Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you are enjoying the day with friends and family!

My parents made the 9:00 ferry last night from Vancouver by the hair of their chinny-in-chin.

We had a lovely day and ate too much of course!

Let it Snow??

It may be pretty out there, but this snow has caused much havoc. My parents were due to arrive last night, however, the bad weather in St. John's caused so much delay that their flight was cancelled at 1:30am. They are on a flight today to Vancouver and then hopefully they can make the 9:00pm ferry to Victoria. If not, then at least they can catch the 7:ooam ferry on Xmas morning.

We did get some snow last night - but now it is melting as fast as it came.

Everybody keep their fingers crossed that my parents do indeed make the 9:00pm ferry tonight!!

Defeated by Shortbread...

This weekend is baking weekend. Unfortunately I have been defeated... by shortbread. The 3 ingredients in shortbread are out to get me. Every year I try and make shortbread and every year it doesn't turn out. This year it is the worst year ever. I am not sure what goes wrong, but it has this terrible after taste. I use fresh ingredients. I follow the recipe. And no joy. Maybe it is my stupid little hand held mixer. One day I will buy a Kitchen Aid mixer... one day... Maybe that will produce good shortbread.

New Layout

Okay - I was bored with my blog design... so I am in the process of changing it. Any suggestions? What do you think so far??

Well, the results are in... my sister and I got Olympic tickets. We didn't do too badly... we missed out on getting speed skating tickets, so I was slightly disapointed. Oh well, this is what we got:

- 2 tickets to the Pairs Free Skate
- 2 tickets to the Men Free Skate
- 4 tickets to the Ladies Short Program
- 2 tickets to Women's Preliminary hockey
- 8 tickets to the Women's Bronze Medal hockey - will be selling some tickets
- 4 tickets to the Women's Gold Medal hockey
- 2 tickets to the Men's Preliminary hockey
- 2 tickets to the Men's Curling Tournament
- 2 tickets to the Women's Curling Tournament
- 2 tickets to the Aerial Ladies Final

Still in a little shock that we didn't get any speed skating... or any tickets to the aerial men's finals.

Wreath Making Class

On Sunday, I went to the annual wreath making class with my friend. Here is how our wreaths turned out... not bad!

4 Weeks Until X-Mas

Well, my life has been pretty crazy. Since my last post, I have been traveling all over the island for work. I spent a lot of time in Port Alberni, which I loved. If you ever get a chance to stop there, eat at the Crab Bucket... wonderful food and service.

Once I returned home, I have been busy getting ready for X-Mas. I have been making gifts, but don't want to spoil the surprise, so I will post pictures after X-Mas. I also have been making lots of towels and other gifts. My good friend Rowena had a baby shower this past weekend and I made her 2 towels and 3 bibs - all with some Beatrix Potter fabric. Everything turned out beautifully and I was extremely proud to give them to her.




The next couple weeks are going to be a bit nuts... we have a bunch of pre-Xmas parties to attend and getting the house ready for my family's visit. My sister is flying in from London and I have a big to-do list for us. We are going to be redecorating my office. So stayed tuned for posts about how it turns out.

Hope everyone is doing well! I will try and post more of the stuff that I am making and doing over the next couple weeks!

Weekend in Calgary

Anna looking cool in Auntie's sunglasses

I am back in Victoria - it was very hard to leave Calgary! I had a great time visiting all my nieces and nephew. I love them all very much! I posted some pictures on my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arianephillips - go check out how cute all the kids are!

It is going to be hard not to be in Calgary for Christmas... My mother, father and sister will be at our house this year. It's always a good time, but when I have small nieces and now a nephew - I feel like I will be missing out! Oh well - there will be other trips!

All my babies - Madison, Anna and Matthew

Sewing Projects - More Bibs and some frusteration

A weekend full of sewing for me! I made a bunch of bibs for more friends that have had babies last week. I am so very glad to hear that all my friends all had very healthy babies and everybody is doing great!

So, check out the bibs... I have to put the snaps on them (doing them now, but it's noisy so I need to take a break). There are a couple that are missing in the photo because I already wrapped them. I am now giving 3 bibs away to the new families. This is because I have had so many compliments on the bibs and I am not sure about the burp clothes.

I also attempted to make our nephew little booties... it didn't go so well. I think it is because I am a visual learner and I can't quite picture exactly what I am suppose to be doing from the instructions (they are all written - no pretty pictures for me). I screamed and yelled at the booties, but they wouldn't cooperate. This is what happened to one of them last night...

I'll take the booties to my mom's house and she can help me sort it out. I think my problem is that I may have put the velcro strips on incorrectly. Maybe. I'm not too sure.

I'm off to Calgary for a short visit. I have some big plans while I am there:
1. Take Anna to gymnastics - Wednesday
2. Meet Matthew - Wednesday
3. Take Madison swimming or to the zoo - Thursday
4. Hang out with Dave (my best friend and Madison's dad) - Thursday night
5. Finish the booties and baby towel for the baby shower - Friday night?? Unless needing to get wasted with friends?
6. Hang out with my cousin Laura - Saturday
7. Go to Tracy's baby shower with Matthew - Saturday - Have to drag Laura along too
8. Hang out with the Fam-damily - Sunday

Fefff... big plans! See you when I get back! Hopefully I will have successful booties pictures!

Dirty 30...

You guessed it... it was my birthday and I turned 30 this year. db and I had a good weekend. He was playing baseball in Nanaimo, so we ended up staying at this resort. It was spectacular. Lots of wicked views of the ocean from our suite and best of all they had a pool and hot tubs! One hot tub was outside in a waterfall surrounding... it was awesome. We will definitely be going back there!

I was spoiled rotten and will be getting a new computer! Good bye screaming at our old pc... hello learning how to use a mac!

In other news... more friends had babies... that meant more gifts to make. Okay people... can you please slow down! I can't keep up!

On the Road Again

Couple things...

1. I won't be posting as much OR sewing as much because I am traveling all over the island again for work. I tried to take my sewing machine with me this week... I got ZERO sewing done. Booo hooo...

2. MY FIELD! MY BEAAAUUTTIFULLL FIELD! It has been torn up by some darn farmer. I hope he grows something cool like pumpkins!


3. Sears Pictures (see sample below)... Check out my friends at our last ball tournament here. We had a great time and will be back at the tournament again next year.


4. Kayaking photos from our 3 day trip... okay... I didn't take many... here it is! My mom paddling away!


Well - I hope you all have a great weekend! We are off to another ball tournament in Union Bay. Wish us luck!

The New Nephew...

Anna and Matthew

Matthew

Look who arrived while auntie and uncle were kayaking! It's our new nephew! He is pretty darn cute! I can't wait to go to Calgary and kiss those cheeks! I started sewing him some little booties from my new Amy Butler book! Can't wait to show everybody!

Born: Monday August 25th, 2008
Weight: 7lbs 9ons
Height: 19.5”

Patience...

Picture from Rune T's Flickr Page

I am sick. I want all my stuff that I am waiting for to get here now! I have no patience today. Maybe anxious is the right word. I'm not sure.

This story broke my heart last night. I was watching the live coverage and when Adam gave his interview I was in tears. Somebody needed to give that guy a hug and tell him it's okay and that he can do it!

New Stuff!

I am feeling a little blah today. It must be the gloomy weather. So, I thought I would show off some of the new stuff in my house:

The New Sewing Machine... oohhhhhhhh.... so nice...

The New Bed and Side Tables... oohhhhhh... nice!

One thing I love about the side tables is that db can store his "piles" in the 3 drawers. But when I looked at the picture... uh oh... a pile on the floor. Can you see it? I guess no matter how hard I try, I may not win this battle!

I do want a new duvet cover. The one on the bed is made by my sister about 8 years ago and it is starting to get holes in it :( The duvet cover that I really really love is this one from anthropologie
I want it soooooo bad!

Amy Butler... Baby Book

I bought Amy Butler's new book, Little Stitches by Little Ones after reading this post! I can't wait to get the book, so I can start sewing more stuff! Luckily lots of my friends are having babies!

I bought the book here... Hope it comes soon!

New Project

Feff... my friends are baby machines! I can't keep up with the baby towels that I was making, so I had to find something much less time consuming, but just as nice. So, I created a bib pattern! Then I decided to make burp pads (throw over your shoulder so you keep your clothes all pretty).

What do you think?




Oh ya! These were sewn by my NEW sewing machine! I got tired of my old machine, so I went and splurged on a new one. It is awesome! No more missed stitches! Is it wonderful?

Why didn't I think of this?

Seriously, why didn't I think of this? I tote around cupcakes for db's birthday every year... and they always get smooshed! If anybody is looking for a good b-day present for me, this is it! (It can be bought from amazon or ebay).

Let the Games Begin!

I am an Olympic freak. I have admitted it. Early this morning were the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I watched all 5 hours of it and loved it! Luckily we have a Personal Video Recorder now, so I can it up to tape all the live Olympic coverage and watch it the next day. Watching the "recaps" isn't the same.

One of the highlights for me was the countdown with the fou drummers. To start the ceremony, 2008 drummers welcomed the world. The drums would light up when they were banged and the 2008 drummers were synchronized to do the countdown. It was spectacular.

Did you know? If an athlete from Ireland wins a gold medal, the cost of a pint of beer goes down 4 pence? Crazy!

Did you know? In the 2004 Olympics, South and North Korea walked into the stadium together for the first time. Unfortunately this year they were unable to come to an agreement and walked in separately.

Tonight one of my old friends from Altadore Gymnastic Club, Kyle Shewfelt, will begin his quest for another Olympic medal in gymnastics. Some of you may know that Kyle broke both his legs earlier this year and has worked extremely hard to get to the Olympics. Will be thinking of you tonight Kyle and good luck!

Wow... Wow...

Okay, I don't know how they are going to pick a winner on "So You Think You Can Dance". All the dancers are amazing!

I really enjoyed Mark and Courtney's jazz dance... the music is awesome!

Even if you aren't watching the show, check out this dance!

Inspiration

What inspires you? Today these two songs are my inspiration:

answer by sarah mclachlan (she is so amazing)


love you till the end by the poughes

In Shock

Okay... I know I haven't posted for awhile (will attempt to catch everybody up ASAP), but this is super important...

THEY HAD TO PICK WILL? Okay... that makes no sense for those of you that don't watch "So you think you can dance". Basically, I thought Will was going to be in the top 2 and he was voted off last night. I know that all the dancers at this point are amazing, but I didn't see this one coming at all!

To show how good Will is... check out his James Brown solo! It is amazing!

Contest @ ThePaperTrail.Org!

Hi all! Wanted to let you know that ThePaperTrail.Org is having a contest... check it out on the "About" Tab!

Everybody enter! Deadline is May 21st! Good luck!

I lovvveeee Tofino!

Traveling for work has it's ups and downs... but going to Tofino last week was definitely a up! The weather was beautiful and the people at the hospital were great.

I was introduced to a very great place to eat called SoBo. If you ever get to Tofino, check it out. The food is amazing!

Next week I will be in Port Alberni and Nanaimo... I am a little run down and I can't seem to catch up on any sleep when I am home for the weekend.

On the great news front - a couple of my friends had their babies! One had a girl (Chelsea) and one had a boy (Tyler). Congrats guys!

Awake and Away!

Awake and away is the story of my life right now. I am traveling somewhere outside of Victoria everyday until the middle of June. I will be in Nanaimo tomorrow, Port Alberni on Thursday and Chemainus on Friday... at least that is what I think my schedule is! Feff... I am exhausted already! Of course it is for work and I won't have time to do much exploring. But you never know!

Baseball season is starting in a couple weeks. We have our first tournament April 26 & 27. Unfortunately our team has lost some players. It seems like the older we get, the busier we get!

Well, I better get back to work. I was procrastinating, so I thought I would write a quick note!
I will try to keep everyone updated with my travels!

Weekend Fun and more painting!

Fefff... boy was I busy this weekend, I don't even know where to start!

Okay, I will start with Easter weekend. I dragged my friend Niko out shopping and in our travels I found a bed! It isn't as great as the Flower bed by BDDW, but it is pretty close. So, I dragged db to the store to check it out and he loved it too! It is the shelter bed by brownstone furniture (picture below - it looks WAYYY better in person).
Once I realized we found our new bed, that meant more painting! Off I went to the Benjamin Moore store to get paint! After the fiasco with the colour choice of the bathroom, I decided to get a sample of the colour I thought for the bedroom. Well, good thing I did because it didn't turn out anything like I thought. It is probably because we have a huge window with a large field right outside. Our neighbours did warn us about how the field affects the colour of items. So, I hummed and hawed and realized that the other spare bedroom needed to be painted in order to move our old bed into it.

Yup, again I was off to the paint store to buy paint. db helped me sand, putty and wash the walls to get ready for painting. Then Saturday I went to baseball practice and then picked up Niko to start the painting. db went to Vancouver to watch the Flames vs. Canucks (Canuck won... boooo).

Niko and I painted 1/2 the room and then it was time to go to the Canada Women's hockey game! It was awesome! I love those girls. They were in Victoria practicing before the World Championships, which are on in China from April 4 - 14. Details can be found on the Hockey Canada website. Niko and I took lots of pictures... I will post once I get them back.

Well... long story short. The painting is done and I had a good weekend. My next plan is to paint our walk-in closet while we are still looking for that perfect paint colour. Hopefully it won't take long!

Love at First Sight...

Flower bed from BDDW

For months now, db and I have been shopping around for a bed frame. I suppose we feel that we should get grown up furniture for our grown up house (okay - maybe it is just me... ). We currently just have our box spring and mattress on the floor - I would post a picture, but it is way too embarrassing.

In our search to find that perfect bed frame, I came across BDDW. Yes, as the title suggests, it is love at first sight. The bed I want is the Flower bed (as seen in the picture above) - sounds very romantic and it is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time.

I was reading about design today and one designer said that live simple and love each piece in your home. Well, he's right. I love this piece and I am getting up the nerve to call BDDW to see how much it will cost and if they ship to Canada. If not... road trip anybody?

New Chair!

Last weekend, I went shopping for the binding and I quickly jumped into the Polished Home to check out what they had in stock. They were having a huge sale and I ended up purchasing a brand new chair for only $200 (it was reduced from $600). My original plan was to purchase a used chair and recover it, but for $200... I doubt I could have refinished a chair for that!

It was sort of a hasty decision, but the owner of the store was there and she even had my paint chip (silver grey by Benjamin Moore) in the store so I could check and ensure the colours would go together.

It fits the bedroom really well and db likes it too. Now I want to get a round footstool in a deep teal colour to go with it. My searching for furniture never ends!

Meme: 7 Random Things

My sister @ Bright Turquoise tagged me for a meme (see below for details for memeing).

7 Random things about me...

1. I don't believe in random... I think that everything has a pattern (you just have to look long enough). Maybe it is because even when I try to be random, there is alway a pattern. I use to try and make beaded necklaces that had no pattern, but if you really looked at them, there was alway a pattern.

2. One of my hero's is my grandma Ruth. I think she is an amazing person and I hope I become more like her as I grow up.

3. Like my sister, I rarely wear matching socks. I feel like folding socks is a waste of time and I rather waste my time doing other stuff.

4. I still haven't unpacked all the boxes since we have moved into our house (over a year ago). Mostly the boxes contain my craft stuff, books, and random other things.

5. I love making lists! I have a little book in my purse that I write down my lists for various stuff. Some of my current lists are: 2008 Christmas Presents (i.e. My Mom, my dad, Steph...); Movies to rent; Books to read; Things to buy; Stuff I want.

6. I am the worst gardener ever. I buy plants, but then forget to water them, so db has to take care of them.

7. I love this commercial and I have no idea why!

I'm tagging some peeps for this meme thing. The people I'm tagging are (sorry - I don't really know 5 people that blog):

• Jenn Francouer Sewell- My penpal for about 20 years now!
• Kim Senechal - My old roomie from Courtenay

“7 Things” Meme How To:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs
5. Have fun!

Happy Birthday Steph!

EmptyGeorge's Card - available here on Etsy

Happy Birthday Steph! Hope you have a lovely day.

In honour of my sisters birthday, I have composed the top 4 of my favourite eCards:
.::. Screaming Banshee Birthday Card (Hallmark.com)
.::. Cirque du Soleil's Creative Cards - It will re-write your message in a fun way! Must be a member, but sooo worth it!
.::. Espectro - It is more an art postcard, but you are able to browse many artist and send postcards
.::. Red Hat Cards - not eCards - but very fun!

If anybody has any to add to the list, please send away!

Binding... Binding... Binding

My binding troubles continued this weekend. I went to the store to buy some of the pre-made bias binding, but after going to 4 different fabric stores, I realized the colour I wanted didn't exist (In Victoria anyways).

So, I had to take a crash course on how to make your own binding. I started with this tutorial how to cut fabric on the bias. I learned that you cannot just make straight strips - unless you are doing straight lines. Here is another tutorial: http://www.quilterscache.com/StartQuiltingPages/startquiltingfive.html

It is quite simple and didn't take long at all. I wish I had a rotary cutter though. That would have made the job simpler. I will put one on my Xmas list!

Once I had all my binding strips cut out and sewn.... I remember reading on Sew That's It blog about a tool to make binding or bias tape. The tool demonstrated on this blog made ironing and finishing the binding tape very simple.

And voila... here is the bias binding! I wouldn't do this for every towel, but for very special people, I will definitely do this again!



I also finished another towel. I had some troubles with this one, so I am glad that it is done. Only 2 more to do this week!

Binding Troubles

Well, I was back at making more hooded baby towels. Except, I got really frustrated with the binding! It kept puckering... I was using a zig-zag stitch, should have been simple, but it was very finicky and looked bad.


So, I watched a video how quilters sew binding to their beautiful quilts... amazing! Very easy to do and looks so much better! I recommend this video if you ever have to bind something :)


And the finished product... I love the towel so much more now! Now, I have to take apart the blue one and fix it. Luckily all my friends that are having boys aren't due for a little while.

Steven and Chris!!! They're BACKKKK!

For many Canadians, Steven and Chris will always be remembered as the "Designer Guys". I grew up watching them put together fabulous rooms, doing DYI projects, and learning about the latest trends in home decor. I was very upset when they decided to switch direction and did a fashion series (I believe Steven was originally a window dresser).

Well... THEY'RE BACK! And the great this is that you can watch clips of their show at http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/

Their new show has a little bit of everything, but my favourite part is Steven's DYI and the Q&A. I am hoping to send a couple questions to them (what the heck to do above my fireplace)... I hope they do respond!

2008 - Happy New Years!

Okay... okay... I maybe late posting this, but I really mean it! Plus, I am only a couple weeks late.

Good News! I got my job! Okay - that may need some explanation. When I started at VIHA, I was only hired for a temporary position. Now, I am hired forrrreeevveerrrrr. That is a relief! Also means that I have to do a good job now ;)

Christmas holidays were great - db and I went to Calgary for the week. By the end of the week, I was exhausted and couldn't wait to get home to sleep in my own bed. We did a lot of visiting and got to see almost everyone we wanted.

When we got home on the 30th, we had to quickly get ready for the News Year bash. Luckily I was super organized before we left and had a menu and shopping list already created. 14 of our dear friends came to our house and we had a blast! Thanks everyone for making the night so wonderful!

Of course - after that - I got sick. I am still recovering - my ears are still plugged and I am having a hard time hearing. Hopefully I didn't get anyone else sick!

Okay, I didn't make any New Years Resolutions, but I did make a 2008 to-do list:

1. Get water heater replaced
2. Buy a new bed
3. Refinish bookshelf
4. Finish unpacking (Yikes!!)
5. Finish Guest Suite (aka - mother-inlaw-suite)
a. hang shelves
b. curtains??
c. side tables
d. shelving???
6. Touch up downstairs bathroom paint
7. Paint bedroom
8. Find wallpaper for office
9. Go to London to see Steph
10. Find somethign for above fireplace
11. Hange tiles above stove
12. Find coffee table
13. Write more to Jenn
14. Get Poster framed and hung
15. Take more pictures
16. Get hallway painted
17. Find flooring for bathrooms and kitchen
18. Hand wordpress drawer

Have anything else to add??!!