I'd like a Dutchie*

I sure would love one of these Dutchie bikes.






London Cycle Chic seemed to like the Oma classic version although it's probably too heavy to lug up to our flat for storage. Boo!

And realistically, I don't know if I'm really as cool or as hip enough as the owners shown above....

* No Dad, I'm not referring to your favorite Tim Horton's treat!

Look smart to be smart

Is it wrong that I've probably spent more time today looking for an outfit for my presentation at an international conference than I have actually writing it?

I hate public speaking but I just need to suck it up and do it. At least the conference is in the champagne region of France so I can drown my sorrows if I completely flub it.

Perhaps inspired by the fact that it is in France, I spent this morning trying to find a dress a la Mme Sarkozy. I thought she looked absolutely lovely in this dress.



Marks and Spencer actually had quite a few reasonably priced shift dresses.




Unfortunately they either didn't fit or they didn't have my size at our local store.

I did buy these rather lovely black court shoes though.



I am not very good in heels on cobblestones so if Reims is rather cobbly, I may just walk to the conference in flats and change into these. I'm attending the conference with all three of my male colleagues and my male boss and I love that I'm taller than them all when I'm in heels. (I really do think the majority of them suffer from short man syndrome).

Anywhoo, I did manage to find a black suit jacket and matching skirt at the store where I pretty much get all my clothes - H&M. Neither were all that expensive and I may wear the jacket as a coat when Lee and I meet up in Paris.

Yep, the hubs is meeting me in Paris for a quick weekend break after the conference! Needless to say, I'm VERY much looking forward to that part of the trip. We've bought the TimeOut guide to Paris and I've been scouring lots of blogs for inspiration on where to go and what to see.

I should go start to practice my presentation. I've realized over the past few years that I am someone that needs to practice over and over and cannot simply 'wing it' when under pressure (especially in front of a room full of academics).

Made by day

This video made my day:



Found via PharmaGossip

Retail rewards

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit".

That's what I did today to the group of lab-based researchers who were examining me for my mini-dissertation presentation and panel interview. I think I baffled them with statistics and was therefore allowed to officially progress into the second year of my PhD programme.

As a little treat to myself, I purchased three vintage maps of Edinburgh, Toronto, and Worcestershire. They are all places in the world that are important to me and I think they will look rather nice framed and hung in our hallway.





They were purchased from Etsy seller bananastrudel (found via the lovely blog Grace Happens).

Surprise visit back to Canada

I love it when a plan comes together... :)

Lee and I arrived back in the UK this morning after a whirlwind week-long trip back to Canada. The goal of the trip was to surprise my Dad on his (rather significant) birthday. The look on his face when he found us hiding in the backyard was priceless and certainly worth the 8-hour flight.



We were able to surprise him again a few days later when we took him to the Twisted Fork restaurant in Oakville under the ruse of a normal family birthday dinner. Thirty or so of my Dad's friends and colleagues were waiting for us - all wearing a wide range of funny aprons. The restaurant was ours for the entire night and the theme was Carribbean, so the food included curried chicken, baked sweet potatoes, fried plantains, rice and beans, cuban bread, and key lime pie.

After a short session on knife and general kitchen safety, my Dad was asked to draw names to create small groups that would be responsible for cooking a specific part of the meal. This was a great way for guests to meet and mingle.



The staff were incredibly helpful and patient, guiding us through each aspect of the menu. I was part of the 'rice and beans' team and attempted to stir the onions by flipping the pan like the professionals do. I realized that I have very weak wrists and had to resort to asking for a wooden spoon.

The baked sweet potatoes were delicious but peeling several dozen gave my sister a serious hand cramp!



Lee and my aunt were on plantain duty.



The coleslaw team.



We had such a good time celebrating my Dad and the food was incredible!



While we were home we also managed to pop into Toronto where the TIFF had just started. We both wanted to see some movie stars but after only seeing Eric McCormack walking down Bloor street, I consoled myself with some street meat (a hotdog) outside of the Royal Ontario Museum. Classy, I know.



We're now back home and back to reality. I have to defend my first year dissertation on Thursday, so had better get cracking on my preparation. Thank goodness I have a lot of tasty goodies from Canada to keep me motivated!



(The pumpkin is impossible to get in the UK and is a must for Thanksgiving! I certainly wouldn't classify the baking soda as a treat but as it is so much cheaper than over here and is available in much greater quantities, I thought I would stock up.)

Thunder thighs

Glad to see that my 'sturdy' thighs - which have always caused me grief when buying jeans - may actually indicate a reduced risk of heart disease :)

According to Danish researchers, men and women with a thigh circumference of less than 60 cm had a greater risk of coronary heart disease and premature death.

I'll choose to ignore the fact that the association shown by the researchers does not demonstrate causation just to make me feel better (I had a hard time trying on jeans at the Gap last night).