Happy Holloweiner!

Happy Halloween everyone!

The best day ever. What do we do on a day like to day? A day where anything goes! Carte Blanche! I challenge you all to really go for it! Even if you're at work, stick a bag on your head and run around the office, everybody loves Halloween even if they say that hate it. Go to the corner store and grab a bag of candy and throw it at people. Everyone loves a good candy toss!
I say be silly and wacky and creepy and carefree because today you have the ultimate excuse!
It's the 31st and I'm 31 today! That's a champagne birthday! Have a glass or two for me and just promise you won't let this day go by with the lights off and the curtains closed, you know what we do to those people.....

Like a turtle

It's a slow one. I'm enjoying the stillness however, and getting many things accomplished today. My signage is coming on Tuesday and this couldn't please me more.


I love the blog world. I've come across so many talented people in the last few weeks, it's a full time job keeping up on my own blog and staying in the loop with others but I adore every blogging minute.

Check out Lake Jane and her fabulous blog. She had some lovely things to say about Coriander Girl today. It's quite a special thing when the blog you have a mini crush on blogs about you.


What are you guys doing for Halloween? Tyler's going as a ghost buster and I'm going as a little ghost.
What kind of shoes do ghosts where?
Alison :>

New arrivals

The wreaths have arrived and there are more on the way. Thanks to Tracy MacKenzie(wreath artisan) and Melanie Ollenberg of Korechanges. These women are doing important work in this world and I'm so thankful to have met them.

A day in the life of a shopgirl

I pressed the snooze button on my alarm six times this morning. I scarfed down some muesli, cleaned myself up, kissed the boy and headed out the door for my floral supplier.
The car made some unhappy noises this morning, I'm hoping it was just mimicking my slow start and not actually suffering from any real problems.
I arrived at the shop with a full trunk of flowers but popped across the street to Poor John's for my tea before the real work began. Usually it's coffee but I'm trying to be healthier.
I washed my buckets, cleaned the fridge, the floors and prepared the stems for the last leg of their journey. I think of my shop as intensive care for botanicals. I keep them comfortable.
Things are progressing nicely here at Coriander Girl. I've made a wonderful friend and business contact, Melanie Ollenberg, of Korechanges. She is supplying the shop with the most beautiful, seasonal wreaths. I'll have a picture soon.
Also, I've made the decision to carry handmade soap and jewelry by local artisans. Stay tuned!

A new canine friend, Ernie! Thanks Sandy and Erin for stopping by. I had another friend from years ago pop in, Andrea. She owns a clothing store in Rosedale called Nyla. check it out!

Goals

Sundays are usually busy for me at the shop. I had a number of walk-ins and one phone delivery. Every time someone calls to order flowers I think it's a prank. One day I'll believe people actually need flowers from me. It's funny, I almost always say, "Who is this?...Dad?" Instead, I've learned to say, "Where did you hear about us?" It's much more effective. Affective? Effective? I know which one.



And then Avery and Reggie showed up! He's on the list of Coriander Girl's potential mascots. I hold auditions regularly.



A posie I made for Kristine today. She brought in her milk glass vase and said, "do something cute."



This orchid brought tears to my eyes. It is so completely beautiful.



I'm off tomorrow. I'll make a second attempt at doing everything I need to do from the bed. It's good to have goals.
What goals do you have for tomorrow?
Alison xo

Halloween window

So...Halloween. The best day ever! It also happens to be my birthday which makes it a double whammy. I think you should know that I'm writing this and eating the most delicious piece of pumpkin cake. Yes, it has a perfectly spiced cream cheese icing.


When I was little I thought the rest of the world was celebrating my birthday by dressing up in scary costumes...I secretly still think this.


A quick anecdote that might lend some perspective. When I arrived at the shop this morning I noticed my mirror had fallen off of the wall and chipped my marble counter. I was really sad about it because from my tiny budget for the shop I splurged on this beautiful piece of marble. It was my one indulgent purchase. Tyler came in and I showed him what had happened. "The mirror didn't break." He said. "Two hard surfaces came in contact with such force and all but a tiny chip? This is good luck, that mirror should have shattered but instead everything is intact. Something is telling you just how lucky you are." Seven years of bad luck, if you believe in that sort of thing, is now seven years of good luck.
I hadn't thought about this. Perhaps we can all make the choice today to see the glass half full. Thanks for that my love.

Alison xo

The chop

A fresh new business called for a fresh new hairdo. All that hair was just slowing me down.


I fear choppers remorse will set in by night fall but it's just hair and it will grow back. It's always after the first wash, when your hair doesn't look anything like it did when you left the salon and you think, "holy f@#$%, what did I do?"



Things are obviously slow at the shop seeing as I have time to take self portraits and write about my hair. Believe it or not I have had real problems in my life and I feel deserving of this kind of frivolity.
I realize cutting my hair isn't exactly ground breaking but it's hard to let go of certain things you feel defined by. Why not do something bold today? Try something that takes you outside of your comfort zone. Risks are always worth taking.
Alison xo

The little things

Flowers and berries and pods, oh my!

Tuesdays are so wonderful because I usually spend my morning at the flower market. My fridge is stacked with beautiful blooms.



Meet Fridgitta. She's 6'4 by 4'6 and she's a cool one.

Aberfoyle

It was so worth the drive to the Aberfoyle antique market today. Apparently, I needed bottles because I bought over fifty of them. Whenever my friend Kristine and I drive up there we can bank on two things happening, #1 we're sure to get off at the wrong exit and #2 we both end up buying too many of one particular item. She has a thing for wool blankets and I can't get enough milk glass. I end up saying, "walk away from the blankets"- okay not true. I end up saying, "What? Five bucks? You can't walk away from that!" I've never been good at talking myself out of a bargain.



I'm off tomorrow. I think I'm going to do everything I need to do from my bed. Wish me luck!
Goodnight everyone, hope you had a lovely weekend!
Alison xo

Cred

I woke up today to find an article written about Coriander Girl on blogTO. Charlotte wrote such lovely things about the shop. I feel like she really understood what I'm trying to do here. I should confirm one discrepancy however, my parents did both live in Parkdale when they were young, but I didn't grow up here renovating houses. When I was little, we moved with my mother to Trenton. I'd visit my dad in Toronto on the weekends, and help on various job sites. That's where I developed my reno cred, ye ye.



A few posies for a wedding at Poor Johns Cafe tonite.



Petrie stopped in to see me today. Her mother, Amanda, is a dear friend from my Caban days. Can I get a cable knit sweater like that in my size? Littlest doodle.

Loving the "pop in"

Friends kept dropping in today unexpectedly which made for a very exciting afternoon. I didn't know who was going to surprise me next.

I'm taking part in a charity auction for a school just down the way and created a little arrangement for someone to bid on.

I've swept the shop and cleaned my flower buckets. I'll publish this post and head on home.

Success

Thanks to Penny, Tyler's mom, last night was perfection. My dad didn't think Tyler and I had the time to throw him a party so he truly wasn't expecting anything. It was a lovely evening shared by good friends and the food was delicious.



It's a slow Thursday but I've got a few orders for tonite. An awesome woman and fellow Parkdale gal by the name of Aviva, orders from me regularly whenever a show opens at Theatre Passe Muraille. It's a rather humbling experience, as an actress, to deliver flowers to the theatre. I like it. Mostly, I like not feeling sick to my stomach. The bittersweet mix of nerves and nausea before a show, thankfully isn't experienced during a flower delivery.
I have news! There is an article today in NOW magazine featuring Coriander Girl, in the print version of the magazine there is a good size photograph of myself holding an assortment of flowers. This is a great day.
Alison xo

Surprise

It's my dads 65th birthday today. He doesn't know it but we're planning one heck of a shindig! I love surprises. When my brother and I were little, my dad would find any excuse to throw a surprise party. Now, the trick is finding a way to a throw a party without the person knowing because, of course, we've all grown so suspicious. I'll get him. I made him a birthday boutineer to wear later. I think my dad is the most dashing 65 year old on the planet. He reminds me of a cross between Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood. He's single ladies, word to your mothers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today an angry woman karate kicked my sandwich board over. It read, "honk if you're thankful for Parkdale" I guess she's not.
I've got the door open to the shop and I can hear the leaves rustling by along with the traffic. The days have been cool but the warmth of the sun can still be enough to shed your sweater for a minute or two. It's hard for me to let summer go. I'm one of those cold people and so to lose those warm summer days can be a big adjustment for me. I'm finally incorporating the lovely colors of fall in to my arrangements. People are really responding to the rusty reds and rich purples. I have a thing for berries and you'll see them regularly in my bouquets. Angelune stopped in today with her boyfriend Ian and there sweet dog. I love when dogs come to visit me, please bring your dog by for a treat anytime! Coriander Girl is totally dog friendly. A special shout out to my canine girls who visit regularly; Maisy, Kia, and Hadu- you bitches rock!
Tonite Tyler and I are off to the country to visit our parents, they live within twenty minutes of each other. We think this is pretty amazing.
I'll be back at the shop on Tuesday with fresh stock. Below are some photos of the wedding I did with the help of my amazing friend Kerri. She is responsible for the Calla lily bouquets and the orchid corsages. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Alison xo