Friday Favourites

Ok...so I'm a bit late in posting this week but in all fairness its been quite the long week! I'm feeling more alive today though and in need of some comfort. The weather outside is dark, gloomy and rainy which just contributes to my need for comfort foods and activities.

Banana Bread

The smell of warm cinnamon and bananas is enough to make me jump with happiness. Its also one of the best flavour combinations I can think of when I'm in need of comfort foods. I opened the freezer to find my stash of frozen, ripe bananas which I keep just for days like this, and so I decided to whip up a batch of:

Basic Banana Bread 

4-5 ripe bananas, smashed (I like it to be very banana-y)
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup of sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

BUT I was craving a little something extra so I tossed in a handful of dark chocolate chips, replaced the 3/4 cup of white sugar with 1/3 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of fresh local honey and added a few tsps of cinnamon, oats and toasted ground flax. It turned out perfectly:

Honey Cinnamon Chocolate Banana Bread

Good Book

Although my life is almost always go, go, go, I can never not be reading something. The local library is full of endless possibilities and it always felt like home to me. I can borrow any book I like and be transported to anyplace in the world for free. This week, comedian Tina Fey's autobiography Bossy Pants arrived and with all of the good reviews I have been hearing, I can't wait to read it tonight! 

Bossy Pants

Warm Blanket and a Cup of Coffee

Comfort to me means warmth and safety and nothing eludes to that better than being wrapped in a blanket with a hot cup of coffee. This blanket though is extra special as it was handmade for me by one of my closest friends and I absolutely love it! Coffee on the other hand will forever be my best friend in good and bad times. Its also the perfect combination with a gloomy night like this, warm banana bread and my new read!

Caramel Vanilla Nut Coffee

Friday Favourites- Royal Wedding Edition

There are so many things that I am inspired by on a daily basis. Whether they be fashion items, recipes, popular culture events or even just random occurrences and so I decided to blog a weekly Friday Favourites section, with this being the first!


Today was an extremely important and joyous Friday as it also happened to be the wedding day of Prince William and Catherine Middleton who are now known as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. To honour this, I've focused this post on all of my Royal Wedding "favourites". I absolutely loved being a part of this day even from so far away as it brought back so many happy memories of my wedding day....especially when our colours were so similar and the reading read was also the one read on ours.... it brought me many smiles!

Here are my favourites:

5. High Tea Parties - Fancy teas, scones, preserves, Devonshire cream, tiny gourmet sandwiches and petite fours? Count me IN! I booked a high tea party to enjoy with my bridesmaids before our big day last summer and it was such a fun experience. Royal Wedding fever this week inspired many a tea party around the world...including a tiny one in my living room.

Our first selections at the Windsor Arms High Tea last summer.

4. Understated Elegance - The entire broadcasted day seemed to flow effortlessly and with such ease. Every aspect of the wedding from the decor to the transportation just exuded class and elegance. However it was Kate's complete attire, that for me, portrayed such an element of understated elegance fit for a Princess.  Yet everything still truly reflected her own style which made it just that much more beautiful! 

She changed into another Alexander McQueen stunner for the reception!

3. Ceremonial Uniforms - Red Specifically - I secretly was hoping that Prince William would wear his Irish Guards uniform solely for the fact that it resembled the one my husband wore on our day. I have a serious weakness for men in uniform...scarlet ones to be specific of course!

Swoon...

2. Collective Celebratory Crowds - There is nothing more spectacular than the coming together of hundreds of thousands of strangers from around the world in celebration of love and marriage. I was in absolute awe as I watched the crowds assemble and a huge smile crept across my face as the collective cheer of joy was heard in the Church after the exchange of the vows. Together... anything is possible!

The crowds at Buckingham Palace

1. "Wait Till You See Her" - My absolute FAVOURITE moment of the entire event was when Prince Harry took a sneak peek for Prince William as Kate was walking up the aisle behind them and whispered to his older brother " Wait till you see her".  Made me shed more than a few tears!

Just so very sweet!

It looked to be such a spectacular day and exciting moment in history. Some question why the world was so involved or what the point is in investing such time and effort into this wedding.... for me its because every now and then its OK to be removed from the doom and gloom. Its OK to show genuine happiness for two people who are in love and its OK to believe in fairytales and happy endings...every now and then.