breaktime

well, i'm afraid i can't put it off any longer folks...between you, me and the flat screen monitor - i did try my best procrastination techniques though ;) KASA & i are in major upheaval mode with the imminent move + living out of boxes, as well as trying to keep up with our own 9-5 work schedules. eep! okay and then the real big bugaboo is my computer because it's capital-D-e-yi-ing. the most embarrassing part about that sad fact is how my handsome one presented me with a brand new system over a year ago but the switch over scared me to pieces so it's been sitting there collecting dust.

i think about how I've got everything on my current computer organized, the cute little icon folders and the order in which it all sits. i've been working off the archaic XP OS (i know you're shuddering at that thought right now but i LOVE it so!) and have to give up the fight and upgrade to Windows 7. a world where files cannot be placed in the drag & drop order i like which sux! lots of turning points to calculate ahead but i wanted to send a huge shout out to everyone who's commented and sent along the most awesome well wishes. thank you SO much!!! next time i see you it'll be from a new home, in a new office AND on a new computer. i feel kinda like a scrolling screen...wondering how it's all gonna end. the very word "new" strikes fear in my "wary of change" heart, but i dream of a peaceful coexistence between girl and progress. later days friends... ♥

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all keyed up

Last weekend the sun shone on us for a whole 3 days and it was v-beautiful!! Most of the time we had to be tucked indoors packing for the move though so that kinda sucked but when Sunday rolled up we could finally make a break for it. You see, that was the day we met the owners of our new little townhouse to collect the keys and take a tour around our almost hood :))) 

Coming from such a citified mindset this type of "Huck" Finn meets Tom Sawyer naturescape is sort of a foreign entity to us. An afternoon spent exploring trails lined with picket fences and brambly twigs reaching up to the sky where they join together right above our heads isn't something we're used to while pounding the concrete sidewalks of our soon to be previous hood. All that was missing, it seemed, was a Mark Twain interlude and a little Mississippi River banjo music :)  We did have a river though, complete with a sandbank where children and dogs played in the sunlight plus a walk through the wilderness, as quaint as can be. I can't wait till moving day (neither can KASA)...well maybz not the actual heavy lifting but definitely the after effects of where we plan to land. yah to new nooks that bring a harmony of sweet, fresh air and the most melodious bird sounds trickling down from the high branches above. Wishing everyone a stellar weekend, I hope you find your sweet spot along the way too! ♥

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holding pattern

* dress-up deets: clutch-ted baker, camel cardy (similar) + jeans (similar)-gap, striped tee (similar) + necklace + belt-f21, 

shoes-modcloth, bracelets-cutey + twistband, cocktail ring-madewell * 

When I saw the words "my be love!" at the beginning of the email I knew it was gonna be a good read from my bestie, Vivian, who lives (sad tear) all the way back east in Toronto. I treasure any and all contact we have and can't wait for her visits to Vancouver. The last time she was in town we spent cherished moments sequestered away at her hotel. As usual, Vivian was wearing the most darling outfit complimented so nicely with a pale pink patent clutch...I gushed over it and was smitten with its glossy finish and darling silk butterfly interior. Also as usual, my dearest friend said "well, you should have one too!" and I think at that moment the champs we were sipping spewed from my nose like a bubbly geyser! Turns out that her handsome husband, who manages the brand Ted Baker, had gifted his bride with 3 out of this world sample clutches and she wanted me to have one of them. generous much?

Sooo, back to the contents of the email. After reading the latest updates plus news of a 4-wheel purchase worded in legendary Vivian-isms: "the whole process of buying a new car makes me want to poke henkel knives in my eyes." baha! She spoke of a neighbor who was v-bound and thought he could be the perfect pigeon-carrier. "giant wallet is in the clutches of the pigeon. he arrives this evening around seven. i put kasa's name on the package. it'll be at the front desk." I convinced Sean to do a drive by and collect "the package" for me. As the title of this post suggests, I've been enjoying a continuous holding pattern with my TB clutch. Thank you so much Vivian, my GG heart explodes with gratitude!! xo

Happy April Folks!!! ♥

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let the chocolate bunny consumption begin...

KASA and I are admittedly getting "hopped" up on Easter candy this weekend! It's part of our packing blitz strategy - inhale as many sugar shell coated treats as humanly possible and then power through a few hours worth of loading up boxes in prep for the impending move.

By contrast, the crash after coming down off these uber sweet confections renders us both out of operation for a while. Slacking à la sofa with the boyf and our kittehs feels sort of like being in a leisurely holding pattern until we get the next energy spurt and start all over again ;)

Many blessings to you all - I hope that you're enjoying this long weekend. Happy Easter! ♥

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my spirit animal

* dress-up deets: bali dress c/o gentle fawn, jean jacket-gap, shoes-calvin klein (similar), 

ring-windsor (similar), cuff-(similar), belt-h&m *

I'm sure that as a designer it's always interesting to see how other girls get inspired by your latest collection and the various ways they wear it. I was bursting when the brand, Gentle Fawn, contacted me about a collaboration and to ask what pieces I was sweet on from their new spring line. So many charming choices set me off on a fashion fancy pirouette but my heart shone brightest for one special dress. When it finally arrived, I knew I'd be smitten for life and couldn't wait to take it out for a twirl.

The Bali hi-lo dress from Gentle Fawn's spring 2013 collection couldn't be prettier if it tried! I love its soft, floaty fabric and frosty, printed pale palette. Since the brands inception, circa 2003, many seasons have passed by while maintaining true to its original roots in style and perhaps the kindest of spirit animals. Gentle Fawn Clothing is inspired by a rare collection of antique ceramic fawns - we all love those darling woodland mascots right?!

Thank you to everyone at Gentle Fawn, especially Kathryn, for reaching out to me with this opportunity to work together. It was such fun to style the Bali dress for this shoot and to bring out my "vintage" GF brooch from a blazer I bought way back in '04 - I've been a fan for ages and love the brand so much! ♥

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waiting to exhale

"Heart of Vancity" portrait of downtown Vancouver video via Joel Schat

i've lived in downtown Vancouver for 20 years and loved every second of the city lifestyle. never in my wildest did i think about moving somewhere with less hub or bub. this mindset has been proven to change before however...when i grew up with my folks i NEVER contemplated the idea of living on my own. in fact i even went so far as to say "i never would!" with extreme emphasis. ahhh, that dam broke at the age of 25 when i split up with an ex and was forced to get my own apartment. what an intense bout of emotions that caused - it was a pivotal time because it taught me that change is good and putting myself in a box, any box that's got enclosed ideas is restrictively undesirable.

changing your mind, morphing your beliefs, transitioning your spirit to higher levels is something to be cherished, loved on and appreciated. i was in absolute bliss most of the time i lived by myself, which spanned on and off for about 6 years. now Sean & i are about to embark on another boxed in theory of mine...living in "the burbs". ha! well, it's only a 30 minute commute by awesome ocean view train ride to the city so that's not too bad right?!

i'm nervous, anxious and feeling extremely contemplative these past weeks. change is good, i say. changing the bubble in which you dwell can lead your heart to new, exciting places never even dreamed of. the + list (you know what i mean) far outweighed the - one, so we're taking a trek to a whole new world. an unknown that shall include...one day very SOON! a 5th family member (puppeh-love!) who i've already chosen a name for (sorta geeky like that), lots of walks through the vast trails down to the river and more than enough space to spread ourselves out. the townhouse in the "place-in-between" will allow us to breath in and out because lately we've both felt the restraint of exploding cheeks while turning blue a bit too much. i will always love my big city memories but can't wait to start fresh with my handsome one and fur babies. we are in countdown mode people! thanks for the well wishes from my previous post, you guys are the BEST!!! xo ♥

image render inspired by breanna rose // the townhouse images are where we're moving to!

kinda reminds me of a colonial San Fran scene :)

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boxed

i guess the box shape is kind of on my mind lately. mostly because of the compartmentalization the boyf and i have to start on soon for the BIG move. this weekend we picked up a ton of boxes for packing - one of the most dreaded tasks ever. am i right, or am i right?!

the shapes of things to come are very square and makes me think how much easier it would be if we could somehow convince our workplaces to allow for a "moving day off" followed by "an unpacking hiatus". ha! sounds pretty swell to me right about now :) the images here are some random snippets from recent days past, you might notice the Pinot Grigio bottle...sorta love the title - it def is something both KASA & i have muttered under our breath this weekend. we just keep telling ourselves that it'll all be worth it when we're in the new place, settled and serene!

fyi- the blog's gonna take a bit of a hit during the next while, you won't see much activity friends. but...if you squinch your eyes up real tight and imagine us heaving heavy furniture around and scrambling to catch our beloved kittehs before they accidentally become barricaded behind the fortress of cardboard then you've got a very good idea about what we're up to. ♥

clothes + accessories via: ban.do pom pom corsages / jumbo bobbi / heart iphone case, conversation pieces dotted top/cardigan/scarf, happy socks

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the color code

I've always been a primary girl - loved the RGB since kindergarten actually. What I wouldn't give to go back in time (perhaps Delorean styles!) and relive a day from art class. It was one of my faved experiences! Being allowed to swipe, swirl and mush paint all over the place doesn't happen that often, at least not anymore so it's a happy time memory that I hold onto dearly. We sure didn't have anything as cool as these temp dino tats though, now those are a in the moment wishlist saver. Happy Sunday Folks!!! ♥

images via: 1, 2, 3

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pleasure trip to the park

* dress-up deets: blouse + necklace (similar)-f21, jeans-madewell, black booties-joe fresh (similar), 

bag-made by hank, scarf-san fran find, faux leather jacket-simons *

With U2's Beautiful Day blaring from the car radio KASA & I took off the other weekend on a little adventure drive. There was the intention of popping into a few open houses, since we were apartment hunting, but once we reached an area called Trout Lake there was a long pause. It's actually not too far from where we live but for one reason or another we don't often go in that direction. Sure glad our radius expanded to include a relaxing stroll complete with puppeh sightings and sunlight streaming through the tree branches.

We already scoped out the perfect potential picnic spot and can't wait till the weather warms up a bit more to take advantage! There was 1 condo that caught our eye too but we held off signing the paperwork. As luck would have it another ahhh-mazing opportunity came along just the other day that makes Sean & I feel completely excited and so-so happy!!! 

We're moving alright and into a 3 floor townhouse (dog friendly!) with its own little front yard, back deck plus omg folks the kitchen of my dreams. The boyf will have his own garage to do man-cave like projects in and I have ample closet space to spreeeeaaaad out many a hanger - oh joy!  It'll be weird to move since we haven't in 5 years but this new home appeared like it was heaven sent so we crossed all our crossables in hopes the owners would pick us to rent it out to...and they did :) The best bonus of this happening is that we also adore the couple who own the house - they're the absolute sweetest! It's been a good week; we're counting our blessings that's for sure. Hope everyone is in high spirits as we approach the weekend - enjoy you guys!! xo ♥

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hopelessly devoted to brunch

Not sure if I mentioned but KASA loves cooking shows and one of his faves is the series Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. While watching a rerun extravaganza he spotted Guy Fieri drive up (in a red Camero no less!) to North Vancouver's Tomahawk Restaurant and called me over to gaze upon the eating fest of mass proportions. 2 things stood out to us both: signature Yukon-style bacon & thick Klondike toast. Heck ya!! 

This place is an institution in North Van and we've heard many tales from friends about their wonderful eats. My Mom also reminded me that she and my Dad used to go there when they were dating...um, circa 1952-ish! It lived up to the hype, our food was awesome :)  There was a bit of a queue for a seat; line ups are the norm but there's a little shop near the front door selling bits and bites to look through while you wait. I reached for the cardboard feathered headdress right away and obvs had some fun wearing it, as you can see! Like a boomerang, we'll be back. ♥

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