warm kale salad

I bought kale for the first time last week. Low and behold, it's delicious and easy to cook with - who knew!? Clearly not me, pretty disappointed in myself that I waited so long to buy some! 

I sauteed shallots with garlic, then added in apple and red pepper and threw in the kale at the last minute - homemade croutons finished the side dish off. Having only flash fried it, the kale still had great texture and went well with all the flavors we combined with it. 

Kale has quickly become a household favorite and I'm looking forward to cooking with it more. Are you a kale fan? What are your go-to kale recipes?

finding vivian maier

As someone who loves art, photography and all things visual - this documentary looks amazing. Can you imagine finding a hidden treasure like this! It would be the ultimate jackpot. I'd be so interesting to get a look into Vivian's life from her point of view. I'm most definitely interested in seeing this!

Watch the trailer HERE.

palm desert, ca

Although it's two weeks past now, the memories from California are still fresh in my mind. The palm trees, highway drives in the convertible, warm sunshine, swimming, afternoon beers - vacation is awesome, no doubt about it. It was so wonderful (and overdue) to have a good catch up with D's parents. We love spending time with them and miss them so much with the distance between Vancouver and Toronto. Palm Desert was a very cool place, not what I had imagined the desert to be but not disappointing in the least. Hopefully you've enjoyed taking a look at our trip through the photos this week. We really had a great trip. 

Having experienced warmth recently, I really do hope Toronto winter comes to an end soon so that you all can experience the wondrous glory that is sunshine. Whatever you're up to, have yourself a good weekend! xx

just because

{ Sole Society - Mandee Lace Up Heel - $69 }

ace hotel, palm springs

During one of our afternoons in California, D and I drove into Palm Springs. I had heard about the Ace Hotel on a blog and thought it would be fun to go check it out. For anyone who's familiar with The Drake Hotel in Toronto, it had that sorta vibe, a cool place to hang out at for a drink by the pool - and that we did. I ordered my first ever margarita, which definitely won't be my last, followed by the most delicious strawberry lemonade and D ordered the biggest beer on the menu, a tall boy 24 oz PBR. Loads of hip LA locals were posted up poolside and we were happy to catch up and people watch. If we ever return to the desert, I could definitely picture ourselves booking in at The Ace Hotel. 

joshua tree national park

One of my wishes while visiting Palm Desert was that we attempt a visit to Joshua Tree National Park. Luckily from where we were staying, the park was only about a 30 minute drive, and my wish was granted mid way through our week. We got up early to try and beat the heat, but as it turns out the desert is pretty darn chilly! Luckily we had brought sweaters, but with elevations ranging from 900 too 5,000 feet above sea level, it's not really surprising it gets windy. We drove through the park from south to north and stopped for a two hour hike along the Lost Horse Trail. After our hike, we stopped before leaving the park so that D and I could do some climbing on the big boulders. The child in me wanted to climb to the top, but the adult in me forecasted the trouble we might have coming down... So we got a great photo from half way up. 

We saw a ton of different cacti and more joshua trees then we could count! I always love exploring the natural landscapes of places we visit and our morning in Joshua Tree provided us with beautiful, rustic memories of the Mohave Desert.