Fashion Love - Elin Nordegren

Lately I have been loving Elin Nordegren's casual, chic style. Unfortunately for Elin, she has been in the press and followed by the pap's because of her husband's stupid choices lately. I feel terrible for the poor woman being so publicly humiliated by her cheating husband, but I really am enjoying seeing the cute outfits she puts together in her everyday life. She has such a cute collection of comfy sweaters like this grey McQueen below:

I love, love, love Hunter Wellies, (I have a pair in Navy), so I was delighted to see Elin wearing the Jimmy Choo Croc Wellies below. She pairs them perfectly with her white jeans and comfy sweater.
I have loved the Fair Isle style sweaters that have been out for the last few winter seasons. I scooped up a few a couple of years ago and love them! I adore this sweater dress she is wearing below, so cute and cozy!
I always love a cute, chic leather jacket, so I love this look Elin is rockin. I love the leggings and Uggs too. I know Uggs are technically out of style, but for a mother of two (who is obviously doing all of the parenting right now), she looks adorable! I definitely think grey Uggs are the cutest!
Elin wore this adorable outfit to a tennis match earlier in the week. I love the way she pairs such simple items and looks so casually put together. She makes me want to pick up a pair of white jeans for summertime :)

images from www.coolspotters.com

Sushi = Art

My favorite restaurant in the whole wide world is a tiny little sushi joint in downtown Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast called Sushi Bar 5517 (it's their street address). It is a cute little family owned restaurant run by the father, aunt, and kids. This place is absolutely AMAZING! I have tried tons of sushi places over the years because Vancouver has a massive Japanese/Sushi culture and tons of restaurants. So many places are just like McDonalds; you're in, you're out, not fully satisfied. 5517 is a complete experience. The owners and staff are so kind (they actually remember our names cute!) and they truly take pride in their work. Take a look at the "Tuna Tower" my friend Ashley ordered below. I honestly don't even know what is in it besides tuna sashimi and avocado, but it is so pretty! Yum!

Boo Hoo Hoo Poor Me!

I have had the WORST luck with ebay over the last few weeks...remember those gorgeous Frye Harness boots posted below? Yeah, well 2 days after I won them on ebay, I get an email saying that the seller posted the wrong merchandise, and that they didn't have my boots in stock...Dammit! Ok, fine... A couple of weeks ago I won a super cute Trunk LTD elephant t-shirt. I have been patiently waiting for it for a few weeks, so excited! Yeah, well it arrives today and apparently I misunderstood the sizing...It seems that Trunk LTD sizing is ridiculously, incredibly small, so I can't even wear the shirt. Well crap. That stinks. I guess I should be more careful shopping on ebay...

Frye Madness

I have created a monster....a Frye boot obsessed monster. I bought the Frye Engineer 12R boots a few months back and was hooked....I couldn't help myself when I saw these babies for an awesome deal on Ebay:

The Harness 12R's in Dark Crazyhorse Brown...looooooove them! I can't wait until they arrive! Frye honestly has the best quality, casual leather boots around. I am hooked :) Next up, I want the gorgeous Campus Boot in Banana as seen on Victoria Beckham a few years ago:

So pretty! I have loved these babies for years! Perhaps I should invest before summertime?

Super Sunday

I've had such a nice, relaxing, rainy Sunday. C is downstairs working on our bathroom reno, and I have been having a ME day! :) I worked out for 90 min doing general weight lifting, arm work, and leg work. I don't really have a routine, so sometimes I like to turn on a DVD and just work away. Today it was Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring...random I know. I haven't seen those movies in ages, but they are some of my favorites! Nerdy I know. I can't help it :) Afterwards, I still had some energy to burn, so I popped in a Namaste Yoga DVD and did the Earth series focusing on core strength. So many cat lifts, downward facing dogs and locust poses. I feel fantastic! I only wish I had the discipline to do this every day...work in progress.... As a treat I had one of these babies:

I made chocolate covered strawberries on Friday with melted dark chocolate chips and HUUUGE fresh strawberries. So easy and so yummy! I am going to have to go try one that I made with white chocolate later!

Happy Sunday!

HOLY SH%TBALLS!

Gold for both our Men's and Women's hockey teams!!!! What a way to finish off an amazing Olympics!! I am so stoked for the Closing Ceremonies tonight!

Anyone Watching the Olympics?

So the Games are now underway in our fair city. I have never been one to be glued to the TV when the Olympics are on, but I've been quite interested this year. I'm sure the fact that they are taking place right under my nose helps encourage me to tune in. There have been some amazing, wonderful moments, and some heart-wrenchingly awful ones too. I can't skip over the passing of young Nodar Kumaritashvili, a young luger from the country of Georgia who died as a result of injuries sustained in an on-track crash. To place blame on the venue, the designers, or the athlete is wrong in my opinion. It was a horrible, terrifying accident that happened on a track that had hosted thousands of practice runs over the last few months. Nodar was obviously experienced enough to be on Olympian. It was an accident that could have happened to anyone. I think to point fingers and replay the footage hundreds of times over is a disrespect to his memory. He was an amazing athlete and wonderful competitor who lived for his sport.

On to a brighter side of the Games: the Opening Ceremonies. I have heard lots of feedback from fellow Vancouverites, as well as opinions from members of the media. The local crowd is very proud of our city and the show we put on. Yes it was a little long, and very "Canadian", but overall I thought it was great. To be totally honest, I could have done with a little less of the boy flying over the wheat fields, but that was quickly made up for by an amazing performance of "Hallelujah" (one of my fave songs) by k.d. Lang. I've never been a big k.d. fan, but wow, she was amazing. She really did that song justice! I've heard many a person complain that this opening was nowhere near as great as Beijing's ceremony....umm people, first off the Summer Games are much larger than the Winter games, and secondly there are over A BILLION Chinese people, while Canada holds just over 30 million. We are a much smaller country, with a smaller economy. Besides, us Canadians pride ourselves on understated elegance hahah! I thought Vanoc did a great job and it made me proud to be Canadian. I can't help but get a bit annoyed at the media for whining and complaining about how awful the ceremony was. Thousands of people worked for thousands of hours during the last TWO YEARS to put it together. How about we give our fellow man a pat on the back instead of trying to tear him down? Even if I thought parts were a bit silly, I will still compliment the heck out of anyone who took part. It was truly a wonderful show of art, dance, music and culture. It made me so proud to be from Vancouver and Canada! Go Team Canada!

PS - YAH we won our first gold medal on Canadian soil last night in the men's freestyle skiing! So proud :)

Home of the Olympics

Every day on my commute to work, I think that I am so blessed to live in the prettiest place on Earth! I was born and raised in the Howe Sound area on the coast of British Columbia. I live halfway between Vancouver and Whistler (the home of the downhill skiing events for the 2010 Olympic) in the heart of Games territory. I snapped the pic below on my way home from work today:

I took it on my Blackberry, and it was starting to get dark, hence the less than amazing quality. I think you can get the idea of how amazing my commute is. I get to drive the prettiest, most amazing highway every day. Only in beautiful BC do you get to drive along a mountainside looking at the sea. I am kind of a party pooper, and haven't been too stoked on the upcoming games for many reasons. I am starting to get in the spirit a bit as they come closer. I amgetting excited for the world to see how truly gorgeous Canada is! No we don't live in igloos, and no it doesn't snow all year lol! Vancouver really is one of the most gorgeous cities in Canada, if not the world, and I can't wait for everyone to see!

Dinner Tonight

Here is a pic of my tasty dinner I made tonight. I made vegetarian "chicken" parmesan with a Veggie Patch Chick'n Cutlet, homemade tomato basil sauce, and mozza with szechuan green beans and potato chips I baked in the oven.

Gah these last few weeks have been so stressful at work. It is so nice to come home after a long day at work and make a tasty dinner and have a glass of wine. Tonight I'm having a healthy glass of New Harbour Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I have been obsessed with Kiwie wines lately and this one is great!

Bon appetite!

My Fave Soundtracks

I'm bored, so I'm going to share some of my favorite movie soundtracks:

*Go Motion Picture Soundtrack - Esthero, Natalie Imbruglia, Len (hehe), Leftfield, Massive Attack - it's just goooood!

*Can't Hardly Wait - such a good, funny movie! Run D.M.C., The Replacements, Blink 182...just fun!

*New Moon - tons of indie goodies on there! Eskimo Joe, The Editors, Anya Marina, Ok Go, Bon Iver... it's all good!

*Empire Records - cult favorite! It was the soundtrack to my youth lol!

Definitely teen movie related (lol), but I love fun, exciting, happy movies!

For Giggles...

More of my favorite music:

*Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke (yes from the Twilight soundtrack. He is wicked, I decided)

*Anything by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor is a god lol! Hurt = best song ever!)

*Anything by Matt Good (yet another god! Seriously one of the most amazing (and Canadian) artists in the biz who does not get enough cred in the States - listen to him)

*54:40 - Crossing A Canyon (Brings me back to the good ole days of partying in Cael's garage when we were in high school, awesome!)

*Third Eye Blind - I Want You (straight up good song)

*Chris Cornell - Climbing Up the Walls (good song again lol)

*Dolly Parton - Jolene (just because it is awesome! Love me some Dolly!)

*The Pixies - Where is My Mind? (such a classic)

*Anything by Placebo (another amazing underrated band)

*Lykke Li - Possibility (hauntingly good)

*Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike (Eddie Vedder + Chris Cornell back in the day = good!)

*Eskimo Joe - Thunderclap (gah I like the New Moon soundtrack...nerd much?)

*Anything by Esthero (she's an amazing Canadian artist who has partnered with everyone from Timbaland to The Black Eyed Peas to her song "Song for Holly" on the Go motion picture soundtrack she is amaaaazing!)

Cure-All

Nothing too exciting but my week (ok whole month) has been hellishly busy at work. Between school wide awards, class re-registration, data entry, and managing my attendance duties, I am totally, utterly spent by the end of my day. I've never been this stressed work-wise in my life. Living alone, it isn't so easy to vent to Cael when I get home, so I've had to come up with my own methods. Lately I've found that a little bit of yoga with my Namaste DVD's fixes it all. Just one half-hour episode with the amazing savasana at the end stretches, breathes and flexes my stress away. Namaste I love you!

Random Loves:

Kind of a slow start to the week, so here are a few of my favorite things:

Eminence Organic Skincare. Eminence is a Hungarian beauty/skincare line that focuses on all natural, organic, fruit and veggie-based products. When I worked at the Rockwater Resort last year, our spa used Eminence Organics exclusively. I was lucky enough to receive a free facial while I worked there (oh how I miss that perk!). It was 60 min of pure bliss! The tech used masques, moisturizers, tonics, serums, exfoliators, chemical peels etc...I've never had anything like it! I absolutely love Eminence! I bought myself a delicious body moisturizer made from champagne and orange! Heaven! Here are a few examples of their exotic treats: Stimulating Lime Masque, Sour Cherry Whip Moisturizer, Tomato Summer Cream...I could go on! To see the entire Eminence Organic line, take a look at their webpage here:

http://www.eminenceorganics.com/products_creams.html

(image from www.eminenceorganics.com)
I recently discovered Michelle Phan, an amazingly creative makeup artist/blogger/Youtube goddess/entrepreneur. Michelle is a wonderfully talented makeup artist with a flare for colour and theatrics! She has done excellent beauty/makeup breakdowns for such characters as Sailor Moon, Lady Gaga, and the Na'vi of Avatar. She also creates stunning, ready to wear looks that are just as inspiring as her movie characters! I highly recommend taking a look at Michelle's Youtube channel to check out her dozens of really inspiring videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/michellephan?blend=1&ob=4 Not only is Michelle a wonderful makeup artist, she is now the co-owner of an up-and-coming skincare line called IQQU! What can't she do? Wow, this girl is so young and so inspiring! Check out IQQU's webpage here to take a look at some of their products:

http://iqqubeauty.com/int/index.php/

(image from http://ricebunny.xanga.com/)

Finally, my favorite new boots! I splurged (for me) and bought myself some comfy Ugg Cardigan boots a few weeks ago and I'm in LOVE! They are so cute and comfy! I wish this monsoon would stop outside so I can wear them, but alas the rain is supposed to last all week. Oh well, I guess I'll stick to my Hunter Wellies in the meantime.

(image from www.softmoc.com)

Avatar = Amazing Movie!

Before we went to Mexico, we went to see James Cameron's Avatar in 3D...What can I say? It was absolutely the most amazingly visually gorgeous movie I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of epic, action-packed, (and somewhat nerdy - think Lord of the Rings/Trandsformers) movies. From the first scene, the fluorescent images of the Pandoran jungles, the beautifully alien Navi, and the amazing special effects blew me away. I even loved the special 3D glasses we got! We even went back for a second time because I just had to make sure my sister saw Avatar in theaters! It was just as stunning the second time around. If you haven't had a chance to see this movie yet, I fully recommend seeing it! Just make sure you see it in 3D! Here is a link to the offical Avatar page where you can see an extended trailer and get a feel for the movie:

http://www.avatarmovie.com/index.html

And for some fun, here is a link to an Avatar-inspired makeup look by Michelle Phan. Michelle is a wonderfully talented and creative makeup goddess. She is just too cute with her excellent video tutorials! http://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan

(image from collider.com)

Delicious Lemon Rotini

Tonight Cael and I are having dinner with his family. Since I'm the only vegetarian, I am in charge of making myself something tasty. I decided to try out a new recipe that I found on a forum (thanks Ashley!). This recipe originally called for spaghetti, but I had a half-finished box of veggie rotini on hand, so I cooked it up instead. It calls for lots of fresh parmesano reggiano, lemon, black pepper, and loads of garlic. I tweaked it a bit to my tastes, and voila, a quick, super yummy dinner!

Here is the original recipe in case you're interested:

Lemon Spaghetti - this is one of my all-time favorite dishes

Salt
Pound of spaghetti
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic cloves - chopped (I use 4, but you can adjust)
1 teasp. red pepper flakes (you can use a little less)
2 large lemons, zested and juiced
1 cup (or so) heavy cream
1 cup of parmigiano reggiano (domestic parm works here too)
Italian parsley

Boil water. Salt. Add spaghetti.

Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

After a few minutes add the lemon juice, a ladle of the pasta cooking water and the heavy cream to the pan. Bring to a bubble.

Drain pasta when al dente.

Add lemon zest and half the cheese to the cream sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta to the pan and toss. Transfer to a platter and top with more cheese, parsley and even basil if you desire.

Yummy Dinner

I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, (I never stick with them obviously!), but this year, I'm really going to work on being a better vegetarian. I've been a veggie for over 15 years (I think, I can never remember exactly when I stopped eating meat), but over the years, I have slipped into the bad habit of being a lazy vegetarian. Working 9-10 hours a day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is whip up a healthy dinner. I have become entirely too dependent on easy fixes like frozen pizza or pasta. I am going to really make an effort to prepare myself healthy, fresh meals. I started tonight with this concoction:

(Excuse the lame pic, my camera requires 2 really expensive batteries for the flash, and I haven't gotten around to replacing them!)

Avocado, cucumber, pineapple, and red onion salad with a soy/honey/sesame dressing and a few pieces of tofu. Yum! Let's hope I keep it up!