Merry Ho Ho Ho!

Just a quick note before we all enter into a food, booze and all over good time coma, I hope everyone has an aamazing holiday. Thank you all for checking in with us Amis, we are still learning the ins and outs of the blog world but really we just like to share our thoughts, ideas and inspirations with you and we hope you enjoy them. Cheers to you and yours!

mmmm....eggnog and rum

Sophie, waiting for me to turn around so she can attack the tree decorations

xo J

Last Minute Gift Ideas - Think Local

3 days until Christmas - not enough time to get cool stuff shipped from the wonderful world of Internet, but  more than enough time to take advantage of the hip artists that live in your hood. Here's some great Vancouver artists to check out for this Christmas, or to keep up your sleeve for future gift-giving opportunities.

For your gal friends that love pretty things: 

Porcelain Mason Jars from Claire Madill at Heyday Design (image via www.heydaydesign.ca)

For your burgeoning art collector coworkers: 

Whale 2 Graphite and Acrylic on Paper by Kyu Hwang (image via takeiteasyplease.com)

For Your Picture Loving Parents: 

Custom Portraits painted by Roselina Hung. Image above: detail from Self-Portrait as a Polar Bear 2009. (image via www.roselinahung.com)

For your Homebody Hubbies:

Custom furniture designed and built by Nick Vorstermans of Wood Roots Furniture and Design (image via www.woodroots.ca) 

Take some time to discover the artists living under your nose, chances are - they've got some wicked wares to share.

xo
Jenny C

Biscotti any way you like it

My go-to cookie recipe during the holidays has become this biscotti recipe, what makes it work is that it is a simple base recipe that allows you to add your favorite mix-ins. My flavours of choice are a dark chocolate-hazelnut-coffee combo and orange-fig-walnut. Both are delicious but you can come up with any combination to tickle your tastebuds, I use this recipe and simply replace the anise and chocolate with my chosen mix-ins. It is really an easy recipe and if kept in a air-tight container or cookie tin can be made a couple weeks in advance of the holidays, leaving you more time to enjoy the sweet things in life rather than be too busy making them.

xo J

Flying Solo - Week Twenty

Happy Friday mes amis!

One week from now those of us who celebrate Christmas will be full-bellied with Christmas Eve goodies. Both my family and my guy's family follow the old Catholic tradition of Fish for dinner, so it's good old salt cod (aka bacalla) to the rescue! More pics to follow!

This week has been good, Jessy and I have kicked butt on her P90x program, so we can indulge guilt free over the coming weeks. Voice over biz is hibernating like little grizzly bears, but a couple part-time gigs have come up that look exciting so I polished off the old resie and applied.

This weekend it's friends, friends and more friends. What are you up to?

If you feel like a sweet treat but don't want to bake, try this DIY chocolate hazelnut spread. This recommendation especially goes out to our peeps Ant and Chicken (best nicknames ever) who LOVE Nutella.

Bon Weekend!
xo
Jenny C

Is it too late to add something to my wish list?

I am not a big watch person, I tend to rely heavily on my blackberry for time keeping but I could change my ways for one of these WEWOOD watches. From Italy, WEWOOD is inspired by nature and sustainability in their designs. These are organic watches, free of any artificial material and to top it off for every one watch purchased one tree is planted, so you can buy guilt free!

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now”

Images Via WEWOOD

xo J

A Cup Of Cheer

With the holidays in full swing and Christmas around the corner - there's a lot of get-togethers and a lot of raising glasses. If you're hosting a party and want to inject some winter wonderland into your bevies Serious Eats has some great ideas, here's some that I think look particularly drinkable:

Eggnog - the real stuff, made with good ol eggs. I made this boozy version yesterday with my family - it was delicious! I'm not squeamish about raw eggs because my grandma had me drink the yolks beaten with sugar as a child (it was good!). Anyhoodle, if you're feeling brave and aren't pregnant or have auto-immune issues, try it! Recipe and image via Serious Eats.

DIY Spiced Rum If you like mulling wine, try kicking it up to the next level by mulling regular rum into a spicy warm cocktail.

Holiday Punch Similar to the spiced rum above, this recipe uses warm spices like cloves and cinnamon to amp up apple cider and rum. Great for a big party, and an extra wow if you flambe it.

The Chocolate Velvet This drink had me at its name. It's a seemingly bizarre combo of chocolate stout beer and bubbly with a hint of orange. I'm intrigued. Scared but intrigued.

Hot Buttered Mai Tai Ok now you're speaking my language. Y'all know I love mai tais and this recipe makes them a little more wintery. Bartender - a round of doubles please!

Moral of the story - winter is here, so why not share some good cheer indoors with your friends and family. Get out those jiggers and have fun!

One of a Kind

This past weekend the Amis hit up the One of a Kind show (multiple times). This is my second year checking out the wide range of wares the One of a Kind offers. It really is a great venue for up and coming local designers and just in time for the Holiday season. If you were not able to check it out this year I would definitely recommend marking it on your calendars for next. Here the Amis tell you about our favourite picks:

First purchase of the day!

Refreshing lemonade to keep you going!

Jenny: The One of A Kind show was all about jewelery this year. Mixing metals, reclaiming vintage pieces, hard edges and delicate touches. The vendor that took those concepts to the max was Biko Designs. Her pieces were a delicious blend of soft and edgy, pretty and rock n roll. What I especially loved was that every piece had at least one unexpected detail - like my friend Ant who bought a gorgeous clear beaded bracelet and in between two of the beads was a tiny gold wishbone. Flippin awesome! If you have a chance check out her wares at: http://www.bikodesigns.ca/

Jess: This year the jewelry was calling my name, I am now fully re-accessorized! I thought Biko Designs had some great stuff but my fav of the show was Toddlebunny. There was a great mix of whimsical pieces but with an edge, items that were simple and feminine and ones that were combinations of different materials and multi layers, such as one of the bracelets that I picked up that had white leather braided with gold chains with a multitude of dangling charms. I also really loved the introductions of cameos into the collection; they added a very romantic touch to an otherwise simple bracelet. See more of Toodlebunny here http://www.toodlebunny.com

Sonia: The Vancouver One of a Kind Show + Sale has come and gone for another year, and what a plethora of great local and national artists with the most fabulous wares!! There were a lot of outstanding artists and products again this year, but my fave had to be iDENTITY Apparel by Meghan Irish. So I may be somewhat biased because I happen to know this fab Vancouver designer, but her Canadiana inspired men’s line really speaks for itself…and she had a life size canoe in her booth, I mean come on!! Her t-shirts, scarves, tuques and pillows (made of recycled Canadian army blankets) are branded with iconic Canadian inspired images like moose, beavers, curling rocks, the Queen and our beloved Canadian geese. Clean, modern and graphic, these items can dress up the sophisticated Canadian man and keep him warm and toasty for those cool Canadian winters (and I personally love the scarves and tuques for ladies too!) iDENTITY won best booth in show which was a stellar accomplishment for this hardworking designer. Way to go Meghan!!
www.identitytees.ca

xo 3 Amis

Deck The Halls With Rosemary

Home made wreaths - they're fresh, smell great and look amazing. And I just discovered that us mere mortals can make them pretty easily - woo hoo!

Bonus with this wreath: it's edible. If you need a sprig of rosemary for your roast potatoes, just go to your door and grab one!

Disclaimer: You do not need to be crafty AT ALL to do this project! My second to worst grades in high school were earned in art class - if I can do this you can too!

Rosemary and Eucalyptus Wreath
What you need:
Rosemary branches - washed and cut into smaller pieces (I did 6-8inches). Separate the rosemary - one pile of tops, one pile of stems
10 inch wire wreath form
floral wire
cutters
clear "ouchless" ponytail elastics
ribbon (optional)
eucalyptus berries - or any berry/accessory you like

Gather your rosemary branches into bundles of 3 or so. Use one top with its pretty end sticking out a bit, then fill in the bunch with two stem pieces. Secure with an ouchless elastic.

Once your bundles are completed, take a bunch of bundles and just lay them on your wreath form - make sure you've got enough, and make sure the leaves are all going in the same direction.

Next secure some of your floral wire to the wreath form. Lay a bunch of bundles on the form, then use your floral wire to wrap around the bottom of your bundles a few times. Lay down another bunch of bundles with the tops covering the bottom of the previous bundles and secure with wire as before. Continue all the way around the wreath. Cut the wire and tuck it away.

Next take some of your berries and place them into the wreath. The rosemary is thick enough to hold the berries without them falling out. Add as many as you like.

Finish off the wreath with a ribbon at the bottom if you like. And you're done!

Except for the cleanup - (working on a table cloth is a good idea so the rosemary needles don't get everywhere!

Full credit for this project goes to the master of craft non-disasters Ms. Martha. She has a very helpful "how-to" video for this project posted on her site here. I watched it a good 15 times. And like I said, it was easy and turned out very nice.

Go make one too!

Oh, those dog gone days

This is my feel good song of the moment, I know it has been out since the summer but it just keeps popping up for me. First they sang it on Glee, then I danced like a maniac to it at my work Holiday party and then I decided it was the perfect new ring tone for my blackberry. Then I read Jenny's post and thought to myself, "my sister-friend needs this song!" so this is for you Jenny and anyone else who needs it, may I recommend having copius amounts of wine, turning the volume up real loud and dancing to your feet fall off? Hey, it worked for me!




xo J

Flying Solo - Week Eighteen

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Sorry for the radio silence from me last week - it was my birthday and that filled my time with sweet parties avec friends and family as well as some serious contemplating about where I'm at in my life. I've always been a bit grandiose about what being a "success" is, so with my voice biz staying pretty quiet through November, that contemplating wasn't always super fun. Have you ever had some of those days?

Well despite some moments of "yipes I should be busier, richer, smarter, prettier, faster, bulletproof, etc?" - you know, realistic not overally-dramatic stuff (wink, wink)  overall the week ended on the plus side. I ended up sharing 3 birthday cakes with my family - I bought one, my dad bought one, and my guy's mom made me one, my guy and I split a bottle of wine and some delicious pizza (life can't be bad with pizza), I got to watch my friend and her hubby baptize their new little daughter and the amis and I hit up the Waldorf for another Tiki night of fun.

As I stood in the Tiki bar or, more accurately, mildly wobbled with a mai tai in hand, looking down the the long table of friends chatting away, I had a Tiny Tim moment. God bless us everyone? Well, yes. And also, I'm one lucky chica to have so many awesome people to count as family and friends.

So this week if you feel the world getting you down with its push saying maybe you're not "enough" - think of all the people that love you, and tell the world where to shove it, nicely.

Have a great week - big love to y'all!
xo

ps. Thank you for all your calls, emails, texts, hugs n b-day love!! I love you more than there's words to say.

All that glitters!

Part two of my review of all that I love about the holidays, today I am expressing my love of holiday fashion! It feels much more acceptable to wear copius amount of things that sparkle and glitter around this time of year. Lately, I've gone on a little sparkly splurge with a few key items for this festive season,

Cream blouse from Club Monaco with silver sequins

OPI polish in Sparkle-icious, it goes on transparent with glitter so you can layer it over top any of your favorite colours, I chose OPI Red to make it ultra festive (I am saving you the torture of a picture of my toes!)

Sparkly black headband from Forever 21

xo J

Manic Monday

After a busy Monday lets just have a quick reflection on the more relaxing aspects of my weekend...long, lazy, delicious dinners.

Not only did I celebrate Thanksgiving on behalf of my American heritage and fully enjoyed all the usual dishes that accompany the holiday, but I also had a wonderful fall meal with some of my best amis.

Sirloin with red wine and shallot sauce, cheesy risotto and roasted vegetables, with Chocolate Apple Rum cake for dessert. After all that gluttony I am feeling rather sleepy today, and to think, it is only the start of the holiday season! I'm in trouble!

Flying Solo - Week Seventeen

Happy Friday mes amis!

This week I thought I'd wrap things up with a visual display of how I've been spending my Wednesdays. For the past 3 weeks my parents and I have been baking cookies... LOTS of cookies.

Admittedly one of the best parts of not working a regular 9-5 job is the freedom to do stuff like this. We've made some great headway on the "Fill the Freezer with Cookies 2010" campaign. It may look like a lot (and ok it is) but guaranteed they will be gone before New Year's Eve! Here's some of the highlights so far:

Taralli with their sugar dusting

Pizelle in the iron

Fruits of Patience

Taralli's yummy filling - grape reduction, chocolate and nuts

Fill that Freezer!

Nallah's full just thinking about all these cookies

Have a great weekend everyone!
Spend some quality time with the people you love!
xo

Holiday Couch Favorites

November has just flown by and usually I don't allow myself to get in to full Christmas mode until Devember 1st, but the extra chill in the air and all those white flakes comind down from the sky here in Vancouver has me thinking of all the things I love during the holidays. From all the food to the decorating, the festive gatherings and the classic carols, and not to mention those holiday films that year after year never fail to put a smile on your face. What are your go-to holiday movies?

In no particular order, here are some of mine....

Love Actually - ask any woman and it is probably on their list, it is just so good in so many ways

The Family Stone - I have always liked big ensemble casts, and this has a great one, it reminds me of all those big family gatherings and the chaos that ensues.

The Muppet Christmas Carol - So I have a confession to make, I love the Muppets! Always have and always will. Their take on this classic story is priceless.

The Lord of the Rings - Yeah, not a choice you would be expecting, but my brother and I use to spend the time on Christmas Day between opening presents in the morning and dinner in the evening just laying on the couch watching endlees hours of action, so now I always have a nostalgia for these movies around Christmas.

Home Alone - Do I even need to explain why?!

Holiday Wish List

A couple people (i.e. my sister) have been bugging me for ideas for birthday and holiday gifts for me. Apparently I'm "hard to shop for". Do you get that too?

Firstly let me state openly and truly - no gifts are necessary! But if you feel super compelled, and just to make it easier on the people I love - I declare this year The Year of the Gift Cards!

I could use some pretty tops - but instead of fretting over the shelves a g.c. to Aritizia or Plenty would hit the spot! (Pictured tops above are all from Aritizia)

My must read book list is growing too - again a g.c. to Chapters or Amazon.com is another simple winner that I'd put to good use.

Gifts are fun but mostly I love the time we all get to spend together around the holidays. Don't fret, keep it simple and thanks for the thought!

PS What's on your wish list this year?