coming soon: amethyst core samples

Four new amethyst core samples will be in the Sadie shop this week. Two gold, two silver, all one of a kind. I'll be showing off lots of new jewelry here in the coming weeks, so keep checking back for sneak peeks of what's going to be in store in May. I made two new Miriam necklaces today, too, and am excited to be able to offer the pastel pink version in the shop this spring. Let me just say, it is so nice to be sitting in the sun, drinking coffee and making jewelry on a weekend. I can't wait to tackle all of the projects that I've been dreaming of starting soon. What are you working on these days?

music for chores on a saturday

This is a portion of the playlist that got me through these last few weeks of insane work. In all honesty, I've listened to each of these songs a lot lately...but I'm still wanting to listen to them today. I hope you like it and that there's some stuff here you haven't heard before, though I can admit, a bunch of this is pretty old. Parental advisory is in effect.

Tracks:

1. 40 Day Dream: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

2. Bonafide Lovin' (Tough Guys): Chromeo

3. Did Ya Say That: GZA

4. Congratulations: MGMT

5. Baby's Arms: Kurt Vile

6. Drover: Bill Callahan

7. Wildcat: Ratatat

8. Dreamland EP (marimba and shit drums) Moonface

FYI: Jill, this pretty much is the mix I was talking about. Camilla: Moonface is always on at my house right now.

paint a different colour on your front door

I spent the afternoon walking around my neighbourhood in the sunshine after entertaining many of my classmates with what is apparently my new impressions routine last night. Vancouver was so beautiful today. The cherry blossoms are still holding on and Jeff and I found this tree where the blossoms are both pink and white. This happens when one type of tree is grafted to another (and for a while it may be only pink) but sometimes the tree gets damaged or grows in such a way that the part below the graft starts to produce blooms and you get these strange hybrids. Our garden is starting to happen, too, with herbs (like lemon balm, one of my favourites though I have no idea what to do with it besides just smell it) and strawberries I planted last year and a few other things well underway. 

The Sadie summer pieces are coming along, too. I might even be able to return to the shop a couple of days early if all goes as planned. Finally, just wanted to share this amazing Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris song with you. It's been making me happy for years and I have to thank my friend Camilla for putting it on a mix tape way back when. Happy belated birthday, friend! Have a great weekend everyone.

friend appreciation

These are the flowers (all local and organic via Olla) that my friend Jill, who lives all the way in Calgary, sent me the morning that I presented my final graduate work...which was just yesterday but already it feels like it was a year ago. It was so unbelievably thoughtful that I just had to share a photo. I plan to show a tiny bit of my project here in the coming days but right now I must return to doing nothing and feeling awesome about it. It's hard to describe how it feels to be finished. I still feel weird but slightly less numb than I did yesterday. I'm sure it will all start to sink in soon, when I'm out and about in Vancouver, having tons of fun, and feeling great about it! I can't wait to reconnect with all of my long lost friends. I spent the day eating amazing food (I'd like Danielle and Jill to consider this: brie, raspberry preserves and black pepper sandwich), shopping with my mom, and napping. Tonight: we celebrate. Finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

school is out for-ever

I'm finished. Today went very well. The sun is setting on the landscape architecture annex at UBC and we're out of here. (Who am I kidding? The rain is pouring off the roof right now.) That was a crazy three years.

Dear classmates: you're the best!

a day in the life of gale from wichser studio

Welcome to another day in the life post. Have I mentioned lately that I love this series? Let's think way back to Danielle's guest post way back at the beginning. It's just been week after week of inspiration and beautiful photos since then. I can't thank all of the contributors enough and I am definitely going to keep this going if I can! I hope that you've all been enjoying it, too. 


This week's post is brought to you by Gale from Wichser Studio. I found Gale's jewelry designs when we were both featured together on Jillian's blog. I loved Gale's jewelry and was so excited to be featured alongside her. Let's take a peek at a fun day in this talented lady's life...

This day marks the beginning of "warm weather mentality" for Jeff and I -- we've officially packed those winter blues away! Music is something we both can't live without, so our springs and summers are spent at concerts and outdoor music fests whenever possible.  We saw one of our favorites The Slackers, at Asbury Lanes. This was our first concert of the season!

What I love most about Asbury Lanes is that it's a functioning vintage 60's bowling alley. Throughout the concert, people bowled on the remaining side lanes, while the middle lanes were used for center stage. This place was easy going and seriously a ton of fun in all its retro quirkiness. They had pop art on the wall, colorful pillows and lounge chairs, Christmas lights, and my favorite -- a full bar! ;) 

It was a such a free-spirited night with awesome music from The Slackers and another band, Hub City Stompers from New Jersey, who were great as well! We drank, danced, had Irish Car Bombs, and Jeff even got right on stage to shoot some photos! After a very long winter and our last summer spent preparing for our wedding, we plan on making up for lost time with more concerts this season for sure.

Aren't these photos beautiful? They were taken by Gale's talented husband, Jeff, whose photography I always admire whenever it appears on Gale's blog. Thank you so much for sharing, Gale! Be sure to check out the Wichser Studio blog and shop. They're both at the top of my favourites list.


In other news...my final studio presentation in landscape architecture is Wednesday afternoon, so wish me luck. I can't believe that this day has finally come. It's been three insane years in this program and I have so many mixed feelings about it all coming to an end. I am definitely looking forward to getting more time to work on jewelry and so many other creative pursuits that have been put on the back burner lately. Thanks to everyone for all of the words of encouragement and great comments and beautiful guest posts. You've all made this month of sitting at my studio desk and working away so much more exciting. Thank you.


Next week's day in the life post will feature the amazing Carla from Lola and George and Starry Eyed Charlie. Another post you definitely do not want to miss. See you on the flip side of this crazy presentation day, everyone!

earth day at wreck beach

Emily and I went to the beach that's on campus today. It was a nice reminder of why I came to Vancouver and UBC in the first place. It was also Earth Day at a nude beach, so the hippie element was well-represented. One dude appeared to be building a nest, another group of guys had a system of reflective tarps set up to get maximum tan coverage (our theory). It was warm and sunny and beautiful.

render

Since I've been staying late at school recently I had a chance to get a better picture of the blue whale skeleton in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum on campus. My studio pals Ivy and Emily both have the exact same photo from a stop we made on our way to the bus the other night. Seeing this dude every day makes me really happy. It's a nice reminder about all the wonders of life that are otherwise too easily missed when I've got my head down in my routine. He comes from Prince Edward Island...a fellow Maritimer. Rendering is what you do to whale fat and landscape architecture drawings and it's what I've been doing all day, every day lately. The drawing part, not the processing of whale fat. Have a good long weekend everyone!

my dog on vacation

I know that many of you enjoyed seeing some pictures of my adopted dog, Lola, and some of her friends in an earlier post. Well, believe me! I have a lot more photos of Lola to share with you and thought I'd make a post of it today. Call it procrastination, call it a necessary break from CAD, call it whatever you'd like. Here are some of my favourite photos of Lola on vacation. The best part? These were all taken in the last year or so. We do a lot of travelling around this beautiful part of the world together and Lola loves a good hike or swim, though, as I've mentioned previously, she hates camping. At the bottom of this post I'll tell you a little more about the places we visited in these photos.

1. Lola in the rainforest around Powell River on the Sunshine Coast. We love going to visit our very good friend up there. Lola is maybe not a fan of two ferry rides, but she loves the drive and the inevitable hikes that we take her on.

2. Okay, I wish that I could remember the name of this place. It's about an hour past Hope here in British Columbia. You have to drive up this sketchy, winding, very high road to get to an amazing lookout point that was bustling with marmots. So beautiful.

3. Since we're apartment dwellers sometime we just have to visit a nice lush lawn. Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver.

4-5. My friend Lara's cabin. This was one of my favourite mini vacations last year. So much dock-sitting and swimming and sunshine. Oh, I can't wait for summer.

Inspired by Micaela's post last week asking her readers to share their vacation photos, I'm wondering if you have any photos of your pets on vacation that you'd like to share. Send them to me at sadiedesignsca at gmail dot com with the subject line "pet vacation" and I'll publish them next week. Make sure you tell me where you took the photo and send me a link to your blog if you've got one!

a day in the life of micaela from dolce vita

I am so happy to continue the day in the life series with this week's post from Micaela. I think I must have discovered Micaela's blog through Danielle, and as we've gotten to know each other it turns out that we have a ridiculous amount of things in common with one another. The list of similarities just keeps getting longer and longer and I love following Micaela's blog to learn more about her. I know you'll enjoy getting to know her through this post, too!

my day always starts with copious amounts of coffee and cuddles from my puppies (this one is stella, the baby of our puppy family. her sisters are maverick and bubbles).

we'll go outside to our back porch, welcomed by the beautiful sky and mountains of el paso. i always read a daily word of encouragement from "365 day brighteners," a present from my parents. breakfast usually consists of oatmeal with honey, cinnamon, and apples. i always get ready using my favourite vintage mirror.

i'll spend the morning replying to emails/blog reading, chatting with my twin sister while she's at work in Wichita Falls (my home) and reminding myself i need to water our geraniums i'm trying desperately to keep alive in this desert climate. all of this to U2 shuffling on my ipod in the kitchen.

on a free day, i love nothing more than going on a thrifting date!

i could spend hours searching for gems or presents. these are two of my latest finds: vintage genuine leather crested mocs and a wood stand candle holder that goes well with the candelabra we have on our bedroom wall. i love nights my husband and i stay up laughing and talking while the candles glow...reminds me of Jane Austen novels.

i'll meet my husband and our friends for a lunch of Thai or Indian (our fave!), clean up around casa di M, and on certain days of the week around 7:30 i'll grab my yoga mat and head to my pilates/core class at the gym.

in the evening after dinner, i'll create postcard collages of images and typed quotes that have stayed with me to send across the miles. i'll change into one of the vintage nightgowns hanging inside my bathroom and try to read whatever book i'm in the middle of (right now it's a birthday gift, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers) before slumber.

but usually my day ends the way it began...out on my back porch, but with a glass of wine.

Thank you, Micaela, for sharing a day with us! Be sure to go and check out Micaela's blog, Dolce Vita! Next week I'm psyched to a) have less than a week (!!!) left in my master's degree and b) to share a day in the life of Gale from Wichser Studio, who's been a friend of mine almost since I started this blog. Wow. Less than a week. Okay. Let's do this.

weekend worship: west van plus

I am basically a food tourist. When I go to new places, I go armed with a meticulously researched list of restaurants, bakeries, food kiosks, and maybe even vending machines I want to visit. Some of the them I will undoubtedly feel I must visit. Thankfully, Jeff is with me on this. We travel to eat new food, or, at least, that's how it seems most of the time. Of course, when we're in a place like the Netherlands, where the food is sorely lacking most of the time, we find other things to do, but I think we're both happiest when we're eating at an insanely good restaurant in a new city after a day of walking 50 kilometres or so to see all of the sights we can pack into one day.

The thing is, our life in Vancouver is not so different from this. I map neighbourhoods by getting to know eateries. In fact, today we visited two different cities (outside of Vancouver) and hit up two amazing places to eat. My mom has noticed that this is what we do. I can't help it! You know what's in the omelette? Grana padano cheese, sour cream, maple syrup and blueberries! Doesn't that sound amazing? And look at those doughnuts! Also amazing!

So, if you're ever coming to Vancouver and need some restaurant recommendations let me know, I'll definitely be able to hook you up. What are the best restaurants in your town or the best restaurants you've visited elsewhere? You know, just in case I'm planning any travels this spring...

Another photo of me in sunglasses. That's my mom with me on this insanely windy pier. And the Lion's Gate Bridge and Stanley Park in the background. What a beautiful day!

Click on the photos to find out more. Have a great Saturday night! Now I must go eat some doughnuts!

all new

I've been thinking a lot about how quickly these last three years have gone by. How quickly and how slowly, of course. Painfully, torturously slowly, too. But here it is, three years after I started this degree and Jeff and Lola and Sadie and I moved to Vancouver. A lot has changed in those three years. I'm excited to rediscover the city I've sort of been living in all these months. The above photo I took on (maybe) the first day of school at the Cleveland Dam. That day was freezing and rainy and they gave us soggy lunches. Today was another grey day. Holding out for the sun, it better hurry up.

Wow, this post makes me sound like a such a downer, but really I just wanted to share a photo with you that reminds me of a time when everything about Vancouver was exciting and new. It's been a good three years and this picture reminds me of how far we've all come.

taking care of business giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Sadie giveaway! I discovered some great new music through all of the links that you left and rediscovered some old favourites, too. Much appreciated! And now, the winner of the giveaway, chosen at random, is Lindsay! Congrats!

Here's one of the songs that Lindsay recommended for getting things done:

I just wanted to thank everyone who's extended wishes of good luck and asked about my school project. I've completed the biggest and toughest phase of the project with a presentation called "substantials" (how daunting) last week and now I have two weeks to complete my work and pull it together for the final public presentation. A lot of people have been asking what I'm working on. Well, the short story is that I'm in the last weeks of my Masters of Landscape Architecture degree and my graduate project involves retrofitting a suburban neighbourhood to make it more walkable. The emphasis of my project is on improving biodiversity and human enjoyment of the landscape and that's all I'll bore you with for now. Perhaps I'll share an image or two of my design when this is all over, but for now I just wanted to thank everyone who's helped me out and made this easier.

On that note, the Sadie Etsy shop will be closed from Thursday, April 14 until May 5th to give me time to finish up my school work and get new summer Sadie pieces ready to share with you. I have some exciting things planned for this summer (in life and on the blog). In the meantime, stay tuned for some really awesome day in the life posts and more! I can't wait to ditch this winter-y banner for something brighter come May. Spring! Summer! The best time of year is just ahead of us. Two weeks, people, two weeks.

Here's the getting work done song that I can't live without right now (can't vouch for this video, though...but you really should listen to this song):

P.S. Are any of you big readers?

a day in the life of kait from yuppie love

Welcome, dear readers, to another instalment of a day in the life... This week I am very excited to share with you a glimpse of my friend Kait's life. Kait has a fun and inspiring blog of her own, yuppie love, and is a writer and preserve-maker extraordinaire. I'm always super inspired by all of the domestic bliss she creates and I wish we lived in the same city so I could visit her when she's selling her homemade wares at local markets. Let's go!

I usually wake up around 6:15am, stirred gently by my tired husband, Byron as he leaves for work.  I feel bad that he has to go to work while I am still in bed, so I often get up shortly after he leaves out of complete sympathy.  I also make sure to create delicious breakfasts for him on weekends to carry on that theme into the next week. 

I wish I had time for epic breakfasts like these chocolate chip peach-covered waffles everyday but I am usually only able to down a home-made banana breakfast shake before I hop out the door.  

I love my short but interesting walk to work.  It’s eclectic and different everyday.  Walking down First Street SW is so inspiring to me each morning; the mix of beautiful heritage buildings and the sleek coloured glass condos, combined with the delicious variety of coffee shops, pubs, and restaurants makes for an easy window-shopping jaunt to the office.

I work for the Cantos Music Foundation and the soon-to-be-built National Music Centre.  We share a sturdy brick heritage building with an architecture firm -- they hung these gorgeous plexi banners in the atrium of our building.  I love the way they contrast with the antique wrought iron and marble walls. 

Music is such an integral part of my life and that’s why my position in Marketing at the National Music Centre feels like a dream job.  I spend my days working on communication tools, social media wizardry, video, and design  -- it is ever-varying and I love it.  A diverse team of musicians and non-musicians – I get to work with an incredibly inspiring group of people and endless array of musical events to pick and choose from.  Not to mention the amazing collection of instruments that will fill the museum aspect of the forthcoming Music Centre.  Seriously, anyone into synthesizers must check it out. 

By the end of the work day, I can’t wait to go home and see Byron and make dinner.  Of course, on my walk home I pass some of my favourite landmarks, including this one with a newly updated colour scheme. 

I love to cook, bake, and make preserves, so naturally dinner time is experiment time.  This day I happened to make spicy thai subs with gluten-free buns.  Absolutely delicious and it was all ingredients we already had in the fridge.  However, if I am out of food we’ll try to head to the Kingsland Farmer’s Market right after work to stock up on fresh produce, gluten-free pastas, and sometimes fudge!

After dinner, I usually get settled in front of my iMac to start my second job: freelance writing and a bit of blogging.  As you can see by the screen cap my mind works like a whirlwind and I like to have lots of projects and inspiration open at once.  Somehow I get it all done and settle in for the night listening to the sweet banjo tunes played by Byron.  

I have really been enjoying this series and I hope you have, too. I love the diversity of people and places and days that have been showcased so far and promise you lots more posts from amazing people in the future. I have found everyone's post so inspiring and it certainly hasn't alleviated my wanderlust. Next week we'll spend a day with Micaela from dolce vita, someone that I discover I have more in common with every day. I can't wait to see what she shares! Thank you, Kait, for a great post this week! Be sure to stop by yuppie love and see all of the wonderful things that Kait makes and does.

a few new things...

With the tiny bit of leisure time that I've claimed for myself this weekend I've been experimenting with some of the jewelry materials I've been picking up here and there. I want to share with you a few of the things I've been working on lately. Funny enough, they seem related to my desire to get out of Vancouver some time soon (my passport should be arriving soon!). The first one is made with an etched vintage brass pendant that has a traveller's poem embossed on the back and a rough piece of tourmaline quartz. The chain is a vintage brass box chain that I was lucky enough to come across on my explorations with my mom this weekend.

Below are my new favourite pieces. I'm calling them the pendulum necklace, after an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote that I'll share at the end of this post. They're made with vintage brass cable chain and one of a kind vintage findings and these amazing faceted opaque quartz stones. I hope you like these new things! I really can't wait to get the Sadie shop updated in May, I've got lots of new things to share with you. 

"I simply state that I'm a product of a versatile mind in a restless generation--with every reason to throw my mind and pen in the with radicals. Even if, deep in my heart, I thought we were all blind atoms in a world as limited a stroke of a pendulum, I and my sort would struggle against tradition; try, at least, to displace old cants with new ones. I've thought I was right about life at various times, but faith is difficult. One thing I know. If living isn't seeking for the grail it may be a damned amusing game."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald