A kitsch journey

For Christmas, I got a delightful book called Montréal Kitsch. It is a list if 98 kitsch sites in Montreal like restaurants, stores, bowling alleys, etc. According to the book, an object-person-site is kitsch if it was born cheesy and got forgotten. If the object-person-site comes back it becomes kitsch. Over the past few months, I developed a strange interest for kitsch! After I read the book, I decided that I would visit as many sites as possible. So far we went to 3 sites:

Jardin Tiki
A restaurant that is more about ambiance than food. An homage to the Polynesian craze of the ’50s and ’60s: live turtle pond, creaky rattan seats, marine-themed lamps and a ukelele soundscape...and exotic cocktails (I took a Bolos...you can bring the pineapple back home)!

Montreal metro
Inaugurated in 1966, Montreal metro has more than fifty stations decorated with over one hundred works of public art. A competition among Canadian architects was held to decide the design of each station.

Marché aux puces St-Michel
One of the last real flea market in the city. Full of quirky objects at fairly good price. We didn't get anything but the visit was really worth it. It is almost a little museum of Montreal history!

So, are you into kitsch?

Frugal gal

I saw this cute skirt (favorite color: violet stone) on the J.Crew web site but, with my little budget, I didn't feel comfortable spending that much money.

Oh, little side story before I write about the skirt. I'm still unemployed and I feel bad about it since Dan has to pay for pretty much everything. To feel less guilty, I turned into frugal mode and I honestly like it...especially the cooking part! During the day, I see what we already have at home, then I get recipes on Internet and, in theory, it should cost no more than 10$-15$ for a 4 portion meal. The food has to be tasty and healthy so no Kraft Dinner (even if I like Kraft Dinner but don't tell anybody!!!). So if you have frugal recipes, let me know.

Back to the skirt! As a frugal gal, I was looking for sewing projects that do not require a pattern. I was so happy to find a skirt tutorial that looks a bit like the J.Crew skirt. According to the tutorial it should only take 30 minutes to make since it is just a rectangle with an elastic. Perfect!

Well, sewing is a trial and error science. It took me 3 days to make it!

Day 1: The elastic got all twisted. I got better quality elastic.

Day 2: I don't think that 71'' circumference is appropriate for a size 0 or an xs. Potato bag!

Day 3: The skirt is too long and is still too big. I look like a toddler in a potato bag!

End of day 3: It is not J.Crew but it is better than nothing. And it looks pretty cute :)

The pattern that keeps giving

Last year, I got a "very easy" vogue pattern. The first dress that I made, I only changed the sleeves. The second one, I used it to combine the style of two A.P.C. dresses. I changed many things and it turned out pretty cute. This is the dress that I had for Christmas in 2008. I love to see my grand-parents and tell them: "Hey, look! I'm awesome, I made my own Christmas dress!!!". It is my little moment of glory during the holidays! I did one last dress with that pattern. It was again my Christmas dress!

I think that I won't use that pattern again. Maybe with "experience", I realized that the pattern was not that great. I had to slim it down a lot. I don't want my grand-parents to think that I'm pregnant. Ever since the wedding, a few years ago, they are just waiting for that to happen! I made it shorter because I don't want to look like a toddler! I also gave it a more "actual" look.

I'm still very happy with it. It has this little old French film thing that works perfectly with my new haircut. And with black ballerina flats, it is a perfect match!

Now, what pattern should I get???

Canadian design, eh!

I still don't know if I should ignore or embrace the fact that I will turn 30 in two weeks. I didn't think that I would be the kind of person who would get anxious over a number but sadly it is the case. I keep thinking about this silly mental checklist of things that I should have done by 30. Unless I start a "grown up" job, get pregnant and give birth by February 3rd, I won't be able to complete my checklist! At least, as a well-known French Canadian singer said, c'est à 30 ans que les femmes sont belles (it is a 30 that women are pretty)!!!

Getting old is a bitter pill to swallow but it might just be easier with some lovely birthday presents! From my wish list, I selected a few items from 4 amazing Canadian designers.

Alba alam clock (dark mahogany) from Furni

Elk pillow from lines by : davis

4 leaves gold Karen headband from Quirky Beauty

Jina Espresso wool coat from Soia & Kyo

My hibernation must stop

For the past few months (let me count...1,2,3...um, 7 months), I have been into craft hibernation. Making boxes and adapting to our new condo took a lot of energy but what really killed my artistic mojo was getting a new job that turned into a total disaster. As much as I don't like to admit it, my...cough, burnout, cough...actually made me put my sewing machine, patterns and Japanese fabric back in the closet. But now things are getting better and and I decided to come back to the blogosphere.

It has been so long that I decided to reintroduce myself by doing a little 2009 year in review.

January
My wonderful husband got me a new camera (Canon Rebel XSi) and I started another 365 photo challenge on Flickr.


February
I used double pointed needles for the first time and successfully made a pair of Toasty from A friend to knit with!


March
Dan and I did a little impulse purchase! We got our very first condo in an old candy factory. So sweet...ah ah ah, you get it...candy, sweet...ah ah ah!!!


April
Adapted a Japanese pattern with my sewing teacher and made a dress using my favorite fabric ever. However, I had to re-stitch the entire dress as soon as I finished it because the tension on the industrial sewing machine was too loose. Not fun!


May
Got a little spring fever! Biked around town and took many pictures of beautiful bicycles.


June
Taking long walks, making boxes and slowly saying goodbye to our old neighborhood.


July
Doing my last craft project before my sewing machine started go gather dust in the closet!


August
Adapting to my new neighborhood. It was not easy but now we are best friends!


September
When things started to get out of control!


October (no picture!)
What can I say, I was doing so bad that I had to stop my 365 photo challenge!

November
Quiting my job and taking time to get better: sleeping, reading, listening to music and spending good time with Dan and my mini zoo!


December
Getting a little makeover to end the year in beauty!


So, this is what I did in 2009! I can't wait to tell you about my crafts, photography journeys, discoveries and projects...and maybe a little vintage etsy shop of mine (but it's a secret for the moment!).