Saturday, July 31, 2010

Changing tastes






Beginning at the end of my college years, I started saving images of my favorite looks from each season's fashion shows in what eventually became a massive Word document (I know, this admission ages me).

I had this fantasy that some day -- many, many years from then -- I might have the chance to pay someone to design a great coat or dress for me for a special occasion. If that day ever came, I'd be able to go back through my fashion 'catalogue' - if you will - to give the designer a sense of my style through the years. That way, the resulting piece would be timeless; something I'd love for decades to come.

Thankfully, around that same time, Style.com came out with "Lookbook," a personal online style directory of outfits saved from each season.

The other day I decided to take a trip down memory lane and look back at what I first saved nearly five years. I was curious as to whether my taste had changed much.

Truth be told -- not really. There are a lot of clean, classic looks. Red, black, cream and gray showed up most frequently, and that's still the case for my closet today. The photos shown here are just a few of the outfits I loved most years ago.

Flipping through these images gave me the same pining I still experience today when I look at Lanvin or Celine's collections. Knowing your own style makes you selective, but sure of the things you like.

Now, if only my closet actually had any of these fine clothes I would be one lucky girl. But hey, that's what dreams are for, right?

The beauty of our northern neighbor




I was talking with a co-worker this week about our respective August holidays. He was still trying to figure out what he was going to do. Trips to Europe were too pricey and after some reflection, he decided that he'd rather stay a bit closer to home this time around.

I suggested Vancouver Island.

You can fly to Seattle (flights in August are under $300 right now!), take the clipper to Victoria, hike the West Coast Trail, eat fantastically fresh, locally-grown food and relax. The Island, and its residents, are very laid back people.

I'm biased, of course, because my parents lived there for four glorious years. Having not spent a lot of time in Canada prior to that period, those visits to their home in Victoria opened my eyes to how amazingly diverse the landscape is north of our border. I don't think I had any idea just how beautiful it can be, which is why I want to see more of it.

When I saw Celine's pictures of Ontario, I mentally started to plan a getaway there for next year. If I ever get around to a cross-country road trip, I'd like to include dips in and out of Canada along the journey, and this province will definitely be one of them.

(via bonjour!)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Raspberries, brown sugar & yogurt



Three ingredients. One cooking technique -- mix it all together. And you have something that is (in my opinion) the perfect dessert to eat and make.

Only Smitten Kitchen. Who else could make you wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Trout for two



As I've documented here before, the past year I've been obsessed with cooking, grilling and baking all foods 'whole.' Whole pig, whole chicken, whole fish.....you name it, I've been game for the experiment. The larger the animal (or fish), the better off it is to be simple when it comes to type and number of ingredients; otherwise, I feel overwhelmed.

I was originally going to grill two trout fillets tonight for dinner but the fishmonger at my local store suggested I buy the whole filleted trout, which was cheaper, $3.50 to be exact. In this photo the trout may look fairly small. It seemed that way when I bought it. In fact, I was a bit nervous that I had not bought enough for my husband and me. Wrong. One small trout was plenty. Add some green beans sauteed in lemon and garlic and a few grilled peaches on the side, and voila!, we had a lovely, inexpensive meal.

Best part about it might have been that it was all unplanned. Well, I should add that the other surprising and delectable part was the new beer I discovered and we both enjoyed -- Snapperhead, a really light, but flavorful IPA.

Now it's on to some sorbet for dessert.....

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Tomboy style


I stumbled across the sort of blog I wish I'd had around when I was a teenager. It's called Tomboy Style. No one around me was really celebrating being a tomboy as best as I can recall. I still think of myself as one so it's never too late, I guess, to find something like this.

New apparel line coming our way





You'd think I was going to announce a move, a new job or a new exciting turn in my personal life. Nope. The exciting news is that Emersonmade is launching apparel on August 10th but you can email them now and reserve clothes that you spot and adore on their website.

So, what are you waiting for?! You know you love their flowers and clutches. Don't you just adore the skirts with pockets and gorgeous fall jackets? I think they're perfect.

The lines of time


Yet another reminder of why we shouldn't fight time and let ourselves age gracefully.

(via The Sartorialist)