with a pom on top

Posted by meghanrushton

My office in Montreal has a secret Santa gift exchange – and not the cheap $10-here-is-a-bunch-of-crap kind. We are big spenders.

I got my favourite tank from Lilas, and Caroline gave Nancy a toque (made by her mom) as a gift. My instant reaction was to snap a picture and send it to my mom (hint hint):Although Nancy’s was not faux, I am all about the faux fur pom pom toque. They’re everywhere this season. How can you not want one?

So, I returned to Halifax and began crafting up a request to my mom but was feeling…

Guilty because she just made me an awesome sweater.
Concerned because I knew my request would not be at the top of her crafting list. Winter is here.

My revised plan was to skip mom and buy a toque, but then I discovered I had a reject hat that’d be perfect for a pom pom! Etsy is a great resource for faux fur poms and within a week my mink brown faux fur poms arrived (I got two poms for $10 total). It only took me two minutes to attached and voila! I am happy, my pom bounces, and winter just got a bit better.

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

breakthrough

Posted by meghanrushton

“Perhaps I can get in the pool once a week this winter.” says me, every year, no joke. I love the idea of swimming but I just am not disciplined about doing it.

There was this one time when I got pretty serious about swimming; it lasted a few months and I managed to improve enough to ‘comfortably’ swim 1000 metres. My cousin talked me into doing a duathlon (swim 750m and run 5km) and lets say it was not pretty. You know the sympathy clap? When everyone cheers for the last one out of the pool? Yah, that was me. I managed to make up for it with my run but it was a good lesson to learn – swimming takes practice and I need more of that. Plus, legs only and breaststroke are not ideal for these events. So, will this year be the year? No promises but I can say, not everything about this post is a FAIL.

One of my to-do items for the summer was buy some art. Not sure where this came from, but likely because I have a surplus of frames waiting to be filled (thanks to a 50% off sale and having a good friend in Montreal who buys me stuff at Ikea).

So what did I buy? A print from someone I pinned a long time ago. I love her stuff, so much so, it was hard to pick one. Honestly, it came down to two things.

There is a palm tree (or what I believe is a palm tree) in Breakthrough
It fits one of my frames with no need for cutting, cropping or purchasing a new matte

Here is the print up on the wall – next to the portrait of Henry. In the dead of winter, while watching one of the many dreary Netflix series online (currently addicted to The Killing), I can glance over at my swimming girl and remind myself to swim more. It really is the best.

Check out more of Samantha French’s paintings here

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

hang it. series four.

Posted by meghanrushton

Affordable art. Yes please! One way to decorate some bare walls on a budget is hang greeting cards. There are so many talented folks on Etsy and local artists who’d be honoured to have their stuff framed. Here are some goodies I’ve added to my collection or have bookmarked for future purchases.

hang it-4

Another great idea is frame postcards. In Paris? Purchase three postcards for a few euros and frame them. Always be on the lookout for inexpensive posters and artwork – they look great and will serve as a reminder of a lovely trip.

Artwork found in Spain, postcards from Paris

If you have too many cards and no space for hanging, create an inspiration board. Here’s mine, which hangs above my desk, and makes me smile when what’s on the monitor is less than inspiring.

Happy hanging. xomeg

A. Arrows / B. Home Sweet Home / C. C’est la Vie / D. Hello Sunshine / E. You Are My Sunshine / F. You Make My Heart Skip A Beet / G. You & Me / H. Macaroni / I. Get Outside / J. Palm Trees / K. Eiffel Tower / L. East Coast Girls / M. Always & Forever