I don't get it.

Here's something that has been on my mind for far too long:

Why is it that prune juice isn't called "plum juice"? It's not like we call grape juice "raisin juice"...

I personally think that plum juice sounds WAY more appealing than prune juice - and makes more sense. Hmm. Anyone have any insights to help untangle this puzzle from my brain? I mean prunes don't even have juice. They're dried. 

pusheen!

I've been a fan of Pusheen the cat for quite some time.  He's everything I love - adorable, a cat, chubs, and full of personality! If you haven't browsed through his blog I definitely recommend it (link) when you're craving some cute gifs. 

Fraser also happens to be a Pusheen fan so this past xmas I decided to make him his own version of our favourite little grey and black pal in crochet form! Isn't he a cutie?

Oh Pusheen! He melts my heart every time I see him and I can just imagine all the cat-like hijinks he gets into when we aren't home (most of which probably involve binge eating). 

He was pretty quick to whip up and probably would have only taken one evening if I wasn't trying to make him behind Fraser's back and not spoil the surprise. I got the pattern here (link) and since I'm quite proficient in amigurumi, found it super simple to follow along. The only change I made was using slightly larger safety eyes than the ones recommended. I am super thrilled with how he turned out and he is now enjoying his new home on our radio in the living room! Hooray! Are you a loyal Pusheen follower too? 

Seriously?

Do you ever browse the shelves of a store and see something and think, "what the hell were they thinking?" Case and point - skin cancer playmobil:

Don't get me wrong, I love playmobil. It was undoubtably my favourite childhood toy and I still get excited to flip through a playmobil catalogue - but sun tanning girl? Seriously? I guess that's why she's on clearance... 

Calling all Cat Lovers!

This may be old news to those of you who surf around the internet regularly - but have you heard about Cat Island? Its a tiny little island off of Japan that originally brought in cats to deal with a mouse problem. After some time the cats have taken over and outnumber its human residence 6 to 1! Just check out these darling feral felines:

(source)

Unfortunately there is no where to actually STAY on the island - but you can take a short ferry ride there for a visit! Oh that would be fun! So many fluffy kitties! I particularly like this picture:

(source)

Yay! Looks like I'm doing this trip alone since the majority of my friends aren't that into cats and the hubs is ridiculously allergic to them. I don't think an allergy pill would help when you're surrounded by 120 kitties...shucks...

Review: All Lovely Things

A few weeks ago I received an email asking me if I would like to review Lea Redmond's new book "All Lovely Things - A Field Journal for the Objects That Define Us" that is being released today (March 3rd, 2015)! I obviously jumped on the offer (hence this post and review) and am beyond impressed with how well suited this book is for me. I am always interested in books and journals that help me stretch my creative muscles and this one is the perfect resource to prompt all sorts of meaningful and reflective drawings.  It's a wonderful illustrated guide that helps you better understand yourself through the items and objects that fill in the background of the story of your life.  Before I go much further, I'd like to say that this is by no means a paid promotion - I just really, really ended up loving this publication.  Let's take a look:

The first thirteen pages or so of the book outline how to use this journal to document meaningful objects in your life.  Lea takes you through a series of experiments to get your creative juices flowing and to help you connect with special items and important people in your life.  To help you understand the concept of the proposed project even further, she has filled out a few pages of her own to demonstrate ways to use this book to its full potential.  I was particularly drawn to two of the people she chose as I have a certain admiration for them as well.  The first being that all too amazing mid-century modern icon Charles (and Ray) Eames:

and the second being the king of natural selection himself - Charles Darwin:

I'm pretty sure I am not quite as knowledgable on the life and inspiration of either Eames or Darwin but enjoyed peeking into the inspiration they have given Lea to grow into the person she is today. There is even a section later on in the book that lets you reflect on specific objects you've drawn so you can describe how they have contributed to your life.

This book is like a guided tour of your inner thoughts and memories and really helps you identify key items in your life and celebrate them without necessarily having loads of physical "stuff" that clogs up our homes.  It is like a lovely spring cleaning for your soul (and house in many cases) as it lets you connect by sketching, collaging, or describing memorable objects from your life and may help you let go of some items that you don't necessarily want around but still want to preserve the memory of in a special way! The majority of the book is a blank canvas where you can draw portraits of yourself, or people you know, admire, or imagine and connect specific objects to those important people in your life.  I love that there are different words as well as blank spots on the journal pages to help you stretch your creativity and perhaps think about someone or something in a slightly different way. Here's a sample blank page:

Now when I went on to start drawing in my own pages I quickly realized just how personal and emotional you can make the journal and enjoyed a look back on some fond memories of my Grandma:

I then decided to take a step back from the serious and dedicate the next drawing to Humphrey (the stuffed unicorn car pillow Fraser and I make stories up about).  I was shocked at how quickly I had filled up the two pages:

Oh my that unicorn is a character.  I really love how I can draw a little doodle of something that may seem super random but actually tells a whole story about a memory (or in Humphrey's case an imaginary memory) based on the person it is drawn next to. I had an amazing time doing up quick sketches in this journal and will certainly continue to fill it out over time.  I'm thinking  the next entry I will do is drawings of myself at different ages and all the things I loved during those years.  OoO! What fun! 

I'm quite obviously a big supporter of this book and highly recommend picking it up for anyone who enjoys journaling, doodling, or wants to reflect creatively on their life.  Just think how cool it would be to show to your kids one day and tell them all the stories about how Humphrey secretly makes campfires to keep warm in the wintertime (despite his weak ankles)! Hooray! 

Left over wedding decor

As you may have heard, Fraser and I have been working on fixing up and unpacking our condo for a good two years.  Now that the majority of the renovations are done (just some little touch up projects left), we can really focus on unpacking all of these boxes that have been sitting here for ages and enjoy our home and our things! What a concept!  

A lot of our unpacking is actually just trying to purge like crazy and see what we really don't use or need anymore and what fits in our lives (and house).  I found it super satisfying when I got around to sorting through our left over wedding stuff because most of it ended up being recycling and donations! I can't believe we just packed all that crap up after the wedding and shoved it in the spare room for it to sit for a year and half taking up space! Oy!  

I did want to keep a few things to remind of our magical special day - and one of those things were my homemade pom poms! I painstakingly crafted hundreds of tissue paper and yarn poms for months before our celebration and even though the tissue ones went straight in the recycling, I couldn't part with the adorable little fluffy white yarn ones I spent so much time and love making. But what do you do with a garbage bag full of white pom poms? Apparently put them in apothecary jar and pop them on the main bathroom counter! Behold:

Now whenever I'm washing my hands I can be pleasantly reminded of all the fun we had on our wedding and since these poms are wonderfully enclosed in glass they won't even become a giant dust magnet! Ho ho! Bonus! I even bought the jars on clearance years ago so they were just empty vessels waiting for a decorative purpose. Double bonus! I'm certainly thrilled with how this little project turned out and how wonderfully it fits in with our bathroom colour scheme. So how about you? Did you keep any of your wedding paraphernalia around? How do you use/display it? 

Forever ill

Does anyone else out there find these ecards hilariously on point? like...all the time? I certainly do and this one falls particularly close to home these days. 

(source)

My friend Hetty phoned me a few days ago and asked me, "Hey Kate - are you busy?"  

I paused. I thought. "No...not really. Whats up?"

Hetty:  "I was wondering if it would be ok if I popped by and borrowed Game of Thrones Seasons 1-3 from you."

Me: "Oh! I don't have to shower OR get out of my jammies for that! Of course you can!"

Yep. I actually considered saying I was somewhat busy in fear of having to put actual real clothes on and go out into the world. No, I'm not a hermit - but I have been suffering with severe chronic illness for many months now (plus a lovely cold/sinus infection this week) and getting dressed seemed like entirely too much effort than it's worth. The majority of my energy these days is spent trying to rest up and get healthy - thankful two things that do not require me to wear a bra. Perfect.