things i'm in love with

some things that make me happy today.... because it's friday, because it's been a hell of a week, and because we all deserve some fun.
this guy had a better week than he thought, when his bike was returned by someone who just got 'straight white girl wasted' and borrowed it... returning it with a coupon for free dessert.

these things that will make you smile, and will remind you that humanity is a wonderful thing. i wish i could pick 1 thing that tops all of good humanity, but i can't.
and then, if that wasn't enough for you - enough to convince you that the world is great - we have this family... who sent 6 of their children to college, before each turned 12. oh what a love for learning can do.

and, on a less cheesy sappy note, the song  that will serve as the soundtrack for my weekend. 'purple yellow red and blue', by portugal. the man.
happy weekend everyone!

insta-discoveries.

emma has this perfect small feature on her blog, called 'insta-discoveries'. i believe her intent was in shaking things up with new images, and feeling inspired with fresh and new online images. i am in need of constant change. so i'm always using the internet to move things around - new people to find, and new things to see.
so, to share my faves this week. insta-discoveries.


1. ariel alasko from brooklyn to west. she makes the most unbelievably stunning wooden pieces. i wish i could describe them, but you need to see them to understand. as if 'wooden creations' wasn't enough, she has the cutest studio assistant (who also happens to be a dog), and an eye for the most natural of studio settings. i love seeing her shots in my feed multiple times daily.
2. shayna stevenson from sojourn. i admit, a part of my love for her feed is that she's in toronto, and she lives in my old hood. it means that i get a little taste of toronto a few times a day. but, in addition to that, she takes stunning photos, makes beautiful pottery (including clay beaded necklaces that are incredible), great style, and seems to have a pretty kick ass life. jealous.
3. lara shea from lara shea photography. call me biased, because we're related, but lara is a photographer who specializes in outdoor photography, and her cute daughter. perfect combo? yup. she knows lighting like crazy, and makes instagram into her own personal studio. it's incredible.
4. erin leydon, from leydon photography. erin is a photographer based out of toronto (i know, again. i'm homesick). professionally, she photographs everything from weddings to food features for magazines. but my favourite thing about erin? her life is filled with colourful, magical and wonderful people... and she captures them all. i only wish she sent more shots to instagram. her life is fascinating.
who are your favourites lately?

things i'm loving lately

a few things i'm utterly obsessed with lately.

1. my wunder unders. spending a week and a half in a truck, and then spending another 2 and a half weeks continuing to live out of suitcases. that is one of the few scenarios during which leggings can become a second skin, and be perfectly acceptable. not fashionable. acceptable. i lived in my lulu leggings for over a month. there's something about not having a home, and being in an item of clothing that still makes you feel comfy, that is so perfectly appropriate for living in a rainy, sort of lost feeling, city. they were washed and retired to the closet for a period of time when we moved into our new place - don't worry.
2. alan's war. i received this graphic novel from my dear friend leigh right before i left toronto. for some reason i've been in a huge WWII kick, in which every book i read (unintentionally) is about WWII. this one fit right in. but instead of being depressing (wait! don't get me wrong. it was heartbreaking), it was also beautiful. and i've read 2 more book since this one, and i can't stop thinking about it. sometimes i take it off of my shelf and just look at the drawings. i highly recommend it.
3. the botanical kinetics toner from aveda. so here's a story. imagine 2 people are driving across the country (hypothetically, of course), and they have everything they own shoved into the back of a truck. THEN imagine they stop for gas, and one of those people opens the back truck door, and out tumbles some stuff... and *SMASH*. a bottle of aveda kinetics toner packed so neatly and protectedly within a box smashes all over the parking lot of said gas station. and now imagine this.... imagine that REALLY HAPPENED. to me. on our way here. needless to say, all i can think about when i wake up, and when i go to sleep, is how much i miss my spray toner. and how when i get a job, the first thing i'm going to buy is more toner. until then, i've literally been having dreams about it. this toner is the best toner i've ever used, and i challenge anyone to tell me otherwise. *before said challenge, remember mine smashed in a parking lot in winnipeg. soooo.... yea.
4. the no. 5-J necklace. so, recently i did a huge shop update, and posted a ton of new stuff i made here in vancouver. but then this little necklace was staring at me from my desk... so sad and without a person to wear it. so sweet, and lonely. so, i had to make one for myself. not the same (i didn't have the same materials - the only downfall of working with vintage), but close. and at least now, they have one another (the original is still available for purchase here)
5. my moleskin journals. i can't say much else about this, other than i've used my moleskines that i brought with me every single day since i arrived. grocery lists. song titles. photo editing lists. phone numbers for jobs (ha! yea right). jewelry organizing. it's all in there. i have at least 2 on me (in different sizes) at all times. i don't know where i'd be without them.
6. jj bean's vegan double chocolate brownie cookie. ok, i admit, this photo is actually from here. and i DO realize that the photo makes them look like piles of undesirables. but let me tell you something. imagine this - standing outside, on a half rainy, half cool but sunny day, with a stranger (who became a friend by the end - i like to think the cookie had something to do with it), for hours on end. duriecting people to another location. over 6 hours. 5 people came. now, inject chocolate brownie cookies... and then my discovering that THEY ARE VEGAN. i now live in a city where vegan goods are a natural part of the menu. and this coffee place - jj beans - incorporates multiple vegan options daily... including a to die for vegan zucchini chocolate chip muffin. and not only that.... they are literally some of the best things i've ever eaten. ever. i think i may currently be living in heaven. if you ever get a chance to eat one of these cookies, please do yourself a favour and do it. i promise you - you would never ever ever ever ever know these are vegan. even the ever discriminating jeff agrees.
what are you loving every second of every day lately?