it's been a slice!

i want to start off by thanking everyone for following along on my crazy journey throughout the life of this blog -- it has meant the world to me that you gave a damn and read along. i loved my time with this space, and it did exactly what i needed it to; gave me a creative voice, one that allowed me to swear, be naughty and share pretty shit with you.

i have moved on to a new chapter in my life, and have decided to focus my attention solely on this venture. i hope you can take a peek at my brand new site, and would love for you to follow me along on my journey there! i promise to continue sharing and hope to hear from you again! thanks so much, you're all simply lovely. xo

august loved.

on the road.

 i'm not sure why it took so long for me to see this movie, but i finally did and i am only going to say one thing about it: perfect. 

so watch it. love it. then watch it again. and love it even more.

the only people for me are the mad ones,

the ones who are mad to live.

mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of

everything at the same time,

the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but

burn, burn, burn,

like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding

like spiders across the stars...

--jack kerouac

cottage days & cottage nights.

without a doubt, my favourite week of each year for the last 7 years, has been our cottage week away. last year i chatted about a lot of the reasons why, and all of them still hold firm and true -- i guess it's the consistency of it all that makes me yearn for this perfectly simple week away. maybe it's the fact that it has started to feel a little more like home each time we make the trip and share it with one another...a home away from home, and that's the best kind if you ask me.

brb.

 just at the cottage.

july loved.

the fruits of our labour.

while picking up fresh veggies for the beet salad i made earlier this week, i snapped a few photos of some of the plants and flowers bursting into bloom in and around nonno's garden. as you can see, the tomatoes we planted back in june are doing very well and are officially taller than nonno. in a few short weeks, we'll be feasting on fresh, juicy tomatoes daily, and my canker sores and i can't wait.

nonna's summer beet salad.

when i stop and think of summer, food is the very first thing that comes to mind -- followed closely by the beach, the cottage and of course, booze. however when you think about it, you can't really have one without the other, they all go perfectly hand in hand. summers have always brought with them my nonno's garden packed to the tits with fresh and beautiful veggies and herbs, from his perfectly ripe tomatoes, to fragrant bushes of waist-high basil, to one of my very favourite crops since i was just a wee thing: beets. as a team, nonno plants and tends to the beets, while nonna picks them and prepares them into what is hands-down the best beet salad i have ever had. if she has them in the house, you can bet your ass i am shovelling them into my mouth, and every single bite somehow tastes better than the last. while visiting them for lunch on monday (a 'sangweech' and a bottle of blue in the backyard), i managed to score some of my tasty little friends, and didn't waste any time whipping up a salad that would knock my nonna's little cotton socks clean off.

how we do: nonna's summer beet salad

{serves 4}

prep time: 5 minutes

cook time: 30 minutes

you will need:

15-20 medium sized beets

5 leaves of basil

2 cloves of garlic

red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt & pepper

begin by thoroughly washing your beets and removing the caca from the tops and bottoms, leaving the skins on. bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add your beets, allowing them to cook until fork tender or approximately 30 minutes. while your beets are cooking, you can make the dressing for your salad.

growing up there was only one dressing that ever graced our cucina table, and this my friends, is it:

2/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

i'm giving measurements for the sake of the recipe, but i'm telling you now, this dressing will always turn out best when eyeballed like nonna does -- the day she pulls a measuring cup out to make this dressing is the day she grows average height and stops trying to sneak $20 dollar bills into my bra while saying goodbye. my go-to dressing for the majority of the salads i prepare, with minor adjustments depending on which salad i'm making (i add dried oregano if making a greek salad, or dijon mustard if making a warm steak & wild mushroom salad), and it is exactly what i need it to be. not so overpowering that you can't taste the ingredients in the salad itself, but just enough to compliment it. for the beet salad, i added 5 leaves of basil fresh from nonno's garden. in a small mason jar, combine the oil, vinegar, basil and salt & pepper, shake it up and voila!

*easiest way to cut basil: lay the leaves flat on top of one another, largest to smallest, roll into a basil-like-joint (one that even bob marley himself would be proud of), and cut down the length to form long ribbons. 

once the beets are cooked and ready, strain them off and run cold water over them, within a few minutes they should be cool to the touch and you can begin peeling them. with the water still running, roll the beets in your hands and the peels should slide clean off. rinse those bad boys off and allow them to fully cool to room temperature.

with your beets cooled you can cut them into nice rustic sized pieces -- nonna quarters them so that's how i do it. she also adds 2 cloves of sliced garlic, which adds a lot of flavour without blowing your head off. toss in your dressing, tasting until you are happy with the amounts of salt & pepper. there are not a lot of things in this world that makes me drool like a fresh beet salad, and with that said, i'm off to finish the last of what i have somehow managed to save from our dinner last night, and clean the drool from my keyboard.

pretty lately.

coral & lilac chevron nails.

the most curious cat : the cutest random pooch that pulled up next to me while waiting on a friend.

'schefflera' aka the newest member of our porch plant party.

a quick pit stop for local craft beer tastings and shmoozing at oast.

gettin' my shit organized never looked so good.

lovely meals, fresh flowers & beautiful friends.

back in february i received a message from steph, a very special long-time friend, inviting me to spend a week with her and her husband neil at their lovely home in ottawa sometime during the summer months. we decided on this past week, so they booked it off from work and when monday morning came i was up with the birds and made the 6 hour trip to visit her all alone. having never driven farther than an hour and a half away by myself, i was nervous but excited to be a big girl and get on the road, and it totally paid off when i arrived safe and sound with not a care in the world but a sore throat from all the singing belting-it-out i had done. i was actually surprised i hadn't danced a hole straight through my chair. 

i was greeted by steph & neil, their sweetheart of a pooch cork, and the most beautiful lunch prepared and ready to devour. we drank wine and picked up exactly where we left things off when we had seen each other last in january, and we agreed that a friendship in which you don't necessarily see each other or speak to one another everyday, but can feel natural and warm and just as it always was when you are together is the best kind of friendship. the rest of the week panned out just the same as we enjoyed ourselves and each other's company; yoga in the living room each morning, making & sharing gorgeous meals together, bike rides through her neighbourhood, an afternoon at the beach, a day of thrift and antique shopping, a few meals out and even a dirty night in with fun visitors. the week flew by and before we knew it we were saying goodbye with tears in our eyes. i am incredibly lucky to have a friend like steph in my life, 
and am more thankful for her and our friendship than ever.

sunday share.

 a little something for your sunday. this is probably the most beautiful wedding video i have ever seen, 
and trust me when i say, i have seen my fair share. 
a few reasons why:

a) the groom. everything about him. all of it.

b) the barn, the rain, the romance.

c) their gifts to each other; boys are actually capable of thinking of things like secret books on their own?

d) the bride's dad. please?

 {via}

canada day eh?

i'll take any excuse to attend/throw a party, so when the opportunity to hold a canada day pool party & bbq at my parents place came up, plans were instantly made. inviting a small crew of some of my closest friends, we swam in the pool, stuffed our faces, enjoyed a few cocktails and laughed the entire day long.

june loved.

john mayer: a face to call home.

i have john mayer's born and raised album on vinyl as well as itunes, and must have listened to it about 1000 times, however this week was the first time i realized how much i love this specific song -- weird how that happens eh? sometimes it takes the right song to be playing at just the right moment in your life to make you realize how much you love and relate to it, and i'm so thankful this is the song i'm relating to most right now. happy long weekend friends!

dîner en blanc: as beautiful & hoity toity as ever.

we were fortunate enough to be invited back to attend the third annual dîner en blanc in niagara on the lake this past monday evening (it's fun having friends with an "in" to cool shit). now that we have attended and are officially "members" of the event, we will automatically be invited back for first dibs each year. i know, so poo-poo.

600 of us (400 down from last year's 1000 attendees, which was noticeable and due to keeping the event 'intimate and elegant' left 1000 people shit-outta-luck on the wait-list) were organized into groups with a team leader, meet-up location and bus driver. we were instructed to meet at our designated stop, which was the shaw festival theatre on the main street, to meet our team captain, pack all our crap on the bus (the shittiest part about attending this event) and most importantly, pick up our pre-ordered bottles of vino to bring to dinner. bringing an entire dinner party with you to an event takes organization, energy and planning -- 2 baskets (which must be white or draped with white fabric or you better believe they will black list your ass from the party faster than you can pull your own head out of it) filled with my entire set of white"ish" place settings, cutlery, glassware, linens, florals, paper details, candles, as well as your food if you didn't order it, which i would say close to 80% of us did as it was a new option this year and unfortunately, not the best to be honest. ah well, you live and you learn -- we're making our own spread next year and we will be the envy of the entire party town.

note: the furrowed brow in the photo above is 100% directed at me for taking his picture while he's 

holding 45 pounds of glass & china, and not being able to put his hand up to block me from doing so. sucka.

once we boarded the buses it was off to our 'secret location' for dinner, which ended up being on the grounds of the mcfarland house along the niagara parkway. tables and chairs lined the paved space we were to set up and dine upon, and each group was responsible for organizing their area. this is where a little chaos ensued and by the time we sat down to eat we had been informed 40 attendees still had no where to sit. with some shuffling around and squeezing, the music began and dinner commenced with a ceremonial 'napkin wave'. the evening sun was warm and lovely above the vineyard across the road, and everyone and every thing glowed golden and beautiful. 

live entertainment, lots of laughter, cheers-ing, an impromptu singing of oh canada and a sweet little birthday celebration at the table next to us, and before we knew it, it was 10:15 and time to light the sparklers handed out to each guest. last year's sparkler performance was lacklustre compared to the timing and quality of this year, and in that moment, i decided it was my favourite 3 minutes of the entire evening -- there is nothing better than seeing the faces on people of all ages, when their sparkler bursts into light and suddenly they're a kid again.

i love the way this event pulls me out of my every day, and shows me a little glamour, a little flair and a lot of panache. the perfect excuse to celebrate making everything look and feel 'just right' is my kind of party, and i am already looking forward to celebrating again next year. 
the best part? hands down, the company.