In Which I Have a Reading Nook and Wish for a Teapot

The last eight months have been good. They were not what I was expecting going into this year. I was moving into a strange city, knowing few others than the girls I was moving in with. I can now say, with absolute certainty, that it was a good decision.

The first four were the toughest; I was working a job I despised going to, hadn't adjusted to life in a new city, and didn't have many close friends. Growing and moving through those times of solitude led to the undertaking of a variety of tv shows: BBC's Doctor Who and Sherlock, Stargate, and 21 Jump Street (the tv show from the 80s, not the movie remake with Channing Tatum that failed to capture the spirit of it's syndicated counterpart) are only a few of the pop cultural realities floating around in my brain as of late.

The latter four months have flown. I have been blessed with some great friends as part of my church family - many of which I have just recently said goodbye to as they head back to their respective cities (and provinces). I began working a new job, and although it is not glamourous, I love it. I have also been busy with the church's College and Careers pre-service worship. It's been rewarding to be involved in an aspect of the church ministry.

Friends out dining post-Sunday morning service to say goodbye to
those headed home for the summer months.

All of that was necessary build up to the project I undertook this weekend upon the relocation of two housemates back to Muskoka Bible Centre for the spring/summer months. Since one happened to live in the same room as me, her habitational shift meant that the [master] bedroom which we were sharing is now solely my own, and that meant cleaning, and reorganizing the room to my own whimsical desire. 

Although it is a little empty, I have managed to turn one side of the room into my own personal haven, bringing my vintage gold 1960s church garagesale chair from the main level to create my reading nook. 

The "Reading Nook": Complete with pillow, sewing kit and wool for
my creative endeavours. 

I am reading several of the books on that shelf, however it mostly consists of my favourite novels. One addition I would like to make for the summer months when I can read by the breeze from that window, is a teapot, kettle and various teas that I can just keep in my bedroom for convenience. Indulging in a good pot of tea while reading a book is becoming a favourite part of my evening.

Vintage teacup and saucer with a homemade
chocolate chip cookie!

And really, with a teacup as cute as that, how can I resist! The trick is really to find a teapot that matches. I am definitely going to be scouting thrift stores for the perfect one. 

Back to the bedroom. 

Before I started my redecoration, the room had these really awful purple curtains. I am sure they worked for the decor of the room when our landlord lived here, but for the past year I have been slowly planning the demise of those curtains. So, as soon as the housemates were gone, I made a beeline for curtains from one of the other rooms; a deep red to match the red of my bedspread and the red in my granny square crochet blanket. Changing to a red curtain solved the problem of my wood furnature as well. It made the cherry coloured wood warm to see. Instead of walking into a room where everything clashed just a little too profoundly, I think I have successfully transformed it into a comfortable and open space for the summer months left here. 

A happy window.

DIY window candles. Twine and tealights.

Finished product. Clean, comfortable. Functional. 

I'm very pleased with the result. It literally cost me nothing since all items were stealthly borrowed from other places in the house. There is enough carpet space for yoga in the summer. There is enough shelving space to keep all my reading off the floor. And although I don't plan on investing in artwork for the walls, I feel relaxed and calm in my space. It suits me perfectly. Except for the absence of a teapot and kettle.

Come to think of it, if anyone would like to buy my affections, it can be done so with the Sherlock Holmes novels and a teapot. 

Sweet Weekend

For the first time in weeks, I have a weekend off work. So far I have:

- Had Cousin Katelyn up for a visit. We went out to dinner, the Jacob Outlet store (I got a sweet pair of pants for $5.oo) and saw Inception in theatres. Inception was unbelievably awesome. It may have trumped Toy Story 3 in my books for favourite summer movies. We took a trip to Limeridge during the day. I re-vamped my wardrobe entirely, deciding that it was time to permanently be rid of my old clothes. Those Garage tank tops from 2005 have to go.

- Cleaned the House. Anticipating a group of friends coming over tonight, I had to clean the main floor and bathrooms of the house. Kait and I get pretty lazy when we come home from work. We clean all day, and so we really don't feel an overwhelming need or desire to clean when we come home. This afternoon, following Cousin Katelyn's departure, I took an hour and a half and cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, the bathrooms on the main floor and upstairs, and the living room.

- Bought 3 new books. I know I said I wouldn't. But I recently finished the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The problem was, in his well-readness, characters had names of other literary figures that I had heard of, but not interacted with, so I picked up a Charles Dickens novel in the hopes that it would fill in some of the blanks.

- Did laundry. I figured that before I started packing the old clothing up, I should wash it, so that when I send it to the second-hand store, it would clean. Next, I will need to start making piles in my room of new, old, Salvation Army, and Garbage. Time to clean out my drawers.

MCC: 51

Word of the Day: Sweet

Quote of the Day: "It's okay, I'm lumpyshmooface3." The guy at the Bluenotes. He was making fun of my email address.

A little bit of my life

So, I promised pictures.

Remember when I said we had mice in the house? Remember when I mentioned the bit about chipmunks? Well, this little guy scared the crap out of my housemate this past week. She almost touched it, which is pretty gross.

His name is Alfred.

As you can see, the whole -caught in the mousetrap- thing worked well for it. Just in such an inconvenient spot. Jon, one of the guys who inhabited the dorm beneath ours all year, is on Security for the summer, and gladly got rid of Alfred. This involved a drastic hurling of both animal and trap into the backyard. To which he said, "See if that's still there tomorrow!"

The next few photos are of my room. I have a lot of clothing laying everywhere. Let's face it, I am moving out of Blue Castle in a week, and the necessity to clean up my floor isn't high on my priority list...especially since I spend all day cleaning.

And this was the day Kaitlin decided to climb out of her window and on to the roof of Blue Castle. It took a pretty sweet picture though!

And that is my life. It's been really hot working the last couple of days. Blue Castle is stiffling hot at night. We're working at 7am again this week. I don't mind it, surprisingly. My body is getting used to the early rise thing, and is less and less tired in the evening.

Kait and I biked to Chapters tonight. There were some lovely sales, and I finally invested in an iRewards card. I bought several wonderful books. I'll let you all know what I think of them when I finish reading them.

Wednesdays have also been instituted as Whopper Wednesdays. Pretty much the entire cleaning crew gets together for lunch and goes to the BK Lounge on Upper James. Today was really funny, because instead of asking the cashier questions about what to order, and how much things would cost, and what comes on the burgers, I got to answer all the questions. I loved it. Burger King is my namesake.

Off to bed now.

Word of the Day: whopper

Quote of the Day: Me: "I have a package on one side that's really heavy." Kait: "Uh, that's really awkward."

Disney Made Me Proud

It's been a slightly obnoxiously long time since I have blogged. I know that it has been too long when my account makes me sign in again.

We have dorm inspections tomorrow. The night has been full of vaccumming up ladybugs, dusting, cleaning sinks and garbage cans, moving furnature and laundry. I cleaned the oven this weekend, and that was an adventure all its own. I think my abs got a good work out from that.

I'm trying to remember anything super exciting that has happened, but the world has just been going through the motions of school. However, I would be awful if I didn't mention that my lovely little sister was here. In fact, the amusement of our weekend involved two wonderful songs. And these are them.

And...

This next one has the lyrics with it. When Kristen and I heard them the first time, we thought the lyrics near the end were "No one persecutes harmless grandpas like Gaston." Turns out the real lyrics are "No one persecutes harmless crackpots like Gaston." I still am not sure which lyrics I like better. But Disney made me proud, either way.

Let's be honest. You want a guy like Gaston too.

Word of the Day: Henry

Quote of the Day: "If it gets awkward, I'll just kick you discretely under the table. Or I will yell out 'Velosiraptor'." Will Thorburn

Equity in Beanie Babies

It's amazing the things we keep. Ive spent the better half of the day 'de-crapping' my room. No, not decluttering, because my room is not cluttered. But like every woman, I have boxes of this, that and the other thing. All of which probably had meaning at some point or another. The fun part is getting rid of it all.

Well, not all of it.

Certainly not keepsakes such as this gem of a letter I recieved from my best friend (I would guess we were probably 7 or 8). Letter is not altered at all.

Hi Brittany!
I've seen Mulan! It was not funny, it was sad AND funny. i was going to write this note on a post card but there wasn't enough room. What have you been doing for the last half month? because out here I've been bored, bored, bored! Oh and by the way I haven't been reading my Zak attack book. What I've been reading is Full House Michelle calling all planets. It's a really good book!(sounds like it!) I started swimming lessons on Monday July 20th, my thecher's name is Jen I'm in level fore. My dad had a week of and on the last day we went to a shower. There is only a month left till Chad and liz's wedding.
Please write back.
Love: Kelsey

So you can see why I couldn't throw this out! It's fun, because after all these years, Kelsey and I are still close friends.

I was also amused when I came across the "Ultimate Beanie Baby Handbook"! I discovered I have quite a bit of equity stored away in my closet with all the old toys. Not enough to pay tuition, but perhaps in another 10 years?

MCC: 69

Word of the Day: techniquely

Quote of the Day: "When my world explodes, when my stars touch the ground, falling down like broken satellites. All of my world rests on your love." Switchfoot (Jon Foreman)

PBS, Basements, and Other Such Treasures

I suppose I should make an effort to blog a bit more.

Monday went stampin' with Mom's friends and Stephanie. Nothing too brilliant came from that trip. Just a lot of laughs.

Today involved some cleaning of the basement. It's amazing what one can find. Turns out my mom went through a Kenny Rodgers phase in her life. I think she owned every one of his records. It was definitely entertaining going through all sorts of old stuff that had been forgotten about. Random bulletins and church newsletters, magazine clippings, and the real gem of the day: a prank letter from my dad's old work. It was from the 'unification committee' letting employees know about the new procedures to be taking place. You knew it was crock when they mentioned that 10:15 am was hug time, and that 3pm all employees would be required to come to the sales floor and sing 'kumbayah'. I think I giggled for 5 minutes about that.

MCC: 62

Word of the Day: caffienated

Quote of the Day: "I'm perfectly happy being married to a man who thinks that PBS is what women get once a month." "I actually said that once a month was enough for PBS" (conversation between Jill and Tim on Home Improvement)

Memoirs of a Pack Rat

This afternoon was lovely. I spent most of it cleaning my room, which was quite relaxing.


I am a pack rat. I think its inherited. As I was scrummaging through my papers and books and creative writings that I brought along to school, I found many forgotten items. Here's a short list.


-a postcard from Disney World from grade 11
-minutes to a VBS organizer committee meeting (I wasn't even involved in this)
-Youth Service song orders (I was involved in this)
-A floppy disk with puppy dog stickers on it
-A disposable camera
-Sheet music
-A letter I wrote to a friend and never mailed
-Comics
-Some old journals (why did I bring these?)
-Clear Tape refills
-my stickers!
-markers
-a sock (singular. It's mate got thrown in the garbage years ago)
-A SERVE t-shirt
- 2 blank CDs
-about 20 books I had forgotten I'd brought
-an envelope of coupons (anyone want these?)
-2 mittens..that didn't match
-a package of pens which had exploded
-a to-do list, which apparently didn't get done, because these things were all still packed.


The good news is, most of this stuff was either sorted through or rid completely. My room is much cleaner, and the recycle box is full of paper!