Basket for your bike?

The accessories have arrived at riders and I have my eye on this basket. After being inspired by the Jane Birkin post and other basket posts at fieldguided, I knew a basket was the perfect shopping bag. This one will be ready for groceries wherever I ride.

{source}

Back in the day...

When I saw this posted over at The Foxy Robot, I was flooded with rad fluorescent memories.


Did you listen to New Kids on the Block? I remember the year that every ride at the Ex was blasting Hanging Tough, there was an important decision to be made at this moment, you either loved them or hated them and there was no turning back. I chose to hate them(seemed like the cooler choice at the time), I then had to hide the fact that I liked Step by Step.

Babysitters Club or Sweet Valley High books? Babysitters Club and then Sweet Valley High(I've always loved reading) I remember another series of Thriller Sweet Valley High books, I loved those scary ones.

Kids Incorporated or Mickey Mouse Club? didn't get these in Canada when I was growing up, although I remember meeting some kids from Mickey Mouse Club one year when I visited Florida

Did you want Dylan to end up with Brenda or Kelly? Kelly; Brenda was a whiner

Who would you rather have for a next door neighbor: Kimmy Gibler or Urkel? Kimmy!

Step by Step or Full House? Full House

Did you watch Double Dare? not in Canada

Who was your favorite character on Saved by the Bell? hmmmm... not sure

Who was hotter: Zack or Slater? Zack, couldn't get into Slater's curls

Care Bears or Smurfs? Smurfs, although I really enjoyed the Care Bear Stare

Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake? Strawberry Shortcake, they smelled so yummy!

Did you wear jelly shoes? yes

Did you own a Trapper Keeper? a what?

Did you ever end a sentence with the word "Psych"? yep

What's your favorite song by Prince? Alphabet St. (I remember dancing to this in Jazz class)

What lunchbox did you carry to school? Smurfs

Friendship pins or friendship bracelets? first the pins and then I really got into making the bracelets(I even sold them for $1 each)

Madonna or Cyndi Lauper? Cyndi Lauper was the first record(yes vinyl) I bought with my own money. Right after this we got a tape player. Once Cyndi dissappeared I fell for Madonna and still love her.

Do you know what happened to Baby Jessica? rescued?

Corey Haim or Corey Feldman? neither

Where were you when the Challenger exploded? I was home sick from school and watched it too many times.

Who was your favorite Facts of Life character? Jo

Pretty in Pink or Sixteen Candles? Sixteen Candles

Barbie or Jem? Jem is truly outrageous!

Did you watch After school Specials? rarely, but liked them when I saw them

Flashdance or Footloose? Footloose!! taped on VHS and watched and watched and watched

Tiffany or Debbie Gibson? Tiffany--we used to play it(and the Beastie Boys) on the classroom tape player during lunchtime

Can you name a member of the Brat Pack? Emilio Estevez?

Esprit or Forenza? Esprit

What was your favorite fashion fad? goomie bracelets

What was your favorite tv show? The Cosby Show

What was your favorite cartoon? The Smurfs and Spiderman

Kirk Reinert

I received this beautiful postcard from Germany. This beautiful painting is the creation of American artist Kirk Reinert. I adore faeries and have fallen in love with his artwork. My favourite is the painting below, it looks so much like a photograph, love it!!! According to his website he was a book cover artist for many fantasy, horror and science fiction novels. He now paints these fine art pieces. I think they're magical.

{Feathered Friends}

{Night Harvest}

{Night Light}

Worldwide Pincushion Swap

So way too long after the fact(there was still snow on the ground), I'm posting about Leigh-Ann's  Worldwide Pincushion Swap. The smurf house above is the pincushion I made using this tutorial. I'm so happy I made something, it was so fun and I learned some new embroidery stitches. You can't see the windows in my pic, but I gave them lace curtains. I also decided to get out my jewelry supplies and make some earrings for my new blog friend/swap partner Sasha from The Foxy Robot. It was so great getting to know Sasha and emailing back and forth. I love her new blog and will be borrowing some ideas soon(some retrofabulousness). 

Sasha sent me this beautiful quilted pincushion. I love it!!! I need to set up my studio to give this cushion a beautiful home. Hopefully I'll be back sooner than later....

Today I Saw

This week, I received this lovely postcard from Jill from Today I Saw. I love her blog, she draws watch she sees each day and then sends the postcard off to a lucky person somewhere in the world. So fun, check out her blog.

Yes it's true

Valentine(my hubby) and Coco have opened riders, their Bike shop/Cafe/Art Gallery. I'm so excited! They're having their first art opening on Saturday. Come one, come all, it's going to be fun! Check out their blog.

Veggie delight

Even though I know, I don't always do. I know I feel amazing when I only eat veggies, but I keep eating meat. Lately I don't feel like eating meat, so I decided to prepare a super veggie meal. We had my favourite salad, eggplant parmesan and some lychee nuts for dessert.
My favourite salad and dressing are from Natalia Rose's The Raw Food Detox Diet, as I've said before I love this book!!  Even though I'm not following the book as I hope to soon, I am trying to incorporate many raw foods and meals. Eating this way always give me a clean energy, as opposed to the jittery energy I get from coffee. Here are the recipes:



Ambrosia Salad(slightly modified, I leave out the beet because it turns the salad pink and it looks weird)


Makes 4 to 6 servings (we ate almost the whole thing with 2 people, but we like to eat alot)


1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, sliced into matchstick pieces
1 zucchini, sliced into matchstick pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup apples, sliced into matchstick pieces
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 jalapeno diced
1/2 cup dried unsulfured cranberries
1/2 cup sliced sunchokes(Jerusalem artichokes) into matchstick pieces (I didn't have any of these this time and it was still delicious, but they definitely add a little something if you have them and if you've never tried them - you have to, they're so yummy and I also love them sliced and roasted)
1/4 cup packed fresh mint
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
1/2 bunch packed fresh cilantro


Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with:


Liquid Gold Elixir dressing


Makes 4 cups (I made 1/3 of this recipe since I only had a little ginger left and it was enough for the salad and I have dressing left for this week)


2 cups fresh lemon juice
3 whole cloves garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons Nama Shoyu soy sauce (this is raw(unpasteurized) soy sauce, I'm sure you could use regular, this soy sauce is delicious though, it's kind of milder like the low sodium kind)
3 heaping tablespoons raw honey (or more if desired - use it to balance out tartness of lemon juice)
1 1/2 cups cold-pressed olive oil


Place all of the ingredients except the oil in blender. Begin blending at normal speed. As the mixture is blending, slowly add the oil until it's completely blended(I added the oil at once). This recipe should last over a week in the fridge.


That's it for the salad. Now on to the eggplant parmesan. 


Eggplant Parmesan


I originally saw this recipe made on The View to promote Alton Brown's book Good Eats. I don't have this book, but based on this deliciousness, I want to try more recipes. I found this fun video of the recipe, which shows how it only takes 1 minute to make. When Alton was on The View, he said that to prepare the eggplant; he peeled and sliced it and then salted the slices and laid them out on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes - the perfect time for making the salad. The slices will sweat out the bitterness and then you just pat them dry and slice into noodles.






Time for some more Olympics! Let me know if you try any of these recipes :)
Sorry about the crappy layout, apparently blogger and my mac don't agree, it won't let me use the spacing or the font sizes that I tell it, do any of you have these problems or any solutions - maybe typepad?

Got my first postcard...

My first postcard from my new adventure in Postcrossing arrived yesterday all the way from Germany. I love these traditional costumes because they remind me of the family trip to Europe I went on when I was nine. I collected dolls in traditional costumes from almost every country we visited.
So far, I've mailed postcards to England, China, Brazil, U.S.A., Thailand and Finland. The one to England reached it's destination and 3 days later, mine arrived from Germany. So fun!!!
There hasn't been much posting here lately because I'm caught up in the Olympics. The men's snowboard halfpipe last night was unreal!!! Off to watch the ladies' halfpipe...

Postcrossing

After talking with my honey the other day about how it's so much easier being nerdy as an adult than it was as a kid, I found a new nerdy hobby. I loved stamps as a kid and had a small collection even though I was convinced that this was nerdy behaviour. I'm so excited to have found Postcrossing. You send postcards to people all over the world and then you get postcards from all over the world. 
I went out to buy postcards and discovered that they're not everywhere. I only managed to find cheesy touristy ones. I think pictures of the city is what many people want to receive, but spare me the multicoloured early nineties font. I'm going to have to check out some museum gift shops and art shops. If anyone knows a great spot to find postcards in Toronto, please let me know.


I've found some adorable postcard sets on etsy. Wouldn't you love to receive one of these beautiful illustrations in the mail rather than a bill?

ashleyg

MichelleBrusegaard

theblackapple

I have to wait until people receive my cards and then it'll be my turn. The Postcrossing site chooses random addresses for you send to and then random people are chosen to send to you. You're not writing back and forth unless you choose to do so. So cool! I can't wait to see the postcards/stamps I get. You can request what type of cards you like and I'm hoping to be sent art from around the globe.

Colours me pretty

This photo of Emma Watson caught my eye at skona hem and the search was on for the rest of this series by Norman Jean Roy which originally appeared in Teen Vogue.  I love the jewel tones, the fantasy and the mix of new and old. Someday I'll get around to watching Harry Potter.

images via miss english rose by Norman Jean Roy

Liu Bolin disappears

Liu Bolin paints himself to match the background -- amazing!! The patience this must take to get the photo just right... I'd love to see his process, does he paint the clothes before he puts them on?

images via artnet via pois rouge

Lost

The time has finally come. The first episode of the final season of Lost airs Tuesday. My dilemma is whether to try and tivo the entire season and then watch. Lost is so much better watched in chunks then one hour once a week; you just don't get as wrapped up watching it weekly. My friend was kind enough to point out that if I don't watch weekly, I'll probably hear about the plot and might as well be watching. This works out since there's nothing else worth watching lately. I now have a weekly tv date.
Even though I'm team Sawyer and Kate, I couldn't resist posting these amazing shots photographed by Peggy Sirota(definitely worth checking out her site).

from ew via lovely little things

Half Broke Horses

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Enjoying the first Slow Readers Book Club selection so far. One of the forum's topics is favourite quotes. Jeannette Walls writing creates such vivid pictures for me. I love this quote from page 6(remember that it's slow reading) of Half Broke Horses:

When you looked out across the land, most everything you could see---the horizon, the river, the fence lines, the gullies, the scrub cedar---was spread out and flat, and the people, cattle, horses, lizards, and water all moved slowly, conserving themselves.

This could have to do with the fact that I'm dreaming of summer and all the amazing fresh veggies and fruit. So far I'm 5 green smoothies for 5 days. Yay! This is a good habit to create. Working on putting together a shopping list for my raw/healthy food detox. One thing I know for sure is that I have to make sure I stock up and have options so that there's always something to make and I don't feel hungry.

Dry shampoo

I don't know why I put it off for so long. I kept hearing about dry shampoo and being new(again) to longish hair(my first mini ponytail today), I needed to do something. I've had short hair for a few years now and noticed that the longer 'do needed to be washed daily. Once you start washing hair everyday, that's it: your scalp produces oil to keep up with the daily stripping and the cycle begins. Went to Sephora last weekend and bought Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo. I'm so excited that it works and it smells good too. My hair has way more volume and I am now looking forward to the curling iron(grow hair grow). Styling is going to be so much easier and I think I'll even try it with clean hair for the added volume. Now I just need a haircut.

So my third day of green smoothies and all is well. Experienced some stomach gurgling first night and had a few new zits yesterday(already going away today). I made super yummy veggie soup (amazing recipe from an awesome blog) for dinner with salad. I think I may be on a health kick minus last night's nachos;) Just trying for lots and lots of veggies.

Green Smoothie Revolution

Yay!!! My first blog giveaway win. I participated in the Green Smoothie Challenge earlier this month hosted by Suzanne on her awesome blog Enchanted Chameleon and was lucky enough to win Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko. 

I've learned so much from Suzanne about raw foods(her blog is a wealth of knowledge). Green smoothies are amazing for you and taste great even though they may look a little scary(you get used to them being green:).

I have dabbled in the wonders of raw food and I know that they make me feel healthy and energized. Other benefits include: I lose weight, my skin looks amazing/younger and the whites of my eyes brighten.

The hardest part is sticking to it. I am excited to have all these new recipes because if I can stick to daily green smoothies, it will be one giant step in the right direction.

This weekend I plan to pull out the The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. I'm going to try and start from level 5(furthest from raw), so I can gradually incorporate more raw foods into my diet. I like this book because it's not completely raw and you work towards raw breakfast and lunch with a cooked dinner. You can then choose to go all raw, but I don't think winter is the time for that to happen for me(if ever...  I don't want all raw, I would like mostly raw). 

I'll let you know how it goes with this new plan. But for now, using what I had in the house, which wasn't much, pictured below is today's green smoothie(spinach, half mango, frozen mixed fruit and water). If you'd like to learn how to make green smoothies, check out Suzanne's demo.

Little Doe lookbook

Love, love, love the lookbook for Little Doe headpieces. 

via stylelikeu

Haiti

I am definitely still in shock over the devastation which has occurred in Haiti. My prayers go out to all the people of Haiti. CBC has put together a list of where to donate from Canada(including how to send text donations).

Slow Readers Book Club

So I've decided to join the Slow Readers Book Club. I love the idea of no pressure to finish the book(March 4th may seem like pressure as it gets closer) and that you meet online. In a slow fashion I am waiting for the first read which I have on hold from my local library. I found out about the club from Much Love. For more info and to join our.city.lights, while you're there make sure you check out her Diana Mini giveaway.

Here I am...

Happy New Year to all y'all! It's been over a month since I posted and I'm gonna make sure it's not another month till you see me here again. I've purchased a space heater which will definitely make blogging easier as I will now be able to feel my fingers. 

I never got around to posting the lovely things I saw at the craft shows I went to before Christmas. I really enjoyed cityofcraft and will definitely be checking out their events in the future and hopefully participating in one. I figure you may have Christmas money to spend and these would be nice things to spend it on.

Birch bark jewelry and creations from bettula. I bought myself some earrings and my mom the hanging dove. The dove picture does not do it justice, it has a dark side and light side and looks absolutely beautiful hanging in a window. I want some doves for my home, I'm just going to have to decide how many.

Even though I was supposed to be Christmas shopping, I bought myself Ella's Botanicals Lemon Meringue Lotion. Incredible!! The yummiest lotion ever and it keeps making me think of the Strawberry Shortcake doll who smelled exactly like this(she musta been called Lemon Meringue).

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