sartorial wish list

I could put this beside a good half-dozen names on my Christmas shopping list. In the meantime, I might just get a copy for myself...

hey, iPhone users!

When you get tired of 'writing on steam', 'popping bubble wrap' or 'throwing trash in the garbage can' here's a smart app you can download for your iPhone!

From my favourite publisher of clever, modern short fiction, McSweeney's: Small Chair. Includes interviews, videos and of course those beloved short stories!
[via flavourpill]

oh canada!

I've been back on my home turf for two weeks as of tomorrow and have been reveling in the sunny weather, cheap restaurant food, loving family and fun friends. In the meantime, the digital world has taken a bit of a back seat and frankly, I'm enjoying it that way.

Here's the itinerary so far

4 days of adorable nephews, nieces, in-laws (sisters, brothers, parents, cousins, grandparents... whew!), thrifting, boating, Tim Horton's-ing, and learning to ride a motorbike!!

1 yummy & sunny beachside picnic

5 days of working on a gorgeous magazine at TWU, a lunch-date-a-day, dinners with friends and a haircut

1 brunch with five of my favourite PA friends & co., followed by coffee with a long lost highschool bestie (yup, I just used that word!)

right now I'm in the middle of 6 glorious days on Vancouver Island which so far have included churching, prawning, middle-aged aerobicizing, jogging through the forest with our family pooch and icecream cake with the Dumont kidlets. whew!

Today I'm off to Victoria to see the first of four babies I'll be visiting this trip.

Just over a week to go!

nevermind the gap

Visit the Curator to read my latest article about my love affair with the London bus!

too sweet to eat

I have a major thing for old typewriters and one of the things I miss most here in the UK is my gorgeous old portable, currently in storage in my auntie's basement. Love letters, poems, and even to-do lists, they all just look cooler when manually punched out in faded ink.

Four years ago, a couple of art school grads set up the most incredible stationary-ish shop on Main Street: the Regional Assembly. New mom Christina actually tipped me off to this - the store hosts a monthly letter writing club - complete with paper and vintage typewriters for use, free of charge. It just keeps getting better! They also have a gallery devoted to handmade/self published books. So let's add this up: a shop full of my favourite things (letterpressed cards + vintage office supplies like file cabinets and CANCELLED stamps + buttons + self published literature + closet sized reading room) that's situated on my favourite street, in my favourite city. If you added in a shelf full of Persephone books, I might walk in one day and think I had died and found my way to heaven.

but anyway, all this to say, when I set my eyes upon this typewriter cake at Design*Sponge this morning I was pretty sure that it was the COOLEST THING EVER. And when I read on to learn that it was created in honour of the Regional Assembly of Text's fourth birthday, I was convinced.

more first aid kit

Last night i was reluctant to go out to the pub after a viewing of the latest Almodovar flick (i was sleepy, okay!), but I gotta admit I was grateful that hubby dragged me along once we spotted a promo poster for swedish darlings First Aid Kit who are gracing our very own Jericho Tavern next month.

In honour of my excitement for this event, another video:

introducing...

after much fiddling and too little web design savvy, I'm nonetheless pleased to introduce frontlawncreative.com!

... for all your copywriting / editing / project management needs.

I'm in business over here! Managing to fill much of my work week with various projects, but always happy for more.

Drop me a note and I'll send you a quote. (it rhymes.)

chapel preview

I keep promising a tour of our new place, but the kitchen just never stays clean long enough to photograph it! Here's a little preview of a favourite reading nook, and our scandalous open-concept bed/dressing/bath room :)

another invasion

Spotting tiled Space Invaders is one of my favourite Euro pastimes. No trip to Paris or east London is complete without at least a few sightings. Thus I'm quite pleased that the little pixellated aliens have expanded their reach in London. Can't wait to start spotting the newcomers.

*POSTSCRIPT* In response to Claire's question, "What are these?": It's just street art, like graffiti, created by a guy who goes by the moniker, Invader. The little space invaders are inspired by the 70s/80s video game called, of course, Space Invaders. Think pac-man era, very pixelated video games. i think my friend Christopher had this on his Atari when we were little :) Anyway, Invader posts his work in cities all over the world. Read more about it here.