Saturday Stuff

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via The Artful Desperado

Another Saturday! Huzzah! It felt like a bit of a doozy of a week with a weird stomach virus hitting me part way through which made me feel kinda wonky the rest of the week. Luckily it's over now and I have a weekend full of fun things ready to go. That, and the weather is on its way up... finally! So whether you're having a netflix marathon, running an actual marathon, or participating in a shopping marathon, make sure you take 5 minutes to sit back, sip something tasty, and partake in a little light reading.

It's the freakin' weekend, gonna have me some fun. And by that I mean watch House of Cards and sip on this boozy cocktail.

I've dreaming of doughnuts ever since I made these beauties, but these Cheddar Jalapeño Green Onion Doughnuts just take everything to the next level.

Remember the dress from last week? Well someone actually decided to do something good with all the viral.

This is the front lawn of my dreams

Still dreaming of my future home over here. Hoping I remember this when that day comes.

I found out about this cool maker-space in Toronto recently and promptly signed up for a wooden spoon carving workshop. I'm so excited!

Oh you know, just continuing to think about our upcoming adventure.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Saturday Stuff

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via The Kitchn

Welcome to another Saturday! I hope you're able to enjoy your weekend amongst the company of friends, family and good food. I'll be doing all of those things while also checking out a new to me brunch spot, sipping coffee, and lounging around in my PJ's as much as possible. I can't wait!

If you need to pass some time, here are some nifty things I found while looking around. Enjoy!

This is basically an ice creamy dessert version of this delightful drink. Yes, please!

I'm a big smoothie fan, and this Almond Joy version looks totally bonkers delicious.

I don't care what Wired says, I'm pretty sure everyone is just lying. #teamwhiteandgold

The definitive guide to butter and toast. So there you go.

This kitchen makeover though...

Wanderlust and Lipstick is a great resource, so ladies listen up and read this if you're thinking of heading on the road solo.

And if you need a reminder of some travel essentials, this should keep you covered.

Have a great weekend everybody! Catch you on the flip!

Link Love-In: Saturday Stuff

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via DesignSponge

Welcome to the weekend! Whether you're working for the weekend, working on the weekend, or busy transforming yourself into a weekend warrior (whatever that means...) I thought I'd share some light reading with you - because no matter where you are, you deserve to kick back with a good cuppa and peruse the inter-webs for a bit. I hope you enjoy this little bit of distraction/relaxation!

I looooooove kale. The texture, the flavour, the versatility. I'm definitely not a "kale is for salads" only type of person, but I can get into a rut with it at times, which is why articles like this one are so helpful. (via Food 52)

I've already highlighted my love for Jacqulyn's blog, lark & linen, and this brownie cake with salted caramel peanut sauce dessert is only adding to that love. I mean really, you should see this thing. Drool town. (via lark&linen)

Other Half and I happen to have one of the smallest bedrooms in the city. It didn't bother me at first, but lately I'm feeling it. Some of these tips may just be making their way to our bedroom very soon. (via Apartment Therapy)

Having decided to move back to Canada and really give this whole "settling down" thing a try, we've also been throwing around the idea of attempting to buy something of our own. While I don't know if that's going to happen anytime soon or not, it's never too early to dream about what my space might look like and these images from Brittany Ambridge of Domino magazine definitely getting me into my dream state! (via Decor8)

Did you know it's Chinese New Year? Happy year of the Goat! The official New Year's day was on Thursday, but their celebrations actually last for two weeks. If you don't know much about the holiday, this article does a pretty good job. (via History.com)

Having had to skip out on a longer honeymoon last year to allow Other Half to start a new job on time, we're planning for something a little longer this year (though still limited thanks to Canada's criminally low vacation minimums). We're hoping it will involve Europe and The New York Times does a stellar series called 36 Hours and I think this stop in Copenhagen is perfect. Feel free to get lost in the many (many back articles of this series!) (via The New York Times).

Having the opportunity to visit almost all of South East Asia over the last two years was such a gift, but it also made we want to discover and explore my own country a lot too. I know a trip out East is in our near future, and this guide to Halifax is going to come in very handy! (via DesignSponge)

Enjoy your weekend my friends!

Link Love-In: Hibernation Mode

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You guys, something terrible is happening. I'm losing motivation. To cook, to bake, to play with my food. It's terrifying and disconcerting and I blame a large chunk of it on this blasted daylight savings time thing people have been harping on about for all these years - making short days feel shorter.

It's resulted in waaaaay to many episodes of Gilmore Girls. Seriously, it's like a fix that I just can't fulfill. It's a sickness and a disease that I'm looking at getting help for.  They shouldn't offer almost endless episodes of anything at the click of a button, it's too easy folks.

With these two things combined I'm about to enter into hibernation. I'll see you in April. May if we have lots of snow.

In the mean time, here are some things I've found interesting as of late.

I lived in Amsterdam for a while during university. As a result it's one of my most favourite cities on the planet. I once took a solo bike trip to see the tulip fields and famous Keukenhof Gardens. Here's an idea of what I say that day.

I recently made this Kale and Feta Loaf. It was delicious and going heavy on the pepper was a happy mistake.

If I can tear myself away from my new best friends, The Gilmores, then I'm also hoping to make these vegan caramels. Check back in June, I might have mustered up the bother to make them by then.

I just learned what an Étagère was. I like the idea, but this is probably the only time I'll be able to use the word. Cool.

Making pasta from scratch definitely goes beyond the realm of my motivation in the kitchen at the moment. Someone else try this and tell me how it went. Thanks.

Until next time!

Link Love-In: The Paris Edition

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Surprise! There's going to be no Farm Fresh for the next two weeks because I'm in France this week (and feeling so gosh darn lucky to be here!) and next week is Canadian Thanksgiving. That means that on both occasions where I'm supposed to be showing you all the lovely fresh veg I've got to work with over the next week, I'm actually stuffing my face full of delightful treats.  This week is all about rich cheeses and flaky croissants, and next week it's pumpkin pie and gravy coated potatoes. Ooooh baby! And in week three, I'll be wearing bulky sweaters and flawy skirts to hide it all. I can't wait!

Anyyywayyyy.... As I said, I'm in France right now! I had the luxury of spending the last two days in Paris with two very dear friends of mine, caught up with old friends from my days of living in Amsterdam, and now I'm lounging in the Poitou-Charantes region soaking up some country life.  Yes, it's as charming as it sounds. Yes, my intent is to make you jealous.

Actually, that's not true. Jealousy is not my angle. I heart you all.

In lieu of a regular post we're going to check out some sweet links that may or may not be thematic.

They are totally thematic.

Enjoy!

These maps to "secret" Paris are just great! I would like to get lost in every one of them. (via Messy Nessy Chic)

Oh, were this my apartment... (via This is Glamorous)

I'm a wanderer when I travel. I feel like they made this for me. (via Kevin and Amanda)

This in-depth about Paris, centred on the Seine is full of interesting facts and tidbits. Oh the things those divers must find! (via National Geographic)

Link Love-In - the life-has-never-been-so-crazy edition

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image via Joy the Baker

Salutations! As the windstorm of my life continues to rage on (car shopping, apartment hunting, job hunting and wedding planning ALL AT THE SAME TIME!) I managed to do a little reading recently and find some gems. I hope, unlike me, you get to take a few minutes to sit back, relax, and enjoy these goodies.

Everyone needs an uplifting ditty every now and then (via The Hairpin)

Apparently I'm all about the summer drink this year (via Lark & Linen)

Joy the Baker has done it again (via Joy the Baker)

These are vegetable inspired wallpapers and they are amazing. The first one in particular has got to be one of the nicest things I've ever seen.  (via The Kitchn)

I love Toronto. So does Toronto Life. This is a round-up of reasons they are into it... some are just funny, some are spot on. (via Toronto Life)

As I've said in the past, being back in Canada is awesome. We're currently staying in Hamilton and while I cannot wait to move back into Toronto, I am enjoying some of the local flavours this eclectic place has to offer. If you find yourselves in this neck of the woods may I recommend some shopping at White Elephant (they just opened a second store!), some coffee at Mulberry Street Coffee House, and a big bite to eat at Chuck's Burger Bar. All locations are vegan friendly and locally owned!

Link Love-In: Shifting

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via designlovefest

It was my Birthday yesterday and I turned a scary age. Never in my life have I dreamed of being older. From the time I was 10, I knew I was in the glory days of life.  I was pretty sure there was no better age than the one I was living and I have no single memory of thinking "When I'm older, I'll be able to...." While I've mellowed out (a little bit) about the idea of getting older, I still have a mini freak out each year at the thought of growing up, and gaining more and more responsibilities to carry around (this whole sentence makes me sound like a terrible person, maybe I am). Each year however I realize I never feel different than the day before, and I get over it pretty quickly. But this year feels different. No, I didn't turn 30 or anything like that - I turned the big 2-9. The age every woman claims to be as soon as she is older than that.

This year I'm very conscious of being in the last year of my 20's. Even though I feel very far away from my early 20's (and in many ways happy about it), I can't shake the feeling that it's somehow a big shift. I've never felt 'old' or even very 'mature' and I still don't, but the last couple of days have been hard.

I think we can all agree I just need to take a deep breath, put on my big girl pants and hope it passes like all the years before, yes? Hmmm I'll work on that.

In the mean time, let's take a gander together at some of the great things the world wide web has to offer us!

1. I'm a bit of an environmentalist (like, quite a bit) and while each new solution for issues we create as humans has it's own set of problems, this one out of Harvard is quite interesting. (via PolicyMic)
2. Oh The Hairpin, you appeal to my heavily sarcastic soul so much. Recently they've delighted with Horoscopes from Galactic Rabbits and plots from my childhood fave Goosebumps illustrated from memory. (via The Hairpin)
3. The story of the artist who created a book detailing all possible colour combinations 271 years before Pantone ever existed has been all over the place, if you haven't seen it yet it's an interesting read. (via This is Colossal) 
4. Recently, a student at school wrote an excellent speech on the importance of the comma. I think she would have really enjoyed this. (via HowStuffWorks)
5. After discussing the word "sup" and it's general overuse (which, naturally, got more intense as soon as I told a room full of 16 year olds I was tired of it) I'd like to believe that this man's point is true. But clearly this author has never received an essay with "r" and "u" (instead of "are" and "you").  (via Time)
6. I've been rocking a range of these desktop wallpapers lately and loving it. (via DesignLoveFest)

Link Love-In: Just because

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Photo by: Stephen Wilkes

Hello there, you poor abandoned blog you. It's time again for some link love, not because I don't want to share my travels to Palawan, or my recipe for Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing that I just made Other Half for his birthday.  No, this is because I'm slow at writing, and I've been having too many weekend adventures that my writing time has disappeared quickly (and... I admit, I've been spending lots of my free time thinking about a certain wedding next summer)!

However, I can assure you that I am instead leaving you with a great list of required (in my opinion) reading that will fill any blog void I may be causing. Enjoy!

1. I love me some infographics and this one doesn't disappoint (via. livescience)
2. What's that? you want to see another infographic? With fun facts about Canada? Okay. (via. wpmedia)
3. I'm a punctual person.  If you tell me to meet you at 5:00, I will do anything humanly possible to meet you at 5:00.  I'll probably even be 5 minutes early just to make sure I'm not late. The concept of "fashionably late" baffles me, but I will practice it if you say a party starts at 7:00, not expecting anyone to show up until at least 9:00, so that you don't feel put out when I actually show up at 7:00. This article was written for me. (via. Huffington Post)
4. It's hard not to love the movie Love, Actually. I know people who say they don't, but they're still the ones watching it every Christmas.  If you're curious about what happened to all of your favourite lovey-doves, this will help. (via. The Hairpin)
5. If I ever choose to have kids, I want to be this kind of parent. (via. the greatest people on earth) 
6. I'm a big fan of this technique and Stephen Wilkes does it really well. (via. twisted sifter)
7. Do you have a doppleganger? I do, I've never met her, but I saw a picture of her once.  It was hanging behind the counter of the local Pita Pit. I thought it was a picture of me, except that I've never worked at Pita Pit and this girl was wearing a Pita Pit uniform. It was totally surreal. I can only imagine what it would be like for these people to actually meet. (via. twisted sifter)

Link Love-In: Vacation reading

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Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Whoa. This post was actually meant to get sent out more than a week ago, but I seem to have gotten carried away prepping for, and then taking, a week long vacation ... sorry! None the less, I'd like to highlight that it's that time of year again! The time where I celebrate the fact that we are graced with a week-long vacation just one month into the school year ... huzzah!

This October holiday Other Half and I jetted off to the Philippines to spend a week in Palawan soaking up sun and (most of all) snorkelling! The sun was only with us for about half the vacation, but the snorkelling was an amazing daily occurance.  I'll be sure to provide a full report on here when I get through all the photos, but while you're waiting for that ... feel free to read these things from around the internet that I found interesting!

Enjoy!

1. How to eat sushi, like a well educated human (via. Huffington Post Canada)
2. I love craft and DIY. I have dreams of a house in my future that has my DIY hand all over it. Until then, I'll continuing reading Poppytalk and gaining inspiration. Their DIY roundups are always my favourite! (via. Poppytalk)
3. I updated my life (aka my phone and ipad) to iOS7 recently. It's beautiful. I'm smitten. Lot's of other things updated themselves too... here are some cool apps to pay attention to. 
4. I don't have a waffle maker (in Toronto OR China), so I can't make these... but if you can, please, please do - and then report every fine detail to me! Drool. (via. Minimalist Baker)
5. I'm a stationary fanatic, and  long time maker of completely covetable stationary, Rifle Paper Co. is a go to ogling resource of mine. Though I've been really (really) good about not investing in any stationary of any kind for a long time (because if I'm honest, I don't use it, I stare at it) I can't help but be drawn to these amaaaazing calendars. Helpful trip planning? Plain old floral beauty (another soft-spot of mine)? I'd take both.  (via. Rifle Paper Co.)

Link Love-In: Going Home

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We're flying home today. It's been 10 months since I've stood on Canadian soil, 10 months since I've had a glass of tap water, 10 months since I've eaten an apple, purchased leafy greens, and cooked on more than one burner.  Our life in China isn't hard, but it's different in ways I didn't expect (as I have mentioned here).

Because we'll be returning for a second year, this time armed with a lot more knowledge and awareness, I've been planning my weeks at home this summer to a finer detail than I normally would.  I want to be able to maximize the fun, food, family, and friends that I will be seeing/having over the next 2 months.

I'm over-the-moon-excited for several camping/cottaging trips, the endless amounts of food I will eat on days out in Toronto, buying and eating as much fresh, whole foods as my body can handle, and lounging in the sun with friends and family sharing a drink and a laugh. Bring. It. On.

Since I'll have a lot of time to read on my 16 hour flight home I've been saving articles and books just for the occasion (that's normal, right?). And while I've read all of these below, I thought I'd provide a few tid-bits of interest I found on the interwebs recently incase you too are looking for something to while away some time. Enjoy!

1. This sounds like a dream destination waiting to happen: Seattle's Food Forest (via Take Part)
2. Alana from Eating from the Ground Up posted this very poignant piece on the importance of being a role model (and how the media is not helping) (via Eating from the Ground Up)
3. I'm not the type of person to watch hours of cute animal clips on youtube, but these 51 pictures could change all of that (via Buzzfeed)
4. Please, everyone, instagram responsibly. (via Grist)
5. It's weird that this is news: Kate Middleton's birth plan (via The Cut)
6. I'm not always very political, but the worst thing to happen to Toronto is Rob Ford (via CBC News)
7. All the friendship bracelet tutorials you could ever want (via Buzzfeed)

What are your summer plans?