the bruce trail

Another great day.
We got up pretty late on saturday and decided to see if we were in good enough shape to conquer the dundurn street stairs.
we did it!
only a few short stops, but we did it!

i am so in love with my city.
it dosent get any credit due to its close approximation to toronto, but i mean, look at this scenery, and this is right downtown, just around the corner are the huge buildings and car fumes and everything.



















i did some sewing and finished a dress, its not the greatest but i am going to draft a pattern from it and make more to sell, up to a size 22!!
pictures tomorrow.
also, the dslr i wanted is finally on sale and should be here this week!!!

perfect day!

Today was a pretty full and busy day.
We got up early and went for a hike, we took a route that was a bit different than our usual way.
It was really fun to get all bundled up and climb the hills, using tree roots and rocks to help you up or down the path.
We stopped for our coffee and tea on a bunch in the golf course that intersects the trail. It was just way to cold and icy so we headed home through the golf course and back onto the main street.

We got home and had some breakfast, showered and got ready to go to the gun club to go shooting.
We went to the outdoor range which was freezing at first but warmed up once the sun came out.




I actually hit the targets today!

We got home, put the guns away and went out for sushi.

Now its time to cut my pattern pieces and watch season 1 of project runway while waiting for the Haunted Hamilton radio show on 93.3 CFMU to start at midnight, not cause I'm into ghosts, but because that show is just so funny and the husband and wife that host it are just hilarious.

fur baby

if you know me, you know how much i love leather and fur, taxidermy, etc.

i got two new fur pieces.
i cant even describe how awesome fur is on a cold cold day.






i went shopping with laura last monday.
i had a gift certificate for joe fresh but didnt find any clothes, so i got a ridiculous purse and make-up.
but i did get a new hat and a handmade necklace from laura.
they are both amazing!!




thank you baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on sewing:

a picture of the tote bag i finished. its HUGE



and i got this fabric at value village and will be making a mini dress from a built by wendy pattern out of it.

ushanka

i've been really lazy with updating!
i think its mostly because i am so unhappy with my camera.
i'm just waiting until the dslr i want is on sale (i just missed the huge boxing day sales!!)

i've actually started sewing again.
i finally finished the two bags that i swore i would have finished ages ago.

on to some clothes:


this is one of my favourite coats, from h&m, purchased many years ago.



i've been wanting mustard tights for a while now. i have seen people posting about thiers, mentioning that they bought them at h&m or f21, but they dont seem to carry them at any location i go to.
i found this pair on clearance at walmart for $5, along with a bright blue pair.
i was hesitant on getting them as they are one size fits all and i am pretty fat, but they fit perfectly and are pretty opaque.




i also picked up an ushanka, which i have been wanting forever.
i like to dress up really strange at home sometimes while doing things like sewing and the such.
these were taken a few days ago. not something i would leave the house in, well i probably would.



so, as you can see, these photos suck, and they are the best of the bunch.
it looks like they are taken with a webcam.

borrowing

A couple of days ago my husband was wearing his army parka while barbecuing.
I'm pretty sure I just cut him off and said, "hey, take off your coat and let me try it"
It is now my favourite coat ever.
It is perfect for the winters here.




My favourite part is the hood which has a bendable wire along the rim which allows you to shape it and do so much.

Today I am wearing all black.



I can't wait for dinner, it's taco night!

winter walk

i live really close to this pathway that is the most gorgeous, beautiful place to walk.
its so refreshing to get away from downtown.





it was really cold and i should have brought a scarf and worn double pants!




some people have been asking for the recipe for the gunnies.

7 packets of gelatine, unflavoured
3/4 cup splenda
1/2 cup water
flavouring

add gelatine and sugar and water, mix
heat on medium heat until all blended, add flavouring, then take off heat and pour into a mold.

we just lined aluminum foil over a cooling rack.


the only thing is that tthat amount of splenda is really not good for you, so i would just put regular sugar, whatever the equivalent to 3/4 cup splenda that is

also, you might want to add more gelatine, as this wasnt quite as hard and chewy as i would like

making candy

so, our sweet tooth is really kicking in so we decided to make our own gummies, which are sugar/fat/carb free.

we picked up some root beer and anise flavouring



and made these [these are the root beer ones]



they look like tapeworms and arent as tough as store bought gummies, but not a bad healthy alternative.


i made the biggest salads ever yesterday to go with dinner, they are so high, just a mountain of stuff.



doing the prep for dinners is just getting too gruelling so i wanted to buy one of thos chopper contraptions but i ended up getting a magic bullet which is really gread, but not a chopper at all.




when i was near the end of elementary/beginning of high school, i used two shampoos. halsa and outrageous by revlon. i loooooove the smell of outrageous and am so happy to find that they make it again. its also dirt cheap. i just cant wait until my conditioner is done so i can switch over!




i wasnt able to take any photos of myself today, mostly cause i was in pjs for the bulk of it.
this is from feb after i came home from san francisco, and i was reunited with my baby boy

so weak

i took these two photos about 10 minutes ago and i know that my eyes make me look crazy but i have no strength to take any more




there are two stores in canada that get overlooked.

the first is joe fresh.
its a clothing store inside of a grocery store.
the store has a lot of basics but a lot of their stuff is kinda weird and quirky and marc jacobs knock offs. the best part though is the price. dresses arent over $39, jeans are about $20, etc.

the second store is zellers.
if an american walked into a zellers they might think that its a target. they use the same sinage, everything in red.
the difference is that no one shops at zellers. you can almost guarantee you will be one of ten people shopping there.
zellers has teamed up with alfred sung and he has a label there called pure by alfred sung
i picked up a cardigan type top (pictured above) for $10
it has a little gold embroidered crest, big gold buttons and two small pockets.
its like a school uniform blazer, but soooo comfortable.
i'm not going to even mention his party dresses, and all under $50

the reason why i'm so weak:
i've decided, well my husband and i, to get in shape and just better health.
although we look young, we are by far not!
we kinda live off of high carbs and sweets.

we are on day three of watching what we eat.
its not that we dont eat, we actually eat a lot.
eggs for breakfast, shake for lunch, small snack, and some meat or fish with a huge salad, then a snack before bed.

seriously though, eating well is a lot of work.
it takes about an hour to prep the meals for the day.
this is just for the salad, minus the lettuce!



even though we are eating tons, we are not making our recommended calories so we always have a headache, cravings for sweets, and are just so week.
i'm about to have lunch with my sweetie, so i'm bringing an egg salad with lots of bacon!


xoxo stina

hamilton, ontario, canada

i think this was about two nights ago




and this was this morning



this is by no means a lot of snow but its kinda the first snowfall that will not melt by noon.


our stovetop is broken and i really wanted eggs this morning so i tried to make them in the toaster oven.



they turned out but werent the best.

these two projects have been sitting in the living room for a long time and i really need to finish them today!

first one is an oversized canvas beach bag from the gap that i like to use as a purse, only problem with it is that there is no way to close it. i'm going to add a zipper.



this is a huge canvas tote bag that i made from scratch just needs lining and a handle. i want to alter this pattern, change to size/shape/add more pockets/dye the canvas/add leather.



what i'm wearing today:



nothing to brag about.
this is one of my favourite t-shirts. i love the colour and the sequins

2009- my hair

This is a lookback at all the steps i took to get to my white hair.
This took about a year only because i took long breaks in between steps.
I now have 3 inch roots which means its time to re-do.