inspiring colours

Check out the amazing tights/bag combo that Carla was sporting when we got together on Saturday! Love this! Not sure where the tights came from but I know her yellow bag is Marimekko and came straight from Sweden (with love). You can probably tell from the photo that Carla hearts sensible shoes too.

a banner weekend

I spent part of the weekend sprucing up the blog by making a new banner for it. If you are reading this in a newsfeeder like bloglines or google reader, click on over to the blog to take a peek. Nothing fancy but I like it. Definitely better than the template one I've been using all these years....

I also made a new banner for my Etsy shop and I'm a little bit in love with it. I'm certainly no pro with Photoshop, not even a little bit, but I love how this looks. It took some playing around and a bit of frustration, but I'm so pleased with the outcome. You can see the new banner by clicking here.

fall is a good time for crafting with yarn

The chill in the air has inspired me to pick up the needles and cast-on a new knitting project. Last Saturday I decided I needed to start a project that very night so I headed to Zellers where I found some soft cotton-y yarn called Cot'n Corn in a lovely pale blue called "Water". Yes, yarn made with corn! Who knew?

I've started another pair of Voodoo wristwarmers from the Knitty archives. My idea is to modify them just a tad. I'll stick with the 2x2 ribbing until I get to the fingertips and then try switching to moss stitch for a nice little detail to finish them off. We'll see how that goes.

In other fibre news, I learned how to crochet a few weeks ago and now I'm a little addicted. So far I only know how to do chain stitch and single crochet but it's so much fun and much quicker than knitting I think. I've made a super long necklace that also doubles as a cowl but I'll have to wait until I'm having a good photographing day to take a picture of it.

By the way, I finally caved and joined Ravelry. I'm longestwinter over there if you want to be friends! :)

unseasonably warm

it has been a lovely weekend around here. today the temperature spiked back up to double digits (15 degrees Celsius) and we went out to enjoy the sun on our faces. afterall it might be the last time we feel warmth like this for many months to come.

first stop, darkhorse cafe for a yummy cup of caffeine. then off to cherry beach with the poochie.



it was a nice walk around the trail by the beach. lots of people with smiles on their faces and dogs frolicking in the sun. now the sun is setting and i'm looking forward to finishing the movie we started last night and relaxing on the couch with a new knitting project. pictures to follow in the next couple of days.

quick book reviews

i haven't done a book review in awhile and seeing as i just finished a book on the weekend, i thought it was a good time to catch up.

i just finished speak by laurie halse anderson.

turns out it won an award for young adult literature but i didn't know that when i requested it on bookmooch. it doesn't really matter though because i think i've mentioned before that i seem to gravitate towards stories with a young protagonist. so it was pretty much perfect for me.

the main character, melinda, is going through a really rough time. she is a social outcast at her school. all of her friends have abandoned her which would be miserable enough but she's also trying to forget about a terrible incident that happened over the summer. sounds heavy and in some parts it is pretty intense but melinda is just so likeable and sarcastic you really can't help but enjoy listening to her tell her story.

a completely enjoyable book and very easy read. loved it!
9/10

*****
and way back at the end of spring i finished then we came to the end by joshua ferris.


this was also a really good read and helped me branch out from that whole young protagonist thing. this is a story about a workplace, an advertising agency to be exact, and the crazy cast of characters that work there. it was fun to read about how this quirky collection of people get along and work together (sometimes in a very dysfuntional way). office politics, hierarchies, and gossip play a big role in this novel. i liked this book quite a bit though there were so many characters (just like in a real office), i sometimes felt i needed to go back and remind myself who was who at the beginning. enjoyable though.
7.5/10

*****
now that i have the most awesome job of teacher-librarian at my school, i suspect most of my reading will be of the kindergarten to grade 8 variety for the next little while. on saturday, i read babymouse, beach babe and started a couple of novels. i really liked babymouse. good for kids grades 2-4, i'm thinking.

look how cute she is!?!

autumn days

autumn's here, it really is. the calendar says so but so does my closet. just a couple of weeks ago i was still wearing short sleeves to work because the school was like an oven. now it's all tights and hoodies and closed-toe shoes. i'm not complaining. i guess the change of seasons is nice. it's just that fall doesn't tend to stick around long enough. blink your eyes and there's snow on the ground.

i took these pictures at the park with noah this afternoon. we are very lucky to have a ridiculously large off-leash area at our local park. it was really windy today and it stirred up noah's wild side. he ran and galloped with the blowing leaves (but sat very impatiently for this picture).

this picture makes me laugh because i can see the crazy in his normally calm eyes.

and just like that, the weekend's over

i was feeling a bit sluggish today, but i knew paul & i should really jet off to the west end because the best art supply store in the city (in my opinion) was having a massive sale. we stopped for coffee along the way and after a dose of a mocha latte, suddenly i was feeling a whole lot perkier! funny what a little caffeine can do. hey...this WAS going to be a good day afterall!!

after a shopping spree for both of us at woolfits (and meeting mr. woolfit himself...such a nice guy) we munched down on a veggie dog & perrier (they were having a free bbq outside of the store) and headed back home.

but sparked by my caffeine surge, i actually had the energy to hit cabbagetown to check out the artsy & crafty action. there was some cute stuff. i fell in love with some beautiful handmade quilts...they were absolutely gorgeous! i also came *this* close to buying something from susan harris. i can't get enough of her beautifully made clothing. but my rational side got the better of me and it was not in the cards today.

i visited with frederica for awhile. she makes such great silkscreened shirts and lino prints. c'mon, how can you not fall in love with her "cinderslut" and "little red riding whore" prints!?



these purses totally caught my attention with the great big wood button on the front. so cute! and it turns out the designer, becky, is super nice too.

she also makes lovely wide fabric belts and these adorable bum warmers! hee hee

i was so happy to see france from molly and june at the show. she makes the most beautiful, high quality couture coats for dogs.


every year the cabbagetown community also holds a massive neighbourhood-wide yard sale. i had fun browsing around there too.


and just like that, the weekend's over. i'm pretty tired now. i can already tell it's going to be one of those nights when the bed just feels soooooo good!!!