west elm + Etsy

I was happy to learn that this West Elm + Etsy event is being held at my local store since usually these type of things are only being held at U.S. locations. On the evening of Thursday December 1, West Elm is hosting a workshop to create handmade ornaments as well as hosting a mini-market of local Etsy sellers.

Participating in West Elm Toronto are Penny Paper Co., Better Stay Together, Dudley & Bea, Tiny Poppies, Setsuko Studio, and Every Bear Jewel.

For all the listings of locations and their participating Etsy sellers, visit West Elm's blog post. If all goes as planned, I'm hoping to drop by and of course, snap some photos!

blog update

Some of you may have already noticed but The Ampersand blog has been fully personalized and now goes www.the-ampersand.net! At last I have my own custom domain name courteousy of the kind Hazel whom I received this from as a birthday gift a week ago. Many thanks go out to Hazel, my little web mistress (not to be confused with an internet-savvy homewrecker). This blog is still completely accessible through http://amandahoopla.blogspot.com, though you will be redirected. As for an update on myself, the semester is nearly over and I can have the holidays soon! Spending some quality time with my blog is on the top of my list.

time spent indoors

You've probably begun to notice that most of my posts and photos are indoors. That is because I don't get out much except for when I have to trek to school. It sounds rather dull but I promise I will get some fresh air soon! In the next few weeks, this semester will begin to wrap up and I'll have the holidays to revel in. Though it's getting quite nippy outside I have some plans to venture out and about over my free time. I'm also looking into redecorating my bedroom but that's another story.

With the weather dialing down I've turned to my trusty William-Sonoma hot chocolate. Perhaps you've read my tutorial post on how to make this lovely hot chocolate? I'm still discovering little tips and tricks to perfecting the way I make it. This time around I used a frother to foam up some warm milk before pouring all the hot chocolate into the mug. The foam just added to the wonderful tastes though I still topped it off with whipped cream (of course). There really is no question when it comes to whipped cream!

haight & ashbury

Lately I've been waking quite early in the morning to work on assignments and projects. The usual scene would be similar to the one above but imagine a scattered mess of papers, markers, paints, and the like. Situated in the living room, it's a quite open and calm workspace with the sun just about rising.

On this particular day I chose to take some photos of shirts, partly because I needed some drawing reference photos and partly because the shirts were just so darn lovely. The lot of them were snatched up by my father at a sample sale. The company is Haight & Ashbury, and though I'm not familiar with the brand I must say their shirts are wonderful! The contruction of them, the fine details, and the packaging — I loved it all.

Here are just a few experimental photos.

autumn

This season I made sure I got myself down to Nadège to try their new flavour of pumpkin macaron. I'm in a sort of autumn festive mood so I picked up two orange-coloured ones, the other being chocolate orange. Both were delicious though I am a bit of a chocoholic so I had to favour the chocolate orange one. I'm not sure if you guys will be able to tell but the Nadège sticker on the package is a rich burgundy/maroon colour which I thought was a nice touch for fall too. I was told by Nadège that the pumpkin macaron will be around until mid-November so hurry down there if you're looking to try it!

Next on my Nadège to-do list is to visit their new location in Rosedale at 1099 Yonge St.

Also in the spirit of autumn, I picked up this apple-sized pumpkin for two shiny quarters at the market as well as some other funky looking vegetables you'd find in a cornucopia. I thought this pumpkin was especially adorable. Hope everyone is having a lovely fall!