w.o.w.

(click on photo to see details)

my latest additions to the w.o.w , this ceramic 'Sid Dickens' called Reflection, a Xmas gift from big sis and a lady drinking tea that i found in a antique shop..

The title of my blog post today actually stands for 'wall of women'. I started a collection of pictures, of women, in my pink bedroom in the city about 5 years ago, and have accumulated a nice little collection. I love the antique gold and brown frames and i had fun arranging them in a offset manner....most of them are of women of the Victorian age, for instance, one is of a lady standing by a fireplace and looking forlornly into the fire and holding a letter, perhaps maybe a dear john letter she is about to post or a telegram stating someone has passed away, she looks rather upset.... there is also one of myself from 20 years ago, when i modeled for a hair salon and they took photos of me dressed in a 20's period gown with strings of pearls and white gloves....that was an interesting experience, i did a bit of modeling in my 20's and some fashion shows.... it is pretty glam but they put alot of makeup on and i almost look like a geisha!

That shot makes it look like I'm lounging on a pillow but my hip is actually resting on a cement floor - ouch!

The two smallest photos are of my mother with school friends and her wedding photo with my dad...also there is a Botticelli print, and the Mona Lisa in a lovely oval Italian frame... i have more in a box (in storage) although since i now share my bedroom with Steve, i don't want to overwhelm him with my w.o.w. and he didn't put up a fuss when i put them up.... i mean, they are very girly!

hey sis, can you find your picture in one of these photos?

and the Oscar goes to...

Did you see the Academy Awards? It was a bit of a bore, on the whole, with a few nice moments....Forrest Whittaker's speech, and of course Jennifer Hudson, the girl no one knew until American Idol, who took the best supporting actress award! Wow!
What the heck happened to Jack Nicolson's hair - he looked very Daddy Warbuck-like....and i have to say, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, could it have killed you to wash your greasy hair ( I mean hey, YOU were a presenter!!)
Oh yes, quite a few fashion disasters on the red carpet...Nicole and the gi-normous bow, looked rather like a tall Christmas present -Jennifer Hudson as disco vampire and POCKETS in her dress...Beyonce with all that green beading hijacking her dress, yikes! Oh, and poor Jodie Foster....should fire her stylist!! Her gown was underwhelming in color and style, same with Meryl Streep, with her funky but out-of-place jewelery. Penelope Cruz in that pink feather dress, the bottom sort of reminded me of those toliet tank dollies - funny when
Ellen tried to vacuum around her..... now let's see, the good - the two Kates, winslet and Cate blanchett, never fail to impress, marvelous! Helen Mirren glowed in a lovely gold gown and Reese Witherspoon and Maggie Gylennhal - simply lovely! Who else? (comments people, comments, let me know your faves) ah yes, Gweneth Paltrow, pretty in pink, and tres elegante!


I felt a bit sorry for actor Peter O'toole who, looked startling ancient, he has never won, i believe and he is such a great actor! Although I don't believe his performance was as great as Forrest Whittakers' portrayal of the Ugandan dictator....
So all in all, Ellen did fine, of all her tuxedo's i liked the white one, was'nt digging the first one, a high end version of a thrift store tuxedo! and the white shoes were strange.... she was a good host though, in her own way. I had a giggle when she came out with the Oscar carrier strapped on to her...any other funny moments...hmmmm oh yes, when Jack Black and Will Ferrell did that song....nice gag guys!
I noticed they changed the format of the show, usually starting with the film clip montage after the host's intro and then right on to best supporting actor. I always feel a bit emotional watching the montage of actors who died last year - Don Knotts, Maureen Stapleton........i'm drawing a blank on some others ( help me out in the comments someone). I was surprised Babel did'nt win, but since Scorsese won, the directors' movie always gets the award. I saw Babel which was quite good, but have yet to see The Departed, and I must go see The Queen too!

My featured Etsy designer is.....

........Garden Gate Designs.
I will be featuring fellow Etsyian artists/designers regularly, I thought one or two a week, since there are so many wonderfully creative people there.

Here are some examples of her beautiful jewelery...


Crackle Quartz Necklace


Be Mine chain necklace


DEW DROPS, Chalcedoney, Opalite Briolettes, Chain Necklace

Here is an interview with the lovely Rosemary of Garden Gate Designs:

Q. Where were you born? And live now?
A. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. I live in what's known as the Nordonia Hills Area of Summit County, Ohio. Sagamore Hills to be exact. I have lived here all my married life - 38 years.

Q. What is your marital status?pets?children?
A. I have been married to the same wonderful man for almost 39 years. We have two married sons, Matt and Jeff. Two twin grandchildren, a boy and a girl and I have one cat, Rusty.

Q. How long have you been doing your designs?
A. I have been designing jewelery for almost seven years. It is an ever evolving thing.

Q. Why do you love your craft?
A. I love making beautiful jewelry for other women to enjoy. It is my creative side.

Q. What /Who are your inspirations?
A. I love anything nature-related. And, I love natural stones. No two are exactly alike and you can create so many great things with them. I also like vintage jewelery and am trying to incorporate more of that into my designs.

Q. What would you like to do 5 years from now?
A. Five years from now I will be older than I am now and that is not a good thought. I do hope to be somewhat successful on Etsy.

Q. What are your interests and other hobbies?
A. I am a reader, particularly murder mysteries, and I love art in any form, gardening (past president and founder of our local garden club), history, and current events.

Q. Would you rather shop for clothes/accessories/shoes or decorate and shop for your home?
A. Shopping for clothes is getting a little more exciting since I lost some weight this past year. I still would rather shop for my home. I am always looking at jewelery in the stores for creative ideas and to see whats "in".

Q. Do you love to listen to music while you work? What do you like to listen to?
A. I love 70's and 80's rock. I also listen to a lot of talk radio, it keeps me informed.

Q. What is your Chinese zodiac sign, eg. Year of…..?
A. I have no idea what my Chinese zodiac sign is. But, I am a true Sagittarius.

Q. Favorite foods/drinks?
A. I love seafood in any form, sweets (which I really limit now) and diet coke.

Q. dog or cat person?
A. I am definitely a cat person. They suit my personality. El Chubbo, or Rusty, is my main little man right now. He weighs 16 pounds! Quite a big boy! We have tried dieting to no avail. Just an ordinary orange short haired tabby who came to our door as a 6 month old stray on a wintry night 4 years ago. He is my fifth cat in succession. Love that boy!

Thank-you Rosemary for sharing your story! I will be featuring more Etsy Artists soon...

If you want to see more of Rosemary's amazing work, please have a look at her Etsy shop here.

the long and winding weekend..

sweet wee wooden veggies from Polka Dot.....

Oh, what a nice weekend i had, but like i told someone, i feel socially exhausted! I spent 3 whole days away from Steve, my cats and the house in Whitby while i galavanted around Toronto, first getting my hair cut at Aveda ( i'm not that thrilled with it, but at least it's trimmed) and then spending some time with my good friend Scotty aka Scooter or Honeybelles Fitzgerald Hollingsworth III, i always giggle when he says it out loud, so charming!
We attacked a large pizza and bottle of strawberry zinfandel *yum* while watching ET and Larry King, following the Anna Nicole saga and speculating on who the father of that poor sweet baby is...then the next day i met my sister from out west and my niece who is auditioning for a drama school here..
we spent most of the day on Queen St. West checking out the cutest shops you could ever imagine....i got some delightful items:

this lovely shabby chic rose hook and this adorable bunny decoration from the Tin Taj and Polka Dot Kids...



later on that evening, while Melissa and friend were at a local theatre, big sis and i ate delicious chinese food - wonton soup, shrimp tempura, spring rolls with crab, and a grilled chicken and pineapple rise dish with ginger tea, at the aptly named 'Saigon Sister' and then headed back to her hotel. The room was located on the top floor -17th and the wind outside sounded spookily fierce, while just outside the room, the pepsi and ice machine buzzed VERY loudly. Oh yeah, we were also treated to the sound of whoosing elevators... (she got stuck with the worst room on the floor.) We also celebrated my brothers birthday, as well as a close family friend ( that's 3 birthdays in one week including Carol's) at the Beer Bistro with awesome food and over 120 varieties of beer, i tried the Belgian strawberry beer with my berry cheesecake (super delish!) and a funny-named one, County Durham Hops Addicted - a bold beer with essence of pine and citrus - very interesting! I would love to go back and try more varieties of beer (Nat, my beer-lover pal....wink wink) and their splendid mussels and frites..
Sunday night, we spent with Steve's family, making it 4 nights in a row i did'nt have to cook *wow* ......
so all in all a fab and very active weekend for moi!
I do need some alone time badly though...

look how tired i am......could'nt even keep my eyes open for dinner..sheesh!


this is little princess daisy...such a sweet pooch!

the first thing i saw this morning..

another dumping of the white stuff!


this little minkie is not allowed in the bedroom...but managed to slip by papa s..



'hey new snow, can i go out and play?'


Yes, that's right...more snow! Oh lord! UGH! ARGH! GRRR! BRRRR!!
Okay, I've really had it to up to here ( hand over head) with winter and I am either going to be a drunk for the rest of the winter or take a sleeping pill every 6 hours!! or both! he he...... KIDDING!
I actually begged, BEGGED Steve to take me to Florida or Mexico or i would hold my breath until i turned blue....
blue is not a good color for me (I'm almost blue anyway from being so cold) so Steve said i was being childish and to go put on another sweater. Double GRR!
A trip....is out of the question, since our house is a blood-sucking money pit!
Older houses have tons of character and charm but they ain't easy on the bank account, I'll tell ya! So, no...there is no packing of a suitcase on my list of things today or next week, so I'm going to break out the vodka....
KIDDING!
Oh, how many days til spring sis??
I know I'm starting(?) to sound like a broken record but heaven help me..
I feel like a popsicle!
hmm.....maybe i should be buying a lotto ticket today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!

i did'nt make this cake - wish i had that much talent though

This is for my sister whose birthday is today!

I'm not going to say how old she is, that's not important, but i do wish i could order this cake from her favorite cake shop in NYC - The Cupcake Cafe and send it to her but i guess you'll have to be satisfied with a picture instead and is'nt it not the most beautifully decorated !! . Besides, B, her wonderful hubby, is getting her a cake tonight.

Wish i were there when you blow out all the candles! Don't worry, there's not that many, hee hee! So make a wish, make it a good one, and have an extra piece for me!!

Happy Birthday to you, and many more....

Other people born on this day: Kim Novak (74), Stockyard Channing (63), Peter Tork (65)Wow, Peter from the Monkees is a senior citizen!! OMG!, Peter Gabriel (57), Oliver Reed (would have been 79).

Here is a funny blurb about Mr. Oliver Reed, one of the famous drunks of all time:

He was famous for his excessive drinking, and was once forced to leave the set of the Channel 4 television discussion programme After Dark after arriving drunk and attempting to kiss feminist writer Kate Millett. On another occasion he removed his trousers during an interview.

This is a stained glass window i made in College, a long, long time ago..

Lucky me, I'm featured over at Nancy's blog, Sassy Glass, as one of the n0n-jewellery Etsy shops, for the rest of the week. It's the first time someone has featured me on a blog, so I'm mighty grateful and proud. Thank you Nancy!

I hope it's the first of many, and i hope it brings more people over to my shop.

I should be adding more stuff soon, but I've been feelin' lazy and tired so I need to get busy and get my butt in gear. I think this weather has taken it's toll on me, and so I'm basically holding on until spring. Lets see, what was the count sis? 37 days ....and counting.

self-portrait thursday

me and Eddie- aww!

Over at Etsy on the forums they have self-portrait thursday so i took this today. I was hoping that i would have my spiffy new haircut but alas, while in the city yesterday and upon arriving at Aveda Academy, was informed that the my stylist had to go home for some emergency. Oh pooh! They did'nt have any other openings for the rest of the day, so they set up another appointment for next week and I'll be receiving a complimentary cut with a senior stylist. Yipee! I can live with that - I'll save the money to buy myself something purdy like a new spring-inspired shirt or accessory. Luckily, I was with my pal, Scotty and so we trapsed around the city checking out some fave haunts like Pottery Barn where we drooled over this bedding, while Scotty coveted this vintage-inspired fabric. Oh, to be able to afford bedding from PB! I later hiked over to H & M and the GAP on my own (i shop better alone) and picked out a beige and white striped sweater and gold chain belt on sale. I also purchased a dark pink burberryesque scarf at Ends for a song - perfect with my olive green cardigan that i was wearing and found some large heart-shaped silver key rings for my charming keychains. I was kicking myself for forgetting the camera as it would have been nice to take some pics for the blog, ah well, there's always next time..

charming!

the top keychin features a howlite stone and bottom one has green marble

I've been designing keychains (secret revealed Carol) for my Etsy shop - i wanted a low priced item to put in the shop and I'm also working on clutch purses that will be in the 20 dollar range (coming soon). I learned abit of jewellery 101 a few years ago - working with jewellers pliers and making a few necklaces and bracelets, so i thought these keychains would be a fun little project relating to the handbag theme. I love working with beads and i found some semi-precious gemstones plus i have a collection of beads and charms that i can work with. The beauty part of these keychains is that you can slip off the keyring and thread a silver chain or cord to wear as a necklace if you like. It's fun pairing the gemstones with certain color beads - i get a kick outta choosing the various color combinations. The blue beads in the one keychain are a nice compliment to the rusty colored charm and features a howlite gemstone said to be helpful to those who procrastinate (maybe i should be wearing a dozen-hehe) and encourages tact and decency. The green marble in the other piece is is thought to provide clarity of purpose, help sustain a meditative state and help remember dreams (uh, most of them are so damn weird i really don't care to remember). So I've just added this two chains to my shop and I'll be adding more in a few days. Such fun, these new projects...

cold snap!

This is the second time I've written this darn post since my computer went out while i was finishing up the first draft. So here goes..

the sunroom is so cold, our bottled water froze solid..


killer icicles..
Speaking of draft, our 89 year old farmhouse is feelin' rather chilly lately, with this latest deep freeze of minus 27 with the windchill- Steve says the house is'nt properly insulated, so we are feeling the cold inside. We put weather stripping and caulking everywhere we could think of this past weekend...and we've been using the fireplace alot (we're fearing our next hydro bill) and I'm wearing two sweaters and tights under my cordoroy jeans. I'm sooo over winter..please hurry spring!

I hope this extra chilly weather will soon be over...

fashion friday

So, i happened to be walking through Yorkville and saw this window, which was so colorful and eye-catching i just had to snap it. I did'nt notice the stores' name until I loaded the pictures - I've never even heard of it, have you?

Despite it being a silly name, and almost politically incorrect, i found the clothes to be very nice, and i love the way they're presented.

The color combinations (in the top photo)of chocolate brown, cream, red and turquoise were rather attractive to me and i love the way the clothes are layered. I would like to layer more with my own wardrobe instead of the usual t-shirt under cardigan or pullover sweater. I'm so inspired to start layering more, with multiple tee shirts in different lengths and i want to wear skirts more often, i think.

The bottom photo features such lovely patterned clothing in emerald green and cheery red. I love the flouncy top paired with black leggings, and the green skirt looks great with that belt. Ohh, i can't wait for spring!