in the sky & on the road

2012-01-11T09:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some assorted images from the past month. It's a bit of a hodge-podge. Just like my month!

Invitations I made for my cousin's wedding in mid-December. We used the toile on the chairs at Auberge du Pommier as the inspiration.

A little friend I made for a special one-year old's birthday next week.

Some of the jewelry I find myself wearing over and over again, including my grandmother's vintage clip-ons. She can't stand the idea of pierced ears; she gets a bit sick even watching someone else put earrings in!

The wonderful Michael Pollan/Maira Kalman book I got for the holidays...

...along with some chocolate: British Planets and local artisan chocolates.

My mom's truly beautiful pottery. Aren't they gorgeous? I can't stop looking at them. I even put them in front of the television. Chris was not pleased.

2012-01-02T11:12:00.000-05:00

I would feel like celebrating the new year with these wonder shoes. Pretty great, right?

(Dieppa Restrepo / Rachel Comey)

Happy New Year everyone!

2011-11-03T12:01:00.000-04:00

Oooh! I'm excited. Some new books have just been released by/in collaboration with some of my favourite book makers. This is big news for me. 

You know I love Lawrence Weschler, right? I really adore everything I've ever read of his, and some of his writing has changed my life. For real. His new book Uncanny Valley was just released in September and he's coming to Toronto for a reading at Type books on November 15th. I thought I had missed it, but now it's in my calendar. Phew!

As if that weren't enough, there's a new release of Michael Pollan's Food Rules with illustrations by Maira Kalman. Holy moly. It looks so lovely and funny and thoughtful. As usual.

And lastly, Chris brought my attention to Miranda July's latest book, It Chooses You. The book "recounts July's adventures with a series of strangers she met through the classified ads in the Penny Saver." The New Yorker posted excerpts of the book for a week in October. It'll be released on November 15th.

2011-10-30T13:06:00.000-04:00

I had a delightful brunch with my dad yesterday at Smith (oh my god! the scones!), and he delivered a stack of magazines from my mom. I've never seen a Hermes magazine before; I'm not really part of their target audience. But there is some lovely photography and styling in many of the back issues. I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

Spring/Summer 2010: Follies in Faience - Hiroshi Nomura - Cover detail

Autumn/Winter 2010: Le Chat - Karen Knorr

Autumn/Winter 2006: In Paris - Bruno Boudjelal - Richard Dumas - Guillaume Zuili - Lars Tunbjork

Spring Summer 2007: Shall We Dance? - A Second Choreographer

Autumn/Winter 2007: Dance Card - A Secret History of Actions - Willy Ronis - Perfect Days

Spring/Summer 2008: A Moghul Dream - Fresh Capacity - Found Objects - Zenith

Have a happy Sunday!

2011-10-24T08:49:00.000-04:00

So classic and lovely. Dang it! I wish I could wear a simple white shirt. I always make such a mess of them.

From Closet Visit.

2011-10-13T12:58:00.000-04:00

I am so pleased to have worked with some amazing artists on Alison's invitations for her wedding this summer. Alison (as you may remember) did the flowers for our wedding, and I can't recommend her highly enough. She is such a kind person. There's just no reason not to go to her for flowers.  Unless you don't like flowers that looked like they've just been plucked from the garden and lovingly arranged in a vintage vessel. But who doesn't like that? 

I made the little floral illustrations in the photos below.

Her whole wedding looks like it was so special and fun. Visit her blog to see more pictures!

(Oh, and these lovely photos are by Joseph + Jamie)

2011-10-04T12:23:00.000-04:00

Just got back from Calgary, where we had two shorts screening at the Calgary International Film Festival. The audiences were amazing and supportive. It's so great to see so many people come to see a shorts program.

While we were there we squeezed in a visit to the Kananaskis for a teeny bit of hiking. It was so incredibly beautiful. We packed a snack of pepperettes, cheese and granola bars. Divine.

2011-09-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

Beautiful dresses for a warm fall day. Perfect for brunch and a visit to the art gallery. Which is what I have planned for this weekend. Can you tell that I'm looking forward to it?

Dresses by No. 6

2011-09-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

You guys know I love maps, right? Yeah, I thought so.

Naturally, I love this in a very serious way. (Kate Spade)

2011-08-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

Chris and I have been meaning to try Smith for a while now - it opened a few months ago and we promised ourselves that we'd try it this summer. There aren't a ton of wonderful restaurants right in our area, and we were pretty excited about the possibility of a great local place. It was wonderful.

The atmosphere is stylish but fun, the service was great and the food was delish. I had the Huevos Rancheros and Chris had eggs with some of the best potatoes I've ever had. Now we'll have to try it out for dinner. They offer a Southern Fried Chicken plate. Just saying.

2011-08-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to see some really beautiful older models in Toast's Early Autumn catalogue. They wear the clothes beautifully.  It was such a refreshing surprise!

They've got some work to do with casting diversity, but this is definitely one step in the right direction, I think.

2011-08-16T09:58:00.001-04:00

So I finally took a few pictures and I'm happy to share a few new invitations I made for the 2011 Summer Wedding Season! Each of the invitations features handmade illustrations done in consultation with the clients.

1. Christina & Peter wanted their invitations to look like a vintage wine label with tasting notes, so I designed a label for them that incorporated their sweet dog, as well as a Maple Leaf and  Silver Fern (to reflect their Canadian and New Zealand homelands). I wrote the tasting notes by hand for a more authentic feeling.

2. Meghan and Yenae got married in the Distillery District, so they asked for an illustration of some of the buildings in black and white, with touched of green. I illustrated a coordinating map for the coordinating information card.

3. Pamela wanted something floral for her afternoon garden wedding, so working with her colours, I painted a floral wreath that adorned all of the paper goods.

4. For her evening reception, Pamela wanted something sexier, so I had part of the original illustration silk-screened onto black paper.

5. Margaret and Philip had a beautiful wedding at Graydon Hall. I hand-painted and designed a modern floral invitation for them based on their colour scheme.

I had such a great time working with these wonderful brides. Congratulations to all of them!

2011-07-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

The Night Market was so much fun. I didn't experiment as much as I'd hoped I would (I'll try the cheesy squid balls on another day), but I did try some new things. Our favourite dish was Susur Lee's cheeseburger spring roll. What can I say? I really like cheeseburgers.

We had some pork belly on a steamed bun, grilled whelks and scallops and squid, and finished off the night with churros. Any meal finished with churros is a good meal, I think. 

Then we sat by the water and watched the sun set, which I haven't done for ages.

2011-07-24T12:14:00.000-04:00

Saturday: early morning tennis - scones and coffee - fun errands downtown - a bit of work - fish & chips - a late night walk in cabbagetown - caught in the rain - soaked! - pecan pie and a good book

(beautiful windows at love of mine and type. watercolours i've been working on late at night.)

2011-07-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

The new issue of WeddingBells is out now and I have a little bit of work featured in the magazine (top left). I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

My wee sis got married last weekend on one of the hottest days of the summer. She looked so beautiful despite the massive dress in the scorching heat. She's on her honeymoon now in New York. I hope she's holding up!

I made a few things for her wedding, including my first ever try at a ketubah. (I was so relieved when the Rabbi told me it was all correct. Phew! I don't remember any Hebrew from my Hebrew school days except mother, father and pencil.) I decided to go for soft colours, with some flowers that I know my sister loves, as well as a big fruit tree. I found some inspiration from some old William Morris prints and some Klimt paintings.

What are you doing this weekend? I'm hoping to check out the Toronto Night Market tonight, if it doesn't rain. Delicious.

2011-07-13T11:41:00.000-04:00

Every time I look at Toast's catalogue I know I'm in for some heartbreak. They have such lovely stuff. Such lovely, expensive-because-it's-in-GBP stuff. But it's also a source for such great inspiration. I just love deep blues with the bits of bright colour and added texture.

And they do easy, classic shapes so well.

Tonight is the rehearsal my little sister's wedding. I can't believe it's here already. Gotta finish that speech...

2011-07-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit obsessed right now with these satchels from the Cambridge Satchel Company. They're a perfect shape, there are just the loveliest colours to choose from (including neon colours if you're into that) and they can emboss your bag with your initials or whatever else you'd like on there. Meow.

I think I'd go for navy. I always go for navy.

In other news, I just noticed that some of my calligraphy work was printed as part of a wedding featured in Cosmo Bride UK. So that's neat, right?

oh what a beautiful mornin

2011-07-04T12:10:00.000-04:00

It was so nice to take the morning off with Chris and just bumble around for a bit. We made a huge lunch and I treated myself with a giant bunch of peonies. We bought some cheeses and some Rosette de Lyon sausage from our favourite little cheese shop. Dear lord that sausage is good. They also make fresh mozzarella every Saturday morning, which is fun and delicious.

Hey, I should also mention that Family First will be screening again in Toronto, after really wonderful screenings at the Worldwide Short Film Fest and Palm Springs. On Thursday night, you can catch it before the screening of Trigger as part of the Open Roof Festival. Yeehaw!

xo

It seems that there has been a delay.

2011-06-27T14:14:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't been very successful at scheduling myself this summer and the wedding season has really overwhelmed me. I've learned a lot about how to prepare myself for the amount of work involved for next summer, though, and I've made some pretty things and met some wonderful folks. So that's good! Maybe now I can get back to making things for myself & friends and taking some pictures.

I just got back from Calgary last night. We drove to Canmore where I experimented a bit with a little Tilt-Shift app that I downloaded. I like mini-things. Why not make everything look mini? There is no good reason not to.

Did we see bunnies? Yes. Mountain Goats? Uh-huh.

That, to me, means that the trip was a success.

First foray into quilting.

2011-03-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

You guys, I was finally brave enough to make my first bit of real patchwork quilting. It was easy, rewarding and somewhat addictive. I made one little square using this tutorial. And then I whipped it into a simple tote for a sweet friend's birthday. I think I like it a lot!

In other news: so much has been happening! Our film is playing next week in Toronto and then in Cleveland and then in Dawson City. And we'll be shooting the next film in the coming two months or so. Harbourfront's HATCH program starts this week (go and see Passages if you're in Toronto this weekend!). I got another lovely shout-out from Roseanne over at Wedding Bells Magazine. And there are so many more things to share with you in the coming weeks. Once they're more solidified, you know?

Oh! One last thing to share. I'm really looking forward to this event, happening on April 3rd here in Toronto. It's an important event, I think. Especially given the relentless news of this kind over the last few weeks. Ugly stuff.

Flowers for a cold day in February.

2011-02-20T11:34:00.000-05:00

Here are some real & pretend flowers to help you remember warm spring days. 

Chris & I observed our fourth annual Hot Dog Pact this weekend. We go to a shitty BBQ joint in Scarborough ever February to remember that summer barbecues will be back sooner than we know. It works pretty well.

Happy long weekend, friends!

Your process is showing.

2011-02-11T08:42:00.000-05:00

You guys, the first installment of my monthly contribution to the Praxis blog is now up! It will explore the process of making performance through a visual medium. Basically. Check it out here.

No elephants were harmed in the making of this bag.

2011-01-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

Oh dear Lord. This may be the best summer bag ever. What am I supposed to do about this? Thanks a lot, Kate Spade.

In other news, these fantastic bags are on sale at APC. They're a little bit more versatile,I guess.

And I love these striped necklaces in Kate Spade's summer lookbook. Perfection!

That's all. Time for dinner. Sigh.

I know I'm not French.

2011-01-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

But I did go to French immersion. Until grade three. So the French je-ne-sais-quoi is basically in my blood, right? And that means that I love a striped top.

I'm working on a sample for a client right now, which features big hand-painted navy stripes. I think the imperfect stripes make it look more personal and interesting.

To get into the spirit, I've pulled out all of the many striped tops that I've got in my closet. I've featured a few of my favourites here. Man, they make me miss France!

Q: Guess what's fun?

2011-01-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

A: Letterpress!

The only major problem here is that I loved it immediately, and now I'm hooked. And letterpresses are the opposite of cheap.

Tanya is a great teacher and totally demystified the process for me. I anticipated being overwhelmed by the equipment. I mean, there are times when a coffee machine is too complicated for me. But it all seemed straightforward. And incredibly rewarding.

I made three greeting card designs, and when I got home I played around with some fun envelope liners. I'm pretty happy with the ostriches below. Now I can tell pretty much everyone I know how good they are at kissing. Just in time for Valentine's Day!

Also: You can totally get me a letterpress for my birthday. In four months.

And here it is!

2011-01-10T09:46:00.000-05:00

It was quick, but it was still really fun to see my work on Canada AM this morning with Seamus O'Regan and Weddingbells editor Alison McGill.

What a great Monday morning!

(I made the bell jar arrangements, the painted potted plant with the fabric banner and the stack of books.)

My work on Canada AM tomorrow. For real!

2011-01-09T20:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday!

Chris is busy serving me a plate of Chinese food. Mostly for the health benefits of lemon sauce and breaded chicken. Mmmm.

I've been busy for the past three days working on some samples that Wedding Bells asked me to make - they'll be featured on Canada AM tomorrow morning. Yahoo! It's such a great opportunity. Also, Jann Arden will be singing on tomorrow's show. So there's that.

What else? Oh! A couple of weeks ago, while aimlessly flicking through television channels, I happened to discover an unassuming cooking show on the Latin Network. And now I'm in love with it. The host, Lidia, is from northern Italy. She owns like ten restaurants in the States. And I've tried quite a few of the recipes that she's shown - really simple Italian cooking - and it has all been amazing. Here's one of my favourites. Try it. Holy shizz, it's good.

Looking forward to the upcoming week! xo

Featured on weddingbells.ca!

2011-01-04T14:53:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! I just wanted to share this little invitation of mine that was featured on the Weddingbells site. What a great way to start 2011!

So. I am hoping to be braver this year. I have to force myself to share my work even if it's scary. The sharing part is scary I mean, not the work.

I've been giving myself arm cramps pulling 10-hour embroidery sessions. I'll have some new pieces that I'm looking forward to sharing soon.

And I've also been working at this. Our week at Harbourfront is approaching so quickly...

Hope the beginning of your year has been delightful.

[Happy Anniversary to my Folks!]

2010-12-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! Happy Holidays. Hope you've been able to relax and make shapes in the snow.

I have to say, I was very lucky this holiday. Among the incredibly generous gifts that my husband gave me is a letterpress course that I'll be taking at Snap and Tumble this month. I can't wait! What should I make?

I took a little break from making things for a few days, but that break will need to end soon. Here are some little kitchen linens I made as a gift for friends, hand embroidered with xx's and oo's.

I may make a few of these and sell them in my shop soon.

Oh, and I almost forgot! I've got a few items featured in the latest issue of Wedding Bells. Our wedding is featured in the issue as well. A special thanks to Roseanne Dela Rosa for her creativity and support!

Happy almost new years, everyone!

It's nice to be part of something.

2010-12-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty chuffed to have my little holiday cards included in Fieldguided's Shop Local Gift Guide. Thank you to Erica, who took the beautiful photo and made the suggestion.

If you like them, you can pick some up at the wonderful Coriander Girl in Parkdale.

Holiday shopping today. And then I'm going to make these. Mmmmm.

Poor Diana.

2010-12-09T11:59:00.000-05:00

I've been spending a bit of time with the photos I took during our honeymoon. I didn't realize it, but I guess my trusty Diana suffered some sort of a severe bumping and so all of my photos basically stank. It's no fun getting a bunch of stinky photos back from your honeymoon, trust me. Anyway, these are the best of the bunch.

We've been gearing up for the holidays here. We had some lovely guests stay with us last weekend, which always makes for a great opportunity to eat well. We visited Torito and finally had the courage to try their Tongue & Cheek dish. While I didn't love the tongue, the braised cheek was delicious. Have you been there? You should totally go.

Many exciting things happening lately, I'll post about them soon...

I am too romantic, and other things that happened today.

2010-11-19T13:38:00.001-05:00

Every now and then I visit Toast's website, and then I spend quite a bit of time idealizing English country life, and then I think about how I should really prioritize that trip to visit my husband's English family. And do some shopping. Some very expensive shopping. And then I sort of snap out of it.

Anyway: the clothes, they are so pretty! And the housewares, too.

Pretty Paper. By Me!

2010-11-16T13:04:00.001-05:00

So you may know, or you may not even know, that I've got a little line of stationary that I've been developing. And I've finally started to sell it through my etsy shop. So if you know anyone who needs invitations for an event, send them my way! I'll be adding more to it in the next month or so.

And I've just started selling these little notecard sets, made with some of my watercolour illustrations.

We spent this past weekend in Oakville at a lovely wedding on the lake. The groom was one of Chris' oldest friends - they met in the fourth grade!

We packaged some treats up for them with their wedding gift. I really want to try that mustard. I feel like a spicy zing with every meal lately.

A few nice things for a lovely November day.

2010-11-02T11:17:00.001-04:00

* A little glimpse of some work I'm doing for a client.

* A baby quilt I made for a special (pregnant) friend. Ready to send off!

* Forelle pears. Yum.

* Just about the prettiest tea packaging I've seen. From Clipper UK. Tastes wonderful too!

* New Books! And they're fantastic. Rebecca Solnit's Storming the Gates of Paradise, Maira Kalman's And the Pursuit of Happiness and Bruce Mau & friends The Third Teacher.

We started reading And the Pursuit of Happiness last night. It's so delightful and moving. And we saw Bruce Mau speak last week and were compelled to buy this book afterwards.

* Dinner last night. The un-healthiest salad ever, with a side of zucchini. My specialty.

So much yes.

2010-10-25T11:07:00.000-04:00

Yes yes yes and yes! And so much more to daydream about here.

Also: please get out and vote today! It's so very important. xo

I may have ordered this sweater.

2010-10-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

Because it was on sale! And I love a wrap sweater! And it's so cute.

If you haven't seen J. Crew's fall line, take a look - it's really nice. Here are some of my favourites. I am especially in love with the boots. I think they're bee-yoo-ti-ful.

Oh, and I should say that I kept watching Sister Wives last night, until the husband used this line to talk about his first wife's resistance to in vitro fertilization:

I haven't heard 'no' in a serious enough fashion yet to believe it means 'no'.

This, of course, wasn't the only problematic issue I had with the show, but it does identify the moment when I almost barfed.

Why am I watching Sister Wives?

2010-10-17T20:51:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to convince myself that it's research for a project I'm working on, but that's such a lie. Oh Sister Wives, why are you so likeable and offensive at the same time?

In other news, we made some delicious cauliflower risotto the other night. And I'm so taken with the heirloom carrots we bought at Jean Talon. A huge bag for $2.50. Seriously!

A fistful of delicious.

I can't believe how quickly autumn is passing. But it's been so beautiful, hasn't it?

Thanks Montreal. We really needed that.

2010-10-12T11:23:00.001-04:00

We had a last minute free & fancy hotel room offered to us on Friday for this past weekend, so we left Friday afternoon and had one of our best weekend trips. The weather was perfect and we ate so well. We were especially happy to discover the restaurant Lemeac, and its unbelievable Pain Perdu. It's pretty much worth going to Montreal just for that dessert.

We strolled through Parc Lafontaine, visited some galleries and just explored. Oh Montreal! Thanks for being so fun and nice.

The fantastic men's & women's shop Rooney. Such a great space.

Jenny Holzer exhibit at DHC-ART.

Jean Talon Market. My favourite market of all markets. A perfect outing for Thanksgiving day.

A lot of meat on one plate at the Main.

Ye old lace skirt.

2010-08-28T18:04:00.004-04:00

You guys, I rediscovered this lace skirt I bought on super-sale at Anthro like 6 years ago. I've hardly worn it since then, but I think its so fantastic. So I took it out for a walk today to one of my favourite places in the city, Trinity College.

We wanted to see if the chapel was open, and it was, and we had it to ourselves. Pretty neat.

Going for some ice cream later tonight. And then I'm hoping to start sewing a new sundress, it's been so long!

xo

The Details.

2010-07-29T13:24:00.006-04:00

We've got our pictures back from our photographer, and I'd love to share some of the little details with you. Chris and I spent endless hours making things for our do, and we were really happy with the results.

The linen hankie that I embroidered for Chris.

My bouquet. I couldn't have loved it more. Made by Alison.

Our handmade invites.

And programs.

I sewed and embroidered a stack of flags that people could wave at the end of our ceremony. It was one of my favourite details.

I wrote out everyone's escort envelope, which included hand-written notes to each person inside.

Table numbers!

Hand-stamped ribbons shared the evening's menu.

Beautiful flowers in vases wrapped in baker's twine secured with tiny toy mushrooms. Each table was lined with a runner made by my mother.

Some of our childhood relics displayed.

One of our many vignettes. This one was made with tiny mushrooms and figurines riding bikes.

We strung an excerpt of I Like You (which was read during our ceremony) from baker's twine in our bar area.

Another vignette! In a tiny belljar!

Handmade flags attached to straws. We figured people liked them as they were drinking their beer from them.

Enjoy! Crafts are fun, right?

Summer is a good time to make things.

2010-07-25T11:21:00.002-04:00

Well, a happy Sunday to you!

Since I got home from our trip to France, one of my main goals has been to set up my little calligraphy and design biz. This week I finished making promos and updating my website, which gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. You can see my samples here. So if you ever need someone to write something pretty for you, I can do it!

In other exciting news, I found these twin mushrooms:

And I've been busy making things for friends. One of my recently completed projects is an art roll for a friend, filled with lovely pencil crayons and a sharpener. Perfect to throw in your bag, because you never know when you'll need to sketch.

All rolled up.

Filled with pencils and mermaids.

Today we're going to get some new kitchen knives (hurrah!) and roti (even better!).

What have you been working on this summer?

Patterns Patterns Everywhere.

2010-07-20T14:23:00.002-04:00

Lovely French sidewalk.

Today I wore my belt as a hat.

2010-07-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

Fancy.

To The Market!

2010-07-07T10:35:00.004-04:00

There's a lovely little farmer's market just around the corner every Tuesday. And before this summer, I'd only been once. Shame! So I've committed myself to trying to buy groceries there every week, if I can. My sister and I made it out last week (and again, yesterday), and of course I documented the event.

Lavender from Niagara. And my sister.

There are two very smart guys who have set up a fry booth. They double-fry the organic potatoes, then toss them in sea salt and thyme. And then the smell wafts, and people come.

People like me. Let's just say it was worth the extra dose of insulin.

I took home a bunch of lavender and put it in some of small bottles that we've collected. I hung a few of them up on the wall beside our desk, dangling from a bit of baker's twine.

It smells pretty nice, which helps me concentrate when I'm writing grant applications.

Another item: I got a bit obsessed with red pants when we were in France, but I can't really go out and buy much right now. So I made a visit to the Double Take and found two pairs for $5 (success!). I took the first pair out for a walk, with some of my sweet honeymoon purchases: a navy top from Claudie Pierlot and sweet sandals from Camper.

After catching a show at the Fringe, we may or may not have ended the night eating ribs and corn that we bought off of Church Street during Pride. They may or may not have been delicious.

Lune de Miel!

2010-07-01T10:24:00.008-04:00

I thought I should probably share some pictures that we took on our trip to France. I took a ton of photos on my sweet Diana, but it seems like it may be time for a new Diana - I think her lens is shot.

We started off in Paris for a few days. We stayed in a lovely little apartment near the Bastille, just a quick walk to the Marais. This was the view from the apartment - not bad, hey?

We ate at the Bistrot Paul Bert on our first evening, which was a recommendation from a chef friend. The white asparagus were delicious and HUGE, and I couldn't complain about the dessert:

We were serenaded by this guy outside of our apartment one evening - a one-man band.

We spent some time driving through the Loire and visited Chenonceaux, thereby fulfilling a childhood dream of mine. We got there early enough on a Monday that we nearly had the place to ourselves.

We ran through the maze, toured the chateau and I enjoyed wandering through the flower gardens.

Dinner in the Loire valley. That's some serious bacon in that salad. Following the salad, I ordered the "special" sausage for dinner. Our server said that she liked it and that it was very "strong". It was tripe. I tried to be open minded but did not succeed.

Our home-base in the South: Hyeres. Quiet and beautiful. We spent a day exploring and ended up at the 12th century castle that overlooks the town. No one else was there.

A dinner of mussels & chorizo in the town square.

We took a day trip to the beautiful Ile de Porquerolles, about a 20 minute boat ride from the coast of Hyeres. This is me in my swimmie:

A drive through the Riviera ended with dinner in Menton:

A brief stop at the beach in Eze:

A wonderful day in Aix-en-Provence, which is still a favourite town of mine. We stumbled across a strange little museum.

It was market day, and we strolled through the flower market (heaven!)...

...the fruit and vegetable market...

...and the meat & fish market.

Our day ended with a truly excellent dinner at the Bistrot des Philosophes.

We spent a few days wandering through the tiny, picturesque towns in Provence before heading back to Paris for another day.

Also, I may have purchased a few things. I'll photograph them and show you later. Promise.

I blame it all on getting married.

2010-06-30T10:55:00.005-04:00

It's true that I haven't posted anything here for around 40 years (give or take). It's not that I didn't want to - it's just that everything I was making & doing centered around getting ready for my wedding, and I wanted to keep some of those elements a surprise.

So now it's done! And it's still a bit difficult to process for me. I'm so happy with all of the little details, and some of the moments were so special. The ceremony itself was definitely the most important and beautiful aspect of the day, hands down, but I was still left with a guilty feeling about how much it all cost.

(The ceremony, featuring paper birds mom & I made. And thanks to Mike McPhaden for the beautiful photos!)

Anyway, going to France for a few weeks helped to settle me down (thank you to Adrienne for the beautiful and free apartment!). Since we've been back, I've been able to settle in and get my new projects started. And I've also started possibly the slowest cleaning-of-the-apartment process ever known. We have to find a home for so many lovely things in so little space! Including some of the decorations we made for the wedding, like this little bicycle vignette:

And some new pottery pieces that we bought at Coriander Girl. Alison did the flowers for the wedding and I cannot recommend her highly enough. We knew each other through drama classes that we took as teens, and she's fun, and talented, and uses ethically grown flowers. We'll post some pictures when we get them.

My sweet friend Robyn gave us her old bed, so we finally got it together and hung up our art.

And here are the programs that we made. I painted & designed them, and Chris cut them all out by hand, rounded corners and everything.

And the invites. Which we were so happy with! I hand-painted the illustrations, scoured the free font sites, sewed the invites together (using paper from The Paper Place and Michaels), and hand lined the envelopes. It was so much fun.

I have so much more to tell you! But am off to The Remarkable Bean, which I hear is fantastic.

My feet could never point well enough to even consider ballet.

2010-03-07T11:21:00.002-05:00

I love ballet clothes. I remember in high school, my friend Sarah and I would do some of our shopping at the giant dance wear store downtown. Nothing much has changed. A month ago I hopped across the street to the National Ballet school and raided their store.

It's hard to find a good ballet wrap sweater these days. I just saw this in the new Anthropologie catalog, and I think it is a perfect candidate for potential sweatership.

A few weeks ago, we headed to Montreal for a quick weekend vacation, and we were both sick for much of the time, but I did have just enough time to stumble across (gasp) - a whole store dedicated to ballet shoes. There may have been some hyperventilation. Here are some of my favourites from their website.

This was Chris' favourite pair:

I think these last two are my personal favourites:

Okay, well, thanks for indulging me. Happy Sunday!

Bathing Suits, of course.

2010-01-28T12:14:00.012-05:00

So, Swimsuits!

Anthropologie, of course.

Yeah, I know it's c-c-cold, but look how pretty! So pretty. And the thing is, I'm going to the South of France in officially less than four months, so can you blame me for looking?

Last year I looked high and low for retro style swimsuits. And now they're everywhere! And there's polka-dots! And gingham!

More from Anthropologie:

I love the colour and print on this one, but the bottoms wouldn't really suit me, I fear:

And some equally flattering cuts from J. Crew, also available in other colours. I can't wait for beach-time! Also, You should see my sunhat. It's ridiculous.

I got me some war rugs.

2010-01-23T11:18:00.002-05:00

My wonder-friend Cole shared a project idea with me a while back, and we've been slowly working away at it for months now. It has to do with the war rugs that have come out of Afghanistan over the past few decades, and the more I've learned, the more I've been fascinated by these pieces. You can learn more about them here and here.

So she emailed me last weekend to tell me that there was going to be a sale, through the Textile Museum, of 88 war rugs from a private collection. And with the purchase of a membership, each rug was only $50. (!)

So Chris and I headed down early last Saturday, not quite knowing what to expect. It's a good thing we got there early because apparently these babies are quite popular. We got in with the first group admitted and picked up a few that I think are really interesting and lovely.

Here are two that we bought specifically for the project. They are quite ornamented, but you'll notice the cars and tanks and helicopters:

Here's one I got for my boss. I didn't think he'd be too keen on the war imagery so I got him a rug with an abstract ornamented design. Also starring: my lovely feet.

And here's the one we bought for ourselves. It's around 6' x 4', with two big beautiful trees, what looks like a treehouse, and two little helicopters for good measure. You know what they say, helicopters on rugs guarantee good luck. Or something like that.

So now all we need is a place big enough to accommodate it!

Heading out to the Canadians Against Proroguing protest soon. And we'll also be testing out that Diana Polaroid. Fun day!

I fell in love, and I just can't stop thinking about you, chair.

2010-01-08T15:25:00.002-05:00

People, I'm having an issue over this chair. It's so beautiful. And practical, right? And one day I'll maybe have a sewing room and it would be perfect! But right now, it totally matches our couch.

And I can't stop thinking about it. I just want to hold hands with it and like, talk about the funny things that happened today and maybe have some cookies.

Guys who buy their partners really awesome shoes for Christmas are pretty good guys.

2010-01-08T14:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays, you!

Despite my little holiday cold, I had a nice time off doing absolutely nothing at all except for sleeping, eating, watching movies, and 'helping' Chris cook by reading out the ingredient list before napping.

We watched The Third Man (again, and still so good), The Brothers Bloom, the first 20 minutes of Kicking and Screaming (B&B. Boring & Bad. Why do people like this one so much?). And lots of HGTV.

Chris got me lots of wonderful gifts, including these darlings:

I'm going to save them and wear them on our honeymoon. They're not really Canadian winter shoes, anyway.

I'm not going to lie, I love getting gifts. And giving gifts. Especially beautiful sparkly gifts. My friend Kate got me this dress, which I had been stalking for months. It's got swans on it. Swans!

And here's another one, from Chris, which I had also adored from afar. Did anyone get anything wonderful? I also got a gizmo that attaches to my Diana and turns it into a Polaroid. For real! I'm going to try it out this weekend.

Le Butter Dish.

2009-11-19T13:55:00.003-05:00

What's with butter dishes being so awesome lately? I mean seriously:

Peanut butter dish & Crown butter dish by Rae Dunn. Delightful.

Cow butter dish.
Whale butter dish by Jonathan Adler. This would be mine if it weren't $70. Which is too much for a butter dish. At this point in my life.

The winner! Thanks Anthropologie, you always come through for me.

And I actually need one of these things in my life. The plate with a smoosh of warm butter on it is no longer pleasing me. The little bits of bread left over in the butter are pretty great, though.

Arts & Science.

2009-11-16T12:51:00.005-05:00

Here's what looks like an amazing & perfectly curated store (for boys and girls!) , called Arts & Science. Hey, I like arts! And science!

Here are photos of the stores, which are in Japan, from what I can tell.

Shoes & Accessories:

Men's store:

What looks like an apothecary:
And here are some amazing things I found on their website. I don't know how you can buy any of these things, but I'm happy just to swoon for now.

Bags!

Men's manicure set:
Girl-things!

I have a feeling that I'd be pretty happy living in the store. Or maybe having it as my winter home, with Anthropologie as my summer vacation spot. I still have to work out some of the details.

Breakfasts.

2009-11-09T20:09:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I make breakfast.

Sometimes Chris makes breakfast.

Chris is pretty fun.

Fall Shoes.

2009-11-02T13:29:00.004-05:00

Hello! In honour of fall, and of it having been really cold this weekend, I'm sharing some fall footwear that I'd be more than happy to own.

A.P.C, J. Crew, J. Crew, Les Prairies de Paris

These last ones are basically the same as the grey ones I bought last fall, but I love them so much that I dream about owning them in every colour. Ridiculous.

A great gift.

2009-10-19T11:17:00.003-04:00

First off, I just wanted to spread the word that I've finally updated my website. It only took me around 4 years. I am officially no longer embarrassed of it.

Anyway, what I really wanted to share was this great engagement gift that Chris and I got from my sweet friend Sarah. Perhaps inspired by a recent trip she took to Italy, she and her husband adopted an olive tree for us through a company called Nudo, and we'll be getting fresh olive oil shipments from Italy throughout the year. It's so nice to have a little something extra to look forward to!

We got our first shipment - lemon oil, orange oil and chili oil - and it's gooood. And the packaging is pretty wonderful as well. Thanks Sarah!

Buying and Selling.

2009-09-28T15:02:00.005-04:00

I hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was full of bacon, ravine walks and making fabric flowers for the wedding (which is still far far away).

And! I finally got my shit together and opened an etsy shop. I currently have 1 item for sale. Slow but steady. Here it is:

I will be adding more to the shop in the coming week, and once I have more time to sew I'll be adding some hand-sewn items as well.

You can visit it in all of its glory: shiraleuchter.etsy.com

In other etsy news, I bought a painting from Heather Smith Jones, who makes beautiful things. Here's the wee painting I found in my mailbox on Friday. Isn't it lovely?

I get chest pain in bookstores sometimes.

2009-09-07T10:39:00.004-04:00

I finally finally had the opportunity to visit Swipe Books this weekend, which I've been meaning to do for ages but they're closed on Sundays, and I kept forgetting that, which sucks. It's pretty great. I can measure the goodness of a bookstore based on how quickly I get chest pain, and I'd say this time it was right around the 2 minute mark, which is impressive. In fact, I was so overwhelmed that we had to leave Built, the architecture bookstore just down the hall, for another day. I can't wait!

I picked up Maira Kalman's book The Principles of Uncertainty after having loved her blog for a while now. Oh, it's so wonderful. You should get it. Unsure? Take a look at her blog here. That's what I thought you'd think.

(Oh okay, here's an excerpt from Paris).

Another wonderful thing that happened was the spontaneous purchase of this model hot air balloon, seen here in the forest during an outing we took yesterday, but which will take up permanent residence above our filing cabinet. Of course.

I hope you're having a wonderful long weekend!

For the non-sommelier gift-giver.

2009-09-04T11:53:00.002-04:00

Oh why haven't I discovered these earlier? They'd have made my lame attempts at host-gift-giving so much wittier.

By Papermash.

Weekend Projects.

2009-08-03T16:21:00.005-04:00

It's been another busy weekend, but I managed to finish a few projects today for friends. Chris and I visited baby Iris yesterday and I wanted to make sure that I finished her baby quilt, so I spent Friday night working away and I'm really pleased with it!

I also promised to work on a toddler back-pack for the sweet 2-year-old who will be coming to stay with us in a couple of weeks. I used the backpack pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing, and took a few inches off each measurement so it'd work for a small person. I think it's really cute and just the right size to fit whatever a toddler might need to carry around.

And I finished a simple little tote for a friend's birthday. Fun & easy to make.

Also - some dream skirts from Anthropologie. I had a brief visit to their new Yorkville shop and I was a bit disappointed (especially with their sale section. Poor!), but there was still some wonderful ephemera and it's always a joyous browsing experience. These skirts were nowhere in sight, but given that they're each over $200, I'm fine with just looking at them online. Bows! Buttons!

[oooh! aaaah!]

Chris and I took a nice little walk today between work sessions. We had popsicles and ice cream sandwiches and dreamed about the future.

I hope you've had a wonderful long weekend.

I finally found some cheap seahorses.

2009-07-31T15:11:00.004-04:00

It's been a busy few weeks here: more fresh babies being born, more planning & preparation for projects. (By the way, if you're in Toronto next week, I'm doing a weird little performance piece for the SummerWorks Performance Gallery at the Gladstone. August 6 - 9, 7-9pm, PWYC. Beer.)

And so I've been really behind on posting about the pretty things I've found this summer. Including these seahorse earrings I picked up for $23. Hooray for deals! Apparently, they're made by Giles and Brother. I found them at the Holt Renfrew Last Call, which is heavenly to me. Seriously. I get heart palpitations when I go in there. It's the only place I can go to where I can fondle designer dresses and not feel like I'm being watched by sales staff.

(Some of you may already know that I have much affection for the seahorse, so this find is especially pleasing to me.)

I'm also ready to let go of tons of clothing that just isn't right for me anymore, but the consignment store I used to go to closed down about a year ago, and the ones I'm aware of only accept reeeeely fancy clothes. Does anyone know of a good consignment shop in the city? Or a great clothing swap/give-away happening soon? Thanks!

Happy long weekend, fellow Canadians. Happy weekend, everyone else!

My Art and Other People's Art.

2009-07-13T14:26:00.003-04:00

It's been the busiest of all summers, but I'm hoping there will still be time left over for jumping in lakes and stuff. Oh! I did go to the drive-in in Port Hope one night, which has so many vintage summer points that I think it counts for 2 full weekends.

Anyway, I've been working on lots of projects, including this little thing that opens tomorrow night at the Rivoli. If you're looking for something to do, swing by after 7 for art and drinks!

This little exhibition is part of an ongoing project called f11. Anyway, after we installed it yesterday, I dropped by the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. I'm always hoping that I'll see at least one thing that gets me going. There was a lot of interesting stuff, but I'm still thinking about Amanda McCavour's work. Holy shit. So good.

She makes drawings out of thread, on water-soluble fabric and then suspends the pieces with straight pins so they look like they're floating. I loved her cloud pieces, but I couldn't find any images on the web to share, but the above is pretty darn impressive. Also: she was really nice.

She'll be showing more work at the Lonsdale Gallery in August.

Hope you're having a wonderful sunny day.

On Gerrard.

2009-06-22T18:45:00.003-04:00

S-s-s-so good. And on this very trip, I bought a skirt patterned with zebra skeletons. Success!

I went on a trip, then there have been some ups & downs.

2009-06-08T20:48:00.003-04:00

I went on a trip - to my cousin's wedding in Charlotte NC - and then stayed on for a week and explored Charleston, Savannah, and a variety of beaches. It was lovely, and charming, and also somewhat complex; I always find that traveling through the beauty of the south makes me uncomfortable. It is, of course, difficult to separate the beauty from the ugliness that built much of it, it's shocking to see the segregation that still exists, and I've often found that the way locals deal with their history is varying and at times disturbing. Anyway, it was a great time, and I do appreciate the beauty of the complexity I encountered.

Photos! (My photos turned out shittily. I'm still a bit depressed. Anyway, here are some of my favourites).

When we got back, we had a few family sadnesses, including a beautiful baby that needs lots of love and special thoughts right now. Luckily, he has some amazingly strong parents. So I spent the weekend making a special crib quilt for him, courtesy of this tutorial. (I forgot to photograph it, but I made one for another new creature.)

I wish I could do more for this little one. My mind has been a bit wrapped up in thinking about him.

Okay, off to work on other projects. Good night, everyone.

Fabrix.

2009-05-16T18:15:00.002-04:00

Met my mum this morning to check out the local Etsy Handmade Market at the Gladstone, then saw a few Contact shows, had some derlishis crepes (bacon, onion, goat cheese & balsamic) and then happened upon a little fabric sale marked by pink balloons.

Well, we totally lucked out. It seems that it was held at the studio of local designers Dagg & Stacey and the quality was amazing, with most fabrics priced at around $4/yard or about $5 a bunch. I could have done serious and earth-shattering damage, but I restrained myself and walked away with this bundle (easily over 12 yards of fabric) for just over $30, I think. Please ignore the wrinkles.

The fabric on top is the most beautiful bamboo (oooh!), and the funky brown fabric looks like this:

I don't yet know what it's destined to become, but I couldn't resist. Oh! and I had indulged for my birthday and ordered myself some of this amazing Nani Iro, which was finally delivered to me this week:

I think it'll be a dress one day. And I made my first baby kimono this week, using Heather Ross' book and fabric. Seahorses! This'll go to whichever of my friends' baby girl is born first. Good luck to all. (This also got squished in my bag today, hence: wrinkly).

Happy Saturday to you!

Friday Night.

2009-05-16T17:41:00.001-04:00

You know you're in an upscale neighbourhood when the swears are this tame.

Dress for a tiny girl.

2009-05-11T18:51:00.004-04:00

In honour of the sweetest tiny girl I know, I tried my hand at making a little dress, using the pattern from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing (which is excellent so far, by the way). I chose a vibrant fabric from Mark Lipinski's Katmandu line, and here it is:

Oh man, I really hope it fits. I want to mail this out as a surprise, so I guessed on the sizing. Anyway, what I learned is that it's pretty fun to make tiny clothing. And since basically everyone I know is knocked up, I guess I'll be doing lots of this in the near future.

Some new things I made.

2009-05-03T16:41:00.003-04:00

I've made a few new dresses - some more successful than others - but I'm really happy with the fit of this dress I made. It's simple simple simple and I love the poppy fabric, and I also love that I didn't screw anything up to the extent that I have to make sure I'm always covering some area that's garbled or mangled.

This is the perfect little jacket that my mum bought me for my birthday. I feel like its something that I'll have forever.

Lately I've been trying to make more food at home, because we rely waaaay too much on take-out. I made this apple flan with a ready-made organic puff pastry dough, and served it for our family brunch this morning and there were no leftovers, which is a good sign. It's been so rewarding to make things from scratch, with my very own hands. It feels like a measurable accomplishment, which is important as it often feels like the work I make ends up floating in the ether. And also, flans taste way better than theatre.

Recipe here.

Birthday things.

2009-05-03T09:22:00.003-04:00

My birthday was this week, and for the first time ever I didn't feel like making it too much of an event. Instead, it was filled with love, pretty dresses, flowers and vulgar amounts of food.

Chris bought me this beautiful dress from Meg. It's a blue and white print of birds flocking. This is me posing with the pot of African Violets I stole from work. I should also mention that the Prairies de Paris shoes I'm wearing here are the most comfortable little things I've ever worn.

We went to Colborne Lane for my birthday dinner, and tried the 10-course tasting menu. For some reason I thought I'd easily make it from beginning to end, but by course seven I realized how underprepared I had been. How does a person prepare for that kind of eating, anyway? Still, it wasn't like I could pass up the lavender donut, right (course 9)? So, after 4 hours of straight eating, I emerged victorious. And bloated.

I should also mention that I visited Toronto's first Anthropologie location, and though I'm still disappointed that it's here (I loved that it was always a special place that I could go to on vacation), it was great to be able to go for a short drive to the shop. And for some reason, the prices in the store were cheaper than the CDN prices listed on their website. Oh, how I hope that's just not a mistake!

Off to brunch! Enjoy the beautiful day!

As though I needed more tea cups.

2009-04-25T10:46:00.004-04:00

We've already got so many tea cups that our cupboards are bursting, but I couldn't resist these when I saw them. And they were .25 cents each. And sometimes I'm a sucker for a deal.

Aren't they beauties? I can't wait to one day have a kitchen where I can display some of this stuff.

Me + Valentino, together at last.

2009-04-18T18:32:00.002-04:00

It's been a beautiful day here, and we started the morning with a deliciously vulgar breakfast at Oddfellows. We sat outside and watched the baby parade and tried the "Breakfast for Two", which consists of spiced potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, asparagus, a pile of meat, all baked in a black clay vessel, with toast and homemade jam on the side .

Yes, that is asparagus wrapped in a ribbon of bacon. And yes, it was really good.

I then convinced Chris to join me on a trip to Value Village, where I made what I believe to be a tremendous score: a navy wool Valentino dress for $9.99. Basically, nothing else that happens today really matters. This will always be The Day I Found The Valentino Dress.

Me, modelling said dress.

Okay, off to a reading! Have a great Saturday night!

Things for tiny people.

2009-04-12T15:22:00.005-04:00

I've been busy this Easter weekend buying and making gifts for friends who are expecting or who have little ones. My favourite 2-year old's birthday is coming up in 2 weeks, and I wanted to find her a few practical things as well as something little and wonderful. I found this tiny mouse, who makes her bed in a wooden matchbox. Eeee!

She comes with a little mattress, pillow and knitted blanket. Handmade in Denmark by Maileg, and purchased in Toronto at Kolkid. I would have loved this little thing as a child. I still love toys that have their own little accessories.

Maileg makes other wonderful (and expensive) toys, like their Brothers & Sisters collection of rabbits. My favourite are the swimming rabbits:

Water-wings.

I also spent the better part of yesterday making a baby bag for one of my sweetest friends who is having a little girl this summer. I used striped & sturdy fabric from Ikea, made outside pockets on the front of the bag for little things (like this bear rattle with a hoodie) and tried my hand at embroidery for the first time. Not bad, hey?

There are tons of projects to finish. I'm going to try my hardest to finish a dress I started and then got stuck on and then put aside and looked at longingly for a few weeks. It's made of Nani Iro Fuccra fabric which I love love love.

Isn't it beautiful?
Cross your fingers for me!

Oh no, I've been away for so long.

2009-04-10T10:02:00.003-04:00

It has been a while. It's strange, but there's a certain sense of blog-related guilt that I feel when I don't write. But there have been many new and wonderful happenings since January that have delayed my writing. So let's see, what's been going on?

1. I got engaged! This is really joyful news for me. We've been really busy sorting out details now rather than later, so that we can now relax, and do fun things like making paper flowers and invitations.

2. I've been sewing like mad. I have some pictures, so I'll post them soooon. Lately I've been making baby bags, as everyone I know seems to be expecting.

3. There have been lots and lots of little projects. A piece of mine was selected for a juried arts fest called Escarpment: On the Edge, which runs in St. Catharines from April 22 to July 24. I'll also be performing an excerpt in a new piece written by a most talented writer friend in the In The Soil Festival.

Okay, so at least there's a little bit of news there, right? And more to come, promise.

Sweet Junebug and the New Years Dress.

2009-01-04T13:39:00.007-05:00

Well happy new year! What a nice little year I've had so far.

Last week I made my first official visit to Frank Gehry's newly redesigned AGO, and it's ding-danging amazing. Not the collection, so much, but the space itself is beautiful and some of the curating is really very effective. It makes me like the city just a little bit more.

AGO Walker Court, Photo by Sean Weaver

Mostly, though, I've been sewing constantly, thanks so my new machine ,Junebug, and her mesmerizing charms. Oh! And after doing a bit of research, I found a great shop in Parkdale that offers classes and the best little fabric selection in town. I was nearly apoplectic. It's called The Workroom, and it's definitely worth a visit.

So far I've made a skirt (which I'll post about when I have a decent picture) and this dress, made from what I consider to be some of the most beautiful fabric IN THE WORLD. EVER. It's quite heavy, and probably not really appropriate for a dress, but I couldn't resist and made this little structured thing with it.

The fabric is grey with hand-drawn blossoms in light grey and gold metallic. And love. By Hinemosu Notari.

And next: a dress made with seahorses and octopi. For real. I can barely contain myself.

I'm finally posting some of the awesome shit I got.

2008-12-25T17:19:00.004-05:00

Let's start with new shoes & necklaces.

No, actually, let's start with Happy Holidays! And very best wishes to you. Today has been a blissful day, and there's a steak & guiness pie in the oven, and a new sewing machine (!) under the tree! For me! I already have ideas for more projects, now that I've got a sewing machine to fiddle with again.

Okay, back to new shoes. Here are three lovelies that I'm so excited about.

i. The Camper oxfords. Chris bought them for me - by the way, Camper is having a sale until the end of Feb, which hardly ever happens. They're simple, practical and gorgeous.

ii. Les Prairies de Paris grey oxfords. I've been looking for great grey shoes forever, and with the amazing craftsmanship on these girls, and the twist on classic oxfords with the elastic, I couldn't resist. I think the elastic makes them sort of ballerina-y, no?

iii. Dries Van Noten boot-shoe things. Kick ass and comfy. Very good for toughening up my girly dresses.

I had been looking for a magnifying glass forever, and UO is selling one, and even though it's mass-produced I love it. The sweet peas-in-the-pod necklace was a beautiful anniversary gift from Chris.

Tomorrow or Saturday I'll finally pull out all of the ding dang clothing I've got recently and document it. Finally!

By the way, the Les Prairies shoes were from Jonathan + Olivia, a Vancouver store that just opened here in Toronto a few months ago - on Ossington. They've got great designers (they're the only store that carries Les Prairies in Canada, I think) and they're really, really nice. Which is appreciated when I'm spending a bit of money.

Photo by Zoe Bridgman

Michael Govan almost made my head explode.

2008-12-07T08:06:00.008-05:00

I spent a recent Friday night and most of Saturday at a symposium on museum and exhibition design called From Jurassic Park to Rothko's Chapel, sponsored by U of T's newly re-named faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design.

Leading American curator Michael Govan was the keynote speaker, and there was such a buzz in the air while he was speaking. He led us through his experience bringing art to post-industrial spaces - like Dia Beacon - and how working with artists like Robert Irwin and Walter de Maria changed the way he thought about 'the gallery' and 'the object'; he became more interested in the way that the actual space changes and affects how the visitor sees. He worked closely with Irwin to renovate the Dia Beacon from an old Nabisco factory to a contemporary art space, and the results are, of course, remarkable:

Photo by Listen Missy! on Flickr.

Photo by Darrell Silver.

Photo by tud5000 on Flickr.

His experience working with an artist (Irwin) as opposed to an architect to shape the space made him realize how alienated most artists are from the very spaces in which they show their work, and how he wanted to break that model.

And I say: ROAD TRIP.

As a side note, Govan collaborates with Irwin extensively, and if you're interested in Irwin's work, or even if you're not, I urge to read Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Lawrence Weschler. I actually encourage you to read anything by Weschler. Have I written about this book before? I think so, maybe.

Anyway, Govan's experience as Director and CEO of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is quite the counterpoint to his earlier work. He has always resisted working in the white box of the contemporary gallery space, and now he is finding new ways to be inventive within that frame. Exhibits like the Magritte exhibition designed by John Baldessari and Jorge Pardo's highly controversial Pre-Colombian installation have challenged the traditional view that exhibition design should emphasize the object, not contribute to the meaning of the exhibit itself.

I nearly squealed when Govan talked about Chris Burden's Urban Light installation, which features solar-powered antique streetlamps that Burden collected from all over Los Angeles in a design that recalls an ancient temple.

There were so many more ideas and images to process, but I imagine I'll have more to say in pieces over time.

Any exhibits/artworks that have been inspiring you lately?

Some new pictures.

2008-12-01T19:27:00.003-05:00

I developed some new pictures from a little jaunt we took a few weekends ago and I'm quite please by the results. So I'm sharing them. With you!

We spent a Sunday morning at Balls Falls, which is a most beautiful badly-named place. You can walk right out on to the top of the falls, and if you take a little hike from there, you meet some horses frolicking.

This is from a nearly-demolished old church. It's being torn down to make room for some more condos. Yay!

I took this a while ago. Beautiful sweets from The Red Tea Box.

More trees in Vineland.

I'll be posting soon about my new best friends, which happen to be a pair of Dries Van Noten shoes I scored. Uh-huh.

My cheap little necklace is a bit of a star.

2008-11-25T11:20:00.002-05:00

Months and months ago I bought this crafty necklace for about $9 at Forever 21. Shopping at Forever 21 is always in the moderate - high zone of painful for me. So much snottiness! and so little fabric! Certainly not enough fabric to cover my important places. But I can deal with their jewelry selection.

Anyway, I've really enjoyed this little necklace, and I was happy to see a similar sort of spirit on the cover of British Vogue during the summer, no doubt an inspiration for my piece:

Then - then! - just last week I spotted the exact, down to the very same bead, necklace on Anthropologie's site. For $48.50. Getting a deal is so satisfying, especially on something that I really like. The end!

Something to keep you warm til I get my shit together.

2008-11-21T12:20:00.004-05:00

I'm still trying to get back to some sort of normal schedule, what with my new job and side projects taking over. But I think I can actually see the end of the tunnel!

In the meantime, how awesome are the Fall 08 Virginia Johnson scarves? Answer: very.

Owls = wonderful
Peonies = beautiful
Elephants = best

All made from Merino wool and love, I'm sure.
I'll be back soon, promise!

One thing that's kept me so busy.

2008-10-29T18:01:00.004-04:00

Yeah, okay, so I've been really busy. But I'm sort of settling back into things now. I've got a new job working with an amazing commercial/editorial photographer, and I've been working on a number of projects over the past month.

Here's one of the many projects: our submission to the Toronto Film Challenge. The challenge this go-around was to create a horror film in 24 hours (from start to finish). We also had to incorporate a phrase ("Welcome Back"), a prop (the jar of horror) and a theme (suspense).

While some of the other submissions were of very high quality, not many groups actually tried to make a scary movie. Most made satires of cliche horror films. So we were doubly proud of ours. Here's our effort!

We've also just received a grant to continue working on a theatre project, and will likely be contributing a theatre/film piece to a festival this summer. It's such a relief when hard work pays off a bit.

But more importantly, I need advice. Which pair of shoes would win, if they were in some sort of eternal battle?

I like the snaziness of the first pair, and I like their asymmetrical front profile, but I also really like the simplicity of pair 2. Both are campers, which mean they're the most comfortable things ever. Please advise.

Flight Paths.

2008-09-22T16:23:00.004-04:00

" Every flight path of a sparrow or movement of an ant over a tuft of ground is a message. It is a sign - it needs interpretation."

- Tom McCarthy

I would interpret this as being - despite my aversion to Tory Burch stuff in general - really very charming. The bow isn't too high, you wouldn't need to search around for a camisole (I hate having to buy shirts that require the buying of another shirt), and there are tiny birds sitting on wires. Tiny birds sitting on wires!

A few good Spanish things on this lovely Friday.

2008-09-12T10:44:00.007-04:00

Oh, I've been meaning to share this for a while, but I've been forgetful. I came upon this new project for Plaza del Torico in Teruel Spain by b720 Arquitectos in Architectural Record. The architects embedded the plaza with LEDs, and I think that the outcome truly enlivens the historical plaza, modernizing it without obscuring its original charm. Spain seems to understand whimsy in architecture; they are less serious about the art of building. And though I've only been there once, the modern architecture made each city and town feel fun, and like an adventure. I love adventures!

I've also started reading this book, which I bought a few years ago and have just gotten around to. The thing is, it's really heavy, but it's so good that I have to carry it around with me everywhere. I am including it as part of my fitness plan.

Robert Hughes is an acclaimed art writer, and this tome is critical, contextual and personal. It's also very beautiful; the book is sprinkled throughout with wonderfully reproduced colour images.

And also, if I were going to spend $300 on shoes right now, which I can assure you that I'm not, but if I were, I think I'd get these Chie Mihara sweets. I love heels, but I walk a lot and don't have many shoes that are practical with just a hint o' heel. These would be perfect. And I love love the colour. And the soles are rubberized.

This afternoon I'll be trekking to the National Ballet School (which is a block away) to look in their shop with Sarah. We will discuss Why Ballet Clothing Is Always Awesome And Desirable. She may buy a sweater.

Sewing Projects.

2008-09-06T11:12:00.005-04:00

My mother has graciously lent me her old sewing machine, which I think was born before I was. And although it's finicky, it's been great to be able to try things out and practice.

(Here she is, with some sweet tomatoes from St. Lawrence Market that I ate that night).

I decided not to use commercial patterns, even though I've only ever made 2 items of clothing before. I made my own pattern using old dresses I've got. I learned a lot about what not to do, and I now understand that I should go back to using patterns and take a course in pattern making. I mean, the dresses worked out, but there are some biggie mistakes that will affect how I wear them. But all in all, I'm pretty happy with them considering that they're only my third and fourth sewing projects ever.

Here's the first dress: a taupe linen dress with a trim of brown rosettes. It's actually quite elegant and will look nice under a suit jacket. You'll also notice one of my newest companions, the Diana toy camera. I've been experimenting with it over the last few weeks and I really like it.

Here's dress number two: it's the same basic shape, although it's better built. It's navy, yellow and ivory, with a navy velvet trim. I'm quite pleased with it.

And in other news, Chris and I were wandering a few weeks ago and we happened upon Ministry of the Interior, a fantastic design store on Ossington. We went in because we'd seen that they have these amazing ceramic phonofones made by Tristan Zimmermann that we read about. They're meant to house your ipod buds, and the phonofone amplifies the sound like a speaker. It's absolutely beautiful and we want one really really bad. They're $500-550 and available in white and black, but I feel that the white is way better.

We also enjoyed these Banks In The Form Of Pigs, designed by Harry Allen. They're between $100-250 (I think).
But! We also discovered that they sell the Forget Me Knot rings that I wrote about a few weeks ago, and even though it was Chris' birthday, he bought the sweet ring for me and I just love it. Here's what it looks like:

Also, I told my mother that I painted my nails black and she told me she was grossed out. Aw, mom.

Fall Shoes.

2008-09-05T12:54:00.003-04:00

I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with some of my fall shoes, and I thought I'd share some of my loves.

Here's a pair that I acquired thanks to my mother, who plucked them up after they were discarded from a photo shoot. I've realized that I have all sorts of colourful shoes with baubles and designs on them, but I haven't had a pair of simple black heels, so these are a welcome addition.

These make every outfit look cooler, and they make me walk all sexy-like just based on where the heel is placed. It's hard to explain.

The most comfortable and awesome 3.5 inch heels ever.

Blue patent jazz shoes. Why not?

And here are some beads I may sport with the heels.

I've been sewing away and have made 2 lovely but poorly constructed dresses, which I'll post when Chris gets home and takes pictures of me.

I made a top.

2008-08-18T10:10:00.002-04:00

Here's my 4-hour top! I'm pretty happy with it. The fabric was on a pseudo-Missoni-fabric rack, and I think I'm going to name the top Miphony. Here's me wearing it and swirling in the park, just before a delicious 100% deep-fried dinner at Oyster Boy:

That evening was followed by Sarah #2's colourful wedding. She wore three outfits (!) with unbelievable jewelry, but I had forgotten my camera. Sarah told me that it's traditional for the groom's mother to give the bride a gift of 11 full outfits, and she had boxes and boxes of the most elaborate earrings and necklaces to choose from for the event. She also spent 10 hours waiting for her hands and feet to dry after the mendhi, and her hands looked remarkable - especially when you'd catch a glimpse of her from afar. She looked like a carved doll:

I should note that their wedding bands were made with wood from an olive tree. Very unique, as you can see from the photo.

But I have to admit that my favourite thing about the wedding was the poutine station, complete with different fries to choose from, duck and beef, cheeses and gravies. I don't think anything says eternal happiness like poutine.

To the mendhi!

2008-08-12T11:08:00.002-04:00

The mendhi on Saturday was a big party, with one of the highlights definitely being the half-English/half-Urdu rendition of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". There were beautiful saris everywhere, and some of the most astounding earrings I've ever seen. And I tried hookah for the first time. I think it was apple-flavoured.

Here's what I wore. Pretty subdued compared to the saris. And much shorter.

Tomorrow I'm going to try making a sweater for myself. Wish me luck!

Blouse: Second-hand, Sweater: Tristan, Skirt: Mendocino, Shoes: Taryn

Morning sickness.

2008-08-09T16:16:00.004-04:00

Um, I went to the J Crew website this morning, just on a whim, and the colours! The charm! So beautiful. It gave me a hot stomach, and first thing in the morning!

Here are some beautiful looks from their website. There's a lot more there, but I had to be selective.

I'm still really happy that we don't have J Crew and Anthropologie in Canada. It keeps these stores special for me, even though they're everywhere in the States.

Also, I went to brunch this morning with some very fine ladies, and Lisa was wearing a particularly fine dress from Anthropologie, which was a surprise from her charming husband. I have such beautiful friends.

Sarah (#1) got married!

2008-08-06T21:00:00.003-04:00

And it was just beautiful. She was just beautiful. I'd post a picture of her here and you'd die from the sheer perfection of her, but I didn't ask her permission.

Her dress was a simple and elegant creation made for her by New York designer Jussara Lee.

Here I am in my dress, without my bouquet (boo!) just after the ceremony. You can't see my sweet yellow shoes in this shot. Sasha, one of the other bridesmaids, wore nearly the same shoes. Coincidence.

The wedding took place at Sarah's husband's family farm, which was magnificent.

I feel like I have so much more to post, but I'll do more when I'm out of wedding season. Next up: Sarah #2's mendhi and wedding. With ankle bells! And hallucinogens!

in the sky & on the road

oh what a beautiful mornin

It seems that there has been a delay.

First foray into quilting.

Flowers for a cold day in February.

Your process is showing.

No elephants were harmed in the making of this bag.

I know I'm not French.

Q: Guess what's fun?

And here it is!

My work on Canada AM tomorrow. For real!

Featured on weddingbells.ca!

[Happy Anniversary to my Folks!]

It's nice to be part of something.

Poor Diana.

I am too romantic, and other things that happened today.

Pretty Paper. By Me!

A few nice things for a lovely November day.

So much yes.

I may have ordered this sweater.

Why am I watching Sister Wives?

Thanks Montreal. We really needed that.

Ye old lace skirt.

The Details.

Summer is a good time to make things.

Patterns Patterns Everywhere.

Today I wore my belt as a hat.

To The Market!

Lune de Miel!

I blame it all on getting married.

My feet could never point well enough to even consider ballet.

Bathing Suits, of course.

I got me some war rugs.

I fell in love, and I just can't stop thinking about you, chair.

Guys who buy their partners really awesome shoes for Christmas are pretty good guys.

Le Butter Dish.

Arts & Science.

Breakfasts.

Fall Shoes.

A great gift.

Buying and Selling.

I get chest pain in bookstores sometimes.

For the non-sommelier gift-giver.

Weekend Projects.

I finally found some cheap seahorses.

My Art and Other People's Art.

On Gerrard.

I went on a trip, then there have been some ups & downs.

Fabrix.

Friday Night.

Dress for a tiny girl.

Some new things I made.

Birthday things.

As though I needed more tea cups.

Me + Valentino, together at last.

Things for tiny people.

Oh no, I've been away for so long.

Sweet Junebug and the New Years Dress.

I'm finally posting some of the awesome shit I got.

Michael Govan almost made my head explode.

Suggested reading.

Some new pictures.

My cheap little necklace is a bit of a star.

Something to keep you warm til I get my shit together.

One thing that's kept me so busy.

Flight Paths.

A few good Spanish things on this lovely Friday.

Sewing Projects.

Fall Shoes.

I made a top.

To the mendhi!

Morning sickness.

Sarah (#1) got married!