Oh hey Mr. Postman

Nine times out of ten the most exciting thing I find in the mail besides bills and junk is the flyer for the grocery store telling me my favorite cereal is on sale so imagine my joy when not only did the post man bless me with one little treat tucked in my mailbox yesterday but three!

Along with RestorationHardware's MASSIVE spring 2012 catalogue and my personalized gold StarbucksRewards card (woot) I also recieved this lovely necklace from local designer WolfCircus .

I was perusing the website last week and as soon as I saw this chevron necklace I decided that I needed to treat myself (you had me at chevron!). Not only did it arrive super fast (I think I ordered it less than 5 business days ago) it also came with a hand written note from the designer which I thought was a great little touch.

Check out all the great Wolf Circus Jewelry here as well as designer Fiona Morrison's blog for some great style inspiration.

xo J

Sail

Don't really know what it is about this song but I could listen to it alot alot.

Best Bite #9 - Nicli's Bianca Pizza

Yes, I know! It's been awhile! It has been a busy month, work is crazy and I have been somewhat pre-occupied with getting my apartment in order, which it has by leaps and bounds, I am so in love with my apartment! (is that sad?).

Anywhoodle, what better way to start monday with a brand spanking new best bite review. I've written about Nicli before so we were pretty happy to see that one of their pizza's made the list.

We started with the Burrata appetizer because the waiter said they only had one left so we figured it had to be good and it was! I have no idea how often they get this burrata cheese in (fresh off the plane from Italy according to our waiter) but if you ever happen to be there when they do then don't think, just order. If you are a fan of fresh mozzarella then you won't be disappointed.

Next we moved on to the pizza's, we of course ordered the Bianca as that is on the list, but we also got the Margarita, Proscuitto + Arugula and the Capicolla. Now let's get the painful bit out of the way first, the Bianca, carmalized onions, potatoe and gorgonzola, was....ok. I would say that a few of us are not the biggest fans of gorgonzola to begin with but we were open minded, but there was just something missing from this pizza (I thought it needed a good dose of rosemary) it didn't have the wow factor that we think should warrant being one of the best bites in town.

The other pizza's however blew our tastebuds away with deliciousness! It really made us wonder how the Bianca got chosen for the list instead of any of these other ones, the Proscuitto + Arugula was particularly on point, with perfectly silky thin pieces of proscuitto topped with fresh young arugula.

Consensus being that yes they got it right when they put Nicli Antica on the list for best bites in vancouver, but they got it wrong when the chose the Bianca.

xo J

...but look at them now!

If you have been faithfully reading Amis since last year, firstly I thank you, and secondly you might have a distant memory of these , well lo and behold they are finally done!

Over the summer I stripped and sanded the arms to their natural colour and simply applied a coat of sealant. Over the fall the lovely Shannon from KiwiCovers re-upholstered them in a great pre-washed white denim. Now all they need are some bright throw pillows. My little abode is slowly, but surely coming together!

xo J

The Civil Wars

Now I am not usually much of a country music person but the 60 second performance of The Civil Wars on last Sunday's Grammy Awards to me stole the show, sit down Taylor Swift and watch how it is really done.



xo J

Shit Nonnas Say

I know, I know, there are a lot of "Shit People Say" videos floating around right now but I had to post this one simply becuase it pulls on my heart strings. You see, I had a Nonna and I miss her dearly so this video is like she has returned from the grave (with the exception, of course, that she was not a puppet).



This one's for you Nonnie

xo J

Best Bite #8: Macarons from Thierry

From L to R: Pumpkin, Chestnut, Lime, Apple Spice and Lemon

Disclaimer: this is one of those cheats I forewarned you about. Now technically on the Best Bite list it is the pistachio flavoured macaron at Thierry that they recommend, however after three consecutive visits where they were sold out of the pistachio, I made the executive decision that trying five different flavours would compensate for not trying the pistachio.

I love macarons, I love the chewy meringue with the cool creamy centre, these macarons had that texture experience down pat, I was however I bit disapointed in the flavour. Now don't get me wrong, they were good, but they didn't quite have the intense kick of flavour that I have experienced in other macarons. I was particularly excited for the pumpkin but it was so mild that if you didn't know it was pumkin, I don't think you could have guessed. The two citrus macarons were closer to what I expected in terms of getting that kick, and I would say everyone at the table agreed with the overall assesment.

So I would say this bite fell in the middle of the road, nailing it in one category but missing the boat in another.

xo J