A Little Birdy Told Me

Our cats, Sadie and Monkey, are outdoor cats. I know this is kind of a touchy subject for some people, but Rich has had cats all of his life and they've always been outdoor cats. So, as a new cat owner, I just followed his lead.
Our cats are notorious hunters, so we quite regularly act as an impromptu animal hospital for all sorts of small wild life.  We've had multiple mice, birds, and even a squirrel spend some time living in our Urgent Care Center, otherwise known as our bathroom. Sometimes they make it, and we set them free and sometimes they don't, but it makes me feel like a good person to know I did what I could.

A few weeks ago, Rich had the dogs outside and came across a little birdy flopping around in the grass.  We took the cats in to give him a chance to compose himself and make his escape, but when we came back he was still rolling around on the lawn.  He was a young adult bird, so no mamma was coming to his rescue.  We brought him inside, made him warm and comfy and let him have a rest.
We noticed that he was missing his tail feathers, meaning he wouldn't be able to fly and I wasn't quite sure what to do about that.  I researched what kind of bird he was, a Thrush, and what to feed an injured bird of his kind.  He spent the night, and come morning he still hadn't eaten anything and I decided to take some action.
I called and tweeted around trying to decide what to do. I called Hamilton Animal Control, but unfortunately, they aren't licensed to take wild life.  The person on the phone was nice enough to give me a woman named Cara's number and I gave her a call.
I found out that Cara runs Urban Wildlife Care, and it is one of the only programs in the area that is licensed to take in injured and abandoned wildlife.  I drove my little birdy out to her office, and she took him in and fed him some worms and he will make a full recovery once his tail feathers grow back in!
I just wanted to spread some awareness for Urban Wildlife Awareness, because they are not government funded and rely on donations of money and supplies to be able to continue to take in animals.
The Hamilton Spectator wrote an article about them that you can check out here.
Visit their website here to learn more about the organization, what they do, and what items are on their donation wish list.

Vacation!

Just saying goodbye for the next little while. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving on a jet plane! Destination, Florida.  I've been checking the weather like crazy and although it isn't quite as hot as I'd like it to be, I'll take this:

Over this:

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.  

No offense Hamilton, I really do love you.  I'll be spending 7 whole days with my lovely cousin and her mother (my aunt on my dad's side of the family). I'd love it if all the women (mom/grandma/cousin-in-law) in my family could have come, but with work, operations and babies it just couldn't be done.  Maybe one day!

I'm looking forward to just relaxing on the beach, after such a hard few months.  

The place we are going to be spending our time is the resort my family went to every year when I was younger, so it holds some sentimental value for me as well as being a fun vacation.  I spent some great times with my little bro here, playing on the beach and visiting the pier.  And with my grandpa who passed away a few years ago.  And my Aunt is a pro-shopper so I can't wait to hit the stores with her.  

And it's Halloween while we are there, and I finally decided on a costume! I'm going to be Minnie Mouse.  How fitting, right?  I'll definitely post a few pictures of my costume here when I get back, maybe even a "how to" (I pride myself in my ability to put together a really fun costume, no pre-made costumes for this gal!).

Anyways folks, keep warm and I'll be back next week!  MWAH. 

Bits and Pieces

Last week we were supposed to camping at our favorite spot, Awenda Provincial Park. Mother nature had other plans, unfortunately, and the severe thunderstorm warnings kept us home.
The weather in the area here was nice though, so we took advantage and had a few nice days in and around Hamilton.

1. Beach necessities in my world.

2. Visits from monarchs.

3. These cows didn't want to be my friend.

4. Deer in the forest. She just stood and watched us watching her for the longest time.

5. Great garden space.

6. Pilfered picnics. (Thanks mom & dad)

7. A boa bite. (No, really!)

Canadian Design

It's taken me a long time to come to terms with what I'm going to do with my life. It was pretty much expected of me from the moment I stepped foot in a highschool that post secondary education would just follow. I have a degree from Brock University, and a diploma from Centennial College and I had the most amazing post secondary experiences in both places. I will cherish that time for ever, and I wouldn't be who I am without it. 
That said, I'm not an office girl. I'm just not. I've been struggling with this for quite some time, and I think I've mostly come to peace with it. All sorts of outside influences tell you what you "should" do with your life, and a solid, defined "career" is definitely high of the list of life "normals". I've been hired on at The AGH, dividing my time between the new Design Annex on James Street North, and the actual Gallery on King Street. 
I'm also officially an employee at White Elephant! No more intern status. HIYAH! 
So, the places I'm now calling "work" are basically places where I can meet people, and look at beautiful things all day. It's pretty much perfect for me right now, in this moment, and for the person I am in this time. 


I digress though, this post was supposed to be about how amazing Canadian design is! But the reason I know about all of these beautiful things is because of these two fabulous places that employ me. 


Touch The Dutch is a company run by Anneke van Brommel, from Toronto. White Elephant has carried her work since I've started here, and it is so perfectly Canadian. She says that she is reluctant to use such "cliche" imagery in her work, but I think it's what gives it heart. She has a wide range of earrings, brooches and necklaces in all sorts of classic Canadian themes: Terry Fox, tree stumps, lumberjack paraphernalia. Check out her etsy store here, her blog here, or come into White Elephant and see what we have in stock.  

I just discovered the work of Ampersand&Ampersand last night, at the Design Annex and I'm totally smitten. It is a line of graphic print and design by Mark Byk and Kristine Tortora. They do posters, framed prints, custom notecards, as well as totes.  The work is kitchy (in a good way), and bold and touching in a simple wau.

I'm told Kristine is back in Hamilton right now, and Mark is in Toronto.  Come by the Annex to check out their "Lovers and Thieves" series, and my favorite print "Hopes and Dreams".  

Barb Sachs is a clay artist from Dundas and the Shop at the AGH carries her work. She uses slabs of clay to create her animals, and the end result of a hollow, folded, sculptural form. She uses the raku firing process and a variety of glazes that give the animals an interesting, weathered look.

The Canadian government has used her sculptures to give as gifts to visiting dignitaries! Nelson Mandela has one. So that's kind of cool.

I've seen her penguins, polar bears and elephants (I know elephants are very "Canadian" but I love elephants so i'll let it slide) at the gallery, and I've even sold a large penguin already! Her work is so gorgeous, I will definitely need to save my pennies and bring home an animal sometime soon. 

As usual, this post got totally carried away and so I'll have to do a "Canadian Design Part Two" so I can fit in all the rest of the awesome art, jewelry, furniture and design I've come across in my Hamilton travels! 

You're Ok, You Can Stay

Hi there.

While I did say to myself when I decided to start blogging, that I wasn't going to get all preachy personal, I think that's going to happen today. So get ready. Or just close the window and go on with your day (no, don't really do that. Keep reading!).

In case you didn't know, I am a big fan of Jenna Marbles. I think she's hilarious, and she has a cheeky mixture of vulgarity, sass and tell it like it is. I was lost in a black hole of her videos yesterday and I came across one called "Why Girls Hate Each Other". (It's posted at the end of this post, I didn't want her to steal my thunder.) This is something that really gets under my skin, so I thought I'd just blab about it for a moment and see what you all think.

Basically, I think girls are better than boys. Boys are good too, don't get me wrong, but us girls are so much better. HOWEVER, we spend so much time on silly things that we let the men take things over, and that is just not ok with me.  While I wouldn't consider myself a "feminist" in the traditional sense, I definitely have a large predilection for girl power.  

I've been lucky enough to spend some time at some very girl power filled places in Hamilton, like White Elephant and Cake and Loaf Bakery, and it was brought to my attention recently that a TON of new businesses in Hamilton are girl-centric. (Cannon Coffee, Sweet Ice Snow Cones, Needle Work, Cupcake Diner, I know I'm forgetting some...). That's pretty awesome if you ask me. 

However, it makes me mad/sad that, as women, we spend far too much time on two things that are very negative and detrimental to our ass kicking and taking over the world. 

#1- Worrying about how we look.

I won't get too much into the logistics of all the media, but basically, we are being told that we are not enough as people unless we are thin and tan and pretty and perfect. We waste so much time worrying about our thighs and our hair and how we look in this dress or that bathing suit. I myself have definitely struggled with a major body image issue for years, and at this point, I'm SO SICK OF IT. 

It is such a dirty waste of my fabulous time, and I just want to smash it. 

#2- Worrying about other girls.

Now, I know a lot of fabulous females who have moved past this, and are sweet and nice and accepting of the other fabulous females they come across in life. But I also know a whole lot of ladies who are still carrying around this high school GARBAGE of being mean to other girls just because they happen to have vaginas. (YES THAT'S RIGHT I SAID IT). It's ridiculous, just cut it out and knock it off. We all have amazing skills and beautiful attributes and you just need to stop worrying about that other girl, and be yourself and live your life. 

I could ramble on about this for days and days, but I won't. I just wanted to bring it to your attention, and maybe a small part of you will take it in, and consider it, and it will make your day and your life a little easier. Just do your own thing, I can guarantee it's awesome. And be nice to other girls! They are having just as much trouble as you, even if their hair is nicer or their boobs/waist are bigger/smaller. 

I think you are pretty, and that thing that you do is really awesome, and you should keep doing it.

Now watch this Jenna Marbles video. 

Ps. I'm not drunk. 

Happenin' in Hamilton

It's no secret that I love Hamilton. (I do hate when people call it "The Hammer" though, I think it sounds trashy.)

I love getting out and about, seeing new things and meeting new people. There's a few fun things happening in the city this weekend so I just thought I'd post them here so you all can make some plans and come on out!

Thursday

Said The Whale are playing at This Aint Hollywood. They are an awesome Vancouver based Indie band. They played at the 2011 Super Crawl and just killed it. Show starts at 8pm and cover is $15. All Ages.

Friday

Art Crawl. For those of you not familiar with Art Crawl (GASP!), it happens the second Friday of every month, year round. All the stores and galleries on James North stay open late, and you can mosey on down at your own pace and check everything out. It's a great night, even more so when the weather cooperates, and definitely worth checking out.

Bring a canned good to James North and Cannon this Friday night and help out your community!

The Hammer City Roller Girls are having an event to kick off their 2012 season. Come and check out some awesome Roller Girl-inspired art at This Aint Hollywood and Hammer City Records, meet the girls and get yourself some awesome HCRG gear.

Art Crawl After Party with Sweet Ice Snow Cones at the Baltimore House kicks off at 10pm. The lovely girls from Sweet Ice are currently holding a fundraiser to raise money to revamp their trailer and make it snow cone friendly (support their efforts here). The after party will feature some amazing alcoholic snow cones (Apple Jack, Daiquiri and Margarita flavors!) and cover is free. It's going to be a rockin' good time, and the boozey snow cones have been approved by me.

Saturday

White Elephant's girl's night. But it's kind of a private party. We will be the loud ones.

However, if it wasn't going to be an epic girl's night, I would be going to Haunted Hamilton's Downtown Ghost Walk. HH takes you through the most haunted areas and buildings of our great city, and it's always a fun night. Tour meets in front of the Connaught Hotel and starts at 8pm. $13 for adults, $5 for kids and $25 for couples. Bundle up!

This is what I will be doing this weekend! What are your plans? Hope to see you out and about.