le weekend.

hi friends!  how was your weekend?  mine was fairly low key, complete with movie night (crazy stupid love, which i adored), a visit to a quebec farmhouse with a lovely home cooked and delicious meal, a morning run, and lots of grey's anatomy reruns.  when i got home from work today i spent two hours in the kitchen, making creamy bacon and spinach tortellini, and the wheat oatmeal bread that i posted about last week.

pasta before

bread before

pasta after

bread after!

the pasta was DELISH (a bit rich...) and the bread is cooling as we speak!  two loaves, so it better be tasty :)  this might become a weekly thing if it turns out to be a good recipe.  the pasta recipe called for a roux, mixing up grease/oil with flour and milk to make a cream sauce.  i was a little nervous it wouldn't turn out very well, but it was good.  i added fresh basil, lemon zest and juice, and some cracked red pepper.

tomorrow my sister comes!  i'm so excited that i'll have a visitor to show the city too, especially during the summer months.  even if it was 55 or so degrees this morning when i was waiting for the bus..... don't tell caity that.  i'll be sure to post up tons of pictures on here after her visit, to help convince all the rest of you to come visit me :)

happy (rest of your) monday!

xo

alli

friday top ten.

hello! it's almost the weekend!  mine started a few hours ago, with smoothies shared on a sunny terrace and a weekend magazine purchase.  i also may or may not have purchased some red lipstick that i'm trying on for size :)  i think barbeque chicken and garlic green beans, and perhaps a movie, may also be on the schedule tonight.  pretty good for only being a couple hours into my weekend!

for this week's friday top ten i've decided to share a list of the top ten things that had something to do with my week, either from things i've seen on the internet or weekly adventures.

1. a quirky read that i just picked up: everything is illuminated, by jonathan safran foer

it already has me laughing on my morning bus ride.  the quirky and horrible (deliberate) translations between the ukrainian and jewish characters are hilarious. also picked up i capture the castle at my favorite used bookstore for 50 cents! score.

2. an interesting article about bilingualism, emotions, and how we express them.  touches on the intertwined nature of languages, and how bilingualism is far from cut and dry.

3. this looks almost TOO comfy to be an item of clothing that you can out in public in.  i'm a size small by the way, and accepting packages :)

4. i LOVE this poster.  could totally see it in the entryway of my apartment, inside an old mirror frame that i've been meaning to repurpose.

5. also, want to make this, with france and the us :) may as well just paste my whole pinterest collection here! 

6. this recipe looks both delicious and easy.  

7. one of my favorite blogs and etsy shops right about now! :)

photo credit: lindsay poulin.

8. jessica from whatiwore posted this llbean bag today, and i immediately started drooling.  what a sturdy, classic piece!

9. thinking about heading back here for drinks when my SISTER comes to visit next week!!!

10. also, a cute new blog that i discovered.  love here sense of fashion, and all the pics she includes of the new house she just bought with her hubby.  also, she looks SO much like one of the olsen twins.  

tell me one of your top ten items from this week!

have a great weekend!

xo

alli

life list: see the northern lights.

source.

Well, apparently I am in the right country to see these guys.  Maybe a bit farther North would be even better.  And out of the city is a must of course.  I hope one day I can see them, I bet it must be so mesmerizing to see colors like that in the night sky.  Looks like a preschooler's paint tray or a sidewalk chalk tableau.

Also I checked another life list item off... although I'm not counting it yet since I didn't get pictures and I have several other recipe variations to try.  Most notably, a whole wheat oatmeal bread.  YUM.

What have you added to or checked off from your Life List recently?  Tell us in the comments!

xo

alli

timing.

Where does the time go?  Sometimes I walk around thinking about things to write about.... funny phrases, things I want to share on here, recipes, projects, etc.  But at the end of the day if you I don't take the time, I guess there won't be any updates!

I am very glad today is winding down, and crossing my fingers that it doesn't get worse in the next 5 1/2 hours!  I'm exaggerating. Slightly.  Ever so slightly.  I'll spare you the details, and the reliving of it, and just say that nothing went according to plan, hardly anything useful got done, and people are just disappointing sometimes.

BUT.  I sipped on the first caramel frappucino that I've bought in years and went my first run since last Wednesday, both of which have admittedly helped today today out a bit.  I'm brainstorming about DIY projects for some of the empty wall space in the entryway... and thinking about fun pillows or place mats to sew once I find a fabric store.

Even though I don't want to admit it, I know that Fall is creeping slowly in over here.  Already!  Although the shift was sneaky, it happened sometime last week and all of the sudden the mornings are 58 degrees instead of 75.  Big puffy Fall clouds bring afternoon rain showers and the air smells different.  I'm afraid to look forward to Fall, because I know what comes after it!  And I would love to stay in this (slightly) milder summer weather that August has brought by.

Although not quite anticipated, it looks like I'll be heading back to class in a couple weeks, which has me excited and exasperated at the same time.  In all honesty even if things didn't quite turn out as planned, I'm looking forward to reading and writing in a class setting, and having meaningful class discussions.  Finishing up this year of the program and seeing what else is in store for me here.

And last but not least, this day could not be all bad because it is my dad's birthday!  Happy birthday, Padre!  Wish I was home to go flying with you to an airport for a fly-in french toast breakfast :)  Raincheck?

xo

alli

pillows.

look what I saw on Cup of Jo this morning, these adorable pillows.

They make specialized pillows for every state,

some of my favorite cities :)

And even countries!

These are definitely on my list, but I have may have to save up a bit in order to afford them.  All found here.  How COOL would that be, to have a couch full of pillows for places you've lived.  May have to have multiple couches at the rate I'm going ;)

Happy Friday!  What do you have planned for the weekend?

xo

alli

life list revisited.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the lovely pleasure of checking off one of my Life List items: taking a ride in a hot air balloon.  It was the first item I shared with you on my list, way back in 2009.  A year and a half later, I got one heck of a birthday present.

The ride was supposed to be a surprise on the morning of my birthday, but montreal weather did not prove very cooperative this May.  So a couple weeks later, on a verrrry early saturday morning, we drove  35 minutes south east of Montreal to a little supermarket parking lot in a town called Chambly. 

From there we crammed into the Eol'Air van (the crammed part was a preview of what was next) and drove to the official launch site.... a field between a road and semi-creepy little hotel.  We watched and listened as the guides pulled out the balloon and spread it out, before using a big fan to blow it up.  Those are technical terms, btw.

When the balloon had really started taking shape, and the basket was fully attached, the fan got turned off and the pilot started lighting the gas burner.  The hot air made the balloon start to rise up, and pretty soon it was time to hop in. 

It wasn't very long after we all got cozy in the basket, that we were already up in the air.  

It was such a subtle, exhilarating sensation!  Much gentler than in an airplane, but just as exciting. 

We floated slowly (and quietly!) over the Richelieu River.  In the distance, is the balloon that took off right next to us.  We had a bit of a head start, but they stayed much higher than we did throughout the flight. 

The view above.

And below!

We flew by a golf course, fuzzy from the morning dew.

We crossed cute, brightly paved roads.  

And watched our shadow move slowly across the countryside.  

It was really the most relaxing ride... until the landing. Before we took off, the pilot explained that come landing time, there were two possibilities.  The first, that we would settle calmly down onto the ground.... he described in a very anti-climactic sort of way, that I really appreciated.  The other option, well never mind that, he said.... we probably WON'T be tipping over on our side today because there's virtually no wind.... blah blah blah LIES!  

In his defense, there WASN'T any wind.  When he said that.  But the moment we came 50 feet within our landing site, well there was the wind to welcome us home.  In a very unenjoyable, actually quite violent sort of way.  Suffice it to say, I chose poorly when I put myself in one of the corners, and come landing time, I had 3 people all squishing me into that poor farmer's corn field. Makes for a good story though!

 That's our landing trail through the cornfield.  Heavy enough to snap those corn stalks!  You can see a video of our flight and the 5 star landing here.

At the very end after everything was put away, the pilot distracted us with a lengthly history story and a bottle of champagne, and made us get down on our knees to say a prayer in thanks to a safe flight (yes) and landing (arguable).  When he finished the story, and we finished praying, he said we could drink the champagne he had poured in glasses in front of us, but only if we reached for it with our mouths, while our hands stayed behind our backs.  While reaching in ernest for the champagne, he came with a bottle of water and poured it all over our heads, 'baptizing' us in honor of our first flight.  We were drenched and confused, but at least we had the champagne ;)

And so, I have one less item on my Life List.  Which means I'll have to find something to replace it with.  Have to wait for next Wednesday to find out!

What have you checked off your Life List recently?

xo

alli

le weekend.

coucou!

how was your weekend? was it good enough to compensate for the drag that is monday morning?  i remembered at half past way-too-late last night that i didn't renew my bus/metro pas for August, and I was late to work this morning.  there were a lot of others who were forgetful with me.  add to the mess that it was about 873% humidity this morning when i was running around like a mad woman.  isn't it always like that?

there was a real summer thunderstorm tonight.  the kind you feel coming when the temperature drops and the clouds swirl around overhead.  lots of lightning to watch from my makeshift desk (my bed) where I spread out what seemed like every book or article i've read so far for my thesis.  trying to bring some order to this project!  

my weekend was full of cooking adventures, punctuated by a birthday soirée and a visit to the science center to see the Indiana Jones archaeology exhibit.  which was fun!  except in all honesty, the movie clips and set designs kept my attention a lot better than all the archaeology technical stuff :/  still, a very interesting exhibit! 

sunday night i made my first.ever.pizza.  and folks?  it was DELICIOUS.  and so easy!  i can't believe it took me this long to make my own.  chorizo, garlic, basil, mozarella.  the crust was light and fluffy, with the perfect amount of crunch.  oh, and it's rectangular because that's the only pan i have :)

and THIS was today's cooking extravaganza.  fried corn pancakes, if-you-will, accompanied by grilled chicken breast and a scrumptious avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro salsa.

it was my first time really frying something, and I only set off the fire alarm twice!  don't worry though, that thing is super sensitive.  which, i suppose, is a good thing.

anyways... next time i think i would fry them a bit.... less.  and the salsa is great, but next time i would not forget that jalapeno that the recipe calls for, and add that in there too.  and i would find a door to put on the kitchen, so my whole apartment wouldn't smell like fried things anymore.  

how was your weekend?

xo

alli