Goodbye 2011!

Another year has gone by and quickly at that! I'm just stopping in briefly today to wish you all a Happy New Year. It was a busy year for me and I didn't post nearly enough. I as of yet have made absolutely not changes to my closet sized room. I promise you dear readers who have put up with me that I will do better this next year. I have a huge white wall with peeling paint that needs to be fixed and books piled up on every surface. New year, new start!

Have yourselves a wonderful New Year! I'll leave you with some of my favourite pictures from the last year (starting with the intro picture: a view from my building. jealous?)

From February Openings

To Spring in the Country

...And Summer at the Beach

After a Mystery Act Fall. Christmas.

Pillows Pillows Pillows

I have an obsession with pillows. I can't explain it. An excess of pillows serve no purpose, they destroy clean lines, but I can't help it. They're cozy put a throw over the back of a couch, a few pillows on each side and I feel like I'm home. Coziness is key for me when decoration a room. The major problem with this pillow obsession? They're expensive.

Right now I am absolutely loving the vintage style, linen pillows from Esmery-Caron.

Pillows can be found at Restoration Hardware, which is where all images were taken from

I adore these pillows. They're neutral so I could take them from apartment to apartment easily. They're French and I have to admit I'm drawn to all things with just a hint of French. They're also out of my price range. They seem to be selling off right now; I saw them in a local store for a little over $20, but it's still out of my price range. 

A few other options I scoped out online are even worse at $40 and $49 (both pillows can be found at Supermarket. Aren't they so tempting though?

mosaic star linen pillow cover black

detroit map title pillow cover

I don't need pillows, but I would like some. I'll be moving soon and want to make my next place feel like a home. I'm thinking of sewing pillows like these myself. Now I'm not a sewer, in fact I barely passed Grade Nine sewing, but it's worth a shot no? I know quite a few costume designers who could set me on the right path fabric wise and I'm sure I could borrow a sewing machine. Do-it-yourself design has never been my forte, but it's looking like my budget calls for it. Does anybody know if sewing will actually be cheaper in the long run?

For the next few days I'm going to be searching for some clear, simple instructions for a BEGINNER sewer. It's the internet, it has everything even instructions simple enough for a sew-i-phobic like myself. Now let's all hope I don't hit my finger with a needle.

Helen Frankenthaler, December 12, 1928 - December 27, 2011

The art world lost an amazing talent yesterday, Helen Frankenthaler. She was a leading force in the postwar abstract expressionist movement and established Colour Field Painting. She worked steadily for years as an artist, influencing many others along the way.

"What concerns me when I work, is not whether the picture is a landscape, or whether it's pastoral, or whether somebody will see a sunset in it. What concerns me is - did I make a beautiful picture?" 
                                                                                                                        - Helen Frankenthaler

The above images feature just a small selection of her work and the internet cannot possibly do it justice. 

Sounds and Tastes of Christmas

It isn't really Christmas in my house until I've listened to every Christmas album my parents own (five times) and have baked the traditional Christmas shortbread and cakes. It's a little late this year, but I have finally completed those tasks.

I think it's the smells and sounds of this time of year that really put me in a festive mood. It's not the presents or the malls, it's the little things I remember from childhood. I used to love helping Grandma bake the Christmas Cakes in her big orange bowl. She would always have everything pre-measured so I would be able to pour things into the mixer. I don't have anybody to pre-measure the ingredients for me anymore, but every year when I bake the cakes myself I remember all those good times. I still sneak a few of the candied cherries for myself as I'm baking.

The sounds are as equally important to me. Every year we listen to Johnny Mathis when we're decorating the tree, eating shortbread and drinking eggnog. My mom sings, albeit terribly off key, but that's all part of the charm and my brother curls up on the couch watching as everybody else goes crazy with tinsel.

These are the memories that I savour each year. Even though things change, year after year I still have these little traditions that will always remind me of home.









I apologize for the picture quality, last minute photos for the album and blogging do not mix. That having been said Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Around the Home

This week has been a whirlwind of last minute Christmas preparations. I was so busy with shows and then exams I had no time to even think about Christmas and so I'm winging the holidays this year. Christmas shopping is nearly done; the house is almost decorated, well the tree is up at least, and the first round of baking is complete and eaten. I just love the old ornaments that have been used for generations. So many have been broken over the years, but the ones that remain add something special to our tree year after year.

Christmas To Do

Finish Shopping - Two Presents to Go

Bake Christmas Cake, Shortbread, Mince Pie, Sugar Cookies, Rice Crispy Squares, Cherry Slice, Scones

Pick Up Turkey

Well the list really isn't that bad is it? The baking list is a little long, but I've set aside most of tomorrow for it. Sure I still need to pick up the ingredients for the baking, but it will all get done. Nothing to worry about! Other than that, there are Christmas films to watch and books to read in front of the fire. Nothing beats sitting by the fire, looking at the Christmas tree with a good book and a cup of hot coffee. I plan on thoroughly enjoying the next few days and hope you all do too!

The Little Red Dress

I am completely head over heels in love with the Little Red Dress this December (now known as the LRD, oh I am using a cheesy acronym). Maybe it's watching too many episodes of New Girl and developing some sort of Zooey Deschenel induced stockholme syndrome or maybe it's just the season and too much eggnog. Whatever it it is, it has inspired me to search high and low on the internet for the perfect dress. I don't shop online so it's perfect because I really have no money to buy a new dress this season.

Consequently my SVPPLY account has become overrun with LRDs. Here are the four dresses currently sitting in my wishlist, just waiting for my credit card to snap them up.

This Red Lace Flippy Dress from TopShop combines my two great loves for the holiday season: red and lace. It also does it in a way that doesn't make me cringe. It's not overtly sexy and there won't be any Mrs. Claus nightmares induced by this dress. It's sweet. I would wear it to a party or knowing me out grocery shopping. What can I say; I think the world needs more lace. 

The second dress on my list is also from TopShop (and as it turns out, like the first one, sold out unfortunately). The Red Tea Dress is demure, but it has the keyhole cutout that gives it just an extra something. Add some black mary janes and you're good to go. In other words, want.

The Red Knitted Scoop Dress is another major want for me. The colour is a little too towards the orange side for me, but I love the style. I love the sleeves and how it's definitely simple enough for every day wear. 

 Finally, we have the Winter Waltz Dress from ModCloth, a dress for my fantasy life. In  this life I'm Grace Kelley and I'm on my way to some fabulous event. The sheen gets me every time as does the length. This is the kind of dress I always WISH I could wear. It is gorgeous. One day, when I accept a Tony, you'll see me wearing a dress modeled in this style. A girl can dream right?

Unfortunately I'm linking you to dresses that are all out of stock. I guess red is popular for Christmas; who knew? I still think that they're fabulous and worth sharing if only for some inspiration. Or maybe you're like me and just like looking at beautiful clothing.  

Out and About

Last night I actually got out and off my campus to see theatre! The Patron Saint of Stanley Park is a locally written piece that was first staged last year at the Arts Club. It wasn't the type of show I normally go see. It was family friendly, bittersweet and heartwarming. All things that normally make me cringe. But you know what, I really enjoyed myself. The play itself wasn't something I would normally love and it had its issues, but that didn't seem to matter. By the end I was tearing up along with half the audience.

I went with a close friend of my mine and we made a night of it. We dressed up in heels and well she wore a dress and I managed to track down a lacy top. It was drizzling out, but that didn't matter. We were in festive spirits and nothing was going to bring us down. I have nothing clever to add, no jokes, no sarcasm. It was a genuinely enjoyable evening that could melt even this frosty hipster's heart.

This is one of those thing's that I would like to do more often. Take an evening to spend time with a good friend doing something we love. I love taking time out to enjoy culture and the great thing about this was that we were supporting local artists. Not only that, but it was relatively inexpensive because of Student Rush pricing. Not something we could do every night, but it was a nice send off to the year. I'll be going home to spend time with my family later tonight and she's off to see her's sometime next week. I won't see her again until the new year and this was the perfect way to send of what's bee a fairly stress filled year. New Christmas tradition? I hope so.

I wanted to take photos; the city was lit up with Christmas lights. It was gorgeous. Of course, I left my camera at home so this post is visually not so stunning, but what can you do? I hope the three of you reading this blog are taking time to enjoy the season and doing whatever it is that makes you happy. We all deserve some rest and relaxation.

Procrastination Central

Once again, it's been a long, long time without a post. I need to stop taking on three shows a semester. It's not good for my sanity or my blog. I had a joke there, but I'm too tired to think of what it was. So what am I up to now? I know you're all dying to know. Exams.

Okay, more accurately avoiding exams...and avoiding that paper that was due last Thursday and still has a page to go. I'm so stuck. I picked a difficult topic and there is very little research on it. So what's a poor university student to do you might ask? Obviously watch Christmas episodes of Community, Modern Family and Suburgatory while writing a page every few hours. Procrastination is not my friend.

It's clearly time for a sweeping declaration. This paper will be done within the hour! And then I'll start studying for my exam tomorrow! Gulp!

What I really want to do is curl up with Anne of Green Gables in front of a fire while listening to Bing Crosby on my parents record player and yes I will be drinking eggnog. It's disgusting, but it completes the picture. Ryan Gosling can serve the eggnog for kicks.

I guess I should go and be responsible now. But come on, could it get a little Christmassy around here? Would it kill Mother Nature to provide just a little snow to lift my spirits out of the exam duldrums? At the very least it would give me another way to procrastinate. Never underestimate the power of the perfect snow angel.