Found these cute little Deckmate deck boots in a thrift store on a recent trip to Prince Edward County. Aren’t they great? Not sure the non-slip soles are still good though. If not, they might be the perfect dancing boot that will offer a great slide. Years ago, I was out one night in Montreal, and saw a guy discreetly sprinkling baby powder on the dance floor around him. He would pull out a tiny bottle of baby powder from the inside pocket of his jacket, sprinkle and dance. Very smooth. Flash forward a few years later, I remembered this little trick and brought a bottle of baby powder to a friend’s party and things quickly got out of hand. Suddenly it  was winter, everything smelled of freshly bathed babies’ bums, and everyone was Fred Astaire. Kind of like that scene in Being John Malkovich when everyone was Malkovich.  I was told it took weeks to get the powder out of the crevices in the hardwood floors . . . so don’t try this at home. Not your own home anyway . . . heh heh. Sorry Laura and Jon, again. But now I’ve got these slippery boots. Who needs baby powder?

Another one of our drives in the Kawarthas led us to the amazing Highlands Cinemas where we saw Moonrise Kingdom, which I thought was very fitting. It’s a curious little theatre tucked away in a forest in the tiny town of Kinmount (population 300). In addition to being a theatre it also serves as a museum. The maze-like building is full of huge old projectors, antique film equipment, and movie memorabilia. And that’s not all! Attached to the building is a room with windows and tunnels leading to an enclosed outdoor area where numerous cats roam, called Keith’s Cat House.

I recently read that Highlands Cinemas was under threat of being closed this fall after 33 years.  The theatre has been screening movies using projectors from the 1950’s, but this year had to decide whether or not to invest in an expensive conversion to digital in order to keep operating in 2013.  The survival of the cinema will very much depend on moviegoers, so everyone with a cottage in the Kawarthas, invite all your friends to your cottages and go watch some movies! Highlands Cinemas is open from May to Thanksgiving every year. Too bad they’re not open for Halloween because it would be the perfect place to watch a scary movie and then wander out into the dark forest parking lot to find your car.

Last month during our stay at the cottage in Fenelon Falls we took little trips to check out the surrounding towns. The friends we were with are in the midst of renovating their farmhouse in Prince Edward County so we drove around looking for antiques and anything that might be useful. I love that you never know what you’re going to find when you see a sign that says “Antiques” with an arrow pointing you down a long country road. One of those signs led us to a couple of dark, cavernous barns filled with what I suppose one could call antiques. Or maybe one could also call them graveyards for neglected, damaged furniture and home to Chucky’s playmates. A little disappointing in our quest for antiques, but a part of me loves that places like this exist.

People often say they’re inspired by nature and I thought I got it, but maybe I didn’t really get it. Sure, forests are nice, but nothing really that mind blowing. Then on a recent hike through Lion’s Head Provincial Park I think I started to see it –  amazing colours, patterns, textures, and odd little things growing everywhere. Is this what people are talking about?

This happens every time.  I go away, find things I love, come back, and kick myself for not bringing back more.  These are a few of my favourites from this trip.

Alpargatas.  Before Toms there were alpargatas.  They are everywhere in Argentina and Uruguay, but I like these ones in particular because they have the jute soles and thick cotton stitches along the bottom.  And I like the faded candy colours.  And I like the one pink stitch on the green one.  Really should have got a pair in every colour . . .

Dresses.  Okay, so you can find dresses just about anywhere, and I don’t usually love dresses, but I love this one.  The fabric is a cotton silk blend so it’s super airy and light.  Found it at Ayres in Buenos Aires.

Cachafaz alfajores. I could eat these all day, every day!  A thick layer of dulce de leche sandwiched between 2 soft shortbread-like cookies, edges sprinkled with coconut.  Yum!  These ones just caught my eye because the packaging was so subtle and quiet compared to the other loud chocolate bar style wrappers.  I think it’s the frosted matte cellophane.  Gets me every time, but who knew they would be so unbelievably amazing?  I wish I had brought back 3 boxes rather than just one.

In Montevideo I picked up a kilogram of this beautiful, super soft wool from Manos del Uruguay.  No idea what I want to make with it, but I think I’m going to dye it.  Back in October I took a natural dyeing class at The Workroom and learned the basics of natural dyeing, after some very haphazard, experimental dyeing with plants in the summer.  In the second photo is a racerback tank I made with some of the dyed fabric in the colour I’d like the wool to be.  Hopefully I don’t end up with 2 giant felt balls.

The antique markets and shops that went on and on and on in San Telmo were a little overwhelming, but I did find a couple of things, like this old clothing hanger, which probably isn’t an antique, and wasn’t actually for sale, but they sold it to me anyway.  On it is one of the tops I made before the trip, when I realized I didn’t have any summer clothes.  The floral print was a piece of fabric I had been holding onto for years.  There’s something I love about it even though I never wear floral prints.