Fond Farewell

I had always intended to write this post before we left Vancouver, but it just never quite felt like the right time. I'm not sure if there ever really is one right time to do things, but after my first real bout of missing Vancouver yesterday and sprucing up the blog a bit I figured now was as good as ever. So, Hello! Good to be back.

We were really lucky to be able to do a few trips around B.C. before we left Canada, and looking through my photos of the Gulf Islands and moody Francois Lake mountains has both made my heart ache and made me feel really, really lucky that I got to call that spectacular country home for awhile. There is something special about the Pacific Northwest, with it's thick forests and mossy, damp smell that lingers even into the summer months. It gets under your skin.

I love that our last couple of months in and around Vancouver were full of exploring, spending time with friends and a whole lot of joy. Leaving was always in the back of my mind, but I never felt really sad because each place we went was so beautiful, and each meal shared so full of laughs. It wasn't until flying out of Vancouver airport and peering out the window, mesmerized once again by the Coast Mountains that it really hit me, and I cried and cried. I think I found myself in Vancouver in just that perfect time in my life that made not just my growing up but the city itself have a really strong impact on the person I am. Does that sound a bit dramatic? In some ways I don't feel like I've changed hugely in the last 5 years, but in so many ways I have and whenever I catch a glimpse of those dang mountains I'm reminded of a place where I really felt free to be and grow into the person I wanted to be. Vancouver, with your crazy weather, hippies, large amount of active-wear and pot smell, you still have my heart.

So, it has been a bit of a tough transition. There have been a few hiccups along the way which I'll go into in a later post, but we have been lucky enough to come home to a New Zealand summer, which is just about one of the best things in the world. Watching the sun set over Lake Taupo with my Dad on our first night home, eating fish (really, potato fritter) and chips out of newspaper with a cold beer, helped me feel like we had made a good decision. Spending time with family, catching up with old friends and dipping my toes into the ocean at wild, west coast, black sand beach was pretty great, too.

I'm really happy to be back in this space, to share with you what we've been up to and to hear how you all are. Kia ora, from our new (old) home.

Yard Sale! Open House! Hot Apple Cider!

via cosmic_parachute

I feel a little bad that this is the first post after a long silent period, but being at the under two weeks until New Zealand mark I'm sure you can all appreciate how nutty things are around here! Also, I'm kind of putting off the year in review/farewell type posts until I have the time and emotional space to get down something coherent and is able to express properly how I'm feeling. 

So! If you're in Vancouver, I would like to invite you to a yard sale/farewell open house/hot apple cider drinking event happening at our place this Saturday Jan. 22nd, 1pm - 6pm. Please come!

We live in an apartment so a yard sale in the traditional sense is a little tricky, but we have a bunch of stuff in our apartment that need to find good homes to go to so we would love for you to come along! There'll be books, records, arts and crafts supplies, cameras, vintage and new furniture/homewares, fabric, plants, tools and more. Plus, fortified apple cider to warm you up.

We live in Strathcona, just east of Chinatown and if you're interested in coming please email me at beckanathan (at) gmail (dot) com

Hope to see you there!

Calm before the storm

One of the things I'm really going to miss about this city are the Coast Mountains. It's not as if New Zealand is lacking in the dramatic scenery department, but there is something so beautiful about sitting at the beach and looking across at snow capped and mist enshrouded mountains. It is somehow completely overwhelming and totally peaceful at the same time.

Last night as I was heading to a prenatal meeting near Locarno Beach, I took a quick moment to snap some photos of the mountains. The sky was so moody, just about to rain, and I love the way little pockets of clouds seem to get caught in folds of the mountains. As much as I might complain about how fickle the weather is here, and how much I hate wet feet, I have to admit I love that heavy calm before the storm that we so often get here. It looks like the greys and rain are going to stick around for the weekend, so I imagine we'll be spending most of it inside cozying up. We've got to get ready for upcoming markets, I have some sewing projects I'd like to work on, and I'm going to try and do a bit of a blog redesign. I want space for bigger pictures!

Hope your weekends are lovely. Any plans?

Got Craft?

This Sunday you'll be able to find Richard and I, plus a whole bunch of Bliss in a Teacup goodies, at Got Craft? on Commercial Drive! This will be our third time doing Got Craft? and we absolutely love it. There are tons of great vendors (I'm particularly excited about The Gluten Free Epicurean and hope to finally make a purchase at Heyday Design!) plus my girl Lili from Spool of Thread will be there running a DIY table teaching you how to make cute pinwheel pins, for free no less!

If you live in the area be sure to come down and check it out, it's always a great time. If you do come, please stop by our table to say hello, it would be lovely to meet you! As a special treat for our local customers, all our prices will be the ones listed on Etsy in the US dollar amount. There will also be a deal or two!

Monday Morning Goodness

The start of my little window sill garden, ready to be potted and soaking up the sun.

Morning! I hope you've all had lovely, relaxing weekends! We've been so lucky with the weather in Vancouver lately and this weekend was no exception. Beautiful blue skies and sunshine (sorry the rest of North America!), and for the most part I've been able to go coat free! So after a lovely brunch on Saturday morning with a bunch of local knitters, Richard and I ditched the inside chores and headed out for the day. It's amazing how much this weather can really lift my mood! We went out to Karmavore to pick up some vegan treats and cheese and then wandered around New West a bit to take a look at some thrift stores. Living downtown during the Olympics, it was really nice to get out of the city for a bit of a breather.

~ Mondays Mix, 'Here Comes the Sun' to celebrate soaking up some Vitamin D and to hopefully inject some sunshine into the more wintery areas of the world!

~ I made these delicious treats over the weekend with our vegan marshmallows and oh goodness were they good! The brown butter and salt combo? Amazing!

~ I'm really hoping I can snag myself a utility pouch soon (although perhaps a linen one), they're flying out of the store though so I think I'll have to camp out if she makes more!

~ We've spent some time in this community over the past week or so, trying to raise awareness about the lack of homes in Vancouver and the lack of a National Housing Project in Canada. For me it has been the best thing I've seen during the Winter Olympics.

Alright, off to (hopefully) catch a bus! I hope Monday is good to you!

xo

Handmade Nation and a busy week.

Hello! I'm so sorry that it has been such awhile since I've posted here, but we've been so busy! Just after Canada Day we had our second round of family visitors come stay with us. Richard's sister Kathy and her partner Beth who was visiting B.C. for the first time. We had a lovely sunny weekend which was spent eating lots of stone fruit, picnicking in Stanley Park and going to All India buffet (and getting very, very full...like, top button undone full. Oh, Gulab Jamun).This last week we had the Vancouver premier of Handmade Nation, which was absolutely fantastic. Faythe Levine, the film maker, flew in for the occasion and not only was the movie showing great but a bunch of local crafty types also got together for a party to welcome Faythe the night before the screening. It was so lovely getting to meet a bunch of people that I've made friends with online, and just to hang out with lots of fun like-minded people. There was a wee showcase of local crafters at the premier, which we had a table at showing our wares (I forgot my camera sadly! Fortunately there was a photographer there so I will hopefully have photos for you soon!) and chatting with new found crafty friends. I got to meet my friend Heather from Dalhaus who makes absolutely beautiful ceramics, Amy (aka Crafty Dame) and her sister came to introduce themselves to us, and picked up one of our new wooden bookmarks which were hot of the press! We snacked on chocolate vegan cupcakes from Coco Cake Cupcakes, celebrated the lovely Ms. Werker's birthday and met Jan from Poppytalk who has been so encouraging and supportive of us and it was really great to be able to thank her in person! Hanging out with all these Vancouver crafty folks (and more!) was such a fun time and made me love this city all the more!

The movie itself was absolutely fantastic, I really loved it. We both did in fact. With Richard having grown up in the punk/DIY scene, I think there was a bit of a reawakening for his passion for making. I loved how real and authentic everyone in the film was, and also the overwhelming theme about the importance of being creative, making for yourself and in ways that you love. We both came a way really fired up, with lots of ideas and even more sure that this is something we want to do not only for a living (if possible) but also for our own satisfaction. There was lots of talk, both in the film and in the Q&A with Faythe afterwards, about the danger (or maybe worry is a better word?) of the handmade movement being co-opted by corporate retail which admittedly is a scary prospect. However I really loved something Faythe mentioned about the fact regardless of what is selling or currently trendy, people are always going to be creating and making. This also really rung true throughout the various interviews in the film, it was so obvious that people were not only genuinely passionate about what they were doing but that making was such a natural (and sometimes subversive and political) act for them. I think this really resonated with us both because we feel similarly, but also because of how easily that can get lost in the clutter of life. Needless to say we came away inspired and with some resolutions for ourselves, and lots and lots of ideas! Big thanks to Andrea and Rob of Got Craft for putting on such a fantastic event!

On that note, it is late, late here and one of my resolutions is getting up at a decent time so I best scurry off to bed! I hope you're all very well and I promise you will be hearing from me lots more soon!