the foxhall tie

A couple of weeks ago I tried on this black and white plaid Mociun dress, which is so, so beautiful. I fell in love with it, but it wasn't to be.

I decided to try to find some pretty plaid linen to make myself a consolation dress; I was not successful in the hunt. Instead I found some black and white light wool, which sat on my sewing table for a while. I decided to use it to make winter neckties instead of making myself a dress. It will be available soon, if you would like to have one or to give one as a gift.

lula giveaway winner

I had Geoff log on to random.org to pick the winner of Lula magazine, and it's Kennedy!

I was pretty amazed by the comments, though. You guys. You are so sweet! Thank you. Sometimes I actually hate doing giveaways! I want all of you to have your own copies of this lovely magazine. Still, congratulations to Kennedy! If you take a peek at her blog and Etsy shop, you'll see that she looks like she just walked out of the pages of Lula herself.

(I don't want to single anyone out because all the comments made me smile, but a very special one indeed came from Laura, who said that she chose her winter wedding dress based on this picture of the red ankle boots & Burberry dress! Wow! Thank you for sharing that!)

alternative apparel f&f sale

A while back I wrote about my favourite t-shirt, made by Alternative Apparel. From now until November 25, they're having a friends & family sale: 25% off plus free ground shipping within the continental US. Use the coupon code found here. I thought I would pass along this nice offer because a good deal is a good deal, and one thing I've learned from Twitter and from standing in line-ups at warehouse sales is that people love a good deal.

I am loving the silk modal shirts they have right now. How hot is the boyfriend tee at the top? So hot.

babycakes

Is everyone feeling cupcake fatigue at this point? It seems as though the world went cupcake crazy for a while. Understandable: cupcakes are delicious. I don't indulge in them too often, only because 1. I can't be bothered to bake them myself, 2. a good cupcake is hard to find, 3. nothing is worse than a mediocre cupcake, and 4. when I crave sweets, it's usually candy.

I recently decided to cut back on / cut out dairy, and while browsing cookbooks at the library I came across the Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna. I have never been to Babycakes, but I have heard so much about it from friends who live in New York or who visit frequently. I was intrigued by the recipes, which are dairy- and gluten-free, because some of the best cupcakes I've ever had have been vegan. I was also intrigued by the use of agave nectar as sweetener. I have too many family members with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, and I'm concerned about that; agave nectar tastes fantastic and is relatively low on the glycemic index (just a tip).

I also like the cookbook because the photography in it is so pretty! The uniforms were designed by Wendy Mullin of Built By Wendy (although the blog tells me that they have new uniforms, designed by In God We Trust)! Pretty clothes and desserts? A girl of my particular demographic and with my particular interests is powerless to resist. (I do find the celebrity endorsements sprinkled throughout a bit unnecessary, but I guess the publishers thought that food that is kind of "weird" could benefit from, I don't know, Jason Schwartzman's picture?)

I spent yesterday morning trying to track down the ingredients for vanilla cupcakes and vanilla icing. I bought agave nectar at The Big Carrot last weekend, and I had other basics (baking soda, salt, lemons, etc.) already. I bought garbanzo-fava bean flour, potato starch, coconut oil, coconut flour, and unsweetened soy milk at Whole Foods. I bought xanthan gum from the bulk food section of Noah's. Geoff bought arrowroot in bulk from Strictly Bulk. I did not find dry soy milk powder anywhere, so I cheated and bought skim milk powder in bulk. For the record, Whole Foods had everything except the elusive soy milk powder, but I tried to find some of the ingredients in bulk to save money. (EDT: the book lists resources, but a lot of the ingredients can be ordered directly from Bob's Red Mill online.)

These ingredients cost a small fortune, and even though I halved the recipe, I still went through half the containers of coconut oil and agave nectar. Still, I have most of the ingredients in my pantry now, and I feel good about how wholesome they are. It was about $50 worth of ingredients, but if I were making a cake from scratch with fresh eggs and organic milk and things like that, it would have been about the same. (I am trying to justify this expense, you see. It was not a very wise financial decision for me at the moment -- I mean, there was no occasion.)

I made the cupcakes as soon as I got home from work because I was so excited -- and I never get excited about food preparation! Of course, the cupcakes don't taste like a "regular" vanilla cupcake would, and my cupcakes aren't particularly beautiful to look at, but I love them! We ate ours accompanied by a cup of homemade chai, inspired by Melinda. Yum yum. The perfect little treat for the start of my weekend.

lula giveaway

I got my hands on an extra copy of Lula magazine, and so I'd like to give it away to one of you sweet girls (or possibly one of the few lovely gents)! You know what to do. Open worldwide, because I love you all. I may not respond to every comment, but I do, I do love you all.

I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday night. Good luck, & xo.

(Image via bitterlemons)

red ankle boots

Ever since I saw this picture in the latest Lula, I can't stop thinking about these red Repetto ankle boots, despite the fact that they are something that I don't need, not even a little bit.

Want a copy of Lula for yourself? Come back tomorrow for a mid-week giveaway.

from melinda xo

On Saturday Geoff and I went to Magic Pony for Melinda's book launch. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it in time, but we did, and I'm so glad! She illustrated a French children's book called Le géranium, published by Bourgeon. It is a very charming story about a dog-gentleman who finds happiness in the simple life. I bought a copy for my friend Kate who teaches children French. I think it is an important book for her to read to them.

I was wearing my APC Madras dress, so Melinda drew a little horse from the hem in my copy of the book! Cutest ever. Melinda is the cutest ever, seriously. While there we bumped into Celine and Rosalyn. So many sweet ladies gathered around, so many smiles.

The original watercolours are on display at Magic Pony from now until November 16. If you're not in Toronto, you can view them on her website under the children's book section of her portfolio. If you're in Toronto, you should go see them!

Read Melinda's blog here; be prepared to be delighted.

sweet spot

I know this is meant for a kid's room, but wouldn't this little nook be the best spot for tucking away with a book this winter?

I am currently reading The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki -- what are you reading?

(Photo via this pretty blog
that Geoff and I spent quite a bit of time pouring over yesterday)

top knots & cowls

I felt so happy when I saw these two pictures on Copenhagen Street Style this morning. Rebecca might be exactly half my age and Swedish, but I feel like I could easily pull off an approximation of this outfit myself. I wear a lot of black, which is probably why I love this so much. Love the cowl, love the top knot, love the sweet tights.



I have been a pretty terrible blogger lately; I know. I am in the process of making a number of changes in my life, changes that I think will help me in the long run, changes that have been sucking up a lot of my energy & time. It is too boring/personal to discuss here, although if you know me in real life, I have probably already (rather selfishly) talked about it endlessly! I hope that soon I will be able to divert some of that energy & time back here.

all modern giveaway winner

(Polaroid by Geoff, of our Midsummer Light)

I am posting this feeling a bit sad! So many of you entered the giveaway, and you left the sweetest comments and stories, or posted your own (mieletcannelle's post was so lovely, for example). There were over 220 entries in the end (comments + bonus entries), but unfortunately, not 220+ prizes.

The random number generator picked Carly Waito. Congratulations, Carly, and happy anniversary! You may remember Carly as painter of incredible mineral specimens and as a seriously talented ceramic artist. I happen to know Carly "in real life" and she is charming and kind. Actually, a few of my "real life" friends entered, because I am finally comfortable with telling them about this blog. Um, hi guys.

Oh and for those of you who liked the Chinoiserie placemats; I had accidentally posted a photo of the "multi" placemats, and not the vellum ones! The multi placemats have a bolder, larger pattern and are made of a linen/cotton blend. They are also $24 as opposed to $88.

Anyhow, thank you all so much for entering, for reblogging, and for writing Twitter updates. Thank you to All Modern for offering to send something to one of my readers. That sounds so funny -- I never expected to have more than three! Thank you for reading my silly little posts and for being so doggone nice. This blog has been a source of happiness for me and you are a part of that. The company had offered to send me an item to keep & review, but I was happy to give one person the opportunity to win something pretty. It seemed like the least I could do.

I hope to run another giveaway next week. Have a wonderful Hallowe'en weekend!