A Room With A View

I never really thought I needed a room with a view. For the last 8 years I have lived with a view of a building that is 20 feet from my window. But when I travel, I have a need for a view. I went to New York City, stayed in Times Square on the 18th floor and had a view of a building. I went to Chicago and had a room on the 23rd floor at a hotel on the river and had a view of the other side of the building through the court yard. So, the next time I went to Chicago, I paid extra for the Room with a View!

We stayed at the Congress Plaza Hotel, not the nicest hotel. It is old and shows its age, but I had a room with a view. Straight in front of me was Buckingham Fountain, with Lake Michigan behind it. Every hour on the hour the fountain would spray water way up into the air! I could sit there all day and gaze out my window. As I watched it I thought of many things, including new projects to work on! At night I would lie on the bed and watch the fountain. It made me think that a Room with a View is something I desire out of life. Will I get it? Probably not. I will continue to look at the uninspiring view of the yellow building. If I step outside, I do have a view of the CN Tower, but the side walk isn't a comfortable place to hang out. But I do know, from now on when I travel, I am looking for that view! It is worth the extra money!!

What is your Addiction?

I have many addictions. If you are a Scrapbooker or Paper Crafter you too probably have an addiction or two. But my addictions go past some paper and glitter!

I am addicted to Art Supplies!! I am a Jack-of-all-Trades. I can't stop with one medium. I have acrylic paints, then Fluid Acrylics, Shiva Paintstiks, watercolours, Copics, Prisma Pencil Crayons and PanPastels on the way!! Plus dye inks, pigment inks, distress inks, alcohol inks and solvent inks. Glimmer mists in a pile of colours, luminarte sprays and Adirondak Sprays! For me scrapbooking is about trying new techniques and getting messy!!

And how do I learn all these new techniques? Why books and magazines of course. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but if it pretty I will buy it!! I love to buy books!! I love to read the instructions and look at the pretty pictures. I love paper crafting books from Japan! I can't read it, but the pictures are still pretty and I can totally get inspired by the way they look at design. Plus almost all magazines from Somerset!! They are all so inspiring that I can't bare to get rid of them!!

My next addiction is Dies. I love the dies by Quickutz and the new dies by Tim Holtz released through Sizzix. I also have a pile of Spellbinder dies! The good thing is that they don't take up too much space! I could easily use my dies in every project I do. From an alphabet, to a label design to a cute shape!! I love to use my dies!!

Outside of the paper crafting world I also collect Blythe Dolls, which can be a bit on the pricey side! My collection has held at 10 dolls for a while now. But there is always clothing to buy. Between Etsy, Brilliant Haute Couture and This Is Blythe I could spend a pile of money!!

Then there are necklaces - I have to avoid Anthropology. I am guaranteed to buy a necklace every time I enter the store. Then I get an idea to make necklaces. How many necklaces can 1 woman have!! But they are so pretty!!

Oh wait - I also have a music addiction!! I love music!! With over 15000 songs in our iTunes library - probably over 80% are mine, I would never be able to listen to it all. But that is 20 years worth of collecting. Now I mainly buy individual songs, versus the whole album.

Some past addictions have been beads, expensive shoes and purses (OK, I am still working on the purse addiction).

What are some of your addictions?

Crafty Goodness in NYC!

A couple weeks ago I was in New York City!! I hadn't been there in about 16 years or more. When I did go it was in University, so I had different priorities. This trip was for Mark - who had never been and wanted to see the city, Gemma - who needed kid friendly activities and shopping, and Me - who needed a little bit of crafty inspiration! And I am going to share with you some of the inspiring stores!!



While I was there I hit about 3 Kate's Paperie's! I love this store!! So many fabulous papers and embellishments!!



Then I went to M&J Trading! This is 2 stores filled with ribbon and embellishments!! So much beautiful goodness!!



I bought some ribbon here. But you could spend an hour here looking through everything. I had about 40 minutes, while I was waiting for another store to open.



Around the corner was Tinsel Trading! This is more of a vintage store with some amazing older ribbons and finding!







I bought their book, some vintage twill ribbon, plus a vintage assorted pack.



We also made it to the Ink Pad in the West Village. This store may be small, but it is jammed packed with stamps and inks! Small as it was, I was still able to easily spend $100.



And I even found some Crafty goodness for Gemma at the Children's Museum of Art in SoHo. For $10 a person, you child can go in to the Museum and create all day! There was painting, clay, dress up, puppets, plus activities with instructors. Gemma did Chalk drawing Stop Animation and helped build a piece of Rome.

Plus just being in NYC is inspiring!! Do you have any favorite Crafty stores you like to visit? How about in Chicago - I am going there this summer!!

Day 2 (or 3) of the Big Purge!

Yesterday was successful! Round 1 through the scraproom is almost done! I just need to go through my cardstock and be ruthless! I have over 2 bins of cardstock and seldom use it on a project.

All the cabinets of the kitchen have been emptied. I found Baking powder that expired in 2005, chocolate that expired in 2006 and Truffle Oil that expired in 2001. I moved in 2002. Hmmm... Anyway, although I have emptied all the cabinets, I haven't restocked them, so the kitchen is a little messy at the moment.

But since Gemma is at school I am working upstairs in our open area. I have recovered Gemma's table. I have made a box for all the American Girl stuff. I have removed some toys she doesn't play with. I am determined for her to have a table she can actually work on! I am setting up a great little art studio up there for her! Which later can be her homework zone!

When she gets home I will hopefully put the kitchen back together!

Tomorrow is the big task of Gemma's room!!

Purging away!

I have a few days this week to work around the house (vs. getting scrapping projects done) and I am on a purging spree! Scrapbooks By Design is having another Garage Sale in May which gives me a great reason to get rid of stuff!! I have already filled 2 bags, a box and started a pile on the floor! But I feel I can still get rid of more!

But my next quest is that darn kitchen I keep talking about! I am determined to make it feel a lot cleaner/emptier! I want to transfer my bowls and serving dishes out of there. I haven't hosted a party in a while and these beautiful pieces sit there. Well, they can sit somewhere else!! Since I barely cook, there must be stuff I can get rid of!!

Then there is the upstairs area! Determined to get rid of more of Gemma's toys she doesn't play with! The school is having a Rummage Sale at the end of May and my goal is to be through this house before the sale!

I will keep you updated!

Can I really be a Happier Person?

Cleaning makes me happy. Organizing makes me happy. Shopping makes me happy. But can I be a Happier person? I sometimes wonder because I am a bit of a cynic. I don't want to make small chat with the Mom's waiting to pick up their kids from school. When I am at the park I would rather watch a movie on my iPod. I don't like loud kids. I don't like some kids for no reason. They just bug me. I like to gossip. I even get Gemma to tell me the goings on her class so I can be involved in the Grade 2 gossip. People I haven't even met bug me. I am happy creating by myself. When I am at work I avoid some customers because they bug me. I could never own a store where I had to be nice to everyone. Do I want to make the extra effort to be a happier person? I just don't think I necessarily have a happy disposition.

But don't get me wrong. I am a happy person, with friends. I do like people. I am just picky with who I want to be friends with. I am just questioning, do I have what it takes to be a 'Happier' person. The first step to be a happier person is having the energy, and I think that is what I am lacking. The energy to be a happier person. I guess the question is: Do I want to find the energy to be a happier person? Or do I want to stay the way I am? And is that a bad thing?

Does a Clean Living Room Bring Happiness?

I want to believe so. I left the Kitchen behind for now to concentrate on the Living room. Our Living room is definitely a multi-tasking room. It is a dining room, an office, a tv room, a craft room, a filming studio and the only room to find a couch to relax on. All this in about 300 square feet. I am constantly trying to find a 'home' for everything. When I can't I continue to purge. I don't want to walk in to the room to find a pile here, some stuff there, I want order. And I think that this order is what will make me a little happier. Or at least, less tired.

So my hopes this week is to find a home for everything in my living room. I want to walk into the room with a sense of happiness and relaxation. And then, hopefully, this will stimulate my creativity. Because, this is the room where all my creating happens.

My Jewelry Project

A couple months ago we went to the Mall so Mark could get a Winter Coat for work. I wanted to do a few things myself so I thought he could buy a jacket without me. Well, I was wrong. He ended up with a Jacket from Le Chateau. I didn't even know that he knew that store existed. I was a little ticked at the time (okay, a lot ticked) because he could only get a credit note for the purchase and Le Chateau is not a store I shop at. Plus he had to spend more money to buy a proper coat!

So fast forward to this afternoon when I finally went into Le Chateau. I thought I would look at their jewelry to see if I could find something I could take apart to make my own designs with. And I have to tell you, I hit the jackpot. I got this fabulous necklace that had six necklaces in one! There is gold chains, gold chains with pearls and beads, pearls linked together, antiqued gold chains and fabulous charms - hearts, leaves, keys, cameo, and a pin!! The next necklace is eight necklaces in one! This time in silver and flat black metal links, plus rhinestones! The next necklace has nine large flowers linked together in silver. And the final necklace is an antique gold with 5 large charms! Mind you, these necklaces cost $150, but I had the credit note to spend, so at this point, it didn't cost me anything!

So my plan for sometime in the near future, is to take these necklaces apart and see what I can create with them! When I am successful, I will post pictures of my new creations!!

If you Don't have Something Nice to Say, Don't Say Anything At All

This morning I was on the Queen W Streetcar heading East. This is a double car because it is a busy route. When the streetcar came, I got on. It was very busy and I had to stand near the front of the car. A few stops later a man gets on and starts yelling at the driver. He said that 3 cars went by and didn't stop, but the backs of the streetcar was empty. He continued to yell that it is this drivers fault and he should get everyone to move back. Well, the driver is constantly yelling, "Move back", but it is the passengers responsibility to actually move back. The yeller said that another employee should be in the back telling people to move back. The driver retorted by asking if he wanted to pay $5 to ride the streetcar and the yeller said, "I already pay $3". The driver gave the suggestion of getting a pass then entering through the back doors.

Anyway, this whole thing bothered me. How would you like someone entering your workspace and before greeting you, just start yelling at you. I always tell my daughter to talk to others as you want others to talk to you! And the same goes for those people who use their phones to film the drivers. Would you want cameras filming you at work while you were on Facebook instead of doing your job? Streetcar drivers should be able to go to the washroom without people filming and reporting them. Enough with slamming the TTC. Why don't we work together to make using the TTC a pleasant experience.

The Kitchen

So I thought starting in the Kitchen, as part of my organizing for The Happiness Project, would be good because I no longer cook or bake that much. I thought there must be gadgets and dishes/bowls/serving plates that I could easily get rid of. But you know what - that is not the case. My bowls and serving dishes were picked from Artists and Shops that I really like. I can't see getting rid of them. I do see some of Gemma's plastic plates and bowls that I have no problem dumping. Plus cups picked up from restaurants. And I do have to go through my Baking Cupboard - I am sure there is expired products in there - does Flour and Sugar go bad? Maybe once I start at it, it won't be so bad. I was thinking of bringing some of my serving dishes to my Mom's. She loves storing things for me :) At least I can try to be apart from them and see if I miss them - even if they are really pretty.

As for the exercise. Gemma is learning to skip, and now that the weather is nice she is skipping after school. So I went out to give her some tips and sure enough, I can still skip - forward, backwards and fast! The Fast did work some of my arm muscles too. I didn't skip loads, but if I go out each night with her, maybe I can once again become a pro skipper. Actually, I was never a pro skipper, but it could be my new calling. I also walked Gemma to school and back, which in total is almost 3K. Every bit helps!!

The Happiness Project

I started a personal blog to talk about my life - only to never post. What does this say? Is my life that mundane. Do I do the same things day in and day out? I was at the bookstore a few weeks back and picked up The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Although I do not blog day in and day out, I do consider myself a happy person. But the thought of being a Happier person intrigued me. How can I be happier in my day to day routine.

I finally started reading the book and she is outlining her month by month goals and challenges to becoming a Happier person. A lot (but not all) ring true. I think I can incorporate some of these ideas into my daily life. I am currently on the April Chapter. The problems I see is how do I not incorporate all of it at once. When I start a project I go full steam ahead. But like her I think I will start with organizing and exercise. I am constantly dealing with clutter and trying to find solutions. Well it is Spring and the perfect time to do Spring Cleaning - No Hold Bars!!! I need to set up a schedule to deal with each room of the house. The good news is that having a small home, I don't have that many rooms to deal with! I am thinking of starting in the kitchen!

Next is the exercising. I get on and off the band wagon too often. At least with the warmer weather I will be walking back and forth to bring Gemma to school. I will try to add some other exercise into my schedule as well.

So, I will see how things go. Maybe I will try blogging more. Now that Spring is here, maybe I will actually leave my house more. Winter and me just don't mix!

Organizing Again!

How many times a year do you organize your craft area? I seem to be continually doing this!! We recently bought a bookcase, which now holds all my die-cutting machines and tools, plus the top 2 shelves hold our DVD's. This has freed up space on my Hoosier - however, the Hoosier is currently piled with stuff from my shelves!!

I seem to have made space in my paper storage - some Iris bins - but I don't have anything to put in them, so they are now empty. I have space on the open shelf, but I want something pretty to put there, and I am not sure what this is. Meanwhile, my Glimmer Mist is now being stored in 3 boxes, up from 2. Although I keep purging my stamps,I still have 6+ boxes of them. 3 boxes of adhesives. 6 boxes of inks and paints. And my pile of 'stuff' on the Hoosier. I really want to be rid of stuff, but some stuff I still cannot part with.

However, the things I am parting with will be available for sale at Scrapbooks By Design in Toronto, on Sunday, February 28th at the 2nd Hand Sale!!

And once I finish with the pile of 'stuff' I will take pictures of my once again organized space!

Could 'Awesome' Be a Spy?

I just want to say that although I like Chuck, I am not a HUGE fan. And secondly, I am usually the last person to pick up any subtle hints. However, I think this may be a possibility. The following re-counts of Chuck are all from memory, so things may be out of order.

Last night I went to watch episode 3 & 4 of Chuck with Mark. He had already seen episode 3 and says to me, "This episode explains a lot about Awesome", and my quick reply was, "Is Awesome a Spy?". He just looked at me and we watched the episode.

The episode starts with Awesome and Ellie making out in the cupboard, on their first day as interns at the hospital, without knowing each other. This makes me think that he was told to do it, so he could get closer to her father.

He gets called not once, but twice to work on a very special patient, the Premiere. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the Premiere again, possibly with something that may have been planted in him.

At the party, Awesome is talking to Chuck about how hard it must be to pretend you are in love with someone. I think this conversation was actually more about himself then Chuck.

When Casey tries to save the Premiere, Awesome jumps Casey and makes the comment that he knew what he was doing, then looked directly at the guy with the needle. Possibly, who Awesome is working for, could want the Premiere dead.

Awesome kept pushing Chuck about the 'secret place' and was finally shown where the 'secret place' is. This will be big information to share with his handler.

As well, he is extremely fit and we learned speaks multiple languages.

And, can a surgeon really be as dense as Awesome is portrayed to be?

In episode 4, Awesome is taken through a CIA ordeal. I think he was purposely planted there to get more information in to the workings of the CIA. There was the comment made about Awesome & Chuck, "One looks like a spy, and one looks like Chuck." I think that line has more meaning to it.

My guess is over the next few episodes our focus will probably be re-focused elsewhere, away from Awesome. But I wouldn't be surprised we see more involvement of Awesome closer to the end of the season.

So, once again, this is just my take on the episode. As mentioned before, I am not Chuck's #1 fan. I am a wife of a fan, that enjoys the show.

Winter - Blah

I haven't posted in a while and it is mainly because I haven't had any great story to tell. It is Winter - Blah. I don't like Winter. It snows, then becomes warmer, then gets slushy. Blah! I am happier once Spring is here.

But with that being said, 1 good thing about Winter is CHA in Anaheim. I am not looking forward to the weather though. Last year it was cold and rained the entire time we were there. However, there were major snow storms here, so I guess it was still better than what we left behind. But I am looking forward to seeing all the new products and tools and demos. As well as seeing friends I have made over the last couple years. There are so many sneaks available already! I can't wait to see it all in person, and then start working with it! There are so many creative people in the Scrapbooking Industry!!

So by the time I get back from CHA, January will almost be over. One month closer to Spring and the end of Winter!!