night lights & sweet treats

the end of summer is nigh.  we Torontonians come to this realization when the CNE opens.  personally i'm fine with the departure of summer, it's a been a wet one, and i'm ready for fall leaves and cozy sweaters.  yum.  so last night a group of us headed through the gates for an end of season tradition.  i love carnivals, all the twinkling lights and mechanical sounds of rickety rides, the smell of popcorn and sugar coated everythings.  it was a chilly-ish night and pretty windy, kind of perfect i thought. 

damian and i got there before everyone else so we wandered the grounds and came across a creature dressed for the festivities lying on a quiet piece of alleyway.  it was quite big, the biggest dragonfly i've seen.  it looked like a carnival with wings with all of those colours adorning it.  the poor thing was on it's back so we flipped it over but it still wouldn't fly away.  damian picked it up and put it in a lush planter filled with the same shade of green that was on its little vest.  we hoped there would be a happy union between insect and leaf and walked off.

we met up with everyone and travelled the midway for a bit admiring the glitter.

there's a real novelty with food at this place.  most of it comes on a stick.  there are your standards like corn dogs, candy apples, candy floss and whatnot.  then there are you newer and in some cases, more challenging items like pickles, meat balls, and pizza.  yes, pizza on a stick! the newest odd snack however did not reside on a stick, a plate was needed for this creation.  i felt photographic proof was needed for whomever's brainchild this was.  would you believe me without it?                       

can you imagine a pig walking by and seeing this poster?  do you suppose he would shake his head and say "is this what we've been reduced to?" or do you think he would feel celebrated?  i mean chocolate IS pretty delicious.  

after the horror of the choco-pig heart attack snack wore off we headed into the buildings to see what sort of treasures we could find.  i liked all the plants and Nick insisted on taking the standard "pretend you're stealing something right in front of the "no stealing" sign (with added illustration of handcuffs to really send the message home).  we're so clever it hurts. 

the first building was the "Useless Crap Nobody Needs And Will Most Likely Break After 2 1/2 Uses" building.  or the "As Seen on TV" building if you prefer brevity. if you've ever doubted the Germans talent when it came to making shammies well, doubt no long for the proof is in the sign baby.  right next to the Slap Chop!  Vince wasn't there though which was an upset.

things were closing up so it was time to leave, but not without a bit of decadence first.

that's right, the Scottish known treat (which we never did find while we were in Scotland last month) of a previously naked and boring chocolate bar dipped into batter, fried, then dusted with icing sugar.... on a stick!  

it was definitely time for drinks.  we headed over to The Academy of Spherical Arts for a bit of atmosphere and cocktail loveliness.  i love this place and have not been there in ages, this would be one thing i miss about living in the city.  we used to live walking distance from it and although it is a bit on the pricey side, sometimes you just need to treat yourself to fancy.  my favourite room was closed, the basement room called "La Belle Epoque".  *click the link and take the virtual tour to get a, well, virtual idea of the ambience*  i feel like i should be sipping absinthe with dearest Toulouse Lautrec when i'm in that room.  the low light, the candles, the art nouveau scrolled onto the exposed stone walls.  it's heaven in a cellar.

instead we headed upstairs into the Samuel May room.  this is Damian's favourite room.  it reminds him of an old fashioned gentlemen's club where you sip scotch and discuss politics.

after a few rounds we ran through the recently formed rain storm to Nick's apartment for a few more drinks.  the evening ended with a tug-of-war match between a rope, a pug named Lucy, a miniature American Bulldog named Oakley, and me.  the dogs won, i was outnumbered. 

Damian and i stayed in the city last night, we got a sweet deal on a room at the Westin.  this morning we decided to go back to the Ex for a second round.  we weren't able to see everything last night so we thought "hey, we're in the city, why not?"  today we came across a mini exhibit of the paranormal history of the CNE, right up my alley!  they had old photos from the turn of the century, stories of ghostly encounters, bits of history that would have resulted in the unrest of the ghosts (for example, the midway was the site of one one the bloodiest battles during the war of 1812.  people died there and now they're selling chocolate covered bacon to crowds of adventurous sweet toothed meat eaters.  hmm.)  there were photographs of gypsy fortune tellers in 1912 and this lovely lady.  actually she's kind of creepy since she doesn't have a face. even still, i wanted her caravan.

 

look who else was there!  those cute as a button Scottish designer boys, Colin & Justin.  look at those Canadian kilt ensembles, Oo La La gents.  i want them to heist my house, i wonder if they would travel north of the city to this little village?  in fact maybe they could heist the whole village!  you know, get those cars on people's lawns off the blocks etc.  *apologies for the shameful quality of the photo, the lighting in that building is the pits*

so, a pretty fun time was had. trinkets and treasures were purchased (Damian spoiled me and bought me all sorts of bits & bobs) and sugary bad for you food was consumed.  everything a trip to the carnival should be.  i picked up the cutest strands of red flower lights from a Thailand booth to hang in my studio.  photo to come once i hang them.

look what else i got, a fabulously glorious new hat.  isn't it simply divine?  i like to wear it on a slight angle to dress it up a bit more, to stand out from the crowd.  i feel so feminine in it, like a classy woman staring at you from the pages of a fashion magazine.  i blow kisses to you all from beyond my gauzy vignette.

Just A Boy

I love Angus and Julia Stone. my brother introduced me to them a few years ago and sweetly brought me their album all the way from Australia (you can get it on itunes now so you can save on the airfare. though a trip to OZ can never be a bad idea.)

i want to live in this video. i want a mini elephant. i want to weave through night in a hot air balloon. it makes me want to build a little puppet theatre.

brightened

here it is, a cleaner look!  i'm sure the banner will change again because that's the way i am... always changing things (guess i get bored easy).

i've been doodling flowers lately, carnival-esque type flowers, they're so much fun to create. anyways, just a mini post to unveil the new look.  now it's time to throw some paint down.

i love saturday night!

time to brighten

Isle of Skye, Scotland

i'm working on a new layout, doodling out banner ideas and such.  time to brighten this place up.  i've been working more with ink and i love it, i've always loved it but for some reason i'm drawn to using it more lately.  harder to get off the skin (my feet are currently stained with splashes of it) but who cares.  sometimes i like to keep the messy bits on me to remind me of what i love.  if i don't end up with paint, ink, glue, or whatnot on me somewhere then i feel like i didn't truly get into it.  to dive into my art fully means i resurface multi-coloured.

so yes, a new look on it's way.  right now though i have to go tidy our porch in readiness for a cozy idea i have.  the screening really needs to be replaced but man, is it ever expensive to buy screen, sheesh.  for now, to cover the holes the raccoons made, i will have to use my imagination.... and that's a much more fun place to shop than home depot.

a story of love

along the white walled backdrop of my studio, to the soundtrack of Lykke Li singing 'Hanging High', the black spot fluttered.  to & fro it drifted searching for everlasting love, dancing on dreams.  it grew weary of being alone and craved the kind of companionship you only find in books.  during a heavy sigh it looked downward upon a slight red shimmer caught in a light. it's heart started beating madly, uncontrollably, a beat four times faster than it was used to. was this the surge of love?  was this the feeling songs and poetry were based on?  

it dove down for a closer look.  as it grew closer the red glow became richer, its heart thumping harder.  it stopped an inch away and circled the edge, wondering how to make the first move. gazing into the red it realized the morphing in shades.  at the immediate surface, closest to its feet, was a clear pinkish hue.  slowly it graduated getting darker and darker downward until it rested in a beautiful ruby colouring.  it tossed negatives and positives back and forth, could it work, could the ruby depths love it back with the same passion?  it would do anything in return, it would lie, beg, steal, even die for just a sweet whisper of forever entwined.  

it gathered up all of its courage and took the plunge, doing one more circle around the vessel containing it's Juliet.  plunging down at fairy-tale speeds the tiny fruit fly touched down, gaussian wings first, into the delicate beaujolais.  the glass captured it, the sea of cruel crimson grasped onto its tiny legs, holding it prisoner, drawing it under the pinkish hue.  it gasped for air in panic as the shades of red became a hideous monster drowning him slowly.  after seconds it relaxed its thoughts and fears and fell into the end.  it wasn't a monster at all, it was his Juliet's embrace, its true love pulling closer to embrace.  it died in her arms, floating on the surface, happy and at peace.  loved at the last moment of flutter, a brief note in fairy tale history.

snow white & the seven dwarf bunnies

we found bunnies! well, Damian did...while he was mowing the lawn *yikes*. two little guys were out for a wander in our long, summer rained on grass. their little movements caught the side of his eye, luckily. he stopped the mower and ran into the house yelling "i need you STAT!" of course i start to think "he's chopped a piece of himself off, oh no". i ran down the stairs and found him at the door, all in one piece.

we went outside and he said "follow me, quietly" we crossed our yard and he pointed at a tiny brown thing which i initially thought was a fallen leaf. to my happy surprise it was not. as we got closer one guy hopped off into the hedge which is where we wanted them to go, for safety. the other guy just sat there, we were able to crouch right down beside it and Damian even pet the wee beastie. it took a tiny shove but he finally hopped off as well. we thought it would be a good idea to scan the rest of the lawn just in case. not too far from where the first two bunnies were spotted was a patch of "different" grass, more thatchy looking. Damian crouched down and said "i found another one!" we slowly lifted the thatch up so we good give him a little nudge towards the hedge as well, he bolted. But.....

... there were 4 more underneath! a cozy little hole dug into our lawn for baby bunnies to nap in. i'm so glad two of them went for a stretch because if they hadn't, Damian wouldn't have known they were there. fear the thought. we managed to shoo them all hedge-ward and everything was fine.

for a good idea of scale, that's Damian's (gloved) hand in the top photo... how adorably small!

i'm starting to feel like Snow White with all these creatures taking up residence at our house. the cats, the bunnies, the skunk... i'm waiting for a bear! wouldn't that be fantastic? we'll start a little circus show!

on another note, i feel a blog makeover coming on. this one feels a tad heavy, time to lighten things up.

free, in progress.

i finally did it, i ruined my Lulu "sweats".  i knew it was time for a new pair for a while now, i mean i've had these ones for maybe 3 or 4 years.  they're an expensive garment, comfy and bum magnificent, but still expensive.  i didn't dare confirm to myself that they were in need of replacement.  tonight though, tonight i brought them to a whole new level.  in fact i brought myself to a whole new level.  i now have no choice but to replace them if i want to wear such heaven on my next road trip.  

you see, on a road trip comfort is key, right?  who wants to sit in a car for hours on end in their cutest pair of skinny jeans?  there's a bind in the legs (and secret no-no area) that's just the complete opposite of  fun.  Lulu sweats allow one to be comfortable behind that restrictive seatbelt and at the same time, look pretty stylish and "cute" when pulling into a rest stop for a stretch/coffee/tea/pee.  

tonight i found myself tossing the old gals on in readiness for movie watching.  alas, somewhere between my bedroom and the family room, an urge to make a mess hit me in the back of the imagination.  i found myself in my studio picking up a canvas i had previously painted a pastel background onto.  i threw the canvas to the ground, picked up a bottle of burgundy liquid acrylic paint and proceeded to squeeze it onto the aforementioned softness.  from there i grabbed the nearest colour and spilled uncontrollably.  

there's paint everywhere.  on my hands, stomach, hair, floor, walls, and Lulu's.  i now have the most expensive and comfortable painting pants and i love it.  i can still wear them on road trips, covered in paint splash, and if people don't like it...well they can enjoy their secret no-no discomfort.  tonight felt great, amazing, to just make a mess and not care what came out of it.  i have to learn to trust that more, the not caring.  most of the things that make me feel great come from not caring, just doing and BE-ing.

Seabear - I Sing I Swim

a little bit of magic, inspiration, spill, happy, remember, play, music, escape on this grey rainy day. sometimes you have to make your own sunshine.