There's a first time for everything...

Today I met up with Kat for lunch at good ole Heart Beet Kitchen and decided to try something new. I finally gave the zucchini noodles with eggplant meatballs a shot, since so many people had raved about them. Well my darlings, it was drab at best and just an utter disappointment. However, things got back on track with a gorgeous and delicious pumpkin cupcake and a nearly as yummy strawberry chocolate cupcake (which was tasty but frankly looked terrible! There was zero love and attention paid to the frosting. It was so slapdash and was missing the attention to detail that I've come to expect at Heart Beet.). Anyway, time to take a break from the Beet and get crackin' on a juice cleanse in October. Hooray for health!

Nesso

I often wonder if other people daydream. Am I the only one? Seeing this Italian home beside a gorgeous lake, with mountains in the background and that irresistible lil' bridge had me fantasising of having this place all to myself. I saw it as a home away from home where I could write and research to my heart's content, or stand on the bridge at night and watch the stars twinkle, sit by the window at sundown with a glass of Scotch while listening to the water and the birds in flight. I even imagined throwing a lavish get together with friends and family, because this little beauty looks like there's plenty of room for overnight guests. 

(stunning photo kidnapped from @nonnarena1's IG page)

She Done It Again!

My Bad Books arrived from Helen and in it she included a bonus book. After removing the rubber band it opens to reveal a book of envelopes! Helen said she was so "tickled" about my sending myself a postcard from Scotland that she came up with this book so I can "fill it with notes to yourself about how awesome you are". A new art project is in my future!!

(note that if you look real close in the top left corner of the first photo you can catch a glimpse of Freddie Apple Bear's profile!)

The Weekend Score

I did pretty good at Plastic Fantastic/Gold Million Records with Kimmy on Saturday. I turned in some albums and they let me have the Eric Dolphy album in exchange. I'm very excited about buying my first Ella Fitzgerald record, because let's face it, she is thee best female vocalist of all time.

Greetings from Bear Country!

Oh how I love my big brother Wayne! Check out this cool postcard I got last night:

The Sisters Brothers

I'm taking a break from my silly romance novels and diving in to a good ole fashioned western. I'm only a little ways in so far, but I really like Patrick DeWitt's writing style AND that the chapters are short. Short chapters are the best. You feel like you've accomplished something and want to push on through to the very end. Long chapters are so defeatist. At least I think so. Anyways, I'm crossing my fingers that there's not any graphic rape scenes, scratch that, ANY rape scenes and nothing too horrific or crazy violent. I'll be sure to stop back and leave my final thoughts once I've finished it!

(October 23, 2017 12:17AM. I liked this book. I was apprehensive at first, but I grew to truly like Eli Sisters, as was clearly the author's intention. From the very beginning this book reminded me of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unforunate Events. I only read the first three books because I couldn't bear the constant let downs and just knowing that no matter what, misery would befall those children. I instantly intuited that The Sisters Brothers would not have the happily ever after ending, no matter how much I hoped for it. I won't go into any details, but I really did enjoy this book, especially the style it was written. It gave a very specific voice to Eli and that helped to paint a vivid image in my mind of who he was. I liked how Eli was a fully realised character; a complex man of many emotions, opinions, and thoughts. I discovered just yesterday that a film version is in the works. The actors slated don't match what I envisioned and I immediately dismissed the possibility of ever seeing it. Then I noticed the director: Jacques Audiard. "Damn," I thought aloud, "now I think I gotta give it a shot.")

Twin Peaks Wisdom

Gold Million Records

Today Lady Miss Kim and I drove out to Bryn Mawr to check out the old Plastic Fantastic. We had such fun and took oodles of pix - I even snapped one of shy little Leo the pupper with Kim's phone. Kimmy had never been and was so excited to see the photos of Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop and The Talking Heads. "Can't we just go there? Like, can't we just jump in there and go back in time?? Warp us there!! I wanna go!!" This place is so fabulous that it spawns the imagination of 40 year old women who wish to pull a Mary Poppins and jump into a photograph.

Home?

BFF Amy took this photo of her home a year or so ago and don't youse think that a wee lil' Tiny House built exclusively for me, would fit perfectly just tucked away, off to the left, and right inside the trees? Aside from the bears, it would be absolutely ideal.

Three More Bad Books

In preparation for my adventure this upcoming Thanksgiving I reached out to the outrageously talented Helen Coldwell and submitted a new request for a fab travel journal. While waiting for her creation to complete, Helen put up for sale a Twin Peaks themed journal that reads She's filled with secrets. Since David Lynch is my fave filmmaker and Twin Peaks is one of my fave TV shows of all time, I immediately messaged Helen and asked that she save one for me. She also had a little tiny journal with stars decorating the inside for sale so I went bananas and bought three books. Can't wait for them to arrive, as knowing Miss Helen, they will include a sweet little note.

Across from Ha'Penny & Beside Merchant's Arch

Greetings from Hawaii

Look what I found in my mailbox this morning! A beautiful postcard from dear, sweet Natalia. Gosh, I miss her.

October Date

Looks like Zach and I are gonna be heading to The Colonial Theatre to see WarGames in October and I for one cannot wait!! I loved that movie growing up. The first time we had computer class in grade school and I saw an actual computer I seriously typed Global Thermonuclear War. What a dork...

New Fall Menu at The Beet!

Hooray! Today I took Xave to Heart Beet to try out some delish vegan eats and he absolutely loved it! The Coconut BLT, the S'mores cookies, the flatbread, and the pita and hummus all had him oo-ing and ahh-ing. In place of the side salad of kale he went with fresh fruit. "What the hell is this?" he asked, holding up a slender piece of brown yumminess. "Oh!" I told him, "it's a date!" Later when I asked what he liked best, Xavier said, "the date. It blew my mind." Contrary to what Sallah said, there's no such thing as a bad date. Well, edible ones, that is. Anyway...my favourite Heart Beet gal was on duty (I'm 99% certain her name is Jessica) and it was just a perfect afternoon to gorge myself on loads of new menu items and gab with my lil' brother.

Roasted Cauli Hummus with Pita was good, but I kinda miss the cheese board they had for Summer.

Quinoa Tacos - tasty but wicked messy!

Flatbread app with "cream" cheese, pears, walnuts, arugula, and caramelised onions was superb.

Saturday in Bryn Mawr

So today started out great then went swiftly downhill. Jackson adores Nana Rose; of this we are all aware, but today he kept on and on about wanting to see her. This clearly translated, to my insecure self, as "you stink out loud and are a total bore so take me to someone I truly care about." Before he became an unbearable monster, we had lunch at MOM's and a lil' photo shoot outside of Hope's Cookies. Once I got home and had a big sob fest in the car, I remembered what my father's ex-girlfriend, Eleanor, told him over the phone back in the 1960s: "I need some space." Translation: "without you in it." Looks like Jax and I will be taking a break for a bit. First MJ and now Jackson? I need to be with people that actually want to be with me.