quiet post

am in a peaceful kind of mood today.

love this photo by steph parke. it's quiet brooding way reminds me of an entry from three beautiful things:

"a little rain is mixed up in the fog, and people walk behind umbrellas and sour expressions."

mmm.

lets get our collective spring on.

yep - it's yet another oogly day in toronto. and for some ridiculous reason, i decided to assume that the weather guy was overreacting (as they tend to do) about the weather, and opted to wear my lil black ballet flats.

that's right. ballet flats in slush. yecch. (hey! mother nature! you can quit it with the bipolar thing anytime you'd like. i'm ready for some straight-up sunshine. some buds on the trees would be nice too, whenever you get a chance.)

i don't know if i've mentioned it before, but i'm most definitely ready for some non-wintery weather. ha.

i had fantastic plans to make a lil collage of the purchases i'm dying to make for my post this morning, but the photos on the website just didn't do them justice. instead, i mcguivered the outfit in polyvore. it at least gives you the general idea - i'm still digging that yellow (there's honestly no escape for me!) and absolutely cannot wait until it's warm enough out to wear it without covering it up with a winter coat.

another beauty that i've stumbled across this morning is tallulah, who's gorgeous earrings are featured over at reading my tea leaves.

what springtime purchases are you anxiously awaiting?

(lil update - thanks so much to Cindy over at quaint handmade who is making an oh-so-generous donation to the muscular dystrophy association on behalf of my cousin (even when i didn't win their birthday giveaway!). i just received the email now - their kindness really touched my lil heart. from deep deep down - thank you.)

sunshine + errands

hello sunday!

you are bright + beautiful, which is a fantastic change from the cold + super windy that we've been having around these parts lately.

the plans to visit my dad fell through and so yesterday was spent waking up early and being more or less productive. got some errands done, and in the afternoon, my sister and i rented atonement (because there were no copies of marley and me left at blockbuster and that was what she'd originally intended to see), then i made fajitas for dinner.

i love fajitas. especially when they're paired with coronas with lime - makes for a lil bit of summertime on an otherwise oogly day.

i've received quite a few email responses for tell me a story, which i'm working through responding to today as well. i think that's pretty awesome. if you haven't heard from me yet, don't worry - you will.

today: more housework. likely some twittering. even more likely is some exploring on the kindred site + forums, which i came across earlier today and i'm fascinated. i'm gonna download one of their oh-so-pretty desktop images for my laptop - it's time for spring cleaning, after all!

image via kindred (amy ng)

my attention span needs a GPS

oh, wow. i can't believe it's friday already - this week flew by insanely quickly. i'm super behind on my daily blog reads, which makes me kind of antsy because i really look forward to finding out what everyone has to share. i'll be trying to catch up as much as possible this weekend when i get back from visiting my dad. he's only got dial-up, though, so i can't make any promises at this stage in the game.

if you haven't already, check out my new concept for my featured artist/blogger series, and let me know what you think. (even better, if you'd like to participate, email me!). the responses i've received so far have been very positive - even though i kind of figured it anyhow, it's refreshing (and encouraging!) to see that most blog readers out there like to read about other people's lives. a few people mentioned that they used to think blogs were somewhat silly (whoever would wanna read about MY life?! - i know, i used to be one of those) but after having blogged for a year and gotten to know people in the blogosphere, i get it. and it's good.

before i scamper off today, i wanted to share a few bloggy highlights with you that i've enjoyed this week:

1. the images i've posted above are of an absolutely incredible vintage gym locker set that i tripped over at please sir (don't you just LOVE it?!)
   
   
2. brooklyn diptychs by cindy : quaint
   
   
3. book worm by katelynjane (ok so MAYBE the fact that i suspect this post may or may not be referencing last saturday's bookstore adventure is an awesome ego boost, but the biggest reason that i love it is because of my love affair with all things book. post about a bookstore or library, and i'll likely set up camp outside your blog and attempt to elope with it. (is it possible to elope with something? you certainly don't elope it. there's a word somewhere in there that makes sense, but it eludes me right now. moving on.)
   
   
4. marta's anna freud quote fits nicely with the theme of yesterday's post, and ditto her ever-insightful lil captions that go with it:
   

   knowing that you, alone,
   are enough.
   do all that you can
   with all that you have.
   in your space
   in your time.

   (she's a smart cookie, that miss marta.)
   
   
5. another smart cookie is the ever-witty, ever-awesome miss tiffany, who writes - and i quote:
   

   "The other day Max and I were meandering around in the front yard, waiting for the school bus, when we noticed a dead fish lying on the grass. It was such an absurd sight. I think it was a sun fish, about six inches long. I was baffled. How did it get here? I guess because if its proximity to the mailbox, Max was absolutely sure that the mailman had brought it. I left the fish there and the next day it was gone. Is this, perhaps, a message from the mob? It seems like it could be a message from the mob. Even though I got out of the mob years ago and started living legit."

6. elise's get crafty workshops are something i'm seriously considering signing up for, even though i have never scrapbooked anything in my life and don't particularly plan on starting. i'm just thinking she might have some nifty ideas for creative things... and besides, i always like what she makes. i'm practicing being a little creative sponge lately, and just trying to absorb all of the great ideas that float around online.
   
   
7. i like the word nifty. just thought you should know.
   
   
8. speaking of fantastic creative ideas, have you picked up your copy of kal's you-are-awesome mini print set yet?
   
   
9. super-duper engagement photos featured over at delight by design. the top one's my favourite - how bout you?
   

k, that's it, i'm outtie. gotta get some work done.

because i'll be up north to visit my dad tomorrow, so i'll be sure to post my weekend post on sunday this week. if you're around - swing by!

tell me a story

so over the past few weeks, i've been thinking about people's stories. not just any kind - but the kind that people tell about the things that define them, that make them who they are. their personal narratives. at work, i've been finding out all of these super-interesting facts about people's lives; one of my coworkers is a jazz singer, another one has his black belt, and yet another taught high school before she came to work at the university. all of their experiences and histories - no matter how seemingly small - have contributed somehow to who they are today, and i think that's super interesting.

or maybe i'm just a huge creeper.

a bit of my own back-story behind this whole idea - i started university as an english major but dropped as soon as i discovered that one of the prerequisites was 'approaches to english grammar'. (how many approaches can there be!? i was taught in grade six that there was one - the teacher's approach.) i took sociology instead and, over the course of my studies, i'd encountered the notion of the personal narrative and how, with the advent of new and wonderful forms of technology, it's evolved in several different ways.

(stay with me here, this isn't an academic essay. it's goin somewhere - i promise!)

with the advent of blogging/twitter/facebook/msn and all of the other creative and techy ways to keep in touch, old-school critics have lamented the diminishing amount of daily face-to-face interaction (admit it - how often have you sent an email to a coworker who's office is just around the corner from you?), mostly because it reduces the number of chances that we have to chat. chatting turns to discussion, which eventually helps you get to know people and their lives and their stories, and somewhere during that process, their personal narrative is formed. in turn, when shared, these narratives can help us learn and develop ourselves in ways we might not have the chance to do while limiting ourselves to online interactions alone.

furthermore, let's be honest - more often than not, people heavily edit what they publish to the web. (case in point: how many people put a positive spin on their blog content or facebook updates?) to a certain extent, it's necessary to maintain readers. after all - nobody likes a debbie downer. but at the same time, it leaves me (and i'm gonna make a massive generalization here and expand it to 'us') sometimes feeling inadequate. we start comparing ourselves to everyone else, based on what we see and read.

and this, i think, is absolute crap. i find that my favourite blogs to read are ones that, while including great creative content of all shapes and sizes, also includes posts about their lives, including some of the less glossy-magazine-page type of content.

and so, instead of featuring the traditional question/answer feature interviews, i'd like to delve a bit deeper into those things that helped make you the way you are. it doesn't have to involve a tragic or earth-moving incident of some sort. big or small, simple or otherwise. heck - it could just be about how your love of gardening helps keep you grounded when you're stressed. whatever. i'd love to feature some of that kind of information about the oh-so-talented bloggers and artists and other types of awesome peeps out there.

in short: everyone has a story. what's yours?

email me (notice my new lil email link in the left column!) and let's talk.