breathless

hello mes amis!
i just wanted to share the following with you :)

this is so frameable! it makes me swoon. i remember watching this in french class and wanting to have hair like hers.

this is actually a little flyer for the cinematheque ontario.

it's unfortunate that i just found out about this month-long french goodness...there's still time though, for you francophiles out there! :) they will be playing movies until the 22nd of august. don't you just aime toronto?

package of lovely goodness from johnny:
bobby pins because i always lose them, a moleskine for meetings, and altoids not for my breath, but for my tin collection (hardeeharhar)

a statue of liberty stamp from muji, from when he went to new york in may

and just in case you're planning to make smashed potatoes, this is the best way to smash 'em:

avec une verre!

and that is all dearies. i 've been quite busy, but i like it that way. i just wish i had more sleep.
all is right with the world. the sun is shining and johhny is coming. woohoo!
have a great week. :)

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please shine down on me.

oh beach weather, where are you?

some wishes:
a gocco printer
yamaha p-85
an ice cream maker
a serger
sunshine
a nice bowl of warm buttery popcorn
you
to be curled up in bed
mashed potatoes (i haven't had them in so long!)
to feel inspired again.

work is sucking the energy out of me. but i am thankful i have a job, especially in these times. it's just lately, especially with the gloomy weather, i've been feeling gray. uncreative. it's harder to get up in the morning. i fall asleep while drying my hair. i've been drinking three cups of coffee a day (that cannot be healthy). i can't seem to focus. i zonk out on the train and always almost miss my stop. all this with enough sleep.

and i've been thinking about teaching again.

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happy birthday to moi :)

i turned 24 yesterday. my weekend was full of flowers, yummy cakes, italian food, hugs & kisses and harry potter.

because i like making lists, here is a list of things i've learned and am still learning in my 24 years here on earth. my birthday always feels like new year's.
- pin where you want to cut
- never put people on the spot, even as a joke.
- things never go according to plan
- smile and forgive: even when it hurts
- you don't always have to speak.
- people just change. period. no need to analyze.
- we complicate our simple lives with complicated thoughts.
- love is not a feeling.
- don't be so quick to react.
- do not respond to emails in anger. type it out then delete. never hit send. you will regret it afterwards.
- use energy wisely. do not over think things.
- when in love: crazy heart, clear head
- it's okay to go against the grain.
- always say hello and good bye and i'm sorry.
- jealousy ruins friendships.
- it's okay to make mistakes. it's how quickly you learn from them (and how quickly you fix them!) that counts.
- a lot of things in life require practice. like patience, bias binding & piano.
- live a life you'd be proud of.

have a great week everyone. and to those with birthdays, happy birthday :)

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i've never failed at baking...

and today i did.
ARGH.

i attempted to bake a red velvet cake for my birthday...and all i got was a brown sloppy mess in the oven. soooooob.

sigh, can this gloomy awful week get any worse?

sigh.

ps: i'm not really a crybaby
pps: on a brighter note, i'm tutoring again! the girl is sweet, from korea.

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cleaning makes me cry.

i prefer cleaning my bathroom to cleaning my bedroom.
it's not because it's dirty, but it's because of all the clutter that has managed to accumulate over the one year we've spent in this house.
i am overwhelmed. so much so i had to google "how to clean bedroom without feeling overwhelmed".
ARGH.

this is what i found.

1. make a plan for cleaning room.
okay:

• clean out fabric-strewn cupboard and fold up fabric one by one neatly and arrange by type and color
  
• organize scrapbook materials
  
• empty out basket of fabric scraps (i don't know what to do with them. i keep telling myself that i'm going to do something with them, but i never do. should i just throw them away?)
  
• sort through books and get rid of the ones i don't want in my room
  
• tidy up shelves
  
• get rid of messes under the bed
  
• this is the worst: empty out desk drawers and sort through papers (i hate doing this because i'm afraid i might throw out something i'll regret!)
  
• dust surfaces and window blinds
  

2. prioritize and break the plan up into different sections
my sewing area, my desk drawers and my fabric storage are the messiest areas in my room. i'll work on that first.

i'm skipping step 3.

3. turn on some upbeat music. avoid distractions like tv and visitors.
darn. i was going to watch the 2nd episode of trueblood. i guess that can wait for later.
will pump up some elton john. HA. jk.

4. set a timer for 20 minutes.
good idea.

i'm skipping step 5 & 6.

step 7 should be STOP BLOGGING.

hardeehar.

well, off i go. i hope everyone is spending their lovely sundays outdoors. and not indoors cleaning. waaah.

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blue & red party

how is everyone?
this weekend i threw my little sister a birthday party.
so much fun.

sorry for the pic, it was really cloudy that day. my little sister helped me out with the bunting and painted on the letters. i used bias binding to string the triangles together.


i labelled their cups so that my sister could do the seating arrangement (harhar, imagine that) and so that they can re-use them.

i decided to make it a pizza party at the last minute.

which meant sewing 9 aprons at the last minute. their aprons were part of the party favors and they looked adorable in them.

that's my little sister in the middle, with the cute bow.




the basement was a makeshift movie theatre.


i turned the basement kitchen into a concession stand. i placed cotton candy into individual bags, popped some microwave popcorn and transferred them into those cute red and white popcorn bags.

party favors. the boys got the blue (this cool yoyo+disposable camera), girls got red (pretty notebook+disposable camera). i also cut out thank you cards from heavy cardstock and used clothespins to attach it to the bags.

and that is all. she's turning 13 in a few years. hopefully she'll still let me throw parties.

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a day at the lake

c'est juillet but it is still FREEZING.

nothing much is going on. i am dying at work from sleepiness. and the minutes are ticking away ever so slowly.
tonight i am going to
- go for a run
- work on the sleeves of the dress that i am working on from a japanese pattern
- finish ep. 1 of true blood or finish watching waitress
- sleep early

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my blog is fixed!

hello all!
i'm not sure if you noticed, but my blog was being redirected to some other ghastly website (searchacross/blogholic). i definitely missed blogging and i was afraid i had to start from scratch again (coming up with a new blog name was definitely a brainteaser).
but anyway, it's back and i'm back! if you're coming across the same problem, email/comment i will be able to direct you to the different forums i had to visit.

i've had a great few days. john was here. with his slr camera (jealous!). and was able to take some fantastic pics of downtown t.o. this is one of my favorites.

remember to live slow.
miss you already, bub.

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happy dad's day

today was such a lovely day and it was mostly spent in the backyard.



vases of peonies (from the backyard) all in a row

breakfast:

blueberry jam + butter

dinner...

i hope everyone had a great day with their dads. :)
have a good week everyone.

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i want...

...this sexy thing. argh.


this other sexy thing.


and this awesomeness which also comes in a size perfect for jarvis.

and that's all. i don't want much. harhar.

and yay for tomorrow!
it's the first session of the japanese dress books class at the workroom!
yeehaw. i haven't been to the workroom in AGES. and i haven't sewn in ages.
i hope i still remember how to thread the machine.
harhar.

ohmy.
not good. and not funny.

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shush girl

- my dad stopped in the middle of the road so that i could take a picture of this field of yellow flowers that france seems to be full of. or the parts of it that i saw, anyway. watching au revoir les enfants made me want to see these yellow fields in person.
- cannot wait for john to come! his visit will involve a baby shower (not for me! harhar.), strawberry picking, picnics and rollercoasters.
- this coming saturday is TRENDS' annual tea party. i am thinking of doing this.
- the peonies are blooming in the backyard! i will make sure to take photos.
- it took me an entire day to clean out my room and closet. and i am not even finished.

smile, it's monday. :)

ps: 3OH!3's song is in my head. blargh. it's fun to dance to though.

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all better!

more polaroids to celebrate! :)
these were taken at arramanches-les-bains in normandy.

- the path to recovery was not easy: 3 walk-in clinic visits, 6 hours in total waiting to be seen by the doctor, $ at the pharmacy, and waking up all itchy with hives at 3:55 am only to discover that you are allergic to your antibiotics.
- but, besides my phlegmy cough (harhar, excuse me) i am ready to go back to work tomorrow.
- i know, what's one more day, i should just stay home, but i miss work and my head is tired of my pillow.
- if you haven't seen she's just not into you, watch it, despite poor reviews. i thought it was cute.
- and i think i have a new girly crush on justin long. teehee.


my dears, i hope you all have a good weekend.

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la grippe

- i attempted to work and was sent home. i looked pale, or as my colleague put it, i looked like i put on a lighter shade of foundation.

- waited at the walk-in clinic for two hours last night.
- i found out i have the flu

- and was ordered not to come to work until monday
- thank goodness for being full time with benefits
- but what am i going to do with myself?
- and how come with 10+ hours of sleep since sunday i still have eye bags???
- i lost two pounds so far
- i'm getting tired of lying around in bed but the world is still spinning

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malade.

(i love the flag in the arc)

in point form:
- spent the whole day in bed. i think the fever is finally gone.
- watched gosford park, pride & prejudice (kiera knightley version), and camp rock (i'm still a sucker for cute little teenage romances)
- my youngest little sister (gilly) was my little nurse for today (a very good one at that!)
- bought three tickets for me and my sisters to the jonas brothers on august 30! (it'll be gilly's first concert)

i hope you all had a great (and better) weekend!

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polaroids

can i tell you how much i miss paris? how much i want to go back?
i brought henry with me and everyone was amused. i'll post the rest in twos.

i am feeling quite sick right now (fever, cough, fuzzy head, aching body) but hopefully i can go for fireworks tonight.
no fireworks tonight. :(
but there is always canada day!

i hope everyone is having a good weekend! :)

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an updated bucket list + an award

this has been the craziest month ever. apart from the piano lessons, the french lessons and get-togethers, i have been able to cross off some of my items from my bucket list which i wrote in january.

* write more letters to john - needs more work!
* sleep earlier, as in, be asleep by 11 pm - i don't think this will ever happen
* drink more water
* make a quilt
* take less taxi cabs
* spend less, save more - BAH. but i have started saving! yay me. it's just the spending.
* practice piano an hour each day
* go to france in may 2009. this is an absolute must. (anyone want to join me?) YEAH BABY!
* cook something off of Nigella's/Jaime's/Ina's cookbooks
* make something from the zakka book - i will be taking the japanese dress class at the workroom...it kinda counts...harhar.
* sew a top or dress that is not obviously homemade
* order something different from the menu
* go clubbing. just once. - or more than once. hehe.
* 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) HECK YES. hardeeharhar.
* drink coffee in a real parisien cafe - DOUBLE STRIKETHROUGH. haha.
* smile and laugh more - especially at myself :)
* go to church more than once a week - this needs more work
* 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 - well i was nervous, but i spoke in front of 150 people for 15 minutes!
* take a public speaking course - i will do this in the fall!
* explore Canada more
* thanksgiving (US) in new york and watch macy's thanksgiving parade - hopefully this november!
* new year's eve in times square

a few things i would like to add:
* perform at a piano recital
* do more public speaking
* go to austria (the land of marie antoinette!)
* learn how to swim
* pay off my credit card

and that is all for now...i like how i am able to check off things from my list. they're very simple. but it makes you feel good.

ALSO, i would also like to say that i have been given this cute little award by melissa, who has the sweetest blog ever.

thank you, melissa! you're so sweet!

now here are the rules:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered: (some are a mixture of my favorite reads) anabela (siiigghh), antoinette (amazing sewing skills), celine (i am in love with everything in her flickr page!), casey, dozi, leslie, jen gotch, karyn (will always be in my list of awardees. harhar), casey, danni, sharilyn, rashida, ayumi, jen, keiko
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

have a great day everyone!

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