mailbox goodness

yesterday i got some great stuff in the mail! in addition to the usual bills and junk mail flyers, i actually got some fun stuff. robin and i decided awhile back to do a jewellery swap and yesterday i got her package in the mail. not only did she send me a pretty necklace with colours that i love (pink and green), but she also included a ball of pretty pink hand-dyed koolaid wool. i can't believe how soft it is. i'm trying to think of the perfect project to knit with it. (any suggestions?) she also sent along a cute little lamby-shaped soap. hee hee. such fun stuff! thanks so much, robin! (i hope you get your parcel sooooon.)



i also got a box of pretty shells from my dad and nicole that they bought during their trip to vancouver. i just realized i forgot to take a picture though. but trust me, they are pretty. they look like this and one of them is pink! thanks dad & nicole!

sunday afternoon rock show

the indie rock music gods must have been on my side yesterday. julie doiron, my most favourite-ist singer ever, was playing a free show at a local music store yesterday afternoon. and even though i left the house terribly late and was worried i wouldn't even get in the door, i managed to score a spot to sit front and centre.


it was an amazing surprise to see that mike of snailhouse also showed up to play at the in-store. i went to see julie and didn't realize he'd be there. he is such an amazing singer and writes the lovliest songs. i kid you not, i actually got goosebumps when he sang. GOOSEBUMPS!....in 40 degree (celsius) weather! i listened to a bit of his new cd at the listening station and it sounds incredible.


julie and mike sang backup and played during each other's songs. their voices are so pretty together.


if you haven't heard of either of these artists, you can hear julie play some live stuff here. you can also listen to a few selected snailhouse tracks here and here. i think you'll like it...

slacking off

forgive me everyone, for i have sinned. it's been 6 whole days since my last bloggy entry...

i guess that's to be expected now that summer is in full effect. the weather has heated up and all i want to do is get out of the house and do stuff. anything and everything. i'm hoping once school is out (4 days and counting) i'll have a bit of extra time to post with more regularity.

these past few days have been busy and fun. on thursday night we broke out of the weeknight routine and met up with andrew and sabine at the beaver cafe for dinner. the beaver is a great little restaurant in parkdale. we sat out on the patio and chatted over some very yummy food and iced tea with little umbrella garnishes. then we all headed over to gallery 1313 to see the installations for the parkette exhibition, including karina's.

last night we went to a housewarming party of fellow east-enders, sheri and mardi. they are a couple of local artists who make really amazing resin jewellery. (note to mom: they made the necklace paul gave you for christmas a couple of years ago).
here's an example of what they make.

it was so exciting to see their home studio. it's way bigger (and more organized) than ours. i got some great storage ideas for my own little workspace though. anyhow, it was a wonderful surprise to walk into the party and see our friend, tim! paul had just run into him earlier that night and came home saying "i saw tim tonight in our 'hood. he must know someone in the east end." an hour later he was at the door at sherri and mardi's. too funny.

after the party, it was a beautiful night so we took noah for a late-night walk up and down our street. we met a really nice couple who live up the street and ended up talking to them for about 45 minutes. turns out we have a lot in common. it was so nice to meet some cool people on our street because sometimes we get annoyed by the sketchy folks who seem to take over our neighbourhood at times.

finally, i got a much-needed haircut this week. in my obsession with before and afters, i took these photos.



paul says he can't see a difference! how can that possibly be? look at that ratty hair in the before picture! ugh.

happy father's day

since i introduced everyone to my mom on mother's day, it seems only fitting that i introduce you to my dad today.

everyone, this is dad.


here are a few things you should know about ed...

* he's a big joker and loves making people laugh
* when it comes to fixing things around the house, he knows better than to try it himself. (but he's awesome at calling a professional to do it)
* he started out as a dj at the local radio station and one of my earliest memories is of my mom saying, "who's that on the radio?" and me exclaiming "daddy!!"
* he likes to sing really loud. sometimes he even gets a few of the words right
* even though we butt heads politically sometimes, he's not nearly as conservative as he used to be
* without a doubt, he's the hardest worker i know. he puts 150% into everything he does
* he's not just a great dad but an incredible friend

happy father's day, dad! i love you!

my new favourite

oh my god, i can't get enough of threadbared.com. a couple of very funny women have put together a blog that pokes fun at the illustrations on vintage sewing patterns or craft book covers. i wish i could link you directly to some of my favourite entries but unfortunately every page has the same url. so just trust me on this.

start off by checking out the entry from monday called "Early 70s Precursor To The Evil That Is Anne Geddes". (if you don't know who anne geddes is, look here first.) and i almost split a gut going through the "craft" catagory archives when i first discovered the website awhile back.

hope you enjoy!
xo krissy

woot!

i really wanted to go to the church of craft meet, dude show, and the bata shoe museum today but i had to stay home and work on report cards. (pout)

but now i'm doing a happy dance because i'm DONE!! reports are done, spellchecked, saved to disk and ready to hand in tomorrow! and it's still light outside!

WOOT WOOT!

summer just (unoffically) began 10 minutes ago.

the latest in doggy couture

last weekend at woofstock, paul bought noah the cutest little deconstructed t-shirts for winter!

grrr...i'm a badass! look, i'm wearing a skull on my shirt.


and every little boy needs a shirt with race cars on it (even though you can't really see them in the picture)


and yay, they make cute stuff for humans, too! (i'm eyeing the kate, juliet, and princess shirts and lolita skirt)

p.s. coincidentally, nadia also took pictures of her adorable doggies modelling shirts this week. so cute!!

lock up your petunias

yesterday after my little shoe shopping spree, i stopped into home depot to get some gardening gloves. yes, my very first pair of gardening gloves.

they have tomatoes on them. wheee!


i also found some little plant cutters (don't laugh...i have no idea what they are called.) up until now we've been using some dollar store scissors to cut back our plants and bushes. now not only do i have tomato-print gloves but i have...cutters!

here i am pretending to hack away at the one houseplant we've managed to keep alive. poor little thing.

little miss sensible shoes finally writes about...SHOES!

my family has bemoaned the fact that the name of this blog doesn't exactly fit with the content. more than one person has said, "how come you never write about shoes?". so this is for you, people.

today is about day #5 or 6 or i don't know, of stinkin' hot, sweaty, HOT weather. don't get me wrong...i'm so not complaining. i'll take this any day over snow and slush! but my feet could not take another minute in my high tops.

you would think that a girl who names her blog, "i *heart* sensible shoes" would be a shoe fiend. an addict! but i'm not. i like shoes, but frankly my list of requirements that make shoes sensible (to me) makes shoe shopping a bit of a chore. so i basically live in these maryjanes or more often than not, these chucks.

both are way too hot for this weather.

so i went straight to my local payless and tried on about 6 pairs of shoes that would not require socks and/or would finally let my toesies breathe.

i brought home these:


and these:


they fit almost all of the necessary requirements.
*no leather? (check!)
*affordable? (check!)
*comfortable? (check!)
*cute? (the jury's still out on that one)

the thing is i don't think the blue espedrilles will go with anything in my closet. but i do think they're kinda cute even though they are a little twee for my style.

the black ones are a little too preppy, i think. but they are soooo comfy! and again, totally don't fit my style. even less so than pair #1. but at least they're black and if not style-wise, at least colourwise they will go with more stuff.

gah! please feel free to express your thoughts and opinions on this very pressing issue.

the rage!

last night was the grand opening party for a new clothing/accessory store called the rage. it is a very cool new place in kensington market in toronto. (you might remember few weeks ago i mentioned that i was getting an order ready for it.) sarah, the owner, held a big party ~with lots of candy~ last night and the tiny little store was packed with people! so many people showed up that the party spilled out onto the sidewalk

my favourite thing about the rage is that sarah has hand-picked really new, unknown local designers to feature their stuff in her store. i haven't seen anything like the stock she has anywhere else in the city.

here are a few pictures from last night.




last night was party-time, today is report-card-writing time. blech. it's too nice outside to be stuck in front of a computer all day. :(

killer tomatoes and the northern lights

i'm sure i'm not the only person who gets like this, but for the past few months i feel like i've been in a food rut. it's like we always end up making the same dinners week after week just because they're easy. so last night i got the idea to try and replicate the two most delicious sandwiches i've ever tasted. the killer tomato and the northern lights, both from cafe santropol in montreal.

so if you are like me and need to try something new for dinner (but scream and run the other way if there are too many ingredients) you should give these a try. (except if you're not into dairy)

killer tomato
chop up a whole bunch of sundried tomatoes. mix with really soft cream cheese (like the "western" brand). if you feel like it, cut up some fresh tomato slices. slice some yummy and sorta fancy bread, like the stuff from a bakery. spread the cream cheese/sundried tomato mixture on the bread. top with fresh tomatoes. inhale!
*this is also good with some chopped pecans thrown in, although they don't do that at santropol.

northern lights
chop up or slice green olives (with pimentos). mix with soft cream cheese. throw in a small handful of chopped pecans and mix. spread cream cheese/olive/pecan mixture onto some fresh bakery-style bread. enjoy!

if you ever go to montreal, you have to go to cafe santropol. not only are the sandwiches out of this world, but the patio is a little oasis...full of plants, lush trees and the odd squirrel running about.

sucking up the food and atmosphere on their patio.