Adventures...

I did not get crafting this weekend, as I promised myself I would. But, we did venture out on a few tours this weekend...some mundane tasks such as picking up groceries and other more fun and exciting: seeing good friends who recently moved to Waterloo.

On Friday night, we just happened to see a voyeristic raccoon on our deck. I managed to get a shot of him, although the photo is rather dark. Unfortunately, Mr. Raccoon and Mr. Skunk (and probably their respective families) are living under our deck. This simply won't do. So, this week I will need to pay a phone call to wildlife control. Eeeks.

Molly soaked up the sun in the upstairs hallway on Saturday. We soaked up a trip to our favourite local winery: Thirty Bench Wine Makers. They honestly make the best Riesling ever...their 2007 version is very, very good. Above is a shot of only some of their vines. Soon, the rows will be green...for this I am very excited!

On the way up Highway 6 to Guelph (on our way to Waterloo), we saw this street car in a farmer's field. A stop in Guelph was inevitable, as they have a Bath & Body Works store and I needed a quick fix!

Sunday was filled with sleeping in, groceries, a bit of laundry and a wonderful meal with Ma & Pa Goddard at one of our local restaurants: The Innsville.

I hope your weekend was as great as mine! I will be back on here this week with some of my completed projects!

Cheers!

a

Craziness

So, this week has been a little hectic and I haven't had the chance to blog. I will be back possibly tomorrow night, but definitely Sunday. I will leave you with a happy photo...the wonderful Audrey Hepburn. I love her not only because of her style, beauty and acting ability but her amazing humanitarian efforts. I am such a fan.

I hope everyone's week is going along swimmingly.
a

32

Soooo, I turned 32 today. And I am okay with that. More than any other birthday, though, I have been reflecting on stuff. My mind is still muddled with thoughts, so perhaps I'll post on those reflections in a later blog.

Today, my workplace was kind enough to allow me the day off in lieu of the usual gifts they give everybody. I was super thankful.

I got up, picked up some new mats for my car, had a fantastic lunch with my grandparents, shopped a bit and came home and cleaned my car.

I also took a few shots today. I potted some ivy that I had spouting in water for a while. I also captured our animals: Molly (cat) and Cecilia (mutt). I really cannot believe how they are less like animals and 100 percent family.

I hope you all had a fabukous Monday. I know I sure did.

Cheers!

a

Red Week ~ The Final Posting!

Red Week has come to a close and it was sure a fun week! I know it was hard to find red for some of you...thank you so much for playing along! Becca, Kerry, Samantha and Barbara...your posts were fantastic, inspiring and super cool! Thanks again!

Today, I leave you with:

~ an all Canadian ruler!

~ an abstract postcard and some red found in a sweet treefrog

~ red in a ladybug found on a glass ornament

~ red butterfly hanging in the studio

~ red in a pinwheel pillow made by my mum-in-law, Ma Goddard

I will be back this weekend with more stuff to share! Until then...

Cheers!

a

Red Week - Day Numero Four

Red Week is almost wrapping up, but I am still finding red all over the place!

Today's posts were found on my necklace stand, and the trays of costume jewellery on my dresser.

It's one of those colours that just pops! My cousin, Brenda, has requested a red fire truck...hopefully I can pull that off by tomorrow! Wish me luck....

See you tomorrow for the last installment for Red Week!

Cheers, peeps!

a

P.S.

I saw this little guy last night! I love spring!

And I love this scrapbook by A Beautiful Mess!

Red Week ~ Day Three!

Hello, happy people!

It's the middle of Red Week and I can't say that I have exhausted all of the red in my home quite yet. Tonight, I located:

~ a handmade red glass ornament in my studio

~ red makes its presence in a vintage paisley handbag

~ a dark red frames a favourite photo of my late Grandpa Switzer and myself as a wee one

~ another handbag? yeppers, I have a fetish!

Another big thank you to my Red Week participants:

~ Becca

~ Barbara

~ Kerry

~ Samantha

Please be sure to scope their awesome blogs...so creative!

Cheers and Happy Red Week...

a

Red Week ~ Day Two

Ah, red. You are relatively hard to find. I agree with the Red Week players that you are harder to spot than originally anticipated. Today, I found you on:

~ a teacup

~ a collector tea bag tin

~ on an antique box of tacks from Stelco

~ and on my front door and the dried rose buds on the mini wreath hanging upon on it...

For my fellow Red Week players, please see the links below! Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Cheers!

a

A Lil' Quiz

I saw this post at Rachel Lake's lovely blog and decided that I would play along, too!

Here goes!

What is your current obsession?
~ getting creative after a long and gloomy winter!

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately?
~ my wide leg jeans and grey dragonfly sweater

What’s for dinner?
~ apple butter pork tenderloin and fried cabbage

What was the last thing you bought?
~ hair dye and a Lucky magazine

What are you listening to right now?
~ i am having a love affair with The Beatles once again

Say something to the person who tagged you
~ your creativity inspires me...love that black dress you whipped up!

Favorite vacation spot?
~ anywhere in mexico

What are you reading right now?
~ taking a break after my obsession with the Twilight series

What four words would you use to describe yourself?
~ creative, fun, loving & hyper!

What is your current guilty pleasure?
~ lately...strawberries dipped in milk chocolate

What will be the first spring thing you do?
~ purchase my new birkenstock sandals!

Where are you planning to travel next?
~ i would love to travel to egypt, but i know for sure that i will be making a trip to waterloo in 2 weeks!

What was the last thing you watched?
~ Twilight on-line *sigh*

~tag, you're it!~

Red Week ~ Day One

It's RED WEEK here at switz~art!

I adore red...red flowers, shoes, clothes...it's a happy colour. Much like its primary cousin, yellow.

Here's what I captured today...

• an antique standing poster that belonged to Trev's grandparents
• the moose rainboots that I thought would be appropriate for spring gardening...very Canadian
• magnets on our perpetual calendar
• red mini lanterns and gardening gloves
• red in a dragonfly canvas that we have placed in our guest room

The lovely peeps participating are:

Samantha of SmamPhoto

Kerry of Boo-Blog

B.E. Stevens of IndianaBlue

and

Becca of Beccame

Thank you so much for playing along with me! If anyone wants to jump on in, post a comment and join in the fun!

Until tomorrow...

a

Red Week Begins!

Yay for Red Week!

I will be back to post my red goodness tonight, but here are the participants in Red Week:

Indiana Blue

boo-blog

Beccame

If you want to jump in an give RED WEEK a go, please comment below or e-mail me @: amylswitzer(at)hotmail(dot)com.

See you tonight and Happy Red Week!
a

Treats

Ah, treats. Just the word alone invokes so much happiness!

Monk's Chocolates in Grimsby makes amazing treats. The first two pics involve their infamous homemade peanut butter cups. It honestly puts Reese's to shame. Unfortunately, they do not have a website, but if you're in the area Monk's is at 134 Main Street East. They make chocolate-dipped strawberries daily, too! Delish!

I received a treat in the mail: the new Toast House & Home catalogue. Wow. Even if you're not even remotely thinking of purchasing (Toast is out of the UK), order a free catalogue. The merchandise and photography are fabulous. My newest home treat is due to my latest motif addiction: acorns. I picked up this acorn decoration for the house. I think it's secretly a weapon...the thing is super heavy.

On the treat topic, Trev and I are off to our dual hot stone massage on Saturday morning. The Dolmage House Iron Gate Retreat is located in Grimsby and is in a beautiful old home. I have already paid a visit and it's beautiful! Their prices are fantastic!

Before I sign off for the day, I want to send a shout-out to Miss Shona from LALA dex press.
Because Shona won my necklace giveaway, she was so kind as to feature me on her blog! Thank you so much, Shona! Please be sure to check out her fabulous print work here.

Also, if you're interested in participating in RED WEEK please drop me a line. I am going through with it anyway! *wink*

Cheers to you all,

a

Spring...are you there?

The rain has come and gone for a little while and the wind is pretty much taking care of any remnants of large snowbanks. It's still damp and chilly, but I am pretty certain that spring will peek around the corner anytime soon. Molly is fairly certain, too. *wink*

Life is pretty status quo around here. We're looking forward to a Saturday spent with my sister-in-law Tammy, her man Elias and Ma and Pa Goddard. We're celebrating the birthdays of Tammy, Elias and myself with a tasty dinner at our all-time fave, The Keg. Yummy! Dad and my step-mama, Carol, are on a vacation tour in the Niagara region and will be staying with us on Saturday night. Really looking forward to coming home from a fabulous outing to a set of parental units!

I am busy creating in "the studio". I always say "studio", but it's more like a craft room. I have a few projects on the go and a few other pieces laying out in view that are calling my name, after I get my first projects completed. I am in the middle of painting the drink tray that I am envisioning for use from kitchen to the deck. I see it carrying margaritas, mojitos, wine...well, you get the picture! ;-)

I finished the poop meters (please see below for explanation), but not sure if they are fitting for view on the blog! *laughs* They're not gross, really, but you never know what gets people fired up these days. I am a big believer in laughter and find humour in most everything, so nothing really phases me.

In other thoughts...I am really loving red lately. Red tulips, red handbags...oh, and shoes! I love red shoes! I am tossing around the idea of a RED WEEK. Anyone interested? If you want to play along, please comment here and I will add you to the list. I am thinking of starting it next Monday.

Cheers, peeps!

a

Steeltown

I don't care what anyone says...

Hamilton is one great city.

Simply Saturday...

So, it's Saturday. Ahhhh...

I got up at a decent time, ate, made some cupcakes (that are questionable at best, but we'll see after they cool) and am getting ready to make the travel with Trev to see great friends. But before we set off, I wanted to get some little things done, drink some tea and blog a bit.

I am half done the poop meters. Yes, poop meters. I will post the pic once complete, but you may want an explanation now. Here goes.... My aunt, Kerry, drops her little Yorkie, Bashie, off at my grandparents for a day of dog sitting. It's a perfect set-up. My Nana & Grump adore Bash and he loves them...a lot. Very win/win. Kerry's work schedule may have her start work earlier than when my grandparents get up in the morning or perhaps my grandparents are out and about when Kerry drops Bash off. It is important to know whether Bash has done his business or not and the poop meter was invented. The original was created by my grandmother on a piece of cardboard, but it's seen better days. I scored two wooden doorknob signs, which I have painted. Since Trev and I have a similar issue with our dog, Cecilia, I created one for us, too.

I need to whip up some wearable treats for my two friends that I will see tonight and if I have time, I have a sweater that I need to alter. It's pretty funky, and I will post the pic of the before and after this week. Oh, and I have an unfinished wooden tray that I am desperately wanting to paint! It will be perfect for carrying goodies out to the deck this summer! Yay!

Before I go...check this out. I located a posting on The Small Object that lead me to this. Can you believe it!? What an art!

Enjoy your Saturday!

a

Green Week ~ The Final Installment

Ah, the end of the week. After a tour around Steeltown this evening, I am settling down to post the last pics for Emily's Green Week. A big thank you to Emily for hosting the week!

I'll be back to actually write more on Sunday, when we return from a much anticipated visit with our friends. Until then, I leave you with 1) a partial shot of my wedding bouquet, 2) the tea section in our kitchen and 3) some pale green candle holders from my beautiful Nana.

Wishing you a happy and restful weekend...

a

Green Week ~ Day 4

Emily's Green Week ~ Day 3

Oooh, I love green, and I have more of it than I ever realized.

Today's post brings you:

• Pale green walls in our dining room. The curtains have green, too, but I am noticing that this shot does not capture it well.
• Some ivy that I clearly need to place in a pot with dirt! :-)
• Green dragonfly vase!

Happy Wednesday, all!

a

Green Week ~ Day Two

I am home from a very long day at work, but could not miss posting for day two of Green Week! Please head on over to Shining Egg for more green posts!

Today, I am featuring a dragonfly gift card that I framed and my green vinyl treasure box. I scored it for $7 at a barn flea market in Bloomfield, near my old stomping grounds. If you ever tour Prince Edward Counti in Ontario, please be sure to visit there. So many fabulous shops and places to eat. Mmmmm...eating. My plate is in the microwave. I cannot wait to dive into a plate of homemade mac and cheese from my Aunt Kerry and Uncle Hook after a long, long day.

Hope you all had a great Tuesday...

a