Bensimon Sneakers...

Wouldn't it be lovely to stroll down the street in these casual yet chic sneakers just like the French girls. I think a pair of these Bensimons are in order for a 'birthday to me' present, since I am turning 29 today!! And yes, this means one year closer to being thirty but I have to say that I feel pretty satisfied with my age and of all that I have accomplished in my 29 years! I wouldn't change a thing!

Images Via Bensimon Girls

P.S - Sorry for the lack of posts lately but we have been super busy with roofing our house and of course all of the other fun summer activities!! I promise an outfit post is coming soon!!

Love,

Karen

Suryanamaskara

My sister in law took me to my very first yoga class when we were visiting her and my brother in Thailand almost six years ago. Soon after, Dominic and I moved to Taiwan and immediately started a yoga class. We had the most amazing instructor and even though the class was entirely in Chinese, I learned so much about yoga as a way of life! Participating in classes 3 times a week for 2 hours per class really inspired me to continue my practice even after we left Taiwan. And as a result, yoga has become an integral  part of my life that keeps me happy, healthy and grounded. Moving around as much as we do, yoga has been one of my constants as all it requires is a yoga mat and maybe some nice yoga gear. Yoga I love you!

How do you keep healthy and fit??

Love,
Karen

Off we go......

I am so excited because we are just about to head out for an adventurous camping trip in Northern Saskatchewan. I am not sure if it will look just like this but I am sure that it will be great!! In any case, I am bringing my camera so I hopefully I will get a chance to document a few of the highlights!! Hope you are having a great week!!

Source

Love,
Karen

To Wash or Not to Wash?

Last year my hair stylist told me that I should not wash my hair everyday!!! My immediate response was, "that is so gross." However she continued to explain to me that the shampoo actually washes out all of the healthy oils that makes our hair shiny and beautiful. When you wash your hair too often, the scalp over compensates for its lost oils and goes into production overdrive, leaving you with greasy hair after only one day of not washing. So, the less you wash your hair the less greasy your hair will be. In addition to this, shampoo actually has a long list of chemicals, which I personally would rather like to limit as much as possible. So by the time my haircut was finished I was inspired to cut down on the amount of times I washed my hair per week.  

I must say however the transition from washing to not washing your hair is not instantaneous and is actually not that easy. When I began this endeavor, the first few days without washing my hair were excruciating. Not only did I feel a bit dirty but my hair looked and felt dirty as well. But, since I was dedicated to this experiment I stuck it out. And by the third week, my hair actually started to clean itself. Now I shower everyday but only wash my hair once every three or four days. And by only shampooing my hair every four days, the natural oils have time to make my hair look and feel amazing. 

Photo via Pinterest

I would love to hear your thoughts on hair washing??? Would you ever try cutting down on the amount of times you wash per week?? 

Hint: A great time to start the transition from washing to not washing is on a weekend camping trip. 

Love,

Karen

Baby Bumble Bee

My birthday is coming up at the end of July and I know that Dominic always looks on my blog for gift ideas. So not to make it obvious or anything, but I thought I would post this lovely baby bee necklace just in case!

Baby Bee Necklace

Love,

Karen

El Mar de Amarillo.........

I want to start off this post by saying that Dominic has finally arrived back home from Newfoundland and after two of the longest months of my life, words cannot even describe how happy I am to have him back. Not to mention, my blog has been a little slow as I have had to find replacement photographers in his absence. So now that he is back, I promise I will get back to some regular outfit posting!! 

Purchased in a little Mexican market, this is one of my favorite summer dresses. The Mexican Puebla dress or the peasent dress is traditionally style dress which is attached to a large folkloric story which goes like this: 

 "In the early 17th century, a girl from China, Mongolia, the Philippines, or India was brought to Puebla, Mexico by the Spaniards as a slave. The unfortunate girl, whose name was Mirrha, was apparently bought by a man named Miguel de Sosa. Sosa had Mirrha baptized and given the Christian, Spanish name Catarina de San Juan. Upon the death of Sosa and his wife, Mirrha married Domingo Suárez. Oddly, Suárez was the Chinese servant of a local priest, and this fact seems to have added to the legend that Mirrha was Chinese, though as I've said, there is belief that she may have come from some other eastern country.

According to the legend of the China Poblana, Mirrha refused to dress like the locals and maintained the dress of her distant homeland. The fashion caught on, and soon native women were copying her distinctive style of dress. This dress consisted of an embroidered, short sleeved blouse, a long, full skirt and shawl. For an image of this costume, see this article on the China Poblana." (Source)

The dress that I am wearing is actually a child's size large. This size is super hard to find but with some good searching/shopping skills it can be sourced out!! So, make sure to pick one up on your next trip down south. 

Mexican Boho Dress: Market Purchase

Belt: Vintage

Bracelets: Aldo

Clogs: Sanita

Love,
Karen

Popcorn and True Blood!!

So excited to watch tonight's episode of True Blood. I am not a big TV watcher, in fact we don't even have a TV. But every Sunday night during the summer, we go over to my parent's house to make popcorn and watch True Blood. If you haven't seen it yet, I definitely suggest you do!! Tonight's episode should be amazing!! 

Love,

Karen

Built By Wendy Spring 2011

This is my favorite time of the year to shop for summer clothes because summer in Saskatchewan only officially begins in July and coincidently most of the summer clothes are currently on sale!! If you are looking for a few more pieces to complete your summer wardrobe, you should check out the Built By Wendy Sale!!! There are so many cute items that make the perfect addition to any closet!!

Love,

Karen

Strawberry Rhubarb Summer Cake

When we moved into our sweet little summer home, there were an abundance of rhubarb plants just waiting to be savored. So when I came across this strawberry rhubarb crumble at Smitten Kitchen, I just couldn't resist baking it. 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered

Juice of one lemon

1/2 cup sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (some commenters found the flour option a little too, well, floury so this has been updated)

Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)

3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

P.S - This is one of the most delicious summer cakes I have ever tasted!!

Love,

Karen