the power of empathy

please watch this wonderful animated short feature about empathy.  specifically it teaches the difference between empathy and sympathy.  the ability to imagine oneself in another's shoes is not instinctual for many people.  dr. brene brown explains empathy and sympathy so perfectly and articulately.  she says, "empathy is a choice, and it's a vulnerable choice because in order to connect with you, i have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling." 

and if you are in the reading kind of mood:

connected parenting through empathic interactions with our children.  jennifer kolari spells out the abc's of empathy.  if you get a chance to see her speak, do so.  otherwise pick up her book.  empathy is a powerful tool and i encourage you to learn it and use it over and over in all of your relationships.  and especially with your children.  it really does work! 

 

what to do when you've made someone angry?  empathize.  simple but not so easy.

what we read influences are ability to empathize.  pick up that alice munro novel :)

 

have a lovely weekend.

whole foods

sometimes i am at whole foods daily (we grocery shop for one or two meals at a time).  i love that it's clean, aisles are wide, super friendly staff that go out of their way to help you find a product (organic products, that is!), and just a nice place to spend time.  it makes grocery shopping tolerable. 

this video made me laugh.  you may have seen it already but it's new to me.  enjoy.

 

 

oh, and i like going to this place too (thanks sam for taking me on your outings there); stefan recently got us a membership and i'm super excited... you can buy chai in bulk!  and this market will always be a favourite. 

 

i will be back tomorrow (hopefully!) with my long weekend pics... a little late i know.

jessie's girl

did you see rick springfield on ellen?  he sang jessie's girl, his first number one hit, with the director/producer of sound city dave grohl.  rick springfield is interviewed in the documentary along with other famous icon musicians who used sound city to record their albums.  rick is interviewed by the rolling stone here, if you'd like a quick read.  i plan to watch the documentary, you?

anyway... i was in love with rick springfield.  proof?  i cut out his pictures from magazines and stored them in a binder to stare at whenever i pleased; went to his concerts and screamed; memorized his songs; and watched general hospital when he played dr. noah drake.  i wanted so badly to be jessie's girl and i knew if he ever met me he'd fall in love with me too... silly teenage girl stuff, right?! 

and don't get me started on cory hart :) and you, any rock n roll loves?

 





weekend pics

it was a productive and mellow weekend...

le marche st. george is such a lovely little spot; i spent a couple of hours in their pop-up shop and cafe. they have a great space above the cafe that they use for hosting dinners, which i have posted about here, and on saturday they set up shop to sell their beautifully crafted items alongside gorgeous textiles from mexico. the cafe is owned by three members of the larsen family. vancouverites may recognize the name. patricia is the painter, janaki is the ceramicist and klee is the photographer. the latter two along with their aunt, own the cafe.

after enjoying some time drinking a london fog (sadly, no chai on the menu) and eating a delicious sandwich i went home with a few things from the pop-up shop - a cat, a pillow, and a beta 5 holiday chocolate bar with bits of candy cane mixed in; i do love my candy cane!
 









this photo and the two images above are from klee larsen



i also spent time organizing. i bought a few new storage items from ikea and spent most of my sunday re-organizing the closet and cleaning up the outside; it was such a lovely sunny weekend. unlike laundry, i am happy to while away my time organizing the house. i derive such satisfaction from this simple task. there is still more to organize for another day (kai's new bed with storage plus a new cabinet for the entrance way)... i can't wait to delve into these projects!

the boys spent most of the weekend without me but always nearby. kai was building forts, fighting imaginary bad guys, and working on art projects. he did get out of the house for a soccer game and a playdate decorating gingerbread cookies (sam's house smelled delicious and the cookies were so good). although, maybe his favourite thing this weekend was staying in his pjs all day on sunday!

we did get together for a movie and dinner. we were supposed to attend wild rice's first year anniversary party but we ended up at a malaysian restaurant. why? someone who shall remain nameless (not me) read the anniversary invitation wrong. oh well, i did indulge in a nice curried mussel dish with roti that i would not have enjoyed otherwise :-)



jude liked the fort too!





and, we watched first position; a documentary about six young ballet dancers, from very different backgrounds, training for the world's most prestigious youth competition. the ballet world is beautiful on stage but wow, so brutal behind the scenes. it was amazing how hard these young people work to achieve their dreams to dance.  do rent it.



        

h&m&unicef

 

i bought a bunch of new clothing for kai as we gear up to colder weather season.  it’s such fun picking out clothes for little ones.  you are probably thinking, ‘but connie it’s so much more fun to buy for little girls’.  well, maybe.  granted, the inventory for cool boy clothes is  limited and i am very picky with his clothing i.e. tops must have a rectangle shape, no squares allowed; the pant leg cannot narrow in unless it is a skinny jean, they must be straight legged; cute is ok but not cutesy (there is a difference)… i know i have issues!  so, as a result, kai doesn’t have a lot of clothing but what he has is actually worn and, if i can say so, his wardrobe is pretty cool.   i think if i was shopping for a girl it would be equally fun but harder because of the sea of pinks, fussy detailing, and cutesy that is bombarded on them.  just saying.

anyway, let me get to the point of this post - h&m.  i usually have to visit different shops including consignment to get a worthy wardrobe for kai.  however, my recent shopping trip was mostly done at h&m... 6 sweaters and 3 pants.  i wanted to post about h&m because they have collaborated with unicef for their fall collection.  a portion of the sales from their 'all for the children' collection will go directly to unicef to help children in impoverished areas of india by improving access to health and education.  they even have a wonderful little playhouse available!  the prices are higher than usual for h&m but worth it, i think.  i picked up a gorgeous knitted sweater from the collection.  take a peek:

 

i picked up the sweater on the left (see its details just below)



love the flamingos!





love the suit!

 



and do take a look at the sweet video here.  will you shop the 'all for the children' collection?  i hope you will.

my mom is on youtube!

cannoli are popular italian desserts, originating from sicily... my parents birth place. needless to say, i have eaten my share. they are a tube shaped shell of fried pastry dough filled with ricotta (sweet and creamy). ricotta. always ask what the cream is made of, you don't want custard. trust me, ricotta is the way to go.

photo from our 2011 trip to toronto



kai has been introduced to cannoli during our visits to toronto and loves them as much as i do. in toronto, north pole bakery is the place to buy them (as well as sicilian bread). my mom is friends with the owner, lucy, and she can often be found in the back of the shop helping to prepare cannoli plus other baked goods. enjoy this video, my mom is introduced as the 83 year old that volunteers in the shop. too cute... my mom is on youtube!

flower magic

when i came across this set design in blog world i immediately thought it was beautiful.  breathtaking, actually.  someone (dior's new creative director) envisioned - then achieved! - this magical installation of flowers.  each room contains thousands of flowers from floor to ceiling: peonies, dahlias, carnations, roses, and so on!  wow!  flowers can certainly immerse you into instant happiness.  you can view the making of... here.  enjoy! 

 

mr. rogers mash-up

a lovely little video to end the week.  thank you lyda for sending it my way.

pbs commissioned symphony of science's john boswell to make this utterly charming mister rogers mash-up in auto-tune. "did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind? you can grow ideas in the garden of your mind"!



have a lovely weekend.

"simplicity, work, and enjoyment"

these are the words of a young 95 year old woman (in mind, body, and spirit).  this video was a lovely find and i wanted to share it with you all.  i hope you find it as inspirational as i did.

have a lovely weekend. i will be back on tuesday, it's a long weekend here in vancouver.

momma love

ali smith celebrates motherhood through pictures, capturing mothers in moments of motherhood, giving mothers a voice and bringing to light their reality.  i can't wait for her book, momma love: how the mother half live.  if you have some time, do visit her website and read about her momma love documentary.  i hope you find it as inspiring as i did.

about her book (due out mother's day 2013), ali writes:

Momma Love is not only about the love a mother shows. It’s about the love she is shown, by herself and the world around her... The details and rituals of motherhood largely go unnoticed and are taken for granted. They are talked about among mothers in private places—in toy-strewn living rooms, in kitchens, or over the phone while a child throws a tantrum on the floor nearby. To an outsider, motherhood seems like a profoundly important secret society, one that I started this project to understand more fully... Each woman I photographed for this project has the truth of her experience to offer. In creating this book I have attempted to bring a community to light, creating a patchwork-quilt of advice, empathy, reflection, commiseration, opinion, anger, assurance, and love. In order to nurture healthier mothers and a healthier society, honest conversations about the realities of motherhood and how mothers are treated are necessary.

i love the realness of these photographs, ali captures motherhood perfectly.  visit momfilter (where i copied these photos from), a little blurb about their life as a mother accompanies each picture.  enjoy.  and a happy mother's day to you!

 

 

 

 

and, while we patiently wait for the book to become available, watch the video trailer for momma love.



 have a lovely weekend!

wearing a scarf

a scarf is a wonderful and functional accessory!  I love wearing them regardless of the season; to ward off air conditioning in the summer or an evening chill during a winter's night.  i tend to wear mine the same way all of the time (the european loop), until now!  this is a great video clip that demonstrates 25 ways to wear a scarf in just 4.5 minutes.  enjoy!

video clip found on you tube

haunted laughs

happy halloween! 
i love watching ellen, i love that she can easily make me laugh, and i love it when she puts one of her writers, amy, in uncomfortable situations.  last halloween she sent amy to experience a haunted house for the show.  be sure to watch right to the end of the video - poor thing, she gets a double scare.

and this year she sent her again, this time with her mom who apparently is more afraid of spooky things than amy is.  it is so funny, do enjoy the video and happy laughing!



"stay hungry, stay foolish"

i don't read the newspapers, i don't watch the news, i don't listen to the news on the radio.  i think that if something worth knowing is happening in the world i will hear about it.  i didn't think it would be worth knowing that the founder of apple, steve jobs, passed away today but the way stefan shared it made an impression on me so i have spent the last hour or so googling steve jobs.  he was a wise man, a visionary, and just a really good person.  i encourage you to take the time to listen to his 2005 commencement address (from youtube), it's only 14 minutes and worth your time.  rip steve jobs.

say something nice

i couldn't stop smiling.  say something nice today, will you?

                                                        via here

and a nice note to my brother:  happy birthday sam!  i hope you have a good day and i am so glad kai and i got to spend some fun time with you during our visit out east.  eat cake, laugh, and go to a yoga class!!!

cat hugs kitty

this is too cute for words. will you watch it?