16 things on my office bulletin board

I felt like wearing my bunny ears today. I didn't because, well, that would be crazy. As I was looking at them longingly, I realized I have a pretty interesting and eclectic menagerie of things on the bulletin board in my office. I think it says a lot about me, so I thought I'd share.

Here it is…

1. Cats are so funny. I saw this on Pinterest. Makes me laugh every day.

2. A handmade card from Rebecca that says "Happy Valentine's Day to the Queen of Hearts Everything". 

3. Another handmade card from my friend Tracy's daughter. I had embroidered some personalized pillow cases for her and her little girlfriends for a sleepover party she was having. So cute!

4. A picture of Audra and I at her cottage in front of a little barn; reminiscent of American Gothic.

5. A quote from Audrey Hepburn, "I believe in pink."

6. A photocopy of the harbour in Annapolis, Maryland. One of my favorite places on the planet.

7. International code flags.

8. A loon painting on a card I received from the wonderful Laurie at L.L.Bean.

9. A coaster that cracked me up. "You know you've found that special someone when they say those three little words: drinks on me."

10. A picture of me when I was about two years old in red footie pajamas holding my favorite childhood toy: a stuffed dog who I named "Petite".

11. A card from Audra. "Do not meddle in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will piss on your computer."

12. A magnet that says, "Look this magnet says fuck on it." 

13. A little stuffed kitty I made with the word "Yes" embroidered on his belly. It reminds me that in the job I have, the answer I should always try to give is "yes". I'll figure out how I'm going to do it after the person leaves the room! 

14. My bunny ears. I wish there was more than just one time a year I could wear these without looking like an idiot.

15. My contact lens box. I keep this so whenever I order new ones online I have all the info I need 'cuz it's printed right on the box.

16. I can never remember how to stick paper in the feed try of the printer. This gives me foolproof guidance.

Walk Walk Walk

Last weekend I went for a little hike in Birds Hill Provincial Park, only about half an hour away from Winnipeg. My walk was 3.24 miles (the first 1.5 miles was uphill!) and took about an hour. It was a beautiful day and hope to repeat the trek many times throughout the summer.

Most of the trail is like a mini roadway and at any time has walkers, runners, cyclists and rollerbladers whizzing by!

This is my favorite part of the walk; it's in the second half of the route. I love the way the trees look!

The Happy Hiker!

What a beautiful view! Soon enough it will be green green green as far as the eye can see.

I was so surprised after the walk to realize that I had gone uphill the equivalent of 16 flights of stairs!

I've been using the MapMyWalk app to record my walks. It doesn't show the topography or the lake and beach, but here's the screen shot of this trek:

With the MapMyWalk and MyFitnessPal iPhone apps and my handy little FitBit I've been working working working my buns off (literally) since January 2nd of this year. I'm getting fit and feeling great!

More décor (ha ha – that rhymes!)

Happy Easter, everyone!

Spring has sprung!

Bestie Kristen and I were planning on going to the zoo today, but despite the unseasonably high temperatures, the sun was not agreeing with our plans to spend the day outside. We decided to do some holiday shopping instead… 

Winners had some sweet little ornaments in my favorite spring colors!

Pink and green sequin eggs in a martini glass. Cute and simple, but so festive!

This simple little wabbit (with more sequin eggs) came from Pier 1 Imports. I will definitely be going back there after Easter; the saleswoman told me the holiday decor will be marked down 90%! 

Here's the decoupage rabbit (from Winners) on my kitchen table with a little cracked egg basket of eggs and greenery (from Michaels Crafts).

These tea towels are too cute for words, I couldn't pass them up from Pier 1 Imports.

This carved Easter sign was from Michaels Crafts. You can also see a ribbon egg garland hanging below it… I have a few of those hanging around the flat as well as individual egg ornaments.

HomeSense had this handsome little fella… He looks like a foil-covered chocolate rabbit, but he's just a fancy sculpture. Kristen agreed he absolutely had to come home with me.

He'll watch over our happy little home this Easter season!

(Just in case you didn't already surmise, I totally abandoned the no shopping thing. I mean really, what in the world was I thinking?!)

Self-Portrait

self portrait. in car on way to work. -40°C with windchill factor. brrrr.

love slow cooker

dinner. slow cooker chicken fajita with fresh cilantro. green salad. salsa.

Morning is so cozy

this is not 10am today but what I can only imagine is a relatively passable facsimile.

I mean, who in their right mind is awake at 10am on a Sunday?

So, every four weeks I'll just take a picture of myself in the office loos and then we'll call it a blog, mm'kay?

So I got dressed yesterday and then half way through the day I decided I looked like a soccer mom. I could be nothing further from that. I don't like soccer, I don't drive a mini van and I kind of hate kids. Well, not hate, but really, they are sticky little creatures.

The soccer mom uniform: french walnut khakis and navy monogrammed cardy, Lands' End; blue and white striped oxford, Ralph Lauren, "clambake" d-ring belt, Vineyard Vines. What you can't see are coordinating blue and brown argyle socks and ballet flats.

(Before you chastise me, let me just say I NEVER button down my collars on button down shirts! Looks too mannish for my taste.)

(BTW, clothes laid out on bed before I put them on 

make for a perfectly delightful cuddle spot!)

Happy New Year

Brand new year, same ol' preppy.

(office loos – Jan. 6, 2012)

Copycat Craft

I saw these two crafts on Pinterest and I just knew I could make them myself! I adjusted the originals ever so slightly.

First are these sweet woodland creature felt ornaments for an ornament exchange I participated in.

And second, I am in LOVE with this gingerbread man/heart garland I have hanging over one of my doorways. 

I just love working with felt… it's so easy and versatile and contributes to that country Christmas style I'm rocking this year.

Pre-packing

I just spent the morning pre-packing for my trip. Oh! I didn't tell you already? Well, at the end of the week, Audra and I are making our second annual pilgrimage to the sun to start off the winter right!

Here's what I'm planning on packing, all nicely organized and laid out, without making a mess and taking up room in my little flat. I got the idea of doing this from Pinterest and it's a stroke of genius. By just doing simple little sketches (I'm no artist, believe me!) I could clearly see what was missing, what color shoes needed to be included and I have a handy little checklist for when it's time to put it all in the suitcase.

Here's the whole week's worth of stuff mapped out on two pieces of notebook paper. (The scale is so out of whack, it makes me laugh. The big caftans are smaller than my capri pants and the bras look like they'd fit on Monkey – who himself is proportionately gigantic!)

Next is a close up of the shirt section. Right after this illustration is a picture of some of the actual clothing pieces I pulled from storage buckets this morning so you can see that you don't have to be able to draw to do this. Just getting the essence of an item is enough.

 (Yeah, yeah… I know I need to iron. They've been packed away for a couple months!)

I have two maillot suits (one navy, one black) plus some coordinating tops and bottoms for tankinis. That'll cover me for a week in the sun for sure!

I actually said to myself as I was doing this "If I have to narrow it down to only five pairs of Bonannos, it's going to be impossible!" But once I colored in all the other clothes, I saw that these five (along with two pairs of flip flops and plain black ballet flats) will cover me off with everything I have. (What? 8 pairs of shoes is a perfectly reasonable amount for a week's trip!)

And of course, I can't forget my most important travel accessory… the Mayan Riviera will be another brand new destination for my world traveller!

Shopping embargo addendum

Add to the "allowed" list: Food Network Magazine

If I can't have that, my life has no meaning.

Cupcakes for Two (or two cupcakes for one)

I got this recipe from Pinterest, but it originally comes from here. These little smackerels are so good and like I said on Twitter, if you only make two, you can only eat two! Win win.

Forbidden Fruit

You know how they say dieters dream of cookies and chicken legs and ice cream and pizzas? Well, last night I had a dream I was in the L.L.Bean flagship store in Freeport, ME and all I could think about was buying a canoe.

Coincidence? 

I think not.