lock us in a cannery

montreal.
this past weekend.
was great.
it was too short, of course, and i was tired going in, and i am tired still and always (these days, sigh), but i'm so glad i went. thanks to ohmi for organizing the whole thing (like our adorable little apartment) and driving the whole way, both ways, even through the unpleasant friday-evening-getting-out-of-toronto bleh part.

i'll mostly tell the story through pictures, but here are some thoughts and things.

i got to see genevieve briefly at the puces pop craft/artizan/awesomes sale. so nice to see her. and her amazing amazing creations. i'm constantly lusting over her stuff on the internets, and it is so spectacular up close. look on her blog for the silver-turns-gold sequin dress. alas. it did not quite fit me... heavy heavy sighs, cause it is AMAZING. i did buy a kickass belt, though. see below. on the lamp... HORSE! if you can't own a horse, wear a horse. i always say... (sadly, i didn't get to wear wolfy on this trip. he came along. but then it was a million hot, and my outfit plans were completely foiled.)

the hoopers DO walk a whole lot faster than most other humans. like. approximately double-fast. i learned this. my poor travel-friends kept being so mad-and-tired at me when i'd be like 'come on! it's, like, an hour walk!' (and i was already adding time to what i thought it actually was...) and then it would be two hours. and i'd be all 'what the what?!'. oh right. hooper-legs aren't normal legs. sorry, everyone else.

seeing john. seeing john was the best thing. it has been about 5 years since he up and left edmonton and me-and-mads behind. i knew i missed him like crazy. i knew he was best ever. but. oh, how i had forgotten how best ever of the best evers he was. and still is. and, and... alan, too! but i've seen alan more recently. so... sorry. i must john-gush. it is so nice when that much time has passed (with almost no communication between us in our busy elsewheres) and it feels as warm and wonderful as ever. yes. and we had a lovely talk about the 'living beautifully/living now' thing. and the three of us together, johnalanerin, was a magic thing. don't even get me started on john's home and the preserves!!! you'll see. also. the yves st laurent rives gauches pink satin blazer that john had in his possession (on long-term loan). which fit me. very well. i thought, briefly, 'yes, this is great, this friendship... but. this jacket and i could be friends, too. and i could take it now and live without john, and that would be maybe alright? yes?'. but it wouldn't be alright without john, so i didn't. ALSO JOHN'S CAFE! oh gosh, go there. the coffee is best. BEST. best...

and then there was also brunch, and st joseph's oratory, and running into jeff on the street (?!), and drinks, and the atwater market, and macaroons, and, and... okay. go:

{our apartment, my outfit.}

  

{eating and drinking about. i want those dark wood floors...}

{don't worry. bigbang is back. and can you see? that girl's hair? best.}

{spotted around town.}

{puces pop. market. oratory.}

{oratory. a whole group of tourists were climbing under the 'don't go here' wire to get snaps taken with the pietapose. in the flowerbush. as you do?}

{my newest myrtle and pearls. love.}

{heavy sighs.}

{john. alan.}

{basil & lime. for example...}

{fall is best.}

{sunset on the road.}

{waiting for me when i got home}

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddddddddd.... i got me a qr code today! for fun. check and see if it works!

crank shot

so this is sad.

i have always been rather a fan of the sartorialist, aka scott schuman. he takes good shots. does the street-style thing well. there are a lot of his images in my 'inspirations' folder. and he doesn't tend to write much on the blog, but when he does it is usually pretty worth reading.

and i have heard nigh on a million times that he's a bit of an asshat, but hey. separate the art from the artist, right? right. but. oh, scott... this interview...

so scott has gone and done this little interview with the talks. and alas! what a cranky old man he comes across as! go on. give it a read. it's short...

he reminds me of a few of my art profs in university who were all bitter and cocky and out of touch... who were talented, sure, and smart and so on... but who seemed to think that the thing they started doing in 1972 was still the be all and end all, and that no growth or change since then was valuable, and none of us with our youth and ideas were valuable, and blah blah blah... and instead of trying to inspire us to work crazy hard and be prepared for the hard-hard world of art creation, they tried to discourage and discredit us. anyways.

scott. here are the major problems.

you don't read/follow any other fashion/style blogs? really? other than garance... well that's just irresponsible. imagine if anna wintour came out and was all 'oh, yeah, i don't look at magazines. blah! ugh! they're all dumb and irrelevant.'. or if any author ever decided that, you know, reading other people's books was pointless... or any artist stopped looking at art... or, or, or... new ideas, scott! diversity! this is your community. this blog-space. and there's a lot of great stuff out there. so there's that.

and. don't you get me started on tavi. rather than go on about what's shitty about mr. schuman, i'm gonna get going on what's great about tavi. i love tavi. lots. i've been reading her blog more consistently over the last few years than any other. and. i was, not so long ago, a 26 year old. older now, even! and i do find her blog inspiring and relevant. tavi is smart and insightful. she's a better feminist than i am, despite her youth, and she's unashamed to be honest, youthful, playful, naive, and so on and so on. that makes her valuable. i read her blog, and i'm reminded of the insanely passionate thing i was when i was first learning about this thing called art, this thing called fashion... i've lost so much of the tireless dedication that she possesses, and it is wonderful to be reminded how magical everything is. i remember staying up till 6am because i was FEELING so much about this or that painting, or colour, or idea... and then getting up and stumbling in to 8am studio classes and just being so immersed in this thing and having it be my everything and giving it my everything... oh. and. remember that online magazine for young girls she just launched? rookie. that is amazing and such a great way for girls to be looking at fashion? and gives girls a voice and encourages a lack of shame in using it? remember that?

oh, and. really? talking about the more-than-quarter-less-than-half-million you're getting paid from advertising? that just comes off tacky. and defensive.

anyway.

the moral is, scott, you look like a cranky old man who has a crap attitude about the world you work in. and that's just lame. so. stopit.

saved my life

well, seeing as i was in montreal this weekend... this seems most appropriate. this song is perfect for sassy-walking-about. the video is a bit bonkers bread, and at times causes me to be frightened... but. great song. of montreal.



happy monday!

alas, alas, if thy mother knew it...

there is a sister of mine. she was born on this day. i am so glad. because she is magic.

happy birthday, sisterwitch.

the girl i mean to be

i talked about cupcakes and cashmere last week – the nails. i’d like to talk about it a bit more. and. also.  two new blogs i’ve discovered, thanks to cupcakes. heart of light. and. rockstar diaries.  click click, please.

i will admit that i am smitten. with these women. these blogging women…

it seems to me that they live life beautifully… or that they make the lives they live beautiful? which is becoming more and more important to me. i’ve always been interested in beauty and aesthetics… but most of that interest was filtered and focused onto particular endeavors. you know. your ‘painting’, your ’fashion’, your ‘creating of images’…  but what of the day to day beautiful? and i don’t mean putting on a face-full of makeup.  obviously. i mean dressing and living and eating and drinking beautifully because WHY NOT?! i have the capacity! why not live beautifully? it takes more energy, sure, than throwing on sweat pants and eating noodles (which i will never stop doing completely, don’t worry). but! ugh! agh! blarg! feelings.

there were these two adds in vogue’s september issue:

and maybe they’re cheesy. (probably they are cheesy…) but they’re also, actually, rather wise. and i am trying. to listen to them. to remember. to be.

and just to get specific on up in there for you… go see some of the things i love most. in these bloggerwomen’s blogs.

emily’s office.

emily’s five things.

rachel’s flowers.

rachel’s licorice.

taza’s family.

taza’s iphone.

and, here’s a little bit of the beauty around here. lately. and. montreal this weekend!!!

saved my life

hey you. call your girlfriend.



oh no! sad. dancedancedance! best sweater. best dancing. best. sad.

happy monday!

home

* i wrote this earlier on friday. but didn't get around to posting it yesterday evening. and i'm too lazy to go through and adjust. so. back in time we go! it is yesterday! go!*


the problem with life being awesome-and-the-best, is that it fills up very quickly. over the last few weeks i have started the new job, and moved to the new home (although not completely completed...), and gotten a new housemate, and had a wicked mom-visitor, and realized that maybe i have some new best friends here in this city... and there is just always something wonderful to be doing. it is magical and great and exhausting. i've lived alone for a zillion years. (okay. maybe 5... or so.) i spent the better part of the first year here in t.o. with pretty much only 3 friends. it was crazy lonely a lot of the time, but it also meant i had a luxurious amount of alone time. to do things slowly, or lazily, or however i liked to do them. now i am trying to fit more and more in to less and less time. because there is so much good. it's hard to find a balance that isn't all or nothing.

isn't my life hard? ha!

anyways. the point is. last night i took a night off to recharge a bit. i didn't do any work on the moving in-or-out. i didn't cook. (baguette and cheese for dinner!!!) i caught up on tv, and programmed the pvr for the new fall season. i had a bath and painted my nails. and it was great. and i thought 'this is great. but also. i'm glad this isn't all i do anymore.' tonight i am going to a blue jays game. vs. the yankees. and i'm super super stoked to be out with humans.

okay. enough thinking about things out loud into a computer... now. pictures!

i stole this nail-doing-style from cupcakes and cashmere. i am a huge HUGE fan. (of both the nails, AND her blog...) it totally makes friday at the office one million betters. (maybe it is my beat up hands, but i have yet to figure out how to take a picture of my own nails that doesn't look a little creepy... like a claw or a severed dead hand... anyways.)

{from cupcakes and cashmere. of course. {heycheckoutthesebrackets!}}

and. the new apartment. starting to come together. still lots to be done (like have my real bed arrive... ugh! impatient!), but i'm loving up a few corners hardcore. and margene seems really happy here, with all the space and light and windows and company. so. so. happy.

and, finally, go check out the city sage's exclusive look at club monaco fall stuffs. i want alllllllll of it. but most of all i want that silver pleated skirt. and the black leather-sleeved-fur-chested jacket. (is that all ONE PIECE?!) and the gold skirt... and. and...

oh, also. where are my fingerless glove-mitts? i'm gonna want those tonight. and i can't find them. boo.

alsoalso. bloggoal for this new time. take actual pictures with an actual camera erin. all this iphoneing must be stopped. ugh.

marriage is what brings us together

sometimes when you are bored, or sad, you should just get married to the sea. then you will not be bored or sad. you will be so so glad.

for example:



or.


or...

thanks! thanks, married to the sea!

also, recently i have noticed that most of my favourite (non-family) blogs use {these} brackets a lot. seems like it is some sort of unspoken i-write-a-blog-about-fashion/decor/baking-that-is-pretty-and-also-i-am-pretty rule. so. i'm gonna maybe start using them too. maybe. {sometimes}.

saved my life

mom is here and i love my new home. also my huge walk-in closet is the best. and. full..... so. yes. i am a 'mod'. as they say.



thanks to b draney for this one. i love how he shakes his head tooooo fast for the film to handle. awesome.

happy monday!

bloghelp!

NEVERMIND CHRIS HELPED ME!

saved my life

i am totally totally obsessed with this.

i will tell you all the reasons why, but first you should watch.



now here are all the reasons, in no real order:

1. they both have the best, biggest mouths. but different biggest. like. he's all wide and teeth and tight-lipped all at once. and she's all lips and pushed forward and open. and i love mouths. i love them. remember that collage i made of people who's mouths i love? i do. and if i re-made it, they would for sure be right there in the middle.
2. the way kimbra rolls her shoulders and then slides.
3. the line 'i told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company...' oh. man. have i been there. oh.
4. the way his face goes when she's singing at him. and how he sings away, like he's flinching... defending... getting hit by her singing. pouting.
5. hey look, there's some hair on a mural. WAIT! THOSE ARE THE SINGERS! such a great concept.
6. in the chorus he sounds kinda peter gabriel-y, doesn't he? he does.
7. does his tongue get really pink at the end?
8. i think he says 'friemds'. like. 'you said we could still be frieMds...' pretty sure.
9. the pan out to reveal kimbra. ah man he looks awkward/sad/pathetic. and then the way he breathes deeply, like a shrug/sigh/clenching in response to her first line...
10. the almost nausea-causing base drone that runs under kimbra's verse, like there is something eating away at his perspective. it is falling apart a bit. like maybe the whole song should really be about her and he is an unsympathetic character... maybe. drone drone...

okay, so pretty much every second has some amazing tiny little thing in it. some movement that just makes me so sad/glad. so simple. so brilliant.

happy (holiday) monday!!!

shine on

mel said she'd get mad at me if i didn't write a post about our pool party.

so mel, for you... here is a montage of hipstery photos of the most recent summertimes. since my return from edmo. good people and good food and good drink. this summer in toronto has been stellar.





















mel, you are a very low maintenance friend. (jokes! get it? jokes on the internets!)