WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Living in the city my whole life, with all the hustle and bustle that surrounds my everyday living, I've come to appreciate the finer things in life. The walks in the park, cooking with friends, shopping, stuffing my face with food from a new cafe in town, movie nights, and always enjoying a good glass of wine. These have all inspired and shaped me to become the person that I am today.

Lately, I've been obsessed with going to Chapters/Indigo, and I've managed to pick up a couple of things that will continue to inspire my journey through the city:

I LOVE cooking - currently I'm loving the cookbook by Heather Whinney called "The Illustrated Quick Cook: Easy Entertaining, After-Work Recipes, Cheap Eats"

This hardcover (weighs a ton!) has inspired me to try new things and create some of the best dishes for my friends and family this holiday season - isn't that what it's all about?

Recently, my friend and work buddy Katie brought into work her very own recipe book that she made entirely by herself! Taking her crafty skills to the next level, she took an old novel and artfully put her favourite recipes together on each page!





I went through this book 4 times! FOUR! And photocopied some of her recipes to try on my own. And now, I'm definitely going to buy my own recipe organizer for all the dishes that I love! She's bringing out the crafty girl in me!

Check out more of Katie's creation at http://www.flickr.com/photos/superflash/3482448262/

And now - from cooking to fashion.

I LOVE Fashion - anything that's a bargain or just simply cute! I don't mind splurging once in awhile, but I'm quite the die-hard H&M girl (considered costly or not). Hey! If it fits, looks good, and the price is right, then why the heck not?! And I blame it all on this book: WHO WHAT WEAR

I feel the subtitle says it all - "Celebrity and Runway Style for Real Life" - REAL LIFE (sigh) I love it when fashionistas can bring high fashion back down to earth - to real life. The authors (Hillary Kerr and Katherine Power) didn't forget about us normal, city girls. It's an amazing book! And it has inspired me to look at clothes with a professional, fashion-loving eye from now on. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all about finding a good piece at the right price, and I'll continue to do that. That's who I am. But this book has taught me about piecing together the right garments, colours, and accessories. And I now know who my "doppelganger" is (Check out the book, and you'll know what I'm referring to)

So these are some of the things that inspire me, albeit not nearly a quarter of what makes me who I am...but this is just a taste.


Now I ask, WHAT INSPIRES YOU?