domicile

Busy, busy, busy

It turns out all this publishing a book business is rather enough to keep one occupied for days/weeks on end. Between various book related things, and book blog posting I feel like I've barely had time for domestic life, let alone time to blog about it.

Martin, on the other hand, is up to all kinds of housey stuff lately, but sadly he's hopeless at documenting it, and even worse at typing. So some of that will go unrecorded until I find the time to put it together.

Between making my living at the computer and all the book related computer time, I've been trying to spend most of my down time away from the computer. Martin and I have in fact recently taken up a semi-regular habit (say 2-3 times a week) of going to the community centre gym. I'm enjoying it more than I've enjoyed gym-like exercise in the past (I'm typically more of a dance class/yoga kind of exercise girl) and in a further twist of strangeness am actually really enjoying the treadmill. I was always the girl left out running around the track long after everyone else had gone back into the changeroom in P.E. class, so enjoying running is truly novel to me. There's just something about the total contrast between all the sitting and thinking of my normal life and clocking miles on the treadmill that is making me rather happy these days. I've also found that I most enjoy my time at the gym when I've got either comedy (hello hello David Cross!), audio books or language podcasts on my iPod. Today Lauren turned me on to the Stephen Fry podcast (or podgram as he calls them) and I can not recommend a better accompaniment for exercise if you, like me, enjoy a little wit and esoteric commentary with your treadmill time. (Having actually just typed that, I'm going to assume I may be among the very few who do in fact enjoy comedic musings on Victorian era aestheticism on the treadmill, but if you're one of the other few I dare say you'll thank me as you chuckle through cardio).

We're off to Seattle, New York and DC next week on a mini book tour of sorts. If anyone has ideas for recommending things to do, see and eat in New York in particular I'd love to hear it (we're in Seattle very briefly and in DC for not much longer). So far I've been taken by the hand and instructed to eat at Angelica's Kitchen and I've discovered a Seville connected vendor of handmade flamenco shoes that I must stop in on. All other recommendations for beautiful foods, lovely shops and must see locations are most welcome.

Unscheduled Spring Cleaning

While I like a good Spring clean as much as the next person, I really hadn't planned on spending last weekend scrubbing my house out with bleach. I had especially not planned on being locked in said house, dependent on the kindness of very kind friends to drop of care packages of movies, gingerale and saltines while we withered  indoors during Vancouver's first beautiful sunny weekend. We got Norwalk, also known as the nasty, nasty stomach bug that just won't quit. And if being up all night expelling the contents of your entire guts isn't enough fun for you, Norwalk seems to  leave you basically wasted for about 48-72 hours afterwards, which is helpful since unless you hate the human race -- particularly the ones who inhabit your community -- you really ought to quarantine yourself. And so we did.

Martin and I have never been sick together. Not really. There was that time in Costa Rica when he was sick on the way down, and I was sick a few days later and we've had the odd overlapping cold where one starts to get sick as the other is pulling out, but this was different. We were both in bed, flat out useless from Thursday night until sometime Sunday evening. The end. Even moving to the couch to watch movies together was more than we could handle. So, we didn't. We actually lay in beds having conversations like this:

"I can't get comfortable."
"Me Neither."
"Do you mind if I just kind of roll around and moan for a while? I think that might be more comfortable."
"Sure, I did that this morning. It helped."

We had the conversation more than once. I don't tell you all this to get pity. We have enough for ourselves. But rather to note that while I'd never, ever want to have Norwalk again (ever), there was something strangely lovely about having it with Martin. We always comment on how little time off we have together. Save our vacations away, we only have one common day off (Sundays) and we're almost always doing chores/running errands/tearing the house apart or putting it back together/etc. It was kind of nice to just lay around, even if it was in agony. And to know that we can lay around in agony together and actually laugh every once in awhile. Almost makes up for missing bike rides through the Spring weather and cherry blossoms. Almost.

The Boss of You is now shipping from Amazon.com

This book thing just gets more and more surreal all the time. Get your copy now, if you're so inclined.

New Year, New Look

I spent much of last year wishing I had time to rejig the design of this here blog, and sadly that time never materialized. Today, on the last day of the holidays I found myself with not enough time to start any of the big new projects on my list, and a desire to spend a fair bit of time in my pjs. Mucking around with Photoshop and Typepad therefore seemed like a swell thing to do. I'm hoping this design is a bit simpler overall (I've removed a number of content elements including most of the ads), and that the banner becomes something I can switch out from time to time. At the moment the photo doesn't include Martin, so that will need to change at some point. Sadly we have almost no photos of the two of us together.

The other thing you'll notice with this redesign/retooling is that I'm featuring my book that is coming out later this year in the sidebar there. The process of self promotion seems a bit strange to be honest, particularly since I've yet to hold the physical book in my hot little hands. This year is going to be a lot about that book. Preparing for promotions over the early Spring, heading out of the office and away from the domicile in May/June for a mini-book tour, and hopefully a decent amount of publicity and public profile to help get the word out. I'll surely be cross promoting it here and ask you to forgive the interruption of domestic goings-on once in a while.

What else does 08 hold? On the home front we have many ideas but little in the way of reserves. We redid Miss P's room as her Christmas gift (photos to follow soon); we have to do a bit of a rush polishing job on our downstairs bedroom in time for house guests later this week; there will liklely be a fair bit of painting (and hopefully not too much drywalling) to redo our livingroom colour, our bedroom and the big looming project of repainting the outside of the house. I'm also hoping this spring and summer will bring me more spare time for gardening and some creative outdoor projects. Last year I spent so much of the spring and summer working on the book in my spare time that not much remained for puttering in the dirt. I'm feeling very inspired by some successes (and some useful failures) in my holiday gift sewing and hope to keep a bit of momentum going with sewing this year (I do still have that awesome Amy Butler fabric to find a home for). I lost a bit of steam with the bread making last year, but have spent today (between photoshop fiddling) on a new bread recipe for a french boule, and hope that the addition of the KitchenAid for auto-kneading might be a bit of a kick in the pants in that direction. And, while it frustrates the hell out of me that this is not something I can control, I'll admit that it is my sincerest wish that by this year's end we'll also have a proverbial bun in the oven over here. And, if I may be so bold I'm hoping the process is a smooth one and not full of the drama and sadness of past years.

At the very least I do hope that this year brings enough spare time for reflection and creative musings in this space. And of course, there will be lots of snuggling, purring and mischief coming from our beloved Pluto the Wonderkitty.

Bedroom Redux

  Wall Graphics 
  Originally uploaded by emira

When we first moved into our place we had a long list of things that had to be done to make the place livable. Things like tearing out all the carpets and redoing the hardwood floors (hello drum sander!), taking down the oh so nasty window valences and rotting curtains and painting every wall in the house. Now, I knew at the time that choosing paint colours for every room in a house you've never lived in, and while under the insane stress of buying a home and moving into it (while also working full time, and oh yes did I mention redoing all of the floors?) wasn't the wisest way to arrive at colours you want to live with forever. That said, it was much better than the yellowing, dirty white walls with butter yellow trim that filled the house when we got it. As such, we've lined most rooms up in the house for a repaint. We already did the kitchen of course, and next on the winter task list is our bedroom and now Miss P's room.

Of all the colours we painted, I actually really liked hers the best. It was called Pinko and I've often described it as feeling like you're walking into a room made of Hubba Bubba gum. In a good way. But, she's tired of it. And I can relate. I once had a pink room when I was growing up and while I adored it at the time, over the years it grew to grate on me pretty heavily. She brought up repainting her room when we asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Given that it was just her birthday and she, as usual, received a bounty of gifts which now have her decked out with all the electronics an 11 year old could desire, redoing her room seems like a good gift.

The only draw back? Trying to find time to repaint her room and restyle it -- we're going to find some furniture that fits a small room better than what's in there now -- in three weeks. The bit that gives me hope? No plumbing. That makes every reno better let me tell you. And really, this is just paint and some furniture. Likely a curtain or two and maybe a light fixture. Piece of cake.

I've ordered her some wall graphics from Surface Collective, which you can see in the image there. Surface Collective is a local Vancouver company -- so local in fact that I can go pick them up on my lunch break when they're ready -- that have really caught onto this whole wall graphic thang that's going around. We'd love to do more with wall graphics in our house but very few of our walls are smooth, in fact only Miss P's room, the bathroom and the kitchen. So she's the lucky winner of this current design trend.

Now I'm on the hunt for some eco-paint to use. I love Yolo, but she's requested a colour they don't have. I've heard that Sherwin Williams makes a low-VOC paint, so I'll call around this weekend to see how true that is, if it's available in Vancouver and what their colours are like. If anyone has ideas or links to awesome bedrooms for 11 year olds, send along links. We're in the research/inspiration phase, so all ideas are welcome!

On Aprons. Again.

  gardening apron 
  Originally uploaded by emira

I promised plenty of apron talk this month, and I have to warn you we're a month out from month's end and I'm still in the thinking/planning stage and not the actually doing stage.

So here's the thing. I have a chance to be near my favourite fabric store this week and the two books containing apron patterns that I ordered have yet to arrive. I'm pretty sure I want to make the Lotta apron (as seen here, but I need to know how much fabric to buy. Does anyone have Simply Sewing? Can you send me the fabric requirements? I'd so appreciate it.

Real Live Art

  camilla engman in hallway 
  Originally uploaded by emira

One of the first big purchases Martin and I made together as a couple was a piece of art. We fell victim to two things: first, too much wine at the opening and second, it was a gorgeous piece of art that touched us both immediately. That piece was an original by a local Vancouver artist Jude Griebel and it now hangs in our livingroom. (Incidentally the house the painting now lives in was our second big purchase together, we take baby steps). The piece is called Further Towards the Forest, and you can see it here if you're interested. It tends to illicit strong reactions from folks. Many people don't like it. We adore it. But you already knew that.

Since we bought that piece we've slowly collected pieces from many of our favourite local artists. Among them Mia Hansen, Lori Joy Smith, and Renee Gouin. We typically pick these pieces up at openings and sales in town here and, with this new fangled contraption called the internet, we've been adding to our local art collection with some truly awesome pieces from a few webstars like Camilla Engman (that's one of her prints kind of poorly photographed there in the photo) and Abigail Percy. I fear I'm liable to get a bit Etsy happy and go overboard one of these days, though we've still got plenty of walls to fill, so I'm probably safe for a while yet. I recently snatched up a set of Camilla's prints, and while they're not exactly originals I just can't recommend them enough as they're a screaming deal (in my opinion) and boy do they make me super happy every time I see them. (Imagine how much I'll like them when they're actually framed!) I grew up with a lot of original art on our walls, most of it done by a close friend of the family, and while Martin and I are certainly not experienced collectors by any stretch of the imagination, it's a wonderful way to bring stories, beauty and friends into your home. If you've got a favourite local/rising star of an artist or count yourself amongst the talented, let me know. I'm always on the lookout...

And speaking of tempting beautiful things, Megan/Not Martha is a guest blogger over at Design Sponge right now. Among other things, she's got a piece up about window film. Megan has the Strossel geranium pattern in her kitchen which I much adore, and has used window film to great effect in her own place to block out nasty neighbour's walls while keeping light in a space. We keep meaning to do this in the kitchen so we don't have to watch the frat boy neighbours constantly trying to start their broken down cars while doing dishes. And as I think about it, this might be a good idea for Miss P's window which looks out on the neighbour's less than beautiful vinyl siding.

New Fall Shoes

  new shoes 
  Originally uploaded by emira

When I was a little girl my mom used to take me to the children's shoe store on Oak Bay Avenue for a new pair of shoes. They were always Buster Browns, they were always Mary Janes, each year I had a choice between black, navy and one year I believe there was a burgundy option. While I loved this ritual -- the new smell of them, the sticker and hard candy they always gave you at that shop, the anticipation that perhaps this year there would be something more exciting in the selection than last year -- I can't say I totally loved the shoes themselves. I believe I had a keen eye for the delight in the cut of cloth and pairings of colours that fashion and fabrics bring me today at a pretty young age. And, so, it kind of surprised me when I realized this Fall I was on the lookout for a pretty conservative/practical pair of mary janes to round out my shoe collection.

I'm not sure if it's just the change in the tides of fashion (certainly when I was a university student/raver in the mid-nineties these would never have passed muster), or perhaps the influence of my new love for all things flamenco (many have commented that these look like flamenco shoes), or a resurrection of childhood nostalgia but I'm rather smitten with the humble mary jane this season. That said, this particular pair have a flair that my five year old self would have given her baby eye-teeth for what with the flowers and all. The best part of these shoes? I didn't have to leave my house to buy them. Actually, that's not really the best part because I honestly love boutique shopping. But after scouring boutiques both in town here and in Victoria I still hadn't come up with a pair of shoes that met my current requirements for: pretty, comfortable (meaning a little heel was fine, but nothing over 2 inches and must have decent arch support), and laced with a hint of 5  year old mary jane nostalgia. This pair are from Zappos who finally, finally, ship to Canada. (How did I not know this by the way?) The convenience combined with the sinking American dollar/rising Canadian dollar meant my resistance faltered and the shoes were acquired. And my how I adore them. Though, they notably did not come with a sticker or a hard candy.

News seasons. New Beginnings.

  narcissi bulbs 
  Originally uploaded by emira

Last weekend, in the pouring rain, I tried to put my I'm-a-rugged-west-coaster / it's-better-than-working face on and plant my fall bulbs. I managed to get them all planted and did a none-too-shabby job of cleaning up the flower beds, before I gave up and went in for a long hot bath and some tea. By the time I was done I had that kind of wet cold where water is actually seeping up your jeans, and your wool sweater wears twice what it did when you started. My gloves were also so slippery with mud that I couldn't get them off my hands (too slippery to hold onto!) and I actually considered for more than half a second (officially too long) the option of grabbing a very, very muddy glove in my teeth to pry it off my cold fingers. I ended up using my feet. Whining and winging aside, I did actually kind of enjoy my time out in the garden for a number of reasons beyond that perverse feeling of having accomplished something despite my strong will to go inside and snuggle. Mostly, I have to admit my internal rhythms seem forever tied to the school year more than the calendar year and fall seems to bring with it a sense of renewed possibilities. As I was out there digging wee bulb holes and trying to envision what everything will look like next spring, I couldn't help but get hopeful for the chance at a little renewal (the metaphor was right there for me to grab onto afterall), cuz frankly I could use it right about now.

Making Dishes

  just some of the afternoon's dishes 
  Originally uploaded by emira

When I'm riding a wave of stress (and have I mentioned lately just how very stressed/busy things are? yes? oh good) things tend to go in two phases. Phase 1: abandon all sense of domesticity, eat out for lunch at work and forage from the fridge/eat out for dinner, cease all laundry habits and let piles of cat hair take up residence in increasingly conspicuous locales. Phase 2: freak out about total lack of domestic comforts, begin to make lists on bus rides/in my head while cycling of foodstuffs that will ground me, gently prod the lovely Martin to vacuum the house and say a silent prayer of thanks when he also tackles the laundry. This weekend Phase 2 began in earnest, and Sunday many, many loads of dishes were washed in our sink as the following items piled up in the fridge/freezer:

• Heidi's life changing lentil burgers. I do not jest. As a vegetarian I have made my share of veggie patties over the years and typically they take a long time to make, require too many ingredients and then fall apart when you cook them. Not these. No sir. They were seriously done before I knew it. Required ingredients which were already in my kitchen and now comprise my lunches for the week, while also leaving me enough to put in the freezer for a few weeks from now when I find myself in a similar time crunch. Oh, and yummy. For the record, these are similar to the garbanzo version in her cookbook, which I can definitely see in my future.


• Also from Heidi's cookbook I had made a batch of the roasted tomato/paprika soup earlier in the week, and at my friend Sarah's suggestion didn't add water to use it as a sauce. I took the remains of that (which for the record I didn't add paprika too), added some fresh sage and popped that into a pyrex freezer dish with some made-by-the-local-Italian-ladies spinach canelloni from my favourite deli to make a canelloni meal to pull out of the freezer and pop in the oven later this week. I whipped up a simple wholewheat breadcrumb/garlic/fresh herb topping thing to go on that too, with some somewhat sacreligious (to Italian cooking purists) hempseed nuts thrown in for extra protein.


• At this point in the day I started roasting some veggies for veggie quesadillas for our dinner that night. The recipe comes from the Rebar Cookbook and includes lemon zest, fresh basil and chipotle pepper with the roasted veggies (actually stirred into the veggies after roasting) which I think is lovely.


• Once the veggies came out of the oven I quickly attempted recreating the tofu sesame snacks they make at Capers (a local organic market) here in town. I've always loved them and consider them a kind of perverse hippy/veggie/healthy person treat to get each time I go. We recently brought some on a beach picnic with Miss P and she adored them and requested them for her lunches. Not wanting to pass up a chance to add something that simple and healthy to her lunches I decided to give it  a whirl, by simply using all the ingredients listed on the deli packaging. Turns out that works. The not-so-secret ingredient? Cumin. In about 15 minutes I had a whole tray of them. Next time I'll make two bricks worth as I couldn't stop Miss P from eating them over the day.


• What next? Ah yes, lemon squares. This was another Miss P request, though since she had mentioned it I had been overwhelmed with a craving myself. I realized I didn't have enough cornstarch as I was finishing up the recipe so used arrowroot powder instead. It didn't seem to set quite right and required extra baking, so the bottom crust ended up a bit tough. Oh well. Still lemony/tasty.


• Somewhere in there I made a pot of lentil soup as well, but looking back I'm honestly not sure how.

And with all that stocked and stored in the fridge, plus some red pepper pesto I taught Martin to make on Saturday night we've now got a fridge/freezer bursting with easy/tasty food so that even my actual time at home is precious, I can feel more grounded (and well fed) while I'm there.