December
what the fun!?

Filed under making it happen

I don’t think anyone has noticed yet, but I am trying to start a word trend! Similar- but a million times better than the notables of the past few years- Paris Hilton’s annoying and vaccuous “That’s hot.” Lame.  Christian Siriano’s combinations of “Fierce tranny hot messes”- not bad, not bad.  And the most recent invention by the insane clown posse that is Tyra Banks- “Smize”. The short form for smiling with your eyes. Crazy.

So anyway, “what the fun!?” It came bubbling out of me about a month ago, right here on this blog. I wanted to use the other ‘what the eff’, but it just seemed tacky, now that I am a mother, especially when it was written right on the page. I’ve been strategically dropping the Fun bomb ever since. Since I can’t help myself from frequently using swears as adjectives, “What the fun!?” is kind of perfect. Friendly, child appropriate, portrays excitement. Everything I could want in a expletive replacement.

Examples for use-

What the fun!?  (you open a Chrismas gift of a Toronto Maple Leafs miniature yet obtusely large replica zamboni)
What the fun is going on in here!?  (you walk in on your cats sleeping)
What the fun is this!? (your Mom makes a delicious dinner)
Who the fun stole my cheeseburger!? (when you’re having lunch with Hamburgler)
How the fun am I supposed to know!? (someone asks you a question you’re too preoccupied to answer)
Where the fun is Maple, Ontario!? (your hubby tells you you’re moving to the suburbs)
As if I give a fun about Tiger Woods!? (you’ve lived on planet Earth for the past couple weeks)

It doesn’t really work for meanness or anger. “Fun you.” “Go fun yourself.” “Fun off.” Which is another reason why it’s great. I would never say those things anyway.

So, dear universe, this is my gift to you,  Christmas 2009. Just putting it out there. 

Try it, you’ll love it! Fingers crossed that it becomes passe and annoying. My life will be complete.

2 comments  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-12-15  ::  adrienne

December
cats don’t speak human, unfortunately

Filed under cats

We don’t live in Toronto anymore. We are staying with family north of Toronto while we renovate our new house in Maple. Maple- sounds sweet, cozy, and Canadian, eh? Love it.

My poor cats. We stopped sleeping at our house last Saturday.  All day long the world as Newton and Weasel as they have known it was being taken away. It must have been so confusing. The moving of the cats was probably the saddest part of the move. That evening they were scared and hiding. We finally got them into their carriers after much trouble, and into the car. It was me and my sister in law, and another friend, and a ton of stuff. The car was packed to the gills. We dropped Dave off and started the journey to our new life. You could feel the emotion in the car- excitement, expectation, sadness, regret.  It felt so . . . Christmassy.  A warm car packed with stuff, driving home on a winter evening. Quiet conversation between a couple passangers, the others being sleepily soothed by the voices, occasionally meowing quietly through the darkness, looking for reassurance of some kind.

Newton and Weasel (Newts and Wease) , brothers, were born at that house. I found them under the front porch while we were renovating a few weeks before we moved in. They were only six weeks old. I think they’ve always been pretty happy little fellas.  We let them outside when they wanted- until the streetlights came on- and they basically had the run of the neighbourhood.  We had a tree in our yard that we called “the cat tree”, I’d love to know what kind of tree it was because cats loved it! In our neighbourhood their were a zillion cats, including a feral cat colony up the street. . . Toronto has a serious feral cat problem. All the local cats would come and climb and rub their faces all over that tree. If you looked closely, you could see cat hair all over it.  It provided a lot of interesting action for them and for us. We would see many relatives in amongst the neighbourhood cats and name them accordingly- Old Man Newts, Chunky Newts, Chubby Wease. They had as much of a community as we did.

We’re temporarily living in a house that already has two cats, Tinka and Pepe. We were all nervous about what it would be like bringing the four cats together. So far it has been uneventful, they all avoid each other. True to their personalities, Newton thinks he owns the place and Weasel has been sticking to himself. They think our bedroom is their new house. I was hoping that maybe they would be more friendly and attached to Loenne, as she is from home . . . so far not so much. She however, loves them! Loves all things cat related, whether it’s real or a drawing in a book. She gets really excited, yells, laughs- it’s amazing, and perfect. 

I wish I could tell them what was happening, that we are moving to a bigger house with more cat height windows and places to sleep and hide. I hope our new neighbourhood is as cat friendly as the old one, that they don’t bother the new neighbours too much, that they figure out quick where their home is and continue to come when they are called. I should really figure out what kind of tree that was and plant one.

Our boys.

Weasel and Newton

Newton, big baby and boss of everything

Weasel- Sultan of Sensuality and all around cool guy

Love them!

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-12-12  ::  adrienne

December
Caninja sale complete!

Filed under caninja

I am done with the Caninja blog sale, thanks to everyone who took me up on it!

The remaining dozen or so I am taking to Out Of The Cold,  a charity in Toronto that shelters and provides food and warm clothing for the homeless. I hope they take them, and pass them out to a few folk who would probably really appreciate them.

Winter just hit Toronto a few days ago, and it’s funny as Canadians how we seem to forget what it feels like. Personally, I’m still adjusting. Brrrrrr. Where’s my Caninja?

Hiyaah!

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-12-11  ::  adrienne

November
last chance Caninja

Filed under caninja + for fashion's sake

The Caninja sale is now over,but if we are in mid communication regarding a Caninja, I still have it for you. The rest are being taken to Out Of The Cold. Stay warm!!

I dug out my stock of Caninjas from storage in order to send a few to some prairie folk who really need them.  (If you’re sitting in front of your computer right now saying ”Where the fun is my Caninja???” It’s been mailed!)

I’ve decided to put the rest of them up for sale right here on this blog. Never say never, but I predict I will not make these again. Here is your chance to own a piece of history!

I’ve taken some pictures of all my stock, these are the remaining Caninjas after making and selling hundreds of them over a few years.  Hopefully the pictures aren’t too terrible, and you can see the colour and pattern. Each Caninja is numbered left to right according to the numbers below the picture. To see more pictures of a particular #, please email me at info@butikofer.com. 

Regular price for Caninjas was $35-$55. These Last Chance Caninjas are priced like so- most are $20. The kids Caninjas are $15, and there are a few Caninjas that have hand sewn snaps and these are $10. Shipping or delivery will be an additional charge, according to location. Payment will be through Paypal, I will send you an e-bill when I receive an email indicating which Caninja you would like to purchase. info@butikofer.com

For more information about Caninja and what it’s all about- read this post. This sale will go on for a few weeks, and the pictures will be updated when something has been sold.  Hope you find something that appeals to your inner Canadian Climate Fighter!

$20 each- 1 - 2 - sold - 4 - 5

$20 each- 6 - 7 - sold - sold - sold

$20 each- 16 - sold - sold - sold - 20

$20 each- 21 - sold - 23 - sold - sold

$20 each- sold - sold - sold - 29 - 30

Kids Caninjas size 4-8 (app.) Too big for babies!

Kids $15 each- 31 - 32 - sold - sold - 35

Kids $15 each- 36 - 37 - 38 - 39

Kids $15 each- 40 - 41 - sold - 43

Kids $15 each- sold - 45 - 46 - 47

Kids Caninja-$15 each - with snaps and hand printed fabric - 48 - sold - 50

Adult Size with Hand Sewn Snaps- $10 each - 51 - sold - sold

Adult Size with Hand Sewn Snaps- $10 each - sold - sold - 56 - sold - sold

Adult Size with Hand Sewn Snaps- $10 each- sold - sold - sold - 62 - sold

Adult Size with Hand Sewn Snaps- $10 each- sold - sold - sold - 67 - sold

6 comments  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-11-13  ::  adrienne

November
when serendipity calls, you answer

Filed under incidentals + then it happens

You may not believe me, and that’s fine, but I swear that the following is true.

So today was a so-so day. Loenne was off her regular nap schedule and was kind of cranky and out of sorts all day because of it,  so I didn’t get anything done that I’d hoped to, because she wasn’t napping. Amazing how a baby loves a schedule! We were in limbo all day, very blaaahhh. I’m sure we’ve all been there.  I never expected that the day would turn into such an unusual one.

On a day to day basis, I spend a lot of time breastfeeding. Accumulatively over the past six months I can’t imagine the number of hours. I don’t mind at all, really. It’s very calming for her and I. But needless to say- it can be a little boring. It’s a lot of time to think, or watch tv, or whatever. Usually just think. Today for some reason- my random thinking topic was ice skating. My train of thought went something like this. . . When does a child learn how to skate?  3? 4? (insert visual of the 3 year old Gosselin sextuplets skating with chairs. I know, I can’t believe I just admitted that but that’s what I thought of. So kill me.) I haven’t skated in years. (insert memories of 6 years of figure skating, one year of hockey, remember that time I fell on my tailbone and hurt my ass so bad I still can’t sit for longer than an hour. Damn.) I wonder how bad I’d be now. I need to get some skates.  .  . I’d love to go skating this winter.  .  . Do I get hockey skates or figure skates? . . . I’m probably not very steady anymore so the blades on figure skates would probably be better for me.  And daintier.  . . Then I can push off from my little pick toes if I’m really terrible now. . . Yeah, I’ll get some figure skates.  .  .Maybe I can find them used somewhere. .  . Yawn.

A few hours later I went for a walk with Loenne and my neighbour and her baby boy. Not a block from our houses did we stumble upon a pair of figure skates hanging by their blades on a chain link fence. What the fun? Flashback to this morning thinking about skating, that was almost coincidence enough for me. 

We stopped and laughed at the randomness. (I don’t know if other cities and towns are like this, but in Toronto if people don’t want something and they are too lazy to take it to goodwill they just leave things on the sidewalk. Boxes of books, furniture, toys, small appliances, dishes, furniture. . . and no, it’s not just garbage, it’s for the taking.) So I examined them a little further and they looked like they might be my size so I decided to try them on there on the sidewalk. And guess what? THEY FIT PERFECTLY. And I have size 10 feet. They look like they’ve never even been worn. I tucked those beauties right into the stroller basket.  Suddenly, I was a person who owned skates.

Crazy, right? Crazy awesome.It’s just so wild that I was just thinking about how I wanted to get some, then they just show up, for free. These kinds of things don’t really happen to me. What does this mean?  Doesn’t matter. I felt really special, completely tickled, still do! 

I can’t wait to go skating this winter!!!!!!

aren't they gorgeous?

4 comments  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-11-10  ::  adrienne

October
happy halloween

Filed under baby stuff

Boo!  Loenne’s first Halloween!

She dressed up as a  . . . . . . . pioneer woman!

pioneer woman #1

have a break, you deserve it.

3 comments  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-10-31  ::  adrienne

October
fall is a time

Filed under for fashion's sake

Well hello. Allow me to introduce myself.

Watashi no namae wa Adrienne desu.

I learned that in grade 8, and I just managed to pull it out of my bum for you. It’s “my name is Adrienne” in Japanese. Are you impressed yet? What does a girl have to do!?

So, fall apparently is a time for buying books. Lots and lots of books! I honestly don’t know what has come over me. Perhaps because my house was stripped of belongings for selling (which it did in six days, holla!) that it feels like I don’t own anything anymore?  Regardless the rationalization, the transactions have been approved and they are all starting to arrive in the mail, which has been fun and exciting. All the books I’ve ordered fall into two categories, babies and fashion, and one really special one called “Teaching your Infant to Sew”. Kidding, gah! 

Today I received a wonderful little mystery called Pattern Magic. It’s a Japanese pattern making book and it’s awesome! There has always been a kind of reverent mysticism around Japanese pattern making in my head. I didn’t know anything about it and often heard of it being spoken in hushed, in-the-know tones, and for good reason! It’s wacky and complicated! The whole book is in Japanese but the diagrams and photos are extensive enough that someone with a good knowledge of pattern drafting can easily figure them out. There are a few ideas in it that are really inspiring. Check these out-

pretty

cool collar

does anyone have a vase I can borrow?

There are a few weird ideas too, of course. Like the skirt above with the vase in the side. I don’t know why this would be necessary, or in what instance the detail would be anything other than awkward. I’m trying really hard to figure that out. Perhaps it’s a handy carrot picking skirt? Or maybe it’s more of a ‘welcome to my nightmare’ blackhole kind of thing.

I’m really stoked about my new book. Never in my life have I ever wished I knew Japanese more than I do right now.

One last picture, this one of my amazing party animal daughter- totally stoked about my new book too!

frat boy impression

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-10-27  ::  adrienne

October
my favourite blog

Filed under for fashion's sake

Auntie Fashion

An anonymous blogger, an expert astrologer, a world wide fashion muse and critic, and dare I say, a friend.

Read it if you enjoy insightful commentary on fashion, and if you like “laughing”.

Here is a rare photo of Auntie Fashion snapped on an Alaskan cruise. Beautiful and mysterious, as usual. 

Glory be to Zob.

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-10-11  ::  adrienne

October
another saturday night

Filed under incidentals

It’s saturday night,
and my husband went out!
My baby goes to bed at 7.

What is a girl to do with her time?
When she usually stays up past eleven?

Baking, enjoying a glass of wine.
Scheming, thinking of now.
This life is so brand, it’s you that is new
I’ve been always this way forever.

Hey there! I’ve been doing a lot of baking lately- once or twice a week I will make something. I’ve been loving allrecipes.com, a tip from a facebook friend. There are helpful comments and feedback on every recipe, much better than my usual cooks.com. I’ve tried and loved these-

zucchini blueberry bread- I up the baking powder to about 3 tablespoons to make muffins instead- amazing! I did half blueberries/rasberries once, that was fun.

pumpkin loaf- I added a cup of chocolate chips, which was of course delicious. I made this earlier this week and froze one loaf to bring to a family brunch date at a friends tomorrow morning. When did I get so mature?

cranberry orange oat cookies- I made these tonight after buying fresh cranberries on a whim. They have a really nice moist texture and tangy flavour.

For all these recipes, I’ve been substituting half the oil for applesauce and splitting the flour quantities between all purpose and whole wheat. Everything works just fine, and is healthier I suppose. Not like I care- I was joking with a prairie friend last weekend about our mutual love affair with cooking with butter. She scandalously added that she loves to cook with cream, too.  Bold.  Everything I make is home made, and from fresh whole ingredients, so healthy is relative.

We officially bought a house this week, and also sold my old studio on the weekend. We’ve been busy getting our house ready for sale and our agent is coming to take photos tomorrow, finally.  I’ve watched enough home renovation and real estate television over the past few years to know what to do. We’ve stripped it of clutter, and personality, and it’s near immaculate. It looks great!  He is anticipating it being on the market for a week, only time will tell. The Toronto market is hot right now- everyone is buying and no one is selling, so there is competition for the good stuff. Real estate is so emotional. Wah! Yay! Eeek!

Loenne doesn’t love the vacuum, we’ve discovered in the past few days when we’ve been using it so much. She gets scared and starts crying. The solution? Yell “Vacuuuuuum” in a really loud, fun voice every time you start it up. Works like a charm.

I am busy dreaming and scheming about our new house in Maple. It was built in ‘81 and the bathrooms and kitchen are original, so we will be doing a complete renovation on those. We are going to move a misplaced main floor powder room to a more discreet location too- which opens up a somewhat small kitchen into a pretty large, potentially dream kitchen. We renovated the house we live in now top to bottom, and we’ve learned many lessons along the way. One of our mottos has been- ‘when in doubt, tile it’ and we’ve become pretty adept tilers. I am ready to take on a complicated idea for my kitchen back splash, maybe similar to the pattern on this mug.

 It’s a little bit Ukranian, a little bit rock and roll- no? I’m not Ukranian, and neither is Dom, but we’ve got a modern-vintage-homey-nature-Canadiana kind of style to our decorating and this fits. I think it would look radical, especially when everything else will be ultra clean and simple.

I could also do something in a bargello pattern- which I also love. Bargello is a really old (centuries old) embroidery style that has a pixelated look that would be easily accomplished with tile.

Scheming design, as usual. Ideas abound. Tood a loo!

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-10-04  ::  adrienne

September
The Clothing Show starts tomorrow.

Filed under for fashion's sake

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-09-24  ::  adrienne