Birch Bark Soap

I really, really love homemade soap, so recently I ordered a lavender bath bar from Birch Bark Soap. I have been drooling over this soap ever since I stumbled upon Sherries blog twenty-two pleasant, and learned that she is a soapmaker from Nova Scotia (my new favourite province)!

I was pretty excited about receiving this little treat, checking the mail box every single day for it's arrival. Lucky me, today was the day! It couldn't have come on a better day either. I had a pretty terrible morning, so nothing was better than opening a mailbox that was filled with the smell of lavender!

I was also surprised to see that Sherrie also threw in a (large!) sample of her carrot complexion soap, accompanied by a really lovely thank you card. Seriously, I have so much love and affinity for this soap right now - It's so beautifully fragrant and soothing - I can't wait to use it! After such a crummy start to the day I definitely needed the pick me up.

Thank you, Sherrie!

Santo & Johnny

I can't stop listening to Santo & Johnny, and this song just kills me every time.

Valentines

I know it's late, but I want to show you the cutest little chocolate I received for Valentines Day!

For Valentines Peter gave me a small bag of handmade chocolates from Coco Chocolates. The 'Burnt Flowing Caramel' and 'Balsamic and Lemon Zest' ones were top notch, but this 'Hazelnut Mushroom' has been deemed my favourite! I've been saving it so that I could share its cuteness over my the internet, and must continue saving it so that I can share it with Peter a little bit later! YUM!

EDIT: It was delicious!

Dress #2, and a jacket!

Since finishing my first dress, I've bought materials for two more. I made this one yesterday afternoon, and I'm so so happy with how it turned out! Today I will attempt the jacket. I'm crossing my fingers, knees and toes in hopes that I can pull it off! Wish me luck!

First Dress

I finally had enough guts to make my first dress! It's a really simple empire waist dress, with gold buttons closing the back and kimono sleeves -- how appropriate with that Hiroshige print behind me! Hah.

I've been wanting to have a go at it for some time now, so the other night I went to Fabricland, picked out a pattern, grabbed some broadcloth and thread, and got right to it. I cut out all the pattern pieces that night, and it took the entire following day for me to sew it all together.

Since it was kind of a practice dress it's riddled with imperfections. Like when I was spacing out the buttons, and I didn't bother to measure out the distance between them.. Or when I was cutting the button holes, and cut one way too big.. Oops! Its okay though - they're fun, silly mistakes that I'll try not to do again, but really I don't mind. I think the wonkiness of it is pretty cute!

Fabric and Shop Update

Yesterday Peter and I went to an estate sale in search for some fabric, and I came out with a pretty good stash!

My favourite is this really beautiful white and blue satin. I love the way it's dyed - the blues and white remind me of super soft cirrus clouds. Delicate, subtle, perfect! I think I'll be saving this for when I get my first Japanense dress book.

So.. about my Etsy Shop. It's on hiatus at the moment. Boo! I'm waiting for a credit card that should arrive in two weeks or (hopefully) sooner. So hang in there - it's going to happen soon, promise!