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.
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?