While in line...

...today for an estate sale on this balmy January morning I engaged in conversation with fellow estate sale enthusiasts. I'm not one of those people who can stand there for an hour 4 inches from someone and not talk to them. Well maybe if I haven't had my first cup of coffee, but java before heading out on a Saturday morning is a given in my life. So this morning I stopped at Tim's since it was convenient and stood in line there to order my medium coffee with double cream and a Walnut Crunch. Sugar and caffeine go hand in hand before the early morning estate sale scene.

Anyhow, I was talking to a couple of nice guys. It is amazing what you can learn about people in a short amount of time - really you have to know what questions to ask and to to listen to the answers and ask more questions...there really is an art to conversation that many people might not be aware of!! We spoke about Chilean politics and home building among other things in our 45 minute wait. Time flies when you are conversing after all!!

Today's haul was fair. Prices too high for me, but I did manage to bring home a lovely 2 piece 1950's wedding or going away suit, beaded chiffon dress in a gorgeous blue, a 60's inspired shell top with huge round irridescent sequin thingies, a tres chic Western jacket and 3 funky purses all totally different from eachother.

I usually learn a thing or two from someone I have never met before after one of my Saturday morning escapades into buying someone else's stuff. It keeps life interesting after all!!

The VFG Blogs!!

The Vintage Fashion Guild is a trade organization for vintage clothing sellers and a group of very cool people that I have had the pleasure of being among for the last few years. We all started this organization to give vintage dealers a little more clout than the Rag Trade it is sometimes known as. We talk shop and fashion and it is our Virtual Water Cooler so to speak!! We all have one thing in common and it is a love of vintage fashion and a desire to preserve history through clothing.

We have just started our own Blog and hope to publish some fun tidbits, historical info, great items sold by our members and much more!! Hope you will check it out!!

A Native Kind of Day

I spent the whole day yesterday at The Glenbow Museum volunteering with my son's class. They are starting a long social studies unit studying the Blackfoot Indians of Alberta. So we got to wander around the native exhibits and had a Blackfoot lady speak to us. It was really quite eye opening. She told us lots of cool stuff...like did you know that they used absolutely every part of the bison for something. The tongue became a comb, the bladder a cooking pot, the tail a fly swatter, the list goes on and on. A real "Bison Department Store" if you will!! They were pretty smart cookies, those Blackfoot.

I think that we should consider changing our calendar to their way. She explained that when the Europeans came here, they introduced them to their linear calendar which began in January and they thought those European folk were just crazy. The Blackfoot follow a circular calendar which begins in the Spring and ends in the Winter...duh!! Makes MUCH more sense, doesn't it. New Life = New Year.

It was all quite romantic and I envisioned myself living in a teepee made of bison hide, hanging out with all my women folk all day while the men were out buffalo hunting. The kids would be running around in the wild with the whole tribe looking out for them. We would bead our own clothing and have a pow wow every once in a while. I would be given my Spiritual name when one of the elders had a visionary dream about me. Hmmmmm, think I would be Hunter of Junk Woman???

Bowl Full of Noodles!

This week the kids went back to school and life has gone back to normal. I have been surrounded by layers of lingerie and have done a ton of lingerie listings on ebay for the January VTA.

I have been thinking about Vietnamese food all week and craving a big bowl of bun (vermicelli noodles). We went to the Home Show in town last night and it was really disappointing, but afterwards dh, the kids and I met up with his work partner and his wife. Went to a small Vietnamese place I have never visited before. It was sooooooo good, I ate absolutely everything. So fresh and healthy, I could eat this stuff everyday!!!!

Happiness is a big bowl of bun!!!!!!!!!!!

It Started With Some Pictures...

We recently acquired some great humongous prints from my mom's company's showhomes. After de-Xmasing the house on the weekend, we decided to try and find a home for these. They are fab!! A pair of vintage inspired prints with a dapper man and woman and some whippets...really nice. DH put them up, but they just didn't work with the set up of the room. We also had another vintage travel themed pair we wanted somewhere on the main level.

Fast forward 5 hours, a lot of heavy lifting (and surprisingly NO disagreement) and our entire living room and dining room has been transformed!! We moved absolutely everything around and I must say it looks great.

So, I urge you to pick a room and rejuvenate it for 2006. What a great way to start the year!!!!

Organization and Obesity

Two things have been on my mind lately.

#1 - I heard an interesting observation that successful people are not the ones running about madly, yakking in their Bluetooth 24/7, too busy for everyone, overstressed, life in shambles. Successful people are organized, they know how to delegate, they realize that downtime is important to their success. Makes sense doesn't it! So don't be fooled by those that appear to be successful...they are probably imposters!

Sidebar - One of my biggest pet peeves are the people that pull out their cell phone 2 seconds after the plane has landed. (imposters!)

#2 - Last night while listing some auctions a program about obesity was on TV in the background. I can't recall many of the statistics, but one I did remember was that 50% of Americans are overweight to some degree....egads!! They showed a teenager who was attending Fat Camp. It cost $7,000 a year to attend this summer camp. This was her 3rd time there. You do the math. When she called home to tell her parents that she lost 2 lbs. that week, their reply was "Is that all?". So sad!

We live in a world of too much convenience: easier to eat out or order in. We live in a world of overindulgent parents: much simpler to give your kids what they want than practice discipline. We live in a world where a doctor can solve your problems: cut it out, suck it out, take a pill.

The more I thought about it all, the scarier it got!!

2006 Resolutions for our family...keep up the ongoing organization and continue to eat healthy and everything in moderation. An ongoing effort to teach the boys some good life lessons!!

Exit 2005

2005 was the year of "Who Would Have Thought?!" Aside from some strange goings on in my family, the rest of the world had some mighty strange occurrences.

Who will forget the Freakiest of Them All, the pajama wearing court attending Michael Jackson (guilty as all sin in my books!) The star I used to think was hot, Tom Cruise, now a self professed psychology expert and now extrememly high on the "Ewwwwww" factor. May 2006 be free of these two on every magazine cover, please!!!!

There was a lot of sadness. The tsumami and New Orleans. In my city the death of two cute kids to a house fire purposely set to scare the mother. Terrorist bombings around the world. The recnet murder of an innocent teenager in Toronto who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I pray that the next year will not have so much sadness.

Good things for us were a year of many travels. Mendocino in the Spring, Palm Springs in the Summer, Newport Beach and St. Croix, USVI in the Fall. Our huge yard reconstruction was finally completed and now we have the most gorgeous retaining wall and back yard in the neighborhood (part 2 this Spring). My kids are great and such smart and interesting individuals. I am always proud of them. My husband is kind and understanding - how can I not love the man!!!

May 2006 hold good surprises for everyone, enough money to make you happy, the love and support of friends and family, and patience to get through the inevitable bs that always occurs.

A Happy New Year to All!!!!

A Very Merry!

It was a very brown Christmas - the warmiest in years! We dined on Pistachio Encrusted Sea Bass for our traditional all fish Christmas Eve. Our small, but loving family of 7 with my mom and Uncle. Cookies for Santa were left as usual.

Kids up at 8 a.m. - thank you for letting us sleep in! The boys loved all of their gifts - lots of electronics and computer things this year!! For Austin, it was the year of the car, many sports car themed items for him! We all received tickets to the Chuckwagon Races and Grandstand show for the 2006 Calgary Stampede.

Dinner at Mom's for turkey and all the usual good stuff! The company of people we love. What could be better?? Merry Christmas to all! Hope you were as blessed as I was.

Always Live!

Just a quick snap of the canvas I made for my oldest son. You would think out of the 500 or so photos I have taken over the last 3 months, I would have a good one of him alone....oh well! It is wrapped up awaiting opening on Christmas morning. Also made one for my youngest and one for dh's office. Finishing touches to be done soon on that one! Yikes - time is a' tickin'!

Creativity

I have just signed up for an on-line class by Stacy Julian from her new Big Picture Scrapbooking site. I am pumped!!

It is one of my New Year's Resolutions to do more creative things with my scrapbooking. The class I am taking is called U R2 Cre8ive! and promises to "awaken and energize your creative spirit".

Best of all, it is all on-line. This concept rocks!! No driving across town to a crowded workshop!! It can be done on your own time. She even has on-line voice messages to keep you motivated.

If you are into making creative journals and scrapbooks, you must check it out and give yourself this Christmas present!! Hopefully I will have some great creative things to post here in the New Year!!

Winter Wonderland

As I drove home late last night, the ice fog was swirling around the sky. I was excited because I knew that Mother Nature was preparing a great gift to be revealed in the morning.

It was splendid!! The sun shone down on the huge flakes of ice (which looked exactly like giant soap flakes) and made them glitter like diamonds.

So pretty!! This is one of the rare days when I really LOVE winter!!!

It's Not About the Cookies

Recently several 40-ish women descended upon beautiful Canmore, Alberta to exchange cookies, talk too much, overtake the hot tub, do yoga, take a hip hop dance class and let's not forget drink wine!

These women rock!! They are all strong individuals in their own rights ranging from doctor to engineer to real estate developer. We are all moms first and foremost which brought us together 8 years ago.

It started with cookies. Has progressed to fabulous cookie packaging. But it will never be "About the Cookies". It is about the power of 7 women who come together to regroup and live life!!

I love all you girls!!!!

Christmas Songs

Nothing like listening to some tunes while wrapping presents. Put on some great music, sip some wine and wrap away...talk about festive!

There are two songs that I can't stand listening to this year. First of all there is American Idol's Carrie Underwood and her Jesus Take the Wheel song. UGH!! Why oh why would this young girl write a song like that??? Don't get it.

The other one is last year's song about the dead mom and her shoes. Hate it...it is sad and morose and just downright depressing.

Give me jolly Saint Nick, shining stars, Tannenbaums and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree any time.

This year I am boycotting sorrow!!!!!

All I want for Christmas is a Yellow Ferrari!

My 9 yr. old is obsessed with exotic cars!! His goal in life is to be a car designer - there is no doubt in his mind that this is what he will become.

There is not a day that we walk to school that he does not comment on the dual exhaust or hub caps of a passing car. Sadly, I don't know a hell of a lot about cars and can't answer any of his dozens of daily questions relating to types of tires and muffler performance.

Last week, he had a fabulous opportunity!! DH has a client that sells fantastic cars. Ferraris, Lamboghinis, etc. Had to go drop off something at their shop and of course took the boys to see some sweet rides up close and personal. A. was in Little Boy Heaven!!

I am planning to do a way cool canvas for his room about persuing his dreams and use this photo!!

Getting the feeling...finally!

I have been trying really hard to feel Christmas-y...really! My brain is still on a beach somewhere and has no interest in spending money at the mall.

I finished off my Secret Santa's gift today as it HAS to get in the mail tomorrow to make it in time...Canada Post don't fail me. I made something that I hope she likes - actually every Secret Santa in the VFG has received one of these so far, so it has become a tradition of sorts.

So tonight, something finally went off in my head and I am getting the feeling a little bit. Not full force or anything, but it's coming along. If I listen to that fab Chrissy Hines Christmas song (2000 Miles) a few more times it might hit me good.

On a parting note, what is it with all the "Holiday" crap. As far as I know December 25th is Christmas, damn it! Why does the world tippy toe over this to not offend anyone?? Last time I checked the majority of North Americans were Christian. End of rant!!!!!!!!

Tis the Season!

Fa la la .... and all that! I have discovered the coolest site for those who like to shop sitting on their tush. I'm not endorsing these people or anything, just thought I would pass along a fab find!!

Indie Collective is a group of way cool people who make all kinds of stuff.

Check it out and spend some money there...it's fun!

A Penchant for Patterns??

I love vintage patterns!! There is just something about them that I cannot resist - the smell of old paper, the great illustrations, the thought that a woman was hunched over her sewing machine creating something fabulous with her own hands.

If you are like me, you must check out The Vintage Fashion Guild's Public Forum for a great Vintage Pattern Workshop, LIVE TODAY!!

You have to register, but it is free and we promise not to give your email address to every drug and software pusher around!!

Hope you will check it out!

I Would Have Never Believed It

11 year old boy walks into the Pig House to give the large porcine creature a nice cold brewski. Upon seeing the familiar can in the young boy's hands, the pig starts to get excited and foam at the mouth. Boy gets freaked out and hesitates to give the pig his afternoon delight. Pig gets even more excited, bordering on agitated. Boy drops beer which spins out of control on the ground. Pig is freaking out. Kind father retrieves beer and gives it to relieved pig who crushes it in his jaws and drinks up the beer in mere seconds.


Just another day in St. Croix...who would have thought a business could exist on the cooincidence that pigs love beer.

PS - Pigs are on a 12 step program and only receive non-alocohic beer these days!

Skeletal Remains

The boys noticed this unusual sight while we were walking down one of the narrow shopping alleyways in Christiansted. There it was...this poor gecko (or what was left of him) on a pane of shattered glass. I suspect someone glued him on there permanently, how else could he cling there day after day??

Colorful

The colors in the town of Christianstead are gorgeous!! All the buildings are either pink or pistachio green, sunny yellow...no beige or tan...it rocks! Place those vibrant colors against a beautiful blue sky and now you are talking picturesque. Love it! I keep telling dh we need to paint our house - unfortunately the 5 months of winter don't do justice to candy pink houses!