February 28, 2017

Shannon
Not many pics for the day, all started off normal and than got whamm-o! hit with vertigo while doing physio. Not fun. It evened out as the day went on but I wasn't able to do much, or take many pictures.

Suzie

A Tim Hortons finally opened up kind of near me. Well, near my doctor's. Appointment didn't go well so I didn't actually get to go inside but I could have.

February 27, 2017

Shannon
I've started a new game in my gaming quest! I had become quite stumped in the previous game I was playing, and I finally came to the realization that I wasn't enjoying it so I decided to ditch it and get back to a game series I actual ENJOY. Hence, the smiling. Now I'm looking *forward* to gaming again. I'd say that was a good decision!

Suzie

Was a secret agent for a day in downtown Vancouver with was a lot of fun. Very busy weekend with mega photoshoots, character creation for a D&D group we have joined and then saving Vancouver.

February 25, 2016

Shannon
I absolutely love this picture! It was a magazine pic from who knows how long ago (like the 90s) that I had in storage, and I put it in my magazine journal that I'm using for Journal Club. It's been really cool to come across pictures that I picked out so long ago, or ones I choose last week. I am loving having this journal for Journal Club! Every week is a surprize, just like every week what comes up is a surprize! So much fun.

Suzie

I have been commissioned to write an article about garnishes so that has been my priority and I had some successes and some failures. This was a success. Roasted lime coconut! Burned my sunflower seeds and the bacon turned out great. More photoshoots tomorrow.

February 24, 2017

Shannon
I hit 400 subscribers on YouTube! YAY! I'm not sure when my last landmark was, but I think it's been a while. I have been trying to be more active in the community, so I hope that's making a difference and it's fun to find new people and connect with like minded folk!

Suzie

Had a horrible night, got no sleep, had to stay home for a delivery but this package came unexpectedly with stuff I need for my foodie book. I can FINALLY really get started.

February 23, 2017

Shannon
I'm still feeling very sore today so I kept things pretty low key, including reading (shock, shock!), and also finally caught up with the Richard III with Ian McKellan in it. It's such a crazy story, by Ian McKellan is great, as is Maggie Smith and Jim Broadbent and a few actors I didn't know. OH! But Carson from Downton Abbey was in it, he was good too. Kinda brutal story though, eep. I need something with unicorns next. Suggestions are welcome!!

Suzie

I wish I could have gone for brunch to McD's to confirm that it is now available all day starting yesterday but I was too busy. Today would have to do. That said, not all breakfast items are available!
SaveSave

February 22, 2017

Shannon
I didn't take many pictures today, it was an out day and I often forget to do that but I had lunch + snack all in one when I got home and crashed on the couch for the rest of the day/night. Oh, the excitement! At least raspberries were on sale (and pretty good ones for February!).

Suzie

I had the craziest day! Busy from the second I got up. Went to the post office (with a sale, yay!), to the library, then to the Value Village sale, then came home and did a photoshoot for this Dairyland post where I was like Godzilla, went to drawing class, had coffee with a friend and then came home and made dinner. I just finished the Dairyland post and am so tired! I hope they appreciate how much effort I went to with the photoshoot, editing... I know I appreciated all their products and the cookies they sent me. What a weird but pretty awesome day.

February 21, 2017

Shannon
I'm trying out a new book group and this is the little info box that pops up when you make a comment. I think it's going to be a good fit :)

Suzie

I had a doctor's appointment but managed to get some painting time in and had a surprise special delivery arrive at my door too! A pretty good day.

February 20, 2017

Jamie

What a wonderful day Justin and I had yesterday! The weather was spectacular - sunny, clear blue skies and double digit temperatures. First we went to the Leslieville Flea at the Distillery District where the sellers were so lovely, friendly and knowledgeable. I bought a wonderful pair of fingerless alpaca gloves. Then we walked for a while and came across this big vintage/antique market at St, Lawrence Market. It was fun to look at all the stuff. Next time you visit, Suzie, we should go!

Shannon
This is the one pic I took from Journal Jam! Amazing how once the talking starts, I completely forget to take pictures! It was another great Journal Jam! Way to go Jamie for being a great host and bringing an awesome evening of great company and journalling.

Suzie

After the night of music on Friday we finally got to the kung fu school's holiday party. It was postponed because of the crazy snowstorm we had a couple of weeks ago. Reg Mcd the event and performed musically too.

February 19 2017

Jamie

Once again I woke up with this creative idea that wouldn't let me go. I think Kim must be right - a quieter schedule is doing wonders for my creative fire! It's a concept that really just applies to me personally, at least for now. I woke up and journaled it all out and it is already impacting my energy, my mood and my choices for the better!

February 18, 2017

Jamie

A bit of a different view of Journal Jam! It was so great to have everyone together and share such wonderful treats - the creativity, the conversation, the food and a wonderful evening. I am so glad that I trusted my instincts and started hosting this event!

Suzie

It is never easy to photograph at night, even with stage lights, especially with my old point and shoot but here is an image from our night out at a club with a KISS cover band. There was an AC/DC one too and Alice Cooper. I think I lost some more of my hearing but it was a fun night.

February 17. 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was a big work day plus starting to get ready for another great Journal Jam. I wish you could be with us for that, Suzie! I am a little stressed about how much there is to do but hey, there are always kittens to encourage me :)

   

Shannon
I'm continuing my February goal-ish/reminder/incentive thing of if I can get out today, DO IT! And I did. Good thing too, as I had to return some library books. Had nothing to do with like..getting more library books. Oh, no... that had nothing to do with it ;)

Suzie

Most of the snow is finally gone. I returned library books and got out for a beautiful walk in un-forecasted sunshine which was such a treat.

February 16, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday I went out for an acupuncture session with my naturopath. This is really something I didn't expect to be doing (especially getting needles in my hands!!) but it seems to be doing me some good. Afterwards I went on a walk to do some errands (I've got more birds to show tomorrow) and along the way I saw this tiger in the snow. What a fascinating find!

Shannon
I have been a little off my game on working on my book covers / illustrated journal but I took some time for it today and it was really fun to try and re-create this Choose Your Own Adventure cover. The books have a truly iconic style and I thought I would go with blasts of colours and use markers for the cover. I am pretty happy with the results! I got a little lazy towards the bottom, and it's amazing how seeing a picture of it I can spot the differences between the two, but overall I am happy with the mountains, the flying car, and the guy with the binoculars. They all look pretty solid. Fun!

Suzie

The rain is here big time and will be for the next week so I put on my new rain pants and got out for food. Our market had some amazing deals on produce which is awesome because we had next to nothing left. Quiet day otherwise.

February 15, 2017

Jamie

Very spontaneously Justin and I decided to grab tickets to see Cabaret for Valentine's Day. It was a good show and a wonderful way to spend the evening together. I love going to the theatre!

Shannon
Finally made it out to the local coffeeshop! Thank you Jamie for swinging by and suggesting it. It was nice to catch up and see what it was like. I have a feeling I will be back there very soon.

Suzie

Had a lovely day out with Reg, we successfully got to Deep Cove for the first time since we moved here (Jamie, I always think of your visit when I think of Deep Cove) and got to a coffee shop in the city then out to see the final Resident Evil movie. We also went to see one of these films on our anniversary out east so it felt right.

February 14, 2017

Suzie

My walk after stART led me to a park I have been wanting to go to. I listened to David Sylvian's song "Let The Happiness In" with my eyes closed, facing the sun hoping that could happen.

February 13, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday was really a snow day! The flakes were large, fluffy and constant. It was great to lie in bed and read a bit with cat company, though sometimes they took a break to have a look outside.

Shannon
Finished another book! I was so happy to get a chance to re-read The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay this week, and I'm really happy the library has the rest of the books in this series and I'm going to get them and read them too! I only made it halfway through this series when I read them in high school, so I'm thrilled to get a chance to read them now. The themes are pretty deep, and I think I appreciate them much more now than I did then. It's so good!

Suzie

After a really rough time so glad I got out to see La La Land. OMG, we loved it so much. So good.

February 12, 2017

Jamie

We took Shibumi to the vet this weekend. She's had these horrible scabs on her back and on her chest. They seem to have healed up well and we're still not sure what the issue was. In case it is flea related, we got more meds. (We're paranoid now so being super careful seems good to us). We also talked about how to keep the kittens from tussling quite so much by being aware of their being plenty of resources that they all can enjoy - like comfy spots, water dishes and, of course, us, lol.

February 11, 2017

Jamie

It's another wonderful season of Journal Club. Suzie, I am so glad that you could join us on Friday. What a treat, especially under the Full Snow Moon. What magic that it actually started to snow!

Suzie

The snow let up and there was just light rain so I got out to the library and stopped by Value Village. I was totally taken back in time when I saw this retro coffee urn which was awesome. Picked up some napkins and placemats for my food book photoshoots. I am finally getting to the food and realized I did not have proper backgrounds and accents... for the photos. Found a really expensive sauce pan for just $6 too which rocked.

February 10, 2017

Shannon
I love that on the Kobo you can look to see how much time was spend reading a particular book, and when I checked this after reading To Kill a Mockingbird I noticed I had hit 1,000 read! Wow. That's kind of crazy. I know I've had it several years, but even then it's still a pretty epic amount of reading.

Suzie

Been busy three days in a row so I woke up feeling really wonky. Spent a lot of the day on the couch or in bed. Used up all my energy to make pizza for Pizza Pie Day. Here is my pizza stone before I used it. Would have had an after shot but the downstairs neighbour had pipe issues and everything got thrown off balance. Been a very weird week.

February 9, 2017

Shannon
I've been wanting to switch around the stuff beside my desk for a few weeks, and today I got started on it. This pic makes it look not too bad, but stuff has spilled over to EVERYWHERE! And I was just enjoying a few days of clear-coffee-table-top-goodness. I couldn't do it all in one day, but hopefully I will be able to get it settled soon.

Suzie

I have been at the studio the last two days and really needed content for my food blog and to get going on my book so I did it. I figured out a way to de-pit a lot of olives at once and make a tapenade. I also got the library before the snowstorm hit and now have a HUGE pile of cookbooks to study and learn from when it comes to writing a foodie book.

February 8, 2017

Shannon
Whelp, where freezing rain hits I know it's one kind of weather that means cancelling plans. So I did! Great to have a found day (and smart me went and got food and did errands yesterday), and although I did a bunch of art stuff I didn't take pics! You know you are in the zone when that happens. I did notice these trees were getting all icicled-up, and that I will say, is a first for me. Icicles. On tree trunks. Weird day!

Suzie

Was introduced to contour drawing and blind contour drawing today. Didn't like it. I don't like drawing slowly and meditatively at all. At least now I know.

February 7, 2017

Shannon
I'm continuing to start the days with art and really enjoying it. It's weird to not do morning pages, I can feel that I need to fit some journalling in I think to balance things out. I created some more magazine journals and may try using one of them as a journal and see how that goes. Shifting things is so odd, being such a creature of habit, but I think once I find a good rhythm it will be really good overall.

Suzie

Made up for not going to the studio Friday by going today. They often have meetings on Mondays but it was quite quiet, probably because they're out of regular clay so I played with red clay instead. Cut out this Eiffel Tower and then added it to a plate that I made that reminded me of a chocolate bar.

February 6, 2017

Jamie

Sometimes on Sundays I like to stay in bed for a bit and read, maybe watch some art videos. Yesterday I ended up restless and wanting to get up but I had so much good cat company I stayed put! Escher is literally sitting on my feet and what you can't see is Shibumi curled up right beside me. Cats like lazy Sunday mornings!

Shannon
I was hoping to catch up on tons of art making this weekend, and although I didn't do as much as I planned I was able to work a few things in including these big paint chips for doing some collage. I was suprized that I didn't instantly know what colours I wanted to use but finally decided to go with these.

Suzie

It was a rough weekend but I had a few seconds to have a little fun in the kitchen and made my first cake in a mug to celebrate World Nutella Day.

February 4, 2017

Jamie

Journal Club has been off to a deep and powerful start this season. We have Lynx as our guide and she is full of secrets. Every season is different and every season is a fascinating journey. I'm so glad that Journal Club has become a part of the studio!

Shannon
It was so fascinating to watch the documentary Minimalism with Jamie. I found it so engaging, and had things I completely agreed with and other I questioned strongly. And I even fangirled at one moment, which was kind of hilarious. It gave me lots to think about, especially about ease, about what important and the culture of things and why we are drawn to them. So fascinating!

Suzie

Horrible snowy depressing day. Couldn't get off the couch to do much more than make some chicken broth. Yes, that is chicken. Michelle thought it was a snowball so of course I started asking myself, what would snowball soup taste like? That is an much inspiration as I could muster. Crap day.

February 3, 2017

Jamie

Yesterday Justin and I celebrated our 15-year wedding anniversary (believe it or not!) We had a great time going to a wildlife photography exhibit at the ROM and out to dinner and also, (again, believe it or not) to see La La Land - at Justin's suggestion! He liked it but me, well, let's just say my heart felt like it was going to burst! I loved it that much. It was a great part of celebrating our special day.

Shannon
I didn't take tons of pictures yesterday, but I ended up snapping this random on of the OTHER view of my coffee table. I did do some vlogging though, including one that was pretty challenging to film and share but also felt very important.

Suzie

Got out for groceries before the big three-day storm hits and we are done! Done like this pizza dinner. Two pizzas for under $10 and a heck of a lot cheaper than ordering takeout. Exhausted but we have a full kitchen again, good to go.