My Housefit

You would think, wouldn't you boys and girls, that a person like myself would seize their non-work-shirt-wearing days by the shoulders and shake the style out of them eh?

Well, you would (sometimes) be incorrect in that line of thought.  Every once and a while I don't pop off to Montreal for twenty-four hours - like I did last week - and just stay home.  Take today, for example.  I slept late, had breakfast with my mother while she was home for lunch, finally finished watching Downton Abbey, and did a bit of light reading.  And on days like that,  I don't want to be putting on anything other than my housefit.

This housefit comes in many forms, but the standard outlines are leggings (don't tell anyone!), comfy shirt, big ol' sweater, nice warm slippers, and mane tamed.  This incarnation is particularly lovely as the shirt is very baggy and very soft and the sweater I've had forever and is absolutely perfectly worn in.

Just add couch, foxy neck pillow, book, and a lamp and you have the recipe for a very successful lazy day off!

Much along the lines of A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson moves through the rooms of the house to give a quite charming history of how and why the home is what we have today

This lil' guy also has one of them magic bags in him, so you can microwave your fox for added comfort, haha

I got a new eye-shadow palette, which is perfect for when you wanna wear makeup but don't wanna look like you're wearing make-up.  Oftentimes, being a lady is silly.

Room with a View: postcards from the Imperial War Museum in London and postcards from Bristol, dried roses from years ago and a messy, messy closet

Sweater - thrifted ages ago
Shirt - H&M
Leggings - hand-me-down American Apparel
Slippers - Forever 21
Neck Pillow - one of those weird gifts adults give to each other
Book - borrowed from my mother's collection

But worry not!  I only do this on my days off.  And when I get home from work.  And when it's raining.  And probably I should wash all these clothes. . . .

Happy vegging!

Love,

Your friend Lina  

Winter Again

So as everyone has noticed it this neck of the woods, but it's winter again boys and girls!

To accompany the blustery wind and blowing snow, I've also busted out this old scarf of mine.  I made probably about two or three years ago now, but it is the warmest, stretchiest, most cozy thing I own.  That plus this over-the-knee socks makes this resurgent cold totally bearable.

All these dark, blue, and wintry pieces also put me in mind of a very good friend of mine who frequents this palette as much as I frequent black with punches of red or leopard print.  So a tribute to her as well as a tribute to practicality!

Scarf - Hand-made
Cardigan - Primark
Shirt - Joe Fresh
Skirt - Forever 21
Tights - Joe Fresh
Socks - American Apparel
Ring - Gift from my cousin

Lots of varients herein will be donned in the next little while, I can assure you boys and girls!

Also, I promise that I will soon address the wonderment that was Ottawa Fashion Week.  I'm also going to have a fun announcement in the next few weeks as well!

Keep warm boys and girls!

Love, 

Your friend Lina 

Twice Cooked

These little puppies were the talk of the season 'round these parts, boys and girls.

I decided that my contribution to the Christmas baking was going to be some biscotti, and I was going to do one savory and one sweet.  I expected to like the savory black pepper and parmesan biscotti much more than these chocolate orange pecan ones, but the opposite was true.  Where the parmesan ones never had quite the crispness that I wanted, these sweet concoctions were perfect every time.  They're just the right amount of hard, without being the pieces of shrapnel that will tear apart your mouth, they melt perfectly in coffee or hot chocolate, they keep well, and they're pretty easy to make.  I would seriously recommend trying them next time you've got a few hours free and want something to impress.  Either yourself, or guests.  If you must.

I just adore my mom's Kenwood "Chef", from the fifties.  With only a few mild tune-ups from over the years it's still the best mixer we own.  I've told my parents that this exact piece of hearty machinery is what I want my wedding present to be from them!

Perfection!

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (I used Tripe Sec)

1 tablespoon grated orange peel (basically just the rind of a whole orange)

1 cup pecans, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped

6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, chopped

I didn't actually end up using this Suisse chocolate, but I'm sure they'd be equally good with a bit of nougatty goodness too.

Directions:

Stir your flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using your electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in large bowl to blend.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the orange liqueur and orange peel. Add the flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in your chopped toasted pecans (I dry-fried mine cause I don't know how else to toast a pecan) and chopped chocolate. Divide your dough in half, wrapping each in plastic.  Freeze your little packages for twenty minutes to firm. Now you can preheat your oven to 350°F.

Orange-y goodness going in.

The addition of chopped chocolate and toasted chopped pecans.

Just a few turns of the mixer and there you have it!

All snug as some bugs in some rugs.

Using floured hands, form each package of dough into 14-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them two inches apart. Bake until light golden, about thirty minutes. Transfer parchment with logs to a cooling rack and let them cool for twenty minutes. Turn the oven down to 300°F. 

Ball-parking it should do it, there's no need for them to be too pretty or too uniform.

When your logs are cool, transfer them to a big cutting board and using serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into half-inch-thick slices. Stand slices upright back on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining log. 

Slice and slice and slice.  It is your privilege to eat the ends and any pieces that don't maintain their structural  integrity.

Arrange nicely and then cram in whatever's left.

Bake again (biscotti means twice cooked, your fun fact for the day!) for about thirty minutes. Cool completely on rack.  While they're cooling, make a pot of coffee.  Devour whilst dipping into said coffee.  

To be consumed preferably three-at-a-time.

 There you have it boys and girls!  Simple, delicious, and arguably acceptable as part of this complete breakfast.  Enjoy!  And let me know how they turn out for you if you try them.  Variations too!

Love,

Your friend Lina

 

Canada is for Parkas

If Paris is for lovers, then Ottawa is for Parka-wearers, boys and girls.

I mean, I'm sure there are lots of romantics in Ottawa too.  But it's hard to express those feelings when it's -20 and colder outside, you know what I'm saying?  Doesn't matter if you're in Paris, Ottawa, or the blend-of-the-two, Quebec City, that I'm in in these pictures.

So this, boys and girls, is my parka.  It's like wearing a sleeping bag.  Which is more necessary and less cumbersome than you would imagine.

I had a red one a few years back that had mange on the hood, the stuffing all fell to the bottom, and the zipper was broken.  Which meant I had to step in and out of it.  And can I tell you, that's pretty hard to do in a giant lecture hall.

Through the grace of good friends who bought fancier coats, I inherited this beauty to replace ol' red.  The hood is still in furry glory, the stuffing is where it's supposed to be, and the zipper does as I tell it.  It's a very good little parka, and in exchange for my fondness, it keeps me warm when mother nature is telling you not to go outside.

So warm that you don't even need a scarf or hat!  Now that's a COAT.

Take that, mother nature.  I don't listen to nobody, not no how.

Homage to my friend Clara

Hooray for fur-lined hoods!

I love cannons.  And matching the relief on my parka.

I also love Winston Spencer Churchill.

Because we look the same.

Parka - Hand-me-down from a friend
Mittens - Church rummage sale
Tights - two pairs, American Apparel
Boots - foolish of me, should have brought my Sorels, Chinese Laundry

So don't go outside without one, boys and girls.  Together, we can enjoy winter!

Love,

Your friend Lina