“a love affair”

I’ve had a Billykirk bag bookmarked for about 2 years, as one of those bags I will have “when I am grown”. When I have more money than a waitress makes, when I have more important things to carry in my bag, when I have a nice pen… Those totally conditional adult markers in your life. Watching this incredibly beautiful video of Chris and Kirk Bray only further confirmed that it is something worth waiting for. xo

Monday Monday…

Hello strumpets! Many decisions made this weekend – one in fact to replace Monday Must Have with a Music Monday. Due to the cash flow slowing to a torturous drip, we’re looking for more economical ways to be happy, be fun and enjoy the incredible place we’re living. More on this later. I’ll keep Wanted Wednesday’s around, because lets face it, a girl has got to dream.

But for today, please take a listen to the incredible Clare and the Reasons and say a special thanks for MySpace, one of the last true bastions of free music. xo

The Movember Mix Tape

{via}

The Movember Mix Tape – Some tunes to put hair on your chest. And then smoothly remove it. xo

Wanted Wednesday

{AESA}

Yowza. This are so talismanal and awesome, I’d feel like a warrior.

Monday Must Have – Bereitschaftstasche Bags

{Bereitschaftstasche}

Chiropractically, I should probably consider downsizing my purse. I have an enormous sac that seems to accumulate “stuff” which usually results in me lugging around dozens of tampons, three apples, tonnes of Band-Aids, two books and a miasma of tangled pens, jewelry, sunglasses assumed long lost, receipts and ok, that one time there was an airplant stuck inside Monocle Magazine at the bottom.

That being said, I feel I would be able to downsize slightly if given the chance with these incredible German leather bags. The name “describes a practical and robust bag for transporting a choice of important instruments”, a category I feel may not include a crushed snack pack of Teddy Grams covered in a patina of smushed lip chap.. Beautiful.

a slice

Hello boys and ghouls! Hope your Halloween was a howling success! We had a fantastic time, thouroughly enjoying the first time in at least 5 years that there hasn’t been snow on Halloween. Not only was there no snow, but it was 15 degrees! I have a feeling that that weather may be what is keeping this super-sized spider outside our living room window in flies. He’s so enormous, to scale that photo for you his body is about the size of a quarter. We have named him Peter, and Jared greets him every day by remarking on the size of the “junk in his trunk”.

J and I dressed up as a slightly funereal Don and Betty Draper, though by the end of the night we were copping to sexy undertakers. *chuckle* We went to an enormous houseparty (100 people at the height of the night!), drank good beer and I managed to complete one of my life goals – getting up on stage and acting like a bad ass. If there is a video dear bloggers, rest assured you will see me rapping Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” with a 7 piece funk band post haste. After all, if on Halloween Betty Draper can’t drop it like it’s hot, what’s the holiday for? *

*aware it is not a holiday. Yet.

show me what you got.

{via}

I’d just like to let y’all know that by some strange twist of fate, I will be singing – nay, not singing – rapping – at this evenings Halloween house party with the illustrious funk band “Mustache Pony”.

I will, somewhat hilariously, be dressed as Betty Draper.

Bloggas, think of me. Perhaps, if you’re of that persuasion, say a prayer that I don’t fall on my perfectly coiffed ass and spill Colt 45 on myself.

campus colors

I still can’t get over the colors of fall on campus… It makes me think of leather boots, blazers and riding crops. Beautiful.

Wanted Wednesday – Give it to me straight

{Tiny Toadstool}

Alright my lovely keg standers – give it to me. Is this adorable and slightly funky (think oversized black cardigan, pointy black flats) or so Oktoberfest that you can’t help but think of lederhosen and two different kinds of jugs? I love it so, but I’ll take your advice, I swear.

Monday Must Have

{via All Modern}

When I miss home, it is more the feelings that I miss than the places exactly. The coffee shop that J. and I would bike to in little Italy had these beautiful Miller/Eames chairs, the smoothest little pieces of architecture you’d ever slide into. It was a Sunday ritual that we’d bike there, early, slowly and laughingly, meandering and quiet. It is not the coffee shop that I miss, not the amazing espresso or the cannoli, but that feeling when you slipped backwards into this chair. It was the feeling of Sundays, of hand holding and love and warmth. I miss those chairs and the spell they cast over your heart.

I came across them while browsing All Modern; the lovely and most talented Anabela over at Fieldguided is having a phenomenal giveaway. Make sure that you check it out and put your name in, everyone needs a little more beautiful in their life. xo

a little slice

It was a pretty quiet weekend lovelies! I worked Saturday and then had a few drinks with J. at the pub, Sunday we walked into town in the spectacular 16 degree weather we had, and then had a lovely dinner with friends. The night was lovely, there is something about sitting around a table of homemade food with good, smart, funny people that makes me truly believe that that is where wealth lay. Though having good vanilla ice cream never hurts either. How was your weekend dumplings?

for being there.

{via}

sometimes there is not much more to say than thank you. And most of the time, thank you doesn’t quite cut the mustard. to each of you, for your phone calls, your emails, your comments and above all your words.. thank you. for reminding me that i am stronger than that, tougher than that, for telling me that yes, it sucks and you are there too, for kicking me in the ass – thank you. in less elegant words, would that i could kiss you each on the side of the mouth,  whoop in your ear and break into the electric slide. y’all fuckin’ rock my world.

Fill ‘em up!

{gone to pot}

{quote}

to be hopeful.

{via}

There is no post that I can write that can properly convey the lump that is in my throat. There is no way to look at you and turn my pockets inside out, bow my head, put a hand over my eyes and let tears leak through my fingers. This is a post that I wish I could put in brackets – I know that things will change, I know that I will be ok, but right now – this is what is slipping through that space between my knuckles and running down my wrists.

I walked through the grocery store last night twice, once to pick up everything I needed, and once more in reverse to put 75% back on random shelves as I was pretending to look at something else. Slipping cheese behind the apples, putting soy-milk in with the corn pops, porkchops with the frozen juice. I added everything up in a notebook standing between tampax and toilet paper, painstakingly calculated the 16 % tax.

I looked at my hands, at my notebook, at my cart, at my things, at my purse, and it was all I could do not to sob. Since when is this where I pictured myself? Since when did I think that at the age that I am that I would be standing crying in front of cheap panty liners wondering if they’d be more cost effective than buying eye makeup remover pads? Exactly where was “dodgy deli meat” in my life plan? When did I forget to learn how to cobble a life and three square meals for us out of a paycheck that was in total, (to the  ironic penny) the ammount of tax I had taken off my last paycheck before I left?

There hasn’t been a night of late where I haven’t had a bankers ledger running through my mind, shifting money here, paying bills there, planning and scheming for saving ten dollars here, five dollars there. Constantly plotting for when I can get another job for the evenings, so that we’re covered for rent and can have our cupboards full too.

When did this stop being fun? When did “I’m broke” start meaning so much more than just not having any money, but referred to the actual state of my heart when I look at my bank statement, night after night? I remember when I would laugh about having no money, laugh about scrounging change and digging in coat pockets. Exactly when did being broke refer to my fractured ability to provide for my tiny little household?

I have this constant feeling of late of having made incredibly bad choices. That if only I had gone right to university. If only I had a degree that was somewhat more functional at making me money and not just the worst drinking partner in the world. If I had just not bought those boots a year ago. Choruses of ‘if only’, and ‘had I only’, and ‘I should have just’ cloud my brain and drown out the silence as I lay in bed balancing mental checkbooks and mania with a stupid hopefulness that it will turn around.

The truth is, we’re going on luck. I was lucky that somebody hired my pierced, pink haired self to do anything but work at Wal-Mart in the stock room. We’re lucky that if I don’t go back to school and I just keep working, we won’t have to move home. We’re lucky that right now, our fridge is full and we have each other. These are not things that I have forgotten or discounted or misplaced amongst the wealth of sadness I’m feeling. They are, however, strange and impotent salves to smooth over the incredible burns that reality is brandishing. When I have time to think about it, I think that this is not where I thought I’d be in my life right now.

This is the worst, when the tabulating and shifting and pandering stops. When the ‘could haves’ fall away, when I can’t see the electricity bill in front of my eyes as if it were there, when I’m not planning each meal down to the late bite. It is the worst when I have time to think about what I’m doing. About what I could be doing. About what I’ve done. And how when I think of all of those things in a moment of silence, I wish for all the mental math, ledgers and bills to come rushing back. Because the only answer I get to that question seems to be the same as paycheck at the end of the month. Nothing.

Despite. Inspite.

We throw blog parties, and we hope.

Ladies? Anyone?

eep! I need to have a little virtual blog party. I am in need of a laughing, screaming, dancing evening where we squeeze each others shoulders and step on each others toes in  blatant and ecstatic acts of spontaneous electric slide.

will you come?

what will you bring?

xo

the slice

That’s all she wrote folks. Honestly, there were little to no photos taken this weekend, save a few of the second great hair dying fiasco, which will be posted about later, I assure you.

Jared and I both took the weekend off of .. well, everything. We run on fairly opposite schedules, and rarely get a lot of time to spend together. Saturday morning Jared informed me he’d taken the whole day off to spend with me and I just about collapsed in paroxysms of shock and awesomeness. We went to the farmers market, meandered to the grocery store, we ate olive and feta croissants. We went to a party and left early, giggling, like responsible teenagers, huddled in the pizza parlour at midnight eating bad pizza and watching wrestling. I made apple/pear/vanilla/cardamom pies, knit and laughed more than I have in a long time. I went to yoga and we took naps, and though frankly unremarkable in the picture taking department, was exactly what I needed.

How did you spend your weekends? What lovely things did you do?

xo

Inspiration – David O’Brien

{David O’Brien}

These pieces from David O’Brien are so simultaneously chaotic and orderly..

a long weekend slice

We spent the rest of the long weekend being perfectly irresponsible and doing nothing but eating, trompsing about in our adventure boots and kite flying by the river that runs behind our house. The apple trees everywhere smell wonderful, everyone is burning wood in the fireplace and the air is so crisp and cool. If nothing else, I love this place for the weather, it’s been ages since I lived somewhere with a real fall, where girls actually go from mini skirts to woolly tights and not mini skirts to snow pants. *Sigh* Bliss.

Monday Must Haves

{via Snappy Fish Vintage}

{via Erica Weiner}

The obsession with geometrics continues. I love that dress so very much, though I have a feeling it may clash with my pink hair. The sacrifices we make. xo

a slice

Happy Monday cupcakes. We have a long weekend here due to Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t resist sharing a few photos from our weekend. The colors around here are just so incredible here right now that I feel like I’m living in lush kodachrome pack of film. Everywhere you turn the trees are just shockingly bright. The weather is so nice however, that fall roses are still blooming, there are wild violets everywhere and the apple trees smell so rich and beautiful. I hate to brag.. but it recently snowed where we came from… *ahem*. Yeah.

We spent the weekend working, wandering about town taking photos, and eating, oh the eating! We had our own quiet Thanksgiving this Saturday night, which left Sunday morning to make chicken soup with leftovers, and Sunday afternoon to make piles of pies. Sunday evening we headed to friends house for a huge and incredible Thanksgiving potluck with much laughter, much food and that feeling of happiness that comes from being surrounded by warm bodies, plates of food and the reaching out of one to another. It made me happy. Happy, and in a turkey coma.

Hope you’ve all had a beautiful fall weekend – xo.

all together now.

{via via via}

Monday Must Have

{Henrik Vibskov via Creatures of Comfort}

Hello and Happy Monday lovelies! Let us all wink and nod and pretend that while I was away I was doing far more productive things than kegstands, gorging on chinese food and reading trashy magazines. Which, while not all I did, was fairly close.

However, I did manage to get the job I really truly wanted that will make us financially stable enough to stop our nightly ritual (opening our online banking, ringing our hands and snifffling), I’m into the swing of things at the paper, and I’ve even managed to make a few friends here and there. The adoreable quaintness of this town is wearing a bit thin – it’s still a 45 minute walk to the grocery store and we don’t have snow yet, our neighbours still (for lack of more grown up words) suck horribly, and sometimes we play a game with the cooking smells in the hallway called “Dead Person or Cheap Fish?” where to be honest, sometimes we hope for the former.

But yesterday was officially my last day of wallowing in self pity (which surprisingly doesn’t make one lose a lot of weight – wallowing apparently not being hard work) and today I brush myself off, put my big girl pants back on, and get back to work at being something more than a gal who is caught up on all seasons of Weeds, True Blood, Californication, Fringe, CSI and the Office.

I am just hoping that when I get those first pair of tights in the mail that they are flattering enough to hide the wallowing thats attached itself to my knees. xo

flux

{via}

I know, right?

I’m in a dubious process of adjustment. I’ll get there, then I’ll get here.

I miss you all, I do. I will be back soon, as long as you’ll have me.

xo

nerves, part 3.

{via}

She was not so sure what time it was. Or day. If she thought hard enough, she was fairly certain that it must be Friday.

She was standing on a roof overlooking Main Street. There was a menthol burning sickly sweet and caustic in one hand, the smoke curling up and into the humidty of her breath above her. She smiled at the sounds of the party beneath her, the sounds of breaking glass and slamming oven doors, clicks of lighters and the crashing waves of laughter and talk.

She didn’t feel like a princess anymore, the loneliness hadn’t passed, and her hands smelled like chili cheese fries.

She thought, “Maybe I am too old for this.”

And then realized it was Monday.

Inspiration: Katy Horan

{katy horan via all the mountains}

holy.

Wanted Wednesday – Louis Reith

{louis reith via Design Dig}

I’m really liking these works by Louis Reith – we haven’t put up any art on the walls at the new house yet, and we’re trying to decide what exactly we want up and where. Perhaps I can get one of these into the mix… 

It’s raining hard again here for the 3rd day in a row, which while making my skin as plump and happy as a new grape,  is making my spirits as soggy as toast in a puddle. There is a delicious little cafe here with the best feta/olive/cucumber/sprout sandwhiches and tasty chai, I may just hide there all day!

Some really nice news – I got the features editor position for the paper, which is very exciting. AND I have an interview today at 2 for a real job ( the paper will pay enough to cover tuition, so I need something else to cover our rent)! Things are coming up roses…Maybe because of all of the rain. *smile* 

xo lovelies.

Belated Monday Must Have -Sunja Link

{sunja link}

I think these are just the right colors to go from summer to fall. I have a beautiful olive colored Sunja Link jacket that I bought at Nokomis this summer, but what I wouldn’t do for the grey one in the first photo. Lovely, and beautiful styling too. 

Wish me luck today blogettes, I’m interviewing for the Features Editor position here. It seems a bit like a closed circle, but I’m doing my best to crack it. *nervous smile*

things unsaid.

{via catherine kennedy garrett}

I really did have full intentions of posting about our trip, about our adventures. I wanted an excited three part story that detailed the fun, the restaurants, the mishaps. But the farther away it got, the longer I waited to write about it.. the less I wanted to. 

Once when I was little, really young, I found a black triangle shaped rock in the playground. I was convinced that it was an arrowhead and I carried it around all morning in my pocket until lunch when I unveiled it to a circle of friends who promptly told me that it was definately a triangle shaped rock, and not an arrowhead at all. I was crushed. 

Sometimes I think that I need to keep more in my pocket. The hope that this vacation would reconnect me with a man that I love so much, the ridiculous laughter in a bar in the middle of Maine, the hilarity of J. getting all kissy when I order coffee in French in Quebec.. They seem so much more precious, so much more.. more.. when I don’t struggle to put them in the right words or find the right pictures to go with them. 

So suffice to say, it was beautiful. It wasn’t perfect, it may not have been what I envisioned months ago, but it was exactly and surprisingly what should have been, tears and laughter included. I will keep it in my pocket, and hope you understand. xo

Inspiration: Gwonosang

{Gwonosang}

These 3d sculptures are photo collages… they are also blowing my mind.

home slice

Hello ladies and gents! A few little snips from our new home, filled with airplants and the most incredible sunlight. We only have a few boxes left to unpack, but recently discovered (to our delight) that behind one of them was a dishwasher! This is exciting and exhilarating news. *smile* I am recuperating slowly from a bout of the nasty-mean-negatives, and learning to deal with our awful neighbours in increasingly passive aggressive ways. (See: Jared nudges the shoes they leave outside their door down the hallway, a little bit at a time. I may adopt this, as standing angrily behind the peep hole and whipping the door open to glare at them when they pass is not making me any friends.) Now that we’re a little more settled, and seeing as how I’m still unemployed, expect blogging to resume at it’s regular, if not more fervent, pace. xo

smoted.

{life}

Remember when I was all excited about internet? Remember how that was days ago and then I disappeared? I have no internet.

What I do have however:

- three floors of hillbilly neighbors intent on killing me with cigarette smoke, j-Lo circa 1999 and screaming children.

- new cabinets that swing out way farther than I anticipated or my muscle memory from my old house recalled, thereby smacking me in the nose and giving me a three day headache and a semi black nose/eye

- a crapload of broken dishes and hands that look like they went through a meat grinder

HOWEVER, lest you believe that this is a dark and gloomy place, I also have an invitation to a beer-b-que, a backgammon partner at the BlackBird Cafe, and one completed application to WalMart Super Centre.

xo my darlings, I will be back when the internet man finishes moving in the other 4000 students that descended on this town.

Inspiration: Richard Barnes

I’ve been trying to choose just one series from Richard Barnes‘ work to show you, but I just can’t. So I’m taking two from each to show you – it really is worth it to peruse the rest of the photos.

Richard Barnes’ amazing photos of thousands of starlings “murmuring” over Rome.

The images in the “Refuge” series of nests are so beautiful, and complimentary to the above…

The series “Animal Logic” investigates behind the scenes at museums etc.. Eerie and incredible!

And on the 6th Day

Darlings, you must have been praying/drinking extra hard, because we have internet. Given, we still don’t have stuff, heat, food, and I’m still going to bed fully dressed to stay warm during the night – but we have internet. Which makes me feel just a little more connected and a titch bit happier. I start my couple classes tomorrow on the new (and beautiful) campus, so in light of the fact that the first class is near the frat house with a banner that reads “Stud Farm”, I offer you this scholastic site: “What’s for School Lunch?” discovered via the NYTimes this morning. On the internet. That I’m on. Hallelujah.

 

Camping.

{ray fenwick}

Hello lovelies. I am currently pressed as closely to the wall as I can with my trusty computer attempting to keep my internet connection with the “McFerguson Family” network who has so kindly forgotten to password protect their internet. Bless you. Just stopping in – the last few days were a bit like a whirlwind. I’m well aware I’m behind on being any sort of inspiring/talkative/interesting/trendy blogger lately (or ever) but we’re currently camped (I’m not even shitting you) in our new apartment. We arrived on a long weekend, and since this handy town we’ve moved into provides it’s own power , which you have to receive by signing up at city hall… We have no power. Only warmish water. No internet. No TV. And we’re not entirely sure when the movers get here. SO. Dear McFerguson Family – thank you for letting me send this SOS over the interwebs seeping through your walls. Dear bloggers? Commence the praying. Just joking. Drinking. Commence the drinking. xo 

PS – Ray Fenwick is a really REALLY incredible illustrator originally from Halifax, I highly recommend checking out his flickr. I bought a stack of his postcards, and some of you will be receiving them in the mail soon… 

Inspiration – Thomas Nozkowski

Jared and I went to the National Gallery last night to see the Nozkowski exhibit, and it didn’t disappoint. The man has been making these incredible abstract paintings for over 20 years, and the collection of 60+ curated and exhibited works was simply awesome. See a neat little five minute interview with him here. 

No Full Stops – Bus Blinds

{economica}

I really like these vintage bus blinds from Economica. They were featured in this weeks News, and I can’t stop going back to look at them. They’re a little out of my price range, but still incredible inspiration. 

through the fog

{miel et cannelle}

An incredible fog rolled onto Old Orchard beach as we went for our final dip in the salty ocean. The lights of the midway behind us lit everything up – it was eerie and beautiful and magic. xo

the maine event – part one: an assumptive junkie

{miel et cannelle}

While my belief in a higher power at all is suspect, that belief is exponentially stronger when it comes to thinking of a vengeful higher power. At least, these were my thoughts as I was struck down with the most vicious sinus cold I’d ever had, and was left unable to taste anything – fruit, vegetable or crustacean, for the first 8 hours we were in Maine. Given that this was ostensibly to be a gustatory vacation (vacationing, I can only assume, from plebeian foods like…chicken?) I was beside myself. So I did what anybody stricken with a mere 4 other inferior senses would do. 

Ate everything in sight until I could taste something again. 

This included, but was not limited to: deep fried oreos, deep fried clams, bagels with scallion cream cheese, chunky monkey and a variety of other “can I taste this” adventures. The answer unfortunately, was no. At this point, furiously gaining weight calorie by calorie and having no sweet, sour, umami or otherwise taste revelation to speak of, I headed to RiteAid to self medicate. 

Now, far be it from me to point out my obviously naivety in the ways of the U.S.A., but the majority of the information I gather about that fair and tasty country (everyone knows proximity breeds blissful assumptions coupled with ignorance) comes from three sources: Rachel Ray, CNN and the occasional Jeopardy category. Jared’s sources of information being primarily  COPS and Intervention, we discussed in the car the suspect nature of my appearance: bleary eyed from sneezing, red dry nose, shaky and high strung natural state akin to a small Chihuahua and how this could possibly appear when coupled with purchasing a large variety of cold medications all containing a key ingredient to clearing my nasal passages and making crystal meth.

Oh, and because I was unable to eat and breathe at the same time ( my sad and traitorous nose not letting taste nor air to pass) I was covered in a plethora of drippings, crumbs and stains. And never mind the desperation that being thisclose to eating my way to ecstasy and relaxation and being thwarted by a virus smaller than a grain of delicious sea salt paints all over a girls face and eyes. 

But taking the high road, I laughingly admonished the both of us for making such ridiculous and baseless assumptions about such a charming and sweet seaside town full of sweet and charming people, and indeed, assumptions about an entire country. Crystal Meth! Come now. Ridiculous and baseless until moments later after perusing the umpteen boxes of various cold medications and staring deep into my watery sad eyes, darling cashier Karen relieved me of my drivers license  stating “Oh yeah I’m gonna need to see some ID, the kids boil this down and make the crystal meth. We need to know who buys it.”

Thankfully she didn’t notice my burningly pink and embarrassed cheeks covered in chunky monkey chocolate as she gazed at my license and exclaimed (in a Maine accent I can only describe as perhaps New Jersey soaked in a lobster tank, swarthied up a bit by cheap cigarettes and Cutty Sark and dusted with a love of Boston?) “Ooooh, Alberta! I’ve never met anyone from Alberta before! You guys have a lot of cowboys and indians there right? “

Why yes dearest Karen. Yes, we do.

***

Intrepid travellers, what assumptions have you made while traversing the great wide wonders? Have any of them served you well? Any gone horribly sideways? Do tell, and stay tuned for The Maine Event: Part Two – It’s Hard to F’wig Up a Lobsta! 

 

 

Carrier Pigeon Wanted

{miel et cannelle}

Darlings – interwebs are not so good at reaching our little cabin through the fog and melted butter of Maine. I have many stories to tell you (The Real Housewives of Kennebunk County anyone? Accidentally trippin’ the light fantastic at the only gay cocktail lounge for.. um.. states?) but they will have to wait until I get home. Buttery kisses to all of you. xo

There are so many puns with Maine in them.

{life}

Hella yes, we are in Maine. I just spent 5.12$ on a six pack of miller high life and 9.25$ on a pint of fried clams. Things are so good, that I kind of feel like that fine lady up there in her strapless, backless, wireless bra adhered with glue – free, slightly delirious and not at all worried about the camel-toe possibilities of high waisted shorts. Life is good ladies, life is good. xo

Hello/Bonjour!

Greetings from Ottawa/Montreal! 

It really is no secret that almost the entirety of every decision I make is based upon the probability of food, and preferably good food, being availible to me. Lest it be said that “good food” is an objective statement, today was spent in the pursuit of stacks of smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz’s deli in Montreal. Actually, I’m not going to lie, everything I ate today came in either ice cream or sandwich form, and in one delightful cosmic twist on the car ride home, an ice cream sandwich. 

{Schwartz’s Deli counter – it’s a little bit gross, all the piles of meat. I tried not to drool.. I mean.. look.}

{I don’t know why I’m so excited. Oh wait. I do. Sandwiches.}

{Mine had about 1/3 of the meat taken off. I couldn’t stuff it into my face. Pity.}

I’d really like to tell you all about the exciting things we’ve been doing…But we’ve only been here for a day and a half and I am simply reveling in good food, my mummy’s soft hands and kisses, sleeping with my puppy on my feet and having somebody else make coffee. We leave for Maine in a day, but that seems so deliciously far and dreamily distant, six meals, a millions kisses and a day of wandering away. xo lovelies

ps – Can I thank you all, dudettes, for being so wonderful and filling in for me in my craziness? For all your great comments? Beers and smoked meat on me babes. 

and away we go.

{miel et cannelle}

 

String Theories

With my winding steps, with each push of my bike pedals, with every cab ride I have taken, with every car I’ve gotten into, this city has knit me a story; it’s streets no less than needles, it’s alleys no less than looms. 

There are reinforced stitches around pubs and coffee houses, there are quiet and soft blankets around hills and parks where I’ve spent so many hours asleep or reading or holding hands. There are fresh threads, tender and vibrating to parts of our cities west and east and north to new friends, there are old, dusty and fraying strings to lost and forgotten loves that I only ever trip over and shake my head at. 

There are dropped stitches near those places I don’t go, by choice, by memory, by fear, by sadness, there is heightened tension in the stitches and the pattern where I work, where I stress. 

My city has knit my memories,  my story, into it. I wondered as I drove about this week how exactly I would leave such a city, a city that has made me and my memories so much a part of it’s knit and pearl, how the drop stitch and double crochet of this city could every be recreated anywhere else. 

Sitting across from a friend I love on Saturday morning,  she tied a veritable string to my finger. She handed me a blanket crafted of granny squares, made across this city, this province, and others; made over months, over moves, over triumphs and accidents and with love. And she told me with her hug that that string around my finger stretched very very far. And I could travel, and I could stray, and I could leave in 3 days; but this city and she would still be here, knitting, waiting; it’s streets no less than needles, it’s alleys no less than looms.

a last slice.

{miel et cannelle}

This last week was spent with one foot in the old and one foot in the new – packing and packing and incessantly packing everything we own,  canceling utilities and opening new accounts. We went to the Fringe Festival to see the same act we seem to see every year and sit in the same dusty spot and drink the same amazing lemonade and eat the same amazing green onion cakes, but for the first time with my brother. I drove about town with my him and J pillaging boxes from every “cardboard only” box we found while listening to Marvin Gaye and eating ice cream, I sat in a jazz club and watched J and his friends play “just one more song” before everyone disperses this week all over the world. I couldn’t stop shopping even while packing and came across the mother load of dishes and this too cute lamp. I fell in love with our tree lined streets and city market all over again, and I held the hand of a new old friend for the last time for a while. It was moving forward and letting go, while solidifying everything I love about this city one last time. xo

Guest Post – Kyla Roma

Hello lovelies – This is the last guest post! I have to thank you all for being such amazing caretakers of Miel et Cannelle – you all made me a bit weepy with your talent. It was a much needed week off, and I’ll be back to posting tomorrow! But for now, one of my favorite bloggers, and dearest friends – Kyla Roma.

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I’m often amazed by the little moments in our lives that feel as epic as anything we could watch on stage. I remember how small we can feel when we take on the big moments without crowds gathering to applaud our successes and hiss the villains we encounter. I know how large this world, this country, can feel when I’ve tried to decide where to set my feet down- east or west? Suburb or downtown? How do we decide where home is? Who home is? Sometimes, as in Andrea’s case, when home is a person, being close to home means packing your bags and moving halfway across the country.

I wish that all of those decisions meant only new beginnings, new horizons, new friendships- but the reality is that these moves mean endings too. There are last boxes to pack, last hugs, and last meals at favourite restaurants. There are moments of doubt, of anxiety, and of waking up in the night wondering where this will lead you. Of who you’ll meet, who you’ll stay in touch with, and what your city will look like the next time you visit.

I believe in acts of fearlessness and bravery.

I believe that Andrea is one of be most fey and exhilarating people I’ve met in my little life.

I believe that all of her wishes should come true.

You are a warrior, little girl. Have an amazing adventure out there, and please come back to write us about it sometime.

General Bad-Assery

Hellz YES. Just stopping in to tell y’all I love you, and is Rainer Elstermann not the most awesome ever? That’s what I thought.

Not So Mad (Libs) – Guest Blog by Apronstrings and Pretty Things

Damnnit Tammy – you made me cry. And you made me realize that I really will write my own adventure, as soon as I stop referring to this move as “a two year extended vacation where I take all my stuff”. Sometimes it takes somebody half a world a way to remind you that the courage you need, and the words you need, are right in front of you. Thank you lovely lady. (Please, go be inspired by Tammy’s incredible blog – the woman transported her life from the USA to Brazil for love.. I got nothing on that.  

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I RSVP’d to the invitation with nary a thought.  Guest write on Andrea’s lovely blog, you betcha!  But then the pressure mounted.  What angle should I approach?  I thought of breathing a bit of Brazilian Bossa Nova into a Canadian Goose.  But after the initial run through of Samba, Soccer, bikinis (small bottoms), Feijoada and Brigadeiros, I thought to myself, I’m no expert on Brazilian culture.  I just live here.  The most Brazilian thing I seemingly possess is my husband, my zip code, and a pressure cooker.  Speaking of pressure cooker, I started to feel like one–chock full of Brazilian beans, tension mounting. 

And then the idea came.  A game–the quintessential ice breaker at the blog party I’d been so kindly invited to enjoy.  Do you remember Mad Libs? So here goes.   An ode to brave Andrea and her courage to transplant her life 5,000 kilometers in the name of love and adventure.  My fingers and toes are crossed for you, dearie.

Rules of Play:  Give it some months and then fill in the blanks:

Once upon a time, there lived a (insert adjective) girl from Edmonton.  At the invite of her (insert adjective) boyfriend, she accepted the invitation to drop all of her (insert noun), (insert noun), and (insert noun) and pack her (insert noun) and travel many, many kilometers to a new city.  It was hard for her to pack her bags.  She was not zen and owned lots of (insert noun).  Aside from packing up her worldly possessions, she was (insert adjective) about leaving (insert noun) and knowing that she would not be able to (insert verb) at (insert noun) anymore.  But she put on a brave face and tried to pretend that she was (insert verb) on a travel holiday.  After all, she was planning on stopping at (insert noun) along the way and eating (insert noun), as well as (insert verb) at (insert noun).  Quickly the day approached, she said her tearful goodbyes and promised that she would (insert verb) as soon as possible.

The trip was (insert adjective) but J was (insert adjective) and soon they arrived to the land of folk and traditional music.  J promised he would make her proud (insert verb) and quickly they set up home in their new (insert adjective) (insert noun).  What she loved most about her new abode was the (insert adjective) (insert noun) and (insert noun).  The first months passed (insert adverb) and she discovered that her favorite breakfast was at (insert noun).  The coffee was (insert adjective).  She found a vintage shop that sold amazing (insert adjective) (insert noun) and only had to buy (insert noun) at etsy.com.  She replaced her love for chocolate and blue cheese steaks with a new local dish called (insert noun).  She also was pleased to discover that her Chimay Blue Cap drinking habit was replaced with (insert noun).  She even found a place that cut her bangs just (insert adjective) enough.  The new town inspired her to foster a new hobby, (insert noun or verb).  She also spent (insert adjective) hours staring at the walls of her new favorite gallery (insert noun).  She liked the work of local talent (insert noun). 

Overall life was (insert adjective).  She started to make many a (insert adjective) friend.  And soon the (insert adjective) invitations came.  Her first fiesta was (insert adjective) and she wasn’t even embarrassed when she (insert verb) at the (insert noun).  A sure sign that she was again her old self in this new land…and a better more (insert adjective) version.  J was (insert adjective) and so was she.  They decided they could finally uncross their (insert noun).  It seems they weren’t so mad after all. 

The End.

Sneaking In – Yarn Over Movement

Hello bloggies.. I miss you so! I’m sneaking in for a quick second today, I just had to share this lovely gal with you – I’m so head over heels for her and her adorable product shots, wallpaper and simply autumnally awesome knit wear.

Find her shop here, and her lovely blog here.

Belated Monday Must Have – Guest Blogger: Moorea from Rumination Reading Room

A lady after my own heart, Moorea Seal is blogging for me today. I have to say.. Moorea, her stylin’s, her singing, and her words leave me with no less than a big girl crush. She’s the sweetest, and a blogger I can’t wait to meet.. xo lovely lady. (Ps – is that the longest post title or what? sheesh.)

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Me oh my, what a busy weekend I have had!  A few of my friends and I participated in the 48 Hour Film Festival in Portland, Oregon this weekend.  That mean’t no sleep and many hours of silliness and fun.  My friend Zeek Earl was our cinematographer, producer, writer, director.  You can check out more of his short films and things here:  .  I’ll keep you posted on when the film is up on the internet over at my blog Rumination Readling Room.

My role in the film consisted of costume designer/music writer/performance artist.  I brought loads of vintage dresses for our leading lady, made a bow tie for the lead man, and wrote a song called “Young Love”.  I’d say the movie starts of as a quirky romantic comedy but turns into something wilder, or goofier perhaps.  After all this monkey business this weekend, I just want to curl up on a fancy chaise lounge in my prettiest dress, read a good book and listen to some catchy music!

My dream outfit right now would look something like this:

My dream chaise lounge would look like this:

Reading List:  Anything by Kafka.  Right now I am reading a few of his stories such as Metamorphasis, The Judgement, and The Penal Colony.

And what’s ringing in my ears right now:  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.  Lordy, these kids are good.  I just saw them in Seattle a few weeks ago and my heart leapt out of my throat.  Listen to “Stay Alive” on their myspace:

I hope all you little lovlies out there had a wonderful weekend, whether it was as bustling and chaoticly fun as mine, or as peaceful and pretty as the day I am dreaming of today!
<3 Moorea

Guest Blogger – Elizabeth Knox!

Hello My Lovelies! Another wonderful, uber talented blogger here today. Check out the fabulous Elizabeth (previously of The Spotted Ottoman) over at her photography site .  I’m loving visiting all your cities! Thanks again Elizabeth, you’re a peach. 

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I have a problem–I fall in love too easily.

No, not with men. I’m happily married, thank you very much!

I fall in love with cities. I crave travel, and I get to do a fair amount of it, but every time I go somewhere, my problem kicks in. I start imagining what life there would be like. You mean there are places in this world where I can walk to Trader Joe’s?

I have made so many mental moves in my life. As a teen I went to Brazil with a cohort of students, and of course I was dreaming of what my settled down life in Rio de Janeiro was going to be like. I traveled to Europe to celebrate my college graduation with my then fiance, and of course I browsed the real estate ads in Munich. We stopped off in Berkeley, California, for a while and I fell head over heals with the idea of being able to dine at an Azerbaijan restaurant one night and a Scottish pub the next.

Nothing compares to Boston, though. I had my moving truck ready to move there, and at literally the last hour my husband and I decided to move to Austin instead. Oh, but I had dreams of strolling in and out of Cambridge bookstores with my hot tea. Very collegiate, don’t you think?

The more I travel, the more I tend to forget about the magic of Austin. I’ve been forcing myself to celebrate all the delightful things here–and there are many! A while ago I realized that I was holding off on making friends, thinking a move was imminent. We decided that only so much chaos at a time was allowed in our lives, so we’re here for the time being, and once that decision was made, we were able to settle into our local routines and embrace the friends we already have here. It really is a beautiful city (well if you remove the month long stretch of triple digit weather!).

I’m a photographer, so I am always looking for the unusual here. I am going to share a few shots of what I consider to be ‘classic’ Austin, the city I am loving more every day, even though I still fantasize about living in so many other places. Is that cheating on my city? These pictures are obviously just a small glimpse of what Austin has to offer. You should come visit – I’ll show you around! If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

{This is on South Congress, facing the capital building of Texas.

Some of the best restaurants (and celebrity sightings!) are on this street.}

{This is the Texas Hill Country right outside of Austin.

You’ll find wineries and a gorgeous lake out this way.}

{The Austin skyline is growing every year, and

it is such a thrill watching the new high rises creep up!}

These pictures are obviously just a small glimpse of what Austin has to offer. You should come visit – I’ll show you around! If you could live anywhere, where would it be?