i hope you make the best of it.

i recently read a quote from the 'curious case of benjamin button', and it instantly made me want to watch the movie again. on my list of favourites, i hadn't seen it in a few years, and wanted to watch it again to see how i felt about it. and that's what we did last night. it's funny how your appreciation for something can change so much depending on the stage of life or state of mind you're in. released only four years ago, i feel totally different about the film now, than i did yesterday--i feel like i now recognize the full worth of some of the lines and details, i didn't take note of before--how beautifully it was filmed, cast and told. i even did my research, and was surprised to find that the original short story was written by f. scott fitzgerald, which explains why so many of the quotes from the film, make so much emotional sense.

sometimes it's nice to try things on for size again. for what it's worth.

for what it's worth:

it's never too late or,

in my case, too early

to be whoever you want to be.

there's no time limit, 

stop whenever you want.

you can change or stay the same, 

there are no rules to this thing.

we can make the best or the worst of it.

i hope you make the best of it.

and i hope you see things that startle you.

i hope you feel things you never felt before.

i hope you meet people with a different point of view.

i hope you live a life you're proud of.

if you find that you're not, i hope you have the strength 

to start all over again.

--benjamin button.

{image found via}

in my hot little hands: cupcakes & cashmere 'the book'.

as listed on my 'blog love' page, i am a huge fan of cupcakes & cashmere, and have been reading along for about 2 years now. emily, the girl who writes the blog, combines fashion, home decor, personal style and entertaining, bundled up into one neat and pretty package. quality photos, simple step by step instructions and a definite defined style, cupcakes & cashmere is a place i definitely pull inspiration from on a daily basis. being the same age, i feel like we share common interests, and see the world from the same space--living it through in the prettiest way possible. so when i found out she would be writing a book of the same name, i made my way to amazon, and placed my order. (with my very own credit card. the only one i have owned since moving in with paul. he took my first one away from me. that's a whole other story).

i had pre ordered this baby so long ago, i actually forgot about it until i put my hand in 

the mailbox monday evening, to find it sitting there. 

my first reactions:

- smaller than i had expected (isn't this is a common first reaction?).

- majority of the content from the blog (which i had expected).

- less about fashion and more about home decor and entertaining.

that being said, in the two days that i have been home with the worst flu in the history of the world (honestly, i can't even stand the sight of myself, and i haven't looked in a mirror since monday) i drank every cuppa tea in the house while reading the book, glossy cover to glossy cover. broken down into seasons, she shares tips from table settings to simple summer cocktails, aesthetically displaying a bookshelf and wardrobe building blocks. fresh, airy and easy to read, it met my expectations and looks darling stacked with flowers on my dining room table. if nothing else, the book definitely makes you go to that pretty girly place, where all you want is to paint your nails and bake chocolate chip cookies for a cute boy. 
and i think that alone is worth it.

unconditional love.

until one has loved an animal

a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

-- anatole france

they are there every morning when you wake up,

and they are there every night when you go to bed.

they wait for you when you leave to get coffee,

and kiss you hello every time you get back.

i love how india's whole bum wiggles when she sees you,

and how she nuzzles her nose into your neck when she hugs.

i love that she's patient with children and is always a good girl.

i love how lennon meows for you when he needs some love,

and will snuggle with you for as long as you let him.

i love that he's an honest to goodness scaredy cat,

who holds my hand and gives kisses.

i love that they tag team us and usually win.

when they eat food colouring on the couch and

spread cherries through the whole house.

but most of all,

i love how they fill the days with the most unconditional sunshine and light.

friday the 13th, tits & tattoos.

while writing up my 30 by 30 list, i knew that going to port dover with my dad for "friday the 13th" was something that definitely had to happen. i love going for rides on his bike with him, and thought there was no better way to be a part of a true biker experience, than going to dover. happening every time the 13th falls on a friday, i was lucky enough to score the only one this summer, and we made plans to make the trip. my dad texted me a few days before, saying he had "picked up a black bandana with pink skulls on it (to match my black helmet with pink flames) for me, and we would be leaving around 6:30am". immediately i thought he had had one too many rusty nails, but no, he was totally serious. if we wanted to make it into town, find a place to park and maybe even eat something, we would have to leave at the crack of dawn. like a good daughter, i was ready and waiting for him, on my front porch yesterday morning. we drove up with some of the guys he rides with and some that he works with, as well as one of his best buddies kenny and his daughter kristin, whom i have grown up with, and are both hilarious. it was going to be a good day.

after a quick meet-up at 'timmy's' we were off like a young brides panties. about an hour and a bit of a ride, we went from needing jackets and pants, to full on sunshine and warm air. a friend of my dads was camping out in dover, and we stopped by on the way in town to change into shorts and sandals. we were greeted by a mass of bike enthusiasts, already celebrating with breakfast beers, and very polite requests for me to show them my tits. considering i was on the back of my father's bike, it wasn't going to happen, but i'm sure they were given many a show, as there were tits everywhere you looked -- old ones, new ones, some as big as your head. if you ever want to see boobs all day, go to dover.

 i didn't expect it to be a town wide event, and never would have pictured people camped out on their front lawns, sitting in parks and along the street, as if a parade were happening. the whole town seemed to shut down in order to cater to the day, and it was so nice to see that everyone supported the whole event. vendors were set up selling chaps, jackets and accessories, there were food stations and small shops to look around in. port dover is such a sweet little beachy town, i made mental note to come back with paul and the pooch to spend the day. by 9am it was a sea of sweaty, leathery, ponytail wearing perfection, so we decided to grab some breakfast before it was impossible to sit anywhere, and had eggs benny and coffee on the main street.

by 11am the sun was so hot, and the streets were so packed, that you were running for any square inch of shade. we all found 'friday the 13th' shirts, and were able to walk through the whole town, checking out bikes and doing what i love most; people watch. it was a gold mine for anyone who likes to sit and watch as much as i do. at any given moment, you could see a funny shirt, a seriously outrageous outfit, or the strangest bike. i especially enjoyed this gold glitter skull number, rode in from quebec, complete with a victorian casket and matching helmet.

once we had our fill we decided to scoot out before things got even busier. we stopped for a frosty beer on the way home, and cruised through the countryside in the scorching sunshine. even on a bike, going 100 km an hour, the thermostat was showing 100 degrees on the bike while moving. it was a great day and i love that i got to spend it with some old friends and of course, my old man. who says the 13th is unlucky?

ps-half way through the day i realized that i had been calling my dad "daddy" the whole time (as i always have), and he never mentioned it once. even in the middle of thousands and thousands of bikers. now that's a good dad.

hearts & crafts: paper anniversary map on canvas.

i realized i never did share what i made paulie for our first anniversary, so excuse the tardiness of this post, but you know what they say, "better late than dead'. back in april, i mentioned how i was leaning towards incorporating maps into a craft i could put together for him, without spending a million dollars. i liked that they are masculine, and would be a good representation of our first year of marriage -- you, know, celebrating the places we've been, and the places we are yet to see. 

i racked my brain for an idea that would be perfect, and it wasn't until i had collected all my materials and spread them out in front of me, that the project came together. i didn't take photos of the process, but i trust you can figure it out fairly easily. if i confuse you at any point, take a shot of tequila, cross your eyes and re-read it. i'm sure it'll all make sense.

how we do: paper anniversary map on canvas

you will need:

a map of the world

canvas (as large as the map)

spray adhesive

clear acrylic sealer

push pins or brads (the cuter the better)

while visiting my girlfriend in toronto, we walked past a gift shop that was displaying the most beautiful wrapping paper sheets by cavallini & co, one of which was this vintagey map of the world. i figured it would be perfect for whatever craft i ended up making for paul, and snagged two sheets -- at $4 each, i decided i should grab two in case i royally effed up the first one. thank sweet baby jesus for this, because that's exactly what happened.

because the print on the paper is so pretty, i couldn't bring myself to start cutting it up, so i decided i was going to use it as a whole sheet. i thought i might want to frame it, so it could be hung in our dining room (maybe a study in our big boy & girl house one day), but that didn't satisfy my crafting craving, and seemed less personal than i was going for. as i wandered through the art supplies at michael's, i noticed that their gallery wrapped canvases were on sale for 40% off, and when i saw they had a size that would display the map dreamily, i picked it up. i also grabbed a small packet of red and pink heart shaped brads, and was on my merry little way.

with everything laid out in front of me, i figured the best way to get the map onto the canvas, was with mod podge. the paper was thick enough to handle it, i had some, and it was matte finish, so i thought i was golden. oh shit was i wrong. long story short, the paper wrinkled up like a set of 95 year old testicles, and then peeled back as it dried. super annoyed, i ripped everything off like a crazy person, swearing like a truck driver/sailor/pirate/my father and scraped the canvas clean. i ditched the mod podge business and after a quick trip to walmart, i had a can of elmer's spray adhesive in my hot little hands and said a small prayer: it worked like a dream. it went on with great coverage, in thin coats, and the paper stuck to it perfectly. i folded the edges of the map around the canvas like i was wrapping a gift, and then smoothed everything out with a credit card. once i was happy with how it looked, i gave the whole thing 3 coats of matte clear acrylic sealer, allowing each coat to dry in between.

if i could have found heart shaped push pins, i would have used those, but i could only find heart shaped brads, so i made them work. with a pair of wire cutters, i cut the metal fastener piece off the back, and used a glue gun to adhere the hearts to the map. the pink heart marks where we were married, and the red hearts are the places we have been. as we travel the world and visit new places, we can add another heart, until the map is filled with all the places we have loved. cheesy? i know. and i don't give a rats ass.

he opened the gift and kind of just stared at it. it's exciting to know that as we go through this life together, we will slowly fill the map with more and more little red hearts. in a way, it's like we're going to leave our mark on this world, 

and i can't tell you how excited i am to do it with him.