OM: To My Dear Nokia 6301

Originally posted by fated to pretend.

This week's One Moment (a.k.a. great online meet up started by À la mode Stuff) is of the simple, we, well I, definitely, take for granted variety... Appreciating the phone.

From Sunday to today, I called and received a many phone calls. Thank goodness for a nearly unlimited mobile phone plan! Of course, it's when I forget my mobile at home and am therefore kicking myself for being forgetful, that I realize how much I count on it, and being with me! This week, I appreciate it: period.

To My Dear Nokia 6301,

How I heart you. I've dropped you, misplaced you, scuffed you up, and handled you with sticky hands while I'm devouring gooey and delicious frozen yogurt. Yet still, always, you stay by my side. Not to mention, while your screen is not as fancy and touch sensitive as the iPhone or functional as the crackberry, you still provide easy access to mobile web. You wake me up each morning, and even allow me to capture special moments when forgetful me has left my digicam at home.

Your battery may not last forever, and occasionally calls are a bit static-y, yet through it all you're there for me. And this week, you

• Were my timepiece getting me to networking events and informational interviews on time;
• Delivered great news from recent job interviews;
• Helped me coordinate with a girlfriend who I was assisting move;
• Entertained me with gossip;
• Helped me strategize and do business;
• Comforted a friend;
• Made weekend plans;
• And tonight, you allowed me to hear from a good friend I hadn't chatted with in a really long time, who called out of the blue as she sat at Pearson's Airport in limbo between Prince Edward Island and Vancouver.

Thank you, Phone.

xo,

tee.

Oh and thank you for reading my OM of the week :) Bon weekend.

xo,

tee.

PS - More phone fun...

Above image: My girlfriend Penny Loafer has one (a cell phone receiver attachment) she once carried around in her small purse during a party. Brilliant conversation starter and not just when receiving a call ;) Made by FredFlare, just only it's no longer available on their website. However this is...

Above images: That's right a banana cell phone holder, which by the way, I am seriously considering purchasing! For $14 bucks I could look like a monkey as I walk down the street! Or...

Above image: If all you want is a brick phone like my dear dad used to own and as pictured below, that too can be arranged it turns out... I particularly the large-sized disclaimer at the top that reads: "These "Brick" cell phones are being sold for "prop" / display / gag-gift use only. While many of them will power up if the battery is charged, they would not be practical to use due to system incompatibilities, short battery life, etc." No way? Really? ;D

Cures to boredom, or its polar: too much distraction.

Brown paper packages : originally posted by Evie Marie

For as long as I could remember I have been fond of pretty packages, yes including brown paper ones tied up in string ;) Yes these are indeed among my favourite things! Working in the architectural and design industry for over six years has likely only fueled my love for design-y packaging.

Thus my excitement upon discovering the wonderful blog world of Francesco Mugnai last month, courtesy once again of my design expert friend of Sali Tabacci and art director extraordinaire of Azure Magazine, Melissa !

All she had to say was: "Mmmmm... beautiful chocolate: http://tinyurl.com/chocolate-packaging" and I was hooked!

So how pleased was I to stumble-upon "The Dieline (Packaging Design) Awards" and Best of Show Winner : Help Remedies by Chapps Malina?

Not only did I adore the simple, clean, colourful packaging of these handy little first aid companions (which also happens to be green (made from biodegradable paper pulp and corn resin by the way!) but I discovered I was fond of their entire branding scheme even more: Website address: www.helpineedhelp.com

Enter the Boredom Cure: Simply click on the bored? button and you will be transported to a magical cheeky online glossary of cures from "Help - I want to quit smoking" to "Help - I'm not sure which fork to use." A personal fave "Help -I'm curious."

Warning: This magical cheeky online glossary can suck up a couple minutes to a couple hours of your day, easily! The solution?

Enter the Distraction Cure: Restrict temporarily yourself access to it. Highly recommended by high school senior sweet pea sis who claims this is ideal for those in finals with no self-control, introducing SELFCONTROL by Steve Lambert.

Warning: This is not for the faint at heart. A Mac OS X application. SELFCONTROL blocks access to incoming and/or outgoing mail servers and websites for a predetermined period of time and can't, I repeat can't be undone.

As Steve explains, "For example, you could block access to your email, facebook, and twitter for 90 minutes, but still have access to the rest of the web. Once started, it can not be undone by the application, by deleting the application, or by restarting the computer – you must wait for the timer to run out."

I shall test it out tomorrow, when I should be finishing a project and not procrastinating on my favourite guilty pleasure sites: YouTube. Only google and my internet provider will ever know how many hours I've wasted, ummm, I mean have done research there ;)

Happy Helping Yourself !

xo,

tee.

My 'One Moment' of last week: Sibling Reminiscing.

Preface: You're probably wondering who the cuties are down below... Well up at the top is lil' sweet pea sis. The guy with the mustache in the Pampers box is my Michigan-to-Argentina motorcycling brother. And the third photo? Well that would me along with über-taller little brother and big brother G.

Know the song Sunscreen - Everybody's Free performed by Baz Luhrmann? Well there's this line:

"Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future."

And it's so true. Not to mention I feel so fortunate to have four links to my past and reinforcements in the future!

The thing is we five siblings are scattered across the globe. Yes, currently my Michigan-to-Argentina motorcycling brother is doing just that. In fact, he just wrapped up some volunteer work in Guatemala :) As you may know sweet pea lil sis is in Michigan. And über-tall little brother, well he just arrived in Toronto from the Philippines, and it's been nearly two years since G and I have seen him!

Excited therefore we were! So when one of us began unexpectedly recalling our oldest childhood memories over dinner one night, we just couldn't stop. After all we all had such great childhoods... You know, tattle-tales, fights (of the water and screaming variety) and all. Cue cheesy music and tearful thank you to mom and dad here. Yet, seriously that moment was definitely worth taking in and appreciating, hence... My One Moment of last week: Sibling Reminiscing.

While all five of us weren't together to remember:

• the lemonade stands turned lemonade franchises (we were entrepreneurs even back then);

• the make-believe games complete with make-believe Monopoly money customized with our faces on it (courtesy of mom's photocopier);

• and the grocery store trips that ended with two overflowing grocery carts and I don't know how many bags of milk (dad contemplated buying a jersey for the backyard);

To name a few... I certainly can't wait wait for the day when we are crying from laughing to hard at all our wonderful, memorable (mostly silly!) childhood stories!

Have any sibs? And/or just plain awesome childhood memories to share?

xo,

tee.

Not sure what all this One Moment mention is about, click on the button below to learn more about this great online meet up started by À la mode Stuff.

"Look at me! ME!"

Am still putting together the photos for last week's One Moment (hopefully before finding myself two weeks behind in the meet-up!) In the meantime a graphic fortune cookie fortune...

Not sure who the artist is. But Sweet Pea Sis forwarded this to me and I thought it post worthy. Bottom line: Don't be shy. Start by smiling at that cutie over there! It might just be me ;)

xo,

tee.

Introducing... Adobe Photoshop Cook.

b e t t y by *Cinnamon

Put the KitchenAid away, it's Adobe Photoshop Cook all the way...

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

Video sent to me by my dear bff The Penny Loafer. I've missed blogging. Tomorrow, all about last week's One Moment. Hope you're all well!

xo,

tee.

OM stands for One Moment. This week's: Odile Chocolat.

I was delighted to come across my first ever online meet up courtesy of À la mode Stuff via CandiedFabrics, especially because I am currently in a mindfulness meditation class that promotes taking things in "moment by moment."

This week's moment? Odile Chocolat. [Odile: pronounced oh-dee]

I've lived in my new 'hood now for over two months. Each time I'm on Dundas Street West, I've walked by a bright turquoise painted-brick boutique, telling myself I will pop in the next time to check it out. You know how that goes... Well on Wednesday, I finally did! And I was welcomed by Odile herself, a lovely French chocolatier clearly passionate about her trade. Not only did she tell me about her chocolates during my brief visit, but she insisted I have a taste!

How wise she was, for there's nothing like a sample to whet one's appetite for more... Yesterday, I returned, although this time not for me but for LeanandLuxe. After all, big brother G and I had to give her something worthy of her gourmet palette. Inspired by the meet up, and in an effort to fully enjoy the moment I asked Odile permission to photograph my visit and she happily obliged.

I ended up picking:

• The Chai Massala (the one I'd tried and adored);
• Romance: Champagne, black pepper, and rose petals (because everyone needs a bit of bubbly, spice and flowers on their birthday);
• Raspberry Vinegar (a best-seller); and
• Mushroom (wild Canadian black trumpet).

All hand-made...

Odile Chocolat: small simple pleasures one will want to enjoy slowly, appreciating the unique flavours fused with 54 percent Callebaut Belgium chocolate.

Taking the moment to blog about this has reminded me how much I love to connect with local retailers, and pick out the perfect gift for a friend. Can't wait to write a about a special moment next week!

Bon weekend !

xo,

tee.

"Dear Louis Vuitton"

Via Sali Tabacchi: Dear Louis Vuitton by Jeff Hamada

I stayed up waaaaaaaaay too late last night watching tv on my laptop 'cause I couldn't fall asleep last night. So when I noticed my friend Melissa post the above image as a link along with "Me too" as her status, I couldn't agree more... Me three ;)

Browsing Hamada's site, I discovered he created at art blog called Booooooom.com "in 2008 to highlight hand-made work by unknown people. Traffic is now over 2.3 million views/month." Très cool, Hamada!

Time for more caffeine...

xo,

tee.

PS - Dear Jeff Hamada - I love this one too... Perfect for the pride I felt after the Vancouver Olympics!

Super Natural by Jeff Hamada

"Three little birds sat on my window. And they told me I don't need to worry."

Found here by hollaholla.

On Monday morning I woke up to discover Sweet Pea Sister sweetly prepared me a special playlist to get me pumped up this week, here is an excerpt of the note that accompanied the songs...

"On this very special morning, I have put together a very special mix tape for you, named MOM. Because nothing can cheer/pep you up, like a mom.. hehehe.

M.O.M. stands for Morning Of Mixtape! It's a compilation of happy, fun, inspiring and random songs that I thought you would enjoy listening to the morning of your big week."

I love my mom, but I must say Sweat Pea Sis certainly knows how to cheer and pep me all on her own ;)

Now to share what I've been listening to every morning this week to get my groove on... Track one of M.O.M....

Corinne Bailey Rae "Put Your Records On" from Orange Films on Vimeo.

Thank you again dear, Sweet Pea! And wishing you all an excellent week!

xo,

tee.

PS - What are some of your favourite songs to dance to in the morning?

A Cuppa Green Tee: Remembering Whale Sharks.

With Earth Day less than two weeks away, I've been wondering what I'm going to do. Last year I held a rolling giveaway as Ecojotter. It was so much fun reading everyone's daily eco-deeds as we counted down Mother Earth's special day together! This year in addition to continuing my eco-acts before and after April 22nd, I'm thinking of catching a screening of DisneyNature's "Oceans" (trailer below).

There's nothing like viewing spectacular footage of our breathtakingly beautiful planet. I am particularly keen on seeing it, since I missed out on "Earth" on the big screen, plus I'm hoping they'll feature the world's largest fish: the whale shark.



Two years ago, at the end of January, I surprised my family with a visit to the Philippines. My one request was for Big Brother G and I to take a mini-backpacking adventure during my suprise sojourn. So off we went with Jack, a fellow wanderlust friend G met while crossing the Lao border. A 12-hour overnight non-air conditioned (thank goodness for cool nights) later, we caught a connecting van in Legaspi to Donsol, in the Province of Sorsogon. Not before a quick shot of Mayon Volcano, considered to be the world's most perfectly formed volcano for its near perfect symmertical cone shape, and the Philippine's most active one.



After securing an affordable cabana on the beach, grabbing some native cuisine, and meeting some locals, we admired the cloudless night and bright stars, before an early morning to seek whale sharks. We met a lovely German couple we'd end up sharing a "banca" (boat) with. To this day I only regret we forgot to exchange email addresses with... They had an underwater camera!



It was a long hot day, chartering the banca in search of whale sharks. One false alarm jump in to the water, found me panicking that I couldn't swim. Lesson learned: the quickest way to drown is to panic. Thankfully it turned out that my freak-out was a blessing in disguise. The crew from then on paid special close attention to me ;D

At our second sighting a crew-member grabbed my arm upon jumping in to the cool refreshing ocean, and guided me above the most enormous creature I'd ever seen! Nearly the size of a mini-bus, it was spectacular!

swimming with Whale Sharks by Photobig

This Earth Day, I will be remembering these magnificant creatures. I will recall how we learned that a small fishing community formerly known for hunting these gentle massive fish, managed to convince the hunters to seek and protect their former prey instead. The very same hunters, skilled at finding whale sharks, now take visitors on ocean adventures of a lifetime, while educating them on the sanctity of their eco-system.

How eco-cool and inspiring is that? Proof that bad eco-habits can change for the better.

xo,
tee.

An unwelcomed first.

The story of my commute life by *Cinnamon

Coming across this photo seemed very apropos since I got my first traffic ticket last week :( I was so proud of having never gotten one (unless you count the time I mis-parked my Big Brother G's beloved red Saab and it was towed). Sorry again G 0:)

Now I find myself wondering whether I should appear in court and argue, or just pay the fine and risk higher insurance. If only I didn't have to travel so far to fight the ticket! What would you do?

Perhaps I should stick to biking...

Never Grow Old originally posted here.

Walking...

Untitled by atomic turquoise.

Or miming...

xo,

tee.

Happy Easter: Beware of Easter Identity Theft!

So I'm normally not a big fan of forwards, especially cheesy the cute ones! However, it's Easter and sometimes you have to make exceptions to your own rule...

Happy Easter: Beware of Easter Identity Theft!

My apologies for the cuteness overload. I couldn't resist. I wish credit the photographer(s) but you know how forwards go. A special thanks to my girl Kate for sending it to me. I suppose true friendship is when you know when to forward and when not to ;D

Again Happy Happy Easter!

xo,

tee.