carboniferous

improved. but certainly not new.

2009-10-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

for anyone who missed me, i can now be found at my slightly more, but not always, professional blog

the past is prologue

my life is now public history, design, being a wife, cooking (not for my husband!) and vaccine clinics. please be advised ;)

130| welcome, june.

2009-06-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

summer is certainly my favourite season {even if i truly love all season}. part of the reason why i love it is because there's so much to do and to see and to take in.

getting married only amplifies this.

tonight's the first night in a very, ridiculously long time that i've been able to sit and blog. or do something that wasn't pre-planned, for that matter.

can i confess something?

i'm delightedly excited to get married to my best friend in just a few months. actually, we should be counting in weeks now. yikes.

i'm also excited for things to calm down a bit. for there to be time for me to reflect. please.

i will make a more concerted effort to blog, and to take time to reflect.

128| flailing.

2009-05-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

i am flailing. it has been very nearly a week since i blogged. my job is redunant, but my work has ricidulously high security. so, blogging has been left to evenings and weekends. but evenings and weekends are taken up now with friends and family and all sorts of necessary things. none of which are bad, but they are very time consuming.

this weekend, for example, started with a very lovely evening celebrating the anniversary of one of my professors. man, she knows how to party! it was held at a really cool, ecclectic cafe nearby, and there were lots of nibblies and bevvies, and great music. moreover, jen is quite good at hosting. she was really able to introduce people fully and trying and find little connectors between them (for me, this meant finding myself amongst a really cool professor of political science and an archivist). honestly, andrew didn't feel at all awkward amongst the learneds.

it reminded me about the purpose of marriage, and being present in the moment. sounds funny, sure. but truly, it reminded me of all the things to look forward to once the glitter has fallen off and the wedding blogs become a less regular part of my life (eep).

today involved andrew working, me running and running errands. by the time he got home, he was zonked. we went out for pizza and beer, and it was nice. but, he was tired and has called it a night, even though i wanted serious one-on-one time.

oh well.

next weekend, we're at a friends' cottage. the week after that is andrew's mother's birthday, my convocation and visit one of three from my parents. i haven't figured out yet how to deal with all the sh*t my father has thrust upon me. nothing about this is cut and dry and our wedding only two months from now, it's become a whole lot less so. blarg.

all of this is to say, i'm sorry that i've been blogging less. really, right now i want to be blogging more.

127| peeking, piquing

2009-05-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

this weekend was long. and fun. and i want to do it all over again, very soon.

friday afternoon began with a thud and thump, and my father continuing to refuse to give me necessary documents for my taxes. i was not pleased. i don't recall much about friday evening, other than a long, long sleep that bled into saturday morning.

saturday morning we garage saled. or garage bought? i had three marvelous finds. that lovely bowl that i blogged about last week...the green one. i found for only $10. and a remarkable candlelabra. and a stuffed pig. the pig was probably the most meaningful. i had one, named knuckles when i went to europe last year and lost it in italy. so we found a new one and we're calling him Knuckle Junior, or KnuJu for short.

saturday afternoon was a lot of walking and exploring the market, buying new plants and coming home to garden them. we then made pizzas and yum, yum, yum. it was delightful! oh, in between garage sale-ing and gardening there was marvelous brunch. oh so tasty.

sunday was filled with grocery shopping, more gardening, more markets, baking, playing frisbee, eating BBQ and playing cards. i haven't had this much sun in a long time. i feel wonderful. like i said, i didn't really want for this weekend to end.

oh well, some of the goodies will last. including but not limited to these.

126| three months out, both feet in.

2009-05-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

so for ignoring you all in the last week {all three of you?}. i started a new job with the municipal government that has very high restrictions on internet access {blogger won't let me sign in, but it will let me read blogs}. i also had the stomach flu, so yeah.

the week was ridiculously busy.

we settled on "catering".
by which i mean we talked to my friend sara, who cooks wicked good food. and we've hired her. and i'm so delighted about this. one very large thing to cross of our long list.

we went to the places that we registered at, and added and removed a few things. a rice cooker is simply something we don't have space for.

i've decided on maybe a parasol, or maybe not. so, i haven't decided.

also, i'm in the process of baking a cake for andrew's niece.

long weekend, you are going by too quickly.

125| window shopping, cake.

2009-05-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

it's been a few weeks since i've gone window shopping--mostly because i've been too busy with life to actually stop and look at what is in the windows. today, i might actually buy something {my quarterly sales tax refund came today in the mail}.

today's also my sweetheart's birthday. except that in three years together, i don't think i've ever called him my sweetheart. but he is. andrew is also a cake monster, according to his mother--and i can agree with that sentiment. so, i made his birthday cake this year, and i made him three small cakes as well to snack on this afternoon {they're cupcake sized}. i'll post pictures over at butter-and-patience later today {for fear he is checking the blog}. anyway, as if i haven't spent enough time with cake this week, i'm going to share with you some of my favourite "cake" things.

milk-glass cake plate, eddie ross, $35

elephant wedding cake toppers, $75

pyrex mixing bowls, vintage

124| five-hundred dollars for chairs.

2009-05-07T09:35:00.001-07:00

this is a charivari chair. aesthetically, it is one of the prettiest chairs i have ever seen. it holds historic sentiment in much of french canada as a folk custom originating in france whereby the community would clammor about if they didn't approve of the marriage. they would hoist the bride up on to one of these chairs and carry her through the city. should she still make it to her wedding night, they would stand outside the newlyweds room and make lots of noise so as to show disapproval. charivaris still take place to this day, with one recorded in 2008 in atlantic canada with people using more modern noisemakers, this time to show their approval. wikipedia cites a charivari as a "mock-seranade". i just think it's a cool part of north american french history.

however, it turns out that our party rental place has charivari chairs. for $10 a piece. but there's no way i can rationalize spending $500 on chairs. can i? {for the record: i could, but i don't think andrew would go for it}. i need to go see what kind of chairs there are at the venue again.

also, when did i become so concerned with the aesthetics of what my guests are sitting upon? someone?

123| a second home.

2009-05-06T13:18:00.001-07:00

i started a second blog. not because i don't like my home here, because i do.
but rather, because i am going to be doing more cooking, baking, and making in the next four months than i ever have in my twenty-some years. and i couldn't be happier to share with all of you.

so, if you like sugar, and butter and eggs, and tasty things make from real food, you can find me at butter & patience. the story of which is as follows:

tonight while out for a walk, andrew & i were talking about the countless cakes that i have offered to bake for friends, family, my fiancé {andrew} and complete strangers in the next month. i mentioned something about the icing, and "if i have enough butter and patience". and so this blog was born. i love to cook and i love to bake. but sometimes i don't have the patience. not for the task, but rather for recipes.

it shall be an interesting four months. i will do my darndest to not get completely fat.

122| lists.

2009-05-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

clearly, i'm in a blogging mood today {i also have fifteen minutes to kill until the end of my work morning and the much anticipated lunch out}.

so, what did i do with the first five of the fifteen minutes? why, i looked at the knot.com, of course, like any insane bride would. right then. there are one-hundred-and-eighty-four things on my "list" to be completed. i checked off all the ones that i thought didn't apply to me/him/us/our wedding/our party {as my father is now calling it, because there are no aunts, uncles invited, and therefore it can't possibly be a wedding}.

there were still twenty-one things. more manageable, sure. but twenty-one things. it's still a lot of pressure to do and check and make and think and participate in this grand scheme.

actually, there were only twenty. i left one unchecked because i thought it was the most ridiculous thing i had ever heard. ever.

Brides: Choose your bridesmaids' accessories (shoes, gloves, etc.) and either purchase or pass along purchasing information.

you know, because my bridesmaid is not twenty-three and cannot make these types of decisions on her own.

when she {steph} was in town this week, we went to a nice trendy dress shop and bought her a nice, cute dress, that she looks incredible in. she wanted to buy it right away. i told her we should take a second look. and we did. but in te end, she was right. and i trusted her. and she will look incredible. without. doubt.

the strange thing about the knot is that it is so redunant. you're supposed to do the same things every month. it doesn't make a lot of sense. the words "submit your wedding anouncement" appears in five different sentences in five different months {although, i think the knot assumes that we are supposed to have engagement announcements and wedding announcements as separate entities. we have neither, thankfully}.

it reminds me of the instructions on a box of tea:

open box
remove sachet of tea
boil water
unwrap string from sachet
procure cups and teapot
place sachet in teapot
when water has reached its boiling point, pour water into teapot
let tea steep
once the tea has steeped to your liking, pour into cup(s)
enjoy
remove tea sachet before the tea becomes too strong

it's tea, for heaven's sake. and that's kind of how i feel about this wedding business: as long as i am married at the end of the day, and as long as i have had my share of cake and ice cream, i will be very, particularly delighted and it will have been a marvelous success of a wedding.

image my own {from where i hope to have our photos done.}

121| last.

2009-05-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

goodbye greenbelt staff, fair thee well.

i'm one of three staff of the eight-person branch leaving in the next three months. david bowie's song changes is playing my head. it'll be good for the branch, and for the department, but damn: i'm going to miss it.

next monday, i start talking about swine flu in the municipal government. i feel a bit like a substitute teacher, but for the federal government. i like wearing the different hats, but it's hard not making connections and settling down a little bit.

120| ninety-nine.

2009-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

yep. that's how many days until our wedding. i'm worried. but only because the wedding industrial complex tells me to be worried.

i actually wasn't counting until a friend of mine pointed out that it was 57 days until her wedding. then i had to go count.

it could be worse. another dear friend is getting hitched in eight days. so, really i feel rather ahead of the game.

it's been a long time coming. and it's still a little ways to go.

|image theknot, because they started this rebellion in me. |

119| in the margins.

2009-04-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

i like talking about marginalization. mostly because i believe such a dialogue is healthy, and somewhat necessary to putting an end to marginalizing groups and individuals.

meg is talking about feminism and weddings today. it makes me ridiculously happy.

on the other hand, a local columnist in london {ontario} and i have been picking our battles this weekend over his ethnocentric column from a week ago. the column talks about his experience with a family of either "romanian or lebanese" origin, haggling with someone at a sears outlet store. hardly newsworthy. his assessment of the family as weird and his mocking of their experience was indeed very ethnocentric and hardly empathetic to the culture shock they likely experienced. anyway, it has resulted in a back and forth of comments from myself and from the blogger and a discussion about ethnocentricity and the marginalization of minorities in North American journalism. the discussion was interesting, even if i didn't change his opinion {it ended with "you're wrong, kate! you're wrong about canada and you're wrong about journalism-- i'm not sure if he realized that i'm a communications & canadian history major.}

| image yushimoto |

118| late nights and earlier mornings.

2009-04-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

my best friend {and maid of honor} is up in ottawa visiting me, and has been for the last forty-eight hours. can i say that i'm so happy to have such a wonderful, amazing human being in my life? seriously. she's the best evar!!!! we spent the last few days exploring and re-exploring the city, trying on dresses, looking pretty, drinking, eating, sleeping in, and tomorrow we'll cap it off with my favourite brunch place. only because i have to go back to work. *sigh*

we saw the wedding venue tonight, and i kind of am realizing that things will slowly, but surely fall into place. it's a bit scary. and very exciting.

also, because of her visit, the earliest i've gone to bed in over a week has been 1:30. hopefully this will change tonight. but, i've become a little bit of an insomniac. in addition to many other things. consequently, i'm spending my night in front of a computer screen deleting people from facebook that i haven't talked to in a long, long time. for. the. win.

p.s. i promise that my blogs will become more interesting upon my return to the work environment.

117| decompressing by doing.

2009-04-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

{or: how to have a really, really productive saturday}

today was my last saturday as an undergraduate student. this sounds really weird, and it is a really weird thing to mark, but i've sort of had a schedule for saturdays over the past four years that has involved brunch, grocery shopping, school work and an out of the house activity in the evening.

in light of the really long paper i've been writing, my sleep schedule was thrown off and i went ot bed at six thirty this morning, after falling asleep on the couch around four {thank you to those of you who sent me lovely messages of support and demands for me to go to bed between four and six-thirty}.

my day commenced with andrew's doing the crossword and my trying to remain perfectly silent while he did so. i am not so good at this. but it was a good test for me, and i started thinking of all the things i wanted to do today, given that the weather could not have been nicer if it had tried.

we brunched at jak's, one of my most favourite brunching places, and the patio was open, which was marvelous! we went shopping for him and found the most adorable top for our friend's daughter who is presently obsessed with wonderwoman. we went to bridgehead: i worked for two or three hours plugging in footnotes {over a hundred}, while he went and played catch with a friend {tee hee}. we then came home and i gardened, and gardened and gardened. we are going to have so many beets this year. gardening was followed by picnicking {hamburgers} on the grass in our yard, and then more schoolwork, and then baking.

this might have been one of the busiest days i've had in a long time. but, it's also been one of the most enjoyable!

happy saturday!

116| window shopping, living rooms

2009-04-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

i'm an awful blogger. really, and truly. i'm also an awful spender. i do however, have four weddings, two anniversary parties, a broadway show, my convocation and a great deal of brunches on patios to attend this summer, and only one dress to spare {which i am presently sporting}. and otherwise, i'm spending wisely.

however, there will be a large purchase in august. a new sofa is coming into our living room {andrew's parents are amazing and are footing the bill as a wedding gift}.

having worked at ikea in the sofa department, i understand the sofa to be the most critical piece of furniture in your living room. or at least, the seating area in general as being the msot critical. so, we hummed and we hawwed {does haw have two Ws as a past tense? amanda? anyone?} and we decided on this little lovely sectional that will look lovely in our current apartment...

but, now i'm left with the question of "what do we put with it?" it's much more modern than our current sofa, and is leather {i'm going to hell, i'm aware of that...andrew really wanted leather, so leather it is}. We have the rest iof the furniture quite well sworted out, but I think such an event might call for a few accessory pieces...

jenna rose pillow, $60

andrea rund carpet {ikea}, $299

wall decal, $18

115| neglect.

2009-04-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

yikes, it has been a very, very, very long time since i have written. it's a bit sad. but my life has bceome consumed by really and truly two things. which i love dearly, but are too much at once...

the end of my work contract
my term paper on david bowie/glam rock/ homosexuality

last night was a very late night, followed by an early morning. and i felt as though something was missing. i was looking through mouse's blog {currently occupied by the lovely amanda} and came across some eddie izzard, who might be my favourite comedian of all time. and it broke it. i have had this serious, i have to do everything right, and right away atmosphere hanging over me for the past week, and eddie broke it. thank god!

i had been neglecting laughter, and smiles, and beautiful things. pretty things. yes, eddie izzard is pretty.

i was searching through my bag for my lunch, and found to my shock and dismay, my engagement ring. i thought it had been on my bedside table all this week, but not that i think about it more, it was actually in my bag, from the gym, which i finally had with me again today {something else that i have been neglecting}.

i picked up the ring, held it, examined it, and promised it not to forget about it for a very, very long time {i'm at the point where i don't feel anymore naked with or without it...}

anyway, i'm back. i promise. at least for a little while.

image waleed

114|

2009-04-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal."

i'm sitting in the library, where i should arguably be reading on rock and roll as a cultural practice. however, it's been a sort of a bitch of a day. but, only because i'm allowing it to be. the train was forty-five minutes late, i happened to try to do all my errands over lunch, forgetting that the rest of the world eats around then to, and it turns out my application for graduate scholarships failed.

given that the application was a yes or no sort of deal, and that the scholarship was in the neighbourhood of 10K per year, it feels a bit epic on the fail scale. but, failure is an event. not a person. and i should arguably be celebrating the opportunity to create more debt for myself {debt, which will be paid off much sooner than most, because it will nonetheless be on the small side}. as unfortunate as it is.

i now return to my regularly schedule program of reading, wrting and editing in such a fierce way one would think that i were a monkey at a type-writer.

i promise, that this blog will become more wonderful in the coming weeks.

113| reminiscence, present

2009-04-17T23:59:00.001-07:00

i have but one exam this term, my final exam, of undergraduate school. it's tomorrow {today} at nine a.m. go figure, one exam and it's a saturday morning.

the topic is easy. introduction to canadian studies. and the exam is only worth 35%, a fraction of a half-credit course. and i'm doing quite well in the other 65% of the course. it's not that i don't want to do well in the exam, because i do. but between my sizeable term paper on bowie, and the end of my government contract, i have had more on my plate than was manageable.

so, here i sit at three a.m., some six hours before my exam, contemplating the last four years of studying, and exploring. reminiscing before it's over. a girl i had courses with will leave for her first full-time job in the north tomorrow. and, i of course, am cramming for this exam. except not really.

because if university has taught me one thing, it that knowledge is power, but being quick off the draw in acting on that knowledge is possible more important.

right now, however, all i can think is "man, when i lived in residence, i could get upten minutes before my exam and stroll into the room in pyjamas". but for the part where i never did that.

|image vermontferret |

112| quarante pour trente.

2009-04-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

{or, forty for thirty, if you're an anglophone.}

a lot of people lately have been challenging themselves. rachel did it by not shopping for a really, really, really long time. twelve whole weeks. that's 84 days of saying "no, thank you. i don't think i need this". tenthousandonly vowed yesterday that she was going to run three miles for thirty days.

but, as we've discussed i'm already working towards being a rational, sane consumer in a way that i wasn't before. and i hate running. not only do i hate running, but my knees hate it, and i don't really want a knee replacement at 30, thank you.

so, i am promising that i will bike {on the incumbent} for forty minutes for thirty days. mostly because i need to get my ass back into shape after easter. but also because i plan on doing this alongside other exercise {ie. weights, stairs, ultimate} and it'll be a good motivator.

i'm one of those people who cannot exercise alone. and if i'm alone, i need music. and so, my music selection has been dwindling lately, aside from a new-to-me neko case cd. so, could you pretty-pretty-please propose a few songs that would make my heart race while i'm on that bike for the next thirty days?

merci beaucoup!

111| twirling around the courtyard.

2009-04-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

i love the little things in life. i had the most marvelous lunch in ages. i strolled around the market. i went to the paper store, and bought paper for a surprise for andrew's birthday {and an envelope for a job application}. i bought two figs that were juicy and delightful, and a pear that was crunchy and crisp. i bought fizzy water and pumpkin soup that was savoury and satisifed me as much as soup can {which for me, is a lot}.

i wanted desperately to twirl around the courtyard, but my hands were a bit full. so, instead i smile at the sun, and thanked it and walked on. only to find in the next courtyard over a little girl twirling with her doll.

image yoshiko

110| dress to impress.

2009-04-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

found. one very lovely, well-priced dress, unique and ideal for the following:

3 weddings
convocation
countless brunches
reading under trees.

hurray. now, if only they can special order my size!

109| untitled.

2009-04-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

my final day at practicum, and what am i up to? yep. photoshop. playing around with fun pictures of other people`s weddings. or celebrations. because really and true, a wedding is just a big kick-ass celebration that you don`t ever want to forget. and that is what my wedding is going to be.

the more i thought about all of this, the more i realized the importance to me, of being practical. and yet, being fun. but not too frivolous. also, for the record, captions marked with an asterik will be used in our wedding. as in, this is what this puppy is going to look like. {which only raises the question what the whole day will smell, sounds and taste like!}

from top left...

invitations from ello there *
strawberry jam from martha
merit badge, "for tying the knot", leemeszaros
bouquet from oncewed by way of tenthousandonly *
twig ring set from esdesigns *
wedding poster from ello there *
photograph from littlecookies
pom poms from pomlove * {we will be making our own, thank you}
cake from the girl with the most cake * {only uses buttercream. oh. so good}
dress from debra mcclinton via real simple
cake plate from eddie ross
photograph from photosforlife * {while we won`t be using mike the photographer, this is our venue}

108| temper, short.

2009-04-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

perhaps, it's just me. but a four day weekend lends to a lot of time in social butterfly mode. as much as i truly love my family and friends, at this junction i feel a bit like being a hermit.

which, for the blogging world is great, because i do my bestest blogging when i'm feeling antisocial.

107| weekend, long

2009-04-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

this weekend never wanted to end. and in someways, i think i was glad for that.

i took so many pictures, did so many things. ate so much chocolate. i relaxed. i slept. i watched back to the future with my niece. i ate more chocolate. i played tag. i fell down the slide and smacked my shin, leaving a huge bruise. but i did not cry. i read and a wrote, and i was read to. i baked. and i cooked. and i shopped. and i spent time with some family and some friends.

it was my favourite things amplified. this is sort of what i want our wedding to be like. and yes, if you tag my on my wedding day, i will run after you. which is precisely why i'm not wearing heels.

106| mallow, marshes

2009-04-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

favours are one thing that andrew & i haven't really talked about. well, we've talked about it. we jsut haven't made a decision. i like the idea of giving something, especially with guests coming from out of town. he likes the idea too, but we both find some of the favours we've experienced to be tacky. then again, there are a lot of things about weddings that are tacky.

i came across these this morning though, and thought that they would be most delicious and practical, and easy to make... i just don't like the idea of food as a favour, and i never have. but if i can get around that, this might just be the ticket!

in the meantime, i'm going to be baking all weekend for friends and family, and i can't wait! i promise to take things more slowly this weekend, and actually get a few photos out.

105| cities, old.

2009-04-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

i can't help but thinking that it's strange that ontario, canada has a paris. it's near toronto, and not very big, and not particularly parisian. but there it is {there's also one in texas, for you american folk}.

my friend's family is from waterloo, ontario...which used to be known as new berlin before the war. it hosts the largest oktoberfest outside of canada, which is something to brag about {if you're me.}

new york used to be new amsterdam. and at one point, america considered german as its official language. wie interessante waere die welt denn? {what an interesting world it would be}.

just something to consider in light of globalization, history, nomenclature.

104| quiet post, new york.

2009-04-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

less than two months.
i hope there are balloons.

103| five things...i want to cook this summer.

2009-04-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

remember all that talk about my bookmarked links at work? i think half of them are recipes: wonderful things that inspire me at work and remind me "hey, you there, get back to work, because then you can afford groceries this week to make such lovely things as us".

specifically, there are five that i am thrilled about this summer.

flammekueche
cake pops {these will be coming out for my birthday}
lemony ricotta pasta with basil
gazpacho
violet and vanilla bean macarons

om nom nom.

102| walk on the wild side.

2009-04-06T01:02:00.000-07:00

i was looking through glam rock music libraries tonight, as i so often do on sunday nights {actually, i'm presenting a working draft of my paper tomorrow}, and came across this character, mr. lou reed. did i know who he was? nope. why not? i'm not sure.

needless to say, i thought velvet underground sucked on principle about two years ago. and then juno came out last year. and then i fell in love. and only now do i realize that this guy is this cool.

on an unrelated note, i decided last night that leonard cohen sounds exactly like my uncle. exactly. bar none.

101| elizabethtown

2009-04-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

flipping through the big silver box tonight, looking for news coverage on korea, and i came across this. i have far too much work to do to actually sit and watch it, but the cinematography has me sold, and that alec baldwin and susan sarandon are in it...well, i'm going to have an evening to myself {and maybe some girlfriends} with this movie and some wine.

100| saturdays are for...

2009-04-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

my 100th post. not much of a surprise, i guess, but nonetheless a bit of a milestone for me--the type of girl who is non-committal to blogging, for the most part.

intially, today was meant to be a very hectic, yet boring saturday with studying and working out, and not much else. however, my day got sidetracked into an even-more-hectic-albeit-much-more-interesting day.

last night, i told andrew--after mini-golfing--that i was going to sleep-in, go to the gym, bake, and do school work all before five pm. he did not believe me, and i thought twice about my goals when i woke up from my deep, deep slumber this morning. i figured, going to the gym and doing school work would be enough {plus i'd already slept in}.

so, i hopped the train in the wet, mucky weather, undressed of course, to the library at campus, where i hunted high and low for books for all of three hours. my arms loaded, i then made my way to the gym, and worked out. for an hour and a half. wheeeee. please note, that at this time i had consumed all of a coffee and a small bowl of cereal. stress = energy.

i left the gym at three and there was a message on my phone, from andrew and our friend rainer saying that we were invited to friends' for dinner and perhaps we ought to bring dessert. i called andrew back, and made note that they'd be home in two hours and i had to shower and perhaps we best just pick something up.

well, my dears... i walked by a stand selling luscious bright red strawberries. and i will grant you that they looked tasteless in their plastic packaging from california. but what with the weather being dreary and my wanting spring, i decided right then and there, after consulting my blackberry {to make sure we had everything else} to make rachel's strawberry shortcake for dessert.

so, i grabbed what i needed and rushed home.

was it easy like she said it would be? yes
was it tasted like she said it would be? yes*
was everyone pleased?oh, you bet

not to mention, i was able to achieve that final task that i wanted to do today. by five pm no less.

*i would argue that it was even easier, because in the time span of one half-hour, i made everything and i showered. snap.

|photo from rachel, because it all happened far too fast for me to capture on film|

99| window shopping, butterflies

2009-04-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

it seems only appropriate on an up-and-down kind of day to shower you with beautiful butterflies
{or, as i called them when i was little...flutterbys}.

flutter, $15
silver mobile, $58
cupcake stand {i'm a sucker for these}, $44

it's quite possible that i have a case of the fridays. or maybe butterflies were meant to come in small packages. either way, three seems to be my magic number today. happy friday!

98| rollercoasters, comfort

2009-04-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

i love them. andrew hates them with a fiery passion. but despite my love for them, he is much better at dealing with days that are rollercoaster-like {ups and downs} than i am.

i truly like to find pleasure in the small things {i've been known to get excited about shower curtain shopping} . but it's also easier for me to dwell on small things.

today has been that type of a day...it started off with a job interview that had its ups and downs, followed by a meeting that went really well overall, and then good news and bad news from freecycle: i got the apron i inquired about, but not the typewriter {which i thought would be loads of fun for andrew's niece}. then i went out to pick up lunch, but it was raining, but not particularly hard. hard enough that i got wet, but not so hard that i could be pleased with looking ridiculous in all my watery glory.

however--and i'm sure this is a statement about how bad an emotional relationship i have with food--the highlight of my day {other than the apron} has actually been lunch. there is this amazing little german deli near my work that sells german sandwiches {meat, bread, nothing else} on amazing rye and kaiser breads and to-die-for-soups. nothing about this place is complicated, but everything about it whispers comfort. having lived in germany for a year, one of the many things i miss is the comfort food {large, soft pretzels, moist cheese, the bread. oh the bread. it's no wonder i gained 50 pounds that year!}. what made it even better is that it's budget friendly. my sandwich, soup, cheesecake {yes, cheesecake} and drink came to $6. i'm through my sandwich and soup as i type this, and dang, i'm getting full! it's not complicated, but it's some of the best comfort food i know of.

german town deli, please don't ever change.

97| om nom nom.

2009-04-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

every thursday, andrew plays ultimate {i play wednesdays}. every thursday, i get to chill out and eat whatever i want for dinner, and do whatever i want in the evening.

there is a long list of foods that andrew won't eat {fish, olives, melon} for various reasons, so thursdays are a great day for me to make/eat foods that i don't otherwise get. tonight, that meant a little bit of olive and a bit of melon into a tasty stirfry.

stirfry of random no-recipe goodness
per person

1 head of broccoli, sliced {include the stalk}
1 spicy sausage
1 sixth of a honeydew melon, cubed
6 spicy olives of choice
2 tsp olive oil {a smallish drizzle}
1/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup water
a pinch of cumin
a drizzle each of soya sauce and rice vinegar {about a tablespoon each}

cook the sausage in the olive oil until juicy and cooked through {3 minutes). add the broccoli and about 1/8 cup of water and continue frying. boil the water for your rice at this point. once the water has come to a boil, add the rice, stir and cover. set the timer for about 12 minutes. meanwhile, add the honeydew melon and sliced olives, as well as the soya sauce, rice vinegar and cumin. once the rice is soft and creamy, add it to the sausage/broccoli mixture and stir to coat.

served with sapporo beer.

om nom nom.

96| links, slink

2009-04-02T09:46:00.001-07:00

at home, i have my links organized by purpose and in a hierarchal structure, such as:

entertainment
eating
shopping

under eating, i have recipes, restaurants, and blogs, under recipes i have "wedding menu", "baked goods" and "mains". under entertainment i have a whole variety of subfolders, ranging from "museums" to "photography". shopping includes "online stores", "real stores" and "indie artists" as well as "wedding registry" for the time being.

this is part of why i love opera and safari, they are very user-friendly things for organizing your internets. at work, we use internet explorer. and usually the things i save at work as favourites are recipes, and blog posts that i want to export after my contract is over. that said, my favourites sidebar is becoming crowded with beautiful posts like this that i want to remember for the wedding.

how do you organize your links?

95| allowance, resolution

2009-04-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

i have been forever spoiled {up until last october}. and i have ever frittered away my money, left, right, centre, and behind me in some cases.

i looked in my bank account yesterday and gulped. and then i freaked out. and then i realized that i am far from practical with my money, and that i don't fritter away my money on magazines and drinks as much as i used to {good}, but rather on housewares and clothes and other slightly larger purchases {bad}.

i admire rachel for not shopping for eleven whole weeks. i could not do that. but, i am going to be very strict with my money from now on. and very aware of my purchases.

my debit card, ladies and gentlemen, is not leaving the house unless it is for the express purpose of either taking out money, or making a planned purchase. i will take out a certain amount of money, and subsist on that for a week. and if i go broke before, oh well. too effing bad. i can't keep relying on my overdraft. i could. but i refuse to.

new rules to spend by...

no specialty coffee, no breakfast pastries, no more $2 yogurt
with the exception of a dress for the summer {i'm too small for my old ones, and i have three weddings and my convocation to attend}, spending on clothing will be limited to $50 per month, not a penny more {right now i'm spending very close to $200 without thinking much about it}
i will not buy my lunch more than one a week
i will not go out for drinks more than once per month {this isn't really a big problem for me right now, but once patio season begins}

this will be different {i hope}. {also, i hope that none of you are particularly bored by my discussion of money. i feel like it's a major elephant in the room for me right now, and i needed to get it out there. exhale. and now, on with the otherwise normal life that i lead. ha.}

94| grateful, yet busy

2009-04-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

i have five job interviews between thursday and monday. five! i'm not complaining. i really think this is the greatest thing that could happen to me right now: to have a job lined up before my contract is completed!

but, i also recognize that between now and tuesday, my life is going to be consumed with things that are important, but not necessarily what i want to be doing. that is, if what i want to be doing is blogging, cooking, colouring {things other than maps}, planning my trip to new york over sushi, drinking with my teammates, and doing any sort of exhaling.

what i will be doing is researching, writing, editing, writing, editing, researching, writing, editing. and polishing: my resume, my shoes, my hair.

exhale. and go.

93| china, the dinnerware not the country

2009-04-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

is it friday yet? let me start off by saying that i have been so inspired by so many pretty things to covet this morning. who the heck introduced me to shoestring? ah, yes. rachel, thank you...*sigh* so many pretty things, where to begin?

right, with last night's great china debate. andrew + i thought we had decided on our china {see above}, but over the past week or so i convinced myself i wasn't sold. i visited the company's website, and discovered that they fall into the "nice, but i question the quality of your product" cateogry of things, and really i don't want china that only lasts five years.

we went back to the place we registered and took a second look. i winced. andrew accepted defeat, and i tried to convince him of a lovely set that had birds on it. if only i were snow white.

it felt a little like wedding dress shopping. everything had to be "just perfect", except that i will be using this china for the next twenty-five or more years. which means that i should be able to:

dishwash it.
feed a crowd for a variety of different events on it.
not fret too much about my child{ren) carrying it
scrape it with a knife without mortal fears.
dishwash it again.
be able to pull it our for the day that real simple visits our house to do a photoshoot {ha} without panicking that it was completely in style when we received it, but lord does it look kitschy now.
place it in multiple houses without it looking "off".
dishwash it yet again.

i spent the morning on macy's website. why canada does not have a macy's is beyond me. i will in fact be making every effort to stop there when i go to new york. anyway, i have it narrowed down to four, which are below...

top left: martha stewart by wedgwood
top right: red blossom by mikasa
bottom left: gardner street by kate spade
bottom right: june lane by kate spade

so, faithful readers, which do you like the most? why? and do you know of anywhere in ontario that stocks kate spade?

92| levelling up.

2009-03-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

i've done it all {almost}. i've blogged from work. i've blogged from my other job. i've blogged from the library. i've been caught tweeting in class. i also had my cellphone go off in class once, two years ago, and it resulted in the professor answering it and embarrassing andrew {who was on the other line} more than me.

now, i am blogging in class. except that lucky for me, class hasn't quite begun. however, this is precisely the reason why i do not bring my laptop to school, unless absolutely necessary. i imagine this will change when i start graduate school. {bonus mark: all graduate students at carleton drink evian. comment.}

anyway. dresses. i really want something whimsical, funny, flirty, feminine and all around pretty for summer. i have two weddings, convocation and a host of other great reasons to wear such a wonderful dress {reading under a tree, for example}.

the hunt carries on.

91| best dress{ed}.

2009-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

so, whilst i should be trying to figure out what viscount willingdon said when he inaugurated the carillon, i`m actually mildly more concerned what i will be wearing where i finally graduate from undergrad. and to my cousin`s wedding. and to a friend`s wedding. and hopefully for other fun events.

does anyone have any good leads on dresses? or halfway decent leads on good dresses?

90| saturdays are for...

2009-03-29T09:05:00.001-07:00

this weekend felt like every other, where it all blurs together and nothing is as standout as it seems. except that this week was warmer.

kaitlin: 2. stairs: 0. the stairs are losing their battle. soon i'll have to up my sets at the gym.
deli sandwiches on the steps of parliament.
groceries in hintonburg.
napping
brownie making
dinner with friends, duplicity {for which i actually stayed awake and knit}.

it feels to me a bit like my weekends are the same, over and over, and while that provides for a certain amount of blogging consistency, i tell you it must be pretty boring. in fact, it is.

but the sun will soon be out on a permanent basis, and i'll be able to tell tales of hiking and biking and rollerblading and shopping at markets, and gardening. oh gardening. these are the sorts of days when i wish i lived in california.

89| window shopping, weddings

2009-03-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

i know the world loves weddings. so do i. but i've also been coming across a few quirky things that made me go "wow, i want that at our wedding". and for the most part, andrew agrees. exhibit #1: a comment from nicole on 2000dollarwedding about her options for RSVPs:

____ Will attend with bells on
____ Will attend, free of bells
____ Will attend, undecided on bells
____ Will not attend, heard there will be people wearing bells
____ Will not attend, regardless of bell controversy

i couldn't stop laughing, and almost contacted our design guy to see if this was an option {even though the invitations already arrived}.

anyway, without further ado, a few things that i *really* would like to see at our wedding, which you won't find on theknot

galvanized buckets from ikea, for drinks, $10

vintage flash cards, for table numbers, $5

jam, in this case from julianas jam {but we will be making our own}, $4.50

bird, to be our ring "bearer", from BrooklynRehab, $14

88| taking a breath.

2009-03-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

i've been on the go for five days straight: schoolwork, work-work, internship-work, training, blogging and reading {and yes, i will have more of that to do this weekend}.

for now, i need to take a big breath and relax. my body aches inside and out, and to be honest in the last sixteen hours i could have done a better job nursing it {though it got more sleep than i had anticiapted}.

with that in mind, blogging will be slow today, like the rest of me. but i promise i will have lots of adventures to post tomorrow and sunday!

87| girl, why i am.

2009-03-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

this morning i faced an outerwear dilemma. like many girls, i covet pretty things. and often times, i choose the pretty over the practical. well, the weather was warm enough for a spring coat, but presently my only spring coat on hand is a yellow gap coat, which--while very lovely--would have been too much bright with my already bright skirt.

i do have another coat, you see. but it is missing about four buttons: three because it was poorly manufactured and i was too lazy to secure the buttons after i bought the coat, and one because i pushed my hands too deep in my pockets and popped a button {which is a tragic event when one is trying to lose weight}.

so, in the end, i opted for the black, oversized blazer that i own for the purpose of interviews only. i felt awkward because it was far too formal for the rest of my outfit, but i sucked it up anyways. also, it's not quite warm enough. whereas, my lovely taupe number without the buttons would have been.

i ran into a girl that i volunteered with this morning and she looked so professional, and so downright put together, especially give that she was working in an internship. it made me feel so very, blah. style envy ensued.

what do i plan about doing about this fair readers? i could buy a new jacket, but that would be well over $150. so, i won't.

i'm thinking i'm going to replace the buttons. perhaps not this weekend, but maybe next week sometime. given that it's a cargo style jacket, that's a lot of buttons. but it will be worth it. i'm also wondering if anyone can make any other suggestions for embellishments. the coat is about thigh length, and has little ruffles around the cuffs. then, i plan on buying an outrageously fabulous nicely patterned, albeit neutral scarf that i can wear with every single jacket in my closet {except maybe my ski jacket}.

{and this, my dears, is what i had writer's block over. yeesh}

86| writer's block.

2009-03-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

i had all of these marvelous ideas this morning. then i was productive at work. now they are gone. i really wish i could write for a living, as opposed to research.

85| here comes the sun

2009-03-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

it's beautiful right now. and i'm stuck inside the office for another 15 minutes. at which point, i'm giving myself permission to leave early.

do you blame me? it's bright and sunny out, and a marvelously warm day. and i'm wearing my new. spring. clothes.

this calls for a celebration: a quick afternoon of coffee, shopping in the market, and finding trinkets for friends {and family}. i can hardly wait!

image sarahseven

84| come & find a lover {underneath the covers}

2009-03-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

guess. what. appeared. in. our. mailbox. yesterday?

invitations.

eeeeee.

i must say andrew + i look mighty cute as owls. i claim i'm the red one because it looks smarter. then again, the blue one looks more indecisive and i *did* spend half an hour debating addressing options {to no avail}.

what'dya think?

83| restfullness

2009-03-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

in the 72 hours of weekend, i slept for 36. which means that i am well rested. and i have no review for you of che other than the music was loud when it needed to be, and the end was pretty good. also, matt damon has a cameo. but i missed it.

82| saturdays are for...

2009-03-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

proverbial ass kicking at the gym at 8 am
eating a marvelous breakfast with all the fixings while people watching and paper reading
going for a wonderful urban walk to the market for groceries
visiting friends' one-month old {and the rest of their amazing family}
thai for dinner.
che, part two

81| window shopping. for the kitchen

2009-03-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

vesselsandwares, $18

alittlebitkitsch, $20

acerostudio, $28

michellebrussegard, $20 for four

the marvelous thing about these, is that i can justify the purchase of every. single. one.

80| lunch hour

2009-03-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

my boss went out for lunch with a bunch of other people from the branch for celebration.
i got my ass kicked by my personal trainer.

{there was something downright wonderful coming back from my workout and running into them in the elevator. call it self-righteous, but i think i worked for this pride. and mighty hard might i add.}

79| gratitude

2009-03-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

because i open up to the world when i'm frustrated/happy/sad/angry/joyful/worried/ashamed {hence this blog/facebook/flickr/twitter} the world found out very quickly my anger and frustration today.

i'm always very surprised and grateful when the world talks back to me. and today was no exception. so, thank you for reminding me that even when it seems like the world is full of jerks, there are nice people abound. and because you helped me realize that even if it's not alright right now, it will be in the long term.

78| in which the rabbit hole opens, and kaitlin falls through.

2009-03-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

subtitle: what the f*, part two.

i ought to create a separate label for the parental front. but i'd rather blog about other things, so that's why i don't. that said, the emails and conversations this afternoon were all sorts of no-good-terribly-bad. which makes for two of those days in one week...australia, here i come!

backstory: my father, an investor, refused to tell me for the last five years what my finances were like {six figure, dizzying numbers it appears}. once the market toppled over itself, he was outted. not only was he outted about his mistakes financially, but he and my mother were unable to contribute to our wedding, which they desperately wanted to do. at the same time, he had a proverbial carrot hanging over my nose for the past five years in the form of "do-what-i-say-or-you-will-never-see-your-investments" bullying. to be honest, as awful as losing that money was, i wasn't well acquainted with it, and i quite prefer the freedom that came from being financial independent.

now that you've read the fine print: my father sent me an email today {in response to my email about convocation}, in which he reiterated his "right" to do my taxes for the year. his rationale being that as of 2009, i will be "a poor college student" and therefore my taxes will be easier, and this year's would be too difficult for me to do. so, i called him and told him that i would listen while he explained to me why it was so imperative for him to do them, and that i would then explain to him why i needed to deal with them this year.

without boring you over all the small details, this resulted in a small shoutfest in the rideau centre {for shame}. i got him off the phone, and then proceeded to talk to my mother, which led to a discussion about weddings.

in addition to financial management, my parents and i also have very, very differing positions on weddings. the thing is, my parents are just that stubborn that they have threatened not once, but twice now, to not come to the wedding if they don't get their way. why don't you just stamp your feet and pout like a four-year-old {or at least society's depiction of four-year-olds.}

while on the phone with my mother, my father wrote me a scathing email about how grateful i should be {and, i am} that i am so fortunate to have had the money that i had, and how god-forbid we "punish" them {my parents} by not inviting the 75 people they had in mind. it was a really awful combination of guilt trip + bullying, which both my parents are known for. he went on for paragraphs about gifts from the past, and how it should all somehow equate to him still having financial and/or emotional control over my life.

i really don't get it. but i do know that these issues are bigger than a blog post could ever explain. and thankfully, my parents are nowhere near internet-saavy enough {nor are their friends} to understand how to find my blog, if they ever wanted to.

77| what. the. f*

2009-03-19T11:31:00.001-07:00

i cannot express in words the sense of anger i feel towards my parents at this exact moment. which is exactly why i'm writing a draft email, very carefully before hitting the send key. i do not doubt, noble readers, that you will hear more of this tonight.

grumble grumble grumble grumble grumble.

76| when is enough too much?

2009-03-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

i had an interesting conversation with my trainer on tuesday, in which she asked me if i was going to the gym everyday. i told her what my activity routine each week was:

monday, tuesday, friday, saturday: gym
wednesday: ultimate
thursday/sunday: rest, with a good bit of walking or what-have-you thrown in

come summer, i will add sometime-monday and definitely-tuesday ultimate to the mix, and scale back my gym days by one.

well, my trainer didn't think this was quite enough, and was suggesting that i "step up" my routine on thursday and sunday to include a jog. puh-lease! i love how exercising makes me feel. but then again, i also quite enjoy a good walk through the neighbourhood breathing at a normal pace. srsly.

i get that she had my best interest at ♥, but last week, my workout routine was such:

monday, tuesday, thursday: gym
wednesday: two games of ultimate, both played without any girl subs {chalk it up to just under three hours of hard running}

why didn't i go to the gym friday. or saturday? or at all until tuesday?
because my body was f*ing tired.

so, please, don't ask me to do enough if it's too much. because chances are, the long-term outcome will be worse than if i do just the right amount.

ps: i've already lost just under 10lbs in three weeks. so, really, i hardly feel like i'm not doing enough.
pps: there is no such thing as a beautiful picture of "exercise". believe me, i looked.

75| ceci n'est pas un trend...

2009-03-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

back in second-year communications, we were shown the work "the treachery of images" {la trahison des images, 1928/1929} painted by rene magritte. the work {a drawing of a painting of a pipe} is used to show that images are not actually things, but rather mere representations. wow, i suddenly feel like i got my money's worth in tuition.

"the treachery of images" has been reproduced in popular culture for several decades now, including the simpsons' "ceci n'est pas un couch gag" couch gag and in a handful of video games. but it's becoming more a recent trend...

i think my favourite representation of this can be found here, or here. partly because i'm not a big fan of ties, but at a wedding you have to have a tie. so, andrew might as well wear a non-tie tie.

74| living, et cetera.

2009-03-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

since the discovery and subsequent quick disappearing act of domino, i for one have been searching for a magazine to inspire me. let's be honest, i don't think there is much that can replace domino, but it's nice to see some publishers' attempts.

i was walking through the bookstore on my lunch hour, and i thought "nah, the magazines all come out on thursdays, no point in looking today". but apparently, i was wrong, for i came across the most lovely little magazine called living, etc which is based out of britain.

i'm not saying that this is going to win over domino readers, but it certainly beats architectural digest, non? it feels like a nice combination between apartment thearpy and domino. with some british charm thrown in for good measure.

{sadly, the line was so long at the bookstore i'm opting to return later this afternoon.}

credit livingetc

73| arrival, springs.

2009-03-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

+11 yesterday. +14 today. so what if it's going back down to +3 tomorrow? it's beautiful outside! i'm wearing the most adorable dress from allison wonderland today {see above}, and yesterday i could actually feel the start of spring on my shoulders!

which brings me to what i was talking about yesterday. things i want to do once spring starts.

start my garden {see heart-of-light for possible planter solution}
go shopping on dalhousie street with allyson {where i found the wonderful dress i'm wearing}
wear flipflops
drink coffee on the patio of planet coffee
go out for incredibly long walks, like two or three hours walks through town.
explore new edinburgh
read at the arboretum

this is just when it starts. once it gets going, there's no stopping me.

72| blogs i want to write when i have time...

2009-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

but for now, i guess i`m trapped by the proverbial pigeon of schoolwork.

things i want to do when spring arrives
things i need to do in the next thirty days
books, what i will read this year.
heritage minutes
my photomaking trip with john
buying wedding dress
money {and how i finally have some}
wedding playlist

in the meantime, ì blog about list-making. off to finish writing this paper. it refuses to write itself.

71| maybe i could move to australia?

2009-03-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

i slept in, really really late, making it near impossible for me to reasonably get in a half day at work, before leaving.

i left my {underfinished} assignment on my computer. the most up-to-date copy i have is from friday. which is before i made seven pages of edits and changes. word count on my computer: over 4000 words. word count on the copy in my inbox: 525. fuck.

i also have all these wonderful ideas and thoughts running around my head, which i would love to blog about, but sadly, that cannot be done. at least not right now.

oh, and doing the other five pages will be hard today, given that i have a meeting with my boss...karma. is. a circle.

70| saturdays are for...

2009-03-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

delicious, albeit overpriced breakfasts
shopping in wellington west for sofas {we found the most beautiful leather sectional! waiting to ask the parents about wedding gifts}
a marvelous walk through the forest {in above freezing temperatures}
a little bit of mini-golf
school work
homemade burgers and fries {can i tell you home much i love australian burgers}
spring shopping

all in all, a marvelous day!

69| window shopping, spring fling

2009-03-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

this weekend, the gap brand {old navy, gap, banana republic and piperlime--for those in the states} is running its family & friends weekend, with 30% off everything. i went to old navy and gap yesterday and picked up some springtime lovelies. thank heavens my office is heated.

do you think i could pull off the american eagle dress for the wedding?

banana republic, $59

havaianas, $20

american eagle, $44.50

pursecution, $25

68| fortune cookie.

2009-03-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

i collect fortune cookie fortunes. i glue them and tape them to everything. mostly because i like how the lot of them are worded.
my favourite thusfar:

it could be better but it's good enough.

presently, i'm gluing one to my new journal:

you have the ability to channel your energies into constructive activities

i think, the fact that i'm blogging about this automatically means the fortune has failed.

67| march, like a lion.

2009-03-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

this month is blustery, a lot like the winds in the city yesterday. i have two papers and a presentation, a handful of interviews, and a final project for work that needs to be done by the 4th of april.

life leaves little time for blogging. i merely hope this won't become few and far between.

66| in which kaitlin finds pretty things and shares them.

2009-03-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

i'm lacking photos in a way that i wasn't before. i'm also ready to go home.
time for a pretty pick-me-up.

65| on the appropriateness of facebook statuses.

2009-03-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

subtitle: these boots were made for walking

for most people, they're fairly simple: jeremy got up. cynthia is at school {and bored out of her mind}. neither cynthia nor jeremy are my facebook friends, however.

on the other hand, i have someone on facebook who tells the world about how her class went {yesterday: very well, but man she shouldn't have said so much about her private life, or so she feared}, or how she smells, or her party dress girl tendencies. don't get me wrong, i really do adore this person, and i hope if she reads this she won't feel outted. if nothing else, i feel like we're kindred spirits in facebook statuses. and that we're a little less afraid to speak to the world in 130 characters or less than the rest of it all.

which leads me to this morning's facebook status. mine, that is. or what i wanted it to be. before i pulled back and went "oh. is that appropriate? do i want 500 people to see that?"

my morning facebook statuses usually involve what i see on my way to work: people playing missy elliot far too early, spilled coffees and general anger that the morning began for a few too soon. this morning, all i could see were my legs. i've been working out for almost a month, and i have to say, my lower body is starting to look fabulous. to top it off, i wore a very cute summer dress with high boots.

i haven't updated because i'm not sure if i should be telling 500+ people that i think my legs are sexy. then again, i am telling this to all of the internets right now...

64| in creeps the morning, and another day's lost.

2009-03-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

i slept for eleven hours last night. a new record for weekday sleep without sickness. i made up for all of this with some high-octance productivity.

early morning class, on the wonderful and interesting topic of sex education, and the history thereof {side story: i very much got caught twittering last week in class, so luckily the topic was of adequate interest that my laptop stayed put. lesson learned}
wonderful coffee with mikael, and talking of new york trip {eeeee.}
finding out that i-got-into-grad-school {eeeee.}
a nice, long, leisurely trip to fabric stores with the mother of a friend.

said trip led to a long, leisurely stroll through bridal stores. and finding a very wedding-y, very lovely dress. that i would never wear again. that is completely impractical. that made me feel like i was covered in this marvelous sugary wedding dust. i was in a daze the car trip home. this is everything that i do not stand for {also, it had a marvelous boustierre that made me feel so sexy, and like i could do anything and still look good}.

steph is right. deep down, i'm a girl. ick.

{practical stuff: the dress is only $450. the materials to make said dress would cost nearly $350. the shoppe selling it is barely breaking even. sure, it's four times what i wanted to spend. on the other hand, it's one-tenth what a friend spent way back when}

63| schemes, be gone!

2009-03-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

when andrew & i first got engaged, we waited an awfully long time to tell people. we got engaged six weeks after first meeting. it sounds crazy, but i file it under "when you know, you know".

when we first started wedding planning {a full fix months into our relationship}, i had envisioned this as our colour scheme...

i think this was the second colour scheme we had talked about. the first being tiffany blue and bright red.

can i tell you how absolutely, utterly exhausted i am of colour schemes? i was talking with my bridesmaid* about dress colours, and the dress that we both love doesn`t come in a green or red that i like. furthermore, our invitations don`t have a hint of red or green. lastly, i think our flowergirls** would look better in green, but then, they wouldn`t match the bridesmaid.

all of this is to say, screw the scheme. i want our wedding to be pretty, and fantastic. but i don`t need to stay within the lines of the colouring book for goodness sake.

sara was talking last week about the first thing that people say to you when you get engaged: "oh! that`s wonderful! let`s see the ring!" {sometimes without the "oh! that`s wonderful" part}. i really feel as though the second or third thing that is said is "what`s your colour scheme?".

wedding industrial complex, i truly hope that this recession takes a nice big bite out of you. reality, i need you appearing in my dreams a little more often. please.

*singular because my other bridesmaid ditched me for a trip to italy. not that i am holding a grudge. goodness no. it`s merely that i asked her some 18 months ago.
** we have two because we have two of everything. except bridesmaids. oh well.

62| peek-a-boo.

2009-03-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

happy monday! i wish that spring would stop playing peek-a-boo with me. it can be such a tease.

image lars kehrel

61| why i love fridays.

2009-03-06T13:12:00.001-08:00

it's just after four and i'm done for the day

i spent the last half hour barefoot. no one noticed {not that they would care}

happy friday!

image kryskina

60| window shopping, sacks

2009-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

some girls love their shoes. their earrings. their dresses. not me. i'm a bag whore.

made by hank, $30

rupertandkrista, $8

drikab, $99

retrofied, $84

59| the incomporable list

2009-03-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

i tend to make to-do- lists for myself on fridays, and these lists, unlike the lists of monday through thursday, are usually personal matters, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and so forth.

this weekend's list, which i'm making mentally and will probably put to paper {or blog} soon enough is a mile long. not conquerable, especially not if i want to have downtime.

make dessert for tonight {step one, figure out what i'm making} [edit: done. getting cake. making lemon buttercream. getting blueberries.]
decide on new phone plan [edit: done. $50 plan. but do i need voicemail? yargh. it's an extra $15 a month. hrm]
clean out closet, take clothes to valu village
fill in address book {so as to not scramble later in life for addresses}
write to heli
apply for three jobs
[edit: new thing--redo banner for blog, because this is seriously boring in all seriousness]

i know it doesn't sound like much, but that's on top of the usual stuff, like schoolwork, going to the gym, and cleaning, and grocery shopping. oh, plus i want to blog a bit more. and i promised andrew i'd stay off the computer tomorrow...yikes.

58| canned heat

2009-03-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

disclaimer: i'm sorry for how long this post is, but i can't seem to get a javascript "jump" to work. anyone who wants to help in this matter, it would be greatly appreciated.

i had a very weird afternoon, which seems appropriate, given how sane my morning had been.

{pre-amble}: i worked seven years in retail and i have seen a lot of customers who unjustifiably get angry, just to get their way. while i don't believe that the customer is always right, i do believe in giving them the benefit of the doubt, especially when it comes to things that are sensitive, personal matters, such as finances, relationships, politics, and so forth.

my personal trainer {call her jenna} left the studio a few days ago, with no notice, and no opportunity to finish our sessions. jenna was downright awesome, so i was a bit sad to hear she had left, and i was a touch nervous about meshing with a new trainer. the club set me up with another trainer {call him eddy}, with whom i met for the first time today. i decided to do a bit of research of eddy, to see what sports he played, if we had anything in common. to be honest, my first reaction was that he was the opposite of jenna in many ways, but i wanted to keep an open mind about things.

my sessions with the trainers have been one hour in length, the idea being i get an opportunity to do about 40 minutes of weights, 10 minutes of core strength training, 5 minutes for warming up and 5 minutes for stretching.

first of all, i mentioned my concerns to eddy about transitioning into a new routine, and he basically brushed the comment off. turns out, his routine was super different from that of jenna, and i felt like i was back at square one. secondly, he was too much of a cheerleader for my liking: he really didn't care too much about my posture in the way that jenna did, and i really haven't the slightest clue how many repetitions i did at what weight, because nothing was written down.

i felt like the first half of my workout was more or less a waste of time, but i figured i only had a few sessions left, so what the heck, right? wrong. eddy took me over to the area with the mats to stretch out. one stretch in, the following conversation ensued:

eddy: so have you given much thought to pursuing training in the long term?
me: not at this point, financially i can't commit to something like that {bearing in mind that my training package was 14 sessions for $300, which is the downpayment for a personal trainer after you take the inital package}
eddy: oh, well what's your financial situation like?
me:i don't think that's your business
eddy: that bad, eh?
pause
eddy: well, could you aska family member to help you out, or do you have a line of credit you could look to for a downpayment?
me: it's really not any of your business what my finances are.
eddy: well, actually it is.

the conversation went on for the second half of my workout, the entire second half! eventually, i told him that i was a student, paying my tuition and planning my wedding {the first time i said "planning a wedding", and when i repeated it, his response was "oh, i thought you meant planning someone else's wedding". boys, seriously.}, but i really didn't feel like it was any of his business, and to be quite honest, he left me pretty upset, more because he kept prying.

so, i went and talked to the club manager, whose response was two-fold:

"we instruct our trainers to teach their clients the importance of personal training in a long-term fitness goal"
"you're being difficult, so why don't i just give you a refund".

i says, "pardon?". customer. service.

58| healthy cookies

2009-03-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

a few weeks ago, heartoflight posted her recipe for my favourite cookies in the word: linzer cookies {which are essentially incredibly yummy jam sandwich cookies, but better}. i made said cookies, i loved said cookies, and my waist...well, if my waist had eyes it would give me a look that says "srsly? do you know how much butter you put in those suckers? you are on a diet, aren't you?"

in fact, i'm pretty sure andrew's response to my making cookies was pretty close to that:

you know, not that i'm complaining of anything, but it seems like whenever you're on a diet, you always go and bake. i like your baking, but it just seems like self-sabotage

not quite in so many words, but that was the idea. moderation, says i. i also have been getting into the {awful} habit of getting breakfast at the coffee shop again. chalk it up to my trainer quitting/being fired/disappearing into oblivion and not having trained with anyone since saturday {aside: i'm meeting with my new trainer tonight. he's a hockey player. i shall report back tomorrow}.

all said, i indirectly promised heartoflight that i would post my "healthy" cookie recipe. they're sort of like a breakfast cookies, which is what makes them healthy...so i am claiming. so, without further ado, i present yummy oatmeal chocolate breakfast cookies

ingredigents...

1 cup butter
1 cup {packed} dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon true vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour {i usually mix half white flour and half whole wheat for these}
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips {about 12 ounces}
1 cup sunflower seeds {or other seed/nut that is small and tasty, i like pumpkin seeds in the fall}
1/2 cup raisins, dates, apricots, or other dried fruit of your choice {optional}

now what?

preheat oven to 350°F.
lightly grease 2 heavy large baking sheets.
beat margarine and both sugars in large bowl until fluffy and well blended.
beat in eggs 1 at a time, the vanilla.
sift flour, baking soda and salt over margarine mixture and stir to blend.
mix in oats, the chocolate chips and nuts/seeds, dried fruit.
working in batches, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets. bake cookies until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.

*note: if you want crunchy cookies, preheat/melt the butter. if you want soft, chewy cookies then use the butter more or less directly from the fridge*

nom nom nom. who needs croissants when you have these?

image martha

57| baby needs a new pair of shoes.

2009-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

as political history goes, i really don't like the period between 500 + 1600, known to most as the middle ages. i find it incredibly boring, politically. in terms of fashion, though...swoon.

renaissance + victorian fashions are my two favourites in the whole wide world, so i was thrilled to find the most lovely shoes at aerosoles, inspired by those fashion eras {even if the fashion itself was based largely in functionality}. what is more, the shoes were on sale for only 30$. and they're real leather. so, only partial guilt, really.

apparently this {and the mexican food for dinner} was my reward for being dilligent about gym-going, and adulthood.

{ ♥ }

56| easy come, go.

2009-03-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

goodbye, chi-town. hello new york!

it turns out my dear friend, with whom i was going to go to chicago, has a friend who works for holiday inn and can get really cheap hotel rooms in new york. in a brand-spanking-new hotel in new york. for less than the cost of a hostel. srsly.

we're thinking july fourth. just because it's close to canada day, and because there are fireworks involved.

moma, guggenheim, central park, appolo, 30 rock, here i come. {ooh, just thinking about 30 rockefeller makes me giddy, giddy, giddy}

image uncommon

55| the gorge.

2009-03-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

one of my most favourite things about the internets is learning about food.

i love my cookbooks and food encyclopediae, and they're great for long-term reading, because frankly i cannot look at a screen long enough to meal plan for a week. usually, i use the internets to look up the calories or nutrtional information of a food {especially over lunch hour with new, undiscovered foods}.

however, i've been buying more organic fruit lately, since my garden isn't producing anything other than rosemary right now, and i don't love the idea of pesticides in a lot of my food {sweet potatoes anyone? red peppers? a side of monsanto's politics and round-up? no thanks}. anyway, i happen to notice on my pear at lunch, "columbia gorge certified organic". i knew about the second part, the certified organic part. but, i didn't know what the columbia gorge was. and now, i happily do:

Nathanial Coe brought to the Hood River valley the first fruit trees in 1854 when he arrived to establish Oregon's first post office and mail routes. In 1876, E.L. Smith planted the first commercial orchard, 30 acres of apples (Newtown Pippins and Spitzenburgs) and peaches. In time, apples became the dominant crop. In 1919 the Hood River Valley had a disastrous freeze that killed many apple trees. With that, growers began planting pear trees to replace the apples. Today there are 15,000 acres producing pears, apples and cherries, with pears accounting for 92% of the total tonnage.

Cherries have been grown in Wasco County since it was first settled in the 1850's. The county is well suited for cherry production due to its deep, fertile soils; however, the most important factor contributing to the success of the cherry industry in Wasco County is its location east of Mt. Hood. The rain shadow provided by Mt. Hood results in many sunny days and only 12 inches of annual precipitation. Sunny days are a crucial component to mature the crop and prevent rain damage as the crop ripens. Wasco County currently has 8,000 acres under production and is the #1 producer of sweet cherries in the state of Oregon.

..and that, ladies and gentlemen, is why i'm a food geek.

note: i did tag this as "eco-good", even though my fruit did have to travel from oregon. columbia gorge is a non-profit group of growers, and they work to promote the fruit industry through education, research and marketing. so, really, they are doing good for the industry and for the environment as a whole.

image daily olive

54| i'd rather be.

2009-03-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

tuesdays are the weird day in my weeks. i start the day with a class, "a history of sexuality". i can't really put a definite pronoun on it {the, for example} because lord knows, it's not the history of sexuality, but simply a collection of histories that have to do with sexuality. today was about rape. and genocide. and war. and lots and lots of icky things, that make me rather happy that i chose glam rock and homosexual outings as my finaly research topic.

from there, tuesdays are loosey goosey, but usually involve food, friends, research, and maybe the gym. tuesday evenings are one of only two in the weekdays {friday being the other}, where andrew + i are both home.

all of this said, my schedule today is hectic, and mixed up from what i thought it would be last night. i got a call from my fitness club yesterday saying my trainer was no longer with the club {conspiracies abound: i think she was probably fired, which is a bit sad, really}. so, that axed out my tuesday workout with her {as well as my thursday one...until my new trainer can get in touch with me, all formulated workouts are off. i am pissed.}

i got a call this morning, on the way to my class on rape + genocide from andrew saying that our landlord would be home this afternoon, and "what time are you planning on being home, because he needs you to change the date on your march cheque from 2008 to 2009". whoops. i feel bad, i really do. i'd also rather give him cash, really, so i know the money is there. and more than changing the date, i'd rather write him a new cheque. not that i'm anti-saving-paper-trees, because i'm in favour of our forests {note the title of this blog...ahem...and my job in forestry}. that said, i also really don't want to have to wait until he comes home to change the date, because it means that i'm spending another half hour or so at home which i really don't want to {also, if i were to go to the gym, it means that i would be getting there around the same time as everyone else thus making the change rooms a tight fit}.

all said, i'd rather be. i'd rather be baking healthy cookies or muffins {because lord knows that the linzer cookies, while delicious, are deadly}. i'd rather be napping. or colouring {but not maps}. i'd rather be dancing. i'd rather be laughing. i'd rather be looking at fabric for flowergirl dresses. there are many things i'd rather be, but rather unfortunately, i have to be an adult for the time being*

*i do have every intention of informing our lovely landlord that i will leave a cheque for him in his mailbox. then, i will proceed to the gym in an orderly fashion and ask to talk to my trainer. i will be rather assertive about all of this, i think. and it will be good for me. but that's not to say i wouldn't rather be colouring or napping, because i would.

|image heartoflight |

53| quiet post, ghost town.

2009-03-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

one of my most favouritest things in the world are photographs, especially ones that are archival, that record something historical, and that make time stop, just for an instant.

i would love to tell you that eddyizm is one of my favourite photographers, but quite frankly, he is my favourite photog. his works are sheer brilliance, especially his ghost town series.

enjoy. {also, i apologize for this not being a silent post, but rather a quiet post. i just really feel like eddyizm captures what i love about photography so well, and that right now, i could do to be in one of these ghost towns.}

|credit eddyizm|

52| i type in short form, when i am angry/excited/thrilled {pick one}.

2009-03-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

i hate short form, especially in terms of chatting or instant messaging. i only use it, either when i am:

in a rush
incredibly angry
thrilled

my facebook conversation with steph was one of those occassions {the fact that this is worthy of a blog is a sign it doesn`t happen often}.

on my parents, money, and taxes:

me: he {my father} can`t give me money, because he has none to give, but won`t let me be financially indpt. or, rather doesn`t want me to see how much of my money he *actually* lost.
(oh, btw, my parents--the broke ones, as opposed to the rich
ones--are going to fìng hawaii for two weeks, like wtf?)

on my parents tendency to see me as a sixteen year old, rather than a twenty-two year old:

yeah, it`s not that which bothers me, as it is that they haven`t
gotten the memo that said `your daughter is financially independent of you,
therefore you have no right to criticize how she spends her money, nor can your
micromanage the rest of her life through infantilization"

okay, maybe i don`t use shortforms as much as i thought. i just type fast and try to be poetic.

|credit e3|

51| money, honey.

2009-03-02T07:52:00.001-08:00

it`s the start of the month. which, for the vast majority of people who rent, means that they become a little less wealthy.

i have to say, i really resent the way that money takes away certain freedoms from me. there are few feelings--on a daily basis, at least--which leave such an unsettling lump in my throat as looking at my bank account in the days before or after rent comes out. ick, ick, ick.

it`s nice to know i had sixteen dollars to my name until my pay comes through on thursday. {and osap, being the bastards that they are, are making me way an additional week for my cheque.}

but, then again, perhaps this is the price i pay for having freedom from financial dependence. either way, it helps keep consumerism down.

50| saturdays are for...

2009-03-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

...getting your ass to the gym at ten, only to have said ass subsequently kicked by your trainer {thrilling. i hate squats}
...shopping in the market for delicious things and bakeware {for today's cookie making}
...seeking out registries, and finding things to put on them
...eating delicious sushi, dim-sum style, and catching up with a friend
...enjoying some red wine and playing wii.

needless to say, it was a pretty busy day {we spent four hours doing registries}.

49| window shopping, jewelry

2009-02-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

it's friday, and fridays are often very big and important shopping days for me. actually, that's a complete lie, but often times i do find myself in a mall on a friday afternoon, credit card in hand {debt be damned}.

and while i do still love shopping on fridays, i also love window shopping on a variety of different websites while i should *actually* be doing work. therefore, fridays {already being such a painful day to get through at work} will be filled with little lovelies found online. trinkets and toys and things to wear. and things that are just downright pretty.

enjoy!

tryst by kerry, $18

shlomitofir, $18

rdmdesign, $12

envejewelry, $53

48| new love.

2009-02-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

for anyone who doesn't read my blog often, or who missed the first few weeks of blogging, i've had an etsy store for about a month now, and slowly but surely i've been adding items.

while i was doing a lot of jewelry before etsy, i've grown a bit tired of it, and am finding it hard to sell. on the other hand, i have picked up knitting and expanded my mixed-media work, only to receive warm reception, and to find myself enjoying the work much more than with jewelry.

tonight i uploaded two new scarves, one short and one longer. both are lovely and lightweight enough for spring {which hopefully will come rather soon}.

what's your latest etsy find?

47| i never wrote a forty-third post.

2009-02-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

and perhaps, i never will.

46| gadgets + weddings.

2009-02-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

my favourite + my best and i have a very large selection of pots, pans, and odds and ends that make a house a house. we want things that will make our house more of a home.

a lot of the stuff are things which we brought from our singlehoof: his tv, his couch, my tea kettle, his coffee table, his bookshelf, my bookshelf, his poang chain, his plates. he lived by himself before we met, while i sort of just nudged my way after annuling a deal with roommates {i was spending four or five nights a week there, so it made more sense}.

i don't like the idea of having a wedding to get gifts, in fact i hate it {there's currently a couple who are asking for donations online. from strangers. yeah, i know.} however, given that our friends are too generous to just come to the wedding and hang out and eat and have a good time, we are creating a registry. also, my parents' 25th wedding anniversary is the following september, and there will be a joint party at their place, and there will be more people, and more opportunities for generosity.

but, we're happy with our ikea plates, and we don't have anywhere for a second sofa {as badly as we nede a new one}. a bbq is out until we buy a place. and quite frankly, we have more glasses than we can shake a fist at {but perhaps, if we shook a fist at them, some would break and we would need more}.

so, i've put forth the motion that we will be registering for four traditional items:

an oversized afghan.
taika cutlery {my family in germany has the same set. it is soooooo incredible}.
a blender.
a nice set of dishes that we can use for sunday dinners, with company, and with one another before we get to the sunday dinners and company stage of our life.

don't ask me where we're finding that last one.

other than that, it's going to be a bizarre collection of odds and ends, cute things that we don't need, but are nice-to-haves, and a selection of things that involve doing. camping. skiing. travelling. cooking {but, for us. cooking lessons, per se}. things we enjoy doing, things we will learn from, things which will strengthen us as a couple.

45| jump.

2009-02-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

because you can.

43| buttercream yellow = ♥

2009-02-25T06:35:00.001-08:00

props to first milk for finding a field journal {does that just sound a little odd in non-blog speak?}, a wonderful collection of pretty, classic things.

most recently, livy posted photos from her twenty-first birthday {aye, to be young}, including this one. i love how classic and simple it is, and yet how whimsical at the same time. my birthday isn't for another four months {almost exactly}, but i can't help to start thinking about planning.

credit afieldjournal

42| quiet post, chicago.

2009-02-24T21:14:00.001-08:00

just a few reasons, why i'm excited to go.

41| to recreate us.

2009-02-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

one of my dear friends, mikael, and i have decided to make a road trip this summer, mostly because holy-crap-i-have-cabin-fever {and i'm jealous that my better half is going to boston for his bachelor party, most likely}.

i haven't been travelling in the states since i was twelve or thirteen--i was with someone from grand rapids for a part of a summer, but that's a long story {which hopefully no one will tell at our wedding}. new york. boston. washington. these all seem like really wonderful cities.

but, really, i want to go to chicago.

it seems like a really wonderful, well-cultured, but not snobby city. an industrial city, with a lot of history and wonderful architecture. kind of like america's edinburgh.

plus, there's the complete opposite of italian pizza. and the 609m Spire. and they're bidding for the 2016 olympics.

| credit jaunted |

40| joyful hearts ensue.

2009-02-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

andrew + i decided on wedding invitations yesterday, after a long and hearty battle with each other, and many printers. sadly, it seems that printers need margins, and we just aren`t down with that.

furthermore, we want something simple. a conversation a few weeks ago with a friend revealed this:

me: well, we have the cake and the venue
friend: all you need is a judge then
me: well, the real pickle is invitations, right now.
friend: you know, you could just invite people.

so much for simplicity {his wedding had close to five times the number of guests we expect to host}.

that said, it`s one more thing to cross off the "list of things to lead to marital bliss" {ha}. why is it that the lists on theknot are more than 180 items long?

credit ellothere

39| terrible sting and terrible storm

2009-02-23T10:12:00.000-08:00

for a long time, i was obsessed with music, mostly in the top 40 pop genre, but nonetheless obsessed: with the charts, with the artists, with magazines about the artists, with the music.

somewhere around the age of nineteen or twenty, and the introduction of serious iPod use, i stopped searching for new music. i had my ani difranco, i had my canadian content, government regulated and encouraged. what did i need the radio for?

then, i met my favourite and my best, andrew, who fostered further admiration for ms. difranco, as well as bruce springsteen, the stones and taj mahal. and those were basically on rotation for the past two and a half years. it was kind of like i got into a relationship with music, and let myself go.

but, luckily, and magically, in the past six months i have slowly found myself returning to my musics and seeking out artists and bands, new and old. i cannot pinpoint when this started, but since the fall, my playlist has more than doubled, and i have happily found myself amongst the likes of classics like bowie and morrisey, as well as a plethora of new-to-me music, such as arcade fire {so behind the trends i am} and sufjan stevens, who was--until very recently--a mere name on facebook pages that made me go "wha?"

so happy to make your acquaintance, sufjan. swoon.

38| aprons: making breakfast happier since the victorian era.

2009-02-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

my most favourite food in the world is breakfast or brunch. i know, this sounds like a meal. but for me, it is a food in the same way that pizza is a food. not to say that i gorge daily on hash browns, sausage, and hollandaise on eggs, because i don`t. i would, if i could do it without weighing a metric tonne.

that said, breakfast is also my least favourite part of my diet. yep, i just used the d-word. ick. i decided last week to start working with a personal trainer, but naturally some of that also means changing eating habits. in short, erinn told me: no more pastries for breakfast. eat breakfast before you leave the house. the latter, i simply cannot accustom myself to doing. this morning, however, was a myriad of natural yoghurt, banana, and a half peanut butter sandwich. all for 400 calories. i will be adding sugar to the yoghurt tomorrow. also, the banana will be riper, hopefully.

on weekends, however, i will eat my eggs and sausage and biscuit. because breakfast is this wonderfully magically meal that makes me smile so much deep down inside {notice how ever single "saturdays are for..." post starts with brunch or breakfast?}.

problematically, going out for brunch is expensive, and on sundays involves a half-hour wait no matter where you go in ottawa, followed by being rushed out of the brunching place. sigh. so, hopefully there will be more brunches at home, "the eggs and sausage, tomato and maybe even homefries" kind of brunches, rather than the pancakes-are-easy kind.

one of my favourite things about brunch, as much as i love it as a food, is also brunch as a space. it is everything i want in a space, especially when we go to one of my two favourite places {stonefacedollys or jak`s}. the atmosphere is so relaxed and peacefully, the food is always amazing, and as a space, it`s very decluttering for me. jak`s has a plethora of recipebooks, and the sweetest servers.

this weekend, they were missing one of their regular girls, and so one of the servers brought along her friend to help out. she had the most wonderful apron: half-length, pink and brown, with little eiffel towers everywhere, and two very lovely pockets with lace on the edges. swoon. i felt like it was a magic apron, and with it you could make the most amazing breakfasts.

the hunt for my magic apron has begun.

credit sarakhomemade

37| happy monday, or why government runs so slowly.

2009-02-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

i came into work today to discover that our system had been "upgraded" to windows vista. furthermore, in doing this, i lost a whole lot of research. and my boss was wondering why i was cursing at nine in the morning.

monday morning props to the crew of wall-e, for winning best animated film, and for reminding me why i hate pc.

credit unknown

36| brides, i don't wanna be one of those.

2009-02-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

thirty-six posts into this blog, and i still haven't mentioned my fiancé. probably, possibly, because i am in wedding denial. or, i was. i don't really love this whole wedding planning thing {aspects of it}, because it all seems so very cookie cutter, like the McMansions in the suburbs, and a lot of things associated with womanhood, there is only one way to do it, supposedly.

i am, however, engaged to my favourite and my best, as i call him. it's been a motherload of a long engagement {36 + months by the time we tie the knot. we did get engaged six weeks after our first date, and i was nineteen}. which is maybe why i've hated the planning up until now. or, maybe it's because i'm indecisive.

suddenly, however, i have found myself caught in a whirlwind of choice-making, which i am not very good at. and, so, faithful readers {all five of you}, stay tuned for more wedding-like talk. i promise, it won't actually be wedding-talk, but just rather my mocking of the wedding industrial complex.

a dear friend, in regards to other friends' invites: wow, wedding magnets! with the date! what a neat idea? who though of those?
me: the wedding industrial complex.

35| saturdays are for...

2009-02-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

... going out for a delicious, amazing brunch, with eggs done just right {i don't remember the last time i didn't go for brunch on a saturday}.
...shopping at wonderful vintage stores and fair-trade shoppes in the market. my favourite score of the day? a lovely, bright orange and green peruvian poncho, for $16. or perhaps, my sterling silver hoops.
...working out, like i committed myself to doing, with excellent music, and a half-empty gym.
...cooking a yummy pasta dinner, followed by some serious monopoly rivalry {i had more than half the properties, and still managed to be the first bankrupted. sounds like our economy}
...falling asleep for a cozy nap on a friend's floor.

34| swappity, love

2009-02-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

i {finally} received my swappity package this evening courtesy of hannah by way of first milk {once again, many thanks for organizing this}. such lovely little trinkets and teensies being delivered from a merry little cupid!

i absolutely love the three heart pop-up card she created, and which was accompanied by a lovely pair of earrings and an adorable little saucer. love.

33| a most miniscule glimpse.

2009-02-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

every morning, i get off the bus at bank and albert, grab an americano from my favourite coffee shop and schlepp my stuff three blocks to my office. about two blocks in, i was stopped by an rcmp officer, a mountie if you will.

and so it began, ottawa's circus maximus, the preparation for the arrival of american president obama. for the past three days, there has been an nbc van outside my office {which is across from parliament hill}, and the crowds this morning have been building around the building. i think about this in terms of a miniscule glimpse, both in terms of glimpsing at the president {not likely} and also a somewhat satirical glimpse into what a security state in canada would look like. the mountie stopped me and asked me what my business in the area was. i shook my head, told him i worked in the chambers building, and moved on. but by no means could i take this attempt and state control seriously, even as the officers were stopping every vehicle on the road, because vehicles are much more likely to harbour terrorists.

either way, i think {no matter how much i adore obama} that this visit will further a post-colonial {read: americanized} canadian identity, and will remind me why i really can't stand canadian media.

yes, we can {overdo it with media coverage of obama's visit}

credit hankins

32| doy, doy, doy.

2009-02-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

our friends' son is eighteen months old, and very talkative, despite a limited vocabulary. he will tell you a very long story about a dog, or a dinosaur, and all it sounds like is: "doy doy doy doy doy" and on it will go. and it's really quite cute while he's doing it.

but, after several hours of hanging out with the munchkin, the doy doy gets into your head. and for a while, i would just say "doy doy" when i was sighing. now it's just running on and i can't stop it. almost like an ohrworm {german for catchy thing stuck in your head}, except twenty times more annoying.

i can't tell if this is a cause of my migraine, but it certainly is not the solution. i'm giving myself another half-hour before making like an eighteen-month old and going home for a nap.

credit martha stewart, via apracticalwedding

31| asparation, or: an asapargus and a broccoli walk into a bar.

2009-02-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

whenever i eat a food that i don't normally eat, or haven't eaten for a very long time, i tend to look it up online, especially if i'm eating it at my desk. a few weeks ago, i found out that pears are in the same family as apples, and that a pistachio only has 3 calories per nut {i ought to keep more of both of these things around}. today's lunch was sourdough bread with hummus, feta and tomato. nothing out of the ordinary. however, last night, we made a stirfry that had asparation in it, and there was too much asparation leftover. so, i did what any normal asparation-loving person would do, and steamed it with soy sauce and sesame seed oil for a snack to take with.

that said, what the hell is asparation, other than the letting out of a breath? asparation is the trademark of Sanbon, Inc. for broccolini, which is essentially what you get when you cross asaparagus and broccoli. it was also cheaper than either the broccoli or the asparagus. regardless, it's delicious, and about as low on the totem pole of genetically modified organisms are you can get.

credit http://myrecipes.com/