32 before 33 (half-way)

I am trying out this fantastic idea of making a list of things to do before my next birthday... found via Simple Lovely and Doobleh-Vay. What a great little project!
At first I thought it would be so easy for me to come up with a to-do list of only 32 items, since I'm always thinking of things I want to do... but when it got down to it, it was actually kinda hard to think up things that I plan to do within the next year. It's not like a "Bucket List" of stuff to do at some point in my lifetime, and it's not just little things I need to do throughout the week, or even the month - it's almost a year, so, that covers a few important holidays, seasons, etc! And it should be things that I'm actually going to do, not just want to. Anyways, here goes... but bear with me as some of these are not super exciting, but do need to be done... (in no particular order):

1 - Take a french class or get a few french language cd's.
2 - Save up enough money for a "real" vacation. (Hopefully to Paris, hence the french brush-up lessons!)
3 - Completely re-vamp/clean out my bedroom closet. (I have LOTS of old clothes to give away.)
4 - Lose 30 lbs. (But then maybe I wouldn't have to do #3 - tee hee.)
5 - Turn my seldom-used spare room into a functional studio/office.
6 - Clean out & get rid of the giant old 4-drawer filing cabinet (full of junk I really don't need to keep anymore).
7 - Finally go on a romantic Christmas get-away with my hubby - key ingredients are hot chocolate, marshmallows, cozy pj's and a fireplace. (We've been trying to do this for a few years now, but this is the first one where he actually doesn't have to work through the holidays!)
8 - Find a good chiropractor and/or physiotherapist and/or massage therapist.
9 - Finish my "business card website". (This should actually be on my hubby's to-do list, but I'm the one that's doing all the follow-up/admin stuff :)
10 - Recycle the gigantic piles of magazines I've collected over the past year... or three.
11 - Finish reading the 6 books I've started over the past few months. (I start one, then I start another, and another...)
12 - By October 31st be 100% ready for the HUGE arts & crafts show I'm doing in early November.
13 - Eat an actual breakfast on weekdays. (Usually it's just coffee and maybe a granola bar, or yogurt, while at work.)
14 - Hem my new dress pants that I bought for work almost a month ago (but still haven't worn because they are WAY too long).
15 - Do not hit the "snooze" button more than once! (This is gonna be a tough one, especially on Monday mornings.)
16 - Go out and take pictures (of whatever) with hubby (the photographer of the family) each week.

OK... I know that's only half... but I'll be back later to add more!

Pretty Pretty

I can't remember how I came across these... probably during one of my Sunday afternoon internet-window-shopping expeditions... but I've had these beauties bookmarked for a while:
Aren't they fabulous?! I tell ya, if I ever have a spare $300 lying around I am totally going to get them :)

Happy first day of fall!

Yay! I'm soooooo happy that fall is finally here - officially! It's actually a nice fall day here too - cool, cloudy, little gusts of wind blowing fallen leaves around... just perfect.

This fall weather has got me thinking about apples, pumpkins... and soup!

I found this recipe for Butternut Squash & Apple Soup and I think I might try it this week.

yum :)

Ah, Autumn...

... oh, Autumn... how I love thee!

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE Fall?! I just had to say it again. I love it. Seriously. Sometimes I think I have S.A.D. but in the reverse way - where I get depressed in hot, sunny weather!

Anyways, I have been busy making some Fall-themed goodies... now up in the shopette!

(it's a teeny little squirrel, holding a tiny little acorn, in case you're wondering :)


And I have a few more Fall-ish goodies coming soon!

New stuff...

I am currently working on filling up my shop with all sorts of new goodies for the season! Yay! Have I mentioned how much I love Fall? a LOT :)

These are a few of my favourite things...

... at the moment:

1. The first signs of Autumn --- When the weather starts cooling off... and the leaves start turning colours... and the stores are full of forest-inspired goodies (leaves, trees, acorns, pinecones, owls, squirrels)... and I can wear cozy sweaters & scarves (scarfs?)... and coffee shops bring back their pumpkin spice lattes (which also means eggnog lattes are just around the corner!)

2. Sweet little text-messages from Hubby when I am having a bad day (or any kind of day, really.)

3. Back-to-school time --- Though similar to #1 - this is all about school supplies... the perfect time to stock up on all sorts of fun stationary items... paper, pens, pencils, markers, stickers, file folders, notebooks... and also the perfect time to get (re)organized!

4. Queens of the Stone Age --- They have pretty much been my soundtrack all summer - when I walk to/from work... when I clean... when I'm having a bad day... when we play RockBand...

5. Bath & Bodyworks' Ultra Mentha Lip Shine --- It feels good (minty! tingly!), tastes good (minty! sweet!), and looks good (shiny! um... clear!) I wear it pretty much all day, every day (I keep one at work, one in my purse and one at home)... and I try to stock up on it every time I visit the States (since there's no B&BW here in B.C.... yet!) There are also "less intese" Mentha lip shines (though the "ultra" isn't really all that intense) and some are tinted (I have a reddish one) and now a Cinnamint one too (which I also really like :)

6. TV on DVD --- Hubby and I have been watching the best tv shows lately, via our local video store... including the first 3 seasons of Weeds, and most recently the first 2 seasons of Dexter... which I think got into my head a little too much because now when I see a big black garbage bag lying about I wonder if it's full of body parts...

7. Magazines --- I love to just sit on my couch with a nice hot cup of coffee, flipping through magazines and getting tons of inspiration from all the pretty pictures - especially Venus, Domino, Lucky, House & Home and LouLou.

8. Gum --- specifically Trident White Cool Colada (which I can now get in Canada - yay!) and Orbit Mint Mojito (which is only available in the States). For a while I was "off" gum (having been replaced by mints & Lifesavers) - but now that I am back to liking gum again, those two flavours are definitely my new faves.

9. Whiskers on kittens. (Sorry, had to.)

Update!

Well I've finally added some brand new items to the shop!


I've been making these little glass magnets for YEARS but haven't made any new ones in a while. Well, recently I started making good use of my giant nail polish collection and, voila!, new glass magnets! And let me tell you, these puppies are CRAZY STRONG!

I've also recently taken up painting again - not acrylics this time, but watercolour! I haven't used watercolours in probably over a decade, but I forgot how fun they are! I've just started painting a collection of little sayings I like... so far I have two added to the shop, but more to come!

Labour Day

Yes, I spelled it the correct way. The Canadian way. With a "u". Like neighbour, and harbour, and... I know there are more but I can't think of them right now.

How was your Labour Day Weekend/Last Long Weekend Of The Summer? Mine didn't go exactly as originally planned, but was still quite nice... mostly because it involved a lot of yummy food eating. Well, actually it was a lot of eating and drinking, with some hiking, waterfall-visitting, kokanee salmon spawning-viewing, and bit of birthday celebrating (my 32nd - yikes!) thrown in for good measure. So, a pretty good Labour Day weekend indeed!

Also, I have been working on some new goodies for the shop! I painted each of these glass disks with a few coats of glittery nail enamel (those of you who know me well, know that I have a rather large collection of nail polish, so I am finally putting it to good use)! It took me a few days to finally finish painting/glazing/glueing. Now I just can't decide if I want them on silver chains or beaded necklaces. I might do a few of each.


Ooh! And last but certainly not least, hubby and I have started watching the tv show Dexter, on DVD! It's soooo addictive... very dark and funny - two of my favourite (ha! another word spelled the Canadian way!) qualities in a tv series. We plowed through Season 1 in a couple days. Now we're onto Season 2!