ON GOING HOME

In just over two weeks I'll be back home visiting friends and family in Ontario. At times I'm so looking forward to the trip that I lose my breath and have to stop whatever I'm doing and remind my heart to keep on beating.

I've missed Waterloo. I've missed the coffee shops and bookstores, the fields of tall grass and the fall colours,... oh the fall colours. I miss the familiarity, the history, the proximity of friends and family. I miss home.

I've been thinking about how strange it will be going there as a visitor. Photographing the streets and the skies and the trees as if I hadn't spent the first twenty-five years of my life there. I'll photograph everything because I don't want to forget anything. And I'll cry with every ounce of my being when it is time to leave it all behind again.

Lip Perfection is right!

Up until a few months ago I almost never more lipstick. This might have been because I didn’t have a job and therefore was usually dressed in a way that didn’t warrant it (read: like a bum), but it also had to do with the fact that it always completely dried out my lips. After wearing lipstick for a few hours I'd spend the next xx days trying to nurse my chapped lips back to health. I was tired of throwing away ten dollars each time I gave a new brand a try; it always ended up the same way. And then at Target one day, I picked up one of these:

It’s Covergirl’s LipPerfection Lipcolor, and I’m in love. Not only does it not dry out my lips, the color stays on really well, despite eating and drinking, so I only need to apply it once in the morning and then touch it up here and there throughout the day. I was so happy with the first one that I went out and bought myself a new red!

left: me, wearing spellbound            right: me, wearing hot passion

For anywhere from $5.99 - $9.00 this lipstick is definitely a must.

Dear Husband

Some days, when I'm having a particularly rough time I close my eyes and sit perfectly still, and if I'm lucky the hustle and bustle of the office disappears leaving only me with my thoughts. It is in these moments that I do my dreaming.

I plot out a life full of creating, capturing and loving. Of homemade dinners and family get togethers. Of herb gardens and weathered hardcover books. It is a life in which I find peace, comfort and limitless love; and I know - without a shadow of doubt - that you will always be right there beside me as we chase down our dreams... together.

Decor DIY: Typography

I don't know what it is about typography, but it has always appealed to me; so it's really no wonder that I began incorporating it into the design on my home (here and here, for example). A couple months ago now I had pinned a cute letter idea that I knew I could do myself, and I finally got around to completing it this past weekend.

It now sits atop one of the big square bookshelves in the living room.

I've slowly slowly slowly been sprucing up my studio/office area and I'd had an idea in my head for months and I finally got to put it into action. I love the results, but the space still needs some work (and clearly some tidying needs to be done!)

Both of these were incredibly easy to make and involve paper-mâché and wooden letters purchased from a craft store, acrylic paint (I mixed a dark grey with a silver metallic to give it a bit of shine) and a foam brush. That's it! It's easy DIY projects like this that you can do very quickly (like on, say a rainy Las Vegas Saturday like two days ago) that really add a punch to your decor!

If you've used typography in your decor I'd love for you to comment or share some photos! Happy Monday everyone!

Welcome Virginia Maisey

My brother and sister in law back in Canada had a baby girl this morning. I've only seen a single blackberry photo and already my heart feels swollen with love and excitement. I can't believe that I have to wait almost a month until our visit back home to see her. I'm going to be the best aunt.

Without further adieu I give you Virginia Maisey

J'écris

Let’s flash back to high school (ugh…). I was super shy and awkward, with a boy hair cut and a body that was developing at a much slower pace than all of my girlfriends (I would post a picture here but I don’t want to scare anyone away). I was – and still am – a total book worm, wore far too much orange for any sane human being to be seen in, and never truly felt comfortable in my own skin. I was all of these things and more, but man was I creative. I painted, sketched with pencil, pastels and probably my favourite – charcoal. I made collages from cut up magazines. I kept a journal (and still do). I started taking an interest in photography. And I wrote. Boy did I ever write.

My tattoo that I designed - "J'écris" meaning "I write"

Writing was everything to me then. It got me through the incredibly tough years of high school and beyond. And then something happened. Life happened. College happened. And somewhere along the line writing went from defining me to, well, nothing. I still keep a journal, and I’m sure that I will continue to until the day I die, but I pretty much stopped writing poetry and short stories.

Fast forward to the present time; I’m in the same position.

When I wanted to improve my photography skills, I did a 365 days self-portrait project. It would be pretty hard to describe how much knowledge and confidence I gained in doing so. Just ask anyone else who has ever taken part in the project. I’d recommend Ali, Ed and Lauren.

Well, I think that the time has come to put as much thought and effort into my writing.

I want to take on a writing project. I don’t yet know what it will entail, but I feel that writing it here and posting it for the world to see will keep me motivated, and more importantly, hold me accountable.

I’m excited about this. I’m excited to pull that part of me that I loved so much back to the surface. It’s time.

A Taste of Home: Mom's Zucchini Bread Recipe

Most of the time I feel okay having moved so far away from friends and family, but some days I am full of loneliness and longing, and feel so out of touch and out of the loop. I was feeling particularly sad last week and so when I randomly discovered that my husband had never before had zucchini bread, I immediately emailed my mom asking for her recipe.

I couldn't stand zucchini growing up. As my mom still says to this day, zucchini bread was the only way that she could get me to eat it. Back then I thought it just tasted good. Now, it has become a taste of home.

It Sure Feels Like...

... Spring.

Home, and How it Defines You

Yesterday morning for one reason or another I found myself thinking about what our home says about us; what conclusions would a stranger come to about our lives if they walked through our front door?

These thoughts led me to begin to ruminate on how and what I define myself by. I had previously written about how I too often define my life by how it compares to others’ and I’m working on correcting this, I really am; but what do others see when they glance into my world?

If you step through our front door there won’t be anything that immediately gives us away (except maybe that we’re obviously not into clutter). A solitary table/chair is all you will really see. But walk a little further and you’ll see bookshelves, the photographs on the wall, and all of the movies shelved above the television. You will make assumptions based on those items, and they will probably be correct.

If you travel into the kitchen and perhaps pull open the fridge you will notice that it is a little bare, indicating that we’ve gotten a little busy over the past couple weeks. You may find my binder full of my favorite recipes and deduce that I enjoy cooking.

If you wander up the stairs you’ll notice empty rooms just awaiting the family that will certainly grow over coming years. You’ll spot my work area and camera equipment, the stacks of photographs lined up along the wall – a dead giveaway. You will find the drums and guitars and all of the sheet music belonging to my husband and quickly understand where his passion lay. A quick glance at the wall of shoes and a look into our closet will surely give away my love for clothes.

But my question is: does any of this actually give you a sense of who we really are? And if not – is that a bad thing?