My House Party

First of all you should know that our house is looking pretty crazy right now. I've got some rather early spring cleaning bug that I blame on the New Year, and have given myself this week to clear out the apartment, scrub the kitchen, hang prints, and declutter the studio so that I actually feel like working in it (read: can walk across the carpet). In this newly cleaned and beautiful house I would like there to be many a plant. Which is why I must have one of these! Aren't they incredible? So very dreamy. You should definitely go and take a peek at My House Party's shop over here for even more loveliness. It has become one of those 'the moment I get my next pay cheque' type purchases, and really they're so reasonably priced, why not!

(H/t to Lili and Abby for bringing these to my attention)

Resolution Two: Community

I feel a little cheesy posting a wedding photo, but it is such a favourite shot of my bff's and I! (Why yes, I did just say bff's, for realz)

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you who commented on my last post! It was so great hearing from you all, discovering new people (and new blogs!), hearing how we're often all feeling the same, and just generally hearing an 'answer' come back, if that makes sense. Thank you, thank you!

If someone where to ask me if I was an introvert or extrovert, I would definitely say introvert. I love nights in, a real homebody at heart, and was pretty shy as a kid (ok, aside from the time I did a dance to C&C Music Factory's 'Everybody Dance Now' in front of the class, alone. Or the La Bamba debacle, but those were most definitely the exceptions to the rule) and would even have a hard time going into stores on my own as a young teen.

On the flipside, something I've noticed more and more recently is how I thrive off community. Being with others, especially like minded others is something that really invigorates me. Lately I've been trying to make an effort to bust out of my little hermit shell and head out to events, get togethers, parties and the like, that I'm invited to because I always end up loving it, despite often feeling nervous and full of self doubt on the way there (ok, and sometimes it's also despite the fact that I just didn't want to get out from under the quilts...I actually think this could be part of the reason I love twitter so much, I can be at the party and still in my pj's at the same time).

This time of year is one of the hardest times to be away from home, not so much because of the holidays, but because it's summer back there. Logging onto Facebook and seeing photos of all my favourite people, together, on some fantastic camping trip or beautiful beach totally pulls on my heart. Like any big city, Vancouver can be a tricky place to meet new people and make friends. Plus, how do you even do that once you're a grown up? I constantly say this to myself, "Oh, it's such a transient city" and while this isn't untrue, the fact that I don't put myself out there isn't helping either. Besides, I've met tons of very lovely people, and now it comes down to fostering those friendships and building community. So, I've decided that this is the year that I say yes to parties and get togethers, to take a class or two and to ask the fun people I've met both in real life and online out for tea dates. Eep! It both scares and excites me.

What about you, lovelies? Is this something you struggle with also, or are you more the life of the party type?

With community building and connecting in mind, I've added Disqus to the blog, which is why the comments section may look a little funny. For awhile now I've wanted to be able to reply directly to your comments, and build a bit more of a dialogue, which this allows me to do. I'm excited for all the virtual tea dates that might take place, so we can hang out whether you're in Vancouver or not!

p.s. One more thing! The very lovely Tara over at Scoutie Girl has a piece up where I talk about how everything old is new again and give some tips on vintage hunting. Go take a peek!

Resolution Number One: Connect

Photo via freshvintagestyle

As I mentioned in my last post, I've decided to combine my goals for 2010 into big, (hopefully) inspiring themes. As I contemplated my goals for this year, and chatted about them with Richard, I noticed them all falling into different categories and bigger, more overarching goals emerged. Despite them getting bigger, this has helped make things seem so much more exciting and doable to me.

Something I've been thinking about a lot recently is connecting. I'd say one of the most significant things of the past decade for me was the explosion of the internet. For sure, it can be a huge time suck, but because of the internet I have this blog, our etsy store and the ability to buy handmade from all over the world. It has enabled me to connect with people and ideas that would never have been possible otherwise, and so despite all the crazy out there, I am really thankful for this online business.

I do get shy though. I have often been guilty of reading a lovely blog post or viewing a particularly beautiful photo on flickr, and then moving on without leaving a comment. Which is funny, because although I may feel like I have nothing to contribute to the conversation, I have had a reaction of some kind to it in my head. I have felt something or I have something to add, I agree and sometimes disagree, so why not let them know? I often feel like anything I have to say has already been said by previous commenters, so why bother? But, perhaps yours or my perspective is exactly the one that writer needs to hear. However, as a blogger I know what a huge encouragement it is to receive comments on my posts. It may not feel like much, but I truly do get excited each time I get one. Partly because it means someone is listening, partly because it means someone either likes or is in some way moved by what I've written here, and partly because it sparks a connection between you and I.

So with that in mind, I have decided to make an effort to connect with the blogs I read and foster conversation and community more between myself and them. I would love it if I got to hear more from you lovely readers, also! One of my favourite parts of Google Analytics is the map overlay, where I get to see where in the world people are visiting this space from. Japan! Sweden! Greece! I wonder who you all are? Do you have blogs, too? I would love to read them! I know some of you are perhaps also shy, but even if it is just this one time, I would love for you to leave me a comment with the following...

Where you are from and/or live?

If you like, how old are you?

How do you pass your days?

I would love to get to know you all better, to connect. I'd love to hear your thoughts on things, to get advice and to foster community. Hope to hear from you soon!

xo

(oh, for all you google reader users, there has been a bit of a blog redesign if you'd like to pop in and take a peek!)

A clean slate

via Koma Design

We're 2 days into 2010 and so far, so good! I hope you all had lovely and celebratory times on the 31st and are all feeling ready tackle a brand new decade. We had a quiet night in (due to it being rainy, and me being on call, and the fact that we're homebodies), watched movies, knit and had a glass of baileys or two. I hate to say that we didn't even make it out onto the balcony to check for fireworks as the clock struck twelve, but did open the door to hear the crackers and car horns in amongst sirens and cars backfiring. Aside from the fact that I just like quiet, and that I'm finding it hard getting my head around a winters NYE instead of one spent at the beach, spending a night in talking about last year and all it brought, plus dreaming about 2010, all it will bring and all we're excited for just seemed so perfect. At the beginning of a fresh, new year with a clean slate is such an exhilarating place to be!

I've never been big on resolutions before, but planning and mapping out goals for our future, and actually spending time on it, felt so refreshing. None of the chocolate quitting or x amount of kilos losing nonsense, but enjoyable and doable goals. I plan to share them here over the next few days, packaged into big and exciting 2010 themes, and I'd love to hear both your thoughts on them and any goals or dreams you have set for yourself so please chime in.

xo