a blog about the little things: July 2010

7/30/10

running out of time.

i picture a woman waiting to run away,

her eye on the clock,

her heart on her sleeve

{shoes: thrifted, vintage}

{suitcase: thrifted, vintage}

{polaroid: running out of time}

~Caren

7/29/10

Small Town Ontario Road Trip, Assumption

On the way home, we arrived in the village of Assumption. The town was named for Our Lady of Assumption, the church that was built in the 1950s.

Mary greeted us, beneath a heavy sky...

I've always found this particular statue to be a powerfully classic visage of the Virgin Mary.

She was striking, standing there, with the dark stormy clouds behind her.

She practically glowed.

Assumption, Ontario, is the final installment of the 3-part Small Town Ontario Road Trip series.

I think Mary is a perfect ending to our little trip through the little villages outside of my hometown. Our Lady of the lost & found helps you find your way home again. :)

Happy trails! I hope you get to have a little adventure somewhere close to your home, too.

~Caren

Part 1 - Warkworth

Part 2 - Hastings

Small Town Ontario Road Trip, Hastings

On our way home, Hastings, Ontario beckoned us.

This is Part 2 of a Small Town Ontario Road Trip...

Astrid a'leaping! Wouldn't you leap too, if you saw blue benches & a bright yellow wall? Love!

We found shelter during the thunderstorm that hit when we arrived. What a sky!!

Snapshot of the cafe/shop's sale goods being rained upon & blown all over. I told the young man working that his products were getting wrecked, but he just smiled, shrugged & said he'd get them later. That made me smile.

Skipping. There must always be skipping! {Astrid & I after the storm hit}

We stopped in Hastings for a drink. Ended up in a wonderfully quirky little Cafe-thrift-clothing-candy-jewelry store. Yes, it was all of those things in one place. Really good baked treats from a Portuguese bakery in Toronto. Plus, such a wide variety of *stuff* that it truly was a one-stop wonder shop! I think I'll end up in Hastings, Ontario again one day.

Next up, Assumption, Ontario aka 'the one with Mary in it'.

~Caren

Part 1 of the Series: Warkworth

Small Town Ontario Road Trip, Warkworth

You're in Warkworth, Ontario, so please wipe your feet...

The sign that greets you upon entering the local cafe. Charming, n'est pas?

Myself & Astrid, one of my fellow road trip travelers, in front of said cafe.

Where, I might add, the owner thought we "dined & dashed"!

The Yellow Bordello, a delightfully yellow building.

Did not go in to find out if it was, in fact, a bordello... can only hope it is!

Found out Warkworth, Ontario and Warkworth, New Zealand are sister towns!

This photo shows clocks that keep time in both these towns. Nifty!

Astrid enjoyed the ducky/platypus stuffies found in the Cheeky Bee shop. Oh so yummy beeswax candles to be found here!

I love round things. This is a very pretty round thing!

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day with family/friends. A girls day out, in fact. My mom, my goddaughter Astrid & her mom Michele, & myself, all went on a mini road trip to celebrate Michele's birthday. We decided on Warkworth as the final destination. Wonderfully, we got lost on the way (don't you love that? makes the trip that much more interesting!), so a 40 minute drive turned into well over an hour.

A pretty blue glass ring I bought in Warkworth. {photo by Astrid}

Warkworth, Ontario has plenty of artsy & home decor gift shops. It's amazing how such a tiny little village could have that many! It seems to be the only attraction on the main street - art & gifts. Not complaining, mind you! Somewhat saddened by the fact there is not one thrift shop to be found in this quiet village. Ah well, c'est la vie!

This is the first post of a 3-part Small Town Ontario Road Trip series. The rest of the series will be scattered throughout the day. Enjoy the trip! :)

~Caren

The Terry Cloth Romper

Flashback: the terry cloth Romper!

{clockwise, from top left} hot pink romper by jessjamesjake, light pink romper by Brownbag Vintage, blue romper by Dear Golden Vintage, yellow romper by Old Age, green romper by Rust Belt Threads

If you grew up in the 1970s (and early 1980s) then you know the thrill of the terry cloth romper. Mine was a beige little number, akin to the light pink one above, but with brown & orange piping. Oh yes, I was a stylish 8 year old.

The rainbow of colours available in terry cloth made this a popular item for us to romp around in.

I love how Etsy.com always has what I'm looking for. My inner 8-year-old is content.

~Caren

7/28/10

restless

night time quickens

exit sign flashes

so you ride

wind pushes everything aside

restless motion

creeping in

and out

the world

it's a blur

you like it like that

take a breath

seek direction

finding your way

back home.

-caren

7/24/10

she lives in a polaroid

Astrid is a girl in a Polaroid. It's a nice place to be...

{Polaroid taken with my rainbow SX70 OneStep, using Impossible Project's TZ Artistic}

~Caren

P.S. Still time to enter Buttercupped's Polaroid Giveaway!

7/22/10

a moment for nature

i love bugs.

not those annoying little buzzy kind or the kind that has a colony wanting to destroy my plants,

no, i love the cool otherworldly bugs.

the ones that really do look like they are from another planet.

i also love flowers. specifically after a rain.

which means, what i really love is rain droplets

on blossoms & greenery.

grasshoppers are awesome little creatures.

i never tire of watching them hop, flutter, fly, climb, jump, stay still.

i admit, i end up sounding like a loony when i have a chat with one,

but they almost look like they understand.

this little (BIG) critter was hanging out on my umbrella.

what IS he? he's gorgeous, is what he is.

almost adopted him!

for all those who get creeped out by the insect world, i do apologize. but you have to admit, these guys are less creepy & more cool. right? :)

~a very buggy Caren

7/21/10

It's orange, French & perpetual...

... and I love it!!

Who wouldn't?

Orange ✔

French ✔

Perpetual Calendar ✔

Vintage ✔

Original box ✔

Me = happy ✔

This is my first purchase from Every Eskimo, but I think it won't be my last.

I have never received a package quite so delightful before!

The vintage photograph, the library card thank you note, the typed envelope, the use of vintage patterns to wrap it all up in... oh, what a delight!

So, go on over to Every Eskimo and go shopping! I'll join you...

~an orangefully happy Caren

100 ♥ Polaroid Giveaway

Buttercupped reached 100 followers a little bit ago, and for that milestone I decided to give away one Polaroid Sun 600 LMS PLUS one pack of Impossible Project's PX 600 to one very buttercuppery person!

UPDATE: The very lovely people over at The Impossible Project has graciously donated a box of their stunning PX 600 film! This means, not only do you get a Polaroid 600, but you get a pack of Polaroid film to go along with it. I ♥ the folks at The Impossible Project, don't you?

It's easy to enter this giveaway! Here's how:

follow Buttercupped (if you aren't already) - do this by clicking the 'Follow' button found on the right column.
comment on this post - let me know what you'd love to take a Polaroid of! (leave some way for me to contact you, too)
for a bonus entry, tweet this giveaway - http://bit.ly/bV1rRT (a link to this post to use) & reference @buttercupcaren (me!) in your tweet. Remember to leave a separate entry comment for your tweet!

Note: this giveaway is open Internationally (as long as shipping is not over $20Cdn). So, whether you're from Canada, USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa - it doesn't matter. Just be aware that shipping will take quite a while to get overseas, and there won't be any insurance. :)

Contest ends July 31st, which gives you plenty of time to enter!

That's it! Enter away, and good luck!

~buttercup Caren
p.s. Thank-you to Norah of blog 'let's run away' for being buttercupped's 100th follower!

7/18/10

Sunday Smile: 6am

My Sunday 6am bike ride.

Family Time: Mama, Papa, & two Fledgling Osprey

My 6am Polaroid, of Osprey nest & Dam.

I hope to make this a regularly scheduled program in my life. 6am bike rides (or walks). It's the best time of the day.

A not-quite-awake time.

A blurry-eyed view of the world time.

A time of day when you can wander aimlessly & it's okay.

Never look back?

I got up, threw on the closest articles of clothing, grabbed my cameras & my bike. And went. And didn't bump into another soul. Just birds and squirrels.

This made me smile...

~Caren

7/17/10

polaroid: summertime toes

these are my happy toes & my deep thought sunglasses.

Polaroid taken with my rainbow SX70 Polaroid OneStep, using Impossible Project's TZ Artistic film.

summertime and the living is easy (unless you're like me & have an aversion to humidity, heat & too much sun) - you won't catch me sunbathing, but I will plant myself in a shady, grassy summery spot & watch the world go by. :)

~Caren

p.s. Don't forget to enter Buttercupped's Polaroid 600 Giveaway! Contest closes July 31st.

♥ Etsy Front Page!

she went on a stylish safari

my treasury found its way to Etsy.com's front page(!!)

Where The Wild Things Are

{it was an alternate pick, but also one of the inspirations behind the treasury!}

I'm pretty thrilled to (finally) have one of my treasuries picked for Etsy's front page. It's a big deal, in the world of Etsy (at least for me!).

A big shout out to Curation Nation (the Etsy Team I'm a member of), for making this little Etsy dream of mine come true!

Congrats to everyone involved on getting a little extra attention via this safari. :)

~a giddy Caren

7/16/10

Star Wars on the Subway

Source: {the fabulous Color Me Katie}

You'll laugh!

You'll cry (of laughter)!

You'll wish you lived in Brooklyn NY (unless you already do)!

I wonder if Improv Everywhere will come to Peterborough some day?

Just watch the video clip above & you'll see why I'm giddy.

~original Star Wars fan, Caren

7/15/10

Uppercase & a Dress

A couple of nifty things to share.

a dear friend lent me 2 of her Uppercase magazines to get lost in
a new red & white party dress found its way into my closet

I merged the two into one photoshoot:

above:

{Issues 4 & 5 of Uppercase magazine}

{a framed piece - little girl dress - by Michele Karch-Ackerman}

{Framed vintage patterns}

Turns out, the red dress also fits my dear friend Karen too (pictured above, twirling)!

It's the Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress! :)

Now to get lost in Uppercase universe...

~Caren

p.s. Michele Karch-Ackerman can be found in the most recent issue of Uppercase (#6), in the 'Is it Creative? Is it curious?' section on page 11. :)

7/14/10

Etsy Front Page ♥ Wooden Nickels

The Vintage Apartment found its way to the front page of Etsy.com once again, thanks to the very lovely & talented Yvonne of Wooden Nickels.

The Mutual Punch was featured, and sold immediately! yay!

The very fabulous geek chic office treasury that Yvonne created.

Not only is Yvonne a talented artisan, but she is also one of the Curation Nation Team Leaders. Curation Nation is an Etsy Team that I'm a member of (happily), where we focus on creating appealing treasuries (in the hopes of being chosen by Etsy to be on the front page). So far, in our short existence, our Team has had quite a few front page exposure! Go Team! :)

Yvonne makes unique handmade jewelry. I love that she uses found objects & upcycles them into something pretty, fun, & wearable! Not only that, but Wooden Nickels also donates 5% of every sale to the American Cancer Society.

Here's a few of my favourite items that Yvonne has creatively created!