New Hobbies and Old Cameras

   So recently, my wonderful manfriend Kory has taken akin to wandering around with his little 35mm film cameras and taking the most lovely photographs I've ever had the pleasure of viewing (aside from the ones he likes to snap of unsuspecting/innocent old me which end up being of half of my face and all of my bed head), and no I'm not just saying this because I adore him - they truly are great pictures. He's just made a Tumblr account to keep these photos on, which you can peek at here: http://agoodhold.tumblr.com/! I really dig the look that a film camera produces, something that most certainly is a bit lost and under appreciated with today's obsession with iPhones and digital cameras. 

Barista Problems II

   No, you may not take your dark roast coffee with a shot of Kahlua in a 'to-go' cup. That is, in fact, illegal.  

D.I.Y: Old Window to New Chalk Board?

(Meet Ziggy Stardust).

   I recently got an old window frame from the very same thrift shop that I got my wooden crate from. It caught my eye a couple of months ago when I drove by and noticed it propped up against the outside of the shop.. I finally caved in and grabbed it. Originally, I had wanted to turn it into a mirror, but the idea of smashing out the old glass didn't sound like a rad time. I found out online that you could actually purchase a spray paint by Krylon that formed a mirror-like finish, but after searching various Home Hardware's and Michael's I just couldn't seem to get my hands on a can of this magic. I ended up picking up some chalkboard paint from Michael's and figured I'd turn it into a little chalkboard to write my to-do lists and grocery list on as it has eight window panes (one for each day of the week ehe). 

   After cleaning the years of caked on dust off the windows, I just painted three or four coats of the chalkboard paint right onto the glass with a sponge brush, waiting about half an hour in between each coat. The frame itself just so happens to be my favourite colour (a light minty green - the exact colour I painted onto my crate), and I kind of like how it's chipping off in some parts so I decided against re-finishing the woodt. All in all, I dig the finished product, but still sort of wish that I tackled the project of replacing the glass with a mirror. Perhaps next time!

Barista Problems

   Today, a young lady came into the coffee shop that I work in and inquired as to if the coffee was local.. We are in Ontario, we have neither the altitude nor climate to produce copious amounts of badass coffee like that (side note - I am aware this isn't entirely impossible, but really, c'mon, still). I wouldn't have found this so outrageous if the girl didn't also order a decaffeinated cappuccino which I worked oh so hardly on to make look super beautiful only so that she could proceed to add heaps of fake sugar into and stir vigorously (side note 2 - decaf espresso is equivalent to non-alcoholic beer in that it's just plain silly). Anyways, the girl ended up being 110% content with the answer James cleverly provided her with; "It's locally ENJOYED!". 

The Shoe Tree

   About four summers ago, we found this neat old tree down by Kory's house just off the side of the road. The tree was already covered in dozens of shoes which have been nailed to it, and at first we found it rather spooky. There are tons of rubber boots, children's sneakers, and adult sized shoes lining almost the entire tree, even up to a height that seems near impossible to reach as there are no branches to climb up on and to get a ladder into that little nook of the forest seems difficult indeed (it's also passed an awkward ditch by the road grown in with foliage - the only way to the tree is to climb up onto a big rock). But we went home to grab a hammer and nail, an old pair of shoes, signed our names into the soles, and went straight back. We went over to visit it the other week and sure enough, our shoes were still hangin' in there!

(Kory's stinky shoes)

(My wittle ol' moccasins)

(Here's a photo I found of the night we first put our shoes up there - 4 years back)!

'Chawlie'

   Two years ago this evening, I lost my most bestest friend in the whole wide world. We got her when I was about three years old and we were inseparable since we first laid eyes on each other. Being our first family pet, my parents decided to let me name the new puppy, and being a child, I obviously named her 'Carley' (it was between this and 'Sunflower' which I thought over long and hard about). Naturally, a child tends to name various things over their basic characteristics like 'Fluffly', 'Meow', or cliche companion names like 'Fido' etc. (where the extremely humanistic name Carley came from baffles me to this day, but it really did suit her perfectly). The neighbourhood kids, along with my baby brother and I, always had a difficult time pronouncing Carley: hence the nickname Chawlie. 
   I'll never forget the night she passed away. It was on a night just like tonight two years back, and I was at a Tragically Hip show in town. I recall just having a terrible old time at the otherwise amazing concert for truly no good reason (Carley had been fine previous the show). Something inside me just knew that something was wrong and I ended up being a grumpypants all night. When I got home, I came home to a very ill little soul. I laid outside with her for hours just talking to her and assuring her that everything was alright and that it was ok for her to let go now. I repeatedly told her how much I loved her and how much I would miss her. 
   She was quite old and we all new that she wasn't going to make much longer, but this was really the most shocking moment regardless. Carely passed away on her own terms, naturally of old age in her sleep and surrounded by her family. 

Rest in Peace my little lady!

(P.S. my apologies for the depressing blog post - more photos of fruit and flowers coming soon! haha). 

Honor System

 
   My mother and I stumbled upon this nifty little road-side stand selling fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, asparagus, honey, and strawberries. What made it extra neat was that is was all based on a trust system, meaning the farmer doesn't stick around to sell his produce; everything is priced and there's a little locked box at the side of the caravan that you place your change in based on what you're grabbing. This successfully restored a lot of my faith in humanity! I got a handful of fresh tomatoes, a massive onion, and a little green basket of the most beautiful strawberries.

Sunny Sunday

   I ended up having the afternoon off of work. Today started out awfully gloomy and rainy but the sunshine finally peeked out and I refuse to take any minute of it for granted as gosh knows when it'll be out again (tomorrow is calling for thunderstorms all day long). So I laid out some blankies and pillows, got out my paints, green tea with honey, blueberries, raspberries, and a neatly shaped stone I found down by the lake and sat out on the front porch. The rock has been cracked in half and forms an almost perfect semi-circle which sits up awesomely. I decided to paint a little sunshine on it and prop it up in the garden as a little decoration. 

Happy Father's Day!

   Happy (almost) Father's day to all of your radical Dads out there! I'm bummed that I've got to work tomorrow as I'd much rather be spending it on a nice long bicycle ride by the lake with my fatherbear, but as I cannot, I got him a few little gadgets for his new ride to (hopefully) make up for my lack of presence. I got him a Schwinn water bottle to attach to his bicycle and also a little fanny pack-esque thing that attaches underneath the seat to carry his phone, wallet, keys, etc. in. I was too stoked on giving these to him and caved in a week early (I'm terrible with giving gifts and always end up giving them early - Christmas, Birthdays - you name it). I don't usually spend money on a fancy card for any occasion as I find home-made cards not only easier on my student budget but also far more sentimental and therefor more awesome. BUT I did bump into this cute one whist in Target a few weeks ago and it reminded me of cottaging with my Dad as a wee one so I snatched it up. 

D.I.Y: Little Old Wooden Crate

   The other week I picked up an old barn crate from a local thrift shop and figured it would be the perfect size to hold some of my vinyls. I cleared out the cobwebs and dust and then used some green painter's tape to form a few straight stripes across each side. I then painted them a sea-foam green colour, and may have gotten a little too into the activity and also painted the three wooden boards along the sides of the crate (at this point I had to remove myself from the situation before the entire thing was painted..). I like the way it turned out, it looks rugged yet pulled together with the contrast of the minty stripes and cracks in the wood. I might pick up a couple more to paint for family members and friends because I had way too much fun painting this and it has so many potential uses! I'm thinkin' my Mother might enjoy it for putting some lovely flowers in, and my Aunt could probably use one to store the little one's play toys in. It's something quick, cheap, fun, and definitely easy to make.

Tunage: Animal Collective

 
    I'm beyond stoked to see these guys live in less than a month. I reckon they'll put on nothing short of an amazing show and I am particularly excited  to hear everyone in the audience singing and jamming along to Peacebone. Genius'. 

Maurice Sendak

   Today marks the 85th birth date of the brilliant author/illustrator Maurice Sendak (who, unfortunately, passed away last spring). 'Where the Wild Things Are' was my ultimate favourite book as a tot and quite honestly remains so today. 

“Art has always been my salvation. And my gods are Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Mozart. I believe in them with all my heart. And when Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can’t explain — I don’t need to. I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart. Or if I walk in the woods and I see an animal, the purpose of my life was to see that animal. I can recollect it, I can notice it. I’m here to take note of. And that is beyond my ego, beyond anything that belongs to me, an observer, an observer.” 

(Plus, I'm diggin' Google's little front page tribute to Mr. Sendak).

Homie

   I'd be fibbing if I said that I wasn't totally stoked on the arrival of superstore Target to Canada.. I'll admit, I accidentally spent a few hours (and a few dollars..) in there the other day. I left with a groovy couch pillow and cute little candle for the apartment. The candle smells of green tea and sage (a particularly nostalgic scent for me) and comes in this cool tin as well. The pillow is simple with six arrows across the front. I've been collecting various miss-matchy pillows for my couch - thus far I've got a vintage looking floral one, one with a neat little Hamsa hand on it, and  one that my mother found for me for Christmas (a cat tapestry pillow - with which she also gave me Carol King's 'Tapestry' on vinyl). So, this guy should be a grand addition to the comfy gang of misfits.