today

today was a good mail day.
i got some soft grey legwarmers in the mail from my stepmom, nicole. they're original from back in the 80's...

and i also received the little otsu dayplanner i ordered a couple of weeks ago.

i love that you fill in the dates yourself. so since january is more than halfway over, i won't have any empty pages because i'll just start numbering from today's date.


today was a good library day.
i picked up 3 items i had holds on: a vegetarian cookbook ("enemy of the steak" heh heh), a novel ("love is a mix tape" by rob sheffield), and a dvd ("who killed the electric car"). the novel came at a good time. i'm about 15 pages away from finishing the book i'm reading now ...sooooooo goood! thanks michele!! xoxo


today was also a good freecycling day.
i picked up a great gold frame from a generous person on the toronto freecycle group. i'm collecting frames for our little wall of art in the studio/guest bedroom. i'm not sure if i'm going to keep this one gold (looks cool against the red wall in here) but i may paint it with a super shiny laquer in hot pink or turquoise. *by the way, i just put a postcard in there for the photo. i'm hoping to fill it with a cute print from etsy. maybe even one from my favourite artist on there.



and this weekend was a good crafting weekend.
i was successful in making my largest shrinky piece yet! very exciting! i've got a few possible ideas for this...

and here's a picture that gives you a better idea of just how big she is (4" tall) compared to my regular-sized pendants.


also bought a couple of cute new things this past weekend. i'll post about them later in the week.

the car died 2 weeks ago and i've been taking the ttc to work everyday since. it takes 1.5 hrs each way but i've been finding ways to amuse myself.

2008!

happy new year, everyone! hope you all had a fantastic & relaxing holiday whether celebrations of the season were involved or not. we had a great holiday break spent with family. now it's kind of quiet around here....

what better way to start the new year than with....CAR TROUBLES! ah yes, it's an ongoing struggle around this house. no sooner do we get something fixed and something else breaks. today the car crapped out on paul as he was coming home from practicing with his band. c.a.a. towed it but the really bad news is that our faithful mechanic is away in florida for a week. he's pretty much become like family to us and i just don't trust our car to anyone else. so if the estimate to fix it is too high this will be end of the volkswagon. a bit sooner than expected.......

in happier news, i've been doing some crafting just for fun. last night i pulled out my little red suitcase full of bits & bobs and put together this necklace:

(is that little wooden bird a religious symbol? for some reason i'm thinking it might be and i'm a bit concerned about that. can someone please let me know if it is.)

and made this brooch which has been swimming around in my head for ages!

(the pink isn't as bright as it looks in the photo....)

and tonight i finally worked up the courage to hack off the sleeves to this dagg & stacey sweater which i accidentally felted when i washed it last year. the body of the sweater is fine but the sleeves felted so tight that i couldn't bend my arms in it anymore.

and here's just a picture to show you how cute the back of it is....


so here's to a happy, crafty new year for all!!

snowed in

toronto got totally pummelled by a massive storm today. this is the view of our street taken this afternoon.

needless to say, it was the perfect excuse to stay inside, drink tea & hot chocolate, and take a mid-afternoon nap. we did, however, have to brave the elements to dig out the car so i could get to work tomorrow morning. i can't remember the last time i've seen so much snow!

and what blog post about a storm would be complete without a picture of noah looking cute with a snowy face!?

awwwww.....

thanks so much to kitchen for letting me know that my "i *heart* the 80's" charm bracelet was featured in this week's NOW magazine gift guide! woot woot! big hugs to sarah at the rage for always being such a huge supporter of my jewellery!

if you look closely at the page, you can see that my friend kim's amazing pillows also got a mention! yay!

(if you want a closer look so that you can read what it says, try clicking on the photo or head over here and scroll down.)

back again

i'm back from my crazy 11-day stint at the one of a kind show and happy to report the show went extremely well! there were some slow days but overall it turned out to be my best show yet! my mom was the most awesome ratgirl employee of all-time, holding down the fort at the show while i was off at my day job in the morning. somehow she managed to work 11-hour days for 11 straight days....incredible! the woman has definitely earned her title as ratgirl employee of the year!

i wish i had photos from the show to show everyone but unfortunately i totally blanked and didn't even think to bring the camera. which is really too bad because some of the booths were pretty awesome!

today i rewarded myself with a day off from work! i slept in until 10:00am, watched martha, had a long relaxing shower, spent lots of time cuddling with noah, started reading the latest bust magazine, had an afternoon nap, and ate a lot of chocolate! it was perfect!

thanks to all of my friends that stopped by to say hi! seeing a familiar face in a sea of thousands of strangers sure made my day!! and an extra big hug to paul for making such awesome meals for mom & i to take to the show and giving noah lots of attention when i wasn't around.

and now it's time to relax with a magazine before bed....

wardrobe remix (halloween style)

can you guess what i dressed up as today??


(click the photos for a bigger pic)

plaid top: thrifted
belt: gap (bought 17 years ago!)
jeans: h&m
socks: le chateau
oxford shoes: thrifted

~extras~
hair clips: dollarama
calculator watch: the bay
glasses (with added tape in the middle): the bay
pocket protector: a couple of pieces of sticky notes worked like a charm!
in pocket: pen, pencil, solar calculator

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

trying to...

...ease back into doing the wardrobe_remix thing again. it's been forever since i've participated. not sure how long i'll be able to keep it up since it takes me forever to do. i always have to take a bunch of pictures in hopes of getting one that's usable.

vintage dress: a local charity shop
longsleeve tee: h&m
tights: roots (from winners)
pleather oxford shoes: thrifted

~extras~
gold locket: a gift from my cousin
grey scarf: a piece of t-shirt fabric
calculator watch: casio (from the bay)
pleather bag: winners
pleather belt: urban planet

quite quiet

just peeking in to say i haven't been blogging much lately because there's just not much new or exciting to report. i'm still fighting a nasty chest infection but feeling more energetic which means i've been spending more time working in the studio. it's so funny...i often worry what will happen when i run out of ideas. but the last couple of weeks have been quite the opposite! i've got so many new ideas that i'm worrying i won't be able to get them all done in time for the show. i've also had to break down and ask paul to make me a few extra displays so i have somewhere to put the new stuff.

in other news:

* i made the yummiest roasted butternut squash & apple soup last night. it was like eating autumn in a bowl.

* i wish i had time to start a knitting project. i really want to make a cowl or the shopping tunic i posted about here.

* i've been enjoying baking cookies...made a batch of super spicy ginger & chocolate chip (so yum!) and also some (very meh) peanut butter cookies.

* i miss swimming. i can't wait to feel like myself again so i can get back to it.

* noah's hair is growing a bit shaggy and i swear he looks like a little teddy bear these days.

* only 2 more weeks left of the farmers' market. then back to (bland) grocery store produce. (sniff) besides, i'll really miss our farmer friends. they're always so nice to kim and me.

a little p.s.a.

hey there, ontarions...it's election day! get out there and vote!

and don't forget about the referendum... i know, the coverage of it has been sadly lacking. but it's a really critcial issue and if you're still in the dark, i strongly suggest you quickly read up on it before you head out to the polls.

of course, if you can't be bothered you can just take my word for it and vote in favour of this alternative (m.m.p) system. i think it has the potential for some really positive changes in how our provincial government works. (for example: parties will actually have to work together to get things done instead of the governing party having so much power---and in my book that could be a really good thing!)

that is all. :)

so excited!

elizabeth gilbert, the author of eat, pray, love is going to be on oprah tomorrow!

right now

i'm loving:

the amazing style of these 3 ladies over on wardrobe_remix:
bonboniaa

nemrespobjecodnedjelje

piksi_


speak to me bones and magnetic hill by land of talk, although the whole album is AMAZING!!!

pashupatina's beautiful sculptural necklaces



pretty much every painting by the black apple

this brilliant method of displaying a pez collection by one good bumblebee

and the shopping tunic from twinkle's big city knits
*****
happy thanksgiving, fellow canadians!
enjoy your long weekend...

on the mend with a very picture-heavy post

i've been mostly absent from blogland this week because i've been home sick with the flu which annoyingly morphed into a chest infection. (cue parental concern and phonecalls to make sure i'm ok.) but i've got me some good monster-sized antibiotics to munch on and i'm officially on the mend. (so no need to panic, ok mom & dad?).

this is kind of old news now but i still want to share. paul & i were two of the thousands who attended nuit blanche last saturday eve. nuit blanche is an incredible (free!) event showcasing hundreds of installations of contemporary art around the downtown core of toronto. the most exciting part is that it is an all-night show...it starts at 7:00 saturday night and lasts until 7:00 sunday morning! it has without a doubt become my most favourite event in this city. days before paul & i print out the maps of the 3 zones and meticulously plan out all of the installations that are "must-sees". then we look forward to walking around and being surprised by what other ones we stumble upon. here are some photos from last saturday:

a giant inflatable locust


this building appeared to be filling up with water! with giant lobsters and fish inhabiting inside!


the crafty gal in me fell in love with this building covered in pink quilted fabric, crocheted doilies and 3 massive buttons sewn on the top!

people are about to be horrified when they watch the person in the video scoop water from the canal and mix it into the martini.


the knit cafe was having a fun pom-pom making party and exchange.


this woman bravely agreed to have the contents of her home moved onto the sidewalk for public display. i was incredibly concerned someone was going to walk off with some of her knitting needles or real simple magazines.


re-creation of the last supper complete with audience participation, beans & bread, serene-looking sky digitally displayed behind the table, and an audio track of chirping birds!


slow-dancing with a teacher (random people were asked to "slow dance" with a teacher behind velvet ropes)

i even spotted jian ghomeshi dancing with a teacher!

oh my...a massive disaster in the middle of the university of toronto campus!


and a funny japanese video installation about falling in love.


whew...we saw a lot considering we were only out from 8:00pm until 2:00am. and the crazy thing is that we saw even more than what i've shown you...

needless to say, sunday was filled with naps!

chained to the studio

nah, not really but i have been spending a crazy amount of time in here. good thing i love what i do otherwise it would actually be work!

with october almost here, i'm starting to feel a teensy bit of panic about how much stuff i still have to make before the one of a kind show (at the end of november).

in other ratgirl news, i spent the weekend putting together a brand new order for snazzygirl and all those goodies got shipped out this afternoon. putting the order together is a breeze, it's the photographing, photoshopping, and writing of the descriptions that is kind of hard for me. luckily my honey helped me with the photographing. (thanks, paul!) xoxo

here's a tiny peek at a couple of the items that will be going up on snazzygirl very soon:



*****
edit: hey, the new stock is already up on the website!! and i also suggested that most of the old stock be put on super-duper discount and looks like that's already done that too! go check it out...

i left my heart in 1994

i've borrowed the above image from tony dawe over on flickr. it was taken during sappyfest in august but i figure it's close enough.

saturday night was the eric's trip show at lee's palace. for those unfamiliar with them, they were (are?) a canadian band from moncton n.b. who were around during the early 90's but broke up in 1996. they're also without a doubt, my most favourite band of all time! the last time they reunited was in 2001 and i saw them play in london, ontario and also in toronto. i've been patiently waiting for this show since i found out about it in early august. saturday's show definitely did not disappoint!

highlights:
-julie clearly having a blast on the drums during the opening act
-rick starting his solo set with "behind the garage"...so amazing...just him and his acoustic guitar
-julie joining rick onstage for the last song of his set "allergic to love" and then they had the sweetest hug onstage afterwards.
-an incredible set of all of their very best stuff...i swear i haven't danced & jumped around like that at a show for a very long time! (a sidenote: i think the swimming i've been doing is helping. i didn't feel winded afterwards at all.)
-a fabulous encore including one of my favourite songs, "red haired girl"

on our way out of the show i saw carla making her way through the crowd. i wish i'd known she'd be there. anyhow, we've been exchanging our favourite moments over facebook for the last couple of days. perhaps she'll have more to add...

click here if you want to listen to some of their music. note: you'll have to click on the songs to hear them...what you hear when you go to that page is not eric's trip, it's the website's streaming audio.

lately:

reading:


listening to:


desperately hunting for:
thick & chunky charcoal grey tights (so elusive i can't even find a picture of them with a google image search!) EDIT: sorry, i meant to say thick & chunky cable-knit tights in charcoal grey. it's the cable-knit part that i'm having trouble finding. please let me know if you find some....

making a million of:


excited about:


delighted by:
inside a black apple

thinking about:
baking peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies

last weekend...

on saturday we went to the vegetarian food fair down at harbourfront. we've missed the last couple of years because the first weekend in september is traditionally packed with festivals all over the city. it was good to get back there and see what's new in fake meat technology. i sampled some especially yummy dried soy jerky.

here's a little photo collage i put together from the food fair. sorry, the pictures are a little on the small side... (click on it to enlarge)


TOP: 1. big woks 2. little veggie dog 3. sarah kramer, cookbook author extraordinaire
MIDDLE: 4. a most delicious feast
BOTTOM: 5. dressed as a pea 6. pink sky 7. breakdancers

'bye summer

it's monday night and sadly i have to go to bed in a couple of hours because it's back to work tomorrow morning. time to become re-aquainted with the 6 am alarm clock. (grumble grumble...)

it's been an awesome two months though. probably one of my best summers yet. and although i didn't get to everything on my list, i do feel like i made the most of each day and accomplished a whole lot. i actually started to exercise on a regular basis (HUGE for me!) by swimming laps at the olympic pool closeby. i'm hoping to keep up the momentum even after going back to work by pledging to swim a couple of times a week (or more) at an indoor pool. i'm hoping that if i go straight from work, i'll actually stick with it.

so many other good things about the summer: lots of bonding with noah on walks and trips to the beach & park, reading more than i have in years, getting a crazy good start on my jewellery production for the "one of a kind show", experiencing real homemade ice-cream at ed's, lots of time with my honey on his weeks off, tuesday visits to the farmers' market and weekly tea time afterwards with kim. so much more but of course i'm forgetting it all now....

i ended my vacation today almost exactly how i started it in july. i took noah down to cherry beach for a romp on the off-leash trail and some time on the sand by the water. not quite as long as at the beginning of my summer: of course i had lots of things on my mind (getting back to work stuff) and i couldn't relax quite the same way. but it was a great way to say goodbye to my favourite season.

i took the top picture while on the trail at cherry beach this afternoon. and here's noah reluctantly sitting still amongst the tall grasses there. it's going to be a weird adjustment for him too when mommy leaves to go to work in the morning.


hope you all had a lovely labour day weekend!