A sheep tale

Once upon a time, there was a tiny sheep who really wanted to fit in with the trendy sheep that were eating lushious grass in the meadow. The tiny sheep was, most of the time, minding its own business but once in a while it would do something really compulsive because many other people (hum…I mean sheep) were doing it. The tiny sheep learned that this strange behaviour is called the bandwagon effect (the sheep speaks French ok). Anyway, the tiny sheep saw, god knows where, that a lot of cool sheep were getting a new book called Lines & Shapes (yes, sheep read books and some of them have university degrees). So without a minute to spare, it went into its wool purse to get its wool wallet and took out its visa card (there is no wool visa…we all know that) and ordered the entire collection (6 different books). And when the first book finally got to the meadow, the tiny sheep was a little confused because it didn’t fully understood the concept of the book! That’s what happen when tiny sheep want to mix with trendy sheep ;)

The doodle report

I'm the kind of gal who likes to "feel" a book before buying it. I want to touch the texture of the paper, see the finish on the pictures, look at the font design and when nobody is looking I might also smell it...especially vintage books. That is probably why I'm really insecure about getting books online, especially those beautiful Japanese craft books. I'm also a little cheap! I don't like to spend money on something that I might not enjoy. However, last week, with no other option, I ordered Doodle-Stitching and I really don't regret it. This book is full of very cute ideas that can easily be done by people like me...beginners. It has a "stitch library" and the explanations are very simple. I highly recommend this book for its projects but also because the paper is soft but not too delicate, the pictures have a nice mat finish that is not aggressive to look at and the fonts used are "girly" but with moderation. And the smell...well...it smells new which is a good thing since I paid full price!

That’s bloody expensive

I dreamt that I was happily walking the streets of London with a bag full of Cath Kidston items. Meters of fabrics, flowery tableware, polka dots tins and flirty skirts were all part of it. As soon as a Cath Kidston catalogue arrives at my door I always look at it with great envy. I tell myself: “If you ever go to London, you will visit that store and buy some nice goodies”. Happy me! We are going to London this summer!!! I might have carefully looked at every single item in the catalogue but I never really bothered to calculate the price with the exchange rate. My little hand, holding my calculator, was slightly shaking when I saw that the “cowboy skirt” (that would look so nice with a little red tank top and some delicate sandals) actually costs 150$ cdn. I must admit that I’m slightly disapointed but it’s not the end of the world. London certainly has a lot of very nice stores where I can spend my money at a more resonnable price. Does it?!?

Center of gravity...where are you?

How difficult could it be? I mean, it is just a little mobile! Big mistake! How naive! The mobile swap organized by Elsie Marley is such a lovely idea. However, the last time I saw a mobile was at a baby shower, over a years ago, and I sadly did not take the time to analyze the technical aspects of its construction. Too bad! After I received my swap partner information, I decided to go for something "contemporary" but with a feminine touch. Looking for inspiration, I came across the birds drawing on the last page of Lotta Jansdotter Simple Sewing. It became my pattern. There is just one problem and when I say problem I mean wasting an entire Friday evening trying to figure out where the center of gravity of my damn birds was! This morning, when I woke up, I had a vision that will probably help me solve that problem but I will work on it later because right now, I'm going shopping with my husband. Normally I'm not crazy about shopping, I have this bad relationship with money, but for my birthday (who's approaching too fast!) I can get pretty much anything that I want but it has to be done in a two hours time frame. That's the tradition! Got to go :)

Lumberjack chic

I’m an event planner. Basically my job is to organize fancy pants events where people drink too much, eat too much and talk too much. In March I will be in charge of an annual fund-raising gala for a non profit organisation. Each ticket is a few hundred dollars and it’s obviously back tie. I know that every woman should have a little back dress since it's classy and can easily be accessorized. However, there is a problem with the little black dress: every woman has one!!! At each event, I stand in the middle of a sea of black fabric and, though it’s impressive at first, it gets a little boring after a while. So I decided to go crazy! This morning I ordered a cocktail dress from J.Crew (yes, it’s my favorite store) that will certainly differentiate me from…you know…over there…those girls with the black dresses. Since I always go for “cute” and not “sexy”, I will pair it with a nice black cardigan and black kitten hill shoes. If somebody is looking for me that evening, I will be…you know…over there…the girl with the lumberjack silk dress!

UPS standard

It was back to reality this morning! Walking the dog at 7:00 am, getting properly dress for -19 C (-28 C with the wind), taking public transportation with other lucky workers, ordering breakfast at a coffee shop next to the office and finally finding myself alone at work since my co-workers decided to take extra days off.

I certainly would have much rather stayed at home with a warm cup of tea and read my latest girly book: The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. However, I was highly motivated to go to work. I was looking forward the 3rd of January for the past few days…ever since I ordered two beautiful summer skirts, on sale, from J.Crew that will be delivered, for practical reasons, at the office today. We each have our reasons to get up, leave our cozy nook and work until sundown (or a little after since the sun goes down today at exactly 4:23 pm). Today, my reason was to get a little summer preview on a freezing winter day!

It's "fabulash"

I’m not an activist. I’m just a quiet girl minding her own little business. However, I believe that the choices that we make as consumers can have a greater impact on our society than tying ourselves to a tree! I try to buy organic and locally grown food, I clean my loft with eco-friendly products, I even pick up my dog poop with biodegradable bags!!! My latest mission: getting beauty products that are not tested on animals. It just happened that I needed to buy shampoo & conditioner and mascara. Shopping with a good cause in mind…that is my kind of thing! I got Avalon Organics Lavender shampoo & conditioner which smell lovely. I then decided to invest in Aveda mascara rose plus. At that price, believe me, it is an investment! In Canada, that mascara costs twice the American price but since my sensitive skin never had a bad reaction to their products I decided to give it a try. Buying these “human tested” beauty products made me feel very responsible toward my dog and my cat. After all, they are naturally “fabulash”!

Note: “Fabulash” is a slogan associated with a popular mascara company that also don't test on animals!