winter, knitting, and 100 posts

Hi all, welcome to million dollar swim's 100th post! I'm looking out at a dark, snowy Montreal night - it's coming around to that cold, calm stillness that follows a big storm like the one we had today. I'm holed up cozily in my apartment though, listening to Charlotte Cornfield (my friend Dom's roommate), and working away at a few knitting projects - I finished this hot water bottle holder yesterday, and I'm just starting this slouchy hat as a gift for my grandmother. Here's to the encroaching winter...

hello? anybody home?

Readers, are there any of you still out there? It's been so long, I hardly know whether any of you remain. What can I say? I'm in the midst of one of those times where life is getting the better of me. Between writing, work, dancing, and trying to sneak in a few moments with friends when I can, my time is filling up faster than I can manage, and lovely things like this space are, unfortunately, getting lost in the shuffle. But please stick around just the same - for the time being, things may be a bit sparse, but it's short lived, I promise. With hopes of seeing more of you soon,

A.

{photo of designer Annettee Verkuyl's home via Bliss}

fall at la garconne

If I could wear nothing but these lovely printed dresses for the rest of fall, I think I would. As usual, La Garconne's styling is impeccable.

{dresses from Rachel Comey, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Something Else}

lazy day retreat

Don't you just want to jump into these gorgeous spaces at Mildred's Lane? On this lazy day off, I definitely do.

{seen first here}

bruce peninsula

Have you listened to flat-out amazing gospel-prog-folk band Bruce Peninsula? I just got home from seeing them at Pop Montreal - my first Pop show of the weekend, and it set the bar high. This is one of those bands that sounds great coming through your computer speakers, and then sounds overwhelmingly EVEN GREATER live. Eff, I love Canadian music-makers.

inspiration: scandinavian modern

Next up in our inspiration series: Scandinavian modern. There's something about Scandinavian design that just gets it right: cheerful with out being saccharine, clean without being spare, stylish without being pretentious. If I ever redecorate, I might just have to go down this route...

Clockwise from top left: sneak peek of Isabel Penzlien's home on Design Sponge; another D*S peek, this time of Nadja Muller's home; Skinny Lamixx tea towel; more of Isabel Penzlien's lovely spaces; j. mendicino bowls from Three Potato Four; an image of the brick house; Lecien 'my folklore' fabric; photo from tas-ka; chic on wheels in Copenhagen; Xenia Taler tiles at Three Potato Four; bertoia chairs for kids.

p.s. I highly recommend that you click on the collage to expand it - there's much more detail to be seen...

preloved

I know I said I was trying not to purchase many new clothes this fall, but my gosh that gorgeous dress from Preloved is tempting me. The Canadian company makes all their pieces out of repurposed fabric, so each piece is unique, and also very friendly to the environment. In the last few years their clothing has been getting increasingly beautiful and interesting; stop by the website to check it out.