{quotable thursdays, american thanksgiving}

{via holly mathers interiors}

Happy American Thanksgiving! I feel a bit like a fraud, as I'm a Canadian in the US, but kind colleagues have been wonderful enough to invite me to a turkey dinner today. We had our first snowfall yesterday, and I'm trying to get used to this late thanksgiving tradition, which seems to mix with the beginnings of Christmas festivities, and then there's the whole Black Friday thing. Despite my slight confusion, it does give me an opportunity to stop & think about what I should be grateful for.
I think Raffi says it best:

All I really need is a song in my heart

Food in my belly and love in my family

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

And I need the rain to fall

And I need the sun to shine

To give life to the seeds we sow

To give the food we need to grow, grow

All I really need is a song in my heart

Food in my belly and love in my family

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

And I need some clean water for drinking

And I need some clean air for breathing

So that I can grow up strong

And take my place where I belong

All I really need is a song in my heart

Food in my belly and love in my family

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

I'm grateful for food in my belly, the rain & sun, and the love of family & friends.

{via the sweetest occasion}

{from grey likes weddings}

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xo

L

{b-day celebrations & tutu obsession}

The weekend of Nov 12&13th, I spent 'home' in Vancouver celebrating my 30th. We had loads of fun. My niece, nephews & sister were there to greet me at the airport. Hugs & shrieks ensued, and then we headed off shopping in S. Granville area. We spent some time at Vancouver's first & only anthropologie--the kids loved looking at all the fun stuff, just as much as us adults did: 

{my & my darling niece at anthropologie}

{nephew (S for Sebastian) & niece (below) having fun in the store}

On Saturday night, we celebrated my b-day with girlfriends. We had loads of fun...got ready at my sister's:

{me & my niece getting ready in my sister's bathroom--notice we're both in tutus}

{me & julia before heading out}

{prosecco to start the evening off}

{ladies out on the town}

 the next day was my official b-day and my parents came over from the island. We went for a lovely walk...

{my Dad & my niece on the walk}

{gorgeous Vancouver backdrop (taken by some politician trying to solicit a vote)}

{biggest gift? hearing my Dad playing the piano on my b-day. oh, & belting out our favourite tunes together}

{gorgeous & absolutely decadent chocolate cake-thanks to Julia for cooking such an amazing meal!}

{look at this darling little purse my 6 year-old niece made for me}

{& look at this special personalised label!}

So the obsession with tutus--I considered that maybe now that I'm in my 30s I should give up the tutu. But as Carrie Bradshaw in SATC has shown too well, you're never too young for tutus, you just need to know how to style & wear them right.

{pinterest via connect in}

{via the cassandra monologues}

how great are these looks?:

{bcbg via trendhunter}

{via brown eyed belle}

{via reason to breathe tumblr}

So, yes, you know I've worn the tutu before, when me & Julia went to an exclusive Sex&theCity II party a few years ago: 

{at ju's house prior to getting to the party}

{at the SATC II party at Opus, this photo & below, by Pelman Photography}

For my b-day, I was inspired by the look of light shoes with dark tights, paired with a light tutu. 

so I paired my pink, waterfall tutu, with black tights, nude shoes, simple black t-shirt & a string of pinky pearls:

{quirky i-phone pic, taken at dinner by my friend Colleen}

here's an inspiration board I made at Polyvore:

{my ensemble at polyvore}

So don't resist--get into that tutu!

Thanks to all my dear girlfriends, my family, and particularly Julia, for making turning 30 so much fun.

bisous,

L

{movember}

{idle hand designs on etsy}

Well, I'm definitely not growing a mustache, but here are some inspirations for all of those men who are sporting the mustachio for movember:

{piprobins on etsy}

{the sweetest occasion}

{tang yau hoong}

{uber super}

{pinterest with no original url}

{diy kid party favours from prutsen}

{spoonful of sugar}

Happy 'stache Growing!

{quotable thursdays}

{pinterest}

Now that I'm officially older & wiser, I think this quote will be my motto for my 30s:

We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. 

We loiter in winter while it is already spring.

                                                                                          —Henry David Thoreau


Coincidentally, perhaps, my sis, Esther, put this quote by Robert Frost on my birthday card: 


Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of 30. 

Both, I think, are linked.
I hope to spend more time enjoying the present, rather than lamenting things I haven't done, or I didn't do correctly. and I also don't want to always live for 'what's next?' If I've learned anything in my 30 years, it's that the present is what we longed for in the past and what we'll look back as 'rosey' in the future, so why not enjoy it to the fullest while we're living it?

spending time with my niece & nephews this past weekend, I realise we had it right when we were kids. Time was incoherent to us, so we seized on the moment--whether it was the absolute excitement of dressing a dolly or making a fort outside, or screaming our heads off because we can't buy that toy we really really want. the advantage? after a few hours & a new distraction we forget we were ever obsessed with that toy, and we've moved on. lesson learned, well not quite. Somehow we forgot that lesson once we aged. 

As someone who is an extreme planner (miss planner as one of my good friends calls me), I often stress about the future, without appreciating the present. 

Time to live a little more in the present, as time will fly and I'll be 40 before I know it--oh no, is that me thinking ahead again? ;)

so I say, wear a fancy dress on a normal day...don't wait for a special occasion! (even if it's breezy outside): 

{via pinterest}

do crazy things like drinking champagne, on a fire escape:

{via coco+kelley}

& jump for joy because you can:

{this one & the one below via maison boheme}

laugh & smile often:

{from worry about you tumblr, via pinterest}

{via french frosting}

Cheers to the day you're living right now!

xo

L

{30}

{via nightcruiser}

All of these lines across my face

Tell you the story of who I am

So many stories of where I've been

And how I got to where I am

-The Story, Brandi Carlile

{via brown eyed belle julie}

I like to think that the lines on my face are markers of the character I have come to be through the many experiences I've encountered in my 30 years (rather than signs of ageing!).
Yes, 30!
They say that the 30s are the new 20s. I recently was watching a SATC episode, and Carrie contemplates on how we tend to focus on what we don't have rather than our accomplishments. I did the 30 list below, to remind myself that one can do a lot in 30 years, and that we achieve some of the biggest accomplishments within those first few years of life. I doubt I'll accomplish as much in the next 30 years, but it'll remind me that every year is precious and we should never stop learning; never stop setting new goals. My biggest goals for the next few years? Get my book published & get a permanent job that I absolutely love. Amidst that goal-seeking there should be plenty of time for enjoying life, enjoying friends & family, and savouring the moment (& maybe finding prince charming?). If there's anything I'd teach my younger self, it would be to try to live in the moment more, rather than thinking about what's to come or nostalgia for what has passed. Remember, if you're lucky, you have 100 years to live, so take advantage of every moment--I love the 100 years song by Five for Fighting, it's a perfect one for birthdays.
ok, so here are my 30 achievements in 30 years in no particular order of importance, yet with some attempt at chronology:

1. Learned to breathe.
2. Learned to eat.
3. Learned to walk.
4. Learned to speak-in English.
5. Learned to ride a bike.
6. Learned to speak- in French.
7. Learned to love.
8. Got sea legs at a very very early age, spending most of my early years aboard ship & sailed around the world three times by the age of 13.
9. Learned to play the piano & guitar.
10. Graduated from elementary school.
11. Graduated in French Immersion from Junior High & then High School.
12. Awarded best-dressed in Junior High (ha! had to put that in there for a laugh).
13. Learned Italian.
14. Got my first job in High School as a barrista.
15. Continued working throughout undergrad to put myself through university.
16. Received a BA.
17. Received an MA.
18. Received a PhD.
19. Received various scholarly awards & scholarships.
20. Became a published author in an academic journal.
21. Taught my first university class.
22. Lived in France.
23. Lived in London.
24. Lived in Italy.
25. Travelled (& spent 3 summers) in India (the birthplace of my father & grandmother).
26. Learned that my sisters are my best friends & that those relationships are to be cherished (friends & boys will come & go, but family remains strong).
27. Learned what it feels to fail... & also what it feels like to succeed.
28. Learned that you can make mistakes at any age, & that you will always live with them. (& that's not a bad thing-they're the things you learn from).
29. Travelled to over 45 countries.
30. Learned to appreciate the simple things in life, that all my dreams might not come true & that the voice in my head is just as valid as anyone else's.



{me, as a baby with my sister, Esther & my Mum at Mamre Oaks}



{me, on Robertson II, where I spent most of my first 6 years}

{me & my 4 bestfriends--the Clark sisters}

{me & my sailing & life-long companions, my four sisters}

{the Clark girls in 2000}

{5 sisters in 2002}

{the 5 sisters in 2008}

 Celebration inspiration:

{via apartment 34}

{via Love of Fair}

{via pinterest with no original source}

{flashy little booties, via pretty little world}

Last year I contemplated the issue of numbers. I celebrated my b-day last year with my awesome sis, Julia in NYC (you can read about our trip: intro, day 1 & 2, & sights). This year I decided to fly back for the quickest trip ever HOME. There's nothing more important to me than family & I can't wait to spend it with my dear eldest sis, Julia, her husband Craig, & their little ones, who are my dearest friends (Sabo, Sweet P & Hugo). My parents are also coming over for the day-yay! It'll be quick, and there's nothing big planned. I'm looking forward to just sipping vino, drinking chai together, feasting on yummy food, hanging out & a night or 2 on the town.

{I absolutely love this pink drink! via brown eyed belle}

{from grey likes weddings}

{I was born the 5th of 5 girls on Friday the 13th--my Mum said it was good luck, as she was the youngest of 5 girls. ...& I agree-- I couldn't imagine being born in a more loving & wonderful family! image from matthewhollister}

{via eighteen25}

OK, off on a plane....to celebrate 30!!

xo

L

{from design muse}