Highlight of my weekend? Big metal letters. There were even bigger letters, but they were too big to bring home. Not pictured here is the ampersand, which was the first one I got, before I knew I was going back to get more.
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Loving this set of stamps. I think electricity is my favourite. Nice find Grain Edit!
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Field Notes for kids! Cute! I'm also somewhat coveting these Threadless special edition Field Notes.
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How much do I want one of these 1940's Explosion Proof Telephones? Not $250 worth, but A LOT. They are awesome looking. Actually, there's a ton of really neat stuff over there at Agent Gallery Chicago. Not that I could afford most of it, but it's nice to look!
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I love the look and feel of this picture of the construction of the New York City Hall subway station in 1904. Striking. Thanks once again Shorpy!

I am loving this radio from Science & Sons. It's definitely making it's way around the Canadian design blog world. Clever idea for sure. One national radio company, two channels; one radio, two presets, one big switch. You use a tuner on the bottom to preset 1 & 2 to CBC1 & CBC2, and then flip away. The grill is a clear homage to the classic CBC logo we all know and love. I'm sure it'll be way out of my price range when it actually comes out, and I never actually listen to CBC2, but I am definitely coveting it, and you can hook an ipod up to it (also good, because most of what I listen to from CBC1 I actually listen to as podcasts anyway...)
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Lejonet & Bjornen. This Swedish ice cream company's new packaging was featured on Lovely Package, but what I was really struck by was that logo! That bear WANTS that ice cream. Will he ever get it?

From what I can see of their old logo, this new one is a huge improvement. The old one looks like too much teddy, not enough bear.
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Disney shut down Miramax this week. At one point in time they produced some of my favourite films, and they've definitely been a part of a lot of good stuff, with and without the Weinsteins. Check out what Kevin Smith says about it in there: "for one brief, shining moment, it was an age of magic and wonders. I'm crushed to see it pass into history, because I owe everything I have to Miramax. Without them, I'd still be a New Jersey convenience store register jockey. In practice, not just in my head."
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I wish this squirrel weren't so expensive!

New Things

Kitchen pictures are up on flickr. I finally got around to it. The set has the pics from the original real estate listing, then ones we took after we had gutted the place, then what it looks like now. I wish I had a wide angle lens, so that I could get more in and have it not look so cramped, but what can you do? Don't ever hire me to be your real estate photographer...

Very happy with the outcome. It feels way too nice to be my kitchen. I'm so glad that we pulled the fridge and stove back into the room and put that new bathroom back there. Love it. Couldn't have done it without the help of Jenna's parents, very thankful for that. I've got pictures of Ron and I doing some of the tiling that I'll post later (Jenna was tiling too, but taking the pictures, so she's not in them).
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Jenna bought me a WD TV unit for my birthday and, if you ask me, it's one of the best things ever. Since we bought our new tv on boxing day, we'd been watching a lot of downloaded videos by hooking my computer up to the tv. It was nice to watch things on the tv, but it was really annoying me that I couldn't use my computer while watching things. With the WD TV, we download stuff, put it on my USB drive, plug it into the tiny little WD TV box, and blam, it's on the tv. We've watched so much stuff! Lots of tv, a few movies. Good times. Highly recommended if you enjoy watching downloaded videos.
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For Christmas, Jenna's mom bought Jenna Bananagrams, and I highly recommend it as well, if you like word games at all. It's like Scrabble, but there's no board, and you play off your own words trying to use up all your letters before your opponent(s). Love it.
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Also new, I finally have my full G driver's license. Got it Friday.

As you may or may not have heard, Kate McGarrigle died yesterday. I'm not going to pretend like I was a big fan or something, but I will say that I think that the amount of times that I saw The Log Driver's Waltz as a kid has to have had an impact on both my love of things lumberjack and birling related, and my love for and appreciation of the NFB. Two pretty big things, if you ask me. So have a watch, and appreciate it. I do love their voices. Maybe now is the time to finally get around to listening to more?
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Speaking of the NFB, I think I need to order this shirt, since they have it on black now...
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Crazy concept furniture. Seriously crazy. But awesome. I know I'd like to hit a big cube of metal into a chair...
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Lego guitar. Nice. If only the neck would hold under the tension of the strings...
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Fischer Price Merry Mutt. SO CUTE. Jenna sent me this one and I love it! Such a scrappy looking little pup-dog! If only he wasn't so expensive...
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It's been awhile since I've posted pictures from Shorpy. I recently re-read Time and Again, in which the protagonist travels back in time to New York in the 1880's. I love the book for how jealous it makes me of him. Recently there's been a spate of NY in the early 1900's on Shorpy, and I really wish I could jump into them. Check 'em out:
Flatiron Rising: 1902
Brooklyn Terminal: 1903
The Bowery: 1900
Death Star: 1902

This one I meant to share before Christmas: Toy Story: 1923. How did we get from that crazy tree shape to what we favour now?

Don't forget to click 'view full size' to really get in there on some of them. Check the signage in the background at the terminal for one. "Carters Little Liver Pills" is a nice one. So is the half covered part of the Quaker Oats sign that declares it as an option "Instead of Meat."

Oh, those crazy Vegetarians...

Image from Kaufmann Mercantile. Love it. And meat.
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Here's another nice one from KM, the George Nelson Flip Clock. I've always enjoyed flip clocks, but this on takes it to a whole other level. Classy. So often they're encased in plastic, here the mechanics are part of the design, rather than just the functional back end.
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If I were ever to spend $1000+ on a turntable, these would be high on my list. Pretty.
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This recording of LBJ ordering some custom Haggar pants is a pretty great listen. He is very specific in the changes he wants in the waist, pockets, and crotch, even though he does deem the ones he already has to be "the best that I've had anywhere in the United States." Thanks to A Continuous Lean for linking to that gem.

"The First Diet Cola For Men"

I may have gotten a little of the ol' scalp sweats with my lunch today. It's not the hottest thing in the world, but Stagg's Dynamite Chili definitely has some bite. I do believe I'll be buying another can.
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I guess this commercial came out over a year ago, but I just saw it for the first time yesterday. I feel like I should hate it, but in the end, it's totally true for me. I am a pretty big Pepsi Max advocate. All the benefits of Diet Pepsi, but it doesn't taste (entirely) like aspartame, and it has extra caffeine? Yes, please! I'll drink diet if there's nothing else, but if you ask me, aspartame is not an 'artificial sweetener,' it's a 'make things taste like aspartame-r,' and that is not a flavour I really like. You get a bit of it in Pepsi Max, but not a lot.

"Men can take anything, except the taste of diet cola."
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This ad gives off a vaguely Addams Family vibe to me, in that it looks playful, but it also kind of makes me afraid to find out what's inside it. In the end though, I find it ridiculously cute.
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I just upped some new posters to my Gigposters page, if you want to check them out. I feel like I'm missing some, but I can't remember what. I'll have to check later.
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Kitchen photos should be going up on Flickr later this week if I have time, if you're interested. I'm excited to finally share!
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Patchy post at best. Feels like that kind of week. I'm already itching for it to be over...

How much do I want to try Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn? A LOT. That's how much.

"The intersection of smoky bacon, popcorn and rich, bourbon caramel...This is where sweet meets savory!" Sounds so good!
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Favourite quote recently? "You can do anything you want in life, unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too." Good one Conan!

And a nice show of solidarity from Letterman in this one: "In the television industry, there are two types of talk-show hosts: Jay Leno, and those who have been victimized by Jay Leno."

Some good info about the Leno ratings drop here.
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This tab has been open in my Firefox for pretty much ever, and I keep forgetting to post it: What's He Building in There on MTV. Nice work guys.
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Have I mentioned before that I love Glee? It's going to be way too long to wait until April for more. In the interim, here's another video that I keep forgetting to post that might help getting through that wait: Behind the Scenes of the Kiss. So cute.

Lots of Conan love going on on the internet today, and that makes me real happy.
Here's a bit of Dave talking about it.
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Jenna and I have finally started watching season 2 of Parks and Recreation, and I have to say, they are killing it over there! There have been a few down spots, but mostly, a lot of just straight awesome. I've heard ?uestlove has been loving it too, calling it the Wu-Tang of comedy. Check out this video here for proof!
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More TV! TV TV TV! (sorry about all the TV...)

I started watching Sons of Anarchy today, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it, two episodes in. Weird to see Charlie Hunnam grown up and not on Undeclared. Awesome to see Ron Perlman being a somewhat normal dude, albeit the head of a biker gang...
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If you are interested in the weather at all, and live in KW, I highly recommend checking out the UW Weather Station online. I have been putting off reading this year end summary blog post, because it is so dense with interesting info about the weather in the region over the past year, and I wanted to give it its due. All kinds of interesting tidbits over there. I have their Mac application running on my work computer, and love being able to glance at the time, and also get an accurate report of how cold it feels out (it gives either actual temp, or feels like) at the same time. Maybe I'm just a nerd, but I do find this stuff pretty interesting.
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Finally, don't forget to vote on what cities should be included in Monopoly Canada. I guess Waterloo doesn't warrant being on there itself, and has to be written in. I guess its small mention in the Kitchener entry is supposed to be enough?

A couple new blogs popped up on my radar recently.

A Collection a Day 2010. Looking forward to seeing how this one goes. I do love collections. Picture above is from this one.

Letterheady. A collection of company letterheads. Not surprisingly, this one is the one that really sold me on the thing. There are probably ones I like better on there, but none I'd rather see in my mailbox...

Will definitely be adding both to my google reader.
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Jenna showed me this Tyco Lego phone on etsy yesterday, which I totally remember wanting when I was younger.

Here's a small collection of novelty phones I spotted today. Some I'd seen before, some I hadn't. This Jordache Jeans phone falls in the latter category, and is ridiculous and amazing.
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Here's another one Jenna sent me: Bear-ly contain myself teacup. As she said in her email 'this is almost enough to make me drink tea'. It's also almost enough to make me spend $30 on one mug. But in the end, it is not enough to do either of those things. It is damn cute though.
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Speaking of things that are almost enough to make me drink tea, the labels and the name of Andrews & Dunham's Damn Fine Teas, also fit in that category. Designed by Aesthetic Apparatus, that's some damn fine packaging. This bad-ass metal inspired label is my clear choice.

Ooh! Check out the hand-screened labels from Series 1 & Series 2 as well!

If you never have before, you should swing by Aesthetic Apparatus' website and check out their other fine work. This might be one of my all time favourite posters (Sue, you might recognize that hand [or one like it] from our trip to the Olympia factory)

Conan O'Brien Says He Won't Host The Tonight Show Following Leno.

I've been dying to know what Conan would decide on this, and I am so happy with what he has come out and said. I thought the whole giving Leno the 10pm show was pretty much the worst idea in TV ever when it happened, and think that this whole 11:35, 12:05, 1:05 lineup is ridiculous, and offensive to Conan. If Leno's show is a failure, then it's a failure, and Leno and his show should pay the price, not everyone else on NBC's late night lineup. TV without Leno would be a much better place.

Stumbled across this one today, to which I say bullshit. If they every try to remake Back to the Future, someone will have to die. We finally got Eileen to watch Back to the Future on New Years Eve, and she liked it. Of course she would, it's actually a good movie. I guess the Karate Kid, and Footloose for that matter, aren't really what I would call 'actually good,' but I still hate to see childhood favourites remade. Footloose, perhaps surprisingly, I would have been more okay with if Zac Efron was still going to be in it...
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Speaking of movies, in case you were wondering, Youth in Revolt on Thursday was pretty great, and the promo screening was pretty poorly attended, which made me sad for the movie, but happy for me because I hate crowds.

This weekend we also watched Post-Grad, because Alexis Bledel was in it (and Matt Saracen... Now that I think of it, the fact that he was in it turned out to be its only redeeming factor). Turns out it was SO MUCH WORSE than I ever expected. And I expected bad. There were so many parts that were just unnecessary. Who decided that the family storyline bits were a good idea? That's what we wanted to know.

Tonight it's a family affair as Jenna, her parents, and I are going to check out The Blind Side. I'm not expecting too much in depth, but I am expecting to enjoy it for what it is.
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On to the Hip Hop portion of this post:

Lloyd Banks was arrested in Kitchener (!?) - The big question that this news raises is: Brantford has a dance club big enough to host G Unit members? Seriously though, what they did is pretty messed up. Follow the link in the Record article to see a picture of the victim (Thanks to Hilary for the heads on that one)

Diddy's Wad Infiltrated by One Dollar Bill - I find the incredulous look on his face hilarious. (Thanks to Ben Ong for sharing that gem on google [and for sharing some memory gems on Friday night])
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Big and Little. One of the things that we enjoy around our house is big and little counterparts. For example, I always enjoy seeing stuffed animals who have their own, smaller, stuffed animals. These two separate Box Vox posts are perfect for me. I fell for the packaging signs right away. The bread at first, and then the Crayola box especially once I spotted it. Then when he threw down the dollhouse stuff this morning, all I could think of was 'damn, this guy knows how to get to me!' Tiny bacon? And is that tiny Vegemite?

Who loves packaging more than Randy Ludacer? I do not know.
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I want this book!!! Yet another vintage kids book to keep an eye out for.

So it's my birthday. I wasn't really going to say much about it, but I was working on a poster that involved fireworks, so I thought I'd throw a piece of that up there.
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Thinking about it this morning, I think that this last year has been pretty great for me. I don't think I've really thought about it much because some people I care about have had pretty off years, but it may even be one of my best. At times I've been more tired and stressed than other years, but the house, being a part of the wedding of two people whom I think are awesome, all of the things I've learned, all of the people I know, and many other things, have all contributed and made 28 a pretty solid year for me. Lets hope 29 does not disappoint.
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This is a little late in coming, due to it's Christmas-ness, but Jenna showed me this last night, and I just had to share: Jimmy Fallon x The Roots x The Muppets - Twelve Days of Christmas. Gotta love them. Little Robin is just so cute!

Here's another clip: Jimmy and the Muppets impromptu rendition of 'One'.

How much do I want to just hang out with The Muppets?

They don't have a clip of just the end of the show, where all The Muppets (minus Sam the Eagle, who is clearly embarrassed) throw down dancing to The Roots, which is too bad, because it was probably the best part.

Great times at tacos last night. Sorry to anyone if I got too passionate about anything. Blame Bernard for telling me I got to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about...
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Hopefully tomorrow night we'll get in to see Youth in Revolt. I was given a double pass for tomorrow's preview screening, but wasn't sure if I'd want to have to sit in a packed theatre. We're gonna try it out though. It'd better be good!
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This is a tough one. I'm thinking about buying the new Joe Meno book, The Great Perhaps. The big question is, do I go for this cover, or this cover? I'm pretty sure I'd go with the first one, but there's something that I really like about the second as well, like the bird, and the text book looking bomb. I certainly won't go for the paperback, even though I usually prefer paperback, because look how brutal that cover design is, in comparison to the other two especially.
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If I ever have a home bar, this is the bottle opener you will find in it. Hell, I might even have to get one to mount in the workshop once we get around to tidying and setting it up. Almost time to get to that...

Birthday Tacos.

The Tuesday closest to your birthday is, by default, your birthday tacos. I've missed a number of taco nights recently, but I certainly won't be missing tonight's!
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By the way, yes, that is a taco on our Christmas tree. I am so happy with our first Christmas tree here, and we both have been getting sad that its going to have to go. The shape is perfect (for us), and there are so many little things that I love on it! I'm uploading pictures right now to my flickr account, so check it out later to see more.
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I haven't been posting much, because we've either been busy working, or busy relaxing. We just finished Dexter season 4, which was amazing. So stressful at times! So good! We're almost finished the kitchen. We put up the backsplash over last week, and grouted this weekend. I"ve always wanted to try grouting, and definitely enjoyed it.

I've been asked why I haven't put more pictures of the house up here. I should be doing that soon. I haven't to this point because I don't want to ruin the final impact of the finished project. I want that punchy before and after, you know? So give it a week or two.
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I've also been neglecting my google reader, so there's not much to share, but here's a few things:

Mini chair jewelery. Awesome. Reminds me of the mini replicas of famous chairs you can buy (and that my friend Jen G. has some of, making me jealous of her).

Record covers re-done with super heroes. Have I ever mentioned that I owned a sleeveless Purple Rain sweatshirt when I was a kid? Sleeveless. Sweatshirt. There's a picture I'll have to find...

Vans Spring Classics. All in light grey. Nice. Damn I'd love those Sk8-Hi's.

This kid is so stylish! Seriously!