the princess in disguise

Hello! Goodbye! Hello!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone! My gosh, the holidays flew by fast. Once I finished my essays and exams it was all down-hill (up-hill?) from there. A crazy rollercoaster that left me with a lot of time to think.

And you know what the biggest thought I had was? I want to start a new blog! Yup, something new and different. Something that reflects who I am today and who I want to be in this new and wonderful post-university world I'll be living in.

So, I've slowly begun migrating over to my new blog home. It's on a brand-spanking-new website of my own (!!) which you can find here : http://tomorrowortoday.com/. I hope to see all of my you, my friends and subscribers and random stoppers-by, over at my new blog home very soon! And please, let me know what you think!

Hip-hip-hooray!!

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:46:00 +0000

A week or so ago I picked up the new issue of Cloth Paper Scissors: Studios and started flipping through it almost as soon as I got home. Man, is this magazine ever chock-a-block full of craft room & organization pr0n! But then, I knew what I was getting into since I'd picked up the Spring issue of Studios earlier in the year and loved it. I just can't get over all the great ideas for organizing every size and shape of craft space!

The very first article in this issue is all about "Creative Organization" and was written by Julie Morgenstern, the same woman who wrote that book I was talking about earlier. In fact, it was reading this article that propelled me into picking that book up off my shelf and actually starting to read it and use the tips and tricks it holds.

But getting back to the article... Morgenstern's major guiding idea is that the kindergarten classroom is a perfect model for organization. Or as the author says, "What makes the model work is that the room is organized into zones of activity, the tools needed for each zone are stored at the point of use and everything is kept in an appropriate container." I feel like this is absolute genius. The kind of genius that is so obvious that you feel a little "challenged" for not thinking of it yourself.

Now, The BF and I live in a tiny apartment. We share what is probably a max of 800 square feet. Space (especially storage space) is a high-priced commodity in our home, and I think that I have just been so busy trying to pack things away and out of sight that I haven't thought about how I'm gonna get them out again. For example, I store all my fabric in a difficult to access box under my bed. Yet, the sewing machine and all my other notions are in the living room! Reading this article had me thinking that that setup is probably not the best idea. (Uh, duh.)

So yeah, reading all this stuff made me realized that I could do with a bit of reorganizing. First I'll finish reorganizing my time use and after that, I'm gonna follow the 5 steps in the article to help me better organize my craft space, and all my living spaces in general. And if you wanna know what those 5 steps are or if any of you out there are thinking about switching things up in your own studios or craft spaces, I highly recommend this love volume for the simple fact that it's great eye candy!

{No, I haven't been paid by Quilting Arts to promote their magazine! I just really like the article that much!}

What I did on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Have you ever had one of those days when there was more than one crafty happening going on and you couldn't bare to miss either? That was my Saturday this past weekend. And boy, oh, boy was it SO worth it going to both.

First up, I heard over on the Toronto Craft Alert that the designer lines Snoflake & Dagg and Stacey were having a fabric sale. Stuff they didn't need anymore or didn't have enough of to make it useful for them to keep. Well, of course I freaked out when I heard. The sale started at 10 am and I was there before 10:30. And the amount of amazing stuff! I shopped to my heart's content and still came away with 4 times as much as I would have if a regular fabric store was having a sale. Look at this pile! I had to call The BF to come help me carry it all back home again! If you want to see some more closeups, head on over to my flickr and check them out. I promise you, you'll be jealous!

But of course, there's no rest for the wicked or those greedy for craft supplies, so we immediately turned around and headed out the door to make our way to the Toronto Bead Society's semi-annual Bead Fair. (Yes, The BF came with. He always does to keep me company and hold my cup of coffee.) I've been going to this show for years and it never disappoints. I always come away with a load of new supplies and lots of inspiration to make new pieces. I especially like shopping for charms and metal findings at the fair since there are a bunch of different vendors gathered together and you can always find some amazingly unique elements to go with all your new and colourful beads!

But the cherry on the top of this gloriously crafty day was the $20 tripod I scored in a little photo shop on Yonge Street. I wish I could remember the name but I know it was on the west side of the street between Wellesley and College if anyone reading this in the GTA is interested. And this isn't a cheapo tripod either, no. I've seen shoddier construction on more expensive tripods in big box stores. I am so excited about this! No more hand-shake when I go to take pictures for the shop, yay!

Sigh. But just because I have all these new supplies and bucketfuls of new inspiration, it doesn't mean that I have any more time. :( On Sunday, I ended up spending 6 straight hours just starting the reading and research for my final essay. Not fun. Especially when I knew that all of my new pretty-pretties were in the next room. I guess it was penance for my crafting gluttony of the day before. That and the fact that I'm broke now! Ha!

One a side note: I need to go out today before (or possibly after) class and get my hands on a copy of the new STITCH magazine! It hit stands today and that skirt on the front cover is killing me! I may be broke, but I can still scrounge up a couple dollars for that :)

Monday, Monday

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:46:00 +0000

Morning, all. I've got some new Holiday greeting cards up in the shop. You should stop by and check them out! Designed and printed by me on my Gocco, these lovelies are blank inside so you have plenty of room to write all your holiday wishes. Actually, the "mice" card was a collaboration between my sister and I. I love how she drew their tails together to form a heart!

Man, last week was a long and disgusting week (work, work and more work). And yesterday was a long and disgusting day (homework, homework, and more homework). But Saturday, oh, Saturday made up for it in spades. In fact, Saturday's goodness deserves its own post, which it will probably get tomorrow.

For today though: back to work. *Sigh* How long till I retire again?

Haunted Revelry

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:04:00 +0000

So after dinner last Friday night, The BF and I grabbed our coats and our cameras, dressed Daisy up as Snow White and off we went for our Halloween walk. There were still quite a few people out and about trick-or-treating, but not as many houses decorated or giving out candy as I would have thought. This was our first Halloween in our new neighbourhood and I think the lack of decorated doors may have had something to do with the number of elderly that live around here. Nothing against the elderly, of course! If I was older and all my (future) children grown I'd probably go to bed early too. Still, it was a beautiful, surprisingly mild night and there were plenty of houses to be seen so off we went.

It was definitely a lot of fun. The BF and I chatted, walked and oohed-and-aahed for about an hour, snapping shots of the cool houses we came across. (And there were quite a few.) I'm still not the best at using the night settings on my camera but I was able to get a couple good shots.

And I think we made the night of several a little girl whom we heard squeal, "Look at that dog, Mommy!" Daisy's costume was a big hit. I just thought it was funny, dressing a "snow white" dog up as "Snow White." I am so clever! (*insert modesty here*)

About halfway through our walk though, we stopped for a quick coffee before heading back. Somehow the barista mixed up my order, giving me a grande instead of a tall. I took it, not wanting them to dump it and make waste. I guess I wasn't really thinking about what time it was though. I drink coffee so regularly that I never think about its effect on me. Heck, half the time I don't even notice the effect. But that coffee did me in, folks. I could not sleep all night. Just lay there wide awake. Exhausted but wide awake. I was not a happy camper the next day, let me tell you!

But alas, almost a week has passed already and Halloween is over for another year. The decorations are slowly disappearing from all the front yards and the tree outside my window is currently shedding leaves like rain. Seriously. I think it may be bare by the end of the day. It's just another sign that Autumn's almost over and Winter is right around the corner!

Grateful For: November 2008

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:10:00 +0000

Hello, November! Where did you come from? Wasn't it just September? Didn't Autumn just start? And now it's over. Maybe it's my favourite season because it's so short. There's so much to squeeze into just a few short weeks. But before the end of the month we may have snow. And here's what I'm grateful for/looking forward to as Autumn ends and the start of the holiday season begins. Whee!

1. The Santa Claus Parade!
OMG, I'm so excited! The Santa Claus Parade is to me (and probably a lot of Torontonians) the official start of the holiday season. Toronto's parade is one of the oldest and largest Santa Claus parades in North America and is simultaneously broadcasted all over the world. Did you know that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was inspired by our very own Santa Claus Parade? That's what Wikipedia tells me :) But last year I didn't go and I regretted it. This year though, The BF and I will go with our Venti coffees in hand and stand in Queen's Park and cheer and sing along with the marching bands, some of which come from all over North America to be in our parade. I always invite our friends and family to come with us but no one ever seems to want to go. Maybe they think it's for kids, but I don't care. I love it and the 16th can't come soon enough :D

2. Creating a Schedule that Works:
So I've been reading this book for about a week or so and it is giving me hope that one day soon the way I spend my time each day won't be such a higgledy-piggledy mess and I'll actually start getting things done. I've had it for a while but I only just started reading it. (What made me pick it up will be the subject of a later post.) So far, I've been doing what the author calls "Time Mapping," which is trying to figure out what I actually spend my time doing, how long things take (on average) and when I'm more in the mood to do, say, the dishes as opposed to clean out my inbox. It's going good and I'm learning new things about myself and how I deal with time. Here's hoping this works and I'm able to fit more good crafting fun into my daily life.

3. Buying Presents:
I love giving presents, maybe even more than I enjoy receiving them. I tell everyone, don't tell me what you're getting for others because I like to be surprised and excited along with them as they open their gifts. And I'm a big believer in getting people what they really want, what they'd really enjoy and what would really make them excited and happy. My sister once told me that she always looks forward to the gifts she gets from me because she knows they're gonna be good. Well, I hope I can live up to that again this year. It's making me excited just thinking about it. I wanna go make lists and plans!
This year, I've vowed to get my shopping done on time. I want to do a lot of it on Etsy and from the One of a Kind Show because I'd like to support makers. Plus, I do want to make a bunch of stuff (some of which you've seen the start of.) The rest I may have to enter a mall for will NOT be done during that last week, I swear it. No more crushing masses of people for me, thank you. This year I'll be ahead of the game and everything will be wrapped and ready to go before Christmas Eve!

4. Holiday Decorating:
This is The BF's and my first Christmas in our own apartment, together. No one else, no roommates, just us. Which means I can decorate however I want! Yippee! I love the holidays. After Autumn they're my second favourite time of year. Maybe because the two are back to back, I don't know, but Holiday Decorating is serious business around here. And it all begins the evening of the Santa Claus Parade. We come home, have some hot chocolate, turn on the carols and start unpacking boxes. The BF's a little less gung-ho about all of this but he does go along with it since he knows how much it means to me. Plus, this year I picked up a copy of this magazine and I'm loving all the ideas in it. I'm not sure what to make first! Highly recommended if you're looking for some Holiday decorating inspiration.

5. The Countdown is Coming to an End!!
This time next month I'll be done, finished, finito. Hallelujah! But between now and then will be hell. There may not be a lot of blogging going on around here nearer to the end of the month, what with the FINAL paper of my University career needing to be written and the FINAL exam of my University career needing to be studied for. But once it's done, it's DONE! I. Can't. Wait!

What are you grateful for/looking forward to this month?

{Pic: Here's Daisy, covered in fur and kinda in need of a hair cut but sleeping in the sun because it's warm and on my mother's jacket because it's also warm. Sigh, to have her life!}

Microwaveable Explosion

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:12:00 +0000

The BF decided to make cookies. All by himself. He has a special recipe that he likes to use and normally he is quite good at this. What he is not quite good at is the microwave.

He once told me that when he's not sure how long something should go in, he'll just hit the "Dinner Plate" button. Not hit it and then watch to see how things are going, no. He'll just turn it on and wait for it to beep when it's over.

See this? This is the photographic proof of how bad an idea that is. Because this is what happens when butter and chocolate are left too long melting in the microwave. Ha!

PS - I have pics to share with you from our Halloween walk, but that will be later in the week. Tomorrow, November's "Grateful For." Whee!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:51:00 +0000

I think I've mentioned before that I'm a Celtic Studies major at University, right? Now, Halloween is the epitome of a Celtic holiday. Seriously. Halloween is their New Years! Did you know that? That sort of makes sense to me and seems a lot less arbitrary than January 1st, a random day in the middle of winter. I've always felt like Fall is all about the fresh start. A time for change and to begin new things. There's my birthday, back to school, saying goodbye to one season and hello to another. (Because the Celts only recognized two seasons, Summer and Winter.) Halloween sort of represents to me the end of this transition period and the beginning of the settling in for winter. I mean after today there's only 2 weeks until the Santa Claus Parade and I remember times when there's been snow on the ground for that!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tonight is still Halloween, which I love! The costumes, the fact that it's at night, the candles and pumpkins and squeals of children. I love the houses all decorated and the crunch of leaves under your feet. Of course, I'm long past the trick-or-treating age, but I'm still planing to go for a walk this evening with Daisy and The BF. I'll be walking around the neighbourhood, checking out all the houses and just soaking up the eerie atmosphere that follows after all the children have gone home to devour their hard-won stash. The houses are still all decorated and the streets have a haunted feel. The BF and I did this once two years ago and I've been wanting to do it again ever since. I'm looking forward to it and plan to take a bunch of pictures if I can get the night settings on my camera to work.

So Happy Halloween everyone! And whatever it is you are planning on doing this evening (be it trick or treat) I hope everyone stays safe and has fun :)

The Champeen!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:57:00 +0000

That's right, I'm a Mariokart phenom! Ha, no not really, I only beat the game at 50cc (slow). There's still medium and fast for me to beat. Still, how cool is this? It popped up after all the credits rolled. (I'm glad I let all the credits roll.)

I have to say, though, that I find 3 things slightly disturbing about this image:

1. How much my Mii looks like Me.
2. That my Mii is somehow taller than Mario.
3. That my Mii is apparently incapable of smiling, even though I'm the champion...of the world!

*cue Queen guitar riff*

Progress

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:59:00 +0000

So I finished my silly bobbley cowl and it actually looks pretty good. Here's a little secret: this was the first time I ever finished a seam on a knitted item. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that I was just teaching myself to knit, so this is an exciting accomplishment for me.

It was actually ridiculously hard because all the bobbles got in the way of me seeing what I was doing. In the end I sort of just winged it, but I think it turned out pretty great. The good thing about it is the bobbles also hide any possible flubs in the seaming!

Since this was my first seam, I had to go to my local knitting shoppe and get some yarn needles. I had at first thought that I could do the seaming with a really big regular needle but, yeah, no. I'm sure you can figure that the bobbles struck again.

So yeah, I went into the shoppe and came face to face with a wall of gorgeous yarn. Obviously I couldn't leave empty handed, so I bought a yummy, cuddly skein of Misty Alpaca Chunky and dove right into making a second cowl in the same pattern. See?

Sans bobbles the pattern is really, really great. 5 stars in my book! What do you think?

This one isn't for me though. That's right, I've got the jump on holiday gifts already! Woot! First Christmas without school since I was 3 years old! Now there's something to celebrate :)

the oddity of having a handle on things

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:09:00 +0000

The past couple of days have been remarkably peaceful around here. I'm pretty much all caught up with my "To Do or Die" list and seem to have hit a lull in the storm that is my crazy life. This is almost totally unheard of, people, and believe me, I intend to milk it for all it's worth.

Only, it's strange. I almost never feel like I have this comfortable a handle on things. And now that I kind of do (knock on wood), I'm not really sure how to keep that up and start adding little bits of new fun to my plate at the same time. Actually, so many possibilities are open to me that I'm kind of , sort of floundering over just what to do first. Well, the big pile of dishes obviously, but after that then what?

Have you ever had things that you've always wanted to do but never felt like you had enough time to do them? Or worse, felt guilty when you did do them because there were so many other things that should be done first? Yeah, I have that all the time. A lot of my crafting falls into this category. I never really give myself the time to do those fun things and so the supplies that I buy just keep piling up and never get used.

Well, this time, I'm gonna use them. I have two days of guaranteed calm ahead of me this weekend and I think I wanna see just what I can do with that; just what I'm capable of!

What would you do if you had 2 days to do anything you wanted?

Bobbles and Bluster

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:12:00 +0000

Fall is soon to leave us. Today can best be described as blustery. The wind is high and the temperature is low. There's a heavy bank of cloud that is only allowing occasional peeks of sunshine through. I have a headache, probably from this paper I'm working on that I should've handed in already. It was due a week ago. Being sick + Thanksgiving + a busy week at work does not a good student make.

I decided to try cheering myself up with a cowl. It is working...somewhat. Loving the pattern, hating the yarn. I bought this yarn a year ago, thinking "soft, low care, black AND brown so will go with both winter coats." Little did I realize that the bobbled bits would drive me batty and hide the gorgeousness of this super-simple pattern.

Will have to try it again. Thinking of making one for SOMEONE for the holidays but won't say who (in case they're reading this blog.) But that's for tomorrow though. Must not let myself start it today. Must do paper and finish with silly bobbles first.

*Sigh* I think it's supposed to rain later. Fits my mood exactly.

Denver Hayes is my new Best Friend

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:23:00 +0000

It's no secret that I'm about 2 months away from finishing my university degree. In fact, I shout it from the rooftops whenever possible. In 2 months I'll be dumped out into the real "working" world with a $20,000 piece of paper in my hand. Not that I haven't been working for a living (as well as doing school) for the past 3+ years, but being done makes things different. For one thing, I'll have a lot more opportunities open to me. I won't need to preface a job application with "BTW, I need Tuesday afternoons off for class." People kinda look at you funny when you're 28 and still saying that.

So, because of my protracted stay in university my wardrobe has, by necessity, remained kinda student-y. Lots of jeans and T-shirts. Even my job doesn't require any fancy clothing. As long as I don't show up in my PJs everything is good by them. But now that I'm soon to be free to make my way in this world, I realized that I needed some more professional clothes. Something respectable and business-y.

I don't kid myself into thinking that I'll be able to support myself with my crafts any time soon (as much as I'd LOVE to,) So while out shopping a few days ago I knew I probably needed a just-in-case interview outfit. The BF and I were at the mall and walking by Mark's Work Warehouse. We decided to go in since I've had a gift certificate from there since last Christmas that I've never really known what to do with it. The Mark's Work Warehouse I remember from my childhood is where I'd go with my Dad when he needed new shirts or jeans. It was always a very "MAN" store to me and when we went in I was thinking we would maybe get The BF some new T-shirts at the very least.

But, you know what? I ended up using the entire gift card all by myself. I have two words for you guys: Denver Hayes. Yup. I always though Denver Hayes made clothing for *ahem* slightly more mature ladies than I, but I was wrong! Check out that cute purple cardigan: longer length, three-quarter sleeves with buttons, and exactly what I was looking for! But the best part of this shopping spree had to be the pants. My first pair of real dress pants ever. (Stop laughing at me now.)

I'm a short girl. On a big hair day I'm still shy of 5'2". It has always been the bane of my existence trying to find clothes that fit. I definitely wasn't expecting much when I went in. That's why I was shocked find petite sizes in their super-comfortable, easy-care, no-iron gorgeous-grey dress pants! Don't I look so cute! This has never happened to me before. I've never found a pair of pants that weren't jeans that I could wear right off the hanger. And these, I tell you, I'll be wearing all the time because they make my butt look GREAT. And a good-butt day just makes everything better.

PS - I just signed up for my first-ever ad space over on the Sweet Figments blog and I'm super excited about it. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Pie and the Sky

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Hey there!

I've had a couple of requests for my Chocolate-Coconut-Pecan Pie recipe and of course I'm gonna oblige. The recipe I have is from a little recipe card that I pulled out of a calendar years ago. I think I mentioned it in my last post, but my sick-fogged brain forgot to take a picture of it on the weekend before it got consumed. Ah, well. Instead of a picture of pie, how about a picture of the sky? A purple sunset above the houses across the street:

Chocolate-Coconut-Pecan Pie

3 ~ eggs
1 cup ~ golden corn syrup
1 cup ~ granulated sugar
2 tbsp ~ butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp ~ vanilla
2/3 cup ~ shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
1/2 cup ~ coarsely chopped pecans or pecan pieces
1/2 cup ~ semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ~ 9-inch unbaked pie crust (or you can make your own, of course)

1. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter and vanilla until smooth.

2. Stir in coconut, pecans and chocolate chips.

3. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake in 350 °F oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until center of pie is barely set. Cool on wire rack.Now, my oven runs a little hot, so my pie was ready in 45 minutes, rather than the 50-55 that it calls for. I'd suggest checking it after 40 minutes to really see how much more time it needs. You don't want it to be in too long, the top starts to get a little to hardened when it is.

Also, since the recipe calls for toasted coconut and I could only find untoasted in the store, I toasted my own on the top rack of my oven using the broil setting. It literally took less than 5 minutes. You'll wanna keep an eye on it though. It only takes a split second for it to start to burn.

So, yeah. It's a pretty easy recipe and really good. If any of you do get a chance to try it, let me know! I'd really love hearing what you think.

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving, everyone!

I'm back from the cottage! Still sick, but feeling a bit better. We were there for 2 days and had our big meal Saturday evening in the log cabin. I ate turkey and stuffing and vegetables galore. And when it came time for dessert, everyone LOVED the pie that I'd made. Granted, it's kind of difficult not to love a chocolate chip-coconut-pecan pie, but still, I'm glad it was a hit. (I only wish I had taken a picture of it. I blame my cold for fogging up my brain.)

On Sunday there were lots of chores to do because Thanksgiving is when the cottage gets closed up for the season. The BF was in the thick of it, doing everything from helping to split huge logs into firewood to pulling docks and boats in off the water. Me? I watched and photographed.

Finally, after all the work was done, the BF, Daisy and I were able to go for a walk in the forest. We were told that there was a path that led up to an old gravel pit and then back down again in a big circle. It was a beautiful, bug-free day so off we went. And everything was going good too...until we got lost.

We made it just fine up to the gravel pit, but somehow chose the wrong path for the return trip. We walked and walked for almost an hour, never really realizing that we were lost. After a while though we figured we'd been walking too long. That we should have seen the house or heard voices. The BF said we should follow the sun because the sun was where the house was, so that's what we did. Every time there was a fork in the path we chose the one that took us towards the sun.

Finally, FINALLY through the undergrowth we saw a house in the distance and went for it. Once we got into the clearing though it took us a second to realize that this wasn't our house. Not only that, but this house had two GIANT British Bulldogs in the yard. I freaked out. The BF quickly picked Daisy up lest she be eaten.

Thankfully, the woman who lived in the house came out and called off the dogs. She asked us where we had come from. We said "the forest" and she looked surprised. We told her where we were trying to get back to and and she said that we'd walked so far we were on the neighbouring property, a tough feet when the family property is 40 acres!

But she and her husband were really nice. And since, she said, following their driveway down to the road and walking along that way would be another half hour to get home, she and her husband offered to show us a shortcut through the forest that would get us much closer, much quicker. It was an exceptionally muddy path and I was definitely glad for the rubber boots I was wearing. All in all, it took us about 15 minutes to get back to the house and recount our tale. Everyone had a good laugh. And poor Daisy! After such a trek she immediately flopped down on her towel and fell asleep. I felt that way too but by then it was time for us all to pile into the car for the long 2 hour drive back to the city.

So now I'm home and Thanksgiving is over for another year. It was fun, but there's more fun to come because next up is Halloween!

What's a girl to do...

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:44:00 +0000

...when she's sick and can't really bring herself to do very much?
How about open an online bookshop!

That's right I've opened The Princess in Disguise Bookshop. Two shops actually. One in Canadian dollars and one in American.

Check them out! I have 2 permanent links now in the sidebar.
And if you're wondering what I've stocked them with, well, they're full of all the fun and eclectic things I would fill my own brick & mortar bookshop with if I had one.

A Year of Color | week 3: lime green inside

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:41:00 +0000

This week's colour challenge was lime green inside. Well, how about plantain green? I think that's pretty close!

I'm not really a huge fan of bananas (they give my tummy-aches.) But plantain? Man, I love it! And fried up with a sprinkle of salt? Best breakfast EVER. Have you ever had those plantain chips they sell in the store? Think that, but so much better.

In fact, I love fried plantain for breakfast so much that I took a bunch of photos when I was preparing it this morning and created a visual recipe for all of you. Just click on the image below and enjoy!

Oh, and if you try it and like it feel free to spread the plantain love :)

Grateful For: October 2008

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Welcome to October! There's a cool bite to the air today and the sun is shining. Perfect weather for wearing my new Fall coat for the first time. (Which I did to perform the oh, so glorious task of taking Daisy for a walk around the block.)

So what exactly am I feeling grateful for/looking forward to this month? Let's see....

1. Thanksgiving:
Here in Canada, Thanksgiving is always in early October, and this year it's on the 13th. That means that next Friday will be my annual Thanksgiving bake-a-ton evening!
I always bake up something new and different for The BF and I to take with us up to his parents' cottage on the Saturday. We'll be spending two days up there in the middle of the forest on the edge of a river, eating a huge meal with family and friends. I also bake something special to take with me on Monday, when it's back to the city for my Mom's festivities and another big dinner full of wine, laughter and conversation.
Really, I can't wait! I haven't decided yet just what I'm gonna be baking, but I'll be spending tomorrow afternoon in the middle of the floor with cookbooks and clippings spread all around me. Joy!

2. That smell:
You know the one, like burning wood and rotting leaves and cool air and sunset. That smell, that feeling... To me, it's like pure peace and one of the biggest things I look forward to every Autumn.

3. Remembering How to Sew:
Like all kids, I took Home Economics in Grade 7 and learned how to sew. Since then though, I'm afraid I've let my skills get a little bit rusty. Well, since the BF bought me an AMAZING new sewing machine for my birthday last month I have no excuse not to get back on the horse. I really have been wanting to get back into it for a while now. In fact, I already have a rather substantial stash of fabric just waiting for me to turn it into something(s) lovely. First project on the list? Well, it's a surprise but I'll definitely show you the finished product once it's all done. Yippee!

4. Halloween!
Come on, now. What list of October happiness would be complete without a mention of Halloween. Did you think I was gonna forget? Ha! Fat chance! I have always been the Halloween queen of my family, demanding that we get a pumpkin, even when I lived in dinky apartment that didn't have a proper front door to sit it by.
I love to carve up the pumpkin and toast the seeds. Then on Halloween night, I'll set it alight and watch the children running up and down the street shouting "Trick or Treat!" Sometimes I like to go for a late-night walk, after all the children are back home and scouring their bags of goodies for the best of their treats. That's the time when everything is the most spooky. The streets are quiet but still decorated, and every once in a while you can hear a distant giggling or shout and a scream or two. Ooh, I'm getting excited now! I think I need to go and start researching toasted pumpkin-seed recipes!

5. The Countdown Continues:
I know the date now. December 2nd will be the last exam of the last course of my University career! That's exactly 60 days from today. 60 more days and I'm FREEEEEEEE!

What are you grateful for/looking forward to in October?

PS - Maggie said some really sweet things over on her blog yesterday. Thanks, Maggie! And may I add, you're not so bad yourself ;)

PPS - That cottage in the forest? Yep, that's where I shot this toadstool picture a couple years ago :)

Darker Days

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:54:00 +0000

After a September full of sunny skies, the past couple of days have been dark, dank, rainy and chillier than I would like. My mood has been reflecting the sky and I've been in a bit of a funk. It's definitely been a reminder that after the glory of Autumn does come that long white sleep of Winter.

We're not quite there yet though, and I for one will try to enjoy October as much as I can. Trying to balance my bill-paying day job with what I really want to be doing is still a work in progress and I'm trying to squeeze the good stuff in where ever I can. There's also a lot of housework that I want to get done before the weather gets too harsh. A lot of things that need to be donated, things to put in storage, and summer things that need to be put away so that warmer, comfier things can be brought out. For now, I think I need new light bulbs. We've got energy-efficient ones all throughout the apartment but for some reason they're seeming a bit dull and orange on cloudy days. It's as though the rooms aren't bright enough any more and it almost hurts my eyes. I don't recall having this problem before but it's bugging the heck out of me now. Does anyone know of any good energy efficient light bulbs that mimic natural light?

As for the weather, the good news is that I don't think it's gonna last much longer. (Or, at least the weather man is giving me hope that it won't.) We still have some sunny, crisp days ahead of us before the cold officially sets in. As I type this, the sun is going down but the clouds are starting to break. A good sign perhaps? I'll let you know tomorrow when I post October's Grateful For.

Tagged!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:49:00 +0000

I was tagged by Megan to participate in a meme that's been going around recently. I'm supposed to list 7 things you don't know about me and then tag 7 other people. Well, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm up for the challenge, so here goes :)

1. I'm kind of a comic book geek. I haven't been keeping up as much recently as I used to but still, if you tried to stump me on DC or Marvel or Image Universe trivia you'd probably have a hard time.

2. I'm left-handed. Like, super left-handed. Like practically crippled if I try to use my right hand. But I don't have the stereotypically messy left-hander's writing. I actually have really cute handwriting, see:

3. I've never been on an airplane. I know, sad. Pathetic even. I've just never had the opportunity before. Don't get me wrong, I desperately want to travel, it's just never really been in the cards. I do hope to change that soon. And I'm thinking that my first trip should be to someplace warm and sunny where the water is blue-green and clear, don't you?

4. I have a large and really multicultural family. My mother's side of the family is from Guyana and my father's side is Canadian. My Grandmothers had 9 and 5 children respectively. With such a huge family I have aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, etc. that culturally cover the globe: West Indian, Filipino, Black, White and everything in between. This is my youngest cousin, Mary Rose.

5. My major in University is "Celtic Studies," meaning everything there is to know about the history, culture, myth and folklore of Ireland, Scotland, Britain and some continental areas of Europe from prehistory to the modern day. Fairies? I've got the lowdown. Halloween? Did you know it's the Celtic New Years? Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars? Been there, read that. I'm just a fountain of information and the sad part is (as we saw in number 3) I've never even been to any of these places! Still, I can sort of understand Irish if I read it and I can say "how are you?" "I am fine, thank you." in Scots Gaelic (just don't ask me to spell it!)

6. I don't actually have a favourite colour. When I was younger I did, it was purple. These days though, working so much with colour in my crafts and jewelry design, I find that my tastes tend to change every few months. Ironically, purple is this season's big colour hit so it has temporarily renewed itself as my favourite. Still, I'm currently leaning more towards shades of mauve and lavender rather than the deeper regal purples of my youth.

7. My guilty pleasure food is Mac and Cheese with hot dogs the way the BF makes it, all spiced up with hot pepper flakes. Geez, I shouldn't have thought about that. Now I'm gonna have to ask him nicely to make it for me for lunch, LOL!

Hmm, thinking up 7 things is harder than it sounds. But I think that Wishcake, Renee, Lynsey, Nadine, Dana, Tilly, and Connie will be up for the challenge.

Tag! You're it!

I scored in the Annex

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:51:00 +0000

So, on Tuesday I went up to the Annex to run a bunch of errands that I'd been putting off for a while. It was warm out and being the middle of the day the main strip wasn't too crowded.

Well, I got all my errands done, but being in the Annex , I couldn't leave without going into a few of my favourite stores. First stop: BMV. My gosh I love that place! It's hard for me to go in and not find something I'm desperate for. Take, for instance, this time. I go in and make a bee-line for the second-floor crafts section (of course), and what do I find?

Three Martha books that I've been wanting...for the price of one. That's right, O-N-E. I love this store, sigh. Suffice to say I know what I'll be curling up with before bed for the next few weeks!

On to my next fav shop: Morning Glory, a super-kawaii Korean stationary shop.

These days I've been doing a lot more actual writing-things-down with pen+ink, rather than just using keyboard+wordpad. Something about the act of writing helps to crystalize my thoughts and makes what I'm writing feel more real to me. Usually my brain is moving just as fast as my fingers when I type. But when I write, I have to force myself to slow down and be deliberate. So, since I plan to be writing up a storm this fall, of course I needed a bunch of cute new notebooks!

My favourite part about these notebooks is that each one has a sweet little caption in English. That top one says "Feel Refreshed: I like a green apple and a warm feeling." The middle one says "Beautiful Life: Life that is made of little things is filled with beauty." And the bottom one, I think, is the sweetest. "Remember: This place is still beautiful even after this distance of time." Inspiring stationery makes for inspiring ideas, don't you think?

So, after Morning Glory, where else did I go on this errand run that was quickly turning into a shopping spree? The local magazine shop!

With October issues of two of my favourite magazines on the stands, I couldn't go home without them. On top of a bunch of subscriptions, I still leave myself the happy pleasure of picking out a few special magazines each month from off the rack. My choices, of course, are usually based on the cover. That chair with the pillow and the yellow legs is just killing me. I love it. And the deep green wall behind? Gorgeous. And look at all those pumpkins! With October only 4 days away it's definitely time to start preparing. I guess I should make a bit of a confession here: My name is Sarah and I am a magazine addict. The BF will tell you, there are piles of them everywhere in our apartment. Well, they're not just sitting there like it sounds, I do have plans for them. (Maybe even some having to do with this blog?)

All in all, a great day, although I did pay for my spree by having to lug all of it around with me for the rest of the day. I spent so much time shopping that I had to go straight from the stores to my evening class. Maybe next time I go to run a few quick errands I should take my bundle buggy with me ;)

A Year of Color | weeks 1 & 2: red inside and out

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:23:00 +0000

I've signed up to participate in this year's A Year of Color over on Flickr. The theme this time is "Color Inside and Out."

It's my first time, so I'm super excited about it. I've really enjoyed what others have done with this challenge in the past and I've decided to try my hand at it! My goal, I think, is to start using my cameras more and to try to see things that I normally wouldn't pay any attention too. I think being a good designer means being able to see possibility in the mundane and I'd like to do a bit more of that.

So, here we go!

red inside : week 1

You know, for the sake of safety, I'm glad we have this large red fire extinguisher bolted to the kitchen wall of our apartment, but for all other intents and purposes I HATE it! It's horribly ugly, and really there was nothing to be done about it. Nothing, that is, but hang a little copper fairy from the pull tab :)

red outside : week 2

Down the street at the corner there is one tree that's WAY ahead of the game. It's been red for a couple of weeks now while all its other tree friends on the street are happily still green and give no inclination of changing to anything else for a while.

I like this tree. It reminds me of a similarly impatient tree that stood at the top of my parents' street when I was a kid. I used to walk past it every day on the way to and from school. After a while it became a signal to me, and by my last year of high school I knew that if the impatient tree was turning red the others would follow in about a month, and if the impatient tree had lost all its leaves, the others would be barren by the third week of October.

I haven't had a comforting, familiar seasonal rhythm like that since I left my parents' house almost 5 years ago. It's hard to really get in tune with nature when you don't stick around in the same place long enough to observe it more than once. I miss having a yard to rake leaves up in and a front door for kids to knock on on Halloween night or hang a wreath from for Thanksgiving.

Can you tell I really want to buy a house? Yeah, too bad I live in the 2nd most expensive city in North America where the average cost of property within the city is so far out of my price range it's kind of laughable. Oh well, one can dream.

a good monday (is that an oxymoron?)

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Well, I was definitely more productive today than I have been in a while. You may notice a small change over there in the side bar. I've started a daily tally called "1 big thing and two little things." I've mentioned before my new-found goal to get 3 things done completely and done well every day. Day one (for reals), and so far so good.

I got two new necklaces for my fall halcyon days collection photographed and posted in the shop. Clicking the photos should take you to where they are (fingers crossed):

How did I master this feat of productivity, you ask?

Sarah's productivity tip #1 (for the lazy and/or crazy working from home): CHANGE OUT OF YOUR PAJAMAS.

You may laugh but it's not a joke! What's the first thing that everyone says to you when you say that you work from home? I bet it's some variation of "You get to work in your pjs/bathrobe/slippers all day!" Well, let me tell you. In my albeit brief experience working from home over the last 2 weeks, this is a big no-no.

If you ever want to be, or even just feel, productive in a home office the biggest thing I've learned is to just get up, shower, and get dressed right away. Not after coffee or after you've checked your email. Do it first.

It's only been one day so far, but I can't even begin to describe the difference it's made for me, to sart the day fresh and focused and ready for anything. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself and see what kind of a difference it makes for you. Heck, even if you don't work from home, try it on the weekend and see how much more you get out of your Saturdays.

I gotta say, being productive feels a whole lot better than the alternative.

PS - performing a ninja move on the dishes before dinner + making a pot roast = forward motion of what appears to be zero (or possibly -5) and an equally large pile of dishes still waiting for me to wash :(

feeling a bit adrift

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:35:00 +0000

Anyone following my twitter stream will know that something's been going on this weekend, I just haven't been saying much about it yet.

First, a confession though: my brain has holes in it.

Not literally, of course, but it feels that way a lot of the time. You see, I have a tiny problem that a doctor once called "stress-induced OCD." The more stress I'm under, or put myself under, the more wacked out I become. Most days I run around like a chicken with her head cut off, flitting from this thing to that, trying to do a million things at once. That's the "compulsive" side of things. The "obsessive" side writes endless lists, over and over again. Sometimes I get so caught up in preparing and perfecting that I never actually move on to the doing. I may plan great things, but I get next to nothing done. Now, add to this a really bad memory and you will start to see where I'm going.

I talked a bit about my struggles with finding balance in my last post. And of course, in the past week there hasn't been a magical cure-all discovery that's helped set everything right. This whole "being productive" thing is gonna have to be a long-term project, despite the fact that I'm not very good at those. What I did do last week was a lot of soul-searching, and a lot of seeing myself clearly for the first time. It's hard to find out at 28 that you're not as well-aquainted with yourself as you thought.

So, I'm gonna need to keep reminding myself that change isn't gonna happen all at once over night. I'm not gonna wake up tomorrow and have everything under control. And maybe that's part of the point. I think I'm finally ready to accept the fact that not everything is in my control. How I deal with that 'stunning revelation,' will, I'm sure, be an ongoing topic of discussion on this blog.

And with all that said, what have I been up to this weekend? Figuring out a REAL plan of attack. Wait, wait, stop groaning up there in the peanut gallery. This hasn't been me making more usless lists and plans. This has been me really deciding what I want to do and what I don't want to do and what I'm willing to do to get to where I want to be. So, over the the next month I'm sure you'll start to see some changes, around here especially. At the very least I hope to make my blogging a daily occurance. I want to use this place as a tool to help me stay focused, and maybe, just maybe, you'll be seeing much more crafty goodness coming from these parts too!

the pre-breakfast of champions

noreply@blogger.com (SarahInDisguise) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Just a little something to tide me over until real breakfast, because I've planned a busy weekend for myself.

~ Brunch with friends.
~ Read this book. (It's homework.)
~ Tackle my overstuffed and disorganized bedroom so I can show you pics of the new bed and other additions.
~ A bit of blog and email upkeep. A friend turned me on to inbox zero and I think it may help with my email-management problems.
~ Finally put my nose to the grindstone and head into the home stretch on my brother's blanket.
~ Visit my grandma tomorrow for her 88th birthday!

That's right, folks, it's time to get active! I've noticed that I spend a lot of time making plans and lists, but not much else. "Organization" has kind of become my be-all-and-end-all lately. More and more to-do lists being created with fewer and fewer things actually getting checked off those lists. Everything always seems to be "oh, I'll get to that/look at that later, just let me put it on the list." Of course, later never comes. So I've decided that it's time to stop planning and start living and working in the moment. Simply put, time to stop putting off for tomorrow what I can do today.

I read something over on happythings a while ago and it really hit home. In fact, it's been an idea that I've been fighting with and mulling over for a while now: do I have the ability to allow myself to get immersed in what I'm doing, without those niggling feelings in the back of my mind about the 7 other things I still have to do today and how I should really stop whatever I've started and go do those other things instead? I've been trying so long and so hard to make sure that I get everything done that it just seems more like I get nothing done.

No more, I say. My new motto: Get three things done completely and done well in a day. Any time left after that? Work on the bigger projects that take more time and planning. If those three things take all day, well, at least I know I actually accomplished something.

So, we'll see how it goes. It may be a bumpy ride but I think it could work if I just stop planning and start doing.

What do you guys think?