friday faves

happy friday folks - i've got another friday faves feature for you - it's lovely melissa from the lovely sunlight & simplicity blog... i love her blog's 'tag line': "savoring and documenting the love, the lemonade, and the everything in between of life". reminds me of my favourite saying - when life gives you lemons, bake cupcakes! er, or something like that ;)

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Hi there, everyone! I am Melissa from over at sunlight & simplicity. Feel free to pop on over anytime for a visit to see me and my creative escapades. If I am not cropping, clicking or cooking I'm probably spending time with the amazing people in my life, reading, traveling or teaching kindergartners. It sounds cliche, but life really is a gift and I love living it each day and documenting what adventures (and sometimes lack thereof...) that come my way.

Thanks to Suzy for having me on today, it’s been an honor!

Here’s a little about me….

Favourite band/music:  I have a pretty eclectic music collection, I listen to everything from Classical to Christian and most things in between. Some of my favorites are Priscilla Ahn, U2 and Rascall Flatts.

Favourite book/author: Jane Austen, Jodi Picoult, and Mitch Albom

Favourite magazine/newspaper: Creating Keepsakes & Real Simple

Favourite movie: Pride & Prejudice. I still get goosebumps and cry every time Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth meet in the field at daybreak! I also love Mr. Holland’s Opus, Titanic and lately I have been cracking up over The Hangover!

Favourite tv show: So You Think You Can Dance, Say Yes to the Dress, 30 Rock

Favourite actor/actress: I thought Laura Linney was brilliant in the John Adams series. I kind of have a crush on Paul Rudd so I guess we’ll have to say him as well ;-)

Favourite artist: For painters I love John Singer Sergeant and Thomas Dewing…I adore Dewing’s A Lady in Yellow. For scrapbookers I really admire the styles of Lisa Day, Stephanie Howell, Elizabeth Dillow and Maggie Holmes.

Favourite color: aquamarine

Favourite meal: Soup and salad. I could eat that every day, all day and never get sick of it.  Or my friend Becky’s green chile enchiladas…they are amazing!

Favourite sweet treat: Jelly Belly jellybeans, cinnamon bears and cupcakes!

Favourite salty snack: Lays used to make Dill Pickle potato chips, which I loved, but I can’t seem to find them anywhere! Aside from that I would say just plain ole potato chips or popcorn.

Favourite drink: Water and herbal tea.

Favourite smell: Fresh herbs…but especially basil and tomatoes, Williams Sonoma Olive Oil hand soap and my boyfriend’s shampoo.

Favourite day of week: Saturday. I love the feeling of getting all of the chores done then relaxing and having fun knowing that the next day is a relaxing one too.

Favourite time of day: I’ve coined it “golden time”, but I think most people would just call it sunset :) It is so peaceful to have the warm setting sun washing over you as you unwind from your day.

Favourite season: Couldn’t really say, I love something about each of them.

Favourite quote: To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted. George Kneller

Favourite flower: peonies.

Favourite vacation destination: Bermuda.

Favourite thing to do in your free time: Spend time with my friends and family and cats, read, catch up on blogs, and scrapbook. And sometimes it nice to just sit in the quiet with a cup of tea. 

Thanks again, Suzy! This was a lot of fun :-)  

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thank YOU Melissa! i always get a kick out of reading other people's faves. i like Paul Rudd too - and jelly bellys - yum! (to both ;)

as always, if anyone else would like to participate in a friday faves feature, please email me!  dearsuzanne(at)gmail(dot)com

TGIF! anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? i think i might finally take down my xmas tree (eek!)

stuff i didn't buy today

some cute/quirky goodies from my Etsy favorites...

cute moccasins

pretty ring

adorable clutch

lovely laptop sleeve

sweet vintage bag

awesome brooch

just a little "window shopping" for your thursday morning :)

on repeat

do you ever have a song that you love so much that you listen to it over and over, day after day? you know every single word and note so well that you could sing the entire song on your own without even hearing the music? and you are sure that no matter how many times you hear it you could never get sick of it?
well, i get a few of those once in a while, but for me right now that song is this one - by Against Me! featuring Tegan Quin (yes, that Tegan)...

Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart video

Against Me! | MySpace Music Videos

it's an older song but i'm totally obsessed with it right now for some reason. i've been listening to it on repeat every day. i'll be going to see Against Me! in concert soon and i'm really hoping they'll play that song, maybe with a "surprise guest" ;)

by the way... totally off topic by i have to say - thanks for all the blog-love on my little confessions post the other day. i don't think i've had that many comments and emails about one before (well, it was a lot for me anyway :) and i have to laugh because normally i try not to get too personal on here but yet when i do share some little tidbits, people really seem to relate. (not that i was spilling my guts or anything, but for me, it felt like it a little, in a good way i guess :)

happy tuesday folks!

quote of the day

image

It's not your aptitude,

but your attitude,

that decides your altitude.

- unknown

happy monday!

(p.s. i totally believe in that quote... well, at least, i try to :)

i love bokeh

i just discovered this fun little site where anything you type (well, anything up to 6 characters anyway) turns into pretty "bokeh" (i just learned this term like a year ago - it's nice to know there's a special word to something you've liked for a long time - rather than "blur" :)

 

it disappears moments after you type it... so lovely...

check it out here

happy friday folks!

wanderlust

i know i just got back from a vacation, but i have really been itching to go on a good road-trip over the past few months.

my better half and i reeeeally want to drive down to/through the oregon coast (yes, i'm all about the forest-y goodness) and maybe even into california.

while we're shopping for a new car, we are keeping our road-tripping dreams in mind as we have been trying to look at vehicles that would be big enough to sleep in, yet still afford. it's a tough battle :)

if all else fails, along the way i'd like to stay here for a night or two...

 

treehouse point - in washington

and definitely here...

ace hotel - in portland

i mean, just look...

they even have a photo booth in the lobby! be. still. my. heart....

AND there is also an ace hotel in seattle...

 and palm springs...

seriously - coolest hotel EVER. we could stay at each one on the west coast! ha!

and heck, if we ever go to new york, well, we might as well check out that ace too...

 and, while we're (sort of) in the area, i'd also really like to check out this place...

lost river modern - west virginia

what are some of your dream destinations?
i'd really love to know!

the daily photo project

i kind of fell off the wagon over the holidays with my little daily photo project... but so far in 2010 i have been back on track! (well, with the exception of yesterday, i completely forgot to take a picture :(  

here's a little peek...

snow globes (and other collections)

our "fireplace" (tv channel i had on like 24/7)

we had lots of rain, and not enough snow - this was taken on a little xmas lights driving tour that my friend and i do every year

my two favourite festive travel mugs (another collection i seem to have)

on the flight to dallas - i couldn't believe there was actually frost on the windows

someone left the sprinklers on (and it was freezing outside) - almost a whole block was like this - even the grass was full of icicles - this particular tree was bent over almost to the ground from the weight of the ice. it was crazy! (and also kinda sad)

a fun old cafe/hole-in-the-wall we went to for breakfast in texas

a sweet little bird nest i saw on my walk home from work the other day

josie and her new favourite toy (a piece of felt with catnip inside)

one of the approx 500 pictures i took at the show i went to a week or so ago

and you can see the rest of my daily photos here.

happy monday folks!

did everyone have a good weekend? anything fun and/or exciting? or was it more productive?

i didn't get up to anything exciting except - i drove a car! and didn't crash it! (which is a very good thing, since it was a test drive :)

funny/sad

pretty sure i wore the exact same outfit in high school

friday faves

and we're back with another edition of the friday faves feature! today we have Janel ~ an all-around crafty goddess from the blog Run With Scissors...

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My name is Janel. I am an elementary school art teacher and I feel super blesssed to have such an awesome job!! In all of my spare time I am crafting like crazy!!

Favourite band/music:  My music collection is soooo ecclectic. I have so many favorites from Beethoven to Deftones to Jay-Z :)  My favorite song though is Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.

Favourite book/author: Again, a super hard question!! I love reading so much. I am a total reader! My favorite book of all time though is The Diary of Anne Frank. I have a huge list of my favorite books on my blogger profile so check there for more :)

Favourite magazine/newspaper: I love Ready made, and DIY magazines. I am also a sucker for US Weekly :)

Favourite movie: Man on Fire

Favourite tv show: The Office

Favourite actor/actress:  Actor: Clint Eastwood    Actress: Zooey Deschenal

Favourite artist: My sister <3 and Rob Ryan

Favourite color: Mexican Ocean Blue

Favourite meal: eggplant parmesean

Favourite sweet treat: red velvet cupcakes

Favourite salty snack: pretzels

Favourite drink: diet dr. pepper

Favourite smell: lavendar

Favourite day of week: Wednesday

Favourite time of day: between 4:00 pm-7:00 pm... so random but so true!

Favourite season: fall and summer

Favourite quote: "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means in which we arrive at that goal." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Favourite flower: lavendar

Favourite vacation destination: I have always wanted to travel to New Zealand so that would be my dream destination. Out of the place I have traveled to, I would say Cozumel, Mexico and Ireland.

Favourite thing to do in your free time: read, craft, and spend time with my family :)
 

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thanks Janel! that is a GREAT quote, and who knew that one could have such a specific time of day as a favourite! love it :) oh, and i'm totally with you on the red velvet cupcakes - they seem to be a popular fave for the sweet treats. yummmm - i think i might make some this weekend :)

as usual, if anyone would like to participate in a friday faves feature, please email me at dearsuzanne[at]gmail[dot]com

TGIF! is anyone up to anything exciting for the weekend? i think i'll be finally taking down my xmas tree (yes, it's still up, don't judge) and most likely shopping for a new car :s   ooh! and i also have some cute new goodies for my shop that i'll try to get posted as well :)

happy friday

highlights

well, so far this year has been off to a great start! here are some of the "highlights":
- i brought home some really cute acorns I found in Texas, only to discover a maggot had tagged along for the ride. EW!!! (luckily i had a second, separate, bag of maggot-free acorns :)
- our car started making a strange clunking noise... which turned out to be a pricey repair.
- i cried at work. twice.
- our car died/wouldn't start at all... and then a pricey tow to the mechanic shop.
- our computer decided to take a permanent vacation.  it won't even turn on. (luckily i had recently started making back-up discs so the only really important thing that we lost was our entire music library :(
- i almost choked to death on an extra strength advil liqui-gel.
- i accidentally marked ALL my Google Reader items as read. (i had about 100 saved from while i was on holidays that i wanted to read more thoroughly/bookmark/save when i got back home.)
- our car died AGAIN.

needless to say, i think we will have to go car-shopping pretty soon. especially since i was going to start my driving lessons (in a parking lot) this weekend... i think i'll need a car that is somewhat reliable. (People of Kelowna be warned - i will be driving on the streets soon!)

i would love something like this...      ;)

image from here

happy thursday folks!
don't forget to enter the giveaway over here... last day to enter is today!

pssst...

i'm having a little giveaway over at Run With Scissors!

deep into the forest we go

so, on the flight home from Texas last weekend (i can't believe that was only about a week ago. and i promise i will post about my trip soon!), i finally caved in and started reading Twilight. i finished it this weekend, and now i'm starting to read New Moon. i'm actually embarrassed to admit that. (um, because i'm not a teenager :) but i actually really liked the first two movies, just for all the beautiful imagery alone, and so far i really like the books too. they mostly just really make me want to run away and live in the forest. or at least go on a road trip through the beautiful misty forests of Washington & Oregon.

but in the meantime, here is some lovely forest-y eye candy i found on weheartit.

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happy monday folks :)

hope you had a lovely weekend!