365 photo project + a bucket list for 2010 + 1/365

1/365 - from john - a shinzi katoh lunch container, in my attempts to save money and pack lunches to work.

i'm back to work! the trains are full again and it's nice to be of use and working. hehe. eating late, sleeping late and waking up late was nice, but the i-slept-too-much headaches were quite frequent over the holiday break. it was a lovely break though, which included:

• at least 10 movies (dvds and cinema - i am all movied out) - sherlock holmes and up in the air were awesome. i was crying even after seven pounds was done
• bowling
• hakka food for the first time
• the AGO
• christmas parties
• IKEA breakfast and dinner (50 cent hotdogs!)
• lots of hot chocolate
• lots of japaleno havarti and grapes

being a lover of lists and bullet points, i have decided to do another bucket list to welcome 2010. it won't be as long as my previous list as there are lots that need to be carried over from the last year! and here they are:

• travel to one of these countries this year: austria, france (yes, again!), japan, philippines
• try something different from the menu. like, udon noodles instead of my usual bento box.
• go to a wine bar
• complete the 365 photo project (you can also find the link on the left side of my blog), as inspired by jona, karyn and anabela. i also signed up for a photoblog.
• buy a camera bag to help complete the 365 photo project
• learn to skate
• go to church more often
• pay off most of my credit card
• make something and sell it
• take a drawing course
• really celebrate my birthday (i'll be a quarter of a century old!)
• take care of this blog. i'm not really good at replying to comments and updating. i shall improve on that. (but i finally changed the blog around and i am very pleased with it. i also updated my blogroll and added a few things on the sidebar.)
• smile more, complain less
• drink more water, lessen aspartame intake
• write more letters
• get abs. not gross abs. but womanly abs. hehe.
• save up for world youth day 2011, in madrid!

for those back to work, i hope there's still lots of holiday cheer leftover.
have a good week everyone!

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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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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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etc, etc.

i used karyn's laser *cutter (thanks karyn!) (the most amazing thing in the world!) at the workroom over the weekend to make these and used my puncher to round out the edges. short and simple is always the best, and i am planning to give them away (including envelopes and these sweet circle labels made out of kraft paper) as christmas presents. i'm still trying to decide how to package them - kraft paper or fabric envelopes? hm.

other things i'm planning to make (as in, things that i can make with minimal mistakes, hardeeharhar):
- zippered pouches
- snap coin purses
- fabric covered push pins (i bought little tins from etsy to package these!)

i also started work on my homasote board! finalement! i still have to staple it onto the board and mount it, but i don't think it's bad at all! they came out nice and straight! :)

this picture makes me want to have a quilt.

i wanted linen, but used canvas instead. it was really cheap so i bought lots.

and in other non-crafty news:
- tomorrow i'm going to a toastmasters meeting with my best friend. it's about time, especially with all the teaching and TRENDS events that i have to do.
- friday is the grand fete! i'm getting my hair and makeup did. harhar. i've decided to wear my dress from zara. it needs to be taken in though. argh.
- lots of holiday parties to attend and kris kringles to participate in!
- i'm off work on the 19th to get ready for the little holiday party i'm throwing! stuffed mushrooms is in the menu. i would like to emulate this loveliness. there will also be gingerbread house decorating.


now if the weather would only cooperate...it's still raining. where are you snow?

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things.

friday+payday = a very good start to the weekend.

i'm planning to:
- have dinner with mitch tomorrow
- hang out with A on saturday at an all day workshop on humanae vitae and go to the AGO (art gallery of ontario) afterwards. it's free admission for the entire weekend because they've just reopened, after, i believe, 2 years of renovation. so excited! so for those who live in toronto, come on down!
- craft all sunday. i need to. the last time i used my sewing machine was the night before halloween. that's way too long of a separation.
- sleeeeeeeeeeeeep in

everything's fine and dandy at work.
i just need to do my work really slowly because by 3:00 i have nothing else to do anymore.
where i used to work i'd just watch gossip girl. or read blogs.

speaking of gossip girl. i am finally caught up again and i am loving chuck more and more and more and more...sigh.

i also bought burlap. i don't know why. it was 99 cents a meter so i went ahead and bought it.
i'm thinking it might be good to wrap presents with rather than paper.

have a gooooood weekend everyone! :)

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i started a new job.

which means:
no more updating my blog during the day
or uploading photos
or being up to date with my daily blog reads
for a while.

sigh.

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it was a good weekend.

ahemhem.

for polaroid lovers like me, check this out. unfortunately it's for mac users only. and i am waiting for the day that they come up with something for normal pcs.

aaaaand, thank you for all your sweet comments, ladies! :)

on friday night, after several attempts to straighten my hair, i gave up and gave it a wash.
which helped, TREMENDOUSLY. i'm actually liking it now. it was definitely the ridiculous amounts of mousse that she massaged into my hair.

:)
it was back to regular goodness in the weekend, despite my lack of sleep. i finished the powerpoint at 3 am, and girlies, i am running on 5 hours of sleep and am ready to drop.
* it was my first class on saturday and i am loving my group of grade eights. they asked lots of questions and kept me on my toes, which i really love!
* the TRENDS event was a huge success! we held it this time at the lovely hart house at uoft. there were so many girls that came that some of them had to stand...this has never happened before! it was so nice being with teensies again. it makes me feel younger and hipper (ahaha. who says that?)
* the bake sale was super fun...and very tasty. i had too many samosas and white chocolate chip cookies.

and someone please save me from etsy.

or do i even want to be saved?
in the span of a week i bought
* more fabric from matatabi
* the adult couture dress and smock blouse (thanks for the tip anabela!)
* and a pair of vintage two-tone spectator heels with tassels
and the shopping isn't even done. i have to buy other supplies for my christmas presents.

i've also signed up for three classes at the workroom:
1) knock it off - we get to learn how to re-create a pattern from a piece of clothing that we have
2) holiday printing party - we get to make a set of holiday cards, gift tags and wrapping paper!
3) sewn men's tie - i finally get to learn how to make a tie for john. i've promised to make him four for christmas! i'm also thinking of making my brothers some for christmas eve.
i am so excited!

i also started making a dress last night and i can't wait to be finished! it's made of knit jersey and has ruffles on the neckline :) i'll make sure to take pics.

thanks your comments again girls. they really made my day!
i hope everyone has a good week :)
4 more days till candy!

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last shot of summer & other things.

* summer's come and gone so fast. fall's settled in and the leaves are changing colors and more and more houses are getting their halloween decorations up.

* i splurged on 3 pairs of tights today. i really want teal and yellow ones.

* i am now caught up with gossip girl. and am loving chuck & blair more than ever. and am now hating serena.

* i hemmed my dress and skirt an extra two inches.

* i made another skirt last night! i am starting to love hemming. but i have yet to do invisible stitches. i'll give it a try with my next dress.

* discovered these lovely and good blogs.

* i really really really want to learn how to quilt and am hoping that the workroom has space in their presto nine patch class.

* i'm getting my laptop back tomorrow! i am giving myself a cut off time though. the laptop has to be shut off by 1o pm. i'm never leaving it on overnight again.

* bored at work? this is kinda silly, but really addictive. especially if you're competing with your co-workers.

* i am loving the following:

from the dorothy lee collection

built by wendy collection

* i have another TRENDS meeting tonight. october 25 is the next event! i love planning. :)

* i also signed up for back tack. more details later...but it will be my first crafty swap ever and am very excited!

and that isallisallisall.

it's rainy in toronto...i can't wait to go home and snuggle under the covers. and read more jane eyre. hehe. jane eyre hurts my heart.

one more sleep! :)

have a nice wednesday everyone!

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survival 101

my sister asked me how i'm surviving without a laptop.
surprisingly i'm handling it pretty well.

of course i can't

* update my blog as often (i'm writing this at work)
* check my mail when i want (the family computer is always being used)
* watch a movie (i like watching movies in my room)
* upload my pictures (no usb cord. i was using the memory card insert thing on my laptop. which means boring, image-less blog entries by me for the moment)

but this weekend i've been quite "productive":

*i'm rereading jane eyre. i didn't know that mr. rochester was THAT old. last time i read it was when i was in grade 8, which was several, several years ago.
*cleaned the bathroom.
*made pancakes.
*wrote letters (i love making cards and sending them out)
*hung out with best friend :)
*practiced on the piano (for more than an hour. quite a record breaker.)
*and i finished a dress and a skirt!

i used the built by wendy pattern 3964 again, but omitted the inset and redrafted the front piece. it's so much easier and better looking that way! i worked on it like i used to work on my essays: took lots of breaks in between. but all in all it should have only taken a morning to do(without the cutting of the fabric and transferring of marks- i find this takes the longest. i always do this the night before). there were less mistakes and minimal seam ripping, yay!
i also added the sleeves but didn't elasticize them. instead, i hemmed it and drafted out a pattern for epaulet looking things to go with the sleeves, similar to this:

i used gold buttons that i got on sale for 50c from fabricland.
i must say that i will be wearing this often!
i'll post up photos, hopefully soon...

have a nice monday!

3 more days till my partner in crime comes! :)

ps: i am itching to buy fabric. argh. argh. argh. but i'm trying not to spend, especially since i have a stack of fabrics waiting to be turned into dresses!

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wearable patchwork and miscellany

i don't normally talk about fashion, but when i saw this comme des garcons dress, it made me think of paper piecing.

from Coutorture

English Paper Piecing, originally uploaded by the workroom.

anabela from field guided (a blog that i just recently discovered!) makes the same observation:

from here

from here

ever since i discovered ayumi's blog and her wonderful logcabin pouch, i've been wanting to try quilting. going to the workroom makes me want to start as well, but it just seems so daunting. i suck at measurements and sewing straight on the machine, and am not very patient - which i think are prequisites to making something so beautiful and grand like a quilt (am i right?).

anyhoo...in other news:

* it amuses me that "vegan" is now the new adjective for synthetic leather

* john is coming for thanksgiving! yay! this means long walks, long talks, movie nights and lots of holding hands. sigh.

* i am hoping to get some sewing and crafting done this weekend. my energy's just been really low nowadays. but i do miss my machine!i'm planning to make my littler sister a crayon roll.

*my laptop has passed away. it's only two years old, but i guess that's the maximum lifespan of any techie thing now. things are just not made to last anymore. disintegration is the new thing. this is why vintage is awesome.

have a beautiful friday everyone!

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"battle scars"

last sunday was like spring cleaning in my room. i had taken out all of my clothes from my closet and sorted through the ones that i no longer like or wear. i came out with a huge bag full.

i also decided to get rid of the things that i made.

i told john that i got rid of my poorly sewn clothes, and he begged for me to fish them out of the bag so that he could keep them.
when my sister found out what i had done, she told me that yes, i should retrieve them and keep them, because these are my battle scars.
i'm looking at them now and i can't believe that i wore them out or to work!
so without further ado, here are my scars. and they ain't pretty. hardeehar.

this is the first shirt i made. i made it without a pattern. i wore it to work for casual friday. my dad called it my recyclable shirt. worn twice.


my first attempt to sew from a pattern. this is the anda dress from burda style, and the final product shouldn't look like this. i printed the pattern without changing the page layout. this has been infamously called the potato sack by my very sarcastic co-worker. it is also my first attempt at bias binding. worn once. and never again. (i got compliments though, funny enough. this girl at this boutique, and another lady who thought it was from club monaco) haha.


this is the camille skirt. i used a tutorial on how to make mui mui-esque skirts. i didn't use enough fabric. i thought the gold thread was a pretty cute touch though. worn once.


i thought, hey since i've been sewing for a few months now, why not try a built by wendy pattern? they're supposed to be simple. i chose the wrong pattern to start with. argh. it was all going smoothly until i did the inset. and the one thing that screwed it up even more was the topstitching, which i really suck at, and the dress was too short. so i tried to lengthen it by sewing onto it more fabric. it came out wonky in the end. i wore it anyway. my co-worker asked me if i made it, and i learned my lesson. to avoid another potato sack comment, i said no. it was thrifted. ahaha. he believed me and thought it was nice and unique (sometimes the word "unique" can be such an insulting word, but that' s just me). worn once.

it's a very good thing that the fabrics i used were all $3 a meter, or else i would have been really angry at myself.

the only thing that i'm proud of and that i've worn lots of times already is the knit jersey dress that i made from the sew u stretch book. this one got compliments as well, but i never owned up to making it. it avoids further scrutiny, you know? (it is for that reason that i won't be posting up any pictures of it. haha)

so now my "wip" (as fellow crafters call it) or work in progress, is my second attempt at the built by wendy dress, sans the inset. i'm using light denim (which i purchased a few weeks ago and got 50 % discount) this time.

i'm envisioning it to be wiksten - ish.

yars, yars. i'm dreaming.

but a girl can dream.



ps: gross. i hate it when my cat cleans himself in my room.

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l'automne est dans l'air.

i love fall.

it makes me want to...

*watch
- you've got mail
- when harry met sally
- before sunrise

* walk in a park

* drink hot chocolate with marshmallows

* wear tights

* dress like blair (waldorf, that is) & quincy

* take polaroids

* carry groceries in paper bags

* buy freshly baked baguettes

* bake an apple crumble pie

* smell the air (fall has a distinct scent)

* hold hands with john :(

have a beautiful weekend everybody!



ps: merci buckets, quincy! (your name is as lovely as you are!)
quincy of q's daydream has given me this blog award!

Award “Rules”
The rules of Arte Y Pico are - you must pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting content, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language! Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to their blog. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the Arte Y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

i have chosen the following blogs. some probably do not know i read them!

make something
pink penguin
craft pudding

unruly things
mon petit lapin

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