Mod Mischief

We spotted this Free Box on Bay Street. While perhaps not as artistic as the beautifully crafted swap boxes you used to see around town, I think using a clear waterproof container is actually quite smart. Unfortunately the person who installed it told us that people have mostly been taking and not leaving things, or filling it with cigarette butts and garbage.

As always, the Great Glebe Garage Sale was awesome. Our best purchase, by far, was this beautiful Underwood typewriter for $15. only $15! After we clean it up, it's going to be so  pretty! I love that it's so old, it doesn't even have a key for the number 1 (you use the L key instead).  I can't believe we almost missed it - we initially walked right past it without seeing it, and it wasn't until our friend told us about the typewriter that we went back for a better look. We also picked up some cool glass insulators (2 for $1.50) and a widescreen LCD computer monitor that's as good as new ($20).

For Promdemonium we built an automatic photo booth. While nothing can replace a talented photographer, experience has shown that expecting someone to volunteer to be chained to a backdrop to photograph 500 people for 5 hours, for free, is unreasonable. Promdemonium benefited greatly from the work of roving photographer, and generally awesome guy, Ming Wu (you can see his pics from the event here ) but all the photo booth pictures were DIY.  mustache on a stick When it came to building our photo booth, we were heavily inspired by a fantastic giant camera photo booth on instructables.   We put together a base from a scrap piece of wood and part of one of our kitchen stools. We attached a borrowed monitor and small camera tripod. such a messy kitchen! We used a Canon Rebel T3 connected to Chris' laptop. The software that came with the camera allowed us to control it through the computer. The giant camera cover was made from sign boards from the Universit

Don't you just hate it when you think you have a great original idea and then you find out someone has done it already (and a million times better than you could)? Bade Stageberg Cox via AT Chris and I routinely pass great chairs left at the curb, and I've often told him that I would love to collect them, fix them up and paint them all a pretty colour. Each chair of the week would be unique but also a cohesive part of the bigger project. But of course it would have to wait for when we had a house, and a workshop, and were no longer plagued by neighbours who scream at us when we try to spray paint outside... Bade Stageberg Cox is clearly not held back by any of my problems as their Street Seats project is exactly what I wish I could do;  fifty chairs rescued from the trash, all given a fun makeover and new lease on life.

On Tuesday, I dutifully carried around a camera * and did my best to photograph my day for the A Day Project . It was a pretty boring day. Here's the unabridged version The day started the same way my mornings always start, with coffee. Unfortunately my new job requires me to go in early (for me). I check my emails after getting dressed. I head to work with my travel mug of coffee firmly in hand. I've usually also got a thermos with me. I have a pretty nice view on my commute. I normally pack a lunch, but since we didn't have any leftovers in the fridge, I treated myself to a BLT. It was a beautiful day for lunch on the lawn on the hill. Chris had to run some errands downtown so he met me after work. After a long day,  it's time for some home brew and a snack. I do the dishes while Chris gets started on dinner. I'm so lucky that Chris is a great cook. Me made us a delicious meal. After dinner, we start a loa

Chris and I have now been together for 4 years and it feels like so much longer. In a good way! I don't know how I ever got along before meeting him since so much of the awesomeness in my life happened after he showed up. photo from Chris' 30th birthday party

One of our goals with the Promdemonium decorations this year was to use all repurposed materials. Not only did this keep our costs down but it also promoted the event's enviro-friendly values. We needed an arch to draw attention to the venue's second room, so Chris and I rescued some pallets from the trash and pulled them apart. We screwed the reclaimed wood together into a pretty simple structure. We made sure the two sides and top could come apart for easy transport and set up. Once it was reassembled at the NAC, we covered it in Christmas lights and  paper flower decorations left over from last year's prom .

In honour of Star Wars Day , here is a picture of where we store our kitchen utensils. If you only knew the power of the Dark Side...   And of course, I have to include a shot of one of our Death Star record clocks. Impressive. Most impressive.