Pretty Standard

As some of you may know, I work part time at a pet store called The Pet Den. Behind the Pet Den, is a photography studio. This past Saturday, the photographer Franco told me that he was hosting a party for his friend's Agency "Everyone Is An Artist" and said I should stop by. I've done some freelance make up work this year, but got a bit intimidated by the whole idea. I had become disillusioned by my fear of not succeeding or not being good enough, but I knew I had to take this opportunity because I still love make up! I sat in The Pet Den for a few hours watching reruns of Dragon's Den feeling a bit nervous about going over there, but I asked myself "Do I want to go? Is this a good thing for me to do right now?" And my inner answer was "yes". So I sucked up the fear and went for a walk with Jasmine with the last stop being "Studio Den". I walked in in my completely unflattering and not-stylish-anymore blue Columbia jacket I ...

I'm totally in love...with pink. I just can't get enough of this colour right now. I want it on my clothes, in my hair, on my walls and on my cheeks. There is just something inherently optimistic about pink that seduces me, even at a time when I should be gravitating towards jewel tones and earthy colours. (photo from Making it Lovely ) Cute baby notwithstanding, I love love love Nicole's pink zig zag rug and pink polka dot throw pillow. The white in the Eames rocker (a chair dear to my heart) and other white accessories make it more accessible and easy to live with. And did I mention the cute baby?!? (photo via Anthropologie ) In my day dreams,  I have a English accent and am the true keeper of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy's heart (screw you, Elizabeth Bennett).  In my real life, I sport this soft pink number from Anthropologie , and just watch the BBC miniseries/Colin Firth movies instead. (aside: OMG I love this bag so much) (photo from 20x200 ) And to pr...

So I've got to know... does anyone reading this blog have the nerve to say to someone who looks pregnant "how far along are you?" I'd like to think that I certainly wouldn't! I ask only because one of my dear friends just called to tell me this quite comical story: Just this week, she has been asked by two different people on two consecutive days if she is PREGNANT. The catch is, she's not pregnant. I guess I can see why people would want to ask - because she is always beautiful, smiling and glowing and like she really is expecting a wee one. So here's the funny part... The first time this week she was asked the dreaded question was by a potential client - so what does she say?? Well, she said "yes" to save any embarrassment for either party. Otherwise, you run the risk of making the other person feel really bad and awkward (but at least they'd learn their lesson!) However, I think it would be funny to see the reaction to a response ...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Most Serene Republic 's newest album And the Ever Expanding Universe contains some of the happiest basslines you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. SRSLY ppl, this album just makes me want to jump up and start a dance party for one (or two when you count Lily, my doglin). Their new single, Heavens To Purgatory, is pretty rad: The song Phi is killer, and I listen to it when I walk home from long night shifts at work, and realize all is well in the world: the rain is no longer a bloody nuisance, but a refreshing sprinkle, and the garbage on the ground is some kind of esoteric large scale art installation I'm in on. (Video is for song only.) The best part is, they reference a lot of science-y things that make me laugh (Don't Hold Back Feel A Little Longer talks about neurotransmitters and the title references the big bang theory). Stephen Hawking would be proud!

This photo made me stop dead in my speedy-google-reader tracks: It is courtesy of Holly Becker, of Decor8 and Haus Maus fame, who recently relocated from the states to Hannover. While being an awesome blogger and someone with warm style, she also inspires in me a serious case of the greedy-gimmies. (Berenstain Bears reference, tyvm). Maybe because right now Vancouver Island is swallowed up in rain and wind,  I suddenly find myself thinking, "Want.... out... of... here... must... move... Germany." And when I get on to this train of thought I often revel in it a while, basking in self-pity and thinking my life is not all I want it to be. This time, however, I've made a conscious decision to avoid that line of thinking. After all, just last week I was walking along the waterfront and decided I lived in paradise. Life is good, why am I stressing out? And if there are things out there that I want to accomplish, what good is it to mope around and think, "Why not ...

Brendan has been diligently working away at his school projects so I haven't had a whole lot of time to update... until now! I made an insanely good pizza tonight, FROM SCRATCH! (You're welcome for the AWESOME photo quality, I am just THAT good.) The crust is homemade and whole wheat (no high fructose corn syrup here) and it is topped with a pizza sauce I made from leftover canned tomatoes and loads of garlic. On top of the sauce I layered the pizza with spinach and shredded zucchini, then added fresh mozzarella, parmesan, red peppers, and finally some slices of chorizo sausage. I served it with cut up veg, much to the chagrin of Brendan who usually asks for "meat with a side of meat". Let me tell you, the pizza was so good, it earned the much coveted "sofa king good" seal of approval from B. Why did I go through the hassle of making the dough from scratch, you ask? Well, am I ever glad to tell you! It all started a week ago when I watched Food Inc...

First off, I'd like to acknowledge that my previous post about Goals isn't completely accurate... well, at least not in the way "SMART" goals should be done... "specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely." But, they were fun anyways!! I will work on some other SMART goals with the help of expert goal maker friend Danielle. Now onto the point of this post... I was grocery shopping a few weeks ago in the local No Frills, and passed a lady I recognize from the area singing along quietly to her iPod. I thought, "hmm that's a bit strange. But I like it!" Recently, I've started singing along to my music while I'm out walking with Jazzy. I'm not at the point where I do it openly in No Frills, but it does feel good! And the great thing is is that I just blend in with everyone else that walks the streets of Toronto.

Well Jess, thanks for the idea for making some goals... 30 goals to make if you're under the age of 30. I've got 5 years! 15 (or 18 in my case) smart goals, and 15 hopes/wishes. SMART: Get PADI certified, ideally somewhere tropical Get married Own a house Enjoy my work Afford all my luxuries like mani/pedis, hair upkeep, waxing, etc Have retirement savings started nicely Be a size 6/8 Go on holidays 1-2x per year Play bridge regularly Have a full Pandora bracelet Have real diamond earrings Spend Christmas with family Be flying first class Regular Yoga do-er Support WWF (world wildlife foundation) Romantic vacation to Paris Meet Woody Allen Get a tattoo HOPES/WISHES: Ocean front villa in Spain Take part in WWF excursions to save animals Own flat in London Travel Oz for a year (swim with a whale shark!) Have $1million +++ in the bank Drive an Audi A6 Run a marathon Have dinner with Woody Allen Live on a peaceful planet Go on an African Safari Feel compassion and unity for and wit...

Well its been a pretty stressful last few days. Amidst all this drama, stress, and worry, shines a light at the end of the tunnel. Well, of course there's a light at the end of the tunnel, there always is, but sometimes it's really hard to see it for yourself. Opportunities bloom out of disasters, but it usually takes an outside ear, eye, and opinion to see the good in what seems to be disastrous. I'm not out of the shit hole yet, but I'm in a much better position than I was 4 days ago. I finally got paid so was able to pay rent that was 2 weeks late, but as a result of everything that's been happening with my employer it was time for me to quit. I should be able to survive until January as I am, but that's not good enough. Throughout all this I've been searching and searching for my soulmate... work soulmate. I feel desperate to find what will earn me a living and make me happy for life. Is this possible?? My father thinks not. But he did offer s...

"We have to consider what we human beings really are. We are not like machine-made objects. If we were merely mechanical entities, then machines themselves could alleviate all of our suffering and fulfill our needs. However, since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. Instead, we should consider our origins and nature to discover who we are what it is we require." - The Dalai Lama I'm only 25 pages into my new book "In My Own Words - An Introduction to My Teachings and Philosophy" by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and already I feel inspired to write about what I've read. This is gonna be good! I want to talk about happiness. What is one thing that the entire human race has in common? We all just wanna be HAPPY. The Dalai Lama (The DL) believes that the purpose of life is to BE happy. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring you the greatest degree of h...

(via http://www.winesofcanada.com ) While I didn't have a full on breakdown, a la Nicola (although we all know she is a hot mess, even at her messiest- her eye makeup probably looked even better after the cry), I did start the day by giving myself and those around me a little heart attack: work called and said, "Ummm, Jess, yeah, you should be here right now." So I hopped out of bed, threw on scrubs, and drove like a crazy woman to the hospital. And then I had A DAY AND A HALF: everyone and their mother decided to become unresponsive and require variations of life support (C'mon people can't you see I'm recovering from my OWN heart attack here?). The worst part, truly, was that I looked and felt like someone had dragged a wino in from the street, handed them a stethescope and said "Go for it!! Keep 'em breathing!!" I was the epitome of "Baby Duck Chic": greasy hair sticking to my face, yesterday's make up running down my swe...

Well today I officially had a breakdown. It was about 30mins of tears and desperation, but then I found myself in Chapters. As some of you may know, I do not have a car. It is becoming increasingly inconvenient since I avoid taking the bus like the plague or Swine Flu. So today I am on my way to Barrie for a dentist appontment tomorrow morning. Tonight it's hang out time with one of my special lady friends, Katie. So I arrange for Jasmine to be looked after this evening so I don't have to bring her along, and I'm running pretty much on time today. I leave the house giving myself 50mins to get to Yorkdale bus terminal to transfer up to Barrie for the 220pm bus. I get off the bus at Yorkdale at 218pm. Closed lane of Dufferin slowing down traffic. I'm RUNNING through the parking lot and mall to try and catch the bus, but by now it's 222pm and, in my limited experience, the GO bus is very punctual. I finally stop running. I'm panting, and accept defeat. I'm to...

This is amazing. Pomplamouse Music is to Beyonce what tomato-parmesany goodness is to eggplant.

BIG PROPS to Jesse who has been doing much of the behind the scenes work on getting this blog all set up! You see, neither of us are really technology savvy (especially when HTML code is concerned!) so it has been quite a learning experience. Thanks Jesse! We can DO it!

It's Sunday morning - a Sunday morning full of fatigue and feeling seriously fuzzy up in thurr due to staying up till 2am working on this blog with Jess and drinking red wine 4452.4kms apart... via skype! Love it! Annnnyways. My inspiration for today has come from surfing through my facebook page and noticing how one changes throughout their lives. My hair hasn't changed much, my makeup always rocks, but the thing that stands out for me is my yo-yo waitloss/weightgain. Such a pain in the ass! Literally! It is so hard on your body to go up and down in weight, but it's harder on your mental-self. *stupidstupidstupidstupid!* I long to look like I did back in college, but I don't long to be back in college. I long to live somewhere exotic, but perhaps I would get lonely? A saying that has been coming up in my life a lot recently is "the grass isn't always greener on the other side". Or, as my friend Danielle says, "Things are never as good or a...

I found some hot cat S&M cat gear that I needed to share with my readers. Seriously. Who decided that Sir Socks of Wellingborough needed fetish ware, much less pink fetish ware. But mostly I just wanted to draw pervs searching for "pink pussy" on google. Gotcha suckas!

So after eight months of living in the Corso Italia region of Toronto, a black guy has taken quite a shining to me. His name is Linval, and he has a job. Other bits of information he told me the first time he came into The Pet Den include "I have no kids in this country" (they're all in Jamaica, however many there are), "I don't read or write", and "I fuckin love you girl". Nice enough guy I guess... last week he gave me $10 for lunch... which got spent on an eyebrow wax. Yesterday during one of his visits he handed me a card and told me to open it when he left. It is hard to do the hilarity of this card any justice with words, so pictures are attached. As you will see, front of the card says " Thinking of you with sympathy..." On the inside lies a handwritten poem. *ahem* To: Nicola From: Linval When I first saw you With your smile so Tender my heart was Capture my soul surrender. 50 dollhairs to whoever can tell me where these l...