Seeing red...

The past weekend is a bit of a blur...

We went out on Friday night to The Oak Bay Beach Hotel pub for a quick bite and stayed up late watching the TV so we slept in on Saturday morning and had a lazy start to the day.
I went to browse the local Target store...aka "the RED STORE" as Isla calls it...
sadly they are closing all the Canadian stores and I am so very disappointed.
I have shopped there more than any other retailer since they opened. I purchased all kinds of things from...toys, bedding, clothes for the grandchildren, kitchen tools, linens, pillows, candles, home decor items to cards and books.

Sunday we had the grandchildren over for a visit and served up some comforting tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with ketchup...
Henry and Isla both love to chase the cats around our bungalow and they laugh and squeal with delight...
the cats are not used to this pace and got wise to the game and made a hasty retreat downstairs and stayed there until they left.
Grammy and Grampa had a super fun time!

I made a pot roast for dinner...

It's the easiest recipe ever...

I served it with parsnips, carrots, peas and "gravy" made from the cooking stock thickened with a bit of cornstarch mixed with water.

It was just the two of us for dinner but we lit the candles and sat at the dining room table...

not quite Downton Abbey but civilized nevertheless!

OOTD

Lands' End tunic in black and white stripes

Nygaard ponte knit pants

Mee Too black ballet flats

I have wanted to find red shoes to add some pizazz to my small shoe collection

so when I ordered the Thermacore capris from Lands' End I ordered some red ballet flats.

Harvest Tomato is the name of the shade of the Bianca flats...

They look nice with our kitchen rug...

In the style of the iconic Repetto's from France...

and as a bonus they are currently on sale so they are "budget friendly."

I'm wearing them to French class 

OOTD

 g21 denim skinny jeans

Dex grey bulky knit sweater 

 Burberry scarf.

I'm feeling more energetic and incredibly optimistic today

and Hooray for the sunshine!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

The best laid plans...

Sometimes even with the best laid plans...things beyond our control can necessitate change, which fortunately can be fixed for a price...
After the Paris tour I am going to visit friends in the Midi Pyrenees and have purchased my train ticket but it turns out that I cannot return to Paris on that same train as they are performing annual maintenance on the tracks so the two days that I would have opted to travel I am unable to go by train...so I have called my travel agent to see what she can do to get me on a flight back to Paris or change my flight home.
Fingers crossed she can make it work.

"Planning a trip" just like in life, one needs to be flexible, patient, and not expect that "everything" will go according to plan!

Thank you all for the constructive advice and feedback on my Paris wardrobe...
"3 weeks in a carry on" the first list of things I thought that I would take with me.
I have amended my list already!
I've ordered some light capri length underthings from Lands' End from their thermaskin line and I am pretty sure that...unless the weather forecast drastically changes, the sandals are staying home and my Barbour vest is coming with me!

I've decided to take a long sleeved black dress wrap style instead of the sleeveless Banana Republic dress and may or may not take the print dress...I think my basic look will be black pants or jeans with a tee or a tank and a cashmere sweater, vest and scarf, short boots and trench coat.
I think I'll pack a beret as well as my "texting gloves" and umbrella.

I bought some packing cubes and will use a few of them.

The local pharmacy has been a great source for small sizes of Avene face cleanser, moisturizer, serum, masks and the La Roche Posay 60 spf sunscreen

I've also found wee bottles of Tylenol, hand sanitizer and toiletries.

Zip Loc bags will be used for the liquids and I'll pop in a couple of extra

 just in case my laundry does not dry in time.

I've got several lists in my file with a few more things to find.

 A light Fossil black leather cross body bag was purchased at the consignment shop.

 I will put that inside my Longchamp bag.

I've been so immersed online checking out things to see and do, reading blogs and checking out Pinterest that time has flown by...

 It was way past my lunchtime by the time hunger pangs started so I whipped up an easy egg burrito and brewed a pot of Lapsang Souchon tea.

It tasted delicious.

I was satisfied with the taste and the way it looked.

 (within my daily WW point count)

Tea Time...one of the joys of my afternoon routine.

which is great because the Country Living UK awaits

and Louise Penny's The Beautiful Mystery is on the table too.

Now which one shall I read?

Thoughts and comments are welcome...

you are helping me SO MUCH!

January, and it's an opportunity to start fresh.

The month of January brings with it opportunities to change a habit or start something new.

It feels like anything is possible...a clean slate and a fresh start await.

A tidy home and garden are on my radar.

My goal is to tackle one job each day so that I don't get overwhelmed and give up!

I spent several hours cleaning up our medicine drawer and I am embarrassed to confess that there were lotions, salves, pills and cold remedies that were expired as far back as 2010!

I bagged them all up and took them to our local pharmacy for recycling.

These pharmaceuticals are toxic and should not be thrown away in the regular garbage.

I've also been eating far too much and some of my choices have not been Weight Watcher Point Friendly items!

So it's time to get back on track...

I'm not beating myself up either, nor should I.

Thin crust and delicious...but I ate too much of it.

Caesar Salad

Bouillabaise 

Lemon Meringue Cake!

and bubbly....

I recently bought a slow cooker and made some homemade beans from scratch...

I want to make some soups and stews in the cooker.

 The idea of starting dinner early and having dinner cook throughout the day and be ready without much fuss appeals to me...

(especially when I am tacking the closets and doing some "deeper cleaning" projects)

I've gone through all my books and donated more than half of them...

I've kept my favourites.

I plan on re-reading Debra's book before I go to Paris.

I read Jennifer L. Scott's blog and I quite enjoy her books. She is hard at work on her third book.

On a recent blog post she discussed cutting out distractions at home...

I am so easily distracted so I was interested in what she had to say...

you can read her thoughts here.

I received this book last year for my birthday from a good friend and have made a few of the recipes.

Soups are a great way to use up leftovers and stretch the budget...

I like to make them on a cold blustery day...

while I am busy chopping I like to be quiet and mindful

and if there are any leftovers they are good for lunches and can easily be frozen for future use.

I had all the ingredients for this soup on hand...

it's a rich and comforting soup 

but it's a little high on the WW Point Scale.

Yummy

I know it's January because the Snowdrops are blooming.

Have you got any projects on the back burner?

Are you editing your wardrobe, cleaning out closets, bagging up donations for the charity shops?

Perhaps you embarking on some self improvement, taking a new class or are trying some new recipes.

"New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change."

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

A rhapsody in blue...OOTD

Blue and white are a complimentary pairing, indeed they are a happy marriage.
Antique Chinese and English porcelain come to mind as does the iconic classic Blue Willow patterns which were mass produced by so many companies over the years.

This beautiful planter was a gift from the son of Mrs. Plant,

she was a former owner and resident of The Humble Bungalow

this wee antique bowl is so thin you can almost see throught it...

I know nothing about it except to say that it called out to me when I was perusing the tables at an antue and collectible show.

I've collected these Ball Sealers for the past few years...

it's the soft shade of blue that attracts me to these jars.

Trees were painted cobalt blue in this downtown plaza...

I captured this image on a Seattle trip a few years ago.

The Chihuly Gardens in Seattle...

right below The Space Needle!

It's a wonderful place to visit and view many of Chihuly's glass masterpieces.

A gorgeous blue necklace at the jewelers in the lobby of The Empress Hotel.

Harumi Ota porcelain.

Harumi lives in Victoria and sells his work at The Eclectic Gallery and at The Moss Street Market.

Downtown Victoria sidewalk display

Looking out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington State is in the distance.

Wee heart shaped art glass paperweight....

Grape and wood hyacinths, a spring time bouquet in a matte white jug, a gift from my bestie.

Hydrangeas

White vintage compotes.

Blue hydrangeas

playing with paint...

Macarons at Bon Macaron on Broad Street in Victoria.

My favourite outfit of all time is a simple one...

Blue Jeans and a White top.

OOTD

accessorized simply with pearls and an armful of sterling bangles

Do you have a favourite outfit?

One that you feel totally at ease wearing and can see yourself taking it to a desert island with you?

Wendy McLeod MacKnight's recent post inspired me to write this one today...

go over and say Hi and please tell her that I sent you!

A Rhapsody in Blue....

Thank you for stopping by....