birthday girl

I went to the cutest party yesterday, full of balloons, gold glitter, (exploding) confetti, and a pink piñata!.

It was Erica's lovely birthday party, hosted by Anabela and Geoff, with a decadant birthday cake made by Nikole. So many wonderful people were involved, and so many lovely friends were there to celebrate!

She just turned 23.
23 is a pretty sweet year.

I wouldn't have known....

I wouldn't have known that Christmas is on its way,
if it weren't for my dear friends.

With all the commotion going on in our lives, with moving and packing and renovating, and all the while, we still have our day jobs to attend to, Jin and I do not really have time to fully celebrate Christmas this year.

But...
Nikole gave me a beautiful hand made wooden bracelet from her shop,
Anabela gave me this print of Sonja Ahlers' bunny making a sugar igloo!(photo taken by Carly Waito)
and we got this handmade Christmas card from Melinda in the mail!

Thank you, dear friends for bringing a little bit of Christmas into our lives this year!

talking hands

These girls are very descriptive with their hands!

I had brunch with Melinda and Charlyn at Le Select Bistro. I really love their interiors! Wouldn't you love this tile work in a foyer, or a bathroom?

These girls gave me some early christmas gifts! So sweet! A really delicious cookie from the market from Charlyn, and a handmade owl ornament from Melinda! Charlyn, the cookie was so good, Jin accidentally ate most of it! I was so upset! And Melinda, this little guy will be hanging on our tree for years to come!

Our 3 lady brunch was supposed to be a with 4 ladies, but poor Nikki was feeling sick. I hope she feels better today! Perhaps we can do the 4 lady brunch we originally planned, on another weekend!

snap and tumble letterpress

Remember, I mentioned about a letterpress workshop I took with my friend, Mark? I am finally posting about it now.

We went over to Tanya's home and she introduced us to her letterpress machine! I was so excited, because I have been looking for an opportunity to try letterpressing for awhile now! We made some beautiful cards, and Mark made business cards of MoFUN (Ministry of Fun!). I knew letterpressing would be accurate, but I was still so impressed at how crisp and precise each letter came out. I would love to have more opportunities to do this in the future. Thanks Tanya! You created the perfect workshop for people who are curious about the process, and have never touched a letterpress before.

The reason it took me so long to post this is because I took some film shots at the workshop, and it took me this long to finish the roll. My resolution for next year should be to take more film photos.

soft white animals

Roz has two pets, and they match eachother! They are both mostly white in colour! Roz and Andrew just got Kai, a Siberian Husky, a week ago.

I wanted to meet puppy Kai before he grew into a big dog forever. He was so full of energy and was pouncing on me, like a cat! After hours of fun, he fell into his puppy sleep, and he looked like such a peaceful boy. I love how clumsy and big puppy paws are compared to the rest of their body.

Chai is their bunny! He is a pooping machine! I have never seen a floppy eared bunny before, and I kept playing with his ears! He totally didn't mind. He also doesn't mind it if you touch his incredibly soft cotton tail.

Thanks for having me over Roz. It was cute overload!

Early birds

A year ago, if you asked to meet me anywhere on Saturday morning before 11:00 am, I would have laughed at you, because I knew I would be deeply sleeping in on the weekend mornings. But this year I have been forced to get up early in the mornings, for weddings, and trying oh so hard to go to the gym (I refuse to go to the gym after work, which explains my poor attendance.). It has been hard to adjust, but when we DO get up early and start moving, it feels so good to have accomplished something before noon.

This past Saturday, I met Nikole at St. Lawrence Market, with the intention of getting there by 7:30 am! But we both ran late, and we actually met at ten to 8. Still, the earliest I have ever been anywhere on a Saturday morning! For the first time, I saw all the tables full of fresh produce, it felt so good to be able to pick from a larger selection! And, by the time we were done, it was only 10 am, still early enough to beat the regular brunch crowd. We weren't sure where to go for brunch in that neighbourhood though. Do you have any suggestions?

I wonder how the market looks at 5 am when it opens.

On Sunday, I made cinnamon pear pancakes with the eggs I bought from the market, and Nikole made peach cream cakes. You have to take a look at her lovely recipe! It’s perfect!

water made from clouds

A week ago, I met nikole, and I am still grinning from the experience. It all started when she told me, out of the blue (online) that she had something for me. I was beaming inside, because, I do not get messages like that on a daily basis. I don’t think too many people do! Especially from someone you have never met. If you do, then the only conclusion is that you are an incredibly happy person! Lucky you!

We ate a small lunch at a little cheese shop, and we chatted non-stop! We stayed so long, that they gave us complimentary cupcakes for dessert. I guess they thought all that chatting must make us hungry again!

It turned out, she was saving this water made from clouds for me. And to go along with it, she made these adorable and delicious cookies shaped in raindrops, and ice cream! I felt so lucky to be a recipient of one of her edible masterpieces!
Everything was so stylishly put together, a perfect parcel. A perfect, themed parcel! I loved it.

Read her story here
See her masterpieces here, and here.

Nikole, I cannot wait to get together with you again :)

.

I was happy-clicking on Sunday. I was in a great mood to shoot some photos! I love those days!

I went to the Hunt & Gather Show at the workroom with May, Gabe, and Jin. As always, I had a great time seeing everyone there! We bought some bowties for Jin and I from Reva, and I scored some amazing embroidery hoops from Anabela & Geoff! Nikki (whom I have not seen in YEARS!) and her boyfriend had the coolest tattoos I have ever seen!

After, we went to eat brunch at Oddfellows and ordered some fun juices and coffee (Jin drank the coffee, I just smelled it!). I usually do not order pancakes (I prefer french toast), but their pancakes were the best I have ever had. So moist and fluffy,....I hope you can try it one day.

Today, I feel a little under the weather. My head is foggy, and I have to work fast fast fast for this deadline at work! Wish me luck.

Too busy bitchin'

and not enough stitchin'!
I went to my first Stitch n' Bitch yesterday at the workroom! I brought my quilt to hand quilt, but I didn't get too much done because I was too marvelled at what everyone else was doing around me! And I met a lot of nice people. The Globe and Mail was there to interview Karyn, and other people participating at the Stitch n' Bitch. A photographer was there taking snaps of us, I want to see if I made it into the paper this Saturday! I ought to go to these things more often!

Any tips on how to take nicer photographs in artificial light? Mine are sooo yellow....

The weekend before the one that just passed....

I am allowed to back blog a little right? Before entering the world of blogging, I met up with some lovely friends I got to know through flickr. We met, unplanned at a trunk show at the workroom, but we planned a brunch date together some weeks later!

After some time of e-mailing, messages and other sorts of internet communication, Jin and I finally met up with Anabela and Geoff. They announced their engagement the day before we had brunch, so I couldn't resist taking a snap of her really sweet ring.

After brunch, we went to ella's uncle because Jin and I have never been there before, and we live so close to it! They have the prettiest Ovaltine I ever did see.

That was the first time I planned a meet up with someone through the online community, and I must say, I quite liked it! It is so great to hang out with people who have similar interests as you, because, all the friends you meet through school and work, rarely have the same passion as you.

Internet, you are amazing!