Growing up October 31 was a very important date on the calendar. It was a night of creeping through cobwebs and candlelight to go door to door with our pillowcases collecting candy. Costumes would be made a size or two bigger to accommodate bulky winter jackets worn underneath. There may not have been snow, but I could always see my breath. I could make my candy last until Easter.

Torontonians love to embrace the ghoulish magic of Halloween. The city is alive with preparation: Houses are decorated, pumpkins are carved, and the sound of sewing machines can be heard through out the city as costumes receive their finishing touches.

This is the first year in a decade that I will be home to receive all the ghosts and goblins. I am going to look for a witch’s hat today.

So get out your skeletons, light your jack-o- lanterns and have some treats tomorrow night. Enjoy yourself! It only comes once a year!

Happy Halloween. See you Monday.

I love sandwich boards. They are the perfect pint sized dose of cheer, wisdom or quirkiness. I have been collecting these for a while. They are little bits of art!

Steel cut oats*

I have wanted to try cooking oatmeal in our slow cooker for ages. I read a recipe years ago and forgot where I put it and then last week, I met someone making oatmeal in a slow cooker.  I screamed. It was a sign. I had to try it myself.

Ingredients.

Ingredients: Serves 3-4.

• 1 cup steel cut oats*
• 3 1/2  cups water. (The package said 3 cups but I added a 1/2 cup as I was slow cooking.)

I also added the following: It is based on a recipe found in Yoga journal that I modified.

• 1 handful of shredded unsweetened coconut
• A splash of milk-Almond is delicious with this.
• Cinnamon to taste
• A splash of maple syrup/honey or agave.

Put in oatmeal.

Put water, coconut and oats in slow cooker. Cook on high for one hour. Go and get ready for work. Stir and add toppings.

Coconut- you can toast it before if you like. I didn't.

Remember anything goes with plain oatmeal. It loves to be dressed up with fresh fruit, yogurt, raisins, nuts, and flax seed! Go crazy.

Water.

*Steel cut oats can take longer to cook than rolled oats and use more water to cook. Also there is a difference between quick cook rolled oats and slow cooked (Old fashioned) rolled oats. Check the packaging and adjust accordingly!

Fresh and hot.

Sweetness.

Good morning!

Enjoy.

Piles of pics.

Ahh coffee for the big job ahead.

Don’t you love Polaroids? I have a collection of them spanning the last 20 years of my life. They are mostly unsorted in a box in my office. I also happen to have blank wall above my bed, so I decided to make a little art project.

Do a mock up.

I saw something similar in a decor magazine some time ago and it I couldn’t get it out of my head.

Pretty picture.

Really the options are limitless, and you don’t need to have Polaroids- this can work with any photograph. It’s a good idea to take a step back now and again while working on this project. I had 1/2 of it done and realized it was leaning to one side!

Close ups.

Have fun!

Sunday in the market.

We decided to go to Pho Hung for lunch on Sunday and popped into Kensington Market on the last car free Sunday of the year. The streets were closed to traffic and open to musicians, fish frying, dance troupes, acrobats, puppeteers, garage sales, bubble blowing machines…you name it.  It was a beautiful sunny day. Happy Monday!

Doggies sunbathing.

Music everywhere!

There are still lots of free things in the world. I got myself one.

Improv songs by sweet and funny puppets.

Flying from sale to sale.

Street sales everywhere.

Hot chocolate blender powered by bicycle!

Drinking chocolate pucks for sale...heavenly.

Hula hooping dancers.

A crowd pleaser!

A perfect day.

First entry: June 26, 2009

When we moved into our house in March, my mom and sisters bought us a phalaenopsis orchid as a gift. I love orchids but I have never been able to get them to bloom again after the flowers have fallen off.  But this lovely gift has given me new hope and A NEW PROJECT. I am going to learn how to make this orchid flower again.

The orchid with no flowers.

After going to a number of orchid websites, I found the heading “What to do when flowering is over” at www.argusorchids.net.

Cutting the spike. Tricky!

I followed the steps and cut the spike (the flowering stem) about an inch from the root with a sharp knife. Next I had a look at watering and light requirements for this specific orchid. The leaves were very dark green which according to this website meant it was not getting enough light.

The experiment begins.

To up the humidity, I placed the orchid in the bathroom during shower time and then popped it into a south facing window for the rest of the day where it can get a good dose of sun. This will be the daily ritual until it warms up and the orchid can live in the shade of my backyard tree over the summer. The cooler nights will be good for it as well. It requires a drop in temperature at night to coax the blooms- they store food in lower temps!

I think I will try to find an organic fertilizer for it as well. I will keep you posted. I am determined!

August 2, 2009.

The new stem!

I took these shots this morning. I freaked out when I saw the stem and the new leaf flourishing. Living outside has been most beneficial!  We have had a lot of rain so I was careful to make sure it was not sitting in a puddle of water. I kept it well drained and partially under the umbrella of the patio table.

The new leaf. Notice how the leaves are less green? They are getting enough light!

I didn’t bother with the orchid food after all. Mother nature has done it all with a cool, humid, rainy summer. Maybe by Thanksgiving we will have some flowers?

The following pics are from dated from August 9th- October 22, 2009.

October 23, 2009

Almost 4 months have passed since I began this experiment. I woke up yesterday morning to the first bloom on the stem. Thank you patience! It is worth the wait.

Good morning!

October 22, 2009

Oh Vera!

Diana Coatsworth gave me the most beautiful vintage Vera scarf a few weeks ago and since then I have gone neck scarf raving mad. I have fallen hard for the timeless elegance of the neck scarf, popular in the 50s and 60s.

Vera in an ascot knot.

A neck scarf is an easy way to add a little elegance to your day-to-day outfits, add a surprising burst of color to your winter office attire or a way to rock your  t-shirt  and jeans.

I can never tire of a bow!

There are really hundreds of ways to wear these scarves and there are dozens of sites on the Internet that will give you a step-by-step instruction on ways to tie them. I googled “How to tie a neck scarf” and went from there.

As a belt.

I know there is 1950’s “How to tie a scarf ” book in a Goodwill somewhere screaming my name.

The "simple" way to tie a scarf.

You could certainly spend some dough on scarves. Hermes has many classics in the $300.00 range. (The edges are hand rolled.)

Scarves look smashing around the handle of a bag and are always there when you need them!

The local thrift shop is my favorite place. The searching is the best part! If you don’t have time to look, you can check out                A touch of vintage -Diana’s site where she sells some truly beautiful vintage scarves from her online shop.

This is a long scarf rather than a square one. I just wrapped it around and left it. You really can't go wrong!

My mom gave me a bunch of scarves when I was too young to appreciate their beauty and I am kicking myself for letting them get away! If you have them, don’t give them away! Pull them out of that box, and tie them on or umm… you can always send them my way…

Happy Thursday my stylish friends.

On Friday night, walking home from dinner, we passed a house with a bunch of furniture on the front lawn and a sign saying          ”Free.” I almost screamed when I saw this table there.

Hello sweet table!

I had been hoping one day to find a round coffee table for our very square living room and here it was and it was free. Problem: we were on foot and it was heavy and glass.  Michael suggested that I wait there and he would run home and get the car. But my theory is always to leave it, come back and if it’s still there, it’s meant to be.

We got the vroom vroom and it was still there! I knocked on the door just to double check that it was actually free for the taking and we loaded the table into the car.

Another find from years ago. This chair was set out with the garbage. The man tossing it said was his Grandfather’s office chair. It made me so sad that he was throwing it away. I had it reupholstered for very little. It is one of the most beautiful things I own.

This lamp was rescued from a house that was being pulled down.

This lamp was sitting in the rain in a back alley. I rewired it and then bought a shade.

I have found some of my most cherished objects in the garbage or on their way there. What great stuff have you found on your way home after work? I know there are some great stories out there.

I'm so lonesome I could cry.

Do you have a lone earring that you are just unable to part with? Maybe it has some beautiful memory attached to it or was a gift from someone special. Well, rather than letting that lonesome lovely languish in your jewelry box, why not make a necklace out of it? It’s really simple!

Supplies

You will need:

• Needle nose pliers.
• A jump ring. (You can get the jump ring at beading or craft stores.) I used a 6mm one for this project.

Using your pliers, remove the earring hook. There should be a little slice where the metal meets, gently pull it apart and remove.

Open up your jump ring. Try to move it to sideways rather than out. It makes it easier to close.

Attach the jump ring to the earring and close it with your pliers.

String a chain through the jump ring and you have a new necklace! Lonely no longer!

In Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea, the author makes an interesting observation about 3 o’clock.

“Three o’clock. Three o’clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do. An odd moment in the afternoon. Today it is intolerable.”

I have always felt a similar way about 3 o’clock (minus the intolerable part.) The afternoon has melted away, but the evening has yet to begin. It’s too late to start a new project, and too early to get after dinner activities started.  I feel a drop in energy at this time every day. I never have to ask what time it is, I always know. Coffee is always made at 3, and my focus is regained.

Vic at 3pm. Not joking. (The espresso machine is warming up inside.)

I was curious to see what other people’s lives looked like or felt like at 3 o’clock, so I asked them to take a picture at 3 and send it my way. Here are some of the pics I received.

Di working in her studio at 3pm.

Mike at 3pm.

Winnie's "Teenagers at the Movie theatre" at 3pm.

Carole's 3pm

Tom's 3pm

Kerri checks her watch...and waits for the school bus.

Greg's 3pm photo.

Norah and Jonah at 3pm.

Thanks to everyone who sent pics!