russel wright

russel wright american modern pottery has always been on my mind while thrifting. i didn't think i could be so lucky. 

i found these two cups for 2$ each. amazing

this is the extent of my russel wright collection, (minus a white tea pot which was an amazing christmas gift) the chartreuse green colour is so eye catching and what are the chances that I find the tea cups that match the plates that I already have? 

I started 'collecting' russel wright (i say that with captions because I hardly have a huge collection but I do have a book or two on the subject and I truly believe he changed the way we entertain in our homes) when i moved out for college. I was given free range of anything that was at our family cottage to stock my shelves with. I chose these plates because they were an amazing colour and had a surprisingly modern design to them. 

I don't anticipate this infatuation to end any time soon. 

for more info on this designer check out this post on apartment therapy. AMAZING

how to split a cheque

how to split a cheque at a restaurant

an insightful read that applies to pretty much everyone. especially as i get closer to the big 25.  

as many of you know my bf works as a server in a restaurant, i used to serve full time and we have plenty of friends in this industry, front and back of house. you may think that your tip goes unnoticed but that is 100 incorrect. tips are the only reason that people can make a living serving. my bf for instance has worked for probably 10 years in this industry and 3 years at the same place he is now. has he received a raise or made any more then minimum wage? no. even the managers where he works make pennies. 

tipping is the livelihood of the people who are serving you. there are million variables that can go wrong and your server will come to your table with a smile on their face and make sure that your night is as good as it can be. think about the last time you hosted a dinner party? stress city. imagine hosting 12 different tables of a dinner party, all sitting down at different times and your responsible for making sure their glass is never empty, the food comes quickly and the attention never stops. 15% is minimum people. don't be cheap.

davids tea

so i bought this pretty cool thing from davids tea. its a cup but it also comes with a loose leaf tea holder and a lid! perfect!

i've been eyeing this set up for a while now, but couldn't find any pictures of it on the internet to show my parents for a christmas list.
i bought two different kinds of tea, mint green tea and saigon chai. both are really good and i've made the chai into a latte with frothed milk from the espresso machine. the little lid is also the perfect place to put the 'steeper' bucket thing once it is finished so no drips on the table.
i am actually so addicted to this little thing i bring it home from the office on the weekends because i can't live two days without it.
also, well done davids tea on the branding and packaging, modern, simple, fresh. even the bag is quite nice and this little tin that the tea comes can be refilled next time.

right now

there is a woman cleaning my apartment and i'm pretty stoked about it!

shatter your illusions of love

photo cred

i wish i was here right now with no decisions to make

no shit to take

no smiles to fake.

i'm so done, it just gets exhausting.

i can't.

i won't.

you'll see.

breath in, breath out.

pick up the pieces and go home

there are so many things to say. 

i had the best time with a best friend. L came to visit. gosh i love that gal. there are tons of reasons but randomly the reason that is sticking with me right is she is so polite. and friendly! she will smile at people, straight in the face, always always says thank you and please. i've been so jaded to this toronto landscape of putting my head down and thinking i was being polite with small glimpses of eye contact and the occasion thanks. politeness is such a breeze of fresh air. 

news years reasolution - be more polite. 

remember how i only blogged the first 6 resolutions of 2011. i think i wrote out another 3 or 4. what ever happened to those? the publish button is just one small step but for some reason its the hardest. 

bam

back to the future

i found these cool shots by photographer irina werning. she takes a photo from when you were a kid and completely re-recreates the scene and mood. the project is called back to the future. its sort of like a life long before and after shot!

this is really cute and makes me wonder what photo I would try and recreate.

her website is here

i am trying to post pictures but they are completley out of order and this computer doesnt seem to have a copy paste? whats up with that.

okay so i just added the keyboard shortcut in the control panel and still no copypaste. blarf.

this is my brothers computer. i like it slash want my own. maybe for my birthday? maybbbbbbbbe just for fun?

i like new technology. i wouldn't say i am smart at it but ...i'm interested in it? i don't know. where is this even going? hahaha dave this is for you buddy. you know exactly where this came from.

alright so i should probably get out of the house today. but i also haven't had a 'day' alone in so so so so long. i have a love hate relationship with being alone. i like to control my exposure to people. when i lived alone i was in complete control of when i saw people, when i could just be naked, when i could binge on coffee and clean like a madwomen. thats another thing, i could control the mess. i am not a messy kinda girl. i like clean surfaces and limited dirt. i rarely ever even had dishes when i lived alone...i would just wash everything right when i finished with it.

wow aren't you glad your reading about how i like to do dishes? sorry. coffee talking.

i have some pictures for you but they are completely out of order so i can't publish it yet. its supposed to a pillow tutorial slash i sewed some squares together.

florence and the machine? i know i know i am late to the party. also crash kings? their whole cd is really good.

do people use msn anymore? hah why am i asking so many question this is a blog oh man. i ask a lotttttt of questions in real life. i just like to know!

i like to know little facts and wonder why people do certain things. analyze everything to the max. BUT WHY DID THEY DO THAT. i should be a detective.

tonight i am going out for ethiopian food. its sooooooo good. and you get to eat it with your hands, SO FUN. everything is a saucy yummy mixture and then its places on this bread type crepe almost and then you roll up the bread and dip it and spoon it into your mouth.

the end.

how to sew a pillow case

ola! so i wanted to try and use my sewing machine a little more in the '11 and this was project one. new pillow cases!

the fabric for these started out as a pillow case and a skirt from the gap. i liked the fabric print on both but the actual items were pretty useless to me on their own. I also like to collect prints that I like because usually its cheaper to get a 3$ skirt then to go to a fabric store and pick out a meter or two. also I think this is a great way to use items in your closet that you still love the fabric of but maybe they don't fit as great anymore or your over the style of.

step one is to pick out your fabrics and i also picked up these fugly pillows at a value village for maybe 3$ each. they were well made with thick upholstery fabric and still had plenty of life left in them.

i didn't get a very good picture of step 2 but you basically lay your pillow on top of the fabric and cut out around it. you want it to be a little larger then the pillow itself but if you give yourself about an inch around the edges that will be more then enough. no real measuring is involved just make sure to leave equal distance on each side.

lay your pieces right sides together (which means lay the sides that you want to be shown on the outside together) so your left with the two sides that will not be shown on the outside. line up the edges and pin together if your into that kinda thing.

sew those pieces together! leave about an inch to half an inch on the edges, depending on how much extra you gave when you cut them out.

when you start sewing it together you need to start at the edge of one of the corners and then sew towards that corner. once you get all the way around you should stop again just after the last corner, so your leaving one side almost not sewed. this will become your opening.

as you can see (and my mother will kill me hahah) i was too lazy to switch the bobbin thread and used two different colours. no problem! no one will see this anyway, your going to turn it all inside out.

so this picture below shows the opening that you need to leave on one side.

showing off my seams?

turn that shit inside out! push your corners out as much as you can, if you don't do it now the pillow won't do it and you'll be left with uneven corners.

with all your might get your pillow inside the turned out 'pocket'. now comes the most time consuming part. thread your needle and start whip stitching the shit of that opening.

well i'm pretty sure this is called a whip stitch. make sure to secure the thread at the start of the opening and the end. this thread is slightly more important to match because it will actually be seen but i didn't have white so c'est la vie.

and your done! throw those guys on the couch and take a nap. so easy!

xox

new necklace

so every once in a while we get around to listing some items on ebay around here. and then i pack it up in brown craft paper, usually add a bit of Japanese paper tape, and walk it down to the closest post office.

and every so often that item is something that i picked up specifically to flip on ebay and can usually make around 15-20%. but i'm not going to tell you what it is but it hasn't let me down once.

so every so often i have a bit of money in the pay pal that i can use and spend without (so much) guilt. (i'm not a spender. really. i buy lots of things between 1-5 dollars and everything else is a thought out, well researched, purchase. i'm not really into shopping malls either so it makes it easier)

anywhoooo i've been in the market for a new necklace lately. ever since my favorite one was lost on a wonderful day in paris, i have been looking for its replacement.

here are some that make the cut!

available at nobletownvintage $32.00

available at prairieoats $64.00

available at cagebreakbird $34.00

available at nobletownvintage $24.00

available at missashleylu $42.00

available at nobletownvintage $32.00

available at LuOwl for $50.00

available at nobletownvintage $24.00

available at threehorses on sale for $25.00

available at MireilleLagow $46.00

available at elephantine for $35.00