joss whedon b&b

About a month ago I entered a contest being hosted by a bed and breakfast in Pictou, Nova Scotia for a free romantic night's stay. Being the absent minded girl that I am, I promptly forgot that I entered. This morning I got an email from Stone's Corner B&B telling me that I, in fact, had won! The contest was regarding the names of their rooms and where their origins might be from - the names are Willow, Serenity and Firefly. The folks were quite obviously Joss Whedon fans (like me) and had found a clever way to incorporate names from his shows into their business. Can't wait to go and check it out!

pretty things in the mail

My friend Kate is an avid and wonderful cook and definitely started me down the path to appreciating good food. When I first moved to Toronto I shared a flat with her and one other girl and the two of them introduced me to cooking good food from fresh ingredients. My cooking style and repetoire has grown and changed a lot since then but I really have Kate to thank for helping me to get my feet wet in a world where I would no longer be dependent upon (or even enjoy) toaster pizzas and french fries.

As a bit of a treat, I sent her a lovely yet usable apron as she does a lot of baking. The apron came from Boojiboo on etsy. I got a note the other day that she received the package and was quite happy with it as she had actually been shopping around for one she liked. Perfect timing gifts always feel so good!

Kim and Keith's wedding

My cousin Kim got married in Cape Breton last night and I really wish I could have been there for it. Of all my cousins, I feel that Kim and I are probably the most alike and similarly tempered. I had been invited to three weddings this year though and made plans to go to the other two first - guess we can't have everything. I'm sure I'll get to see lots of pictures and hear stories from my parents and sister who were there. I've been trying to come up with just the right gift to send too and haven't really had any luck yet. Better late than never, right?

This is a picture from the wedding the DH and I went to back in June. Geoff and Jodi are a wonderfully perfect couple with a lovely little girl (the one I was trying to finish the yellow dress for). Despite the rain the wedding was lovely. It was so nice to see old friends and get a better feel for Fredericton (the town we hope to move to in the future). I've lived there in the past but Raven has only visited a few times.

Jon is one of my oldest friends and I am so glad we still keep in touch and visit now and then. He was lucky enough to meet Jen, the person I'm sure was made just for him (if you can't tell, I like her too). These two will be getting married in New Glasgow in September and I'm excited to go! My DH and I will be spending a week in Nova Scotia and still have to plan what we're going to do when. We'll fly into Halifax and I'd love to visit with my friends Heather and Geoff and we may even be lucky enough to see my old friend Krystal and meet her new little boy! Not sure if time (or energy) will allow but we may also plan for a night or two in Cape Breton to visit with my parents.

My DH and I will be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary two weeks from now. We had a small ceremony on the coast of the Bras D'or lakes in Cape Breton. Iona was the perfect location and we were lucky that, although the day was a little overcast, the rain held off. Everything was perfect.

I seem to be at that time in my life when everyone is getting married and having kids and settling down. I suppose I had to grow up sometime! Then again, I'm not sure I'll ever really grow up.

once more, with feeling

After work today (no, it's not quite over but I'm filling time) my dh and I have plans to go out for dinner (either By the Way Cafe - depending on their menu this evening - or Fresh on Bloor) and then to the movies. The exciting and fun part is that the Bloor Cinema, in conjunction with the Fringe Festival is presenting the musical Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, Once More With Feeling! It's being done Rocky Horror style with people on stage in front of the screen acting it out along with the movie. Last year I was fortunate enough to see a presentation of The Pee-wee Herman Picture Show which was hilarious! I can only hope that it lives up to my expectations (I'm a big Joss Whedon fan anyway and love the musical things he's done) and that we get there early enough to score tickets!

the first

The first always seems like a good place to begin.  Why shouldn't the first post of this blog be written on the first of the month?  Gotta start somewhere!

Plans for Canada day this year are small.  I enjoyed a lovely sleep in (days off in the middle of the week always feel decadent), the house needs a thorough cleaning (though I'm not sure just how thorough I can be until the CUPE workers end their strike and garbage is picked up again), I've got a little stretching and maybe even some Wii Fit I'd like to throw in there somewhere, the thought of finishing off a sundress for my friends' little girl River is floating around in my head and there's a fresh venison steak from the farmers market in my fridge just waiting to hit the barbecue.

This is a picture of the little dress that's waiting to be sewn together.  I just got a new-to-me sewing machine and have been anxious to see how it does on it's first project.  I'll post a picture of the completed dress when I've finished (before I send it away to be worn) and then, hopefully, I'll post a picture of the dress adorning its intended.  Here's hoping it's a good fit!