winter jump-start

Well when it looks like this outside and you've just spent days cooped up at home recovering from one of these, I don't know about you but I start to feel like I need a proper kick start to get me back on track. And when I've been deliberately bored out of my mind for a couple days (oh recovery mode) and am just on the mend nothing makes me feel quite as good as firing up the stove on all cylinders to produce a great meal. This one doubled as choc-a-bloc full of flu fighters (garlic, ginger, vitamins) while also being sufficiently pan fried and saucified to pass as comfort food.



Thank you Smitten kitchen for providing the inspiration for this meal consisting of Scallion Meat-balls with ginger-soy glaze, Parsnip (& Sweet potato, my modification) latkes with apple sauce, and Carrot Soup with miso & sesame. And because I broke out the food processor to do all of these dishes, I was done faster than I would have expected. Some people like to get all cleaned up and dressed nice to feel back to normal after getting off track, me: I like to set the table and set out a handful of multi-step made-from-scratch dishes.



This step outside my normal one-pot-meals served with water (no napkin) for me heralds "you still got it, babe! welcome back". "Aha!" you might say, suddenly understanding why I was cooking like a fiend when I got laid off. Mind you the oodles of free time on EI didn't hurt either.

What's your go to pick-me-up?

just in time for the gifting season...

Yours truly will enjoy an overdue revival! Starting this month, hand felted frou-frou by yours truly design will be available in The Gallery Shop, at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.



so what ever happened to etsy?
Sure the commission fees are higher at The Shop than on etsy, but I learned some important things by launching that virtual storefront. Mainly: nothing comes from nothing. Without the time and attention to dedicate to self-promotion my wares on etsy sat and sat until they eventually expired (and etsy took it's non-refundable posting fee and left my e-store empty). This foray into a physical storefront seems like a good stepping stone. The jewelry isn't doing me any good sitting in my closet. And the roving isn't going to felt itself. And so, RELAUNCH! Felted wares which have been garnering compliments across the country will now be available for sale next to the artisan wares of some of the best jewelry makers and ceramicists on the island. Pretty cool.

Stay tuned for more details... but you read it first on This Rough Magic.

adventures in delicious

good god miss maude -- add this one to the books too for a future adventures in deliciousness!!! and if I've never gushed to you before about how much I love Love LOVE salted caramel: now you know.



thanks again d*s for making everything perfectly spongy (including my waistline ;) )

oooh next diy edible project

So we all know I already make my own yogurt. Now that I've seen this post on design*sponge, butter-making has rocketed to the top of my do-it-myself list.

With yogurt, I found the whole thing so easy AND saves me money, it made sense to bring into my busy schedule as a common practice. We'll see if butter can live up to this precedent...

the dandy & the photo that got away

the other day, i came walking up my drive just as this young fellow came swaggering down the middle street, massive coy grin across his face, crunching occasionally on a bright red apple. i can only describe him as ... a dandy. but everything about the look, the strut, the glasses, the apple... it was a thing of beauty. i should have called out "yoohoo! can i take your picture" and ran up to get my camera. but who does that sort of thing? this is the photo i would have taken: the Dandy on Princess Ave.

cheery/cherry blossoms

bonjour cheris,

cheerful cherry blossoms are blooming up and down my street now. i love this time of year when Princess explodes, all cerise and lace for blocks. the pinks looking particularly smart against west coast grey skies (you know the kind, the kind with the prefect mix of vague blurry mist clouds and sharply defined fluffy light grey ones floating above with sharply contrasted forebodingly dark grey bottoms). however i must admit that pink and blue are a favourite colour combo of mine as well... so looking forward to clear skies {fingers crossed}.

not trusting the aggressive weather to leave the delicate beauties alone, i have cut down some branches to bring home, reaching ikebana-style across my kitchen table (grey like today's sky) and bursting forth from my fireplace. so even though it sure doesn't feel like Spring out-side, it's looking a little more like it in-.

let me lure you to my lair

oh hey! i just realized i never revealed the results of the bedroom to boudoir makeover. this is where i now curl up to read until i lose consciousness thus dropping my book and losing my page... again.

still working on the old-fashioned portraits paired with cabinet of curiosities meets salon-style wall hangings... but all in good time.

resolve

happy new year! posting regularly has not been a 2010 trait, but we'll work on that, i make no promises as this blog aims be an outlet not an obligation.

mainly i'm just pleased that the year is complete. it was a rocky ride and certainly the hardest year of my life to date. looking back it feels like three years worth of events. but the year came to a close with a surprise encounter with almost unbearable joy, leaving me only excitement and anticipation for the great adventures that this new year has already promised. surely the greatest happiness's in life must always come as a surprise.

speaking of surprises, today's photo is of the hail that came tumbling down from sunny skies yesterday afternoon. unedited unfortunately... one of these days i will repair/re-hack my design suite.

resolutions, i rarely commit to formally, but if you'll recall i already had a new year several months ago and my aim is only to continue those projects in self-improvement while holding closer those most important to me, and enjoying every moment of life & love as it is offered.

exciting news for yours truly, design

oh my goshes! it's been radio silence hardcore -- and i'm afraid this trend will continue for a little longer. because: GUESS WHAT



it's time to meet the public. Yours Truly, Design is going to have its day in the sun, ...or, er, night in the dark?

In any case, for all (or a tiny fraction) of your holiday shopping needs, visit me and other local artists, designers, and delightfully-crazy stuff-makers at the 5th Annual Rock 'n' Roll Market, this thursday dec 9 | 4-9pm @ Logan's Pub.

read more here and hope to see you there!

totally doing this project

thanks design*sponge. you are a daily inspiration.


I am totally doing this project. Don't get me wrong, I have ginormous stack of unused frames - but they're all really big! I want to make a salon-style arrangement of images on a small wall! Paper frames here I come!

that holiday feeling

So, I bemoan the commercial appropriation of holidays as much as the next person.... but I have to admit, I just love Christmas. It brings people together in ways that no other holiday can. And people go out of their way to be extra nice to one another. There is more good food and drink to be enjoyed consistently at a density of parties unparalleled for the remainder of the year. Homes are transformed from their normal humdrum selves into sites for amazing decorative creativity. It's like celebrating everybody's birthday on the same day, thus having all the pleasure of giving and getting gifts without the pressure of being the center of attention. Crisp weather makes cuddling up in sweaters and exchanging additional hugs & kisses an absolute must. Everything is just so festive and celebratory --- what's not to love!?

I also admit that my first pang of Christmas spirit occurred while proofing a holiday-themed advertisement at my job --- but it was just such an unexpected, early pang that it was extra delightful, despite the source.

I digress. I started a little crafty spree of posts around Valentines earlier in the year and since I have decided to aim for an entirely handmade Christmas this year I thought that it could be a good opportunity to get reacquainted with my blog while I'm at it.

I haven't actually decorated for the holidays yet, but I saw this and instantly got inspired:



How pretty! alternately I think it would be very striking to spray paint pine cones white and hang them from a black satin ribbon for a more modern look (or if you have a very dark mantle like mine).

I look forward to getting into the spirit together. I like to get a good month of mileage out of my favourite holiday so hang on to your hats and check back soon for more Xmas-y good times.

a saturday made in heaven

magic combination: cozy mariner sweater, hot cinnamon cider, brisk autumn day.

happy weekend.

back in business in the boudoir

What a couple of weeks! First my computer threw a fit, then the store forgot to give me my power cable back after fixing my computer, then the internet was down. Anyways, radio silence over!

UPDATE:

The house is rearranged. The roomie is in. Now I just have to finish settling. The solution? Redecoration of my new sleep/live space. The theme? Hunting lodge meets boudoir.

I have the fireplace. The hardwood floors. The crown molding. Now I just gotta work it!



Thoughts on the subject so far:
- wooden or porcelain deer trophy head, chandelier, oil lamps, gramaphone?
- swooping curtain to create four-poster-bed feel, lots of pillows, plushy roccoco-esque head board
- faux hide area rug and faux fur throw and swede pillows
- recovering my wingback chair in something velvety and adding a ton of buttons (can anyone teach me to upholster?)
- steamer trunk for the end of the bed, dressmakers form, ornate-legged bedside table
- library index card thingermajig to store my jewelry
- salon-style wall hangings, refinished fancy frames
- for the walls: framed old maps, pinned butterflies, rich fabrics, botany watercolours, cameo portraits, photos of my ancestors and other black&white prints
- lots of black and white to complement my already red walls and keep the whole design contemporary
- ... got any ideas?

happy new year

wild ride of a day and then came home for a spell. turned around to return to work -- this time for fun aka an opening.

but what a crazy evening:

waiting at a red light a woman got out of her car to reposition her front bumper which had started to drag. this took a few tries -- we exchanged exuberant thumbs up when she got it back in position. it was just so funny and wonderful to witness.

opening was fun.

met someone whose job (among a handful of other people's positions) i have taken over. she gave me a hug and it was perhaps the nicest thing anyone had done that day

... at least until...

after the opening, over delicious orange blossom beer, had this beautiful heart to heart with a former curator from the gallery. found myself confessing so many things about my life to her, and her understanding and encouragement and spur of the moment mentoring was so unexpected and perfect! there is so much possibility, so much excitement. i truly must seize my opportunities, but accept that with my woman's heart it may be difficult at times like these to find the grace and courage to do so. but somehow i will find both, and be bold, and ...

how exciting

what random encounters

but i'm so glad for everything that happened tonight

one of the things confessed earlier: that looking back a month and a half is so strange. it was a completely different world -- a different life. everything has changed.

i have been encouraged to treat this like my new year -- and it is really, like a whole new year -- and make new goals and resolutions.

the other suggestion: to journal. so i will.


join me.

fortune

a fortune cookie fortune fell from a book while i was moving things

how's that for a positive affirmation

bookish inspiration too

speaking of beautiful book projects, after the last post i recalled that i had saved these images waaaay back. this was a book design concept i happened across and and just found so lovely i had to save it for keeps. if i thought in words i think this would be my model of the mind...

i love how the sentences seem almost kinetic here - i can image it as a writhing mass of a story before my eyes.

words are wonderful, aren't they?

bookish inspiration

wow. i just can't get over how gorgeous this project looks -- but imagine walking through a structure made entirely of book bricks?! i just love the patterning created using the different coloured spines and pages.

but i have no idea where this came from as this is a reblogged facebooked tumblr find.

sass

house of dreams

in love with about a half dozen of these patterned fabrics by merrimeiko

some house redecorating fantasizing definitely going on right now...

long weekending!

and finally the weekend! but now just any weekend - a looong weekend. especially for me as i am finally taking some previously over-worked hours off. so i am free friday through to monday.

pure bliss!

... and thus balloons!