ears

nobody notices earlobes, except a good friend of mine (i won't mention names but you know who you are).  it wasn't until she casually pointed out that i have big earlobes that i actually noticed them.  she was absolutely right.  i do have big earlobes and they certainly are not improving with age.  since that revelation, a few years ago now, i have only worn stud earrings because i believe they camouflage my big earlobes.  so, i am always on the lookout for really nice looking studs.  right now i am loving, wanting, coveting these studs from alexis russell.



rough black diamonds



dark blue sapphires

but i miss wearing my favourite earrings of all time, my teardrop earrings from tiffany:

weekend pics

the weekend was beautiful (no rain finally!), productive, active, and lovely.  it included but not limited to: 

• six donuts, from cartems of course
• three hours of purging and organizing my garden, it had to be done
• ninety minutes of hot yoga
• two.five hours of bike riding along the seawall
• two lovely home cooked dinners
• one rhubarb challenge
• one burial

we arrived at cartems in the early afternoon to the wonderful 'open' sign (it was very likely they could have been sold out by this hour).  kai and i practically dashed out of the car while it was still moving so we wouldn't miss out on the most lovely donuts ever.  the donuts were devoured before we even returned home from running errands.  whenever we made a stop, the three of us attacked the box!  the earl grey remains our favourite but it now has competition from the sweet snow, the coconut donut.  pure yumminess!  full disclosure, one of the errands we were running was to a newish chocolate shop, beta 5.  it was an indulgent weekend folks!

i love seeing our garden blooming.  thankfully i can count on it each year to do it's thing - it's the only kind of garden that works with me.  i am going to miss it.  you see, i am getting rid of everything in the garden - planters, most plants, decking, soil, etc.  today was just a start. 

i planted rosemary

during our bike ride, we enjoyed some soccer in the park, fish three ways from the fresh.local.wild food cart, and we got a glimpse of the dragon boat race.  what a gorgeous afternoon. 

 

 

my carnivore hubbby is pretty awesome at vegetarian cooking!  the halibut and pea puree dinner he prepared last night was beautiful; the recipe is from the cookbook vancouver cooks.  even the simple salad he prepared for saturday's dinner was really nice. 

i love rhubarb but hardly eat it.  when it was presented in a risotto dish at a recent dinner (i will share more about this particular dinner in a post later this week) i challenged stefan to cook with it at home.  it is currently in season and available.  i even gave him the recipe he should make - a rhubarb upside-down cake from here.  he passed the challenge with flying colours.  it. was. gorgeous. 

we ended the weekend with smiles, the rhubarb upside down cake was the last thing we ate before bed.  however, we started the weekend on a sad note.  our hamster, cookie, unexpectedly passed away at the age of 1.5.  we will miss our cute little creature.  

finally, domino is here!

i nabbed domino magazine's special issue today.  i have posted about domino before, here and here.  i hope to find a couple of hours this weekend to read it from cover to cover while sitting in my armchair and sipping tea.  can't wait! 

have a lovely weekend.

clean eating

photos from here

it is that time of year when many people cleanse. i like to cleanup my diet a few times a year; usually at the start of the spring, fall, and winter seasons. for me cleansing means a slight change to my diet and using herbal supplements to assist my detox organs to do their thing. i take 12 days off of any processed foods which includes breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, dairy products, and many more, drink lots of water, and eat lots of what is in season (i have been loving pears and broccoli). 

i love the idea that my body is absorbing lots of goodness and getting rid of what it doesn't need.  i always feel energized on and after the cleanse and lighter too.  and sometimes all this clean eating sticks after the cleanse is over.  i hardly eat dairy anymore, except when stefan happens to make a yummy leek and potato soup that requires milk or on the rare occasion i find myself at a table with a cheese plate - i can't resist (and both occurred this past weekend)!

and you, do you cleanse?

i covet...

my friend patrycja turned me on to enamelware that comes from poland, that has tea sets, plus tumblers, jugs and trays. i love the bright colors and the idea that they are oven-safe, and not breakable.

and then i came across nkuku which carries these lovely enamelware (plus lots of other fair trade products so do visit).  i picked up a flower tumbler to hold my pens at work.  but i really want one of their birdie trays.  so pretty.  for those who live in vancouver, i saw them in store at semperviva.

and aren't these tumblers from here also charming?  i see enamelware following me home one day soon.

drink water

i am crazy about these glass bottles. so pretty.  it is hard to remember to drink enough water, but i think it would be easier to keep hydrated having these bottles around. don't you think?  the silicone sleeve means it’s less likely to break, and the glass bottle means you don’t have to worry about all the things you worry about with plastic. the price is high but i think it is a worthy investment.  i am coveting the purple one!

picture from website