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?

Scotch, scotchy, scotch, scotch…Hopscotch!

So turns out, I really don’t love scotchy, scotch, scotch…but at least I gave it a try! And luckily there were a lot of other things to taste at the 2010 Hopscotch Festival that took place this past weekend at the Rocky Mountaineer Station. Hopscotch is the annual Scotch, Whisky and Beer festival in Vancouver and has proven to be the largest combined Whisky and Beer festival across all of Canada.

There is so much to taste from 300 year old Scotch, organic Vodka and fruit flavoured beer. My personal favorites were two Belgium beers. Fruli , a Belgian White Strawberry Beer, a gold medal winner of Britain’s Food and Drink Expo 2004, is a light, all – natural white beer if a truly delicious Strawberry flavor. Also, Delirium Tremens, elected as the best beer in the world! A light beer with a kick being 8.5% alcohol. Plus, the pink elephant icon is too cute.

Jen Being Random & Flying Solo Week Sixteen!

Hi Everybody, 

It's the weekend & I'm happy to share another video post with you. Hope you enjoy it! The amis and I are heading to "HopScotch" tonight - a beer and spirits tasting festival. Mmm yummy and dangerous. We'll tell you more about it next week.

Bon Weekend!

xo

Dream a little dream

Ummmm….so….yeaaaaah… I am in love! With these little dream retreats. You know I like to read a lot right, how perfect would it be if I could curl up in this ah-mazing renovated cottage (Sandra Foster did it all herself for $3,000) and these Rest Nests with a pile of my favorite reads and make them my own secret escape. I mean I am speechless and incredibly jealous.

Sigh…a girl can dream.

Images via Dedon and New York Times

Tropical Room Retro Vibe

A taste of the tropical vibe in the Waldorf Tiki Bar

A delicious bite of Queso Fundido (melted cheesy yumminess)

The newly renovated Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver is a place you must check out. If you have love for good food, tastefully kitschy decor and great old school lounge music you will not be disappointed!

The ideal place for a party - you can go to the Waldorf for drinks, dinner and then check out one or more of their live music/club rooms downstairs - all in one non-pretenious locale.

In fact, my guy and I loved the place so much, I think we're both going to celebrate our birthdays there!

If you do have a chance to go, our favorite spot was the Tiki Bar. It has an instantly great energy thanks to the authentic decor, much dating back to the mid 1950s, and a warm retrofitted sound system. The night we were there the Waldorf folks were spinning retro lounge music records and it was fantastic.

Add in more than one's fair share of killer mai tai's & have yourself a great night!

Living Art Kermodi Style

Kermodi is a very cool local plant décor company in East Vancouver that I recently came cross that creates very sleek looking exterior and interior plant furnishings. That’s right plant furnishings, or as Kermodi aptly puts it, living art. Their sheik planters and terrariums are not your typical fern in a colour clashing pot that’s in your kitchen for added oxygen. Their plantware is based on style as well as function. Simple yet elegant, their focus on shape and succulent greenery that is easy to care for speaks to a clean and modern design approach.

Kermodi’s philosophy is definitely one to be appreciated. They believe that adding living elements into the design of space brings an organic essence, which not only provides a finishing touch, but also a tranquility and natural beauty. The photos on their web site of their plants at work in different spaces provides great inspiration and really demonstrates their vision in action. It’s definitely more upscale than your local nursery, but they do sell their plants in a range of prices. You also have to think of it as Kermodi suggests: more as a piece of art work that you or your gift receiver will have for years to come.

Tis the Season...

…for booties! The best thing is they're not just great for this season, but for all seasons. I think, if I could justify it, I would own many a pair of booties because of their versatility. Currently I have restrained myself to two pairs, one flat black pair from Zara and caramel coloured heeled ones from Clarks, but I am constantly tempted by all the great styles that are out there right now, from wedge booties, motocycle inspired booties, moccasin booties…the list is endless. Here are a few of my faves in various price ranges, from the ultimate splurge down to a more reasonable price:

Ecote Studded Leather Moto Boot - $88.00 - Urban Outfitters

Gravity Pope Pull-on Ankle Boot - $195 - Gravity Pope

Swedish Hasbeens - $395.00 (splurge!) - Gravity Pope/Aritzia

Teenage Dreams

I saw the following scrolled on a bathroom stall at a movie theatre last night... and I quote:

"Taylor Lautner is mine forever!!"

Best part: the bottom of the exclamation points were hearts!!

Which celeb would you deface private property for?

Flying Solo - Week Fifteen

Hi Friends

Holy Guacamole it's almost the weekend! I don't know about you but this week has had an overall weekend feeling, and that's a-ok with me. Voice work was pretty slow this week  - like tumbleweed slow, but I am at peace with that at the moment.

I had a bit of panic about it earlier this week, and I was thinking that what I need to do is build great relationships with studios in town. My problem is though I'm friendly and pretty outgoing - I've known most of my friends for 20+ years. How do I make new friends again??

Do you have any tips? What's worked for you when building relationships with new clients or business partners? I feel like I'm back on the playground on my first day of school. Help!

Air Force Vet Harold Poapst - Photo Courtesy The Globe and Mail

On a separate note before signing off for this week, I want to give a shout out of thanks and remembrance to all the people that have fought, are fighting, or have given their lives for our freedom and the good of the world. Thank you for your service and sacrifice - you are heroes.

Bon Weekend
xo

They might not look like much...

...but I have big plans for these 2 chairs.

With a bit of re-finishing on the wood and new upholstorey they will look as good as new. I saw these in the window of the used furniture where I picked up my white vanity table and thought they had so much potential. Yes, the material is ugly and they need some new stuffing, but I loved the shape of the arms of them. So I will keep you posted as the renovation progresses….oh yeah, and they were only $20 each!

Sah-weet

Warning: The following images will send you running for the nearest bakery.

From Top to Bottom: Turtle Cheesecake from La Baguette et L'Echalote Bakery, Peanut Cake from Anna's Cake House, and a Maple Snickerdoodle from Butter Baked Goods.

Full credit for photographing and showcasing these sinful treats goes to CakeSpy - an amazing baking blog. CakeSpy and her hubby were in Vancouver for the weekend and man did they do some thorough research on Vancouver's best baked goods.

I can fully endorse some of their findings: (Lee's Donuts, La Baguette, Chocolatas, A La Mode, Liberty Bakery), but it was great to read about some places that I haven't been to yet either. Note to self: hunt out Maple Snickerdoodle at Butter, consume other buttery treats there, bring milk.

So thanks CakeSpy for the sweet inspiration! If you want to read her full post and drool some more at your computer screen, follow this link.

5 Things

Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere posted on Friday about the 5 things that made her smile and would help her get through the last day of the work week. This would not be necessary for me on a Friday since I am usually pretty happy about being just a few hours away from the weekend. Monday on the other hand is another story with five long days staring me in the face until the weekend a look back at the five best things of the past weekend helps me out just a bit:

1. Some good old fashioned high school football at Empire Field to cheer on my

2. Lots of drinks with lots of good friends and reminiscing on the good old times

3. A day out with all the girls

(have I mentioned that I have the best group of friends!)

4. Getting to hang out with some adorable munchkins

5. Sunday dinner with the family

Hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Re-cycle, Re-use + Re-invent

Do you have a tangled mess of jewelry that you never wear but can’t bear to throw away? Take some inspiration from Theresa Smed of the Dotted Loop. Theresa takes vintage jewelry and re-works them into new fabulously glamorous pieces. I particularly love the use of vintage scarves and fur collars. They are a mix of old Hollywood glam and new rock star edge. She also does custom pieces!

Last year I provided her with one of my fav pictures of my folks and she placed it in this beautiful rose gold coloured pendant. It was a wonderful experience working with her, she was so enthusiastic and such a sweetheart! Definitely go visit her booth at the One of a Kind show December 9th – 12th.

Images via Dotted Loop

FUSE @ the VAG

" On select Fridays, the Vancouver Art Gallery transforms into THE place for art, music and live performance in the city. Since its inception in July 2005, thousands of Fuse-goers have converged at the Gallery for this unique adult event. Live performances in the Gallery spaces, DJs, eclectic Gallery tours and unexpected surprises have made Fuse Vancouver's favourite see-and-be-seen event." Quote from the Vancouver Art Gallery website. Next Fuse event is tomorrow Friday November 5th...I know, it's a bit short notice! I'm going to try to attend the following Fuse event and I'll let you know how it is and what it's all about. It sounds like a lot of fun and a great place to meet new people!

WEDDING WEDNESDAYS...Veil Wedding Show

Here’s a little promo for Veil, an intimate meet and greet with a small group of established local wedding pros. Many of the wedding fairs that are offered in Greater Vancouver can be very large and overwhelming, and brides-to-be feel more like herded cattle then a distinctive client in search of appropriate wedding vendors. Veil is a refreshing take on the traditional wedding show. It provides a smaller, more personlised version with a relaxed atmosphere where you can chat at length with top wedding professionals like photographers, florists and decorators… while sipping a glass of vino and savouring a canape or two (classy)! It takes place at different venues throughout Greater Vancouver 4 to 6 times a year, and it's only advertised through the wedding vendors attending and by word of mouth so it's a much more exclusive event. Definitely my recommendation for brides-to-be who are looking to attend a wedding show!

That's Mint

Like walking into a chic home decor magazine - a trip to Mint will make your eyes sparkle like their walls. This new home decor and furniture store in Vancouver has unique, handcrafted and stunning pieces from designers across the globe.

Some pieces that I loved the most were their ibride trays. ibride is an amazing design firm from France that you must check out - and Mint carries a wide selection of their line if you want something for your home now.

More beautifulness in the form of acrylic side tables and STUNNING mirror - my photo does it no justice. Also boo that I didn't note the designers! There is a lot of product info on Mint's site though if you follow the link at the top or bottom of this post.

Mint also creates custom furniture like the killer sofa in their display room and lovely occasional chairs. If you have a small mint to spend (let's be real - it costs money to buy such beautiful things), or if you just feel like furnishing the mansion in your mind, stop by Mint and check out their offerings.

Mint Interiors
1805 Fir St.
Vancouver BC
Tel: 604.568.3430
Web: www.mintinteriors.ca