Year in Review

What did I accomplish this year? Let's take a look back.

• Took a lot of day trips: Belcarra, Leavenworth, Whistler, Seattle, Buntzen Lake, Steveston, Victoria
  
• Went to Washington, DC
  
• Joined Weight Watchers and lost 20lbs
  
• Had gallbladder surgery
  
• Went camping & wine tasting on the Island and went camping at Alice Lake
  
• Discovered Facebook and reconnected with old friends
  
• Bought a car
  
• Participated in my first AIDS walk
  
• Attended the weddings of Rob & Jen and Brody & Nichole (and unfortunately missed two weddings because of surgery)
  
• Posted every day in the month of November
  
• Became obsessed with Etsy and more interested in home design
  
• Attended the International Friendly between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy in which David Beckham played
  
• Celebrated my 2nd anniversary with A.
  
• Read 30 books
  
• Had great fun with good friends
  

Here's to more of the same in 2008! Have a happy and safe new year!

Read in 2007

30. Tears of the Giraffe
29. The Golden Compass
28. The Great Gatsby
27. Runaway
26. Atonement
25. Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe
24. In Cold Blood
23. A Long Way Gone
22. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
21. Night
20. First Among Sequels
19. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
18. Mr. Maybe
17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
16. Bookends
15. Summer Sisters
14. She's Come Undone
13. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
12. Confessions of a Shopaholic
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
9. The Coffee Trader
8. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
7. A Spot of Bother
6. Wonder Boys
5. The Lovely Bones
4. Monster: the Autobiography of an LA Gang Member
3. The Accidental
2. Danny: The Champion of the World
1. A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

Final books

Here are the final two books of 2007. I did better this year than last so maybe the trend will continue in 2008.

Book 29 was The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. We sent to see the movie with some friends before I read the book but unfortunately, the theatre was really hot and I fell asleep so I can't tell you what I thought of it. The book though was quite interesting and I got into it in the same way as I got into the Harry Potter books. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

And finally, book 30 was Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and was just as good as books 1 & 3 which I had already read. I really want to go to Botswana to discover the country so lovingly described in the books and I also look forward to seeing the movie based on the first book.

I'm loving...

Vancouver designer Martha Sturdy and her line of fantastic resin home accessories. Perhaps I will try and save for a bowl.

As well as a newly discovered interest in mid-century modern furniture I've recently become fascinated with owls.

This cast iron owl paperweight from The Curiosity Shoppe would make a great addition to a clean desk or sideboard.



I also really like this owl giclee print from boygirlparty.com



And there are 281 pages of "owl" results on Etsy.

I'm loving

I've become addicted to browsing through Etsy and have found quite a few items that would make good gifts or that I would love to own myself.

Here are just a few of the items:


JOY tiny text bowl by paloma's nest


Dude bunny by spidercamp


Owl with pear print by Pistachio Press


Small pool earrings by esdesigns

Other items from around the web:


Out of Circulation - One by Jillian Ditner at Keep Calm


Baby elephant ring holder from Red Envelope. Unfortunately, on backorder until February.


Diana+ camera from the Lomography Shop

HA!

From xkcd.

Etsy n00b

I've been browsing through different Etsy shops for a while but haven't purchased anything until now.

I can't wait until my print by midcenturyjo arrives!

Picnik

Flickr has recently teamed up with Picnik to provide photo editing tools right in the Flickr window. Now each photo has a handy little "Edit Photo" button that will take you over to the Picnik interface. I played around with it a bit and must say, it's a nice tool to be able to access especially if I'm not at my home computer.

Here's a before and after of a shot I took at Buntzen Lake.


Before


After

I didn't change a whole lot, just softened the photo and added the vignette effect, but I think it makes all the difference.

There is also the option of adding text and shapes so I was able to create a nice Christmas photo.



I definitely think I will be using this tool more in the future!

Link roundup

The Good:

Nepalese Wrapping Paper. Made from the inner bark of a wild shrub called Lokta.

Atonement the movie. I am sooo looking forward to seeing this!

Elf Yourself. Upload 4 different photos and watch your friends and family dance.

The Bad and the Ugly:

$1200 for Hannah Montana tickets?! You have got to be joking.

Australian Santas banned from saying "ho, ho, ho" because it may offend some women.