Metric

A few weeks ago, before the very stressful end-of-semester period has officially begun, two of my roommates and I saw Metric in concert and it was SO amazing. Metric was my first concert almost seven years ago, when I was an awkward and hopeful 13 year old. (I am now an awkward and hopeful 20 year old. Which is a bit better, but involves more bills). We got there ridiculously early and ended up being front row centre and it was fantastic. There wasn't much room to dance but of course everyone was anyways, and it was a lot of fun. I'm trying really hard to omit my usual swearing, but I hope you understand how EXCITED I am.



This is my favourite skirt (from Ricki's). I don't think I've posted it before but I wear it all the time. It seems my love affair with polka dots will never end.




Has anyone else noticed that Emily Haines is a perfect human being? Do you like Synthetica? What's new with you folks?! I miss ya!

Boyish Charm

Just a quick "outfit of the day" post for you all. I wore this same outfit to work the next day with a black skirt instead and ended up liking it a bit better. I much prefer wearing skirts over jeans.




 Penningtons blouse, Old Navy jeans, thrifted sweater, Blowfish boots, gifted necklace

Life Lately

I'm bad at blogging. No ifs ands or buts about it. And since I deleted my tumblr a month or so back, my internet "presence" is really lacking. My life lately has included ceramics projects, all things Halloween, a change in my medications, plumbing-related house issues, the first snow falls of the season, and all of the usual schools/work/dealing with life shenanigans. It could involve more studying, more cleaning, and a a healthier approach to self-care. But I'm working on those things.






 celebrating Halloween with a pub crawl // waiting for pizza after the bar // (part of) this year's jack o' lantern // collage paisley made at work // ornamentation assignment for class // multiple porcelain brains // walking home on the first day of heavy snow fall // snowy campus from the bus stop


PS. I have way too much clothes I don't wear and not enough money, so I was thinking of selling some stuff online. Is that something you folks might be interested in?

Bold

A recent outfit post, finally!

Last Friday my roommate and I went on a hunt for boots and thankfully The Shoe Company and Penningtons are right next to one another. I have such big feet (a super fat size 11) that shoe shopping can be a chore, but I still love it. I'm pretty excited that Penningtons is carrying footwear, and even though the size 11 knee high boots sold out weeks ago, I was happy to snag a pair of these cute little booties. I picked up this dress on sale for $15 at the same time and ended up wearing them out that night for drinks.



Please excuse my awkward facial expressions, it seems I've forgotten how take outfit photos.







Penningtons dress and booties, thrifted shirt and purse, 
necklace from the Tin Box in Edmonton

Autumnal ramblings

The last few months have been a total blur. I have been so busy with work and school and trying to deal with mental health stuff and hopeless days turned into to anxiety-filled weeks until one day I noticed that the air smelled differently and Halloween costume shops had popped up and the leaves had already fallen from their trees, and then this morning it snowed and I realized the start of fall had passed. Seasons change so quickly in the prairies, especially when you're not able to take the time to notice and appreciate them.

This past weekend was Thanksgiving for us Canadians, and at the insistence of my parents I made an impromptu trip home to Edmonton. I wasn't expecting to have much fun, but I actually had a great time. It was so nice to visit with my friends and family, and Thanksgiving is one of the most delicious holidays. Pumpkin pie is my all time favourite, and I got to be part of two Thanksgiving dinners. I still hold Edmonton and its inhabitants close to my heart, and it has much better restaurants and shops (sorry Regina), so it was nice to roam the neighborhoods we frequented in high school. I also still have a lot of junk at my parent's place, and it is so fun to snoop through my desk drawers and find a photograph or a necklace I'd completely forgotten about.



These pictures were taken at the Muttart Conservatory while I was in Edmonton. Their feature pyramid isn't always the most impressive (do pumpkins really compare to plants from every corner of the earth and warm, humid environments in the middle of cold weather?), but it was full of chrysanthemums, squashes, and kitschy autumn decorations and it was really excellent.

While we're talking about mental health things, I should tell you that I've recently fallen in adoration with Maranda Elizabeth and their writings on mental health (and, well, everything else). An anthology of their zine Telegram is now available for pre-order on Etsy. It ships on Halloween and I'm really excited to get my hands on it.

MOJO

My last night in Vancouver (which was a month ago now, wow!) also happened to be the closing night of MOJO, a play my sister did sound design for. I was excited to go, and of course I had to tailor my outfit to fit the 1950's feel of the performance.

I miss Vancouver and spending time with my sister so much. I'll be sure to share more photos of my trip soon.



I've finally gotten over my fear of wearing lipstick with my vertical labret piercing, and lately I can't get enough of colourful lips.




Outfit details: Old Navy skirt & polka dot top, Bobs shoes, second hand denim shirt, thrifted purse & free-piled red scarf



My sister Emily & I.

There's no denying that I'm biased (I think my sister's the most talented) but MOJO was probably the best piece of theatre I've experienced. It was site-specific in that the venue and set were the same and the acting went on in the same space as the audience. Plus it had this sexy, loud, abrasive, fast-talking cockney accents kinda' dark humour going on and I really really loved it.




PS. I didn't know that live theatre had trailers now but they apparently do so you should watch it!

PPS. It looks like the theatre department at my university is getting scrapped. Admission to theatre programs have been frozen and the university will be "refocusing the program around available resources." Though not in theatre myself, I'm forever disheartened by the erasure of fine arts programs in universities.

Vacation

I'm currently in Vancouver visiting my sister and enjoying some much needed time off.

I spent this afternoon at Kits beach drinking coffee, reading, and dipping my feet in the ocean. I finished "New Visions" and it was really great. I wrote a bit. I was too unfocused to beach comb.

The west coast is pulling at my heart strings. Vancouver is a total spectacle and a bit overwhelming, but the ocean and the people are beautiful.

I wish I could spend more time here, but I'll just have to enjoy the next few days.

New House

A few weeks ago I moved into a new (rented) house. It has been exciting and stressful and exhausting, and to be honest I’m still pretty tired. My moving bruises have just started to fade and my bedroom is mostly furnished but I'm not done unpacking yet. This is nothing out of the ordinary really, moving is a hassle. Even when it's into a beautiful house with really wonderful friends. And even though I’m not entirely stress fee (rent! furniture! utilities!) finally moving in has been such a major relief.
 
Despite my immense amount of privilege, I have a lot of internalized classism, and making the transition from apartment to house has caused a lot of anxieties I can’t quite articulate. Let me just say that I'm not even twenty and I’m living in the “nicest” place I ever have and that feels weird. I've described this house as "painfully middle class" on more than one location, and for now that's all I can really say. I don't mean to scoff at the spacious living spaces and hardwood floors and finished basement but I still can't shake the weird feeling. Maybe one day I'll be able to articulate my class anxieties better and maybe then I'll write about them (and then my friends can read about them and be happy that I'm actually following through when I say "hey maybe I'll blog about that").

We’ve been house hunting for since last spring (nothing makes you yearn for a house all of your own than living in residence), with serious focus since early June. Looking for a nice four bedroom house (where all four bedrooms are the same size) in our budget and in a central location, with a landlord willing to rent to a handful of young women has been a feat, but I think we snagged one of the few in the city.


One major upside of a house is this wonderful yard - this means more outfit photos, because I'll actually have the space to take them in.


I also can't blog about house and home without sharing a a bit of my kitschy kitchenware collection. Not all of my roommates are on board, but I hope the owl cookie jar can stay. Compromise, right? 

Right now our house in not really furnished and not entirely moved in to. It should be in a lovely lived-in state by the start of the semester (but not a minute sooner) and I hope to share a lot more photos when it is. This is the first place since moving out of my parent's that has the potential to feel like home, and I'm looking forward that.

Saturday

I'd usually start this with "I can't believe it's been two months since my last post" but uh... I totally believe it. I'm enjoying my summer job, but I've been really busy the past while. Working two jobs, on top of dealing with my usual mental health issues, has left me really exhausted and blogging has been the absolute last thing on my mind. For a while there I didn't have any days off a week, and now I usually get Sunday off. By Sunday I'm so exhausted from the week that I sleep past noon and then shuffle around in an depressed confusion until I went back to bed. (Sad, right?) BUT I had last night and today off from work so I've been sure to make the most of it. I'm not very good at time management, but I made a list of everything I needed and wanted to do this weekend, and so far it's been fun, relaxing, and somewhat productive.



I started off the day bright and early by heading downtown to the farmer's market and out for coffee. This afternoon has been spent packing (I'm moving again) and tonight I'm seeing a friend perform at the Creative City Centre. While not the most exciting day, it's been nice and a wonderful day off.




This book is incredible. I don't mean to be melodramatic, but every sentence feels life-changing!





Old Navy skirt, Payless sandals, hand-me-down denim shirt, 
thrifted pins, farmer's market artisan made rings

I don't get the chance to wear this skirt often, but I positively love it. I bought it at Old Navy back in Spring and I wasn't entirely sure about it, but the $2 price tag (!!!) is what sold it. It kind of reminds me of the skirts I'd wear as a child - I loved to wear big, bright floral skirts that I found at second hand shops - they would slip off my hips and nearly cause me to trip but I couldn't get enough of them. My mom would always tell me that they were gaudy and that if I wasn't careful I'd turn out like KD Lang. I don't know how, but my mom predicted my femme dyke identity pretty well. Love ya' mom!



I hope you're all having a wonderful summer. See you in another two months!
(Kidding. I am probably just kidding.)

Floral Blues

After many interviews and much worrying, I've finally found a full-time job for the summer. I'll be working for a local HIV/AIDS non-profit organization and I'm really excited about it. I don't start until next Monday, and with the stress of job hunting gone I've been able to relax and enjoy a bit of a holiday. This has, admittedly, meant spending a lot of time in sweatpants reading on my balcony and watching Criminal Minds, but it's nice to get dressed up and join the real world on occasion. Last night a friend and I went to a literary open mic and had a really great time. This week is the Cathedral Village Arts Festival and there are a tonne of of events and activities all week. I hope to enjoy as much of it as possible before I start my 9-5 job!



thrifted Reitmans dress, thrifted necklace, AA cardigan, WLC tights, F21 boots

Fruit Basket

I've finally jumped into polymer clay crafts and I really love it. I always thought polymer clay was too expensive, but you use such small amounts of it with each project so it's not that bad. Plus: Handmade jewelry! Polymer clay foods! My favourite things!



While I was making the fruity necklace, I also made this rainbow pin to wear for CUQSC/general queer positivity. I'm hoping to have a polymer clay craft night at our queer youth group soon, I think they would really like it!

 

Life Lately

This 6-week hiatus was totally unexpected, but life's been busy (and incredibly wonderful) lately. Since my last post I was elected chair of UR Pride (our campus and city pride centre), finished the semester with decent grades, visited the town where Corner Gas was filmed, moved out of residence (to a great place downtown), had a ceramic and audio art installation in my first every gallery show, saw Said the Whale, visited my family in Edmonton, changed my hair (I feel like a mermaid and/or femme goddess), and hosted/attended/volunteered at the Canadian University Queer Services Conference (CUQSC) which has been such an incredibly, affirming experience. I even performed a spoken word poem last (for the first time ever) at our open mic last night and it went really well. I was ridiculously nervous but it didn't come across in my speech and I got a lot of compliments, hugs, and high-fives. My sometimes bratty, way-cooler-than-expected*, queer fat femme identity has been affirmed and loved and finally, for once, not needing to be constantly validated and it's just so incredible.



*For real. After I did my spoken word a friend of mine said "Why didn't you tell me you can do that? I think you surprised everyone" and a new conference friend said "I'll be honest, I didn't know you were that cool. I didn't give you enough credit." Subverting people's expectations of me (skirt-wearing, painfully polite, a bit shy at times) seems to be my thing, and it's actually kind of fun.

**I also can't make any promises to post more frequently, even though I'd love to. I don't have internet at my new place yet and I'm still desperately looking for a second job. Maybe when my finances are a bit more sorted out?

Spots and dots

It's finally spring and the weather is so lovely! This outfit isn't particularly spring-y, but it's so nice to go out in flats and a light sweater - no jacket needed.





vintage hoodie via Divine, thrifted button-up, Ricki's skirt, WLC tights, Payless flats, gifted/handmade Archie comics necklace

DIVA

Last Saturday UR Pride (the organization I'm treasurer of) hosted DIVAS, our annual drag show fundraiser. From a professional perspective it was successful, and from a personal perspective it was AWESOME! Definitely one of the best drag shows I've seen, and so much fun! Of course I had to wear as much glitter as possible - I've actually been considering becoming a drag queen for a while now. I'd have enough sequins for at least my first show!












Sheer sparkly top c/o City Chic, Forever 21+ skirt, Addition Elle satin jacket, WLC tights, Payless flats, Reitmans necklace

This afternoon I'm heading to Saskatoon for a conference, where I'll get to see Ivan Coyote(!). I've decided not to bring my laptop, so I'll be without internet until Monday (though I'll probably still tweet from my phone). Have a good weekend all!