After my first rainy winter in Vancouver, I was beginning to wonder if good weather here was a myth created by cranky sun-deprived Vancouverites to mess with other Canadians. The past week has proved that theory wrong and the sun has been out in full force!

I am all over the maxi dress for summer. Grab a great pair of sandals and a few accessories (statement necklace or a stack of bangles) and voila, you are instantly pulled together—it makes getting ready in 10 minutes an actual possibility. My recommendation when looking for a maxi dress? Choose one with a defined waistband otherwise you run the risk of people asking when you are due.

The first time I wore this dress T asked if I was going to a ball. First of all, do people still go to balls? And if so, why haven’t I been taken to one? Clearly I have the proper attire I just need to drum up some glass slippers.

Jacket: Zara (bought in Panama), Shirt: Anthropologie, Cardigan: Gap, Cropped Pants: Gap, Shoes: J.Crew, Necklace: Antique Chinese Turquoise at Rubaiyat, Lucite Ring: Alexis Bittar at Rubaiyat

Psssst Happy Spring!

My demand for these simple and fast recipes is that they actually taste good so once I find one that meets my “I’m-not-a-chef-but-it-looks-like-I-am” requirements it usually becomes a staple in my (very small) repertoire.

A few years ago I discovered a recipe for whole-wheat pizza dough and was blown away by how easy it was to make. From start to finish it takes about 25 minutes (including time to rise) before it is ready to hit the oven. It is a thinner crust which makes for a mean Margarita pizza.

What you need:

To make 12 ounces dough:

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2-2/3 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
1) Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Then combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if it’s too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Keep this up until the dough forms a ball, and then knead (in mixer) for 1 minute.

2) Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling. (See how easy is that?)

3) Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack; preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza with whatever you choose and bake the pizza for 10 to 14 minutes until the base is golden and crisp. (Make sure to move the dough to the pizza stone before you top it otherwise transferring it to the stone can be a disaster!)

As mentioned I am not a chef however one thing I absolutely love in my kitchen is our pizza stone. You definitely don’t need a super expensive one, the $20 variety works wonders and you can use it for heating up loads of other things (we use ours to heat up naan for curry!).

Buon appetito!

 Recipe is from Eating Well.

Pants: JCrew, Shirt: Anthropologie, Jacket: Gap circa 2000, Hoodie: Joe Fresh, Flats: JCrew, Necklace: Paper plane by Broken English from Walrus,  Clutch: Plum, Nails: Essie’s Turquoise and Caicos

I wish I’d bought these pants in every colour. I bought them on sale at JCrew last summer and they are the perfect pant for oh say, walking the dog on a lazy Saturday.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

We were lucky enough to stay with a friend’s parents’ place. Who knew it would look like a page right out of architectural digest? (Yeah I happened to coordinate with the accents, what can I say?)

Day one was amazing. We took in The Sheepdogs, Other Lives, Gary Clark Jr., Mazzy Star and finished off the evening with The Black Keys.

As mentioned it was scorching hot so day two involved tracking down some bandannas, to make these guys look badass of course.

It also involved an insane amount of good music starting out with Dragonette (where their computer kept overheating),  Childish Gambino (Troy from Community raps for those who didn’t know), Noel Gallagher, Feist, dancing to David Guetta and chilling at Bon Iver.

Radiohead closed the evening with mind-blowing performance even if Thom flubbed a couple lines and giggled.

So Day three was the one I had been waiting for. After catching the the last song by the folk-duo First Aid Kit (definitely worth listening to) and dancing to Santigold (a less aggressive version of MIA) next up was Gotye. Even though I am sure most people in the crowd only knew “Somebody that I Used to Know”,  he still managed to get everyone up dancing and singing. We zipped over to catch Girl Talk who drew a massive crowd with his easy-to-dance-to mashups.

Then it was time for the woman I had been waiting for: Florence and the Machine. Dressed in a black leotard with gauzy wings and as kooky as ever, Flo put on a wicked show. Best part about it was I could actually see the stage. A really tall guy was nice enough to switch spots (seriously, who does that?!).  If you haven’t seen her and you have a chance to you should (pssst, she’s coming to Vancouver).

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre and yes, hologram Tupac closed Coachella. We were all  surprised (or maybe a bit embarrassed) to realize we actually know way more of his songs that we thought—who knew we were such gangstas.

So, see you at Coachella next year?