getting ready to... (part 1)

we had the time,

we had a venue,

we had some money,

and boy oh boy, did we have the capacity !!!

when it came down to gathering our collective energies to put together a party, 

some amazing moms and children from lansdowne middle school showed what they got.

with the school year ending with an abrupt halt...

all the farewell ceremonies for the graduating grade 8s were cancelled

so a group of moms took it upon themselves to put together a celebratory farewell.

banners were made...

balloons were blown and hung...

pom poms were poofed and puffed...

garlands were strung...

the school colours are blue and yellow... 

so festive, so happy and just perfect for a cheerful backdrop

don't you think???

the food was bought...

and table clothes were spread...

flowers were vased...

and the tables were set....

the yummy grad cakes were lovingly homebaked...

and no, you are not seeing double... 

henrietta made two !!!

and just like that....

all our effort made it seem as simple as a twitch of our noses,

we were ready....

for the magic to begin

erica

xoxo

stay tuned ... for .the conclusion to this story in ..."par...tay!!!" (part two)

moment 6/27/14

a moment...

a friday ritual, a single photo, no words, capturing a moment from the week,
a simple, special, extraordinary moment
i want to pause, savour and
remember.

wishing tree

there was this beautiful wishing tree in the middle of fernwood square last weekend.

we were there for fernfest to celebrate summer solstice.

amidst all the dancing, eating, drinking and celebrating, people were stopping and taking 
some time to fill out tags with their wishes to hang on this tree.

 a wish tree is an individual tree, usually distinguished by species, appearance, 
or position (the case for this tree, in the middle of the square) 
which is used as an object of wishes and offerings.

i totally believe in wishes and putting them out there for the universe to consider...

there are so many ways of making wishes and i'm proud to say i've tried them all:

blowing out candles on a birthday cake

blowing a fallen eyelash off of a friend's finger

blowing dandelion achenes

tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain

seeing a shooting star

seeing the first star at night

finding a wishbone in a turkey, or breaking it with another person 

and the person with the larger half makes a wish

being landed on by a lady bug

catching a feather

seeing 11:11 on a clock

eating a folded over potato chip (called the wish chip) in 5 bites

but, this was my very first wishing tree...

i've never ever encountered one before, and apparently

 they are quite popular at weddings

i've always kept my wishes private, afraid to jinx them by broad casting,

 but with the wish tree they are all visible for all to see and read

we took some time to read some of them...

they were all beautiful.

some of the tags weren't wishes at all, 

some were just positive messages, gifts of wisdom, or words of comfort.

and some were such hopeful requests for furry little things to love.  

there were a few of these...

i loved how the wishes hung on the branches, being blown by the wind,

 and gathering energy to manifest.

and i loved how i was able to put up more than one of my own. 

(it's such a bonus... when you can wish all you want !!)

erica

xoxo

chair - ish

a friend invited me to check out his craft...

i went and i looked and was so impressed with what i saw ! 

he wouldn't stop talking about this course for months before it started.... 

( i actually loved hearing about it... heeheehee... but i wasn't gonna tell him that)

he was so nervous they wouldn't take his money and he wouldn't be picked to join the class...

then he went missing for almost a year....

he resurfaced more invigorated than ever, with lots of stories about his 
ten intense and creative months with the 
camosun college fine furniture class

'sunset lounger' by john tucker

'risky business' by ian porcher

 the hamptons chair by melissa miralles

"rest thee traveller" by ian k fleury

chair -ish was the end of year exhibit.

it was held at the arts centre at cedar hill.

this was where the graduating students showcased their final projects 

and submitted their creations to critical judgement by industry experts.

'the bone throne' by stefy

'check    it out"  by riley peace

'nomad chair and ottaman by christen lalonde

'rock me mama like a wagon wheel' by brenden james

each student was challenged to design and manufacture seating using western maple 
donated by the vancouver island woodworker's guild.  

for this final project, the finished chair must be 

designed to meet standard shipping size requirements 

(i.e. if the assembled project is too large, it must be designed and constructed so that 
it can be shipped in parts and easily assembled once delivered.)

'art deco dining chair' by cam dobson

'free range' by jamie noble

' the unchair' by max (lee lange)

'als ik kan' by nick picard

yes, the show was pretty impressive...

so much talent and all from our very own vancouver island.

all the graduates from this camosun college course received a 

certificate in fine furniture and joinery.

thanks for the invite, john !!!!

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: orange is the new black

nope... i haven't watched the series.

but i've heard tons of mixed reviews and have to say that i'm curious enough to check on piper. 
but that's another story...

when i went through my wardrobe, i hadn't realized how much orange i actually had.

i tend to only wear this shade during pumpkin season ... but not this year !!!

it's been said that orange is a power colour.

  

while red is associated with fiery heat, 

orange is associated with the benign warmth of the sun. 

 it is said to increase the craving for food and stimulates enthusiasm and creativity.

also, orange is a healing colour.

orange is thought to be the best emotional stimulant and 

can be helpful if you are depressed, bored or lonely.  

apparently, orange helps to bring out the joy we have inside us.

i tend to wear more blues and greens because i have strong chameleon tendencies 

and always take my cue and inspirations from my surroundings. 

i think if i visited india, or tibet or nepal for example, 

i would definitely be wearing more of this vibrant colour.

it's either that or grow more pumpkins !

like i've said on previous thrifted threads posts:  
99.999% of my clothes have been handed down to me or thrifted.  

most have no labels on them so i couldn't tell you their sources.  

however, the orange look-a-like jcrew bubble necklace... 

i purchased from the bay (triple discounted on a boxing day sale).


orange you glad you stopped by to read my thrifted threads blog today???

erica
xoxo