an ombre easter

I have been waiting weeks to make Easter eggs!  The day I received the newest (egg covered) copy of Edible Vancouver turned out to be my decorating day as well!  There’s something so simply enjoyable about decorating eggs.  It’s just too bad I don’t like hard boiled eggs, or I would have made more.  Since I’ve moved away from my aunt, I haven’t had the chance to make any Pysanka eggs in awhile and those are by far my favourite.  I love making different designs and creations with the wax resist method and bold bright colours.  I will have to go home for Easter one year and get her to teach me all over again.  For now I’ll stick with the tried and true dip-dyeing method.  This year I tried to be a bit creative and create an ombre design.  After a couple trial and errors I finally figured out how best to tilt the jar to keep the egg in place while adding additional water to fade the secondary layers.  The red egg turned out great, and the yellow would have too if it wasn’t so light of a colour.  I recommend trying this method, especially if you have extra eggs to practice with… trust me you’ll need them.  Despite producing only one true ombre egg (the blue one is kinda funny lookin) I think they will look quite pretty on the table on Easter morning.  My first try, the green one, produced a kind of watercolour look that I actually kind of like. (I must remember not to use my favourite colour for my initial tester next time).

spring equinox

The Spring equinox has come and gone.  The warmth in the air and the sun on my skin has me wondering if the groundhog will prove to be correct this year in his prediction of an early spring.  It’s looking good so far.  I’m on day two of sandals instead of boots.  Many parts of the province are still experiencing negative temperatures, and waist deep snow banks so I will try not to brag too much that this weekend our temperatures are supposed to hit 20 degrees Celsius! (Knock on wood).  Below is a little snapshot of spring/summer inspiration to brighten your day, as it does mine.

conservation, courage, and contemplation

I’m sitting here on Saturday, March 23rd. It’s 8:00pm and I’m enjoying Earth Hour. The candles are lit, popcorn is popped, books are being read all while comfy on the couch with blankets. It’s a cozy night in with my fiance, and I love it. Time to relax, cherish relationships and rekindle memories of simpler times is necessary every once in awhile. Whenever we get caught up in work, endless days that drag on or issues that never seem to go away, I recommend spending some time like this. Even if it isn’t Earth Hour, we could all benefit from using less electricity in our lives – so why not make it a monthly or even weekly occurrence? I think I’ll do it. Start with once a month spending an evening electricity free. That sounds refreshing. I feel more relaxed already

earth hour challenge

If you didn’t hear, Vancouver has been named Global Earth Hour Capital for its dedicated efforts year after year participating in the Earth Hour cause. Earth Hour is a global campaign, “born out of the hope to mobilize people to take action on Climate Change” (earthhour.org).  It is now the single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world.  Every year I do my best to take part in the event, in addition to doing things in my everyday life to be sustainable and eco-friendly.  This year however, I have decided to combine my participation in Earth Hour with my vow to do more reading and finish more books.  On Saturday evening I will be turning off the lights, television, unplugging appliances and so on, in favour of candles, books, blankets, and perhaps a game of cards or two with my fiance.  I challenge you to do the same.

Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off for an hour as a massive show of concern for the environment.

photographing antiques

Antiquing is one of my favourite pastimes, as is photography.  So what could be better than bringing these two things together?  Some of the best pieces in my home are antiques that I found in a shop, some were passed on to me, and some, such as this globe, was actually bought off of Craigslist!  Not only do I love travel, but I love travel-related… anything!  Especially maps.  I will have to do a specific post later solely featuring my map collection.  It is ridiculous, truly.  This globe, however distressed is a thing of beauty.  The sugar bowl and creamer, also below, is my local find from last weekend’s trip to Fort Langley.  The colour is absolutely perfect, and somehow matches the exact colour of our wedding invitations.

brown paper packages tied up with strings

If you, like me, grew up watching Julie Andrews win over the hearts of the Von Trapp family through song and dance, then you also have probably always had a special place in your heart for bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens.  Today I received one of  ‘my favourite things’ in the mail, and just had to share how wonderfully joyful it made me.  It doesn’t matter what’s inside a brown paper package tied up with stings, it’s the simple gesture of the sender taking care to wrap and tie up an item in such a thoughtful and beautiful way, that especially in this day and age, makes all the difference.  They say presentation matters and I wholeheartedly agree.  I always try to bring a little something extra to the wrapping and packaging of gifts, and hope that it is appreciated by the receiver as much as I appreciate receiving such things.

more . . .

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’ve just clued in that it’s already March, or that our wedding is now 186 days away, or that I feel guilty that I didn’t set myself any New Year’s resolutions this year. To be honest I never really have. Maybe it’s because I’m not great at following through with things (but…I think I am), or because I am great at procrastination (this is true – I really am), or maybe I just simply have too many things I want to resolve to do, and I just can’t choose the most important.

let the sunshine guide you

Today was one of the first sunny days in what seems like forever. It seemed everyone else thought so too. The streets were buzzing, windows were rolled down and sun-glass covered faces greeted me on every street corner. After so much rain we were finally treated to a much needed warm and bright day. On days such as these, when I have little to nothing planned, one of the first things I decided to do is visit one of my favourite communities – Fort Langley. Today there was so much bustle in the quaint historic village, it felt like the streets were actually alive with a pulsating energy that was being passed on to everyone who discovered its shops, dined at its eateries and wandered its sidewalks. I love these days when I can enjoy the town without anything particular on my mind. I was not looking for a birthday present for anyone, I was not in need of a meal to fill my stomach, I simply just wanted to enjoy the day.