You and me going fishing in the dark

Lazy yellow moon comin' up tonite,

Shinin' thru the trees,

Crickets are singin' and lightning bugs

Are floatin on the breeze Baby get ready.....

Outfit details

Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12

Black and white gingham hair scarf Black sash waist blouse: Zellers Koi fish brooches: eBay Orange bangle bracelet: Forever 21 Wood bangle: yard sale (I think) Black bangle: Claire's White skinny belt: eBay Denim capri pants: Nine West Black bow adorned flats: Payless Lip colour: Red Apple Lipstick's Red
Photography by Antonio Cangiano  
                 

There are few people I've ever met in my whole life who work as hard as my husband does. Lest you think I'm biased, on top of his demanding full time job with a multi-national tech company, he runs several successful websites and blogs, and has authored two (terrific) tech books in the past four years (plus he’s also involved with a myriad of other online projects).

For years I've sweetly been telling him that I wished he'd take up a hobby (he had outside interests of course, just not always the time and means to pursue them) and give himself the occasional break from all that diligent work.

Thankfully (because we all know that being a workaholic can eventually wear even the most resilient soul down) this year - in no small part to the fact that we now live in B.C. and have a car, Tony was able to get back into a hobby that was near and dear to his heart when he was a youngster growing up in Italy. As you may have guessed from the title of this post and the grainy night time iPhone photos above, the would be fishing.

In the evenings and on the weekends, whenever possible, Tony has spent much of this (mostly) toasty Okanagan summer fishing up a storm. By and large he's a catch and release kind of guy who enjoys fishing for just about anything and everything that swims in the abundance of lakes around these parts (he especially likes going after carp though, which are not as popular in Canada as some other fish like bass, salmon, and trout, but which he used to fish in Italy and really likes going after).

I don't fish myself (due to my health, I don't usually have the upper body strength or stamina required), but every now and then, I'll have a day when I'm well enough to go out and accompany Tony on one of his trips as his trusty companion while he fishes to his heart’s content.

Such was the case on the gorgeous evening earlier this summer (about a month ago) when we bopped around some of the surrounding areas, stopping first at Yellow Lake outside of town (no bites - but we did see an adorable little turtle and dozens of pretty dragonflies), and then proceeding on to a little lake in the nearby town of Oliver called Tuc-el-Nuit.

There on the tree line shores Tony cast his rod as the sun set and a warm breeze enveloped us. In the spirit of the day, I wore my three koi fish brooches (I madly adore koi!) in the hopes that they'd bring us success. No dice, but it didn't matter, we were just happy to spend a few hours together in the great outdoors amongst some of the loveliest scenery one could ever hope to encounter.

On most of his other fishing excursions he’s fared far better, so perhaps there's good luck in just owning these cute brooches. I'm so, so pleased that Tony now has this fun activity in his life again as a way to help him unwind and relax from both work and the daily grind, no matter if he goes out at 6am or 7pm (the latter of which, as it's usually cooler at night, I much prefer when I'm tagging along).

You and me going fishing in the dark, Lying on our backs and counting the stars Where the cool grass grows. Down by the river in the full moon light, We'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night Just movin' slow... Stayin' the whole night thru, feels so good to be with you...
(Lyrics from Fishing In The Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)

What have you always loved?

The recent events surrounding our cross country move have had me reflecting lately on an interesting topic: what are some of the things (not people, that’s an entirely different subject unto itself) that I've loved throughout all of my life?

You may wonder how moving ties into this topic, so I'll happily dish the details. Two things in particular have brought this thought to the forefront of my mind. For starters, in the weeks immediately before we hopped from Ontario to B.C., I made the decision to sell off most of two collections of items (Japanese Re-Ment brand miniatures and Pullip dolls, respectively) that I'd been amassing for nearly five years.

The key reasons why I decided to do so were to a.) raise additional funds for the move and the expansion of my wardrobe (which, as you may recall, was/is one of my goals for 2012), and b.) because it meant that there would be a little less to pack with us (an important point when you dealing with movers who charge you both on distance traveled and the weight of your belongings).

These two collections - one (Re-Ment miniatures) much larger than the other - were no less important to, or beloved by, me than ever. Rather, I believed (correctly, I'm glad to report) that the money I knew I could get for selling them could be put to better use right here and now at this stage in my life. I'll always adore Japanese toys and dolls, but my interests at the moment aren't focused on those areas of collecting, so it didn’t make a world of sense to hold onto these items any longer.

The second reason that I've been reflecting on the subject of lifelong loves is because the town that Tony and I moved to, just happens to be one of the two in which I spent a solid chunk of my youth. For several years of my childhood and teenage years, the charming city of Penticton (located a few hours north east of Vancouver, in the gloriously sun-kissed Okanagan Valley) was my home.

From classrooms to skating rinks, quaint back allies to the bustle of main street, through some of the best and worst moments of my formative years, I lived, breathed, and walked amongst the buildings and landscapes of a town that now, for the first time, my husband and I get to experience together.

With so many thoughts pertaining to, and a solid knowledge of, the area, I've naturally been taking a long distance run down memory lane as of late. Starting many a conversation and observation with phrases like "Oh, I remember", "We used to", "Back when I was growing up", and other similar sentiments.

These sprints through the halls of time cannot help but make me take stock of what elements in my life I've loved, cherished, and held a vested interest in since I was a little girl (we moved to Penticton about a month before my 9th birthday).


{Life is abundantly peppered with all kinds of loves. Some are short lived, whereas others stick with us throughout all of our days and never fail to garner revisiting time and time again. Charmingly pretty vintage postcard image via Jerub Baal on Flickr.}


It's entirely normal like or love tons of things throughout your lifetime that only end being a part of your world for a while. From passing fashion trends to TV shows, childhood hobbies to food crazes, there's something downright wonderful about getting to experience new likes that eventually make way for others. Yet few amongst us are without a solid list of things that we've loved since we were little kids.

As someone whose tastes have always veered on the eclectic, varied, and abundant (as in I have scads of interests) side of things, I'd imagine that a complete list - if such a thing were possible - of things I've always adored would run well into the hundreds – or more!

It's easy to pick out some however, and I plan on doing just that in a future post. Today though, what I'm curious about, sweet friends, are some of things - they can be anything from a brand of soap to a breed of cats, vintage shoes to a sports team - that, for just about as far back in the pages of your own life's history, you can remember loving and which you still have a passion for today?

I believe that such ongoing interests shape and help define who we are. They can lead to careers, possibly contribute to how we meet our significant others, take us to foreign lands, bring us both joy and sorrow, and are amongst the topics we turn to first when carrying on a conversation. They've been with us so long as it's as though they've become an invisible part of our DNA. Always there, constantly important, and perpetually meaningful.

What have you always loved? Let me know in the comments below and next Friday (one week from now), I'll randomly select one person who leaves a comment as the winner of a little surprise gift pack of assorted items (think items pertaining to crafting, vintage fashion, etc) that tie into some of the things I've adored throughout the course of my own life.

26 things that always make me smile

The world is a never-ending playground of possibility, and I for one have long been enticed by countless elements that it presents its inhabitants with. Not one to tunnel vision my way through life, I fall into the eclectic camp. Admiring, questioning, enveloping myself with, fantasizing about, falling head-over-heels in love with countless places, items, people, moments, creations, sounds, scents, tastes, thoughts.

While, naturally, certain things consistently rank highest on my list of favourites, it seems that each day a new fascination comes along that brings joy to heart, intrigues my intellect, makes me question past assumptions, gets me as revved up as a hummingbird, sooths my soul, spurs my creativity, or simply – and perhaps most importantly – makes me even more thankful that I’m alive.

Today in particular it’s easy to reflect on the fact that I’m a living, breathing member of society, for on this particular date 26 years ago, I entered the world.

In celebration of my birthday, I thought it would be delightfully fun to share with you all, twenty six (amongst the countless number of) random, wonderful things that have long been passions, interests, dreams, and favourites of mine. One entry for each year I’ve called this humble planet home.



~*~ 26 things that always make me smile ~*~


~*~ Creative individuals ~*~




~*~ Perfectly golden duchess potatoes ~*~





~*~ Rambling, charmingly aged British manor houses ~*~





~*~ Songs that have the power to instantly bring me right back to another time and place in my life ~*~




~*~ Kitchen items in my favourite colour (pink!) ~*~




~*~ Bing Crosby ~*~





~*~ The rich scent of chimney smoke drifting through the air on a bitingly cold day ~*~





~*~ Writing letters by hand ~*~





~*~ The strength and wisdom my mother has shown me ~*~





~*~ Wildly electric lightning storms ~*~





~*~ The feeling of fresh beginnings that comes with new school supplies ~*~





~*~ Baroque and Rococo art, decor, and fashion ~*~





~*~ Being BFFs with my husband ~*~





~*~ The almost haunting call I feel to travel to the Yukon (where I have ancestral roots) ~*~





~*~ Ultra feminine fashions ~*~





~*~ Pulling together a delicious meal on the fly when it appears that there’s “nothing to eat” ~*~





~*~ Splendidly pretty, crisp-as-Melba toast, jewel toned autumn leaves ~*~





~*~ Matryoshka dolls (and anything depicting them) ~*~




~*~ Sporting both ruby red lipstick and nail polish at the same time ~*~




~*~ The feeling that comes from holding a vintage item and sensing that a snippet of time is resting in your palms ~*~




~*~ Russian literature ~*~





~*~ Snuggling up with a ridiculously cozy blanket ~*~





~*~ Reaching for the stars ~*~





~*~ The incredibly tranquil sensation of a warm summer breeze ~*~





~*~ Drive-in movie theaters ~*~





~*~ All of you, my amazing vintage loving blog friends! ~*~




{All images above are from either Flickr or Wikipedia. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr or Wikipedia page.}


As another birthday morn commences, I am acutely aware that there will be events in the coming twelve months that will be anything but gorgeous at times, however it’s unrealistic to say expect life to always be a bed of roses (an ingrained truth that age seems to make one all the more attuned to).

Yet, am I as certain as the air I breathe, that more often than not, the entries above, plus many more new discoveries and favourites, and the mysterious promise of the very future itself will keep me smiling for another exhilarating year – and really, what more could any birthday girl possibly ask for? :)