magical

this weekend i was feeling very festive, so i made this red and green pendant garland! every time i went out and was walking around downtown it kept hitting me that christmas is coming. we didn't have any decoration or seasonal touches in the apartment and every time i was going to buy something i would stop myself because either it was expensive, tacky or both. instead i went to the best second hand store near my house and rummaged around the skirt section until i found a green and a red fabric i was happy with.
i cut them into triangles and then sewed them together. it was pretty easy and i think the result is really nice and festive without screaming christmas. when i was at the second hand store i found a bunch of really cute wooden ornaments that i huge from the garland with ribbon. we don't have a tree but i think this is better.
when i got home from a looooooong day at work today the president surprised me with the little reindeer on the top of the mantle! so cute.
also, this cd was free from starbucks because my bill was over 15$ and even though it only has four songs on it i really like it and am kind of addicted to it hehe.

also i thought that i would show off a little design piece i did for my mom. i signed her up for this amazing site called ravelry.com and it is the coolest place for knitters. you can have your own profile and keep track of your patterns. its a great resource for questions or finding new designs. i know she is going to love it, and i wanted to present her with something more then just the username and password written on a card at christmas so i designed this little 'gift card' and printed it out on this great thick brown recycled paper i had. i think it turned out well. oh and the account is free to get, you just have to wait until they email you back an invitation to the site.

we have a new client at my work and i spent the whole day today immersing myself in everything they need from us. its almost like i am starting a new job, since i am going into this without any knowledge about their business or how they operate. it was nice to work out of an office for the day though, i miss that feeling at 6pm when you finally get out the door and the rest of the night is yours to enjoy. when i work from home i never get that 'leaving the office' feeling of accomplishment.

also i just watched the last three episodes of project runway season 6! soo good! go to ninjavideo.com to watch it in perfect HD.

hope your monday was as productive as mine!

heres the munity i promised you and heres the party it turned into

hello darlings. yesterday was a a big day with work. i was helping to organize a networking event and it was a huge success. we had over 90 people come! and the food, ohhh goodness the food was amazing. i have plates of it in my fridge right now, so yummy and stuff i would never splurge on all at once.

im rather blue today. no particular reason...i don't know why i feel the way i do. something is just off, not quite right. i can't put my finger on it but its somewhere inside me and its hard to ignore. i can't, won't, say what.

part of me is shutting down, and as opposites cosmically attract, i am discovering things about myself that i didn't think possible. i don't know were in me to do. i know i am being so vague and pointing my finger in the air and trying to describe what it is that i'm touching. its just hard. its difficult to be honest with myself and with others and see both sides of the coin.

some days the future is right onfront of me. its the ground i'm about to step on, its waiting for the thumbs up without even needing to look back.

today is a day when the future is like looking through a paper tube. its there i can see it, i know i'll find it, its just beyond the next distance. the shaded curves on either side are rather hard to get though in the meantime. i'm already too far to look back now.

tomorrow will be a better day. xo.

bicept tricept liecept

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dearest carly, i found this photo and thought immediately of you. Happy monday! (and ps I am redoing/changing the etsy banner, i want it to be simpler)

today was super exhausting. i worked really hard all morning, then ran a bunch of errands, had a meeting with my boss, and then went to the gym for my personal fitness assesment. YIKES. they really push you like crazy and test you on your 'weaknesses'. its rather unfortunate that in order to sell you personal training they make you feel like crap and the only way you will improve is to spend tons of money to get one-on-one training. it was pretty horrible, they make you do all the exercises in the middle of the weightlifting part of the gym (read: testoterone central) and give you weights that are struggle just to pick up let alone do squats with! blarg. so many other things wrong with my experience, but i have ten days to cancel my personal trainer contract* and i will be doing just that.

* i was hardly given a choice to sign it anyway, i don't know how many times i asked if i could have the night to think about it and was pretty much told that i was to sign the contract before i left and if i decided i didn't want it then i could cancel it then. backwards logic.

@bl

test

i had big dreams about this weekend. planned for limitless energy and productive hours. its not how it panned out but that doesn't surprise me at all, in retrospect.

but to focus on the positive i did actually get a lot done. i will have a HUGE update for the shop ready very very soon. i sewed my little heart out saturday. allllllll day.

we have amazing food in the fridge, and the apartment is relatively clean. i secured a freelance client and finished more then half of the work tonight. i stayed up until 4am last night (oops!) and cooked a delicious hangover breakfast for champions.

lately i've been really touched by kindness in strangers. i think we unknowingly expect the worst from people and really, we are better then that, as a species. there were 4 times the maximum people that should ever be allowed on a single street car crammed into one car the other night and instead of scowling and pretending to be enthralled in the seat in front of her a lady told me i could rest my huge heavy gym bag on her lap instead of hovering it in the air because there was actually no place to put it. we started talking about the weather, about friends who live in better climates, about friends in general. i was sad to see my stop come up. i like moments like this and it makes me feel like there are actual humans living in toronto with me.

three great things i learned about the internet this weekend: ping.fm, tweetdeck, and ninjavideos.net

peace!

whip my head to the right

i'm pretty sure we found the apartment we are going to rent! yayyyyyyyyy! once we secure a place my stress level will drop 96%. secure home, secure job, secure boyfriend. i guess i'm growing up :)

im in a bit of a nesting faze right now and for some reason all i can think about is getting a puppy. i want a little cutie soooo bad. the president isn't home so he doesn't know it yet but i decided this is the puppy i want. so cute right? and just the perfect size. not to big, not to small, active, smart and kind. i hate mean nippy dogs. these beauties are called brittany spaniels and are so gentle looking. also some of them have blue eyes and i just adore dogs with blue eyes. i would definable wait for a litter with blue eyes.

this little guys name is tuna! i'm tripping over the cuteness.

full grown:

see, the president wants a dog he can take jogging, run around with at the park and is smart enough to learn commands. he hates little dog 'babies' and really if we wanted a baby.. well anyway we DONT want a baby we want a dog. i care more about cuteness, how gentle it is and that it doesn't bark all day. we live in the city and in an apartment (fingers crossed) so a big dog is out of the question. smaller dogs typically aren't as smart and don't have the stamina to go for long runs and be really active. we need a medium sized puppy that we can train to tell us when it needs to go outside and can keep up when we go biking or for long walks. i'm going to do more research but this breed seems like a super good fit for our lifestyle.


and if you haven't seen the 'literal version' series on youtube yet, i highly reccomend you devote an hour of your day to these videos because one you start watching them you won't want to stop. enjoy!

this weekend was fabulous!

a list...

-took friday afternoon off and loved every minute of it
-finished my 2010 calendar, printed it and cut it allllll out
-took pictures of everything for the etsy store
-uploaded just over half of the items, reveal will be soon!!
-purchased two wall decals off etsy, total spent: 11.95 (good deals, check it out!)


-cooked an amazing dinner last night
-bought apple strussel loaf at the market and it is beyond delicious
-finally got around to making a facebook album that encompasses the last four months of pictures
-took a nap! can't remember the last time i did that.


-poladroided some of my favorite pictures. image credits are all mine :)
-bought a LOT of new clothes at an outlet mall and didn't even spend that much money
-deep cleaned the apartment, it needed a good decluttering and wipedown
-got a call that we can be added to the list of potentials for a co-op we want to live in soooo bad. its about $300 less per month then the places we have been looking at and has everything we want!


-am looking forward to a productive week at work now that i've had such a relaxing weekend. now that i have all these home things done i can focus better on accomplishing things for work without feeling like i have a million other things to do. thats one thing about working from home, you don't get to leave the pile of dishes at home and forget about them. the clutter on the coffee table turns into clutter in your office and i'm not a clutter person.


i hope your weekend was fantastic and i want to hear all about it!

xoxo e

blarg, i've been inside work all day. not that i usually have the opportunity to work outside but traveling to meetings and to meet with clients usually gets me out of the house and into the sunshine.

I NEED AN APARTMENT WITH MORE WINDOWS!!

these cupcake wrappers are chearing me up though. :) from here

i think its time to take a walk to the post office and run some errands for work. tonight the president is going to see robin williams at casino rama and i will use tonight to get some extra work done since i am going to be finishing early tomorrow to drive to Orillia with him for a very special top secret interview. we are going to stay in a hotel (yay!) and i think it will be great to get out of the city, if only for one night.

edit: 45 minutes later...still here...have more work to do....damn.

my wishlist...

i honestly wish there were more hours in the day where i could stay focused enough to get all the things done i want. i have so many thoughts and things i want to create and yet, there always seem to be episodes of mad men or the office or house that are calling my name, saying i've done enough work today, take a break.

its a balance i haven't yet reached.

this christmas is special, its the first time the president and i have been living together and we have an opportunity to create our own traditions and holiday moments. i'm looking forward to it. we don't believe in consumerism and i want that to be reflected in the way we celebrate what has become the holiday to just buy, want, need, buy.

this christmas i would like to
-make a calendar for 2010 and give this as a gift to many loved ones
-design a holiday card and send it to as many people as i can
-bake, bake and bake! i love the smell of baking, it honestly warms my heart
-take more pictures
-purchase handmade gifts from etsy and severly limit my mall shopping
-take the time to thank family and friends for being a part of my life and being so supportive. they are honestly the best.
-january 1st we will be moving into our new apartment and i want to bring with us only what we love and need. there will be no extra baggage and all of the past clutter will be sorted through. this move isn't about minimalism, but increasing efficiency.
-get a puppy!! (if our new landlord approves it, fingers crossed!)

sunday before monday

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we are going to look at apartments today!!!! i feel like its christmas. i get way to excited about this kind of thing. like i didn't really even sleep last night excited.

this weekend is supposed to be the most beautiful weekend of the month, and its really living up to expectations. i would never tell you not to read my blog but honestly, go outside!! its gorgeous out there. go rake some leaves, jump in them, visit an outdoor farmers market, drink hot chocolate on the deck, take your little puppy for a walk through a park, walk without a destination.

have a beautiful and energized sunday!
xoxo