Christmas photos

I learned an important lesson on the flight home from Boston: never drink a litre of water before boarding the plane, even if you use the bathroom before you board, because you’ll have to go again and the pilot may not turn off the seatbelt sign for 15 minutes after the plane has taken off, never mind the time sitting on the plane and taxiing to take off. That was brutal. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off I made a mad dash for the bathroom. Afterwards was the best feeling in the world, much like Homer after he drank too much crab juice.

Anyway, aside from that brutal 25 minutes, my vacation was great! Christmas in Boston with my family was crazy, but at the same time relaxing. Lots of good food, some shopping, and lots of time with the family Basset Hound. She features prominently in my pictures of the holiday (apologies for the mix of iPhone, iPad, and Lumix DMC-TZ5 photos).

She’s just arrived after a 9-hour car ride from Ottawa and of course all she wants is food.

My dad feeding her breakfast (home-cooked, my mom is her personal chef).

Our dinner of prime rib roast (served rare), mashed potato and kale, and arugula salad with pomegranate seeds and clementine slices. I don’t usually eat read meat, but this was an exception. It was so good, but my stomach was a little confused.

On Christmas Day, my sister and I made gluten-free ninjabread (gingerbread ninja men).

For Christmas, we always have roast goose instead of turkey. My mom debones it and stuffs it with a combination of sticky rice and wild rice.

We had it with mashed sweet potatoes, sautéed red cabbage, and a cranberry-orange-ginger sauce (the only thing I made). It was with delicious.

After dinner, I sat on the floor in a food coma and Abby cuddled up to me.

And fell asleep. I wanted to go upstairs to Skype with Will, but that would have disturbed the princess.

Shameless.

But so cute.

There are no pics of me because I spent the entire weekend in slouchy, comfortable clothes and I was in no mood to be photographed. The dog gets all the glory; she’s lucky she’s photogenic.

To my sister's home for the holidays

Nothing clothes-related today, but just a quick post to note that I have been a rather sporadic blogger lately, and my New Year's Resolution #1 is to be a more consistent blogger in 2012.

I'm currently sitting in the lounge at Billy Bishop Airport waiting for my flight to Boston to spend Christmas with my sister and her husband. The flight has been delayed due to foggy conditions in both cities, but it just means I've been able to take advantage of the "executive" lounge with free wifi, almonds, cookies, tea, and coffee. All air travel should be this civilized.

That stem belongs to the CN Tower; it's so foggy downtown that the top of it has disappeared. Not exactly the white Christmas you'd hope for, but tomorrow is going to be gorgeous in Cambridge so I'm going to be spending as much time outside as possible.

 

I'll likely be MIA until I come back to Toronto next week, so wishing everyone a very safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.

 

xo

Rachel

as sparkly as it gets

I love my wardrobe, but with this month’s EBEW challenge, I threw open my closet doors and went “Huh, no sparkles.” I love anything sparkly, but apparently not on my body.

So this is the best I could do, and I swear there are sequins on this dress.

Anthropologie Sub-Continent Dress (Floreat) | J.Crew Jenna’s Cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Wolford Satin Opaque tights | Michael Kors heels | Home Depot two-foot artificial Christmas tree, Charlie Brown style (I live in a condo, everything has to be on a smaller scale)

See, there are the sequins. On the belt. They’re just not that sparkly, but a lot of sparkle doesn’t really fit into my lifestyle. I need to find a really fabulous holiday party to go to first.

All I want for Christmas is to be reimbursed.

So this pretty much sums up what Christmas is like for me and my siblings now:

via

My sister and I sent our brother and sister-in-law a Kitchenaid stand mixer, but we told them about it advance because I need the UPC code for a mail-in rebate (that sounds awful when I write it, but they understand, and they also appreciated receiving it early because my sister-in-law has 3 dozen Christmas cookies to make for a Christmas exchange). My sister told me to remind her to write me a cheque, but I said, “Enh, just keep your half and that’s my Christmas present to you.” It’s pretty much like that for my friends too; one friend told me her sister-in-law wanted a hat from Club Monaco, and she could just reimburse her for it.

It’s not like that with my 3-1/2-year-old nephew though. It’s full-on Christmas and we make sure it’s pretty damn awesome for him.

When people ask me what I want for Christmas, I have a hard time thinking of anything because I generally buy myself what I want during the year, and I don’t like to ask people for things. But if I were this year, this is what I’d want.

Anthropologie Fringed Lace Top, by TT

It’s simple black, but the lace and the back detail make it special.

Anthro Curvy Chrysanthemum Vase

It’s one of my favourite colour combos.

J Brand 811 Mid-rise Skinny Leg in Riviera Blue

They’re pants and I don’t usually wear pants, but they’re teal and therefore awesome. Also much cheaper in the U.S.; I tried them on at Aritizia where they were CAD$215 plus 13% tax.

J Brand 811 Mid-Rise Skinny Leg in Navy 

Yes, these are the ones Kate Middleton wore on her Canadian tour, so I’m jumping on a bandwagon here. But they’re really awesome jeans.

Fossil Sheila Dress

This dress caught my eye from Kendi’s lookbook. It looks like a really cute piece to dress up or down, and it’s teal. There is a pattern here. I also really, really want this model’s hair. I might take her hair instead of the dress. Maybe.

Rebecca Minkoff striped pouch set

If only they weren’t out of stock everywhere. I blame Lisa for this want, but of course in the nicest way.

Anthropologie catalogue: December 2011

My love for Anthropologie may be waning slightly. I think it’s still my favourite store, but I may be a little over-saturated, and lately there hasn’t been very much that’s been catching my eye.

Even so, I still love their catalogues, and probably always will, even if I don’t want to buy anything from them.

pintucked plaid buttondown, tinsel cropped halter, skinny stone cuff, accordant bracelets, metallic maxi skirt

heikki blouse, gauzy mint maxi, emeraldine oxford heels

golfo de paria necklace, swirled stitches pullover, gauzy mint maxi – gorgeous colour

blanched & buckled cardigan, even flurry dress, sweaterknit ankle boots, scaled floro satchel

cold wave scarf necklaces, purl-wise pullover, petrified cuff, gilded jacquard crops, steeplechase ankle boots – I totally wish I could pull off shiny brocade pants

faux fur necker, hildesay sweater, anchored boatneck, nolana skirt, opaque tights, mirrorball clogs – nothing says winter like thick grey tights

rock & stones necklace, velvet trimmings blouse, pleated ponte skirt, solid socks, piled prism t-straps

easton cropped peacoat, anchored boatneck, clipped cities skirt, solid socks, mirrorball clogs, stitched stripes tote

a real hoot canister, wise ol' canister, biotroph cookie jar, wide-eyed cookie jar, anjou cookie jar – I love these!

willowherb rolling pin, milk bottle measuring cups, painted amaaryllis butter dish, painted amaryllis spoon rest, southwestern striped canisters, zesty measuring spoons, farmer's market baskets, willowherb muffin pan, painted amaryllis measuring cups

valise journals, banderole pencil set, obliging bird clip, saturated readers, madurodam colored pencils – I wish I were an artist and could justify buying stuff like this.

trinket & treasure candlesticks ($398 each!) – so insane, and yet so awesome

azemmour serving bowl, kinetic stencil mug, la woof plate, papillons plate, pomme plate, qui plate

anemone mezzo vase, pansy petite vase, rose of sharon grand vase, curvy chrysanthemum vase – love all of these

homegrown monogram mugs, farmer's market baskets

It’s beginning to look a little like Christmas

I'm firmly against Christmas decorations in November, but it's a week into December so I'm ready now. I'm usually a Christmas Grinch because I just don't have good memories of Christmas growing up, but I think it's time to put that behind me, for Will's sake. I don't want to always be a grump around the holidays. To put me in the Christmas spirit, we went out and bought two two-foot Christmas trees and some silver and blue decorations. It's a little Charlie Brown-ish, but it's working! Pretty soon I'll be doing some Christmas baking and playing Christmas music around the clock. Will is all for the baking, but he draws the line at carols.

Now, just for a little snow (I might get punched for saying this), and it'll really look like Christmas.

It's been a little too long since I've posted, I've been working really long hours while feeling a little under the weather, so all I do when I get home is watch TV and go to bed. I've also been feeling a little fat and unattractive lately (that's a subject for a whole other post, or twelve), which isn't conducive to creating interesting outfits (there's been a lot of black and grey lately) or picture taking. This is one of the few I've taken recently:

Club Monaco Misty Top | Club Monaco necklace | Anthropologie Aniseed Skirt (Eva Franco) | Wolford Tights | Michael Kors heels

I'm already thinking ahead to New Year's resolutions, so one of them should probably be to post less sporadically.

Mrs. Penguin

My friend and I joke that Will is a penguin because he's always warm and rarely gets the indoor temperature cool enough for his liking. If I'm complaining that it's too cold, he's perfectly comfortable. It's 68 degrees inside our condo and he's sleeping with only a thin sheet, while I'm all cuddled up under several quilts. One morning he opened the window after I got up, and when I went back into the bedroom to get dressed it was so cold I really was expecting a bunch of penguins to be hanging out with him in there. Or a couple of puffins. We are in the northern hemisphere after all.

By extension, I'm Mrs. Penguin, and it's somewhat apt. I don't like it as cold as he does, but I've always preferred the cold (well, cool) to the hot. I love this time of year. I'd much rather be slightly cold than boiling hot.

I know it's November. But I'm refusing to accept it and stubbornly hanging on to my fall jacket (it's the Cream Confection Jacket, of course I will) as long as I can. I've seen people in full winter gear already, but I'm sorry, it's not cold enough for Canada Goose jackets yet. It was gorgeous double-digit (C) weather on Friday!

But ok, I may be dressed a bit seasonally-inappropriate today.

Aritzia T. Babaton Jolie Blouse | Club Monaco Celia Skirt | Hilary Druxman necklace | Michael Kors heels

I am wearing very sheer tights à la Kate Middleton, but it's not really a fall outfit. If I keep this up, I’m gonna freeze in January.

 

All in my head

One thing (out of many) that I find frustrating in my life is that I love food (loooove) and I have multiple food allergies, of multiple degrees. On my must-avoid-cuz-I-get-hives-or-possibly-worse list are peanuts, shellfish, and coconut. On my I-really-should-avoid-but-I-won't-die list: wheat (that's a tough one), eggs, dairy, strawberries, tomatoes, and corn. It's tough. I carry an Epi-pen and Benadryl at all times. I'm not perfect, but I don't have a death wish. 

 

Today, I had a cup of Alpine Punch tea from DAVIDsTEA, started to feel a little itchiness in my mouth, checked the ingredients on the label, found nothing to be concerned about, checked the website, found out the tea contains coconut which is not on the label, went WTF?, poured the rest of the cup out, had a Benadryl, and emailed customer service.

 

I normally hate to make a fuss about my allergies. Not everyone is understanding; some people still think allergies are "all in your head" and a sign of weakness (like my friend's mom who keeps trying to feed me shrimp, or this poor woman's aunt). Or at the opposite extreme, they think all food is going to kill me (like my mom). But in this case I checked the label and asked the in-store staff before I bought, so I did all that I could, and I felt I should say something about it.

 

Customer service called me, apologized, came up with some lame excuse about there not being enough room on the label to list all ingredients (um, maybe they'd have room if they edited the ridiculous story about Swiss furry little men with long beards), said they're in the process of changing all their labels to include full lists of ingredients, and promised I could exchange huge offending tea with something non-allergenic.

So anyway, perhaps a few lessons learned here. I can never be too careful, and I shouldn't be afraid to speak up.

And since this is primarily a personal style blog, here's what I was wearing when this happened today.

Jacob sleeveless top | J.Crew Jenna's Cardigan | Ayala Bar necklace | Anthro Liquid Acres Skirt | Wolford Satin Opaque Tights | Michael Kors heels