. She had Vancouver and Montreal but no Toronto.

But guess what? I signed into Facebook today and in my newsfeed was her announcement that the Toronto print is now available!! So YAY!!!

And since the CAD is doing so darn well, I'm going to get not 1, not 2 but 3 city prints for my own little series (even though I technically don't have the wall space.)

It was tough to decide because they're all so fantastic but I'm going with my hometown, Amsterdam and Barcelona (below).

Which cities would you get?

The Angel's Game

2011-04-15T23:40:00.000-04:00

I took the day off today and had planned on sleeping in but the construction outside my window that typically starts around 7am makes it impossible to do so. Instead, I slept until just before 8 this morning and spent my first hour finishing Carlos Ruiz Zafon's prequel to Shadow of The Wind, The Angel's Game, which was actually written 5 years after.

As this was a prequel, we're taken back to Barcelona, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop - the descriptions of which, real and imagined, made me wish I could return again for a visit.

On the story though - this effort felt more gothic and sinister and there was a twist near the end which was unexpected - and I like to think that I'm a pretty smart reader. There were definitely shades of Dorian Grey here, too, as Daniel seizes to age as the years go on, and while I've never actually read Wilde's novel, I do know that this detail figures hugely in the plot.

The end was...unsatisfying...it seemed rather hurried and maybe a bit ambiguous...and that's all I'll say without giving away the ending.

From the dust jacket:

'The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that, when I opened those windows, its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets I could capture on paper and narrate to whoever cared to listen.'

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David MartÌn, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.

Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has existed - a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.

Question.

2011-04-12T22:42:00.000-04:00

What do allergies feel like? I've never had them before but am wondering if that's what's wrong with me now because I haven't been able to stop sneezing since just before I got on the elevator to leave the gym about 2.5 hrs ago. And I rarely sneeze. Like, for reals.

My eyes are mildly itchy - my right one anyway - and my nose is runny, again, mostly my right nostril (TMI?) and I'm a regular Sneezy dwarf.

Seriously.

This is NOT COOL.

The Swan Thieves

2011-03-26T22:21:00.001-04:00

I finally finished the doorstopper that is Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves early this morning. I stayed over night at my mother's and was woken up by her alarm clock just before 7 this morning.

Anyway - I had never read her debut, The Historian, but was impressed by all the critical acclaim so picked this one up because the story sounded interested.

The novel was s-l-o-w to start for me and continued to plod along jumping from the present to the past and back again as the parallel stories unfolded. The ending came together well enough, although it felt hasty - almost like Kostova had decided about 500 pages in that it was time to wrap things up. I'm glad I finished it but am doubtful that I'll be reading any more of her titles in the future.

From the back cover:
This richly told, beautifully imagined novel takes us on a journey into the lives of the women left behind by the renowned painter Robert Oliver.

After attacking a canvas in the National Gallery of Art, Oliver maintains a stubborn silence, prompting his psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow, to embark on an unconventional pursuit of the answers his patient won't provide. As Marlow is pulled deeper within Oliver's troubled mind, he uncovers a tale of love, betrayal, and artistic obsession, and finds surprising possibilities in a package of nineteenth-century love letters. Does the key to unlocking Robert Oliver's mystery lie in a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism?

Across centuries and continents, from young love to last love, Elizabeth Kostova deftly explores the painter's universe - passion, creativity, secrets, madness - and conjures a world that lingers long after the final page has turned.

Spooky

2011-03-26T00:09:00.001-04:00

I don't usually dream, or at least, I don't remember my dreams when I wake up. But a few weeks ago, I had a dream that I remembered and it was so weird because I dreamed about a good friend at work. We worked closely together on a project for over a year - it was a crazy-intense period - and then she moved on to another department and we were separated by a few floors.

In my dream, I was looking for her on her floor but I couldn't find her anywhere, and when I woke up, I remembered that she was on temporary assignment to another team and had actually re-located to my floor. I bumped into her the next day - this was 3 Fridays ago and told her about it that morning, and she laughed and said, "We have to catch up next week over coffee. I have to tell you something." OK...

So I booked us a coffee date for the following Tuesday because I had already booked the Monday off to go to the spa and have afternoon tea with S. So Tuesday comes around and she tells me that she'd resigned! Which makes my dream rather psychic because she wasn't there when I was looking for her. Spooky, right?

So Romantic!

2011-03-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

Finally got around to browsing BHLDN's website and can I tell you how much I LOVE this gown? It's called Ethereal Monarch. Indeed.

Form or Function, that is the question.

2011-03-20T13:48:00.001-04:00

Stumbled upon this adorable video shared by Chapters Indigo Books on Facebook. I love the attention to detail in this stop-action video - check out the stalking dragon on the table to the left!

Now, I've always admired the aesthetics of bookshelves organized by colour - doesn't that image below look so pretty?? - but realistically, I don't have a visual recall of all my book covers and it just wouldn't be functional for me.

Because I tend to remember my books by genre, my shelves are sort of organized in that fashion first, e.g. fiction vs. non-fiction, Asian Studies (fiction & non), Literary Travel, Cookbooks, Interior Design; I then sub-categorize by hardback vs. softback; and then by author. It doesn't adhere to any strictly conventional method of organization but it works for me:

Lobsterlicious 2011!

2011-03-17T23:51:00.000-04:00

It's one of my favourite times of year* - it's Lobsterlicious at Scaramouche! Here's the current menu, which has been revised to exclude their yummy Lobster Ravioli since I first saw it last month and when a friend went a couple weeks ago with his family. I won't complain though because everything was pretty damn awesome - including the service, which was impeccably attentive yet unobtrusive.

As usual, each prix fixe includes 1.5lbs of lobster spread across 2 courses. My dinner started with an amuse-bouche of 1/2 a quail egg with beurre blanc, crisp bacon pieces and deep fried onions and holy moly did this little bite pack a tasty punch! I can still taste the smooth egg and butter sauce juxtaposed with the savory crisp texture of the bacon and onions. Mmmm....

I started with the Lobster and Celery Root "Lasagna" - so-called because in place of the pasta noodle, the chef used shaved celery root. Ingenious because the texture was rather similar to a pasta noodle - maybe more tender, and super-mild which allowed the sweetness of the lobster to shine through.

My second course was the Butter Poached Lobster because I like artichokes and king oyster mushrooms and I had the risotto last time. There is something super-decadent about having so much lobster served up out of the shell and done so well!

Finally, dessert...ah dessert...what we have here is their famous Coconut Cream Pie, which, as you'll see from the menu, did not come with the prix fixe. I had to have another taste of this pie though - and since I was being bad anyway, I figured I'd go all the way - and paid the extra $3 for it and OMG it was as good as I remembered it to be - so light and just the right amount of sweetness.

The Lobsterlicious Menu is available Monday through Thursday through March 31st so if you're feeling indulgent or in need of a place to celebrate a special occasion between now and then, check them out! I promise you won't be disappointed!

* The last time I indulged at Scaramouche was in the summer of '09 - so...leads me to wonder if there will be a Lobsterlicious - Redux come the summer...!!!

DwellStudio for Japan Disaster Relief

2011-03-16T23:07:00.000-04:00

I've had my eye on DwellStudio's Hedgerow Persimmon Duvet Set for ages now and when I read on Twitter that they were donating 20% of their sales for the next 48 hrs beginning 6pm today to Unicef I thought I'd take a look....

And boy am I glad I did because it's on sale for 65% off! So, win-win!

Girls' Day Off

2011-03-15T00:12:00.000-04:00

I took today off to spend with S who's on March Break. We scheduled massages and mani/pedis at Vika Spa which were just OK. My massage was actually very disappointing as the masseuse I had kinda sucked - it felt like she was just moving the massage oil around (and there was A LOT of it) and asking for more pressure resulted in more of the same.

Our spa appointments were followed up by full afternoon tea at the Windsor Arms - which was again, OK. They tout themselves as a luxury hotel catering to stars and other dignitaries and for that, I would have expected better service overall. The staff weren't rude or anything, it just wasn't as polished as I would have expected.

The tea was super-filling...it came with 3 different finger sandwiches, 4 pieces each, and 4 gigantic scones - literally the size of my fist. They looked dry but were surprisingly tender and dear I say fluffy. If I had the appetite, I would probably have eaten the 2nd but there were still petit fours and berries with whipped cream (which I'd totally forgotten about!) to eat.

As to the pretty petit fours - clockwise from the top we have a lemon meringue, a rich chocolate torte, an almond-y present and a coffee-flavoured cake suped-up with what had to be liquer, it was so strong!

Finally, what's a girls day without shopping? Among others, we hit MO851 to check out their leather jackets. With this visit and the stop at Rudsack recently, I feel I've done sufficient due diligence to determine that Mackage's Ming jacket is the one I want. Now if only it'd just go on sale already!!

Oh, and what's a visit to Yorkville without a stop at Anthropologie? I don't usually look at belts but this sparkly gem, aka the Enchanting Eyes Belt caught my eye so it came home with me:

What burns is that it's $14 more in Canada then it is in the US. CAD is above par right now. Granted it's a more recent event but our dollar has been flirting with parity for quite some time now so why this ridiculous discrepancy? I may just return it to buy it again online, ship it to Buffalo and have my brother go pick it up on one of his cross-the-border jaunts!

Weekend Update

2011-03-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

My weekend got off to a bit of a rocky start since I was forced to go to bed Thursday night at 11:30 because my power went out. I didn't worry too much about the outage because I figured it was temporary - but alas, not so much. I woke up Friday morning - thanks to my iphone alarm which I had set after the power went out - to grey skies, darkness and cold water, which wasn't too big a deal since I prefer showering at night. Turns out a contractor for Rogers and/or Bell was digging holes outside our building and managed to cut the electrical conduit or tube running into our building. The rain of the last few days flowed into this tube, into our electrical room located on P1 and blew our building's transformer - thank goodness it didn't cause a fire!

There was no word on when we'd get power back so when I got home after work, I tossed out some perishables in my fridge, packed up my freezer, and decamped to my mom's at least for the night. And thank goodness for my mom! One of my neighbour's spent an hour calling around trying to find a hotel that would take kids - with 3 conferences going on in the city, supply was apparently tight. Big bonus? Lobster was on sale for $5.99/lbs and my mom served up lobster not one, not two but THREE ways! SO YUMMY! (And yes, I know I'm spoiled.)

Incidentally, it was a big food weekend for me. But first, can I tell you about my bag score? With my spending fast over, I decided it was safe to head on over to the Shops on Don Mills to see what was on sale at Anthropologie. I tried on a bunch of different things but ended up leaving with just one top. My best score though was the gorgeous red Village Satchel from Roots to the left. I mis-read the sales tag as $119 when it actually read $149. When the cashier rang it in, it was $139, but with the current promo, spend $100+ and get $25 off, it ended up being $115 - cheaper than I had anticipated! Sweet!

Back to the food though, I dined on lobster and E-Fu noodles before heading back downtown to my place because we got power back around noon. I stayed long enough to re-pack my freezer and headed out again to see Yellow Face at the Hart House Theatre. The anger I felt while watching the play has since faded and I don't want to get into it because I don't want to focus on the negative. So I'm going to go back to food because it makes me happy.

I slept in until 11am this morning, which, because of Daylight Savings, was actually 10am and made myself a pile of yummy pancakes. I spiked the mix with a scoop of chocolate whey protein and added some chopped walnuts too and spread Nutella between each one. SO GOOD! I'm going to come absolutely clean and tell you today wasn't the first time I had them this weekend. I made them last night after I got back from the play too. There. Now you know my shame. I feel mildly better having shared that.

My regular Sunday trek out to Chinatown put me in the way of BBQ pork on rice so I had that for a late lunch and dinner tonight was a salmon steak paired with mushroom & broccoli quisotto - imagine risotto with quinoa instead of arborio rice - a recipe from my now favourite cookbook. I'm going to have to do better with my portion sizes - dinner tonight was rather large but damn was it ever good!

I'm chilling out now with Season 1 of The West Wing on in the background and am thinking of giving this Hatha Yoga for Better Sleep video a go. G'night!

Wordscapes

2011-03-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

I said I was going to sleep but I had to check one last thing online and then one thing led to another to this TED video and 20 minutes later I'm still up.

Deb Roy is a researcher at MIT who studies how children learn language. He wired up his house with video cameras in just about every room to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life. He and his grad students then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch "gaaaa" slowly turn into "water." The process leads to the analysis of social media and how we interact with each other and TV. The implications of this research just blows my mind. There's research for the sake of science, yes, but considering how companies are trying to figure out how to leverage the power of social media, if they can figure out how to productize this in a way that companies can action against it, they could make a LOT of money. And I mean A LOT a lot.

Crazy Savings!

2011-03-08T20:14:00.000-05:00

I've written before about how I love to take advantage of group-buying daily deals and how Dealradar helps me do that. I've been on a bit of a spending spree in the last month or so and it occurred to me that I should probably do a better job of keeping track of them beyond printing them out and tacking them onto my bulletin board.

So, I turned to one of my favourite organizational tools - the trusty Excel spreadsheet. Since Christmas, I've bought 14 of these deals - the bulk of which are massage/spa-type services because if you hadn't noticed, I like to pamper myself - and I've saved over $1600(!!!). How crazy is that?

I can't help but wonder what the mark-up is on these services because offering a discount of 50% seems excessive, never mind 80+% on some of the deals. I shan't question. If they offer it, I will buy it.

*******

Oh, and the spending fast is officially over. I got off work a few hours early because there was no running water in the building and went to Rudsak with the intention of checking out their leather jackets but ending up leaving with the gorgeous plum-coloured purse with a removable chain strap to the left. The colour doesn't show at all in the pic below but believe when I say it's lovely juicy plum hue. Plus it was 35% off. Not a crazy discount but it was the last one, I loved the colour and I need options beyond what AL called the "gym bags*" I carry on a daily basis.

I've still got my eye on this clutch by MO851 and will be checking it out next Monday when I'm in the 'hood for my girls' day off.

* Just to be clear, that would be a reference to the size of the bag as opposed to the style.

Weekend Update

2011-03-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

Another weekend is drawing to a close. This one for me was pretty low-key on purpose after getting my geek on last weekend playing Settlers of Catan/America on Friday/Saturday and spending Sunday night coming in 3rd in my cute neighbour's Oscar party pool.

I ran some errands uptown yesterday before spending the evening at my mom's for dinner. It was a quiet night in just relaxing and as per usual, I didn't get to bed until the wee hours.

Just before I did though, I perused Quinoa 365 which was delivered mid-week and found a bunch of recipes that I immediately wanted to try, including Maple Walnut Cereal. With that to look forward to, I read a bit from Swan Thieves before finally settling in to sleep...when next I opened my eyes, it was 1:06pm!

This sounds bad, but I can't remember the last time I slept in past noon and wasn't hung over! I was well-rested after more than 10 hours of sleep but woke up with a bit of a pain in my neck that hasn't gone away. I thought I might get to my favourite yoga series for neck and shoulders but one thing led to another and I never did.

What I did get to was some cooking. I tried a couple recipes from my new cookbook and if the cereal is anything to go by, I've got some really yummy meals to look forward to!

Maple Walnut Cereal
1 serving
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup water
1 Tbsp oat bran
2 Tsp maple syrup
Milk, vanilla yogurt or cream (optional)

Place the walnuts in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir frequently until the walnuts are toasted and fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and let the walnuts cool slightly. Set aside in a small bowl.
In the same pan, combine the quinoa, water and oat bran. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes. Leave the saucepan on the burner, covered, for another 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts and maple syrup. Transfer to a bowl and top with milk, yogurt or cream (if using).

I tried it as-is but if felt like it was missing something so added cream (I had no milk or yogurt) and it was so so good.

Jacket Lust

2011-03-05T01:48:00.002-05:00

Ever since Lainey tweeted this pic of her and Tanya Kim prepping for the Oscars, I've been thinking about their slim-cut leather jackets and getting one of my own.

I turned to what's become my go-to designer for outerwear - Montreal-based MACKAGE - and found these 2 styles, which I tried on my way home after work tonight at Next Door before meeting a neighbour for dinner at Fresh. Both are made of super-soft leathers and have the slim-cut I was looking for.

Rory, $650

Ming, $670

I love Rory's shawl collar, but only when it's zipped up, otherwise it looks sloppy. With Ming, I love that it looks like a sleek, super-feminine bomber jacket that's hits you perfectly at the hip. The other detail I love is the layered look of the long knit sleeves underneath. The padded shoulders in the images look rather extreme but when on, you don't notice it at all. I kind of wish Ming was available in grey. And dammit, why does it have to be so dear?!? I can't bring myself to spend that much on a leather jacket that I just. don't. need. But I WANT IT! So. Maybe it'll go on sale....?

Alternatively, perhaps I'll find something else at Rudsak or MO851? Danier's supposed to have some great styles now too but I can't help but be a bit of a snob about the brand. What a way to break a spending fast, huh? We shall see...

So JOYFUL!

2011-02-28T21:28:00.002-05:00

This adorable baby's laugh is infectiously joyful. You can not help but smile and laugh too!! Go ahead. I dare you not to laugh along with him!!

Morning Yoga

2011-02-21T11:26:00.000-05:00

My body, particularly my neck, shoulders and back, have been feeling super-tense. Tension in these parts isn't particularly surprising since, like most people, I sit at a desk in front of a computer for 8 hrs a day and then come home and do it again at my leisure in the evenings. For me, the tension in these areas is exacerbated by training which leads to a constant soreness that, on the one hand is great because I know I'm building lean muscle but on the other, I sometimes wake up feeling like I'm living in an 80 year old body.

Enter yoga. I've been practicing yoga for a few years now, albeit not on a very consistent basis. It's great because it increases my flexibility and relaxes my muscles - there's really nothing better than a gorgeous plow posture to stretch out my neck and back. So, back to the current stress in my body. I've been feeling rather crap so turned to the internet for a routine and found this 1 hr hatha yoga series for the neck and shoulders on Yoga Yak. I practiced it this morning and feel so. much. better.

Check it out if your body needs some care and maintenance this long weekend Monday.

Blueberry Coconut Scones

2011-02-20T22:57:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is but I've been feeling the urge to bake of late. Last week it was cupcakes and this week it's scones. I've been wanting a taste of these scrumptious blueberry coconut scones again ever since a colleague shared the recipe with me a few weeks ago.

Here's my not-so-pretty attempt:

I used whole wheat flour in an attempt to make it a little healthier and because I wasn't really paying attention, cleaned it up a little further by using just over 3/4 cup of coconut cream instead of the 1 cup the recipe called for. I also forgot to brush the tops with coconut cream before putting it in the oven.

These were my first ever scones so I was a bit worried I'd messed up the recipe since the dough was crumbly and didn't seem to want to come together - in hindsight, it was probably because I didn't use enough coconut cream - duh. Check the super-homely before and after above.

Despite how ugly they are, they came out rather yummy, although not as coconut-y as my colleague's version. I can definitely taste the whole wheat and there's just a hint of coconut...I'll have to make it as directed next time.

I prefer my scones with a very healthy dollop of cream and jam spread atop it - certainly more than is pictured below - but it's late so I decided to go easy on the toppings. I'm rather looking forward to breakfast tomorrow though!

Partition

2011-02-20T01:09:00.001-05:00

I have a Macbook Pro that's been partitioned to run Windows as well as Mac OS which is great because until recently, there were some things that I could only do in the Windows environment, like track my finances using Quicken. (Yes, I'm a nerd.)

I've since gotten Quicken Essentials which runs on Mac and as my tax software of choice, TurboTax is now available for Mac as well, I have no need for Windows any longer.

My challenge then, is what to do with all the excess space on that partitioned hard drive? I'll have to do some research to resolve that but I've been bumping up against the cap on my Mac hard drive so have begun the process of uploading all the inspiration photos I've saved to Tumblr here in order to free up some space. I've saved more than 2000 images over the last 4 years so this migration will take awhile. Meanwhile, it's lovely to revisit what struck my fancy in the past:

TGIF!

2011-02-18T23:12:00.000-05:00

Finally! The first long weekend of the year is here! It's Family Day in Ontario (as well as in Alberta and Saskatchewan) on Monday so we have the day off. To be honest, much as I was looking forward to it, it kind of crept up on me so I haven't got a whole lot planned.

I kicked it off with an impromptu visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario to check out the Maharaja exhibit after leaving work a bit early and was inspired to head out afterwards for dinner at Little India, my favourite Indian resto on Queen West. Seriously - they have a great lunch buffet for $11.95 (IIRC) and there's a queue every time I've been there so call ahead and reserve!!

It's shaping up to be a bit of an eating weekend. I thought I'd break out my waffle iron for brunch tomorrow after catching a fragrant whiff of them on my way home last night but after a quick stop at Loblaws tonight to stock up on my hair colour which is on sale and coming home with a jar of Devonshire cream too(!!!) so I've been daydreaming about scones ever since.

I've come across a few recipes and thought I'd maybe bake some tonight but I generally don't stock butter and most recipes call for butter. Gah!! So...maybe I can stamp down this craving with some chocolate waffles...with buttery-maple syrup and Devonshire cream...? Hmmm...maybe....

Royce' Chocolate

2011-02-13T16:29:00.001-05:00

S&W served melt-in-your-mouth Royce' Cherry Marnier-flavoured chocolate direct from Japan after a crazy cheese course that included a decadent triple cream (!) Brie after shabu shabu last night.

Like most things Japanese, the packaging for these chocolates made from the milk of Hokkaido cows is impeccable. When you make your purchase in stores, they provide you with ice packs to keep the chocolate fresh and the box comes with its own mini serving utensil - completely necessary since the moisture content of these chocolates is so high and therefore super-melty.

I had 2 pieces and they were over-the-top!

Chocolate and Roses

2011-02-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

What is it about chocolate and romance that it makes such a wonderful combination? In the last couple weeks I've collected several recipes for tempting chocolate treats and decided to give this one I found over at Desserts for Breakfast a try. I've had a bottle of rosewater in my pantry for ever so these double chocolate espresso pound cakes with rose-scented cream cheese frosting were just the excuse I needed to finally open the bottle!

The recipe as written called for 30-40 minutes baking time - I left them in for 35 but they came out rather dry so I'm thinking of cutting the time down to 25 the next time around. I also couldn't find black cocoa at my local grocer so they didn't come out as rich and dark as Steph's.

Here's my attempt - amateur frosting technique or lack thereof - and all. I'm bringing them for dessert to S&W's where I've been invited for shabu shabu tonight:

And here's Steph's gorgeous cakes which inspired my efforts this weekend:

Photo via Desserts for Breakfast

The Calendar Necklace

2011-02-10T22:16:00.001-05:00

Love dalla nonna's signature Calendar Necklace, available in silver, rose gold, yellow gold and white gold with your choice of 7 different sapphires. I so want.

Super Easy Turkey Chili

2011-02-06T19:48:00.000-05:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday and while I don't care about the football - I never learned the rules of the game so a bunch of guys running around a field in tight pants and protective gear has no appeal - I do like the excuse to make a hearty chili.

I wanted something healthy so I used lean ground turkey and skipped the salt, save for whatever sodium was in my canned beans and it turned out rather yummy if I do say so myself. If you want a spicier kick, I'd add a diced up jalepeno or two - I personally prefer that my chili give me a friendly nudge.

Ingredients
1 kg of ground turkey
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp oregano
vegetable oil
1 red onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can of unsalted diced tomatoes
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of white kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of whole kernel corn, rinsed

Directions
1. Brown and drain the ground turkey. Set aside in a bowl and add the cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika and oregano.
2. Coat the bottom of a large pot with vegetable oil and toss in the onions and garlic to brown.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
4. Add the turkey, beans and corn. Stir and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

This makes enough for 6-8 people, depending on the serving size. I've got plenty left over so I'll be refrigerating some for a lunch and dinner later through the week, and freezing the rest for a particularly lazy day. Enjoy!

Fabio Rex

2011-02-05T16:51:00.001-05:00

Came across these gorgeous graphic cocktail recipes by Brazilian illustrator Fabio Rex via Gizmodo.

This led me to his flickr stream and that's where I came across his collection of Chinese Zodiac illustrations. Adorable, right? That's me, the dragon - while I was born the year of the Fire Dragon, the dominant element according to my birth chart is wood, as depicted here. LOVE!

I like 'em big

2011-02-02T00:44:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the Roots website and that's when I met Olivia here, a gorgeous brown leather satchel. It's not like I need another bag - I bought 2 on my last vacation, both on the large size of the spectrum. Technically I'm not allowed to buy it because I'm on a spending fast, but does it count if I redeem for gift cards with my Air Miles??

So. Tempting.

Alright, I'm on-side

2011-01-23T19:52:00.000-05:00

I had quinoa the first time in Peru over 3 years ago - maybe it was the grain-y texture or the flavours with which it was prepared by our porters on the Inca Trail but whatever it was, I was not a fan.

But, I thought I'd give it another chance since I need to add some variety to my clean eating diet. Much as I enjoy my roasted sweet potato bean salad, it was certain to get old day in and day out as a healthy snack in lieu of my apple in the afternoon.*

So, I spent some time last night on my go-to site for recipes, Epicurious and made this one, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, tonight. I tweaked it a bit, skipping the jalepenos and the cumin (eww!) altogether, added lime zest to the dressing and replaced the green peppers with red. And let me tell you, it was yummy! I'm now converted to quinoa and am so glad because it's so good for you.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) though technically not a grain, has been touted a supergrain because it's high in fiber, a good source of iron, an unusually high protein source for a plant food and has all eight of the essential amino acids. Pretty awesome right?

Anyway, I'm rather pleased with myself for coming around on quinoa, just as I came around on couscous. Before I went to Morocco, I thought I didn't like couscous either but I gave it another chance and it did not disappoint - unlike asparagus. Asparagus has failed me each time I've given it a go to change my mind and I've since decided that it's dead to me. That's right, asparagus, you're dead to me!

I have my eye on Quinoa 365, a very well reviewed cookbook filled with quinoa recipes but I'm going to give some of my saved recipes a try before committing to the purchase.

* I'm trying to cut fruits and dairy from my diet - at least during the week. I had a chat with my trainer about my progress and while I'm getting stronger every day, I'm not seeing the obvious changes in my body like I did in the early days. We've figured out the training side of the equation so the other side is my diet, hence the effort to cut fructose and lactose from my diet.

Psst!

2011-01-23T14:12:00.000-05:00

I booked myself an afternoon at the spa next Saturday and you might be wondering why I did when I'm supposed to be on a spending fast. Well, given the explosion of group-buying deal-a-day sites - Groupon and Living Social being the biggest - I accumulated quite a few spa package coupons last year that I haven't yet redeemed, and this spa afternoon is one of those redemptions. An aroma facial, hot stone massage, hand paraffin treatment and the choice of a manicure or pedicure - all for $39(!) Crazy right?

Anyway, my inbox got pretty full on a daily basis from all the deal sites I had signed up for and the clutter was distracting - until a friend told me about dealradar.com - so now I'm telling you. It's a service which consolidates all the daily deals into one email. There's good coverage of the major Canadian cities including Toronto (bien sur), Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa and Winnipeg; coverage of a few cities in Great Britain and Australia and about 70 cities in the U.S.

If you're into deals and want a more effective and efficient way of managing them, subscribe to their free daily email.*

* For the record, I'm in no way affiliated with the site.

Tis the Season

2011-01-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

Yup, that time of year is just around the corner. For my sister and friends who work in financial services, it's the dreaded crazy-stupid busy period in the lead up to the February 28 deadline to make last-minute contributions to your RRSPs in time for the 2010 tax year.

Now, I wouldn't normally write about RRSPs since I've never particularly been interested in investing - at least in financial instruments. A statement bag? Yup. A diamond pendant or the go-girl right-hand ring? Sure. But those are all pretty "investments" that are tangible and that I can wear on my person. A stock or mutual fund? Where's the fun in that?

Seriously though, I came across this headline in the Star today - Fewer Canadians 18 to 34 have RRSPs, bank poll finds - and for some reason, clicked through. Seems only 39% of my contemporaries today have an RRSP compared to 62% who said they did 5 years ago. The main reasons cited for not investing include the desire to reduce debt, save for a rainy day, or home ownership. On that last point, I have to say that one of the key reasons I'm a homeowner today is because I invested in an RRSP just about as soon as I started working full-time and was eligible to take part in a company-sponsored plan: I "paid" myself first by having a percentage of my pay cheque automatically deducted and invested into an RRSP and maxed out on any employer matching programs offered. On the former, I'm not tempted to spend the money on stuff I don't need and on the latter, any funds matched are "free" money to me. And who doesn't want free money? I then took advantage of the Government of Canada's Home Buyers' Plan and withdrew funds tax-free from my RRSP to help pay for the down payment on my condo.

Interestingly enough, the year-end statement for my employer-sponsored plan arrived today and frankly, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much I've socked away because I honestly don't think about the biweekly deposits I make into this plan. The best is seeing all that "free" money in matched contributions - a sweet 16% of my porftolio is made up of these funds!

So, if I can share any investing advice with you, it will be as I advised my brother when he first started work: make sure you participate in your company-sponsored RRSP and take advantage of any employer matching programs offered. Some company's match a percentage point for every year of service, i.e. if you've worked 1 year, they'll match up to the first 1% of your contribution so the 2% of your salary that you've contributed is now actually 3%. In real numbers, assuming you make $50K a year, the $1000 you've put away in your RRSP is now $1500 - that's $500 "free." I'm not even going to get into the benefits of compounding interest and the potential of lower weighted-average costs of investment.

Even if you don't work for a company with these benefits, open up an RRSP account. There are so many resources online to help you with that and if you're nervous about doing it on your own, get some help and visit your local branch. Despite what 50% of Americans think, you're probably not going to retire from the lottery so be responsible about your future.

Spineless Classics

2011-01-18T18:38:00.001-05:00

I discovered Spineless Classics thanks to Kelly over at Jax Does Design today and am so thankful I did because they're the perfect trifecta of typography, literature and art all in one. I dropped them a quick email and got a perfectly lovely and prompt response from Carl who confirmed that they do indeed ship to Canada! YAY!! If only I wasn't on a spending fast!

I'd love to get either Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Wind in the Willows for my Piglet.

For me, if push came to shove and I had to pick one, it'd be Pride & Prejudice - I love the romance of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

GG Hits & Misses

2011-01-16T23:40:00.002-05:00

Did you watch the Golden Globes? What did you think of Ricky Gervais? I thought he was fantastic! He was so bracingly sharp, which made for a very interesting show since I really only ever watch awards shows for the fashions. On that note, as ever is the case, there were hits and misses on the catwalk that is the red carpet so here's my quick rundown before I hit the sack.

First up, the misses: Angelina Jolie in an awesome colour but ugly, ugly (yes it needs to be repeated) dress and lank, blah hair; Emma Stone who's so pretty but looks at one with her dress; Sandra Bullock who also looks like the same colour as her dress with the unflattering thick fringe; and Christina Aguleira - what happened to her? She used to be so cute!

My hits include 2 ladies in black - Olivia Wilde in this gorgeous, sparkly, princess-y Marchesa ballgown (I hate her boring hair though) and Eva Longoria in this restrained and streamlined Zac Posen that reads like a super-fem tuxedo-dress to me.

And 2 ladies in blue: Jenna Ushkowitz in I-don't-know-who but she's perfect and I love her hair and make-up; and Amy Adams in a Marchesa gown with laser-cut details.
This Versace on January Jones - I wasn't keen on it when I first saw it. But, it grew on me and I've come to admire it's amazing fringe construction.

And my all-time favourite of the night was Kyra Sedgwick in this juicy orange Emilio Pucci - the way she's accessorized it with the turquoise drop earrings and the multiple gold bangles is perfection. And if you watched the candid bits of the telecast, you would have seen how sweet she and Kevin Bacon were. I love them as a couple!

That's all. G'night folks!

Photos via People and Us Weekly.

Golden Globe Sunday

2011-01-16T17:25:00.000-05:00

How was your Sunday? Did you get up to much? The sun shone brightly outside and while I would normally head out to the market for my fresh groceries, I'd already taken care of that the day before so I was able to spend the day in my PJs.

I spent much of the day industriously preparing my meals for the week so I can veg out in front of the TV to watch the Golden Globes uninterrupted by chores. I made my everyday lunches for the week of the usual chicken breast with bell peppers and broccoli, hardboiled a dozen eggs and whipped up another batch of roasted sweet potato succotash to snack on during the week. There's a load of laundry waiting to be washed and a couple of delicate, beaded Ts and a merino wool sweater in my sink.

1.5hrs more to kill before the pre-show fashion runway begins...!

Home-made Protein Bars

2011-01-15T02:10:00.004-05:00

I got this recipe for home-made protein bars from my trainer before the holidays and finally decided to give it a try. I made a number of tweaks to the recipe, including steel-cut oats instead of the rolled oats the recipe called for which made for a harder chew; rather than prepping yogurt cheese, I mashed up a banana and mixed it with a couple eggs; I used 1 tsp of nutmeg (only because I mistook it for the cinnamon) and because I didn't have a 9"x13" pan, I used an 8" round pan.

The bars - or slices in my case - turned out quite well, despite my not following the last directions precisely because of the late hour.

Not only are these healthy for you, but because of chocolate, they smell awesome when they're baking - you can totally trick yourself into thinking there are chocolate cookies in the oven!

Ingredients
1 cup whey protein powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup Agave nectar or honey
1 cup dark chocolate
1 1/2 cup yogurt cheese
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp extra virgin oil
1 tsp vanilla
cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and the honey.
3. Stir in the broken pieces of chocolate
4. In another bowl, mix the yogurt cheese, oils and vanilla.
5. Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and use clean bare hands to combine these well. Coat hands in olive oil to help prevent sticking.
6. Place mixture in pan and press down evenly.
7. Bake on middle rack in oven for 15 minutes.
8. Let cool and cut dough into bars.
9. Place bars on a Silpat-lined cookie sheet and bake for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and transfer to wire cooling rack.
Makes 20 to 24.

Anthropologie Wish List

2011-01-13T23:24:00.001-05:00

I received Anthropologie's latest catalogue in the mail today and was struck by their cover product - the gorgeous Daily Brights Satchel in blue below. Look at that lining of zebra AND leopard - never mind how functional it is on the inside!

A quick flip through the catalogue and that's when I discovered their Filgreed Chestnut Tote which I MUST HAVE. Except that I'm on a spending fast. Yep. A spending fast. So all I can do is stare at it longingly...I wish I could feel the texture. So beautiful.

Oh and I've got my eye on these too...Damn spending fast!

Swept Swag Sweatshirt, Mainstay Tunic, Morning Mists Top, Emerald Wicklow Dress

Pretty Bluebellgray

2011-01-12T22:55:00.001-05:00

Tell me these aren't the prettiest, girliest cushions you've seen in awhile. I dare you. You can't, can you?
I was catching up on my reader and happened upon them via a sneak peek on Design*Sponge of Fiona Douglas' home, the artist/designer behind Bluebellgray. Check out her lovely wares below in situ.

Seriously.
Just lovely.

Photos via Design*Sponge

Bed Refresh

2011-01-10T00:23:00.000-05:00

I switched out the throw/blanket at the end of my bed today, replacing the fuschia/gold paisley shawl I bought in Little India with the cactus silk/wool blend waterfall blanket I bought in Fez:

What do you think? Methinks they're a better complement to the Orla Kiely pillow cases.

Weekend Update

2011-01-10T00:18:00.000-05:00

How was your weekend? Mine was quite nice - I spent the day catching up with wL. We took in a musical together yesterday at the Canon Theatre: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I was drawn to it because of Chilina Kennedy, the female lead, who I'd last seen in the Stratford Festival's production of West Side Story which played to rave reviews - and she really was a stand-out because I don't normally remember details like actors in the shows.

Quick review: the show was funny - literally laugh-out-loud funny - and the performances were all very good, although I was a little disappointed that Kennedy's role was so small - but that's a function of the story. Check it out quick if you're so inclined as its current run ends a week today on January 16th.

We went to Campagnolo for dinner afterwards and had a great meal. The cocktail list was creative and the menu was short (which is how I prefer it), and printed daily in order to take advantage of fresh ingredients and stem boredom in the kitchen. We had 2 appetizers: fresh burrata cheese on a crostini with roasted grapes which creamy goodness and braised rabbit with rapini and pine nuts which was also rather tasty. I can't remember when I last had rabbit or what it tasted like, but this was perfectly braised and tender. For our mains, we had fresh whole grilled sea bream and the chef's specialty: ragoût of wild boar, spare rib and tripe on polenta. The sea bream was perfectly grilled and while some people are put off by fish that looks like fish with head and tail on, it doesn't faze me at all because that's how Chinese serve their fish. On the chef's signature which is his nonna's recipe - I found it too salty for my taste, otherwise, the boar, spare rib and tripe were tender (although there was only 1 piece of the latter to be found in our dish.) (Apologies for being a bad blogger and not taking photos of the mains...I was distracted by the conversation.)

My Sunday was pretty low-key. I slept in (again) until 11am (YES!) and puttered around before heading out to pick up groceries in Chinatown. I vegged about for a bit and proceeded to prep my meals for the week: my Monday through Thursday lunch of grilled chicken, fresh broccoli and bell peppers, and a roasted sweet potato, corn and black bean succotash to serve as a good carb to snack on through the week and to accompany a few dinners, including the salmon steak I had tonight. Slowly getting back to a routine...

Parade

2011-01-08T00:49:00.000-05:00

I went to my first Meetup in Toronto tonight and saw Parade, a musical based on the true crime story set in 1913 Atlanta of Leo Frank, a Jewish supervisor from "up North" Brooklyn who's accused of murdering Mary Phagan, a 13 year old white factory employee. The trial was sensationalized by the media, resulting in Frank's conviction in the eyes of the public. Despite conflicting statements from eyewitnesses, including the black janitor who was coaxed to confess that he had helped hide Mary's body, and the lack of physical evidence connecting Frank to the murder, the all-white jurors convicted Frank and sentenced him to death.

Leo Frank

Appeals by Frank's lawyers were denied all the way to the US Supreme Court, but he was finally granted a reprieve by the outgoing Governor of Georgia who, after a detailed review of the evidence and testimony, decided that Frank had not been granted a fair trial. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison, where Frank was kidnapped by a lynching party who took him to Mary's hometown of Marietta, Georgia and hanged him from an oak tree.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I see the word musical, I think upbeat stories with happy endings which this clearly is not - this intrigued me enough to go see it. And I'm glad I did because it was quite good although I was a little bothered by the music - the lyrics and melody were fine but the accompanying music didn't fit at times.

Mary Phagan

On the company - the cast was generally solid with some standouts although one for the wrong reason - Micheal Therriault, the actor who played Leo Frank was very familiar to me and I realized afterwards it was because I recognized him from his role as Leopold Bloom in The Producers - I really enjoyed his number called Come Up to My Office during one of the trial scenes. Daren A. Herbert who played the dual roles of the night watchman and janitor had a great tenor and I loved his rough bravado in character as the sometime convict-janitor. Jay Turvey was another favourite as the Governor and reporter. Amongst the actresses, I liked Alana Hibbert who played the maid and Jessica Greenberg who was the tragic Mary rather adorably. On the flip side, Tracy Michailidis who played Frank's wife didn't seem to have a strong enough voice to project throughout the small theatre. I was a bit distracted by how it seemed like she had to strain to make herself heard and finally there was Jeff Irving who, though he had a fine voice, over-acted to the point of annoyance.

In the final analysis, it was a fun way to spend a Friday night: I saw some interesting theatre, met some new people and am looking forward to attending the next meetup - of which there are already 31 to choose from, over a third of them in the next 2 months! Fun times ahead!

If you're interested in checking Parade out for yourself, it's on at the Berkeley Street Theatre until January 22.

Hungover Panda

2011-01-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

The cuteness of this shot is unbearable.

Photo by LongShotAlpha via Disgrasian

The Shadow of the Wind

2011-01-03T00:45:00.000-05:00

I just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and wow. Wow.
I first heard about it earlier this year from my VP at work who was reading The Angel's Game, Zafon's follow-up title. He'd read The Shadow of the Wind and had recommended it so I finally got around to ordering it online just before the holidays. SO GOOD.

I must admit that like The Winter Vault, it took me awhile to get into it but about 150 pages into this 486 page tome, it really picked up and I was hooked from then on. The book has everything: a tragic hero, a murderous villain, a femme fatale, loyalty, forever love, madness and war, all set in Barcelona, one my favourite cities in the world. There were 2 unexpected twists, the first of which was literally a jaw-dropping revelation and I promise you that if you're patient, you won't be disappointed.

One of my favourite phrases is this: "...a story is a letter the author writes to himself, to tell himself things that he would be unable to discover otherwise." This is precisely why in times of great confusion or frustration I turn to writing my thoughts down in an attempt to reach some form of understanding - letters to myself. I've stopped doing that - partly because my life hasn't seen much in the way of major upheavals, but I do feel that I need to get back in touch with myself again. Hence the resolution to blog more - whether I decide to publish them in the end is besides the point.

From the back cover:
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entilted The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets - an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

One year later...

2011-01-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

I spent much of this very day last year cleaning and organizing my desk of the various clutter I had accumulated over the years and moved from my childhood into my very own first home. At the time, I made a resolution of sorts to keep it neat through the year and I'm proud to say that I have, as the photo below attests:

I spent many an evening, early morning and weekend last year working from home at this very desk. In hindsight now, I'm going to add one more resolution to my list: Work less.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

2010-12-31T18:18:00.000-05:00

Photo by Candice Stringham

It's New Year's Eve 2010 and I'm sitting here reflecting on the past year. My first thought is, where did it go? This year came and went so fast.

On the professional front, I worked my butt off and it looks like I'm beginning to reap the benefits: I received a completely unexpected Christmas bonus which is incremental to the usual annual bonus paid out in February, and when I get back to work in the new year, I'll start real discussions about my new role on the team. It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds...I'm still a little fuzzy about where I want to be beyond the next year, but one step at a time.

On the personal front, it's a bit mixed: Fitness-wise, I've never felt stronger than I do now - at my last body composition assessment, I was down to 23% body fat which is huge considering where I started. Truth be told, I worry that my arms and shoulders are bordering on butch - but my trainer insists that it's not possible for me to butch up like a she-male. I've still got a ways to go to get to my ideal toned shape but when I was able to fit into my skinny jeans - the jeans I haven't been able to button up for 5+ years? - Miranda's confidence and elation in that Sex and the City scene where she slips on her No Excuses skinny jeans immediately springs to mind!

My sister (finally!) married her baby-daddy - :) - and my dearest adorable Piglet turned 3!

I went on a fantastic 2-week Gap Adventure to Morocco, the photos of which I've only just recently begun to edit and hope to post in the next few days. Suffice to say that it was beyond my expectations. It's a beautiful country of various landscapes and generous, welcoming people.

I followed up Morocco with a one-week stopover in London to visit with my favourite cousin, A. She always inspires me to be more open to the magic that is the universe.

Now, I'm generally very rational and pragmatic and not given to the "airy-fairy" intangibles of manifestations and such, but I've decided that I'm going to give it a try in 2011. I was resolutely single-minded in my singledom but that's going to change in the new year. I've come to realize this past year that while I've been content to be alone, it can be rather lonely. Life is sweeter when there's someone to share it with and somewhere along the way, I seem to have given up on that dream/goal. So how am I going to make this happen? First and foremost I'm going to have to work on my attitude: dating, which I've always dreaded is supposed to be fun! I'll try and keep you posted on how this goes!

Segue to resolutions - which I generally don't like making but here they are:
1. Date and have fun doing it!
2. Watch less TV
3. Read more
4. Spend less
5. Blog more
6. Be open to possibilities!

On that note, I leave you with this video of "Happiness" by Alexis Jordan. A played this song every morning for the week I was in London and I love this lyric:

Through strength I found love, in time I found myself in happiness with you.

Wishing you much love, health and prosperity in 2011!

Holiday Alphabet Mugs

2010-12-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Remember the Alphabet Mugs I picked up early last November? For the last few years I've baked cookies for friends and this year, I packaged them up in personalized mugs with mini ornaments picked up at my local Dollarama(!!):

In addition to my usual soft and chewy Old-fashioned Molasses Cookies from one of Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookie Specials and Brown Sugar Shortbread from Mrs. Field's Cookie Book, I baked a batch of Chocolate Chip Surprises which I tweaked with a Hershey's Chocolate Mint Truffle and my new favourite, Pikkuleivat, aka Cardamom Sugar Cookies which were both Star Kitchen-Tested. None of their recipes have yet failed me - granted, I've only ever tried 3, including my all-time favourite carrot cake recipe that's yellowed with age.

Boxing Week Sales

2010-12-29T01:28:00.002-05:00

How was your Christmas? Mine was rather restful. I spent an extra-extra-long weekend at my mom's and filled myself with all sorts of goodies like cookies, dim sum, turkey, prime rib and roast potatoes. All kinds of bad during my current burn phase of training but it's the holidays! Down with protein days!!

After the damage I'd done to my wallet while on vacation, I had no intention of shopping the annual Boxing Week sales, let alone braving the malls on the actual day. But my brother's girlfriend wanted my help in finding a nice wool coat so I woke up bright and early Sunday to make it for the 8am opening at Fairview Mall - no way was I going later to drive circles around the parking lot looking for a spot.

We found her a coat at Aritzia, this T.Babaton Military Coat with shiny buttons that looks really cute on, and me, I picked up 2 blazers at only 10% of :( - the Wilfred satin crepe shawl blazer and a grey wool Talula blazer which I already have in black. Neither of which I was really looking for, but both look great with skinny jeans, which I've come to love of late.

Once I started, I couldn't really stop. I hopped online to check out the sales at Chapters/Indigo and picked up a bunch of holiday stuff at 50-75% off - mostly candles and reed diffusers plus a couple of books.
And today, while out to get 2 of my Axxium french manicured nails re-done because the polish had chipped off far too soon, I picked up Christmas ornaments at Urban Barn that were 3 for the price of 1 in sparkly/iridescent shades of purple, brown and white:

Now I just need to get a skinny condo-sized tree for next year!

Mast Brothers

2010-12-28T23:22:00.004-05:00

S&W went to NYC before Christmas and came back with a Pecan and Maple Dark Chocolate bar made by Mast Brothers Chocolate in Brooklyn. My first impression: adorable packaging. Check it out below:

Each bar is hand-wrapped in gorgeous patterned papers. And the taste? My bar was crazy dark chocolate with whole pecans and none of the sweetness I would have expected from the maple, but oh so good! I wish I had a glass of red wine to go with it!

Here's a video W sent me of their artisanal bean-to-bar process:

Mast Brothers from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.

Gettin' in the mood

2010-12-08T21:33:00.003-05:00

I arrived home from London Saturday evening in time for a home cooked dinner at my mim's and since then, have done 4 loads of laundry in 3 days - the first 2 the very night I returned and am slowly getting back into the rhythm of life.
One of the first things I did was trim my little tree:

The next thing on my festive to-do list is decide what cookie(s) to bake.
But before that, I've got to clean and get organized. My place is a mess and it's stressing me out!!!!

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Gallery walls

2010-12-02T17:49:00.002-05:00

These 2 gallery walls caught my eye today - a shoe shop in Covent Garden:

And in Liberty:

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London Days 4 & 5

2010-12-02T17:38:00.003-05:00

Coming up on my last days in London Town. I saw Wicked for the second time yesterday and Billy Elliot today. I love the theatre scene here. I stopped at Leicester Square both days to visit the half price ticket booths and came away with fantastic tix in the stalls, aka orchestra level for £42 - which is ~$72 and still cheaper then the seats would have been at home.

Dinner last night was with a small group of family and friends at Suze Wine Bar where there was great conversation over lively libations. Witness the many glasses on our table:

I spent the morning in Covent Garden and stopped in the Museum of Transport where I was a total nerd and picked up a towel of a map of the London Underground along with a poster.
After the musical, I made my pilgrimage to Liberty for a proper browse. Look how lovely it is at night:

The fourth floor was decked out for Christmas and of course, I had to take a photo of their selection of purple ornaments.

I know thus is totally lame but I couldn't leave without a purple Liberty bag so what did I do but buy a canvas Liberty tote, a tea towel and a Lisa Stickley makeup bag.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the shops in Knightsbridge as I promised to return with the Harrods Christmas Bear for WL.
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Fav buy...

2010-12-01T19:09:00.002-05:00

I found this "bag in bag" in a shop on Carnaby St. and it's my new favorite thing because it just makes total sense since I carry big-ass bags that things can get lost in.

I bought this bag from Karen Millen today after sleeping on it for the last 3 nights and look how fab my little organizer is:

Now I can find my camera without digging around and my London A-Z and copy of John Armstrong's Conditions of Love are in one place. Love love love!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

London Day 3

2010-11-30T05:33:00.003-05:00

It's the start of my 3rd full day here and it's cold and snowy! Something's wrong when Toronto's forecasted to be 10 C and the UK is in a "deep freeze" with "arctic conditions." I'm going to have to shop for warm jumpers today because I packed for temps in the high single digits.
My first purchase here was a wool/cashmere jacket Sunday from Reiss in a biscuit colour. I knew I had to have it as soon as I put it on.
Yesterday was all about shoes and boots - 3 of which were from Clarks which is so different in the UK! The heels and boots are stylish AND comfortable! I bought the middle pair below in black and the bottom pair as shown, along with a pair of boots. I've always thought of myself as more of a bag lady then a shoe girl but it seems my shoe addiction only manifests in London. No more shoes though!

My mission today is to find an outfit for the "From Russia with Love" theme party I'm going to on Friday. What that means I'm not quite sure but I figure I'll know it when I see it.
Apart from the shopping which has been great, I've been very impressed with the decor in the cafe/restos here. I'm sitting in a high-style juice and sandwich bar(!) called Joe and the Juice taking advantage of the free wifi and wishing there was a cool space like this back home.

Isn't this just so inviting? I don't want to leave but I've been here 1.5hrs and should probably get a move on...

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In London

2010-11-28T07:07:00.002-05:00

My flight arrived 30 min early from Casablanca via Madrid yesterday and by the time I cleared passport control, my checked bag had arrived and was set aside off the carousel - no waiting!
I made my way to the trains and took the Paddington Express and then the tube to my cousin's flat in the East end of the city. Here's the view from her balcony this cool and bright Sunday:

We stayed up until 3am catching up and watching videos before I had to turn in and though we got up at 9am (which is sleeping in for me since I was awoken everyday in Morocco by the first call to prayer) I'm feeling very chill and well-rested.
We had scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast and have been lazing around listening to Noddy Holder's Best Christmas Songs Ever! Top 50. There's a tube strike tonight so if we're to head out, we've got to do so and return before the tube stops running at 7pm. So maybe a movie...I'll brave the shops tomorrow when people are back at work.
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The food stalls in Djemaa el-Fna

2010-11-24T16:54:00.001-05:00

Just came back from a quick jaunt to the square - time enough to try some snails, 5 dirhams for a small bowl...

...and to pick up a sweetener in the freshest dried apricots I've ever had. Ever. I'm going to go back tomorrow night with my ziplock bags so I can bring them home...assuming they last the week in London.

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In Marrakech....

2010-11-24T15:46:00.001-05:00

Wow. It's Day 12(?) of my 2 week Gap Adventure in Morocco and this trip has exceeded my expectations, though I didn't know what really to expect. Highlight so far has been doing cartwheels in the Sahara and sleeping under the starry desert skies (despite the cold!!)
Pics to come once I've had a chance to upload them to a computer and edit them.
This is the first hotel with free wi-fi so I'm sitting in the lobby with football on the tv taking advantage after my long internet drought. We're steps from the Djemaa el-Fna, the main square where the snack charmers have since packed up for the day and the food stalls, belly dancers and storytellers have set up, and literally across the street
from the Koutoubia with its iconic minaret. (Apologies for the crap photo.)

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One more sleep....

2010-11-11T01:21:00.000-05:00

I've spent the last 3 hours packing for my 3 weeks away and I'm mostly done. There's the usual last minute packing of the toiletries and various sundry items the day of but my clothes - pseudo-planned outfits(!) - flats and comfy birks for walking are tucked away in my suitcase.

I spent some time stressing about what book(s) to bring on this trip...in the end I settled on a new read - Jen Sookfong Lee's The End of East (gotta support the CBC sista!), and 2 titles I'd consider among my all-time favorites which I've already re-read in the past: John Armstrong's Conditions of Love and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. All 3 titles are fairly slim - the last thing I want is to be lugging heavy books from Canada to Europe to North Africa and back again. Been there, done that, except for the North Africa part. A girl's got to leave room for the shopping, right?

In about 17 hours, I'll be sitting on a plane for a well-deserved break. My Gap Adventure doesn't start until Saturday so I'll have 1.5 days alone in Casablanca, a prospect which makes me rather nervous. I'm sure I'll be fine but I've never been completely alone like that in a foreign country. I like to consider myself fairly well-travelled but despite often flying solo, I'm usually meeting someone on the other end so this will certainly be a novel experience.

The tour doesn't cover Casablanca at all so I've got my trusty Rough Guide to keep me company as I explore the city's Art Deco architecture and visit the Hassan II Mosque with its 689' minaret, the tallest structure in Morocco and the tallest minaret in the world.

It'll be good and I'll be fine. I just have to keep repeating that to myself.

Now, to sleep.

Birds!

2010-11-04T21:34:00.000-04:00

Went to West Elm before the gym tonight and picked up the owl and the paper mache bird with my 20% off Friends & Family Card:

Cute right??

I also saw these Alphabet Mugs but didn't need any more mugs of my own. While I was doing my requisite post-training cardio, I had a brainstorm and rushed back to West Elm just as they were closing the doors for the evening but they let me in since I knew exactly what I wanted and managed to cash out before customers that were there before I arrived finished their purchases.

Covetable Covers

2010-10-29T21:56:00.000-04:00

Stopped by my local Chapters this week and stumbled upon these cool covers for classics. If I had a million dollars and a place big enough to house all my books, I'd be all over these. Which reminds me! I forgot to buy a LottoMax ticket tonight! CRAP! The jackpot was $50MM with 11 Maxamillions too!

The Winter Vault

2010-10-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

I finally finished Anne Michaels' The Winter Vault last night. Like her debut novel, Fugitive Pieces, The Winter Vault was slow to start, but her writing is as I remember it - brilliantly lyrical.

There were so many phrases and scenes that I wish I could commit to memory forever but that's never been my skill. Do you know someone like that? A someone who remembers specific lines from movies or books and is able to recall them to quote at will in a conversation? Ya, I'm not that person.

Anyway - one of my favourites in the book is a description of a dining area surrounded by books and the conversations that would take place around the table at mealtime:

After the war, my mother and I moved back to London, said Avery. We had a tiny flat and our kitchen table - my father's huge wooden worktable where we ate all our meals - was in an alcove, surrounded by four walls of books. Without getting out of our chairs, we could simply reach behind us and, yes, pluck! the appropriate book off a shelf. That was my father's idea, so that there would always be active discussions at meals, and so that I or any guest could find a reference in a trice. My father loved to call out directions from his end of the table like a mad navigator on a small boat: 'A bit more to the right, nine o'clock please, forty-five degrees left...' Over the years, certain thick or oversized volumes became landmarks which we steered: "The grey cover two inches to the right of The Child's New Illustrated Encyclopedia ("new" about forty years previous), below One Thousand and One Wonderful Things; about ten inches above Engines and Power...' And when the book was retrieved successfully from the shelf, my father would let out a sigh, as if just the right unreachable itch had been scratched.

I mean, isn't that fantastic??? I would love to sit at just such a dining table with the possibility of many a lively informed conversation.

I will admit that the back-half of the book was a little frustrating for me because of our heroine Jean's relationship with Lucjan, but after coming to the description of the winter vaults, where the dead wait for burial because the ground is too frozen for the digging of graves, I got the very bittersweet symbolism of their relationship.

From the cover:

...In 1964, a newly married Canadian couple settles into a Nile River houseboat moored below the towering figures of Abu Simbel. Avery is one of the engineers responsible for moving the temple above the rapidly rising waters of the Aswan Dam. At the edge of a world about to be lost foreever, Avery and Jean suffer a tragedy of their own and return to Toronto to begin separate lives. There, Jean meets Lucjan, a Polish artist whose haunting stories of his shattered childhood in occupied Warsaw touch her profoundly and lead her in time to a way of forgiveness. The Winter Vault is a novel about how we are able to salvage what we can from the violence of life in our search for a place we can call home. Vivid, sensuous, compassionate, it reveals the inescapability of the past, the devesation of loss, and the restorative powers of love...

iPhone4!!!

2010-10-17T15:05:00.003-04:00

My iPhone 4 finally arrived on Wednesday, about a week earlier than expected from Apple. I had ordered it online Sep 18 because I refused to queue for it and when the email notice of its delivery hit my inbox on Monday, I took advantage of FedEx's tracking capability and eagerly anticipated its arrival.

I've had it now for 4 nights and can I tell you what a time suck it is? I've spent WAY too much time browsing apps and downloading them but OMG so much fun! I'm so happy with this purchase, part of it funded by birthday money from my siblings.

I downloaded a wack of games this afternoon after finishing Airport Mania. What to play next...?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Skincare in your 30s

2010-10-12T22:51:00.000-04:00

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was on TV last night and you know how Kate Hudson's character, Andie Anderson works at a women's magazine called Composure? There's that scene early in the movie when they're having an editorial meeting brainstorming ideas which, if you've read a women's magazine, you'll know that the ideas aren't really all that creative or new. Women's magazines were amongst the first to go green because they recycle stories like nobody's business (speaking of nobody' business, where did this expression come from?) Anyway, this is my poor effort to segue to the many skincare by decade articles I've seen through my many years of magazine reading. The most recent iteration was in Fashion Magazine's October Issue:

30s: PUT ON THE BRAKES
File under "The crucial decade for slowing down your skin's aging." Keep slathering on the sunscreen and use a moisturizer packed with vitamin C or glycolic acid to even out skin tone...Think of your neck and decolletage as part of your face and apply sunscreen and moisturizer there daily. "Women take great care of their facial skin but forget about the neck, which can brown and wrinkle with age..."

I already use sunscreen every day. SPF 50+ no less! But what struck me most was that last sentence which made me think of Susan Hay, a veteran broadcaster on Global News who is, without question, a beautiful woman. However, I can't help but notice of late the aging that is showing in her neck:

So I thought to myself: OK, gotta start taking care and begin to moisturize beyond my face. So I moisturized and what happens? I break out with 3 white heads! NOT COOL! So screw it. Skincare is not one size fits all. We'll revisit again next year. My neck is fine, at least for now.

London Wishlist

2010-10-10T23:29:00.000-04:00

In 7 weeks I'll be in London, one of my favourite cities in the world, and also the city in which my favourite cousin resides. London is also one of my favourite cities for shopping, and in advance of every visit, I like to browse and daydream about all the beautiful goodies that I may come home with. So here's my current wishlist, which is by no means complete...

London 2010 Wish List by phoenixc featuring a corsage dress

Ziggy Dress
55 GBP - monsoon.co.uk
Monsoon dress »

Jametz Dress
160 GBP - monsoon.co.uk
Corsage dress »

Baby signature leather metal work bag
165 GBP - karenmillen.com
Tweed dress »

Coast Stores - Some Like It Hot - TALLULA JACKET
140 GBP - coast-stores.com

Cath Kidston - Provence rose IPhone case
25 GBP - cathkidston.co.uk

Monsoon Accessorize - Small Bird Trinket Box
12 GBP - monsoon.co.uk

Slim Travel Wallet, Damson Collection: View All
smythson.com

What I really really really want though, is Orla Kiely's Quilted Patent Ivy Bag in Violet. The Tafetta Sleeveless Dress is pretty cute too.

Etsy Finds

2010-10-10T21:26:00.001-04:00

I was browsing through the latest issue of Lonny when the blues and purples of this watercolour by Silver Ridge Studio on Etsy caught my eye. So this led to over an hour of browsing, much of it spent in the "letterpress" shop where I unearthed some great new finds including Dutch Door Press' Birds and Blooms of the 50 States series. Gorgeous, right? I would LOVE to collect them all!

Enormous Champion's Keys Silver / Gold reminds me of Tiffany's Keys Collection - many of which I covet - and Albertine Press' Chronology was another that caught my eye...the old-school clock faces remind me of that scene at the train station in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. You remember the big clock? Love too, Einstein's quote.

This Little Piggy by Ink Petals reminds me of my adorable Piglet.

Lark Press' Topography of a Bird is what I ended up getting for myself - I figured this is the perfect reference for a bird-obsessed chick like me.

New at West Elm...

2010-10-08T20:53:00.002-04:00

I was prompted by Cherish Toronto's recent post to visit West Elm's website and was thrilled by what I found. If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I have a thing for birds and they're most-definitely well-represented this season. Here are my favourites:

On the furniture and lighting side of the equation, I've got my eye on these goodies, but particularly the cluster pendant, which I think would be perfect for my dining area...

MOROCCO!!!

2010-09-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about doing a big trip for a little while now, mainly because I had a surfeit of vacation days this year (7 weeks in total), I've an obscene number of reward miles from various programs burning a whole in my figurative loyalty wallet, and also because I'm due - my last big trip was to London/Amsterdam/Barcelona/Madrid in April 2009. Oh - and with my passport up for renewal in February, I was hoping to get one more stamp in my passport.

I thought my next trip would be a family vacation south, but that's now been pushed to early next year, so with 4 weeks of vacation left, I began browsing Gap Adventures' website again in earnest.

The prospect of visiting Angkor Wat and seeing the ancient temples there up close and personal drew me to Cambodia. Madagascar was another possibility as it's somewhere I've been wanting to visit ever since reading an article in ROM magazine about it's fantastic flora and fauna. Argentina/Brazil made the initial cut with Iguassu Falls being the main attraction. In the end, the red tape of having to apply for a visa ixnayed all these destinations in favour of Morocco - an exotic locale I don't know much about beyond spice markets, lanterns, the desert, brilliant suzanis and pretty wedding blankets. Random, right?

It was a toss-up between Gap's Highlights of Morocco and Marvellous Morocco tours but upon closer read of the itinerary, the former's camel safari into the Sahara Desert with an overnight stay in a Bedouin tent won me over. I mean, c'mon! A camel safari into the Sahara Desert?

My flights are all booked and my place for the tour is being held with the payment due the first of October, pending additional accomodations pre- and post-tour. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am! :D

Secret Daughter and Her Fearful Symmetry

2010-09-22T23:43:00.000-04:00

I've two more books to add to my "Read" pile: Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry and Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Secret Daughter.

On Her Fearful Symmetry - I was disappointed. I picked it up because I really enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife and I suppose this was similar with its supernatural elements but the main characters weren't particularly engaging. The most interesting storyline for me was the secondary one involving Martin, the upstairs neighbor. I was glad for his happy ending. The end.

Oh! And I want to visit Highgate Cemetery next I'm in London - the way it's described in the book and the fantastic images from its website are compelling.

From the back cover:
Julia and Valentina Poole are twenty-year-old sisters with an intense attachment to each other. One morning the mailmen delivers a thick envelope to their house in the suburbs of Chicago. Their English aunt, Elspeth Noblin, has died of cancer and left them her London apartment. There are two conditions for this inheritance: that they live in the flat for a year before they sell it and that their parents not enter it. Julia and Valentina are twins. So were the girls' aunt Elspeth and their mother, Edie.
The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders the vast Highgate Cemetery, where Christina Rossetti, George Eliot, Stella Gibbons, and other luminaries are buried. Julia and Valentina become involved with their living neighbors: Martin, a composer of crossword puzzles who suffers from crippling OCD, and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. They discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including - perhaps - their aunt.

On Secret Daughter - the end made me cry and I felt compelled to read it every night before bed since starting it over the weekend.

This passage from p. 270 struck me:

...her mother always said the key to a successful marriage was for each spouse to give as much as they thought they possibly could. And then, to give a little more. Somewhere in that extra giving, in the space created by generosity without keeping score, was the difference between marriages that thrived and those that didn't.

It sounds like something my mom would say, although - and maybe this is a matter of it being lost in translation since my mom communicates with me in Cantonese - the way she spins it, it sounds more like I should settle because no one's perfect. Point is, I really enjoyed this book and am glad it's getting the recognition it deserves.

From the back cover:
On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.
Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband, Krishnan, see a photo of the baby with the gold-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion. Somer knows life will change with the adoption but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.
Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both their destinies, Secret Daughter poignantly explores the emotial terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families - one Indian, one American - and the child that indelibly connects them.

History of Love

2010-09-12T22:41:00.000-04:00

I finished Nicole Krauss' The History of Love on my flight from Toronto to Vancouver last Wednesday.

I was wary of it when I first started after so recently finishing Everything is Illuminated - Holocaust books always leave me a bit drained and I find I need something light and maybe a little happy afterwards to ease the mood.

Anyway, I wasn't sure what The History Of Love was really about so just before starting, I googled it. And that's when I stumbled onto this article in the NYT and found out that Nicole Krauss is married to Jonathan Safran Foer. It didn't make me feel any better about reading it since I was rather disappointed by EII, but by then, I was too lazy to get out of bed to pick another book.

In the end, this was a much better read as the story - a mystery that is solved in the end - was more complete in its telling. While part of it does take place in WWII Poland, the horrors of the Holocaust aren't really referred to explicitly - at least not as far as I was concerned - so I didn't feel as spent.

From the back cover:
Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer is trying to find a cure for her mother's loneliness. Believing that she might discover it in an old book her mother is lovingly translating, she sets out in search of its author. Across New York, an old man named Leo Gursky is trying to survive a little bit longer. He spends his days dreaming of the lost love who, sixty years ago in Poland, inspired him to write a book. And although he doesn't know it yet, that book also survived: crossing oceans and generations, and changing lives....

The Wedding

2010-09-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

My sister got married on Friday, which also happened to be my 34th birthday. I didn't have time for my usual somewhat-moody and self-indulgent "what have I done with my life in the past year" reflection since I was too busy with preparing for the wedding, dealing with family and all the fun drama that comes with the extended family of soon-to-be-in-laws.

There was a relaxing day at the spa Thursday morning/afternoon, the rehearsal, followed by the dinner, and then the set-up of the room. Remember the faux cherry blossoms and orchids I picked up in Chinatown? Here they are the night before the big day:

You can't really tell in the photo but the tall vases are flanked by shorter ones with a faux cymbidium orchid at the bottom. These were filled with water and a floating candle. There were also 6 votives atop the mirrored square so with the lights down, there was a lovely glow from the candlelight - and everyone looks better in candlelight! I was off taking photos with the bridal party so don't have any photos of the vision realized. It looked lovely though!

These urns sat atop Roman-esque pillars that framed the happy couple as they took their vows. We re-purposed them after the ceremony for the guest book and you can see too our bouquets on the table, which turned out quite nicely thanks to Blossoms 'n Such in Parksville.

And then the cake - M was all for the cherry blossom design which wasn't exactly as in the photo sent but close enough that they were very happy with it. There's a layer each of chocolate and vanilla with a fake layer on the bottom since they had their heart set on a 3-tier cake.

J. Crew wish list

2010-09-05T21:25:00.000-04:00

Finally flipped through the latest J. Crew catalog and fell for the Tretorn Flannel kicks below, which led me to the website with the though of buying them. Unfortunately, only 11s are left.
This didn't stop me from browsing though and now I've got my eye on this gorgeous necklace and the luscious leather Brompton purse. Lovely as they are, they're not nearly as compelling as the sneaks.

Tretorn Wool Flannel Sneakers, Tassel Stoneset Necklace, Brompton Purse

One Day

2010-09-05T19:05:00.001-04:00

I finished David Nicholls' One Day this afternoon. This was another recommendation by Lainey - you can read her review here - and it's really that good.

If you've already read the book, you'll understand why I was all "WTF?!?" at the end of Part Four and frustrated and crying through Part Five.

Actually, much of this book was frustrating, not because of the writing - no - the writing was beyond solid, but because the characters were so real. There were various times that I wished I could step into the book, grab hold of Emma and Dexter's shoulders and just shake them and tell them: "Snap out of it! Why are you doing this? Can't you see what's right in front of your faces?!?" Dexter especially!

I've said enough because if I say anymore, it may just spoil the story for you. Go. Read it.

~~~

From the wesbite:

‘I can imagine you at forty,’ she said, a hint of malice in her voice. ‘I can picture it right now.’

He smiled without opening his eyes. ‘Go on then.’

15th July 1988. Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year which follows?

One Day is a funny/sad love story spanning twenty years, a book about growing up – how we change, how we stay the same.

~~~

The movie version starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess is currently in production and there's a part of me that's really, really scared that it's going to pale in comparison to the book...but the screenplay is also written by David Nicholls so perhaps not...

Everything Is Illuminated

2010-08-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

I finally finished Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated today as I began it over a month ago - out in the sun on my balcony.

I remember how amused and excited I was by the language of the novel when I first started: the story unfolds in the broken English of Sasha, the Ukranian who accompanies Jonathan on his "premium" but "rigid" quest to find Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis.

But as time progressed, I began to find it rather gimmicky and contrived - OK, and maybe a little annoying, because of my general impatience with poorly written English.

Not for me this one, but I persevered and finished it given all the rave reviews. On to the next novel...which I think will be One Day, another Lainey reco. I need a break from WWII-era novels.

Life on a Refrigerator Door

2010-08-28T01:55:00.000-04:00

I first took notice of Alice Kuipers' Life on a Refrigerator Door after reading Lainey's review 3(!) years ago. I finally picked it up in my last Chapters/Indigo order and it really was a super-fast read. You could most certainly finish it in one sitting, although I spread it out over 2.

It was good, although I found myself rather annoyed with the daughter because of how self-absorbed she seemed. When my father was home sick, I made sure I was home to spend time with him - granted I was 9 and not 15 like the daughter, so didn't have a social life to speak of.

I also found the notes to be a bit contrived as the very short book neared its end...not exactly a good thing considering its brevity.

iPhone 4 vs. Galaxy S

2010-08-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

I thought I wanted the iPhone 4 but then my brother opened my eyes to the Galaxy S by directing me to this YouTube hands-on face-off and now I'm second-guessing myself.

Home is where the heart is

2010-08-25T23:35:00.001-04:00

It's funny that while I technically have my own home - I've been making mortgage payments for the last 2 years(!) to prove it - I still refer to my childhood home, the house my mom's lived in for the last 25 years and the one where I lived in for 23, give or take the 4 years I was away at Waterloo, as my home.

When people ask me what I'm doing for the weekend, I sometimes say "I'm going home," with the implication being my mom's house and even my mom gets confused because we'll be on the phone and she'll ask me where I am, or what I'm up to, and depending on the context, I may say, "I'm on my way home," and she'll have to ask for clarification. Anyway - all this to say that I'm still very much invested in my childhood home.

My mom recently had an energy audit done of our house and one of the things identified for improvement was the front door...so we're getting a new front door! My mom has no real interest in decor and design so I can't begin to tell you how much fun I've had in picking a style and finish let alone the options available for handlesets and levers!

After going back and forth a few times, I finally decided on the Rockland style to the left here by Masonite which will be flanked by matching side lites. The door to the left isn't the exact style since I've chosen a 2-panel door, i.e the the main lite or decorative panel is one and the 2 panels at the bottom would be one.

Our door is currently a clear-stained wood door - possibly oak - and I had wanted to go with a coloured door but I finally settled on white after driving around our neighbourhood and noticing that white doors really stand out. Our house is a reddish-brown brick and because we have a storm door enclosure, the main entrance is relatively dark - particularly at night. My thought is that the white will be the bright beacon and the glass insert the decorative sparkle.

While I've followed the trend of a white door, I opted to go with a glass insert that was more Art Deco than Art Nouveau-Victorian in style like the ones below. These would have been perfectly fine, except that they're rather ubiquitous in our neighbourhood.

For the handleset and lever, I initially chose Camelot (left) because I liked how the curved detail of the lock and handle echoed that in the glass insert, but then I changed my mind because I didn't like the bump where the lever of the handle sits. So I set my sights on Paris (middle) for the same reasons as Camelot, minus the bump but on second thought, decided that the handle lever looked wimpy and probably wouldn't feel comfortable to touch. I finally settled on Barcelona (right) because it has the clean, smooth face of Paris and a more substantial lever similar to Camelot.

What do you think?

Next on my list of to-dos is a visit to Olympia Tile to choose a tile for our storm enclosure...can't wait!

Repossi Cuff

2010-08-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

Can we please all just pause in wonder at the beauty that is this gorgeous cuff by Repossi??

OK.

I'm done.

Sunpan Imports

2010-08-21T23:52:00.005-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Sunpan Imports? If not, I do. I paired my Ikea Tulip knock-off with their Vintage dining chairs in linen and have their now discontinued Zoey occasional chair in my living area.

And even though I'm done furnishing my place and have no reason to really stop by, I can't help myself. A girl can daydream and they've got some fantastic new additions to their catalogue. Seriously - check these out!

How many of you love Crate and Barrel's Colette bed? Doesn't SI's San Carlos bed look strangely familiar?

This modern wing-back chair, along with the height of this wing-back upholstered bed makes me giddy!

This glamorous bench would be perfect at the end of a bed or in a dressing room and I love the clean lines and shiny chrome of this desk.

Nail-head trim is ubiquitous but I don't care - I love the subtle metallic gleam it gives off particularly when applied to furniture that's feminine as in the curvy arms and skirt of the Cameron sofa on the left, or luxe as in the velvet-y cushiness of the Cathedral sofa on the right.

Finally, for storage, there's the Carvaggio Audio/Video stand with it's wavy facade and the mod/retro feel of their Snake bookcase.

All these gorgeous goodies make me wish I could move and start all over again!

Serendipity

2010-08-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

ser-en-dip-i-ty [ser-uh n-dip-i-tee] – noun

1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

I walked home after work today through Chinatown today to pick up faux cherry blossoms as part of the wedding centrepiece. The original orchid theme tweaked to include cherry blossoms because M had his heart set on this wedding cake.

I'd spied them last Friday in a store on Dundas and went back for them but the shop owner was on vacation which was fine, except they didn't have enough in stock - I needed about 40 - and the shop girls couldn't help me so I'd have to wait until Friday when the shop owner was back.

Mildly disappointed, I headed on home....except I didn't go straight home. I was searching for pretty chopsticks to give away as bombonieres and stumbled onto an even better option for the cherry blossoms then the first! And they were cheaper!! While they were twice as expensive a branch, they were fuller so I needed only 11. Ooh, and the great thing about Chinatown is oftentimes, if you pay cash, they'll give you a discount, aka, no tax.

Everything's all coming together! My sister just confirmed the cake design and order and I've got my quotes for the fresh bridal flowers to review and we're well on our way!

Girly Friday

2010-08-13T20:05:00.000-04:00

I took the day off for an extra long weekend and spent the day at the spa and shopping with my best gal pal. We met at Anthropologie where I ended up buying the 2 dresses at left plus a tank top that was on sale. The LBD is a jersey material that's super-flattering and the Audrey Hepburn-esque polka dot number is sweet and classic.

I wouldn't normally go out and buy 2 dresses all at once but I've got 2 weddings coming up so that's my justification for the splurge.

I spent the rest of the afternoon being pampered at Novo Spa where I indulged in an hour-long massage and mani-pedi - the last of which was the best part because you sit in a multi-functional massage chair while getting your toes done. HEAVEN! Oh, and the mint-y chocolate mousse foot mask which smelled yummy and made me hungry! Everything smelled yummy, actually...there was an algae mint foot scrub, a vanilla-coconut oil sugar hand scrub and a mango-coconut hand lotion that left me smelling like a pina colada. S and I have decided to go back on the regular just for the pedi!

One thing led to another

2010-08-13T01:14:00.000-04:00

I started thinking about getting a passport cover early this year. Why? Maybe boredom. I don't know. But I started thinking about it again to distract myself from thinking about a vacation destination.

Here's my dilemma: I have 4 weeks of vacation still to be booked and more than enough miles for a free flight somewhere, except that there are no flights available to be booked. Plus I want to spend as little cash as possible on the travel. So what to do? I distract myself with travel-related accessories, beginning with Smythson of Bond St, where I found the brilliant red passport holder below and the happy yellow slim travel wallet from their Mimosa Collection. I love the idea that the passport cover is removable.

The drawback? The slim travel wallet is GBP 315! A very pretty penny!

A quick google search served up Aspinal of London where I found the Lindberg Travel Wallet. It's similar in style to the yellow Smythson with the addition of a pen loop which would be very handy since the last time I was in Brazil, I found myself without a pen to fill out the obligatory entry paperwork. Oh, and it's about half the price at $225!

Something to think about.

Monkey!

2010-08-06T20:18:00.000-04:00

Doesn't this image make you wanna smile?

via

24%!!

2010-08-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

I trained tonight but in advance of that, I had a body composition reading and a fitness assessment, all part of a status check.

The awesome news is that I'm down 11% in total body fat from when I started training just over 11 months ago! Yippee-ki-yay! All those protein days during my burn phase totally paid off because it was during this phase that I dropped 7% to the 23.8% that I am today. Now, I haven't lost a ton of weight - less than 10lbs - but I'm OK with that because lean muscle is denser than fat and I can feel the difference in my clothes.

Plus I'm so much stronger than I once was! I had 3 personal bests yesterday: I deadlifted 135lbs, the leg extension machine was loaded up with 170lbs and K brought back the hateful farmer's walk which I did with much glaring and silent cursing lugging 75lbs dumbbells - up 15lbs from my first and last walk.

So, what's next in terms of goals? According to the chart to the right, I was "At Risk" when I first started but I've since dropped down to "Fitness." The goal now is to cycle through another build and burn phase to sculpt myself into an "Athlete" with ~ 17% body fat.

Now, if you knew me at all, you'd know that I am no Athlete. My hand-eye co-ordination sucks eggs. I was a flute soloist in my high school band and yearbook editor-in-chief for goodness sake! How stereotypically non-Athlete could I be? But that's the goal. And I'm rather looking forward to it! :)