today:

i did the unthinkable and cheap thing and used 12 milkettes to put into my oatmeal. i was just too tired and lazy to go downstairs to buy myself a carton of milk. it won't happen again, promise. tomorrow i'm having a muffin.

ikea...
...is evil. their $1.00 breakfast is genius and evil. they lure you for cheap but yummy breakfast. because it's so cheap you decide to have two plates, and because you've had two you decide to take a walk around the store so that you can burn off 1/16 of the calories you consumed. and then you start wanting. and wanting turns into buying. so your $2.00 breakfast turns into a lacquer table. or a bunch of frames.

linden update:
yes, linden is back! we picked him up on saturday and meowed like crazy in his little cage when he saw me. he's back to his normal self: eating like crazy, rolling around on the carpet and welcoming us at the door. it took us a day to get him to take his antibiotics. no sweet talk or cajoling worked. and just when we thought the pill was down his throat, he managed to spit out the pill. he's one smart cat. but not smart enough. tuna+pill+hunger=perfect condition to take the pill.
i didn't know that petcare, at least for cats, could be so expensive...much more expensive than humancare (us humans have ohip). but having him back here outweighs it all.

facebook
hardeeharhar. my mom added me on facebook. hahahaha.
i won't be mean though. of course i'll accept her as a friend.

boots
i saw the prettiest pair of boots today. it actually went past my knees. very chic, stylish. michael kors. i asked if they're okay for winter.
the woman just flatly said, "they're fashion boots". enough said.

filipino-ish dessert
check this out. tapioca and coconut and milk and sugar. yum-o. note: le post est en français!

everyone, have a good week :) enjoy the "extra" hour of sleep.

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linden update

hello friends. thanks for the heartwarming comments.
it seems that linden has teeth infection. i thought this existed only in dogs. we were never told when we had adopted him to watch out for his teeth. i feel like a bad neglectful pet owner.
he is staying overnight at the hospital where he can get a blood test, iv and antibiotics. i am relieved that he is not dying, but still very scared since we don't know the extent of his infection.
how can you resist a kitty (as old as he is) like him? it's sad when he's not there to meet us at the door when we get home. he hasn't been doing that for days.

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:(

my brother and john are taking him to the vet tomorrow. we don't know what's wrong with him but he hasn't been himself for the past few days. i really hope it's nothing serious and that he'll get over it. i love you lindyboy.

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japan sushi+high park

a bento box from japan sushi has become a saturday ritual. if only they had those stamp cards. like, "buy 5 get a 6th meal free".
$6.99 for a bento box that includes 4 sushi rolls, 6 tempura pieces, salmon teriyaki (or beef or pork or gyoza), rice, salad, noodles & soup. so good.

japan sushi
482 bloor street west

after lunch, john and i went to high park. it was the first time in many years that i've been thisclose to nature. nature meaning bugs, really really tall trees and dirt paths.
teehee i also saw lots of mallard ducks. it reminded me so much of make way for ducklings.

high park
take the train west (green line) and get off at high park.
and follow the people. normally with cameras or picnic baskets.

i hope everyone had a great weekend.
ps: i finally got my 50 mm lens and i am SO happy with it!
pps: the slr still frustrates me though. i really should read the manual.

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yay polaroid!

yesiree, polaroid will be re-launching instant cameras! WOOHOO!
(hmm...does that mean inexpensive film?)
read more here.

now onto the next: gocco!

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today:
- 2 servings of last night's thanksgiving dinner and yummy plum tart
-5 hours of cutting out hexagons for a paper piecing project. literally paper piecing.
- 3 back-to-back episodes of glee (yay, finally caught up!)
- 3 back-to-back episodes of gossip girl (hilary duff, not bad at all)
- 1 starbucks white chocolate grande
- a nice stroll in main street unionville
couldn't be happier.

in the future:
- october 16, 17, 18 - imaging show 2009 (henry's)
-october 18: pure rummage trunk show at the workroom!

have a great week, all! :)

ps: this is bad. i want to get a new lens (50 mm), now that i have an slr. argh, when will the wanting end? harhar.

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happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving, canadians!
i almost prefer thanksgiving over christmas because thanksgiving is really about getting together and celebrating each other's company. the spirit of christmas gets ruined with all the stress that comes with purchasing presents for people out of obligation. as a result gift giving becomes this thoughtless, pricey exchange (on credit). i remember serving this really rude customer (back in my st. cinnamon days) who was complaining how much she hated christmas because she hasn't gotten through her list yet. people just do not get what (and for some like me, who) christmas stands for.
but when i start seeing crafty people in blog land with all their lovely, homemade presents, it uplifts me and i get inspired to do the same. there is nothing like homemade to show how much you care for someone.
anyway, we celebrate thanksgiving on a sunday night so that we can stay up late and not worry about work the next day.
there are indeed lots to be thankful for:
* ma famille
* johnny, and the fact that he is here for a few months. it is so nice to have him here.
* true friendship
* my job
* school
* a day of sunshine after a gloomy, rainy week
* the kindness of strangers

i hope you have a lovely thanksgiving, friends. smile and be thankful :)

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sometimes bad days can be fruitful

sigh.
it's just one of those days when you just want to climb into a hole and never come out again. or those days when you want to eat and eat and eat until you feel better. or buy something so extragavant. or run for a long long long time until you've forgotten about everything momentarily.

i feel so small. and 17 again, back when i started my first job in the real world and went home and i cried (yes i'm a crybaby) and swore i'd never go back again but did. and now, it's been almost a year but there's no sign of progress and just a whole lot of effing up. and you're supposed to find some kind of life lesson from all this.

yes i know i will.

later on i'll look back and see that it wasn't such a big deal and that everything turned out fine anway. yes, these things give you backbone, they help you grow up, but dammit it's hard. no mother to hold your hand or anyone else to make you feel better. it's all really up to you and how you're going to deal with it.

so i had a good cry during lunch, ate fries and bought a Nikon D60. no it wasn't an impulse buy. but it did make me feel a little better.

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we're not made of steel and there's only 24 hours to a day.

hello hello.
* i haven't been blogging in a while, as you can tell. these are photos from jarvis. i am really loving the camera bag app. you should get it too. if you have an iphone and if you like taking pics.
i found this via dani.
* thanksgiving is this monday and my family normally celebrates the day before so that we can have the rest of monday off to do other things. like sleep in and do laundry harhar .
* did you go to nuit blanche? i have yet to upload les photos, but it was okay. highlights: the royal conservatory, hip hop lessons at the toronto reference library, having sushi on spadina with john and getting home at 4 in the fricking morning. the giant bunny was cute. it would have been better if it was outdoors, surrounded by the lights in dundas square.
* it's tights and fur weather. yay.
* i started classes and am onto my third week. i love it. it doesn't feel like school. it's almost like blog surfing except someone's telling you how to do it properly. i seriously love my professors. i am now really sure that i want to get into event planning.
* i like older people. i would love to be able to partner up with an older person for my final group project.
* my neck won't stop cracking.
* i sniffed peanuts on the train tonight and my throat started itching. hmmm.
* guilty pleasures: banana with nutella. or just nutella. and a lot of goop.
* blogs i like: restless transplant (awesome pictures) and coco & lowe (such sweet and awesome girls)
* i attended a seminar on effective goal setting. one of the things the speaker talked about was prioritizing and so sad to say that i had to give up tutoring. :( my schedule was getting really crazy. i've also had to give up piano. sigh.

and that isallisallisall. have a great week tout le monde.

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be the best version of yourself.

* attempted to watch time traveller's wife but got EXTREMELY bored (the trailer was very misleading). and when this happens i would watch how john's watching the movie, get amused and turn back to the movie. but this time i had to get out. so we snuck into 500 days of summer and we were so glad we did!
* one click on itunes and the 500 days of summer soundtrack is now mine.
* the best combo is maltesers in my popcorn. i always get large so i can get a refill. i'm crazy for popcorn.
* i met up with a lady today who i absolutely loved. for some reason, i really like being in the company of 50+ year old women.
* today i learned:

• to always ask yourself, "am i being the best version of myself?" doing so would help you treat yourself and others better.
• confidence is knowing who you are
• financial success doesn't always lead to happiness. but success by being of service to others does.
  

it's just a struggle to remember.
fall, fall is here. and everyone just looks so great.
have a good weekend everyone!

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refresh for less

i found out about this through coco & lowe - a blog that you should definitely visit because coco & lowe write about everything: life, love, fashion, etc.

john and i will be there! we're not sure yet if we want to have our own table, but you should check this out!

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last minute "summery" things to do

hello friends!
when the days get shorter and the nights are cooler you know that fall is coming...so if you're looking for last minute summery things to do, check out the following:

dream in high park - pack a picnic and watch a rendition of the tempest outdoors. doors open at 6:00 pm and the play starts at 8:00 pm. this ends today!

the ex - last day is tomorrow and to me it is the quintessential thing to do as a canadian. harhar. but that's just me.

summer concerts in main street unionville - nothing better than having a latte at starbucks and ending the night with a little dance under the stars. :)

harbourfront centre - international iron chef, world cafe, the red hot marketplace, and more...it all just sounds really yummy.

toronto music garden - garden+music+lake+sun = lovely afternoon

i'm sure there is more going on, but get out there and soak up the sun :) don't you just love toronto?

have a great long weekend friends!

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the butter to my toast.

having watched julie & julia (which i really recommend, btw) has made me want to blog. 10 of julie powell's blog posts and two nutella teaspoons later here i am with a slight stomach ache ( i really must stop eating nutella like ice cream) and very much inspired (& hungry).
i am excited to say that i'm going back to school (part-time) in the fall for an event & meeting management certificate. i guess i can say that this is my challenge, as julie's julie/julia project was hers.
i cannot wait! i start in a few weeks.
it's a good excuse to go school supply shopping again. :)

for now i leave you with some pictures from our family trip to quebec. picnicking on freshly baked baguettes with cheese from the local fromagerie and apple butter and strawberry gel in the van was the best.

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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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