Wednesday, August 31, 2011

sunshine & wine


Just finished packing for a getaway of sunshine & sipping wine with my hubby to be.  We are so looking forward to some rest and relaxation in the Okanagan.
More posts to come when we return!
xoxo


Sunday, August 21, 2011

I heart sunday mornings


"weekends don't count unless you spent them doing something completely pointless"
-annonymous

I love sundays - my favorite day of the week (hence the blog name "lovely sundays"). It's a day where you (usually) don't feel bad for unwinding, and relaxing a little. 
This week we are looking after friend's dogs, staying in their beautiful home - with a pool I might add - and pretending we're on vacation. 
Today started with a bowl of fresh fruit, greek yogurt and homemade granola. My wonderful fiance went to get me my favorite starbucks latte, which I enjoyed while flipping through magazines and checking up on pinterest. I got slightly active and took the dogs for a walk...and now the rest of my day will most likley be enjoyed reading a book poolside. 
Life would be wonderful if everyday was a sunday.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

perfect sunday & the perfect idea!

No appointments, no commitments, no plans on a sunday - perfection! 
We started out this morning with a great workout at the gym and some delicious local berries and vanilla greek yogurt for breakfast (obsessed with greek yogurt lately - it's like ice cream for breakfast). 
Then I took Marcus to a newly discovered treasure in Abbotsford - Granny & Grumpa's Antiques. It is a must see for any collector - two HUGE barns full of antiques, collector and vintage items. I discovered it early this week and picked up some milk glass, a vintage vase, some old glasses that will be perfect for holding tea lights, china serving platter, gold rimmed wine glasses and something I've been trying to find for a while - a picnic basket!

A client of mine directed me to Granny & Grumpa's when I was discussing with her my dreams for having mismatched china at our wedding. I would love to have every guest with a different piece of vintage china, instead of a boring white plate. It would probably be easy to collect enough china through family & friends, but I don't want to be responsible for any lost or stolen collectibles.
Granny & Grumpa's does not have enough china for each wedding guest, however they do have a collection of over 150 tea cups. Which they were more than happy to LOAN (yes - for free) to me for the wedding. So the plan is to have mismatched tea cups at every place setting for tea & coffee, and the head table will have mismatched china. Can't wait for this idea to come to life!
(also love this idea of mismatched dessert plates at dessert table - doing this!)
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Monday, August 8, 2011

entertaining with cheese

I need this, it is an entertaining necessity! I stumbled across a slate cheeseboard at a winery in the Okanagan a few weeks ago, but it wasn't quite the right shape. However, this cheese board from crate & barrel is perfect! I LOVE cheese, and I love the idea of having a simple cheese platter with wine for entertaining.  And the fact that I can write on it with chalk makes it even better. 



Tips for a Fabulous Cheese Course
These are tips I follow when serving cheese to guests:
 Don't overwhelm your guests with too many cheese choices - 4 different cheeses at the most
– Make your cheese board interesting with different shaped cheeses, and different flavors. Make sure to balance out mild cheeses with some strong flavors
– Cheese should not be served cold right out of the refrigerator - remove it 30 mins to an hour before you will need it. Cheese should be at room temperature when served
–Always pair cheeses with other flavors – like bread, crackers, fruit, meat & nuts
– You can dress up more mild cheeses or intensify flavors by adding honey, chutneys, nuts or fresh herbs to the cheeses ( I love goat cheese & red pepper chutney…and goat cheese & honey…pretty much goat cheese & anything)

Great accompaniments:

proscuittos & salamis
 almonds, walnuts, pecans – spiced/candied are even better
the list of fruits is endless – sundried tomatoes, apples, pears, dried apricots, figs, strawberries, grapes, fruit chutneys
sliced baguette, artisan flatbreads, water crackers, rice crackers

There really are no “rules” per say – cheese is great no matter what! And as far as pairing cheese with wine, it’s completely personal preference. I prefer most cheese with whites like a Chardonnay or Riesling – but it’s all about personal taste.
This post has made me so hungry! Can’t wait for my next excuse to create a cheese platter!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

look I'm loving: bar at home

I am super bummed that I ran out of time this week to start my next project for our place - an 'upcycled' bar. We have an old dresser that would look great with a light grey coat of paint and some new glass knobs. The dresser is going to go in our living room - it would be great for storage and the top could serve as a bar. I already have some vintage decanters and gold polk-a-dot cocktail glasses that are waiting for the perfect place.  Here's some inspiration to get this project kick started!
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a fun afternoon in the city.

Friday was a fantastic end to my 2 weeks of holidays. 
Marcus & I spent the morning doing engagement photos, which I can't stop thinking about..I am counting down the hours until we get a sneak peek from our photographer
Then I went downtown to visit my friend Danae (who is moving back to the 'country' in a week!).  We had lunch at giovanes at the fairmont pacific rim. This latte is the best I've had since europe. I highly recommend this cute little italian bistro & wine bar. We ate delicious lucchese paninis and yummy berry fruit salad. 

After snapping a few pics at canada place we took a short walk along the sea wall.
Such a seriously beautiful city. We don't get out to Vancouver as often as I'd like. My goal by the end of the summer is to rent some fun cruiser bikes and do the sea wall with Marcus. Let's see if we can fit that into our busy August!