take a step back

Over the last few months my apartment has slowly but surely become my perfect little home and over the next little while I hope to share some of the little corners that make it all my own. One of the things I knew I wanted was some vintage suitcases, I had seen them all around the web being used as side tables, storage, design features, you name it!



Stepback in Vancouver was the first and only place on my list of places to find some fabulous vintage suitcases. They have such a magical collection of old home and garden pieces that transport you instantly and their adorable shop is packed to the rafters.

I found myself two great suitcases that serve as the perfect bed side table and do doable duty for storage of off season accessories (right now my bathing suits and sandals are anxiously waiting to be freed and replaced by my toques and scarfs....come on spring, show you face!)

Images via Stepback and Me

xo J

orzo with proscuitto + asparagus

If it wasn't detrimental to my petite frame I could eat pasta everyday of the week! The combinations are endless. By far one of my favorite pastas is Orzo, especially if I am lucky enough to hunt down some Greek orzo. For the most part, Italians do it better but when it comes to Orzo those Greeks know how to do it right!

I came across this recipe and knew I had to give it a try...asparagus...check!...Proscuitto...check check!.....taste?....Amazeballs!

Cooking the orzo slowly with the broth is ultimate punch of savoury flavour!

And with a glass of wine on the side it was absolutely delicious! I had to stop myself from eating what I had put aside for the next days lunch.

xo J

a lil bit country + a lil bit rock n' roll

During my recent online purchasing spree which included this pretty little thing I also ended my long hunt for the perfect clutch when I stumbled across Toronto's GraceDesigns Stella Clutch.

The combination of the linen and gold make it super versatile, easily dressed down and dressed up, perfect with jeans and sandals or a fun summer dress and heels.

And it looks like it arrived just in time for some spring weather! Happy Friday everyone!

xo J

Best Bite #10 - Chocolate Banana Cake from Ganache

So I was cruising through the Best Bite list to cross off here when lo and behold I came across a Best Bite we didn't even realize we had tasted!

Ganache Chocolate Banana cake was generously provided by Jenny for me and my other ami's birthday celebration. As you can tell by the above picture it looked fantastic!...and it tasted fantastic to boot! The bottom was a lovely crispy banana cake with layers of a chocolate cake, banana compote and chocolate mousse. It was heavenly! It was the perfect balance of flavour and texture. I liked that the banana was subtle and the chocolate dark and rich.

You can buy them buy the slice but hell you could easily go through a whole cake!


xo J

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