happy birthday hubby!

my discovery-channel-watching, foodie, mocha-drinking, humorous, fast car-obsessed, nerd-at-heart husband is celebrating a birthday today!

stefan started his day opening a prezzie that i finally, just in the neck of time, tracked down at william sonoma.  cook's illustrator, his kitchen bible, reviewed it as one of the best ice cream makers.  i anticipate lots of ice cream in our near future! 

at the end of our school/work day, we had a lovely dinner at refuel, one of stefan's favourite restaurants. and kai's too.  it's their date night hang out, munching away at a steak or pork belly.  they insisted i try the peanut and chocolate parfait and i am glad i did.  it was super delicious.

happy birthday bello!

chasing wild horses

in one of the homes featured in one of my interior design magazines, there was a framed photo of horses that caught my eye and i goggled the photographer. roberto dutesco is a fashion photographer obsessed with horses. he photographed the horses of sable island, an island just of the shores of nova scotia. it is an island that visitors are not permitted to step foot on without good reason and organizations are working to preserve it. thankfully, dutesco was granted access to the island to capture and share its beauty. his photos are beautiful. don't you think?

there is also a documentary about his interaction with the horses which i have been wanting to watch for a long while now.  i thought about naming this post 'i covet' but really, the prices of these photos are, unfortunately, way beyond my budget.

new crayons

kai and i made crayons afterschool today.  we took old crayons and turned them into new ones.  we will gift some away to a new little girl who moved into the neighbourhood, the thick round shape will be perfect for her little not yet 2 year old hands to hold.  i love the way kai interacts with her; speaking with the 'baby voice', being gentle, and welcoming her hugs.  very sweet!

strawberries and cream

my boys love strawberries and cream for a quick and yummy treat.  i came across this poster on etsy from redcruiser and thought it would be perfect in the kitchen - where the two of them like to hang out - and so i bought it!

chicken and peacocks

only if you could smell this.  organic chicken, celery, garlic, onion.  so simple.  so delicious.  it's one of our favourite weekend meals that stefan prepares.

and, these dishes are a newish addition to my tabletop. i received part of my peacock dishes as a prezzie from a lovely friend.  she picked them up at abc carpet and home during a visit to new york city.  naturally, i had to have a set of eight so i went on-line and admired them again and again until i finally decided to purchase more dishes, bowls, and add mugs to the growing set.  i love them.  thank you suji.

   

images from abc carpet and home website

and thank you to our friends claudia and ken.  if it weren't for this lovely couple who graciously accepted the humongous boxes in which the pottery was shipped, they would not be in my possession right now.  abc carpet and home, sadly, doesn't ship to to canada.

missing kai

upon our return home from vietnam, this note from our lovely neighbour lucy, kai's 'sister', made us all smile big.  sweet, yes?

vietnam, part four

here are some more of our experiences... i share some photos of dalat and hoi an.

dalat
dalat is a pretty town considered the 'little paris' among the vietnamese and is where the honeymooners come to vacation. its communication tower is shaped to look like a mini eiffel tower.  dalat is located on a mountain plateau in the central highlands.  this makes dalat's weather cool and crisp, instead of tropical hot, and the locals are dressed in heavy coats. it looks quite different to the places we have visited thus far.  instead of rice fields, here you will find strawberries, coffee, and vegetables are in abundance.

i promised kai a ride on an elephant.  the trick was finding elephants that were well cared for and i think we did.  we hired a local guide to take us on mini excursion which included a ride on the tuyen lam lake, a visit to the truc lam pagoda which was by farthest the loveliest one we visited, and then an elephant ride.

we visited the 'crazy house'.  it's a piece of architecture to marvel at, it's outlandish and kitschy.  it's strangely decorated and lots of fun for kai to climb up and down stairs, get lost in the maze of tunnels,  and go in and out of nooks and crannies.  artisans work on site.

         

hoi an
hoi an has world heritage status. we visited the japanese covered bridge which is from 1590s. many of the houses were built in the 19th century and well preserved despite their age.  the old city of hoi an is filled with buildings in gold, blue and yellow tones.  there are plenty of narrow streets to explore, we enjoyed cycling among them.  there were souvenirs on sale here, but hoi an is best known for its tailors (i had a pair of sandals made for me!) and cuisine.  lanterns were everywhere.

         

we stayed at an awesome hotel with an idyllic pool but we thought we would hop onto our bikes and cycle to the beach one day.  we decided to take the scenic route and got hopelessly lost.  a kind woman took us and our bikes across the river in her little boat - apparently we ended up on the wrong side of the river.  after much more cycling we did finally get to the beach. whew!

 

   
  

 

on our last day in vietnam we cycled around the outskirts of the old town.  we ended up at a great little place for coffee.

 

this was our first time to vietnam.  hopefully not our last.  thank you for enduring the endless photos of our vietnam holiday.