Christmas Outfits

 Planning outfits for Christmas parties this year has been an interesting process because I've been avoiding (though not entirely) buying new things.

First of all I spent most of my disposable income this last quarter on Farrow & Ball paint!  There are other wardrobe issues at play however, beginning with the fact that I seem to have a strange wardrobe collected over the last few years of either very dressy outfits (tulle dresses, a taffeta skirt, an opera coat) or completely denim outfits (top to toe JCrew chambray shirt and jeans).

I had most of my wardrobe packed away for the move in three large duffel bags and I decided it was time to go through them to see what I was working with.

This Robert Noble JCrew skirt suit from 2009 is my top pick from my own archive.  I absolutely love this shade of red, a true red with a yellow undertone that corresponds well to the brown leather buttons on the jacket.  I wanted to attempt to wear it with my leopard heels (JCrew, 2015) and a white silk camisole from London brand The Fold.

 I like that the background of the leopard print is white, it pairs well with the camisole and sets off the red, what could be more Christmassy than red with white?

 That's one outfit sorted without a new purchase.

How about those denim outfits?  Truth be told it's often what I wear during the day, and Christmas week will be no exception.  I'll be busy cooking, cleaning (laundry never stops, especially with a house full of rascals) and walking Scout.

 I've been looking for a plaid, oversized coat to throw on over my daytime uniform of Canadian tuxedo, big wool sweater and boots.  I found one at H&M that's made of recycled wool (their Premium Conscious line uses lots of recycled wool and many items, like this coat, are made in Europe).  It was one hundred dollars, a better price even than the vintage plaid coats I found on eBay.  It's oversized, warm and fluffy:

I'm pairing it with a vintage Ralph Lauren sweater in a floral lambswool that I found on eBay for twenty five bucks.  The wool is super thick and soft, I highly recommend vintage Ralph Lauren items if you can find them, my top tip would be to remember that sizing was different in the 1980's, this sweater is a size medium but fits like a small.

Oversized plaid coat H&M Conscious.
Scout's fur coat her own.

 Another trick for adding some Christmas colour to older outfits, a new red nail polish of course.  I bought one that goes well with my old Smythson red clutch handbag.

New Chanel polish.
No719 "Richness"
Smythson clutch handbag, old.
Adding Christmas colour to my black tulle dress.

It hasn't been completely all about shopping my closet however, I've had to replace my cardigans that complete many an outfit, and I wanted to add a couple of dresses that are more suitable for day.  I ordered some things online and once I decide what to keep I'll assemble a few more outfits... stay tuned for Part Two later this week.

I hope you're having a lovely Sunday!  Are you planning Christmas outfits?  Have you added in anything new or vintage recently?
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 We had a house full of our Rascals this weekend and it was the best.  I like to place some flowers in the Rascal bedrooms when they travel home from Toronto, I picked these ones up at the grocery store.
I added a little bowl of green apples too... always trying to get fruit and veg into those kids, it doesn't matter how old they get.

We went for a hike on Saturday and the weather was fine, cold and clear.
We've been hiking this area with the Rascals since they were really small and it brings back lots of memories.
Now that they both live in a concrete jungle they really appreciate visiting the woods when they're home.

Scout, Ole Rascal, Middle Rascal
On the trail

 The trails were so muddy that Scout had a perfect coat of mud covering her underside by the time we left for home:

You can bet there was a bath in Scout's future!

Did you cook any Easter meals?  Our plans completely changed this weekend after Poppa suffered a fall on Friday.  We didn't want him making the journey by car to our house for the Easter lunch so we made reservations at an Italian restaurant instead.
(Don't worry, he's fine.  He needed a few stitches but otherwise it wasn't serious: thank goodness.)

There's something to be said for going out on a holiday: no dishes!

I have a day of admin and cleaning.  Somehow the mud from the hike made its way into various corners of our house so a floor scrubbing is in order, as well as the usual Monday Reorganizing.
Hope your day gets off to a productive and cheery start.
xoxDani

That 70's Sauce

 I was born in 1970 and therefore perfectly situated to consume massive quantities of boxed macaroni and cheese, Kraft singles cheese slices (wrapped individually in plastic and tasting of plastic) and bright orange blocks of cheddar during the course of my childhood.
As a kid I loved it, but of course over the years I stopped eating processed cheese and came to associate bright orange cheese with the 1970's and processed food in general.
Now that I don't consume any dairy on our plant-based diet it's quite funny that once again I am embracing the orange cheese sauce, though of course this one is made from plants.

I found a recipe last month for a vegan broccoli and cheese soup and it has quickly become a lunchtime favourite.  The process is a bit lengthy however, and as the author of the recipes suggests, it's best to make the cheese sauce the day before.  This time I decided to double the recipe so that I could use the cheese sauce for other dishes.

Cheese sauce, doubled.
And a new batch of cashew cream.

 The sauce really does have the taste and texture of that 70's sauce, so it's amazing that the base of it is actually simply carrots and potatoes.

Boiling carrots and potatoes for the sauce.
Recipe here.

 I've used the sauce to blend with cashew cream so that I could cover a pan of roasted cauliflower with it: voila, cauliflower gratin.  Today I'm going to an event just before dinner so this afternoon I'll bake an easy pasta dish with the sauce and serve it alongside vegetables, and maybe a salad with some almonds for protein.

Wondering what Scout is up to these days in the afternoons?  Well, you can see she has her schedule sorted:

Scout having her usual daily 5 hour nap.

 She just loves to sleep in Ole Rascals room and I can hardly blame her, it is a very pretty room with wonderful afternoon light.  When we renovated our entire house the painter said to me one day "this was the worst room in the house and now it's the most beautiful".  We hired a plasterer to fix and smooth the scarred walls, pulled out the wall-to-wall carpeting, fixed the subfloor and added the oak floors, and added in wooden baseboards.  It was a transformation!

This is the room I use as my home office, there is a large table in the corner where I do my work.  As you can see I have lots of pictures of Ole Rascal (and all The Rascals) to keep me company.

I'll be working in here today in advance of a meeting this afternoon with our finance guy.

 This is a fun thing, his office is doing a toy drive so instead of bringing gifts for James and his assistant I'll be bringing toys: a wooden firetruck, a tea set, a set of textured toddler books and a rattle.
Then it's off to an event with my friend Laura, we're going to the opening of a medical cosmetic place (we know the doctor, but ruh-roh I wonder if they'll try to botox us!)
Have a wonderful day,
xoxDani

The Old Girl

 Last summer we had a special visitor run into the garden, our old girl Pick.

We've had three dogs, the first a male Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Jake, chosen and named by our son for his 10th birthday.  Jake was a fine big puppy, the kids all loved him but he was Ole Rascal's dog, no doubt about it.
Jake picked up a virus from standing water, became ill and died within 24 hours, he was only a few months old.
We were so devastated for our pup and for our son, we could barely function for several days.
In desperation we phoned the breeder to talk about replacing Jake as soon as possible.  He told us there was a six month old female named Pick who was meant for breeding but in the end her stature wasn't quite right for creating the ideal shape of a Duck Toller, would we like to have her?
We drove out and picked her up and she became part of the family.

Our old girl Pick

 Pick was a great dog but she was a bit too smart.  I always thought she would have been a wonderful mother because she was so anxious, she knew everything that was going on and didn't do well to be separated from the kids or from us.  She needed lots of attention in the way of walks and just being talked to.  If not she would let us know she was unhappy by having a big pee on the stair rug.
We eventually adjusted to her needs and I really enjoyed walking her, she was one of those dogs that was great on her leash, didn't bark at other dogs or lunge at them.  She was lovely!
Six years after she came to live with us our youngest daughter became ill, and with the illness came many, many visits to the paediatrician.  Dr. Laszlo was a gentle doctor with the children, very caring and he was also an expert with allergies.  Every week he would ask me about the "allergy in the house" and if we had "dealt with it".   Little Rascal consistently showed signs of an allergy, mostly by way of a stuffy nose.
Finally he said to me "there's nothing for it, that dog is going to have to be put down."
So we dealt with it, but of course we knew that she didn't actually have to die!
We phoned the breeder and quickly found a kind couple who had a love of Duck Tolling Retrievers.  They had a male Duck Toller, I think Reggie was 10 at the time, and they thought Pick would be a wonderful companion for him.
So we very sadly said goodbye to Pick but we were fortunate enough to get regular updates from her new owners.
Pick and Reggie became best mates and loved to run and play together.  Reggie was quite a bit bigger than Pick and he loved to look out the window.  Pick was too short to reach the window so her new owner made her a little bench to stand on so they could look out together.  They would wander the fields and chase after birds and squirrels, all in all they were having a blast.
Then after 10 months or so their relationship changed.  Pick became very protective and almost maternal towards Reggie.  This was a puzzle to them and of course I put it down to the fact that Pick never did get to be a mother, a role I was so sure was her true calling.  Then Pick started growling at other dogs in the parks and on walks and wouldn't let them near Reggie.  Then she started sleeping right next to him, nearly on top of him, covering his body with hers.
The owners were suspicious and took Pick and Reggie to the veterinarian.
Reggie was sick with cancer and he only lived a short time after that.

Pick in our garden last summer.

 Our old girl picked up on the illness months before anyone had a clue and she nursed and comforted him during those last months.
He must have been in pain, and she knew it.
Well, obviously after losing Reggie to the horrible cancer Pick became precious as gold to her new owners, her loyalty to their beloved Reggie, the comfort she provided, and now of course she was the only dog left to them.
Our old girl has been very loved!
Seeing Pick last summer brought tears to me eyes.  She's such a smart, gentle animal who is still a bit anxious.  She had no time for Scout who is about four times the size of her and barked at her from the corner of the garden trying to get her to play.  She was having none of it!

Pick turned 14 last week and so she is having a long life.  We had an email from the owner and she is doing just fine. Bless you Pick Old Girl and may you have many more years.

Next week our Scout will be three years old and while she is a completely different sort of dog she has the same loyalty that our Pick does.

Definitely tall enough to look out the window.

She does well with long walks though sometimes I wish she were as good on her leash as Pick was, but she's a playful breed and when sees other dogs she leaps into the air with happiness.
She is a "hypo-allergenic" dog which is the reason we chose this breed, though seeing our Little Rascal around other dogs I think our daughter has in fact out-grown her allergy.
We've been fortunate to have these dogs in our life, they are truly a gift to the home, they ask for so little and yet give so much.
xoxDani