Save time off your life!

As some of you might already know, I rarely wear matching socks. I don't remember when I started this, it's been quite some time since I've actually matched them. Conditions under which I do wear matching socks:

1) When I go somewhere important that there is a possibility that my socks will be seen.
2) I open my drawer and they just happen to be beside each other (even then, sometimes then they are passed over).

When I take off my shoes people often point out that my socks are miss-matched (well aware :) lol) which then leads to: why?....lol.

Well, when you do laundry, during the dryer process there somehow opens a portal to an unknown dimension where socks sometimes disappear. Other items of clothing don;t go there, just socks, and not too often that you notice it every time. So that is reason number one: mystery dryer sock portal to nowhere. (This is legit & you know it, google it, many people have hypotheses, theories and random explanations).

Reason 2: It wastes my time. Let's say that you take an average of 12 seconds to match your socks (whether is be post-dryer run, or in your sock drawer). I'm 26 years old, lets say that I've been matching my socks up to age 13 (just a guess). So, let's say for 13 years I have not been wasting my time matching my socks. So, 365 days per year (plus 4 leap years, so 4 days, now 369), 12 seconds per day so that's 4380 seconds per year, times 13 years, that's 56,940 seconds plus the leap year extra days, 48 seconds so in total that would be approximately: 56,988 seconds.

Translation: 949,8 minutes, or 15.83 hours. That my friends is a lot of time-just merely dedicated to matching socks. So instead if I took this 15.83 hours, I could actually drive to Bangor, Maine (according to google maps) and back, and still have time for lunch and a few pit stops.

People in my life have tried to introduce some techniques to help me: my grandmother purchased me "Duo Socks" which are little feet-shaped plastic pieces with two pronged-holes in which you place your socks before washing them. Perfect for avoiding the black hole of socks, but not for what I now consider good personal taste, a personal preference and clearly as shown, a huge time saver. To you Duo sock: you can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink.

My mother, supporter of this quirky habit showed me this website: Little Miss Matched. Their slogan: Think outside the socks. This site sells packages of three socks, not matching but sometimes a similar family of designs. They have also have a section for you to design your own socks- really neat!

Anyways, really long blog post but hope you enjoy and consider the amount of time that you (and I already have) saved on miss-matching socks!

New socks

Such a small, cheap and easy way to reward yourself. Having a bad day, having a good day but want to make it better? Crack open a new package of socks!

The feeling isn't the same even after just one wash- has to be brand new fresh ones. I think a good top prize for a contest would be a one year supply of new socks- who wouldn't want this?!

Next time you're out and about, considering doing yourself a huge, and yet so very simple favour: new socks.

Feel extra passionate about new socks? Join this online group where you can read stories of other sock lovers or tell your own! (Yes it exists lol).

Check it out, happy walking!

Halifax for Haiti

Want to help the people of Haiti but don't know how? Or want to help and enjoy a concert surrounded by others wanting to help? Here's the info:

Date
Monday February 8, 2010 at 7:30pm

Location
Halifax Metro Centre

Tickets on sale
starting Tuesday January 19, 2010 at 11am

Ticket Price
All tickets $20 each

Orders subject to an additional $4 per order fee if ordered on-line (proceeds to Halifax for Haiti).

Seating
All seating is general admission.
First come, first seated.

Availability
Tickets available to purchase at:

The Ticket Atlantic Box Office
Charge by phone at (902) 451-1221
the 17 participating Atlantic Superstore outlets
Online - click Buy Tickets button above once onsale
Info
The Halifax for Haiti benefit concert featuring Halifax-based DRUM! and an array of the region’s finest artists is confirmed for the Halifax Metro Centre, Monday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $20 and go on sale at 11 a.m., Tuesday, January 19 through www.ticketatlantic.com, at the Ticket Atlantic box office, charge by phone at 451-1221 or at any of the 17 participating Atlantic Superstore outlets. Proceeds from the event will go to the Canadian Red Cross, to support their relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
The event, featuring a solid line-up of East Coast headliners along with a segment from the electrifying music, rhythms and dance of DRUM!, will be produced by Brookes Diamond Productions. “Our DRUM! team wanted to do something to help the people of Haiti in their time of greatest need and the music community jumped in immediately offering their services," said Diamond. "As well, we are so thrilled that our friends in the business community are sponsoring this and local media are jumping on board to help pull this together so quickly.”
“We wanted to lend our support in the best way we know how—with the expertise of our people who make things happen behind the scenes in a facility capable of holding what we very much hope will be a large crowd,” said Scott Ferguson, President & CEO of Trade Centre Limited, the provincial crown corporation that operates the Halifax Metro Centre. “Nova Scotians are known for their huge hearts and generous nature. Now is the time for all of us to join together and show our generosity in support of those who need us so much right now.”

Lineup
Anna Ludlow
Bruce Guthro
Charlie A'Court
Christina Martin
Classified
DRUM!
Joel Plaskett
Lennie Gallant
Linda Carvery
Nova Scotia Mass Choir
Rhapsody Quintet
Scott MacMillan
Sung Ha Shin-Bouey
The Stanfields
Thom Swift
..... more to come

Found: Money!

Today I decided to clean out my closet and I experienced a life's simple pleasure: finding money etc. in pockets of stuff you haven't worn in awhile. Be it a loonie, toonie or even a bill- it is a great feeling. You can't do it on purpose- you have to let it happen, much like a slow clap- has to happen organically.

Related to this I love when you pull out what you think is just a receipt from your pocket and snuggled up to it is a crisp, clean bill. Again, great feeling.

I assure you that re-finding money that was yours and you assumed spent and long gone is in fact in your closet-feel free to check!

What did I find today to inspire this blog you may ask? Nada. Just a badminton shuttle- no money. But then I thought how I wish it were money, not the most random object I could probably have hiding in my closet.

So simple yet so rewarding and can seriously make your day!

Fist pumping like champs

No one could predict that this would happen. Many people in the US protested it being aired, and continue to protest due to its inaccurate and distorted view of Italian Americans.

I'm talking about the fist pumping, hair gellin, juiced, tan, hair extensions, t-shirt selling cast of the MTV's Jersey Shore.

If you have not watched this show, you should. It can be found on MTV (the Canadian version) where you can watch it (for free). The reality show is similar to the Hills, Peak Season etc., but the characters are much more interesting (the first episode Angelina shows up with garbage bags as luggage.... lol.)

Anyways the show follows some young, Italian American, self-proclaimed Guidos and Guidettes, who are living in a Jersey Shore beach house for a summer. They work in a t-shirt making shop, and hit up the boardwalk and the bars pretty much every night.

I cannot describe to you the dancing, the accents, the hook-ups, the drama- you need to see it for yourself. This show is a phenomenon and the characters are everywhere.

Ah yes, the characters. There is Angelina, self-proclaimed Kim Kardashian of Staten Island, Jenni "JWowW" Farley, Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi (the tiny little firecracker), Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVechhio (who has the most ridiculous hair style ever), Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola (the sweetest bitch you will ever meet) and finally mama's boy Vinny Guadagnino.

I find this show fascinating- I find myself constantly saying "Are these people real? Like actual, real people!?". Most of my friends are hooked on it-constant facebook updates and inside jokes referring to shore.

If you need some seriously brainless tv to watch, plus something to make you laugh and make you shake your head, then Jersey Shore is highly recommended.

I would say more but don't want to give it away! And for those of you who have already seen it and love it: go ahead, watch it again- you know you want to !

Etsy!

This website is absolutely amazing- it is an online place where people can buy and sell handmade crafts, art, decor, templates, patterns and anything homemade! I literally could spend hours on this site- most of the things that are listed on here are absolutely amazing and its unbelievable that someone even made them!

If you're into making your own crafts etc. you can actually make an account and sell your products online! Not crafty? Buy other people's amazing things! A lot of items look like something you've seen in a store- but what is great is that this stuff isn't mass produced, unique and sometimes one-of-a-kind. So neat to support someones hobby and business!

I don't even know where to tell you to begin to look but there are a million categories (If you don't know what category you want to shop for i.e. Wedding, patterns, needlework, then you can shop by colour, editor's pick or even a Shop Local section- which can be hard to find sometimes, yet here it is laid out for you :) (There's sellers in Halifax for all you current Haligonians!)

I stumbled upon a local Halifax seller who makes really cute & funny greetings card. I actually purchased a few of these at Christmas at the Forum last year. The seller is Wry & Ginger who make "Seriously funny handmade cards in original designs!". They have really cheeky cards with cute pictures (I'm biased to bunnies!) and they grabbed my attention right away. Re-think Hallmark holidays and inject some Wry & Ginger originals into your life!

For your next gift, check out etsy to support an artisan, crafter and creator of something original and beautiful!!

Lemon water

Lemon water.

So so so so so very simple yet to delightful! I'm not a huge water guzzler- although I wish I was. So good for you, very refreshing and takes minimal effort. Another refreshing twist is cucumber water- very different and inexpensive way to reinvent something undoubtedly boring and blase.

On a related note, here an article about choosing ripe fruit at the grocery store (There's nothing worse than a rock hard avocado when you need to make guacamole asap :)! )

Pucker up and cheers :)

Oops I craft my pants

I stumbled upon this blog and I love it- aside from already having a love for craft and design blogs- this one is really cute. It's a young lady who started blogging in July- does it for fun and has lots of inspiring ideas and easy things that you can model after for your own ideas!

So one million points to her for the cheeky and hilarious blog name: Ooops, I Craft my Pants. So funny, clever and hilarious- and upon reading the blog further, she does not disappoint.

One of the ideas that caught my eye right off the bat was Magazine balls. You see alot of recycled magazine home decor items now- I saw some in Calgary at Urban Barn (I bought a set of coasters) and at Pier 1 Imports (Similar to these, magazine balls). It's a really neat decor item to add to a room and also supports recycling (What else are you going to do with the magazines that you save and know that you never look at again?)

Here is the link to instructions for making your own magazine balls: http://www.oopsicraftmypants.net/2010/01/magazine-balls-part-two.html

Have a looky-post some comments and find some inspiration :)

Who rolls first to see who rolls first?

Here is one for ya: You're playing a bored game, doesn't matter who it is with or how many people. You're setting up the game, picking your pieces (who else loves being the thimble in Monopoly?). It's a game that involves dice- uh oh- who goes first. Simple kid rule: let's roll to see who goes first.

Funny how we fight over who rolls first in a game, but never who rolls first to see who gets to go first? Someone usually causally rolls, but rarely is there an argument over who does this first- even with kids there is rarely a fight.

That leads me to: kid rules. Kid rule are awesome. I'm talking about "calling" things, or "lick it, stick it, stamp it". How often is the argument "Well, she did call it" used and accepted? Quite a bit. It's amazing how kid rules are basically legally binding, verbal contracts that all parties involved accept if someone "calls it". I wish "calling it" worked in big kid and adult world.

Man I miss kid world......

Cute magnets

Sick of fridge magnets with realtor's or plumbers phone numbers? Why not make your own cute set!

So I don't recall where the idea for this one came from- I've seen it done before so it's not an original but it was inexpensive and fun to make!

I started with a variety of scrap scrapbook paper and punched out little circles. If you purchase one sheet of paper with a cool design, it costs around one dollar and can make a TON of circles. I purchased little round magnets at the dollar store (12 or 15 to a package). You simply glue the circles onto the back of decorative stones, which can also be found at the Dollar Store, or WalMart, and the ones I found were a jar for about $4.99 at Superstore. I used craft glue from Stampin Up (regular white glue may not dry clear).

For our Annual Potluck with my friends at home, I put a set in a cute little bag (Dollar store!) and gave them out as gifts! So easy, so cute! Literally anyone can do them!
The picture above are of the supplies, and then the finished product! (The cute little boy is a picture of my cousin Jake expressing his patriotrism on Canada Day)

This project is so simple and takes very little time to do- it's a great way to use scraps of paper that were otherwise destined for garbage or recycling!

My apologies

Wuzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaaa!! I'm back!!

Sorry about the hiatius, felt the need to hibernate over the Christmas break- enjoy the boyfriend, the friends, the family, the time-off the feeling of having nothing to do- or many obligations.

So I'm back! It's January, new year, new decade! So cheers, read, relax and enjoy!