the season starts

the season starts with a pang (rather than a bang) - a sudden feeling of desire or is it sudden emotional distress (how many shopping days - seriously)? i say desire!

christmas season = art & craft fair season & i look forward to it with great glee (all grown up sugar plums)... i could not start this season without first calling out my new favorite etsy shop: tangoNOVEMBERbravo!! i love the new tag line 'Hand Knit Natural Fibres from the Hills of Portugal' - it is not just because tango is one of my favorite people in the world - it`s because i own a pair of the ridiculously cool (warm) fingerless gloves & bb boy was lucky enough to receive a very special pair of socks... so we know she ROCKS WOOL & i can`t wait to see the next project...

belle heir

one of bb daddy's very clever friends bought this amazing little sailor outfit for bb when he was born. i knew it was special at the time (it even came with an authentic looking wells fargo telegram) but had not really followed up on the history of it or looked at belle heir as a company... as far as we can tell it is circa. 1920...

i have waited a year for him to grown into it & finally the size was right, the light was right & it was warm on the beach - we set out to take a few photos...

flickr friday

cause i'm @ work & these make me feel good!

1. Untitled, 2. Burn Out, 3. shades of autumn, 4. from our tree, 5. "For a moment, you can really escape and feel the thrill", 6. What?, 7. Building Blocks, 8. I miss Spring..., 9. cats, 10. Getting Air, 11. blog header art, 12. pear, 13. b r e a t h e, 14. Untitled, 15. more water, 16. blackberries... yum, 17. marina reflections, 18. eggs, 19. it was worth the effort, 20. under the table + dreaming (of snacks)., 21. ., 22. Untitled, 23. she sells seashells by the seashore, 24. Day 117 - Paint it black, 25. M O V E . O N, 26. sf city scene, 27. F O R L O R N . P L A C E, 28. |, 29. electrifloric, 30. Viva Lavandula 4, 31. * * *, 32. hehe =), 33. Hello, Dahlias, 34. tigress, 35. fearless, 36. Looking for texture

back to school shopping

no matter how many years have passed since my last real 'back to school' shopping days, i always get a little tingle this time of year (it may actually be a stronger tingle than the one generated by '15 shopping days till christmas' ads). whenever i see one of those ads with cheery kids in spanky new clothes & groovy pencils cases i just want to run (or skip) to a store & bury myself in piles of recycled 'au currant' coloured craft paper...

i have, on occasion, offered to take my friends kids or have taken my own niece & nephews to the store to go through the school provided checklist of supplies (you would be shocked who ends up having the best prices). this year i kinda feel like i AM going back to school & i can, finally, get excited about the toys & tools & supplies for my own desk... only 6 more days till i go back to WORK!!

i will admit to buying a coach bag the other day (i hardly even had to rationalize it) ok - i did - it was on sale & it fits my laptop (& the grandest rationalization of all - it also works as a diaper bag). i am not the first to discover the label laptop/diaper bag (coulda picked up th e louis vuitton)...

hmmm, gonna need some shoes too...

back to those last 6 days off...

beach acres

early this week we packed our bags, packed the bb & headed out for a quick vacation - two days at the fabulous beach acres resort... yes there was a heatwave going on, yes we had to wait in the ferry line-up (only 37c at that point) - but we were so looking forward to a few days away (we have been trying to organize a quick trip for awhile - when i was asked to take some photos of the resort we jumped at the opportunity)!

our cottage was on the bluff overlooking the ocean & gorgeous beach (i'm pretty sure that is the best of both worlds; close to the ocean & close to the forest). i'm sure one could just sit for days looking out to sea listening to the rustle of the magestic arbutus trees on the cliff.

one could sit for days but there is just too much to do - walk down to the beach for a swim, run to the market for breakfast, wade in the river & have a picnic, do some beach combing, pick pine cones in the forest, play in the pool, build a sand castle, bbq on the veranda, walk through the woods, play tennis, then back to the ocean for the sunset (any random order of these & numerous other activities would do!)...

top 5 trip fun

1. cool winds on the ferry
2. bb boy in the shallow waters of rathtrevor beach
3. watching the sunrise @ beach acres
4. goats on the coombs market roof
5. walking in water above englishman river falls

treasured

Shutter sisters ask: "Do you have a tricket, a charm, a tiny thing on your dresser, on your windowsill, that makes you a little bit stronger, that leaves you a little more happy? "

treasures, mementos & keepsakes - i am a collector of memories & things that make me smile. perhaps it can be said that i put meaning into too many things or too much meaning into some things. shells & rocks & postcards - i still have i have 50 franc banknote & a paris metro ticket in my wallet. regardless, each little item reminds me of a moment or a feeling or mostly importantly, that i am loved:

& i have hundreds of pieces of beach glass from all around the world (my hub indulges my beach combing obsession) but i keep one piece in the pocket of my camera bag - it is small & white & not the most beautiful of the lot but it is the most precious ( my husband picked up for me one day when i wasn't there...) truly unexpected & treasured.

spring cleaning

i have a few old blog posts sitting in my drafts folder - stuff that i came across or that came into my head (back when stuff was still coming into my head)... thought i would just blast them all out & clear out to old draft factory...

i still am amazed @ this visual database - it tracks the number of times that a particular body part is referenced in a song; it's a fleshmap.  have a click through - i think you will be as astounded as i was that shoulder is mentioned twice as much as tits in hip hop music (even knuckle gets more play time)!

i also fell in love with this idea quite awhile ago - the human calendar... the coolest thing is that the as the date changes - the humans in the calendar change what they are looking at...

just be patient

i have been waiting for this moment: [1] to wear an emma bracefield ring on my finger [2] for my true love to put it there... ah sweet patience... tnb and i first saw emma @ circle craft exhibition (just as the idea of marriage was becoming a reality). we both loved her name (right out of jane austen)!  & her work was so lovely: contemporary yet - organic (like a found object i would have taken from the beach and treasured) & wearable (pieces move together like they grew to fit my finger)...

love love love...

vote hope

i'm taking my place as one of the sistas!  a very cool and worthwhile assignment has been taken up by two of the shutter sisters crowd; their assignment, to  travel abroad gathering and sharing images of hope: 

Here's how it works: This amazing community will generate the most powerful images of hope we can find. From those images we'll create tangible hope notes for Jen and Stephanie to take with them wherever they travel to tell the world we're listening. At each destination, Jen and Stephanie will introduce the world to a new story of hope while the Shutter Sisters at home show us all the ways hope flourishes in the hidden everyday spaces. From these images and stories, together we'll generate a visual catalog of hope--images that that can be transformed into practical print resources and literacy tools for the hopeful people we've met from around the world.  People who know and embody the essence of hope in spite of war, poverty, loss or the threat of despair.

you can too...

panda wrestling

when i was a little girl my grandfather had a toy rooster that collapsed and jumped back to his feet when you pushed & released the button on the bottom. since then - i have loved these toys : simple, sweet & nostalgic. when i saw a few for sale @ moule - i was immediately charmed & showed my husband the panda (pictured below) 'look, isn't it wonderful?' i gushed - he responded with : 'is that panda humping that tree?' i bought it.

create something tuesday

ok- i'm running out of excuses. perhaps i will move my challenge day to wednesday... i did find a couple of cool things this week though (out foraging)... the chair actually made me giggle - funky / antiquey take on the eiffel chair. & the bowls were a bit of an 'ah-ha' & another reminder of what my dad would say: "we could make that"! 

as seen in *TLC

chick pea

i was pleased to find some sweet pictures of a sweet local baby store called chick pea (yay they've opened on 1st & commercial too). they've described themselves as a european style baby store (i'm not sure what that is - i guess i will have to wait till after my next trip to europe to comment on that). but trevor brady's photos caught my eye & everyone know how i love beige (or white on white).

this is not an ad...

211 days & counting

baby boy is 5 months old today! and we're celebrating with a new lens (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8). this is my first shot with it (inside with light from one window) & compared to the stock kens (18-55mm) he is still CUTE!

i've been thinking about the joys (so numerous) and not so joyous (sleep deprivation aside - i just wish i understood what he really needs when he cries sometimes) things of having baby boy. i have also been thinking about the great baby things that we use every day & have made our lives easier (keep in mind we are trying to parent with the utmost of simplicity)...
this is my early list:

• carriers - for me the hot sling worked for 4 months & now we both use our baby bjorn
• duck undercover blanket - we use this every day - over the sling & carrier & in the car, on the mat at the community centre (it is beyond me how they went out of business)
• touque - i love the hunter touque that we got from knittles on etsy (besides it is named after our dog - how could we not love it?)
• Natursutten Pacifier - we didn't use one for the first several months but sometimes i just like to have all my fingers free!
• Sophie la Giraffe - she has a lovely story & now that teething is upon us she is being put to the test (just don't take her to any baby meeting places or she will get mixed up with the sophie herd)
• stonz boots - i love love love these boots - warm & comfy & so easy to put on. i would get more if they made them in my size

by hand christmas

this year more than ever, it seems, we hear the rallying cry for 'made by hand'... coming from a family that likes to create - we often talk about the 'all hand made christmas' (like some mythical sugar plum dancing in our heads). like i said - we are not so good on the implementation side lately.

this year i am cruising the many christmas craft fairs with new eyes - ready and willing to support the local talent and to pass on to my loved ones something made with creative genius and innovative flair (if nothing else - i will collect a bunch of cards from cool people & wish i could be like them).

Shiny Fuzzy Muddy [fri - 05 dec 5-9pm] [sat - 05 Dec 11-5pm] [sun - 07 dec 12-5pm]

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Green Christmas Holiday Gift Market [sun - 07 dec 11-6pm]

we could make that...

i come from a long line of creators - we can paint, throw a pot, take a fine photo & turn a beautiful piece of wood. we have attended many art shows, craft fairs, studio walks over the years and though we are usually impressed and inspired by the creativity of others - someone invariably says 'we could make that'.

it is a family joke now.

we could make - but WE DON"T (or rarely do). we have walked away from so many beautiful pieces of art, so many finely crafted items. others have had not only the inspiration to make - but have implementation skills as well. so no more 'we could,' either we do or we buy what inspires us. i must say thanks for the inspiration to the following after a weekend of crawling:

art i would crawl for

i love art. i will say it again, i love art. be it big or small, clever, quirky, richly hued or moody. i love walking into a gallery when the faint scent of paint is still in the air after hanging a new show. i love wandering through a working studio to see splattered walls and tools lined up at the ready and rows of paint in tubes. i love being around artists - those talented humble ones, not the pretentious poser ones.

there have been a few memorable occasions that still stick with me of walking into a gallery or studio and being knocked out - literally stopped in my tracks by what i consider to be great work. to me great work is not necessarily expensive art or fine art or art that is in vogue; we all have our own tastes. to me great art makes me smile or makes me think - it is art i can get lost in - having dabbled a bit in the arts myself - great art amazes me with it's 'how did they do that?' factor.

this is the season for art in vancouver and this weekend is the 12th annual eastside culture crawl. in 2007 i was completely knocked out by galen feld - i stood in her studio for well over an hour (twice) gazing (gawking) & talking to her and i finally went home with one of her smallest (read: i could afford) pieces.

in 2006 i had a similar experience with jordan bent as i rummaged excitedly through his work space touching hundreds of amazing sketches.

this year (trying to manage false low expectations) i look forward to new collections and snooping through artist studios and rubbing elbows with creators and finding more treasures on the crawl!

smart little caterpillar

i saw the coolest kid's toy while out walking baby boy yesterday (yes he needed to be walked & i need to browse shops - we still have a very symbiotic relationship). the little caterpillar above is actually 8 separate coloured balls making up 8 notes: do ray me fa so la tee doe. when put together in various arrangements it plays different tunes: 'mary had a little lamb', 'frere jacques' etc.

try as i might i could not get it to play 'stairway to heaven'.