the loving spoon.

I met the lovely Maya earlier this year and found out about her custom spoon business. I immediately loved the idea! She recycles silver spoons by customizing them with a message. Aren't they cute?  I think they'd be great for a new baby or for a newlywed couple.

Check out Maya's website here and her Etsy shop here.

new paintings by terri whetstone.

For any of those readers on the East Coast looking for something to do this March, may I suggest a fantastic show at the Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing? Terri Whetstone, who just happens to be my aunt, is a super talented painter showing her work there from March 1 to 25. The show opens on February 29 (leap day!) at 7PM. You'll be treated to a magnificent feast for your eyes. For more on Terri's work, check out her website, here.

new years resolutions.

This week is all about the new year! I usually embrace the tradition of new year's resolutions and this year is no different. Some years I'm successful at my resolutions and other years, not so much! I'm feeling ambitious this year so I've picked three big (ish) ones. They are:

1. Wake up at 7. (This is a repeat!)
2. Develop my blog more. I want this little space to have a lot more interesting and juicy stuff for y'all to read!
3. Worry less. Easier said than done.

I'm also determined to not drink in January. I want to just re-calibrate myself a little and I think that this is a good step. I'm very determined at this last one!

What are your resolutions? I'd love to hear them! Wish me luck on keeping mine ...

happy new year.

{An image from one of my "On My Way To ..." posts.}

This has been a wonderful but very busy year! I'm really looking forward to this coming year. Though I'm a total resolution person, I haven't really worked them out as such, yet, but I do know that I want this year to be a little more calm.

I'd also like my little corner of the web to keep going and for me to expand on the repertoire of my blog. In that vein, thank you so very much for visiting this space on the web this year. I sure do appreciate you! I hope you have a wonderful new year.

{Below are the top five posts from this year, picked by number of views. Some of them surprised me!}

{Slut Walk Vancouver. The Day After.}

{Found: One Steamer Trunk.}

{Small Joys: New Apartment Edition.}

{Slut Walk Vancouver.}

{One of my first small joys posts.}

on balance.

The simple phrase above is something that I read a few weeks ago that has really stuck with me. It's such a simple thought but to live that way, is not so easy.

I'm one of those people who wants to get through every day's to do list (work, freelance work, volunteer work, yoga, swimming, blogging, friends, family, love etc.) and still have spontaneity in my life. That just isn't possible! I'm working all the time to accept that fact and to make the latter part my priority. It's so easy for me to get in a cycle of trying to get through everything and worse, to stress about getting through it! I've been realizing lately, that it just isn't worth the effort to worry so much about things. If you think about what the worst case scenario is for not getting something done, usually that scenario is enough to make you realize how silly it is to worry about much of anything.

This period in my life is a good time to learn this lesson since Nick and I are moving next week. Incorporating the idea that not everything in life is an emergency has left me feeling much more calm about moving than other moves in my life. Not worrying so much left space for me to really enjoy my visit with my mom and to savour the last few days in our current apartment. After all, enjoying oneself and savouring certain things, is what is really important.

{Easier said than done though, so wish me luck! And, please, share your thoughts. How do you maintain balance in your life? Is it possible? Are you a worrier like me? Perhaps we should start a new group: Worriers Anonymous? Any takers?}

occupy vancouver.

I didn't attend Occupy Vancouver this weekend but I did catch part of it. (Nick's parents were here this weekend and we were downtown for a bit on Saturday.) I have to say that I agree with the sentiments of the Occupy Wall Street movement. I think that the gap between the rich and the rest of us is too great and not for a good reason. There's a lot going on in the world that's not okay with me and I'm glad that people are starting to point that out to the people in charge.

distracted.

{Preach it, brother!}

Life is busy this week which means not a lot of time for my beloved blog. For some reason though, there is always time to get distracted by the internet. Here are a few things distracting me this week:

How to be organized.

A pretty dress that I'm coveting.

A great cause you can help (click on the orangutans) that is near and dear to my friend Ruth.

Hilarious article about the types of women in chick flicks.

Stress relief in 4 minutes 27 seconds. (I feel a little pretentious posting that, but it works.)

Something that made me laugh.

tribute.

Most graphic designers swear by their Macs. This cute, little video is a tribute to the beautifully designed computer that let's designers make ideas real, on the day the man who designed them has gone.

canadiana.

{Sylvia Koreen photo.}

I love a classic Hudson's Bay blanket. Whenever Nick and I are in Edmonton and visiting his dad or my parents, I'm envious of their respective blankets. On Saturday, I was on Facebook and saw that Sylvia, Nick's dad's partner, had painted their hallway inspired by the blanket! I think it looks amazing. Wintery and cozy in a very crisp way. I have to store this in my memory banks for later. In the meantime, I'll go back to Craigslist and eBay to look for my own HBC blanket.

Sylvia wrote about it: Weekend project: The hallway painting was inspired by my iconic Hudson's Bay blanket (a gift from my Richard). It makes me feel so Canadian.

feeling autumnal.

{Ginger tea in a tea pot taken from the trailer on Denman Island aka, the best tea pot ever, and yummy ginger tea.}

Though autumn signals impending gloom, I think it's my favourite season! (I can't believe I just admitted that, since summer is the usual choice.) Growing up in Edmonton, where you'll miss autumn if you blink, I didn't realize how wonderful it can be. I love that the weather is neither too hot nor too cold and I love that my desire to be cozy at home is justifiable. And though most seasons require a shift, autumn requires the most. The blankets and slippers come out, I rediscover tea, and my desire to buy freshly harvested, delicious food and to be baking is irrepressible. And the crisp air ... I can't forget the crisp air!

Here are a few little things that make me feel autumnal.*

{Cozy blankets on the arms of chairs.}

{A new sheepskin rug on the back of a chair. A new and favourite autumn addition!}

{Scarves and flannel, often together, never matching!}

*Autumnal is a word, I promise! Isn't it a great one?

au·tum·nal adjective
1. belonging to or suggestive of autumn; produced or gathered in autumn: autumnal colors.

From dictionary.com.

wearing men's shirts.

I came across this video yesterday (well, Nick sent it to me). I love the idea of wearing men's shirts but since most men aren't anywhere near my height, men's shirts tend to fall below my knees, in a not-so-attractive way. This video shows how to convert a guy's shirt into a dress, a skirt and a halter top and is just a really cute video to begin with. Though I'm a bit suspect about how well the dress would stay up, all the ideas are pretty cute! I gave it a try last night and it's a bit harder than it looks but with a little practice, perhaps Nick's side of the closet will become mine too!

{Video via YouTube.}

guestbook.

{Image via just bella.}

Last week I discovered Christine's super cute blog, just bella. I not only love it because she's a fellow Edmonton girl but because Christine has some really great ideas on there. One of those ideas is having a guest book. I always thought that it was sort of old fashioned to have a guestbook but now that I have my own place (and a lot of guests) I wish I'd started one years ago. My parents have one at our lake cabin in Alberta and I love reading through it every time I visit. Seeing Christine's on just bella, really made me want to get one. I'm on the hunt for a blank little book so we can remember all of our guests' visits from now on.

What do you think of guestbooks? Old fashioned? Fun? Just for weddings?

friday in a strange week. {updated.}

{Vancouver from the Burrard Bridge, 2009.}

Well, I've been a seriously sub par blogger this week! In my defense, it's been a very busy week with lots of freelance work on top of my 9 to 5 job, not that I'm complaining! Freelance work is always a good thing.

There was also hockey to watch and riots to be frustrated by. It's been an interesting week in Vancouver. At first I was really upset to watch the rioting on TV. I'm still stupefied by the callousness of the small group of people that desecrated our city but it's been amazing to watch the outpouring of support for the city from the rest of us who are absolutely mortified that this happened. From the kissing couple, to the citizen's wall, to the citizens' clean up, to the police car covered in apology post-its I saw on my way to work this morning, it's nice to know that the lack of Vancouver's civility trumpeted all over of world, is just amongst a few hoodlums. The rest of us really love this beautiful city and would never hurt her. That's the real Vancouver!

{Update: On Saturday we went through downtown so I snapped a few post riot photos.}

slut walk vancouver.

{Image via Slut Walk Vancouver.}

On Sunday I will be attending Slut Walk Vancouver. If you're uncomfortable with the name, you should be. (I am too -- see below -- and I feel pretty strongly about this!) Slut Walk Vancouver is inspired by and in solidarity with Slut Walk Toronto. SWT was start in response to a Toronto policeman's advice to women to avoid dressing like sluts if they don't want to be sexually assaulted. I'm not sure why this particular disparaging comment has galvanized everyone but it doesn't matter. Slut Walk is here to prove that it doesn't matter what you wear, how you act or what environment you're in: NO ONE asks to be sexually assaulted or raped. The idea behind this is to start punishing the people that assault, not their victims.

If you'd like to join me (ladies and gentlemen, Nick is going too ... seriously how did I get so lucky?) please let me know. Everyone is meeting at the art gallery at 1PM on Sunday and according to Facebook, it's almost 4000-strong and still a few days away. There are also slut walks in Edmonton and Halifax and many other cities across the world.

P.S. Just in case you were wondering: slut [sluht] -noun 1. a dirty, slovenly woman. 2. an immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute. (From dictionary.com.)

Slut is not a word I like and try never to use. The fact that there are so many more derogatory words in the English language for women than for men is something that really troubles me. These words objectify and hurt women. (Don't get me wrong, I don't think pasteurizing the English language is a good idea, I just think it needs to be part of the conversation.)

Next post will be back to your regularly scheduled, less-preachy programming. Promise.

{Update: Want to know how it went? Click here.}

reverence.

Nick's sister posted a Facebook status the other day asking for great TED talks. It made me think that I should post my absolute favourite TED talk of all time in my little corner of the web here. Isabel Allende is an amazing woman, even if I've yet to finish one of her books. This TED talk is truly inspiring and makes me cry almost every time. I love that Isabel is funny, flirtatious and totally in command of herself and her sexuality, all the while being a strong feminist (they are not mutually exclusive, friends).  I listen to it every few months and think about it often. If you've ever had any doubt about why feminism is still relevant, this talk will convince you that it is. I promise though, it is one of the funniest TED talks I've ever heard and will engage everyone, even if you shy away from the f-word.

While discussing things I feel strongly about, I have to mention the federal election on Monday. There has been a lot more discussion about the youth vote this time. I have to throw my two-cents in. Please vote! It's so important even if it feels futile sometimes. I especially feel that it's important for young women to vote because we couldn't in Canada just 100 years ago. What's the old adage ... use it or lose it?! Just sayin'. Happy Friday, friends.

bravery.

I really enjoy listening to talk programs and so on at work. I feel like it helps me use my brain a lot more and keeps me focused on work so that I'm not tempted by the internet (or my blog!). Today I found this on the CBC News website. Having been about six-years-old when Dr. Peter's video diary would have been included on CBC newscasts, I didn't know about this at all until today. However, listening to them now, I'm struck by what a brave and bold man he was for doing this. I think that even in 2010 when most people know a certain amount about HIV/AIDS and some of the fear of it is diminished, he's a brave man to have chronicled his illness in this way. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it would have taken even more gumption to do what he did.

As you can see if you read the comments under the presentation, there are some people who still wrongly assume that HIV/AIDS is a 'gay-related' illness. I really wish that people actually listened to the information being presented on the CBC feature and listened to just general knowledge out there and realized that it isn't a 'gay-related' illness. It happens to heteros too! In fact one of the fastest growing contractors of HIV/AIDS is my demographic: Women in their late-teens and twenties.

So two points to this blog post (even if no one reads my blog): I'd like to applaud Dr. Peter's bravery and boldness, twenty years on (and the CBC for putting this on the air twenty years ago) and to say, instead of hearing what you want to hear, hear this: wear a condom.