Have a mystical weekend - here are some links

• A travelling library wheel
• I'm obsessed with these dinner & a movie series.... From Me to You is such an incredibly beautiful blog!
• Love this post about vintage poolside glamour
• download & listen to this song and this song for free
• 8 must-have recipes for Cinco de Mayo
• I'm dying for a piece of this cake

And a few Hey, Lady Grey posts you may have missed

• A great book on the human-environment interaction
• This is still one of my favourite songs
• My grandmother's scone recipe

~ oxo Vanessa

Thought of the Day

think of nothing that happens as either good or bad. Stop judging, and stop expecting

~Leo Babauta

Read the rest of this enlightening article here.

1000 Awesome Things

Have you heard about this blog/book? It's hilarious, and oh-so-true. It's basically a list of the simple pleasures in life that are none other than awesome!

Here are a just a few examples:
#990 Picking up a q and a u at the same time in Scrabble
#971 Real-bearded Santas
#965 Building a stack of pancakes that looks just like the front of the box
#956 Using Rock-Paper-Scissors to settle anything
#953 When cashiers open up new check-out lanes at the grocery store
#937 The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk
#931 Intergenerational dancing
#922 Getting a trucker to blow their horn
#916 The sound of scissors cutting construction paper
#910 When you arrive at your destination just as a great song ends on the radio
#886 High fiving babies
#819 The Take a Penny, Leave a Penny bowl
#733 Laughing so hard you make no sound at all
#720 The final seconds of untangling a really big knot
#712 Emptying the recycling bin on your computer
#635 When the hiccups stop


I love it!

So long Winter, Spring always wins in the end!

Despite our 24 hour bought of freakish weather in Montreal, the warm weather has returned, the snow has melted and, much to my relief, the flowers have survived!

I want to be...

at a flea market in Tokyo

(images from The Sartorialist)

New Montreal restaurant - Le Chien Fumant

Last weekend we went to the recently opened Montreal restaurant, Le Chien Fumant. This place has such a cool ambiance, with so many fun unique details... like serving beer bottles in paper bags, vintage wine glasses and cups, and using checkered tea towels instead of napkins.... adorable!

Oh yeah, and the food was mighty tasty too : )

There were a few quirks with the service, but overall it was a great experience and I'll definitely be going back.

Be Brave.... Try Mint Pesto!

Did you know that mint pesto is absolutely delicious?!

I didn't know that until last night. But now I'm in on the secret. It was so tasty and refreshing... something altogether different from basil pesto. You definitely should try it sometime.

How cute are these handmade upcycled garden tags

Oh these are just so so so cute!
They are hand made by Beach House Living using vintage silver cutlery.  Adorable! Visit their store on Etsy, visit their lovely blog here.

ZARA knows how to do Relaxed

I almost never shop at ZARA, but I just love the feeling of these outfits from the May 2010 Lookbook. I want to live in that long flowy brown skirt!

(images via)

Mango Salsa

I just loooove mangoes! This vibrant alternative to tomato salsa is the perfect mix of spicy & sweet. So yummy!

What is going on here????

So I woke up to a blizzard this morning. Yesterday I was in a t-shirt planting my garden! This freakish weather is giving me the creeps!
These are the flowers I planted yesterday (now taken inside my apartment)... notice the sea of white in the background... yup, that's a bone fide end-of-April blizzard. Only in Montreal!

Cool t-shirts from Montreal company PLB Design

I love Montreal pride, since Montreal is such a great city, after all : )
But even if Plb was not a Montreal company, I'd still love the cool designs of these ethical/environmentally friendly t-shirts.
See the plb store online.

Music: Broken Social Scene

The new album Forgiveness Rock Record comes out May 4th, but you can listen to the whole album on their website. So far I'm loving it!!

Stream the entire album right here:

Small Balcony Ideas

I'm in the process of getting my balcony and garden ready for the summer, and I've been looking up decorating ideas for small outdoor spaces. Here are some fun things I love....

A small bench fits in so nicely and makes for a lovely breakfast nook  (via apartment therapy)

This balcony was lined with fabric... it's charming!

Below... great ideas from Ikea: 

Solar lights, colourful plant pots that hang off balcony railings, outdoor pillows, material potting bags, and wooden outdoor flooring to hide ugly cement.

Stone mat flooring from the Urban Balcony

And of course, a balcony would not be complete without a little veggie & herb garden! (These are the cherry tomatoes I grew last year).

Now enough dreaming and on to some actual doing!

Summer is white and light and fabulous!

I'm in love with the May catalogue from J Crew. The breezy beach-inspired looks are just gorgeous!

I heart Sundays

Sleeping in, lazing around, making breakfast, nothing on the agenda...

There is something special about Sundays. Maybe because the weekend is almost over, but not quite, and there's no pressure to do anything specific with your day, except enjoy it.

(last photo by At First Sight, from our engagement shoot)

Bits of the weekend

I hope you are having a lovely weekend. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny 19 degrees in Montreal, which is rare for April. We spent the day walking around the old port, exploring the boutiques and soaking up the sunshine. We ate lunch at Olive + Gourmando, which was delicious!!

Then we went to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Totem. It was incredible, as usual, although I have to say it wasn't my absolute favourite of their shows. But I'd still highly recommend it. The costumes and set were absolutely magical!

Sweet Potato, Ginger & Coconut Soup

This soup is based on a recipe from my Food For Thought cookbook. It's so yummy and filled with flavour. It also takes very little time to whip up, since the potato is grated first and hence cooks quickly. 

Have a happy weekend!

Hooray, it's Friday!!! 

I have a lot to be excited about this weekend. First of all, I'm seeing Cirque du Soleil's Totem on Saturday. And tonight we're going to Le Chien Fumant, a new bistro in the plateau, Montreal. And to top it all off, the weather is supposed to be incredible! Maybe I'll actually get around to working on my balcony garden on Sunday.

I hope you have a gorgeous weekend too, full of sunshine & joy. And if you have no specific plans, I hope you do something spontaneous!

Here are some links....

• An incredibly gorgeous Tree House restaurant in New Zealand... I can see myself enjoying a morning coffee here
• Crazy headgear made from human hair.... I know it's experimental art and all, but....
• Do this mental exercise, and get motivated to change your lifestyle.... at least a bit!
• This enchanted garden house is my absolute dream!
• Love these canvas utility bags
• Doesn't this dish look delicious! And how about these gorgeous macaroons

~ oxo

Hey, Lady Grey, how does your garden grow?

My windowsill herb garden is coming along nicely. I'm just waiting for the weather to stabilize a bit, so that I can transfer it outside. The weather in Montreal has been so wonky lately - there's just no telling which way it might go!
And speaking of gardening, I just adore these decorative gardening tools from Wild & Wolf. I think they'd make charming mother's day gifts.

Oh Xavier, how I love you

Dear Xavier Rudd,
I think we should be friends.
I love your words, your smile, your outlook on life, and of course, I love your music. Your new album is beautiful. You make me happy and feel hope for this world.
Thank you, thank you!