Grey and Green

Okay, today I broke out the green table cloth. Don't worry... I have a few more colors left to go :)  One thing you did not know about me is that I am the Queen of Productivity! I am very well trained in productivity systems and in fact, I developed a comprehensive training program that I provide to all our new staff at work.  I love being organized!!  A few things that have made a big difference for me and that I have incorporated into my program are:

1.  The "Getting Things Done" System by David Allen
2. Evernote (Productivity App)

Using the system I've designed helps SO much in that you can always have confidence that you are able to manage a high volume of information coming at you (because thats just today's world) in a way that is manageable and makes sense. Now, this doesn't mean you are necessarily DOING something about all that information (from emails, meetings, phone calls, brainstorming, thoughts in your head at 2am, to-do lists and daily chores, etc) however, you have an excellent system for capturing and prioritizing all this information.    Anyway, Evernote recently came out with a laptop bag and since my old one was falling apart my hubs ordered this one for me for xmas and I JUST got it about a week ago.  Apparently it came all the way from Switzerland or someplace like that.

It's a cool bag in terms of shape and size. It's not the greatest if I need to carry a lot of documents though.  This is more a day to day bag and if I have to go away on business I would likely take something bigger.  I liked the color as well.  Take a look in case you need a new laptop bag (and NO... I'm not sponsored by them or anything.. dream on!! :)

PS I feel like batman in this shiny boots :)  UP UP and AWAY.

70's Skirt

This was fun today. I hung up an old plastic table cloth thing as a backdrop and it worked except for all the wrinkles and ripples.  I thought it would work well with this skirt.

I must say a big THANK YOU to Ally from Shybiker as the observation made was that I suited bold patterns the most and when I think about it I also feel better in these kinds of clothes so am now making more effort to create outfits based on that.  What a great bit of feedback that has made a big difference!

SO CRAZY-- I just wrote this then went over to Ally's blog and saw a post about me in bold patterns. NOW that is coincidence and so awesome. Wow oh Wow I am so honored!!!

Black High Top Pants

I almost wore this long tunic/blouse untucked today because these pants are really high waisted. I tried tucking it in and loved it.  I liked the plain simple lines and the flare of these pants.  I just had to be careful I didn't touch the cats before work or would have been covered in white fluff :)

Do you ever wear high waisted pants?

Sunday Lunch

photo: from Nourish Kitchen and Cafe

photo: from Nourish Kitchen and Cafe

Happy Monday!
Snapshot of Sunday:  I know I look owly (is that how you spell it?) in the photo above. Well, I was DARN COLD if you can tell I have purple lips :)  I had to act fast and take this since it was windy and cold and its the only one that turned out :)

I did a 30km trail run on Sunday and came home with about 30 minutes to spare to quickly get showered and out the door  to pick my friend up to take her for her birthday lunch.  Hence, the hair- I just threw on a hat  and off I went!  What do you think?  I'm not fond of me in hats and the hubs kind of laughed and said: " well, I guess its OKAY..." Nuff said :(

So my friend and I went to this amazing raw food cafe (Nourish) that is located on the grounds of the local horticulture centre that is so beautiful.  Most of the food is grown there and is otherwise from local farms.  Its all organic and so tasty.  I had borsht (the kind without the cream in it) and it was amazing!

We're lucky because today is a holiday (Family Day. Woot woot BONUS--so I'm working on the landscape plan for our front yard. Can't wait to share that with you.

Have a super day!

Saturday Wear

2 more sleeps and I get my hair cut. I can hardly stand it. It's to the point where I don't even want to leave the house these days.  Never will I let this happen again!!  I did my long bike ride today and then came home, did some house cleaning and got organized to go for a drive and coffee with a girlfriend of mine.  She has been single for a long time and has recently met someone new.  She's nervous to get her hopes up and also very excited so I feel honored to be the only one who knows about this right now.  We went for coffee so she could give me an update.  I'm living vicariously through her as she shares about the exciting aspects of a bran new relationship.  Not that mine's not awesome, its just fun to hear the new-ness of it all and how excited she is.

Other than that, I'm now at home making a huge pot of turkey soup so we can freeze it and have on hand for the wet rainy days we are out cycling. Its so great to come home and have soups and chili's on those days.   Four hour  trail run planned for Sunday. I can't wait, thats always the highlight of my weekend, its so amazing being out in the west coast forest, rain or shine!!

PS. I LOVE This purse I have-- I bought it in Thailand in a small village and love the colors of it.

Hope you are having a great weekend so far as well!

Snapshot of a day

This morning I got up early (as usual), made a smoothy and then headed to the gym.  I had today off and had planned spending the morning working on my landscape plan for our front yard. My landscaping/designer friend was even going to come over and help me except she called to reschedule at the last minute.  So, I made myself a decaf coffee and checked my emails.  Then I thought that since I wasn't very fashionable instead I would give you a peek into my day.

Our kitty sat and watched me as she dozed off.

I checked email and listened to the radio (well, not THIS one:).  This radio was my grandfathers and it was the only thing I wanted of his when he passed away. Its a shortwave radio and I used to listen to international stations with him when I was young.

My favorite teapot I bought because I thought it was beautiful. Its not very practical though because the metal handle gets too hot when you have tea in the pot so you have to use a towel or oven mitt to lift it up to pour :(  probably why it was at the thrift store!

Our cute little vintage/retro salt and pepper shakers. The cat is salt and the fish airplane is pepper :)

I headed off into the pouring rain to do some photography and experiment with the new remote.

Jeans and jacket. That's me unplugged :)

I'm part of an online photography group and am currently doing a 365 challenge (a photo a day for 365 days) so I took advantage of having the day off to go practice my photography skills. I found a funky old vintage store with lots of cool things in it. What do you think?

Back home, I had a snack and wait til the man gets home and we are going for beer and a burger with an awesome couple that we train (triathlon) with.  Thats a snapshot of my friday.

What plans do you have this weekend?

Red and Leopard? Leopard and Red?

It was POURING rain today and I rode to work and home for lunch and back wearing this outfit and my beige trench coat. Yes, I got soaked. Especially my hair!  I just felt soggy and frizzy all day.  Thats life though right?  You just have to roll with it and not let circumstances dictate how your day goes.  I love riding my dutch-style commuter bike in skirts and heels and my bag in the basket on the back, its so fun regardless of whether its raining or not.

I definitely feel WAY better wearing defined waists, larger belts etc vs baggier looser clothing.  I just need to shake things up and mix and match more outfit ideas.

Tonight we are siphoning our homemade elderberry cherry wine into bottles.  How fun.  We're always making some kind of homemade concoction around here!

What are you doing tonight?

Lurking at the Anglers Club

Testing the remote control-- remember I told you it only has 2 sec delay...

Hello in there??

Proof that my hairdresser should not go on extended vacations!! #pleasehelpme

Oh my! Someone has spotted me lurking at the Anglers Club!!

Quick photos today- still working out the kinks with this new remote control and trying some more fun shots instead of the same old stand and pose.

I still don't like this stoooopid skirt. I can barely walk in it its so narrow and each time I wear it I think to myself " I need to get rid of this stupid skirt" but then this thought gets sucked out of my brain and I pull it out and try wearing it AGAIN.  OKAY. it goes in the thrift/consignment box TODAY!!

Enough about me. How was YOUR day:) ?

Another Zebra Day

You've heard my rants about remote controls. Well. I ordered a new one and recently received it.  $30 it was! HOLY SMOKES.  Anyway, it works great in terms of communication to the camera and its only 1 piece.  The other ones I had you needed to connect 1 piece to the camera and turn it on, then use the handheld remote to activate it.  So anyway. This is only 1 unit so is convenient and looks pretty sturdy so I am hoping I don't break this one too :(    The downside is it only has a 2 second delay, not 10 seconds so I have to act fast and put/hide the remote before the photo gets taken.  Always something to keep things interesting!!  So consider this a disclaimer that if I look stunned in my upcoming photos its due to the timer delay issue (and no, I can't set the 10 sec timer on the camera and activate it with the remote :(

What technical issues have you had to deal with as a blogger?

Zebra Turtle

I had nothing but conference calls all day today so I wanted to dress comfortably.  No one would really see me anyway since I would be glued to the phone getting cauliflower ear (why do they say that anyway?).

Upon reflection and seeing these photos I'm not a fan of this combination-- better to wear the turtleneck with a high-waisted skirt I'd say.  Lesson learned.

What did you learn today?