Handmade gifts 2014

Since Christmas is over, and I finally gave out all my gifts, I wanted to post the handmade gifts that I gave out this year.

Every year, I give my friends and family at least one handmade gift.  Last year I knitted cabled head bands and hats for everyone.  The year before I gave personalized gingerbread people.  This year, I left things a little late, and made two quick, but useful gifts for the peeps in my life.

The first gift I made was some beard oil for my D.  I made the labels to and put them onto a recycled bottle.  This is the easiest stuff to make:  3 Tbsp of Sweet Almond Oil; 2 Tbsp of Jojoba oil; 1 tsp of Seabuckthorn Oil;  and 2-3 drops of Tea Tree essential oil and 1 drops of Sandalwood essential oil.  (Note:  This is not a great recipe for people with nut allergies.  Use Olive Oil, and light Castor Oil instead of Almond and Jojoba!)  D loves it.  He uses it once a week.  And he laughs each time he sees the label. 

The gift I made for my lady friends was a stamped clay ring dish which I packaged with some hand salve.  I found the DIY tutorial at this great blog. 

There was some trial and error on this one though.  I found that the best ink for this project was "archival" inks, and the brand that worked best for me was Colorbox.  The other ink pads I used faded and weren't as vivid once the clay dried.  For others i didn't used any ink at all!  I just stamped them nice and hard so that the impression came through.  I liked these ones the best.  I added some gold leaf paint to the edges to make them a little more fancy.   They were a hit with my pals.

Did you make any gifts this holiday? 

Fall Traditions: The Waterfall Hikes

This year, D and I started a new Fall Tradition; we are going to try and hike all the waterfall trails in our city before the winter comes. 

Fall is my favorite time to hike.  There are so many cool things that happen on Fall hikes, like today when we were walking, leaves started falling down all around us.  It was really pretty. And Hamilton has tons of cool waterfall trails.  This seems like the type of challenge we both really dig.

Our first hike was this morning to Tiffany Falls.  Its really close by.  And really pretty. 

 

 

Can't wait for the next one!

It comes once a year...

My birthday is here!  This year I'm not making a big deal about it.  I'm going to do some stuff with my family today, and dinner with friends tomorrow.  You know how it is.  Everywhere I went today, I told people that it was mu birthday!  I learned something new-- once you hit 30 years old, people don't really care that much about your birthday.  Ah well, they're just mad 'cause its not their birthday.  Happy Birthday to me!

Apocalypse Now: Snowmageddon 2013

Looka all that snow/ Not that much at first/ Walking is becoming a chore
Visibility is not that great/ It does look pretty though/ Futility, thy name is shovel
Up to the tops of my boots now/ What one wears for Snowmageddon/ Thank goodness, coffee!

I have a strange fixation with the apocalypse. 

Whenever people tell me about some HUGE event that will probably make traveling and stuff a little less convenient, I like to give it an inappropriate title.  When they closed the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto down to fix it, people were worried that they wouldn't be able to get anywhere in the city, since that expressway was a main artery.  So I liked to refer to that weekend as "Carmageddon" because people were talking about it like it was a CATASTROPHE!

Today we had a little snow storm.  But people have been talking about it for days.  Yesterday the buzz at school was that there would be a snow day.  And lo there was.  (I shall never doubt you again Dee.)  Because people were "preparing" for this "emergency"  D and I started calling it "Snowmageddon" in our household.

Unfortunately, the frozen end-of-the-world is not enough for D to stay home for work.  So off he went in the thick of it for justice or whatever.

Me, I stayed in bed and dozed.  Texted some teacher friends congratulating them on a free day of rest, and read some of my book.  But I got wondering how bad it was outside.  So I decided to brave the storm and take some adventure photography.

Really, it wasn't that bad.  Just a lot of snow.  A lot of snow.  And a lot of bad driving.  And shovellers.

I was funny though, I took some pictures and walked around for a bit, and noticed that my fave cafe was open.  So I took a break, and waited before I went out to face the snowpocalypse again.  By the time I drank a coffee and ate a muffin, it had snowed almost 6 inches.

And I started thinking about other types of end-of-the-world scenarios.  Here's what I thought of so far:

• "A-pod-calypse": Over pollenation of ragweed and other weeds that lead to the over-active allergies of people to spread a virus that will end us all.
• "Sunmageddon": the explosion of the sun, not to be confused with  the Hotpocalypse which is extreme global warning, and the need for sunblock SPF 1 million.  Which again is different from the "Hot-Pocketalypse": which is extinction by eating Hot Pockets.
• "Robacalypse": The rise of the machines.  hopefully they will just create a Constitutional Robocracy instead of using us for batteries.
• "Infomageddon": The internet crashes, and we are left to our own devices.  Does anyone know how to use a dictionary anymore?  What about a card catalogue?
• "Zombegeddon": Um. Zombie apocalypse, natch.
• "Babygeddon": No more babies.  No more people.  Like in Children of Men by P.D. James.
• "Crunchmageddon": the opposite of the Big Bang.

Besides being a strange young person, why do you think about these things, Stephanie?

I'm glad you asked that, voice in my head.  I have two theories:

First:   Every time I read the news, or watch something on TV, I'm confronted by news of things that will or should have killed me.  Its tiresome.  I refuse to be scared of possibilities.  So I give them funny names.  My brain tumor scare was "Cancergeddon."  Its how I deal with the fear of the unknown.  I guess.


Second:  I really do think that how we think about our end, can help us to be better people, thereby avoiding that ending.  Its why I like to read apocalyptic novels.  It is interesting to think of how writer see humanity.  Will we come together and help each other out?  Create a new utopian society?  Or will we become even more violent, and competitive and try to eat each other?  it is a great philosophical question.  Much more thought-provoking than knowing what someone thinks about a glass of water. So, are people inherently good, or bad?


I'll leave you with that question.  I'm off to count our canned goods.

The Versatile Blogger Award: Thank you!

I'm so thankful that SimplyyMarya over at Ponder Wonders has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  It is so nice to be thought of, in the big, wide internet by some lovely bloggers.  It makes me feel all fuzzy inside.  Truly.  Especially when you know that blogger is busy with a cross-country move.  Thank you, Mayra!

Okay,  here are the rules for accepting the award: 

Rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:  

(I broke some of the rules.  What can I say?  I'm a born revolutionary.)

1. Thank the Blogger who nominated you. (Of course!)
2. Include a link to their site. 
3. Include the award image in your post. 
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. (The random-er the better, I hope)
5. Nominate 15 other Bloggers for the award. (Um, how about 8?)
6. When nominating, include a link to their site.
7. Let other Bloggers know they have been nominated.

Seven Random Facts about myself:

•  My love of DIY stems from the fact that I am incredibly cheap.  Incredibly cheap.
• I have a deep-seeded love for the cities of New Orleans and Las Vegas.
• I prefer the sun to the rain.
• I love jazz music.
• I hate cats. 
• I play the ukulele.  My favorite thing to play: Coldplay songs.
• I like grocery shopping.  A lot.

The nominees are:

Lesley Jean at Yesiree Petunia- Oh I wish here cute little store would come to Canada.  For now, I just lust after the things in her etsy store, and read about her fabulous life.  I think if we lived a little closer together, we would be really good friends, we have that much in common.  For realskies.

Jes at The Militant Baker- This lady is it.  I stalk her blog everyday for inspiration, and to read her thoughts.  I have considered flying down to meet her and have a serious feminista chat with her; that's how much I dig her. 

Steph at Stephanie Alena- Jealous of her beach-side, creative life style.  Love her artwork, her cute doggie and her thoughts. 

Panda at Lampas and Llamas- This bloggers going to be my new thrifting friend, I can feel it.  She has a keen style, and she's a fellow Canadian blogger! Holla!

Kim at Fox You (Very Much)- Funny lady, super supportive blog buddy, who has a blog with tons (!) of concert and book reviews.  She likes Nickleback, which I won't hold against her (joke). 

Velouria at Definitely Maybe-  A very fashionable blogger with impeccable taste.   I love lusting over her shopping finds.  Also,  I appreciate that she doesn't have too many pictures of her cat on her blog. 

C.L. at Curvy Lady- New to my blog roll; I'm sad I hadn't discovered her blog sooner.  I love the recipes she posts;  I love island food.

Sierra at C'mon Fatso- Such good writing.  My favorite post (so far) is here.

Happy Saturday, peoples!

POMS 9: Crazy for Me

“I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself” - Mae West

I don't know, if I would have decided to dance on a public fountain a year ago.

I wasn't a diffident person, but I really liked to blend in.  And blend I did.  I only wore ponytails.  I always wore jeans and a plain (usually dark) t-shirt.  I always wore boots.  Even in the summer.  Then I switch to Birenstocks, but the plain brown kind.

I didn't want to stand out.

I didn't want to stand out, because standing out made me a target for people to say rude, hurtful oppressive things to me.  I didn't want to stand out, because hiding in plain sight was a safe and easier existence.  Mostly, I didn't want to stand out, because although I didn't hate myself, I didn't love and value myself.
 
I saw myself as the funny fat girl; I shone because of my personality, not because of my looks.  And I took that to heart.  So I never tried.  I was told that if I wore make-up, or dyed my hair, or wore dresses, that it looked like I was only trying to cover up that I was fat.  And I took that to heart.  I thought that being fat meant that I didn't try these things, cause I was fat, and it didn't matter what I looked like because I would only be seen as fat.

But not caring about what I looked like did have an effect on my mind.  I accepted that I was fat and therefore ugly, undesirable, asexual; all the lies that society tells fat people.

There was no defining moment that changed all that for me.  Just one day, I said "Eff it.  I think I look good."  And I decided to start wearing clothes that fit my personality.  I wore funny shirts, and skirts.  And colors, bright ones.   And dresses.  I allowed myself to wear dresses.

So now I dress for myself.  Just me.  (And maybe D.)  Because taking pride in my appearance helped me to feel what I should about my body-- pride.  And in the end, we should all be proud of who and what we are.  We should be crazy for ourselves.

 ::Head to Toe::

Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Winners

Earrings: Silver Rose studs from Etsy

This is what I wore on my wedding day.  Pretty, casual, relaxed.  Just like me. 

Featured on Bloggers.com!

What a nice surprise to wake up to!  This morning I got an email saying that I was featured on the front page of Bloggers.com as an Editor's Pick of the Day.  I have been blogging for a while now, but I have never felt the community spirit of blogging before as I do with Bassability.  My old blogs were a lot of fun, but they were solitary most of the time, and not as interactive as this one. 

If you don't know about Bloggers.com, its a cool site where you can list your blog, and then browse thousands of other blogs.  I have found quite a few great reads looking through this site.

If you are visiting via bloggers.com, WELCOME!  Have a look around.  Maybe start here to see what Bassability is all about.  I hope you enjoy your visit.

Hitched!

D and I made things official today.  We got married.  I had already considered us married since we made some vows 8 years ago.  But D wanted the proper paperwork filed in our home country of Canada, so we went and had them filed.

I'm not much of a romantic really, so a big gathering with everyone we knew sounded overwhelming and expensive.  Instead we opted for the "elopement" style ceremony.  We didn't really tell anyone, so it wasn't a big to-do, just a little talking and a little signing.

So a birthday and a wedding all in the same week.  Now to have a nice lunch and some cake.  Of course there's cake.

Capturing My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday!  My birthday is one of the reasons I love the summer so much.  We stayed around town and had a wonderful day. Here's the re-cap:

In the morning, we went on a graffiti walk!  I saw these little pasted pictures downtown.  I loved the sewing machines.  You may not know this, but I love graffiti art and murals.  There were a few new ones I wanted to check out downtown.  We had a quick photo shoot at my favorite one-- Isn't it OUT OF THIS WORLD?! (That cheesy joke was brought to you by my terrible sense of humor.)

We stopped at my favorite cafe -Mulberry Street and had some coffee and muffins.  Of course, the only picture I remembered to take was of the plant box of succulents in the window. 

Then D and I went on a short road trip to pick up my birthday present.  We had to go to a neighboring city to pick it up.  

It was a new computer!  I really wanted a new computer because my laptop was 7 years old and chugging along.  I like Acer because my last one lasted, well, 7 years.  I'm typing on my new computer right now.  It hasn't crashed once.  Working electronics FTW!

While D and my friend Mike worked on the "Top Secret Birthday Project" I went to The Ten Spot to have a manicure by my friend Janet!  It was relaxing and fun to hang out with Jan.  And we chose fun colors to paint me nails.   Afterwards, Mike asked why I didn't paint the thumb nail brown so I could have all the colors of Reese Pieces.  That dude does not get fashion.  Or, maybe he does...

I still don't know what the secret birthday project is.

For dinner, we literally had a boat load of sushi at Kampai. It was so yummy, and the sushi chef was friendly and nice.  He spoke to us in Japanese-- and I understood some!  I even answered him back.  I have mad language skillz. 

I made my birthday cake.  It was a vanilla cake, with vanilla frosting, and in the middle there was a layer of raspberry preserves.  Of course it needed summer fresh raspberries on top.  It was so good, if I do say so myself.  There was small surprise party that night.  Just some friends and cake. 

It was a relaxing and pleasant day.  I remember when I needed to have an extravagant plan to enjoy my birthday, but that was before I knew the joys of a stress free birthday.  No pressure.  It was awesome.