I love my hipster neighbourhood

An unbelievably early spring (slash almost summer – going up to 29 on Wednesday!) has arrived and we’ve been spending the weekend basking in the sun and enjoying our local amenities. We live in what’s been voted the best neighbourhood in Ottawa, and I wholeheartedly agree. Hintonburg has such a great vibe, from the old-school Carleton Tavern to the just-opened and super-hip Suzy Q doughnuts.

I will never eat a tim horton's doughnut again

The neighbourhood is really mixed-use and walkable/cycle-able, although on Saturdays Wellington St really fills up with cars (mostly Subarus with child seats in the back…). Every time we walk the dog, we pass a new great-smelling restaurant, and the ones we’ve eaten at so far have been amazing. We live right beside a farmer’s market, which is awesome in the summer for grabbing veggies for dinner. There’s also a sweet 5-pin bowling alley, more coffee shops than you can shake a stick at, several great bike shops, a theatre (the live kind, not movies), a health food store (for bulk spices and delicious organic sodas), an amazing burger place that uses all grass-fed local meat and cheese, and, and, and… I could go on!

Basically, it’s hipster paradise (Eric’s words) or the discerning eater’s convivial dream community (my much nicer words). People ride bikes, socialize in the front yard while kids play in the street, and buy from local independent shops. There’s a thriving car-share program and a dog park with (mostly) amazing regulars. The biker gang keeps crime down, and the community centres, after-school programs, assisted living facilities and libraries have lots of people to pitch in. As much as I love my job and can’t wait to live overseas, I’m going to miss this part of Ottawa a lot – we’re going to make sure that we enjoy it to the fullest this coming year!

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Art is hard

Eric and I, being total humbugs, have struggled with the idea of giving each other gifts for our entire relationship. The first few years, we tried to surprise each other, and there were some hits and misses. Then, we tried to give each other lists, which felt really awkward – sending each other out to buy things for each other, down to the model number and/or size.

I think one year went by where we didn’t get anything, just took each other out for dinners at fancy(ish) restaurants. Then when we moved in together, we decided to get each other art.

It went really well last year (I got him an awesome map, and he got me two amazing prints) and we decided to do it again this time around. But once a friend pointed out that picking out art for another person is really difficult (a thought that had never crossed my mind but immediately refused to leave my brain, causing huge doubts), and after I spent two hours one night browsing maps on Etsy before remembering that I had already gotten him one, I started to worry.

However, since Eric and I are clearly not real adults, my present arrived today and we immediately exchanged gifts. I’m happy to report that we both love what we received (and came very close to buying something from the same artist). Eric got me this amazing Stephen Frew self-portrait, and had it framed like a champ:

And I got him this awesome Dan Martelock piece, called “Tired of Ballin”:

Obviously, the crappy instagram photos don’t do either of them justice, but they’re both really cool.

We’ve decided that we might pool resources next year to get something larger for our giant brown wall, or above our bed, but we both really like the idea of getting art. It makes our house feel really nice, and I love that we’re slowly building a collection that might one day tell a really interesting story (namely, Meaghan has an intense appreciation for woodland creatures and creepy-looking people).

 

Birthday List #11: paint our bedroom (or move out of it)

So I actually did both of these things, in reverse order (luckily – I would’ve been miffed if I had gone to the trouble of painting our old apartment and then leaving it).  As you know, we moved into our condo at the beginning of December, and we’ve been really happy with it.  The only problem when we moved in was the colour – it had a really cool dark accent wall, but the rest of the walls were this pale, mustardy yellow.  I know that there are some big yellow fans in the world, but I do not count myself as one of them.  I mean, look at this:

So, we decided to paint.  I had originally wanted something turquoise, because it’s my favourite colour, but ultimately decided against it, as it would have been really overwhelming because of the open layout.  We chose a pale blue for the living room, kitchen, front hall area; a light grey for the bedroom and closet; and left the dark accent wall and the green bathroom the way they are (we also left the spare room yellow for now, but we’ll change it when we get around to doing… something with that room).

Of course, the real point of this post is photos, and I won’t disappoint.  My mom helped us with it, and I’m so glad she did, because she’s a pro painter.  Thanks to her guidance (and taping) our walls look awesome.

Eric and Gatsby enjoying the living room

The blue extends to our kitchen, where we’ve also added some floating shelves for Great Dane-proof storage:

My slanty mug from Montreal

And our bedroom is a really soft, soothing grey:

Gatsby's crate is actually a Tokyo one-bedroom

Here you can see the dark wall as well.

All in all, our place is really coming together.  We want to eventually replace all the hand-me-down furniture (some of which is in a dire state of disrepair) but we’re taking it slow, waiting until the dog is done teething and taking the time to find pieces that we really like.

We’re also slowly adding art, such as our These Are Things world map and some cute Etsy prints from HidenSeek and Krisblues (and I bought that Black Apple print from a few posts ago!).  I’m going to put up some photos this weekend, and I’m hoping to make us a big tufted headboard this summer following a tutorial from Apartment Therapy.

So far, home ownership has worked out really well for us.  I was super recalcitrant at first, full of fears of a debt spiral and scary problems.  But financially it’s been fine – we only pay a few hundred more per month than our old apartment, which was smaller, crappier, louder, and in a worse neighbourhood.  Quite frankly, I’d pay what we pay now to rent in Hintonburg – I love this part of town, and there’s a reason it was recently voted the best neighbourhood in Ottawa (which was recently voted the best city in Canada, so I officially live in the best place in the country).

It also really makes this place feel like home, in a way that I hadn’t felt in rentals.  Spending the past 6 years moving at least once a year had started to make me feel like I should just get a Westfalia and be done with it, but I feel rooted here, and it’s nice to have a place that’s really ours, a place where we can dream and plan.

Sprung Spring

It’s here!  After a long winter, full of snow and cold and darkness, my favourite season has arrived (full disclosure: I also say that about fall).  It’s sunny until 730, I don’t need mittens, and there are robins and buds on trees – even a bunny!

Nice weather makes me so incredibly happy.  I feel energized, as though I could do twice as much as I was in the winter.  Instead of wanting to eat stew and go to bed, I feel like going on long walks, going to the gym, and studying more french in the evenings.  It’s awesome!  Obviously, this pertains a lot to my long-term plan to move to a country that doesn’t have winter.

the inaugural wearing of my new skirt

Dog-wise, life is going well.  Gatsby is scared of the following:  robins, squirrels, wind chimes, wheelie garbage cans, buses, ducks, starlings, and bicycles.  However, he did poop on another dogs’ head at the park on Friday, so he’s still totally awesome in my eyes.

Other than that, not much is going on here.  We had friends visit on the weekend, which was great, because they used to live in Ottawa and I miss seeing them as much as we did last year.  They live in Montreal now, but are (hopefully) planning on moving back next year.  The apartment is really coming together, but I’m saving a reveal until I can get a full set of pictures organized, and I’m hoping to submit a tour to Offbeat Home, so it’s a surprise for now.

Hope you’re all having a lovely spring!

Belated Christmas Presents in March

Eric’s map from These Are Things just arrived yesterday! I searched high and low for a world map that was different than one you’d find in a geography class, and this was just the ticket.

The attention to detail even on the packaging was so impressive.

I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos as we were unwrapping it (with the dog safely in his crate, of course – Gatsby loves tubes and paper, and would make short work of it).  I love it when a product’s packaging has so much care put into it, but I guess that’s what you can expect from designers.

The countries are labeled in a beautiful way, and the compass rose is so cute.  I can’t wait to get a frame for it this weekend and put it up on the (newly painted) wall!

I can’t wait to go here!

Eric and I had decided to only get each other art for Christmas this year, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out.  He got me the cutest prints, and we’re both super pleased with this map.  It’s such a great way to give each other gifts without building up a big pile of useless stuff, and a nice way to surprise each other instead of just handing each other lists and heading to the mall.

I’m really loving how our place is coming together.  Our new paint, our shelves, and our art are really starting to make it feel like home, like us.  I can’t wait to eventually replace all of our shabby university-handmedown furniture and pick out things that really fit  our style (and that the dog won’t eat).

Hipster Dog and Swanking out the Pad

I downloaded Instagram the other day, and it’s so awesome.  I love being able to make my pictures look like square format film, without having to buy film (yeah, I said it – digital is better).

I took the opportunity to papparazzi Gatsby while he was sleeping on the weekend.

Isn’t he getting big?! He weighs in at 100lbs now, as confirmed by our trip to the vet last week. He’s doing a lot better with training; he still jumps occasionally and has started teething again (his molars are settling into his jaw, ouch!). But he’s doing awesome at recall and we’re working really hard on busy streets to get him to sit despite passers-by. We’re hoping he might get most improved in obedience (if that exists).

Also, Eric and I finally succeeded in putting up the dreaded LACK shelf from IKEA. We’re scared to put anything more than this on it right now, but I’m pleased with my little vignette quand meme:

And finally, I wanted to share a picture of my beloved tin lantern owl. We found him in a super cool vintage store here in the neighbourhood, and I love seeing a candle glow through his super-cool eyes:

That’s it for this Monday night… I’m tired, and want to go to bed to get ready for the rest of the week!

Every day is like a Sunday

Before I started working 9 to 5, I never understood the sway of the weekend for grown-ups.  When I was wee, the weekend was boring.  Friday nights were fun, maybe, because we’d see a movie or have pizza for dinner, but those long Sunday afternoons dragged on for an age, and all I wanted was to go back to school.

Now, though.  If I could stop time on a Sunday afternoon, my life would be complete.  I love the saunter through a grocery store, earlier than everyone else; the dog park on an unseasonably warm February afternoon; the weekly cleaning that we do together, M.I.A. blasting on the stereo and the dog eating all of our paper towels.

I feel so refreshed now, ready to tolerate another week.  Even when I liked my job, it felt so necessary to stop, recharge.  Now that I’m… not exactly having fun on training… it’s like coming up for air.  It’s taking a break from eye-rolling and biting lips to hug, and laugh, and share.  To let the puppy bound about in snow and to wear matching-by-accident outfits (flannel shirts, jeans, and Blundstones are just too comfortable!).

So in honour of wonderful Sunday, here are some things that will keep me sane during the week:

Heidi Swanson’s amazing vegan peanut butter cookies, from 101 Cookbooks.  A batch of these this afternoon has our lunches looking delicious for the week.

This girl’s amazing satisfied smile that I found in an old post on East Side Bride.  I love reading out of date sassy advice so much.

The print that Eric bought me for Christmas.  I love foxes so effing much, and I also love adventures and rowboats, so this print makes me so happy.

***

I need to start taking my camera out to the dog park so that I can show you how Gatsby’s turned into a real live horse.  This dog is a monster now, seriously (except the sweetest and cutest monster that ever lived).  We were working on his recall yesterday, and I realized why people walking down the street often cross when they see us coming.  When he’s running full-tilt towards you, ears and jowls flapping in the wind, he can be kind of scary.

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