hello yellow

Hellllloooooo yellllloooooooo! The sun is shining and there are little yellow blooms appearing here and there around our neighbourhood. This has been a freakishly mild winter here in Vancouver indeed. I guess the snowblower my parents bought after last year's big snowstorm will have to wait an extra year before coming out of the shed and making it's appearance... murphy's law. Anyhoo, I am going to enjoy and bask in this while I can, since it sure beats the regular winter grey skies and rain we normally have here.

Oh yes... and some press to share with you from some cute blogs:

· thanks Cass at kasonad for doing a feature on Cabin + Cub.

· thanks to K. at the rikrakstudio for including my woodburned bird in one of her posts.

· thanks to Gay at I dreamed I saw for including my collage.

· and a thanks to both Dutch Touch Beads for passing on the Kreativ Blogger award and From the High North for passing on the Sunshine Award!

going for gold!

Olympic fever is high today! Canada men's hockey team won over Russia yesterday 7 -3, our women's bobsled team snatched Gold and Silver, and our women's hockey team is playing for Gold today! Woop woop!

As you may have read on my previous posts, Olympic venue tickets were really pricey, and any cheaper ones were/are snatched up like wildfire. So when Roger came home from work on Tuesday and surprised me with tickets to that night's Victory Ceremony, I was doing a little giddy happy dance. Each night there is a ceremony at BC Place, where they present the medals to all of that current day's winners from all countries... oh yes, and there is also live music and entertainment followed by one headliner act at the end (that night it was Canada's Billy Talent). Lucky for us, Tuesday was a good medal day for Canada, since Ashleigh McIvor had just won Gold in Ladies' Ski Cross... so there was a lot of home town yelling, screaming and cheering. If you look real close at the first picture, you can see her standing on the middle podium... (yes, we are a bit in the nosebleeds).

I have my TV on in the other room while I work today, so I can catch all of today's events! Go Canada Go! (insert airhorn sound here).

well balanced

Down by the water near some of the Olympic pavilions, there are a series of temporary rock balanced sculptures. I have seen them near Stanley Park before, where artist Kent Avery will have dozens and dozens of balanced rocks, small and large beautifully balanced (i.e. no glue, or rods, etc... just rocks) and arranged along the shore... some of the stacks are balancing more than 8 rocks! Not sure it is the same artist, but they sure are beautiful to look at. Check out this cool video of the artist here.

sochi 2014

We have attempted to visit many of the pavilions dotted around the city during the winter Olympic games... there are so many ridiculously long lines though, it's beginning to feel a lot like Disneyland in the summer on a public holiday. One of the pavilions we were patient enough to get into was the Russian Sochi House - basically a showcase of the next city to host the 2014 winter games. Instead of showing you pics of the mass droves of people, or the corporate sponsor displays (which I might add, are very mediocre too look at), or the Russian singer that was wearing a silver lounge suit (I missed my opportunity to take that photo... too much glare from the suit, sorry) I thought I would show you a peek at their mascot.

To my surprise, they have adopted Cheburashka as their mascot! Ok, so you might be asking... who on earth is Cheburashka? Well, he is a cute little creature with big ears... the original stop motion animation was from 1971 (directed by Roman Kachanov)... um, and I know this because I have the cute little animated series on DVD... uh, as well as the doll... um, along with a few other collectibles too.

Disappointingly, they have made him blue, red and white for the Olympic games (the original is chocolate brown)... and the dolls they had in the gift shop were not very cute, since they had plastic faces. The one I have is much cuter (see pic below). But I can't complain too much... I am still super excited to see him as the mascot.

and the medal goes to....

I couldn't resist sneaking that Olympic medal reference in there... it is complete Olympic hysteria over here in Vancouver! Even my parents (who never ever watch any type of sporting events) have had the Olympic channel on non-stop when I visited them last. It's like the Olympics have stolen their brains!

Ok, ok... enough dilly-dallying, on my part, on to the giveaway winner! The random draw was done this morning and winner of the swallow wall plaque is: Jane D. of she greets the day! Congrats!!! And here is her answer to the... er, well, non-skill testing question: What is the best or worst Valentine's gift you have ever received?

"The best v-day gift I received was a pack of polaroid film along with a box of sweethearts and a handmade magnet made by my boyfriend. Plus dinner & a movie. Followed by a nice walk around downtown and some Ghiradelli ice cream!"

Awwww... that is very sweet indeed! Well, now to top it off, you have a sweet little prize coming your way! Yay! Ok, and to everyone else who did not win this time... no worries... there is another giveaway coming up next month, so stay tuned!

think pink

The sun has been shining all week, and some spring flowers are making their appearance in full bloom. Yes, those are in fact pink cherry blossoms you see. To add to this zen week, I had my first prenatal yoga class the other night and managed to be quite relaxed and not injure myself or look like a clumsy fool! Yay! I keep imagining the little Bun is doing yogic moves inside the tummy while I attempt to do them in the class. If this next 5 weeks of yoga continue to go well, I may sign up for the next round....... ohhhhhmmmmmm. Enjoy the spring blooms!...... ohhhhhhhhmmmmm.

ps. don't forget to enter the february giveaway here!!! Last day to enter is this Sunday!

music and fireworks

On Tuesday night we ventured down to Yaletown, one of the sites that is part of LiveCity Vancouver to catch some of the free concert series going on. Every night for the entire run of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there are free concerts and celebrations happening around town. There is a long list of great artists to check out including: Wilco, Alexisonfire, Sam Roberts Band, Wintersleep, Buck 65, and Blue Rodeo... just to name a few.

At the end of each show, there is a huge fireworks display too... very cool, exciting and romantic... well, except when we were there, and it was pouring rain and the two burly policemen standing in front of us kept sneaking into all the photos.

ps. don't forget to enter the february giveaway here!!!

art of craft at the olympiad

Huh?... crafts at the Olympics? Oh yes.... and I don't mean ski pole cozies either. There's a cool exhibition going on at the Museum of Vancouver called the Art of Craft as part of the Cultural Olympiad. We had a chance to check it out last week... and here are some detail shots of some of the works we saw at the show (there are over 170 works from all over Canada as well as Korea). Seeing all these beautiful pieces makes me wish I had a huge home and limitless supply of funds so that I can have them decorating my house... ahhhh, to dream.

ps. don't forget to enter the february giveaway here!!!

come on baby, light my fire

The 2010 Olympic opening ceremony kicked off this past Friday... Roger was lucky enough to see part of the torch run that afternoon, when it traveled near his workplace on Granville Island (see bottom photo)... it made it's way across the water towards downtown via dragon boat. We ended up watching the opening at home on TV that night (tickets were around $1100! gulp!), but did head downtown this past weekend to see the large lit cauldron. And if you are wondering why we are so far away from it, well it's because there is this huge ugly chain link security fence around it... the top pic is taken between the fence holes. The middle photo is a pic of the crowd that was streaming the streets to catch a glimpse of the cauldron as well. Lot's of cool stuff happening around town, so I will post more of our olympiad adventures every couple of days! Go Canada Go!

Also, a thanks to Maite for featuring one of my collages on her blog Tamsy Trends, Alex for featuring one of my collages on Not Aa Stupid Blog, and Anna for featuring on of my love cards on her blog around the way girl! Many thanks!

ps. don't forget to enter the february giveaway here!!!

february giveaway! - win a swallow wall plaque

A happy belated Valentine's Day to everyone!... as well as Happy Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet! Lot's to celebrate (even if a little belated), so perfect time to kick off the February giveaway! One lucky individual this month will win a woodburned wall plaque (5 x 3") featuring a little swallow design. The sides are painted a soft pink and ribbon detail is white with little pink polka dots... you so want it, don't you?

Enter to win by posting a comment telling me what is the best or worst Valentine's gift you have ever received... and don't be shy, it's time to fess up! Was it s sugary marriage proposal accompanied with a sparkly diamond ring... a rock through a window from an ex?... maybe a hot air ballon ride during sunset?... or just an empty box... do tell! do tell!

I'll make a random draw from the shiny trophy cup on Monday, February 22nd... so check back to see if you won! Please remember to include some sort of contact info (etsy shop, blog, website, or e.mail address) and please only one entry per person. Good luck to everyone!

collage girls saxing

I haven't posted an instalment of recent odd keywords lately (searches people have typed into Google to end up at this site)... so why not some weird ones to wrap up the week. Here are 8 random keyword searches (and my 2 cents) that have popped up on the list recently: *please note that I kept their original spellings intact

1. collage girls saxing

Yes, I get many hits for "collage girls" actually looking for "college girls"... but this one is new... someone wants to see a bunch of them playing saxophones... oh wait... they don't mean musicians do they...

2. my favorite subject in scool is history

Well, it sure isn't "spelling" is it? sorry, I got a bit snippy there.

3. fancy deer stand

For those deer that can't stand up themselves?

4. 11th anniversary day card

Wow! An anniversary card for Day 11 of your relationship... a true romantic or super stalker?... you decide.

5. forgot give you cake, happy birthday

Awww... now this is such a heartfelt sentiment, isn't it? I seriously have to turn this one into a real birthday card greeting or something.

6. what would a squirrel say on your birthday

Hmmm... not sure... maybe he would say... "you forgot to give me cake" and then proceed to bite your ankles.

7. i want a girl in my cabin

Ok, creepy person, I have seen how horror movies start... not going to help you out there

8. i want to catch a baby deer

Ok, is this the same creepy person?... again, I have seen how horror movies start... no baby deer for you either.

Find past ones here, here and here. Happy Weekend!

ps. my February giveaway kicks off this Monday!!!!

secret safe

Yesterday I told you about a cool thing we discovered while visiting the Olympic Northern House on the weekend... well here it is... a secret safe! Before you get excited and think the cool thing is behind the safe doors, no... I am actually talking about the safe itself. Ok, so I am a bit of an architectural geek... so while on my way to the ladies room in the basement, I stumbled upon a huge old bank safe on the way (Roger rolled his eyes, when I declared the obvious that this must have been an old bank building). In my mind, all I could think about were those old gangster and bank robbery movies... well, we did just watch Public Enemies a week before. (Did anyone else find it a tad slow and anti-climatic?) Anyways, I am curious to know what lies behind this secret door now?

northern fuzzy friends

More Cultural Olympiad show-and-tell today... there are a series of pavilions and hospitality houses dotted around town, most of which are opening at the end of this week to coincide with the start of the Winter Games. One that was open early, however was the Northern House (featuring culture, art and performances from Canada's three northern territories)... oh yes, and also featuring some cute fuzzy northern animals (stuffed, of course). My favourite is the cute short chubby muskox... I mean just look at it... it's so darn fuzzy. Maybe I will nickname this one Musky (after it's species name and not smell... although I have never encountered a real one, so maybe they do smell?... hmm... will have to Wiki that).

While at the Northern House, we also discovered something really cool in the exhibition building... but I am keeping it a surprise until tomorrow's post, just to be suspenseful. Ooooh... what could it be?!! Curious aren't you?

ikons

More art talk to share with you today. With the approaching Winter Olympics, there has been no shortage of things to see and do in this city lately, thanks to the abundant offerings of the Cultural Olympiad. This past weekend, one of the coolest exhibitions we saw was a collaboration between visual artist Eric Metcalfe and experimental composer George Lewis called Ikons. When approaching each free standing colorful sculpture, visitors' motions trigger different audio compositions, so that no sequence of sounds is the same. Roger and I, literally were dodging and hiding between sculptures to see which one would emit the craziest sound... (yes, we are easily amused... and yes, at the time, we were the only two people there). Anyhoo, check it out if you get a chance... it is FREE!

I will post more Olympiad things that we see and encounter in the next few weeks... more art, more shows/concerts and visits to the many pavilions... basically our budget-friendly experience of the Olympics, since $400 Olympic hockey tickets were a bit out of the question for us.

for the bookworm

In preparation for the nursery, Roger and I have been trying to trim our book collection a little bit here and there... our shelves were getting a bit full, and the thought of the coming baby having to share a room with stacks of non-fiction acting as furniture is less than ideal. I am happy to say we off loaded about three large bags of books this past month... hooray! I now feel a bit of relief, rather than the book separation anxiety I thought I would have!

With all this book organizing taking place, I felt inspired and decided to make some bookplates. So, new in the etsy shop this season are sets of peel-and-stick bookplates featuring Cabin + Cub collage images. Each set comes with 8 different individual bookplates printed with Ultrachrome K3 archival inks on acid free Avery matte sticker paper, all removable and re-positionable (which is a nice bonus for those who, like me, are indecisive of which books to stick them in). I am also offering optional name personalization too!... see them in the shop here.

look in the tree

Very high up in a tree top a few blocks from our home, I notice someone has placed a handmade sign that says "LOOK". Hmmm... now does it mean for me to look at the tree top? Or maybe to look past and up in the sky? Or maybe just to look at the sign itself... it is, after all, done in pretty red bubble lettering. Or maybe the tree is trying to reason with everyone it allows to pass by. It could also be looking at me back and thinking, "what are you looking at?" hmmmmm... I wonder how many other people have noticed, stopped and looked?

Whilst on the topic of "looking"... some blog mentions that perhaps you'd like to stop and look at... a thanks to Miriam for including my squirrel-y valentine card on her blog made right guide; thanks to Nat for including my rainy day collage on her blog Adore By Nat; thanks to Teresa of Poppy Place PDX for passing on the Kreativ Blogger Award!; and thanks to Kristin of Dip Your Toes Into Something New for passing on the Sunshine Award. Happy weekend!

lovely lanterns

Coming out one of the downtown local skytrains (which is Vancouver's subway system) the other day, I came across a very cool looking art display. 2010 paper lanterns decorated by children from Canada and Taiwan hang from a forest of tall wooden bamboo and steel trees. As part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad for the coming Winter Olympics, the display also celebrates the upcoming Lunar New Year (the eve of which is on February 13th). I will definitely have to come back here at night to take some more pictures when they are all lit up... I passed by during a morning, so waiting... er, for about 12 hours to pass for it to get dark wasn't an option. Will promise to share pics of the next visit!

early bloomers

The sun decided to make an unexpected appearance yesterday, so I was able to capture some pics of the early blooms that have snuck up around our condo building. Seeing these, prompted me to look up when the first day of spring would be... ugh... not until March 20th?!! Seriously!? I am shaking my fist at you, Mr. Groundhog!

shhhh... secret supper club

Ok, so when Roger told me that we had been invited to a friend's birthday dinner this past weekend, I was pretty excited... and then I found out it was to be held at an underground supper club in Vancouver... and my ears perked up. Underground secret supper club, you say?... ohhhh a foodie's treat! The dinner was put on by Swallow Tail Secret Super Club, and for a stellar deal of $29, our large group was treated to a three course wild game dinner: a scrumptious sweat pea soup, grilled romaine with bacon and parmesan salad, and wild bison with stuffed pablano peppers... ok, I am totally drooling just thinking back of all the goodness that I ate. And now you are thinking, "that pic doesn't look like any of the dishes you just described, missy!'... well, yes... in my focused eating that night, I realized afterwards that I didn't take any pics, and also figured you probably didn't want to see pics of empty plates or a dirty cloth napkin.... so, yes these pics are from Swallow Tail's website. You will just have to imagine the scrumptious meal I ate... or better yet... book a table and have a secret dinner!

flower power

On Saturday, we ventured to the Vancouver Art Gallery to escape the wet weather, and of course, try and bump up our cultural content for the weekend. One of the most beautiful and impressive pieces we saw that day was artist Michael Lin's installation on the exterior of the gallery titled A Modest Veil... it is huge and a sight not to be missed!! Three large hand-painted, yes... that's right, hand-painted murals cover the building's facade (I only managed to squeeze in two of the panels into the first photo, they are that gigantic). The pattern is based on traditional Taiwanese textiles. Venture downtown Vancouver if you haven't seen it yet... it will be up until May 2010.