production assistant for hire

soooo about a week ago my brother calls me - he needs a business card, can i help him? initially no, i couldn't. i was stuck at work and both my macs with illustrator on them were at home. also it didn't look good for getting out of work early. when did he need them by? three hours from when he called.

i figured his best bet was to go to a print shop, get the designer on staff to whip something up for him and call it a day. but when he called back and said that it would cost $75 just to have the designer work on his card plus the printing fees (minimum order 200) it just didn't seem worth it.

when i got home at 6:30 he was still cardless and his networking event was that night starting at 8. i started rummaging around in my stationary folder and found sheets of blue card stock. i cut them down to size and had my brother start leafing through old magazines for the letter 'i' (the first letter of his name) We hit the jackpot when he came across an ad that was about 50 different i's all in a line across the page. originally i like the mix and match effect of all the different fonts and sizes but was glad to add a little more cohesiveness.

he cut out the i's and I starting glueing them down and filling out the information. given the placement and size difference no two cards are the same and i really like that about them. we added another element of colour with my japanese paper tape on the corner and ta da! 100% free and a great conversation starter. perfect for a college student looking for a job.
i'm really happy with the way they turned out and i think he was too. if anyone needs a production assistant (or really any job related to film) i have a great candidate for you, full of creativity and passion.

check this out. new york times Christoph Neimenn perfectly illustrates what a red eye flight is like. or any flight for that matter. pretty funny stuff.

have you heard of airbnb? i recently discovered it! you can type in your destination and the dates and it gives you listings of people who are renting out their apartment/house/room in a house for those dates. and the prices are extremely reasonable! I was looking at a whole apartment in Montreal for $38 per night. it would be even better then a hotel if you were looking to go for a longer length of time because you could use the kitchen and not have to eat out every meal. Because they are someone's homes most come with free wifi, cable, and sometimes even laundry facilities.

today was lovely. i wipped something up in the kitchen i will share with you very soon. it was DELICIOUS.

also went to my favorite thrift store and scored a black set of etienne aigner heels (EA i couldn't resist, plus they are suuuper comfortable) a brown leather jacket (not vintage but still a good deal for $25) and a striped blue shirt that will be perfect for fall.

fell asleep on the couch from 6-9 tonight and then remembered i promised the boy i would do laundry. its 11pm on a saturday night, is YOUR laundry clean? better yet, are you home alone DOING the laundry? my life is riveting.

i'm transferring all the pictures over to my computer right now and have high hopes of organizing them so i can upload the paris ones to facebook and burn the work ones onto CDs and blog the rest of them. i think there are like 2000 pictures on my camera right now haha. whooooops when did that happen?

does anyone else use aperture to store and organize their photos? i've started using it since it came on my new computer but i feel like i'm missing something, whats the difference between an album and a book and a new project?

update: there was 2229 pictures that just finished uploading. now they are all screaming ORGANIZE ME.

i've been eyeing up this print from hammerpress for the last week. it would be ppppperfect for my living room. the only downer is that with shipping its close to $60 usd. in my experience shops in the states really jack up the shipping prices to send product over the border. as someone who has sold mannnnny things to people in the US i feel this is totally unreasonable. yes it is usually a few dollars more, but not 4 or 5 times the price of domestic shipping. even stores like urban outfitters (who have 3 retail locations in toronto alone) charge a crazy amount to ship things here. its unfortunate too because for larger chains like that the really good sales seem to never make their way far enough north.

i digress, a gorgeous $35 letter press print, now $60 because of its journey? i got alllll the way to the check out and then couldn't do it. no sale.

I found this very inspiring system on the marion house book blog. every week she sits down, decides what the menu for each dinner is and creates a shopping list. no confusion, no wasted food and no 'i don't know lets just order take out'. i love it. i aspire to this.

here are some great recipes that i've used lately that i would highly recommend make their way onto your plate -

rootbeer pulled pork

tomato basil couscous salad

banana bread with chocolate and cinnamon sugar

chickpea tomato soup with fresh rosmary

as you may have noticed a lot of my recipes are from Orangette and allrecipes.com

TGIF!

i don't even know these people

Max, Margaux, & The Marvelows from Shark Pig on Vimeo.

but i realllllllllly reallly like their wedding video. via a cup of joe via Once Wed

love the tree swing and the letters in the hedge.

not much new to report. working like crazyyyyy. same ol same ol. we are moving office soon! i will have THREE windows! aHHHH can't wait. sunlight during the day, holy wowza. i will be able to have plants in my office. smiles for everyone.

still shopping for a new car, and starting to save for the down payment for a condo. big purchases CHA CHING.

in other news, i died my hair brown and got bangs. pictures soon my dears. people keep saying i look older. GOOD i'm still young enough that helps my career right now. i'm old enough to run your marketing department right? right! right?! its crazy how much responsibility i have this summer compared to last summer. c'est la vie mon amie. big plans on the horizon, can't stop this momentum.

wanna see where i work? www.hush.ca we build your dream home! (only if your a millionaire though sorry) videos coming to the website soon.

gotta go heat up leftover thai food. have you ever used just-eat.ca? so easy and perfect to look at all the menus and evaluate alllllllll options before choosing. (i'm indecisive you see) plus there is even an option to tip the driver so you don't even need to have cash around.

peace xo.

my tips on a lovely home

hello!

I recently stumbled accross this post Mistakes not to make when furnishing your home

so I would like to expand on her post and add some of my advice

Mistakes not to make when making your home lovely

-don't just push all the furniture up against the walls and call it a day, look at the flow and how you use the space and the items in it. Sometimes a chair in the middle of the room just makes more sense.

-dont overlook the power of drapes. they can add a softness to a room and make it look 'lived in'

-if you don't use it everyday, put it away

-keep paper clutter in one place in your home. organize a system to file it or at least make ONE pile of paper that is waiting to be sorted. and on that same note don't bring paper into your home that has no purpose. just because 20 flyers come every week doesn't mean they need to stay for a whole week.

-keep cold water and lemons on hand at all times

-don't invest in serious wine glasses until your friends are ready to take using them seriously

-if you have natural light plants can really energize a space. add long lasting green leafy plants as well as freshly picked colourful flowers.

-everybody loves little dishes of candy or nuts

-wash your hands when you get home, leave the outside outside

-look at where you spend time in your home. ask yourself why. and more importantly why not in other place?

-you begin and end every day in your home, it is your launching pad and your retreat. if your home is too cluttered, not cleaned properly or not functional this will inhibit you every day. invest in it and it will give back to you every day.

hi team!

thats how i like to start a lot of emails at work. when i say team first they are distracted from the favor i am going to ask of them. oldest trick in the book.

okay in other stupid news my sleep patterns have been wayyyy off lately. on average i would say i am a person that needs a lot of sleep. when i don't have a certain number of hours of sleep (8) i am always yawning and get really lethargic at the end of the day, and in the middle now that i think about it. regardless, this is how i've been forever, i need my sleep.

lately though, its been go go go. up at night and not even that tired in the morning. full days of productivity and getting things crossed off the list.

i've been thinking of getting bangs lately.

pros:

-cover some/most of my never ending forehead

-haven't had bangs since i was a kid and am curious what they would look like

-CHANGE

cons:

-super high maintenance, the front part of my hair can have a mind of its own

-will need to shower more

-extra time to style them daily

-all these points are pretty much the same thing, bangs are a lot of work

i decided i am going to grow my hair out naturally. no more dying it. okay actually that is a lie i am going to dye it as close to my natural colour as possible and then let it grow out from there. the ends are so dry and i'm growing out of the blond. (literally) wow this is riveting stuff.

yuck whenever i have pasties it feels like there is fur on my tongue. maybe its spelled pasty's? paisties? okay official vote says pasties.

haha i will leave you with some advice to combat pasties-

yeah, i get reeal bad dry mouth. sometimes i dont mind though. carry around a good sized bottle of water so you dont have to keep refilling your glass.

excellent solution my friend.

found something!

this calendar is fill in the dates yourself (perfect for sporadic people like me who decide they need a calendar in the middle of july)

lists with little checkmark circles! the book that i use right now i make little squares beside every To Do item, then the square gets filled in when the item is completed.

i am SUCH a list person. without a list there are so many things just swirling around in my brain and i am paralyzed and as a result get nothing done because i can't prioritize. a list means everything is out on the table, there are no surprises, everything can be evaluated and completed in sequence.

with a list, nothing is forgotten. with a list and a calendar, its allll under control.

DIY light

i'm in love with the simplicity and weightlessness of this lamp shade. i have this lightbulb and cord combination from ikea already in my living room and right now it hosts a standard square rice paper style shade. you all know the ones from ikea that everyone has.

i'm really loving this look, although i would make mine a little larger.

found here. by the creator of Bookhou, an adorable toronto store, if you happen to be in the area.

i'm off to make homemade lemonade with a hint of basil. and a splash of vodka. summmerrrrr

i can't even believe it. but i am leaving tomorrow! tomorrow!

online check in = Enregistrement en ligne

i can't find where i am supposed to check in online on the french air transat website. whyyyyyyyy is everything in french.

things not to forget: salted caramel macaroons, picnics in parks, espresso on every corner, scooter rides through crowded streets, les enfants, the scarf dance in the ballet we saw, ordering subs in french -encore cornichons, shrek 4- its going to blow your brains out, navigo cards, secret sugar and butter crepes, paris pharmacies, taking the RER everywhere, balmy summer days, and of course being best friends forever.

i'm sad to leave the city but excited to see my boyfriend, sooooooo long. i can't wait to see him.

xox

my apologies

sorry. i thought i would have much more time then i really do to blog. i thought- vacation! i will have all the time in the world to finally update my life online. nope, not so. and to be honest, i'm okay with it. i can blog when i'm dead haha.

sorry kids! i'm outa here.

xoxoxox