roselovesbeautifulthings

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

I’m loving my job this year. Not only am I at a great school, I’m teaching ESL, ICT and drama/dance to a variety of grades - every day is a mini adventure. Just started an unplugged coding unit with one of my kindergarten classes. Today they learned alphanumeric coordinates by jumping onto a life-size 10x10 grid. It was so amazing to see how quickly they got it!

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

You can find treasure if you look hard enough. Or is it just that I was looking in the right place? (at Scarborough Bluffs)

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Someone forgot to tell the Japanese maple that winter decided to come early this year...

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Four years is a big gap when you're growing up. But now that I'm aging backwards 😂 it's like Dave and I are the same age. It was really wonderful bonding over our shared love for art in NYC. And thank god he actually dressed up for this outing. #farmerdave #regram #littlebrother or #olderbrother ? #youcanttell (at The Museum Of Modern Art (Moma) - New York)

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of being back in Canada. So much has changed in the past year,.. It's crazy how different my life was in Japan. This drawing shows a trip I took in Fall of 2012 to Nikko with my sister Cindy. It was my third trip to this beautiful town in Tochigi prefecture, about two hours from central Tokyo. Nikko is in a beautiful mountainous area, and is famous for hot springs, monkeys, shrines, colorful fall foliage and more recently, antiques. On this trip, we ventured out to the Kinugawa onsen area along a one-train-per-hour track -- such a change of pace from the every-two-minutes Yamanote line in the central Tokyo core. Such an unforgettable experience that was.... July 3, 2014

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Working on my art journal, documenting my vacation to Naoshima, Japan's contemporary art island in 2012. One of the best experiences of my life. #arttherapy #lostintranslation

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Having a lazy start to this rainy day…Pondering life.

Albert Camus said, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” This confuses me… If I’m not doing those things, what am I supposed to be doing?

I think with some people, happiness is an intrinsic state that they don’t have to think about or search for. It’s just there. It just exists. And for many of the same people they don’t have to search for the meaning of life because they’re just too busy living to think about what it is…I fluctuate between being both kinds of people. Today unfortunately, my existentialism, verging on nihilism is getting the better of me.

June 3, 2014 

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

If I ever have the privilege of raising a female living thing, like a cat or dog or daughter 😂, I’m totally going to name her “Magnolia” because magnolias are just the most beautiful, majestic and resilient of flowering trees. (at High Park)

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Been working on my art journal... My apartment in Tokyo is finally done dizzzzzzo!! Awesome memories of that place ❤ #japanesearchitecture #tokyolife #thistookforever

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Snowflakes, like people, are all unique

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

This. Is. So ... amazing!!

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

I am not a morning person. No matter how much sleep I get, or which side of the bed I wake up on, I never feel ready to start my day. Every so often though, my morning grumpiness immediately dissipates because I look out my window and see something as majestic as this.

November 21, 2013

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Teaching in the primary grades is undoubtedly a challenge and there are so many moments every day that astound me, as to the cognitive development occurring at this stage in their young lives. I'm still smiling at how emphatically this student stated that there was a 'w' at the end of 'Lego' because 'you can hear it.'

November 19, 2013

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

No brains, no heart, no bones, and 98% water … Jellyfish are mysterious, beautiful and oh so dangerous.

We must have spent half of our day in front of this tank at Toronto's new aquarium.

October 24, 2013

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Velvet shoes+wet autumn leaves=pretty picture but wet shoes...

Autumn has always been my favourite season of all. I love what's happening to the outside world; the falling leaves, the changing colours, the scents in the air and the fresh, crisp breezes. I love the fashion; the layering of clothing, the textures of fabric, and the deep, saturated colours. It is a transitional season, a reprieve from the blistering heat of summer and the bitter, unforgiving cold of the Canadian winter. I believe this winter will be a brutal one so we should enjoy this autumn while it lasts.

October 21, 2013

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

Who needs to wait til Thursday for a throwback? I remember this sunset from my old rooftop in Tokyo very vividly. I was walking home tons of bags, both arms aching after hours of running errands. The sky got so bright and I knew it was going to be a beautiful sunset. I rushed straight up to the roof top and dropped everything.

I remember feeling really happy, and hopeful... that something positive and wonderful was on the horizon for me. Maybe it was because I had made the decision to move back to Canada. I knew that I only had three more months in Tokyo.

I've now been back in Toronto for two and a half months. Lately I keep thinking of the long conversation I once had with my Japanese teacher about the concept of “missing” something or someone, and how there is no direct translation for it in Japanese. Reverse culture shock is hard to deal with, but there's nothing to do but to carry on.

October 20, 2013

[roselovesbeautifulthings]

I’ve fallen waaaaay behind in my art journal. Today is September 7, 2013, and I’m just finishing up some drawings from June/July 2012.

This drawing is of Hiki Cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo. The signage for the café is a living and breathing vertical garden, so lush that pedestrians always stop and do a double take. The interior of the café is equally adorable, with wooden benches covered in Native American throws, mismatched wooden tables and friendly young Japanese hipsters serving small yet prettily crafted cocktails.

Architecture and interior design in Japan are modern marvels, with designers taking influences from all around the world and across centuries to create unique spaces that take people away from the contradictory nature of life in Tokyo; chaotic, yet often monotonous. Wander through the winding backstreets of areas like Shimokitazawa, Aoyama and Omotesando, and you will inevitably stumble upon a beautiful restaurant, café, or boutique that will take you to another time or place. If you are romantic enough, you may have a Proust-like out-of-body experience.

It has only been a month since I moved back to Toronto but reminiscing like this makes me feel a bit homesick for my home away from home.

September 7, 2013