date night

it's been too long since stefan and i were out on a proper date, just the two of us.  last night was the night and it was lovely to spend two uninterrupted hours with him. we went to tableau, a new casual french restaurant.  they made the perfect french onion soup!  and we each had classic frites, his with steak and mine with mussels.  so delicious! and i am loving joie wine again, it's a favourite.

we can too easily get sucked into other aspects of our lives - the computer, dinner prepping and cooking, laundry, parenting - that take away precious time from our relationship.  so, i love our idea of reinstating date nights.  i was nervous, i think i had butterflies in my tummy, is that possible after 16 years together?  anyway,  i think it ended well and that he will ask me out on a date again :-).  i imagine date nights will include many lovely dinners but i think there will also be some bowling or bocce playing other nights.  and maybe we'll take out our pre-kai climbing gear too! 

he was looking especially handsome, if i don't say so myself. i definitely ended up with someone fabulous... and smart (he did ask me out after all). 

 

cookie please

a delivery service that goes by the name insomnia cookies sounds dangerous.  i just learned (via here) that you can have freshly baked cookies delivered to your door if you live in new york (and near a university)!  it's a late night delivery service for those who are peckish but don't want anything too heavy like a pizza.

hmmm, i could use a cookie to dip into my tea right about now! but really, thank goodness i don't live in new york. and if you know of something like this in vancouver please do not share it with me.

pretty. colourful. domino.

these rooms are perfectly pretty and i particularly love the use of colour in these images. in my own home, i use accessories to bring colour in.  i have never felt the need for a theme or to coordinate accessories.  i think anything goes as long as we love it.  i say 'we' but mostly me because stefan lets me do my thing in the house (thank you!).  i think colour impacts our mood for the better and although i love white and wood and earthy colours, over the last few years i have been drawn to more colourful items, especially in art.  i think kai influences my decisions too, i want our home to exude happy. 

have you ever thought about colour and its impact on you and your home? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all images above once graced the pages of domino magazine (i still have the cutouts of a few of these images in my design folder), the magazine folded in 2009 along with many other design magazines such as wish and blueprint. sniff, sniff. 

package

i bought a necklace and it arrived in a cute package today.  it comes from pyramide, an etsy shop. vintage gold and silk thread.

i covet...

i am loving this bag from the etsy shop hoakon +helga.  yes, as you may have noticed i have been on etsy a little too much lately, shhhh let's not talk about it okay? so anyway, what do you think about this shop of gorgeous bags?  the first one pictured here is sold but there are many more lovelies. the designer uses navajo fabric and vintage leathers. i do believe it is possibly the perfect fall accessory, yes?

weekend pics

this weekend involved a sad boy and not very good parenting choices!  i will explain.

kai was very excited to have his cousin ruben come for a sleepover - he planned his evening of which i was not included, it was suggested i go out with a friend because it was going to be a boys only night (lego, video games, pizza)!  i didn't take offence as he was eager to spend time with his cousin.  however, ruben at the last minute wasn't able to make it over and kai was gutted.  he was teary and sad.  to make him feel better i hastily suggested retail therapy and eating away the disappointment - this is the bad parenting part (please don't judge, my boy was sad!).  i don't know what i was thinking, i am well aware that these tactics do not work yet they sure seemed to lift kai's spirits!  maybe they just work for 8 year old boys?

first stop, a croissant from thomas haas

second stop, a toy store

third stop, a cupcake from the cupcakes store

i indulged in a little retail therapy too, my boys were accommodating!

for dinner, we ate homemade pizza and played with the board game, labyrinth, that kai purchased during his retail therapy session. 

  

the next day was more of the same with the addition of play wrestling!

    

spanish banks

after kai and i spent time with stefan, we met up with our friends sam and jacob at spanish banks.  it was a very weird weather day - it could rain at any moment but then the clouds would part and this brilliant light would shine on the mountains, downtown, and beach. it was warm too.  the boys had lots of fun playing on the beach while sam and i lounged on some comfy chairs (she thinks of everything!).

spanish banks is a huge beach yet very quiet.  it was so peaceful to be there.  it gives you the impression that you are far away from home but not really.  from here, you have one of the most beautiful views of the city skyline, not to mention the north shore mountains.  at low tide you can walk forever on the sand flats.

 

 

 

 

i wish my camera was cooperating better though - it's been needing a visit to the camera shop for some time now yet i am procrastinating, it will be odd not having my camera with me!

meat, bread and coffee

kai had a day off from school today and after a lazy morning at home we went to meet stefan for lunch.  he took us to meat and bread where all they do is make sandwiches, four of them only - meatball, pork, the special and a grilled cheese for a veggie option. such a simple concept that has become popular - while we were there the line-up never let up but it all worked well with seating - by the time you get your sandwich a chair would become available at the communal table.  stefan writes more about it here.

 
 

 

we then went across the street to revolver, a new coffee house.  and boy do they take their coffee seriously - they weigh the beans and use beakers for drip coffee.  they didn't have chai on the menu and i don't suspect they ever will.  instead, i had a latte (with sugar) and i must say, it was a very nice cuppa.  stefan is looking forward to their mochas (they haven't sourced their chocolate supplier yet).  he writes more about it here.

 

 

 

chalkboard love

i am loving the use of chalkboard on a full wall in the rooms of these homes.  such a playful vibe for a home, especially a home with children. fun and practical (despite the chalkboard dust)!  what do you think? 



image via here





image via here





image via here



image via here







image via here



soccer season

kai started his soccer season this week.  he has made such great progress over the last couple of years and i am excited for him to evolve into a great and confident player.  he was very proud of his efforts during his first practise. hoping for sunny skies on game days!

one of kai's highlights this summer was meeting a couple of the vancouver whitecaps players. 

         



one of the coaches signing kai's t-shirt





whitecaps player signing kai's soccer shoe



practising his head shots that one of the whitecaps players was instructing him on

 

pinterest

my lovely girlfriend, suji, emailed me her pinterest board.  have you heard about it?  it's a way of collecting stuff you find lovely, pretty, or inspiring.  she thought it was my kinda thing and she's right, it is.  i cut pages out of magazines and organize it into folders, i do. however, i can picture myself spending way too much time pinning stuff and spending hours scrolling through other people's pinboards (when i probably should be asleep!).  i do love how you instantly get a sense of who someone is, at least their aesthetics.  check it out, but i did warn you so if you become a loveliness addict don't blame me!  resist like i am doing... but for how long?!

here are a few of her pins that i would repin if i had my own pinboard!

chloe satchel

poster from here

lipari, aeolian island