clearly, good things are growing...

I'm seriously in love with my garden right now. So much is in bloom and growing. Vegetables, herbs, flowers...it's all good news.

thank you's & shout out's

(above photo by wolfie & the sneak)

I've recently been featured on a few blogs and I'm so grateful for the nods! So thank you very much to wolfie and the sneak for featuring my Good Morning Sunshine art printable in her blog. If you aren't familiar with wolfie and the sneak, you should take a look at their etsy shop which always has some lovely posters. I even own the very lovely Pods poster which will soon find a permanent home in our bedroom.

I was also smitten to find that Modish wrote a post about my printables. What's even more awesome is that Modish also featured Bliss in a Teacup. Becka & Richard who make up the dynamic duo of Bliss in a Teacup are my neighbours! Not only do they live in Vancouver, but they live in the same co-op building as we do....just one floor down. We've recently gotten to know them, and they are stunningly awesome. So how exciting that we are featured right after the other in Modish?! Amazing.

Today I was emailed by the very talented English Muffin who just featured The Beautiful Project on her blog. It's funny because I had stumbled on her etsy shop a week or so ago and loved her prints. I think it was her ice cream prints that fueled my gelato cravings last week!

a weekend in the country

This weekend was pretty spectacular, weather not withstanding. On Saturday we drove out to Chilliwack to do some hiking. We hiked go Lindeman Lake which my guidebook said was easy. NOT! It was kind of treacherous and I realized that I have a real fear of walking on unsteady rock scree. Like anxiety-induced tears and a lot of shaking. Luckily, once we reached the tip of the lake, we ate a gigantic sandwich and drank a very much needed beer. The beer was the much needed liquid courage that enabled me to hop from rock to rock and get down the mountain in one piece. Thank you, Central City Empire IPA for saving my hiking ass!

On the way back, instead of booting it back to Vancouver, we decided to check out some local food markets. We loaded up on local vegetables at Wisbey Veggies (which I had taken as Wedgies Veggies!)...2 large bags packed with local produce for $20. Take that elitist farmer's markets! We also made a stop at Heavenly Cheese and bought some cheese curds and goat feta. The day was rounded off with a stop at Mission Springs Brewery for dinner. While the food wasn't that great, they do offer free tasters of all their beers before you order! A nice touch.

(photo taken by my friend Pam)

Still needing to fill up our quota of country, on Sunday, we visited Nathan Creek Organic Farm. My 2 friends and I are sharing a CSA membership this year, so we decided to peek in at the open house. It's a pretty wonderful farm and we got a great tour from the very enthusiastic farmer, Stephen. We also got to pick out some seedlings and harvest some rhubarb and greens! You can see the grey clouds but the very dry soil. The rain seems to be passing Nathan Creek's farm by! Needless to say, our dinner that night was pretty awesome.

time to listen to my own advice

I was happy to discover that my Go Outside print(able) was featured on Apartment Therapy's Oh Dee Doh blog today. I should actually hang that print in front of my computer as a reminder. I haven't left the house yet because I've been busy with work and I'll probably put in another late night. But tomorrow I should have time to go outside and feel the sun on my face. This weekend there are even plans for a hike into nature which sounds too perfect. My fingers are crossed!

crafty coolness

The Got Craft fair on Sunday went really well. I got some truly amazing comments from people buying my stuff which is always nice to hear. The weather was amazing and almost all the vendors moved their tables outside in the sunshine. Luckily, my table neighbour had sunscreen and an umbrella to share. I did not get burnt (just a bit of pink around my neckline). Hooray!

The next day, Cornelius and I went out for gelato...our first cones of the year! I had the coffee crisp and coconut chocolate chip scoops (pictured above) and Cornelius opted for chocolate pistachio and mint oreo. It's pretty great having a crazy huge gelato shop in our neighbourhood (218 flavours!)

busy weekend ahead

Today I'm going to get out and do a bit of gardening. This picture was taken a few weeks ago when I didn't have much on the go, plant-wise. Things have gotten much, much better, but there's still quite a few seedlings yet that need to find there way into some cool, dark earth. I was lucky to pick up a couple of free herbs (calendula & sage) from the Strathcona Community Centre this week, along with a few free strawberry plants and other green things that I've been stalling over. Soon our space will look lush and green, black thumbs aside.

I also will be at Got Craft this weekend at Little Mountain Gallery off Main Street @ e26th Ave. So come on by and check out all the great crafty local peeps! For those who can't make it to the fair, be sure to check out my summer sale in my etsy shop. It's still going strong! Must make way for new items to come!

'nuff niceness

It's been a busy week so far, but the weather has continued to be lovely! The photo above was taken last week in Deep Cove, just outside of Vancouver. Shortly I'm heading out to check out the new Wednesday farmer's market located on Main Street by the train station. So exciting to have a weekday market so close to home. A short walk or bike ride away. Niceness!

And speaking of niceness, I have a new printable art print in the shop. The saying comes from a very old-timey song that Cornelius has on mp3 from a collection of old 78's. I made it ages ago but only listed it today. Check it out & try to be a little bit nicer, y'hear?

And how about some more nice? I have to mention this new facial scrub I'm using. I found it at a new tiny drug store and bought it because I just felt I needed a bit of exfoliation for summer. So far so good! I really like it and it's really quite cheap too. Now I just need a really good facial cleanser....something good for oily skin. I know, I'm old and I still have oily skin. Whatever. All I want is a good cleanser that doesn't smell like old people. Yes, I'm looking at you, Cetaphil!

i'm having a sale!

I rarely have sales in my etsy shop, but I've got to make room for new items that will be arriving later this summer. You can choose from 8 different designs at a reduced rate or purchase 3 cards for just $8. And these are some of my most favorite & popular designs, so take a pick from these sweet cards:

• Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah
• Picnic Manners
• Be Free
• Hey, Thanks a Ton
• Greetings from All of Us
• Bon Voyage
• Happy Birthday Rooster
• Thank You

Must I remind you that all of my cards are professionally (& locally) printed on gorgeously thick 100lb - 110lb card stock? So not only are they illustrated by yours truly, they are top notch in quality too! Happy shopping!!

man singlehandedly starts dance party

via Freckle Farm

It's been so hot here for the past week, that it's hard to concentrate on work and the computer. Luckily our apartment faces west so that it only starts to heat up in here in the evening , leaving us to work relative comfort for most of the day. But taking a break for a slushie is also a nice treat!

Earlier this week I was featured on the Got Craft blog! There's an interview and everything, so please go and check it out. And speaking of Got Craft, I'll be at the Got Craft Bite-Sized fair happening on June 14th at Little Mountain Gallery. It will be the first of their small, every second Sunday of the month craft fairs, so we'll see how it goes! It will be a very busy weekend in Vancouver what with the car-free festival happening, so I hope there will be a lot of foot traffic along Main Street.

good morning sunshine!

Saturday morning I woke up to an email from a blog friend alerting me to the fact that my Good Morning Sunshine print was featured on Apartment Therapy. Needless to say, I was pretty excited!

Then I woke up today with an email from Smidgebox saying that I was the very lucky winner of her beautiful tote bag in her giveaway! What a start to a Monday. Nice!

It's going to be a busy week, with work deadlines looming and also lots of sunshine predicted for the weather. Summer has been here for a week and it doesn't seem to be letting up. I love it! I'll leave you with the best movie I saw last week, In A Dream.

IN A DREAM: Extended Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo.