Camera Lens Storage

When I started blogging, I was using a point and shoot. Then my dad lent me a DSLR for a few months and I really preferred it to the point and shoot. A little while after that my dad upgraded his camera and he passed on his old one to me- along with a bunch of his old lenses. Then, over the course of this blog he gifted me a flash, remote, and tripod as well! I got quite the collection of photography paraphernalia here, and my old method of keeping all the lenses on my table wasn't quite cutting it anymore.

However, I recently found out that Home Sense carries these little storage cubbies (for jewellery? Make up? Who knows) and they are the PERFECT fit for the drawers of my Norden Gateleg Table from Ikea. Well, technically I have been storing my lens in one of these storage things on the table for months, but I just learned they fit in the drawers. It took me a long time to find a second one after I found this out, however! The beige one isn't as cute as the green one, in my opinion, but it is in a drawer so I guess I can't complain :).

The camera itself sits in the middle of the table where it is in no danger of falling! Speaking of which, I need to buy a carrying case for it, but I find it is a bit larger than most DSLRs so I need to buy it at a place I can return to (so, Etsy is out). Any ideas?

Also, I need to apologize for the flash in the above photo. I wanted to show how my flash fits in the cubby space, but that meant using the built-in flash on the DSLR...which is never good for photos :)

While I was at Home Sense I also went shopping in other areas (because...Home Sense...). PS- it really annoys me that they don't store the shopping baskets in the middle/back of the store. I didn't know I would need one until I was well into the store. I only came in to see if they had a storage thingy!!

Well, I ended up coming out with a new bathmat because my old one got chocolate on it and I didn't notice until after it came out of the wash and the stain was set. Yes, chocolate. And I am not sure how, but I found chocolate on my newly shampooed carpet too so I think I stepped in some and trailed it around the condo. I was eating copious amounts of chocolate chip banana muffins last week so this is entirely plausible.

Also- I got some cute new bowls!

I wanted 4 bowls, but they only had 3. I didn't want an odd number, so I just picked up 2 (and by the time I left the 3rd bowl was scooped up too!). Aren't they adorable? They are really big compared to my old ones and just calling for a bunch of fruit or soup or something yummy like that. I have this dream of one day owning a beautifully mismatched set of pretty dishes. So far I have only managed to find bowls. I now own 14 bowls. #Ihaveaproblem

Anyone else picking up cute things they love but don't need?

Small Space Living

Good Morning!

Today I am guest posting over on The Canadian Housewife, talking about small space living! Jennie and I met in line for the YHL book signing in 2012 and even though she lives out in the country and I am a city gal, we have been emailing and following each other ever since- so when she contacted me about doing a post for her I jumped at the chance!

Be sure to head over to The Canadian Housewife and check it out! :)

Olympics, Running, and Other Things

It's Friday!! And it is also the start of the Olympics, which is also know as "those magical two weeks when there is always something on TV"

I have to miss the opening ceremonies because not only am I at work, I am in a meeting all morning. So I shall hopefully watch it later in the evening! What are your favourite events? I love the ones that are over fast...I can't stand the stress of a long event. GO CANADA!!!

As for my own athletics, I have been running quite regularly, but I can't say I have been rocking my own workouts. I have been feeling quite sluggish and 5K is really testing me some days. Still a lot of time until my 10K in May so I am not worried. I did run 36 miles in January, but I am already up to 12 this month, so hopefully February will be better! I have started seeing a chiropractor too in the hopes of improving my posture and therefore improving my running form. I can't wait to get outside again (too snowy/dark/cold right now) and get some real mileage in! Though, I will miss the TV by the treadmill. Nothing distracts me from a tough workout like a good crime show. I just really want to get my groove back, though.

In other news, I am looking forward to winter ending! Am I alone in this? I swear I was not made for cold weather. I need to gather up my family, friends, and job and convince them all to move down south with me. But in the meantime, I have a short trip to Florida coming up in a couple weeks and then a trip to MEXICOOOO. Hopefully by the time I get back spring will have sprung. There is nothing like anticipation of a trip to help alleviate those winter blues. That and vitamin D. I started taking some this winter and I feel like my mood has been very good!

What are your go-to tips for getting through these last painful weeks of winter?

Condo Living

As many of you probably know, there was a big storm up in this area of the world yesterday. Toronto got about a foot of snow! I sat in my office and watched it come down with big fluffy flakes until it miraculously stopped soon before quitting time. I had to trudge through the snow to get to the subway, but somehow I made it all the way home on transit with no delays. If you have ever lived here you would know this is a TTC miracle.

I swear that on days like today I love condo living. No driveway to shovel!! :D

There are other strange perks to living in a condo, however. This week I got a notice from the management of our building that people are coming in to power clean our dryers to eliminate any lint. According to the email, they are not just cleaning the ducts, but they are actually taking apart my dryer and cleaning it out. What?? So random, but I guess they figure the cost of this is worth protecting our units from fire from lint.

Another condo thing- for the past couple of years I have noticed the odd tiny little bug. I am fairly confident they are carpet beetles but I literally find one a month and never paid much attention beyond killing them. Well some other unit owners noticed these little buggers too and management has been notified so someone will be coming in to fumigate or something. I don't know the details on that yet, but they are doing it when we get our annual visit from pest control.

On this note, my unit also gets annual visits from someone who does maintenance on my HVAC unit and tests my fire alarm. In fact, a few weeks ago management called and asked if they could enter my unit and check my alarm because one unit's alarm on my floor wasn't working.

Yes, these expenses come out of the general expense fund of the condo which is funded by my maintenance fees, but it is pretty nice having these things taken care of without a big hit on my own budget! Plus, these workers are accompanied at all times by security, so I don't need to take time off for them either. I know not everyone is comfortable with that, but you do get the choice of staying home if you want. They are very accommodating for special requests too. I was cat sitting for my friend during a scheduled visit and you can't leave pets running around if they are coming into your unit so I asked if they could come another day when the cat would be gone (but when the company was still contracted to be in the building since these projects take time) and they were fine with it!

So there you go- a little sneak peek into how maintenance-free condo living can be! It is a lot more than not mowing your lawn or shoveling your driveway. I know some people can have horror stories of the downside of condos, but I still love this type of housing!

2014 Condo Tour!

I gave a tour of my place last year on January 1st and I totally meant to do a Jan 1st tour again this year so it would show exactly one year of work. Buuuut...ya know...life and stuff. So a bunch of photos taken on Feb 1st will just have to do! Only a month late :)

Without further ado, let us examine the old condo at the beginning of 2014!

Bedroom:

Living Room:

Kitchen:

Hallway/Front Hall:

Bathroom:

Overall Condo:

Oh, and since the balcony is obviously packed up for winter right now, here is a shot from the summer!
Balcony:

I am just loving how the condo has come along over the years!! Please see this post for photos of my early days here to really appreciate the changes.

Organizing Mail and Cords

There were two tasks (of many) from the January Cure that I tackled this weekend:
1. Creating a "landing strip" for keys and mail and whatnots
2. Organizing unsightly cords.

For the first, I already HAD a method for storing keys and small bits and bobs when I come in the door- I hang them on a hook on the wall. But I realized that having some place to put my mail would actually be really useful. I generally get two bills a month that I have to pay manually (hydro and Mastercard); the rest is automatically paid on my Visa. Other than that I only get the odd bit of mail that doesn't get immediately tossed in the recycling. But still- when it comes time to paying those bills they often are MIA in a mess of paper on the counter.

So I went to Winners and picked up a thingy-ma-bob to store my mail in the front hall until I need to look at it.

As for organizing my cords, the only visible cords in the condo was the laptop and printer cords by my desk.

Ugh, why are cords so often black. Who has black walls? They are so visible! I was originally going to clip the cords neatly to the wall, but then I realized the cords will stretch to an outlet behind the couch (which is on the other side of this table), so they are completely hidden!

However I still had a black laptop cord running along the top of my white table before it disappears behind the table/couch, so I decided just to make the best of it and wrap it in some pretty fabric!

I took this picture before changing my method and just wrapping the end that is visible on the table, but you get the idea :)

Yes, it coordinates with the mousepad! I think this look is much cuter than the ugly black cord, don't you agree? Oh how I wish the laptop plug was on the other side, but what can a girl do!

So there you go- two simple little projects that make a big difference in helping the condo look clean and pretty!

I also shampooed the carpet in the hall this weekend as part of my "cure", but it really isn't something you can photograph well, so you will just have to take my word on that! I use Resolve High Traffic Foam and one big can pretty much does the whole front hall (so it may not be the best product for people with large carpets), but it does a pretty good job. You just spray it on, work it in, let it dry, and vacuum.