Only Says Ficus

Moving on

2011-04-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

Life is changing, and so am I. This little blog has been fun, but I have decided to move on.
I will now be posting elsewhere, and I'd love to see some of you there!

A refuge from this madness.

2011-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Do not keep anything in your home that you do not know to be functional or believe to be beautiful.

If I were a true design junkie, I would know who said this originally. But I am only a poseur, so I have no idea where it came from. I do my best to abide by it, though. I never buy anything without a purpose or a mind to where I can display it in my home slash what I might have to sacrifice, move, or put away in order to do so.

HOWEVER. Since the month of February began, our bedroom seems to be the only place I can put said philosophy in action. We have a new roommate, folks. She is a she, and she is what I like to think of as an upper-middle-class hippie. As in, buys nothing that doesn't come from the organic section, wears hemp clothing and burns incense around the house, listens only to indie music, is seriously considering Buddhism, while simultaneously possessing a collection of at least seven winter coats over $400 apiece and owning more hair products that many small salons. Don't worry, She is fully aware of the irony of the situation. I think.

Point being, New Roomie has a whole lot of stuff. And if you need to know why we got a roommate in the first place, it's because this house has three empty bedrooms and costs $100 a week to heat, regardless of occupancy. And we are trying to save up money to get off this rock, and back to the rock we came from.

Right. Stuff. She and her somethingorother are taking space from each other after two years of living together. And she says they split their things 50/50, but I don't believe that for one second. She has taken our sweet, warm, slightly minimalist-with-a-touch-of-broke house, my one refuge in this dark, stormy, lonely province, and stuffed it to the gills.

So I have been spending a lot of time in the bedroom, the one place She can't touch. It's not my favourite colour, has no curtains, we could really use some new bedding, and the mattress-on-the-floor thing is maybe not for everyone. But it's cozy and light and the only spot in the house that doesn't currently look like this:

*I am joking. if the whole house looked this bad I would have kicked new roomie out immediately. However, this particular spot does cause me to spontaneously burst into frustrated tears at times, and that's not a joke. You can ask my husband.

Saja Bridal

2010-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

Even though my wedding day has come and gone, I still peruse a few wedding blogs, and still drool over beautiful wedding gowns. This dress from Saja is so beautiful and elegant!

Sick Day.

2010-11-20T11:05:00.001-08:00

I hadn't been really, properly good and sick in a couple of years now, so I knew I was in for it. A couple of colds here and there, some irritating body aches, but nothing incredible. Wednesday afternoon I woke up (after working a night the night before) with a scratchy throat, and by 9:00 that evening it had hit me nearly full force. I slept that night in the way that only someone with a fever can sleep: deeply obilvious to the world and yet absolutely devoid of rest or comfort. And then all of the next day. Around 5pm I awoke freezing, despite my layers of clothing and blankets, and needed, needed a hot bath.

I lay in the bath, still covered in goosebumps. I rested my head against the side of the tub. I very nearly fell asleep again right there, but some measure of common sense told me I would probably drown. Get out of the bath. Dress myself. God, I'm freezing again. Man, bathing is exhausting!

So, back to bed until Friday morning. Actually, noon on friday, at which point the fever mercifully went away and I was able to leave my bed in favour of the couch, to watch crappy TV and read Harry Potter. Kyle force-fed me chicken broth, Tylenol, and orange juice at regular intervals despite the fact that I winced and moaned after every swallow. He is a chivalrous fellow.

Today, I feel almost myself. I tried to go into work, but was deemed too pale by a coworker and let off the hook. I still can't eat much (I suspect Strep Throat as the culprit of my illness), but I'm beginning to feel human again.

Now, because I am shallow and have a short attention span and dislike blog posts without photos in them, I leave you with something pretty.

Turquoise tent ring @ Old Gold Boutique, via Eat Drink Chic.

On a whim

2010-11-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, hello, decrepit and embarassing mailbox. Do I ever have a plan for you...

Yes. Oh, yes.

Our friends Printer Paper, Scotch Tape, and Crayola Marker want to come along for the ride.

On a whim the other day, I picked up a can of robin's-egg blue spray paint.

*+ a lesson to anyone interested in wintertime spray-painting: Basements are a great option! Just don't place your project next to the air intake for your furnace, unless you really really like the smell of spray paint.

Supergeek

2010-11-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have been talking to Kyle about this for weeks now, so I figured it was time to share it here, too.

Everywhere, all over the place, all the cool kids are wearing these amazing, dorky chic glasses. And I want in. First, this vintagey shape was mostly in suglasses form. But now it's all over the place! The deal was sealed when I saw Amber from Parenthood and Finn on last week's episode of Glee (Aside - didn't they do an amazing job of Rocky Horror Picture Show??) sporting them.

I especially love these ones at Warby Parker. The Matte Black finish? All I have to say is: Yeah. These guys seriously get me.

They're called the Roosevelt, which is just perfect.

A try-on pair of these might find their way into my mailbox very, very soon.

Recipe Card

2010-11-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Life in my corner of the world has been incredibly busy, but not incredibly interesting. (As evidenced by the 26 days between my last two posts. I'm not entirely convinced I have any readers left after that!)

I have been working tons and doing lots of overtime. This is great for my bank account and great because I'm learning tons, but bad because I sometimes feel like Kyle and I are walking past each other - him on the way out the door to work, me coming home and falling into bed (I work a lot of nights.)

To remedy this feeling, we've been trying to make and eat meals together whenever possible. I'm no good at food posts, but I thought it would be nice to share a couple favourite new recipes here:

Meghan's photo of Meghan's chowder. Because my food photography skills are wanting.

Adirondack Salmon Chowder, found on What Meghan's Making. We added scallops, and the chowder was aah-maazing. Add some crusty bread smothered with butter for a perfect fall evening supper. Then drink a bottle of wine, and everything will start to feel right with the world again.

Bal's No-Butter Chicken and Anoop's Weekend Roti from a particularly mouth-watering episode of Spice Goddess. Far and away the most flavourful meal I have ever made, and the butter chicken was about a zillion times more deilicious than anything I've ever managed to procure from a mix.

I've also recently made a lasagna, chicken tortilla soup with homemade stock, and butternut squash soup, but don't have the recipes for those because I was mostly just wingin' it.

Hmm... I kind of like cataloging recipes I liked here. Maybe this can be a regular post? If you can use the word regular in reference to a blog that's been silent for 26 days, that is.

All the other Annas.

2010-10-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else do this? Whenever I see something pretty or creative done by someone with the same name as me, I do a proud little happy dance. As if we are some kind of secret society, spurring each other on, even though we've never met or even spoken, sharing something special - our names! And therefore, I have this odd sense of pride over anything made by someone named Anna, and feel the need to boast about it as if is were my own accomplishment.

So, here are a few creative Annas I thought I would brag about for all of you today:

Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.'s illustrations always give me little flutters of happiness. Her hand-drawn lettering and flowers are to die for, and every little thing in her shop right down to the littlest greeting card is something I would keep and cherish always, if it were to find its way into my grubby little paws.

I will always remember Anna Cote, since she was the maker of the first thing I ever bought off Etsy (I bought a set of Gocco printed coasters, and they came prettily wrapped, and her business card stayed on my fridge for the longest time because it was so cute) I love these little sets of notecards.

Anna Dorfman's home is amazing. She has the best eye and knows exactly what she loves, unlike wishy-washy old me. Her blog, Door Sixteen, was one of the first I ever started to read. She also designs book covers, which I think is awesome.

Anna Lincoln lives in London, and designs some pretty amazing things. This print is one of a series called 'Pub Crawl', which depicts the facades of various pubs. She also paints things onto the sides of buildings and designs wallpapers and wrapping papers. Tres cool.

Anna Wolf's fashion & lifestyle photography is wonderfully moody and every single one of her photos gets my imagination ticking. Also, I wish she would take my portrait because every single one on her website makes the subject look supercool and badass. Check out more, here.

I don't know what to say about Anna-Wili Highfield's work other than this: It takes my breath away. I must own one of these at some juncture in my life.

Are there any Creative Cats in this world that share your name?

Settling in: Progress.

2010-10-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

The start of what could be a nice little gallery wall

The photo on the right is of Kyle's great uncle. I wish I'd taken a photo of it without the reflective glass in front - its a) incredibly stylish and b) filled with great textures. I want his glasses.

Amsterdam picture from Ikea. Although I'd rather have something more unique, those pieces will come over time, and we already have and like this, so it works. Before I go painting the wall I'm going to replace the throw pillow covers with dark gray and see whether I can achieve some sort of tonal grayscale effect in the room.

Beer posters from home! Phillips Brewery is my favourite, and we miss having good local beer! (There are a couple of micros here that we like, but they don't compare. We have this strange and fierce loyalty to these guys, as do many Victorians - Their blue buck consistently outsells big names like molson and bud 2:1 around town /endtangent)

Our wee kitchen. Fridge and stove against the wall where I'm standing to take the photo.

Didn't realize till just now that I forgot to close the cupboard doors... oops!

Another thing that happened on Wednesday

2010-09-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

Another thing that happened on Wednesday:

Kyle and I had our wedding featured on a wedding blog, The Perfect Wedding! Check it out here.

Photo by the wonderful Jan & Rosanne of Orange Passion Photography

(FYI: It's in Dutch, but Google translate will give you the gist of the text)

Serendipitous.

2010-09-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that when you ask a question, the universe often comes back with the perfect solution? Not to solve big life issues, of course, but little things. Like one day you mention how you'd like to learn more about Killer Whales, and the next time you turn on the TV there's a documentary on about them. Or like when I asked about How long is too long for a party table and then Outstanding in the field struck the blog world seemingly within minutes.

Anyway, today is one of those days. Or, more specifically, this Wednesday was one of those days, but I have a backlog in my blog reader due to three days without electricity - More on that later.

Because today, only a few days after stating that we need to remedy the couch-wall situation, I saw this:

DIY: Laurie's Herringbone wall design over at Design*Sponge

Now let me tell you why this is perfect:
1) It would bring some much needed pattern into this room
2) Although the measuring and taping might prove time-consuming, it looks fairly easy.
3) It saves me having to do the things I hate most about painting: cutting in and madly trying to get the coat on evenly, which seem to be skills which elude me completely.
4) And, when we move out of here, it will be similarly easy to cover because, again, I won't have to cut in. (Although it may be harder than usual to cover evenly.)
5) It's flippin' Chevron, Y'all. Its gorgeous.

New house!

2010-09-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I finally found my memory card reader and was able to take a few photos of the new house! (By which I mean the living and dining rooms, because those were the only presentable rooms at the time I had the whim to pull out the camera.)

Enjoy!

We need a coffee table! And yes, the walls are the same colour as the couch. We will need to remedy this.

The 'black side' of the living room

Door leading into the vestibule/mudroom/front entry - almost all the doors in the house have the sweet old knobs and keyholes!

Every time we open this door, Luna thinks it's walk time. She was begging to go out here.

Table and chairs left behind by old tenants. They're not in the best condition, but I have some ideas for making them over.

The corner windows make the front of the house crazy bright, all day - probably my favourite thing about the house!


I think this light fixture is the coolest. It just needs a liiitle bit of help.

Living room looking into dining room, Entry on the right. Like I said - Crazy bright!

I have lots of little projects in mind for making this sweet little house (however temporary) homelike. Soon, chickens, soon.

The gnocchi catastrophe 2010

2010-09-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ok. So this is how it all went down.
This week was Italian week over at the Kitchn. And they kept posting all these delicious-looking meals. One of them being this gnocchi recipe.

I bookmarked it, thinking 'huh. four ingredients! I can do that!'. And yesterday, my first time being able to cook properly in over two months, seemed like a great opportunity to try something new and exciting.

I don't know what happened really. I just know that about halfway through, in potato-flour dough up to my eyeballs, I decided this had been a huge mistake. And then I couldn't decide which would be worse: for it to be so delicious that I'd be tempted to make it again, or so disgusting that all my efforts were for nil.

The result was the latter. Whatever doughy mess it was that came out of my kitchen, it was not gnocchi. not even close. I followed the recipe to a T, except that my dough was so very sticky that I had to add somewhere close to twice the recommended amount of flour just to be able to handle the stuff. And then once it was cooked, it just tasted like flour.

This ain't a photography blog, clearly.

On the upside, the goat cheese-tomato sauce (which I also made from scratch, loosely based on this recipe) was very yummy.

coffee + little shows of love.

2010-09-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

We are mostly unpacked in the new house! Today, for the first time since our big move, I was able to make my own coffee. I can't think of anything better than coffee from a french press (Sorry, Tim Horton's. My love lies elsewhere).

I made it, and the opened the fridge, hoping against hope that Kyle might have picked some cream up from the grocery store, but knowing how unlikely that was since he hates the stuff himself. And lo and behold, there it was!

I picked a good man, I tell ya.

It's here!!

2010-08-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! It's the release of Do Fun Stuff, which you may remember that I posted about not long ago.
Here - have a listen, read about the cause and the particulars, and then go buy it on iTunes. Let's make some noise!
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*edited: I don't know how to make the widget show up for those viewing this in feed readers - so please, click through! you won't regret it!

Everything.

2010-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is what all of my stuff looks like.
It's been waiting for months now to be unpacked.

four days.

Yes, this is an extraordinarily boring post. I'll put a little more effort into the next one, I swear.

And you'd think being newly married in a new city would be exhilirating.

2010-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned before that we are currently carless and broke in what is quite possibly the least walkable city in North America. (there are, like, A LOT of hills)

Also, we do not have cable, or access to any of our posessions with the exception of this laptop, our clothes and toiletries, and of a box of DVDs we dug out early on. So what have we been doing so far? you guessed it. So here, just for fun, is a comprehensive list of what the hubs and I have watched since arriving in Newfoundland.

Four seasons of How I Met Your Mother.
Two seasons of Big Bang Theory (Which, I hate to say it, just might surpass HIMYM in my books for funniest comedy)
Four seasons of The O.C. (I never watched the fourth season when it was actually on TV. It was mildly amusing, but nowhere near as epically dramatic as seasons 1-3. You know a show is fizzling when they make an alternate reality episode)
X-Men 1, 2, and 3 (I had only seen X3 before, despite owning all the movies, and it's still the best one in my opinion)
Rachel Getting Married (beautiful movie, I could watch it over and over and over)
007: Casino Royale
She's Out of My League (pretty funny, much better than I expected)

Anyway. The point is, that's a flippin' lot of time to spend staring at a laptop screen. But I am really kind of liking this series thing. And the routine is actually kind of nice - after dinner, after the dog is walked, we snuggle into bed with a cup of tea (or some beer or wine sometimes) and watch a few episodes of something before going to sleep. Candidates to get us through the next couple weeks before moving:

Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Harry Potter 1-6
All the existing James Bond movies. How many are there, exactly, anyway? I'm ashamed to admit I've NEVER seen any of the older 007 movies - only those starring Daniel Craig.

And yes, I know that last statement could have me crucified in some social circles. So be it.

Sea Sickness

2010-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Octopi freak me out. Not because of the way they look, but because I truly believe that if their lifespans were long enough, they could easily rule the world. Their intelligence in comparison to humans is freaky (I once saw a documentary which equated the intelligence of a two-year-old octopus with a five-year-old human child).

And not only that, but I have a very active imagination. As a child, I had nightmares that Ursula (from the little mermaid) lived in our bathroom toilet and would one day come up the drain and consume me as I did my pee.

So I'm not exactly sure why I've been having trouble getting this Octopus shower curtain from Thomas Paul out of my head. Because I do NOT want it. No, Sirree.


$96 USD at Design Public

And I especially do not want to wrap myself up in those freaky, coldly calculating, exquisitely illustrated tentacles or rub them against my face with this baby alpaca throw.

$350 USD at Design Public

No, definitely not.

Except that I do. In fact, I think I may have some sort of nautical illness. Every time I think about decorating our new living room, I am thinking about navy and stripes and rope and anchors. And wondering where I can get a round mirror that feels like a porthole. I haven't been able to get this print from Banquet off my mind for nearly six months.

Marine Animals Poster, $60 USD

So what do I do? Do I run with it? or is this theme-y bordering on tacky?

Winter Warmies

2010-08-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

This will be the first winter since high school that I know, surely and unequivocally, I will experience a buttload of snow. So I will need to be prepared.

Lucky for me, Soia & Kyo (who happen to be Canadian designers) have responded by releasing their cutest collection yet!

I really love the Sherita:

And also the Polina:

Although I would kill to tuck my chin into Lucie's lovely high collar:

Or maybe, for a real winter, I'll need something extra warm and cozy, like Liric:

These are all investment pieces at >$300 each. but for so much pretty and the accompanying quality (I've tried on some S&K coats before and they are heavenly), I think it's worth it.

Dear Dogface:

2010-08-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Luna:
You drive me crazy sometimes. Usually, even. I wish there were a way to communicate with you that I sometimes imagine dropping your leash when we're out on a walk and making out like you've run away from me. Not unlike how I'm sure many mothers - good mothers, reasonable ones - sometimes have fantasies about just leaving their screaming kids in the mall somewhere to be someone else's problem. Here, I thought you might enjoy a list of all the things you do that make me feel this way.

The other day, you peed on the floor while I was getting dressed to take you outside for a pee.
And last week, you pooped on the floor ten minutes after coming inside from a long walk.
And I really love it when you howl and lunge at other dogs in your vicinity. It's charming. Especially since we both know you only want to play with them, but to everyone else you look like a ferocious maniac.
On that note, it's also really nice when you trip me up with the leash to try and say hello to people who are afraid of dogs, and yet when someone tries to stop give you pats, you shy away or show no interest.
And when you tear apart the trashcan while I'm away, that really makes me feel special inside.
Almost as special as when you roll in cat poo in the backyard or dead, rotting bird/seal/fish at the beach.
And it's really fun that when someone knocks at the front door, you go so batshit crazy that I have to put you in another room.
Almost as fun as when you race me up and down the narrow stairs when I'm trying to maneuver up them with a laundry basket.
Or your stereotypical obsession with mailmen. I understand your need to protect our house, but the neighbors across the street are probably doing okay on their own.

Actually, looking at this list, I'm surprised I haven't sent you running into traffic. (Which, by the way, is another thing you've done to drive me crazy.) Maybe it's something to do with your cute droopy face, or the way you tolerate more poking and prodding and tail-pulling than is possibly reasonable, or the way you come up to me when I'm sitting on the floor and push your whole head into my stomach so that I will scratch your ears and chin. Yes, it's definitely something to do with that.
Love,
Anna

Blurry, yes, but still cute.

Decisions, Decisions.

2010-08-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

For our wedding, a few amazing friends from nursing school pooled together and got Kyle and I a gift certificate to Modern Karibou.

We originally planned to use it towards buying the coffee table I blogged about before, but given the temporariness of our situation here, we don't want to acquire any more furniture that we won't be able to take back (remember, we plan to purge and start over.)

And while we could wait to use it until we get home, I am very tempted to use this gift certificate to upgrade our bedding situation. And dammit, we could use a bit of luxury in our lives after these two months sleeping on an air mattress, natch*.

I have been in love with Dwell's draper stripe set for a long, long time.

except then I would have to decide between chinois blue and ash grey, and also if I get the duvet set then will I pine after the sheet set? Will I?

But I also love the airiness, texture and simplicity of the Area Heather set in natural. It would just make everything else around it so dreamy and spalike, no?

Oh, decisions. I think this one might be up to Kyle.

*and yes, I had to look up the appropriate usage of natch on urban dictionary.

Ellenbomb

2010-08-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today, Ryan at Pacing the Panic Room and all his friends (me included!) are storming Ellen's Degeneres' twitter page in hopes of getting her to let the band Rabbit! play a song from the upcoming album Do Fun Stuff on her show.

(art by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper co.)

Do Fun Stuff will be available in Itunes on August 30th, and it's a compilation of artists singing great original songs which are for kids, but that adults will like too! But best of all, the album is a charity production, the proceeds of which will benefit kids with an uncommon genetic disorder called Smith-Magenis Syndrome. So if you want to do something amazing today, here's what to do:

Read about SMS here.
Read about Ryan's life with stepson LB all over his blog.
Read about the album (and listen to a couple songs) here.
Read about the twitter bomb here.
Login or Sign up for twitter (I signed up especially to do this!)
Tweet your heart out!

Obsessed

2010-08-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

When I first discovered Etsy, I was obsessed with perusing over all the amazing handmade goods. Still am, to a point. But my new obsession: vintage homegoods!

Some favourites:

antique sowerby fern print at Hindsvik (who also write a great blog)

Deer Candleholders at Redtruckdesigns

(can't decide whether I'd leave these brass or spray them a fun colour...)

Mid-1970's Rand McNally Globe at SurrenderDorothy

Coffee/Tea Set at Red Eye Vintage

I think I may need to allot myself a monthly Etsy allowance...

Here's Proof: It don't have to be big to be amazing.

2010-08-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

112 square feet of perfect, from Ines' kitchen via AT's the Kitchn.

After this much bad luck with landlords, I could really write a book.

2010-08-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

This house (the junky one that we're leaving in two weeks [yay!]) has some kind of water problem. It comes mostly from the basement, but it can be heard through most of the house. it just sounds like running water through the pipes - kind of like the toilet is running. Only it's not.

So the other day, some plumbers showed up unannounced. I was at work, but Kyle was off for the day. They started by taking the toilet out, checking around, then reinstalling it. Nothing. They went downstairs, to the part of the ceiling underneath the toilet, which happens to be inside the kitchen cabinets. The food cabinet. They remove nothing, and start ripping a hole in the ceiling.

Oh, look. black mould. on my food. Thanks, dudes. Mind cleaning that up? No? Well fuck you very much then.

So as it turns out the problem is a leaky/burst water main. Which really is not my problem, because I won't have to live here while the city comes and tears up the street to fix it. Except they're not coming. Because our landlord doesn't plan on doing anything about it. Her own words.

Yeah. I've had some slummy landlords in the past, but this is a big deal! What do I do? Call the city? or just move out of here and leave the problem to someone else?

(PS - I just googled 'burst water main' and was met with a bunch of apocalyptic pictures such as this one:)

Hmm. growing concern.