Bravery and Mullets

Tranquil Waves dress c/o Sugarlips | BB Dakota leather [similar] | MK sandals [similar]
Streetlevel bag [similar] | bracelets: derng & H&M | polish: OPI Charged Up Cherry & Flit a Bit

When . Thursday, May 24th
What . Post-work dinner-out
Weather . Overcast, humid and warm

I could not think of an instance of more perfect timing than when this dress arrived in my mailbox! Halifax was at the tail end of it's mini "heatwave*" and Jack and I were deciding where to grab some dinner. Obviously I may have over dressed a bit, but I couldn't help it; this little ditty was just too perfect when dealing with the heat! Had we been on our way to a more formal affair I would have definitely left this bag at home [no matter how great it fits Jack's camera] and swapped in a bolder, fancier necklace. ...and I'd obviously do something with that mop I'm currently calling my hair. 

I have been wanting to purchase a mullet [high/lo, waterfall] skirt for a while and this dress offered the perfect amount of party in the back! And even though this dress is definitely farrr more brave than my usually clothing choices, I loved how I felt wearing it. I already know how I'm going to style it next... hint: dressed down with brown accents!




*promptly put to shame by Ontario's real heatwave  

Music Monday

One of my all-time favourites . 

Arcade Fire: The Sprawl II

A Look Inside: My Apartment

Holy insanity batman. Life has just been non-stop since the spring started and now Jack and I are packing up and moving to a new house for our final three months in Halifax! Not ideal but thems the breaks. In any case, I may be a little MIA, and if not MIA quite quiet, over the next week or so. I will try to post as much as possible but please bear with my absence if that ends up being the case. 

As a send off and goodbye to our beautiful apartment of 2 years, please enjoy a little peek inside our humble abode :) 

To your left, when you walk in: closets & washroom

To your right: kitchen and through the door, pantry & washer/dryer... which I conveniently "forgot" to photograph

 the breakfast bar completes the kitchen and opens us into the main space

 more photos of the same

 around the corner is my home office & Jack's drafting table

view from Jack's drafting table

 leaving the main space our little dining area and view of our entry way.

the bedroom ...and my jewelry shelf aka the lazy person's jewelry display

feel as though something was missing? want to see my closet*?? 

*clothes are subject to change, the closet tour was posted almost a year ago

pretty fleurs, pretty day, pretty perfect

COCO & tashi dress [similar] | locale brogues [similar] | Street level purse [similar] | derng mixed metal 

When . Saturday, May 19th

What . Coffee date, packing enjoying the sun

Weather . Sunny, warm, summer... basically, unheard-of weather for mid-May in Halifax

Not only did we have some gorgeous weather in Halifax this past weekend BUT it just so happens, Monday was a holiday! Jack and I tried to take FULL advantage a soak up as much sun as possible while still planning our wedding, packing up our apartment and spending some time with friends. 

Just so happens some of these friends are also our soon-to-be wedding photographers, Chelle & Adam! And lucky lucky me, Chelle offered to shoot a couple outfit photos! We were both obsessed with the pretty pink trees and since they were right around the corner from the coffee shop we met at, the location was a no brainer. I had a ton of fun shooting with Chelle and Adam and there were so many great photos I could barely choose [i.e. the reason there are double the usual number of photos up today]. Jack and I have our engagement shoot booked for June 2nd and we seriously cannot wait! 

Food Friday: Quinoa Salad a la Mexicana

Oh quinoa, what a tricky little grain you are. So delicious when prepared properly, so horrible when not. Perfect for breakfast [recipe to come soon] but also amazing as dinner. So quick to make me look like a fool in a restaurant [I'll have the quinn-no-ah?] and then a snob in the grocery store [where can I find your keen-wa?]. With all your little quirks it's no wonder I will never rid myself of you.

As you can see quinoa and I got wayy back - like a whole 3 years back. It's been a great run but recently my eye started to wander. Couscous, millet and multi-grain rice began to tempt me with their novelty and versatility. I started to paint my poor friend quinoa as a grain who only liked to play with olives, feta & tomato. Lucky for quinoa and I, I had a fit of inspiration that has not only rekindled my love but has allowed me to see quinoa in a whole new light.

Grain salads are delicious, simple recipes that can be eaten at lunch or dinner and usually offer enough food to last an entire week of lunches!

INGREDIENTS:

1cup Quinoa 1 Avocado 1 Red Pepper 1 Green Pepper   1cup Corn kernels  1 Grape Tomatoes

Dressing: 1 Tbsp Cilantro 2 Tbsp Lime 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 tsp Chili Pepper Flakes

METHOD:

Now pay attention because this is so easy you may blink and miss something. First I cooked the quinoa - Add 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups boiling water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. While the quinoa was cooking I began chopping the veggies. Once it was ready I fluffed the cooked quinoa with a fork and then placed it in the freezer to help with the cooling process.

Toss together the dressing while the quinoa is cooling [I tend to like a very light dressing so if you like more double or triple the above dressing recipe]. Take the dressing and toss with the cooled quinoa. Add the veggies, toss and eat! 

Notes:

By the time I finished the salad, I had doubled all the veggies and the dressing. The doubled recipe is above, however the photos are of my initial light-on-veggies attempt.

I think black beans may also be a great addition to this salad.

I used frozen corn that I thawed over a couple hours before adding.

ECFB Unleashed!: Sunday brunch-wear

When . Sunday, April 29th 
What . ECFB farewell brunch
Weather . Sunny, but with chilly, sea salty air

There's nothing like a solid dress to make a girl feel put together and proper. When I saw this Katrina Tuttle frock at Sweet Pea I knew immediately that I would make it mine. I partook in the traditional woo-ing; buying it flowers, walking it home and sending it verses of poetry but to no avail. Finally, at a loss I flashed my visa and it was mine! Whatever happened to good old fashioned courtship anyway?


*Full Disclosure: My hair was actually curly at the brunch however it was driving me insane, so I took the flat iron to it the minute I got home. That'll teach you, hair.

Wedding Wednesday: The Walk

After a brief hiatus Wedding Wednesdays are back! In the past little while I have been doing a lot of wedding planning and less wedding planning documenting. Turns out, things move much faster when you aren't attempting to take photos and jot down quirky observations every other second. Who knew? In any case, I have LOADS to share beginning with: the walk down the aisle.

There is no way in the world that I would have ever guessed that choosing a song to walk down the aisle to would be one of the hardest decisions of my wedding planning - but it is. I have been brainstorming up a hurricane over the past couple months trying to think of something that's just oh-so-perfect without crossing over into cliche. 

Last year, two of my friends got married and they both had the most perfect songs. One friend chose an instrumental version of Kiss the Girl and the other, an instrumental of La Vie en Rose. Both of these songs, although different in ambiance, balanced each girl's personality, a sweetness and created a feeling upon hearing it and seeing them that just made it all beyond amazing. And now I must find my perfect song ...or some less effortlessly-clever and sweet friends, but it's too late for that!

When Jack and I sat down to figure out the perfect ditty it quickly descended into a competition of who could find the most ridiculous option possible. Some of our best* were: uno, dos, tress, cuatro.

I think I may have settled on the one, but I'd like to know what you think. Here are a couple I'm actually considering. In every case, I would have an instrumental version as my friend [or friends depending on if I prefer one or a few guitars]. If you have thought of the MOST perfect one please let me know!

*we played this game before bed so our 1am idea of "funny" is slightly altered from our regular/sane afternoon version of funny