Madeleines

These delicious little Madeleines were so fun to make. I'm such a sucker for pretty little baked goods. I bought all my madeleine baking supplies at a lovely cooking and baking ware shop called Les Touilleurs in Montreal. (Though the pans can be found at most baking goods stores). They recommended their recipe, which I'm pretty sure is fool-proof (okay, but it is in French).

Also, how pretty are these Zara fall collections?

They were just as fun to photograph as they were to eat.

Recommended Reads: Come, Thou Tortoise

(no time to take a new photo, you must read this book!!)

Well, I was horribly distracted from my "Summer Reads" series by a certain very popular trilogy (more on that next week). Therefore, I've changed the series to "Recommended Reads" and I plan to keep it going well into the school year.

Since I left you without recommendations for so long, I knew I had to come back with a stellar book. Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant is exactly that.

In the beginning, Audrey, or Oddly as she's more fondly known, is on her way home after learning that her father is in a coma. She is forced to leave her tortoise, Winnifred in the hands of her friends, while she is away. Between the two of them, they narrate a story about dealing with loss in a unique and playful way. I laughed out loud reading this (If you're shy about those kinds of things, be prepared to read it in private. It's impossible not to laugh.). If I tell you any more, I'll give too much away.

This is a truly magical book. I went to buy this book on a recommendation from Julie, but discovered that seven (7!) bookstore staff members recommended it, as well. In return, I've already passed my copy on twice to great reviews. It's the best book I've read all summer.

Grey walls.

One of my summer goals was to paint my bedroom walls. In the end, my Dad did all the painting when my family came to visit earlier this summer. I picked out a medium shade of grey, I think it may have been called "moonshadow". I love the warmth that it brings to my room which gets a lot of light from my south-facing windows. On the wall is my favorite driftwood heart from HearBlack and a collection of butterfly specimens I picked up at the Antique Market.

I've learned that a coat of paint (or three, right Dad?) can make a rented space feel like my very own. My little garden looks great with it's new background of grey.

Lemonade, Ice Cream and a trip update.

Ice Cream from The Big Chill, Toronto

Blueberry Mint Lemonade.

Above is the syrup I needed to make delicious blueberry mint lemonade from the recipe above. No matter what the recipe says, more syrup is always better. In fact, it's a little bland with only the amount dictated in the recipe.

So two weekends ago (wow! time flies!) I went to the gorgeous city of Chicago for Lollapalooza with a friend. We met up in the city, I flew from Toronto and she drove from Winnipeg to catch the train from Fargo. It was such a great weekend, but oh my! festivals are exhausting. I nearly didn't make it to day two. We even caught some aftershows with the Freelance Whales, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Gogol Bordello (fun!). I wanted to share an adorable Freelance Whales song with you, it's called Ghosting. I've had it on repeat since my return. I'm a little heartbroken though; my lovely boyfriend gave me a Diana Mini right before I left (after I raved about the photos Anabela took at the beach!) and I messed up the winding/loading so all my photos overlapped each other four or five times. I may try to salvage a few, but its looking pretty bad at the moment. So suffice to say, even though I don't have any photos to show you, I recommend a visit to the Windy City. Five days were just not enough!

Montreal on film.

The famous Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich.

Our waiter.

There are not enough words to express how much I love Montreal. If you're planning a trip to Montreal, let me warn you, a long-weekend is not enough time. I love this city and I could have spent weeks exploring, but alas I will just have to return. Caroline recommended some awesome must-sees in Montreal such as Unicorn Boutique and Schwartz's. Thanks Caroline! This trip I really started to understand my AE-1; focusing is still an issue, but I'm getting there!

I've begun a new habit of visiting the St. Lawrence Antique Market every Sunday morning. Sometimes there are a number of amazing items that I wish I could take home (and some that I do!) and other times there's nothing that catches my eye. Two weeks ago, I had to pass up a gorgeous coffee table and some vintage Coach scarves. I've already extensively mourned the loss of the coffee table and these Liberty scarf tutorials are just putting salt in the wound.

Anabela just posted a lovely home tour of Caitlyn's apartment, it's so cosy looking. I love her red chairs!