passion. ambition. butter

Things I love: cooking, food blogs, and Meryl Streep. Especially, Meryl Streep. When I first saw the trailer for Julie and Julia, a movie that combines all three, I immediately wished that I was Julia Child, living in 1940's Paris and mastering the art of French cooking. Furthermore, the film HAS to be amazing, since the director is Nora Ephron, who already has Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, and You've Got Mail under her belt. Not to mention she was the producer of possibly one of the best sleepover movies of my youth, Strike! (remember the Daughters of American Ravioli?).
Jessica and I both love seeing the insides of other people's living spaces and Architectural Digest visited the real Julia Child's home in Cambridge Massachusetts:

I'm having some serious kitchen envy right now. You can watch the rest of the slide show and read up on Julia's home here.
Sadly, as far as I can tell, Julie and Julia hasn't come over to South Korea yet (I'm noticing a trend, here), so I will have to settle for tracking down the book. The New York Times wrote a lovely review of the movie, which you can read here (particulary amusing is the bit about Meryl Streep eating young actresses for breakfast).
Have any of you seen Julie and Julia? Does it make you want to abandon your current career plans in favour of cooking school?

pump, pump, pump it up

I've always loved big hair and am constantly tempted to tease my own locks into oblivion.

So, go ahead - grab some hairspray, a comb, and turn up the volume.

the breakfast club

I don't understand when people coolly remark that they 'don't eat breakfast', or when they think that just a black coffee is a good substitute for the quintessential morning meal. Growing up, my mother made sure we ate the meal religiously and always had something delicious on the table to wake up to (photo 5 is from her kitchen!). My sister always says breakfast is her only motivation to get up in the morning. I couldn't agree more. Now excuse me, I'm off to go poach an egg.

p.s. If you aren't very good at poaching (which I feel is the best way to enjoy eggs), head over to Smitten Kitchen for some excellent tips.

Mad about Plaid

The new Burberry store opened at Yorkdale this earlier this month (the first of its kind in TO).

I went, I saw, I wanted things, I left empty handed. sigh.

But at least Hermione (aka: Emma Watson) is looking super gorgeous in the Fall Campaign photos.

these are a few of my favourite things...

1. white rooms filled with frames

2. sequined blazers

3. books, books, and more books

4. long hair and carefree days

5. chanel no. 5

6. girls in round glasses

7. annie hall

grey scale

Love these grey pieces from the MTWTFSS Weekday Lookbook for fall.

apARTment hunting

After two months sans apartment I'm starting to miss a lot of things about my former downtown lifestyle - public transit, hip restaurants frequented by people under the age of 35 and most of all, the luxury of my own personal space. While living at home doesn't hurt on the financial front I'm really yearning for the type of satisfaction that can only come from transforming an empty rental into a creative living space. Whether you're Shabby Chic or Uber Modern, framing photos, fluffing throw pillows and adding all those decorative touches to your personal pad is all part of that whole getting creative in your grownup space thing that I miss oh so much.

And so, since I can't enjoy my own downtown abode, for now I'm satisfying my decorating cravings at The Selby. This cute little addition to my blog bookmark bar allows home decor enthusiasts like myself take a voyeuristic look inside the interesting and creative spaces of some pretty hip homeowners around the globe. From petite Parisian apartments to big Brooklyn brownstones The Selby (aka: blogger Todd Selby) lets you gain access to some of the coolest urban spaces. Photographs of interesting interiors and colourful crayola write ups on their design savvy residents are sure to delight serious design devotees and voyeurs of all sorts. So wander over to The Selby and take a peek into the lives (and bedrooms) of some super stylish folk. You'll be glad you did.

Girl Crush: Alexa Chung

The obvious reason to buy the September issue of Marie Claire this month was the cover story with 1/2 of the dynamic design duo behind Elizabeth and James and The Row. But as if a luxurious spread with Ashely Olsen lounging in vintage lingerie (more on that here) wasn't enough, I was also treated to a few pages of buzz worthy it girl Alexa Chung posing pretty in some very desirable fall fashions.


While I have yet to see this brit beauty's MTV show It's On with Alexa Chung (the show only airs stateside) i've been stalking her personal style on WWWD for a while now. Her eclectic fashion choices and "oh i just threw this on" ensembles demonstrate that this former model is definitely in the know when it comes to style without ever trying too hard. Perhaps i'm girl crushing so hard because her distinctive and quirky outfits have a London chic vibe that makes me nostalgic for the UK and reminisce about fashion forward high street offerings across the pond.


Whether she's grabbing coffee, stomping around a muddy festival or sauntering down a red carpet, this girl is looking good in such an effortless way. So - if, like me, you're craving some more eye candy from Alexa's wardrobe click here and take a virtual tour of her inspiring style. And if her clothes don't speak from themselves you can read more from this style savvy girl as she recently added 'journalist' to her growing list of accomplishments - coming on board as a contributing editor for British Vogue, of course.

And Katers: if there was ever any doubt whether or not to maintain your middle part - this it girl's enviable locks should inspire you to avoid messing with your tresses for little while longer.

Hidden Treasure: Cafe, Hongdae, Seoul

After taking many a wrong turn during my recent visit to Hongdae, I stumbled upon this cafe, aptly named Cafe, tucked away in one of the hidden back alleys. Pancakes, picture books, AND wine? Yes please!

There is certainly no shortage of adorable cafes like Cafe in the Seoul area, but I was in awe of this one in particular. The antiques available, the selection of fashion magazines for perusal, the quirky art hanging, the pleasant barista, the wineade I drank - happy day, indeed! The only problem is - will I ever be able to find it again?

hester's got a brand new A

After putting Lindsay Lohan on their cover one too many times, I thought I had sworn off my once favourite magazine, Nylon, for good. As a rapidly approaching 25-year-old, I felt that I was getting too old to be buying a magazine that asserted LiLo as a 'pin-up for a new era'.
However, desperate for some glossy fashion goodness, I asked Carlos to pick me up some magazines at the airport on his way to Soko - Nylon and Vogue India (which is phenom, by the way) are what I got. Flipping through Nylon's Denim Issue, I almost put the magazine down as I passed Betsey Johnson's how-to guide for hot pink lace up skinnies, a page devoted to over-the-knee DENIM boots, and a Peaches Geldof dress-up segment. Now I love ugly hipster trends as much as the next person, but seeing Peaches in an acid wash jumper almost had me reaching for the Vogue (and scratching out my eyeballs). But then, I saw these:

Thank you, Nylon, for bringing to my attention the couture covers for these three absolutely classic classics. Renowned Cuban artist Ruben Toledo, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue, was asked by Penguin Classics to bring his vision to three of the strongest female characters in the history of literature: Hester Prynne, Catherine Earnshaw, and Elizabeth Bennett. And what a fine job he did! Better yet, the couture editions will be published to coincide with New York Fashion week this September.
As I am an absolute sucker for updated covers of classic books (I impulsively charged a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird just because the cover looked like this, during a recession, when I already owned one perfectly good edition), I have, obviously, pre-ordered my copies on Amazon. Even though the titles already have a place on my shelf, I figure a little couture can't hurt - these ladies have been around for a long time - they deserve it.