I'm a terrible blogger.

I must apologize for my lack of blogging lately. May has been an incredibly busy month, with moving, vacationing in Seattle (I'll post about that later, once I get all the pictures) and a lot of work.

I finally managed to steal Mike's camera and take some pictures of some DIY projects I've been meaning to share.

First off, in addition to my beloved Pyrex butter dish, I've made another purchase on ebay. I bought a vintage kitchen scale in robin egg blue, which I got in the mail from England a few weeks ago.


(Sorry for the crappy picture, the lighting in my kitchen is terrible.) I use it as a fruit basket (did you know 1 lime + 1 tomato = 1/2 pound?). I also finished a DIY project in May. With the help of a coworker who cut scraps of wood to the correct size to me (I really need to get some more tools) I built, sanded and painted a spice rack for myself. I got the project from a lovely blog called Craftynest, but changed it in that I only have 4 shelves, not 5, to allow for more finger room when grabbing the tins of spices.



I also don't think I ever posted a full-size completed version of the afghan I made back in winter.


Here it is, on my bed. It's big and heavy and oh so cozy. The finished product ended up being about 6 by 6 feet after 120 hours of work and going through $120 of yarn. Now that I've been done for a few months, I've been craving crocheting some more. I'm thinking of making a smaller throw blanket with a zig zag pattern.


This project isn't so much DIY as just updating. I got this great vintage lamp base from my grandma over a year ago and had it sitting in a closet because I didn't have a lampshade for it.


While on our vacation, I stopped by Ikea in Vancouver and bought this shade. I love the grey with the yellow!

It's here!

E-bay is addictive

My second ebay purchase.


A vintage blue kitchen scale with an egg-shaped bowl. Isn't it sweet?



I must admit, though, that the scale wasn't 100% my idea.

Since building this DIY spice rack project, I've been feeling the need to have a scale to match the rack.


Now I just need to wait for it to arrive from England and find it's way into my kitchen.

My first ebay purchase!

Isn't it the sweetest thing ever?? I'm completely thrilled. My butter is going to have the best home in all of Winnipeg.

Vintage Pyrex, from the Butterprint collection, circa 1960s.

Winnipeg and Awards

Sorry for not writing sooner - I've been moving! I moved from my 2 bedroom suite in a house with a roommate in River Heights to a 1 bedroom apartment by myself in a highrise in downtown Winnipeg. It's quite the change, but I love it.


This is the view out my living room window - isn't it wonderful? I don't think I will ever close my blinds. At night, the whole city is light up and glowing. It's so beautiful.




Anyways, in other Winnipeg news, my work has just launched a new website for the City of Winnipeg. It's an initiative called SpeakUpWinnipeg.com and it's a chance for you as the citizens of Winnipeg to have a part in creating the city's 25 year plan. Essentially, the city is asking for our opinion on six main issues - Sustainability, City of the Arts, Communities, City Competitiveness, Safety & Security and City Building. Sign up to give your opinion on a number of topics in these issues. Believe me, this time they're listening.

Another feature of the website is called Scene in Winnipeg. We're asking citizens in Winnipeg to take one of our handheld video cameras the size of a digital camera and film what is their Winnipeg, their scene, the places they hang out, what truly makes Winnipeg home for them. We want the real Winnipeg, not what the businesspeople, investers, Aspers and Richardsons make it out to be. So go ahead and check out some of the videos already up, or use our camera or your own (it doesn't have to be high quality!) to make your own short film of what Winnipeg means to you. I'll be adding my own video at the end of this week.




And here's my final item of this blog entry. I'm nominated for my first graphic design award! A mere 11 months after graduating from college, I'm up for Best Website of 2008 for the Signature Awards. The Sig Awards are an annual Winnipeg design and media awards show. All the graphic design agencies, TV and radio stations and other media companies submit their best of the best work of the year and a panel of judges pick the top 3-5 entries of each category as nominees. My company is up for 2 awards, but the other one is one which was done before I started working there, so it's a bit less exciting for me.

Our nominated site is Decor Cabinet Company's corporate website (they have 10 sites.... at least half of which are also designed by myself). Graphic design and flash was by myself, art direction by Colin Whitney, photography by Brian Gould, and technical coding and all that was done by our lovely development department. I'm pretty proud. Even if we don't win, even being nominated is something good to have on my resume and portfolio.