31 December 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #34

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

DAY 232December 24, 2012  |  Spud and I walked around downtown looking for someone in need of a blessing bag. Started to give up after an hour but then saw a man asleep on the sidewalk. Grateful we had this to give. #365grateful



DAY 233December 25, 2012  |  So grateful to experience the magic of Christmas morning with Hubs and Spud #365grateful




DAY 234December 26, 2012  |  Auntie G's on Boxing Day #365grateful #yum!




DAY 235December 27, 2012  |  Foot Duvets. So great. Thank you Santa. #365grateful




DAY 236December 28, 2012  |  You are going to be Rockafeller tonight #oysters #365grateful




DAY 237December 29, 2012  |  "Mama, today can you be grateful for my little hot water bottle I got in my stocking?". You betcha kiddo. #365grateful




DAY 238December 30, 2012  |  Spontaneous ski day! #woot #365grateful




See Week one here.

28 December 2012

A When I Grow Up Poster

A few days before Christmas, Spud and I were walking around downtown running various errands when he, out of the blue, as 8 year olds tend to do, asked if I wanted to know all the things he wanted to be when he grew up. This is the list he rattled off.


Say that 3 times fast. Other than Inventor being strategically at the top, it's where his passion burns the brightest right now, the rest are in no particular order. He was also careful to point out that many of them will likely become hobbies. That's the practical side of him talking.

So, I made this for 3 reasons. First, I was trying to come up with original, meaningful ideas for under the tree that don't add more clutter to our already cluttered environment.

The second reason is that I've been trying to come up with an inspirational poster for his room for a few months now; just waiting for the right inspiration. When he listed all those things, the first thing I thought was "don't lose that, kid". And then "Oh, I think I have a poster idea now!".

The third reason is that I wanted to capture that moment in time. His list will likely change. Which is why I dated it. I think it would be fun to do another one in a couple of years to compare. In the meantime, I want him to always remember the possibilities. As we get older, our lists tend to get shorter, I think. Maybe this poster will help keep these dreams, or others like them, alive.

DETAILS:
I laid out the type in InDesign, made a jpg and sent it to our local photo processing shop. This is better than printing it out on a laser printer as it will last longer not being as susceptible to UV light. This oversized print (12" x 16") cost $15. It only had to be trimmed down a smidge to fit the IKEA frame, which cost about 5 bucks.

PS I just joined Blogovin. You can <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/1968253/?claim=znzvd7s88h7">follow weelife with Bloglovin</a> too.

26 December 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #33

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

DAY 225: December 17, 2012  |  Got me a @melaniekimmett original in the mail! #love #365grateful #hohoho



DAY 226December 18, 2012  |  Stanley Park Christmas train with friends #365grateful



DAY 227December 19, 2012  |  Lemon bar. You know what you mean to me. #365grateful



DAY 228December 20, 2012  |  And .... wrapping is done. #365grateful



DAY 229December 21, 2012  |  Pretty. Shiny. Sparkly. Everywhere you go. #365grateful



DAY 230December 22, 2012  |  Grateful for Tim Burton #nightmarebeforechristmas #365grateful



DAY 231December 23, 2012  |  Grateful for this quad. That's right, 4 shots. Instead of sleep. That's how I'm rolling right now. #365grateful



See Week one here.

25 December 2012

17 December 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #32

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

DAY 218December 10, 2012  |   Cancel call to electrician. Dramatic electrical crisis averted by Hubs. I want this guy on my team, always. Oh wait. I do. #365grateful



DAY 219December 11, 2012  |   I am grateful for hand cream. Plain and simple. In every room, every bag and the car. #365grateful 



DAY 220December 12, 2012  |   Winter Concert! Oliver and Ode to Joy en Espanol #365grateful



DAY 221December 13, 2012  |   couchtime #365grateful 



DAY 222December 14, 2012  |   Recital day #365grateful #silentnight 



DAY 223December 15, 2012  |   Party like it's 12 12 12 #365grateful 



DAY 224December 16, 2012  |   Sleeping in after a crazy-fun cocktail party and a very late night! #365grateful 








16 December 2012

Clove Oranges

The smell of Christmas ...


A long time tradition but new this year? We used a lino cut tool to make patterns first, which sure makes it easier to poke those cloves in!

15 December 2012

Party Like it's 12.12.12!

A few shots from a little shindig we had celebrating Spud's Grandee who officially turned 75 on 12.12.12!




10 December 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #31

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

DAY 211December 3, 2012  |  Tis the season! #adventcalendar #365grateful



DAY 212December 4, 2012  |  Pretty red petals #365grateful





DAY 213December 5, 2012  |  Sport Junkie find. Let the skating season begin! #buyused #365grateful



DAY 214December 6, 2012  |  #saintnicholas was here! #365grateful



DAY 215December 7, 2012  |  Stars of light up ... decorating done! #365grateful



DAY 216December 8, 2012  |  Look what came in the post today ... All the way from Toronto! #365grateful



DAY 217December 9, 2012  |  A round of aqueous martinis! Ingredients: water, shaken over ice and a skewer of olives. #365grateful @lemonysnickett


See Week one here.




06 December 2012

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

It's December 6th, St. Nicholas day where Spud's Grandee is from ... so it's a tradition in our house to put out a shoe/boot the night before in hopes that he comes to fill it with goodies. Check out the loot!


• Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume
• Mad Libs
• Chocolate St. Nick
• Cute dental flossers
• Staedtler markers
• 1 happy cookie
• Robot timer
• Piranha ear bud tamer and keeper
• More chocolate!
• 2 egg cups

Lucky lucky boy.

03 December 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #30

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

DAY 204November 26, 2012  |  Good morning sunshine walk home from the gym #backatit #365grateful




DAY 205November 27, 2012  |   My little couch potato. #365grateful




DAY 206November 28, 2012  |  Somebody with a crazy, irritating wiggly tooth is very hungry. Soft ramen in soup should do it.  #365grateful




DAY 207November 29, 2012  |  At the annual lighting of the house at Canuck Place Children's Hospice Spud makes a card for the kids. He's getting all multi-faith including a menorah too! #cute  #365grateful




DAY 208November 30, 2012  |   That is one serious Mo. Ceremonious shave at midnight is in order. #movember #365grateful




DAY 209December 1, 2012  |  Celebrating 29 years with this beautiful human being today.  #365grateful





DAY 210December 2, 2012  |  Final touches.  #365grateful



30 November 2012

Vote! Riviera Tee Spoonflower Contest

I've entered this week's Spoonflower fabric design contest: Jelly in Flight. The fun part is, that it's a girl's t-shirt pattern. The contest is hosted by Spoonflower AND the publishers of the book series called One Yard Wonders


Here's a detail of my jellyfish drawing ...


The winner will be in the next One Yard Wonders book and I believe the top 10 will have their designs for sale on the Spoonflower site. So ... hey ... if you're not doing anything else ... why not go vote!? Right here ... Spoonflower Fabric of the Week.

UPDATE: Contest is closed. Thanks for everyone who voted!

26 November 2012

My 365 Grateful Project: Week #29

PLAYING WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Find Something For Which to Be Grateful. Take a Picture of It. Repeat 365 times.

Milestone ... hit 200 days of documenting my gratefulness!

DAY 197: November 19, 2012  |  Exotic poolside pals #mexico #365grateful




DAY 198: November 20, 2012  |  Got me the new Dallas Clayton book! #kidspoetry #365grateful #makemagicdogood




DAY 199: November 21, 2012  |  Totally adorable book launch party #wearecanada http://wearecanada.org/ #365grateful




DAY 200: November 22, 2012  |  Poster found on my nightstand #365grateful





DAY 201November 23, 2012  |  Thank you umbrella #365grateful





DAY 202November 2417, 2012  |  Festive outdoor ice sculptures #candytown #yaletown #365grateful





DAY 203November 25, 2012  |  We finally have plants in our #fishtank #365grateful




See Week one here.

23 November 2012

Book Review: Make Magic! Do Good!

Hubs and I grew up on poetry. Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, of course. And I have special memories of the Canadian classic Alligator Pie too. Page after page of thought provoking words, unimaginable worlds and pure silliness in all of them, crafted to draw in and inspire little readers. Spud loves them as much as we did. And now we have another to add to the list ...


Dallas Clayton, of An Awesome Book (which is truly awesome), is launching a book of poetry called Make Magic! Do Good! this month and I have a copy! It was the perfect book to bring on our little vacay last week; so many late nights meant very little time for reading before bed. A few charming little poems with charming little illustrations did the trick though! The quirky, whimsical, and at times inspiring messages always left Spud asking for more.