"I'm blogging!"

I wish I had more time to write an actual post right now, but alas time is limited for me these days. So instead I will leave you with this. Kate Trgovac tweeted this yesterday and it made me laugh!

Sunday morning recipe

I've baked since I was about 11 or 12 years old, but for the most part I stick to the recipes of my childhood that I've grown to love (and know like the back of my hand, thanks mom!). However recently I was asked by Karlo to try experimenting with some new recipes since he's not as big of a sweet tooth as I am. So, when I came across this recipe on one of my favourite blogs, everybody likes sandwiches, I was super excited to try it out. Now, in the past I haven't really ever been a fan of the whole sweet and salty thing, I've always preferred my foods be one or the other, but nevertheless I set out to try this recipe and boy am I glad I did! The result was a batch of the best cookies I have ever had! I'm not kidding, I'm obsessed with these cookies. I substituted the white chocolate in the recipe for a mixture of dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips (the good kind, though - Ghirardelli all the way) this time because Karlo doesn't like white chocolate, but the recipe does call for premium white chocolate which I will try for myself the next time I bake these. Like she said on ELS, these cookies are "thin and crispy and that sprinkle of fleur du sel (hell, just use regular ol' kosher instead) on top, is the icing on the cake. The salt brings an interesting complexity to each bite...it's like a party in your mouth!" Amen, sister! I've eaten probably a dozen myself over the last few days, and I'm making another batch at this very moment, for Karlo (who by the way, is equally obsessed with them) to take to work tomorrow to give out at the Science World staff meeting.

crispy salted oatmeal cookies with dark and milk chocolate chips
(recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1 c all-purpose flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t kosher salt
14 T unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 c sugar
1/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 t fleur du sel (or Maldon or kosher)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the 1st salt measurement in a medium bowl.

2. In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture and mix until just blended. Add in oats and chocolate until incorporated.

3. Spoon up a large tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball, repeat for remaining dough. Press down on each ball to slightly flatten and sprinkle a flake or two of fancy salt on each cookie. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes 24 - 30 cookies.

Take it from me, this recipe is easy to prepare and tastes oh so yummy. Try them and you won't be disappointed. I'm feeling inspired to try more sweet and salty things now - Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, anyone?

So you wanna be Canadian, eh?

@jodiferous posted this on twitter this morning, and I couldn't pass up sharing it, too. This is hilarious, yo!

Addiction, for me, is a four letter word

BOOK (s) !!!

Ever since I was a little girl, I've had an obsession with books. I love them, I need them, I crave them. Weird? Perhaps. But I cannot stop. At any given moment, someone can ask me how many books I am reading and my usual answer will be something like "Um, 6, BUT..." followed by some supposed reason why reading that many books is totally normal (ie, "BUT 3 of them are business books, 1 is a collection of short stories, 1 is a quick-read-chick-lit type book, and I'm sure I'll fly through the novel quickly, so really 6 isn't that many!"). The strangest thing about my obsession is that I'm not just obsessed with the act of reading itself - I am addicted to the act of purchasing and owning books. I literally cannot walk into a bookstore and walk out without purchasing a book. It's a sickness. I can't get rid of it, even if I tried, but to be honest I would never try! I love the feeling of holding a new book in my hand, cracking it open and knowing that I'm the first person to devour its contents (and most likely the last, since I don't often lend out my books. I'm too afraid that I won't get them back!). I can dog ear all the pages if I want, I can make notes in the margin if I want, I can highlight entire paragraphs if I want...oh man I could go on forever. The point is, my name is Lara and I am a bibliomaniac.

Currently occupying my bedside table:
1) Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
2) The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson
3) When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris
4) Free Prize Inside!, by Seth Godin
5) Meatball Sundae, by Seth Godin
6) Fourth Comings, by Megan McCafferty

Will let you know how each of these books play into my "list of all time of favourite books" once I get through all of them!

P.S. Isn't the library in the picture just to die for? That baby is going on my vision board, pronto!

Have a happy Handmade Christmas!

Last year around this time, I decided that I wanted to buy local for all of my Christmas shopping. I figured it would be easy enough, with all of the wonderful local shops and markets that showcase Vancouver designers and artists. But I left it all to the last minute and wasn't able to find something for everyone on my list, simply because I only gave myself a few good shopping days. In the end, I was not successful in my quest to give all locally handmade gifts; I am ashamed to say that I even ended up giving some very NON local gifts such as Future Shop gift certificates and mass produced clothing items from stores that will remain nameless. But this year will be different. This year, I will succeed in my quest to buy local. This year, I am armed with a much larger arsenal of markets, websites and resources for handmade, locally crafted items and I am going to share them with you in the hopes that you will take the same vow that I have, the vow to buy handmade.

I know what some of you may be thinking - "why the heck is she blogging about Christmas right now?? It's only October!" Well, yes it may be a tad early to be thinking about Christmas shopping, but again since I went through the whole ordeal last year and wasn't able to achieve my goal, I am starting now to ensure that it will not happen again. Also, since I will be sharing my resources with you all in the hopes that you'll also have a happy handmade Christmas, now is as good a time as any to start with

Tip #1: Check out etsy, "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade."
I have found and earmarked dozens of amazing items/sellers on there already, and I haven't even spent a lot of time on the site yet. In order to make sure that you are truly buying local, use the shop local option by plunking in your location to view the etsy sellers in your area.

I'll admit, the reason I originally checked out etsy was to sell my bags on there at a discount off of regular retail price (gotta get rid of some of my inventory to make room for the new line which will be coming out any day now=P), but I ended up finding a wonderful resource for my own shopping needs. I hope you'll do the same!

I Heart New York

So, last month Karlo and I took a trip to NYC. I would have written about it sooner, except that as soon as we got back (like, days after returning home), I was rushed to the hospital with stomach pains and ended up having to have emergency surgery to remove some large tumours from my ovaries. Don't worry, I'm all healed now and back to normal. Anyways, the point is, the last 6 weeks of my life have been pretty much exclusively concerned with post-op dealings. But now I'm ready to get back in to the swing of things and dwell on the fun stuff, such as our amazing trip.

I have to say, I absolutely LOVE New York. Corny as it sounds, while we were there, I actually had feelings of "I get it now, I know why everyone wants to 'be a part of it, New York, New York!'" Ha ha. There's nothing that I didn't love while we were there. Everything is bigger and better and more exciting there. Now, don't get me wrong, being born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Canada has definitely contributed to my love of a laidback, easygoing lifestyle. But there's just something in the air over there, something that makes you want to be out and about all the time. Here at home, everyone pretty much knows I'm a homebody; my idea of a good night is hunkering down at home with my boyfriend, a good movie and some popcorn. Simple. Enjoyable. Easy. But when we were in New York, I didn't want to sit still for a minute. I wanted to be out on the streets of NYC doing/seeing/experiencing something exciting at all times. I think the most sleep we got the entire time we were there was like 3 hours one night. It was exhausting, but it was absolutely worth it. We will definitely go again soon, and if I had my way, we'd even live there for a year or two. But that's all for another post. For now, I'll leave you with just a few of my favourite pics from our trip, and let me say, it was hard to narrow them down since we took over 500 pictures!

OOPS! I did it again=P

Ok Ok Ok I know I've spent have my time on this blog talking about how I'm going to make a concerted effort to blog regularly and then I don't. It's been months and months since my last post and honestly, I have no real excuse for that except that I was busy with, you know, life and stuff! ha!

Anyways, to catch up on the last, what has it been, 7 months?!, here is the coles notes version:

-sadly, I attended 3 funerals between October to February. Tina Barretto, Koyo Hara and Janine Lieu were all taken from us much too early. I know people always say live life to your fullest because you never know when your time is up, and mourning the loss of these 3 beautiful, young people certainly gave me some perspective on that. R.I.P Tina, Koyo and Janine ~ you are loved and you are missed.

-I've had the luxury of going to some absolutely amazing concerts over the last few months - Jill Scott, Mos Def, De La Soul, Kanye West/Lupe Fiasco/Pharrell - all put on freakin fantastic shows! In the next few months I'm also looking forward to (FINALLY!) getting to see the amazing miss Erykah Badu in concert, as well as the reunion of Pharcyde at Rock the Bells (also featuring Mos, A Tribe Called Quest and some of Wu Tang) in Vancouver for the first time! Musically speaking, this year gods have answered all my concert prayers. The only other prayer that remains unanswered at this point is a Fugees reunion tour with a stop in Vancouver...that's not too much to ask for, right?!

-business wise, it's been an amazing time. We recently got accepted to Portobello West (www.portobellowest.com) and will be exhibiting there in June, July and August! I absolutely adore shopping at Portobello, so the chance to have a table there is so exciting for me!

-I recently auditioned for the Dragons' Den, on the CBC. Truthfully, the audition jitters were mostly due to the anticipation and just not knowing what to expect at the actual audition (how many producers would there be? how many questions will they ask me? how many other people will be there auditioning? yikes!). Once I actually got there and got pitching I felt much better. Unfortunately, it looks like Fave Handbags isn't ready for the show just yet, as the producers told me that I wasn't asking for enough money. The Dragons are looking for more large scale ventures, and I guess right now we're small potatoes to them. Oh well, it was an amazing experience and I'll feel a lot less nervous when I audition again next year!

-finally, our duffel bag was recently featured in the April issue of Envy Magazine. I'm sorry I don't have a better image of the article, but my scanner is kind of whack. In any case, here it is.

So that's it for now. Karlo and I are planning a trip to NY this summer, so I'm sure I'll have more pics to put up soon. I promise it will not be 7 months before the next post...seriously, I'll write again in like 5 months this time! Oh I'm only kidding.

Ciao for now!

Baby got back...

So, we've all got issues with our bodies, yeah? Whether it's a smaller waist, a bigger bust or a rounder booty that you dream of, we are all linked for the most part by a constant desire for a better physique. Some people are so driven by these desires for a better body that they will do anything to get the perfect form - working out, dieting or sometimes even going under the knife to achieve results. Well, for those of you out there suffering from FBS (Flat Butt Sydrome, and yes I did just make that up) I have found a relatively inexpensive, non-invasive and totally pain free way to show off what little booty you do have, and create the illusion that you've got a perfect derrière. They're called Fidelity Denim, and I just picked up my first pair this weekend.

Fidelity Denim is known for its "butt-enhancing cuts." Whether you want more booty, less booty or rounder booty, a pair of Fidelity jeans will give you the help you need. Ladies, if you've ever found yourself envying the likes of Beyonce, Shakira or even J.Lo for their "assets" well, these are the jeans for you. Personally, it's a little lift and shape that my bottom needs, so I opted for a pair of "The Dream" Classic Denim Trousers. As you may know, pocket placement is crucial when it comes to a fabulous back view. Higher placement means a perkier bottom because pockets that are too low lengthen your backside and shorten your legs. The Dream denim trousers have pockets placed just right for my rump, and the effect is a plumper, perkier derrière, which is exactly what I was looking for.

It doesn't hurt that I found these beauties at Winners for 60% off the regular retail price, either!

My new fave jewelry designers: Foxy Originals

So, on labour day weekend a group of us headed down to Seattle for the annual weekend long music festival, Bumbershoot. As always, we had a blast at the music fest, this year getting to take in some amazing shows like Joss Stone, John Legend, Lupe Fiasco and the legendary Wu-Tang Clan! I had a wedding to go to on the 1st, so we weren't able to make it down for some other concerts that I would have loved to see, mainly The Shins, Panic! at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, and even Sean Paul and Fergie. Well, there's always next year and Bumbershoot never disappoints so I just know that whoever is playing next year, it will be great!

One of the downsides of crossing the Canada/US border on long weekends of course is the long, long wait at the border. This year, we opted to take the truck crossing instead of going the normal Peace Arch route, but obviously everyone else was thinking the same thing so we ended up having to wait for hours in line anyways! We ended up passing the time tossing a football around while the cars were at a standstill, and also by taking a trip into the Duty Free shop, which I haven't gone into in years. I'm glad I did, too, because I absolutely fell in love with a new jewelry line while I was in there - they're called Foxy Originals, and their pieces are some of the absolute cutest pieces of jewelry I've seen in a long time! It turns out that Foxy Originals is actually a Canadian company (yay!) based out of Toronto, and they've been turning out their fun, playful pieces since 2003. I picked up a Lilith necklace (pictured above) in gold, and have my eye on a few other pieces - the matching Lilith earrings, the Bombay earrings and the Eve earrings are definitely going to be mine soon! Check out their website at www.foxyoriginals.com and I'm sure you'll find a little bling to love, too!

Fave Handbags hits Richmond, BC!

Ok, so I know I said I'd try to blog at least once a week, and then proceeded to NOT blog for a few weeks, but I have a good excuse. We've been working away at getting the online ordering function on the website ready, plus I had a handbag party to plan for this past weekend! The party was in Richmond, and it was a huge success. I'm proud to say we even had a local celebrity grace us with her presence - Joy MacPhail was in the house woohoo! The Mexican Fiesta theme went off without a hitch, empanadas and sangria warmed our bellies and the games and prizes were enjoyed by all. The ladies all got a chance to see the Fave Handbag line up close and play around with all of the fabric choices, and in the end lots of awesome handbag creations were designed that day! Thanks to all the ladies who came out to our fun, fabulous, Fave afternoon!!