dream big.

one of my secret dreams & wishes was to experience an elton john concert.
it remained secret because i never thought it would come true.

but it will!!!

i bought tickets to see elton john, live with billy joel (!) on may 30 for their face 2 face concert!

oh elton, you had me at goodbye yellow brick road.

i am so happy.

ps: as morbid as this sounds, i've requested my sister to have them play this song and skyline pigeon on my funeral day.
pps: what was your favorite concert? the best ones i've gone to so far are dashboard's dusk and summer tour & spice girls (and i am not ashamed to admit it!) world tour.
ppps: i would love to see enya or yanni or sara brightman one day. that would be lovely.

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je t'aimerai plus fort

i. i love this ad for cherie. it's so bright. so pink. this captures la vie en rose. this makes me more excited for paris!
ii. i love dior products. i used to use clinique, up until i discovered that the toner was BURNING my face. clinique toners have alcohol.
iii. i had a thirty minute complimentary facial at the bay. it was heaven.
iv. bought two cardigans, a top and a pair of shoes at h&m. ARGH.
v. spent an afternoon avec la soeur. it was very lovely. my sister is one of the few best people to hang out with.
vi. i saw revolutionary road. it's very sad. but not in an overwhelming way ( i didn't cry at all, which is what i tend to do when i watch sad movies. i was, however, tensed the entire time). the sadness is subtle, in the form of tiny pinpricks.
vii. i watched two for the road. another "before-and-after" movie on marriage. i love this movie though. audrey hepburn was great, and so was albert finney. i was weirded out the first time i saw it because i've always known him as daddy warbucks the baldie from annie.
viii. i altered and took in a dress that i got a long time ago but never wore because it was too big. i am very pleased with myself! tomorrow i will be hemming it (which scares me!)
ix. antoinette has awarded me with the kreativ blogger award! thank you so much antoinette! i am very honored and am smiling from cheek to cheek. :) (i will do a separate post for this one!)

anyhoo, i hope everyone had a great weekend! it's monday, which means back to work.
now say it slowly and fake it until you make it: "i love monday mornings. i love my job" :D

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on crochet trim, potholders and before sunset.

i made a few things.

this is heavily influenced by anabela. i love it because it's simple, compact and it fits the essential items.

this is for a little girl named jennifer. i made her another tote a long time ago.

i'm proud of myself because i actually lined it the correct and proper way. :)

i also like the straps. :) i normally take the messy way out by making something similar to bias tapes (except thicker) and just top stitching it. this time, i used karyn's crafty contraption: heavy string, bobbin as a weight, safety pin to pull the entire thing inside out.

this is a picture of the unfinished potholder that i made for my friend leslie. (inspired by karyn's beautiful potholders!) he likes to make cheesecake when he's stressed. i also made him a simple full apron (not pictured) out of cotton twill, and i used blue thread so that you can see a nice outline of blue.

and that is all is all. i'm dying to buy fabric, after seeing all the nice new fabrics that karyn has at the store!

***

my dad borrowed some parisian and french tours on dvd over the weekend.
i won't ever watch one again.
i'm afraid i might get disillusioned. although a lot of people say that i will absolutely love it.
soi have decided to just watch movies that are set in paris.
today's movie is before sunset. i wish they'd make another sequel. except i don't know how they'll call it. before dusk? hardeeharhar.
this movie has significant meaning because i was watching this movie around the time i was slowly falling for john. in the movie so much importance is placed in those rare connections you make with people. and what can happen if you just let it slip by.
i'm so glad i didn't.

i hope everyone had a good weekend! :)
mighty snowy in toronto. i built a fort with my little sister in the backyard today. hopefully it lasts for a while. we did very well, if i do say so myself.

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i'm going to paris!

:) :) :)

i bought my ticket today!
soooooooo happy!
i feel like i've just been proposed to harhar.
(ooohhhh and congratulations to blog friends who have all gotten engaged!)

i'm getting on a nonstop flight to paris which arrives at 10 am on the 8th of may.
10 days in the land of
truffaut
moliere
malle
racine
macarons
cafes
amelie
before sunset
baguettes
la vie en rose
yummy food
etc.
ack.

since my parents wouldn't let me go by myself, i will be going with my dad. which is fine by me! he's cool to be with and is very brave - he's going to be driving in the left side of the car on the left side of the road. plus he's quite generous avec l'argent. :)
instead of staying at a hotel (which is so pricey!) we're staying at an apartment in the heart of the quartier latin (!!!). 15 minutes away from the louvre, musee d'orsay. sigh.

have you ever been to paris, friends? if so, tell me about it! which cafe was your favorite? favorite place to shop at? (i am not shopping this time prior to the trip- big mistake i made when i went to rome and california. i am doing my shopping there!) what did you think of it? any suggestions? OR, if you haven't been, where did you always want to go?

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resolutions or bucket list: a list of things i should do before the end of 2009 or before i kick the bucket. whichever comes first.

that is by far, the longest title i've ever had

* write more letters to john
* sleep earlier, as in, be asleep by 11 pm
* drink more water
* make a quilt
* take less taxi cabs
* spend less, save more
* practice piano an hour each day
* go to france in may 2009. this is an absolute must. (anyone want to join me?)
* cook something off of Nigella's/Jaime's/Ina's cookbooks
* make something from the zakka book
* sew a top or dress that is not obviously homemade
* order something different from the menu
* go clubbing. just once.
* be a better, more generous friend, daughter, sister and girlfriend
* read wuthering heights.
* finish reading the books i have started reading ages ago: 1984, life is illuminated, the alchemist, le petit prince
* write in my journal in a real parisien cafe a la sabrina (julia ormond)
* drink coffee in a real parisien cafe
* smile and laugh more
* go to church more than once a week
* learn japanese/german
* go to germany and japan
* learn how to play yiruma's "river flows in you"
* make a speech in front of people without feeling so nervous
* take a public speaking course
* explore Canada more
* thanksgiving (US) in new york and watch macy's thanksgiving parade
* new year's eve in times square

sigh. i have paris in my mind right now. there are nights when i can't sleep because i just think about it and dream up a dozen itineraries. i want to go so badly. i really hope that everything works out.

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lovely brown paper & other things

they didn't include "brown paper packages" in "these are a few of my favorite things" for nothing.

there's something so lovely about brown/kraft paper. it's basically a blank canvas - you can dress it up with different kinds of ornaments without making it tacky.
this post was sort of inspired by karyn, who is truly the master crafter. she has written about brown paper packages. instead of using tape, she opted for stitches and scrap of fabric. i am most definitely going to take my queue from her!

being influenced by amazing crafters of the blog world, i decided to use kraft paper and fabric for all of my presents this year.

these mugs with the ceramic spoons are quite in. i included christmas hot chocolate mixes/christmas teas and lindor balls.

because of the consecutive snowstorms and lack of well-ventilated areas in my house, i couldn't do snap coin purses (silicon gel is very potent!). so i made mini make up kits and travel kits. i've filled them with travel-sized toothpastes, shampoos, toothbrushes, soaps, etc.

my good friend raiya baked lots of cookies to give away as presents. in exchange for some and to have some hang out time with her, i volunteered to package up the cookies (they were very yummy by the way!) for her. with her help cutting out the fabric, they were all done in less than an hour!

these tags were lasercut by karyn at the workroom. these papers are by amy butler. the mini clothesline pins were from etsy.

these little pompoms, which i call snowflakes (perhaps in the summer they can pass for flowers. hardeehar). this was inspired by melissa who had an entire post on gift wrapping ideas. my brother helped me make all of these!

went on a little splurge at michael's. the red/white thread? twine? i found at the paper place on queen street.

i wrapped the travel kits and the makeup kits with brown paper and used some pretty parisian gift wrapping paper i got from deserres. i used little brown envelopes to hold the shipping tags i used as gift tags.

blank brown paper bags are not so plain anymore. i placed the mugs in these bags.

i had wanted to wrap the lasercut greeting cards in fabric envelopes, but because i didn't have enough time, i wrapped them in kraft paper too. i made the tags out of card scraps, punched a hole in it so that the stamped christmas ornament will peek through. i've also rounded out the edges.

and that is all. for the first time i enjoyed wrapping up my presents...i think it was because everything was made from scratch. and i have you all very talented people to thank for! :)
i am so excited for valentine's day...it'll be the perfect time to put to use everything i've learned during the christmas season.

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a summary of 2008

anti-val celebration and dinners with les filles

winterlicious

spice girls world tour

late night timmy's runs

salsa dancing

last exams and essays

convocation

twenty 101

"catering" for TRENDS events

discovering my inner craftiness (still in the works though)

formals & dances

packages and love letters

california trip avec la famille

expensive splurge at the paper rabbit

first sewing machine

classes at the workroom

piano lessons

the big move

ballet & interpretive dancing
misery with A

lots of soul searching. hardeehar.

meeting wonderful online, blog friends

impromptu dinners

realizing who your real friends are...

...and who are not-so-real.

dinners+game nights with the three

ottawa/montreal/quebec city trip

awful haircut

i [heart] my new job

canoe

gossip girl nights

a lovely thanksgiving

a lovelier christmas

happy new year everyone :)

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