Our Europe Vacation Begins...

So we arrived in the UK last night and it's so nice to be here.

We are spending the next 4 days in Cardiff, Wales with my dear cousin Eleesha and her husband Mike. It's fun to be in the Welsh apartment and experience life as the locals do.

We had a delicious breakfast of hot Welsh cakes and strong coffee this morning, and later we'll go explore the town.

I wish you a wonderful weekend.

oxo

Vanessa.

Cirque du Soleil - Amaluna

 Tonight we are going to see Cirque du Soleil's newest show, Amaluna. 

We spontaneously bought tickets yesterday once we discovered they were in town.

I'm so excited. I LOVE Cirque du Soleil! I've loved every show of theirs I've ever seen. 

It's pure magic!

Have you ever been to a Cirque du Soleil show?

The Quintessential Yellow Raincoat...

 It's a cold and dreary spring day here in Montreal. 

It's rainy and overcast and overall a little depressing out. 

But it's also the most perfect day ever to wear my new Penfield classic yellow rain jacket, which arrived today in the mail from Madewell. 

I'm completely smitten!

This dreary day just got a lot sunnier!

(via Madewell)

Summer Lovin' at IKEA...

Spring/Summer is my favourite time to shop at Ikea. They always have so many fun balcony/garden/lighting ideas.

Like these tea-light lanterns. I bought one last year and I love it. 

I love that they now come in pretty colours too.

I love this classic glass serving tray... I'm picturing it loaded with cupcakes and scones, or fresh fruit, for a lovely summer al fresco breakfast or lunch.

On a table set with a pretty summer fabric cloth...

I also adore all their plant pot options... which are just perfect for a small city balcony like mine. 

 ps: my balcony looks nothing like this right now... but it will soon enough... it just needs some love & attention after a long, harsh Montreal winter : )

And I  always love these solar powered garden lanterns. 

Aren't they so pretty?

We're headed to Ikea tomorrow, and I will try my best to choose reasonably : )

Lately up north... there are signs of life again

Yesterday I saw the first true sign of spring up here. Pussy willows! 

There's still patchy snow on the ground, but these beauties are proof that new life and new growth are on the way.

Such a lovely sight : )

Tomorrow morning we set out on the long 2 day drive back to Montreal.

We officially start our luxurious 1 month holiday, and on Wednesday we fly to London!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the lovely spring sunshine.

oxo

Vanessa.

Weekend Moments... baking & daydreaming

Life has been a little overwhelming lately, and this poor neglected blog of mine has been feeling rather lonely these days. But this weekend was such a relief. We had the entire weekend off to sleep in and catch our breath.

And I baked... a lot!

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of most of the stuff, which is very unlike me, but goes to show you how preoccupied I've been lately.

I baked my grandmother's famous scones (honestly one of my all time favourite recipes to make), I baked bread (and we ate lots of sandwiches!), and I baked this lady's Tarte Tatin (which is amazing, btw).

Otherwise, the husband and I are busy planning our next big adventure. We are taking a luxurious 1 month holiday from the north (starting next week!) and heading to Europe. First to the UK, then Holland, and then France!

So while the north has been a little miserable lately (still in the sub-zero temperatures but no more snow to play with), I have brighter days up ahead.

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

oxo

Spring Lovin'....

J Crew has me all inspired (once again) for warmer days. 

Summer whites, mix-matched patterns and very bright colours.

Now if only that warm weather would come to the north...

photos via J Crew Catalog

Lately Up North: There's Snow but it's Spring!

We had a deliciously sunny spring weekend up north.

We spent Easter Sunday at our Cree friend's cabin, with her family out "in the bush".

It was 9 degrees out, the sun was shining, and you could really feel that winter is finally ending up here.

Of course, we had an adorable doggie with us... it wouldn't be a proper weekend in the north without one.

For dinner we were treated to freshly caught speckled trout (that was fished out from under the ice), cooked & prepared traditional style. It was unbelievably good!

And for dessert I brought some of my cinnamon rolls, which we warmed up on the wood stove.

 Yum!

I hope you had a gorgeous long weekend.

oxo

Have a Lovely Easter Weekend, Everyone

And now, here's a great new song for your weekend by the Alabama Shakes. 

Their frontwoman, Brittany Howard, is as awesome as they come... have a look:

Have a fabulous weekend.

Shopping for the Boys....

 My second favourite part of flipping through a new J Crew catalog is the Mens section.

I love J Crew for men!

I want to buy everything for the hubby. 

Some of the outfits I know he'd never wear, but I can't help but think how good he would look it them : )

I shouldn't complain though, he already owns a lot of J Crew stuff (thanks to me and my mother-in-law).

 I love their preppy yet rugged feel.

(The male models are pretty easy on the eyes too)

All photos J Crew April 2012

Beautiful Blue Trees... popping up everywhere!

How gorgeous are these photos of Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos' Blue Trees?

Dimopoulos uses environmentally safe pigments to paint trees blue, in hopes of raising awareness about the millions of acres of forests that are being destroyed each year.

He has painted trees in Melbourne, Vancouver, Virginia and supposedly this week in Seattle.

 Doesn't it look like in Avatar?!

Photography Credits:  Clayton Perry Photoworks, David Brown Photography, Manfred Kraus

via

Weekend Moments... the ice is getting thinner

We had a peaceful weekend up north. 

Mild weather, warm sun, melting ice... it's all heading in the right direction.

On Friday evening there was a candy drop. 

What's a candy drop? It's when a little plan flies over a tiny northern town and drops bags & bags of candy from the sky. Pretty fun stuff!

Spring comes slow up here, but that's ok. 

It's beautiful.

And we're enjoying the process.