As we hurtle closer to the end of the year, this month is taking shape in unexpectedly brilliant ways. Among the pleasant surprises this fall has brought:
I’m so close to finishing the first draft of my book
I’ve got a random gig occasionally walking the goodest dog that looks like a baby hippopotamus
My teeth are almost straight (?! Hello, good teeth privilege??)
Flights are booked to go to Prince George for Christmas (can’t wait to indoctrinate my niece into Santa Lucia and catch the occasional whiff of a pulp mill while spending time with my family)
We’ve got subfloors throughout the house now (and it looks like we’ll have floor floors before the end of the month?)
David found an issue of the Toronto Daily Star from September 1951 under the old floor boards (with a special feature on European princesses?)
A very good reason to visit Chile next year popped up!
I hope your November is filled with good news stories like these. If not, maybe you should share the good vibes:
I’m reading
When #metoo reached Puerto Rico. "My mother and I never named our body parts below the neck and above the thighs." This video of Matty Matheson noodling for catfish with Brad Leone for It’s Alive will never not make me laugh. “What my parent’s immigrant restaurant means to me.” Tsilhqot'in Canadian filmmaker Trevor Mack’s Portraits from a Fire is receiving critical acclaim. A different perspective on depression and ideation that is somehow comforting.
Holiday Gift Guide - CANCON EDITION
I’ve realized that I don’t talk very often about the work I do and since the holidays are swiftly approaching, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of the great people I know/work with/collaborate with in different capacities for those of you that are still on the hunt for gifts, and want to support small/independent companies/people with your cash-money. None of them know about this or asked to be in this, so, lol.
Citrine Horizon by Hannah Seraphim
Citrine Horizon is my friend Hannah’s debut memoir that will look familiar if you opened the last email I sent you. I was lucky enough to be her beta reader for this book, and I think it would make a great gift for anyone you know going through a major life change, or who’s maybe had a health trauma recently.
I’ve been working with the great people at Propeller Coffee since I moved to Toronto. The team there is incredible and they’re a certified B-Corp who make amazing award-winning coffee. I help them out with marketing things sometimes, but mostly, I supervise events in their roastery space, which is the most fun job ever. They offer beans by delivery AND a subscription setup.
I’ve been working with the wonderful people at Fine Vintage for about a year and a half, helping out with their SEO and advertising. For your foodie friend, maybe they’d be into an online course on wine/food & wine pairing/spirits developed by a Master of Wine? The courses are great and loaded with beautiful winery-porn videos.
For your witchiest art-loving friend, embrace the macabre and wonderful with this series of sculptures that make fantastic paperweights/desk adornments. The artist, Jade Usackas, helped me turn my late grandma’s cremains into a gorgeous paperweight after we met at a pub and she told me she was a glass artist. She also makes incredible glass sculptural wall art you should probably check out.
For your favourite workaholic! These are made by my partner with the offcuts of wood in his design/fabrication studio here in Toronto, helping to reduce waste while making super useful every-day pieces.
Mel Hayes is a fantastic painter and graphic designer who helped me with the branding for my to-be-announced entrepreneurial endeavor. She’s a Calgary-born Toronto-based artist whose work is stunning and makes me think of stormy seas.
I help out with some project management for a friend’s agency who support’s this legendary Okanagan winery. There is no better gift at Chrissy than a bottle of good wine (if you’re not on the wagon, that is.)
Implicit Audio Speaker Box DIY Kits
Implicit Audio is the side hustle of my CNC Cutting team member, Mike. Basically, you pick your size, get a flatpack box, and jazz it up however you like. There are some really cool examples on their instagram.
Stay warm out there, friends.
Trish