must read

Okay, so while I was lazing around the pool in the hot weather of Arizona sipping fancy cocktails and making conversation with the hot pool guy (reality check - I mean chasing my 3 year old around the pool...which wasn't heated...making sure she didn't get 3rd degree burns or drown, listening to my snoring hubby...who had fallen asleep in the scorcher sun and because he's "Italian" figured he didn't need the screen - oh, and wearing a t-shirt on his head like a turban becasue he forgot to pack a hat when actually, he didn't pack, I did...and drinking a pre-mixed Pina Colada from the local Walmart I managed to find some time to read. I seriously have to recommend this book, it was such an easy read and so funny. I am now onto a new book but I definetly want to pick up "The Right Address" by the same authors.

Enjoy!

kudos

A very BIG THANK YOU to M2 for filling in for us this week while we were both soaking up the rays on our mini vacations (mini because you should really always go away for a minimum of 2 weeks - I say this yet still holding out for that 2 week surprise trip from the husband).

M, you did a fabulous job and are so very creative - I love the chalk board napkin rings!!!!!!!!! What a superb idea and you can use it for so many things, also the jewellery you posted about is fantastic and though I keep procrastinating (I should really use that chart) I need some new jewels (yet again awaiting that surprise present) so those gave me some great inspiration.

Again, thanks so much - you rock!!!

M1

friday funnies

TGIF!  Woot!  I always like to end the week with a short dose of the funnies, don't you?

This cell phone dangler is fab! And haven't we all been there?

This Marc Johns poster is just great. In fact, all his illustrations kind of make me swoon. *sigh* I wish I had that kind of imagination.

I totally need this print for my office.  I've seen it in lots of colours, but metallic gold is just the right touch of sparkle!  And it's a funny way of reminding yourself to just get on with it, already.

However, if you're a procrastinator like me, there's a good chance you're not getting on with it because you're reading this blog as part of your daily Friday procrastination. (God.  The Internet.  It sucks you in, man. Like quicksand. I know!) You might enjoy this procrastination flow chart via Accordian Guy.

Finally, it's not new, but that doesn't mean it isn't hilarious.  I give you Pearl, the landlord, harassing Will Ferrell for her rent. Warning, this video is not exactly suitable for work... but it's totally suitable for the Friday funnies!

inspired by cedar

It was a gem of a morning here in Vancouver (our afternoon forecast calls for rain... ugh!  so typical in March), so I took my morning constitutional in Pacific Spirt Park, which is literally steps from my front door. 

It's one of my favourite places to walk, particularly on a sunny day. The light filters down through the trees and it's all very ethereal. There's something about those sturdy cedars, you know? They've withstood so much change, made it through so many stormy times. 

Today's style finds are inspired by cedar.  Hopefully you'll be inspired by them, too!

I adore this print by Studio Lyon.  The colours and textures are just fantastic.   

I'm totally jonesing for this soap from Sparta Soap.  

They're filled with olive oil, basil, cedar and sweet orange essential oils!  Can you imagine how great these must smell?  They'd make a terrific hostess gift, especially nestled in some tissue and presented in glassine envelopes or clear acetate boxes from Garnish.

If you like a little natural inspiration in your personal decoration, how about these totally gorgeous earrings from Sassafrass Silver?  I'm loving the cedar texture pressed into the silver discs.

They'd look great with this amazing silver cuff from Bronze Girl.  

Talk about a statement piece!

This tile from Convergence Design would make a gorgeous accent in a kitchen, bathroom or front hall, I think.  The green colour is so, so fresh!

Last but not least, take a look at this little stunner of a cedar box from BeadWorx.  

Wouldn't it make a great gift for a bride-to-be who'd like something unique in which to store her rings at night?

Who knew cedar had so much to offer!

lovin' these!

Seriously, how adorable are these? It might be a bit much to hand-write napkin rings for a wedding reception with 200 guests... but what a great idea for a rehearsal dinner or shower, particularly if you have a colour scheme like this one that has black as an accent.

These are a wee bit on the expensive side at $65 for a set of four, but they would be a super-easy DIY project. Pick up some inexpensive wooden (or even cardboard!) napkin rings from Michael's or another craft store, some chalkboard paint from Home Depot and you're in business!

the daily yum

While I would not consider myself a "foodie" (after all, I believe Diet Coke to be the elixir of the gods) there is one food that I am quite snobbish about... chocolate. Yummy, creamy, smooth, delicious chocolate. I'll take it dark, milky or even white... just not cheap.

Seriously, life is way too short to settle for sub-standard chocolate. Why eat stuff that's filled with waxes and artificial ingredients when for a few pennies more you can enjoy heaven in a bar?

A couple months ago I discovered this incredible range of chocolate bars made by Dagoba.

They come in a wide range of flavours (dark chocolate with mint and a hint of rosemary anyone?) but my personal favourite is the Chai. People. We are talking nirvana. Milk chocolate, crystallized ginger and yummy chai spices. It's kind of like a Starbucks chai latte, only better because it's a chocolate bar!

And before you write me off as a total glutton, I don't eat a bar every day. I do, however, have a small piece of this pretty much every night with whatever I'm having for dessert. It's such a great treat. 

And if you're one of those people who in the past has denied yourself chocolate because you don't think it's good for you... think again. It's totally good for you. Consider the following evidence:

1.  It gives you energy.  A single chocolate chip provides sufficient food energy for an adult to walk 150 feet.

2. It makes you feel good.  Although chocolate is not an aphrodisiac, it does contain phenylethylamine, a natural substance that stimulates the same reaction in the body as falling in love.

3. It's good for your heart.  Even though the cocoa butter in chocolate is mostly saturated fat, studies have shown that it doesn't appear to raise blood cholesterol. 

4. It's totally nutritious.  You can find 10% of your recommended daily allowance of iron in an ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa. Chocolate also contains Vitamins A1, B1, B2, C, D and E as well as calcium, potassium and sodium.

5. You can burn off the calories while surfing the web!  One click of the a mouse burns 0.0000024 kcals of energy, so you only have to click your mouse 765,551,000 times to burn off a chocolate bar.  

So what are you waiting for? Embrace your inner-chocoholic!

spin that colour wheel

Have you ever seen a great colour scheme at a wedding or other event and wondered "how did they think of that?"  Believe it or not, developing a fabulous colour palette isn't guesswork... it's actually based on science and a handy-dandy little tool called the colour wheel.

White light contains all visible colours, and those colours form a spectrum that becomes visible in a rainbow.  The colour wheel is our tool for understanding how those colours relate to each other.  To make it practical, the infinity of colours is represented by 12 basic hues... kind of like your first box of crayons!  

You can think of the primary colours of blue, yellow and red as "parent" colours.  They are the only colours not made from other colours. They're positioned around the wheel in thirds.

Secondary colours are halfway between each of the primary colours. They are made from equal amounts of the nearest primaries.

Finally, tertiary colours fill the remaining gaps in the colour wheel. They are made from equal amounts of the adjacent primary and secondary colours.

As you can see, every colour is part of the colour next to it, which is part of the next, and the next, and so on and so on all around the wheel. "Colours in common" are the basis of colour relationships.

Blue is common to all seven of these colours, which get less blue as they fan out. Green and violet are the secondaries that contain blue.

Yellow is common to these seven colours, which get less yellow as they fan out. Green and orange are the secondaries that contain yellow.

Finally, red is common to these seven colours, which (you guessed it!) get less red as they fan out. Orange and violet are the secondaries that contain red.

Now, before we get to combining colours, here's one last concept. Colour also has darkness and lightness, or value. To show value, the colour wheel has more rings -- two big rings for the dark shades (made by adding black to the hues) and two small rings for the light tints (made by adding white to the hues).

OK, now that you've got those concepts under your belt, we're ready to talk colour combinations. Probably the easiest colour scheme is the monochromatic combination.

It doesn't have any colour depth, but it does have a great contrast between dark, medium and light. 

Another easy colour scheme is the analogous (or adjacent colour) combination.

Analogous colours share strong undertones (here,  yellow and red) which create pleasing, low-contrast harmony. Analogous palettes are rich and always easy to work with.

Direct opposites on the colour wheel are complements -- in this case, blue and orange.

What the complement brings is contrast. A colour and its complement convey energy and excitement. Typically, the complement is used in a smaller amount as an accent.

One step either way are the complement's own analogous colours. This palette is called a split complement (my personal favourite!).

The strength of this palette is the low-contrast beauty of analogous colours, plus the added "pop" of an opposite colour. In this case the red, because it's the most different, would be the accent.

Secondary colour palettes can also be attractive.

Secondary colours have a lot in common -- two share blue, two share yellow and two share red -- so they harmonize easily. As a trio they are soft, inviting and rich, and have pleasing depth and dimension that are hard to get in other ways.

One final palette is the primary palette.

I'm posting this palette because it's part of the colour wheel but, to be honest, it's hardly ever used except for children's products and retail advertising.

The key thing to remember with all these palettes is that just one spin to the right or left gives you a whole new colour scheme. It's that easy!

So there you go... the science of colour. You can find colour wheels at pretty much any craft or art supplies store. You can also download a great PDF version here.

Now get out there and start spinning the colour wheel!