Monday, November 23, 2009
Twinkle Twinkle
I love this new print over at Keep Calm Gallery:
Piglet is visiting this week and I was singing this very nursery rhyme to her Saturday night. :)
Piglet is visiting this week and I was singing this very nursery rhyme to her Saturday night. :)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
QOTD
"If we do not forgive, it is like carrying heavy baggage that weighs us down so we cannot go forward with it, but we cannot go without it as it contains our history...it is like holding on to hot coals but we are the ones getting burned."
- Ed & Deb Shapiro
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Dish Jeans
For me, shopping for jeans is second to shopping for a bathing suit. I do it only when I have to - and I haven't had to do the latter forever since I'm not one for beach vacations - but for some reason yesterday, I decided to try a pair of jeans while I was at Girl Friday on Queen West. And I was pleasantly surprised. They were the trouser-cut "Jane" by Dish Jeans. The wash wasn't as dark as is my preference so the sales associate suggested the "Deseray" in the blue-black Portofino wash which was near perfect but I ended up leaving with a pair of the boot-cut Portofino "Desi" which has a higher waist then the usual nowadays but certainly not your mom's jeans.
They're super-comfortable and make my ass look fantastic!
Oh, and the price! I'm used to paying $200+ for my jeans, which is why I don't own more than a couple pairs at once, wear what I have until they're worn through and only then go out grudgingly to replace them. These at under $100 were a steal. So of course I bought them, despite having bought 2 new pairs recently from Mendocino when they had their Jeans Drive in support of Covenant House.
They're super-comfortable and make my ass look fantastic!Oh, and the price! I'm used to paying $200+ for my jeans, which is why I don't own more than a couple pairs at once, wear what I have until they're worn through and only then go out grudgingly to replace them. These at under $100 were a steal. So of course I bought them, despite having bought 2 new pairs recently from Mendocino when they had their Jeans Drive in support of Covenant House.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Running on empty
My work-outs this week have been completely lacklustre and it's my own fault because I haven't been eating properly - and by not eating properly I mean I haven't been snacking in the afternoons to give myself enough energy.Without fail, K will ask me what I ate during the day and I've disappointed him, and frankly, myself this week. It's no fun training when you feel like a weakling and that's what I've felt like this week. :(
You see those apple slices and that dollop of cottage cheese? That would be an ideal snack, but I hate cottage cheese. Like, ewww. But I could replace that cottage cheese with a handful of almonds...which I could have done today because I had not 1 but 2(!) apples at the office and keep in my drawer a container of almonds.
What did I do instead? I had a coffee in the afternoon around 3:30 because I had a fancy 3 course lunch at Frank with my team to celebrate the Fall planning sessions and wasn't feeling hungry in the afternoon.
Lesson learned here? Regardless of whether or not I feel hungry, I will have to eat to fuel up. No more whimpy-ass, frustrating work-outs. They suck and I don't want to suck anymore.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cool Barcodes
I subscribe to a bunch of retail-related e-newsletters for work and came across this article about Design Barcode, a company that has re-imagined the ubiquitous barcode in graphic and sometimes whimsical ways. To date there work has been featured mainly on Japanese products but they've just begun to expand to the U.S.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Bangs 'n' Layers
I PVR'd Ellen on Oprah tonight and was completely diverted by how great Portia de Rossi's bangs looked with her hair straightened and pulled back in a ponytail.
I've been flirting with the idea of cutting my hair for the last few weeks now and have gone so far as to entertain a short bob...but I'm not quite ready for such a drastic change. Not when winter is around the corner - I need all the hair to keep me warm...so I'm thinking long-ish bangs are just the thing. They're not something I haven't done before...but hers are quite a bit shorter than I'd normally go.
Bangs and more layers...ya...I'm thinking that'll keep my hair boredom at bay - at least through the winter, anyway....
I've been flirting with the idea of cutting my hair for the last few weeks now and have gone so far as to entertain a short bob...but I'm not quite ready for such a drastic change. Not when winter is around the corner - I need all the hair to keep me warm...so I'm thinking long-ish bangs are just the thing. They're not something I haven't done before...but hers are quite a bit shorter than I'd normally go. Bangs and more layers...ya...I'm thinking that'll keep my hair boredom at bay - at least through the winter, anyway....
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Glass tops & chairs
While I was wiping the top of my Saarinen Tulip table knock-off from Ikea, I noticed tiny little nicks in the white finish and was reminded again of my original intent to top it off with a piece of glass, as I first saw in Marilyn & Peter's Home Studio house tour on Apartment Therapy:
Pier 1 has one in just the right size at an affordable price so I'll be making a stop there sooner rather than later.
The other change I've been contemplating for a while now is a new desk chair. I have Nuevo's Connie which is itself a copy of Eames' molded plastic chair but not a very comfortable one for even a couple hours at a desk. So I've been considering one of these:
Nelson Swag Leg Armchair, Overlapping Squares from West Elm and Thompson from StyleGarage
Hindsight being 20/20, I should have spent the extra money and gotten the real Eames instead. I tried the Thompson this afternoon but the back is too low for my comfort. The Overlapping Squares match the motif of a couple storage boxes in my bookcase but I'm thinking that be too matchy-matchy so I'm leaning towards the Nelson which is super-comfy, not to mention stylish - it kinda looks like it's laughing, donchathink? - and of course, the most expensive one in the mix.
Pier 1 has one in just the right size at an affordable price so I'll be making a stop there sooner rather than later.The other change I've been contemplating for a while now is a new desk chair. I have Nuevo's Connie which is itself a copy of Eames' molded plastic chair but not a very comfortable one for even a couple hours at a desk. So I've been considering one of these:
Nelson Swag Leg Armchair, Overlapping Squares from West Elm and Thompson from StyleGarageHindsight being 20/20, I should have spent the extra money and gotten the real Eames instead. I tried the Thompson this afternoon but the back is too low for my comfort. The Overlapping Squares match the motif of a couple storage boxes in my bookcase but I'm thinking that be too matchy-matchy so I'm leaning towards the Nelson which is super-comfy, not to mention stylish - it kinda looks like it's laughing, donchathink? - and of course, the most expensive one in the mix.
Weekend Update
It was brilliantly sunshine-y and unseasonably warm in Toronto this weekend. I didn't get up to very much - mostly because I spent much of Saturday afternoon on my Macbook trying to buy tickets for the Olympics. Phase 3 of sales to Canadian residents were supposed to open at 1pm and I waited around for about 3 hours, catching up on my backlog of Google Reader and YouTube subscriptions, etc. I had 8 separate tabs open trying to get onto VANOC's sales site before I gave into my boredom and went shopping with my mom for her new mattress set. I figured I'd probably still be waiting by the time I got back but around 5pm, I received an email that because of technical difficulties, sales would be postponed until next Saturday. A whole afternoon wasted!
I had dinner at a Korean resto with my mom and her friend before making a stop at the nearby Chapters to find the Alphonse Muchas coffeetable book I'd spied Thursday but didn't buy. Well, I found it, as well as 3 other bargain buys - bookstores are far more dangerous for me than clothing stores - and then headed home to get organized. My desk is slightly less cluttered after the couple hours I put in archiving old statements and I changed my bedsheets so that I could use the Orla Kiely pillowcases I bought in London in the Spring but only just got back from Amsterdam. You like?
My plans for today included a Bodyflow class but because I spent most of yesterday afternoon waiting around in vain, I skipped my class and cleaned instead - something I desperately needed to do, particularly in the kitchen after the top of my vanilla protein shake flew off Monday and sprayed sticky shake all over my floors and cabinets.
I was supposed to check out the Edward Steichen photo exhibit at the AGO in the afternoon but because the weather was so lovely out, I browsed the shops along West Queen West instead and rounded out the day with dinner at Fresh.
The night's been a quiet one - as most Sundays are. My laundry's done and I've cleared away some more clutter and here I am, in front of my Macbook again. I thought I'd do some work but got sidetracked and am blogging instead. I guess I better get back to it, huh?
I had dinner at a Korean resto with my mom and her friend before making a stop at the nearby Chapters to find the Alphonse Muchas coffeetable book I'd spied Thursday but didn't buy. Well, I found it, as well as 3 other bargain buys - bookstores are far more dangerous for me than clothing stores - and then headed home to get organized. My desk is slightly less cluttered after the couple hours I put in archiving old statements and I changed my bedsheets so that I could use the Orla Kiely pillowcases I bought in London in the Spring but only just got back from Amsterdam. You like?
My plans for today included a Bodyflow class but because I spent most of yesterday afternoon waiting around in vain, I skipped my class and cleaned instead - something I desperately needed to do, particularly in the kitchen after the top of my vanilla protein shake flew off Monday and sprayed sticky shake all over my floors and cabinets.I was supposed to check out the Edward Steichen photo exhibit at the AGO in the afternoon but because the weather was so lovely out, I browsed the shops along West Queen West instead and rounded out the day with dinner at Fresh.
The night's been a quiet one - as most Sundays are. My laundry's done and I've cleared away some more clutter and here I am, in front of my Macbook again. I thought I'd do some work but got sidetracked and am blogging instead. I guess I better get back to it, huh?
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Holt Renfrew's Holiday Window Unveiling
I was bad today and told a white lie to get out of a blind coffee date set up by a very enthusiastic girlfriend in order to check out the unveiling of Holt Renfrew's holiday window display.
The festivities started about 30 minutes later than I had expected and were hosted by ET Canada's Rick Campanelli and Kim D'Eon, both of whom I believe were outfitted in Mackage coats:
The opening act was The Abrams Brothers, a bluegrass band out of Kingston, ON who performed 2 songs, including a fantastic cover of Coldplay's Viva La Vida. Check out their video here:
I had googled ahead of time to find out who the guest performer would be and had expected Kristin Chenoweth based on this report and was pleasantly surprised to find Feist instead! She was awesome live and performed some of my favourite songs off The Reminder, beginning with My Moon My Man, So Sorry, Sealion, Honey Honey and I Feel it All.
Here's a look at the surreal vignettes unveiled - I'm guessing this one here is there interpretation of March of the Penguins:
I LOVE the wool coat second from the right in their fantastic take on Swan Lake below:
Here, the shopper's stream in to shop and browse during tonight's extended hours:
Completely smitten with this display of shoulder dusting chandelier earrings:
The festivities started about 30 minutes later than I had expected and were hosted by ET Canada's Rick Campanelli and Kim D'Eon, both of whom I believe were outfitted in Mackage coats:
The opening act was The Abrams Brothers, a bluegrass band out of Kingston, ON who performed 2 songs, including a fantastic cover of Coldplay's Viva La Vida. Check out their video here:I had googled ahead of time to find out who the guest performer would be and had expected Kristin Chenoweth based on this report and was pleasantly surprised to find Feist instead! She was awesome live and performed some of my favourite songs off The Reminder, beginning with My Moon My Man, So Sorry, Sealion, Honey Honey and I Feel it All.
Here's a look at the surreal vignettes unveiled - I'm guessing this one here is there interpretation of March of the Penguins:
I LOVE the wool coat second from the right in their fantastic take on Swan Lake below:
Here, the shopper's stream in to shop and browse during tonight's extended hours:
Completely smitten with this display of shoulder dusting chandelier earrings:
Monday, November 02, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
BBC Book List
I found this via a friend on Facebook. The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? I've read about a quarter:
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - x
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - x
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - x
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - x
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger – x
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - x
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald – x
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll –x
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen – x
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - x
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen –x
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - x
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck - x
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabakov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - x
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola – x
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens – x
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker - x
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - x
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare – x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - x
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - x
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - x
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - x
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger – x
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - x
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald – x
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll –x
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen – x
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - x
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen –x
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - x
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck - x
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabakov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - x
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola – x
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens – x
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker - x
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - x
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare – x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Lulu binge
I've gone and done it again. You see, it all started when I forgot to set my clock back an hour before going to bed last night. I woke up at what I thought was 10 but was really 9 so I'd have plenty of time to make it to the 11:30 Bodyflow class at my gym. I made my fruit protein shake and was catching up on Google Reader when I noticed the time at the top right of my Macbook. And then it occurred to me.
After some thought, I figured, I was up already, why waste an hour? Let's just pop in a yoga dvd and get the day started. So I did...and since I was feeling all stretched out and relaxed afterwards, I hopped back onto the Lululemon site because I was still thinking about this cute fleece pullover:
I didn't see it in the stores yesterday but there's free shipping until the 15th. So I just ordered it.
It's cute right? I'm a touch more partial to the running version here mainly because of the hole in the hoodie made specifically for ponytails but I'm a fairweather runner at best and it's unnecessary for my purposes...not that I needed another fleece hoodie but whatever. This is it though. No more Lulu purchases. I'm done. At least for the next little while.
After some thought, I figured, I was up already, why waste an hour? Let's just pop in a yoga dvd and get the day started. So I did...and since I was feeling all stretched out and relaxed afterwards, I hopped back onto the Lululemon site because I was still thinking about this cute fleece pullover:
I didn't see it in the stores yesterday but there's free shipping until the 15th. So I just ordered it.It's cute right? I'm a touch more partial to the running version here mainly because of the hole in the hoodie made specifically for ponytails but I'm a fairweather runner at best and it's unnecessary for my purposes...not that I needed another fleece hoodie but whatever. This is it though. No more Lulu purchases. I'm done. At least for the next little while.
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