Tomorrow is also J’s dad’s birthday and I’ll be making a triple-chocolate fudge cake for him, with the help of Princess of course! Whenever I am about to bake something, J and Princess both make the request that whatever it is contains as much chocolate as possible – and I happily oblige. Who am I to disagree?

Also, I just need to share that I’ve been having a terrific hair week. And that is always something to shout about!

xoxo

Fab Brunette

Things to be happy about:

Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks

Wellies

Umbrellas

Scarves

Colourful leaves

 Cozy fireplaces

And also: smores, french onion soup, ankle boots, watching movies while cuddling, sleeping in, blankets, slippers, candlelight, cool breezes coming in through the window, dramatic nail polish, tights, and Serendipity.

What are some things you are looking forward to?

xoxo

Fab Brunette

{images via weheartit.com}

I’m working a wedding this weekend, which I am so excited for! The bride is beautiful and it is a mixed ethnicity wedding which  makes things so interesting – I adore learning about different cultures and their traditions, and there is no better way than actually being a part of the festivities!

J’s parents are coming down this weekend. His mom and dad actually decided to drive down from Ontario all the way to British Columbia, and as they left last Saturday we were expecting them either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week – except that the vehicle they were driving broke down in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Where the heck is that? I have no clue. Regardless, after their 4th day haggling with the mechanic, waiting for parts and putting it all back together, they should finally arrive this Sunday.

His dad is actually moving down here, isn’t that amazing? (Backstory: his parents are split up and both remarried, kinda, but after so many years have passed they are very good friends still, isn’t it amazing? and a little weird?) He’s going to spend a few months here with us before finding a house to move his whole family into! J’s mother will be staying for a little less than a month, but it’ll be fun with her down here, even for a bit!

We will also be turning a piece of dead space in our home into an office. We have a closet which in “condo language” qualifies as a den. Of course, a single bed would not even fit in here and it has always been used as a junk closet. Literally. I would put garbage bags in there when I was too lazy to bring it down. I’ve since cleaned it out, the bike is gone, the rubbish is gone, and anything worth keeping has been stored in our bed (we have one of those storage beds now), and I’m ready to create an office!

A trip to Ikea is definitely in need and if it’s any good when finished, I will definitely show you guy some pix!

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I hope that where ever you are, you are having an amazing weekend!

xoxo

Fab Brunette

ps. What are your plans for the weekend?

pps. All pictures via weheartit.com.

I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days. I’m not quite sure why, but according to J he believes the 4 teas a day habit I’ve recently procured might have something to do with it. Along with the morning Starbucks and some Green & Black’s, I could see his point. When I’m tired, I get very very very grumpy. I yell at everyone. I told them all to stay away from me. After three nights of not being able to sleep, I finally gave in. No more caffeine.

Let’s just say it was more than a little difficult. By 5 pm I was ready for bed. I did everything I could do to NOT make myself a tea or a coffee. I took a shower, blowdryed my hair, and finally felt a bit better. Fell asleep before 10 pm and awoke this morning refreshed, with a smile on my face and ready to take on the world!

My morning was spent baking cupcakes. Filling cupcakes. Frosting cupcakes. Decorating cupcakes.

When I was finished I rushed around trying to get ready for my tasting appointment. Did my hair in rollers, only to shove it into a high ponytail when it was all done. Dressed Princess presentably with bows in her hair since the sitter cancelled. Took pictures of my cupcakes.

And then I went to meet my appointment. And I sat there, ordered my Americano, decaf please. And sat there. Out of habit I started checking my blackberry for emails and messages, and then I went through the emails I had with the tasting appointment, and realised I didn’t have a phone number to reach them, and they were also late.

My mind started going a little crazy. Were they skipping out on me? Had I made all these cupcakes and now being stood up? I waited, tapping my foot impatiently, sipping on my decaf coffee. I re-read all the emails to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I even emailed her.

And then it hit me.

The appointment was for September 2nd. Today is the 1st. I had put the appointment in my phone incorrectly.

Swallowing my pride and my hot coffee, I quickly took my large box of cupcakes back up to my apartment, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

xoxo

Fab Brunette

 As much as I adore summer with its’ open-toed pumps and strappy sky-high heels, when I feel that brisk wind coming through my windows, I know that boot season has returned! Here in Vancouver the summer has been short – yet fabulous! – and fall is indeed having its first few days of breezy loveliness. Leaves are certainly starting to change colour and slowly, but surely, are gathering in piles and along street curbs. Here are some of my favourite booties from this season, which are your favourites?

xoxo

Fab Brunette

ps. For a full list of designers and boots, click here.

I never travel without my diary, one should always have something sensational to read in the train.

- Oscar Wilde

{image via weheartit.com}

She was in New York again, determined to “make it” – for the third time in her life. Only this time, she had found love. A love that made her believe that she and New York were meant to be after all.

Trevor was a writer who she had met at the Starbucks on the corner, between their two buildings.

He would go there to write, and watch people, and get inspired – inspiration which he was constantly lacking.

Juliana would go there for the free WiFi, since she couldn’t afford it after charging her new MAC Airbook to her sole Visa card. She would go to Starbucks and look at celeb gossip, checking out Gawker and what else there was to do in the seemingly busy city.

This time she had been in Manhattan for no more than two months, working as a shop girl at an independent clothing designer’s boutique. The city seemed to swirl like crazy all around her, but she had yet to be sucked in – instead she watched stolen cable on her 27″ flat screen, set up crazy outfits for work the following day, and went to Starbucks, which was, ironically, consistently packed with people, all who said not more than two words to each other – “Seat taken?” – and even that was sometimes drowned out by the incessant ‘klickey-klack’ of keyboards on laptops.

To be so entirely surrounded and yet feel so disturbingly displaced from it all made Juliana a little angry and a little hopeless.

When she finished reading the latest gossip, checking the latest fashion shows on Style.com, and even reading random blogs from old classmates on Facebook – she would people watch. Juliana often sat there, waiting for life to happen, and then it just did.

She saw Trevor. A dark-haired, blue-eyed man, who kept glimpsing over his laptop to look at her.

At first she was freaked out, imagining a stalker-like scenario, but then he lifted his head, smiling at her, showing off his perfect teeth and chiseled features. After a few minutes of stealing glances, he closed his computer and left when she wasn’t looking.

She considered jumping out of her seat and chasing after him, but didn’t want to appear desperate. A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality and a ‘Seat taken?’ took her right back up to the heavens.

Trevor bought them another round of coffees – his a Tall Americano, her a Skinny Vanilla Latte – and she suddenly felt alive. She felt a connection with someone other than a computer screen and it was exhilarating.

He was 28, a published author working on his second book, raised in New York – Upper East Side, but needed to a find a more ‘real’ scene, so he moved down to Greenwich Village. He used to play piano, doesn’t watch much TV, and spends his weekends walking in the city, discovering places.

Juliana knew it was love at first sight. And although she didn’t confess her TV-obsessed, non-reading, hermit-like ways to this sexy artist, she did tell him about her job and her two previous apartments in New York. And when she started ranting about something irrelevant, which is what she did when she was nervous, he touched her hand ever so softly and asked if she wanted to go somewhere to eat.

They walked half a block with their cute messenger bags in tow – his a beaten up brown leather, hers was a pink Juicy Couture – and she thought they must have looked like a real couple to the strangers around them.

They arrived at a shabby chic Mexican place that Juliana passed on her way to work. During the day the noticeably peeling paint, mismatched colorful furniture and broken door looked downright gringy and ghetto. But at night, with colorful string lights, candles scattered on all the tables, and the smell of good cooking in the air, the Mexican place looked cute, romantic and cozy.

Sharing nachos, fajitas and a pitcher of sangria, Juliana swore to Trevor that she would read his book, her first in 3 years, and he swore he would start watching MTV – just to stay pop-culturally current, for his “material”.

The drunken sloppy kisses started when the check arrived, her Juicy bag felt so heavy she made him carry both their bags while he groped her walking down the sidewalk to his building. The building was two blocks away from hers, a five story walk-up of which they climbed to the fourth floor.

He fumbled with his keys while she kissed him as passionately as she could. When he finally got his door unlocked they fell into his apartment – dark, and smelling of coffee, Chinese food and vanilla (thanks to Glade Plug-ins found throughout the place she would later discover).

They eventually made it to his bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, with a mountain of pillows and a cozy duvet which landed on the floor. Their lovemaking was passionate, lengthy, and very satisfying. Jiliana hadn’t made love in ages, and this made the wait worthwhile. Trevor was attentive, intuitive, and made her orgasm four times.

They fell asleep all over each other, literally a tangle of limbs, sweaty and exhausted.

When she awoke she felt enlightened. This only happens in the movies, she thought to herself with a smile. Meeting in a coffee shop, a lovers tryst, one that you could only dream about in Paris, a city full of romance, and not in New York, a city full of cynicism, failed idealism, and those drifting, like herself, waiting to be found.

Now awake, she heard the shower running and she was alone in bed. She suddenly felt shy – she was nude, and the large windows all through his apartment let in so much daylight she felt exposed, as if people could be watching from the outside.

She scrambled around his apartment trying to find her clothes, her bra was hanging gleefully off of a lamp in the corner, her pants were found scrunched up on the sofa, and she mistook her sweater for a sweet little area rug by the doorway. When she gathered up her clothes and quickly threw them on, she noticed there was a sudden quiet in the apartment, and she realised that the shower had stopped running.

And then there he was. Trevor was in the doorway, his hair wet, a towel wrapped around his waist and a smirk on his face.

“Did you find your clothes alright?”

Juliana nodded, and noticed a weird feeling creeping up behind her, an uneasy feeling that she attempted to shake off, even just temporarily. Trevor made her coffee, he actually used a coffee grinder and the glossy high-tech machine and made her the best tasting latte she’d ever had. And then she realized what that feeling was.

She suddenly felt like this was all too good to be true. She’d been in New York twice before this, her last sexual encounter was with a busboy at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, and she heard so many stories about love in New York – most specifically that it doesn’t exist. In one single night she had fallen for a man so amazing, so romantic, so sexy, but what if it was all fluff? A dream? What if when she goes back to her apartment and her heart gets broken again and she’s left alone, again?

She shrugged away the feeling yet again and put down her latte. Trevor walked her two and a half blocks to her apartment, and she was surprisingly calm. They held hands, he even kissed her before she went up to her place.

She wasn’t sure what this would lead to. She wasn’t sure about Trevor or the future or love. She looked in the mirror with happiness, and walked to work with a kick in her step. All she knew was that she didn’t feel alone anymore. Someone had found her.

And that was the only sure thing that mattered.

With cupcakes appearing on this blog again, I’m sure you might have some questions… all will be revealed in a future post! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Fab Brunette

Most mornings I wake up alone. J wakes up early for work, leaving anytime as early as 5:30 am sometimes, but usually closer to 7 am, and so I wake up alone. Sprawled out. In a deep slumber. I believe I get the most sleep out of those wee morning hours, stretched as far as I can go, all four pillows belonging to me, the duvet becomes my own cocoon and I’m at peace with the world. It’s also when I dream them most – I had the best dream the other day (Robert Pattinson & Jonathan Rhys-Meyers were both in it!) and it was in the morning….

This morning J slept in. Well, not exactly slept in because his alarm went off every 30 minutes on his phone from 5:30 this morning, but we lay there, awake and talking. We rarely have a moment of peaceful talking. It’s either work talk, or boring day convos, or ‘which movie are we watching?’ talk, or gossip, or complaints, or ‘what are we going to eat tonight?’ talk.

But this morning was different, and it was nice to just talk and giggle and just be.

AND we made a decision.

We’ve decided on a lifestyle change. A few months ago we were losing weight, excercising, and eating  healthy. And theennnn….. we fell off the band wagon, incorporated more eating, more drinking, more cake! And, faster than I’d like to admit, we gained everything back. We can’t even believe that we’re here again. We were almost at our goals and we blew it all for a few bites of pizza and some extra wine at night. And everytime we were wanting to get back on track, something would deter us. Either family visits or celebrations or we were too busy – excuses! excuses!

Have you ever tried to lose weight with your significant other? It is hard. It’s not just yourself you have to keep in check (your own cravings and laziness) but anothers. Everytime J would call and ask what’s for dinner, I would tell him: chicken and veggies. And he would go on about how he already ate something ‘bad’ today and why not just order pizza. I would say no. Then he would say, oh gawd chicken is so boring. And I would relent. Or it would be the other way around. I would be the one badgering him into eating cupcakes or brownies.

It’s not enough for just one person to want to lose weight. And I am definitely no picture-perfect housewife that lives off salads while her man eats enough for a family of 4. We both want to do it.

And it finally feels like it might stick.

xoxo

Fab Brunette

PS. What does your morning routine look like?

1 year ago: It Feels Like A Countdown

I was up late last night, not partying it up with Lady Gaga at her after party (but thanks to twitter for all the reminders that I am seriously lacking in a proper social life), I was thinking. I was fueled by one too many freshly baked cookies – I was cleaning my kitchen, catching up on mountains of laundry, finishing up paperwork, all the while watching the Sex and the City movie – and I was thinking.

The window was open, the night air was cool and I could feel autumn coming. You know that feeling? It’s not quite cold out but there’s this feeling in the breeze and you know that any day now you will wake up to gold, bronze and red leaves, that crunch beneath your feet and thick scarves wrapped around your neck.

I think that my favourite season in Vancouver is fall. In New York City and Toronto I adore the snowy winters, in Montreal I prefer the summer, and I’ll take any season in Paris (except for August, that’s when everyone leaves Paris for vacation anyway). The summer in Vancouver is absolutely gorgeous, the weather is amazing and there’s so much to do.  But I was thinking about autumn last night, and I realised…

I’ve been in Vancouver for almost a year now. I moved here last October. Time passes quickly, more quickly with every year, but it’s been a wonderful year so far, and I’m just looking forward to see what else comes my way!

xoxo

Fab Brunette

1 Year Ago: What Should I Do?