is it friday yet?

Today was one of those days where I wanted nothing more than to kick up my feet and enjoy a glass of wine.  When we celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a long, relaxing weekend at the Huntley, waiting in our room was a bottle of Roda Rioja that quickly became a favorite over the course of the weekend.  Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find it outside of the hotel.  My mood today renewed my desire to find it and stock our wine rack with a few bottles, so cross your fingers and wish me luck! 

What's your favorite bottle to pull from the rack when you're in the mood for a glass of wine that makes you feel like it's the weekend when it's only Wednesday night?

back on the wagon.

You probably wouldn't guess considering my recent incriminating photos with a certain sandwich, but about five years ago I was diagnosed with celiac's disease. This means no stuffing on Thanksgiving, no timbits at the airport in Toronto, no beer and no pizza. Needless to say, when I get busy or when things get stressful, I'm much less careful about what I eat and my well being is on the back burner.  


It was brought to my attention that Betty Crocker has a gluten free cake mix, so last week I stopped by the market and picked up the yellow cake mix to try with this banana coconut icing recipe. The mix was pretty good, but it was still way more dense than the delicious gluten version. I don't think anything gluten free will be as good as the "real" thing, and there are certain gluten free alternatives, like hamburger buns, that I'll never choose because the taste of the gluten free option isn't worth it just for the sake of eating a bun with my hamburger. 

If only I could stay in a kitchen all day, creating the perfect gluten free alternatives to my favorite foods (think pizza, pie, timbits).  Until then I'll stick to banh-mi tacos, and away from the bread basket at dinner.

in my life.

Two years ago tomorrow, we held our wedding ceremony in my hometown of Canada. Although we had been married already a few months before, I wanted to share my favorite time of the year with my husband and celebrate friends and family who weren't able to come out to L.A. I remember checking the weather forecast on what felt like an hourly basis for the two weeks prior to the date because at this time of the year in my little hometown, snow is entirely possible.  The weather was perfectly crisp, and the leaves had just started falling from the trees. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to take advantage of the local fall harvest when planning our reception menu.  We even got to stop and enjoy the fall colours early the next morning before rushing off to the airport.

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for each other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth for the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before. Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your life together. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship - as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

A poem read for us at both of our ceremonies.

When we got our photos back from the photographer we both had these moments of, "wait, I don't remember this!" It's funny that the day where so many pictures were taken I can recall the fewest details, yet I remember in vivid detail every moment of the day we were married here in L.A a few months earlier; a day when it was just the two of us, a day when we forgot to take even one picture, a day when I got to wear a pretty yellow dress with tulips and smiled as I walked hand in hand with my new husband.

All photos taken by Adam Belnap

happy thanksgiving.

Image via Bakerella

Wishing all of my Canadian friends and family a delicious day full of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.  It certainly doesn't feel like Thanksgiving in LA but I hope you all woke up to crisp fresh air, changing leaves and the smell of turkey in the oven!

tgif.

two of my weekend favorites: biking and lots of coffee.

My weekend will include lots of coffee, developing some pictures, hopefully getting out on my bike, reading, returning a pair of shoes that just aren't working for me, a Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with friends and maybe a nap (or two).


What are you doing this weekend?

signs of affection.

or else this little stick man is going to be really mad at me.

One of the best parts about my job is the random collection of drawings I've received over the years.  Since my post here about wanting to create my own version of this find from Anthropologie, I've decided to take my collection of love notes, pictures and cards and create my own hand stitched picture book.  One of my favorite collections is a group of twenty different cards my first graders made for me right before I got married. I brought them home after work and we couldn't stop laughing.  From pictures of stick figured brides and grooms to skunks with smelly lines warning me that boys are stinky in the morning, they were all wishing us luck in the way only a first grader can get away with.  I packed these in our carry on (next to my gown, these were on the top of my list of things not to lose the day before the wedding) and put them out on their own special table at our reception.  What if after the years pass by, I lose some of these memories?  Making them into a coffee table book is the perfect solution to preserving this fun collection. 

What title would you give a book of love stories, cards and stick figured little men telling me to go to sticker planet real fast?

Stay tuned for some more of my favorite pics.

nommin'.

nommin' (v.): the act of eating a delicious nom nom banh-mi sandwich. I was nommin' last night.


So far I think my latest list is coming along nicely.  Tonight we followed nom nom into the valley to fill up on banh-mi sandwiches and tacos.  After delays due to weather, traffic and finally a mad dash across the street we were in business. I loved it so much I even bought one for lunch tomorrow (thank you nom nom, for giving me something to look forward to on what always feels like the longest day of the week).  

The only thing missing? My very own nom nom tank. Want to know when nom nom will be in your neighbourhood?  Follow them on twitter, like them on facebook, or check out their website.

nom nom, I'll be seeing you (again) very soon.

rainy day.

Can't I just go back inside?

I love rainy days.  Rainy days at work, not so much.  As a kid I lived for snow days, and sometimes I lived dangerously on the edge. If I thought there was even the slightest chance it might snow enough that night and school would be cancelled the next day, the likelihood I would study for Mr. Mill's French test went down at least 50%.  I woke up 10 minutes early to listen to the bus report on a daily basis in the winter, even though I never took a bus to school.  If the buses were cancelled, I took that as a sign that I didn't have to go to school either (though it was tough selling my parents on that idea no matter how much I promised to clean while they were at work).  I liked school, but nothing was better than an unexpected day off to kick my feet up on the couch and indulge in a guilty pleasure (which may or may not have been "Passions").  I prayed for snow days until the day I moved to LA.

Since this is pretty much as bad as it gets in LA, and no one seems to know what to do when it rains anyway, can't we all just have the day off? Can't I just stay home, curl up on the couch with a book, a cup of coffee and a guilty pleasure or two?

vixen.

Revlon "Vixen"

Rekindled my romance with an old favorite today.  I haven't worn this color since college so I was surprised to see it when I was running errands after work.  I couldn't wait until after spin class so I ran home and now I'm loving my vixen nails.

shoe crush.

Jimmy Choo Biker Boot

I love the Jimmy Choo Biker Boot, but at $1095 I'm crushing on these very similar Jeffrey Campbell Brit Wrap Boots.  Plus, I like the wrap around buckle detail and studs on the JC Boot and the ability to wear the boot a little more slouched and disheveled.

Jeffrey Campbell Brit Wrap Boot

  

   

  . What do you think?

autumn wish list

My first book with my new library card

I love lists; Grocery lists, to do lists, what not to do lists, wish lists.  With the exception of a few lists (like the list of bills due at the end of the month), I like that there doesn't have to be any sort of urgency to cross anything off.  I can enjoy the things I've done, sit with the things I'm in the middle of and look forward to the things still to come.  Transitions are always a fun time to create new lists (the list of things to look forward to over summer vacation really helps the last couple weeks of work in June fly by), so I thought I'd write down a few things I'd like to do now that Summer has passed and we're into my favorite season. One of the great things about being able to visualize the things I like ... motivation to get off the couch after a looong day at work. 


Over the next couple of months I hope to:

• master this recipe for croissants
• pick a fun kids book and create my own embroidered project inspired by this anthropologie find
• or, write my own
• hold more cups of coffee
• decorate the house for halloween (with this and this)
• find my Marc Jacobs fingerless gloves
• order these Jeffrey Campbell motorcycle boots
• sign up for a library card (done)
• bake a pumpkin pie (or two, or three)
• start and finish the watercolor project on my dining room wall
• see the fashioning fashion exhibit at LACMA
• more monday night spin classes
• read more, relax more and bike more
• experiment with Holga
• crochet a blanket to curl up in when watching my favorite guilty pleasure on TV.
• enjoy as much nom nom as possible
• sign up for an art class at Brentwood Art Center

What does the beginning of a new season make you want to get out and do?

a breath of fresh (october) air

October was always my favourite month of the year growing up. The cooler weather, crisper air and changing colours always lent themselves to a fresh start, almost like the beginning of a new year. Although September is a more obvious time for change and transition with the start of the school year, the warmer September weather always left me longing for lazy summer days and not so ready for things to change just yet. And as far as January went, it was hard to feel excited about anything fresh and new on New Year’s morning when my toes were freezing under layers of socks and boots and longjohns. So October always seemed like a much better option for celebrating change and embracing new beginnings.

Fall in Prince Edward County,  my favorite new beginning

Early morning hiking at Mt. Wilson

Fast forwards many years later, I live in LA and I never stop holding my breath that the palm tree leaves will change color or the weather will finally cool down (it’s supposed to be a balmy 80 degrees in Brentwood this weekend). But October still has the same magical feeling that it always had as a kid. Some of my favorite things happen in October; one of two special anniversaries, Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie, Halloween M&M’s and cooler mornings that allow me to take complete advantage of my preference to hold warm coffee more than drink it... and this year I will live more, write more (new beginnings with a new blog), fear less and embrace the chaos when it comes along.