Don’t point any fingers

You probably think that my disguise as a pirate, translates to my inability to move beyond the  year 2007 and get over my love for Captain Jack Sparrow (you did notice the eye patch on the banana I take it). Before you call me cheesy and venture on a critique on my trite costume selection, let me tell you, that the eye patch is there for a reason, as is the frown.

But first, let me point you toward my Halloween preparations.

I volunteered to help out with some freaky baking on Wednesday — getting the atmosphere ready for a downright creepy vibe. We made some crafty spiders, and these deliciously wicked fingers:

Line them up!

Extra knobbly

The final gory touch

These tasted so good! It totally got us in the Halloween spirit, even if we don’t really celebrate the holiday here in Cyprus. After all, who doesn’t like to dress up and eat disgusting-looking yummy food?

Eager to share my enthusiasm for the cookies, I was showing my sister the photos of these pointy fingers, when quite ironically and entirely unintentionally, she poked me in the eye. It all came down to bad timing, but boy did it hurt!

So after consulting two eye doctors and paying a fortune on medication, tonight, on Halloween, I have limited choices for a costume really. I’m suffering from a corneal abrasion and an infection in the eye, which can leave me three choices, really:

a) use the bandage round my head as a costume prop and go as a wounded person / mummy or any other bandaged-related freak

b) put on a hat, hide the gauze, and go as a less-flashy pirate

c) call it an early night and give my eye some rest

One thing’s for sure, I don’t even want to see those finger cookies! I’ve had enough of fingers — wicked, tasty or real!

Happy trick or treating friends! Keep your eye out for dangers! Harr Harrr

Mad Night

Tonight was Mad Men night.  A friend of mine has yet to catch on to the series, so I had the bright idea of starting a Mad Men night every Friday to indulge in the girl fun (while drooling over dresses we wish we owned). I came home all ready for this, even contemplated making some bites to spoil ourselves, but it seems the first Mad Men Friday is postponed.

So here I am, drinking coffee from one of my new glass mugs (photos forthcoming), and feeling slightly guilty to be out of the blog loop. There have been too many things going on job-wise. Too many opportunities have come my way, and I, being myself, decided to take up all of them. But thankfully it’s the weekend and so I have a chance to catch my breath.

As regards the renovation, still no big changes, though the space is finally empty of stuff. I’m currently making do with whatever furniture was already in my possession, and will slowly start buying stuff for the home as the renovation begins and ends. It feels very much like my early college years. That’s a lie. Maybe the first couple of days of my college career, because after that (thanks to Target etc) I managed to acquire an assortment of homely things. That’s not going to happen now, as I’m determined to pace myself and find the right thing at the right time.

Let me share what the apartment looks like at the moment:

The living room: the bare necessities

My workspace: Where all the homework happens

Bedroom stacks: More books and bits

These are all temporary solutions that for now, have done the trick. I’m heading over to IKEA tomorrow for some storage and kitchen supplies. I need something for all my beads because right now they are at a state of chaos on a table and I can’t stand this lack of organization! It’s no wonder I haven’t made anything in ages — I don’t know where anything is!

But I’m not complaining. Not even about the cancelled Mad Men night. I’ve got Project Runway: Season 4 to keep me busy and I’ve been restraining myself to make the pleasure of watching it last longer.

Feel free to join me. I have limited seating but a lot of floor!

Are you in?

House, Haus, Chaos

Replace the word home with chaos, which sounds like “house” with a foreign accent, and welcome to my world. Coming through the door is still a struggle as there are various boxes and the like blocking the view. My mental sanity? In shreds, packed away in bubblewrap somewhere.

The other day, with all the cleaning and whatnot, we managed to lose the dog. Lose the dog in an apartment, mind you. There are only so many places it could go:

• under bed? CHECK
• under chair? CHECK
• next to the couch by the wall? CHECK
• the veranda? CHECK
• squeezed by the laundry basket? CHECK

I was running out of places and she wouldn’t answer to her name. Then I stumbled onto this:

Are you looking for me?

She found her way into the wardrobe and thought it looked nice and cosy. She made her own little version of “Do not disturb”.

When I’m not looking for dogs or fighting my way past the entrance, I’m busy in more ways than one. I recently got a big job that’s exciting but will keep me very very busy. Right now I’m finally back on normal full schedule and this is totally catching up with me. Despite all this, I managed to make a new pair of earrings that I have yet to photograph for Etsy because I’m always working at the time when I like the light the most. Maybe this Saturday…

plain buttoned up

This should be listed in my shop soon. I will start working feverishly for some new stuff because I’ll be taking part in a crafters’ fair that’s taking place around Halloween. It’s going to be my first fair so I’m very excited about it, and I have all sorts of ideas about new plain bananas items. Be patient, will you?

Speaking of bananas, I was ecstatic to discover that I made the front page on Sunday! This totally made my day and I’d like to thank palepink for this. Here it is:

plain africa in the spotlight!

Hope you’re enjoying your week. Soon, some photos of my chaos. And I’m not messing with you.

Plain Bananas Has Friends

It’s Friday and I made it just in time! The days have been speeding past me like the Roadrunner and I hear that all familiar “beep beep” entirely too late. School starts this week and so this Friday could be the last one with my sanity all intact. Things are bound to get a little hectic (a little is my favorite denial word at the moment), but why should I care about this when I can have a feast of color, style and fabric. Hold tight, because my friend today will make you want to get dressed up in your favorite girly heels and venture out  á la Sex and the City.

Meet Carol whose creative hands bring to us the wonderful items of yorktownroad.

Behind the scenes

Right now, Carol is exactly where she’d like to be. Ok, ok, if you’re thinking she’s behind the computer monitor like you and me, then you’re partly right. She does tend to spend a lot of time on the web (who doesn’t?). But, no, I meant that she’s doing something she’s always wanted. Her background in business operations, finance and management in the clothing industry, was well-suited to her natural progression to opening her own Etsy shop.

Despite being a popular seller on Etsy in her two-year online presence, Carol loves to spend time with her kids, enjoys taking random photos and keeping fit. She has my kind of schedule: She doesn’t do mornings, preferring to work late into the night instead. Late at night, inspiration always comes right?

Carol, had a few things to share with you. Ready?

Raised line clutch - darkest pink

My name is…Carol Gilbert

I make… accessories for women and the home using hand-dyed linens and repurposed leathers.

I’m inspired by… the unexpected. I never know what will spark my imagination. Sometimes it is the way my daughter Audrey describes the shape of a cloud or sometimes a broken twig I find on the ground. It can be a song or eyes that are so sparkling and blue.

Petite zip - starburst pleat

I cannot live without… my family.

An item I’ve made that was hard to let go… was a scarf, I kept it and wear it every winter.

I create because… It allows me to express who I am without using words. I’m not very good with words. Or, as my daughter once told her friends, “my mom makes things, it’s just what she does”.

Wavy pleat zip

If I could learn another art it would be… graffiti art / street art (without breaking the law of course). I am often amazed at how incredible these artists are… there is a bold sense of freedom and movement in their work and I would love to express in that way. Or sculpture.

My website is… www.yorktownroad.com and will soon have an entire new look. I also have a yorktown road page on facebook.

I blog because… I don’t, I’m not very good with words but I do keep a photoblog on flickr.

The gorgeous fabrics Carol works with

One day… I used to start many sentences with that phrase. Now I’m trying to focus more on the reality of “today” and to make today the best it can be.

I started… refurbishing our home 3 years ago. It’s taking far too long and I don’t know if we will ever get it done.

I always…daydream.

If I were a color I would be…grey – it’s very subtle and nondescript at first glance yet when you look closely, it has a lot of depth.

Patched zip

My full-time job… not sure how I would describe it but my titles seem to be “mom” and “hon”. Truthfully, my full time job is making all the aspects of my life work together. Family, business and personal. There are months where it can be difficult but it usually works out fine.

In a nutshell…I love what I do

In a bigger nutshell…I do what I love and try to enjoy each day.

You can find yorktownroad here:

Etsy: http://www.yorktownroad.etsy.com

Website: http://www.yorktownroad.com

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yorktownroad/

Or you can become a fan of her work on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/yorktown-road/40048936447

I leave you with some more of her stunning work. Dress up and go out — that’s what I feel like doing after browsing all these enviable clutch bags. Have a great weekend!

Zip - black - repurposed leather

Petite zip - 8 line

Pillow slip - grass

Mum tote - grey

Just mental

I’m happy to announce: I’m back.

And by back, I mean back to the beading fun. Last night before going to bed I really felt the urge to make a set of earrings, which I shared with you yesterday. They are now available at my shop. The same feeling greeted me in the morning, and I made another set while having my dose of Vitamin C in the sun. The nutrients worked, because look:

Indulging in my girly persona

And in general I’ve been on the hyper side of things. Just thinking about all the changes that my apartment will undergo — this major face lift — really makes me lose sleep at night. Not from worry or stress, but excitement. I think about the major changes, and pepper those thoughts with a lot of great accessories I come across on Etsy and interior design blogs and magazines and oh my, I’m in mental heaven! If only mental money could work as well in reality as it does in my head, where budget is a word that is foreign and utterly meaningless. But that’s in my head — and as regards most things in there — pretty useless to the real world.

But I promised a little view of the kitchen plans. In the absence of a scanner, I photographed the catalog. I think it gives you the overall idea:

Be my guests!

And lastly, all your crossed fingers did the trick! My sister got the job and now it’s time for celebration. Bring out the wine and some food because I’m famished. But before I go, here’s a view from my balcony along with my little friend. Enjoy!

The beach waits for you (and me)

Math Monday

I’m getting better with the days. Granted it’s 1 a.m. (sort of) but for my purposes it’s still Monday night. I just managed to steal some minutes at the end of a rather longish day, and now it’s time to do the math.

• 1 new listing on Etsy finally! Oh yeah, this banana has risen from the Etsy dead. I’ve managed to locate my beads, and supplies but the frames I use to take photos with the jewelry are still in the mysterious box no. 7 which is nowhere near me, right now.

Caution: not edible!

• 6 is the number of boxes I have unpacked. You might be wondering what’s taking so long — I keep going on and on about boxes. I should be done already, right? Well not quite. I’ve just moved to my apartment and it will soon undergo major renovation, so I’m not too quick with unpacking things that don’t need to be out of their boxes yet. It’s going to be a long while before I manage to call this place my home, but I love changes, and boy am I excited.
• 5-digit number, which I dare not mention, is the cost of the whole renovation. I was doing the math earlier this evening along with the carpenter. I’m quite optimistically looking beyond the big sum of expenses and envisioning the big change and long-term investment. Wouldn’t you?
• 1.5 job interviews for my sister. The .5 is for the second part of the interview which involves some hands-on creativity tomorrow with a live brief (by the way, my sister’s a graphic designer / illustrator and she designs anything plain bananas you see). I’m hoping you can cross your fingers too.
• 1 new pair of earrings that I have yet to list. The perfect way to end a long day of numbers.

Look beyond the bad lighting

Coming soon, a photo of the kitchen I’ve chosen and my clean desk. Ok, I’ll sneak in one of the sea from my balcony too.

How was your week in numbers?

To DIY for

You might find this odd, but I realized I miss the sound of “Miss, miss, miss” accompanied by an arm flailing, ready to become unhinged any minute now. Oh yes, I’m talking about students. Disregard the absent name following “Miss” and forget entirely that the Greek equivalent of this is “Kyria” (=Mrs) — a shock of entirely different proportions in and of itself.

It’s probably because September is just around the corner, and back to school themes and items are all over the place. Like everyone else, I’m getting back to form — armed with a roller paint brush.

Ready for action!

You see, I had to get my classroom ready for September. I started by freshening up the wall with some new paint.

Careful not to touch my handmade wooden stars decoration

After a weekend of slaving away with cleaning, sorting, shopping and the like, I’m happy to say that my classroom walls are waiting to echo that enticingly inviting and often annoying “Miss, Miss, Miss”.

Here are some photos of the place:

Come in!

Have a seat

Grab a book

And pay attention!

What do you think?

Math Monday

I’m still trying to figure out what day it is. All day today I thought it was Monday. Somewhere along the line, I checked my cellphone and realized that lo and behold, time can’t keep up with me and it’s already Tuesday. I had a few numbers I wanted to mention, so what the hell?

Play along, will you? Let’s go!

• 4 new prints to be framed. Well, make that 2, because I couldn’t help it. Came to Cyprus to discover 4 prints from the wonderfully talented Sam. Thanks ever so much! They look great on my bedroom wall.

Picture perfect!

• 1 point something weeks in Cyprus. Getting into the rhythm of things has been slow but I’m gradually getting there. Imminent move happening soon, as well as major renovation of my current apartment, but when all that happens, I’ll have some photos for you. It seems like eons from now.
• 5 blog posts this week. This is a phenomenal change back to routine again. I’ve missed the internet and blogging.
• 12 origami butterflies in all sorts of colors!
• 1 lovely dog that was happy to see me again!

Woof! Meet muffin.

• 3 yellow chairs I put together for my little classroom.
• 1 new sticker on my car. Just so you can tell it’s me (thanks to Gabbi!)

Oh yes it is!

How was your week in numbers?

Front Page News

My Poster Sketch was pretty dusty since I hadn’t used it in over a month. Yesterday I was determined to catch myself a treasury, and as luck would have it, both T-Main and T-West opened at the same time. I couldn’t miss one even if I tried.

In the mini heat wave we’re going through right now, all I could think of was cooler weather. I never used to be an Autumn person, but then I grew up. I used to think that it was perfect to lay on the beach scantily clad frying, but now all I think about is skin cancer. Or my skin shriveling. Or dying of dehydration.

So Autumn, I welcome very enthusiastically. My treasury proves it.

This was the first treasury I made from home, Cyprus, and perhaps I wouldn’t have been as inspired otherwise. My mom was trying to get through the Etsy lingo as I explained what each button and purpose was, and in my secret exasperation (why doesn’t she just know this stuff?) I failed to notice the good luck she was sprinkling all over the place.

Why?

Well, check this out:

Oh yeah. Total surprise! I was so thrilled my 5-minute Internet browse turned into a little more than that.

So mom, thanks. Autumn, hurry up!

Enjoy your Sunday. I’ll be painting the wall of my teaching room and don’t worry, I’ll share some before and after photos!

Beachy time

I’ve been in Chania for a whole year, and spent most of last summer there too, but it wasn’t until this August that I truly discovered some of the great beaches we had at our disposal. All it took was renting a car. We were thrilled at first because we had a means of transport and could pretty much pick any point on the map and head for it. Sounds like a great way to spend a week with visiting friends, right? Packed like sardines in the not-so-spacious Huyndai Atoz is one thing; doing the whole road trip transfixed in one position with no radio is quite another.

You see at first we didn’t notice that there wasn’t a radio affixed to the car, because it’s something you take for granted. The antenna was there. The radio? Nowhere to be found. I actually stumbled upon this little detail when I mechanically made for the turn on / volume knob and hit a flat surface. Then I tried to pull it off, thinking it’s a cover. But no, no such thing. If you’re having trouble visualizing this, here’s what it looked like:

It looked like a freaky skeletor-style face

Luckily we had one of those cassette / CD players which we loaded with batteries and connected to our iPods. We were so bad-ass.

We headed to the nearby beaches, testing the waters, but soon enough we ventured out to a big tourist attraction, Elafonisi. An island is connected to the mainland from a tiny stretch of sand. On some days it tends to be windy there, with lots of waves, but luckily the sea was calm when we were there. As the wave washes over the sand on the shore, the color of the sand is pink from the shells. We took a leisurely walk along the coast and kept stopping to collect shells. I have so much material for new beading adventures!

Looking for shells

Infecting others to do the same. I enlisted my boyfriend's help too!

We were pretty lazy at Elafonisi, because the later it got, the less people on the beach and the calmer the waters. And the colors in the sky? Magical!

Dive in

And then we looked on the other side as the sun set and we ran across the beach to take photos. The golden hues were to die for!

My favorite hour

After this great beach, we thought we’d head out to Balos, near Gramvousa. The photos we’d seen of the place told of a very exotic location that looked nothing like the Greek beaches we were familiar with. And let’s be honest, how many of those postcards for sale aren’t entirely changed by photoshop? So we were skeptical but curious. In fact we were so curious as to follow the map instructions even though part of the route was marked as dirt road. But hey, we were on a road trip, right? And next to dirt road, the route was labeled “scenic”. What more could we ask for? We wanted adventure, and adventure we got.

The dirt started out…dirty but drivable. As we progressed in our average 10 km / h the size of the rocks on the ground increased so that it was bad enough we were ascending at an angle on a dirt road, we also had to manoeuvre our tiny radioless car around those huge boulders. It all seemed like a bad Atari game, really.

Bumpy road ahead

On our way there we came across a lot of friendly free-roaming goats. They posed for us too.

Friendly goat

A mere 20 km later, we arrived at the parking area, because what followed was a 2 km walk on a footpath. We had to descend our way on the other side to find the exotic beach of Balos.

On the footpath to the beach

Our first sight of the beach right at the top

The breathtaking view!

More of the beach

Spot that boat over there? Well, in case you ever visit Crete, this beach should be in your list of sights not to miss. And that boat is your gift from God. Forget the dirt road, the walking all the way down to the beach (don’t even get me started on the steps we had to go up!). A mere 50 minutes cruise and voila! You’re at the beach. Unless you’re more the adventure type. Like our macho group.

Then again, on our way back we had the full moon and despite the rocky ride, it was a great view to enjoy the whole way home. Radio or no radio.

Full moon, the sea and a perfect ride home