Fashion Friday

Thank goodness it's finally Friday. I've been sick most of the week, so I didn't have a ton of motivation for a Fashion Friday post. I'm surprised I was able even get dressed for work this week. Luckily, I'm really diggin' grey sweatshirts this fall, not only are they cute, but even when you're sick, you can still feel comfy rocking them.

Here are a few of my favourites...

On days that you're feeling good, you could pair it with a button-down, skinnies and some cute sneakers.

xx E.

Ps. Although I may have styled them nicely here, this week, I'm wearing my sweatshirt with baggy grey sweatpants. Cute. Reeeeal cute.

[Root] Beer Tasting

For my dad's birthday, my mom came up with a little activity for us all to do. When I found out it involved rootbeer, I decided to opt-out of the tasting. I finally tasted rootbeer for the first time this year, after the Tough Mudder event, and I decided that I hadn't been missing anything, and that rootbeer is gross.

After much input from my dad, it went from being a low key rootbeer tasting to a full blown blind study, with the rootbeer being served by yours truly, and each person ranking each sample.


the line up



the study participants; the rootbeer samples


The winner turned out to be Stewarts, which was funny because everyone thought they had chosen Dad's as the winner. So, fair play to my dad, his study design worked.


the winner. i tasted it...still gross


All the cred goes to my mom for this cute idea.

xx E.

Ps. Here's a close up of that gorgeous chocolate cake in the second picture. Credit to my mom on that one, too.

3 x the Pumpkin

I knew the weekend would be cloudy/rainy, so I figured it would be a good time to try out a new recipe. Since I'm dog sitting for my parents, I've got two pups to please, so I decided to bake something just for them.

In honour of the first day of fall, I decided on Pumpkin Doggy Treats.


simple ingredients: pumpkin, eggs, salt, flour, powdered milk (not shown)

I used this recipe. They were super simple to make. I didn't have sea salt, so I opted for regular salt (honestly, how will the dogs know?) And I ran out of rice flour, so I subbed in regular all-purpose flour at the end. The nice thing about the recipe is that they are supposed to be dry and crisp, so you don't have to work about over working the dough.

there is so much flour in the dough, it has to be super dry in order to bake into crisp treats

 

i used a small cookie cutter, but you could just as easily cut them into squares;
they get baked for 20 mins on one side, then 20 on the other



the result - they look like ritz crackers for dogs

 

rocky, giving me a paw to get a bite of the treat


After I finished, I still had a lot of pumpkin left in the can (could they please sell smaller cans of the stuff?!). Anyway, I decided to make a human treat, so I made Pumpkin Blondies.

It's really more like Pumpkin spice cake because it's fluffy, not chewy like a brownie/blondie. Either way, it was yummy!

mixing the blondie batter; the finished cake


After that, there was still SO MUCH pumpkin left in that can. So I made some curried pumpkin soup.

creamy, spicy and perfrect for a fall day

After that, believe it or not, there was STILL pumpkin in that damn can. I'd been cooking/baking all afternoon, so I did what any normal person would do. I threw the rest in the green bin.

xx E.

Ps. I don't have an actual recipe for the curried pumpkin soup...just made it up on the spot. If you want the basic method, just ask :)

Fashion Friday

Today is the official last day of summer. Sigh. But since it's been quite cool all week, I feel like I've already said a quick good bye to summer!

In honor of the first day of fall tomorrow, I want to highlight my favourite fall neutral, which is anything but plain...Animal Print.

In my opinion, the key is to keep it classy, by a) using it in smaller doses or b) sticking to one animal printed item per ensemble. For those brave wearers, you can mix it with other patterns. Make the animal print your neutral. After all, according to one of my favourite fashion bloggers, Cheeta is the New Black. 

I picked up those brown Dolce Vita zebra striped slippers last weekend and I'm already obsessed. 

xx E.

Happy Friday and Happy Fall! 

Find those pieces by clicking on them here:

Vegetarians

This drawing by Gemma Correll made me smile. It made me think of my friend Katie, who recently told us that she's now a vegetarian and her colleagues just don't understand it.  Except Katie is way cuter than a Brontosaurus and her colleagues still invite her to stuff. She's a cool vegetarian.  

this illustration and others can be found here

xx E.

Ps. Love ya Kato!

Mac 'n' Cheese beat Facebook

I came across this article yesterday, and obviously, it caught my eye. No, not because of Facebook, because of mac 'n' cheese obviously!

http://www.wired.com/business/2012/09/annies-mac-n-cheese-facebook/ 

via

So it turns out that both Facebook and Annie's went public on the same day, and while Facebook took a dive, Annie's has done really well. With the amount of macaroni I consume, I really should have invested in it by now...lesson learned.

My biggest question here is this: Where can I get this special macaroni? The article says they sell it in major grocery stores, but I don't think I've ever seen it. Is it because I'm blinded by my preference for Kraft?

Well blinded no longer. I'm on the hunt for Annie's. Did I mention that Annie's is the company that invented Smart Food popcorn? My other favourite food! After they sold their famous popcorn to Frito-Lay, they used their knowledge of white cheddar towards macaroni. This was meant to be.

Please friends, keep your eyes peeled for the box with the bunny on it and tell me of its whereabouts.

xx E.

Ps. Happy Hump Day!

Summer Wind-Down

Well this is the last week of the summer. I've already started to welcome Fall - my favourite season - but I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what a lovely summer we had this year.

After all, it's going to be quite a while until we feel the gorgeous warmth again, so let's not be so quick to cast it aside.

Before the summer began, I made a summer 'to do' list.

I didn't manage to check off every item on the list, but I have to say I did pretty well.

Drink Pimm's & Lemonade - check

Get up North to the cottage at least twice - check check

Go to a soccer game (TFC v. LFC anyone?) - check

Cut bangs - check!

Rent bikes and take a winery tour

Buy & cook local food from the Farmer's Market - check

Watch fireworks (Canada Day?) - check
Make homemade Popsicles - check

Visit Ottawa for a long weekend

Go to an outdoor concert - check

Take yoga classes

Go on a picnic - check

I also managed to watch airplanes, have bbq's, spend time on patios, enjoy the Olympics, watch some tough mudders, visit with family and soak in the sunshine.

xx E.

Ps. Are you happy or sad to say goodbye to summer/hello to fall?

Fashion Friday

Well I'm back from Atlanta. Since I was travelling for work, it inspired today's Fashion Friday topic: Business Travel.

We all like to be comfy on the plane, but when you're travelling for work, grey track pants and sneakers don't usually cut it, since you're often going straight from the airport to a meeting.

Here are my top picks for flying comfortably, yet still looking like you are employed.

• Black trousers always look polished, and if you choose a pair with stretch then you'll be comfortable
• Don't underestimate the power of a good quality t-shirt - they're soft and comfy but look crisp
• Choose your cardigan wisely - it can double as a jacket (above right) or can be loose enough to wrap around you on a cool flight
• If you can't forego the jacket entirely, pick one that goes with everything so you won't need to bring more than one
• Flats/loafers are easy to slip off (I never wear my shoes on a plane), easy to walk miles through the airport in, and look great
• Go for minimal accessories - a great watch and a statement briefcase will cover it (nothing worse than trying to rest with giant earrings piercing into your neck so leave those at home)
• You'll notice I stuck to a black & white scheme - it always looks pulled together (and takes zero effort) :)

To find any of the items, click below.

xx E.

Ps. SO very happy to be home - I can never sleep in a hotel...can anyone??

Happy Birthday Dad

Wishing my dad (and the #1 fan of this blog) a very Happy Birthday today!

dad and me, dancing it up

I won't give away what year he's turning today...let's just say it rhymes with pixie-heaven. But with him, age doesn't matter because he's so immature young at heart :)

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you! 

xx E.

Ps. Proper celebrations to come on Sunday!

Stuck in the Airport

Well my friends, I honestly didn't think I'd have a chance to post while I'm away because my trip is super short and very scheduled.

Guess what I didn't factor in? My flight being delayed. Of course! And now I've gained some free time.

I'm bored. Super super SUPER bored. And I'm trying to just be relaxed, happy even. Here are some reasons that I should not be upset:

1) I don't have a connecting flight. This is it, I'll get there eventually. Pretty much everyone else near me is going to miss their connection. It's a little tense

2) Delta Airlines is fixing the plane. I suppose they could have just said 'something's a little bit wrong? oh well, let's chance it' but they're not. They are making the plane nice and safe for us.

3) I have a computer, an iphone, a magazine, and a book. How much more do I want in terms of entertainment?

4) I have people to watch. One lady kept flexing her bum while she was trying to arrange for a new flight. I wasn't staring it was just super obvious. People are funny and are making me laugh.

So I'm re-reading these reasons to myself, to make me feel better. It's kind of working...I wish I had a couch to lie down on.

Something that is DEFINITELY not lovely - a man behind me just sneezed like 10 times in a row. Then 10 times again! I'm sure he'll be on my flight infecting us. Ali - this one made me think of you!


So for your viewing enjoyment, here are some pictures of my trip so far...

dinner...if i knew my flight was going to be delayed i would've gone to tgi fridays!

the scary (but turns out he's nice) old neighbour from home alone - or at least his body double

I know this post is weird. It's the rantings of a tired lady who is trying really hard to be upbeat and cheery. It's not easy right now, so thanks for understanding.

xx E.

Ps. I think...I THINK the crew may have just gone to board the plane...oh I hope so!

Pps. Nevermind. They just announced that there's a problem with the hydraulics and we may be getting a new aircraft. Yikes spikes I don't like what's going on here...

Recent Moments

My iPhone is never too far from my reach. Here are some moments captured as of late...

husband after tough mudder; with sarah at jeff and sarah's stag & doe; cocktails in port dalhousie; a snail's home; jay's game; picnic at spencer smith park; the pup; the berenstain bear shadow in our room; morning; the in-laws; my initials in the sky; at the greenbelt picnic; husband in jail at a stag & doe; my new favourite snack; wedding dress shopping; catching up on my magazine reading.

xx E.

Ps. I'm off to Atlanta on business for a couple days!

An Anniversary

Today marks our two year wedding anniversary. I can not believe how fast time goes by. We're celebrating tonight with a romantic dinner. I was all set to buy a gift made of wood (you know, the first anniversary is paper, the second is wood) until someone told me that it's not wood, it's cotton. Cotton?! What am I going to buy him, a shirt? That's not very romantic. So we decided to scrap the gifts altogether until we get to a material that we (read: I) want - like silver or pearls :)

Here are a couple snaps from the big day:

the moment it was official :)

photos as the sun was setting

Happy Anniversary my love.

xx E.

Ps. I promise to love you all the world, for all our lives.