It's All Ours

Yep. We bought a house. A really big house and it's allll ours! This is the Google street view of it...looking forward to summer! I have some pictures and stories about the house coming soon...

Apartment Hunting

I'm currently in the process of finding a little corner of the world for D and I to share and while it's exciting, the process of apartment hunting can be somewhat discouraging at times. For example, we found our dream apartment as soon as we starting looking, only to have the people who saw it first decide that it was their dream apartment too. Now, every apartment we see will be compared to the unobtainable apartment...so the search continues.

Anyway, this got me thinking about the very first apartment I ever had and the list that Kirsty (then residence mate)and I made describing our dream apartment together. Here are some of the things on that list:

- lots of pillows (no clue)
- portraits of women we admired (Frida, Joni, Patti)
- paint and the tools to paint with
- typewriters
- first editions of our favourite books (Demian, Little Women)

Basically it was a list of things we wanted. Now, being a little older and wiser than I was at 19, I think more about the actual building I want to live in and the furnishings. Though I still love that creativity to was central to my and Kirsty's dream apartment and I know that it will be an important element of my future dream house. Here are some of my current "must haves:"

- hardwood floors
- a working fireplace
- minimum 2 bedrooms (for now...)
- space for guests (it's going to have to be a big house)
- lots of light
- warm!
- a spacious kitchen
- closet space
- nice old touches (the moldings, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, etc.)
- some yard space for a garden
- a porch
- character

Oh, how the list has changed! It would be wonderful if we could find all of the things above in our new apartment; if not, I know that we'll find them in our dream home one day soon. And we will dance in the living room.

(Photo: view from my bedroom in apartment #2, 2005.)

Blackberry Pictures

So. My boss has bestowed a (dreaded, vile) Blackberry upon me. It's taking some getting used to and I'm determined not to become one of "those people." Sometimes, I can't believe that I'm the one making the clicky typing noise I dislike so much.

However! I have discovered the fun that is taking pictures of my daily life throughout the city and sending them to people, particularly Kirsty in Ottawa.

Below are some highlights from the past week:


This is me talking to D about having a Blackberry on Day 1. Clearly, I'm already stressed out.


Just some beautiful flowers for sale at the market near my house.


Pumpkins piled high in the back of a vintage pickup truck parked in front of the same market.


Toronto at sunset on the Autumnal Equinox.


Where Queen St. passes over the Don River.


Looking North over the Don Valley Parkway. That's how you get to Peterborough.

Fall is here, hear the yell*

Although fall officially begins on September 23rd this year, the season is already here. Whenever Labour Day passes and the new school year starts, everyone feels the pull towards fall and inevitably winter, even if it's still 30 degrees outside.

Though it's not quite over yet, let's take a little look back over the summer:


To kick things off, D opened his new business! Hooray!


We went to the drive-in during the last weekend in May (as mentioned before.) We also got our first sunburns of the summer that weekend.


We had not one, not two, but three garage sales in Peterborough and I believe the above photo is from garage sale number two. This is the most talented Jeff, drawing, while his beautiful art is on display and for sale. (Complete with unicorn head paperweights!)


I witnessed hundreds of teenagers spend 4 days and three nights camped out on Toronto sidewalks for advance tickets to the Much Music Video Award tickets. This meant a whole lot of screaming and mess right outside my office. It also resulted in me feeling old as I stood at the windows, declaring to my co-workers "that I would never let my kids do that." I'm sure fate will get me for that one.


My lovely grandmother turned 86. 86!


We went to the cottage a couple of times. And both times it was lovely to be away from the smelly city and the noise and the attitudes and the heat and, and, and...I could go on forever. We also went to an auction, watched my mother's dog hunt relentlessly for spiders on the dock and attended my aunt's 60th birthday party.


August flew by with a metal band from Timmins, craziness at work, lots of lap swimming at the local (free!) pool near by and some of the hottest weather Toronto has seen since the 50's. Then, at the end of it, M came home (at last) and she gave me this tote bag, among other lovely gifts. The print on the bag is by Mucha, an artist that my Mom, M and I love.

And here we are now, two weeks into September already. The weather is sunny, but cool and it makes for the best sleeping, with the windows thrown wide open.

*This song always reminds me of fall, for obvious and not so obvious reasons.

I carry things on my belt, 'cause I'm Batman.

I could give this photo some context, but where's the fun in that?

At the Drive-In

This past weekend we were in Peterborough, home of the Petes, Trent University, the Otonabee River and the Mustang Drive-In.

After a long hot day in the sun, we headed over to the Mustang to see Shrek 3 (or is it 4?) and Iron Man 2. The thing is, when you're at the drive-in, it's about the novelty of watching a movie in the middle of beautiful field, with the stars overhead and the crickets calling, the quality of movies isn't so important.

During intermission we went to buy sesame snaps and on our way back to the car we sang this song:



Apparently it comes to mind when we're at the drive-in. Strange... Does this happen to anyone else?

Needless to say, it was a great night.

The future is lookin' good

I found this handsome gentleman on The Sartorialist last week and I immediately thought two things:

1. Wow, this man is gorgeous.
2. D is going to look just like that when he's older.

Marauders

YES.

New Job

I started a new job this week and here is what I know about my new co-workers:

Gillian is into yoga. And she looks like a modern, brunette Molly Ringwald.

Kate lived in the convent at U of T for a summer.

Tiffany likes natural supplements, a lot.

Mark is biking in the Tour de France this summer. Amazing!

Hugh really likes the plants in the office and refuses to get rid of the ones that are dying. (I like that.)

Rob sprints for the GO train most evenings.

Susan has two kids, born 9 years apart.

Jennifer, Marissa and Karen I already knew and have the goods on.

What my co-workers learned about me: I really like plants, coffee and nice pens. My family shares a cottage that my Papa built and I don't like how quiet the office is.

So far, so good! To be continued...

Yo, Adrian!

We've watched all 6 Rocky movies in the past week. And I have to say, despite the fact that the movie follows the same forumla every time, each one of those movies had my emotions swelling every time Rocky would "go the distance" and miraculously win another fight. Also, the love between Adrian and Rocky is so precious and real.

Totes!

When I was little, my mom carried tote bags everywhere. Perhaps this is because she was/is a teacher and tote bags are the best things to carry books and papers in, aside from a backpack and my mother has never been the backpack kind. Well, I never got it. I always thought it seems cumbersome to lug all those bags around. I'm very much a backpack kind of girl, or was, until I moved to the city. (I swore I'd never carry a purse and now I never leave the house without my black leather purse from Fossil. Ha!)

As it turns out, I'm becoming a tote carrier too. Last summer, when I was in Germany, D's friend Sandy gave me my very first tote bag from her shop, RoyalWe. It's thin, light and it's made of modern looking black & white print. I used the bag a lot in the summer and since then, I keep eying other tote bags. Seriously, how many does one person need? It's likely that I'll only ever carry one a time anyway! That being said, I recently acquired this bag:



But that's it, I swear! But in case anyone else out there is looking for a good tote bag, take a look at this one:


It just goes to show you- no matter what you think you like or don't like, your tastes and opinions are constantly evolving as you grow, in both big and small ways.

(First tote is from Alphabetbags.com; the second is from APC)

Put your dancing shoes on!

Literally.


(Found at Marvelous Kiddo)

In B Flat

I just got home from work and a massage and I'm feeling quite sore. That's an understatement; I feel like I got my ass kicked. I've had a couple of massages now, but neither of them left me hurting like this one did. However, I do feel a deep kind of relaxation and surrender. There is nothing left of me right now except raw skin and bone and feeling. I don't know if that makes sense...but I am certainly feeling very aware of my body right now. Anyway, I'm going to curl up bed shortly, but before I do, I wanted to share this amazing video I stumbled upon today.

Go here to see it. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but as an incentive to make you click on this link, I'll give you a quick description.

It's 20 YouTube videos that you can play all at once or only a few at a time, whatver you like. It doesn't matter when you start them. You can try and sync them up or not. It's a collabortive music project and no matter how many times you listen, there is always a new song. It's incredible.

Pictures from the Rock

As you know from my last (brief) post, D and I went to St. John's, Newfoundland for New Year's! I have wanted to travel throughout Canada all my life and Newfoundland specifically over the past couple of years. My interest in Newfoundland was largely sparked by Wayne Johnston's memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. You should read this book.

So here are some shots from the trip:


I think this photograph speaks for itself.


The cold and endless North Atlantic. As one man we met described it, "Next stop: Ireland." This was taken from Signal Hill.


St. John's, as seen from atop Signal Hill.


This is Cabot Tower, built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's landing in Newfoundland. This event also coincided with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.


Funny and informative sign on the hill.


Wonderful, colourful homes, commonly found in the Maritime provinces. I think the colours are great and they really make the city feel more upbeat.

We actually didn't take too many pictures. Most of the shots are from Signal Hill, which was definitely one the best parts of our trip.

I have nothing even slightly negative to say about St. John's. I thought the city was very pretty, the people were incredibly nice, the food was good (and fishy!) and there is lot to see and do. The only tiny downside was the season, not to be confused with the weather. The weather was actually much better than it was in Toronto while we there. However, because of the holiday season and since living so close to the ocean makes the weather unpredictable, a lot things were closed while we there, like Cabot's Tower, The Bookery and the whale watching boats. But none of that is St. John's fault.

Next time we visit, we'll just have to make sure it's summertime.

Future and Past

Hello, how was your Christmas?

I'm ever so slowly typing this post on my new iPod Touch. So strange.

Especially since I'm in the oldest city in North America. That's right. D and I are in Newfoundland.

More to come on our adventures!

My boyfriend jeans

In the past year or so, the "boyfriend" jeans trend came around again. American Eagle, for one, has carried boyfriend style jeans for quite a while now. My understanding of the boyfriend jean is this: they are jeans that are loose, often torn and usually rolled up at the bottom.

For example:


Well, I actually wore my boyfriend's jeans today (to work!) and let me tell you, they did not look like the jeans above. In fact, I seldomly see men wearing jeans that look like the "boyfriend" jeans. Those jeans are more like Huckleberry Finn jeans...and I'm down with that. However, my boyfriend's jeans, like most mens jeans are dark, smooth and fitted. And they look better on him.

If you're wondering why I wore my boyfriend's jeans to work, please see yesterday's post and I'm sure you'll figure it out.