Monday was March 1^st and to celebrate February being over and the one-year anniversary of owning our first house together, I decided to bake! The inspiration behind my choice of baked goods was this great vintage bundt cake pan I had borrowed from Di a few months ago. I have been dreaming of coffee cake since Christmas and today was the day I was finally making it!

I quickly realized I had no ingredients, so I took in the sunshine and headed to the store and spent $25.00 on things I would need. I prepped my ingredients, shooting as I went along as I always do.

Things seemed to be taking me a bit longer right from the get go. It took forever to peel and core these apples, and then I had to sift (what?) the flour.

Hmmm no sifter…would my strainer work? Why not?  It’s all an adventure!! It took about 20 minutes to sift 2.5 cups of flour, but I persevered.

I let things sit when they were supposed to sit, and mixed as per the directions, but something was not feeling right. I wondered if I should add some more liquid- water, oil or another egg? I usually would, but this was my first attempt at baking so I stuck to the recipe.

The real turning point came when I realized this recipe called for a shallow long pan, not a bundt pan. The bundt pan was the whole reason for making the cake in the first place! We do not have a shallow long pan.

This was the only pan we had, so I went ahead and used the bundt pan and decided to cook it a little longer. My coffee cake fantasy was not going as planned.

I had a deep sense of foreboding as I went to put my little coffee cake in the oven. Even someone who has never baked before (like me) knows when it says “pour the batter into the pan” and you have something the consistency of baked turkey stuffing that you have to “scoop” into the pan with a spoon, that no baking miracle is going to save you.

Needless to say- I made a disastrous $25.00 coffee cake. It crumbled out of the pan, dry as a bone.

Mike was sweet and said he would try it as it had taken me 2 hours in total to put it all together. Upon eating it he said,” Wow, It tastes like hot flour.” He was being kind.

But the afternoon was not a complete ruin. Mike and I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Might as well enjoy your failures along with your successes.

Have a great week. Isn’t March grand?

When I found out I was pregnant, Mike and I made a list of things we wanted to get done around the house before my due date. So far we have had the last remaining rug in the basement pulled up and laminate and tile put in, a little kitchenette ripped out and a closet installed in its place and a bathroom repainted.

upperc.drywall@gmail.com- that's Alejandro's e-mail.

(Many thanks to the amazing Alejandro!) We also hope to get a new downspout and put in a fence before the end of April.

Two rolls of vintage wallpaper for the back wall of the room. Thanks to Diana!

Needless to say I hadn’t even started to think about pulling together a baby’s room… or at least that is what I thought.  Without realizing it, I had been gathering things for this little nest…and the feel of the room is quickly, organically taking shape in my head.

My old cedar lined trunk-dragged home from a vintage store in 1996. With a little paint a new toy box will be born. 7 years of taxes need to find a new home!

My goal is to buy as little new furniture as possible and to get my creative juices flowing!

Sarah's baby chair from her childhood (and long before that) on loan to us!

I hope to repurpose what we already have, move things from one room to another, re-use, re-paint, paper, find thrift shop jewels, treasures in the trash, hand make crafts, pull out old things from childhood, swap items with friends and let it evolve naturally.

Mike's first camera.

I am very lucky to have many friends offering to pass on pieces of furniture that were much loved by them or their children or pieces that they no longer use! Very lucky indeed!

The vintage red Samsonite cases will make for bright storage!

You don’t need to be decorating a kid’s room to get creative – any room will do!

From the bedroom to the baby's room.

Please feel free to pass on any ideas or inspirations my way!

Childhood essentials from Mike!

**Watercolor by Michael Chan.

Wednesday: Be mine, little jam cookie.

A mid-February experiment: Since last week’s post I took a picture everyday of something that made the grey February days feel a little brighter. It really worked! Rather than concentrating on how overcast and cold it was, I found myself on the look out at all times for little bits of beauty in my daily travels. Looking for the sun amongst the clouds.

Thursday: A shop sign on Carlaw.

Give it a whirl!  You really don’t need a camera- take a mental picture. It can be anything; noting a random act of kindness, a funny sign, a conversation you had with someone, a great meal, a delicious sleep, a phone call or a new pair of shoes!

Friday: Scones, clotted cream, butter and jam.

You may find that in all this grey, you are surrounded by pretty moments, lovely inspirations and delightful opportunities. How very spring like!

Saturday: Tulips from the market.

Before you know it, spring will be on the doorstep with the promise of sun, fragrant lilacs trees and fresh, breezy afternoons.

Sunday: Plasticine tigers.Happy New Year!

I wish I could take pictures of the all the lovely moments of the last 7 days:

Monday: Lydia, Joel and Arnault's Toc Toc Toc space ship. (They made it from an old Mr. potato head!)

Meeting my Mom for lunch, high tea with Kim and Viv, driving my sister to the airport, celebrating Chinese New Year weekend with my In- laws, having a whole day to spend (without work) with my fella, seeing my lovely Dirty Dancing Family again, meeting a group of theatre school students and being wowed by their energy, openness and kindness, spending time learning the world of etsy and feeling “the bun” move in my belly for the first time….beauty on a cold, grey week in February!

Tuesday: A bag the colour of red tulips. A new handbag always makes the day seem brighter.

See you next Wednesday.

Happy Yogini!

We have a new guest blogger joining the SC team this week: Emma Fletcher. Emma juggles an wide array of activities in her daily life; she contracts as a Project Manager and Corporate Trainer, dabbles in holistic and energy work, is a certified yoga teacher, world traveler and is currently studying for her Canfit Personal Trainer Specialist designation. Did I mention she is also an IT whiz who loves studying astrology?

Emma is also very funny, refreshingly nutty and gorgeous. She doesn’t leave her yoga practice or philosophy on her mat but weaves it into everyday life.

She recently took a road trip to The Kripalu Center in western Massachusetts for a weeklong restorative yoga-teaching course. She shares her solo road journey with us today!  Thanks E!

Have a great week! Happy Valentines and Happy Chinese New year! Both February 14^th!

See you next week and scroll down to read Emma’s first post!

As a person who lives to learn, I am constantly on the look out for interesting things to do that can be combined with my love for a change of scenery. This time, I decided to shake things up a bit and trade in my usual mode of transport – two wings, for a more earthy set of four wheels and voila…a road trip!

Road trip!

Destination: Kripalu – Centre for Yoga and Health in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

Trip Distance: ~ 700 km.

Purpose: Restorative Yoga Teacher Training.

What is Kripalu? Well…their website says it better than I can…

Kripalu (kri-PAH-loo) provides a sanctuary for your body and soul. A stay at Kripalu immerses you in an experiential curriculum designed to bring vitality to your life from the inside out. While you are here, we invite you to enjoy daily yoga classes, our world-class natural-foods cuisine, massage and healing arts, hiking and walking trails, a lakefront beach area, indoor whirlpool and sauna, a labyrinth, extraordinary views—all in the natural beauty of the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts.

Hmmm…I was sold!!

Monday morning, 7:30 am: I lugged my baggage for the month…oops…I mean week…into my car (I was really enthused about not having a weight restriction on my luggage). Armed with Map Quest, Google and Yahoo maps printouts (just in case), my Mom’s GPS for backup and a mug of coffee, I selected my “Feeling Good” playlist, reset the trip odometer and off I went.

Coffee…not a great plan, and my first stop turned out not be at the border crossing but a Tim Hortons in Burlington!

On the road again…about to enter another country!

I don’t remember ever having made a car trip across the border, so this was a rather exciting moment!

Deep breaths at the border…but of course I had nothing to hide. After all, I was going to a Yoga retreat!!

The hours flew by despite my four wheels and miles and miles of highway. I was pleasantly surprised that I could occupy myself with my thoughts and not get bored!!  I strove to be present for the journey – I really wanted to experience this fully. The logistics were made simple with lots of signage and the ubiquitous Interstate roadside rest stations every 45 minutes or so, complete with fast food, washrooms and gas station. Feeling rather virtuous (did I mention I was going to a yoga retreat?), I decided to bypass the anti-foods and ate my packed lunch instead! Yup, nothing like eating clean!!

mmmm lunch!

I was thrilled to cross the border into Massachusetts. There is a particular energy in the Berkshires that permeates right to the core of my being – a sense that words don’t adequately describe, but which feels a bit like coming home (except that I got lost coming off the I-90…due to a plethora of unclear directions and a GPS that lost her voice). I drove around the side roads for awhile and eventually came upon a sight that warmed my weary traveler’s heart…

Don’t be alarmed…that was not my accommodation for the week!!

Almost there...

Ahhhh…home sweet away from home…

At Kripalu, you have the option of staying in a dormitory, a standard room (with hall bathroom) or standard plus (private bath) accommodations. I stayed in the dorm on my first visit a couple of years ago, but since this was my “birthday week”, I opted to treat myself to my own room. Very simple, but perfect (check out the view)! Near the treatment rooms, the aromas of essential oils linger in the halls, which triggered my limbic system and unearthed deep emotions for investigation.

My room.

Meals are served buffet style in the huge dining room and the Kripalu Kitchen is second to none…an absolute dream. One thing (among many) that I love about being part of a Kripalu program is the transition one makes around meal times. On the first evening, you may find yourself sitting alone if you came alone, but once you meet the other people in your class, you start to dine with them and by the end of the week, you’ve got not only a table full of people to eat with, but a table full of new friends as well. Breakfast is a silent meal, which at times I found challenging and found myself wishing I had brought a roll of duct tape to assist with the process! I more than made up for it at lunch and dinner.

Kripalu is set on acres of lovely grounds. I took a few walks while I was there, immersing myself in the tranquil surroundings…

A beautiful sundial…

…sits outside of a labyrinth where I wandered on the snow packed path among the trees.

What do you think of this? I called it Buddha on a Christmas Cake!

There were 17 people in my program…mostly certified yoga teachers, looking to expand their knowledge base, their own practice and in turn offer more to their students.

The classes were held in a beautiful space called the Sunset Room.

Tools of the trade…

Restorative yoga uses props like bolsters, blocks, blankets, straps, chairs and walls that support and stabilize the body. The postures are designed to promote relaxation, gently open the body and release deeply held tension.

Kripalu features world-class presenters who are subject matter experts in the areas of yoga, self-discovery and holistic health. Sudha was one of the finest teachers I have ever had the pleasure of studying with. Along with her extraordinary ability to be completely present with her students, her thorough knowledge of restorative yoga, she also had a great sense of humour and an interesting way of getting right down to the bare bones of the subject matter!

Supta Badha Konasana

The scene above greeted us on our last night of class and I will never think of “Supta Badha Konasana” in the same way again!

I am happy, filled full and looking forward to applying what I have learned this week.

…AND checking out the calendar for my next visit! Have a look…www.kripalu.org

Namaste

Salad rolls!

Thanks for checking out my first weekly post! Wednesdays are a perfect day to make salad rolls for dinner, for lunch or in my case for breakfast. Yum! Ready? Here we go!

Fresh stuff

Ingredients:

• 2 peeled, thinly sliced carrots, cut into 2-3 inch strips.
• 1 red pepper sliced length wise, cut into 2-3 inch strips
• 1 avocado thinly cut into 2-3 inch strips
• 2 or 3 spring onions thinly cut into 2-3 inch strips
• 1/2 English cucumber, seeded and cut into 2-3 inch strips
• 1 handful of mint-washed
• 1 handful of basil- washed
• *1/2 package thin rice vermicelli (rice noodles)
• *1 package rice paper circles.

*Both items can be found in most supermarkets.

Optional: Meat, tofu or seafood can be added to the above if desired. Today I used tofu for me and crab stick for Mike.

• 1/2 block extra firm tofu- cut and marinated for a few minutes in a splash of tamari (soy sauce) and sesame oil.
• 3 Crab sticks- pulled apart into thin strips.
• Or you could add 1 Cooked chicken breast- cut into thin strips.

Get rolling!

1. Cook and then rinse in cold water.

1.Cook your rice noodles as per the package instructions. I put mine into boiling water for about 1 minute. Rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2. Warm water

2. Put some warm water into a pan or shallow bowl and submerge your first rice paper circle for about 30 seconds then pull out gently with a spoon or a chopstick. You can also read the directions on the package but I find I always need to leave it in longer.

***Hints: This cooking time will change depending on the heat of your water. If you pull it out and it feels too hard, it needs to go in a bit longer, so submerge it again. If it feels really thin, you have left it too long and you may have issues with it tearing. You will get the hang of it with a bit of practice. I add more warm water as things go along and it gets too cold.

3. Be gentle!

3. Next place the circle on a smooth surface (I used my veggie cutting board). Get it as flat as you can- if the ends are rolling add a bit of water on your fingertips and roll it out to get it unglued.

4. Add your fillings.

4. About a 1/3 of the way down on the rice paper circle place your ingredients! Go wild with the combos but don’t overstuff it or rolling maybe an issue.

5. Cover the fillings with the top of the rice paper.

5. Now take the top part of the rice paper circle and bring it over top of you ingredients, like a little roof. Try to get the top edge of the circle to touch the base to the paper so that everything is tucked nicely inside.

6. Tuck in the sides.

6.Next, bring both of the sides of the paper in towards the middle.

7. Roll it!

7. Finally, roll the rice paper until you reach the end!

8. All done!

8. Done! Now go back to step one and do it all over again. Make them until you are out of ingredients!

9. Cut them in 1/2 if you like.

9. Cut in 1/2 and serve with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

Dip 'em!

Until next Wednesday! Happy rolling!

Where will this take me I wonder?

When I started this site last July I really had no idea where it was going. The site itself was a suitablycool experiment, taking me where it would. I would know where I was when I got there; the getting there was the adventure.

Hello there!

An opportunity to join forces with regular contributor Diana Coatsworth on her etsy shop A touch of Vintage has come along and I am going to jump on board! My love of all things vintage, scouring thrift shops and my online obsessions will have loads of room to grow in this new venture.

Vibrant violet.

What does this mean for Suitably Cool? A Weekly Wednesday post will start next week. A weekly post will make it possible to put my energies into road trips, vintage finding missions and late night shipping! I have a few new guest writers working on some exciting posts in the next few weeks so be sure to pop in!

Vintage brooches.

You can follow on suitablycool on Twitter for updates or join my RSS feed at the top of the page.

Pyrex!

And check out A TOUCH OF VINTAGE here for some really beautiful vintage fashion and decor with lots more to come in the following weeks!

Peek-a-boo.

Thank you for your all of your comments and support these last 7 months! It means the world to me. I am so lucky to have such wonderful readers!  I hope that you will continue to pop in on Wednesdays and let me know what you think!

Lovely lace.

Have a sparkling weekend!

Vic

This is what happens when you start working on your yummy “Vietnamese salad roll” post and realize you didn’t buy the proper ingredients, the avocados you did buy are not ripe and it is now 10 o’clock at night….

1.

2.

3.

4.

Pretty sure today will be better!

What do you do on a rainy grey Sunday afternoon in January? Have an “at home manicure party” with your friends of course!

My hands post renovation clean up. I left them for the big party!

I was so excited when Sarah invited me, Karen and Hinna over to spend an afternoon drinking tea, eating sweet treats and getting beautiful manicures with hand scrubs and massages last Sunday. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon catching up.

Yum!

Want to throw a manicure party? Here’s what you need to make this fun afternoon happen:

• Cookies, chocolate and another sweet treats- ask everyone to bring one thing!
• Many pots of tea.
• A great play list on the IPOD
• Tea towels or hand towels for hand drying, and for catching all the hand scrub that falls off during the massage/scrub.

Pretty colours.

• Nail polish, nail files, nail polish remover and cotton balls
• Homemade hand scrub! (Use this recipe but use brown sugar instead and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.)

Soak away the afternoon!

• Little bowls of soapy water for hand soaking
• Your friends of course!

A lovely scrub.

After much catching up and eating, we took off old nail polish, soaked our fingers in little bowls of warm soapy water, filed our nails and then gave each other hand massages with the homemade hand scrub! It was heavenly and my skin was so thankful.

Steady hands!

The next step was choosing the polish and taking turns painting each other’s nails! Sarah chose a pretty pale opalescent for me!

Much better!

We wrapped the manicures with a bit of hand cream and a promise to do it again soon. Next time it will be a hair party! Hinna is going to show me how to do those lovely French braids that wrap around the top of your head that are so popular these days! I can’t wait!

Thanks to Sarah, Hinna and Karen (and Lila the cat) for a beautiful afternoon!

FYI- I lost my camera in a pile of clothes so these pics came from my phone!

Headache grey skies again.

Does the grey weather leave you feeling a bit flat? Are you starting to daydream about April showers and yet it is only January? I have a cure for your winter blahs. The Hyacinth.

Hyacinth madness on Broadview!

Yes, the hyacinth is out in full force in sidewalk flower shops, grocery stores and even hardware stores. White, pink, purple, you chose.

Not yet in bloom!

Their intoxicating scent will announce their presence long before you see them. The heady fragrance will transport you to lush flowering fields, warm sunshine and the promise of spring. Your shoulders will drop an inch.

Springtime on a winter's day

I seem to recall Hyacinths being available at Easter most years, but here they are in January, ready to combat your rainy day blues!  Place them in a window and let the fragrance fill your house and remind you that the days are getting longer and that spring is around the corner. (Ok, the corner is a few blocks away, but you get the picture.) All this for about $6.00. Better than a trip to the spa!