ben harper video

Love the simplicity of the In The Colours video.

eko jewelry

Looking for sophisticated, stylish, extraordinary jewelry? You must check out eko on Queen St. W in downtown Toronto. The store has recently been redesigned. Its slick museum-like layout makes it easy for guests to walk the entire perimeter of the store admiring the small pieces of art. All of the pieces are by amazing designers such as Alexis Bittar, Dana Kellin, Jeanne Payer and Anthony Nak (to name a few!).

Yesterday, I picked up a pair of super-duper Alexis Bittar lucite hoop earrings. It was difficult to choose between white or blue lucite. The blue was almost electric and looked amazing against dark hair. However, when it came down to crunch time I chose the white pair!

P.S. They're hoping to receive a new Alexis Bittar shipment next month.

farm fresh dining in port dalhousie

Port Dalhousie is home to the world's greatest frozen yogurt, bars that allow underage drinking and a fabulous new restaurant called Treadwell. We had the most delicious meal a few nights ago. J enjoyed a smoked trout appetizer that was complete with cavier and a quail's egg and I had a savoury carmelized onion tart topped with pecans. Our main courses were equally delicious...beef short rib and pickeral. Both included chanterelle mushrooms on the side. For dessert, it was a Canadian-focused cheese plate and a fresh raspberry tart.

The most important part of Treadwell was the farm to cuisine theory. Most, if not all, of the menu items were designed around a local element. For example, the pickeral was from Lake Erie, the raspberries were from Whitty Farms and the beef was from Cumbrae Farms.

The wine list is compiled of mostly Niagara wines. It's an extensive and awesome list. We talked to the Sommelier/Owner and decided to order wine by the glass so that we could properly complement the meal. Wines at our table included a Thirteenth Street Brut, Charles Baker @ Stratus Reisling, 2005 Daniel Lenko Merlot, Mountain Road Winery Chardonnay and two very special glass of Daniel Lenko Late Harvest Vidal.

If you're ever in the area, be sure to make a reservation. You'll be guarenteed a wonderful meal with fantastic wines and view of the water.

giddy up

Research indicates that our favourite musician, Mr. Ben Harper, is planning a small venue tour. Who wants to go where?

ldv

Last night was a whole lotta fun. We went to a little restaurant in Detroit called La Dolce Vita. LDV was in a sketchy neighbourhood off Woodward near McNichols. But once we valeted the car and got a prime table on the patio, it was absolutely enchanting. The food is nothing to write home about but the wine and the company were perfect. And, the ceasar salad (made table side) was the second-best ceasar salad that I've ever had. The Blue Mermaid still takes the cake. Apparently, the best night to go is Tuesday because of a DJ named John. Apparently, "they" were right. We had a great time and we'll definitely return.

easy saturday night summer meal...

Ingredients:





half a bag of organic brown rice penne


half a bag of fresh peas (find in the produce section of Zehrs)


container of grape tomatoes


lean prosciutto (omit if you're a veg or kosher)


2 tablespoons of chopped garlic


olive oil


parmesean cheese


handful of fresh chopped basil





What to do:

1. Follow the instructions below while the pasta is boiling for approximately 10 minutes


2. Heat oil in large pan on medium-high


3. Add the garlic


4. Let sizzle for a few moments


5. Add grape tomatoes


6. Stir around and cook for about 5 minutes


7. Add the peas


8. Stir around


9. Add the prosciutto


10. Stir around


11. When ready remove pasta and rinse in cold water


12. Put pasta and tomato mixture in a large bowl


13. Toss with grated parmesean cheese and top with fresh basil

Serves 2 hungry people or 4 not-so-hungry people.

who knew that sales were so much fun?!?!

I've never been much of a sales shopper but yesterday gave me a new perspective. I went to Sommerset Mall to get some anti-wrinkle cream (pathetic but preventative!) and stumbled upon the last of Neiman Marcus' summer sale. WOW! I tried on a slew of items from Theory, Nanette Lepore, Milly and more. But I left with three fabulous purchases from the MARC by Marc Jacobs collection. It was very fun. Everything was marked down plus you got an extra 25% off.

The best part about my new garments is that they're freaking cool. My favourite item is this dress that has a prairie-kinda feel to it. It will look great with brown leather wedges or maybe even brown boots in the fall. Not sure where I'm going to wear it, but I'm gonna wear it a lot!