This Weekend

by Noémie on May 15, 2012

Oh weekends – when you’re good, you’re so good. Hope you all had a great one – mine was pretty awesome. We had the most beautiful weather, and although the sun had receded behind a few clouds on Saturday it was still so nice.

On Friday it was a good friend’s birthday, and a few of us had dinner at Ursa – where the food is described as contemporary Canadian food. What was served was way more complex than that; flavours were big and the presentation beautiful. It was a great way to start the weekend and I’ll be going back, hopefully very soon. Have you been already?Appetizers: Sea Urchin. Mains: Whey brined Niagara pork loin and apple cider glazed belly, Georgian Bay Whitefish, and Water Buffalo. Desert: Yuzu lemon curd, blueberry preserve, meringue, spruce caramel, duck fat sable.

On Thursday I walked over to the flower shops on Avenue and Davenport and put together a few more practice arrangements (I clearly love to use my wedding as an excuse…) I think they came out nicely.On Saturday we decided to omit Brunch and just go straight for some fish and chips at Chippy’s across from Bellwoods. I had the scallops… yum.And on our walk on Queen we spotted these gorgeous little arrangements by Sweet Woodruff. Aren’t those peonies stunning? I love the large petal variety… They certainly gave me some great ideas for my own wedding arrangements :)That coral Peony is stunning…

Sunday was spent cleaning up the apartment – I took care of laundry and clutter and a few projects on the computer were tackled.

How was your weekend?

xx!

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Friday Finds + 6 Things

by Noémie on May 11, 2012

I bought a Clarisonic! Yeah, I’m excited, and after 3 times using it I’m marveling at my beautiful skin (um, no, not yet) It was a lot of money – money I don’t really have but I rarely spend money on myself (esp with this wedding coming up – hello white dress I’ll never wear again!) Sooo…. let’s hope it works?
Speaking of weddings, I managed to get my “wedding day schedule” on paper, as well as my to-do list all written up. I’m a list maker you see, and if I don’t have lists, I get flustered. Blame my dad for that one. There’s is quite a bit on that to-do list and Saturday marks the 6 week countdown… Let’s Get ‘Er Done.
I started running again… after 3 weeks of no running. It’s actually the most insane how crazy out of shape I’ve become all over again. But I’m running again, so yay?
We’re still eating all of our leftovers from our ~~shower~~ Family Gathering on Sunday. So much good food!
I almost lost my whole website, but didn’t. (although, I’m still not sure how to update all of my files, and every time I ask for advice, the answers I get are in a language I don’t get. When will I get my act together and finally take some more web classes? I don’t know.)
(yes six!) I bought a bunch of flowers on Thursday, and while walking home got my picture taken by the cutest girl (she was trying to get some trend work done for an internship) ie: majorly flattering, although I was wearing some pretty obvious stuff: black jeans, repettos, a striped top, a trench, and was carrying a crap load of flowers.

As for my Finds?

These photos by Thomas Van Der Zaag are so dreamy – and the light so perfect. I’m in love with the girl’s top knot in the third photo, and that swan sweater in the second is adorable.

Love this Crown project by Mariam Sitchinava. All the girls were between 17-23 years of age and designed their own flower crown. Pretty!

I downloaded the VSCO CAM app on wednesday and have been happily shooting ever since… I love how all of my photos look dreamy and grainy without touching photoshop. Here are a few exaples shot by Marc Weaver, as shared by the VSCO blog.

This identity for The Snow Man by Silent Partner is amazing. I love the logo, the stickers, the hand painted sign…

Set to keep Melbourne’s market and festival goers cool this summer with snow cones and treats, Snowman needed a fun and memorable brand, signage and livery.

Annnd finally? I want to try this Parmesan Cheese Spread on 101 Cookbooks. Yes, it’s just parmesan, white wine, and olive oil. mmm

Have a great weekend!!

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Last Weekend

by Noémie on May 9, 2012

Babes! I know I’m three days late with this weekend post, but sometimes things can’t be helped and I hope you all enjoy this anyways.

It’s been a funny last couple of days – I had a really great family gathering (not allowed to call it a shower) on Sunday, and upon returning home, I found out my site had crashed and there was a very high chance that it was gone forever – gobbled up by nasty internet monsters.

It felt really bizarre to think that this thing I had put so much time into was suddenly gone – and I kept see-sawing between depression and complete resignation (“I’m not meant to have this blog – i.e. Life Priorities: Do I really need it to make me happy?!”) I woke up the next day to a message from my hosting company telling me they had been able to get it back up, but that I was going to have to clean up some of those bad files (hooooooow?!) There was definitely a huge sigh of relief, and perhaps even a slight moment of guilt knowing that I was incredibly happy my blog was mine again… Because to be honest, I did wonder what I was going to do with myself if I didn’t have this blog to keep me busy.

Tell me fellow bloggers, what would you do if your blog had suddenly disappeared? Would you start over?

Anyhoo, I suppose things are back to normal – I’m going a bit crazy making up a list of things I still have to finish for the wedding, which of course still includes purchasing my accessories and gifts for my girls, and designing my wedding programs (amongst 42 other things!) But I have 6 weeks and it’ll get done, right?

Other than my blog scare, I did have a nice weekend – had brunch at The Fed again, and enjoyed a really delicious Cubano Sandwich. Elizabeth had the Grilled Cheese.

I bought some silk fabric to make a bow for my hair, and then went to Sussman’s to have it made. I get it back by the end of May, which means I can cross that off my list! We stopped by Peter Pan for a beer in the back garden after all of our walking. It really is one of my favorite places to go to around Queen street

On Sunday I had my makeup trial with my lovely makeup wonder woman Nicole. She nailed my makeup and I’m really excited to have her there to get me ready on my wedding day :)

After playing with makeup I went off to our ~~engagement shower~~ Family Gathering and it was really humbling to see J’s family get it all ready for us. His cousins own Midfield on Dundas and it turned into the perfect place. It was really nice seeing both my family and his mingling so well, spiced with both our friends, so so nice.

J’s Aunt is also an ammmmazing cake maker – not only did we have a two tier cake covered in candied flowers, but she also made these sweet cupcakes too. Check out the forget-me-nots on the top.

And I can’t get over this salad J’s Aunt brought – it’s from somewhere in Kensington ~~but can’t seem to remember where~~ (Edit: It’s from Hibiscus! Thanks Jill!). Check out all of those super foods!!!

How was your weekend?

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Friday Finds + 5 Things

by Noémie on May 4, 2012

Oh guys, what an amazing week! Warm weather and even good amounts of sun led me to believe we might actually get a nice spring this year (It was as though it was just waiting for May to arrive!) Here are a few things that made this a good week:

I’ve spoken about my engagement photos before, but we actually got a a bit of a preview on Wednesday – and we are so pleased with them. Can’t wait to get the larger photos to share a few with you (I promise they aren’t all cheese!)
I’ve been doing a lot of research (via internet!) and it seems that a Clarisonic must be mine soon. Thoughts? Please discuss.
I’m feeling mighty ready for our wedding – even if I still have at least 20 things left on my to-do list. Ah well.
I found a wooden planter! And some hooks to hang it over my balcony! And then I found some herbs! I have a herb garden! (Next up – tomato and strawberry plants)
I’ve started watching HBO’s Girls, and ladies, it’s an AMAZING show. And a little fyi: do not watch this with moderately to very conservative people. Just sayin’.

And as for my Finds?

I’ve mentioned Kinfolk before, and I’m sure many of you are already aware of how beautiful their quarterly magazine is. I’m especially smitten with their monthly dinners, and have my fingers crossed to receive the a seat at their Toronto dinner.

The Kinfolk dinner series is about inviting people to gather and take advantage of the rich community that already exists around them, opening up and drawing close to the people that share a common place. We aim to encourage collaboration amidst local artisans and small businesses. Our plan? 12 dinners, 12 cities, once every month.

Have a look at some photos from their latest dinner in San Francisco. The pictures were shot by Laura Dart (who is oh so amazing in her own right)

Lawrence has released a few new items in their store, and I’m in awe of the model’s hair… What a mermaid!

I’m really enjoying this Colour Blocked Terra Cotta DIY on A Beautiful Mess. Elsie did a great job.Speaking of plants, don’t you love these hanging ones from Mieke Willems? The crochet hangers are adorable.

I’m really into these watercolours by my friend Mariel – She also has a great line of bags and is working on amazing necklaces. Yeah she’s awesome.

And for a little bit of Toronto love? How about a beautiful blog: Two after Twenty by Janice Lee is full of dreamy photos and features on various (coffee) spots around Toronto and of course, food. Check it out for loads of inspiration – it’s fun recognizing a few common loved places here in Toronto.

Have a great one guys!!

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This Weekend

by Noémie on April 30, 2012

Weekends just aren’t long enough these days. I blink and they’re gone, especially the warm sunny kinds like we had this weekend.

We started with a really good brunch at Keriwa Cafe near Roncy on Queen. I loved the glass coffee cups and hey, the food was super delicious too. I had the Brown Butter Eggs Benny and Elizabeth had the Picnicham Hash. I would definitely go back for supper. (Oh, for more photos, check out Patricia’s blog.)

After a bit of walking and shopping we stopped by Dlish and had some cupcakes – that’s Nutella in the forefront and Salted Caramel in the back.

And not to sound too indulgent, but we did have supper at Bahn Mi Boys after having walked all over the city. It was my first time trying them out and I loved the steamed buns.

I bought striped straws from the Paper Place. They’re cute but I’m used to plastic so I’m not sure I’ll be buying paper again – I get weirded out about glue and wet paper…

Oh and I finally found a black Baggu pouch. It’s currently holding all of my random bits in my purse.

I made a big breakfast on Sunday – much needed after celebrating a friend’s birthday the night before.And I made a tissue paper garland – could have used a nicer colour but it’s pretty limited at the dollar store :/ Either way, I like the way it looks hanging off frames in our bedroom.

How was your weekend?

xx!

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Friday Finds + 5 Things

by Noémie on April 27, 2012

Hey folks! Happy Friday! Hope you’ve had a great week – mine labored on until wednesday and then wham, it’s Friday! I love that. Care to see what else made my week great?

My flowers from the weekend are lookin’ lovely, even 5 days later (although perhaps a little tired). I won’t be going in the same direction for my wedding but it’s nice to have them all over the apartment :)
I’ll be making bread and these chocolate chip cookies over the weekend. The cookie dough is currently “aging” in the fridge – Yes the dough needs to stay in the fridge for 36 hours before I get to bake it.
I bought these shoes on Sunday from shopbop and they arrived 2 days later. I love the crazy thick heels – now I just need to learn how to walk in them!
I had my hair “trial” on Tuesday – And ps: apparently no one actually gets their hair done at a trial. There’s something new I learn everyday about this wedding business. This whole thing about calling something a trial when it’s just a consultation was kinda confusing. Anyhoo, we talked about the inspiration and it looks like it’s gonna look stellar.
I have loads planned for this weekend – all wedding related but should be fun :) (mostly DIY projects!)

And for my Finds?

I’m so enthralled by Dabito’s apartment. It’s no suprise though, he obviously has style – as you can see from his amazing blog Old Brand New. The below photos were taken bu Dabito himself for a house tour on The Veda House. If you love his space as much as I do, you can find more photos of his apartment in a House Tour on Apartment Therapy.

It looks like we’ll be staying in our current home a bit longer than we’d hoped for. We’ve been looking at moving soon because while we love the space we live in, the building isn’t great. We’ve had the ugliest coffee table for the longest time, and I think it’s about time to get the place looking a little nicer. I’ve been thinking about making this coffee table for the longest time and there are loads of DIY posts about it too.

In the meantime, here’s some inspiration I’ve picked up: Firdt up, the amazing DIY table from For Me, For You.

This DIY hairpin coffee table looks nice too, via Elise Blaha.

I need to get my hands on the March issue of L’Officiel. These shots taken from Katie of Thank You, Ok are making me mighty envious.Marie Hochhaus shoots beautiful photos – Her website and Flickr are chock-full of goodness and I urge your to check them out :)And talking about photographs, check out the amazing work of Alexandra Valenti – my eyes literally popped out of my head when I saw these (I nearly posted all of them… please go check out the rest of her work!) (via Design*Sponge)And finally, because I love the look of these shots (darker, grainy, slightly yellow) and because the hair is pretty much what I want for my wedding (minus the headbands and side-glued bangs) here are some lovely photos from Backstage at the Tory Birch show shot by Vanessa Jackman

xx!

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FLOWERS

by Noémie on April 26, 2012

Hi friends!

It was such a beautiful day today, and I thought it would be a great time to take advantage of the light to take a few shots of the flowers I put together Sunday morning. I grabbed an extra halfdozen cream roses and some snap dragons to add a bit more fullness but otherwise, these are still going strong. I’ve been giving them showers in the tub, which apparently helps to keep them fresh (If these were in a regular vase I’d give their stalks a trim but the foam makes it harder.) I’ve also noticed that arrangements made with wet foam dry up way faster than without – I need to top them off in the morning and at night and I stick them out on the balcony as well when I get home.

That being said, I’m really enjoying putting these together; they’re super springy with their pastel shades, but I figure I could replicate these with the colours I used in the first set and I’d be all set for the wedding ;)

xx!

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This weekend + Friday Finds + 5 Things (!)

by Noémie on April 23, 2012

Oh what a week (and weekend!) Seems that I didn’t even have a moment to finish my Friday post, and had so much going on this weekend that I didn’t even get to really get on the computer. Oh weekends when will you ever be long enough for me to get anything done?

We had our engagement shoot on Thursday – not usually my thing but I’m sure my 75 year old self will thank me for it (right?) Hope they turn out!
And speaking of the shoot, it went up to a sunny 24 degrees on Thursday, what a treat! And seriously lucky considering we hadn’t gotten nice weather like that in weeks. Friday was pretty wonderful too.
I received my wedding band in the mail on Wednesday… Can’t wait until I can actually wear it.
Had ethiopian food at Nazareth on Friday - Not sure how they can afford to make such lovely food at such incredible prices (we ate like kings and the food came to $12 each and that included a beer, tax, and tip. yup) but I won’t question it.
My second dress fitting was on Saturday. I gotta say, it looks mighty good so far. I’m still weirded out that I’ll actually be wearing an actual wedding dress soon, though. yeesh!
I put together a few more floral arrangements. I went a bit crazy on the colours (thought I picked out a nice coral colour for some roses and they’re actually orange, eep) but I like that I managed to get 4 arrangements done in an hour and on the cheap.

Here are a few bits from my weekend. I was able to grab breakfast at Ezra’s with Elizabeth on Saturday after not seeing her for 3 weeks. She’s my Saturday strolling partner (do you have one of those?) and it was weird not having her around! Anyways, the Ezra’s on Dundas is really nice, and usually way more relaxed than the one in the annex (there are no seats available past 11am on the weekends :/ ) She had a croissant and I had the continental which included eggs, cheese, and preserve.

I put a few arrangements together on Sunday as well – I’m not really into them. I think it’s the combination of colours… they’re too pink and red and look like valentine’s day or mother’s day arrangements. Oh well – I’m learning!And lets talk about these orange roses… what was I thinking. They look especially festive with those red berry things.

I actually like this one the best – the milk glass vase and the softer flowers are a winning combo ;)

And I suppose I should share a few nice things I’ve found over the week. Yes?

I love this simple kitchen, featured on Keke, a website that features people, recipes and the beautiful interiors they are created in.

The Sophisticated Gourmet has some amazing looking food on his blog. And did I mention he is only 19??

I can’t believe I didn’t know about Industry of One until I read about their interview with Amy Merrick on Miss Moss. Sometimes the internet really delivers right? Diana has one heck of a blog, I’ve got a ridiculous girl crush on Amy Merrick, and woah, Industry of One has some of the nicest photography I’ve seen in a while. WIN WIN WIN.

Here and now [Industry of One] will explore the style trappings of various industries + professions and document the relationship between one’s line of work + walk of life.

I’m pretty smitten with this Puppy Kitty Love Tote by Leah Goren. That kitten is just so cute!

Oh, and will you look at this space? Those windows? Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend!

xox

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This Weekend

by Noémie on April 16, 2012

Hi lovelies! Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Well this was a pretty productive weekend. I started with a great run on Friday, and we spent the majority of Saturday running around to 4 different Value Villages to grab the remaining pots and flower holders for the wedding. We needed 32 as we have 16 tables to pretty up and have grabbed a nice assortment of small and large glass and metal things. It’s all coming together folks!

I was also able to find some great milk glass vases. They’ll look lovely full of floppy flowers, both at the wedding as well as after at home.I still have one arrangement from over a week ago that’s still holding on. I think it’ll be time to retire it soon, but in the meantime I kinda like the way it’s aging.Sunday was very lazy – spent inside, working on a few projects on the computer. I’ve also been wanting to repot or clone some of my succulents – some of them are definitely outgrowing their homes and from what I read online, it’s fairly easy to get a few plants out of a bigger one.

And I’ve been having a major love affair with grapefruit lately – I can’t seem to get enough of it, especially with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of raw sugar. Serious, serious yum.

How was your weekend lovelies?

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Friday Finds + 5 Things

by Noémie on April 13, 2012

I hope you’ve all had a great week – it’s gone by fast enough, that’s for sure. I’ve started booking loads of appointments for The Wedding – hair, makeup, fittings… all that fun stuff that goes along with weddings. And to think all I wanted was city hall and some traveling!

Otherwise, here are a few of the things that have been making me smile lately;

The flowers I put together last friday have all gone away to flower heaven, all except for one arrangement who’s flowers have held on a little longer. Ranunculi are a strong breed I see.
I found out that Nicolette and Sarah host floral arrangement classes. I’m obsessed and vow to make it to one of their classes.
I’ve gone from having a sore throat to a really stuffy nose and crazy bouts of sneezing – perhaps an allergy, but in the meantime it’s forced me to forget about my computer and to just go to bed at reasonable times this week.
Speaking of Nicolette, I just purchased this book. I’m so so so excited to get it. Yes Flowers!
Jason sent me a link to a collection of “25 outstanding Kitty-Themed Tumblrs“ (via mashable) (yes I love him for it). I may have already ~~wasted~~ spent a lot of time going through them, and my favourites so far are Dream Cats and Contortion Cats!

And as for my Finds?

These blooms by Kate Scott are stunning. There is so much goodness on that site.

Magnus Reed and his amazing 500sqm flat in Schöneberg are blowing my mind. The possibilities in that space are endless – those floors, the high ceilings, the windows! (photos by Freunde Von freunden)

Margaret Howell’s home in Suffolk is equally mesmerizing.

This cat, because he looks so damn happy just rolling around like a silly goose.

This older photo of this beautiful woman (who btw reminds me a bit of my mom!) with braided buns in her hair… Kinda makes me want to grow my hair all long and hippie-like this summer (Hippie being a positive description here folks)

This 1939 Midcentury Modern Den is all sorts of right. How modern is it now!

And finally, for those of you who are also dealing with the stress of weddings, or perhaps any other stressful thing, here is an illustrative interpretation of The First Date (from the very talented Laura Callaghan).