Attire_Satire

Black Cat Love

2012-02-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, I'm a kitty mama to two beautiful black cats. Pica and Sammy.

Unfortunately, When we had to move, my kitties weren't allowed to come live with me so they had to go live with my mom. Which was actually great for them because she spoils them! Knowing they're well taken care of and having weekly visits with them is great but I do miss them terribly.

Pica

Sammy

So I was thinking it might be nice to incorporate some black kitty into my life so I can take kitty love with me everywhere.

Here are some very lovely pieces that could do just that:

A beautiful drawing by Yelena

Asos bag that I want very badly but can't have because thay don't ship to a PO box :(

These beautiful items by Leah Goren worn by Calivintage

These too cute accessories from Modcloth

Lovely dress also from Modcloth

This vintage pair on etsy

What do you do to keep your pets with you throughout the days? (other than wear their fur ALL OVER YOU like I do!!! ) I've got black hair on all my clothes from too much hugging.

food for thought

2012-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Just something that's been bouncing around in my head lately. I see far too many fellow humans out there obsessed with acquiring. I understand the allure of lovely things, but I'm not fooled into thinking they will add to my life or value in any way. It's OK to lust after things you know you will never have but it's scary when that lust grows into an obsession with the item. You tell yourself you'll finally be happy if you only had that or lived here or whatever it is. It's even more frightening when the obsession turns into debt in order to fulfill this imagined need to possess the item. Its an occurrence happening too often.Too many go into debt acquiring what they haven't earned only to find out they're still miserable.

Be happy with what you have, where you are, who you're with. It's far easier to lust after the unattainable than to be content with the magnificent life we already have.

Travel Daydreams

2012-02-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

It's safe to say that I'm obsessed with all things Barcelona. I dream about it often while I'm cooped up at my desk all day long. Every ounce of that city was soaked up into my mind while I was there last summer and I'm recalling those details now anytime I need a boost.

Me at Parc Guell in Barcelona

I love this charming video series done for "Live the Language". They really capture the pace and beauty of the cities they're featuring.A tiny bit of jealousy might be felt for the actors in the videos.

I'm also loving Gabby's blog and seeing tiny bits of Barcelona captured in her photoshoots. She resides in Barcelona and uses the beauty of the city to her advantage in her shoots. I swoon! If only she had lived there while I was in the city, I would have hired her in a heartbeat to do a photoshoot with. Next time. In the meantime, I can't wait to see more of her fabulous work!

Perhaps my heart is in need of a travel adventure....Although, the "Live the Language" website also has a very convincing video on my beautiful Vancouver. Maybe I can adventure locally for a while to satisfy this craving...for now...

300th Post

2012-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

According to blogger, this will be my 300th post. I'm so glad I've kept up this space. It truly is a reflection of me and my life.

I'm constantly surprised and happy that people come to read my posts or look at my photos. It's here to share, to inspire and to relate so I'm glad it's reaching others.

I feel like I've accomplished a lot since I begun blogging, I feel like I've accomplished a lot BECAUSE of blogging too. Blogging keeps me accountable to an audience other than just myself. If I tell the readers I'm going to accomplish something, well then I better do it or else everyone will know I didn't, I mean, they're expecting results! In reality, you guys don't really care, but it matters to me to accomplish the things I set out to do. While I'm out on adventures and such, I always think; "oh, I should blog about this, share it on the blog." I've documented more of my life than ever before. I've never been the "written journal" type, I always had visual journals. I think the blog was just an evolution in the media I used to journal visually. A little more public than the sketch books have been.

Who knows whats to come but you can rest assure it'll all be shared in these posts along well as my passion for clothes, art, design, gardening, food, adventure, friends and family. Maybe a little attire satire thrown in as well.

Thanks for reading!

Bird of a Feather

2012-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon as everyone was gearing up for the big Superbowl game, I was putting my boot on heading down to the beach. Camera, tripod and bag of bread in hand, my goal was to capture birds doing what they do best. Birds are trickier to photograph than I thought...

Photography lessons

2012-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Subtle difference in colour

Last night we did a brief tutorial on how to properly colour correct photos to bring out their maximum potentil on the printer. We also learned how to colour correct our monitors. Extremely helpful infomration for a graphic design and something that wasn't covered in my four years at design school!

I'm really loving my photography class. In three classes I've learned more about photography than I thought We'd learn in the entire 8 weeks! I'm thrilled and can't wait for more!

Attire Satire - Nail Stickers

2012-02-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

I think nail stickers are a fantastic alternative to spending time and money for nail polish and manicures. Great for traveling too, so quick and light to pack. They come in a variety of colours, patterns, textures and even designs.I've yet to try them, but I hear great things!

This particular pack of cutesy sticker designs is pretty fun. A bear, a kitty, giraffe and teddies, adorable. But can anyone tell me what the bottom row-centre sticker is?

Sweet Spring

2012-02-01T12:00:00.001-08:00

Sweet Spring by carlyannswift featuring clear shades

Garden & Food Planning

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about my little plot of garden land recently. It's been resting over the winter but soon it will be time to clean up and start anew. I've put some research into what I wan to grow this year and will need to make a trip to my local seed store.

I'm working on a bit of a diet change too so I want to make sure my little garden plot works with me to give me some delicious, organic produce to keep me well fed and healthy. I'm very much looking forward to getting out there in the soil and dirt and growing some delicious items. I'm hoping to remove meat, processed foods and dairy all together and concentrate on fruits, veggies and seeds.

My new diet will be chock full of even more greens and veggies than ever before! I'm looking forward to being down in the garden again and producing some great food.

Room Re-vamp

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

I've been hard at work in my spare time overhauling my apartment. There were vast amounts of clutter and junk that needed to vacate the premises. Part of that process led me to re-arrange my living room a bit. I re-arrange items in my house wuite often, I like to keep them from getting stagnant or boring. I don't ever want to NOT notice things in my home becasue I'm so accustomed to seeing them in the same place all the time.

When we're home, we spend a majority of our time in this room. We hang out here, listen to music, do work or homework here, even eat in here. So it is important to me that the room functions well for all those things and stays fresh!

This is my oasis!

A few awesome pieces on my dream list

Indie I Do

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

The bridal party and I went out to the "Indie I Do" wedding show yesterday morning. It was lovely! Nothing quite like independent artisans and wedding vendors to get you jazzed up about DIY.

Speaking of DIY, I'm deep in the middle of putting together invitations for Marlies' wedding. So much fun and they're looking pretty snazzy if I do say so myself!

Drawing Type

2012-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a new branding project and I'm starting in my sketch book. This is what I've got so far. I think it'll look organic and raw, not cold like manufactured typefaces can sometimes.

We shall see...

Nothing Better

2012-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better these days than coming home from the stark, cold office after 8 hours to a warm fire, an endless cuppa decaf chai tea and the crackling sound of Leslie Feists new album on the record player.

As I'm settling in front of my computer to work on contracts for the evening I'm re-energized. I'm driven to do the best possible job I can. For a few reasons. One; I love my clients, they really are the reason I'm loving design again. Two; if I continue to do fantastic work, more people will want to have my work and I'll get to spend all my working hours in this dreamy workspace.

Now thats worth putting in the extra hours for.

Out On My Own

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Part of the reason I'm not as 'post-y" on the blog is because I'm doing research and deciding if I'm able to start my own graphic design business. Kind of a scary thought but also very exciting. Ideally I'd like to be out on my own within the next 2-3 years. I love the idea of managing my own client work, choosing my own hours and having a more flexible schedule. Although I do have the tendency to become a work-a-holic, I think I could maintain a good work-play balance. Probably better than I do now where I'm chained to a desk for 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

Right now I'm still in the phase where I'm deciding if it's necessary, beneficial & what the first steps are. I'm perusing government of BC websites and downloading checklists, applications and forms.

Filling out forms is the easy part, it's the accounting part afterwards that frightens me.

Do any of you Graphic Designers or small business owners out there have any tips for starting up? Please share in the comments!

Camera Love

2012-01-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

My Canon and I are absolutely in love with our photography class. This will be just what we need!

It's only been the first class and already I've learned so much! Looking forward to this adventure.

Photography Class

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

My Canon and I are going to our first photography class tonight. I hope we learn some stuff!

Wish you were here

2012-01-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

This is a photo I took in Valencia last summer at the city of Arts & Sciences. I've altered the image slightly to mimic a vintage post card. It sort of reminds me the way people in the 50's view the future (the future being like year 2000). Sort of Jetsons meets Utopia.

a grey day makes for colourful thoughts

2012-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

With grey skies and plumeting temperatures outside, it's easy for my mind to wander to the colourful, bright sunny warmth of Barcelona. I'm pulled some of my most colourful photos from the trip to brighten my day, and yours.

lost in Valencia

Peacock

pillars

Beauty building in Sitges

graphic design of the past

tapas!

stained glass at the Sagrada Familia

Casa mila & the bright blue sky

Parc Guell

a horizon of shapes

fancy curve

fruit market and fresh juice

weekend post

2012-01-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Since we're a few days away from being incredibly busy with work and school, B and I took advantage of a free Saturday to go on an adventure. B wanted it to be a bit of a surprise for me so I had no idea where we were headed to all day, he just took me from place to place. I prefer this method of exploration, I hate having to make navigational decisions.

The day was cold but Sunny and clear so we took full advantage of this day to be outside and wander around some of our favorite haunts. We had a fab lunch at a pub on the water then for a walk around Granville Island.

We watched seagulls. Sneaky Seagulls that steal your food.

We walked around Jericho Beach Park and checked out the view.

Illusive bunnies evading my lens.

The view is alright I guess...

Then some light shopping in downtown Vancouver and a drive around the city.

I'm sure I'll treasure this relaxing and lovely Saturday with my man while I'm eyeballs deep in work over the next few weeks.

dear photograph

2012-01-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

I love this concept. Old photos helping us relive our most cherished memories. They help us reflect on the changes, not only in ourselves, but in our environments as well. They also remind us sometime that not much has changed at all.

I believe old photos are a precious commodity. If you are fortunate enough to have photos from your own history, you are truly a lucky person. I am one of those fortunate people to have abundance of old photos from my past as well as my families past generations. I adore going through them, searching my ancestors faces for any recognizable traits. I love to see what they wore and the smiles on their faces.

The photos remind me to capture moments in my own life. Someday, a great-grandchild will love to look through them and see that we share the same smile.

Dear Photograph,
My Dad, and good old Bandit, strolling along Whitley Bay. I’d love to take that leash once more.
Paul

Dear Photograph,
This little girl is all grown up, and grandma is gone, but her garden still grows…
Patricia

pencil to paper

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

I've got some interesting projects on the go right now. The kind of projects that allow me to put real life pencil to real life paper. It's been a while since I drew in my sketch book and now it seems to be filling up quickly with some lovely ideas. It seems I have an abundance of creativity at the moment and not enough time or space to get it all out. Oh the problems of a graphic designer.

Sabine Dress by Wilfred

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, I might be slightly obsessed with Wilfred clothing right now, but for good reason. Their garments are beautifully made with fine fabrics and they still maintain a comfortable fit. Their versatile Sabine dress is one of my very favorites. I now own two of them! At $165 each, they don't break the bank either.

I had a wee though this weekend after seeing all the colour options hanging in the Aritzia stores. The pallet these dresses are available in is remarkably similar to Marlies' wedding pallet (Marlies is my bestie for whom I am Maid of Honour). I told her on the phone Sunday I would show her the dresses so this post is for her!

6 years

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend B and I celebrated 6 years together.

I feel so incredibly fortunate and grateful to have such a supportive and wonderful man to share my life with. Brendan truly is my best friend and I'm more in love with him today than ever before. We've had some fantastic adventures together and I'm looking forward to so many more in our lifetime. Love you B!

Sigh

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here, at work, in the darkness of a power outage. The power has partially returned. The lights are half dimmed and the electronics are going haywire. No ones computers seem to be functioning. Except, miraculously, my computer powers on through the lack of electricity. So while everyone else in the office is idle I'm still expected to be productive. Sigh, no "snow day" for me.

I'm failing to see the humor in this.

Quiet Time

2012-01-04T12:01:00.002-08:00

Things might be a little quiet on the blog for a little while as I'm working hard on some big things in real life. I'll try to keep up with some fun posts now and again over the next few weeks!

Wilfred Collection

2012-01-04T12:01:00.001-08:00

Wilfred Collection by carlyannswift featuring a wrap sweater

Post Christmas

2011-12-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Once again, my birthday/Christmas have come and gone in a whirlwind of 4 days of festivities. Again, I've been spoiled with beautiful and thoughtful gifts. Most of all I'm feeling spoiled and grateful for having such wonderful people in my life to share this special time of year with. Warm nights by the fire with good people, too much food and just enough wine is where I spent the majority of the last 5 days. I haven't got much in the way of photos to show for it, but I do have a big smile on my face and love in my heart.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and got to spend them with the people you love!

Goals for 26

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Every Year around this time, I like to take an inventory of my life. I suppose it's a very "birthday" thing to do, it's also a very "new years" thing to do. Seeing as my birthday and new years are so close together, I'll do one mega list. I may be obsessed with list making, but how else do you get all your thoughts out of your head? They need to be on paper (or the blog) where they make more sense.

last years goals are here for anyone interested.

25 was a fantastic year. In no particular order, here's the best of the year:

I grew my personal business
my portfolio is revamped
went to Spain
became a maid of honour
experienced more love in my life than ever before
grew a garden
kept up two blogs, documented life
took tons of photos
learned lots of Spanish
did lots of hiking
made lots of jewelry for gifts and personal use
thrifted tons! fantastic items for my wardrobe, vintage for the store and great household items.
started canoeing
built up my etsy and sold lots of pieces.

I really feel like I did accomplish all my personal goals from this year. It's been a truely fabulous year! I'm very fortunate and I try very hard not to take it ll for granted. I'm a dedicated person and when I set my mind to tasks, I always accomplish them, but I also have a ton of support from friends and family.

What do I want to accomplish in my 26th year and 2012?
This is what I've thought up so far:

Make more cards
expand on my portfolio and realm of design
get fit and eat clean
bike more
take even more pictures
blog more outfits and kitchen adventures
be a maid of honour in September (the best one possible)
make more art and creative projects
grow a big garden again
volunteer
plan or go on an adventure
take a class
go downtown more
learn something new
see all my friends more often
vow to shop local / handmade all year round
donate blood
go camping with the canoe
host a dinner party
learn to drive standard
switch to natural cleaning products
hike more
love more

Do you have any goals for the New Year?

Practical B-Day Prezzies

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to lie, I've been spoiled rotten almost my whole life and I'm very appreciative of all I've been given over the years! This Birthday has been no exception. My b-day is still 2 days away and I've already been spoiled.

This year, I asked for more practical gifts rather than "luxury" gifts. You know, the "need-to-have" items as opposed to the "nice-to-have" items. The "Nice" items VS the "Need" items are equally as awesome! Both my parents got me very necessary and practical gifts. The things I desperately needed, and eventually would be forced to buy, but I've been putting them off for months because of the expense.

Thanks to Mom, my poor, five-year-old, failing Mac Book Pro got huge revamp! More RAM and a new hard drive as my old one was almost completely dead. My computer, as with most people, is my lively hood! It's got my life on it. (I'm not crazy, I have a backup). Now it runs like a dream!

Thanks to Dad, my car is set up with some fantastic new tires and is in perfect working condition again! It had been making some strange noises for a while, noises that sounded expensive. I was avoiding taking it to the shop until after I could recover financially from the holidays. Now I don't need to! It's all fixed up and running better than ever!

Practical gifts are often the best gifts!

I also got myself a practical gift for the big 26. I bought myself new glasses. My old prescription just wasn't as good as it was 5 years ago and needed to be updated. So did my frames. Before & after pics soon.

Rotator Magazine

2011-12-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

As an early b-day prezzie to myself, I bought the pilot copy of independent "Rotator". A magazine collaboration by brilliant minds and talented designers. They got together to create the magazine for the sake of creating a visually rich and interesting magazine.

I love the idea of collaborating with other talent to create a wonderful product just to showcase your talents and stretch your creative muscle. I hope to do a collaborative project next year.

I highly recommend checking them out online. Their online version is just as rich and wonderfully visual as the magazine in real life.

This group is sure to accomplish great things!

Health Plan for 26

2011-12-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is my last week as a 25 year old.

More days than not, I don't feel 25, I feel much, much older. I badly want to do all I can to change this.

If you're familiar with this blog or me in real life, you'll know well that I've had a roller coaster of successes and failures in my health routine. This year I really want to get a good solid plan in place that will be manageable with my handicaps and my hectic schedule.

My neck is the source of much of my pain these days. Even with bi-monthly massage therapy sessions, most days my neck is stiff and painful. Movement is limited and headaches are a reality. Many days start with a handful of ibuprofen just to get moving on with my days. So my main goals is to strengthen, stretch and maintain a strong neck. It's very vulnerable and prone to re-injury so I know this process with me lengthy and slow but a necessary goal to stick to if I want to make ant kind of progress on the pain and frequency of injuries.

Like many women, I love clothing. I put a lot of effort and time into curating my wardrobe. I spend plenty of good money on quality peices. Well, lately, my poor cloths aren't looking quite so goos on me. They buldge and are tight, uncomfortable. This must stop. As much as I love shopping, I would hate to shop for clothing because my current clothing doesn't fit anymore.

I just want to feel better. I want to increase my energy and decrease the amount of stomach aches I get. I want to feel 26, not 46. Food is a huge weakness of mine. I love it all. I also work for a Food importer....we import premium German chocolate...I stare at chocolate ALL DAY!!! Try not to want chocolate when that's all you look at everyday for 8 hours. It's like an alcoholic having to work in a liquor store. I must work on my sugar detox to stop the cravings I've become accustom to caving in on.

So for the start of 2012, I'm going to put these plans into place. Probably implementing them slowly or one at t a time. It's too difficult to do a 180 lifestyle change in one day.

Step one: FOUNDATION
- Good high quality multivitamin
- Clean fish oil
- Good quality B complex

Step 2: DETOX:
- Focus on root vegetables, those that grow under the ground: beets, artichokes, turnips
- Onions and garlic: sulfur containing that help with detox and helps liver process toxins.
- Lemon water 10 minutes before your meal to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients from your food.
- Stop overeating.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine

Step 3: IMMUNE SYSTEM
- Avoid sugar.
- Add vitamin D, vitamin C and oregano oil.
- Add foundation vitamins from step one.
- get plenty of sleep.

Step 4: EXERCISE
- take it slow.
- 2 days of neck / core strength
- 2 days of cardio
- add a third day of each after 5 - 6 weeks.
- move everyday. Even if it's just a good stretch on the floor or a walk around town. Get. Moving.

Step 5: WEIGHT LOSS
- Focus on nutritious balanced meals high in protein and vegetables, low in simple carbohydrates and bad fats.

Step 6: WATER
- drink 8 glasses of water a day! I've already started to implement this step into my routine but it's hard still to remember to keep my water intake up. I have a fantastic re-usable, non-plastic water bottle that's made a big difference, I take it everywhere.
- avoid caffeine and alcohol. I'm lucky I'm not a coffee fanatic, but I do love tea. I also love me some red wine, which will be difficult to eliminate entirely.

Christmas shopping Outfit

2011-12-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas shopping Outfit by carlyannswift featuring a silver flower ring

Birthday Outfit

2011-12-19T15:13:00.001-08:00

Birthday Outfit by carlyannswift featuring high heel shoes

Fantasy Christmas List

2011-12-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last year I did a fantasy Christmas list. Since it's so fun to daydream (something I'm very good at) I thought I would do it again this year.

Remeber, these are FANTASY items. I, in no way, expect to be receiving any of them. Just for fun!

Cool lamp

Comfy retro chair

Kitchenaid & baking lessons

Organized crafting storage

Pretty stone ring

Vespa

Camper

Cabin, someplace to have canoe adventures

Hawaii!

Awesome reading nook.

Party Time!

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have a few days off during the holiday season this year. You best beleive I'm going to be using them to their fullest potential!

Brendan has 3 full weeks off of school so we've decided to host a little get-together. It's going to be an open-house style party where friends can come and go. We never get to see anyone as much as we'd like during the year so hopefully we'll get to see some dear friends we've not seen enough of.

I've put together a bit of a mood board to help me organize for the party. There's no real theme but it'll have a bit of a "Cozy Winter" theme. We'll be visiting by the fire enjoying good comfort food, good wine and each others company. Board games may or may not be involved.

Should be a lovely evening!

Christmas Bustle!

2011-12-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

After a whole weekend of dedicated production and shopping, I think I'm just about completely finished the Christmas bustle! Maybe one more day of crafting and a wrap night and it'll be taken care of!

I have to ~~brag~~ admit, I owe the ease of the Christmas bustle to my decision to shop local. I went out after work on Friday for 45 minutes and then another 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon. I left the car at home and walked around town, picking up the items I needed. It was simple, I stayed within budget, half the gifts got wrapped in the stores, I didn't wait in one, single, line-up. SO WORTH IT! I did do some planning in advance to know what I was looking for for each person on my list, but once I had that part done, it only took a very relaxing hour and a half to get everything I needed.

The crafting I'm doing this year will take up the bulk of the time, but thats the FUN part. I'm so glad I have the time now to dedicate to the hand-made aspect of my "Christmas program" as I call it.

Here's a peak into what my apartment looks like right now in the midst of my creative Christmas process.

My goal is to be completely finished by the end of this week so I can just relax and enjoy the season, friends and family!

Do What You Can

2011-12-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

I've been spending quite a bit of time over the last few weeks thinking about next year. What do I want to get out of it? what do I want to put into it? What kind of person do I want to be? A list is being compiled to help me accomplish the goals of 2012.

I've started to put one resolution into place already so I want to share it! It's so simple, everyone should do it!

It's such a small contribution compared to what we all SHOULD be doing, but an excellent first step. I've been signing petitions. Environmental and human right petitions more specifically.

David Suzuki, Vancouver resident and environmental activist, made a compelling speach at the Occupy Vancouver protest that really hit home with me. It made me want to know more, to do more, do what I could. So I went to his website. It's full of great tips and useful information on how to make small changes in your life and routines to better the planet.

I've been researching ways to help out that fit my busy life and one of the easiest things to do is to sign petitions and/or send letters to your government. Most of the time, the letters are even written for you, you just sign your name and address and off it goes, done! It's tough to do more when schedules are so hectic, even though I want to. Right now this is the small step I can fit into my busy life to make a small change. I'm just doing what I can manage right now.

The next item on my "better the planet and my life" list....switch to all-natural cleaning products.

Have a sec? Want to make a small change? Sign some petitions, it's so easy:

David Suzuki
Avaaz

Little Black Fabulous

2011-12-08T08:51:00.001-08:00

So I joined Polyvore finally and is it ever fabulous! If you've not heard of Polyvore, it's a website where you can search a database of fabulous items to put together looks. I think I'll be playing around with this little toy quite a bit!

Little Black Fabulous by carlyannswift featuring a little black lace dress

Twenty8Twelve little black lace dress
$589 - frockaholics.com

TIBI tuxedo jacket
$505 - stylebop.com

Dorothy Perkins black heels
$79 - dorothyperkins.com

Chanel bag
luxuryexchange.com

Swarovski jewelry
$850 - swarovski.com

Wet Seal bangles jewelry
$4.25 - wetseal.com

Judith Jack sterling silver jewelry
$83 - zappos.com

Chanel crystal jewelry
$5,000 - monamoore.com

FLIRT! BIG FLIRT Thickening Mascara
$14 - kohls.com

Diptyque Eau Particulière Perfumed Water
$135 - barneys.com

My Favorite Evening Show

2011-12-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite subject to take photos of is the sky. I love a big dramatic sky shot. The sky is a great subject to learn with too, it's always doing amazing things and it stays relatively still while you experiment with settings. From one moment to the next and from left to right, the sky can have very different looks. I love to capture the drama, colour and shape.

I've had my eye on the magical stuff going on in the sky while I'm on my way home from work but becasue the sun goes down so early, I'm stuck in traffic and unable to get anywhere to capture it before the shows over.

The other day I was off work a little early so I was fortunate enough to be around for the magical hour when the sky puts on a real great performance right before the light is gone for the evening. The sun put on a great dramatic exit on this particular evening and I had just enough time to get to the ocean with my camera.

The sky looked like it was on fire!

I was thankful for front row seats to this 15 minute performance. I'll be happy when the sun stays up a little longer than 4:30pm too so this show is less of a matinee.

Shopping Goals

2011-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Similar to every year around this time, like most people, I'm thinking about my holiday shopping list. I'm planning my perfect gifts and where I will get them. I've decided this year to try my best to shop small, local business or handmade artisan pieces. I truly believe in the quality and warmth that gets put into handmade items. Supporting my community is also extremely important to me.

Recently our small town accepted a plan to rip up acres of beautiful land to install a mega shopping-plex. This mega shopping centre will feature Walmart, Canadian Tire and other big block stores. It will surely destroy the small-town feel I LOVE so much. It'll draw in more and more outsiders to our quiet community. The small business I frequent will struggle and many of them will be forced to close.

So this Holiday Season I'm making a pledge to shop small local business and handmade. I'll keep you posted on my progress, so far it's been a huge success! I've been to 3 local places and have purchased some lovely items for the people on my list. I encourage you all to do the same! It's also a great time saver, I hit three local stores after work on Friday and was still home for dinner by 5:30. If I had braved the mall, I'd surely have spent hours searching for parking, standing in lines and scouring hundreds of stores. There are also plenty of fantastic online sources to get handmade gems. Etsy is a great place to start. I really love the poppytalkhandmade store online. Shopping local and handmade give me the "warm and fuzzies", so you all should try it too!

I think this will be something I'm going to add to my year round list of goals. My town needs my support all the time, not just through the holidays, although, the holidays are a great time to start!

Cozy Little Winter

2011-12-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

I managed to find time this week to put together a little mantel display for winter. The fireplace is the focal point in out main living space so I like to change it up often to keep up with the seasons and remain fresh!

I have been collecting milk glass vases for ages. I'm not sure where my obsession stems from or what their purpose will be but they look fantastic in spring with fresh flowers and great in winter with dried foliage. They're very versatile! I pick them up at the thrift stores when I see them. They're usually twenty-five cents each.

The lights and green bulbs were purchased at the thrift store for $5 total. The two candles were given to me. The tree is faux and cost $3 at the local dollar store. The bunting was made with 3 peices of paper and some string. Very simple.

The photo has been a permanent fixture on our mantel since this time last year when our friend Yuri Choufour, talented photographer, took portraits of Brendan and I. It's just about my favorite thing in our apartment.

So that's the extent of my Winter/Holiday decorating so far. More to come later!

Still in love with these photos. Thanks Yuri!

A Movember to Remember

2011-12-01T20:10:00.001-08:00

The end result of a month of creepy 'stach growing. We said farewell on December 1st to the lip caterpillar. But it was a Mo-vember to Remember.

Movember info here

I may have also rocked a mo on more than one occasion over the last four weeks...you know...for support.

I Win!

2011-12-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

Finally, after all the time I've spent entering blogger give-aways, I win one! And it was a great one to win. Chloe Scheffe, Fellow graphic designer and author of It's Symmetrical, hosted this giveaway for a set of dpsullivan Christmas art prints.

Aren't they charming!? I'm a lucky girl. I'm going to incorporate a set into my permanent Christmas mantle display. Which I will photograph and blog once it's complete. and maybe, I'll send a few out to very special friends as cards. But cards this cute will likely get hoarded to myself. Mua-ha-ha! I just joke, I'll share the awesome card love.

I Only Speak the Truth

2011-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Something that I've noticed of myself this year is that I'm completely willing to stand up for what I believe in. I will speak my mind and tell the truth, even when it's uncomfortable or may have a negative reaction. It's actually very liberating.

I used to be a bit of a "push over" so to speak. If something bothered me or I had a problem with someone, I'd just shut my mouth and stew about it in private later. Even when I had something positive to say about someone, I felt really awkward or embarrassed to the point where it was easier to just keep my mouth shut. In certain "sensitive" situations, that's the best thing to do, shut your mouth. In other cases, it's really cathartic to just speak your mind. TALK about what's on your mind, good or bad. So I encourage you all to follow what you feel in your heart. Tell people how you feel about them, to their face, positive or negative. But isn't it difficult to find your voice sometimes? Especially when you're even a little unsure of the reaction it'll garner.

I recently had a situation arise where I was feeling taken advantage of. It was making me miserable and angry everytime it came up (which was daily) to the point where I was ready to pull the plug of the whole situation and walk away if it didn't stop. I knew it wasn't going to stop on it's own, I wuld have to confront the situation and explain how I was feeling. I was scared that people would be mad or hurt, but those feelings couldn't be solely mine anymore. I brought up the issues, even though it was hard. My passion for the subject and my anger about how I was being treated made my voice quiver, not like I was going to start crying, more like I was going to start yelling. I kept it together and professional, and you know what, I was respected for it. The situation was corrected and everyone is happy. Perfect outcome. I suppose it won't always be so simple, but when everyone wants to work together for happiness, you just need to get together and TALK about the issues preventing it. I'm open to it, and when other people are open to it. there's no reason why it won't be a positive outcome EVERY time.

Do find it hard to stand up for yourself or something you believe in? Please share a story if you have one!

Unheard Of

2011-11-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking of doing something I've never done before...or at least something I last did years and years ago.

If you've been reading this blog for a substantial amount of time you might know how I feel about Christmas. In short, I'm not a fan. It's a little bit assaulting in my opinion, visually over stimulating, gaudy, grossly expensive. Most of all, there's just no escaping it. So for years, Ive made sure that my home is a sanctuary. Its the Christmas-less space I can retreat to where I know I wont hear the horrible music, see flashing lights or be bombarded with advertisements to spend, spend, spend.

Since Boyfriend and I have been living together, hes been very respectful of my need for an Xmas-free home. I know that he would like to see some Christmas cheer around the house though, especially since hes been spending so much time holed up there studying. So I'm compromising. I will be doing SOME tasteful Winter themed decor this year. It's going to look very natural and mostly white, candles and light are important and just a pop of colour. I'm not keen on sopending a lot on seasonal decore as I tend to want to do something new every year so transitional items are important.

Below is an inspiration board I've been working on. Hopefully I'll have a moment to actually put the plan int place and document it to share on here.

We'll see what happens...

A Weekend of Much Needed Nothing-ness

2011-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

After 5 weeks straight of long hours, 6 contract projects, social engagements, illness and a laundry list that never ended, I finally had a weekend with no plans. Well, it didn't have zero plans, but I blew off all plans that arose. Chores, friends, christmas decorating, shopping, cooking, exercise, I didn't have a choice, my body and mind said "NOPE, not this weekend".

So I stayed in bed and relaxed with Boyfriend who also rebelled against all responsibility this weekend. We watched movies and caught up on tv shows ALL. WEEKEND. It felt great! I badly needed to do absolutely nothing. I'm re-energized and ready to tackle the week. I was so re-energized by last night that I decided to make something out of the pumpkin I picked out of my garden back in September. It's now become roasted pumpkin and two home-made pumpkin pies! Yum!

I'm hoping this energy will stick around long enough for me to tackle my Christmas list. I'm feeling a little behind the ball on that one seeing as I'm usually prepped for Christmas by this time. I'm sure it'll all come together soon enough, it always does!

Bike & Work? Perfection

2011-11-23T13:52:00.001-08:00

Can some body please fashion me one of these? I'm spending so much time sitting and working in from of my computer than my pants are getting angry and tight. My shirts too. This set-up would make the long computer hours een more productive and I'd feel much better too!

link here: http://www.storemuu.com/pitin3.html

Work-a-holic

2011-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

I think it's official. Late nights, extra early mornings, long hours and over-time, I'm officially a workaholic. I think these are the growing pains associated with trying to be a self-sufficient graphic designer. I'm still not comfortable leaving the ol' 9-5, it's my guaranteed paycheck, but I've hardly got enough time outside of work to complete my awesome contract projects. Unfortunately, there are still too few contracts and no guaranteed long-term work to rely on it as my main source of income. I think this holiday season I'll use any time off to work and to network a bit more. I hope this new year will be the year I can move away from the desk job and focus on my own design work.

Do you work for yourself? Do you balance side-projects and a 9-5? Please share your experience if you have one!

A Project - Window Display

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

So what have I been up to that has kept me too occupied to blog properly?

Well, amongst a handful of "in-progress" design contracts, I've been busy designing, shopping for and building a window display!

Doing this window display was a bit of a stretch from my usual domain of computer design. Designing a physical space is quite different.

You can see the display is for Tanqueray, Ketel One Vodka and Grand Marnier. And the theme is "holiday". I did work on this project with a fellow designer and friend from back in my college-days, which meant we had two brains and two sets of hands collaborating on the project. We had free-reign over what to create and that helped a great deal.

Above are some of my initial sketches. We had one week and a small budget, not ideal, but we sourced a lot of our materials for free wherever possible.

We didn't know much about the space or what was involved in building a display so we had multiple plans if our original ideas didn't pan out.It was challenging trying to envision exactly how our vision would play out in the space. We had plan A, Plan B and Plan C.

We build the actual display last night, and in 5 and a half hours we went from this:

To this:

I really enjoyed this project, the challenges, the creativity and being able to express it all in a physical space. If you're in the Downtown Vancouver area, stop by the Sutton Place Wine shop on Burrard to have a look!

PS, my talented partner on this project has a fab blog as well. Check it out here: Habit

Brendan & Carly in Spain! (in an album)

2011-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

With Brendan hitting the books pretty hard back in September, I needed a project of my own. Luckily I had over 200 photos of our Spain/Barcelona trip to play with.

I made an album of all the places we went and all the tickets, photos and memeories that went along with them.

Here's a small smaple of some of my favorite pages. You'll have to come over, have a cup of tea and view the rest. (If you havn't already!)

Yes Dress Please?

2011-11-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

I would like very much to have some new dresses for this upcoming party season. Hopefully I find a good sale somewhere. These are all Modcloth dresses I'm coveting.

Pardon my lack of blogging, I'm off taking care of other endeavours these days. Exciting stuff I will surely share soon. Wish me luck!

Valencia - Part Three - The Old City

2011-11-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Valencia was a complete whirlwind. We only had limited time to pack in as much sight-seeing as possible. We got up early, had breakfast and walked along the beautiful white beach one last time. It was fairly deserted at that hour in the morning. Being a Monday all the tourists had gone home and the local were back to work. It was really peaceful and beautiful. We walked through the soft sand and along the water in the shore break. I can't speak for Brendan, but for me, this was one of my favorite times in the whole Spain trip. It's what gets me through the cold, long days in the office.

We headed back to our room to gather our things and check out. Once that was taken care of, we grabbed a tram and then a metro into town. The centre of town is much busier than the beach and the "New City", so for the first time all weekend we were immersed in crowds again.

We didn't have a ton of time before our 4pm train (we bought tickets in advance) so we just decided to follow our map and hit as many of the important structures in the centre of town as possible.

I apologize for the photos, I can't tell you what any of it is. We hit everything up so quickly that the importance of each stop didn't really register. I was also just concentrating a lot on taking in as much of the city as possible. This was a particularly hot day too and B and I were pretty worn out. We stopped on a few park benches to cool off along the way. It was interesting to just stop and watch the Monday activities on the Old City centre take place in front of you.

Post office

Open market

Beautiful graffiti

Interesting wall stickers

Observing the city action from a bench in the shade.

Me as a tourist. Not as stylish as I had hoped. It was also much hotter than I expected!

So, that's what we saw before our 4pm train back to Barcelona. I think Valencia was definitely a major highlight in the trip for me (and Brendan). It pushed my personal boundaries and showed me that I can relax and have a fantastic time even when I'm stressed out. I also know I trust Brendan to lead me around a strange city and get us to where we need to go when I'm too tired to control the map myself. As long as I'm with him, I feel like nothing could go wrong and that no matter what, everything will be just fine.

Valencia - Part Two - New City

2011-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had a slight plan for our first and only full day in Valencia. We would get up early, have breakfast, walk to what was considered the "new city" and explore it. We'd come back for about 1pm and relax on the beautiful beach then go explore the nightlife and have late dinner. Sounds great.

The incredibly helpful clerk at our Hostel gave us a map and recommended a few places to check out. It was such a relief to have a proper map to work with finally.

We'd only heard of the "new city" and hadn't even seen any pictures of it so we really didn't know what to expect.

Well, needless to say, it kind of knocked our socks off! I'm not sure if it was the fact that ll we'd seen for two week were buildings older than 100 years at the LEAST and then we were thrust into this futuristic utopia of the "New City", but it was unreal.

Everything is pure white and round. The buildings are meant to have an aquatic feel and are al inspired by sea creatures. There are crystal clear blue pools all around that reflect the light and cast a blue glow off all the buildings.

You walk around and you feel like you're in some sort of bio-dome on the moon 100 years in the future. It's very surreal.

Read the description below for more information on this "New City" as it does server an interesting purpose. Skip to the pictures if you want to see this place.

From Wiki:

The City of Arts and Sciences is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia.

The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the old riverbed Turia. Turia became a garden in 1980, after the bypass of the river by the great flood of Valencia in 1957.

Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project underwent the first stages of construction in July 1996 and the finished "city" was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was presented on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day.

I googled Utopia before posting my photos and this was the result.

Now, onto the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia:

After spending the morning exploring the "New City" we walked backto the beach and parked ourselves in the sun. The water was the perfect temperature and we took turns going in.

The sand on the beach in Valencia was my favorite. It was so fine and light and had the consistency of flour. It felt so good to walk through. I think I spent a good twenty minutes just wading through the sand in my bare feet.

The rest of our time in Valencia will be shared tomorrow!

Valencia - Part One - Getting There

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Upon arriving in Spain, I knew I was spending two weeks in beautiful Barcelona. I knew I was going on a scooter tour and to visit the Sagrada Familia. That was it. I had no plans or ideas for what the rest of the trip would hold. All I knew was that I was up for the adventure. And Adventure we did. You can see the evidence in the Barcelona posts that not a moment was wasted and that we explored a lot. I learned and grew as a person over the course of the two weeks. I feel different since being back. I'm more open to experiences, being sporadic and it's easier for me to relinquish control. Not easy for a control freak like myself.

Nearing the end of the trip, I was surprised at how easy-going I had become over the last week and a half. A relatively short amount of time to see such a huge change in myself. So I wanted to push the boundaries a little more. Brendan and I did something I NEVER though I would do. And It might not sound like much to some of you "laid back, traveling nomad types", but for me, this was huge.

B and I packed the essentials in an overnight bag, went to bed, woke up early and headed to the Sants train station in Barcelona. We walked up to the ticket counter and bought a ticket for the next train outta town. We boarded our train, excited with the anticipation of the adventure ahead and a new destination to explore.

We arrived, four hours later, in the middle of the day, with no map, no reservations, and no idea which direction to go in first.

We were in Valencia.

First thing we learned upon arrival was that The train station doesn't sell maps. Second thing we learned was that unlike Barcelona (tourist central) Valencia takes it's siesta hour VERY seriously. There was not a soul around, nor an open shop in sight.

Those two set backs after a 4 hour train ride alone should have sent regular Carly into a fit of panic and tears. But alas, no meltdown occurred.

We did manage to find a map of the city in the back of a Valencia tourist book. It was all we had and nothing would be open again for a few hours so it would have to do.

I knew one thing about our adventure trip, where ever we ended up, I wanted to stay on the beach. So we needed to head in the direction of the beach. PROBLEM! Our pitiful map was only of the city centre, no North, and no indication of the direction of the beach.

So we guessed. There wasnt even anyone around to ask. We walked for about an hour, following harbour signs, with just a notion that the beach should be in this direction. We walked for an hour without seeing anyone or any hotel to stay in. We were relying completely on the hope that there would be a hotel / motel / hostel / alley we could stay in once we get to the beach. And in high season, on a weekend, that was unlikely.

I'm not going to lie, I panicked a little bit while we were walking. What if this was a total bust? What if every where was booked? Or really expensive? Brendan has this amazing quality that allows him to stay positive NO MATTER WHAT. So he just kept walking in the direction we were assuming would take us to the beach, saying things like "Even if we don't find someplace, we'll just hang out at the beach with our bags and catch the last bus back to Barcelona" or "We can just go back to the town centre and find a hotel there, so what if it's not on the beach." He makes things sound like their just going to be peachy, no matter what. It's a bit of a pied piper effect, you just get on board and follow along. And I love him for it!

We finally caught sight of the beach. It was stunning and with seeing it, I knew I had to stay here. I didn't care if I was sleeping on a park bench, I would stay on this beach for the weekend.

Along the beach were a row of about a dozen hotels and hostels. We decided to start at one end of the row and work our way through, we were bound to find at least one room....right?

The first was fancy. We could feel it was going to be expensive before we even walked through the doors. We decided to ask them anyways, to see if they even had vacancy. They did and it would cost $180 Euros a night. We told them thanks and that we might be back.

The next few places had nothing.

Nearing the end of the line of hostels I began to get that sinking feeling. Like "what if this really doesn't work out? It's already 5pm and we've spent the whole day travelling here on the train and walking for over an hour to get to this beautiful place, will it ll be for nothing?

We walked into the next hostel, ready for the same response we'd gotten 6 times already. I was actually fairly shocked when the clerk told us he had one vacancy. It would cost $80 euros a night. He told us the room wasn't very nice, it was small, the bed was small. He told us to go look at it before we committed. We went up to the third floor, went in the room and it was PERFECT!

We checked in. We did it. We were on the beach in Valencia. Now we were ready to explore.

Wow, that was a lot of reading, good job if you made it to the end! I'll continue the Valencia story tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

The train station in Valencia

Exploring the boardwalk

Sunset from our balcony

A room with a view

Me, being incredibly happy and strangely easy-going.

Peek at a Weekend.

2011-11-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Most of my weekend was spent in front of the computer working on contract work. Contracts are great so I don't mind that they take up my weekend. I did manage to get out of the apartment and into the sunlight for a brief amount of time.

Doors in Barcelona

2011-11-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

During our time in Spain, Brendan and I made a point of photographing the beautiful door ways. Some days it was hard to get anywhere since we were stopping every few minutes to take photos. I supppose thats just pat of traveling and enjoying photography. We decided to turn our door photos into a peice to hang in our dining room. I lucked out and got two frames from Micheals during a 50% off frames sale. Score!

Below are some of the photos we used and directly below is our collaborative piece now hanging in the dining room. I love it! A great reminder of our time in Spain together and a bit of decor we worked on together.

Do you have any special holiday inspired DIY projects in your home?

I added the metal key-holes to the frame. They're from Micheal's as well.

A few doors we loved.

A Costume for Cheap

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since my budget (both money and time budgets) were rather tight this year. I opted for a simple costume solution. The outcome was pretty hillarious and got lots of strange looks.

I purchased the beard and plastic axe at the dollar store for around $8 total. Can't beat that!

I already had the plaid shirt, jeans, hat and belt. Mustache is just brown eye shadow. Simple, cheap, quick and funny!

Happy Halloweekend

2011-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Just looking forward to some nice halloweenie festivities this weekend. Havn't really had a chance to get into the halloweenspirit this year since being loaded up with so much other stuff. Hopefully I get to experience some of my favorite holiday (is it a holiday?) this weekend.

I snapped some pick in my apartment last Saturday morning just appreciating the shadows and long sun streaking across the walls. I'm really loving my cozy little space these days...good thing since I'm spending alot of time working there these days.

Hope you all get to enjoy some pumpkin-day celebrations this weekend! Stay safe!

Book shelves full of all my favorite reads. My favorite trinkets too.

Two pumpkins grown organically in my garden. No store bought pumpkies for me this year.

Charity Shop Challenge - Boot Edition

2011-10-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Since I was recently blogging about my latest boot find and my busy schedule, I thought I would combine the two into this months "Charity Shop Challenge - ~~lazy~~ boot edition"

I'm not ashamed to say that quite a few of my wardrobe pieces are from the thrift store. It's a great place to pick up interesting things to try without spending a whole lot of money on them. I like quality items and don't mind spending the money on them when I know they will be a staple in my wardrobe for years to come. I HATE spending lots of money of the trendy, long skirt or fun hat that I'll be sick of soon or won't be trendy next week.

Theres also the thrill of the hunt! Going to the mall is too easy sometimes. I got to the mall when I'm looking for something specific. I got thrifting when I'm looking for something unique, vintage, special, cheap. It's fun to sift through all the clothes of generations past.

See all the charity shop challenge pics or participate in charity shop challenge here

Keeping up with the charity shop challenge keeps me creative and open minded in the wardrobe ;)

Lazy Post From a Busy Girl

2011-10-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Good things are going on in my life! Lots of extra work, a growing portfolio, plans with good people, projects that stimulate my creative bone, and just enough time to fit it all in. Although other aspects of my life are slipping a little. My health hasn't been good. I'm on three weeks of sick. I thought I was over it and now it feels like these virus germs are going to have another go at me. Being sick = no gym. It also means I've been indulging in bad food. Bad food = I feel a little better temporarily.

Cross your fingers I'm on the mend soon.

Since I'm a huge bloggy slacker and and indoor bloggy sicky, I'm going to post photos from my sketch book. None of which are recent. But I got my sketch book out this week to start working in it more. I used to be a daily sketcher. It's a habit I'd like to re-instill.

My Vintage

2011-10-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Being as passionate as I am about vintage, you know I've got a decent collection of my own. Here are some of my private vintage collection, NOT for sale.

I visit my local thrift store once a week searching for Etsy store items but sometimes the pieces I come across are too precious to put up in the store. Any of my grandmas clothing that fit me was a must keep too. She had such a fabulous sense a style and was a complete clothes horse...kinda like me.

I'm building quite a nice owl collection.

This retro puma bag has been in my possession since college. A fantastic thrift find.

A beautiful, gifted Nitake serving dish.

Old candy tin used for grandmas vintage buttons

Grandpa's Camera

Some of my Grandmothers vintage dresses

Grandmas sweater

A gifted camera

Oh my do I love my vintage.

Tibidabo - A Barcelona Adventure

2011-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Having been in Barcelona for close to a week, we had seen much of what we wanted to see. We thought a good way to tick a lot of the other items off would be to spend the day traveling around the city on the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus. You've probably seen these around any major city, we have them right here in Vancouver. You buy a ticket to get on this big double-decker bus, they give you headphone that plug into the sound system and you listen to information about the places you're driving past. If you see a place that you'd like to explore further, you just get off, go explore an then catch the bus again and go on to the next stop.

We got off our double deckar bus at a place I hadn't even heard of in Barcleona. A top-of-the mountain cathedral and amusment park with incredible views. The first step to getting there was to hop on a 100 year old trolly that towed us up part of the way. We had to get off the trolley and then catch the next funicular up the rest of the way.

A view from the funicular on our way up, pretty spectacular!

I was blwn away when I saw this massive cathedral a the top, I had seen it from far far away and often wondered what that spec of a building was way up on top of the mountain. Here we are, up close and personal. Time to explore.

I found the juxtaposition of the amusement park and the church kind of strange.

The 360 dregree views were spectacular, despite the smog.

Unfortunately I had a complete Tourist meltdown moment where I realized too late that the Canon battery was still in the charger back in the hotel. Luckily Brendan had his little camera so we were able to capture some of Tibidabo and the rest of our day on the hop-on-hop-off bus. That was until our memory card filled up. We had to purchase a second one to get us through the rest ofthe trip but it was well worth it!

If theme parks aren't your cup of tea there is also a beautiful church to view- the Temple de Sagrat Cor. Built in 1806 and renovated in 1902, it is a neo-gothic structure with a bronze statue of the Sacred Heart at the top. You can take a lift to the top of the church and check out the city at 575 meters above sea level! - Barcelona Tourist Guide.com

Where Am I?

2011-10-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

What have I been doing that's got me so busy and distracted from this blog?

Besides Spanish classes, friends, gardening, building up my esty inventory, travelling to Ontario, life in general and my 9-5, I've been busy building my online design portfolio.

I decided about three weeks ago to overhaul the one I had and start from scratch. I'm glad I did and I'm pretty happy with where it's going. It still needs quite a bit of work, but it's in progress. This site has been on my "to-do" list for the better part of 2 years.

So please, check it out, love it or hate it, I appreciate any feedback!

Thanks!

My new personal portfolio site

Thrifty Boots

2011-10-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

After work on Tuesdays I often go to the local thrift store to peruse the treasures. I haven't been going on a regular basis lately because #1, I'm busy with other things and #2, I'm trying to save money.

Well, with halloween approaching quickly, I still haven't got a costume worked out for B and I. I have a pretty good idea on what we'll go as, I just need to find a few pieces. Unfortunately I just haven't got the time or budget to go all out like last years costume. The thrift store is my favorite place to get costume bits so off I went. I didn't find what I was looking for for my costume, but I DID find BRAND NEW Sam Edelman boots!!!!

Can you believe it? Sometimes our local boutique shoe store sends last years shoes there. I think these were one of those very pairs. They have seemingly never been worn and are in my exact size. Doesn't get much better than that! I think I'll get back in the habit of perusing the thrift store, I seem to luck out quite often. These boots are possibly the best thrift store find I've come across.

Although, my thrift adventures don't always turn out so well. Remember my Frye boot fiasco (part 2, part 3, part 4) from last year? I'm still sad about it, although, this Sam Edelman find might almost make up for it. The thrifting gods were throwing me a bone this time.

I'm so excited to style them up!

What was your best Thrift store find?

Etsy Shop Update

2011-10-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

As the action in my Etsy shop has hit a spike, I thought I'd share some of the great items you can find there as well as a few you might see soon. If you see anything you like I'd be happy to reserve it for you. Also, use the promo code ATTIRESATIRE1 to get 25% off your purchase!

Visit the shop here

I apologize for being a little less "posty" here, I'm working a lot and haven't got the time for proper posting. I'll tell some Barcelona stories this week. I still have a few of those left.

A Jetset Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

What did I do this Thanksgiving weekend? I jetted off to Ontario! Boyfriends family graciously invited me to join them for their Thanksgiving out in Belleville. We left Friday afternoon and arrived around 8pm ON time which only gave us a little time to visit with our hosts before calling it a night.

Now the purpose of the trip was to have a funeral for B's grandma. So Saturday morning we all drove out to the town cemetery. It was a gorgeous day and despite the reason we were all out there, it was really lovely.

Brendans dad brought the reverend out to do the proceedings. This tiny little 92 year old man had more pep than any of us! I couldn't believe this man was 92.

I had never met Brendans grandma before but I still cried at the funeral. Funerals and weddings, they get me every time.

Following the funeral we had tea and coffee over at the sweetest little dinner, the Tall Poppy Cafe. They had a garden where they produced most of the fruit and veggies in their food. Everything was fair trade and organic. The decor was all vintage.

Saturday night we were invited to dinner at the home of the Huffs. I'd heard stories of the Huffs and their winery but I'd never had their wine. When you're going to the home of winery owners, you just don't buy any other wine. We had to make a stop over at their winery to purchase a few bottles. The weather was around 24 degrees so we spent some time out on their patio to soak up the sunshine.

The winery is also home to a great art gallery, including a massive sculpture garden. Wine, sun and art? Sounds like a fabulous way to spend an afternoon!

Dinner at the Huff home was magnificent. 40+ family members welcomed me right in! It was great to experience a big family Thanksgiving as it's something I'd never had growing up.

Their home is stunning. Lake front with a gorgeous garden. Straight out of Martha Stewart.

I ate dinner outside on the deck with a bunch of others. It was so warm I didn't even have a sweater. Plus the sunset over the lake just kept getting better and better, I didn't want to miss any of it.

The dinner was amazing and I may or may not have eaten two huge pieces of homemade apple pie. Some things are too good to feel guilty about and homemade pie is one of them.

The next morning we went for brunch with our lovely hosts at this eclectic little dinner. It was right on a little stream and we had a beautiful view while we munched on our eggs.

We spent all of Sunday driving the back roads of Ontario and admiring the autumn colours. We passed through the most adorable small towns. They take Halloween and autumn very seriously out in Ontario and every house and store front is decorated to perfection with the bounty of the season. It's a real "Halloween town", straight out of the movies.

It was a lovely trip full of family that feel like my own now, rich autumn colours and tons of warm sunshine. My heart and my belly are so full.

I had a great time this past weekend, so a huge thank you to Brendans parents and the rest of his family for making it all possible and for welcoming me with open arms.

Keeping Up

2011-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

There might be a wee bit less posting happening here. I'm working hard on many things. Documenting them all here is taking time away from the actual project. Keeping up with the pace of the blogging world has proved to be a bit of a strain on my own world. So I'd like to focus more on quality posting for a while. Diversity in subject matter as well. This blog has never been about one thing in particular, and I quite like it that way. I'm not about just one thing in particular so it seems appropriate to share all facets of the activities I'm into.

As the weather has shifted in steady grey and boyfriend has been sucked into study land, I'm finding myself spending more time indoors, at the gym and working on my business. It's fantastic but it doesn't make for interesting blogging at the end of the day.

Sometimes you just need to take a step back to see where you want to go too. I think I need a wee step back.

I'll slowly keep telling my Spain stories and sharing bits and peices of what I'm up to.

Barcelona Walk pt 2: Olympic Stadium & Museu

2011-10-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

"We need to keep going, I see something awesome poking out over there, let's go"

A phrase frequently muttered on the Spain adventuring.

One thing I really noticed on my adventures in Barcelona was how much walking I did. Now, if you've read this blog for a while you might remember that I suffer from bunions. I was VERY concerned with the amount of walking that would be required of me on my travels and it was A LOT. More walking than I had anticipated. There was also a lot of pain. It's hard to go out walking all day long 10+ kilometers a day and not have some pain, bunions or not. But the biggest difference between having foot pain here and foot pain in Barcelona is the constant adrenaline! I swear it was the anisipation of discovering what was around the next corner that kept me putting one foot in front of the other day after day. At least I know it IS possible!

Anyways, yesterday I talked about the fist half of our long walk and the discovery of the Montjuic Castle. Well by this point in the day it's high noon and we're at the top of the mountain. Whether we continue on the adventure or turn around and go back, either way we have a lot of walking ahead of us to get home.

So we follow the adventure on wards. We are now heading towards the back of the mountain, a side we'd only seen briefly on our scooter tour.

Around one bend was this unusual looking dwelling below, which, upon closer inspection revealed itself as a cemetery. I'd never seen a cemetery like this before! The only reason I'd recognized it was from watching the movie "Biutiful" (great movie).

Next thing we discovered was the Olympic Stadium from the 1992 Games. I could just picture this area being a bustle of people with the excitement of the games. Now it's actually quite a serene area.

Architectural communications tower.

The stadium is gargantuan! I suppose it had to be to house all the games. Te surrounding area is scattered with tennis courts, pool and soccer fields.

Next up is the MNAC. The Museu National Art Catalonia. National Art museum of Catalonia. A building we spent some time outside of on our scooter tour but hadn't been inside. Although we were absolutely exhausted we decided to tour the museum that day.

Stunning building

Stunning views

Inside the building is almost as impressive at the art it holds. Architecturally it's stunning but still very functional.

Photography was permitted in much of the museum but somehow I still felt disrespectful taking photos. So I haven't got as many photos of the actual art as I wished I'd take.

Gaudi peices

These were two of my favorite works. Henri de Toulouse Lautrec remains one of my favorite artists of all time. I guess I'm a sucker for hand drawn posters.

Back outside after it was close to 5 pm. We had a VERY long walk back tot he hotel now and we just couldn't fathom it. We hoped on the metro conveniently located right in from of the museum.

Outdoor escalators were a real blessing at this point in the day.

That's me between the pillars.

A walk well worth the pain and exhaustion. A day so full of discovery and adventure with B. Such a blast!

A Barcelona Walk pt 1: Castle of Montjuic

2011-10-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

One morning, Boyfriend Brendan and I got up early and decided to go for a walk to explore some more. We headed in the direction of the beach, not really knowing exactly where we were going to go. We sort of knew we would head up Montjuic, the small mountain in Barcelona.

This is what I look like at 9 am when I roll out of bed and throw on my walking gear. Not cute. Anyways, thats not the point of this post.

Our walking took us around the back side of the mountain where there is a walking trail up to the top that take you through the botanical garden. Sounds magical right? Nope, it's mostly cacti. Tired old cacti at the end of a long dry summer.

cacti

Some pretty purple amongst all the green, brown and prickly.

At the half way point, on the other side of the botanical garden, there was this lovely fountain (fountains all over the place in Barcelona) and a great place to check out the view of the city.

Note the Sagrada Familia off to the left in the distance and closer, the cathedral. The cathedral is roughly where we walked from.

The finally, we reached the top of the mountain. Now, it was not at all a strenuous hike. it's a gradual, paved, incline. Some stairs but nothing extreme. I'm still not sure if it was the 35 degrees or the fact that I'd spent the last week drinking wine and sangria, but when I reached the top of that mountain, I was dripping. Like pouring sweat uncontrollably. It wasn't a good scene. My knee caps were sweating for crying out loud! Never seen a knee sweat so much. Anyways, we were hiking right? You're supposed to sweat right? Well that would have been fine and dandy if we hand't come across a tourist attraction!

Yes, I went to this attraction dripping in sweat while everyone else who had taken the gondola up, was cool and collected. Or at least as collected and cool as you can be in 35 degree weather. Needless to say, I look like a freak!

Oh well.

So anyways, the Castle. It was used as a military fortress over the last 400 or so years. It has a sordid past. It's been used for the protection of Barcelona and also taken over and used against the city many times over. Because of it's past, the City of Barcelona is in the process of converting it into a "centre for peace". A convention centre for peace talks and learning. At the moment it's a military museum.

Converted moat.

Main tower

The tower looking over the city as it stood years and years ago.

Courtyard bistro

Very interesting place to visit. A little eerie too, knowing some of the horrible things that have happened here (more info on that below). My first castle!

The second half of our walking adventure will be tomorrow.

Wiki info on The Montjuic castle if it pleases you:

Montjuïc Castle, built on a site giving an all-round command of the town, its harbour and approaches with the objective of subjecting the people of Barcelona to Spanish rule, was first built in 1640. 50 years later —between 1705 and 1714— it became a key site in the War of the Spanish Succession. Montjuïc Castle gained its current appearance in the middle of the 18th century.
Montjuïc Castle offers stunning views over the city and its harbour and is worth the trip.
From this castle, the regent General Espartero indiscriminately bombarded the city with 1014 mortar bombs when the city revolted against his dictatorial rule. Espartero is notorious for his declaration, "Barcelona should be bombed once every fifty years". The following year, after defeating Espartero in an uprising, the Catalan General Prim launched over 2500 bombs on the city and its people when –dissatisfied with Prim's backsliding and lack of support for Catalonia– the city rose up against him. Prim overcame the revolt but was eventually killed by his opponents.In 1897 large numbers of innocent workers were detained, accused of treason, tortured and murdered by the Spanish occupying forces.
In 1909, several people were arbitrarily tortured and shot for supposedly having taken part in a revolt.

During the Spanish Civil War, rival republican and revolutionary factions murdered each other here as well as people suspected of being supporters of the Fascist rebels.
Most people were rebel or loyalist according to where they happened to be at the outbreak of the Civil War. If you happened to be in Barcelona, you were loyalist, whatever your personal politics. If you were in a place where the army supported Franco, you were a rebel, like it or not.

My wife's father was in rebel territory, captured early in the conflict and imprisoned in Montjuïc Castle for many months. Every night, four people were taken from the large communal cell and shot. The strain of not knowing who was next nor why stayed with him for the rest of his life…

After the war, hundreds of Catalan nationalists, trade union members, anarchists, socialists and republicans were imprisoned, tortured and murdered by Franco’s fascist regime.

The most well-known of these was the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Lluis Companys who was detained by the Nazis in France, returned to Spain and executed.

After all this, the castle was used as a military prison until 1960, then as an army base. Three years later, the tyrant Franco opened a weapons museum in the castle. In 2007, it came under the ownership of Barcelona City Council.

source

Sitges

2011-10-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Second stop on our Montserrat/Sitges day tour was of course Sitges. Sitges is a beautiful seaside town lined with shops and hotels. First thing we got to do in Sitges was visit the Bacardi house! They gave a us a tour and then showed us how to make the perfect mojito. Then we got mojitos. Awesome.

We had a few hours of free time before we had to be back at the bus. The options were:

A. Romantic museum

B. Explore

C. Beach

Naturally, we went to the beach, despite how awesome the Romantic museum might have been. I stripped out of my sweaty Montserrat hiking clothes under my sundress right there on the board walk. It felt so good to be on a beach again, especially after a morning of hiking up Montserrat.

In other news, I'm semi-close to being finished my Spain photo album. I'm so excited to have a big memento from the trip filled with so many fabulous memories. I know I won't always have time to produce such elaborate albums so I must do them while I can. I know the future me will greatly appreciate it.

Some wiki info on Sitges if you please:

"Sitges is a Spanish town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival. Located between the Garraf Massif and the sea, it is known for its much-frequented beaches, nightspots, and historical sites.

The town in the 1960s became a centre for the counterculture on the mainland of Spain, and became known as a sort of "Ibiza in miniature". Nowadays it is a popular destination for gay and lesbian travellers, as it has become one of the most gay-friendly places in the world.

Almost 35% of the approximately 26,000 permanent inhabitants are from the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and Scandinavia, whose children attend international schools in the area. There are 17 beaches. "

Sitges City hall

The same building that is on the flag!

Bacardi house!

Becasue I'm a branding nut....Logos over the years

B enjoying a fresh mojito.

Sand castle competition on the beach.

Finally in my sun dress!

Sitges is beautiful and well worth a day trip. Especially since it's only about 40 minutes from Barcelona.

Montserrat - A Barcelona Adventure Post

2011-10-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

We spent some time looking into some options for day trips and excursions outside of Barcelona. There were lots of very appealing trips. Wine country, flamenco dancing, beaches, Dali museums. After considering all the options, we found we were smitten with the idea of visiting Montserrat, a historic monk town high up on the mountain. There was a day trip that was half Montserrat and half Sitges a beautiful beach town. . Two amazing areas in one day? Yes please.

We left the hotel early in the morning to catch the tour bus not but a 10 minute walk away. On the bus we surveyed the land scape. We knew we were getting close to the Montserrat mountain because it is about the only mountain around and juts out of the earth quite abruptly. It looks terribly out of place in a relatively flat and hilly terrain. The bus pulls up to a small train station. It's almost 8 am and chilly for the first time ever in our visit to Spain. Train is the only way to get a bus your full of people up to the top of the mountain safely and we've got ticket for the first train up. At the top we're given a guided tour of the area.

Then we're given some options on how we can spend our time. We can;
A. climb up to the summit (1.5 - 2 hours).
B. Go to the museum (1.5 - 2 hours).
C. At 1pm the Boys choir will sing.
D. There is a free alcohol tasting in the gift shop.
E. Stand in a very long line up to see inside the monastery and view the ever famous "Black Madonna".

Museum and line-ups weren't terribly appealing to us. Being the more adventurous type, we choose to climb the summit of the Montserrat mountain.

Some interesting info about the significance of the Montserrat area:

"The history of Montserrat is fascinating and started in 880 when a small group of shepherd children saw a bright light descending from the sky in the Montserrat mountains. In the same moment the children heard angels singing and the music filled their hearts with a radiant joy.

Overwhelmed by the experience the children ran home to frantically recall the experience to their parents. The parents were sceptical but knew their children were trustworthy and honest and so they went to where the children had experienced the visions to see if they could see what all the fuss was about.

For the whole month following the first visitation the parents were also witness to the same heavenly experiences and were left with only one conclusion. The visions were a sign from God.

A local vicar was brought to the scene and witnessed the same experiences as the children and parents. The visions occurred in the same location in a cave on Montserrat mountain. When this cave was explored by the religious elders of the community they found an image of the Virgin Mary. And from that moment on the cave became a holy sanctuary for religious pilgrims.

Today the site of the visions has been marked by a Holy Grotto on the mountain. You can walk to the Holy Grotto and see first hand where these events took place. The Holy Grotto has now be ordained a holy place and is visited by pilgrims and curious onlookers from all over the world."

Climbing the mountain starts with a quick ride in a funicular.

Awesome Funicular station.

View from the funicular window.

Starting our hike at the top funicular station.

Wonderfully breezy and cool on the top of the mountain.

Ancient church built high on the mountain side.

Hiking up further. To the TOP!

At one point there was an attempt to build dwellings on the side of the mountain.

Looking down on Monteserrat from the top of the mountain.

Back in town after taking the funicular down. Unfortunately we missed the wold famous boys choir show as we got stuck at the top when the funicular was too full for us. Oh well, everyone was watching the boys sing so we had no trouble with lineups in the sandwich shop or at the gift shop liquor tasting! We bought some delicious monk-made liqueurs as gifts and one for ourselves.

Train tracks out of town.

Hiking up the mountain and discovering this monk-run town was an awesome experience. I can see why the area draws 3000 visitors a day. I highly recommend a visit to this charming and historical area.

Our tour bus had drove up the mountain the long way easily without all the passengers. We got back on a the designated meeting time and headed off to our next destination. Sitges!

Zoo

2011-09-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last time I went to a zoo I was 4 years old. No kidding.

In Barcelona we wen on a long walk one day that took us all around the perimeter of the city centre. At the tail end of our walk we decided to stop in to the zoo. The zoo was something on my summer to-do list that hadn't been achieved in Vancouver, so why not now.

I had no idea what to expect when it came to the zoo. I didn't know what sort of collection of animals they had or how large it was until we actually got inside and the handed us a map. There were dozens of species to see. I got pretty excited and despite my tired feet and legs, I began to power toward the first exhibit.

I admit, I felt sad seeing the animals in their cages. They looked bored and lethargic. I felt stupid for paying money to gawk at them. But I suppose these animals have it pretty good too. They get health care, regular meals and safety. Right? Maybe? Well, I'm trying to justify my tourist inclination to enjoy animals in cages. I really did love seeing them all.

Gorilla!

What animal was my favorite?

Never been so excited to see an elephant! Nothing like an elephant to bring out the 4 year old.

If you're in Barcelona and have a spare day, visit the zoo, it's fantastic!

How the zoo came to be in Barcelona:

The wealthy banker Lluís Martí Codolar offers his collection of exotic and native animals to the city of Barcelona.

The mayor of Barcelona at the time, Manuel Porca i Tió, approves the acquisition of the animals and their exhibition at a publicly-owned site, Park of the Ciutadella, location of the Universal Exhibition of 1888.

To care for the animals, the naturalist, taxidermist and renowned animal-lover Francesc Darder is appointed director of the Barcelona Zoo.

Boot-y-ful

2011-09-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

I think this might be the year I add a pair of Hunters to my wardrobe. They are functional and stylish. Plus, it's Vancouver, it's par for the course to own an awesome pair of rubber boots.

With the forecast threatening nothing but rain for weeks on end, boots are something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I see lots of girls sporting rain boots so they must be working, plus a lot of girls style them up so they look tres chic.

Below are my top pics for Hunter boots.

Now to find a retailer and go try these babies on.

If all else fails, mainly my boot budget, these Canadian tire boots are only $16.99! Kind of classic right?

In other news, Spanish class starts tonight. I hope I'm not too rusty.

Also, posting here might be a bit scarce as I'm focusing efforts on another website, more on that later ;)

Happy Thursday!

Happy Engagement Party!

2011-09-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Beautiful party for a beautiful bride! Congrats again Marlies! We all had so much fun this weekend at the Engagement party!

Love you!