[new item in my etsy shop]

These antique mint Project Life journaling cards are now available at my Etsy shop.

ps. The "intrest" typo has been corrected and the card has the correct spelling. Also: The cards look mintier once you print them. The photographs have changed the color a little.

Happy Friday everyone!

[spread some love]

How to use my freebies.

[pain in the neck!]

Some time ago, my neck and shoulders were in a lot of pain. 

I thought I’d see if I could find some yoga moves especially meant to relieve neck pain. I found these three poses and gave it a try. My neck/shoulder pain was gone! No pain killers needed.

So, if you've been on the computer for too long, let these poses do their magic! Your body will thank you.

Here's the source for these poses and the instructions how to do them correctly:

yoga poses for neck pain 

[top 10 baby names - 2012]

Thought I’d share with you the top 10 boy & girl names in 2012 here in Alberta.

Some parents gave their baby a geographic name: Cairo, Rio, Memphis, Alabama, Ireland and Jersey.

Here are some unique ones: Shy-Angel, Dancing-Sunflower, Rhaney-Day, Thunderbolt, Little, Horizon, Brave, Beautiful.

[153]

Love these zoo portraits by Yago Partal.

You can purchase them as prints or cards on his website:

Zoo Portraits by Yago Partal

[need a hug?]

How to use my freebies.

[couple of books I've read lately]

I recently read this book about people living underground in a huge silo due to toxic air on the earth. The book was intriguing as you tried to figure out why the people were in the silo etc. It was great to find a book with no swearing in it. Not! First you think there is no swearing but the more you read, the more swearing there is. Due to the verbal assault, I had a hard time enjoying the story as it continued. I think this book is actually a series of books. I'm pretty sure I read more than one book but wasn't paying attention to it as I read them as eBooks. The book will make a good movie one day. I just hope the movie will be PG rated.

«««¶¶

This book is a story of a teenage boy who has Asperger's. Jacob is fascinated by solving crimes and ends up being accused of murder himself. You get to peek in on a family with a single mom who has two teenage boys, one with special needs. You get an idea what it can be like when someone in your family has Asperger's. There are quite many funny parts in the book and the story captures your interest nicely. 

That being said, once again I didn't enjoy the verbal assaults throughout the book. I really can't stand swearing anymore and it's painful to read so much swearing. I kept crossing out the swear words so that I can lend the book to my friends without them having to read the swears. Plus I don't have the greatest memory so one day I can reread this book without the swearing. I did enjoy the story otherwise and kept thinking one day they will make a movie out of it.

«««¶¶

[152]

Check this out!

Have you heard of Gelli Plate Printmaking?

This online art class by Carla Sonheim is a great way to bring some creative fun into your life. 

You don't need to be a professional artist to learn this fun & easy technique. Just order a gelli plate online and then you can do this online art class at your own pace.

I signed up with a friend already.

Learn more by clicking here.

[dreaming and planning]

I’m so happy I can snap sunset photos from our new home too. This was taken from our bedroom window.

Saw this sign while we were on our Mother's Day adventure. 

I'm dreaming about gardening. Checking out the Vesey's catalog and visiting green houses. But I'm limited what I can do this summer. I have to wait and see what grows in the front yard before doing a complete overhaul of the yard. The flowerbed is very large and weirdly done. I'm going to save the plants I like and replant them where I want them (in front of the house instead all along the driveway). Then I just want grass where the flowerbed is now. 

I also have to wait before I can do anything in the back yard. Wait to see if we are building a new fence, a deck, etc. There are many tree roots all over the yard from the three huge evergreen trees we cut down. So can't do much in the back yard yet either. Patience isn't my strongest personality trait. Sigh. 

I want to plant berries and vegetables along the fence eventually. We need to do some sort of platform for the trampoline as it's difficult to cut the grass underneath it.

There is a long flowerbed (which the previous home owners had filled up with rocks) along the walkway to the front door. I want to plant Heather flowers only in it. But our hardiness zone is 3A and Heather flowers like 4. I need to do some research and see if I can find a variety that will grow in our zone. The Heather I want has deep purple flowers and they'd look gorgeous when there are many of them together. Kainuun tyttö olen kun tykkään kanervista niin.

I still love the pink lily of the valleys too. But they spread easily so I'm thinking of planting some in a large pot.

Hostas are great for shade. This yellow variety is kind of cool.

I don't eat corn but I love the colors of these ones.

How about a cute little house for the bees.

Happy Friday everyone! 

[which one would you choose?]

 

For Mother’s Day, my husband did something extra special this year. He sent me and Sienna for an adventure. He gave me 10 cards which I was to open as directed. First one took us to my favorite furniture store, F2. While browsing modern furniture, we were supposed to wait for a special guest. It was my mother-in-law who didn't have a clue why she had to come to the furniture store to meet us.

We opened the next card and found out we needed to go for lunch @ Cora’s which was a short distance away from the furniture store. We had a lovely lunch and then opened the next card. It told us directions where to drive. Once we got there, we opened the next card and we were told to go and get manicures & pedicures. We had a blast!

The day continued as we were directed to do other things too (shopping at Lulu Lemon…).

While waiting for our manicures & pedicures to start, we browsed a magazine with funky hair dos. We played the game “which hair style would you choose if you HAD TO choose one”. I thought it would be fun to do here on the blog too. Leave a comment to state which hair style you would choose. Just something sillly to do since it’s almost Friday. Be courageous and don't choose #19. J

My choices are #4 and #9. If I'd had to go all the way crazy, I'd choose #18. Wouldn't I be the coolest mom picking her kid from school or what? J

Don’t I have the best husband ever? How he comes up with these things, I don’t know. Now I need to come up with something equally good for Father’s Day. J

[151]

I’m a huge fan of certain patterns by Marimekko but there is another company in Finland whose designs I like: Finlayson.

I love the Greta rose pattern even though I'm not a big fan of roses in real life. The "Elefantti" or "Pop" would look so cute in kids' rooms.

I just might have to buy roses next time I visit Finland.

[make-up, hair, nails, swivel stools, tile]

Love everything about this Revlon ad.

The hair, the make-up, the nails.

Super cute short hair!

Saw this photo in a magazine and I can't get over how skeletal the arms look. I'm pretty sure they've been Photoshopped. Why on earth would they edit the arms to look like this? Sick!

We're still renovating and getting things done in our new home. We found these kitchen counter top swivel stools at Crate & Barrel.

And this is how the front and side entrance tiles look like.

It's good to see so much green out there. Hoping for a long, long summer and that winter will be as late as our spring was.