Jessica Claire Interiors

Channeling my inner Proboscis monkey as I pack up for winter break. See you in FLA 🌴

The holidays are a perfect time to get lost in a new book. I haven’t done a round up in a while, so here are some of the reads I’ve enjoyed most over the last year and a bit. Comment if you agree/disagree with any of my choices 📚

1. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
2. Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
3. Woman On Fire: A Novel By Lisa Barr
4. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
5. Yellowface: A Novel By R. F Kuang
6. Say You Still Love Me: A Novel By K.A. Tucker
7. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
8. Hotel Nantucket Elin hilderbrand
9. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslion Charles
10. The Words By Ashley Jade
11. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
12. The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

Night 6 and I’ve consumed more sufganiyot than I can count!

Hanukkah is a time when we share our light with the world, commemorate overcoming persecution in order to express our Jewish identity, and celebrate a miracle that happened over 1800 years ago in Israel.
While I know this isn’t an easy time, let this holiday remind you not to dim your light, downplay your Jewishness or disconnect from your homeland in the face of hate. As my friend says, being Jewish and alive is nothing short of magic. Living proud Jewish lives is more important than ever. Chag Sameach!



📸 for

Love a good holiday cookie! Somehow I’ve never been in an official holiday cookie swap before though… are they worth the hype?

From being a participant at last year’s Reboot conference, to months of planning this year’s lab and speaking to over 750 at Unlocking Your Digital Power - a lot can change in one year! So lucky to work with such amazing colleagues and creators in the fight to combat hate online.

Bring on the latkes! Chanukah starts in two weeks and I’m ready for all the fried things.

📷 by

If you can’t tell from my blow dried bangs, this photo is from 2007. I flew to Israel to spend time with my boyfriend who was volunteering there for the summer in between leading Birthright trips.

Most assume that I am the one in our relationship focused on Jewish advocacy — but it’s always been Dave who has been living and leading with the values of community, Tzedakah and Tikun Olam since we started dating.

I am blessed to have such a principled partner who sets an example for community leadership. And even more so, a partner who has been understanding and supportive of my inability to be present this past month in the midst of this crisis (an experience I know most community professionals are dealing with alongside me)

Living a proud Jewish life with you and raising our boys with our shared values is the best type of Jewish resistance. Happy Anniversary my love.

We will not give up on you.

This smoked fish platter has been on repeat this summer, in large part due to our obsession with all the wares from
On this platter: flaked filets of smoked trout and smoked salmon, pastrami gravlax, labneh (can sub with cream cheese or creme fraiche), chopped dill, scallions, capers, toasted sesame sourdough from

I know it’s only Monday, but if we could please fast forward to spritz’o’clock on Friday afternoon, I’d very much like that.

Linda’s 🦞 rolls

Attention Coffee Mill Devotees:
I have found the closest thing I have tasted in years to a Mocha Frosted! I ordered the frozen tiramisu from Il Gran Caffe (the ground level of ) and it was HEAVENLY. Have you tried it? Let me know what you think!

🍪 Camp Waks 🍪
You can personalize your very own S’more cookie cake from - what a fab host/hostess present!

Tbt to Dave and I seeing chef in action during his last visit to . I am still dreaming of that chicken herb salad!

Nobu by way of Simcoe - thanks chef

Nobu by way of Simcoe - thanks chef

Shabbat shalom 💙

5 fun facts - actually maybe they’re not the “funnest” and we’ll just call them regular facts - about me for the new faces here:

1. I live to eat (and to set a pretty table), which means I’m constantly in the kitchen working on recipes and trying new restaurants and products to share with you.
2. I work in the Jewish community combatting antisemitism and think that sharing Jewish pride and educating others about our culture, traditions and history is paramount to creating connections in an increasingly turbulent world.
3. I’m 99% retired from the world of interiors after working as a Design Editor at a shelter mag and with private clients - but I still love perusing the latest fabric and wallcovering collections!
4. I have identical twin boys who are going to be hitting double-digits in a few months. When they say “the days are long but the years are short,” they are not telling lies.
5. I’m the oldest of four girls with all the stereotypical anxiety and controlling, responsible, perfectionist energy that comes with it. Anyone else relate?

Comment if you agree or disagree with #2, #4 or #5?

The easiest mocktail that’s not even a recipe: pour elderflower tonic over ice, add a squeeze of lime and garnish with mint.

Soaking up the last of peony season. What is your fave colour peony? Pink, coral, white? 🌸

Sums up the cotty experience

Enjoyed an evening with standing united in the fight again antisemitism. Hate-inciting protests and smear campaigns meant to intimidate and discourage our community from gathering to hear from former Israeli PM Naftali Bennet only underscored our need to stand resolute against the demonization of the world’s only Jewish state. Congrats to the FSWC team on a successful evening and I’m so excited to hear from at their next event in a few weeks!

🏕️GIVEAWAY🏕️ I don’t know about you, but packing the boys’ overnight camp bags is top of mind! Lucky for you, I’ve teamed up with .gems for some personlized goodies to get your camper ready for their summer. Follow the rules below to enter to win this awesome bundle.

How to win:
1. Like this post and follow and .gems
2. Tag a friend in the comments. Multiple entries are allowed!
3. BONUS share this post to your stories for additional entries.
4. Must be located in the GTA for local delivery.

If you have a private profile, send me a screen cap of your story. Giveaway closes Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The winner will be contacted only by me via DM.

Let’s hear it for the peonies

What a day at the 🇮🇱

It was my first time experiencing the walk as a staff member and wow, it was truly incredible to see the months of hard work that go into creating this opportunity for our community to gather together and celebrate our love for Israel.

Thanks to everyone who said hello and helped create such incredible ruach!

Have been making posing in this front yard my personality for a couple of decades now and I’m not stopping anytime soon. Thanks J&J!

I saw this sentence in an old post by and it really resonated with me tonight. I hate contributing to polarization but I also firmly believe in celebrating diversity and representation. It’s 2023. It’s not part of a “woke agenda” to acknowledge that our children deserve a safe and inclusive environment to learn and grow in. 🌈

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

Hot pink pickled turnips adding some gorgeous colour to this crispy spiced lamb, chickpea and cauliflower dish. Have you ever had picked turnips before? They’re my fave with falafel 💕

A bit of a rainbow reflection snuck into this photo, which is very fitting given that’s exactly what Israel is to the Jewish people: a sign of hope, the beauty of safety and freedom after a storm of thousands of years of exile and persecution without a safehaven of our own.

Happy 75th Birthday Israel! 🇮🇱

יום הולדת שמח

Successfully kept Jack and Charlie from getting into this basket of perfectly golden salted chocolate chunk toffee shortbread that I’m bringing to Shabbat dinner tonight. Thank you for “the cookie.” With each variation I try, it is the gift that keeps (and that I love) giving.

Shabbat Shalom!

Just a Thursday girl with Day 4 hair patiently waiting for Friday. Who else is ready for it to be the weekend?

My biannual chop ✂️

How often do you cut your hair?

Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Cake
180 g baking chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup of unsalted butter, cut into eighths
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Glaze
120 g baking chocolate, roughly chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" round springform pan on the bottom and sides and fit the bottom with a piece of parchment cut to fit.
2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter in 30 second intervals, whisking until smooth and making sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder, espresso powder, vanilla and salt. 4. Check that the mixture has cooled off before whisking in your egg yolks. If it feels too hot, let it cool a few minutes before mixing them in.
5. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with the sugar with volume and the mixture turns opaque, about two minutes. You don’t want to whip it all the way into a super stiff merengue, but you want to build some body.
6. Fold in the chocolate batter into the egg whites, working with a third of the chocolate mixture at the time. Mix delicately until they’re just incorporated.
7. Pour batter into the pan and level with a spatula.
8. Bake the cake for 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
9. Let it cool it in the pan for a few minutes and then run a table knife around the inside edge of the pan to help loosen the cake.
10. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and allow it to cool completely.
11. For the glaze, microwave cream in a heat-proof bowl at 30 second intervals until it starts to steam. Don’t let it boil over.
12. Add in chopped chocolate and let it sit in the hot cream for 5 minutes.
13. Whisk the cream and melted chocolate together until smooth.
Spread the glaze on top of the cake and allow it to set in the fridge for a couple hours before serving the cake
14. Optional: Top the cake in fresh berries, figs and mint leaves.

Who is hosting a seder this year?

Last year, all four of us got hit with COVID and we had to cancel our seder, which really really sucked. This year, I’m hosting the second night and am excited because I looooove a good seder. The songs, the symbolism, the story, and of course, the food! Tell me what your favourite part of the seder is?

I’m missing slides weather and a little jealous of all the March Break travel, but throwing myself into the beginning of Spring cleaning is keeping me busy.

What a book. Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is made for my fellow MIT people (I’m talking MIT, not the MIT in the book)

Great book to devour on a vacation that will definitely make you think about gaming in new ways - especially personally for me regarding the complicated role it plays in our own household with the twins!

Have you read it? What did you think?

❤️Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️

Definitely need to make these heart pop tarts again

✡️ 🧿💛
Sharing my pride in style in my
This is the final week of the Valentines Day sale where everything is 20% off, site wide with code LOVE20

Did you know that 62% of Canadian millennials were not aware that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust? Join me in a global movement to commemorate the six million murdered, honour the Survivors and the Righteous Among the Nations for their courage and heroism tomorrow January 27 on

Download your sign at the link in my bio (or make your own) and tag and and some of these posts will be displayed at Auschwitz.

Let’s remind the world what can happen when hatred is allowed to thrive unchecked.