Lately

My life lately, according to Instagram...

(Across, left to right)

1. Inherited some of my Nanna's teacups and jewellery. Aren't they gorgeous?

2. Teacups and china. The rose-pattern is my great-grandmother's (super old) I'm in great need of a china cabinet.

3. First set of scrubs-- from Walmart! I'm an XS... what do littler people do? I tried on a small and I could fit about ten of my bums in the pants!

4. First scarf-- ever! Really liking it!

5. In love with peter-pan collars lately. Buying some more grown up clothes

6. My favourite of my Nanna's teacups. So 1960s with the gold stars and turquoise. 

7. Beautiful brooches-- can't wait to wear them this fall!

8. New medical charm on my bracelet to represent my MOA diploma. $7.00 on Etsy!

9. My favourite dress ever. $20.00 on sale at Suzy. How cute is it? I'm in love!

Parksville

Two weeks ago, N and I went on a mini-vacation to Parksville. It's a little seaside town about two hours north of Victoria. It's unique because the water is so shallow, the beach is so sandy, and because of those two factors, the water is usually really warm. Sadly, it was only 15 degrees (59 Fahrenheit) and cloudy the whole time.  We went swimming the first night, but didn't take any pictures. It was still gray and cloudy, but the tide was in so the water was warmer. I bought Nate a waterproof camera (Fuji-brand) last Christmas, and it was amazing! It was so much fun to take it out in the ocean, and the pictures we go were great! After our second swimming attempt, we went to the little mini-golf place, and played in the arcade. I won the jackpot twice and got a little hello kitty doll! Super exciting-- I've never won anything before!

Here's the pics:

Cold water up the back! It would've been so lovely if it had been a nice sunny day!

New little friend.

Finally got in...sort of.

Sand-dollars! So pretty!

Splish-splash!

Such a cool shot!

Floating feets

Mini-golf at Paradise Fun Park

Lost in the Archives

Autumn, Hazel and Gemma- my three favourites.

So, I was going through a file on my computer the other day. It's called "Dolls- Unedited for Records" I keep all the photos I take so I can use the images for the blog etc. and so I can remember the dollies that I sell. Then I noticed a huge gap in my photos! Shock! Horror!... almost tears! I did some pretty weird file-saving onto a external drive, then my computer bit the dust, then I got a new computer, so I was pretty sure the error occurred then. Most of the dolls files who were missing were ones I had sold! I only had the collage files from Facebook... so only one of each! 

Today I sat down with both my cameras (point-and-shoot and a Nikon DX that I barely know how to use) and went through their SD cards. Found em!

Hurray!

All of them! So so so excited. Each doll takes me about 4-6 hours (sometimes more) to knit, and once I stitch on their little faces (okay, eyes) I become quite attached. I'm so happy to have these photos! I'll share some more with you soon!

I'll be posting more soon! I've been pretty busy this week--- it's my dad's big 5-0 BBQ this afternoon. I'll post the card I made him-- it's pretty unique!

Enjoy the sunshine! 

Pirates and Dinosaurs

Enjoying Buccaneer Days 2012

Quite an unusual combination! I had a very busy weekend! In Esquimalt ( a municipality across the big bridge in Victoria that contains Naden-- the Navy Base and dock yard) there is a tradition called Buccaneer Days. It's been around since my dad was a little kid. A man would dress like a pirate, and go around to all the houses calling "Wakey Wakey" to all of the neighbourhood. A parade would follow and a fair!

All the kids dress like pirates, go on fair rides, play games, eat mini doughnuts, snow cones, and have a wonderful time. There's also a craft sale inside the arena (I really need to be up on things more!) It's a fun time to get together with the community and have some fun!

My first time was two years ago. I took my friend Jamie. We decided to go on the tilt-a-whirl. I've always been the kid to get car-sick, so I don't know what I was thinking when I got into the seat beside 250 lbs, 6'6 Jamie. We were 370 lbs spinning like a top. Within the first revolution I knew I had made a terrible mistake. I white knuckled it, tucked my chin into my knees (there was a metal bar in the way) and swore my head off. I felt like I had downed about 10 bottles of wine in 10 seconds. Finally the spinning stopped and I crawled out, green faced onto the grass littered with gum and cigarette butts on the edge of the fair. That was the last fair ride I will ever go on.

Since then I've watched the kids enjoying the rides, played a few games (I even won a toy at ski-ball) ate mini doughnuts and enjoyed the yummy Hawaiian shaved Ice. If you have never tried this... do! It's the best, most melt in your mouth, tastiest thing ever.

On Sunday, we decided to go to the Royal BC Museum and see Dinosaurs! I was pretty excited. I couldn't get over how big the T-rex was! I walked over to see something and turned around... and he was staring at me! Eek! I know that they were scavengers and there's a ton of research that makes them not-so-scary.... but look at that face.... and those teeth! Horror movie much!

There was a really neat Stegosaurus and a life size model of a dinosaur made from metal. The pictures I took weren't great because I wasn't supposed to use the flash (I accidentally did by accident twice-- oops) and the museum was really dark so the pictures I took were kinda blurry. Here's the best! (both flash--oops!)

This little dinosaur was a scale model of a T-rex. It moved exactly like they think T-rex did. It was really neat!

While the dinosaur exhibit was fun, I just love the regular parts of the museum. My favourite is Old Town, where you can walk through saloons, a silent movie theatre, wait for the train (lights that flash by and a horn) and walk through exhibits of hotels, Chinatown and see other interesting shops and trades. You walk through a pretend mine, see a little barn with a stuffed horse, then a mill with a real water wheel (so exciting when you're a kid). You also pass through a cabin on a ship--- then through Navy and Voyager memorabilia. It's an amazing exhibit!

There is also a First People's Exhibit with an amazing long house and a natural history section--- with sea life, sea creatures, a pretend forest that changes through the day cycle with light and sound, and every creature in the west coast! Even a stuffed walrus! If you prefer more prehistoric-- there's a stuffed Wooly Mammoth in the entry way with diagrams of extinct creates-- like horses with three toes!

So there is my piece on pirates and dinosaurs. If you're in town this summer-- be sure to check it out!

Pandora Bracelet

I decided to make my own Pandora bracelet with supplies from Etsy.  I ordered the bracelet, a few select charms, and a few filler beads for my 23rd birthday. I love the idea of having the charms without having so many pieces hanging off to catch on things. It's also not so delicate--- it makes quite a statement!  While it probably clocked in at $100.00.... considering a bead or a bracelet costs $50.00 in stores... I think it's quite a bargain!

Each of the charms has meaning:

Anchor: Blue Anchor Crafts and where I live.

Crown: Represents my history degree, which was largely British History based

Yarn Ball: My love of knitting and my dollies

Soon I'm getting a little medical charm to represent my graduation from my Medical Office Assistant course... for eight dollars!

The peachy pink crystal-ish beads are gorgeous. They're such a pretty colour. I bought a little bag of coloured crystal hearts which are a little dangley and add a pop of colour. I'm going to go down to my local bead shop and see if I can find a few lamp-work beads to add! 

I highly recommend finding a bracelet on Etsy and filling up a few beads for yourself or a loved one. It's so fun to search for all the different charms in all the different categories!