I’m a little obsessed with photography. I can’t really talk tech with you, but I learned on film and while I love my digital camera, I’m too used to the squeaky clean digital look and instant results. When I see posts & pictures with lots of texture or a pretty vintage frame I go weak in the knees.

I got my Diana a little while ago and I still have to post my first pictures here, but I’ve recently become fixated with the idea of getting an instant photo back for it. And I want to an old fashioned SLR to play with when I’m in the mood!

I tell you, when I become independently wealthy, it’s on. For now I’ll just treat myself to Starbucks and dream… :)

Diana F+ – $99 CAD*

Lomo Smena Symbol – $99 CAD

Lomo Lubitel 166+ – $365 CAD

Fuji Instax Mini 7S – $104 CAD

*I got locked in the Canadian side of the shop & it wouldn’t let me out! These will probably be cheaper for  you :)

My mom is one of my favourite people, especially because she enables my accumulating vintage books and housewares. This spring she lent me one of my favourite items yet, The Canadian Bride’s Reference Book that was given to my grandmother when she got married.

I love the etiquette notes and vintage ads the best.

Relationship Advice from the 1930s:

“Above all, do not run off and tell anyone about a difference of opinion between you and your husband – do not take it seriously. Don’t forget to smile. Kindness, patience, good temper, and good sense will always win and they build that trust and love that endures when everything else passes away. Avoid the first quarrel. Don’t have it. Do not quarrel. Stay away from it, he means well and so do you.”

It’s packed full of recipes for drinks, doughnuts and five course meals. There’s a guide on how to tell what kind of man your husband is, instructions on how to manage your household budget, and charts on how much sunshine your baby should get in a day.

I love flipping through it, but all I can say is thank goodness for the internet age. I don’t think I’d last an afternoon in this world ;)

For the past two months I’ve been swearing that I’ll master sangria, and while it took me a while to get around to it, last week I finally made good! I’ve had friends in from out of town and thought that it was the perfect chance to try my first of two recipes – one red wine based (coming next week), and one with white wine.

When I first blogged about wanting to step up my mixing skills my friend Ashley immediately offered a white wine sangria recipe that she was sure I had to try. And it came with a warning: this is boozy AND delicious. And she’s not joking. This is one of the most delicious things in my fridge right now, and it’s going to be a new summer staple.

One note: I made it without any soda, and have been adding club soda to taste in each glass (about 3/4 sangria, 1/4 club soda). It’s the perfect ratio for me & it doesn’t go flat- not that it stays in the fridge that long :)

{download a print ready version of Ashley’s Sangria here}

or copy & paste below the jump :)

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Every now and then when I least expect it, it’ll show up. That little negative voice in the back of my mind that’s full of criticism. It used to be a really big part of my life when I was younger, I was convinced that everything I did spelled out one word: awkward. And I was so uncomfortable in my own skin that I’m sure I wasn’t that far off.

Lately I’ve been noticing that little voice coming back. If I get a haircut and it doesn’t turn out right I can’t shake the idea that “I don’t look feminine enough anymore”, or I’ll put my goals and dreams on the back burner in favour of catching up with everyone I can because I hear that little voice telling me that “good friends never say no”.

I’ve always tried to choose which kinds of thoughts I pay attention to. In my experience if you feed the good ones and ignore the bad ones, you can be in for a quality of life shift but lately my ability to ignore the bad ones and focus on the good has been slipping.

So I’m making a change.

This week I’m starting a big effort to be extra positive and stop buying into what that little voice has to say. If I’m awkward at times, I want to love that part of me as much as I love the witty and cute parts. If things are hard, why do I think it’s more valid to beat myself up than it is to be encouraging? I need to be my biggest cheerleader, because if I won’t get behind me, who will?

Sometimes I wonder what our lives would look like if we changed the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

Are there any stories you tell yourself  that aren’t helping you be who you want to be?

ps – The lovely Amy from Just a Titch interviewed me today about leaving the entertainment industry last year, being confident & how to start over, you can find it here!

There’s something about the summer that just bubbles over, and when festival season starts you know that sweet time you’ve waited for all year is finally here. From folk music to theatre, food, and culture July and August can leave you breathless in the best way.

This past week was crazy- I almost finished a new hot pink cowl with the help of my new friends at knitting night, Mister was away on business which made for an interesting juggling of chores and puppies and work, and all of my friends who moved away in the past few years were back in town and catching up over wine on my deck. It was one of those weeks where by the start of the weekend I was ready to curl up and sleep for days… only who can sleep when there’s a theatre festival on??

I collected Mister from the airport and we headed downtown to wander through the endless pop-up shops while bumping into old theatre friends, and eating the most delicious cake (called cakettes) that I’ve ever had in my life from a shop called Cakeology. The graffiti outside the shop doesn’t do it justice at all – it needs at least a hundred more yum’s.

This weekend was a reminder of what makes life really delicious: old and new friends, cheap & tasty Indian food, and reuniting with the people who know you best.

Oh, and cake for breakfast when you need it :)