cat stairs

I've been seriously concerned about my cats' lack of exercise ever since I moved into my new apartment - especially since I think they're looking a little chubbier these days. At the last place, they had way more room to run around and a staircase to run up and down. So, on that note, I've been inspired by this AT post to start a new DIY project this weekend so my cats keep busy. Fun! Will post photos when I'm done :)

wedding ideas

I don't typically get excitable over being involved in wedding plans - or thinking about how I'm going to plan my own wedding one day (presuming one will happen ;). I'm just not one of those girls who are drawn to wedding magazines and who relish all the responsibilities that come with being a bridesmaid (although I always enjoy partying it up at weddings!).

But when I saw this wedding post on design*sponge, I knew I had to bookmark it. I LOVE so many of the decorating ideas used - including the use of tiny wooden stumps as table markers (see photo above). So great! Creative and earthy and classy all wound up in one big party - love it!

commuter bikes

After being inspired by a biking-obsessed friend last year, I've taken to biking everywhere - work, errands, parties - in everything from flip flops and shorts to high heels and formal dresses - and I love it! LOVE it! It's fast, it's fun, it's free, it's exercise, it's independant, it's environmentally friendly - it just feels GREAT. I bought a second-hand mountain bike from a bike rental company after their summer season at half price last year. It's definitely gotten the job done, but I've been meaning to upgrade it a bit with accessories that will enhance the commuting experience - more lights, fenders to protect my clothes from puddle splashes, and a basket for carrying things in. So I was stoked to see this recommended commuter bike recomendation list (click through to see all seven bikes) from TreeHugger today. I don't think I'll be buying a new bike anytime soon - and theft possibility might keep me from ever buying a really pretty bike, but it sure is fun to look and get ideas...

I'm also hoping to gear myself up in order to continue riding my bike through the winter - in other words, through a lot of snow. I've come across a few articles here (see links at the bottom for additional winter biking tips if you're interested), but want to keep looking for more helpful ideas. Feel free to forward me anything you might know of. I've been hearing about bike wheel spikes to keep your bike from slipping in icy weather...I need to look into that.

I'm looking forward to the challenge though!

cyberoptix tie lab

Okay, these are seriously rad ties.

I donned a hideous, Christmas-patterned, jingle-bell playing tie last night for a cheesy Christmas sweater party and it kinda made me want to start wearing ties to work - you know, in a more femine, classy, non-christmas-jingle-playing kind of way. Which led me a tie search on etsy which led me to these seriously rad ties. Seriously.

I like ALL of them. And I want to pick one out for myself and for every savvy, fashionable male friend of mine for Christmas gifts. SO cool...

chunky necklaces by vintage existence

Chunky, shiny, necklaces seem to be the jewellry of choice this holiday season. I was shopping with a friend yesterday and we saw big, expensive, brooch-necklaces all over the place that caused us to muse about collecting our grandmother's brooches and creating our own. We'll see if that actually happens, but it would certainly be the economic way of wearing that's as pricey as the pieces seen in the mall and in department stores.

On that note, I thought I'd browse through etsy to see if I could see anything similar, less expensive and homemade. And look what I found! By Vintage Existence...

nests

A visual collection of the nests I've made over the years...(and clearly I haven't replaced my bedding for years)...

memory lane

I've been photo-documenting my living spaces for years now (although not all in a before/ after kind of way) so I thought I'd post photos from a few of my past dwelling places - at least the ones that I've lived in since I've had a digital camera (I'll need a scanner to showcase my pre-digital days). I wish I'd taken photos of ALL the places I've ever lived - the spot my roomates and I (and the rest of the university-aged folks in town) dubbed 'the crack shack' would make for a particularly amusing blog post, but I'm pretty sure the shack's mice population held my camera hostage for those 5 months of my life...that, or I accidently buried it in the vegetable garden I attempted to grow next to the back parking lot's septic tank...

By mentally collecting all my homes in my head (which is kind of like trying to count off all the guys I've been on dates with - you always feel like you've forgotten a few), I think my post-parental dwelling places count is at 13 so far. In each one, I've taken great pleasure in re-decorating the space to make it my own.

At what I think was home #7, welcome to my very first, very tiny studio apartment that was two things: my first apartment sans roomates and my first apartment in downtown Vancouver (suburban beach town girl moves to the big city):