I covet every single one of these outfits

Lately I've been kind of hating everything in my wardrobe; and there are often times when I am browsing through shops and I see a fabulous piece of fashionable beauty (aka nice top, gorgeous dress, amazing shoes) when I say 'I wish I had the kind of life that could justify buying you, you beautiful article of clothing', sigh loudly, and put the item back on the rack.

These women don't do that.

I think I am going to start trying to buy pieces normally reserved for "my fantasy life". New city, new style, new fabulous fantasy wardrobe? I can see that working quite well for me (perhaps not my bank account, but that's a mere technicality..)

Photos courtesy of The Sartorialist

While I'm gushing about beautiful things I wish were mine, if my apartment turned out looking something like this one, I would be pretty darn pleased.

Oi, me achin' muscles...

I'm awake, lying in bed, listening to Amelia Curran, drinking tea and about to pounce on today's crossword puzzle. Idyllic right?

Except for the fact that my entire body feels sore... I NEED to get back into yoga

Tonight I got into bed and all I wanted to hear was this song:

...wonder what that says?

I am not dealing well with Halloween Costume Pressure

Ann Curry as Tina Turner and Cher - Celebrity Halloween Costumes - The Daily Beast

Posted using ShareThis


...If only I was a celebrity with the wealth and connections to access an infinite amount of wigs, make up artists, costumes and props...*sigh*

Words to live by

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

~ Og Mandino

How come boys don't write poetry anymore?

The Arrow and The Song
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an Arrow into the air
It fell to earth I know not where,
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breath'd a Song into the air
It fell to earth, I know not where.
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of a song?
Long, long afterward in an oak
I found the Arrow still unbroke;
And the Song from begining to end
I found again in the heart of a friend.
             ~*~

Found on S and O Productions

The other day I was at JWD Books (AKA best second hand bookstore ever) and I decided to hunt for a really good collection of poems. I didn't have any luck, but perhaps this will tide me
over for the time being.

Strange, cruel World

This morning I listened to a startling story on the radio about a new anti-homosexuality bill being proposed in Uganda. Homosexuality is illegal in that country, and the latest proposed legislation includes sentences of life imprisonment, 'aggravated homosexuality' as a punishable crime, and a legal obligation to report a homosexual to the authorities.

Some of my closest and most cherished friends are gay and lesbian, and the thought that not only would their lives be at risk, but mine as well should I refuse to expose them to the police is sickening.

Here is a comprehensive article on the issue. There is also a fascinating blog entitled GayUganda whose contributors I would argue are very courageous considering the social [and now political] climate in which they live and from where they choose to write about and shed light on issues concerning the gay community in Uganda.

Whenever I learn about things like this I am shocked by my blissful ignorance and also at how truly and deeply fortunate I am to live in a country where I am free to be who I am.

Soo while getting ready for bed, I noticed that my shirt was slightly see-through, and my bra was kind of very visible...not in an 'ooh la la! intentional' way, but in the 'dude, I can totally see through your shirt' way.

DAMMIT!

Good thing I decided to pop into work this aft - having all my coworkers get a free show of my lacy bits was exactly what needed to happen at 3pm on a Monday. Fuck my life.





Editor's Note: Immediately after posting this, an ad for a Wet T-Shirt Contest appeared. Perfect.

Good times

So as you are perhaps aware, there have been several weekends that have coasted by without a single incident worthy or mentioning, these are the weekends when I laze about my house doing nothing, and then I complain about it.

Not this past weekend, no no! I did things, saw people, was out of the house and had a grand time.

Saturday started with lunch at Estia, the new Greek restaurant downtown, I then braved the brittle wind and freezing rain to peruse some stores, do some shopping, and visit my first ever Zine Fair. The fair was pretty fab - my friend Tessa and her bf had a table for their label, even though they don't even live here...they are just. that. hip. AND I they gave me a free cd! Woot woot!

Saturday night was filled with G&Ts, new friends, pumpkin ale and hilarious conversation that lasted until sunrise. Awesome! (and exhausting).

Sunday was perfect. The sun shone, the temperature rose to 20 degrees, Haligonians were out and about and I wore flip flops and a t-shirt.. on the 22nd of October! Breakfast was smoked salmon eggs benny at the Ardmore, my afternoon was basking in the sun while reading the paper followed by a lovely walk in the park, dinner was homemade ribs and mashed potatoes (yum!!) and bedtime was at 8:30pm.

Since I got home, I've noticed that my grandfather is different. He's always been upbeat, the optimist, grateful and helpful to a fault. Now he just seems quiet and quite exhausted. It is very difficult to see.

So I can't think of anything to say.

Today I saw a very impressive TV commercial. It was for Grand Marnier, it was a cartoon and it confirmed everything I believe to be true about living in France and having a fabulous Parisian life. Do you know the one I'm talking about? I'll try to find a video.

Also, if you'd like to see some of the most exquisite interiors ever photographed (and photographed tremendously I might add) click here.

I know I said I would share ideas on my new apartment, and in fact I would love to - I have a whole bunch of photos stored up, I promise. Only thing is that every time I try to upload pictures from my computer my browser inexplicably shuts down. Stupid computer. I really need to buy a new one.

Reflections, more life plans, and an apparent Gwyneth Paltrow obsession:

Tonight I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and thought "Ugh, how unfortunate." On second thought, I believe I actually audibly uttered those words to the sorry reflection looking back at me.

I had hastily pulled my [greasy] hair into what I'll have to call a "rough ponytail", my concealer had all but vanished betraying the dark, baggy circles under my eyes, I'd shoved my [slipper-sock clad] feet into my mother's Blundstones - which peeking out from my trouser jeans resembled clown shoes, and I had LEFT THE HOUSE. That's right, although feeling exhausted, achy, overfull and looking one baggy t-shirt short of ghastly I actually allowed myself to enter the public domain.

(Okay so it wasn't so much "the public domain" as it was driving to my grandparents house to pick up my brother, but still.)

My point is that I have been less than, er, fastidious about my personal health these days. Somehow my life has become more about needless late nights, wine, coffee, tea, carbs, cheese, over-indulgence/eating on an almost daily basis, stress and slovenliness, and less about proper sleep patterns, water intake, fruits&veg, self confidence and improvement, and any/all forms of exercise.

NOT GOOD. And my body is starting to show the effects. (On the plus side, I bought myself a daily multivitamin a week ago and have remembered to take it...3 whole days! Yay improvement??)

Last night I read about a cleanse that Gwyneth Paltrow was raving about, and thought 'I should do that'. For a few deluded moments I had myself thinking "all I need is to do this 21-day total detox and I will emerge healthy, happy, lithe and lean - just like Gwyneth!" Then I noticed that the cleanse includes $350 (!!!) worth of essential meal-replacement shakes and supplements and said delusions quickly faded. 21 days of a mere diet-regime to turn me into Gwyneth Paltrow??!? Yeah friggin' right.

I mean hello:

IMPOSSIBLE.

All this aside, I have decided that the time is now. (Cue fanfare!) I'm changing cities, why not change lifestyles? Well perhaps a complete 'lifestyle overhaul' is a tad drastic BUT I would truly like to do a cleanse/detox of some sort, I'm thinking about cutting out as much dairy as I can muster (as an asthmatic, phlegm and I have been friends for too long and milk and mucus go together like....I don't know I can't think of an analogy.. the fact I just used the word 'mucus' grossed me out and threw me off-kilter), I can practically hear my muscles urging me to get back into yoga, and I know I'll feel a difference if I start drinking more water.

Other plans to re-vamp my life currently include an appointment with a financial planner, reading more non-fiction, and taking a dance class come winter.

How this will all turn out? Who knows?

Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow does... that woman knows everything, just look at her blog.

Check it out!

Just found another fabulous photo blog...er, website. I have never heard of Cade Martin before but I think his work is amazing.


ooh! and if you too are a bookworm at heart, this blog is pretty darn cute

PROcrastination

So there are a million things I should be doing right now but instead I'm painting my nails and watching Glee online. In between coats I did a little browsing and found this fantastic little diddy:




Nice one right? I used to LOVE this song in high school.

OH! and I saw Where The Wild Things Are last night. It was beautiful; everything I wanted and more. Also, the soundtrack was perfect. Par exemple:



GO SEE IT.

I don't know what it is but I can't seem to sit down and write anything coherent. I've been doing plenty of blogable things since arriving in Toronto, but I suppose my head is as much in a nomadic state as my life is right now. I have a few things to share so perhaps in lieu of having the focus to eloquently display them I'll list them off in a non-sensical order.

~.~

The seasons have changed. Suddenly changed. It was all sun and sweaters (ok, and a week of rain) and now there are frost warnings, and bitter winds and a desperate need for scarves and gloves (a darling set of which were purchased yesterday at Winner's after spending far too much time combatting what I believed I called "heinously ferocious winds" on Bloor West.)

This past Thanksgiving Weekend I was in Peterborough staying with a friend and her wonderful family and I was shocked at the exuberance and magnificence of all of the fall colours! One thing about staying in downtown Toronto is there are no trees, which is a shame. Driving around Peterborough and its surrounding areas I was reminded of home and how beautiful the leaves look in Nova Scotia. Sadly, I didn't have the presence of mind to take any photos. (More on that later) So I'll share/borrow/steal a photo or two that a dear friend of mine took in Cape Breton not so long ago. (Thanks Will!)

~.~

My Peterborough Thanksgiving was fantastic.

Okay so here's the deal: This post was supposed to be much longer, and in fact it was. There were photos included - cute ones too! Like me and my new sheep friend at a fall fair! - and reflections, observations, vows - well, maybe not vows, that sounds far too serious - questions, stories, and much, much, more! However instead of hitting 'Publish Post' I apparently (and absently) clicked 'Save Now', and only today did I discover not only were my lovely words and photos not out in the world for all to see BUT half of the post had not in fact been saved in the first place. Enter frusteration; at myself and at my machine.

SO instead of trying to revert to my mental state of this past Wednesday, and recreate this post, I am going to publish what is here and move on to something new. 'Experiencing Technical Difficulties, Please Stand By' and all that jazz. Bear with me my friends, I'll be back on track here soon - I promise.

What a lovely sentiment..

from here

Grown Up Thoughts on a Gray Afternoon

I have been neglecting you, dear blog, and for that I am sorry. My "big city move" is overwhelming it would seem, or at any rate it occupies time that would have been spent blogging back home in Halifax.

Last night I stayed over at my friend's brand new house just outside Toronto. That's right I said HOUSE. She and her boyfriend are homeowners. Whenever a friend of mine buys a condo, or house, or gets engaged (as my friend JMac just did) I am shocked by how 'grown up' we are all turning out to be. Or rather how grown up we actually are. It boggles my mind. I do not feel nearly old enough to be buying houses, planning lives, getting married, etc. and whenever I am confronted with the fact that I am it plain freaks me out.

That being said, I am excited to be embarking on my new adventure, especially to have my own apartment to plan (and there is a post in the works to share all of my apartment plans). I concede that being 'grown up' has plenty of perks, having one's own space among them; and while I believe I will cling on to my 'inner child' with fervour for as long as I can for now - or at least in this moment - being a grown up feels pretty darn good.

Something about a glass half "full"..

This afternoon, as I trekked through the rain on my way to the liquor store (oh, the things I do for a good bottle of wine...) I passed a girl strolling down Front St, rain coat on, hood up, beaming smile on her face. I mean, she looked positively elated - bride on her wedding day, kid in a candy store, blissed out HAPPY. Immediately I thought, "what's with this woman? Why is she smiling while walking through the pouring rain on this gray, gross day? How bizzare." And then I realized how incredibly cynical and pessimistic a thought that was and decided that I need to work on that aspect of myself.

I mean, why shouldn't someone smile through the rain while going for a walk on a Friday afternoon?


Now, off to make a cuppa tea and curl up with Edward Cullen & co. (Yes, I have started reading Twilight. So far I am underwhelmed. It is a pretty quick read though, easy to get caught up in - and a perfect way to pass the time on rainy day.)

Oh yeah,

from Pretty Good

Day One

Well I did it. I actually managed to make it to Toronto... made it meltdown and personal crisis-free I might add. Yay growth!

Now that I'm here, I am faced with actually doing something to begin a life here which is daunting to say the least. I've decided to keep this quote (which I've shared before) in my mind as I look forward to my new 'big city' life:

"Every one of us

is called upon, probably many

times, to start a new life.

A frightening diagnosis, a

marriage, a move, loss of a job...

And onward full tilt we go,

pitched and wrecked and absurdly

resolute, driven in spite of

everything to make good on a

new shore. To be hopeful, to

embrace one possibility after

another - that is surely the basic

instinct... Crying out: High tide!

Time to move out into the

glorious debris. Time to take

this life for what it is."

-Barbara Kingsolver, from High Tide in Tucson
(All this being said, this is definately not a permanent move yet. I managed to bring the bulk of my waredrobe with me, but I've still got a lot of stuff to go through and pack up... and my roommate-to-be won't be arriving until the end of the month, meaning I won't have an apartment until November).

How wonderfully scary and exciting! More updates to come..