I just think this is kind of cute.

Milk & Bread ring by Melanie Favreau. You have to admit that it's pretty funny.

The date on the ring (it also comes as a necklace) can be customized.

via Canadian Design Resource

I totally made this, part two.

Here's the puffball of a skirt that I finished making yesterday - my first item of clothing! It's made from a bright reddish linen.

There are so many ways to wear this puff, but today I felt it looked crisp with this geometric cardigan. I think I'm going to make another skirt in a pattern (I have a beautiful linen/silk mix in mind), a bit higher-waisted and with pockets. This skirt would be just about perfect for me with pockets.


And here I am, tending to my beloved basil.

I can't express how happy I am to have this new skill. I have so many ideas for garments that I really think I can make. I can barely think about anything else right now...

Cardigan: J Crew, Tank top: UO

Ribbons and knots.

I stopped by the best (and most expensive) ribbon shop in town - Mokuba - to pick up some trim for a Betsy Johnson dress that I found for $6 at Goodwill (!). The dress is just a wee bit short and I wanted to make it wearable, and now that I can use a sewing machine I really have no excuse.

(Photo by Kathryn Gaitens)

It was painfully difficult to choose when there are like over 700 ribbons, but the price helped out a bit; I just can't justify paying over $20/m for ribbon at this time in my life. Anyway, I'll post a picture of the finished dress this week - I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I was looking for a striped ribbon that would add a bit of a schoolgirl feel to the floral dress and I think I've captured that feeling. Now I've just got to find a vintage Ralph Lauren blazer to finish the look.

Anyway, the adorable woman who helped me out was wearing a fantastic ring, and she told me that it's made by Brooklyn artist Kiel Mead. His website is fantastic, and he makes jewelry that's both delightful and grotesque (I can't imagine any circumstance where I'd wear a retainer necklace - see below).

I wasn't able to post some of my favourite items from his site - the camera necklace and the amazing belt buckles, so check them out at his site (linked above).

Anyway, this is the ring she had on. Isn't it amazing? It also comes in colour (the little red forget-me-knot ribbon is so wonderful). I think they're so feminine and romantic.

Forget-me-knot ring, from $50 to over $700.

This is less romantic. All I can think about when I see this is how many times my parents dumpster-dived to find my retainer, innocently tossed into some fast food garbage, wrapped in a napkin. I'm so sorry, parents.




In other news, I finished my very first skirt ever today. And I love it. I'll post it soon - I can't wait!

My friends look out for me.

Thank goodness that Trish forwarded me this sweater from Anthropologie, offering that its awesomeness offended her. I also feel like the sweater is slapping me in the face with its self-knowledge that it may, in fact, be the Best Sweater Ever.

I actually experience chest pain every time that I look at the little flowers poking out of that pocket.

Also, I really very much like these shoes.

Why tiny things are so easy to love.

I think I'm pretty typical in my love for tiny cuteness. The other day I nearly berfed when I saw a baby Husky crossing the road. I swear to you it was smiling.

I came across this neato article by Rachel Poliquin in The Believer called The Visual Erotics of Mini-Marriages. It's sort of about why people find small things cute and wonderful, and sort of about really bizarre things that people have done to...celebrate that I guess? or exploit it? I could try to summarize the strangeness, but it's probably better if you just read the article yourself. You'll totally learn something weird.

And here are some small art things that I love.

a tiny street art project - the artist creates little scenes and then leaves them out on the street, usually in and around London. The first one here was left in Victoria, London. You can see the eensy speck in the second photo, to give you an idea of the scale of these projects.

This one was done in front of Westminster Abbey:

I am delighted by the work of Minimiam (Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle), who create little worlds with food and smartness:

Here's a little offering from Monkey's Paw - The Liliput Dictionary (French and English), published in the 1930s by F.J. Wershoven. They come with the little case!

And a project I've loved for a while, Bill Burns' Safety Gear for Small Animals. The artist, concerned for the safety of wild animals, has produced prototype items ranging from bulletproof vests, helmets and distilled water. He also offers insurance policies for various species of flora and fauna. Work gloves and dust mask pictured below.

So is all this programmed response to small things a direct result of parenting instincts and wanting to protect little ones? Or to wanting to feel powerful in comparison? Or to envying childhood and smallness? Or maybe just because small animals just objectively have cuter and rounder faces than big ones? So many questions.

And also, this is really funny.

Summer Reading List.

All books courtesy of Monkey's Paw.

Senta Maria Runge, Face Lifting By Exercise (1972).

Committee on Recording the American Meat Institute, Pork Operations (1954).

You all should know that my love for pork runs DEEP. 

Helen McCully, The French Have a Word for it: Mayonnaise (1967).

I am feeling culinary ambivalence about this: ew and yum. But mostly ew. But still, yum.

Shahrazad Ali, The Blackman's Guide to Understanding the Blackwoman, 1989.

1. Published by Civilized Publications.

2. "Read it before she does..."

3. Awesome. 

Fruit picking.

I took my new french horn pin out for a day in the sun, to our annual cherry picking day trip.


Cherry picking is basically the best fruit picking ever, because you're in the shade, there's no strain to reach the fruit, and because cherries are awesome. I think I ate 60 before I'd even filled my basket half-way.


We then went to the beach, and then to dinner in the most depressing town in Ontario: Niagara Falls.

Dress: Bedo, Sweater: H&M, Belt & Pin: Thrifted

The power went out so I went thrifting.

I actually went to the charity thrift shops, which require infinitely more patience and less cash. There's one in the area that can turn up some pretty good finds once in a while, even though it's at one of the sketchiest intersections in the city. I had an interesting conversation with a lady who clearly hadn't had teeth for years, and then with a man who called himself "Bum". He even gave me his number, so I have proof.

I tried on this blah jacket by DKNY for $3:


I loved the print of this blouse, but the cut was tragic ($3):


Mirabelli vest, which wouldn't quite button over the boobs ($3):


I ended up loving this floral dress ($3.50) and woven belt ($1), which I've worn here a few different ways:




Yes! those are tiny pairs on the top:


And I also got a tiny french horn pin ($1). Because I desperately felt that it had been missing from my life:
Yellow shoes: Aldo, Nude shoes: Te Casan, Vest: One Girl Who, Cardigan: One Girl Who, Pear top: thrifted.

If only all Tuesdays were like this.

This was basically the funnest Canada Day ever. I was supposed to get a ton of work done, and I didn't, and I'm okay with that.

After a spirited game of tennis, Chris and I wandered over to Riverdale Farm, where I developed a crush on the tiny farm:

We bought delicious organic things:




And then I posed all sexy-like.

And we also saw tons of really cute piglets with the biggest pig-mother ever.


So much love! Everyone was loving at the farm.


And now there are fireworks going off outside my window.

Top & Dress: Winners, Belt: H&M, Bag: Virginia Johnson