Miller Time Friday - Acts of Kindness

Happy Friday! 

I am about to inherit Ontario's sloppy, snowy weather, but as I write this on Thursday night it is still beautful and sunny, albeit cold.

I had a great day today.  I had lunch with a friend and also went to one of our local "nice" boutiques and tried on about 20 summer dresses and various tops.  I have now spent April, May and June's budget and so am officially cut off, but on the other hand, I did really well. 

I also placed an order to J Crew - I have been eying the lightweight merino wool vneck sweater in navy
(you can see Ema model the papaya version here) and finally broke down and ordered it this morning,

as well as the featherweight cotton vneck in black.

Neither may make the final cut, but I realized this was a major gap in my spring wardrobe and I have wished for these several times in the last few weeks while dressing.  In the spring and on summer evenings, I am always wanting a sweater like these to wear over a tank top.  We shall see as it costs so darn much to return!

I have almost nothing to show you from my purchases today.  The two dresses that I purchased needed a slight hemming and one needed the arm holes adjusted.  The nice thing about this shop is that they do this work gratis.  The other top I bought is this sleeveless top in a lovely peachy pink colour from Nougat London with little applique flowers and details and which looked amazing with my white jeans.  It needed a tiny adjustment too.  But better to adjust now rather than not wear later.  The last top I did bring home but am too lazy to try on tonight, but here is a picture from the Nougat London website:

It is very boho, which I admit I do like a touch of in the summer...It is the loveliest shade of blue and looks amazing with my jeans (all colours) and my beechwood minnies.  I see this getting a lot of wear this summer!  GF - I think it it will look great the purse and those Tory Burch shoes! 

The two dresses I bought are very nice - a lovely black linen sheath with a bit of an aline skirt - very comfy and a nougat london dress in a dark coral and white colour.  Both have a vneck and are very flattering (I think!).  I am very happy as they can be dressed up or down and when I checked my summer dresses from the last two years, I only had three cotton dresses - the other two are fancier silk, which I was not looking for.  I feel very set for summer, except I would like a pair of gold sandals, but since sandal weather is not until June here and I do have lots of sandals, I am content to wait for the sales!

So that was my budget, flying out the window, all in one day!  I will now be good and am doing my best!

I blame it on the white jeans I was wearing - they have magical powers!  Every top I tried on looked fantastic with them.  I  am convinced now that white jeans may be the answer to all style woes!

I wore them again as it was very nice out and I wanted to try and steal the wonderful look from a Well Styled Life's web post earlier this week (sans the camel coat - I went navy wool as it was cool out)

Black Mr. Seymour ankle boots, ralph lauren white jeans, grey tee, grey pearls from China that a friend gave me and my navy wool j crew jacket.  I wore this under the calvin klein blazer/jacket and a navy/white polka dot wool scarf. 

I thought I would share a lovely story with you!  The other day, I got a very important letter from Revenue Canada about my dad's estate.  Barry went out yesterday morning to a flying lesson and then to drop this letter off to our accountant.  When he arrived at the accountant's office, he could not find it anywhere!    He retraced all of his steps, he came home and looked here, checked the care thoroughly and the letter was well and truly lost to him. (Hmm - this sounds remarkably like the It's a Wonderful Life plot...

While I knew Revenue Canada would simply issue another letter ASAP when I called them, I must admit I was very bothered as the letter was open and it had very personal financial information in it about my dad.  You know I have been meditating to try to reduce stress in my life so I meditated for awhile and said "let it go, Wendy".  No sooner had I finished meditating and came down the stairs, but I could see an older man walking up to the front door.  He was carrying that very envelope!

This old fellow, so sweet and in his late 60s, is the man responsible for cleaning and plowing the roads around the airport.  While he was sweeping up dust and dirt with his plow, he noticed the envelope.  When he picked it up, he said he thought about just throwing it out, then he realized there were papers in it.  He tried to call me (the letter was c/o me) but Revenue Canada had lost an "a" in my last name and he couldn't find me in the book.  He finished his shift at 7, got into his old truck and then drove in the exact opposite direction from his house to bring  me this letter.  I was so touched!  "Some fellow would have just tossed it in the dumpster," he said "but not me as I knew if it was from Revenue Canada it must be important and someone would be worried about it right enough."  How right he was!

Tomorrow, Barry is going to take him out a $20 Tim Hortons gift card (the ultimate ubiquitous "thank you" present in Atlantic Canada) and shake his hand.  The fellow and I chatted on my front steps for a good 20 minutes and he was just a delightful, kind man and restored my faith in good people going out of their way to do good things!

For Miller Time Friday, I have searched for a recipe with kindness in the title and voila:

Kill 'em with Kindness recipe

 1 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz Bailey's® Irish cream
1 oz Frangelico® hazelnut liqueur
1 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1 oz butterscotch schnapps
1/2 tsp caramel syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 splash whipped cream

Make a spiral with the caramel around the inside of the glass. In a shaker with ice, combine the Amaretto, Bailey's, Frangelico, Kahlua, butterscotch schnapps and vanilla extract. Strain into previously prepared glass and top with whipped cream.

 

Now some of you may recall I am deathly allergic to nuts, so I will have to pass on the almond and hazelnut liquers - but doesn't this recipe seem sickeningly sweet to you?  It did to me, too.  And since this is New Brunswick, and since that old fellow would no more drink a cocktail like this than I would, I think we will drink a little Moosehead beer in his honour tonight.

 

Moosehead is Canada's oldest independent brewery (so says their websites and we know that they do not lie).  It is worth it to go to the website and read the history of Susannah Oland, the Veuve Cliquot of Atlantic Canada!  Ah you can't keep a woman and her beer long parted..

Dani - I'll bring a couple of two-fours, or flat, if you prefer, and we will drink to this fine gentleman and his caring enough to go out of his way to return it to its owner!

Have a happy Friday and stay safe out there!