Rainbow tunnel

Happy Lunar New Year!

Welcome to the Year of the Sheep!  This is a photo my Dad took of a Chinese New Year installation in a shopping mall in Hong Kong.  Seems they do it up a fair bit more than the standard North American mall.  Thought this was a beautiful display of texture, colour and creativity.

Hope 2015 is a happy and fulfilling year for everyone.  Off to read up on the year ahead...

Happy New Year!

xo

M

Crafting a wacky phone case

 

This was way easy and oh so much fun to do. I adhered loads of bits and bobs and googly eyes to a phone case with super strength and flexible glue.  It pretty much weighs a ton, but  I love the weirdness of this. The next one may be more orderly or maybe I'll do one with just eyes!  

Field trip -- Textile Museum

Took an afternoon field trip to the Textile Museum last month.  Wanted to visit before the Marimekko exhibit ended.  

The Shine exhibit was on as well and was such a pleasant surprise.  Loved seeing the intricate and sparkling pieces from around the world and eons ago.

A most beautiful embroidered piece.

Stunning ancient Chinese piece.

"The Last Supper" by Carmelo Arnoldin.

A detail shot.  The art work was woven using 3363 recycled soft drink and beer cans.  Amazing.

The Marimekko exhibit was as fun and vibrant as you might imagine. Loved seeing this old catalogue with the "Albatrossi" design that hung in my childhood home and now hangs in my own home.

I'm always a sucker for these vibrant prints.

Must say that it was a nice escape and super inspirational to spend a couple hours there.  Looking forward to more field trips.  Perhaps the shoe museum will be next!

Hello...

Hello!  Things have been crazy busy around these parts. I have a few more unanswered e-mails than I'd like, but plan on getting on top of that over the easter weekend.  I am playing major catch up on custom orders and keeping up with the retailers.  Too many nights up working late for this gal!  I am running on a seriously low amount of sleep.  Partly it is my fault for wanting to catch up with friends that I have not had the chance to see over this busy spell and partly 'cause in my family, we are gearing up to my sister's wedding!  I am still lacking an outfit so I've been trying to poke around some shops too.  So, I'm sorry for the light blogging, but I wanted to post a quickie and say hello! 

Long weekend in Ottawa

This past weekend I went to Ottawa/Gatineau to visit with Mr. and Mrs. B and their two charming tots!

Took the train and rolled comfortably from Union Station, Toronto into Ottawa. Such a contrast in styles between the two stations.

And such a contrast in weather!  As we disembarked from the train in Ottawa, a girl remarked that it was a completely different season there.  So true.  Seemed way colder and they actually have snow.  There has been nary a trace here in Toronto and I was relieved to see the white stuff to remind me that Winter really does exist!

(On a side note, I met a very nice lady seated next to me who has inspired me to track down a book on assertiveness that I hope will teach me how to say no to things I don't want to do, in a tactful and constructive way, of course.)

Had a great time visiting with Mrs. B. and her family.  Now that her boys are no longer babies, and are full-blown human beings, it was such a treat to get to know their little personalities!  Mrs. B was my roommate in residence at University. She was the first person I met when I went off to school and I think of her as family. We have known each other since we were in our late teens!  Hard to imagine!

They are in the middle of gutting a home.  Loved checking it out, seeing the plans and seeing the layers of new and old... imagining how it will all come together.  I'm excited for them and can't wait to see the finished product on my next visit!

Over the extended weekend we poked around town, did a bit of shopping, did manis, hung out with the boys, caught up on gossip and ate so much good stuff.

On the Monday, before I left, we visited the Museum of Nature.  It's housed in a gorgeous building full of stunning architectural details and a giant inflated whale.

We scoped out the whale exhibit and re-learned about the dinosaur age before heading off for some eats.

Thank you to my kind hosts for having me!  I had a lovely Winter getaway!  Looking forward to our next visit!

Hi! Happy Friday!

Some photos from the past few days...

The most delicious thing I have eaten in quite a while...  divine...  seriously...

 Amazing studded pattern on Alaia bag.

 My new Paul Smith shades!  Thanks to my Sis and the fiancé.

 Half finished Entwined pieces.

Moi.

Cosby sweater. 

The common paper lantern made much prettier with paper circles.

That's it for now.  Be back later...

Copenhagen -- Day 1

After a day of travel we woke up in Copenhagen!  The Sister had a list of must-see places and the best of the best, was the design mecca -- Illum Bollighus.  Our eyes were darting everywhere, not knowing where to focus... what beautiful thing to look at first.

We were charmed by these Hoptimists.  The Hoptimist was designed by furniture designer Hans Gustav Ehrenreich in 1968.  We had a couple originals in our house growing up.  One big, one small.  Today, I still have the larger one on display in my home.  Not sure if it was the nostalgia or the Hoptimists doing their job and spreading a smile.  The wooden ones are especially nice.

The store was filled with several floors of colourful, new and classic Danish clothing and design for the home.  Drool....

 Even carpet samples looked fabulous there.

 Loved this multi-coloured knobby rug.

 Tactile floor cushions.

 Oodles of lighting options.

The perfect coat rack for me!

View from the top floor.

Very Danish window.

We loved that store!

Found another shop sharing my name!  I look exhausted here... but hopefully not as ramshackle as that awning!

Busy shopping area...  Lots of tourists like us!  

Nuts and dried fruit.

Lovely pedestrian areas.

Made me happy to see bikes galore!  Made me miss my bike.

Walked over to Illum next.  This was more like the department stores we have seen in any city, but still a very nice place.

Later in the afternoon we strolled over to Nyhavn to check out the pretty canal scene and to grab a hot dog.  Can't say that we ate that well in Copenhagen.  Partly because we were always on the go and partly 'cause we didn't see much that tickled the taste buds.  I'm sure it was completely our own fault!

Sisters!

This beautiful old building houses another large department store, Magasin.

Some stylish store fronts...

and beautiful old buildings.

Tried to visit the famed Tivoli Gardens, but it turns out they were closed Sunday to Tuesday, the exact days we were there.  We did see it all lit up and not darkened and deserted like this when we got off the train from the airport the night before.  It had a dreamy glow to it.  Some other time, I guess...