Shop: Banana Rebuplic Evan Satchel in Leopard

I ordered the Banana Republic Evan Satchel in Leopard a couple weeks back. I absolutely love the shape of the satchel and the cute tassel FOB that is attached. The leopard print version was more than 100 dollars off  the price of the regular version of the same bag and I waited until I had an additional 40% promo, so in the end it was a real steal. (Seriously, BR owes most of their Quebec sales to me)

This purchase is really against type. I'm not a black leather, gold and animal print kind of gal; I generally leave that to the ladies out there that rock a more 'sexy' appearance (smokey make up, heels, etc.). I'm more of a self proclaimed nerdy girl, my preferences lean more towards peter pan collars, argyle prints and tweed blazers. So I bought the purse thinking it would be a wardrobe experiment and I am actually finding it much easier to incorporate into my wardrobe that I first thought. For one thing, a handful of compliments from strangers and friends are making me realize it was a good pick. Second, most of my winter outerwear is dark neutral or jewel tone, which ends up working pretty well with the pattern.

There are a couple negatives that I have found with the bag, however. I was hesitant to get it because it is made out of calf hair. Over the years I have avoided buying anything made with calf hair, not so much because of a political stance or even belief based (since I use leather products) but because the feel of calf hair creeps me out. I have this unnerving need to pet it, which makes me feel sad, cuz well...you know. Chalk it up to another of my quirks; it has less to do with the bag and more to do with me. The other drawback is more functional in nature. There are no hooks located at the ends of the purse to attach the shoulder strap. If you want to use the strap you have to connect it to the handle hardware, but that puts the connection points of the strap at about 5-6 inches apart - this does not make for good balance or ease of use. It's hard to explain but you'd know what I mean the minute you try it on. I'll just use the handles instead, problem solved.

Read/Watch: The Walking Dead

I had the opportunity this weekend to dig into vol. 17 of the Walking Dead trade paperback. I've been buying the trades because they collect a few issues of the comic book together at a time, which is just the right amount of pages for me to get into the story. I'm probably 4-5 issues behind the storyline but it keeps me relatively current. All zombie content aside, The Walking Dead has to be the most dystopic look at humanity I have ever encountered. At this point in the story, I know I shouldn't be surprised any longer when something horrendous happens but JEBUS, really, does it have to get that bad? I found myself putting the book down and muttering "Holy Sh*t!" to absolutely no one.

The Walking Dead reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Jose Saramago's Blindness.
They are all 'Lord of the Flies' type tales of dystopic societies which give me the heebie jeebies. I alternately feel interest, discomfort and repugnance while reading these books; especially with regards to how quickly the stories turn to bullying, torture and rape. Which begs the question; why do I keep reading? I liken it to eating something sour; I enjoy the agitation.

But back to the Walking Dead....the one difference that I find between these other stories and that of the Walking Dead (so far) is that Walking Dead does not seem to sugar coat or put a positive spin on the narrative. I really thought it couldn't get any worse but Robert Kirkman keeps going down that spiral. I dread how this series is going to end but to be honest, if it didn't end badly, I wouldn't think it to be true to the narrative. At this point, the only ending can be a violent one, and like a deer in headlights, I don't think I will be able to look away.

On a side note, no spoilers, I swear.... I knew what was coming in season 3 but I was curious to see how a TV show, even one on a subscribe channel with R-rated content, would represent such cruelty & degradation on screen. Hint: they took a decidedly more gentle approach.

 

Bunny: Ellie at rest

She's starting to trust us just enough that when she is outside of her cage, she will stretch out and lie down. She won't normally do this because she is way too nervous; if she does it's not for very long. It takes great stealth on my part to crouch down beside her for the opportunity to pet her belly.  It takes even more willpower to just leave her alone, but we all know I'm no good at that!

Is it just me or are her front paws just silly adorable? They are especially cute because of how utterly ineffectual they look ...it's like she has mittens on. Mittens with sharp ouchie claws that find their way into the soft flesh of my feet, belly, arms, chest....okay, so not ineffectual. But adorable nonetheless.

Eat: Slow Cooker Baked Beans & Osso Buco

I bought my crock pot slow cooker about two years ago and apart from one Indian lamb & pea recipe, it has sat atop the pantry waiting to be put into our kitchen rotation. I have to admit, I've been intimidated by it. I know this isn't rational. I've been told numerous times how simple it is to use but there's this part of me (due to years of family influence) that is afraid to leave it unattended while I am out during the day. Despite this paranoia, I finally decided to man up and try it.

I picked two recipes from Ricardo's Mijoteuse recipe book, one for breakfast and another for dinner.
The first was baked beans, which I prepared on a Friday night so that we could have beans with our breakfast over the weekend. I have always wanted to try my hand at baked beans and I think it was a good recipe to start with because it required very little ingredient prep before assembling all ingredients in the slow cooker (as long as you pre-soak the beans). I did the fast soak method by boiling the beans for 2 minutes and then letting them sit in a covered pot for two hours. I've read that every slow cooker model can function quite differently from one another and I found this to be true. Even though I followed the directions, I still needed to reduce the liquid by continuing the cooking process on high, uncovered until it reached a better consistency. I was very pleased with the end result though, the flavour was delicious. This recipe is a keeper, with the following minor adaptions: bacon instead of salt lard and the addition of ketchup for tang.

I capitalized on the 'slow cooker' momentum and tried my hand at Osso Buco the next day. This recipe required a bit more prep (browning the shank, onions, etc.) but I wouldn't call it labour intensive. Again, the end results we delicious but I did find that the sauce could have been reduced more. I didn't want to change the recipe the first time I tried it, but I'm getting the sense that most recipes I make will need to be adjusted to use less liquid or cook longer. Or at least with Ricardo's recipes, anyway...

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the Osso Buco, but here are some pictures of the baked beans. Marc decided to dice up his omelette and drop it right into a bowl of beans and hot sauce. Me likely.

 

Oh Happy Day!!

I was so flabbergasted about my mug going MIA that I decided to print up a 'Missing Mug' poster yesterday evening. It was primarily in jest but I figured what the hell, maybe it would lead to it's safe return. If nothing else, it was an interesting conversation starter around the office this morning.

As a result of my 'Missing Mug' campaign, someone during lunch today made a joke about the possibility that my mug was the prize for today's Valentine's Day draw in the cafeteria. His joke reminded me that I should do my daily sweep of the cafeteria coffee station in case it was returned there. Lo and behold! My mug was on the tray of washed coffee mugs! I was so pleased I nearly skipped back to my table!

Shop: J. Crew Heartbreaker Sweater in Lavender Burgundy

In honour of Valentine's day I decided to dress for the occasion in one of my recent eBay acquisitions, the J. Crew Heartbreaker Sweater in Lavender Burgundy. This pattern, and colour pallet is definitely not something I would have gone for just a few years ago, but I find that I am far more adventurous with colour/pattern in my old age. Bold colours and mixed patterns are still pretty fashionable this season so for the most part, I don't feel like I stand out like a sore thumb even when  I'm brightly adorned. Today however, I really felt that a lot of people were smiling and looking at me in the office. At first it didn't dawn on me why that was; it was only after a few comments in meetings and in the hallway that made me realize how many people had taken notice of the sweater based on it's Valentine theme. Perhaps it is a little jejune, but I think it's cute and I liked how people smiled when they saw it. I guess the true test, from a cost per use perspective, will be to see how people react when I wear it in November or some other time of the year other than Valentine's day!


Courtesy of J. Crew



Courtesy of J. Crew

Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Evil Dictators (and me!)

In honour of Valentine's Day (a day which seems to polarize society into thinking they must take a stand and identify as either Pro-Valentine or Anti-Valentine), I share with you, the worlds most discomforting valentine messages. "Don't Embargo My Love" has to be my personal favourite...

From I Can has Cheezburger....I think...