AND ANOTHER

i am in the middle of working on my masters in interior design and a big part of this program involves completing a major design thesis. i don't want to get into detail right now, so to keep things short and basic - i'll just explain that i've chosen to focus my design project on a transitional home for refugees, specifically women refugees as well as their kids.

every day i find countless inspiration for this project and i'd love to share some of it on here. but then i started thinking that it might work even better if i were to dedicate an entire blog to this project, so that i can share it with my advisors/ professors/ or any one else who'd be interested...

above is a little taste of the kind of things i'll be posting at the new blog (which should be up shortly). It portrays the work and studio of designer, Lauren Mannogian. Her work resonates with me because she so carefully portrays a kind of global aesthetic without being to literal about it - something i hope to do as well.

photos: elle.com

red wine and wild flowers

flowers are something i dread giving up with the change from summer to fall. i've recently learned from a good mentor and friend these small steps to a little bit of happiness.

1 > invest in a good hair cut and hair colour

2 > drink a tad more than an appropriate amount of red wine

3 > surround your world with wild and fresh flowers

i'm gradually learning the importance of filling my life with beautiful things - ones that lie beyond the material and might actually provide some sense of fulfillment. for me, flowers definitely tend to be one of those things.

and while i'm on the subject. i must mention how lovely the military jacket and floral dress combination is in the photo above. how effortlessly cool of her.

so long

my little sister, leah, is leaving for med school in ireland tomorrow. she'll be gone for 4 years.

i know she'll be back here and there, but i'm sad not to have her around for both the small and mundane moments as well as the big and life changing ones. i love you, leah! and i can't wait to see how you'll change the world!

hot springs

We spent every day at the hot springs this weekend. On the first day, my husband Luke decided to surprise my whole family by walking out of the change room wearing this historical swimsuit. We completely lost it and so a few of us decided to rent them the next day.

heads

I found this amazing wall of heads during our whirlwind trip through the rockies and i make everyone stop for photos. 

puppet

just bought these adorable finger puppets for my little niece... cute, huh?

long live family

my one-year-old niece, Eira, getting in the way of a good game of crokinole.

my wild (and perhaps favourite) little cousin Toya

my sister-in-law - Stacy - has the most contagious smile

toko spent the whole weekend with her video camera

the konagaya-peters girls

toya again

mom and eira

i love the look on toya's face after toko took out one of her pieces. absolutely priceless.

all the cousins.

my peters family is amazing. we only get to see each other once every 4 years because we live across the world from each other (canada, japan, the netherlands, france, and ireland to name a few). but we always have the most fabulous time. i love love love them all.

and i have so much more that i can't wait to show you!