I think talent is drop dead sexy. And Michael Kiwanuka is effortlessly talented. Honestly. Have you ever heard a voice like his? It’s buttery. Smooth. Controlled. And there’s something so entirely old school about his talent. He’s not trying to riff every line up. It makes the feelings behind his songs so authentic. Oh swoon. I’m in love.

 The House

Good morning, my dears! Loving the bohemian chic look of this bedroom this morning. Isn’t it like a grown up version of Sarah and Becky’s room in The Little Princess? Oh yes. I want to throw some slippers on, curl up with that book and relax right here this morning.

Image via Reason to Breathe

What are you up to this weekend? I’m heading out for Italian (pasta, get in my belly), partaking in party shannanigans, and resting up with a cuppa jo. I might also tackle my Christmas tree this weekend. Actually now that I wrote out might, I know that I really should. Hope you enjoy your down time!

Etta James passed away today. She died at 73 of leukemia. It’s so sad. What a soul. And what a soulful sound she had.

As a singleton, it’s easy to get impatient. Especially when you thought you would have met your guy by now. And especially when you’ve had a string of  going nowhere dates and relationships. It’s easy to give up on love. It’s easy to give up hope. But it doesn’t feel great when you do. (And you never give up really anyway.) So here’s what I’m thinking. Good things happen to those who wait. I’m betting on that. And I’m betting on love. What about you?

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a Nora Ephron film. I think I’d probably choose to live in When Harry Met Sally since it’s my favourite Ephron film, but Julie & Julia comes a close second (probably due to the fact that I’d have to live through boiling lobsters and deboning a duck – yuck). Last year, Design Sponge did a sweet post on Living In: Julie & Julia (the images above are courtesy of Grace and her lovely blog). Oh to tour the markets of Paris with Julia and snuggle up next to Julie’s fabulous hubby. Yes I could live with that. Lately I’ve placated my yearning for Paris and all things Julia Child by drinking in the film’s happy soundtrack at work. I highly recommend it for days where your workload seems to keep piling up.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner peeps! Wouldn’t your heart skip a beat if one of these was delivered to your door on love day? Hop on over to Geronimo to order yours!

Kalyns

Mornings would be so much easier to get through if they were soaked in sunlight. But winter is dark. Your eyes open just a sliver when the alarm goes off. You fumble around for your iPhone and hit snooze. Oh yes. Winter mornings are hard. Particularly Monday winter mornings.

One of these days, I’m going to march into Laduree Paris and order a macaroon or two or six. I’ll probably freak out in a way teenage girls do in reaction to Justin Bieber (minus the crying). I’ll take pictures of the shop, the unimpressed Parisians just trying to get their macaroon fix, and finally myself stuffing my face with the sugary goodness. For that day, the biggest decision I’ll have to make is which colour of macaroon should I eat first. Because really, do you save the prettiest ones for last or not? It could be a great debate. If you’re craving a little Paris at home, you could always try your hand at making the world famous macaroons with the Laduree: The Sweet Recipes Cookbook.

I watched Oscar winning documentary, Buck tonight. I felt my eyes well up with tears a couple of times. That man is just such a sensitive soul. He single handedly changed the way many people are raising and training horses. It’s so inspiring to know that whatever your passion is, if you’re blessed enough to know what it is, you can make a difference in this world. You can change perceptions. You can change old, and broken traditions. You can change people. You can check out the trailer here and for those of you with Netflix, it’s on there! I hope you watch it!