Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful…
Look what I got in the mail today!
Courtesy of KitchenAid Canada, I’ll be testing out the new 13-Cup Food Processor this holiday season, and I can’t wait!
I have been lusting after it ever since I got the email. I LOVE KitchenAid products because they’re so well-made and stylish. I invested in a professional grade stand mixer several years ago and also have their bake ware, cookware and other little gadgety things. Everything has stood up well against my kitchen experiments, and overall they make cooking much easier for me!
I have been considering the purchase of a food processor for some time now. As I grow more adventurous and throw more events in my home, having one would be very helpful. I think the Gods were listening to my prayers because not only do I get a free processor, but the Cadillac of food processors. I can’t wait to learn how to use this puppy and make some delicious noms!
Now to figure out how to set up the bazillion pieces of this…
My stand mixer won't be so lonely anymore
Annabelle/Marcelle Beauty Premiere
Last Thursday was pretty awesome, I got to check out the spring 2012 launch of the new Annabelle & Marcelle products.
Even though they’re an entry-level brand, I still like these products. They give great value for what you pay and they also don’t cost an arm and a leg! I also like that they’re Canadian.
It was definitely a fun night for me. Working from home now I am dying to get out of the house, and also to get dressed up. This event was a great opportunity for me to do both, and showcase one of the new crystal pieces from With Heart.
Wearing the Crystal Lariat necklace from withheartshop.com
Smile!
I met some other cool beauty & lifestyle bloggers and also got a chance to chat with Isabel from Groupe Marcelle who is SO CUTE in person!
Shout outs to Bee and Jordana!
Bee & I in the lipgloss line up
I think the coolest part of the night was the design your own lipgloss bar that Annabelle brought in.
Stocked with pigments, lab tech and assistant, everyone there was able to select their own pigments and have their very own custom shade of Big Show lipgloss (coming Spring 2012) created right in front of them!
You can see my 4 pigment selections on the slip & corresponding sample!
Lab tech adding my chosen pigments
Mixing!
Filling the tubes
Voila! My custom shade!
After creating my lipgloss, I browsed the new products (A BB Cream and cool new mascara were my faves!) sampled some nibbles and helped myself to the tray of freebies going around. What an awesome idea! They had a server going around with a tray filled with lipsticks, shadows, liners and more and we were all able to select what we wanted to take home with us. My friends are going to be thrilled!
Upon leaving we were also given a lovely gift bag filled with more samples. I am really enjoying the Hydra-C 24H Energizing Hydrating Gel and the Soothing Cleansing Water (it removes my makeup, doesn’t need rinsing and doesn’t irritate my eyes!).
At the end of the night I had a pretty good haul:
Awww yeah!
The only thing I wish I could have gotten my hands on? The new BB Cream. It sounds awesome!
Thanks for a great night, Groupe Marcelle!
GIVEAWAY: With Heart Merch!
Yay! It’s time for another Ginger-tastic giveaway!
You know I love doing these things but the offers have been few and far between these days so I just decided to do my own to promote my boutique.
For those of you that are just dropping by now, I recently followed my heart and launched an online boutique called With Heart – Original & Interesting Stuff.
It specializes in curated collections of handmade and hard-to-find items, many of which are from local artisans. Some pieces are exclusive to the shop and I will be commissioning more special items in the future. This has been a dream of mine for years and I’m quite proud of it 
Right now I’m trying to spread the word about the shop because it’s still a bit new. The holidays are coming up and there are a lot of great gift ideas available that I want to let people know about!
In exchange for your awesome word of mouth skills, I am offering a chance to win this:
WIN!
An absolutely adorable set of puppy cupcake earrings by Twine Birds, exclusive to With Heart. Made from Polymer clay, artist Connie uses her tiny fingers to design and produce amazing little treats to wear. They are so cute I just want to eat them! (edit: Please don’t! They taste AWFUL! *shameface*)
Giveaway Details:
- Open to Canadian and US residents
- Winner will be randomly selected from the comments section
- Giveaway ends Saturday, November 26th 2011
How To Enter:
Each of the following gets you one entry. Leave a comment for each task you complete!
- Visit www.WithHeartShop.com and leave a comment about your favourite item and why you like it
- Mention this giveaway on your blog
- Tweet about this giveaway and make sure to include the With Heart username: “@gingercorsair I entered to win a set of cupcake earrings from @With_Heart_Shop! Click here for details: http://wp.me/pHTWk-op”
GOOD LUCK!
My Favourite Book: The Hunter’s Moon by OR Melling
I have a remarkable instance to tell you about!
I can’t believe I haven’t written about it before this.
You see, I have a favourite book, The Hunter’s Moon by OR Melling. I have loved this thing since I was a wee girleen and couldn’t get through the first chapter. 
It’s an amazing Young Adult book to read that combines the best of Canada, Ireland and Faerie in one fantastic package. And it gets better! After I read this the first dozen times I discovered that there were 3 other books in the series and I was thrilled.
I was even more thrilled when I discovered that my favourite Irish author somehow wrote about my actual family in the final novel. There’s nothing like finding something familiar/real in a fantasy novel to blow your mind!
So I wrote to her
Here’s my letter:
Dear O.R.,
My name is Lisa and I hail from Toronto, Ontario. I’ve been meaning to write to you for years, so I hope you’ll take a moment and read my story…
The Hunter’s Moon is one of my longtime favourite books. I remember when I first got it; I was a young girl and my mother had gotten it for me from the in-school Scholastic book orders. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old.
The first time I tried to read it, I gave up after about 1 chapter, finding the odd Irish names too hard for my young mind to decipher!
Several years later I picked it up and gave it another go. With my reading and comprehension skills improved, I was able to make my way through the novel and into a world I had always secretly dreamed of.
Best friends, romance, Canada and Ireland coming together, adventure and faeries, everything a girl could dream of.
I have treasured this book ever since.
A few more years passed before I discovered the additional books in the series. What a delight! I eagerly devoured them one by one from the library until I purchased the Golden Book of Faerie edition to read the last one, The Book of Dreams.
Imagine my surprise to find you not only writing about an area I spent time growing up in, but also about my family.
You read that right: my family.
I am a descendant of Bridget & Matthew Dowling, of Kilkenny, Ireland. They were some of the first Irish settlers in the area. My grandmother is Evelyn Dowling of Stayner, Ontario; part of the “Dueling Dowlings Clan” as we like to call them.
It was so surreal to read your book and see the story about the Mad River. Often while visiting my grandparents growing up (They now live in Midland, Ontario) we would travel out to the area and my grandmother would point out the Mad River and tell us the story of her great-great-great etc. grandmother naming it. We even have the family history traced all the way back to Ireland!
I feel like this is some kind of great coincidence, or maybe something else? I would love to know more about you and your experiences in that part of the province; how you came to learn about my ancestors and their stories. If it’s true that you can know part of a person through their writing, then I feel like we would have a great deal to talk about!
I’ve been thinking about writing to you about this for several years now, ever since I made the Dowling Discovery. Something always held me back, but this time I just went for it!
I want you to know just how much I love your books, even now at the age of 27 they hold a special place in my library. I give them as gifts to my closest friends and re-read them periodically. I loved them before I even knew I had a personal connection to the characters in your story!
Just imagine what it was like for me to find mention of my very own family in one of my favourite books. Incredible.
I thought I would share this story with you as one lover of Eire and Faerie to another, and I hope you’ll write back!
Go raibh maith agat,
Lisa
Melling wrote about my ancestor Bridget Dowling, and how she came to name the Mad River in the Creemore/Stayner area of Ontario. Here’s the excerpt from the book:
“After their meal, they walked to the outskirts of Creemore and stopped on a bridge spanning the Mad River. The water was shallow, trickling slowly over a stony bottom. Trees lined the shore.
“The river got its name from one of the earliest settlers,” Dana told him, remembering a story of her grandmother’s. “Bridget Dowling was one of those tough Irish pioneers. She settled just north of here with her husband Matthew and loads of kids. One day she was coming back from the mill with a sack of flour on her back and a baby in her arms and she had to ford the river. It was wild and rushing. She said later she almost drowned in ‘that mad river’ and that’s what everyone has called it ever since.”"
The rest of the novel takes place in areas that I was familiar with growing up; in the Georgian Bay area of Ontario. I really feel as though I could be in the story since I know the landmarks and locations it takes place in! Woah!
Religulous Dating
So here is a sad twist.
I finally went on a date with someone this past weekend, and we had a good time. He was a gentleman and sweet, and things were good. I’ve got the whole intimacy issues thing but he managed to go in for the kill and we kissed… a lot.
I thought everything was going well! He was talking about going ice skating and seeing movies together!
This morning I wake up to a text essentially dumping me (I know it was one date, but there was the implicit promise of more!).
So yeah. Dumped.
The reason why?
My religion.
Ouch. Never saw that one coming.
This guy is a super devout Christian and through a strange twist of fate our religious choices entered the scene over dinner. I don’t feel like writing all the details, but he seemed fine with me being Pagan after I explained to him what it was. He even asked if I was ok with him being Christian… weird.
I thought he was ok with everything (the many many kisses and tender touches didn’t state otherwise!) but I guess he wasn’t.
I wasn’t super hot for him, just enough to be ok with a second date to see where things go, so this isn’t a huge loss. If I look on the bright side it was at least nice to be kissed by someone, and also find out early on that it wouldn’t work, rather than investing more emotions and time into things.
But it still hurts. I thought I had finally become normal, but I guess not. 
Rock the Vote For New With Heart Lines
Politically, I have no idea what’s going on these days.
But voting is something I understand!
Here’s the deal. for my shop With Heart, I want to introduce some new lines. The problem is, there are too many cool things to choose from and not enough moolah to go around. So I’m putting it to a vote.
Please head over to the With Heart Blog and cast your vote on your favourite new artists and lines. This is your chance to have a hand in the creation of an awesome store.
New artist suggestions are always welcome, so hit me up if you’ve got any!
Thanks!
The Big Bedroom Makeover!
I’ve been itching for change lately, and now that I have all this spare time on my hands I’ve been working on some “projects” that I’ve wanted to do for a while.
My most recently completed one was the bedroom makeover!
My old room was awesome, but it was cluttered, busy and not very relaxing. I had my computer desk in there and basically did everything in that room. It wasn’t a very peaceful environment to fall asleep in, or just relax in general. I have issues with sleep as it is, so I decided that I’d make a big change and move the desk out and do the room over in an effort to make it more serene.
I moved the desk into my media room/spare room (Photos to come!) and set to work.
Working With What I Had
The biggest challenge was trying to get all my disparate elements to come together, with little money. I really didn’t have a budget at all.
Everything in my room is second-hand. I don’t think there is a single piece of furniture in there that is new! That certainly posed a unique challenge. I also fell in love with the purple bed set on vacation and had to work a new colour into my palette that wasn’t there before. Originally I was aiming for whites & pinks since I had a white bedspread and pink pillows & curtains to work with. Then I remembered I wanted to bring my big black chaise into the room for a reading nook. *sigh* there’s another colour to work with!
So now I had 4 main colour accents: Purple, pinks, white & black.
Goals
The goals for this room makeover were:
- Create more space both physically and optically
- Declutter & organize
- Use the furniture and stuff I already had and find a way to unify it better
- Make the room more functional with separate spaces for makeup, jewellery/accessories, sleeping and reading
- Make a more relaxing and calm space
My main inspiration for this room is the pink & cream bird curtains. I made them when I moved in and I still love them! In the photos below, see if you can pick out all the little bird elements I used to tie everything together!
Since I was starting with the curtains, I decided to go with a lighter wall colour to brighten & enlarge the room. I picked a very light, creamy bone shade that closely matched the cream in the curtains. It’s a neutral enough shade to achieve all my goals and provide a nice backdrop for the splashes of colour in the art & accessories.
The final product
With the desk gone from my room there was tons of space for a new vanity and reading area. I got the black chaise off of Craigslist last year and the “vanity” that you see is actually a sewing table from my late aunt. I think she’d be happy with how I arranged it! I also had an old chair sitting around the apartment, so I painted it and upholstered the seat in a shiny black to match the chaise. My mom thought it came with the table! Score!
Vanity & Reading Corner
Close up on the vanity. I reupholstered & painted the chair to match!
I also took this as an opportunity to go through all my accessories and prune them down. After that I had to find a creative way to keep most of them in sight so I could remember what I had! (I couldn’t keep them all out, I have an insane amount of stuff, so just the faves are on display)
I found an old cork board hiding in a storage space and my problem was solved! (Everyone knows the cork board trick for jewellery now, right?) I painted it the same colour as the walls so it would blend in and provide a good backdrop for my pretties. Not bad! Again, just working with what I had on hand, folks!
Part 1 of the "jewellery bar"
I also finally found a way to display some of my floral hair fascinators creatively, while finding a home for my tiered tray (that thing is impossible to store!!!!)
May I offer you a rose for your hair?
All said and done, I think I did a pretty swell job of pulling everything together, and I was able to achieve each of the goals I set out for this project.
The "Other Side"
The funny thing about this room is that I really didn’t set out to have it bird-themed. It just sort of worked out that way. I went with the motif from the curtains and tried to have little details throughout to provide continuity. I may not have chosen this myself, but I think it worked out well! Sometimes you just have to let your project choose YOU.
Birds
Curtains - The Inspiration
More bird details
If you also like the bird theme, I got the hooks and white wall-birds from Umbra. I buy from the concept store downtown, but there are lots of other retailers that carry them as well. As for the spunky wall decal, I got it at the dollar store for $2!!! Amazeballs. I bought it months ago because it was pretty and it sat around until I finally realized I could use it in this project. Win!
Royal-Tiger approves this room makeover!
The Pros & Cons of Working from Home
I started working from home for Airbnb in late September. It’s been about a month now and I’m starting to understand more about the job and what it’s like to work from home.
Sometimes it’s great, but sometimes it really sucks. If you’re considering working remotely here are some things that may help you decide…
Pros
- No commute! I used to carve out 2-3 hours a day commuting to and from my job. Now I just roll over and turn my laptop on.
- Fancy laptop from the company
- This fancy laptop is a Macbook Air 13″ and she’s a beaut! Fast as lightning and under 3lbs it makes moving around the house, working at a coffee shop or even traveling easy!
- The ability to work from anywhere as long as you have internet
- No need to get dressed up or observe hygiene (within reason)
- Flexible schedule – I can have lunch or take breaks almost whenever I want
- Ability to multi-task. If things are slow I can get stuff done around the house while I monitor the computer
- As long as I’m near the comp and not too busy I can have friends over!
- Costs associated with working outside the home (eating out, extra transportation, alcohol) are virtually non-existent. Even though my hourly wage is puny, at least I’m saving a lot by staying home so much!
- Less stress, I don’t have to worry about people watching me every moment
Cons
- Dang, it gets lonely. You become a bit of a hermit because you’re not out in society anymore
- At times you can be tethered to your job and working insane hours just because your computer happens to be there. Work/life balance can still be hard to achieve
- No reason to dress up anymore
- Your home can actually get messier because you’re at home all the time now
- Potential weight gain from sitting so close to the kitchen all the time
- Still hard to get up in the morning. Just because your commute is only 30 seconds now doesn’t mean you can show up late!
- Lack of direction and discipline can become issues
There are more pros in my list than cons, but the loneliness factor is a huge one. I really feel isolated and cut off from the world. I try to get out more, but this isolation breeds more isolation. I’m more of a homebody than ever before! I’m having issues with the lack of routine, as well. It was much easier to fall into one when there were other people around. Now that I’m at home all the time, some days I don’t even get dressed. I love dressing up so this is very disappointing for me!
I’ve been trying to establish a routine that involves waking up at a good time, eating properly and getting outside for a walk or something every day, but frankly, I suck at this. The crappy weather may have something to do with it, but I think it’s mostly my own laziness and resistance. Somehow I’ve developed these habits and routines of laziness without even knowing it. Ruh-roh.
I used to hate the people when I was working in advertising (ok maybe not hate but I didn’t like most of them) and now I find myself missing people the most in this new job. I can still technically talk to my coworkers through Skype and video chats, but it’s just not the same. I guess I’m struggling with this change.
What would you do in my situation?
I’ve moved on, and don’t regret it.
My friend invited me out with her on the spur of the moment to a party last Thursday. A guy she knew had invited her and said he could get me in too. Awesome!
I haven’t been out of the house in a while (working from home is more isolating that I thought!) so I was happy to go just about anywhere that wasn’t my home office. Plus, I like parties!
…or do I?
Turns out this was an ad party for Microsoft Advertising. *sad trombone* I used to go to these things all the time, and have written about them over the years on this blog. The swag, the music, the special treatment, the open bars… they can be pretty swanky!
But I approached this one with trepidation. Both me and my friend have moved on from this industry and really don’t like most of the people and attitudes that are present at these things. But we couldn’t back out so we went and tried to make the best of it.
It was pretty much like every other party. They had a private concert for us (Naughty By Nature) and lots of drinks and snacks. That’s not the important part of this story though.
I felt strange. This was an environment that I’d spent lots of time in throughout my career. The awkward and uncomfortable feelings were familiar, but took on a different hue this night. I didn’t really belong anymore. And I liked that feeling.
I ran into loads of people that I knew over the span of my media career. Some were polite and friendly, some were downright cold. And some just didn’t acknowledge me at all. You know, I never actually did anything to deserve that kind of treatment. It just goes to show you how shallow the industry is. It’s one of the main reasons I decided to finally leave it after I lost my job.
Despite the cool reception, I managed well. Being at these things always made me feel unsettled, small and uncertain of myself. I was never… enough. I vowed going into this one that I’d try and be my confident, new self. I’ve been so much happier since I left media, I didn’t want this situation to drag me down!
So I did. I said hello to the people I wanted to say hello to; I told everyone how happy I was (and more importantly let them see how happy I was) and did my best to mingle and have a good time. I was still the standard shy & awkward Lisa/Ginger, but not as crippling as in the past.
I met some nice people (a rarity!) and a dude who actually had the cojones to stand up to me and point out my one-upping (Hi Calvin!) which was refreshing.
I also finally got some closure for myself. Up to this point I would have occasional dreams about my last job, and look fondly back at my time there through my rose-tinted glasses. After going to this party, I am 100% done with the ad world. I still love doing marketing and advertising, but I don’t ever want to go back to the grindhouse known as the ad industry. It just isn’t me anymore, and I’m tired of selling my soul for diapers, shampoo and fancy stores.
I feel so free! I can finally let go of the past 5 years and not feel bad about it. I’ve learned a lot about the world and about myself through this journey and I’m thankful for all my lessons, but honestly. Good riddance!
Ad industry, I’m breaking up with you. I’ve found someone else… myself. And I’m not sorry.
Scoot on over to the shop blog…
Hey folks, it’s been a while.
Yes, I’m still pissed about Rogers (post below) and they haven’t done anything to help me. I am definitely switching providers when my contract is up.
I’ve been away from here for a bit because real life has been demanding a lot of me lately!
I got that new job with Airbnb, went to San Francisco for a week for training and am now working at home. In addition, I officially launched my online store With Heart and have been taking in orders, doing a little promotion and hosted a successful launch/shopping party.
I’d love it if you all could pop on over to the site and take a gander. Even better if you would tell all your friends about it, too. Not gonna lie… things are slower than I would have hoped, but I’m still trucking on.
I feel like I’m being spread a little thin these days, but I haven’t forgotten everyone. It’s just tough balancing so many things all at once. I’m trying to figure out my housing situation for the new year, too. I don’t make enough money anymore to live here on my own, but I can’t really do much more Airbnb hosting since my landlord is catching on. I’m in a bit of a pickle.
I’ve got some ideas batting around, but nothing solid yet. *sigh* I just feel all over the place! I wanted to give a decent update on here but instead I’m just bouncing all over the place! Oh well, maybe this will help me organize my thoughts and produce something worth reading. Stuff has been happening… I just haven’t been writing about it!
Is anyone even still interested in this blog? I feel like maybe folks are drifting away and it makes me sad. If there are still people out there that enjoy this then I’ll keep going. If there aren’t… well I don’t know what I’ll do.
Are you out there?
