marcel & me

Happy Chanukah!!!

2011-12-20T18:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to everyone!

So far this year the holidays have been all about singing. Singing Oy Chanukah, Handel's Messiah & Wham's Last Christmas. Going to a sing-along Sound of Music. And tonight going to sing Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper and David Bowie with Choir!Choir!Choir!

Halloween!

2011-11-03T02:36:00.000-04:00

I love Halloween! I love the imagination and transformation that happens when people are given license to run wild with ideas.

The Fine Fellow wasn't feeling so great, so decided to replay his disco costume (and he really does love wearing this wig).

I have always been a huge Carmen Miranda fan and when realized that my grade 12 prom dress (which was still in my closet) had the perfect top I knew I had to make this costume happen. I chopped the top off and sewed it onto a strapless bra and presto, Carmen Miranda top!

But the hat proved to be a major challenge. So after attempting to make one myself, I ended up buying a pre-made one and then completely rearranged it with the aid of a hot glue gun. And I even had to get another little felt hat to support underneath and hold up all those bananas, cherries and the parakeet!

Then at the last minute the Fine Fellow and I got tickets to the Silver Snail Halloween Party. So while we were not exactly dressed "appropriately" for the comic booky theme of the evening, everyone else sure was. Those are the Muppet X-Men!!

And here are the members of Alpha Flight - the only Canadian Super Hero team I've ever heard of!

This was one of my favorites of the evening ...

Obi Wan, Princess Leia & Han Solo

love these guys ...

Team Zissou!

and this, which won a big prize ...

The fine fellow and I had absolutely no idea who half the revelers were dressed as but it was quite fun talking to people and finding out what their stories were. And though I was convinced that very few people at this event had any idea what I was dressed as, I won a prize!!

the spare room update

2011-10-12T06:11:00.000-04:00

Due to a wonderful but slightly nutty summer that involved the bathroom ceiling collapsing, and visits from my fabulous siblings and friends from the Big Apple, those new ideas I had for the spare room have been slow in coming to fruition.

And though I still haven't painted all that untreated wood on the shelf or the bed,

put upholstered panels on the headboard,

replaced the Ikea dresser,

or properly re-upholstered the little chair;

I am truly amazed at the difference rearranging the furniture, and adding some darling curtains from Mod Cloth and some sheers from Ikea has made!

If you'd like a reminder of what it used to look like go here. There will be yet another roomie moving in this weekend to make it her own and fall in love with Marcel.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-10-10T06:12:00.002-04:00

To all my Canadian friends and family!!

I would like to give particular thanks to the men in my life who have gone out of their way to make me smile, make me feel safe, make me feel loved, and make damn sure I have a good time.

The Fine Fellow - there are not enough words for what I love about this man.

He is both incredibly sweet and incredibly sexy!

Perry - has been a source of so much wonderful silliness and support.

He actually offered to let me walk on him.

Tyler - has literally fixed many of my problems by mending what was broken.

And he always dances with me.

Jesse - his generosity knows no bounds and he is a master of playing. He also literally kept the boat afloat.

David - has the kindest heart and throws the meanest party. He made this Disco Party the best party of the summer, and that's saying something!

Kenny - for the openness of his spirit and the love that pours out of him.

I am thankful for these friendships.

For the kindness, generosity, helpfulness, sauciness and manliness of these men.

And very thankful for the unexpected.

So, so grateful for all the love.

And for DISCO!

let love rule

2011-10-06T06:28:00.006-04:00

Okay, hi there, I've been kinda awol, I know but I'm back. As you might have guessed from my last couple of posts this summer brought some interesting challenges to my door. But my horoscope has improved dramatically and so has my life!

"You have cosmic clearance to fall deeply, madly, and frequently in love, Gemini. In fact, it's OK with the gods of fate and the angels of karma if you swell up with a flood of infatuation and longing big enough to engorge an entire city block. The only stipulation those gods and angels insist on is that you do not make any rash decisions or huge life changes while in the throes of this stupendous vortex. Don't quit your job, for instance, or sell all your belongings, or dump your temporarily out-of-favor friends and loved ones. For the foreseeable future, simply enjoy being enthralled by the lush sexy glory of the liquid blue fire." Rob Brezsny, Free Will Astrology

I'm gonna go with that. Here are a few new things that are making me love my kitchen even more than before.

Mercury is retrograde

2011-08-13T11:27:00.000-04:00

From Rob Brezsney's Free Will Astrology:

"When Mercury is retrograde, as it is for the next few weeks, it does not mean communication snafus are likely. Rather, it tells you this is a great time to refine the ways you exchange information . . . and to concentrate harder on saying what you mean and meaning what you say . . . and to meditate on how to improve the ways you connect yourself to the people and resources you need and like.

Some people say that when Mercury is retrograde, it's a bad time to begin anything new. During one such period two years ago, an acquaintance of mine decided to delay accepting a dream job offer as editor of a magazine. By the time Mercury returned to normal, the magazine had hired another applicant. I wish I'd have known, because I would have told her what I'll tell you: Some of America's biggest, most enduring Fortune 500 companies began when Mercury was retrograde, including Disney, Goodyear, and Boeing."

Mercury is seriously retrograding my life right now and since I'm a Gemini, Mercury rules.

a beachy visit

2011-08-05T15:13:00.002-04:00

The visit from my New York friends turned out to be quite a bit more this (whining and screaming):

than this (smiling and laughing):

I'll be back next week once I've recovered.

a girly bbq

2011-07-28T13:27:00.001-04:00

The bathroom ceiling remains unfixed but that doesn't mean I haven't been having some fun times round these here parts.

I hosted a gaggle of girly friends over on the island. There were so many of us we went over to my friend David's spot since he has a lovely lawn and space for everyone to spread out.

Everyone brought incredibly yummy dishes and Diana even made her own sausage - which I have to admit I have daydreams about how good they were!

And someone else made ribs! It was so nice that my friends and the fine fellow's friends and even Perry all got along.

In fact several of them got along better than even I could have imagined! The island really is a magical place!

one step forward and two steps back

2011-07-26T06:02:00.000-04:00

Progress is being made in the spare bedroom - yay! But then this happened in the bathroom.

Yes, that's right, the ceiling is falling down.

And thar she blows!

Unfortunately, now the spare bedroom is full of everything that was in the bathroom! And guests are coming on Saturday!! Hopefully the ceiling will be fixed by then.

new ideas in progress

2011-07-20T06:07:00.006-04:00

Here's a small peek at what's happening in the spare room - the curtains have arrived and I actually lined the one for the door!

There are still shelves to be hung, wood to be painted and mirrors to be re-situated, but I think it's already so much better!

new ideas

2011-07-13T11:27:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit mia lately. I'm actually working a bit right now to fund birthday plane tickets for both my siblings. Very excited that they'll both be visiting in August - yay! Not only are they coming but so is my girlfriend from NYC with her hubby and my two most favorite kids - Tomio & Julia! So it's a good thing I've got some new ideas about how to spruce up the spare room!

I really haven't done anything in here since I quickly set it up for my first roommate about two years ago. So yes, that ugly rice paper blind is still there.

But not for long! Thanks to Emily from Secrets of a Stylist, I'm getting curtains for this room! No, I didn't win them, but when I saw them I thought they would be just the thing I didn't know I was looking for.

As I was thinking about how awesome these beauties will make things, it occurred to me that there might be a better way to organize the space. Now that I've rearranged the furniture I know I'm right! I'm pretty sure I can get a twin size blow-up mattress in there now, which will be crucial for the kids to have their own beds, particularly now that Tomio is taller than me! Once the curtains arrive, and I've primped and spruced, I'll show it all off.

Happy 4th of July!!

2011-07-04T11:14:00.000-04:00

Hope all my friends and family in the USofA are enjoying their day off today! Marcel thought you might enjoy this:

Happy Canada Day!!

2011-07-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

Yay for long summer weekends!

I'm continuing my challenge to make a different green salad & quinoa salad every weekend and using up a fennel by making this:

I'm going to make a romaine salad w/ blueberries, figs & coconut - cause that's what's in the fridge. Then I'm going to pack it all up on the bike and head over to the island for this:

A wonderful weekend of celebrations to all!!

the summer of lobster?

2011-06-23T05:32:00.004-04:00

I think this could be the one.

These were so big and sooooo goooooood!

And yes, there was turf with that surf. But I'm trying to eat less meat on the island so my goal is to make a different quinoa salad and green salad every weekend.

The green salad was a version of a niscoise: romaine lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, snow peas, cooked potatos & chopped hard-boiled eggs in a vinaigrette.

The quinoa salad had: pineapple, red pepper, green onions, garlic, cilantro & pumpkin seeds. The dressing really made this even better the next day: pineapple juice, lime juice, white wine vinegar, avocado oil and grated ginger - so fresh & yum!!

goin to the island for more than 30 years

2011-06-16T06:04:00.003-04:00

Just found these pics of the little sibs and our friend Jenny waiting for the ferry to the island.

look at those pants I'm wearing on the right!

Oh man they were so cute! They may not be little any more but they sure were back in what I'm guessing is probs 1979.

I'm trying to arrange a little reunion for us Jenkinses in August so we can take some trips down memory lane together.

I am so digging my outfit - that yellow poncho rocks! I will have to get one for Ceciley for her visit so we can do some matchy photo-ops. We like those ;)

birthday flowers from Marcel

2011-06-13T06:28:00.000-04:00

Marcel knows how much I love flowers and he's the only man in my life who ever buys them for me. Last year he got me the most incredible peonies for my birthday and this year lovely lilacs. He loves the smell too.

He agreed to pose for a few "still-life with cat" photos to kick off the week.

Happy Monday everyone!

the end of the birthday

2011-06-10T10:36:00.002-04:00

After my fabulous nap the fine fellow returned from the city with lobster tails for an incredible birthday bbq dinner.

I made an amazing spinach salad with pears, blackberries, peas and walnuts with a maple dressing, and a tomato, cucumber and basil salad. The fine fellow cooked up some asparagus with portobello mushrooms in garlic in his sexy red pan and we had an amazing looking meal on the table.

That lobster was soooo good!! We finished things up with my favorite coconut-lime cake (which is of course wheat & dairy free) and sliced strawberries - yum!

Stuffed and happy - turning 40 has been pretty great! Thank you so much to everyone who has sent me kind wishes!!

You know what I wished for? I wished that I could really really feel the love that everyone around me has for me. I got this in so many more ways than I could possibly have imagined. I am truly grateful!

the day I turned 40

2011-06-09T05:41:00.008-04:00

Was a totally gorgeous day! This is what I found when I finally rolled out of bed on the boat at almost noon. Bella had come and decorated!

Then after a little brunch I went for a lovely bike ride and discovered the biggest lilac bush I have ever seen!

I just had to come over and be surrounded by their amazing smell and look out onto the lake and feel grateful for all the beauty around me.

Then I went back to the boat and set up my tanning bed on the roof where a very insistent red-winged black bird kept calling to me to feed him.

He keeps getting closer but is not as tame as the one the fine fellow fed by hand last year.

And then, since it had been such a strenuous day, I took a nap.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2011-06-07T10:15:00.004-04:00

This is how I started my birthday!!

That's right, a hot tub on the island with my cowboy!

And my darling sister Ceciley made me this sweet video.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes - you all rock!

Marcel in action!

2011-06-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

My sister wanted to do a video about Marcel so she could have all his cuteness with her when she's in LA. Here it is!

what am I going to do with my life?

2011-05-30T07:46:00.006-04:00

The count down is on. I turn 40 in one week.

So far I've had a month off to do quite a bit of thinking about what to do with my life. I've been having a hard time coming up with a clear idea of what that is.

I think that has something to do with the fact that I very rarely ask myself what I really want (other than shoes). I've spent most of my life trying to do what other people have wanted or needed me to do, or doing what I thought I had to do.

I've spend 40 years doing that. I think it's time to spend the next 40 figuring out - and doing - what I want to do.

I want to live on a boat. I really want to live on a boat in California or maybe Hawaii - it's gotta be somewhere hot all year round.

But what do I want to do? As a result of repeatedly asking myself this question, some interesting things have arrived in my life to help me find the answers.

On Friday, Jason Mraz put up a post on his blog, Freshness Factor Five Thousand, about a blog called The Daily Love. There are so many wonderful ideas on this website about the power of positive thinking, how to love yourself and others better, and how to get what you want out of life.

A post that particularly caught my eye was one called "How to be a magnet for what you want" by Gabrielle Bernstein. Now obviously you have to know what you want to become a magnet for that thing but I liked Gabby's style.

So I went to her YouTube page and checked out some more of her thoughts. And in this short chat about what she wants out of life, I think I found a good starting place.

I want to figure out how best to serve with love.

I want to help people by doing what I'm good at - which is helping people see the forces at work in their lives and how to change them or just change how they think about them and be happier. I want to help people get happy! Now who wants some help?

Marcel likes banana pancakes

2011-05-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

My sweet sister Ceciley makes really great mixed CDs and she put Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" on the one I was listening to the other day. Made me really want to eat some real banana pancakes.

Good thing I bought some Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix. I find these are especially yummy if I add vanilla and cinnamon to the mix.

Marcel likes them too! It was raining and I am pretending it's the weekend all the time!

Wishing you all a wonderful real weekend!

we swabbed the deck

2011-05-23T05:32:00.002-04:00

Well actually Perry vacuumed the deck, but that just doesn't sound as good.

And he also scrubbed down the walls and cupboards.

I fixed and hung the curtains and organized the closet.

Hey, when we lived together I did most of the cleaning and all of the laundry, so I figured he should clean his own boat.

Once things got to looking pretty good Perry quickly understood that living on the boat requires 3 very important things: a fridge, a BBQ and a water cooler. So he took off to Home Depot to acquire these things since he had invited everyone he knows to come and see the boat on Saturday.

So Saturday morning I met Perry at the dock to help him load his new purchases onto a water taxi and take it all over to the boat.

It was a good thing he bought a fridge and a BBQ and the water because everyone he invited over arrived at some point on Saturday!

Twelve people showed up throughout the day and at one point there were eight people on the roof. Somehow I managed not to get any photos of that.

Since the roof has the most space and gets the best sunlight, Perry has decided that the first order of business is to set the roof up as a proper deck. He's going to try and make that happen this week.

Perry's friend KC brought his little daughters Tegan-8 and Teryn-5 over and before they destroyed the boat or fell in the lake with all their running and jumping I took them over to the park to play on the slide and the swings and then we walked over to the beach to play in the sand.

I think everyone who came to visit will be clamoring to come back on the next nice day!

it floats my boat!

2011-05-19T11:07:00.007-04:00

Because the boat floats!! Perry had to make up a name for it quick on the spot when he registered it at the marina.

He's calling it "Spooncake". Yes, after one of his favorite deserts.

Could have been worse, he could have called it Chocolate Flan. (I did mention that he can change it whenever he wants.)

The table and benches at the front convert into a double bed. But the table is too high and the width of it cramps the benches so Perry is thinking of ripping that out and building in an "L" shape couch which could turn into a bed.

Yesterday we went and threw out all the crap left behind by the previous owner. They hadn't gotten rid of anything and that closet right behind the bench was full of years worth of mildewy junk. Perry's thinking about ripping out the closet to make room for a fridge - I vote yes to that.

This is mostly the junk we brought with us. That wooden door behind the chair is the tiny, non-working fridge.

The lower bunk is a double bed and the upper bunk is a single. The single does fold down to make a couch back, but I'm suggesting it get removed because the head clearance on the lower bed is crappy. With a bed at the front and a bed at the back, I think that's enough. And he could always keep a blow-up mattress on hand if he really wants to have a slumber party.

We found a jillion life-jackets, which will come in handy, and a bunch of old novels from the 70's, which I may read. You know, while sitting on the back deck admiring my favourite willow tree.

What am I saying? The place is filthy and we haven't actually cleaned anything yet - that's tomorrow.

more boat, more island

2011-05-17T05:39:00.006-04:00

So Perry bought a little house-boat and tomorrow we find out if it floats. What? Yes, we don't know if it really floats, but tomorrow it arrives and goes in the water and I can't wait to see what happens ...

I really hope it does because the island at this time of year is incredibly beautiful.

There's hardly anyone around so its

tranquil,

serene,

and vibrant.

spring is officially here!

2011-05-11T06:01:00.008-04:00

What's that I spy outside my window?

Yes the trees are blooming! The apple trees in my backyard which I can spy outside my kitchen window.

And finally the gorgeous cherry trees in High Park!

Magnolias are blooming too! But I gotta say, I've been fairly unproductive. I think it's time to start doing stuff, making plans and setting the alarm clock because after a few repairs the fine fellow's boat should be in the water in a week.

And, I did such a great job talking about how great it is over on the island that Perry has bought himself a little house-boat too - should be arriving at the marina on Tuesday! So, I've got about a week to get things all spring cleaned and organized before I start spending a lot more time on the island!!!

blue and green

2011-05-09T05:30:00.003-04:00

A couple of friends from work commissioned me to make some special requests and I finished one of them this weekend. Wendy's daughter Emily is going to two proms - she's doing a very princess-y outfit for her own prom and for the other she's wearing this BCBG dress:

and to give it a bit of pizazz she's wearing these BCBG shoes:

I love these shoes! But Wendy was having a devil of a time finding jewelry to work. We agreed that lapis lazuli would be gorgeous but she hadn't been able to find anything that wasn't an absolute fortune. I believe I have now saved the day with what I came up with.

Lapis lazuli and serpentine. Did you know that the first blue eyeshadow was simply crushed lapis worn by Cleopatra?

Emily is going to look stunning in this ensemble if I do say so myself!

UPDATE: here she is!

my first week off work

2011-05-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to do as little as possible this week.

Just decompress and let the ol' job disappear from my habits.

That is just going to take a little time to make space in my brain for new things.

Baby bunnies seem to help with this!

See you next week!

Ceciley's birthday bunnies

2011-04-29T05:24:00.005-04:00

It's Ceciley's birthday tomorrow and as you know I sent her several pairs of clip-on earrings made just for her.

And a very cute dress from Zara (I bought one for me too)!

And then of course I sent her some bunnies!

But I thought I'd send her a few more here so we could all enjoy some cuteness at the end of a very long week.

What is it about a bunny in a tea cup that is extra cute?

Ask ...

and you shall receive!

You want bunny kisses?

Here you go!

Have a great weekend everybody and happy birthday to my sweet sister!

etsy experiment continues

2011-04-26T13:18:00.003-04:00

I've tried out some new "poses" for earrings with a few new pairs that I've made by hanging them from some other pieces of my vintage pottery collection. I love how the little hand looks!

And the green vase is a nice soft backdrop. I have lavender in it but that didn't show up in the close ups.

I love the smoky mauve and pink taupe pearls together - this is going to be a rare pair.

The white pitcher does a pretty good job too.

Then I worked on the banner and I was hoping it would look like this ...

but once I made it the correct size for etsy it turned into this ...

I guess I'll need to have another go at this to get more beads in the banner photo. Here's the link to the store again: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JessicaLovesJewelry

Happy Long Weekend!!

2011-04-22T16:26:00.000-04:00

And happy holidays to all my friends and family celebrating holiday-type stuff this weekend!!

Us Jenkins like to celebrate all things bunny in April.

Since Ceciley's birthday is coming up and spring is finally here.

So here's a little Vernon for ya - played by Mr Lapin.

le creuset

2011-04-21T05:40:00.005-04:00

Today is the fine fellow's birthday - yay!! But he is very hard to shop for. I was racking my brains for quite a while until it occurred to me that he has been known to lament the fact that he doesn't have a cast iron frying pan so that he can put omelettes in the oven so they get nice an fluffy - he makes a mean omelette. So I took a poll amongst all my lady-friends at work who are good cooks and they all agreed, Le Creuset is the only way to go.

This stuff is not cheap people, but it comes with a life-time guarantee. Of course, I did go looking for the best price I could find. I wasn't even going to look on-line because I figured the cost to ship a 6 pound frying pan would be ridiculous. But guess what I found? A place in Canada, where it was on sale and free shipping in the US and Canada!! It's called Creative Cookware. They shipped me the pan FedEx and I got it the next day - amazing!

And while I was there I fell in love with a green-apple green tea kettle. My current tea kettle is in bad shape, but it's probably the thing I use the most in the kitchen. Naturally I shared my love of all these green pots and pans with the work lady-friends and guess what they did?

They ordered the kettle for me as my goodbye gift! But they were soon thwarted and informed that this colour has been discontinued. So they all scoured the city to find me one and in the end they did. Isn't she lovely? They really are the best work-mates a girl could ask for and they're the only thing I'm going to miss when I leave the ol' job in a week.

etsy experiment

2011-04-18T05:25:00.001-04:00

OK well, I thought I had kind figured out how I wanted to approach the etsy thing and what I wanted my banner to look like and how I would like to photograph the earrings. All of it very do-able but requiring some new fonts and new pictures. I figured I had about two weeks as I wanted it to be ready for my sister's birthday.

I mailed her presents to her last week thinking it could take a while for them to get to her. But they arrived super early and she opened them right away. And wore them right away. And made a video and talked about them right away.

And the video will be up on YouTube later today. So I scrambled to throw something together late last night and get etsy up and running - ahhhhhh! It's not at all what I want it to be just yet, but it's there. I'm interested to see what happens! Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JessicaLovesJewelry

counting the days

2011-04-15T06:03:00.019-04:00

I'm very excited for two things that are coming up very soon. First, the cherry blossoms in High Park that I adore are due to bloom in about a week.

Second, it's only two weeks until my last day at my job!!!!

Crocuses in the front yard this morning - yay!

eat pray love

2011-04-12T12:44:00.002-04:00

I love this book. I do. I really do. I've read it about 5 times now. I first read it when Perry and I were on an idyllic vacation in Mexico, where everything was beautiful but our relationship was falling apart and I was crying almost every day. Liz made me cry a bit more but she helped me so much get though that difficult time with as much kindness as possible to both myself and to Perry.

And then I read it again when I was in a happy place, and Liz made me laugh with her and her observations about life. After I saw the movie I read it again because I didn't really want Julia Roberts' voice in my head, I wanted to hear Liz. And now she feels like an old friend, or at least the voice in the book feels like my friend. So last night, on her second last speaking engagement to talk about this book and the one that came after, I went to hear Liz Gilbert speak. She is lovely, and funny, and smart, and wise, and silly, and so very human.

I appreciate all the more that after having "solved" all her problems in Eat, Pray, Love, she goes on to have a few more problems in her second book. And then while she was writing the second book she encountered a rather large crisis about the work she felt she was always meant to do and she had to figure out how to manage her way through that too. I take something new away from the book every time I read it. This is what's keeping me company this time - thanks Liz!

"So I’ve started being vigilant about watching my thoughts all day, monitoring them. I repeat this vow about 700 times a day: “I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore.” Every time a diminishing thought arises, I repeat the vow. I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore. The first time I heard myself say this, my inner ear perked up at the word “harbor”, which is a noun as well as a verb. A harbor, of course, is a place of refuge, a port of entry. I pictured the harbor of my mind – a little beat-up perhaps, a little storm-worn, but well situated and with a nice depth. The harbor of my mind is an open bay, the only access to the island of my Self (which is a young and volcanic island, yes, but fertile and promising). This island has been through some wars, it is true, but is now committed to peace, under a new leader (me) who has instituted new policies to protect the place. And now – let the word go out across the seven seas – there are much, much stricter laws on the books about who may enter this harbor.

You may not come here anymore with your hard and abusive thoughts, with your plague ships of thoughts, with your slave ships of thoughts, with your warships of thoughts – all these will be turned away. Likewise any thoughts that are filled with angry or starving exiles, with malcontents and pamphleteers, mutineers and violent assassins, desperate prostitutes, pimps and seditious stowaways – you may not come here anymore either. Cannibalistic thoughts, for obvious reasons, will no longer be received. Even missionaries will be carefully screened, for sincerity. This is a peaceful harbor, the entryway to a fine and proud island that is only now beginning to cultivate tranquility. If you can abide by these new laws, my dear thoughts, then you are welcome in my mind – otherwise I shall turn you back toward the sea from whence you came. That is my mission, and it will never end."

clafoutis ... almost

2011-04-11T05:25:00.007-04:00

The saga of the wheat-free clafoutis continues. I am determined to make one of these because I LOVE it! To recap, I have made this twice now and both times were massive failures. But, hey-ho, I have a new pyrex pie plate and so I decided to go back the the original recipe and try again to see what would happen.

Okay, much better. I overcooked it a bit I think, and it puffed up and then fell after I took it out of the oven. But it was totally edible and pretty good. So, the vintage pie plate was the big problem here. Next time I will try another recipe with more eggs cause I would like it to be eggy-er.

After I made this I looked up some videos to see if I could pick up some tips on how to do it better. I found this handy and entertaining video where Chef Nathan makes it in pan - enjoy!

etsy obsessed

2011-04-08T06:19:00.004-04:00

I've been a bit awol this week because I'm obsessed with trying to figure out all the things I need to do to make this etsy store happen.

Still trying to make up my mind what I'm going to call it - which is pretty crucial. Looking at fonts. Trying to decide if I want to use my own handwriting for the script. Looking for a good image of what I think I want to use for a logo ...

And making more stuff!! So it's taking over my life a bit right now, but it's such a fun project. I'll let you know how it's coming once I figure a few more things out.

Slut Walk Toronto

2011-04-04T06:13:00.006-04:00

What the what? you may be asking! Well I did something that is pretty important to me yesterday. I went on a peaceful protest - to protest the blaming of victims of sexual assault by police, judges, and a whole lot of regular people who think that if a woman had just done (insert anything here) she could have avoided being raped. Which focuses the blame on the woman and not on the rapist.

Why is this a big deal? you might ask. Well Heather Mallick had some excellent things to say about this in a recent article but this is the one that stands out the most to me:

"In 2002, British teenager Lindsay Armstrong, 16, was raped. In court she was told to hold up the thong she'd been wearing when attacked. “Little Devil,” it read. Lindsay had been very proud of her fashionable underwear and, her parents said, she was mortified by having to show them in court. “She was horrified and crying,” her mother said. Three weeks later, Lindsay killed herself."

so much bravery

Here's another reason: recently Kenneth Rhodes, was granted a two year conditional penalty with no jail time for raping a 20 year old woman in Manitoba. The judge said the victim gave out signs that "sex was in the air" because she was wearing a tube top and said she'd be interested in skinny dipping. He called the rapist a "clumsy Don Juan" who may have misunderstood when he raped her along a darkened highway. "I hope they appeal. I would like some justice. This is not real justice to me. It's a slap on the wrist," said the victim. The woman said she has suffered severe psychological trauma from the attack, including trust issues with men and a fear of being alone.

And another: Fernando Manuel Alves, 46, got handed a nine-month conditional sentence, again no jail time, for his second arrest for rape. In sentencing, the judge said Alves was not pathologically dangerous but had committed a "crime of opportunity". It was revealed during the trial that the woman woke up in Alves's bed bruised and bleeding after having been drugged at a downtown Vancouver nightclub. The woman told the court her will to live had been drained because of what happened to her and that she no longer feels safe.

These are among the many reasons why 9 out of 10 women don't even report being raped. Here's the latest one: in January, a representative of the Toronto Police told a group of university students that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”.

So 2, yes only two, women decided to do something about it. They organized a walk - a slut walk - and a facebook page. And yesterday 2 thousand, yes two thousand, women and men walked to police headquarters to ask for better training for police officers. You know who does the training now? other officers. You know what they have said to this request? nothing.

there I am to the left of the person in the sunglasses

So I marched in my fish nets and short skirt and shit-kicker boots, with that sign that says "STOP the victim blame". Because my best friend from high school was raped in her first months of college by a highly revered athlete and she was blamed and shamed and she dropped out of school and never got a university degree. Because as Jane Doe said in her speech yesterday "if women could end rape, we would have". Because no one should ever be raped but she certainly should not be blamed for it. Because it's time to lay the blame at the rapists door, and it's time for men, especially men in positions of power like police officers and judges, to start taking responsibility for how some other men behave. But we should none of us be silent.

what's in a name?

2011-03-31T06:17:00.002-04:00

I named yesterday's post "Jessica's Jeweleries" just to be cute, but I do need to come up with a name for this etsy store if I'm gonna get this show on the road. That's probably just a bit too cute, but I like the double J happening there since those are my initials.

I need to find a name that's not already taken and here's advice directly from etsy about naming:

Choose a name that is easy to remember and spell. You want potential buyers to be able to recognize, remember, and be able to find you again, even if they have briefly visited your shop.
Try to limit your shop name to one or two words that flow well together. For example, “JessicasDesigns” works a thousand times better than something like “beaddesignsbyjessica.” Make sense?

It does make sense. What you you-all think of JessicaLovesJewelry?

jessica's jeweleries

2011-03-30T05:50:00.054-04:00

Here I present you with some photographic experiments of recent earrings made by me and modeled with the help of some West Elm purchases.

This is now the best thing ever for organizing projects I'm working on:

aquamarine and labradorite on silver

labradorite and pearl on antique brass

labradorite and quartz on antique brass

labradorite and pearl on antiqued brass

coral and brass birds

I definitely think some of these work better than others. The mercury glass votives seem too reflective and I think that's the same problem with the silver bowl. But would the better ones be good enough to put on etsy? Would love to know your thoughts about this.

And there's lots of labradorite on the go right now because my sister made a birthday request and then I just got kinda carried away!

West Elm goodies

2011-03-29T05:35:00.049-04:00

Here's what I got on the weekend. I'd been wanting another set of measuring spoons since, you know, I do soooo much baking now. And these are such a beautiful colour.

So pretty in fact that I decided I needed the matching measuring cups.

And then I'd been chatting with Anne so much over brunch about my jewelery ideas and the etsy store - what should I call it, how would I photograph stuff, organize stuff - all of that. So when I saw the egg crate all I could think of was putting beads in it!

Then I saw these little lacquered bowls and all I could think of was how they would make a great background for earrings. I got a yellow and a silver one.

And I thought the little bamboo bowls would make an interesting colour and pattern background too.

The mercury votive holders were just too pretty to leave behind.

Stay tuned to see how this little experiment works out!

brunch & Balzac's

2011-03-28T05:44:00.024-04:00

Anne and I got together for brunch finally after way too many rain checks. And since it had been so long we decided to go for our favourite green eggs and ham at Mildred Pierce. There was lots of catching up of all sorts and then we went across the way to West Elm to check out all the spring goodies. Raina at If the Lampshade Fits and Nicole at Making It Lovely had me all excited to see what was in store. I'll have to show you what I got later in the week.

Then we went to Balzac's for coffee and a treat. I love this place even though I don't actually drink coffee anymore. I did have a nice hot cider.

I still love the smell of coffee, and the gorgeous floor and the beautiful bar.

It is everything I think a cafe should be (if only they served almond milk and some nice wheat-free goodies).

Anne wore the birthday gift Marcel made her.

And I wore the scarf that Anne made me for x-mas.

And a pair of amythist earrings I made for myself.

Anne thinks I should open an etsy shop. I think she may be right. What do you all think?

I spoke too soon ...

2011-03-23T12:56:00.002-04:00

I believe I mentioned that the snow was all gone ...

IT CAME BACK!!

I took these as I left the house this morning and it's still coming down. Spring, please come back soon!

I'm on a roll ...

2011-03-22T05:55:00.035-04:00

Last year Marcel really wanted to make Siobhan's birthday present and he truly did a wonderful job! But this year I decided it was my turn because I was inspired by her red lipstick to do something red and dramatic.

Instead, as you can see, I ended up with something a bit more like Anne's gift. And that would be because Siobhan confided that when she saw Anne's she absolutely loved it.

Also, she has very beautiful aquamarine eyes so this really will go with just about anything.

Happy First Day of Spring!!

2011-03-21T15:08:00.003-04:00

Hope all of you lovelies out there are experiencing spring's bounty. Around here - not so much. But hey, the snow is gone, the days are getting much longer, and I went to the island on the weekend!!!

You know it's still cold because those are arctic ducks swimming around in the lake. But it was still super fun to ride our bikes down and get on the ferry for the trip over to the island to do a bit of work on the boat.

There's the fine fellow's berth all covered in ice. But so soon the boat will be right there again. And then the BBQ will get fired up and the sun will be shining!

Of course the real reason I volunteered for boat maintenance was because I wanted to see how my swans were doing. And I swear they recognized my voice!!

Big Daddy Swannee and Mommy Swannee came right over and seem to have sent their teenagers off on their own.

It's so wonderful to see them again! And I'm wondering if they will have another clutch of cygnets this year for us to oooh and aaah over. I can't wait to see if they do!

Happy St. Patrick's day!!

2011-03-17T06:12:00.001-04:00

To all my friends and family - because today we're all Irish and as far as I'm concerned it is officially spring!!

So sing dance and raise a glass of whatever you enjoy (but please don't drink and drive). Be grateful for all the joys of life and send some healing thoughts to the places in the world that need some.

I give good advice

2011-03-16T05:51:00.002-04:00

I really do! In my last post I asked if anyone needed advice - cause I like giving it and I think it's something I'm pretty good at. I really like helping people lift some of the weights that are pressing down on them. Only one blog friend took me up on this and I think we had a really great and productive exchange!

But it's really interesting what happens when you put something out there because a whole lot of people who don't even read this blog opened up about their problems and shared them with me in the last few days. Lots of people in my life with scary changes in store. Lots of people redefining important relationships and themselves.

And I listened and I acknowledged and I helped and I'm going to keep helping. So, anybody else need some advice?

what do I want to do when I grow up?

2011-03-10T05:38:00.001-05:00

This is a good question since being on the cusp of 40 one could argue that I am, in fact, grown up.

So far, I've been a dancer, a dance teacher, a dance studio owner, a high school english and dance teacher, and an executive assistant.

I guess in comparison to the rest it figures that the last one really wasn't me - all that sitting and all!!

So here's something I've always wanted to do: I love giving advice; I give great advice; I would like to do an advice column.

Anybody need some advice?

Happy International Women's Day!!

2011-03-08T05:57:00.001-05:00

Are we equals? We must never stop asking ...

3 months till I turn 40

2011-03-07T05:55:00.003-05:00

and this is pretty much how I'm feeling about that:

I quit my job

2011-03-03T06:32:00.003-05:00

Remember when I mentioned a little while ago that change was afoot? Well, I've been unhappy at my job for sometime now, mostly because it's not the right kind of challenge nor does it give me the right kind of sense of accomplishment.

I'm sick of it and I think it is part of what has, quite literally, been making me sick for the last few months.

So after one too many bad days, and thinking about turning 40 soon, I decided enough was enough, and I quit. The announcement was made today and I've got two months left.

I don't have a game plan and I don't know what I really want to do, but I could not imagine turning 40 and sitting at that desk. So I guess I've turned up the pressure to figure some things out.

But I feel really good about it. If not now then when?

oscar dresses

2011-03-01T06:25:00.000-05:00

Just in case anyone was wondering what my favourite dress was - here it is:

Anne Hathaway in Atelier Versace.

I liked Mila Kunis too. She was sorta doing an impression of a wisteria.

And the rest was just kinda boring, much like the show itself.

a few more baubles ...

2011-02-28T05:47:00.003-05:00

Marcel and me had a few more earring projects we wanted to finish on the weekend. These little birdies have been hanging around waiting for some inspiration so they could take flight.

Ceciley asked for something red so Marcel thought a little coral might look nice.

Looks like he was right. I added a little bit of red abalone to mine because it always makes me think of one of my favourite books, Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Then I reminded Marcel than in his rush to get Anne's present finished he totally forgot to make some earrings to go with the necklace.

Whew, he's all tired out from making so many pretties!!

new retro specs

2011-02-25T05:50:00.018-05:00

Around two years ago, shortly after I moved into my new place, I broke my favourite purple glasses and completely lost my spare pair. Now I don't wear glasses all too often because I only wear them for distance, but I'm particular about them nonetheless and I considered my purple ones "perfect". I searched and searched for months for a replacement until I found Gafas on Queen Street.

I must have walked by it a million times and just never noticed. The outside storefront is quite narrow, but they pack a ton of wonderful glasses and sunglasses in this place. Tony helped me pick these Barton Perreiras - "DiPrima". I never thought I would choose brown, but I love them!

In fact, I loved them so much that when I realized I had some credits left over that I needed to spend, I thought I would just get the same pair in another colour. When I bought the first pair I had really been looking for a frame that was clear.

But Tony steered me in a new direction - Barton Perreiras again; this time "Halston".

I know they're a bit cartoon-y, but I think they're fun!!

minor obesessions

2011-02-23T06:35:00.009-05:00

Making earrings for me and my sister. I have a habit of getting hooked on a particular colour or type of stone when making jewelery. My last fixation was aquamarine, and that's still lingering, but I'm loooooving labradorite right now.

I finished the pearls above with some labradorite and I really love the shape and design of these. But then I lost one walking down Queen Street one day - sads, especially because the store doesn't have these anymore.

This is my attempt at a substitution but somehow they are just not as perfect.

But it seems that labradorite is a healthy minor obsession right now. Apparently it will help reveal my spiritual destiny and path, promote strength of will and a feeling of inner worth, and help combine intellectual thought with intuitive wisdom. I could really use all of that right now. Maybe I should make a few more things with it ...

making cookies with my sister

2011-02-21T06:03:00.032-05:00

My sister and I lived together for many years on our own and for all of those years our cooking repertoire consisted of pasta and eggs - everything else was take-out or order in. Neither of us knew how to cook, so this is actually the first time we have made something together.

It's funny to me to see how we interact together. I've got the technical and instructional part down and then she makes it fanciful and creative. We're both good at both of those things but when we're together these are the roles we tend to take on - me being the bossy older sister and all.

Since I started making these cookies last year, they have become an absolute staple. They're super-easy to make and the fine fellow loves them - enjoy!

Here's the recipe again:

• 1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

• 3/4 cup smooth almond butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips or a bar of your favourite chocolate, chopped up
* you can add other goodies that you like in addition or instead

- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- mix dry ingredients together
- add nut butters and mix
- add egg and mix
- add chocolate chips (and/or other goodies) and mix
- drop dough in rounded balls onto greased baking sheet
- bake for 5-10 minutes, keep and eye on them as they can burn quickly
- let them cool for about 10 minutes so that they set and don't fall apart
- EAT, ENJOY! they are yummy with a glass of almond milk!

it feels like spring!!

2011-02-18T06:16:00.005-05:00

I wore my spring coat yesterday and no hat, and I didn't even need my gloves!

Today is supposed to be warm too but maybe with a bit of rain to wash away all the dirty ice on the sidewalks.

I know it's not spring yet, but knowing that it is right around the corner is such a relief with lots of good things to look forward to.

Including my 40th birthday ...

dinner party for my sister - with the actual dinner

2011-02-16T06:11:00.005-05:00

In case you were wondering how the lobster salad turned out, the last video did indeed show us triumphantly finding the perfect, and perfectly ripe avocados to serve it in. And if you would like to see how it turned out press play below:

And here's the recipe:

Lobster salad:

1 can lobster (tails & claws only)
tomatoes
mini cucumbers
celery
*all chopped small

Dressing:

juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
splash of grenadine or pomegranate juice
salt & pepper

*Serve in half a perfectly ripe avocado and enjoy!

Happy Valentines Day!!

2011-02-14T06:29:00.004-05:00

To all of my beloved friends and family - Marcel and me, we luvs you all!!

And since I forgot to wish a Happy Lunar New Year, here are some sweet bunnies to make you feel loved.

Wishing you a day full of sweetness!!

belated jewelery

2011-02-10T06:17:00.011-05:00

Marcel is a bit behind on getting Anne's birthday gift finished.

Last year he was much more on time so it's a good thing Anne decided to take a trip for her birthday and only just got back.

He decided to go with amethyst this time since Anne is kinda into purple right now, and he thought a larger stone would add some nice variety to her jewelery box.

He's added some lovely variegated fluorite as the accent. He really does have such good taste!

dinner party for my sister

2011-02-07T06:15:00.008-05:00

When my sister was here I threw a little dinner party so she could meet the fine fellow and a few of my other boat friends. And to make it seem like summer, I wanted to serve the amazing lobster salad that Tim had taught me how to make.

Since I'm still kinda new to this whole cooking thing it could have been a disaster, particularly since i forgot to get avocados the day before. So we went to Kensington Market on a quest with fingers crossed ...

glamour shots

2011-02-02T05:53:00.003-05:00

One of the bonuses of having my sister come to visit is that there is someone to take some photos of me with Marcel!

Marcel is working on his sultry look.

And seems to have mastered the "over the shoulder".

500 days of ...

2011-01-31T05:55:00.008-05:00

mermaids? Well maybe not. But I did finally see the movie 500 Days of Summer. Yes, I'm a bit late on this one but it looked too much like teen-age-melancholia for me and frankly I thought the tone was a downer. However, I became obsessed with this image:

Not of Zooey Deschanel, although she is lovely - the painting in the background. Because I'm kinda obsessed with mermaids. I've been trying to find a good quality image of this for quite some time:

These are The Darling Mermaid Darlings from the wonderful (and sadly no longer on the air) show Pushing Daisies. But the show wasn't popular enough for there to be scads of merch or photos or much of anything to be had even though the art direction was spectacular.

So I went on a new search for the painting from 500 Days of Summer. First I found this:

Cave of the Storm Nymphs - Edward Poynter

I'd never seen this before and although they're not mermaids, I love it. But something about that sea shell lyre was looking very familiar. Then after some more googling I discovered that the scene from the movie was shot at the Redwood Bar & Grill and the painting was actually commissioned for the bar itself:

Ship of Death - Louie Metz

I was very pleased with myself to have found it, but upon closer inspection (and I invite you to click and see for yourself) I found this mermaid to be looking a bit, well, sea sick ... disappointing. And then I went back and looked at the pretty storm nymphs again:

A tribute perhaps?

Marcel's patience - rewarded!!

2011-01-25T05:58:00.002-05:00

This is a happy cat!

And a happy sister!!

I'm happy that she's here and they are both happy!!

Marcel has been very patient

2011-01-18T06:09:00.005-05:00

I told him she was coming. So he's been waiting for her in the spare room.

You see although he is definitely my cat, he loves my sister the most. And she's coming to visit!

So he's waiting and napping in here until she comes.

Julia's turn

2011-01-13T06:17:00.008-05:00

Julia and I usually just do mini-me shots. She's the one who started this actually. When I come and visit she rifles through my stuff and creates an outfit.

Some classic Jessica styles from the last couple of years.

I swear I did not put her up to this.


This was my x-mas eve outfit.

But I thought it was high time to include her in the back-to-back ritual.

She's almost 8. She'll have me beat by the time she's 11 for sure.

Tomio is 10 and a half

2011-01-11T06:12:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's finally happened ... here he is last year at this time:

Here he is just a couple of months ago in November:

And here he is at 10 and a half:

What is she feeding him?!?

the New York City blizzard of 2010

2011-01-06T06:57:00.014-05:00

I gotta say, for me this was just fun fun fun!! We awoke after a day of Xena to the city looking like this:

And I had not brought gear of any kind, but since Tomio is so tall I just wore his stuff from last year! We all got ready, grabbed the sleds and walked to the park.

Julia was still in warrior-princess mode attacking me with snowballs along the way.

And we bypassed the kiddie hill for a more challenging course where we spent the better part of two days.

In true snow-day fashion, we made lots of friends in the park as people played in the snow. A lovely group speaking Arabic stuck in the city on their way to Boston who said I looked like a movie star (which was funny in my snow gear and red face); a quartet of early 20's Asian boys intent upon making our trail run smoother as they used a snowboard as a sled 2 at a time; and a huge posse of Brazilian boys who when I pointed out that they were ruining the jump we'd been building with their shenanigans, pitched in and fixed it up.

We were so busy having fun building a snow fort and taking turns bombing down the hill on Tomio's new sled that I forgot all about the camera.

it was a very Xena X-mas!

2011-01-05T07:46:00.002-05:00

December 25th was a busy day, what with opening all those prezzies and having dinner with my young hosts grandparents. It had been so mild and dry that I even remarked to 10 year old Tomio "tomorrow we should go for a bike ride in the park". But then, as you all know, there was a blizzard.

So although Emi was cursing me when she saw me wrapping up those swords and chakrams, let me tell you that stuff made the being stuck inside pretty fun!! First we watched a bunch of videos and the kids practiced their battle cries - ai ai ai ai ai aiiiiii!

Then we watched Hercules get a lesson in feminism from the Amazon women which he then sagely passes along to a village of men.

There was some chakram throwing practice (ouch!) ...

Some displays of fancy sword-personship,

and then it was time to battle!

Hercules fought valiantly and with great gusto ...

But Xena (and her horse) always win!

Ai ai ai ai ai ai aiiiiiii!!!!

Christmas in New York

2011-01-04T06:25:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I lost my voice the day I got there ...

and there was a blizzard the day after Christmas ...

but I did have a wonderful time!

The kids were very happy to see me,

(yes, that's Xena's sword she's unwrapping)

and they loved all their presents!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-02T00:39:00.004-05:00

2010 - thank you for all your simple and beautiful joys ...

2011 - I'm gonna take a bite outta you!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T06:05:00.001-05:00

To all my friends and family who enjoy celebrating this holiday!!

I know most of us aren't together but I love you all!

under the weather and over the moon

2010-12-23T14:28:00.003-05:00

So ya, I've been sick. But I am willing myself to be better because tomorrow I'm leaving for NYC to have another x-mas in New York. I wasn't going to go, but then my sister decided to come for a visit in January instead of now and the ticket was cheap!!

So off I go to visit my favourite kids. Tomio has been saying he doesn't want gifts this year, only Jessica. And it will be a surprise! I'm sure to come back exhausted but happy to have made some more wonderful memories with my little goofballs. It's going to be a very Xena xmas!!

Oh yeah, and this will be on tonight at 9:00 pm. This show is not something I would watch - ever - and I'm not encouraging you to watch either. But if you're interested in seeing me on it my bit comes on in the first 5 minutes and is pretty ridiculous and awesome (if I do say so myself). But beware, after that it gets pretty offensive, and no, I had no idea what the rest of the content would be at the time.

Hopefully it will turn up on youtube and I can post it on its own for all my fans out there (and by that I mean family and friends of course)! Love you all!

UPDATE: here's the link I'm on just before the 2 minute mark

I miss my swans

2010-12-15T14:36:00.001-05:00

I wonder how my swan family is doing. They had their fair share of drama this year.

Bella sent some photos from the marina. She & Doug are the only ones still out there.

I won't have time to visit them until the new year. I can't believe it's only been a month since the boat came out of the water. Winter is here!!

impetigo again?

2010-12-14T11:47:00.001-05:00

I love a good brunch. I particularly love the green eggs and ham at Mildred's!! Anne and I like to try new places but this delicious meal was calling to both of us this weekend.

And I was really enjoying the fact that my face had finally cleared of all of the weirdness that has been affecting it for the last 6 weeks.

But this morning it appears that impetigo is back - nooooooooooooooo!! I really don't want to do any more antibiotics, cause, well, you know. Any ideas out there?

ooops, I did it again

2010-12-09T06:15:00.011-05:00

Remember back in May when I was pretending to be in France and I tried to make a clafouti? Well, just as a reminder it was supposed to look like this:

but came out like this:

I love this stuff and it seems like it should be so easy to make. So I tried a new recipe from the Nourishing Gourmet (lots of yummines overe there) - and this is what is should look like this time:

and, um well, here's my attempt:

The first one was so burnt to get the middle to set it was inedible, and this one is both overcooked and unbelievably greasy - gross! Is it the the pie plate, is it me?

change is afoot

2010-12-08T15:31:00.001-05:00

And no, I am not getting a kitten.

I just couldn't resist a photo of a kitten in a Frye boot!

winter's first slush

2010-12-07T11:46:00.001-05:00

Here we are again right on track with last year.

I biked on Saturday and then Sunday brought us this loveliness. I'm really not "sporty" enough to ride in the winter so it's time for the bike to go into hibernation.

Thank you sweet little bike for all the ease you brought to grocery shopping, the rides to work, the mad dashes to the ferry docks, and the tooling around on the island. We shall reunite in the spring!

Happy Hanukkah!!

2010-12-03T06:33:00.005-05:00

To all my Jewish friends and family!!

I'm gonna try my hand at making some potato-leek latkes for brunch on the weekend!

I'm gonna skip the caviar, although I think Marcel would love them served this way.

ebay still loves me

2010-12-02T13:02:00.003-05:00

It's the simple things in life that make me happy. Yesterday I treated myself to a massage. Perry made me a yummy dinner. And this arrived in the mail!

(Elevenses Puckered Trench coat from Anthropologie!)

I'm having a crappy week

2010-12-01T11:53:00.002-05:00

I don't normally complain to you all on here but I'm having a ridiculous week. My door knob came off in my hands when I was late for work, I'm having some weird health stuff and some people have been mean to me.

Grinning and bearing it is getting harder to do. How soon are the holidays?

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T16:26:00.001-05:00

To all my American friends and family!!

Marcel and I are truly thankful for you all!

Marcel would like you all to know that he caught a mouse today, but that he let it go. He's just keeping up his skills.

missing unicorn

2010-11-24T09:46:00.002-05:00

When fall starts to feel like winter I start missing the warmth of the sun and the buoyancy of the water. Now the boat has come out of the water and I'm also missing my swans, the green of the trees, nights of dancing on the island, the easyness of get togethers and great meals, roasting marshmallows at the camp fire ...

I'm feeling wistful for spring already but right now just counting down to the solstice and slightly longer days is something to look forward to.

My friend Chamomile in NYC is missing her unicorn - maybe you've seen it?

time to break up with ebay again

2010-11-22T06:01:00.006-05:00

Because I really do have an unhealthy attachment. I mean, I already bought two pairs of boots when I was in New York, but for some reason I felt like my new coat still needed something else ...

and what did I find on ebay ...

oh my, perfect Fryes for $50! Well I hope they're perfect; ebay hasn't let me down yet!

shopping in New York

2010-11-19T05:38:00.031-05:00

Believe it or not I don't always do a lot of shopping when I visit. And this time I only had one thing I really wanted on my list. Of course that one thing required me to enter a shoe store. This shoe store - Infinity Shoes:

which happens to be the home of Miz Mooz - one of my favourite brands. I really wanted these! The colour is actually much warmer and they are surprisingly comfortable - love!!

Emi loves Anthropologie house stuff even more than I do so we almost always find time to pop in there. And I found this lovely number (Blurred Fresco by Elevenses) marked down from $230 to $99.99!!

I'd been wanting something with more colour in it to combat the dreary winter and I got a cute little hat to go with it. I love it, but wondered what boots shall I wear with this ensemble?

So I went back to Infinity Shoes thinking I might try something on in a nice shade of cherry. They must have known I was coming because they announced BOGO when I walked in the door. Yes, buy one, get one half off, and this is what I got:

A gorgeous pair of Fryes (for less than they are charging online) and then ...

these Miz Mooz beauties were half off for $75!!! It was a good thing I brought my big suitcase!

what do I do in the Big Apple?

2010-11-18T10:24:00.002-05:00

People seem to think that I have some kind of crazy glamorous life because I come to New York a couple of times a year. But really all I do is hang out with my best friend and chase around after her kids. I try to spend as much time with them as I can because a couple of weeks out of the year just is not enough.

Julia has just started calling me "auntie Jess". She's 7 now and likes the idea that I am "real" family - but it makes me feel a bit old. Tomio, for some un-known reason has started to call me "Jessie" which I used to refuse to allow anyone to call me. But fair enough given that I call him anything from "Tio" to "hunny-bunny" (which he has yet to complain about).

They like it when I drop them off and pick them up from school. They like it when we have pillow fights. Julia likes to wake me up with the loudest noise-maker she can find - this time was a toy coffee grinder with fake beans that makes a serious racket. They like to snuggle up in bed and watch movies - I got them hooked on Xena, ai ai ai ai ai ai ai!!!

I always like to try and do something with them in Central Park. Over x-mas we went skating, which was kinda nutty since the place was jam-packed. This time we went for a bike ride! Little did I know that it's 6 miles all the way around the park and there aren't very many places to cross over with the bikes. Thank goodness Tomio has an iPhone so we could figure out where we were! So we just had to dismount and cross over on the foot path by the Jakie O reservior to catch the uptown bike path back home since it was getting dark fast. It was quite the adventure and no injuries!!

Tomio rightly noted that we always go out and have sushi together and he desperately wanted us to go to Morimoto (the restaurant owned by one of the Iron Chefs) but that's not in anybody's budget. We did have lots yumminess at Momoya - Tomio had his favourite uni and everyone loved the miso black cod I ordered!

I also make a point to visit my friend David and his daughter Sophia who is now 3. She has recently started calling all of their female friends "auntie" so I guess I'd better get used to this moniker. This summer they went to several weddings and she didn't get off the dance floor until the music stopped. Apparently she gets this from her auntie Jess. She is such a sweet-petite delight!

And Emi and I always have at least one breakfast at Cafe Lalo (yes, from You've Got Mail). This time we had 2 - they make the yummiest steamed eggs! And I got the fine fellow a great t-shirt for his collection. We also had a couple of great lunches at Peacefood Cafe. They make amazing salads & soups and have lots of choices for wheat & dairy-free me.

And yes, there was some, ahem, shoe shopping ....

Tomio is 10

2010-11-17T12:47:00.004-05:00

I've been going to NYC at least once a year since Tomio was born. He was my first baby, you know, the first of my friends babies, and I love this kid like crazy. Sometimes he drives me a little crazy but he and I have a bond with each other that is very special and we have lots of silly, koo-koo, crazy times when we're together.

He's always been tall for his age and he was creeping up on me at x-mas, but look at this - he's officially taller!! And this photo was taken as we picked him up from his first school dance. I know it's a ridiculous cliche, but he really is growing up so fast. His doctor recently told him he could be as tall as 6'7" - that's just nuts!

Fall swans

2010-11-10T06:16:00.006-05:00

The fine fellow sent me a lovely photo of Dougie feeding the swans (and the ducks)!!

So glad the gang is all still together and I can't wait to see them when I get back. Just hoping the leaves haven't all fallen. They are so glorious right now!

in NYC this week

2010-11-08T05:55:00.006-05:00

With my favourite goof-balls!

We may even do this again!

I'm just happy to see their faces and hear their laughter and see how much they've grown!

I'll be back next week!

well hello again ebay

2010-11-05T06:52:00.010-04:00

So my friend Sabrina calls me earlier in the week and says "it's time". Time for what? Time for cowboy boots!! She knows of my recent obsession and she knew she'd come to the right place. What did we find for she of the dainty size 5 1/2 feet?

Well she fell in love with these Fryes and wanted them the most. There was a serious bidding war on these babies, but she got them for just under $50 bucks!

And then we saw these little darlings - also Fryes. Our friend Siobhan felt they were a little too similar, but Sabrina loves grey and I think the two are very different. In fact, if these had been in my size I never would have shown them to her.

And guess what? Scored for $9.99 - that's correct, under $10 dollars!

But I was feeling very strongly that as a very fair blond she needed a good summer neutral and these were on sale from $150.00 for $45 "buy it now" - so she did!!

These are actually the same as my red dingo's, which she's tried on so we both knew they'd be super comfy!

I'm so proud of her. And she still has her eye on these red ones!!

I think they would round out the collection just perfectly!!

pumpkins are pretty

2010-11-04T06:33:00.008-04:00

I haven't carved a pumpkin in ages and I've missed the boat on it this year, but wow am I inspired to try this next time. Martha Stewart comes up with the craziest things!

(from Raina at If The Lamp Shade Fits)

But I've gotta head over to Connie and Sebastian's next time they do theirs and take a lesson.

Apparently Sebastian always wins in the carving department.

Sebastian on the left and Connie on the right.

But in this case I gotta say ...

Connie for the WIN!

Mad Hatter Marcel

2010-11-03T05:46:00.006-04:00

He would like the Dormouse to come for tea!

Halloween!

2010-11-02T06:54:00.028-04:00

Perry invited me to a Halloween party at the Spoke Club where he is a member (la di dah!) and people always show up in amazing costumes. But I just really wanted to wear this wig and hat and tried to come up with something to make that stuff work.

He showed up as Bettlejuice only to tell me that there was in fact a theme: Alice in Wonderland / Tim Burton.

Which explained the multitude of Mad Hatters, Jokers and Corpse Brides.

It did not explain the large numbers of sex-pot cops and nurses, but that's the Spoke Club for ya. And I have no idea which movie this is from but I thought the face painting was amazing!

I haven't even seen Alice in Wonderland, but I got lots of lovely compliments on my get up and I sure had fun wearing it and dancing the night away!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

my favourite wig

2010-11-01T06:03:00.019-04:00

I had incredibly short hair for many many years.

And often as a swing dancing performer I need to look a bit more girly and vintage - so I'd wear a wig.

I think blond works on me, but it never really feels like me. So although I acquired my big blond afro wig a while ago, it sat in the costume closet for years. And then last year I was invited to a Halloween wedding with a circus theme.

(that's Penny - the bride on the left, and Connie in the middle)

And I couldn't find my red clown wig, but I thought this would do the trick.

And now I just want to wear it all the time! So of course I wore it for the disco party ...

which inspired the look for that TV show that I can't tell you about ...

and then I was at a loss for what to wear for Halloween because I didn't think I could wear it again, but then I found this little hat!

I'll show you the rest of the get up tomorrow!

Aquamarine for Mom

2010-10-28T06:41:00.011-04:00

My mother likes to buy things for me. Actually, she just really loves to shop and often when she sends me something she thinks I would like, it's really something she likes. Woman's got a few issues separating me from her ... ah what can you do?

In this case, she sent me this lovely pendant - in gold. I never wear gold, but she loves it! So for her birthday this week I turned it into a necklace.

Aquamarine and labradorite with gold accents.

This is one of my favourite pairings right now, so I guess I'm letting the cat out of the bag (no that's not where Marcel is) about upcoming gifts!