Being a tourist in the town where you reside can be a dream if you make the right connections.This charming boutique hotel is conveniently located in downtown Vancouver amid excellent shopping and dining. It’s luxurious with a relaxing ambiance.
Salt Water Pool
The large corner room was very clean with a huge bathroom and really comfortable beds.
Room with a view (sort of)
The efficient staff was very helpful in making recommendations on where to eat and places to see (even though we were already quite familiar). They have several bikes on site which you can reserve for four hours at a time so cruising through Stanley Park with a pitstop at English Bay Cactus Club was a breeze.
En Route, Air Canada magazine has this to say:
With kitchens equipped with Bosch appliances and staff that greet you by name in the hallways, L’Hermitage feels more like a chic European pied-à-terre than a hotel in downtown Vancouver. What we loved The hotel welcomes four-legged friends with Torre & Tagus ceramic bowls, cozy cushions and a walking service. If you only have one night Enjoy the sun while sipping a Nespresso in a velvet armchair in your suite’s private solarium overlooking the saltwater pool.
Maybe it’s the influence of a fashionable friend visiting from London or maybe it could be that I’ve always found LONDON WOMEN have a look (aka the London Look) that’s a bit more edgy or funky (for lack of a better word because groovy is what really comes to mind) over the rest of us. I admire the way they experiment with clothing and accessories and manage to pull off something more avant-garde and make it chic and fun. it’s not necessarily anything trendy or something we’re so used to seeing. Which leaves us wondering…hmmm how did she pull it off? For this post we look to the feet.
Feet found on the streets of London during Fashion Week – unfortunately not by me.
MOD WOMEN
Photos: Vogue (UK), Buro (but chosen by me from plenty more images).
Last night was the first time I made this dish. I’ve been in the mood to try satisfying meatless meals and something easy to prepare & fairly quick to cook. It’s a keeper. This one is filled with goodness like mushrooms, chickpeas and marinara sauce. Plus it’s only 143 calories per serving for those of you watching your weight. Why Spaghetti squash? (see bottom for some of the health benefits). This squash possesses an uncanny resemblance to spaghetti strands when cooked, and for this reason is known as vegetable spaghetti which makes the dish when combined with the rest, taste somewhat like a vegetarian lasagna. You can add other veggies like zucchini, red bell peppers or broccoli. It was delicious especially with the added sriracha hot sauce (I always zip it up with a little heat on the side).
Serves: Makes 8 cups
Ingredients
1 (3 lb.) spaghetti squash
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¾ tsp ground oregano
½ tsp ground pepper
⅛ tsp salt
1 ½ cups marinara sauce (your favorite kind)
1 ¾ cups (no salt added) chickpeas, rinsed & drained
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (animal rennet-free for vegetarian)
Additional veggies to add (optional of course) with the onions & mushroom: red bell pepper, zucchini and/or broccoli, and a little chopped jalapeño for zing.
Instructions
Here’s the best way to cook spaghetti squash! Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, rub a little olive oil and salt on the inside, and roast in the oven cut-side down. OR;
Using a large, sharp knife, pierce the spaghetti squash in several pieces.
Place the spaghetti squash in a glass baking dish and cook in the microwave on high for about 15 minutes, turning the squash halfway through cooking.
Before handling, let the squash stand until slightly cooled. Using a fork, twist out strands of the spaghetti squash flesh and place in a large bowl.
Preheat the broiler.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet, set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the garlic, oregano, pepper and salt. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the reserved spaghetti squash, marinara sauce, chickpeas and parsley.
Spread the spaghetti squash mixture into an even layer in the skillet. Top with the Parmesan cheese.
Place the skillet under the broiler until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve.
Spaghetti squash is also rich in the B vitamins riboflavin, niacin, and thiamin, which promote optimal cellular function. Folate is also found in this bright-colored vegetable. Folate supports the formation and development of new cells and may help prevent birth defects, making this squash an ideal food for pregnant women. This nutrient can also help filter out homocysteine from your blood and promote cardiovascular health.
Potassium, a mineral that maintains proper muscle and nerve function, is also present in spaghetti squash, making it helpful for people with high blood pressure. Manganese, a mineral that assists in bone and tissue heath, metabolism, calcium absorption, and nerve function, is another key component. Spaghetti squash also contains the essential minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc.
Another reason to consume spaghetti squash is for its omega-3 and omega-6 fats content. Omega-3 fats are associated with the prevention of inflammation, which may cause heart disease, arthritis, and certain types of cancer. On the other hand, omega-6 fats are linked to proper brain function. It is critical to maintain the ideal 1:1 ratio of these fats.
We cannot start talking about all the natural wonders of the world without a shout out to WONDER WOMAN! I mean; c’mon….what girl did not want to embody the image of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman? So having said that, I don’t know very much about the new movie (not starring Lynda Carter) but I’m willing to go see it with my sis. Because WW gets things done.
It’s never too late to start a mantra!
There must always be something to celebrate – how about just living?
This is an older photo from my scuba days in Jamaica. I wore stripes so that the angel fish would think I was one of them. But they knewI was no Angel. Clownfish maybe?
Monument Valley, Arizona must be one of the most natural spiritual settings on earth. I took this photo on one of our glamping trips. It’s also the setting for many John Wayne old spaghetti Westerns.
These are somewhat thought out random posts. Because like you, my mood always changes! Welcome to the week.
Adding the probiotic powerhouse called KEFIR to my morning smoothie has become a replacement for regular almond milk. Finding grass fed is the ultimate.
And of course daisies and a sprig of mint make it more appealing
Its unique name comes from the Turkish work “keif,” which means “good feeling.”For centuries, it’s been used in European and Asian folk medicine due to the wide variety of conditions it’s been known to cure.
Although I still like almond milk, Kefir comes with an impressive abundance of additional health benefits listed below. It also tastes very good blended up with berries, protein powder and whatever else you put in. I add green powder (of course I use Brad King’s ultimate vegan organic wild greens – it really is the best and has everything you can think of per scoop), about one Tbsp. of brown flax seeds which I grind up just before putting it in the Vitamix and lastly a Tbsp. of organic flax seed oil (per the disease fighting Budwig Protocol). Sometimes a little turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon + honey.
SUMMERhas officially arrived in all its sunny glory. Here is how I celebrated the very first day.
Not exactly diving into the first day but still enjoying the pool and wondering where have all the ducks gone?A girly get together for another birthday celebration. L-R Sylvain, Louise #2, Rosa, Louise #1 (birthday girl), hostess Colleen (in her stunning garden).Rosa & Jia Jia. I’m so relieved he didn’t jump fall into the pool like he once did in Las Vegas.
Louise, Colleen, mango cake & local strawberries Shady Lady Selfie (RAEN, LA Durante Sunglasses from Summer Box of Style; yeah! – gotta get my plug in)
With all the different options of bags on the market the grip handle bag has always been a ladylike choice.
Grace Kelly with the Hermès bag named after her – still in demand.
There are pros & cons to carrying one.
It’s a no-brainer because you just grab ‘n go, it doesn’t mess up your outfit and always looks sharp for a more polished look.
Even though they’ve never really gone out of style (think Lady Dior or the Vuitton Speedy handbags – both best sellers) they lost their appeal for a while.
But they seem to be making a modern comeback.
Gucci – found on “Real Real” websiteHarper’s Bazaar
On the other hand if you’re out walking the dog (leash in one hand, phone in the other) it’s just another thing to hang onto. An over the shoulder, backpack or cross body bag is much more convenient in this case.
But when it comes to the beach, most straw bags are hand held. It would look awkward throwing one of those over your shoulder.
Bag, Staud. Photo: Atelier Dore. See below for where to buy.Bag, General Store. See where to buy below.
The larger purses that come two-fold (with grip and a strap to fit over your shoulder) are convenient but many of them don’t always look so nice. I prefer those where you can remove the larger strap. Which brings me back to getting a grip on it; as shown in these photos.
“I’d never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.” – Woody Allen.
Caramel Curves Bike Club. Photo: Akasha Rabut for Insider
This seems like a pretty cool club though...if only they’d accept me!
Caramel Curves is an all-female motorcycle club that rules the streets of New Orleans. They’re local celebrities who use their fame for fundraising and community building projects.
With their matching outfits, sky-high stilettos, and dazzling motorbikes that emit puffs of pink smoke, Caramel Curves is a photographer’s dream.
Founded in 2005, the all-female motorcycle club meets every Sunday to cruise through the streets of New Orleans and share in the sisterhood of partaking in what is often a male-dominated arena. Photographer Akasha Rabut spent three years riding with them and documenting these divas in action. She beat me to it! There are 28 of them. Can we make it 29??
Wanna know how to make these exotic fruit tartlets using dragon fruit, guava, and everything in between?
I found this on goop.com. To kick off summer, they developed three easy, refreshing, and slightlyhealthy recipes—one with a classic custard base, one made from coconut milk, and one dairy-free chocolate sorbet that tastes a lot like frozen brownie mix. And if you don’t have an ice cream maker, these recipes all happen to make excellent popsicles, too…
If you have cancer or know someone who is fighting cancer you should READ THIS.
I recently found out about this healthy disease fighting protocol that’s been around since before I was born. It’s called the Budwig Diet (but it’s not really a diet per se). My brother Brad King (a nutritional researcher, best selling author & keynote speaker) first told me about this. After reading up and learning more about it I decided to add it to my morning health ritual as a preventative. After all, it comes from an excellent source and is backed by scientific research.
I’m not very good with science or chemistry however this makes sense even to me. It made perfect sense to my husband who has a natural knack for both chemistry and science. It’s worth trying out. And it costs very little.
You’ll need two kitchen essentials: a coffee grinder + an immersion blender (the electric hand-held kind). You’ll need three food items: organic cottage cheese (the best you can find with bacterial culture) or; you can substitute organic goat kefir for those who have a problem with cottage cheese, organic unrefined flax seed oil (I use Flora) and organic whole brown flaxseeds (I use 365 whole foods brand). Whatever kind you buy make sure they do not contain added lignans). Brown flaxseeds are cheaper than golden and better for you because they have the husk and contain less lignans.
First off, who the hell is Dr. Budwig?
Dr. Johanna Budwig was a seven-time Nobel Prize nominee. She was a top European cancer research scientist, biochemist, blood specialist, pharmacologist, and physicist.
Dr. Budwig was born in Germany in 1908. She passed away in 2003 at the age of 95.
In Germany in 1952, she was the central government’s senior expert for fats and pharmaceutical drugs. She’s considered one of the world’s leading authorities on fats and oils. Her research has shown the tremendous effects that commercially processed fats and oils have in destroying cell membranes and lowering the voltage in the cells of our bodies, which then result in chronic and terminal disease. What we have forgotten is that we are body electric.
Our Bodies & Our Brain
Most people do not realize that the dry weight of the human brain is sixty percent fat. Many of these fats are of the unsaturated variety and this protocol is what helps the brain function optimally.
This process requires the highly unsaturated, particularly electron-rich fatty acids found in a type of omega-3 fat called ALA (ALPHA–LINOLENIC ACID) of which flax seed oil is one of the highest sources of.
The Budwig diet appears to allow cancer cells to start breathing again.
This has to be one of the greatest discoveries ever made as this combination promotes healing in the body of chronic and terminal diseases. In her book, Dr. Budwig states “Various highly trained and educated individuals are dismayed and irritated by the fact that serious medical conditions can be cured by cottage cheese and flaxseed oil.”
The mixing of the oil and cottage cheese allows for the chemical reaction to take place between the sulfur protein in the cottage cheese and the oil, which makes the oil water soluble for easy absorption into your cells.
The cells of our body fire electrically. They have a nucleus in the center of the cell which is positively charged, and the cell membrane, which is the outer lining of the cell, is negatively charged. We are all aware of how fats clog up our veins and arteries and are the leading cause of heart attacks, but we never looked beyond the end of our noses to see how these very dangerous fats and oils are affecting the overall health of our minds and bodies at the cellular level.
Dr. Budwig discovered that when unsaturated fats have been chemically treated, their unsaturated qualities are destroyed and the field of electrons removed. This commercial processing of fats destroys the field of electrons that the cell membranes (60-75 trillion cells) in our bodies must have to fire properly (i.e. function properly).
The fats’ ability to associate with protein and thereby to achieve water solubility in the fluids of the living body—all this is destroyed. As Dr. Budwig put it, “the battery is dead because the electrons in these fats and oils recharge it.” When the electrons are destroyed the fats are no longer active and cannot flow into the capillaries and through the fine capillary networks. This is when circulation problems arise.
Without the proper metabolism of fats in our bodies, every vital function and every organ is affected. This includes the generation of new life and new cells. Our bodies produce over 500 million new cells daily. Dr. Budwig points out that in growing new cells, there is a polarity between the electrically positive nucleus and the electrically negative cell membrane with its high unsaturated fatty acids. During cell division, the cell, and new daughter cell must contain enough electron-rich fatty acids in the cell’s surface area to divide off completely from the old cell. When this process is interrupted the body begins to die. In essence, these commercially processed fats and oils are shutting down the electrical field of the cells allowing chronic and terminal diseases to take hold of our bodies.
A very good example would be tumors. Dr. Budwig noted that “The formation of tumors usually happens as follows. In those body areas which normally host many growth processes, such as in the skin and membranes, the glandular organs, for example, the liver and pancreas or the glands in the stomach and intestinal tract—it is here that the growth processes are brought to a stand still. Because the polarity is missing, due to the lack of electron rich highly unsaturated fat, the course of growth is disturbed—the surface-active fats are not present; the substance becomes inactive before the maturing and shedding process of the cells ever takes place, which results in the formation of tumors.”
She pointed out that this can be reversed by providing the simple foods, cottage cheese, and flax seed oil, which revises the stagnated growth processes. This naturally causes the tumor or tumors present to dissolve and the whole range of symptoms which indicate a “dead battery are cured.” Dr. Budwig did not believe in the use of growth-inhibiting treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. She was quoted as saying “I flat declare that the usual hospital treatments today, in a case of tumorous growth, most certainly leads to worsening of the disease or a speedier death, and in healthy people, quickly causes cancer.”
Dr. Budwig discovered that when she combined flaxseed oil, with its powerful healing nature of essential electron rich unsaturated fats, and cottage cheese, which is rich in sulfur protein, the chemical reaction produced makes the oil water soluble and easily absorbed into the cell membrane.
The Budwig Protocol
The mixing ratio is two tablespoons of cottage cheese to one tablespoon of oil. Mix only the amount you are consuming at one time so it is mixed fresh each and every time. One example would be to mix (4) tablespoons of cottage cheese to (2) tablespoons of flax oil, consumed twice daily or more depending on the severity of the health condition, one is attempting to address. One should probably start slowly with the oil, maybe just once a day and work their way up letting the body adjust to the protocol. The oil and the cottage cheese must be thoroughly mixed at a low speed, using an Immersion Blender, blending until a creamy texture with no standing oil is achieved.
The mixture should then be immediately consumed.
Do not add anything to the mixture until after it is mixed.
Then you mix in by hand two tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed over the top of the freshly mixed flax oil and cottage cheese mixture. This supercharges the protocol. Do not buy pre-ground flax seed as the flax seed goes rancid 15 minutes after grinding. You may grind up the fresh flax seed with a small coffee grinder.
Then place in bowl, mix fresh berries over top (raspberries, blueberries + blackberries are best), chopped walnuts and/or brazil nuts (brazil nuts contain selenium), a little cinnamon and a bit of organic raw honey if you feel you need to sweeten it slightly.
You can mix it up a bit. I’ve tried probiotic goat milk Kefir instead of the cottage cheese and I’ve also tried mixing half cottage cheese & half Kefir so the consistency is not so thick. Also a bit of turmeric, cinnamon…
Also here is a very good YouTube video which actually shows how to make the flax oil and cottage cheese mixture correctly. When starting the protocol you would not want to make such a large amount at first, as shown in the video.
This charming boutique hotel is conveniently located in downtown Vancouver amid excellent shopping and dining. It’s luxurious with a relaxing ambiance.
Here’s the link:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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