Polka Dot Soup : On Breathing

As you may have noticed, over the past several months I've greatly reduced the amount of blog posts here on Polka Dot Soup. I'm not entirely sure where the lack of posts stems from, it's more from a combination of things. Partly due to the fact that I've been spending most of my weekdays glued to a computer screen, and realizing that something had to give in order to stay healthy. That something was this blog. Feeling tugged in numerous directions, and trying to decide which direction this little blog was going to take was overwhelming. Learning about marketing and how to improve website SEOs in class was intimidating : how was I supposed to take my blog down the right path if I'm not sure what path I even want to take it down? I needed to take a step back and just breathe.

What I've come to discover over the past few months, more than ever, is that it's the little things. It's all in the little things. Those choice little moments of joy when you place fresh flowers in a jar, receive a text from a far-away friend, smell the fresh scones that a loved one takes to your door, the deep breath of fresh air as you narrowly escape world's largest puddle, read a chapter of God's word that sticks to your bones, giggles over a silly sitcom, or finally tackling that huge canvas that has been taunting you for ages. It's those things that are noteworthy, share-worthy, blog-worthy. So be prepared friends, for more snapshots into my daily life. It's those little daily triumphs and struggles that connect us.

The bookmark shown above is one that I created for a class assignment. Creating that little bookmark brought me joy. Sitting curled up on the couch, music playing with only me and my sketchbook, I sat in the lamplight of our living room and brought Psalm 119:105 to life: 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

After I digitized it, coloured it, and printed it off, I was required to stage it. Instead of going with my original plan of sticking the bookmark in a open book and calling it a day, I decided to go the extra mile. Setting the bookmark in a tattered antique novel, propping a pair of reading glasses on the book, and placing each item on top of a large piece of scrapbook paper took no more than a couple of minutes out of my day but made the world of difference. A little extra care can bring something, or someone, to life. 

I'm off to enjoy a bowl full of vegetable soup with my husband. We've got big plans of crashing in the living room for the evening with Netflix and tea. It's those little bits of fresh air that make each day so exhilarating. Enjoy your day!

Do It Yourself : Link Love on Polka Dot Soup

Ever see a cool link that you want to share? I've compiled a list of links that I've been interested in.

Ever wonder how food bloggers can create picture perfect food? Here's a trick for beautiful egg styling for food photos.

Paper garlands intrigue you? Here's a how-to for creating modern paper garland mobiles/backdrops.

Want a quick and inexpensive DIY wall art how-to? This giant geometric heart is easy and eye-catching.

I can't wait to try this one! A homemade wood stain to create that perfect grey aged wood.

Need a new spring necklace and want to make it yourself? Try this DIY bird nest necklace.

Or... is your home in need of a spring update? Check out this homemade spring wreath made from scrap fabric!

Quebec City : Graffiti

Three weeks ago, my husband and I took a train trip to Quebec City during my study break from design school. While there, I took the opportunity to get some use out of my new Nikon D5100 camera. I purchased my Nikon at the beginning of 2013 and I'm slowly getting more practice. Living in a rural community allows me to take more nature based outdoor photographs, so when given the opportunity to visit a larger centre, I'm insanely attracted to the architecture, lines, and art. We spend the entire week in the older part of the city, commonly called Old Quebec City.

Something that really caught my eye? Street art - also known as graffiti. The colourful, stencil styled graffiti was incredibly eye-catching and I was excited to be able to document it. Most of the pieces that I discovered were a bit of social commentary as opposed to "tagging" and were easily legible. 

When street art is tastefully done (as seen in the images above) I am immediately attracted to it. If I was a local business owner and my building was painted I'm not sure that I would have such an optimistic feeling. The streets of Old Quebec City are clean, the buildings well-kept, and all of the streets are brightly lit. The contrast between the edgy spray painted art and the old brick and stone structures is quite startling. 

What's your stance on graffiti? Is it an eyesore? A means of expressing yourself creatively? Destructive? Constructive? Are you intrigued by graffiti or repulsed by it? Feel free to share your thoughts on street art.

Happy Tuesday!

Multitude Monday : April 1, 2013

My family dog, Lucy - I brought her home on Easter weekend twelve(ish) years ago! Snapped her photo yesterday.

It's April 1st! Did you get tricked on this April Fool's Day? Thankfully, this was the first year in a while that I haven't gotten tricked. I'm usually the most gullible person when it comes to April Fool's Day, but this year, no one even attempted to fool me, thank goodness. I'm not a big fan of the concept, usually end up feeling like crying, hahaha - way to be an emotional, over-reacting girl about the whole thing.

Hapa-happy Easter! I spent most of my long, long weekend indoors, clicking away on my assignments, but managed to escape for a few fun moments. Regardless of the amount of time I spent on school work, I enjoyed my weekend immensely. Dan was off all weekend, too, so any moments that I had free I got to spend them with him. Yay!

This week, I'm thankful for:

651 - the whole reason of it being a long weekend - the death and resurrection of my Lord, who died so that I can be free!
652 - celebrating Easter with my family and Dan's, as well as with our church community.
653 - chocolate goodness - Dan and I skipped giving each other treats this year, since we knew that we'd get oodles from our families. We were right :)
654 - the final countdown for school! There are only a couple of more hair-pulling weeks until I'm done for the semester.
655 - not feeling like a giant procrastinator, which is usually how I feel. So far, I feel like this week's assignments are manageable.
656 - Heidi running her first marathon. What a champ! (Everytime I say or type the word "marathon" I think in my head the way they say it on Run Fatboy Run - marathun.)
657 - getting to have a phone chat with Kelsie this evening - and finishing up a design project, too!
658 - meeting up with a special preggo friend before her little one arrives - which is any day now.
659 - spending two days last week at an incredible conference: Growing a Creative Economy. Amazing!
670 - making up Easter bags for my little brothers and Dan's Sunday School class. It was fun shopping and bagging the treats.

What about you? What are you currently thankful for?

Happy Monday!