say it faith

"September, I'll remember..."

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:12:00 +0000

I've been on a summer hiatus (I know). It's just been too nice out and with so many things on the go that this poor little empty blog has suffered at the bottom of things to do. I've also found myself getting caught off guard by the fact that (OMG!!) it's already September! While sadly this means that summer is quickly coming to a close it also means that it's time to welcome back cozy sweaters, crisp air and quality time with friends and family while gathered around a table feasting on deliciously warm and hearty goods! Autumn really is my favourite of our four seasons for it's short lived beauty and feel. They all have their highlights though I've come to appreciate, but there is something about the autumn that feels so inviting as we begin to prepare for the calm and stillness that follows it.

...and on that note, there is more to come over the next few weeks as I play a little catch up here.

fs

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold - when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade." Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

some pictures just say it all

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:36:00 +0000

Source: The fourth sex and beyonce

summa' summa' summa' time

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:16:00 +0000

...

{and swimming pools}

Source (both images): The Big Picture

july blog features

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Happy July! We're in the dead heat of summer here in Toronto. Scorching temperatures in the low 30s this week plus the humidity has been making it feel closer to the low 40s! A recently caved and had a window AC unit put in my bedroom so that I could at least get a good nights sleep (and trust me, I tried to go without!).

I haven't been very active on this blog in recent weeks... the warm weather aside its just been a busy time and it was difficult to get my mind to focus in on any one thing to blog about. I also didn't want to just post something for the sake of posting something, so I decided to hold off, take the break that my mind was telling me to take and just do my own thing for a bit. Funnily enough I was always checking out others blogs and doing lots of reading so I thought I'd share some of that with you.

So in no particular order here some of the blogs I'd like to feature for July.

The Vodka Blog is great blog. Allison really mixes it up and always manages to find the most wonderful images that really capture the tone of whatever she is writing about. She's got a serious eye for style and fashion and her writing is frank and witty.

Some time ago my good friend Carolyn shared with me an article from Psychology Today. I've been hooked on reading about the madness of the mind ever since. They cover topics ranging from relationships to brain evolution, and from parenting to creativity. It's a daily go to for me.

And speaking of Carolyn, she is a talented photographer who has recently added a photoblog to her website. Her wedding photos are beautiful! You have to see for yourself.

Lunch with Mary: eager to learn as much as she can by taking as many people out to lunch who she can learn something from. It's a simple idea and so brilliant.

Forever is Today: great images, with love, from Sweden. I know, I just have an affinity for Sweden... maybe because it reminds me so much of parts of Ontario in the summer. She also features her collection of antiques and other collections.

Cannelle et Vanille is also a long time favorite of mine. I salivate seeing the pictures and feel nostalgic reading the stories that go along with everything she makes. A true inspiration for enjoying the simpler things in life.

So that's if for today. I will try to feature more another day. Keep cool!

summer solstice

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Summer is officially here! I'm celebrating by going to the park and staying until after sunset with some friends. You never know what to expect at the park these days...

This past weekend I kicked off the start of summer with some good old, rural Ontario 'garaging' as the locals called it (a.k.a hitting up garage sales) with my mom. Scored a few treasures which mostly included old books - Canadian Encyclopedias, a book on Canadian Natural History, a very retro National Geographic book on the universe, some books on old mythology, and National Geographic magazines from the early 80's.

I also picked up glassware at the local Value Village for Kristen and some lovely teacups and saucers for myself (pictures coming soon). ...So, who wants to come over for an afternoon of tea and reading old National Geographic magazines, next rainy day?

For today though - Happy Summer Solstice, and may your mid-summer night's dream be everything you wish for!

light my decanter

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:26:00 +0000

KV, this post is for you. Have fun in YesterMorrow!

These 'decanter' lights are stunning!

Source: The Cool Hunter

art is life

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:09:00 +0000

With Luminato going on in the city I've been inspired to create, craft or do something other then sit at a desk in front of a computer (unless of course it involves blogging or checking out other blogs, etc). Yesterday evening after a picnic with my friends at Trinity Bellwoods I toured "Ship O'Fools" a vessel of aimless passengers where inside the cabin you are met with the sounds of being on the open water.

For me the experience felt like stepping into a surreal diorama of life sized proportions and becoming the 'creator' who shapes and moulds our very existence.

This morning I also discovered Art House Co-op, a Brooklyn based art house that is made up of artists across the globe building projects on a small scale by the masses to create the bigger idea. "Art House projects are a way to create a community of artists and give anyone a chance to be part of something creative."

Their recent art project The Sketchbook Project is "like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks".

"Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be bar coded and available for the public to view. Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project."

While I may not be signing up for this project, it did get me thinking that I need a small sized sketchbook to carry around with me at all times. I have bigger ones, but they tend to stay at home. The small moleskin sized books don't seem intimidating and are more convenient. Going to pick one up at lunch time!

Soon I will post about some AH-MA-ZING sketchbooks I saw over a year ago on the Behance Network. They blow my mind! Okay, I'm searching for that link...

...cue the music!

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:47:00 +0000

After a few months of taking a musical 'pause' (a.k.a. no money left to see more shows), I'm back at it. Going to see Delta Spirit on June 26th at the Modclub. Looking forward to what is going to be a great show!

Delta Spirit - Trashcan from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

ain't no party like a pants off party

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:21:00 +0000

This is months old now, but the warm weather seems appropriate to come back to this now.

I can see how much more shocking it is done in the middle of winter as opposed to the middle of June (and can you believe it's already the middle of June!!) when some outfits might already seem pantless. Nonetheless, ode to the pantless!

Brought to you by Improve Everywhere in NYC

Causing scenes wherever they go - not to mention laughs!

Follow the link to watch the videos.

goooooooooaaaaal!

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:07:00 +0000

Just in time for the FIFA World Cup is this amazing t-shirt. Get one with your favorite player inside.

Source: The Cool Hunter

beautiful destruction

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:54:00 +0000

More then words!

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

Amazing footage taken with the amazing Canon 5d mkII
Music is Jónsi - Kolniður

My own private beach

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:09:00 +0000

Will soon be in the comfort of my own living room.
sigh

Joshua Jensen Nagle

And you're more then welcome to come enjoy it with me ~~(but not this exact one)~~! Turns out it IS this exact one.

pillow talk

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:21:00 +0000

I would love to have a pair of the leather 'Fleur de Lys' throw pillows from Restoration Hardware. Not only would they look fantastic in contrast to the white leather couch (which you'll see when I do my apartment post soon) but I can only imagine that after ten or more years, once they've been broken in, how beautifully worn they would be.

where I've been

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:06:00 +0000

I spent the majority of the week at home this week, taking some time offline to get my place back in order after all the beautiful weather we've had for weeks here in Ontario. The thought of being couped up indoors when it's so warm and sunny outside is unthinkable. But of course this means neglecting to finish my big closet purge that I started a few weeks ago, and heaps of clothes lying about was driving me ba-nan-as!

So at long last we had two solid days of rain. Well, downpours more like it. So I'm finally finding some peace while going about organizing in my zen-like state. It really does feel meditative!

In the next week or so I'm also hoping get around to showing you my cozy apartment. Although I moved in just over a year and a half ago it was a rather slow process for getting rid of all the things that I felt were cramping my style.

But like I said, more to come on that...

kitten cuddles

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:23:00 +0000

I sat outside at lunch today and the people at the next picnic table had this little guys with them. Not to get all Elmyra on you, but this was just too adorable to pass up sharing with you.

Hope your Friday has been as enjoyable as cuddling for a few minutes with this little kitty was :)

This is Smokey at five weeks old - his owner brought him to work for the day with her.

if only everyone did this (myself included)

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:00:00 +0000

After reading this post on Pick the Brain I felt compelled to share it with you: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before you Ask for Advice really hits the nail on the head and makes you look deeper into what it is you're really asking for.

While the rest of the post gets into three questions - covering off the before, during, and after asking for advice - it's the first question that in my mind the most important question to ask yourself. Are you looking for advice or validation?

It makes so much sense. I could recall countless occasions when asking for advice was actually just me looking for some kind of validation. I know in my head all along what it is I want to hear and there is the need for me to hear it from someone else. And when I do hear it I'm either nodding my head in agreement or finding some way to justify my decision - and usually regardless of if it aligns with where I am.

So have a read and then tell me, what do you think about it?

Yours Truly,
Seeking ~~Validation~~ Advice

Topshop it up!

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:18:00 +0000

Yup... it's for real! UK's popular Topshop will be hitting the Toronto streets this June! They Topshop line will be housed by Jonathan + Olivia.

For those of you not familiar, Jonathan + Olivia located in hipster central Ossington (near Queen) is a boutique that first caught my eye in 2008. They had my Kånken Mini rucksack Fjallraven hanging in their window along with carrying some other international lines.

It's arrival is timely indeed - I'm currently purging my closet and there is a bit of extra room in there. And what could be better then getting decked out for Osheaga in Topshop festival fashion!

Source: Topshop

holy hot spell!

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:46:00 +0000

It's still May and as hot as hell (I mean July)! Today with the humidity it felt like 38 degrees!!!

It makes me long for days like this...

That was me and my friend Jenny "English" swimming in Monterosso, Italy back in 2005.

feels like summer

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:17:00 +0000

I stepped out for lunch today without a jacket, and without the worry that I would need it. The sun was so lovely and so so warming... sigh. It's really just a hint at what's to come here in Toronto as the heat really starts to kick it up a few notches (yes it can get disgustingly HOT in Toronto in the summer).

Either way I'll be glad when come August I can escape from the city and sweltering heat to be closer to water's edge - be it here in Ontario or in the south of France! Yes, that means vacation time! This picture below captures my sentiments perfectly.

Source: forever is today

Forever is Today: It's one blog that I've been hooked on since first discovering it a few months back through.. oh I can't remember where exactly I first saw it... but defintiely worth checking out. I feel like I'm in Sweden all over again - days spent bicycling around Stockholm, camping in the archipelago, and all the simple and beautiful designs the nation is so well known for. And that's not even including Ikea! Hilda also recently opened up her online shop where she'll be offering prints and other merchandise.

p.s. I hear tomorrow is going to get up to 27°C, so exciting!

"aloneness is our nature"

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:34:00 +0000

Alone and loneliness. At first they sound like they are the same thing, but yesterday I was reading through some of the archives at Urban Monk and found this post on 'loneliness' that speaks to how differnt they really are.

Like happiness is a choice or state of mind, so too is loneliness. "Aloneness is our nature. Loneliess is us running away from it."

We were born alone, and regardless of all the people and relationships we are surrounded ourselves with, we are still alone and eventually we all die alone too.

I find comfort in reading this because there is something comforting in knowing that ever single one of us is as alone as the next. The trouble comes when we fight against our nature; when we struggle and force ourselves into relationships, to not be alone. I see how this leads to love for the wrong reasons, and how we have relationships that are never fulfilling, or feel that we are not getting what we feel we deserve, and so on... That is when loneliness sets in. Because after the initial joys of being distracted from our aloneness, after then dust settles, there we still are, alone.

One part of the post that stands out for me is about when he compares folks to flock to the city to be surrounded by people and never feel alone, to the monks to take to the mountains in search of being alone. One hides from it while the other strives for it.

You can read the rest of the post here.

le sabot noir, part I

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Sat, 15 May 2010 01:02:00 +0000

I arrived early for some time to settle into my own, have a glass of wine and take in the scene of the café - I wanted to get my own sense of what all of the buzz had been about. I read Great Expectations while I waited for an old friend to join me. A few chapters in and half a glass of wine later I realized that it must have been well past meeting time so I checked my phone for the time.

There was a missed text message from my friend, "Hi there. I'm across the street at the hoof café. I put my name down on the dinner side if we want to eat in a bit." I responded, saying that I was at the other end of the bar. Funny, I realized and soon found out, seemed that we had both arrived early to enjoy our own company. Dinner wasn't planned as we were meeting up for a drink, but it was much welcomed. I was hungry. I had hurried home from work that day so that I could get there early. The monsoon rain called for something warm, I was under dressed and cold. May weather can be unpredictable and deceiving at times.

The wine was starting to warm while on the page before me Pip 'awaited the arrival of Estella's coach'. I awaited my company to get my text message and realize what I had just. And in a few moments we said our hellos, had a quick laugh over our coincidences, and proceeded to catch up on the little things as we drank our edges away. Our conversation flowed as it had during the good times and I felt a great sense of calm and weight lift. I was not nervous but more excited by my lack of expectations, especially given this blast from the past with my old friend.

In the week leading up to it, there had not been much though given to it. The only time that happened was when one of my good friends drilled me on my intentions and imagined different scenarios to see how I would react. Even this didn't faze me a whole lot we had a good laugh together at the ideas. It did bring to light something I had not realized until just then. I was – after a couple years of feeling so confused – beginning to be at ease with myself in the kind of way that feels like growing up meant growing wiser.

We decided to settle up our bill and headed out in the rain to buy some cigarettes at the near by 7eleven before having dinner across the street. A drink and a cigarette was my age old habit, picked up back in the days when you could still smoke in a bar; back in the days when I wasn’t of legal age to be in bars too come to think of it. There were lots of things you could get away with as a girl, flashing a pretty smile. I believe I barely looked my age at the time, let alone twenty one according to my sister’s ID.

Cigarettes lit, we were now consciously aware of ever breath inhaled; mixes of the cool rain air flavoured now by tobacco. My mind drifted back and present, never landing anywhere but insisting on just being in the moment. I liked the peace.

happy friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 14 May 2010 21:43:00 +0000

I have a short story coming for you soon. In the meantime I wanted to show you this picture.

At times I just stare at it and it makes everything better.

Have a great weekend!

Source: The fourth sex and beyond

new game

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Blog - I'm sorry I've neglected you over the last week. I've been offline, away from home, and really busy at work these days. I hope to catch up more with you over the weekend.

In the meantime I thought I'd play a little guessing game with you. For now I'm calling it, "It's where?". That's the way my nephew Phillippe says it since he translates is directly from french, and it's just too adorable to correct him. So here's how it works, pretty simple really. I post a picture that I've taken from an obscure location and you guess where it is.

Okay... ready?

GO!

First one to get the right answer wins a prize!

the ride by

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:26:00 +0000

One thing I love about getting around the city (aside from getting where I need I need to go quickly) is taking all the side streets and coming across all of these little gems. It might be weird to if I stopped my car to tke a picture of something, but hopping off my bike is a much easier thing, and a little more discrete.

If you didn't know, I also have a thing for turquoise :)

my hometown

noreply@blogger.com (Faith) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:14:00 +0000

I grew up in a rural southwestern Ontario town of about 11,000 people. I took this picture above of the water tower when I was home last weekend. I would say that there are four things that define Wallaceburg's landscape: fields, open skies, creeks/rivers, and then the ghostly disintegrating downtown.

It's all too easy to forget about these many small and scattered communities throughout Ontario.

Ships like the on shown on the mural above used to deliver goods through the many rivers that flow through Wallaceburg, back when it was an industrious booming port.

This was my old middle school, W.T. Laing. It was closed a few years ago.

Photo Source: Flar of the SkyscraperPage Forum, and thanks Jon for sending me this link!