Wishing for Warmer Days

Sooo June is quickly approaching and the weather throughout May (both in Vancouver, where I currently live, and Kamloops, my hometown) has left a little something to be desired. Vancouver is no stranger to rain so it was to be expected that we'd see a lot of rain in May but Kamloops?!?! Kamloops is semi-desert and RARELY rains multiple days in a row, let alone almost the entire month of May! Bust.

Returning to Kamloops for a week near the end of May had me ready for some sun time but I was sadly disappointed to spend most of my visit looking out the window at downpour (I'm currently looking out the window at a sunny lake view so should really stop bitching!). But enough rainy days has left me jonesin' for some hotter times!

To help everyone combat their rainy-day blues, I've compiled some heavenly images of places slightly more desirable at this moment.



Bora Bora



Tulum, Mexico

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Belize



Isalo National Park, Madagascar

Zanzibar



Turkey



Hawaii

Just a little eye-candy to get you all through to the nice weather in your parts of the world! Does anyone have a favorite sunny spot they'd like to share?

K

(Late) Foodie Fridays: Dockside

(This week my birthday fell on Friday so my "Foodie Friday" post is coming at ya a wee bit late! Enjoy!)

Nestled on bustling Granville Island, overlooking False Creek, lies Dockside Restaurant, the self-proclaimed "casual fine dining in a unique and stunning setting." I had heard of this restaurant before but when I saw a Groupon for it I jumped at the opportunity to try it out at 1/2 price!

 So, one May evening I grabbed my friend Whitney and we headed to the Island... Granville Island that is. The Restaurant is located inside the Granville Island hotel and is elegantly decorated with gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows framing False Creek, Yaletown, Olympic Village and even the North Shore mountains. But let's get to the food....

I had the "Saltspring Moules & Frites," or, for those of us who speak English, Mussels and fries! The mussels were served in a sauce of lemon, chardonnay, capers, Italian parsley and beurre monte (there I go with the French again!) and were cooked perfectly. They were $18 and although satisfying, were not the best mussels I've ever had.

Whitney had a Mushroom Risotto that was, according to her, very satisfying. My bite of the risotto was creamy, garlicy, mushroomy and overall very good. This dish was $17 and quite large, easily extra for lunch tomorrow!

For dessert we had Vanilla Bean Cheesecake and Creme Brulee. Whitney had no complaints about the Creme Brulee, served with sugared shortbread cookies and a candied orange wedge. I found the cheesecake more savoury than I'm used to, with sour cherry compote and candied almonds to garnish but after a few bites I became accustomed and enjoyed it thoroughly (surprise, surprise!). The cheesecake was typically rich and probably would have been a good dessert to share - I had to take half home! Each dessert was $9 and, though delicious, I probably wouldn't say this is a "must-have dessert restaurant."

We sat right by the window (there is a patio for summer as well!) and overlooked the marina and dragon boating during our dinner. Overall it was a pleasant dining experience with good food and good service. I'd probably dine here again, especially in the summer to sit on the patio, but I recommend preparing for a fair sized bill. We each had one glass of wine, one lower priced entree and a dessert with a bill over $85... not so bad but if we were to opt for one of their beef or seafood dishes and have a few drinks we'd be looking at a hefty bill!

Happy Dining!

K

Stairway to Heaven

At the recommedation of my friend and fellow blogger, Calli (see her lovely blog here), I've joined (and become OBSESSED with) Pinterest. Pinterest is an online pin board that you can tag any photos, images from the web or other people's pins onto a variety of pinboards (with captions of course). There's also an iPhone App. Pinterest has monopolized my time (to excess) for the past few weeks. I can't even comprehend the amount of amazing ideas/photos/diy projects/etc. out there so I'm pinning up a storm! This will be great as food for my blog and here's my first post from Pinterest inspiration (or some have called it "Pinspiration")!

Seems kinda strange to me that in my travels through the Pinterest world I noticed an abundance of stairs that caught my eye. Perhaps it's because I live in a one bedroom apartment and living in beautiful Vancouver in all its Real Estate glory (aka 3rd highest Real Estate in the world after only Tokyo and Sydney!) leaves little chance of upgrading to a space with stairs anytime soon. So, please join me in marvelling at these stairs-become-works-of-art that I dream of one day replicating in my elaborate and expansive multi-level home.

Wallpaper Stairs



Reclaimed Wood  Stairs



Flower Stairs



Heavenly Stairs! Ooh La La!

And my absolute favorite!

Amazingly Perfect Amazing Stairs!

I'll dream a little dream that some day I can have a staircase like one of these to be proud of!

K

Foodie Fridays - the foodie introduction

I am a lover of good food (aka Foodie) and so, (partly in an effort to get more regular in my blog posts) I've decided to start "Foodie Fridays". These posts will be all things food related... from restaurants to recipes and everything in between.

Having not grown up in Vancouver, I've not quite established my personal favorites of local gem restaurants. In fact, my sister who lives in Victoria, has introduced me to many a gem in Victoria so I was becoming frustrated that ALL of my favorite restaurants were on the Island. With SO many restaurants to choose from in so many different food ethnicities, I was feeling rather discouraged on how to find some gems locally so I sought out help. I looked to friends and family and friends of family and some suggestions fell my way.... now, I have a giant list of restaurants to try in Vancouver (and so little time or money)! Blogging my epicurean adventures makes for a perfect excuse to try out new places and rave about old favs!

Stay tuned for foodie posts on (at least most) Fridays!

K

My Marchesa Obsession

Fashion is an art and so, here is my attempt to share my perspective on a piece of the fashion world. I most certainly do not claim to be "in-the-know" or a "fashionista," but every girl can appreciate beauty!

My Obsession with Marchesa began several years ago when these gorgeous gowns started popping up on the red carpet and on Oscar night or during the Golden Globes, my choices for best dressed celebs, in increasing frequency, were wearing Marchesa. Marchesa quickly became my favorite designer by a landslide and here's why.

Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman - collectively, Marchesa

Marchesa was cofounded in 2004 by designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman, who met a few years earlier in art school. It is so inspiring that these ladies are not much older than me and created this incredibly successful, multi-million dollar company on pure talent! Well, maybe not pure talent... It's rumored that Georgina's hubby Harvey Weinstein (uber-successful movie mogul as if you didn't know) may have had something to do with their rapid rise to celeb fanfare. I, however, think their work speaks for itself and I don't care how anyone heard about it, I sure hope it's not going anywhere anytime soon!

Like the girly-girl I am, I am SO attracted to the ruffles and lace and embellishments but more than that, these ladies have INCREDIBLE talent in their craft and create the most intricate, elaborate and down right stunning gowns I think I've ever seen. Boy, what I wouldn't do to get my hands on a Marchesa dress....

For now, here are some of the dresses I dream of even touching one day (be warned, this is quickly shaping up into almost ALL of Marchesa's dresses over the past few years)!!!

Fall 2010

Fall 2010 -  as seen in Gossip Girl!

Fall 2010

Notte by Marchesa Spring 2010

Fall 2010

Notte by Marchesa Spring 2010

Notte by Marchesa Spring 2010

Marchesa Resort 2011

Resort 2011

Resort 2011

Spring 2011

Spring 2011

Spring 2011

Spring 2011

I'm not the only one who loves Marchesa. Celebs from all walks of fame have sported these lovely frocks. Here are a few of my favs:

Blake Lively - a HUGE Marchesa fan

Olivia Wilde - my future wedding dress perhaps??

SJP - how cute is this!?

Sandra won her Oscar in Marchesa!

And last but not least, T. Swift looking adorable as ever!

So, whilst yearning for the glint of hope that one day one of these marvelous creation can be mine, I bid you adieu. Hope you are fashionably inspired. Who are your favorite designers?

K