hello bitter kitty

let it snow let it snow let it snow

It's the first snowfall of the season. Everything was softly blanketed, peacefully quiet and sparkling in the beautiful sun. We put on our toques, played in the snow, had chili & hot chocolate, and now we are ready to sip some delicious wine by the fire with friends. The perfect kick off to the season. 

Here's a photo of Molly defrosting inside after her fun in the snow: 

The Girl Effect

I can't watch the video above without tearing up. It's the image of all of these hands, grabbing at a little girl, removing all control from her life that does me in. Not only does the video remind me of how truly lucky I am to be born in Canada, but it puts a fire in me to make a difference.

Let's do something.

We all are holding these lottery tickets. We were born into countries where we are privileged to receive education. We have opportunities. We have choices. We have freedoms. We have rights.
We go about our daily lives, caught up in our own stories, but don't often think about the other side of the world.
Think of the 600 million girls living in developing countries right now. If they don't have education to back them up, chances are high that they'll be married off before they are 18.  Then there's the staggering statistic that medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death for girls between 15-19. 70% of the world's school dropouts are girls. But this cycle can be broken.  Research shows that when girls receive an education, they marry later, they stay healthy and HIV negative, they have fewer children and have them later in life, they earn wages, put money back into their family and their children have higher survival rates.....

Let's do something.


Click here to find out how you can easily donate to help break the cycle.

For more information, please check out this website: The Girl Effect

This is just one girl's story, but I think it speaks for millions......

seattle

Did you notice that the shadows in the last photo are graffiti?


We drove to Seattle for the weekend to catch comedian Louis CK at the Moore Theatre.  His brilliant act had me laughing so hard I lost my breath. Best. Feeling. Ever. The house was packed to the rafters with knee-slappin, ovation-standing fans.  If you have a chance to see him live, do. It's a treat. For a list of his tour dates, please click here.

With the Canadian dollar at par, the visit was perfectly timed. Seattle is such a wonderfully walkable city with a steady flow of amazing talent continuously filling its local venues. You've got to go. We had so much fun wandering around Pike Place market, dining in great restaurants, kickstarting our Christmas shopping, spending quality facetime with friends and discovering so many reasons why we adore all that Seattle has to offer.

Great restaurants we would recommend from our weekend:
Boka - funky dinner spot - great cocktails & hip atmosphere
Purple Cafe - delicious food - mind blowing wine list (over 50 pages)
Portage Bay - wonderful yummy organic brunch - get there early - they are popular (for good reason)

ps - Sam (Seattle Art Museum) is currently showing a Picasso exhibit until Jan 17th, 2011. It is the first showing of his work in the Northwest. The exhibit was sold out when we were visiting, but tickets can be purchased in advance: here.

I love the delicious crunch of autumn leaves under my boots...

15 minutes

some great finds this weekend...

Fantastic Blog: Paris versus New York. A Tally of Two cities. Prints will be available soon. A simple concept executed brilliantly. Find the blog here.

Documentary: Exit through the Gift Shop An eccentric shopkeeper/passionate film maker (Thierry Guetta) pieces together amazing footage of graffiti artists - including renowned British street artist Banksy.  But when Banksy turns the camera turns back on Guetta, and he has joined the ranks of the very subjects he filmed, we are forced to wonder....when it comes to art, when do the lines start to blur between what is real and what is hype?