For My Ladies...

I haven't been on the ball when it comes to birthday wishes so this is a big belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY with chocolate sauce, brownies and a big ass cherry on top to the following fabulous ladies (named in the order of their birthDAYs not by years or level of love): Rebecca, Joanne, Mom M, Sarah and Jessy!

photo credit: flickr

Happy Birthday Beautiful girls!! The world is a much better place because the five of you are part of it! MUAH!!

photo credit: he marli

Sweet Treat

photo via blah to TADA!

Check out the delicious looking Strawberry-Vanilla Swirled Frozen Pops recipe Claire from blah to TADA! shared. YUM!

Beautiful!

{sweetheart} via bitterlemon

Working hard has paid off. I did it! I got the job. It's official and I'm thrilled: I'm a vision itinerant teacher! Believe it or not I start tomorrow already. I can't wait to dive in!

Wow! Deep breaths. I'm super excited! I'll let you know how things go.

Veruca Pepper & an Interview

A clever name and a fabulous design. I want this hoodie by Snoozer Loser NY.

I have a job interview tomorrow for a teaching position... cross your fingers and toes for me please!! This could be the "in" I've been hoping for. Maybe if I get a job I'll treat myself to Veruca Pepper. Maybe...

Cake in the Kitchen

I'm sure this will be appreciated by anyone who has ever worked in an office. Give it a second to get going, I thought I had volume issues at first...

Dreaming

A new quote to add to my favs

Photo via Yes and Yes, originally from New Resolution

Pretty Up Your Walls

Image via Purl Bee

Have some stellar fabrics that you want to display? Check out these sweet Swatch Portraits by the Purl Bee - the how to can be found here. I'm dying to get my hands on the fabric with the pink birds and yellow flowers, I'm off to hunt for it now!

I ♥ U2

The U2 concert in Toronto on Wednesday night was the best concert EVER! They sounded unbelievably fabulous live and so did Snow Patrol who opened up for them.

I snagged a few of Joanne's pictures to share with you because in all of the shots I took with my cell the boys look like they're on fire and I don't mean "on fire" as in "damn they were so good they were on fi-ah!"

We were ridiculously close to the outer circle of the stage. Bono was in panty tossing distance in the shot below but I'm a classy lady and of course I chose to keep my gitch in place rather than whipping them at him.

I expected some serious lecturing from Bono on the horrible happenings in Africa and the generally brutal state of the world - which I should add I wouldn't have disagree with or frowned upon, I admire a star who uses his platform to make a difference rather than simply giving away cash for the tax break - but instead the focus was on what positive change has taken place since the global community has begun to work together to make a difference. Very cool.

A fabulous concert by an amazing band. There is definitely a good reason U2 has been touring for 20 odd years: they're freaking phenomenal.

Thanks for the photos and a fabulous evening Joanne!! Thanks to my Michael for the tickets!

Another one of my 32 bites the dust! Yippee!

Tonight's the Night!

I'm super excited! Tonight Joanne and I are off to see U2! Mike's work gave him two floor tickets and he gave up his so that Joanne (who is a HUGE U2 fan) could go with me! Woooo hoooo!! Thanks babe!



I was extra excited to find out that Snow Patrol is opening up for U2! This is going to be an awesome night!

Teaching Peanuts to Sew

image via ralphhogaboom

I love the idea of teaching wee ones to sew and have every intention of starting a sewing/crafting club when the day I have my own classroom arrives.

Sewing School is a lovely little blog I found recently that is run by two women who enjoy teaching children to sew - there are loads of fabulous ideas found here for those wanting to sew with their monkeys.

This article is AWESOME. A pre-school teacher describes how she instructs her tiny 3-5 year old children in the art of sewing. Sew sweet!

Fab Pick of Last Week

I love these adorable stuffed cats! The funky retro fabric compliments the kittens' hand screen printed linen faces.

Check out Jane Foster's shop, she has some awesome screen prints ready to be framed and more fabric items for sale too. Jane features many of her designs on her blog so you should check that out too. I'm itching to get my hands on her latest fabric designs... fingers crossed that she decides to sell them!

Thanks to Pattern & Perspective for sharing the link to this fab shop.

Inspired

You might remember a recent post which linked to a tutorial at Lil Blue Boo (a new blog to me that I'm LOVING). I was inspired by Ashley's alphabetic bean bags so last week I whipped some up. Rather than painting on the letters I decided to cut out fabric letters and I'm thrilled with the result.

These little bags will be tucked under the Christmas tree for my niece Neve this December. One gift down and a zillion to go!

I Wanna Win!!

I've been a fan of Replica's clothing for ages and now I have a chance to win this fab hoodie!

In order to gain an extra entry on Sweeter Than Me's giveaway I've decided to create this post which means YOU have a chance at winning too - simply zip on over to Sweeter Than Me and follow the instructions. Fingers crossed!!

Tutes for Little People Goodies

This activity table is an easy DIY project and the perfect opportunity to use awesome chalkboard paints which are now available in a variety of colours.


Angry Chicken posted about story dice recently, I can't believe I've never seen or heard of these before! My niece Neve LOVES taking turns telling stories and story dice would certainly help me out when I get stuck thinking of a new adventure for Princess Lily. Making these dice is a pretty straightforward task but if you want some help check out this tutorial by The Toby Show.


If you would rather purchase a set of dice be sure to check out Mama Roots etsy shop where you can snag a beautiful stamped die or two. Love the robot!


Ooooh another possible Christmas gift for one of the little women in my world: a fabric dollhouse. Could you get any cuter?!

Can You Read Music?

Oooooooooooooooo this makes my heart smile. Thanks for sharing Miss T.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Learning to Hand Stitch

I'm was super excited to stumble across this Pocket Stitch Book created by Cassi Griffin for Sew, Mama, Sew. This little gem is going to help me complete number 2 on my list of 32. Thanks goes out to a new find, Sewing School, for this link.

I am definitely going to try out this Queen Anne's Lace design - another little something that reminds me of my mom, although I'm not entirely sure why. Mom?

Photos and tutorials from Sew, Mama, Sew.

Yum This Week

Breathe deeply people, the excitement is unbearable.

Our menu for the week:
Mon: tacos, maybe... have yet to decide but I have a couple hours yet and have to make something out of what little we have in the cupboards since I have not gone grocery shopping and the stores are closed because it's a holiday for most (boo hoo, off to work I go)
Tues: grilled chicken salad (Asian dressing)
Wed: out (Mike fends for himself)
Thurs: chicken fajitas and birthday cake for the best mom-by-marriage a girl could ask for - seriously.
Fri: BBQ pork chops and potatoes with grilled peppers
Sat: Ribs - Mike's special recipe. Mmmmm.
Sun: Salmon on the BBQ with potatoes and maybe some corn on the cob

Fab Pick of Last Week

Apparently my new love of inanimate birds has yet to die. I found this design on my blog hop the other day and knew it just had to be my next feature. Ninainvorm upcycles vintage ceramics by applying handmade screenprinted designs, the results are wonderful. See for yourself when you visit Ninainvorm's etsy shop or blog.

'Tri'-ed and Succeeded

We did it! All that triathlon training was put to good use this morning: Joanne and I completed the tri in just under an hour. I jumped in the water at 8:15am and Joanne hopped in six minutes later. We wanted to complete the race together so I waited for Jo in the bike transition area which added a few minutes to my time but Jo was kind enough to do the math and my final overall time was 56:26 minutes, which placed me 82nd out of 172 participants - the official results show me placing 116th but of course that counted my wait time.

A super humongous thanks goes out to Joanne who encouraged me to join her in completing a triathlon in the first place. I am sure I would have never attempted this if it wasn't for Jo; having her by my side throughout the event was awesome - she stuck by me even when I suggested she go ahead during the run (I was feeling sick) - and crossing the finish line hand in hand was a truly amazing feeling! All our hard work this summer allowed us to complete a major goal which means I can wipe one of my 32 Things to Do Before I'm 32 off the list! Woo hoo!

Mission Accomplished

My husband is a musician/DJ who has spent countless hours in his studio over the last ten years working on music with the hope of eventually releasing a record.

I'm stoked to be able to announce that he has reached his goal! Mike won a remix contest and his track will be released on itunes, amazon and a pile of other online digital distributor sites at the end of 2009 or early 2010.

The original track is titled Substance D by Nick Cenik, Mike's remix is titled the Ypsi Kid's 4 Course Meal Mix. Check it out by pressing play below or click this link: Nick Cenik - Substance D (Ypsi Kid's 4 Course Meal Mix)

You can check out more of Mike's tracks on his Sound Cloud page.

Belated Beyond Belief

This little puppy was supposed to be given to my mom for her birthday in April!! I'm a bad bad daughter but I suppose it's better late than never. This was my first attempt at a cosmetic bag (hence the very belated gift) and I'm happy with the result. She's lined with the same pink nylon fabric that the L (for Lois) and the heart are cut from and you can see a tiny bit of the cute pink zip used to keep mom's goods inside. I think she (the bag, not my mom) looks like a bubble, not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...

I might make another one of these ladies for the shop... but what initial should I use?!

p.s. the pink bits are NOT fuzzy or dirty in the flesh (or should I say in the vinyl?), the pic just isn't the best.

Blow Off the Dust

I've finally blown off the dust and started up the machine. More goodies hitting the shop soon but I've started things off with this super sweet crayon roll-up.

Shield Your Eyes

This tutorial is going to help me complete number 12 on my List of 32.

Cute Tutes

Love these fabric remnant notebooks by Scissor Variations:


And this fabric bowl featured on Imagine Fabric:

Seashell Candles by Martha:


Adorable beanbags by Lil Blue Boo


Have you found any cute tutorials recently?

Root Beer: A Safer Choice

Thanks to my mom for sharing this laugh!

32 New Things to Do Before I'm 32

Two of my new fav finds Lovelorn Unicorn & Yes and Yes have inspired me to venture from my regular routine by creating a list of things to do before my next birthday. I've chosen 32 things that I'm fairly certain I will be able to accomplish before February 20th 2010 and I promise to let you know how things go.

Here goes nothing:
1. replace the most hideous light fixture on earth that I complain about every time I look a picture taken in our kitchen
2. learn to embroider
3. Yoga (have tried but it deserves a second chance)
4. complete a triathlon
5. send a secret to Post Secret (thanks Yes and Yes for reminding me of this; it's something I've thought about doing a million and one times)
6. 30 km bike trek
7. keep a diary for a solid two weeks
8. go hiking
9. send one package a month to a faraway friend
10. try Geocaching
11. learn the names and uses of 10 local herbs/wildflowers
12. make curtains
13. paint the basement
14. sew something I can wear
15. paint the hallway
16. yum. make chocolate lava cakes from scratch.
17. play Dance Dance Revolution (I know it's hard to believe but I've never played it)
18. go see a band I've never seen in concert
19. recreate mom's amazing creamy cauliflower dish
20. swim 50 laps (no 20 one day and 30 the next does not count)
21. drive a scooter/vespa
22. make a baby (fingers crossed)
23. go snow tubing (assuming #22 doesn't happen anytime soon)
24. begin and complete Teaching of the Blind Part 1 AQ course
25. make a curried dish from scratch - no bottled curry involved
26. put up outside Christmas lights on the house (mike you'll have to help me out with this one!)
27. take a pole dancing class (it looks like hard work and a good laugh)
28. make a track with Mike
29. go roller skating (it's not entirely new but I haven't been in about 15 years)
30. teach a class all on my lonesome
31. volunteer
32. run a 5km race

Wish me luck!

A Mini Menu

Kim was wondering where my weekly menus disappeared to and since it's a new school year starting up next week I figured now is a good time to get back into my groove; plus I'm going grocery shopping today so I need a list. For those of you who aren't interested, avert your eyes.

Sunday: chicken stir fry
Monday: pork chops & wee roasties with corn on the cob
Tuesday: spaghetti & meat sauce
Mike will be on his own for dinner for two days while I visit friends up north so things go basic...
Wednesday: leftovers or not
Thursday: chicken fingers & fries
I'm back and have just two days until my tri!
Friday: salmon on the bar-b & veggies
Saturday: balsamic chicken and rice with a side of grilled veggies

Now I'm hungry and off to eat before I grocery shop because we all know what a bad idea it is to shop with a growling belly.

Fab Pick of Who Knows When

Sorry this is so late!


I've been meaning to post this but wanted to photograph the fabulous earrings Tanya gave me before updating my Fab Pick. Thanks T!

Seven Ply recycles well loved skateboards to create their beautiful designs. Belt buckles, necklaces and earrings are just a few of the funky finds you'll see in the etsy shop. The creations are fashionable and eye catching, I should know because Tanya gave me an über sweet pair of earrings from Seven Ply which she found in a kickass store named Plovers in Stratford, ON. Cute, don't you think?

I think I need a bracelet and a necklace and maybe a pair of studs now... the Christmas list just keeps growing.

One Groovy Mutt

10 Thumbs Up

I'm working on a list of 32 new things to do before I'm 32 but it's taking me longer than I thought it would.... in the meantime here's a list of 10 things I have done since turning 31 that made me very happy.

1. sat in the front seat of the best roller coaster EVER
2. ate pink cotton candy
3. rode the swings at Canada's Wonderland (finally quenched that thirst)
4. watched monkeys playing
5. jet skiing
6. finished school
7. visited a new place: Huatulco, Mexico8. started running/biking/swimming regularly with my awesome sis by marriage Joanne
9. spent a month with the amazing Tanya10. pulled the goalie - time to make a baby!

I think I might make this one a regular, so often we talk about what we want to do but I think I should take more time to think about the things I have already done (both little and big) that I am grateful for.

Adorable Giveaway

How flippen cute are these?! Enter Born2Impress' giveaway and you could win a pair of adorable shoes from Pedoodles for your wee one. Too cute!!

Special Delivery for your Ears

Sweet New Ride

The Super Sprint Triathlon I mentioned here is just 10 days away! I'm excited and nervous. The swim portion of the event is still the part that scares me most; Joanne and I went to a tri-clinic a few weeks ago which eased my nerves around transitioning from swim to bike to running, but the thought of swimming in open water with a pile of other people kicking and splashing around me still gives me butterflies.

Jo and I have been training hard and I'm now able to run 5km in about 30 minutes, I'll definitely be increasing my running distance once the event is over, thankfully we only have to run 2.5 km on the big day which ought to be a breeze (granted that's after swimming 350m and biking 10km. We've been completing some bricks (1okm bike ride followed by 3km run) and when we finished the other day we were both impressed with our time and the fact that we weren't stumbling around like drunk orangutans when going from the bike to the run (the term 'brick' is appropriate because you're legs feel like they're full of cement when you try to run after biking a good distance). We have both been training on our mountain bikes; I thought the reason I was working so hard to get moving was because of the fact that my bike is a heavy duty man's downhill bike but DUH it was because my front brake was sticking. In other words I spent 6 weeks training with my front brake on the entire time. Needless to say when I fixed the brake I felt like I was working way less and moving much faster.

Now I don't have to worry about sticking brakes and a heavy frame because I picked up my new baby this afternoon. This little beauty is now mine, check it out!
A Devinci Silverstone SL 1 roadbike. It's SWEET! I upgraded to Shimano Tiagra shifters which basically means my gear shifts are killer. They have a dual control lever which makes it really easy to change gears without having to move my hands from the curved handle bars. I changed the seat to a comfy women's seat and bought some super sweet platform pedals. A great big wet thank you smooch to my hubby for encouraging me to get the new bike - such a smart man.

I rode my new ride home from the bike shop and wow! The bike is so light and the tires are so skinny: I fly! It's such a different feel compared to a mountain bike. Heavenly! I definitely have the biking bug now. I can't wait to hop on my new ride tomorrow - I'm thinking a 20km ride is in order.

New Goodies

I stumbled across one new blog (new to me) which led me to another and of course that led me to another which... well you get where I'm going with this.

Here are a few of my new fab bloggy finds:

Lovelorn Unicorn
No sneak peaks - just pop over and see the loveliness for yourselves!

Yes and Yes

Ninainvorm

Desire to Inspire


Do you have any new favs?! Please do share.

Until Next Year

I miss my friend. Tanya spent a good chunk of six weeks with Mike and I, but alas her time ran out and she returned to Moscow to finish off the final year of her contract; I miss her. Tanya is the guest that everyone loves to have: she brings fresh peas to fill your belly and and beautiful flowers just because. Food, drink, gifts and fabulous company was supplied by Miss T during her stay. I thoroughly enjoyed every game moment we spent together. Scrabble, non-stop chatting, gelato and laughter is just a taste of what I have to look forward to when Tanya returns next year!

Thanks for a fabulous summer, Tanya!! I miss you like crazy!

Birthday Wishes

My brother by marriage, Paul, turned 40 on Friday and his fabulous wife, Joanne, threw him an awesome surprise party! The very cool Batman cake was created at Jirinas Bakery.

My nephews, Gabriel & Michael, had another surprise for their dad: a stellar Batman painting that they designed and painted all by themselves.

Happy Belated birthday Paul!

Another Happy Birthday goes out to my second dad aka father by marriage, Dave!! 59 years young today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

August is a big birthday month on Mike's side of our fabulous family so expect more birthday posts soon!

FABric Store

Another find thanks to How About Orange is The Needle Shop. One day I will visit Chicago again and when I do I will definitely be making a stop at this sweet little store... in the meantime I'll drool over their Etsy shop and purchase a few yards of fabric thanks to this fabulous thing you may have heard of called 'online shopping'.

Papertoys for Big Kids

These uber cool papertoys by Marshall Alexander reminded me of my nephew, Gabriel. He is a fabulous artist and the Emperor of Origami; I can definitely see him coming up with crazy cool designs like these down the road.

All of these sweet designs and more are available for free downloads at Marshall Alexander's website. Check them out and be sure to leave a comment with a photo link if you decide to make a few!

Thanks to the always fabulous How About Orange for sharing this link!

Dreaming of a Nut

Well the time has come.... Mike and I have decided that the years of selfish self-indulgence should come to an end. We're super excited to have come to the decision that now is the time to start trying to make a baby. The goal post came out in the spring and we played it semi-safe for a few more months but now it's official: baby making trials have begun.

We are convinced that it won't take us long to get pregnant, and I hope that our positive thinking helps make our dream a reality. I refuse to read baby books or baby-making info sites because I know they'll just scare me: I don't need a million sites telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing, instead I'll rely on my doctor as well as my super duper fabulous friend Jessy who is 2 months into her pregnancy to share the important bits with me.

We want a baby so bad we can taste it but posting a million and one baby bits over at Gingham Skies when we're not even pregnant makes me feel as if I'm a) jumping the gun and b) jinxing us. So here I am creating a semi-secret blog that I'll release to the world, maybe, once I'm pregnant and past the three month point.

On this particular day, at this particular time this blog is a way for me to keep track of the billion sweet baby goodies I find online and a place for me to air my baby craving thoughts - Mike is thrilled at the idea of being a dad but I think he's likely getting a little tired of me talking about possible baby this and possible baby that.

I have lots of new babies in my world thanks to friends and family and there are more on the way so I can justify looking at baby paraphernalia even though I'm not preggo! At least I don't think I've got a nut in the oven...

I Broke All the Rules

There's nothing like receiving a little something in the mail. My cousin Wendy, aka one of my most favourite women on the face of the earth, has a lovely habit of sending hand written notes through the post, out of the blue. I love it!

The most recent note I received was a sweet little card explaining how the week before when she saw me she had forgotten to give me something that has been saved for me. Tucked inside the note was a folded piece of paper from the Highland Village Museum in Nova Scotia. The Rules of Conduct for Teachers made me laugh, I'm sure I have broken all of these rules in the last month... sigh. It's a good thing I'm looking for a teaching position in 2009 and not 1915.

Thanks for the laugh, Wendy. I'll be sure to share this little treasure with my teacher friends!

Cheesy Goodness

Get it? Cheesy... grater? Cheesy Goodness?

This cute craft was a thank you gift from one of my sweet little campers on the final day of the Literacy Camp. The grater has a plastic base attached to it where the grated goods fall, inside I found a pile of Hershey's Hugs & Kisses. YUM! I have no doubt I'll borrow this cute idea down the road when I have peanuts of my own.

I'm a Believer!

I definitely believe in Wally Lamb's ability to write amazing fiction. If you haven't read I Know This Much is True then you've been missing out. I think The Hour I First Believed is a close second and that says a lot! Amazing story, fabulously written! Awesome summer read.