advanced style

perhaps i have been looking into the mirror too closely but wow, i am aging!  the proof?  getting my hair coloured to cover the grey is getting more frequent (there are a lot), wrinkles appear overnight, wrinkles already there are getting deeper, freckles are turning into age spots (when did this happen, i'd like to know), and skin seems thinner (especially under the chin).

strange how our appearance changes as time passes.  i feel much younger than my age yet i don't look it.  part of me is thinking yikes! until i came across the blog advanced style; it reassured me that age is what we make of it.   

it's inevitable so we may as well embrace it.  right?

the photos of these beautiful older women are taken by seth cohen of advanced style, he roams "the streets of new york looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. advanced style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.

for the record, i may have moments of panic about aging (surely a little botox would be ok, i think) but overall i am pretty level headed about it.  i will focus on staying healthy and stylish (and wear cool eye glasses too) instead of old and frumpy.
 

 

 



a photo wall

a wall completely filled with photos.  love, love, love this very cool idea. and i think i know just the wall :)
 

go here for your diy instruction

fragrant candles

we have been on a candle kick since the holidays.  my favourite thing is when kai sets the table for a candlelight dinner for three... it's the best.

and then i received a gorgeous japanese quince fragrant candle made by seda france.  with a hint of rhubarb, passion fruit, peach and white jasmine, the aroma that fills the room works like a charm to help me relax and lift my mood.  this is a recent discovery since the candles that are normally lit in my house are scentless.  i cannot believe i let this olfactory sense fall by the wayside for so long.

i must share that jasmine is one of my favourite scents ever (when we were in santa monica it was everywhere and i remember thinking how one jasmine bush could make an entire block smell so good; it made me smile every time).  i would love to grow it in my little outdoor space, pick some blooms after a day of work and i know i would instantly feel better.  perhaps one day! 

i am getting a little off topic, let me get back to this lovely candle that was gifted to us by one of our favourite families.  seda france candles are hand poured into an etched glass with toile design so it looks pretty too... and that packaging, i simply cannot toss the box it came in!!!  what's not to like.

it's the little things in life... hope everyone is having a good start to their week.

weekend pics

this weekend was all sorts of goodness with friends and snow and exercise and good food. and monster trucks too!

• five kilometer run
• one adorable toddler who was smitten with kai
• two hot chocolate drinks (one while catching up with friends at chocolate arts (again!) and another one whipped up by stefan using beta 5 chocolate)
• one winter wander at vanier park, visiting the beach, the space centre, and the observatory
• two boys at the monster truck show
• ten gel nails removed... whew!
• five kilometer snowshoe grind hike (it was a hard one but so pretty with the falling snow) while the boys snowboarded and skied
• three take out meals from the dirty apron deli... delish!
• one hour lounging on the sofa with kai until he crashed (a tired boy complaining of a headache) and i put him to bed at 5:30... monday may be a home day

saturday 



hot chocolate drink #1... perfect.





hot chocolate drink #2... so much nicer than the one i had last week here



 our friend's adorable little guy showered kai with hugs and told him (bottom right photo), 'i love you'... melt my heart!!!

 

 

 





located by the water in the city, its purpose is not research but public accessibility... on a clear saturday night you can visit and look at the sky 

marshmallows in space... a demonstration at the h.r. macmillian space centre located at vanier park



yup, that's kai wearing his jacket backwards!



sunday 

   

 









no view on this foggy day but i did see a couple of ravens







stefan and kai on the mountain together after kai's ski lesson

life with 'photo mama'

'photo mama' is kai's nickname for me because i take a lot of photos (in case you haven't noticed!)... of him, of scenery, of anything really, including food. 

 

 

 

 so when i came upon a post from the lovely food blog dinner: a love story (i have the book which i highly recommend!) i just had to re-post it here and share it. 

 

it made me smile. 

the post is written by jenny rosenstrach's 8 year old daughter.  i will let it speak for itself.  kai wants you to know that he empathizes with her, 'i know just how she feels!'. 

i hope it makes you smile too.  have a lovely weekend.

Do you know how annoying it is every night to have to wait another five hours for Mom to finish taking pictures of her food? If you are wondering why she has to take pictures of food, well, you’re looking at it. Take for instance a black bean burrito!  Shrimp rolls! And this chicken with artichokes that you are looking at right now. I think that all of you — well most of you — are sitting at the table and having your parents sit right down and eating a delicious dinner. It’s different in my house. I have to wait, as I told you, for fiiiive hours for ONE picture to be tooken of SHRIMP SALAD!!! That seems psychotic to me. I’m an innocent child! All I want to do is sit down at the table and enjoy my dinner. Imagine if you were me, sitting at the table with a warm ficelle right in front of you without EATING IT! It’s TORTURE! All of you out there are LUCKY. You sit at the table with your family, pick up your fork, and eat. My life would change if my mom wasn’t a blogger! I do have one positive reason why being a food blogger’s daughter is fun. It is fun because every night we get to have a different dinner that some families might never have. We have interesting dinners and basically I have not had one dinner that was made by Mom or Dad that was not fantabulous. Except the egg dinners that are all mushy and slimy and D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G in my opinion. – ABBY, 8