deco

I picked up these "deco" print tights at the AA rummage sale this weekend. Totally holiday-ready.

robber shopping event

I wanted to pass along an invitation for a shopping event happening at Robber this Thursday; bring in a donation for the Daily Bread Food Bank and you'll receive 15% off your purchase. Peep the flyer for details!

I think I am finally going to pick up the Species by the Thousands wolf ring I have had my eye on since the summer. I'm just going to pretend it's a fox -- you know, like my spirit animal?

Come say hi!

(Flyer design by Caitlyn Murphy)

the golden morning breaks

This morning Geoff came over to me and told me to get out of bed, quick, that the light was so beautiful in the living room. I managed to snap a few photos as it faded. It was a moment that I loved, and then it was gone.

It made me think of Carly.

american apparel rummage sale

This weekend I'll be attending American Apparel's first-ever Toronto rummage sale at King & Portland. I'm hoping I'll get to stock up on tights! Exciting. Maybe you should go, too. Just sayin'.

More event details here.

from stephanie

I have been so lucky when it comes to this blog. So many of you are such kind, generous, lovely people. I think about you often, I really do. I am really quite sentimental about this, and I am not embarrassed about it! I am mostly grateful. And a little gushy.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago we found out that Frankie magazine was no longer being distributed in Canada, and I was sad. A subscription costs more than buying the magazine at the newsstand, and it really is one of the few magazines that I love. I complained about this fact, this lack of distribution. A darling, Seattle-based girl who I have known online for a few years -- and who I've managed to keep in touch with a little bit via Twitter -- sent me a recent copy. I was thrilled to get my Frankie fix (it's been months!), but even better, she included a few extra treats. I adore this painting she made and sent to me. These are my favourite colours! Peach and grey and teal and deep red and slate blue and purple.

She's a little shy, and I hope I'm not embarrassing her too much. But thank you, thank you, Stephanie.

perfect weekend

I had such a perfect little weekend, but a definite highlight was finally getting to meet this beautiful girl in person! As many of you know, I have been a huge fan of Tara-Lynn's knits for a long time, and we've been penpals for a while. She doesn't live particularly far away, but sometimes even coordinating meeting people who live nearby can take a while (hi Celine, hi Nikole). She was in town this weekend to attend the ballet with her little girl Enid, and Erica and I finally got to meet her! As often happens when meeting people for the first time, it felt totally normal and just like hanging out with old friends. I hope we'll be able to do it again very soon. It was just so, so nice!

frying pan ponchos

I have had these images of these blanket-like cloaks in my head (by Hannah MacGibbon for Chloé) for a while. I was pretty excited when I watched this video of Wendy Mullin of Built By Wendy on the Martha Stewart show, sewing something she calls a "frying pan poncho." Her ponchos made me think of these blanket cloaks. It looks so easy, and Wendy looks so cute in her belted cloak. I think I'll have to try making one for myself. Maybe with leather trim, if I can find some.

Maybe you should try it, too! The images above might prove to be inspirational.

(The video is a little awkward. Oh Martha. I love your passive aggressive hints.)

forest fiction

A few months ago, lovely Amy posted about the blog willow ships, and I was instantly smitten. Chelsea is in a band called Teacups and last Thursday they released an album called Forest Fiction, and the pictures are so delightful. Wouldn't it have been perfect to be in New Zealand for that?

I just bought a copy of the album here. Listen here.

(Photo via willow ships)

the foxhall tie

A couple of weeks ago I tried on this black and white plaid Mociun dress, which is so, so beautiful. I fell in love with it, but it wasn't to be.

I decided to try to find some pretty plaid linen to make myself a consolation dress; I was not successful in the hunt. Instead I found some black and white light wool, which sat on my sewing table for a while. I decided to use it to make winter neckties instead of making myself a dress. It will be available soon, if you would like to have one or to give one as a gift.

lula giveaway winner

I had Geoff log on to random.org to pick the winner of Lula magazine, and it's Kennedy!

I was pretty amazed by the comments, though. You guys. You are so sweet! Thank you. Sometimes I actually hate doing giveaways! I want all of you to have your own copies of this lovely magazine. Still, congratulations to Kennedy! If you take a peek at her blog and Etsy shop, you'll see that she looks like she just walked out of the pages of Lula herself.

(I don't want to single anyone out because all the comments made me smile, but a very special one indeed came from Laura, who said that she chose her winter wedding dress based on this picture of the red ankle boots & Burberry dress! Wow! Thank you for sharing that!)

alternative apparel f&f sale

A while back I wrote about my favourite t-shirt, made by Alternative Apparel. From now until November 25, they're having a friends & family sale: 25% off plus free ground shipping within the continental US. Use the coupon code found here. I thought I would pass along this nice offer because a good deal is a good deal, and one thing I've learned from Twitter and from standing in line-ups at warehouse sales is that people love a good deal.

I am loving the silk modal shirts they have right now. How hot is the boyfriend tee at the top? So hot.

babycakes

Is everyone feeling cupcake fatigue at this point? It seems as though the world went cupcake crazy for a while. Understandable: cupcakes are delicious. I don't indulge in them too often, only because 1. I can't be bothered to bake them myself, 2. a good cupcake is hard to find, 3. nothing is worse than a mediocre cupcake, and 4. when I crave sweets, it's usually candy.

I recently decided to cut back on / cut out dairy, and while browsing cookbooks at the library I came across the Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna. I have never been to Babycakes, but I have heard so much about it from friends who live in New York or who visit frequently. I was intrigued by the recipes, which are dairy- and gluten-free, because some of the best cupcakes I've ever had have been vegan. I was also intrigued by the use of agave nectar as sweetener. I have too many family members with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, and I'm concerned about that; agave nectar tastes fantastic and is relatively low on the glycemic index (just a tip).

I also like the cookbook because the photography in it is so pretty! The uniforms were designed by Wendy Mullin of Built By Wendy (although the blog tells me that they have new uniforms, designed by In God We Trust)! Pretty clothes and desserts? A girl of my particular demographic and with my particular interests is powerless to resist. (I do find the celebrity endorsements sprinkled throughout a bit unnecessary, but I guess the publishers thought that food that is kind of "weird" could benefit from, I don't know, Jason Schwartzman's picture?)

I spent yesterday morning trying to track down the ingredients for vanilla cupcakes and vanilla icing. I bought agave nectar at The Big Carrot last weekend, and I had other basics (baking soda, salt, lemons, etc.) already. I bought garbanzo-fava bean flour, potato starch, coconut oil, coconut flour, and unsweetened soy milk at Whole Foods. I bought xanthan gum from the bulk food section of Noah's. Geoff bought arrowroot in bulk from Strictly Bulk. I did not find dry soy milk powder anywhere, so I cheated and bought skim milk powder in bulk. For the record, Whole Foods had everything except the elusive soy milk powder, but I tried to find some of the ingredients in bulk to save money. (EDT: the book lists resources, but a lot of the ingredients can be ordered directly from Bob's Red Mill online.)

These ingredients cost a small fortune, and even though I halved the recipe, I still went through half the containers of coconut oil and agave nectar. Still, I have most of the ingredients in my pantry now, and I feel good about how wholesome they are. It was about $50 worth of ingredients, but if I were making a cake from scratch with fresh eggs and organic milk and things like that, it would have been about the same. (I am trying to justify this expense, you see. It was not a very wise financial decision for me at the moment -- I mean, there was no occasion.)

I made the cupcakes as soon as I got home from work because I was so excited -- and I never get excited about food preparation! Of course, the cupcakes don't taste like a "regular" vanilla cupcake would, and my cupcakes aren't particularly beautiful to look at, but I love them! We ate ours accompanied by a cup of homemade chai, inspired by Melinda. Yum yum. The perfect little treat for the start of my weekend.

lula giveaway

I got my hands on an extra copy of Lula magazine, and so I'd like to give it away to one of you sweet girls (or possibly one of the few lovely gents)! You know what to do. Open worldwide, because I love you all. I may not respond to every comment, but I do, I do love you all.

I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday night. Good luck, & xo.

(Image via bitterlemons)

red ankle boots

Ever since I saw this picture in the latest Lula, I can't stop thinking about these red Repetto ankle boots, despite the fact that they are something that I don't need, not even a little bit.

Want a copy of Lula for yourself? Come back tomorrow for a mid-week giveaway.

from melinda xo

On Saturday Geoff and I went to Magic Pony for Melinda's book launch. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it in time, but we did, and I'm so glad! She illustrated a French children's book called Le géranium, published by Bourgeon. It is a very charming story about a dog-gentleman who finds happiness in the simple life. I bought a copy for my friend Kate who teaches children French. I think it is an important book for her to read to them.

I was wearing my APC Madras dress, so Melinda drew a little horse from the hem in my copy of the book! Cutest ever. Melinda is the cutest ever, seriously. While there we bumped into Celine and Rosalyn. So many sweet ladies gathered around, so many smiles.

The original watercolours are on display at Magic Pony from now until November 16. If you're not in Toronto, you can view them on her website under the children's book section of her portfolio. If you're in Toronto, you should go see them!

Read Melinda's blog here; be prepared to be delighted.

sweet spot

I know this is meant for a kid's room, but wouldn't this little nook be the best spot for tucking away with a book this winter?

I am currently reading The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki -- what are you reading?

(Photo via this pretty blog
that Geoff and I spent quite a bit of time pouring over yesterday)

top knots & cowls

I felt so happy when I saw these two pictures on Copenhagen Street Style this morning. Rebecca might be exactly half my age and Swedish, but I feel like I could easily pull off an approximation of this outfit myself. I wear a lot of black, which is probably why I love this so much. Love the cowl, love the top knot, love the sweet tights.

(Oops! She's Danish! Silly me.)



I have been a pretty terrible blogger lately; I know. I am in the process of making a number of changes in my life, changes that I think will help me in the long run, changes that have been sucking up a lot of my energy & time. It is too boring/personal to discuss here, although if you know me in real life, I have probably already (rather selfishly) talked about it endlessly! I hope that soon I will be able to divert some of that energy & time back here.