a perfect christmas morning

...would include this under my tree:

from azkaban with love

(weheartit)

pardon me for the nerd post, but its been a big, harry potter-filled week. my sister & i began planning our trip to mecca, ads for the half-blood prince dvd* have been all over tv and then, best of all, paige told me the greatest news ever!! hopefully this will tide me over until november, when the next movie is released. otherwise i could just re-read the whole series - it's going to be a long, cold winter.

*yep, that's another christmas present hint.

i <3 nyc

growing up i was always pretty into maps. on road trips, i'd get so excited when my mom got tired and let me take over navigating duties. but after a visit to the tate modern's exhibit on global cities and a summer touring around europe i got really into maps - specifically, transit maps. i managed to accumulate quite the collection of dog-eared subway maps over the years, which have now been lost into the abyss*.

so, as i kind of have a thing for maps and new york is one of my favourite cities in the world (second only to paris), it goes without saying that i need** this poster.



i mean... hearts + maps + nyc? adorable!!

also, how can you not love a company whose slogan is: "we make a happy life. have a talk and feeeeel love."


*also know as my parents' basement
** ahem, friends/boyfriend/parents/sister... christmas present?

the sun is up, the sky is blue

this past sunday, natasha and i met up to drink americanos, browse antiques and shop for new tights - the perfect autumn afternoon! an unexpected cancellation freed up more time, so we decided to buy some magazines and cozy up with a pot of tea. while wandering through the magazine racks at the nearest bookstore, i came across milk and bought it instantly (even though i don't have any children. not a big deal, right? i think not, but some people disagree with me. whatever.).

so basically, i love everything about this magazine.

the mondrian-inspired market page:
the dreamy, parisian papas:

and, best of all, a streetstyle page shot by my fave (garance doré, holla!):

there are also a couple kiddie-fashion editorials and an article about children's creative spaces and design that was really interesting. all in all, this magazine is awesome and embodies the type of hip parent i one day hope to be.

(sorry if the scans are a bit dark. i'm not used to all the settings on the office scanner.)

don't you forget about me

goodbye summer, helloooo fall!

i know i've been gone for a while, but life took over and the blog fell by the wayside. i'm in at an interesting point in my life right now, which i can't really put into words. so instead i'll share some things i've been liking lately. i promise i'll be back soon (& hopefully words > pictures).

(too lazy to put photo credits in. if a photo is yours, let me know & i'll add credit. xo)

if it ain't baroque...

(via black book & refinery 29)

after seeing Mary Ellen Matthews' photo of Dead Weather for Black Book and Peter Lippmann's new ad campaign for Christian Louboutin, i feel an overwhelming urge to unearth my old comparative literature & civilization textbooks. these photos really stir up memories of sitting in a dark, forgotten basement classroom in university college* looking at slide after slide of baroque paintings and architecture. so, for nostalgia's sake (and because this is my blog and i can do whatever i want), here's my favourite painting from that class - "Las Meninas" by Diego Velázquez.

(via wikipedia)

*for the record, this was the actual name of the building, not me creating a vague name for a post-secondary institution. because.. c'mon, i could make up a better fake name than that. anyways, i linked a map so you could see that the building really exists.

mommy dearest

my mom's birthday is around the corner, so i've been on the hunt for the perfect present* for her and if my paycheque came with a few extra zeros on the end, this would be it:

(via sub-studio design)

this adorable rain collector is one of the first pieces from the recently launched HERO 365, a company that creates "extraordinary resource saving products for everyday life". as my parents' house is in the country and they rely on a well, this rain collector would be extremely handy (it can hold 45 gallons of water!) during the dry summer months. oh well, maybe next year?

*i.e. a present better than what my sister gets her, to cement my position as "mom's favourite child"