Kieran Takes A Ride

A special lunchtime treat for you.... Kieran takes a ride on the back of the a tractor. Gary swears this is a legitimate farming technique.

Hidden Treasures

Am I turning this into a farm blog? Possibly.

Sunday at the farm was a little too humid for my liking, so I took lots of breaks and explored parts of the farm I usually don't venture too. What did I discover? Lots and lots of hidden magic. Like these ruins! They were really hard to get a decent picture of, because you had to walk through some muddy water first, and that was basically where ten thousand mosquitoes lived.

I can't believe Gary never mentioned them before.... Oh hey, I just have some old ruins on my farm... no big deal.

I also found this beautiful old building. Thea has been trying to convince everyone we need a chicken coop at the farm, and I'm all for it. Thea, I think we found our coop.

And finally, this boat will also come in handy when we're camping this summer... we just need to find a way to get it out of the mosquito-guarded trees.

A Note From Hollie

This is one of those small world moments for me. A couple of weeks ago we got an email in the White Elephant account from Toronto based jewelry maker, Louanne, introducing herself and her designs. She went on to mention that she believes I was friends with her younger sister, Pearl.

We were friends. Pen pals, actually. Pearl and I were pen pals for about eight years. My grown-up memory didn't think it was that long, but on our grand opening Pearl came out and gave me a care package of all the letters I'd ever sent to her. We wrote letters to each other from grade two or three up until grade nine. BEST PRESENT EVER.


This letter is my favourite. Written on Lisa Frank stationary I ask Pearl "do you like magic eye or 3-D illusions?"

I mean, who doesn't? As it turns out, I really liked them because it's not the only letter I bring 3-D illusions up in. Other obsessions were Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon and reminding Pearl that we were best friends forever. B.F.F.!!!!


I want that letterhead again.

And we're now carrying Louanne's line of accessories at the shop; Lokyan. I especially love the Ballsy necklaces.

Apiary

Sunday morning the lovely Jenna and I went flea market shopping. It was the perfect way to spend the day. However, I am kicking myself for not picking up these books from 1835 on honey bees and this awesome honey tin. They were a little out of my price range, so I didn't go home with them. BUT I LOVE THEM. So, Mike, if you want to get me an amazing birthday/anniversary/just bought you this because I love you gift, you know where to find it.

Cat Napz

Saturday was the first day in a long time that I didn't have to work, and I had nothing else I needed to do. In other words, a day off.
My cats were feeling the exact same way I did, and we spent most of the day lounging around the apartment and laying in bed. Shortly after these pictures were taken, I decided they looked so cute that I should lay down with them. Two minutes later, I fell asleep.

Back in Action

We admit it: during the month of June our Ainslie Wood Co updates suffered a little bit. Renovating a building, moving a business, and decorating a new store is HARD you guys. We ran out of time. Plus, until we get the back room all cleaned up, Hollie has to bring the Judy home every weekend with all the clothes and take pictures at her place. Not the most ideal situation.

BUT... we are back in action. We've been updating the shop all week and we have LOTS more to add next week. Regular updates. Every day. Get excited.

Researching

Today we were being interviewed for our local community television station and the cameraman wanted some shots of us on the computer "researching." Instead we e-chatted with Mike. Since we had to have it on mute for the cameras, we asked Mike to do some miming for us.


Processing our request.



Running.



Trapped in a box.



Glasses.



Gang signs.

Doe

The last few times I have visited my mom, I've seen deer in this field on the way home. The last time I spotted one he was so close to the road, and I stopped and walked over as close as I could get. I didn't have my camera on me, so I just kind of stood there and watched the deer until it eventually got spooked and moved on.

Last night I had my camera on me, and there were at least 4 deer out and about. Unfortunately, they were pretty far away, so the picture quality isn't very good at all. Still, if you squint, those guys look lovely don't they?

Ta-Da!

Oh, silly me. I've forgotten to show everyone what the new shop looks like. How funny.


Phew. That was a lot of work, but so totally worth it. Also, guys, Jane is amazing. She hung absolutely everything in the store. Every shelf, every mirror, every box. And it wasn't easy; it was drilling through brick. Jane's a tank.

But, Jane, you'll be happy to know that I've started doing push-ups every night so that I won't be so weak in the arms anymore. I've started small. I do five. Girl ones.

Other than my new fitness regimen, things have slowly been getting back to normal around here. Well, our version of normalcy anyways. Our next project is to clean out our back room of doom so that we can make it a functioning office/studio, where we could also take photos of new Ainslie Wood Co. pieces. All work in one place! Like we're a mega business or something. I can't wait to get some cussin' file cabinets, you know?

But for now, I'd just like to take a breather.

Things Not To Bring To Our New Junk Store

Foolishly, Jane and I thought we'd be safe from people dropping off bags of their junk at the new shop. It doesn't look like a junk shop anymore! I guess to the people who don't understand curated vintage, it will always be a junk shop. As a disclaimer, Jane and I did discuss not posting the items people drop off anymore in case of hurt feelings, but then we realized that when they drop stuff off we are very clear in saying that we don't want these things. That we can't sell them. But they always respond with "well, I'm just going to throw it out anyways, so I might as well leave it here." For that attitude, we get to ridicule you on the internet.



Clothing! The potential of people dropping off junk clothing didn't even cross our minds! For this particular piece, we actually talked to the woman on the phone and she described it as an "antique crocheted blouse." Hey, I didn't realize that Urban Planet has been around since Hudson's Bay Company. Or that halter tops were popular in the 1930's.



So much going on in this top. Please take note of the burberry print, roses, leopard print and faux vertical belt detailing along the buttons.



Herb pots? I don't know. I don't care. Please stop bringing crap like this to our store.



Flower choker from Dollarama.



We're not even safe from donations from our friends. This beach bungalow scene plugs in and lights up and plays sounds like waves crashing. Our dear friend Kieran gave it to us, despite our complete insistence that we didn't want it. Sorry Kieran, we hate to call you out like this on here, but you brought it upon yourself. Please come and take it back.

Summer Adventure

Ruche's Summer 2010 Lookbook is killing me. It's making me want to get to cottages, and beaches, and lakes, and oh man I just want to spend all of summer relaxing and wearing these adorable clothes.

Honk Honk Honk

Some people might get annoyed by the constant honking and cheering all day down on James Street North when Portugal (or Italy) wins a game in the World Cup, but I love it. This is exactly what living in a city should be like.

Start to Finish

This weekend we picked some more radishes at the farm (there are A LOT of radishes) and then with the help of my neighbour, I tried my hand at pickling & canning for the first time. Aside from when I spilled Mustard Seed all over the counter, it was incredibly easy, and I can't wait to can more vegetables as they come up this summer. Not only will I have delicious preserves all year round, but it's getting me one step closer to my dream pantry as well.