oak + fort

{ jacket }

{ sweater dress }

{ t-shirt }

I often will walk up to Queen West on my lunch and I recently happened upon a lovely little boutique called Oak + Fort. Their clothes are simple, basic, comfortable and beautiful. I picked up my sister an oversized plaid shirt dress that she loved and can't wait to go back to pick up a couple of fall essentials for myself. Take a browse at their online shop here. 

happy monday

{ a small token to celebrate a friends engagement }

{ tasting flight at the amsterdam brewhouse }

{ homemade cobb salad }

{ beautiful locally made napkins from a new roncy kitchen shop }

What did you get up to this weekend? We had a fun weekend at home, enjoying the sunny days and spending time with family and friends. We have a quiet week ahead with a dinner with friends to look forward to on Friday. Hoping you have a great start to the week - this amazing weather rocks! Here are a few links to start the day off....

I plan to wear this polish color with chunky knits this fall.

I would love to live in this lovely house.

The daredevil in me really wants to try this during our Christmas vacation.

This was beautiful inspiration for last weeks DIY project.

A twist on a classic dinner dish looks delicious.

This movie looks hilarious, I'm dying to see it.

Wouldn't this be a gorgeous scent to fill your home with for the autumn months.

I've been dreaming about planning vacation and would love to go here.

It's still far off, but these would be adorable homemade xmas gifts.

striped bud vases

At my birthday party earlier this month one of our friends drank cider that came in cute little glass bottles. In cleaning up, I put aside three knowing that with a little DIY they would make perfect bud vases. 

I peeled off the labels and cleaned the bottles in soapy water. I then taped the designs I wanted on each bottle and used acrylic paint to achieve the graphic black and white stripes. So simple with such a great effect. One tip that I've learned from experience in working with acrylic paint - don't let it dry before removing the tape! You've got to peel it off while it's still wet.

You could paint any type of glass bottle but these are adorable for displaying beautiful mini bouquets. 

wanderlust wednesday: whistler

My family is all together in Whistler, B.C. right now and it has me seriously wishing it was Christmas already. My sister lives in town and D's parents are coming in from the Sunshine Coast and we plan to spend the holidays all together in Whistler. We've rented a lovely house and I can't wait to share turkey dinner around the table and apres ski drinks by the fire. Holidays are most definitely best enjoyed when you're with family!

I'm curious, do you have any fun plans for the holiday season?!

decor inspirations

{ photos via pinterest }

One of my girlfriends lives in a beautiful, airy loft and recently asked me to help her create a frame wall. I've decorated our apartment just about as much as possible, so the thought of having a fresh canvas to work with and getting to spend more time with a friend while doing what I truly love - I jumped at the opportunity. I've been browsing Pinterest for inspiration and love how such different prints and frames, textures, colors, sizes can come together to create such a pleasing aesthetic. My mind is racing with ideas and I can't wait to share the finished product.

fall boots

{ Frye Engineer 12R Boots }

Year after year these Frye boots top my wardrobe wishlist - I think they're the perfect boot. The durable leather looks better as it wears and the buckle adds a classic detail. Unfortunately for me and my closet, my high instep and with no zipper, I actually can't even get my foot into this boot. Last night marks the official start of autumn, so chunky knit sweaters and leather boots will be in daily rotation soon enough. While I'll miss summer dresses and strappy sandals, this list of the '10 best fall boot styles' helped me to get on side with fall fashions.

music monday

I'm a super duper big Beyonce fan and am so excited to watch her On The Run HBO special with Jay-Z. This is the first segment I've seen online and I absolutely loved the performance and can't wait to see the other 40 songs. Click here to watch the video of the Young Forever/Halo performance at the final show of their tour. If you want to see more, here's the HBO schedule.

some weekend shopping

Incase you feel like doing a little weekend shopping... one of my favorite blogs has offered a promo code for 20% off the editions at Of a Kind. I love browsing the always changing editions of beautifully crafted and curated, unique products, and the discount makes everything even more appealing. I feel there's something special about investing in pieces that you know only a few other people get to enjoy. I'd have a hard time narrowing down my wishlist but I think I would go with these sassy shorts and beautiful knot ring. Head over to Cup of Jo to get the promo code, and browse the lovely collections at Of a Kind.

{ la'akea shorts }

{ memory knot ring }

happy weekend

{ mid-week dinner feast at Rodney's }

After a fun and busy weekend last week, I'm looking forward to not having much planned for the coming days. I'll be relaxing with a massage and catching up with family at Sunday brunch. I don't know about you but I'm loving the cooler weather we had this week and hope we might get out on our bikes at some point too!  Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy your weekend! xx

PS. A couple laughs to start your weekend off...

altuzarra for target

Sadly, I was catching Z's on Sunday morning, but I'm sure some lucky ladies scored some awesome pieces from the Altuzarra collection for Target. I might swing by to see if I can find some left behind pieces at my local store - I'd love the maroon wrap dress in look 11 or the tuxedo ankle pant from look 12. Browse the collection here.

wrap blouse

{ print wrap blouse - $29 @ joe fresh }

For the past few months, I've been on the hunt for a nice wrap blouse. I love the style but just hadn't found one that fit right. I went into Joe Fresh looking for work attire last week and was pleasantly surprised to find this blouse. It drapes so nicely and has lovely little details with pockets and buttons on the sleeves. It was totally affordable at only $29 and even came in black and blue! Perfect for a day in the office or a night out with girlfriends! 

air popcorn maker

{ Cuisinart Air Popcorn Maker }

One of the few reasons I miss having a microwave is because of how easy it was to pop a bag of popcorn. I had been missing one of my favorite snacks, that is until last weekend. D's parents bought me this air popper for my birthday and I have to admit I've already made four huge bowls of popcorn in the past week. It's so easy to pour some kernels in, and within three minutes there's a bowl full of warm fresh popcorn. I can't wait to try some different flavor combinations - so far we've had butter and tried truffle salt too. It will be perfect for upcoming fall movie nights!

weekend recap

What did you get up to this weekend? Our weekend was jam packed with fun! First, we went to a Jays game and had dinner at 416 Snack Bar - the tastiest way to start a weekend off.... Then, we celebrated some wonderful camp friends at their wedding at The Toronto Hunt Club.... We ate lots of perogies at the Polish Festival on Roncesvalles.... We checked out the vintage goods and ate guava popsicles at the Junction Flea Market... We saw Denzel kick some serious butt in The Equalizer at TIFF - an awesome movie, made somewhat more exciting by having to evacuate the theatre halfway through due to a fire alarm.... And finished things off with dinner with friends visiting from Vancouver. There's no doubt the exhaustion felt today is totally worth it.

{ pretty wrapping from Scout on Roncesvalles }

{ late night poutine bar at the wedding, perfect fuel for dancing }

{ the most gorgeous dance floor over looking Lake Ontario }

Oh, and here are a few songs to start your week off....

Looking Too Closely by Fink

A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay

Take Me to Church by Hozier

roasted tomato pasta

On my bike ride home every Monday I ride pass the Sorauren farmers market - I race home to eagerly await D's arrival so that we can bike back and pick up some fresh goodies. The market has grown, almost doubled in size, and there's so many fresh produce stands, meat and cheese stands, ready made foods and my favorite - gourmet popsicles! Last week we picked up fresh mini tomatoes and made this simple and delicious pasta. The flavor of the tomato and shallots - roasted together, was so sweet and rich. 

How to Make: Roasted Tomato Pasta

2 large quarts of mini heirloom tomatoes

3 tbsp chopped garlic

3 diced shallots

olive oil

salt & pepper

1. Combine ingredients together in a bowl, roast for 50-60 minutes in 375 degree oven, stirring every ten minutes. 

2. Boil pasta in salted water.

3. Toss sauce and noodles, garnish with grated fresh parmesan. 

Enjoy!

lucky lady

We had friends over on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. It was so much fun catching up with everyone, having some drinks, enjoying birthday cake (and cupcakes!) and eventually dancing the night away. It's not that I don't recognize it at other times, but my birthday always reminds me how amazingly lucky I am to have such wonderful friends and family.  

{ fun decorations from Target }

happy weekend

{ homemade truffle frites from earlier this week}

TGIF! Are you doing anything fun this weekend? I'm turning 26 tomorrow and we've planned to have some friends over for drinks and to go out dancing. My closest group of friends is made up of people from all different parts in my life, so having a good excuse to gather everyone together in one place is a situation I will selfishly take advantage of. Whatever you have planned, hope you enjoy yourself this weekend. xx