on leaning in.

Homemade channa masala (with this recipe) spiced chicken drumsticks, and naan (with this recipe). The naan was ridiculously easy and SO good. Will be making that on a regular basis. With more garlic next time. 

Strawberry sponge layer cake with home made whipped cream. Topped with powdered sugar. 

Weddings make a great occasion for a reunion. We spent our weekend down in Western Massachusetts catching up with les nantais. There was hiking, cute, slobbery dogs, wonderful breakfasts, and cocktails for everyone. 

Doesn't this little piece of bark remind you of the infinity sign? 

Things have been up and down over here. Transition periods are always the hardest ones to get through, I know that's not a monumental discovery. But for the sake of my mental health, I've decided to (try to) embrace the hard parts. The pointy edges that I just want to smooth out. There are going to be difficult parts in life and sometimes you just have to lean in to them. Even though it's uncomfortable. I don't know if my strategy is working yet, but I do know I am considerably calmer this week than last. I go for long runs. I did hot yoga this afternoon and sweat everything out of my body. I wrote a story this morning for the first time since who knows how long. And now I'm getting back to work this afternoon, trying to move forward and see what's ahead for me. 

How is your week going? What recipes are you cooking up? 

xo

strawberries.

via.

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

alli

better versions of ourselves.

via: here

"it is surprising how often we ask that we be a better version of our present self---in the full knowledge of just how difficult it was getting this far"

Tony Judt

The Memory Chalet

xo

alli

leading a creative life.

From Fast Company Magazine.

at the moment.

photo credit.

Some good things about my day...

Walking to the metro under snowflakes.

Seeing the Old Spice guy this morning on a today show video podcast.

Discovering that something like this exists: 

etsy.

Just. Wow.

Tomorrow's Friday. And I'm home in a week! Which means there's paper writing and Christmas shopping to finish! Friends to see, suitcases to be packed.

Quick. Tell me what was good about your day.

xo

notice your daydreams.

via wit + delight.

Something that I read on a blog this week really stuck with me.  A woman was writing about daydreaming- why and when we slip into daydreams, what they represent for us, and the bad reputation they've earned at times, despite their amazing creative and meditative qualities.  We all engage in daydreaming; I'd venture to say it's a daily occurrence for most.  Bus rides, car rides, while cooking dinner, laying in bed before sleep.  Yet there seems to be this negative stigma attached, because daydreaming is replacing 'more productive' activities.

Putting the whole productivity discussion aside though, what resonated with me most is when this blogger wrote about giving yourself permission to notice your daydreams.  Look for patterns, reoccurring themes, highlights.  Where does your mind go when it wanders?

Does it travel somewhere, to a far off location you've once been to or dream of visiting?  The warm waters surrounding the Rock Islands in Palau.  Boating home from a day on the water, deliciously tired and content after a day spent in the sun.  Winding country road drives with friends, windows down, hair blowing every which way, singing along to the radio.  Imagining what Paris feels like right now.  The petite cobblestone streets, bustling metro stations, parisians reading le monde and drinking espresso.


Do you daydream about your job, or perhaps what you wish to be doing instead?  I'm a painter in a quiet white room with a canvas in front of me.  I imagine sitting on a stool, hair tied up in a bun, looking out the window and imagining what to paint.  Or I'm a writer, a knit cowl scarf wrapped around my neck, sitting on a hard wooden bench by a window in a corner cafe.  Pencil in hand, scribbling playful words.  


Do you daydream about completely mundane things?
The mom and her daughter that I see on my morning walk to the metro, waiting at the corner for the school bus. The girls hair, when not covered up with a fleece hat, is braided close to her head like her mom's.  Sometimes they hold hands, sometimes she leans against her mom.  I daydream about what the little girl ate for breakfast.  Cereal with milk?  Toast with peanut butter and honey?  

On the other side of the street, there's always a guy standing waiting for a ride- he has long unruly blond hair and it always listening to something on his portable cd player through his headphones.  Some mornings he's even singing along, quite loudly.  I daydream about what he's listening to.  What his friends are like.  Where he's going every morning.  

What life was like.  What it could be like.  What it will be like.  What I have done.  What I should have done.  What's next.

Do you notice your daydreams?  What could they be saying to you?  Would you listen to them?

xo

ps.  the blog that sparked this thought process was dress with courage.

muscle memory.

West Desert Airpark, June 2010.

I'm a pilot.  I don't talk about it too often, even though It's something I'm very passionate about.  Are you ever hesitant to talk about the things you're proud of?  I've been around aviation all my life.  My dad is a pilot.  Oshkosh is the aviation Mecca that is (almost) always at the end of my summers.  In our family we tell stories about my sister and I walking around in the cabin in a Cessna 170, flying above Indiana when we were hardly old enough to remember.  I recall flying in the backseat on the way to Chardon, Ohio, mesmerized (and a bit skeptical) that I could talk with my mom and dad from the backseat without everyone on the radio and in the control towers hearing me.  

The first time I ever went to France was in June/July 2003.  After a late afternoon drive by an airstrip surrounded by tall grass and radiant sunflowers that only seem to exist in Southern France, I came home and told my dad I wanted to take flying lessons.  September through May I drove up to Heber on weekend mornings, frost lining trees along I-40, snow blowing slowly across the road on windier mornings.  Come Spring, I would anxiously anticipate the first view of Heber Valley to see if it was socked in with fog on the early mornings.  The last months before my checkride I convinced my school advisor and my theatre teacher to let me leave early on Monday afternoons.  Playing hooky to go fly up in the sky a while.  

Five days after my 18th birthday I earned my private pilot's license.  A Sunday morning if I remember correctly, after waiting hours for the checkride instructor to show up.  Show up he did, and we went over every possible question for the oral part of my exam.  And then we flew, going over every ground reference maneuver, stall, emergency procedure, and landing situation.  Only going back to practice my right side steep turns until I perfected them without losing 100 feet of altitude.  

Since then I've flown in two other countries.  I earned my tailwheel endorsement in a little Jodel outside of Paris, France, accompanied by Claude the retired French Air Force pilot and a little British terrier named Yessie.  Well, Yessie followed me on the ground.  Airport dog but scared to death of the planes, go figure.  And then a new friend let me fly in the left seat of the Piper Arrow as he accompanied us back to Sens and we hitched a ride back into la centre ville.  My friend and I were talking about that amazing afternoon for awhile.

And just two weeks ago, I piloted a plane for the first time in over a year at an airport outside of Montreal.  A Diamond Katana, the plane I trained in.  After the flight as I flipped through my logbook, I saw that the last time I flew a Katana was in July 2006.  Five and a half years ago.  So much was different back then.  So much is different now.  Yet as I walked around the plane on the chilly Sunday morning, I was struck by how similar the whole thing was.  Two words popped into my head. 

Muscle memory.  

My fingers traced the smooth tapering surface of the wing.  Eight years later (wiser?) on another continent, but for a moment I believed myself 17 once again, addicted to the first feelings of flight in the left seat.


Right tire.  Pressure. Strut. Right wing. Pitot tube. Position light. Strobes.

17 and smiling since the moment my hands directed us into the sky.  45 knots and a gentle pitch up, excited to see what the sky was hiding beyond the mountains.

Fuselage.  Fuel drains.  Vertical stabilizer.  Horizontal stabilizer.  Cables.  Left tire.  Left aileron.  Aileron cable.  A click to the left and the right.  


Though I carried a list with me, my hands took over and my brain was quiet.  Remembering the moves to a choreographed dance.  It made me smile in a way I hadn't for awhile.  Preflight finished my quebecois copilot and I closed the canopy and taxied to the runway.  Before long we were soaring above St Hubert airport, and we would land at Saint Matthieu de Beloeil and Saint Hyacinthe before the morning was over.

Any out of practice pilot gets anxious on their first landing back from a break.  I always adjust myself in my seat, pull my seatbelt tight, and fidget my feet on the pedals.  Landing is the most complicated part of flight, but also in a way the most rewarding.  An eloquent dance between friends.  A chain of intuitive maneuvers.  Yet a challenge.

Eyes on the center line.  Hand on the throttle.  Pressure on the stick.  Throttle in.  Speed check.  Nose down.  Throttle out.  Last set of flaps.


A gentle ebb and flow.  Front step, back step, creeping slowly to the ground.  I knew it had been years since I had been in that plane, but I couldn't believe how normal it felt.  How instinctive it was.

Nose up trim.  Flare.  The persistent stall warning horn.  Hold it a bit farther.  The screech of the tires.  Back pressure to keep the nose up.  Flaps up.  Steering us to the taxiway at the end of the runway.  


I looked at my flight instructor with a smile on my face.  Not too bad for the first time in a year!  It was excellent, he said.  I believe that was the perfect way to describe it.

xo.

smile hunter.

I am not a morning person.  In comparison to some (I know some really anti-morning people!) maybe.  But in comparison to most, hardly.  The world just feels better after a pot cup of coffee.  I like the principle of being up early.  It's the getting up part that I always seem to get stuck on. 

Most mornings, by the time I get to the metro I'm engrossed in whatever song is on my ipod, making a mental (stressful?) list of things I have to remember to do that day, flipping through the newspaper while frustrated that the next train hasn't arrived yet, and calculating how fast i'm going to have to run walk to get to work on time.  But in the spare moment that is not spent worrying about my day before it has even begun, there's one thing that will pretty consistently make my morning a bit brighter.  

I'm a smile hunter. 

I love witnessing people smile at unexpected moments.  Times when they think no one else notices, wonderfully distracted by their own thoughts or memories.  Who knows what that smile could be about.  Sometimes it's big, breaking into a laugh.  Sometimes it's barely perceptible.  

Those are the best.  

It's a small reminder that we're all human.  We all have stressful days, bad days, horrible days.  But we also all have good days, wonderful, amazing days.  

That we smile about later on a Monday morning metro ride.  

So watch for those smiles.  They'll surprise you.

xo

alli

monday blues.

Someone asked me today if I was suffering a case of the Monday blues.  Today was just one of those monotonous, things-go-wrong kind of day.  But that is ok because it is almost over.  Focus on the positive.

Here's the recipe I used for my cookies yesterday: Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies.  And there aren't too many left!  I used whole wheat flour, and I'm wondering how the texture would have been different with white flour as the recipe called for.  They're quite soft, even a bit crumbly.  But delicious!  Also think they would be good with chocolate chips instead of raisins.  That makes anything better :)

I promise a longer post tomorrow, these late nights of trying to put together papers are killing me.

But before I go, happy birthday to my cousin who also happens to be one of my closest friends :)  Whenever you're lacking inspiration in the kitchen head over to her blog.  You'll feel the veggie love!  I've already tried tons of her recipes and I haven't found one I didn't like.  Adult chicken fingers and zucchini boats are among my favorites, and I'm particularly anticipating the red wine chocolate cake recipe.... yum.

And just like that, Monday is over.  Thank goodness.  Here's to Tuesday, my friends.

xo

alli

stories.

'without a story, we perish. stories define our lives: they teach us what is possible and good, help set our goals and limits, offer us role models and explain mysteries. without stories- myths and legends, folktales and sacred texts, romances and comedies and tragedies- our lives would be formless'

- marilyn farwell -

this morning brought...

a bit of research and attempts at writing

a new curiosity with joan didion and a search for her book, the year of magical thinking 

goosebumps from this video (and many others watched, which explains the attempts at writing part...)

Oh! Last night I made the mexican version of the chicken and pesto stuffed pasta shells that I made awhile ago, Mexican Stuffed Pasta Shells and I am happy to report they are just as delicious.  I didn't have any taco sauce, but used the rest of the sauce from marinating the meat... and the salsa I used was white bean and corn, which I think added a great extra flavor and texture that I would have missed if I'd used regular salsa.  Just finished the leftovers for lunch! 

happy thursday!

xo

pilots.

I saw this on facebook this morning and it made me laugh.  I especially like his note about falling wings or motors.  Or the more money than they know what to do with part.  Sign me up!

xo

alli 

november.

Happy november!  And what an unseasonably warm way to start the month of pumpkin pie, warm lattés, leaf crunching, leg warmers, and first snowfalls.  It's a gorgeous afternoon where I am and I plan on taking full advantage by going out for a long run later.  I'm preparing for a 10k through Oka National Park this Saturday.  It'll be my second 10k and I'd like to shave a few minutes off my time of 58 or so minutes the last time I ran it in 2008.  But mostly it's just a great motivation (obligation?) to keep training after I ran the half-marathon at the end of September.

And since we bought a box of 38 or so tomatoes this weekend (!!) I'm going to spend the evening starting some tomato soup to freeze and maybe some spaghetti sauce.  Anyone every tried making and freezing marinara or spaghetti sauce and have some recipes to share?  Also since I have an ample supply, other tomato recipes would be appreciated :)

I've been having a kind of no excuses sort of week, which was the motivation behind starting an every-day-of-november-blog-a-thon.  It started as a kind of experiment, and it's actually started making me feel quite productive.  Every time I'm reminded of something I need to do, instead of making an excuse to do it later I do it right. then.  No excuses!  Spending two minutes on something that you've been thinking about for months weeks is SO worth the relief of not carrying it around with you anymore.  So stay tuned the rest of the month, we'll see what I come up with :)

xo

alli

ps. feel like a no excuses november?  join me and L from rooms and books! 

photojourney.

photo credit: kendra smoot 

I love pictures- portraits, still life, landscapes- that draw you in and instantly inspire stories in your head.  I like to daydream about the people in a photo. Where they work, who their family is, their accents, the way they make breakfast in the morning.  How they laugh, what they're scared of, or what book is sitting on their dresser.  I think it's a testimony to the talent of a photographer who can draw you in and inspire those kinds of thoughts from a single glance.  

Also, this video made me teary-eyed over morning coffee a couple days ago.  Makes you want to get out of the city and just breathe deeply for awhile.  With an amazing camera in tow to capture everything with.

xo

alli

on blog silence and motivation.

Enough of the blog silence!  I know I've been quite absent recently, my friends.  And although life is busy at the moment, I'm not even sure if I can blame it on that.  I feel like I need to reorganize mistinguette a bit, or at least have more of a blogging goal.  I'm inspired by so many of the craft, cooking, fashion, and travel blogs that I read and although mistinguette touches on many of those subjects, it just feels so unorganized and thin to me sometimes.

I had a little brainstorming sesh this morning as I sipped my coffee and watched the morning sun reflect on the beautiful leaves outside my apartment window.  I've come to know that I am a person that is motivated by goals that are concrete and determined over a certain time period.  That's how I trained for and tackled the half marathon- I've never been so motivated to run in my life.

So! I've decided that I'm going to give my blogging self a month long boot camp if you will.  I am going to post every single day of November.  I'm sure some of the posts won't be lengthy or profound, but I'm interested to see what will come out of forcing myself (in a nice way :) to blog everyday.  To write everyday.  Even if it's just a few words.  And now you've heard (read?) me say it.  So. I have to keep my promise.

So stay tuned, for an active November on mistinguette :)

xo

alli

painfully vibrant.

weheartit.

There is an incredibly beautiful sunset out my window.  Today there was a clear blue sky, and the air was deliciously crisp.  The cold that makes you button up and wrap a scarf close to your neck, without the bitterness yet that winter will bring.  A peek up the hill on my morning walk to campus and I can see leaves slowly changing.  Farmer's Markets are buzzing, and there's the anticipation of everything lovely about autumn.

But.

There's something inherently melancholy about the whole thing.  The vibrant colors.  Painfully so.  The sun reflecting off an airplane in the fading blue sky.  The stillness between light and dark.  The silence of street lights warming up a street.

Perhaps it's the quiet ache brought on by nostalgia.  Reminders of memories and moments lived in past seasons.  Braided together with the present.

Do you ever feel like this during autumn?

xo

alli

Although I'm not quite sure this video would cheer you up, it might captivate you like it did me.  Nice song, and a pretty powerful video.

originally posted on dooce.

check in.

I'm still here!  And I have plenty to update you on.  Like how the half-marathon went, (finished in 1:55! the last three miles were SO hard! I couldn't walk down stairs for days!) what's been on my stove and in my oven recently, (creamy tomato soup, beef stew, carrot and ginger soup, and another batch of choc. chip zucchini bread) and the wonderful burst of fall weather we've been having.  I won't tell you about the cold that I fought off for days which finally got the best of me, (which is why i'm cutting this short and heading to bed) or the power outage that struck the moment I got out of the shower on monday morning which left me no choice but to go to work with wet hair (don't do that when you're sick btw).

Hopefully i'll give you a more appropriate and lengthly update soon, but for now i'll just tide you over with this quote which i really sort of love.

“Each of us stands at one unique spot in the universe, at one moment in the expanse of time, holding a blank sheet of paper”

- by... ican'tremember at the moment-

So what will be on your blank sheet of paper? Will you scribble in marker? Or write in dainty cursive letters in the middle? Or print methodic and deliberate script along the edges?

Back soon friends, enjoy Autumn, if it's Autumn where you are!

xo

alli

friday top ten: ipod race list.

Tell me.  Why is that I can find the motivation to whip up some cinnamon applesauce, a pie crust for a quiche tomorrow, earmark a recipe for simple alfredo pasta sometime next week (I want to add asparagus or broccoli), and a jalepeno omelette that I want to make for dinner tonight, run to the store to buy a magazine... but the motivation for anything work, dishes, or laundry related is mysteriously absent.  It must be the obligation part of it, hm?

I am so happy that it is Friday (that sounds familiar) and I'm getting excited for the half marathon on Sunday!!  I went for a 2 mile run yesterday and.... no pain in my foot!!  Remains to be seen if the pain will come back at say, mile 7.  We'll see.  I'm just going to go as far as I can, I'm ready!

And in preparation for the big race, I'm debating what's going to be part of my Marathon Mix.  Here are some of my ideas so far.  A Half-Marathon-Themed Friday Top Ten, if you will.

Adele: Set Fire to the Rain
One Republic: Good Life
Snow Patrol: Finish Line (how appropriate)
Lady Gaga: Just Dance.... or Poker Face
2Pac: Changes (this was always one of the first songs I listened to on my long runs)
Train: Hey Soul Sister
The Midway State: Atlantic (a new find)
Rihanna:  Only Girl
Dave Matthews: Bartender (live version)
Coldplay: Viva la Vida (reminds me of summer car rides with the windows down)

Of course I only have about half of these songs, so I'll have to get the rest!   Any suggestions?  What song gives you an extra burst of energy during your workout?

What's in store for your weekend?

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

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

top score.

coucou!

i've been thinking about little stories to tell you for a couple days now.  i figure a rainy tuesday --which was filled with too much disappointing apartment searching, WAY too much rain, and hardly enough coffee-- would be the perfect to time to dwell on other, positive things :)

saturday afternoon a friend invited us to a fundraiser for a group of her students, held at a bowling alley.  i walked in the door expecting to see a bowling alley similar to any other i've seen in my life, but les québecois don't do bowling like the rest of the world apparently.  

loving the yellow bowling shoes, yes? here i am winding up for my next strike, even though what i really wanted to show you were les quilles, the bowling pins that i knocked over with....

the tiniest bowling balls i've ever seen in my life!  they don't even have any holes in them, and they're MUCH lighter than regular bowling balls.  which would explain my record score of 194...

it was so hilarious.  i would say it took some getting used to, but my first FOUR turns, i bowled strikes.  this was right after apologizing to everyone on my team that my bowling skills were extremely lacking.  false modesty?

after unlimited bowling for 3 hours, we headed to what i would call the quebec version of olive garden, with the added perk of a bread bar.  at said bread bar, you have the choice of lovely wheat, white, raisin (raisin?) or rye bread, as well as regular, garlic, tomato, or pesto butter.  you spread as much or as little as you want, grab a bar of tongs, and grill your bread to personal perfection before heading back to your table.  yom.

sunday was my favorite day of 2011 so far. 

I GOT A SUNBURN!!

a quick side note. this is not me celebrating the fact of an increased risk of skin cancer, but rather rejoicing in the fact, that

IT WAS A SUNNY 70 DEGREES!  

we took absolute advantage of the surprising, glorious weather, and went for a hike at Mont Saint Hilaire, a small town 35 minutes outside of the city.  we went on a short but intense hike (~1 mile, 1,200 ft altitude gain) up to the top where we could see a view of montreal in the distance and the st. richelieu river cutting through towns in between.  long trains crept along tracks next to the river, hugging the shoreline..

psst you can see these pictures and others, and entertain yourself with the general musings of a handsome frenchman, at provincecanadienne.blogspot.com.

i'd also like to take this last bit of the rainy day to say,

i love the classic simplicity of these camping mugs. 

although i don't think much could wean me from my moleskin ways,

these leather travel notebooks would probably be the next closest candidates.

and, you must click through to this blog.

a girl's photo diary adventures on the paris metro.

every few days she interviews a random person (or chien) on the paris metro, and takes their picture.

what an intriguing project. 

hope the sun is shining where you are!

xo

alli