Vivian Vendredi - Winter Baby

Vivian was born in December in one of the hardest winters we've had.  She was born right in between two terrible snowstorms that rocked our area, the second of which left us completely snowed in and stranded at home for the first week with her.

So I suppose it's no surprise that she's already ready for winter.

Lately this has been a common sight...

Vivian in a onesie for sleeping because it's 30+ degrees out, but then she drags out her toque because it's just so fashionable.

Then the other day she took it to another level when she got herself ready to play outside.

In a toque.

And a coat.

And mittens.

On a 30 degree day.

And then I let her run around outside like that while I took pictures of her, because that's just the kind of parent I am.

Ironically, Vivian really hasn't played in the snow.  Of the two winters she's seen, the first she was too brand new, and then the second was an insanely mild winter, not much time for playing in the snow.

Something tells me that this winter will be a little different.  I suppose I should invest in some decent winter boots for myself if I expect to keep up with her.

Be vewy vewy quiet, it's purse hunting season.

Why yes, this post title is an Elmer Fudd shout-out.  Represent.

Sad news, guys.  My purse is dying.  Remember this purse I got for my birthday?

Well apparently I've put it through quite the abuse, because that lovely little chain has fallen off, almost all of the zipper pulls have come off, the main zipper broke and the cross-body strap fell off.

Boo.

Now I know some women would be pumped to go shopping for a new purse, but I'm just a little bit particular.  And while I used to love getting new purses all the time, with my old age I'm tending to find something I like and sticking with it.

So now I need to hunt for a new bag and I'm totally not looking forward to it.  Of course, there's certain guidelines to follow.

I like a bag that has a cross-body strap, but I also like it to have shorter straps as a backup or for easy grabbing.

LOVE this bag - but the seller is on vacation currently.  

It also has to be big.  Big enough to fit a couple books, snacks and stuff for Vivian, and potentially a sub from Quiznos and various drinks and snacks to smuggle into a movie.

Oh, Diesel bag.  Why can't I find you on eBay?!

And I like it in leather.  Not because I'm fancy, but because I'm lazy and canvas gets too dirty, and then I have to bother with washing it.

Kinies...why you no make leather?!

I like 'em loose and not too structured.  Give me that lived-in look.  Maybe even a vintage gem?

Ooh, vintage leather.  Can't you just imagine how soft that leather is?

Oh, and I want it to be on clearance, or at least on sale.  You know, because I'm cheap.  Honestly, I'm like five minutes away from just using this old travel bag I got at the Salvation Army.

So there you go.  Purse hunting.  Any tips?  Where do you like to get your purses?  Maybe I'll luck out at a yard sale or thrift store this weekend!

Fall TV 2012

Okay, finally, here is my post about the upcoming new fall shows that I'm looking forward to.  I've been meaning to do it since the schedules were released last month.  To be honest though, this is the only post that I ever write that requires actual notes and research, so it takes a little while for me to get my ass in gear to sit down and write it.

So without further ado, here are the new shows that I'm excited about.  There are many more that I'm not excited about.  You can find out about them on your own time.

666 Park Avenue
ABC, Sundays at 10:00



Yes, the title is a little hokey.  And yes, the whole "haunted house/apartment" idea is maybe a little overdone.  But Terry O'Quinn is starring in this, so I will for sure be tuning in.

The Mob Doctor
FOX, Mondays at 9:00



This one really surprised me.  I didn't think I would be into it at all, but the trailer totally pulled me in.  I think it looks fun - and was that Michael Rappaport I saw?  I love him!

Partners
CBS, Mondays at 9:30



Yes, it's very sitcomy, which isn't usually my thing.  But I do like David Krumholtz, so I'll at least check out my standard 3 episodes.

Revolution
NBC, Mondays at 10:00



Can you say 'high concept'?  Just a little show from JJ Abrams and a pilot episode directed by Jon Favreau about what happens when every electronic device in the world stops working.  Fifteen years later, the world is a very different place.  Oh, and Giancarlo Esposito is there, which instantly ups the awesome factor.  I'm really excited for this show, but also wary of it being in the hands of NBC.  (Anyone remember what happened to other high-concept NBC shows like Heroes and The Event?  Uh, yeah.)

Ben & Kate
FOX, Tuesdays at 8:30



I know, it seems a little predictable and sappy, but I think it looks kind of charming and funny.  Tuesdays are 30 minute comedies across the board - it's kind of bizarre.  So be prepared for lots of little bits of funny to make their way into your schedule.

Go On
NBC, Tuesdays at 9:00



I'm a sucker for Matthew Perry.  I even watched him in 'Mr. Sunshine'.  So I'll be tuning in for this comedy about a man grieving his wife's death and going to group therapy.  I know, it's a laugh riot!

The Mindy Project
FOX, Tuesdays at 9:30



Oh I love Mindy Kaling.  Ignore the stupid voiceover in the trailer though.

The New Normal
NBC, Tuesdays at 9:30



This show seems so cute and sweet - I hope it lives up to the trailer.  Plus - Justin Bartha and Ellen Barkin!  Yay!

Vegas
CBS, Tuesdays at 10:00



Oh man, I am pumped for this show!  Dennis Quaid in a cowboy hat!  Vegas in the 60s!  So much awesome!

Arrow
CW, Wednesdays at 8:00



I've been saying for years that if DC wants to have a comparable movie franchise to Marvel, then they need to make a Green Arrow movie.  This will work too though.  It looks so awesome - I'm really excited about it.  I never got on the Smallville train, but I'm hoping Arrow is worth a ride!

Nashville
ABC, Wednesdays at 10:00



This basically looks like Connie Britton is playing Faith Hill and Hayden Panettiere is Taylor Swift or something.  Not really my usual thing, but I really like Hayden Panettiere, so I'll check it out a couple times at least.

Elementary
CBS, Thursdays at 10:00



An updated version of Sherlock Holmes with Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock and Lucy Liu as Watson.  Man, this show looks SO GOOD!  And no, I haven't watched the British 'Sherlock' yet, but it's in my to-watch pile.

So that's what I'm looking forward to for the Fall viewing season.  What about you?  Anything strike your fancy?  Am I the only one who is dying for the Olympics to start?  (I love the Olympics!)

I'll put up another post later about the midseason shows - there's a lot of them that are sounding very promising too!

A Case Against eReaders

I've written before about why I think I would like an eReader - and it's definitely still something on my list of things I want eventually one day.  But I know that I'll never be able to fully replace physical books.  If only because of two of my favourite authors who elevate books to a whole new level.

Chuck Palahniuk is my favourite author.  You might know him as the guy who wrote 'Fight Club'.  I really encourage you to read his other books - especially if you like stories that are a little outside the norm and play with narrative and chronology to draw you right in.  I'm really excited about his "newest" book.  I say "newest" because it's actually a re-release of a previous book.

So what makes "Invisible Monsters: Remix" so worthy of purchase when I already have the original sitting on my shelf?  Apparently, this is the version Chuck originally wanted to release, but it was a little out there for the time.  In the original version of Invisible Monsters, he uses the device of "jump to...".  It's meant to read like when you're reading a magazine and sometimes the story gets broken up throughout the issue so you can flip to the back to finish it, or you can keep reading straight through the magazine and come to it eventually.  In the original version, it's just a narrative device to jump around in the chronology, "Jump to no day special in the hospital, just outside the office of the hospital speech therapist."  "Jump ahead a few years to me being grown up and moving out."

But in the Remix version, it takes that device literally, asking the reader to jump from one chapter to another, creating an entirely new narrative structure.  Apparently it's even suggested that the reader should mark an X on each chapter as they read it to keep track, because there are "hidden" chapters that you don't get directed to which can really only be discovered through process of elimination.  Yes, it's "Choose Your Own Adventure" for adults.  Sidenote - did anyone ever kind of reverse engineer those Choose Your Own Adventure books?  I used to flip through and find an ending I liked then would read backwards to see how you would get there.

But my point is this - isn't this an amazing concept?  The idea of pulling a reader into a story like that, drawing them in until they lose themselves completely, not even knowing how much of the book is left.  And even though this book is available as an eBook, I just can't see how it can create the same effect.  I mean, Palahniuk is creating a maze of words - and I just don't see how you can appreciate it in the same way if there's a counter on your screen telling you you're 72% of the way through the book.

Similarly, there's the books of Mark Z. Danielewski.  If you want to talk about mazes in books, then you have to read "House of Leaves".  The book is almost impossible to describe, because it shifts and changes with the story, leaving gaps in phrases, using different colours and fonts to highlight and differentiate what's happening, and has pages that contain only one word as the characters in the story become utterly lost.  It's a work of art, and I really recommend you read it.  His second book, "Only Revolutions" is similarly absorbing.  When I read it, I needed to keep three separate bookmarks in it, because there are so many ways to read the book.  It can be read front to back, back to front, upside down, or from the inside out.  Again, it's almost impossible to explain without seeing it, but I got a lot of strange looks when I was reading that book out in public, turning the book around and around.

So yes, while there's many, many books that I will consume in a simple and straightforward manner, I love that there are at least a couple of authors out there who try to elevate the written word to something more - something that engrosses you in a way that few other things do.  And there will always be room on my bookshelves for works like that.

What are you reading lately?  Anything weird and wonderful?

Vivian Vendredi - Sneaky Sleeper

Vivian's sleeping has been getting much better lately.  There's been a couple days in a row of sleeping through the night, giant naps on the weekends (sometimes 4 hours or more) and even inconvenient sleeping as you see below...

Vivian at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday morning when she should have been getting dressed for daycare

And Vivian at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday when she got home from daycare

So all of that is awesome, and so much better than anything she's done before.

But of course, with the good comes the bad.

And the bad is that I think very soon - much sooner than I want to see - Vivian will be done with a crib.

Now, my plan is to keep her in the crib until the very last possible moment.  If she stays in it until she's 4, I really don't care.  I want that kid in a crib.  But she's a climber.  She can pull herself out of the pool at swimming, slides down the back of the couch at home, climbs up to the slide at mom's house, and twice now I've seen her throw her leg over the top of the crib when I go to take her out.

Hell.  No.

So even though I don't want it to happen and don't approve of it happening, I can see it coming in the next few months.

So there's a few different options.  Her crib converts, but not to a toddler bed.  So I figure either she can be moved to a separate toddler bed and her crib can be put away for now, or she can be put into a twin bed that we already have, or we can get a mattress to convert her crib to a double bed.

I think I would prefer to have her in a toddler bed out of all of those options.  That way I don't have to mess around with rails or anything.  She likes toddler beds, she likes to play in Blair's, or the beds for the foster kids at mom's house.  I think she would like the security of a toddler bed versus a bigger bed.  Of course, any option means she could get out of bed in the night and wander around.  Because the doors in this house have handles instead of knobs, it's easy for her to open doors.

The first night she is out of a crib, I'll never sleep again, basically.

So what have you done?  Straight to a big bed?  Or toddler beds all the way?  Any thoughts on how to put the fear of god into this kid to just keep her in her crib?

This is barely a post. Read it and see.

Where to start, where to start.  This is a really weird post, because it's not really a post.  I could probably flesh it out into one, but for some reason I feel like this might be more fun.

First - some background.

I love Kevin Smith.  And every now and then, I love him a little more than usual and get obsessed with listening to his podcasts (I know, right?  Me?  Compulsive about something?  Weird.) watching his movies, reading his books, just consuming his message in any way.  This is one of those times.  I've gotten totally hooked on his Plus One podcast and listen to it constantly in the car.  Now, a few months ago my friend Jenn (check out her awesome blog here!) got me on the train of thought of how much I love the character Brodie Bruce from Mallrats.  Not familiar?  Check this out for some reference.



Yes, it is Jason Lee in all his shaggy, '90s slacker goodness.  Swoon.

Anyway, some Facebook discussion with Jenn led to me declaring Brodie Bruce to be the ideal man, and that I would rewatch Mallrats for the billionth time and take notes along the way and write a whole blog manifesto to support my claim.

So I watched it.  And I took notes.  And then I fell asleep like 30 minutes into the movie, and haven't gone back to watch it since.

So I've had this draft post with my notes sitting here since March, and I thought it was time to unleash it on the world.  I figure this is all part of The Purge (yes, it gets capitalized now.  I'm completely obsessed with it - but that's for another post.) even the blog needs to be purged of old posts that are sitting around collecting dust.

So please find below my raw, half asleep notes from watching Mallrats, which barely make sense.  I think you get the idea though.  Brodie Bruce for life!

NHL 95 on the Sega
Records and comic books
passive aggressively framing the letter - "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned by SEga."
that outfit!  The slacker chic kills me
He says Eff!!
The uneccessary explanation of the Berzerker attack
rant about the cookie - eateries that operate in the designated square, anything outside is considered an autonomoous
\The amusement at his own actions when Renee lists all the shit she's put up with
The escalator - amazing rant - fear and respect the escalator. the illogical clinging to a random idea
You think just cause a guy reads comics he can't start some shit?
I must be slipping in my old age!

Killing it in Kilworth

Well the Kilworth yard sales have come again for another year.  It was unreal - I think it was even crazier than last year.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera to take pictures of all the action - you'll just have to join me in person next year!

I did manage to come away with some good finds though.  Although, I must admit that some of them came from subsequent yard saling in Mount Brydges and Strathroy.

Here's my haul!

An air filter for $10.  Price tag was still on it for $39.99.  I've been needing to pick one up for far longer than I'd care to admit, so I was pretty excited to find the right sized one!

Skates!  I haven't had a pair of skates in years, ever since a friend of my brother's borrowed mine and they never returned (never did my nice leather hockey gloves either, but that's besides the point).  These ones are brand new - never even been worn.  Mom bought them for me - we got them and a bunch of Cars toys for $25.

A Matt Groening book.  I've never read much of his Life in Hell (pre-Simpsons) stuff, so I grabbed this for a dollar.  I happily paid full price just to irritate the cheap woman who was going to war with the seller trying to chew him down to $2 for $7 worth of stuff.

The complete series of Boston Legal for $5!  Yes, five seasons of DVDs for $5!  I've never actually seen Boston Legal, but I've heard good things about it, and for $5 I couldn't pass it up.

A Cat in the Hat clock for $1.  I have a soft spot of Dr. Seuss stuff, and have a lot of related stuff in Vivian's room, so I couldn't pass this one by.

I'm a sucker for kids selling stuff at yard sales.  There was one little girl selling her sister's photography prints for 50 cents each, so I grabbed these two.

A little vintage Pyrex action for $2 - a cute little divided dish.

A Piglet leash for Vivian!  This thing is brand new and was only $1.

A whole bunch of clothes for Vivian for $5.  Black and grey skinny jeans, cute striped pants, a skully sweater and a denim dress overall deal.

And finally - a typewriter for $1.

That sale was pretty funny.  It was from the same yard sale where I got the clothes and the Pyrex dish.  I saw the typewriter sitting there and wanted it.  Bad.  But I didn't know if I was ready to cross into having a vintage typewriter.  So I bought the rest of the stuff from the woman and actually said to her, "I love that typewriter, but I don't know if I have the hipster cred to own it."  Her response?  "Well, do you have a bike?  If you have the bike, I think you can handle the typewriter."  Sadly, I don't have a bike, so I walked away.  Back in the van I told mom how much I wanted it...

Me - "Did you see that typewriter?  I really wanted it.  It was a dollar.  A DOLLAR!"

Mom - "Does it work?"

Me - "I don't know, I don't care if it works really."

Mom - "What are you going to do with it?"

Me - "I dunno, just put it on the table or something.  Maybe I shouldn't get it, it probably weighs a tonne."

Mom - "How much was it?"

Me - "A dollar!"

Mom - "Just get it if you want is so bad."

Me - "Okay!  I want it!"

Plus 1000 hipster points for me!

So I ran back out and got it, and they were so excited that someone actually bought it, because they thought no one would want it.  They asked me if I was a writer, because apparently they were picturing me holed up somewhere writing the newest Misery novel with a cigarette dangling out of my mouth or something.  I told them I was a court reporter, so I have a bit of a soft spot for typing devices.  Even though I've never used one, I would scoop up a stenography machine in a heartbeat.

So there you go - that's my haul from yard saling.  Oh, except I also got a dahlia plant that I forgot to take a picture of.  The best part of that was carrying it down the street and having a guy yell, "Hey!  Is that a marijuana plant?"  And me yelling back, "Yep!  But they're all sold out now!"  My mom also got a car seat for a great deal, a dahlia plant, a beautiful blanket for the baby she has right now, and some toys for the kids.  Oh, and a free office chair for my brother.  My friend Lisa got some great trucks for her son, and we all had some yummy gelato, fries and back bacon on a bun.

Mostly though we learned some more tricks for next year - what to do, what not to do.  Next year we'll be there at 6:00 a.m. with a truck and will really clean up!

Anyone else do any yard saling?  Do I have the hipster cred for my typewriter?  I better buy some black rimmed glasses and more flannel.

Vivian Vendredi - Stinkeye

Urgh, so sorry for the egregiously late post.  But, I have an excuse.  And I'm totally blaming the kid.

Vivian came down with pink eye this week, which has completely thrown things out of whack for me.  I had to take her to the doctor's at the last minute, and of course the antibiotic she needs is on backorder (there's apparently a pink eye epidemic right now) and had to take an unexpected day off work to keep her from spreading it around the daycare anymore than it already is.

Multiply all that with my car leaking coolant (yay for a new radiator hose), an insane day of yard sales, a family dinner and my brother's birthday, and you would be about where I am right now, which is midway through a glass of wine by myself.

Anyway, Vivian has pink eye.  And pink eye sucks, because everyone treats you like a leper and you have to pin your kid down like four times a day to subject them to the torture that is eye drops.  It's been pretty awesome.  On the upside, she doesn't really realize she's sick since she doesn't have to deal with a fever or nausea or anything like that, so at least she's been in good spirits.

I literally just chased her around a room for like five minutes trying to get some kind of a picture out of her for this blog post.  This is going to have to do for this week!

The Yard Sale Big Leagues

Big event this Saturday.  One I've been waiting for all year.

Kilworth yard sale time, bitches.

Last year I went to check out the Kilworth town-wide yard sales and was completely unprepared.  I figured I would go with Vivian in her sling and just check it out for an hour or so before her swimming lesson.  Here's your first tip for surviving the Kilworth yard sales - there is no such thing as just checking it out for an hour.  And you definitely shouldn't go with a baby hanging off of you.

Picture, if you will, a beautiful subdivision filled with those big, gorgeous new constructions homes.  Now picture those idyllic streets lined with parked cars and thousands of people milling around while more than 160 families have yard sales.  The streets are taken over by pedestrians as people walk, bike, roller blade, even tool around in golf carts all in an effort to find some treasures.

It's madness, I tells ya.  I've never seen anything quite like it.  There's even a food booth being operated by the Optimist Club so you can grab some sustenance while you're going door to door like it's Halloween, only with people's junk.

And it's good junk too.  Rich people junk is awesome.

So on Saturday morning I'll be prepared with some cash (although not prepared to part with much of it), good shoes and a backpack for any goodies I find along the way.  Will I see you there?  Don't mind me if I elbow you to get to something good - I've got a blog to maintain here, people.

I'm going to try to take some pictures for those of you who can't make it out - seriously, it's insane.

So tell me - what are your garage saling secrets?  Do you pack a snack to keep your energy high?  Do you head out with something you're looking for in mind, or just go with the flow?  Show up early, or swing by in the afternoon when morale is low to score a deal?  I do admit to keeping my money in multiple pockets.  That way I can pull the old, "Oh, you want $10 for it?  I only have a $5 on me..." and be able to pull out a single bill instead of accidentally pulling out a $20 after I've been super cheap.  Let me know your tricks, I told you one of mine!

Things that are making me happy

Here's a few things that have been making me smile lately.  Always gotta acknowledge the little things, right?

I'll warn you right now - a lot of them have to do with food.

First up, Coors Light Iced Tea.  Or CLIT as I prefer to call it.  Have you tried these yet?  They are amazing!  They taste like iced tea, but without the sweetness, and taste like beer without any kind of aftertaste.  They taste better and better the colder they are - the perfect summer drink!

Then we have Earls Kitchen and Bar.  One recently opened up in London and I am in love.  Every time I go, I like it a little more.  All their meat is organic, fresh never frozen.  They have an amazing in-house beer.  The garlic bread is so big you practically need a knife and fork to eat it.  They have a dynamite roll appetizer that is some of the best sushi I've ever had.  Amazing interior and an even better patio - both covered and uncovered!  And the patios are heated and they have blankets for those chilly nights!  Love it!  And they have super pretty waitresses who have all been really nice in my experience.  Love this place!

Pink grapes.  I should say these were making me happy, because I can't seem to find them any more.  It's like a zinfandel as a fruit.  Super sweet and juicy, not even a hint of sour.  Love.

My new to me earrings from Lovesick.  I actually got these way back at new years, but never got around to blogging about them.  Lovesick is my favourite vintage clothing store downtown - if you haven't been, you need to go!  Such a crazy variety of stuff and super great prices.  I got these earrings for $12 and I love them.

 Cake without icing.  I'm not a big icing fan, so every now and then I like to just bake a cake and not even put on the pretense of icing it.  What can I say, I'm a purist.

My mug!  This mug is so amazing that I made you all a video just so you can witness it in all of its glory.

What's putting a smile on your face these days?

Yes, paint chips again.

Remember how I casually mentioned yesterday that I hadn't used all of my paint chip collection for my new art?  Well that's because I couldn't bear to cut up any of my Sarah Richardson for Para Paint paint chips.

Know why?

 Because I have the full set!

Yes, after three visits to Lowes (you know, to throw suspicion as I grabbed all 75 colours) I have a full set.  I'm sure there's a joke in here about how I wasn't playing with a full deck at some point...

I love them - they're the prettiest colours, and I love how big the chips are.  Of course I have them all organized in numerical order and punched a hole in each one so they're all neatly hanging on a binder ring.

Yes, it's nerdy.  But so totally worth it to me!

Anyone else out there nursing a paint chip addiction?

Close, but not quite

Part of my purge (and I swear to god, one day I will stop talking about purging stuff!) has been taking a look at things that I don't necessarily want to get rid of, but that need to be reused or repurposed somehow.

Take this picture for instance...

I won it at a bridal show before the wedding.  Here's a tip - if you're going to bridal shows, home shows, prenatal fairs, anywhere that you end up signing up for a lot of things and entering a lot of contests, print out a bunch of labels with your name, address, email address, due date/wedding date, whatever usual information they're looking for.  That way you can just stick a label to the forms instead of standing around trying to fill out entries at every single booth.  It's much quicker, and sometimes you win things because they think you're clever, like I did here!  When the guy called me to tell me I won, he said it was because of my label!  Hooray!

Anyway, it's a lovely, professional framed dealio.  It was a great framing company that gave it to me, but I never had any work done by them.  They do great work though.  Anyway, I won this thing, but had no idea what to do with it.  It was on display somewhere at the wedding, but what to do with it now?  You can't tell from the pictures, but it has like wedding vows written on it and it's all burgundy and just so not my thing.  But it's a really nice, high quality frame, so I didn't want to just ditch it.

So I tore it all apart and started gluing things to it instead.

I have a bit of a paint chip addiction.  I love just having them.  I can't even explain it - I just love having all the colours and trying to figure out what to do with them.  I've been grabbing stacks of them for years and I'll build up a supply then get rid of them, back and forth.  So I decided that it was time to purge them (well, not all of them) and do something with them.

So I gathered them all up and busted out a 1 inch circle punch that I had laying around from some other project at some point and got to punching.  After sorting out any colours that were really earthy (I wanted it to really colourful) I started hot gluing all the circles down row by row overlapping them a bit as I went, but not worrying too much about the placement or anything.  I just glued them right over the original picture, which was kind of a heavy-duty vellum piece of paper so it took to the hot glue pretty easily.

Then I took the frame and mat and sprayed them down with some spray paint.  I didn't realize it until I took the frame apart, but the mat was kind of fuzzy and textured.  I couldn't decide on what colour to spray, but ended up deciding on a light grey, hoping that that would make the colours pop.

It's close to what I was hoping for, but not quite there.  I'm thinking now that maybe I should just suck it up and get a plain white mat for it.  After spraying the mat it still retains some of the texture so it just looks weird and it bugs me.

Of course, I reassembled the whole thing and had to staple gun it back together and add some masking tape on the back for good measure, so I won't be fixing it any time soon.  Who knows though, maybe the grey will grow on me?  Probably not.  I do really like the way the paint chips turned out though - I love just the layered dots.

All in all, the whole project just cost me a couple of hot glue sticks and a can of spray paint, so I really can't complain if it doesn't look too fantastic.  Sometimes you just get what you pay for!

What do you think?  White mat?  White frame?  Something different entirely?

Vivian Vendredi - Modern Baby

There are a lot of modern conveniences for babies today.  Fancy strollers, high tech toys, and YouTube.  Glorious, glorious YouTube.  Vivian has recently discovered the joys of watching Bubble Guppies on YouTube and has become thoroughly obsessed.

She even looks a little drunk in this picture, she's so happy.

One day this week I took her into the bathroom for her bath and she ran out and plopped herself on the couch with the laptop in her lap.  I brought her home another day and went to the washroom and all I could hear was "Mama!  Mama, please!  Buppies!"  Now, I don't think she's actually stringing together three words yet, I more think that she knows that if she yells any one of those three words enough I end up doing something that she wants.

Now as nice as it is to have an "in case of emergency" stash of Bubble Guppies episodes, she's become really obsessed with it and has been throwing major tantrums if she doesn't get to watch it the second she wants to, or if anyone else even touches the laptop.

So it looks like the laptop won't be living in the living room anymore.  It might have to be hidden away and only pulled out for those emergency situations.

Wrap it up

There's like nothing on TV right now (I'm still working on a big post for the new shows that are coming out in the fall, don't worry!) so I've been doing lots of purging, organizing and finishing up of little projects.  Here's what I was working on tonight!

I bought this old map off of Etsy ages ago.  Then I stuck it in a cheap frame and never bothered to put any kind of mat around it or straighten it after the cat knocked it off the wall or anything.  Here's an old picture to see it in all its crooked glory.

It was just the plain cardboard backing behind it, not the best.

So of course I tried to spray paint it, but the cardboard was soaking up the paint like crazy so I had to try something different.  Instead, I grabbed a bit of wrapping paper that I had laying around.  Technically, it was Christmas paper, but it's a subtle green with a plaid on it, so I figured it could work with anything.

So I wrapped the whole carboard backing with the paper and taped the shit out of it.  Luckily I had just enough paper to do the trick.

Now it actually looks pretty decent.  I didn't measure or anything when I put the map back in (I did use some glue spots to hold it in place this time though) because I just eyeball everything up because I'm too lazy to go find a level and/or ruler.

Of course the pictures are crap because the camera is crap.  So you should probably just come over and have a beer with me to see it in person.

Are you up to any projects lately?  Or have you done anything unusual with wrapping paper?  Pretty wrapping paper is always a welcome craft item!

Outfit of the Day - Liquidation Gold

So because of my camera troubles the outfit of the day posts are going to be even more underwhelming than usual.  Enjoy.

I hit up one of the liquidating Zellers last week, and while things were pretty picked over, I did manage to grab a few decent things.  I stocked up on some tights for the fall/winter (at $2 a pair I really couldn't refuse!)  And I found this skirt marked down to $10.

It's nice and light and cool for spring/summer, but I think it will work well with those cheap tights in the fall too.  It's fairly full though, and my T-shirt is a little long so I might have to find a different top for it (tucking things in is not my friend.)

Cardigan - Joe Fresh
T-shirt - Smart Set (the best white t-shirts!)
Skirt - Pure by Alfred Sung
Sandals - Aldo

Refreshed Desk

Remember how a couple of weeks ago I said I was starting to work on something and promised to have it ready in a couple of days then said nothing more about it?

Now remember this old desk I got last year?

Well after running out of paint and then dragging my heels on going to get more, then finally going to get more it looks like this...

I used Pre-Dawn Sky by Benjamin Moore again.  I just can't get enough of that colour.  These pictures definitely do it justice.  In person it's the perfect pinky purple.

Vivian seems to love having the desk - she was having a hard time colouring at her table and chairs because the chair would get pushed away from the table and she wouldn't be able to figure out how to move herself and the chair closer.  Plus, having the drawer under the seat on this desk makes it easy to store away her crayons and colouring books when she's not hard at work!

Have you gotten to painting anything interesting lately?  I was in a project mood tonight and have a couple more things on the go!