Pop Levi - "(A Style Called) Crying Chic"

I was looking on YouTube for another Pop Levi song that I really love (so far no luck), but I stumbled upon this work of genius. Love it!

my, how time flies....

It's been busy here lately, but there is one thing I'm not letting slide....my container garden! What can I say except that my little patch of urban green is really making my day. I've always been known to have a bit of a brown thumb (ie. I kill any plant within sight), but I think I've turned things around. I've been making the most of the fresh herbs I've been growing and the flowers are just so damn pretty! I've got all sorts of plans and I'm so happy to be learning about something new. Besides some great friends with green thumbs, this sweet book has definitely helped make my garden a bit more lively. Hooray!

sweetsville

For my birthday, I received some chocolates from Mink, a new Vancouver-based chocolate cafe downtown. I haven't been to the cafe yet...but I will, especially since they have little personal s'mores and fondues! I've only tried the "hot chocolate" bar, but it was perfect in the way a chocolate bar should be. I've looked on the website and there's probably about 50 different bars to try! Too bad their hours suck...only open until 6pm? I guess I'll have to make chocolate lunch date soon.

reduce, reuse, recycle

See that pretty box? For my birthday I received a food processor, but decided it just didn't suit my luddite lifestyle, even though it was something I had coveted for ages. I'm now thinking of getting rid of my microwave since it takes up precious counter space. Yesterday I heated up leftovers on my stove with excellent results, so I decided that I don't need a microwave to reheat. Softening butter for recipes? Hmmm, is that enough to justify keeping a microwave, especially when I can plan in advance to take out the butter? Thoughts? Opinions?

This is interesting because last week in the New York Times, Mark Bittman writes about how to stock a kitchen on the cheap. While I can't agree with his claim that a food processor is a must-have item, most of his information is pretty good. However, there is no mention of thrift shopping for kitchen scores. All my pretty cruset comes by way of Value Village. Cake tins, muffin pans, dishes, pyrex, glassware? Thrift scores. Scouring thrifts certainly won't guarantee yourself an instant kitchen, but it's nice to piece something together that has a bit of history. I like that.

kool aid pickle

I'm totally making these (via the New York Times).

To make a Kool-Aid pickle, remove about half the brine from the pickle jar, dump in some sugar and refill it with your favorite flavour of Kool-Aid. Wait a week and then eat up. Apparently, you should cut the pickles into quarter for maximum soakage or prick each pickle with a fork. Hmmm, cherry or strawberry?

The article was wonderful and makes my urge to visit the South even greater. I loved the idea of "home stores" where local kids just head to someone's home to buy chips, snacks and of course, kool-aid pickles. Awesome.

go team

It's been a pretty kick ass week. Not only was it my birthday on yesterday, but on Monday, our bowling team The Gravy Frames, came in first place for our league tournament. As one of our competitor's noted, "You guys have a huge handicap, and you caught fire. There's nothing wrong with that!". Nothing, indeed! In other news, I've put up a couple new cards in my etsy shop. I'll also have a few more new things next week, but for now, check them out!

an early birthday present to me

It's my birthday next Tuesday and I decided to do an early splurge. Happy birthday to me!


Yesterday I purchased these two lovely prints from Green Chair Press on etsy. I had been coveting a couple of her typography prints for months now and decided that there was no time like birthday time to spend some cash on me! Seriously, how great is etsy? Pretty much most of my best purchases in the past year have been from various etsy shops. I love it.

Now I've got to get to work and start creating some new cards for my own etsy shop to make up any cash shortfall!

Macaframa SF Track Bike Promo

I'm not fearless so I can't fathom myself riding without gears or breaks, but I sure do love watching what people can do with their fixies. It takes bike riding to a whole new level. Very elegant and beautiful, I think.