purple is pretty

I don't normally phots a bunch of someone else's photos,

but I came across these beauties

by Corrie Bond

and I looooooooooooooooooove them !!!

Especially the one below:

I will take all of it from head to toe -

plus the lavender car please!

I am wearing my purple shoes today - just sayin'.

welcome to the bedroom - pt 2

Here we are with the rest of my um, lively bedroom.

Having all this stuff out in the open was my short-term solution to the tiny closet when I first moved in here and as much as I would love to make my room look like this ...

I actually really enjoy waking up in the morning and figuring out what to wear while lying in bed - and did you see the price tag?

(Josephine Baker is my inspiration in all things - Marcel is just a small leopard)

This is a rental and I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here, so while I'm willing to contemplate a craig's list dresser to replace that shelf and hanging my hats above the racks, I can't see investing a whole lot in here.

(another bare bulb in a wierd spot that I don't know what to do about)

This is the "work" side of the closet. I currently have a straight job where I have to dress like a professional lady. So I try to dress like a professional lady from the 40's or 50's as much as possible with the skirts on the other side - to be clear, this was my schtick long before Mad Men.

(I swear I wear all of these shoes)

And here we have cat's corner. In swing dancing speak that's where all the cool dancers hang out, but this, of course, is Marcel's spot. I realize this is not great "decor", but it's his house too.

(your eyes do not deceive you, this wall is a different colour, no I did not paint it)

There was a time when he could jump on top of that radiator no problem, but Marcel is 15 so he doesn't quite have it in him anymore. The chair helps him climb up to his scratching post, and he is very fond of staring out the window. Sometimes he even goes out for a while.

(I've actually had this dresser for more than 30 years)

And here is the miniature closet and its contents.

I actually wore the purple crinoline all day on Saturday, just for fun. It made so many people smile! Ok, so maybe there is a prom dress or two in there that I will never wear again, but for the most part I use this stuff. Gift wrap, sewing machine, feather boas, and winter clothes all hide themselves away in here.

More jewelery I made & my best friend on her wedding day 10 years ago.

I guess the truth is although I like to decorate my house, I like to decorate myself more - is that so wrong?

welcome to the bedroom - pt 1

Now that my spring overhaul is more-or-less complete and I've tidied this place up I'm ready to show it off. The hilarious part about this (at least to me) is that now that I see what it looks like in photos, this room is a bit crazy.

There is a whooooooole lot going on in here because I have a whole lot of stuff:

(this lamp needs a bigger shade, and the dresser and side table are a bit too matchy-matchy in this space)

shoes, skirts, dresses, jewelery, purses, hats, wigs, cds ... but I can explain - really - I have some wonderful excuses ...

(still working on the inspiration for this wall)

You see, for the last twelve plus years I've been a swing dancing lindy hopper, teacher, and performer and so I need all those shoes and dresses and earrings and wigs and hats and cds ...

(this painting is a family heirloom and I need to ship it to my bro in Arizona)

Nevermind that I sold my dance studio a couple of years ago and have been trying to figure out what to do with my life now that I'm almost 40. I'm still the same size as when I was 25 so I'm keeping my stuff.

(the "fun" side of the closet - that shelf should probably be painted, not sure about the colour though)

You never know when you're going to need 12 flapper dresses or fairy wings or a giant blond afro.

That's me on the right.

I made the tiny green vase on the left and I never seem to have enough hair elastics, but perhaps I'm trying to make a silk purse ...

There is actually a closet in this room, but it barely holds all the aforementioned wigs and crinolines ... so more to come. But clearly I could use some suggestions regarding "editing" so have at it.

(card drawn & painted by my sister Ceciley)

Part 2 is here.

vintage sights & sounds

I am a vintage girl at heart. I know I romanticize the old days but I indulged myself in that romance this weekend.

(yes that's me swing dancing in a vintage dress & a wig)

First with the tribute to blues harmonica player Little Walter at the Silver Dollar on Saturday night put on by Raoul Bhaneja.

(Raoul)

Wow did some of those harp players blow the roof off that place and some of these guys really made me shake my hair.

(Shrimp Daddy)

And although David Rotundo just showed up to hear the rest of the bunch do their thing, Raoul talked him into coming up for the last two songs and man, he was the highlight of the night! Insanely awesome - I was hot & sweaty from dancing by the time the night was through.

(Jake playing guitar in the background)

Sunday I went to the island with the fine fellow to do a Jane's Walk while he worked on his boat. I love to read about the old days on the island when there were parties at grand hotels, dance halls and an amusement park. The guide for this walk seemed to share those sentiments and brought all sorts of visual aids with him so that we could really get a sense of what the place used to be like as he led us about.

(photo of skyline from the 1930's)

And I loved hearing that when people first started to build houses on the island you could actually order one from the Simpson's catalogue and assemble it yourself. I'm guessing it didn't come with an allen key!

The island was glorious and since the day had started out overcast there was hardly anyone around. I felt like a woodland nymph - all the animals were out chirping and chattering, the swans were dancing on the lake and I swear the butterflies were following me around.

bunnies for Ceciley's birthday

It's my sweet sister's birthday today! and I am oh so far away from her since she lives in Lala land.

She loves Marcel the most and he loves her, so we thought it would be nice to share some things that make her happy on her birthday.

Afer Marcel,

bunnies

are her

favourite

thing.

Marcel is ok with that - he knows he's the cutest.

for the love of pattern

I love pattern, I love florals, I love fabric and this seems to manifest itself in ...

an embarrassment of skirts & dresses.

This is only half my "closet" - the dress & skirt half.

And now that these ladies are out of winter storage, I don't seem to have enough hangers ...

how did that happen?

an orange orange-tree bowl

I won this baby last week and she just arrived!

I think I’ll call her ginger laughlin.

I love the colour and how lovely she looks with her aqua brothers and sister.

I find I use big homer the most and although they are supposed the be the same size, ginger is a bit bigger.

So glad salad season is here – greens are gonna be a good look for ginger.

Island fauna

I spent the weekend on the Toronto Island on the fine fellow's boat.

(view from the boat)

It's just a short bike ride and ferry ride away but it feels very far from the city, and it was amazing to be on the water and surrounded by all the spring flora and fauna. We spent quite a bit of our time admiring nature and feeding the animals.

Penny the cat came over for a bit of scratching,

and Swanee came right up behind me as I was basking on the dock hissing like the dinosaur he is and insisting on being fed. So I gave him some bread and he also tried to snack on my fingers! Turns out swan bites don't hurt cause they are vegetarians but they can break your arm with their wings if you don't fork over some food.

(this is not a close-up)

The peacocks were feeling pretty lazy perhaps because it was cool on Sunday and they let me get very close to them. Look at that peacock blue!

(neither is this)

The donkeys were very interested in the celery, as were the goats, but then goats will eat anything.

The Shetland ponies are so cute and I can't wait until the gondola is running, the log ride is splashing, and the water is warm enough for swimming.

But I did find the first lilac of spring and it was all a little bit of heaven!