Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category

Blog Award & 7 Random Things (About Me!)

Posted on: April 15th, 2011 by Andrea 3 Comments

The last couple of weeks or so have been an absolute flurry of stress and activity…studying for exams, taking exams, making offers and counter-offers on a house, getting a mortgage approval with one bank…ditching them and going with another one. It’s been hectic, to say the least.

Which is why I’m a little late thanking the wonderful Deja from Atomic Chic! for bestowing upon me the I Love This Blog award! Thank you so much Deja! Please check out Deja’s blog, if you haven’t already – she’s got great taste, great fashion, and great inspiration!

As the recipient of this honour, however, I now have certain responsibilities. There are rules if you’re tagged with the I Love This Blog award, and they are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Share 7 random bits about yourself
3. Pass the award on to a few of your favourite blogs
(And don’t forget to let them know!)

So, without further ado, I love the following blogs/tumblrs:

Blue Eyed Freckle by Katie
❤ interiors porn by…to tell you the truth, I’m not sure (!)
Happiness Is… by Shannon

And now for a few random bits about me…

Seven Random Things About Andrea

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Were those random enough? Hope so…and I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me! I had fun trying to decide what to share, and putting it all together.

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Loot Bags

Posted on: April 11th, 2011 by Andrea No Comments

Do you remember birthday parties way back when? You went to someone’s party, brought them a gift, and got a loot bag in return…more often than not, you got it only when you left the party, allowing you to prolong the sugar rush and excitement of the day long after you got home.

Thinking about it, it seemed a fair trade. A very simple social contract of “give and take” with the knowledge that eventually it’d be your turn to receive the gifts, and in return, give away your own excellent loot bags.

[ image source ]

Having no kids of my own, I haven’t really thought about loot bags much (except that I can’t even fathom what our parents did to fill them before dollar stores). Until recently, that is.

One of my boy’s aunts loves to give away loot bags (though I’m not sure she’d call them that…I haven’t actually met her yet). Like this one my boy and I received for Easter:

As you can see, these are no ordinary loot bags….they’re a *little* larger than the ones you might expect from a birthday party, and filled with far more varied (and mostly more grown-up) items, wrapped up in pretty boxes, bags, and tissue paper.

Unfortunately, everything was unwrapped long before I could snap a photo…but here are the contents of this years’ Easter loot:

Starting at the top left: Easter bunny clips; two mini bird vases; pretty yellow fake flowers; a fridge magnet pad and pen (featuring cardinals); matching cardinal napkins; a magnetized vase (or pen holder); a “Happy Easter” sign; Laura Secord Easter egg; super cute pink bird notebook; floral tissue paper; cat key hook, homemade marmalade, and a small cat wallet…and the reusable bag, of course!

So much fun! Thanks a bunch, Aunt P.!

Procrastination: 1, Andrea: 0

Posted on: February 21st, 2011 by Andrea 5 Comments

I’ve been having a hard time focusing these last couple of weeks…it seems no matter what I want to do, I don’t have the energy, the time, or (at that very moment) the inclination to embark on, well….anything new or too time consuming. There’s a part of me that thinks maybe I’m suffering from the winter doldrums (also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder).

Or maybe I’m just lazy.

Needless to say, I’ve become extremely adept at procrastinating…every time I think of doing something productive or creative…I don’t.

Usually one of the following top 5 usual suspects wins out for my time:

Usual Suspect #1: PlayStation
My playstation is by far the biggest eater of my precious waking hours…not only does it offer hours and hours of continued interactive enjoyment, but with a decent selection of games at my disposal it offers a multitude of worlds in which I can get caught up and lost in….and considering I’m just sitting around procrastinating, these make-believe worlds seem far more interesting than my own couch potato reality.

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Usual Suspect #2: Google Reader
I really enjoy blogs and am always on the lookout for new and interesting reads. But I am, unfortunately, way past the point of being able to reasonably keep on top of them all. So far past it that my total “unread” items has 4 digits (eep!). Having all of these unread posts works very well when I am actively trying not to do other things.

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Usual Suspect #3: Etsy
Oh Etsy…how do I love thee? Apparently, I love thee a little too much. I spend hours on end just browsing what other creative people (who actually manage to create, rather than procrastinate) are offering, or exploring the many vintage goodies for sale. And the fact that daily temptations are delivered directly to my inbox? I don’t have the willpower to resist.

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Usual Suspect #4: Pinterest
I was probably a little too excited when I finally received my invitation to join Pinterest…I scour the site regularly for inspiration and (let’s face it) just for fun. I’m amazed that I can see the same pin over and over, and not consider it boring (why is that?!).

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Usual Suspect #5: TripAdvisor
I have a fickle romance with TripAdvisor…if I’m not going anywhere, then I want nothing to do with it. But if I am….(and I am….), I have an obsessive relationship with it. I can’t finalize any of my travel plans without first consulting with that sultry goddess of reviews. Current destination: Italy…have I made any decisions where to stay? Nope…because I haven’t over-examined every single possibility yet.

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There. Now that I’ve officially recognized that I am a slave to the above procrastination temptresses, maybe I can finally get my act together and do something.

[ photo sources: Timothy Buckwalter | artsyville ]

My New Specs…

Posted on: January 12th, 2011 by Andrea No Comments

So here’s the thing. I’m practically blind…I’ve tried contacts, but I just don’t care for them. Instead I wear glasses, day in and day out. And truth be told, I like wearing them. I think they reflect my personality, and I look better with them (in fact, I think I look kind of weird without glasses…my eyes seem too small or beady…maybe it’s my imagination).

The problem with wearing the same pair of glasses, though, for…say…seven years? Is that they start to get gross…no matter how beautiful a pair of designer frames may be (and mine were…oh god they were gorgeous) and no matter how well you take care of them, they succumb to wear and tear, just like everything else.

My usual go-to location for frames had seriously disappointed me the last time I went to replace my lenses…so much so, that I didn’t want to go back. Instead I decided to take a friend’s advice (thanks Shannon!), take a huge leap of faith, and order my glasses online through Clearly Contacts.

Here’s what I got:

Nike’s Track frames have a nice shame to ‘em, but I’ll be honest: I picked them exclusively based on the colours: they’re teal on the outside, and transparent lime green on the inside. Love!

I’ve always wanted a pair of really red glasses…I’m not quite there yet with these Chianti frames by Modo…but I’m getting close (notice how big my nose looks in this picture? holy!).

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WOW. Talk about a fantastic experience. Not only do they have a ton of fantastic looking frames available for a fraction of the price you’d normally pay, but the cost of lens treatments is included, and lens thinning is just as reasonable as the frames themselves. I couldn’t believe it: I ended up with two pairs of frames (and lenses thinned) for under $300…add to that the friendly service, and super speedy delivery? I’m a believer.

(…I’m a believer that I can actually afford to treat my eye-wear as accessories now…)

So I guess the big question is: Did I make the right move? Do they suit me? (Did photoshopping each pair of frames to my face pay off?)

Please Note: I know this kinda maybe sounds like an advertisement….but really, I just happen to think that good experiences (yes, even good shopping or customer service experiences) should be shared, and credit given where credit’s due. These guys have earned it in my book.

Friday I’m in Love: 2011 Goals

Posted on: December 31st, 2010 by Andrea 7 Comments

Because everyone else is already doing it, and I love to jump on bandwagons, I thought I’d look forward to the new year and share a few of my goals for 2011:

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1. GET & STAY ORGANIZED
I always struggle to get (and most importantly) stay organized…but the last few months of living in a temporary apartment have made it a Herculean effort. More often than not, the apartment (and especially my office) has been a complete (and embarrassing) disaster area.

During my week off, I made the effort to clean up and organize my office…it’s still fairly “temporary” in that most items remain in bins or boxes, but I’ve at least reined in the chaos. I’d like to try and keep it this way.

2. GET A GRIP ON MY FINANCES
I’m a fantastic saver….give me money, and I’ll squirrel it away and not spend it. But that’s about all I’m good at….which just isn’t going to cut it in the new year as I become a full-time self-employed consultant. Having to manage and remit all of my own taxes to the provincial and federal governments, track expenses, and surely a ton of other factors I’m too overwhelmed to comprehend absolutely scares the bejeezus out of me. But I don’t want it to….which means I’ve got a lot to learn.

3. SET UP AN ONLINE SHOP
I’ve been talking and talking about it, but this year I actually want to set up a Pretty Gurl Bijoux online shop…Now seems as good a time as any (even better), as it’ll complement my self-employed status quite nicely….expenses and income for the shop will be just one more thing to track.

4. CREATE MORE
My head is filled with ideas…I’m constantly coming across inspiration…I keep collecting (old stuff, new stuff, whatever…I’m a bag lady) in anticipation of all the things I want to make. This year, I want to set aside more time to actually sit down and create: both for myself, and for my (future) shop. Can’t wait to get started (in fact, I think I kinda already have…more soon!).

To help motivate myself, I’ve pledged to participate in Project ReStyle, the brainchild of Elsie Flannigan and Rachel Denbow…both creative titans in the blogosphere.

5. TAKE MORE PHOTOS
I love photos. I love looking at photos. I love taking photos. But I’m notoriously bad at taking them on a regular basis (I usually pull out my camera on vacations, and leave it buried in a drawer the rest of the year). In 2011 I’m going to make an effort to record everyday things, in addition to (and instead of just) extraordinary things. I got a brand-spanking new compact camera on steroids for Christmas, I’ve (finally!) signed up for a flickr account, and will try to take at least one picture every day (or so…). Wish me luck.

6. GET OUT MORE
In case you didn’t know: I am an introvert. I am perfectly happy to sit by myself for days at a time just doing my own thing. I have no difficulty keeping myself busy or amused. (Does it come as any surprise I studied archaeology? I wanted to sit in a hole and dig….by myself.)

This year, I want to get out more (and not just on solitary excursions): I want to see my family more, I want to reconnect with and see friends, and I want to go out on more dates with my boy.

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Think I can do it? I sure hope so.

Do you have any goals for 2011? What about non-goals? (stuff to avoid or to keep doing?)

Oh My: Vintage Camper Follow-Up

Posted on: December 30th, 2010 by Andrea No Comments

A few weeks ago, I wrote about running away in a vintage camper…at about the same time, my boyfriend’s mother was discovering my blog, learning a few new things about me, and coming up with some pretty special Christmas gift ideas. Today, I’m sharing one of those gifts with you. A photo:

Imagine my surprise when I opened up a pretty package to find the above snapshot from a family camping trip back in the early 1950s with….yep….a vintage (wooden!) teardrop camper.

Teardrop campers like this had room for two adults to sleep, with an area for cooking outside under the rear “hatch”. The image to the left provides a better idea of its likely configuration [ source: teardrops.net ]. Apparently only the larger campers had their wheels inside the body of the camper…so this sucker could have been as big as 6-1/2′ wide, 5′ high, and nearly 12′ long.

This alone was a fantastic find…but what I found wrapped up beneath it almost blew my mind: the camera that took that very same photo…an old Kodak Brownie.

According to the Brownie Camera Page, the Brownie Holiday Camera was produced from 1953-1962 and came in two models: one with, and one without, a flash (mine doesn’t have the flash attachments). The Brownie Holiday Flash retailed for about $5.00 (which seems an obscene amount of money for the time), and came with this cutie little manual:

So now I have to find a suitable display for my oh-so-cute brownie camera, and the photo it took…though that’ll only happen once I’m in a more permanent living situation where I’ll actually bother to decorate.

(Oh the plans I have for that future, mysterious, and elusive abode.)