Date Night Movie!

My husband and I celebrated 13 years of marriage this week! And maybe we'll get a chance to go out on a date to celebrate! I'd love to see the new romantic comedy The Big Sick. I love rom-coms but so few good ones are made these days. This one looks really sweet.

Have you seen any good date movies lately?

XOXO

Things I Love - Bar Necklaces

A little basic I know, but I love bar necklaces. I've had my chevron bar necklace, designed by a local Saskatchewan artist, for almost a decade, and was given this pretty amethyst necklace for Mother's Day this year (amethyst is my son's birthstone). Mine is from here. I gravitate towards quite simple jewellery and a bar necklace is just the perfect finishing touch for me.

The other day I was out and my friend was wearing a delicate gold necklace like this, which I thought was so pretty too.

Thanks for stopping by today!

XOXO

Meal Planning

This past winter I got pretty good at meal planning. It's one of those small changes that really made things run a lot smoother around here. Not only did we have a plan in place every night (no more staring into a half-empty fridge at 6 p.m. with no idea what to make), we started eating healthier, wasting less food, and saving money at the grocery store. Weeks when I don't have a plan in place, like this past week, our dinners really fall apart - we don't eat dinner until 9:30 at night, or we have toast for dinner, or like last night we spend $45 on two take-out salads from Mandy's (I love Mandy's but $45 for 2 salads?!?). A little planning really does make a difference.

Every Monday, after a quick peruse of the fridge and pantry, I sit down and make a dinner plan and grocery list. My husband and I have made a goal of trying to eat more plant-based meals, so every week I follow pretty much the same formula - I plan for 1 - 2 fish/meat dishes a week, a large Sunday dinner that yields leftovers, 1 cheat meal, a weekly 'shop the fridge' night, and the rest of the week filled with simple vegetarian meals.

I know there are lots of apps and hi-tech ways to do meal planning, but for me I find the old-fashioned way works best. I bought a little notebook from the dollar store, and in it I write down my weekly meal plans and grocery list. I also keep a running list of meal ideas, so if I'm stumped while planning I can find a bit of inspiration. I do use the Wunderlist app for groceries though. I keep both a running Costco list and grocery list, both which are shared with my husband, which makes it easier for trips to the grocery store.

A couple of sample weekly menus:

WEEK 1
Tuesday - Tomato and zucchini pasta + salad
Wednesday - Shop the fridge
Thursday - Chicken/fish with cauliflower rice
Friday - Falafel wraps
Saturday - Spring frittata + salad
Sunday - Chicken/fish with mashed potatoes and green beans
Monday - Leftovers

WEEK 2
Tuesday - Quesadillas + salad
Wednesday - Shop the fridge
Thursday - Chicken/shrimp stir fry
Friday - Sweet potato frittata + salad
Saturday - Broccoli pasta + salad
Sunday - Coconut curry
Monday - Leftovers

Now that it's summer though, I'm struggling a bit with coming up with easy vegetarian meals. I don't feel that we can make some of our favourite standbys - like frittata - as it's too hot to use the oven, or even cook in the house some nights.

Any suggestions? Or meal planning tips? I'd love to hear!

XOXO

Weekend Links

Bonne fête!! It's Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, or la fête nationale du Québec today! We're planning on having a low-key celebration around here. If you're looking for something to do though, here is a listing of events in Montreal (I think it's only in French, FYI).

And to kick off your weekend a few fun, mostly Montreal, links from around the web...

It's official. Montreal is the perfect city!

Here is a list of the best coffee shops in Montreal. I would add Campanelli's. Everyone knows it's totally the best in town.

We may be on the hunt for a new apartment (I'm so sad - I love our apartment! We've lived here for a year and a half - I think maybe the longest we have lived anywhere - and I imagined living here for ever). This house tour is giving me hope that another dream apartment can be found.

Speaking of house tours, this one was featured over at A Cup of Jo a few weeks ago. Totally my style, I love plants and bright, airy spaces. I stalked the owner on Instagram and I really appreciated this post about re-designing your days to make your life work for you. My husband and I try to take a family day of sabbath every weekend - we're not religious - but planning a day every week where we set aside work, chores, and other activities to focus on spending quality time together as a family has been a really great change for us! 

And finally, this is one of my favourite summer desserts. The strawberries look so good at the market these days. Maybe we'll make it this weekend!

Have a great holiday weekend!

XOXO

The Dordogne

One of the places we travelled to during the time we lived in Paris was the Dordogne region in the south-west of France. The Dordogne is famous for it's stunning vistas, it's food, and it's prehistoric art - and let me tell you, it didn't disappoint on any of these fronts! It's hard to imagine a more picturesque place - beautiful villages and stunning hill-side chateaux dominate the region. 

We spent a day kayaking down the Dordogne River, and though I am not much for canoeing or kayaking, it was worth it for the scenery alone, as paddling down the river gives a unique vantage point to take in the natural and man-made beauty of the area. 

We also spent a day exploring the prehistoric cave paintings of the region. Before we left we had tickets booked for Lascaux. I know the paintings are reproductions (the original cave, discovered in 1940, is off-limits to visitors so as to preserve the delicate paintings), but this was truly one of the most breathtaking things I've ever seen in my life, and the artistry of the paintings is truly amazing. (Since our visit, a new centre at Lascaux has opened, Lascaux 4, so I can't speak to what the experience is like now). We weren't planning on visiting any of the other prehistoric sites, but after seeing Lascaux I became obsessed with the prehistoric history of the region, and we bought tickets to two other sites - the Grotte de Rouffignac (not for the faint of heart as you access the paintings deep underground via a little train - I'm not claustrophobic but this cave certainly pushed my limits on that front) and the Grotte de Font-de-Gaume. Both are definitely worth checking out. I thought the mammoth paintings at the Grotte de Rouffignac looked like something out of a modern-day comic book! It's hard to believe these paintings are from tens of thousands of years ago.

Our home-base in the region was the very beautiful La Roque Gageac, a quaint village nestled along the Dordogne River. We stayed at the Hotel Belle Etoile, whose rooms were charming and serviceable, but whose restaurant was one of the highlights of the trip! I've had few meals in life that compare to La Belle Etoile. (You know that scene in Master of None where Dev and Arnold eat at Osteria Francescana - that's how I felt about La Belle Etoile!) The Dordogne is a foodie's paradise - especially famous for fois gras and truffles - and you could plan a whole trip around eating and drinking your way through the region.  

Finally, we paid a visit to Sarlat-la-Canéda, which has a very famous (and touristy - but hey, we're tourists right?) market on Saturday mornings. The market was packed, but full of delicious wares, and certainly not to be missed if local markets are you're thing.

Thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane. Visiting the Dordogne was one of the best trips we have ever taken, and I hope to go back again some day!

XOXO

Quebec City Dream Packing List

In a couple of weeks my sister-in-law is coming for a visit (yay!!) and we are going to pop up to Quebec City for a quick weekend away. In a perfect world here is my dream packing list for the trip...

A breezy summer dress for strolling through the old town.

A lightweight sweater to pop on when temperature's dip at night.

Pink tortoiseshell shades for looking cool.

Pretty stud earrings to finish off my look.

A canvas tote bag for carrying around baby essentials, or possibly a souvenir!

Comfy flat sandals for walking along the boardwalk.

A favourite family card game to play at the Airbnb after the baby is tucked in at night.

XOXO



(Top photo by Hamza Ullah)

New Books!

I'm really looking forward to reading the following books:

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

I loved The God of Small Things and am excited that almost 20 years later Roy has finally released a follow-up. Roy is a master of weaving complex tales and I anticipate The Ministry of Utmost Happiness to follow in the same imaginative and intricate footsteps as The God of Small Things.

The tale begins with Anjum—who used to be Aftab—unrolling a threadbare Persian carpet in a city graveyard she calls home. We encounter the odd, unforgettable Tilo and the men who loved her—including Musa, sweetheart and ex-sweetheart, lover and ex-lover; their fates are as entwined as their arms used to be and always will be. We meet Tilo's landlord, a former suitor, now an intelligence officer posted to Kabul. And then we meet the two Miss Jebeens: the first a child born in Srinagar and buried in its overcrowded Martyrs' Graveyard; the second found at midnight, abandoned on a concrete sidewalk in the heart of New Delhi. - Blurb from Penguin Random House Canada

If you live in Toronto, Roy will be appearing at the Bloor Street United Church on June 22. Details here.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

I, like many, fell in love with Roxane Gay with her 2014 essay collection Bad Feminist. Her frankness and boldness and incisiveness are awe-inspiring. Hunger looks to be a sharp, and deeply personal, memoir that explores the pressures put on women's bodies today.

“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere. . . . I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe.” - Excerpt from HarperCollins Canada

What books would you add to this list?

XOXO

(Photo by Drew Coffman)

Weekend Links

It's Father's Day tomorrow! Are you doing anything special? We're planning to go out to brunch at one of our favourite spots in the Plateau. In honour of dads everywhere here are some fun links from around the web...

Do you follow this Instagram account? Made me laugh!

My dad loves The Beatles! New York Magazine recently ranked all of the Beatles songs here, and I thought that this list was terrible...why hate on Paul so much? He's my third favourite Beatle! (A few years ago Elvis Costello wrote a list of the 100 greatest Beatles songs for Rolling Stone which was much better. #58 is one of my favourite lesser-known songs.)

Dad jokes! (My husband would tell you that all of my jokes fall into this category - I love a good pun!)

And finally a look back on the blog - five years ago today I was musing about lazy days in Paris!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO

What are you streaming on Netflix these days?

After the baby is tucked into bed, work has been wrapped up for the day, and the house is (hopefully) tidy, my husband and I like to crash on the couch and watch an episode or two of TV before bed, so I'm always on the hunt for a new series to check out on Netflix.

Caveat though - this past winter I decided to only watch TV shows with strong (or at least some) female representation (why is this so hard???). I just can't anymore with shows where the female characters are one-dimensional (or non-existent) and women are reduced to the role of wife, girlfriend, mother, helper - or worst yet - eye candy. Women's experiences and stories deserve to be told with complexity too. I tried watching Medici: Masters of Florence, and half-way through the first episode I was just like nope, I can't take this show. It's 2017 for !@#$%^&*'s sake - representation is important.

End rant.

I do think we're living in the golden age of television these days. With the advent of streaming platforms it feels like network TV - long seasons, middle of the road content that is aimed at keeping advertisers happy - is dying and quirky, short-run, auteur-driven shows are becoming the norm. There are getting to be more and more interesting shows out there.

Favourite program's this spring have been The Get Down (sadly cancelled), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Master of None. Speaking to my above point, I really enjoyed Master of None, and liked the innovative storytelling, the themed episodes, and all the food (haha). But I did think the character of Francesca was a little manic pixie dream girl (I know this term is supposed to be dead, but I couldn't think of a better one). What were her defining features? She was Italian? And liked pasta? And was cute? And was engaged??

Up next on my list Orange is the New Black - season 5 was released last week.

What about you? Any recommendations?

XOXO

(Photo by Tina Rataj Berard)

What To Do in Montreal This Summer: Street Fairs!

Montreal is a fun city to live in year-round, but an amazing city to live in in the summertime! Pretty much every weekend of the summer has one (or multiple) festivals and/or street fairs on the go. And with the city celebrating its 375th anniversary this year, the partying has been kicked up a notch this summer!

Good cheap eats, live entertainment, kids' activities, and great shopping can be found at the fairs. And, even if you can't afford a ticket to one of the bigger festivals, like Just For Laughs (or like us, you need to be home by 7:30 pm to put the baby to bed), you can still take part in the free festivities on the street!

Street fairs are honestly one of my favourite parts of living in Montreal!

Last week we went to Mural Festival on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. This is one of my favourite fairs of the year - not only do you get to peruse The Main for great shopping deals (I bought the most awesome dining room light fixture for $60!), food, and entertainment (rollerblade figure skating, bands, dj's) - you can watch artists from around the world create the coolest murals and street art.

And look at this awesome paella I got!!

Want to check out a Montreal street fair? Mural Festival runs this weekend as well on Boulevard Saint-Laurent! Check out their website for other fun activities you can take part in too. Also, here is a decent listing of all of the festivals and street fairs in Montreal this year.

Have a great week!

XOXO

Buy These Jeans

Once upon a time I had the best jeans. Purchased at the Gap in Regina circa 2010, they were perfect. Not too light, not too dark, the right amount of fading, the right weight, skinny - but not too skinny, had some give - but not too stretchy, perfectly moulded to my shape, didn't stretch out with wear. Like I said - perfection.

Then I put them on the other day and there was a hole in the butt. I tried to mend it, but the fabric was too weak and the hole kept growing. Sadly they were no longer for this world. I was bummed (haha) as I didn't think I would ever find a replacement. I tried on tons of jeans from different stores and at different price points but nothing fit right or looked right or was right.

And then I found these jeans! Maybe even better than the originals. They have the perfect rise and rinse, fit like a dream, are super comfy, and can be worn for days without losing their shape (I would know - I wore them 5 days in a row last week!). And can we take a minute to talk about high rise jeans? I know they are very trendy right now, but why did we ever turn our backs on them? They hold in your tummy, don't let your bum hang out when you bend over, and you can wear a cropped shirt without spending forever trying to figure out the right layer to wear underneath. And they make you look cute from behind :) I really hope the high-waisted trend sticks around for a while.

Oh, did I mention these jeans are on sale for $20 from H&M right now? Jeans by H&M Conscious.

XOXO

Weekend Links

Graduation season is upon us!

The past couple of weeks I have been taking an entrepreneurship class downtown in Montreal, and every time I get off of the Metro I see new graduates and their families making their way from their graduation ceremonies at McGill. It not only makes me nostalgic for my own convocation ceremony 3 years ago(!) at McGill, but I find the energy, excitement and enthusiasm of the new graduates as they prepare to make their way in the world inspiring! This has been a year of new beginnings for me as well - my husband and I are starting a new business and we are trying to find the path that is right for us and our young family.

To new beginnings - no matter what stage you are at in life!

And here are a few inspiring links on new beginnings from around the web...

This roundup of 8 pieces of life advice from graduation speeches. Yes to Sheryl Sandberg.

Have you seen the this? How cool is it that a 1970s highway scheduled for destruction was turned into this awesome urban garden?

I love Scandi style. This Oslo kitchen transformation is amazing!

The Bibliothèques de Montréal are having an amnesty campaign where you can return your overdue books and have your fines waived!

For something a lot more serious. This piece on learning to move on and love your body after experiencing a pregnancy loss brought tears to my eyes. I know many women who have had a miscarriage and I think it's something we need to talk about more openly. It is a devastating loss and no one should suffer alone in silence. Karissa is brave to share her experience so openly and honestly.

And finally onto something lighthearted. As I relaunched my blog this week after a couple of years off I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my very first post. I still make these cookies all the time!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO

Broccoli Pasta (Weird, but Good.)

I think one of the last times I wrote about food on the blog I was exploring flexitarianism. Well my adventures in flexitarianism didn't last long, and I am back to an all (pesco)vegetarian diet. Over the past few months both my husband and I have been focusing on eating a mostly plant-based diet — we only eat meat (him) or fish (me) 1-2 times a week, and are incorporating lots of veggie proteins into our diet.

But sometimes, we still need to throw together a quick and easy weeknight dinner. That's where this broccoli pasta comes in. It's only a handful of ingredients, packed full of veggies (well broccoli), and super quick to make. This recipe seems weird because you overcook the broccoli (by a lot), but the broccoli will break down to make a nice broccoli 'sauce'. Serve with a side salad, and you can call dinner done.

Broccoli Pasta

Serves: 2

Time: 15 or so minutes

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli 

170 grams fusilli pasta (It's very important you use this type of pasta)
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced or crushed
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method

Cut up broccoli into small pieces and steam until it is very soft - basically overcook the broccoli.

Meanwhile, bring a big pot of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box (about 5-6 minutes for al dente).

When the broccoli is almost done, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. When the oil is ready, add the diced or crushed garlic and cook for about a minute. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Add the steamed broccoli to the skillet and break it down even more by using a wooden spoon to cut up and smush the broccoli. Add more olive oil, and salt and red pepper flakes to taste.

Once the fusilli are cooked al dente, drain, reserving a bit of the pasta water, and add the fusilli to the broccoli mixture. Mix the broccoli and pasta together - add some of the reserved pasta water, and more olive oil if needed, to help the broccoli coat the pasta. The broccoli will combine easily with the fusilli to make a 'sauce'. (Jamie Oliver says to always make the sauce a bit looser, i.e. to add more pasta water than you think on the stovetop, to ensure the pasta is perfect when it gets to the table.)

Divide into 2 portions. Top with Parmesan cheese and more red pepper flakes, if desired.

Bon appétit!

XOXO

(Recipe adapted from The New Potato)

Rainy Days and Rubber Boots

Going back through my blog archive I realize that I complain a lot about the rain (see here,  here, and here). Either a) my expectations for how much (or little) it should rain do not align with reality; b) it really has been exceptionally rainy these past springs; and/or c) I only sit down to write my blog on rainy days!

It really has been a rainy spring in Montreal this year though!

I picked up these shorty little rain boots from Sears recently, and I love them! I still love and wear my Hunter rubber boots a lot, but for a quick run around the park with my son, or if I have a meeting on a rainy day and want to look a bit more pulled together, these Chelsea-style rain boots are great!

Now, let's talk about shopping at Sears, as I seem to shop there quite a bit these days. I guess I am a) old, and a mom now, so I inevitably shop there; b) if I need to pop out and pick something up for the baby I usually go to the very glamorous Carrefour Angrinon, which has a Sears store, so I inevitably end up shopping there; and/or c) I think that Sears has picked up its game lately. I really think they are starting to carry cuter items! Or maybe I'm just old now and don't know these things anymore ;)

I guess this was my day to write silly lists on the blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

What are you reading these days?

Hi blogland! After a long hiatus I'm back!

I love writing this little blog, so I'm trying to make it more of a priority, and I hope to post a bit more regularly around here. I want to write the type of lifestyle blog that I want to read - simple, honest, and fun! I plan to cover a few more topics than before - style and culture (books, TV, movies), as well as food, travel, and life in Montreal. I hope you enjoy reading along!

To today's topic - books! I love to read and am always on the hunt for new titles, so I thought I would share a couple of books that I've read recently. The first is Swing Time by Zadie Smith. Zadie Smith is one of my absolute favourite authors - I loved White Teeth when it first came out (16 years ago!), and really enjoyed NW and On Beauty as well. Swing Time - the story of a friendship between two mixed-race girls in northwest London - didn't disappoint. The book deals with race, class, music, dance, celebrity, girlhood (and more) in both funny and poignant ways. Smith is such a talented writer and does an amazing job of immersing you into the geography of her stories and engaging you with her characters. I would definitely recommend checking out Swing Time.

Another book I read recently was Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. This was a powerful exploration of the effects of slavery and colonialism over many generations. Each chapter of the novel tells the story of a different descendant of two half-sisters, with half of the book set in Ghana and the other half following the story of slavery in America. This book was intense, but incredibly rich in its storytelling, and shows the long-reaching impact of captivity, colonialism, and slavery. I know some people found the book disjointed or felt like it was a collection of short stories and not a novel, but I disagree - I found the book to be compelling and wanted to follow the story and themes through the multiple characters and generations.

Thoughts? What are you reading these days?

XOXO

(Photo by Eli Francis)