Friends come in all shapes and sizes....

PS: I'm over the photo 30 day project. I don't want to post pictures and talk about them all the time. I want to do whatever I feel like. Whether it be sewing, knitting, taking photos or baking a cake. This blog was my opportunity to do something fun on my own time. What I've reduced it to is a B-O-R-I-N-G and uninspired photo assignment project. So if you're interested in photography go to a daily dose of imagery and stay her if you're interested in people, places, things or ideas. A noun if you will. Get it? I just made an English grammar joke. Oh I"m so funny.

Now that we've concluded the photo project is so over. I have something that I made to share. My friend Andrea had an important birthday this year and because I love her I wanted to give her something I thought she would love. Andrea has a blue Roots bag she lugs around everywhere - to Costa Rica, to work, to the gym, to spa weekends, shopping weekends you name it. It's handy and holds everything from her laptop to her gym sneakers. I always tease her about it despite the fact that its functional and cute. I decided to make her a bag that fit her classic look at work (she works for a finance company where she's not allowed to wear jeans) so I chose a feminine, classic and timeless print - like Andrea. This is the bag below. You likey?




I can't take credit for this picture. Like a dirtbag I forgot and had to ask Andrea to take it for me after I gave it to her.

Sorry for leaving you in the dust.

Hello Internet (or I should say faithful readers Jen, Andy, Andrea, Krista and hubster) - Happy first day of Spring.  Sorry for leaving you in the dust.  My photography project has taken a major back seat to all things quilting and most recently puppy sitting.  

I promise to say something interesting, post pictures of our new friend Amigo the puppy and be a bit more consistent with my blogging.  

23 of 30 - Inanimate object picture taking competency - check

My unrequited photography goal, until now, has been to play with my camera. During our class in Costa Rica I didn't know enough to even take a good picture let alone play around. However, playtime is on. I'm taking my camera along for the ride more and more for no reason but to play. My goal is to become just as comfortable and confidant taking pictures of people as I am with an inanimate objects.

22 of 30 - Fun with the Ralph's or should I say Gracie..

This little girl belongs to our friends. She has more personality in her pinky finger than most adults I know. In this first picture she's crawling towards me in an effort to steal my camera.




She's still young enough that she doesn't pose or have any desire for attention. She just does what she pleases. And that included eating marshmellows the size of her palm, putting on a princess dress for dinner and discreetly coughing up her dinner onto her plate when hubster didn't cut her steak small enough.

21 of 30 - Wonderful way to start your day.

This morning started with breakfast at a delicious coffee shop near my house. I met a friend to chat about our progress in the Artist's Way. There is nothing better than starting your day with a tasty coffee, lots of giggling and an impromptu photo session on my your way to said shop. I post the dewy looking branches I took either tonight or tomorrow. I'm making hubster a pie this evening so I may not have time.

20 of 30 - Playing with the light

I was trying hard to make this picture look interesting. In fact I didn't really notice the red peeking through the cracks in the tree. I played with the light and tried to ignore the light meter. The bottom picture was in the middle of the light meter and the one on top was slightly over.

19 of 30 - Can the point of a picture be - just because?

During my photography retreat in Costa Rica our teacher told us over and over and over again you should not take a picture without having a point. I like this picture but I don't have a point.


I'll get back to you if I figure it out. I doubt I will. It's being filed under 'out and about'.

18 of 30 - another bike: i know, i know but I can't help it

Look at this beauty. I have a perfectly good bike but covet the old fashioned types. Even though I'm lazy and know it's WAY harder to ride.


One of the many things I love about working with students is that the second we get a glimmer of sunshine bikes come out. They are everywhere on campus.

17 of 30 - I'll always be the baby of my family

I was having dinner with my friend Jen when she proudly pulled out this notebook she found. I FREAKED OUT and immediately asked if I could have it. And, she gave it to me. This book is only 1 of 250 limited edition notebooks made of recylced billboards. Each sheet is connected and allows you to stuff sheets of paper in between them - like a filofax notebook. I can stuff pictures, instructions or little cards. We made a deal that I would find something just as amazing for her. Good trade, eh? ESPECIALLY since I got the book first ;) It's to nice for me to write it in though. I need to choose JUST the right thing.




If you have any ideas that match this amazing-ness please let me know. It'll have to be good - look at the quote! If you want one of these visit 401 Richmond and ask for the billboard papery.

16 of 30 - A yoga studio is born

One of my friends opened a yoga studio named I am Yoga and she's offering free classes this entire week. Her name is a Linda and she's wonderful! I've been lucky enough to be invited into Linda's crazy world while the studio gets up and running. A few nights a week I help at the front desk checking people in then while I classes are in session I zip around folding towels, collecting the piles of 'stuff' that accumulates in small yet bustling places and do some random fun thing. On this particular day I took pictures.




So get yourself to her studio iamyoga.ca - like I said she's wonderful and the studio is always bustling with great yogi's new and old.

14 of 30 - cloud between the trees?

I'm on day two of a self-directed course called 'The Artist Way' I started on Monday. It's three months long and it reminded me of that idiomatic phrase - can't see the forest from the trees. Many people know this about me but I don't get these types of phrases. Things like 'kill two birds with one stone' or 'gold at the end of the rainbow' I just misuse the terms. But, when I was thinking about the course this phrase popped into my head and I became quite excited with my ability to properly apply a phrase to my experience. Clever, eh? I must admit I needed some help getting past the fact that 'can't see the forest from the trees' is not proper English but I did get finally get it. I think the difficulty with this dialect of English is because my peeps (ie ancestors) we're speaking a different language so intuitively I don't get it.

13 of 30 - just cause

This is a coconut shell I stumbled upon on the beach in Costa Rica.  It's so cold in Toronto I need to spend time thinking about warmer weather.  I know that I should embrace it but I don't do frost bite.

sweet mother of god...

No words can describe the super (in)human craving I am having for chocolate at the moment. I went in the search of a tasty scallop recipe (I'm allowed fish on Friday) because we have some in the freezer and look what I found.

http://www.tastespotting.com/

This site is one of my favorite food sites. However, you need to be aware of how things taste together.

While I"m at it this is my ultimate go to because it always tastes delicious - http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nut-and-seed-biscotti-recipe.html

If you clicked on the link above I plan to make these crackers this week - don't they look great?

PS: if you read my last post how fitting is my god title reference? this could become a game.

12 of 30 - in my world lent has begun...

I'll give myself an E for Effort in the 30 day photo project. I haven't abandoned my efforts but I'm not keeping up with it. It's a new week though, perhaps I'll surprise myself and not miss a day.



I took this picture in a dark hallway by releasing the flash on my camera. I like how it turned out because lighting is hard to figure out.

I added this picture today because hubster extraodinaire on most days, gave up large slurpees and regular pop for lent. That's right. He's still allowed to get small regular pop slurpees and drink diet pop. How funny is that? Hubster is encouraged to do whatever he wants for lent. But I'm Greek Orthodox so my options are give up meat and if that' s not enough something else that I would have difficulty with. Yikes. Today is the first day of Greek Orthodox Lent. This might sound ridiculous to anyone who hasn't been raised in a strict and rigid religion but I feel like since I have been given so much this year I should take the next 40 days to show my appreciation. By appreciation I mean suffering through and giving up a bunch of things that I love. I talked to my Mom about it and she's thrilled. Actually she's the one who put this crazy idea into my head. So, for the next 40 days, I will stop consuming meat (this does not include cheese or eggs unless it's a very holy day, yeah lent has degrees, and I'm going to cut out all unnecessary spending). I thought long and hard about what would be the most difficult thing in my world and that's it. Frivolous spending is everything from ttc to work, coffee every morning from Tim Horton's and not purchasing the gym bag I want SO badly from Lulu Lemon. This will take brute force. Tonight, after taking out grocery money and money for the activities I have in calendar this month, I"m going home and putting my credit and debit cards in a bucket of water in the freezer. This will definitely be more difficult for me than anything else.

Wish me luck.

PS: If anyone is talking to Hubster this sort of looks like the bag I want.