all i want for christmas is...

                     

(bow & arrow buttonblossom dress)

(elevenses ruffled plume dress)

(bow & arrow yellow canary dress)

... these three items, laying in a large anthropologie box, wrapped with one of anthro's quirky holiday ribbons.  Both of these dresses sold out in my size before I could get my hands on them, and I fell in love with this coat after watching Amanda Seyfried in Chloe last year.  I've been searching for these three things for almost two years, so if you come across any of these items in a 0, I will bake your favorite dessert every month for a year. Seriously.

i don't like mondays.

(eating under the empire state building)

I woke up this morning hoping I had a few minutes to ease into the day before the mad dash to work.  Just my luck it was 6:05 and I slept through my first alarm, but even that wasn't enough to stop me from hitting snooze twice before finally getting out of bed.  I made time for my morning coffee, my favorite blog, packed a couple of banana chocolate chip muffins and headed out the door. Here are a few of the things from our vacation last week that got me through another Monday.  

(homemade banana chocolate chip muffins)

(empty beaches post Thanksgiving morning spin class)

(newly painted walls)

(return to oz and f.a.q. at the aero)

Does your Monday need a pick me up? Check out I Don't Like Mondays, a super cute online boutique that always makes my day better (and how can it not with colorful tights like these ... would you wear them?)

boots & bubbles.

How adorable is this mini-fashionista?

(Image by Stockholm Street Style via A Cup of Jo)

happy thanksgiving.

via cake pop lady

During the holidays I inevitably find myself sitting at a table when the "what are you thankful for" conversation begins.  This is one of the worst possible situations I can ever find myself in, because in the midst of all the very serious and sentimental things people are thankful for, I  get to urge to blurt out the silliest thing I can think of (like socks without holes). For those of you who spend many holidays with me and now know what I'm really thinking when we're gathered around the table, I hope you understand I truly do enjoy hearing the wonderful things you're thankful for and I'm truly thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful people during the holidays. But, if you happen to look down and notice my socks, just know how truly and deeply thankful I also am that they don't have holes in them.

Some of the things I'm thankful for so far this holiday season include

1. Bisquick gluten free baking mix
2. My husband, who gets out of bed before me and makes coffee 
3. Nom-Nom tacos
4. Our new "perpetual green" living room wall
5. Sunny California Christmases 
6. ...and my parents who are flying out to enjoy it with us
7. Reese peanut butter cups, Hershey kisses and creme brulee
8. Owl-printed aprons
9. Paper plate family members that step in when we can't all be together

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving weekend full of everything that brings cheer to your smile, makes your toes tingle and your heart sing.

very vintage, very lovely.

Yesterday we stopped by the new Bookmarc on Melrose hoping to find striped fingerless gloves (most of the accessories have been moved over here from the Marc by Marc store across the street).  They didn't have the gloves this time, but the new store carries a quirky selection of books you probably won't find at your neighbourhood Barnes & Noble.  In the midst of a very entertaining book about bottoms and a cheeky guide to manners was this treasure, Very Vintage. Instantly a favorite (thanks to the gorgeous photos and detailed patterns), I hope to find this book under the tree on Christmas morning.  I have to admit, I might not be able to wait that long so this book might come home with me the next time I visit Bookmarc.

lanvin for h&m.

Before heading to my local H&M store this weekend (which by the way, I was informed sold out of this line by 11am), I was already on e-bay flipping through all the listings that were up within an hour of the east coast release. I slowly felt my Lanvin for H&M excitement disappear when I saw the insane mark-ups on the merchandise.

H&M, I love your designer collaborations, but if my only hope of finding anything from the collection is on E-Bay (like the dress that was selling for $199 at your store but now sells for $549 on E-Bay), I'd much rather go to Neiman's and spend a little more for the softer fabrics and better tailoring.  Please don't become the go-to supplier for the opportunistic e-bay seller , it takes away from all the great things you have going for you!

catching my breath.

I lingered in bed longer than usual for a Monday morning after waking up in a brief panic at 6:05 when I thought I missed my alarm. Remembering we have the entire week off, I laid back on my pillow, curled up in the blankets and smiled at all the things I can do this week just because I want to.  

Some of the things that made me smile:

• Painting the final wall in our living room after finding inspiration during a trip to Lula's last week
• Sunrise spin class on Thanksgiving
• Holding lots of coffee
• Buying a new pair of MJ fingerless gloves (perfect for holding coffee)
• Hip Hop classes at the gym
• Man Shops Globe marathons
• Letting my pesky alarm sit in silence
• The smell of turkey in the oven
• Lanvin for H&M (more on this frustration later)

I've been known to literally jump out of bed in the morning and make a mad dash to the shower while wishing horrible things upon my alarm clock. In my sleepy daze it usually takes me until mid-shampoo to realize I'm either on vacation, or it's a Saturday (trust me, this happens more than I'd like to admit).  So even if I do absolutely nothing from this list, it reminds me that I can linger in bed longer than usual and spend more time on the couch enjoying my morning coffee.

dear santa: diy inspiration.

If you haven't already visited Erica at P.S. I Made This, you should definitely head over there with a warm cup of coffee and plan to spend the afternoon admiring her DIY creativity.  My favorites so far; this pom pom purse, these vases and this very Moschino-esque safety pin tank that reminds me of my favorite Moschino hardware cuff.  After spending hours making mental notes of all the things I want to pull from her blog, I would love to curl up on the couch with a copy of P.S. I Made This - I See It, I Like It, I Make It and start a list of all the diy projects I've fallen in love with.

banana and avocado dip.

After recommendations from several friends, I took a slight detour on my way home from work recently and stopped by Atlacatl for homemade pupusas.  I couldn't help it and ordered a few "to go" before I left but still craving the plantains chips I resisted earlier in the meal, I picked up a plantain from the market so I could make homemade chips later that night.  I came across this banana and avocado dip from Martha Stewart (you can find the recipe here) and turned these simple ingredients into a fabulous dip that went perfect with the thinly sliced plantains.   

dear santa.

On my way to work this morning I noticed lush green wreaths and bold, colorful ornaments popping up on the lamp posts along Wilshire in Beverly Hills.  Let's just say the rest of my day was spent dreaming of all the things I would love to find under the tree this year.  Emmanuelle Alt's outfits are one of the main reasons I enjoy The Sartorialist so much, so Santa if you don't mind, I would love a white blazer like the one she's wearing here. 

love.

I love, love, love this outfit from The Sartorialist.  I would make this outfit my own by leaving the cigarette in its box and adding a bit of color, maybe in the form of the perfect yellow clutch I've been searching months for or the little splash of green heel on a marc by marc grey bootie.

read.

I was looking at my most recent library picks the other day and I started thinking, if we had (or have) never met and your only glimpse of me was this snapshot of a stack of books on my coffee table, what would my reading list reveal?  

What does the stack of books on your coffee table say about you?

until next time.

The sun set on the last few hours of our weekend while we sat by the beach in Santa Monica  after a relaxing weekend full of late night desserts, spin classes, catching up on our DVR list, barbecuing with friends and holding many cups of warm coffee.  If only weekends lasted longer and weekdays left time for the more important things in life (like late night stops at the bakery to pick out a chocolate mousse, and lingering in bed before a morning cup of coffee).

How do you say goodbye to a weekend you're not ready to leave behind yet?

remembering.

In Flanders Fields

My mom wrote something that sums up what it means for my family to celebrate Remembrance/Veteran's Day.  She writes, "Thank you to the Canadian soldiers who not only fought in the World Wars, but those that liberated Holland.  Without your bravery I would not be here today!  Thank you to my Dad who took me to the Canadian War Cemetery in Holland and to the concentration camps so I would remember the soldiers who fought for us.  I became a proud Canadian in my teenage years and to this day I'm a very proud Canadian." 

on the boardwalk.

We had nothing to do today except whatever we wanted, so we decided to soak up as much sun as we could and headed down to Venice Beach.  A few months ago I started noticing these carefully hand painted skulls along the boardwalk and today we stopped by one of the vendors and came home with these two.  I've been searching for an eye catching centerpiece for quite some time, wanting to do a spin on the classic fruit bowl, and I think I've found it.  Next weekend I'm going to pick out a few more black and white pieces and arrange them in a bowl as though they were fresh fruit I just brought home from the farmers' market.


What do you think?

take my eyes, but not the chocolate.

The only thing I love more than opening a package of my favorite Canadian chocolate is walking into the market the day after Halloween and finding ALL the Halloween chocolate on sale. Today I stopped by on my way home from work and picked out my favorite Halloween treats.  I removed the kisses and the m&m's from my basket at the last minute (because really, even I can't handle that much chocolate in the house at one time), and I'm loving the variety in my now overflowing cookie jar.

Can you guess the inspiration for today's post title?

froggie went a courtin'.

Bob Dylan's version of the song I remember so well.

dia de los muertos.

My grandfather bought me my first guitar when I was still in elementary school.  I prayed for that guitar for weeks, searching every corner of our house trying to find it until I came up empty handed and devastated, sure I was going to be faced with socks on my birthday.  It turns out my grandfather and dad knew me well, and were much better at hiding presents than my mom. The next time he visited, he picked up my new guitar and began strumming the chords to a song I loved as a kid, a song we used to sing on my parents' front porch, an old folk tale about a frog who wanted to marry a mouse. 

My grandfather passed away a few years later after a brief illness, but I still see him sitting on our front porch, strumming his favorite song until his four year old granddaughter ran up wanting to sing about a frog. Often though, when I think about him I feel sad and lonely at all the things I feel he's missed. That guitar has moved with me through the years and now sits in my living room in LA.  Like the guitar, that old folk tale has been there through all the times I wanted to look over and see my grandfather.   I've caught myself humming the tune through college exams, navigating my way through a new country, holidays, birthdays and even standing in line at the market.  It's been years since I've heard him sing, but I can still hear his voice like I was sitting on our front porch yesterday.

So today, in honor of dias de los muertos, I will celebrate the memories without sadness, singing a silly little song that has made me realize even though our time was cut short, he's always been with me.