strawberries.

via.

Because sometimes, at the end of an excruciatingly long Monday, you just need a building shaped like a strawberry.

alli

from whence you came.

Don't they always say... you have to know where you come from to know where you're going? 

Alright I was curious and just googled it, turns out this is the real quote:

"Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go." - James Arthur Baldwin - Well the land from whence I came seems to be one of obscenely big poofy headbands, t-shirts under floral dresses, full bangs, and bobby socks.  And dark wood cabinets, carpet in the kitchen, and state magnets displayed on the fridge.  I say, when you're starting with that haircut, there are definitely no limitations as to where you can go.  All in the general direction of up :) Hope Monday was kind to you! xo alli

itchy.

i'm going to share a bit too much of information here, hang in there...

did you know... that i burned my forearm while making spinach lasagna rolls way back when, and the sucker is still giving me grief.  even worse than the burn, however, is the ridiculous rash i have from the BANDAID that i put over it (before reading somewhere that you shouldn't put bandaids on burns. oops).  who is allergic to bandaids?!?  when i stubbornly went to the pharmacy several days later right away, the pharmacist actually went 'ohlala' when i sheepishly pulled back my sleeve.  awesome.

so this raspberry colored awful thing on my arm ITCHES worse than you would BELIEVE.  with no relief from hydrocortisone, polysporin, nada.  running it under cold water seems to do the trick, but only for awhile.  alright. done with that lovely subject.

today i had the wonderful opportunity to work 8 hours, taking small breaks in the morning and afternoon to dodge puddles outside on the way to the library to snack on lunch and check out another book to add to my growing collection 

(i picked up wounds of passion by bell hooks).

after work, i got to visit three apartments that i know for a FACT, i would not like to live in!  each day i move a step closer to visiting every apartment in montreal.  i guess this is what i get for having found my current apartment, less than 24 hours after the search began.  tomorrow i'll likely add a few others to the list.  at least i'm getting to know my city :)

how did wednesday look where you are?  

and now for a bit of pinterest indulgence!

via my friend staci.

creative room dividers.

the pampered kitchen.

awesome christmas lights wine bottles.

via that kind of woman.

and can i puh lease have ceilings like this in my bedroom someday?

xo

alli

polka dots.

today i left the apartment to face the world in my polka dot blue rain boots and my nice new (to me) red umbrella.  turns out the most i needed them was for the drizzly walk to the metro.  the rest of the day was balmy and warm, although incredibly blustery.  

the wind blew all the clouds away, so i took the long way home and walked in the sun.  i sat on some steps by the bus stop and paged through catcher in the rye, which i'm re-reading.  holden makes me smile. john mayer accompanied most of my day.  

tomorrow i've booked an afternoon of pampering, which i could not be more excited about.  a valentine's gift certificate is finally being put to use.  and then it's the weekend!  more apartment hunting :/ and hopefully some nice springy weekend weather.  and since we ordered pizza tonight i have high aspirations for dinner tomorrow night: roast chicken, zuchinni and mushroom risotto, and a lovely glass of red. 

ps. i saw this lovely, entrancing video on dooce.com 

about symmetry.

and here are the fruits of my thursday pinterest window shopping:    

caffeine queenie.

erigutt.

xo

alli

what's cooking.

tuesday night dinner.

pumpkin coconut bisque.

gruyere (except i cheated and made emmental) crostinis

YUM.

Yep, i've turned into a foodie.

a soup foodie it turns out.

this is perhaps one of my favorite things i've cooked so far.

the recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of cracked red pepper.

well, i live on the edge,

so naturally i doubled that.

yowza.

spicy coconut deliciousness.

ps. go to her blog, this lady has AHmazing looking recipes.

already decided granola is next on my list.

if i don't do those maple oatmeal scones first.

seems as if procrastination takes a new form in grad school...

xo

alli

zen.

I'm in between (cancelled) classes and trying to stay calm and take some deep breaths.  I will not think about raucous middle schoolers for the next 30 minutes, before I have to go deal with 24 of them for two more hours until vacation. 

That's why I'm focusing on Café del Mar- a group I've had on my ipod for quite awhile, but really only started listening to recently.  It's perfect for a dreary morning walk to work, or a calming pause in between classes of rambuntctious preteens. 

I definitely recommend checking them out, infuse a little zen into your Thursday.  It's almost Friday!

How do you add some zen to your day when you need it ?

a+

alli

life is good.

I <3 comfy clothes.  Even though I enjoy dressing up, sometimes after work there's nothing better than lounging in comfy boxers, sweatshirts or pajama pants.

One of my favorite brands for comfy t-shirts is Life is Good, as much for the softness and quality of their clothes as for their quirky sayings.  So imagine my delight when I spotted this adorable long sleeved Life is Good shirt design yesterday in Beaune of all places :

Double delight?  4.17 euros!!!  Life is.... well, you know.

a+

alli

Moleskine journals.

link

I <3 moleskines.  All shapes.  All sizes.  I've gone through at least 4 of the journals (diaries).  My fave is the Moleskin Large Squared Notebook.  The little boxes instead of lined paper always remind me of French paper/graph paper.  I like to think it adds a studious element to my journal entries, and even though they add more structure to the page, I feel less constricted when I'm looping words along the little boxes. 

Also in my collection is the Moleskine 18-Month Pocket Soft Cover Weekly Planner which serves as mon agenda as they say over here in la France.  I was looking everywhere for a smaller size, since mine is about the size of a notebook, but I'm planning to pick a new one up come January. 

One of these little guys never leaves me purse either- perfect for jotting down song lyrics, ideas for a story, quotes, lists for the supermarché, addresses.  They're super compact and so easy to throw in my purse. 

And last but not least, the City Guides are also becoming part of my collection.  I bought one for Berlin when I went last November.  It's so fun to write down the wonderful things you visited, or sketch a funny drawing reminding yourself not to go that one café next time.  I don't have a guide for Paris yet, which is really surprising, I know !  Planning on buying one soon, because I know there will always be many more visits to Paris for me : )

Do you like to take little notes during the day ?  Do you write in a journal ?  Do you have a favorite ?

alli

My favorites : Longchamps

One of the things you'll see me with nearly every single day :

My always overloaded-full-to-the-brim black Longchamp tote.  Or possibly my tinier but still packed-to-the-max red tote.  Simple, goes with everything, pratique, as would say these Frenchies over here. 

One day I'll buy a more elaborate purse, but for now I'm completely content with my simple one.  Might expand my color collection though, that would never hurt... : )

What are your trademarks ?

alli

Longchamp

pantone mugs.

Confession #1.  I am a coffee person.  And not quite a morning person.  Coffee plays a fairly major role in my mornings, and I love it that way.

I have this goal/idea, that once I have my own home somewhere in the world, I'll make a collection of coffee mugs from all over the globe.  Random as can be.  A sort of refrigerator plastered with magnets or postcards, but in a functional way.

Wouldn't that be wonderful to enjoy your morning coffee and reminisce about hiking along the beach in Croatia, a fabulous petit café in the Marais in Paris, staying in a homey cabin in the woods in the Rockies.  How much better would your mornings be tiptoeing through memories instead of dreading the work piled up on your desk?

You'll be happy to know I'm a girl of many ideas.  One of my birthday presents this year was a Pantone mug, in mustard yellow which I lovelovelove.  I think a bouquet of Pantone mugs in my coffee cabinet would be just as fabulous as memory mugs.  Each morning I could choose a mug based on my mood that morning.  

Just saying, these are fun ways to wake up in the morning.  

 What's your favorite thing in the morning?  

PANTONE website, mug

lobster mug