May is for Megan

Life is full of people coming and going but somehow it never gets easier to say goodbye. Sadly my friend/co-worker Megan told me that she would be moving back to Saskatchewan. The only thing that makes me ok with it, is how happy is was making her. She grew up in there and it's where her family still is. She's gone to school and has a pretty solid idea of what she wants to do and what it's gunna take to do it. She's also been living the big city life here in Van for over 4 years.

One of the biggest downsides to living in this fantastic city is the cost of living. The majority of people I know here are all working 2 jobs and at the end of each month are still struggling to pull in rent. It leaves little to no possible way of saving anything without totally becoming a no-social-life-shut-in eating nothing but oatmeal, rice, and beans.

Before she made her final decision, she was brainstorming out a pro's and con's list. I'm pretty sure her and I both knew that even before she had put anything on the list the decision was already made. The seed of an idea was planted! She sent me a text a few days later that said she was leaving in a month :( 

One of the funny/major cons was how cold it gets there. We complain sometimes about how cold it gets here...3°C HA! But because of all the rain and how damp it gets, it feels a lot colder, realistically we know it's nothing compared to the -30 Saskatchewan winters.
I knew I couldn't let her leave without crocheting her something awesome, and I had a month to do it. She's mentioned to me before about her family's cabin, swimming at the lake and chill'n by the fire, I figured a blanket would be the perfect gift.

I've made baby blankets before, but nothing "adult" size. I've also never done much of anything with granny squares. So I decided on one giant granny square!

Michaels was having a sale on wool and I thankfully found the perfect vintage-hipster-esque colours that I thought she would like. I had no idea how much I would need of each colour to get the size that I wanted so I just grabbed one extra big skein of each - 5 total.

The overall size when I was done/ran out of wool was about 4 1/2 ft x 4 1/2, perfect! And took me just over 2 weeks to finish. I was worried about not having enough time between family and work but I managed to maximized my time by crocheting on the bus, 10 minutes on my break, and for a hour or so when I got home from work :D

We met yesterday afternoon (She leaves on Sunday) and I gave it to her. She was thrilled and we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Red Wagon. There is seriously nothing more satisfying than making something for someone and seeing how happy it makes them. I hope she has many picnics and nights by the fire with this blanket. 

Although I'm sad to see her go I know she's going to do great things and I will see her again someday. I'm going to miss you Megan, Saturday "Beat" nights won't be the same without you <3
You can also check out her blog here for awesome food, fashion and good times!

Hello Mary Jane

I had a bit of a nap yesterday after the BC Bloom tasting (post about that soon to come!) and found myself wide awake at 1am, hook and wool in hand crocheting a pair of Mary Jane slippers. They were super easy and took maybe two hours to finish (2 episodes of Mad Men to be exact).

My old slippers were getting kinda ratty, and I hate walking around the house barefoot - you never know what random bit of something my child has dropped/thrown on the floor only to have me find it squished between my toes...gross! And I can't be bothered to find socks, it's been so sunny out lately that I've just been rocking the flip flops and flats.

I knew I had 2 perfect buttons hidden away in my button box, shiny stars!
I seriously think I have a button obsession, I just want to add them to everything!

Happy Mother's Day

I had a fantastic Mothers day! I traded shifts at work so I could have the entire day with my boy.

We went out for breakfast and then headed down to the beach for the day. It was so beautiful and hot out, Fox loved going down to the water and playing with the shells and getting his feet all sandy.

Then we came home and had a delicious dinner with Papa. Had a tubby, read some stories and called it a early night. Perfection! I also called my Mama to wish her a Happy Mothers day and let her know that I made a little something something for her that she'll get when she visits in a week and a half. Nothing to crazy, just made her a card with a little crochet kick. 

I measured and punched some holes around a coloured piece of card I had. Then just crocheted a little border around the edge, added a thoughtful message and voila! Happy Mother's Day Mama!

Tea with T-Rex!

As most of you know I consume an average of 5-10 cups of tea a day, double that if I have a day off. And anyone who is a avid tea or coffee drinker such as myself must have "their cup." It's the one that's just the right size and you know the exact sugar and milk ratio for the perfect taste.

I used to have this awesome cup with this cute shadow city scape on it, then my cat knocked it off the counter and smashed it into a million itty bitty pieces all over my kitchen floor. I was on the hunt forever for another and finally randomly came across it while browsing through Home Sense (I have no idea what I was originally in there for?). As soon as I saw it I knew that was the mug for me. Completely opposite from my previous one - short and fat with a wide mouth. Now it's tall and skinny, and lime green! It's perfect, but the lime green just isn't as exciting as the shadow city. 

I was originally just going to put funky stickers all over it but was hesitant because over time they'd start peeling off in the wash and then it'd just look all gross. Then I remembered seeing something on Pinterest awhile back, and my fantastically crafty friend Nicole over at Gypsy in Jasper recently made one and I thought to myself that's exactly what my sad little cup needs...a sweater!

Well not actually a sweater but a cozy to add a bit of pizzaz and keep my tea hot longer for those times when I forget about it on the windowsill.

This was also a perfect opportunity to use up any scrap wool I had laying around and dive into my button box! And yes, those are T-Rex buttons, I think they're ridiculously cute, yet also acts as a bit of a warning for anyone who tries to steal my cup. 

I love how it turned out, I had to resist the urge not to make cozies for all my cups - juice glass? probably doesn't need one ;)

Happy 4/20!

And in true stoner fashion this post comes 2 days after the actual 4/20

I got extra high and crafty last week and whipped up a couple cute marijuana pins that I wore when I went down town on Friday.

I think they came out great! And I had a awesome time! Every year at the VAG it gets bigger and bigger, and better and better, and this year was no exception. Aunty Jen babysat for the day so me and the man could have some time alone together, we both had the entire day/evening off which is SO rare for us, especially on a Friday. 

I love the whole marijuana culture, everything was super chill and there was lots to see and do, everyone just having a good time. Of course there's the backlash, especially now being a Mum I feel extra judgement sometimes from some people. But you know what? I'm not forcing it on you, I don't do it any where near my kid, and as for the "lazy stoner" stereotype, I am MOST productive when I'm baked, my creativity level's go through the roof, and I become WAY more focused and relaxed. I understand it doesn't have the same effect for everyone, and if it's not for you don't do it, but don't judge others. And besides, you have to admit that these pins are the cutest!

We finished up the day by all 3 of us having a wonderful dinner at one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants here in Vancouver - The Foundation. We got there world famous nachos AND the catered affair platter, which has a little taste of everything. I seriously died and went to heaven it was so darn delicious. I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in the area.

Button Button!

I’ve heard about this place from many people and I’ve even walked by it numerous times, but I knew it was going to be one of those places where the little craft hoarder inside me would break free and I’d be stuck eating nothing but bagels for the next week cause I just spent my entire paycheck on buttons. So I told myself that if I built up enough projects that required buttons that I’d venture in.

Well hallelujah today was that day! I planned everything out perfectly so my son fell asleep on the walk over and I had as much quiet time as I wanted to absorb the awesomness that is this store. The place was filled with every style, colour, and size of button you could imagine. From vintage to angry birds she had them all. I brought a few projects along with me to make it easier to find what I was looking for and also to keep myself in check of buying only what I need (budget budget at button button haha).

The lady that was there (I assume the owner) was incredibly sweet and helpful. She pulled out a little tray from one of the the tables where I laid out what I brought and I kind of explained what I was looking for. She left me to browse for awhile and when I came back to my stuff I noticed she had picked out a few buttons that she thought would look nice with my things - some I did end up taking home with me (thanks button lady!)

In the end my total came to $32 something something. I can just imagine the conversation with my other half when he comes home and asks about my day and I tell him I spent over $30 on buttons, even I think it sounds little crazy. But I'm extremely happy with what I found, a few that I did grab were the last ones she had in store, and I tried to choose more unique looking ones, not your average dress shirt buttons. If you’re ever in the city and looking for buttons, this be the place to go, 318 Homer Street - right around the corner from Dressew, how convenient ^-^