Organizing with a pinch of personality

Up until last month, this apartment has kind of felt like a temporary resting place. I signed a lease for the place for next year, though, and it finally came time to make my room look like a living space instead of a hovel.
I went out to Walmart and Michael's today, and got a nice shelf and some boxes and organizers. I'm so happy with how it's looking now!! I just have to get all my pictures up on the wall and it will finally feel like my home.

My new shelf! I think I might paint it at some point, but I'm just
it's here for now :)

All the clutter on my bedside table finally has a home, so it's down
to just the basics.

Possibly most importantly, I got enough hangers and a shoe
organizer, so all my clothes and my heels now fit! YAY!!

Now the only big thing left to organize is my huge, messy jewelry collection. I need like five more jewelry stands, it's beyond ridiculous.

Also, everyone should go to Crissi Cochrane's myspace and listen to the song Mexico. I love it; I've had it on repeat all night.

Holiday Tradition: Baking Marathon

Every year my family descends upon my father's house in what I call "the family invasion." They come on the 27th, and, in honour of that, I spend all Boxing Day baking goodies so we have something to munch on (we're a big family).
This year I made scones and cinnamon rolls from family recipes, and then molasses cookies (the soft ones) from a nightmare of a recipe that I will NEVER repeat, and, finally, these deliciously different German cookies called "pfeffernusse," (you can find lots of recipes for them on the internet; that's where I found one).
I literally had mountains of baked goods by the end of it.

Just one of my mountains 

The pfeffernusse take longer to make, but they're fun to make,
and so yummy!!!!

I had lots of compliments tonight on my baking, and it was certainly a delicious night because, in addition to all my hard work, my father made homemade bread, seafood chowder, and beef stew.
I love Christmas eating!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope you all had a great morning!!

Hope you got as exciting presents too!
(This was actually on my wishlist <3)

Christmas Spirit

It hasn't hit me like it used to, but I have fun wrapping presents!! I hope it snows; I think that would fix things.

My helpers

My shiniest present :)

[[edit]] I'm at Dad's, and it's snowing! The family will be over soon and my Christmas spirit is picking up :)

Good Old-Fashioned Fun

My Uncle, who lives in Spain, sent me a letter months and months ago. In the fine tradition of letter writing, it took me ages to write him back, and even longer to get it posted.
But I thoroughly enjoyed writing it! I took paper to the laundromat and rambled in ink and paper as opposed to quickly typing out a note to someone I miss.
I want pen pals now.

Exam Time

Exams are eating my life... That and all my friends also picked this as the time to want to celebrate everything by drinking. This picture pretty much defines my life right now

Guess what my preferences are! I'll try not to pass out while you think about it for a sec.

Real posts to come soon. Promisseeeee.

Comparing Campuses

When I went to Maine the other weekend, I got a nice tour of the U Maine campus. It's so pretty! I was a little jealous. Dal has a nice campus... sort of. The old buildings are ivy-covered beauties and I love them. But the new buildings (hello, Arts Center) are atrocious. U Maine also has beautiful old buildings, but they build the new ones to match! Imagine that! Their library is a prime example... hear that Killam?
Here are some snapshots:

Not sure what building this one is, just a pretty view.

This is their library, it's at the end of a big mall: think Henry Hicks, Dal kids

This last picture is from their make-up room. I nearly fell over when I went in!! They have a make-up room!! There's probably 8 sinks and mirrors against one wall and then 4 double-sided rows of those light-surrounded mirrors. It's so big! And this isn't even their dressing room, those are SEPARATE. It's ridiculous. They even have a class on theatrical make up (I saw the people walk out of it on Friday; they were learning fake facial hair... lotta chicks with beards). 

Here's the kicker, though: they're canceling their Theatre program. 

New Bangs and New Purchases

I'm trying to grow my hair out as long as I can, but my bangs were starting to drive me crazy so I had to at least cut them. They still kind of shock me when I look in the mirror, but I'm getting used to them. They just seem so stark and kind of aggressive.

New bangs! And new plugs are peeking out from behind my hair. I got those jeweled ones (which are nice because they look like real earrings and I can now look socially acceptable with my 00 ears) and some zebra striped ones. They had wicked zombie plugs at Hot Topic but they were too flared for my stupid ear lobes to handle :( 

Other than Hot Topic, I got some stuff at Charlotte Russe (a corset and a cute lace tank top), and this dress at Express. I think I'll wear the dress to my staff Christmas party; I just got some wicked gold nail polish from China Glaze, and a black and gold outfit would be sweet for the party, I think.

Corset from Charlotte Russe

Thank god I can sew or I'd never be able to wear this top again. I wore it yesterday and the fact that it has no lining meant that I spent the day in agony. All the insides are serged and the metallic thread in the roses makes it super irritating on the skin. While I was wearing it, I thought "how can a business get away with selling something this poor quality, ie: unlined??" But then it hit me: because idiots like me will buy it. Silly consumer culture and its lowering of our standards... Blehhh.

Long Weekend in Maine

On Remembrance Day I hopped on the Acadian Lines bus and took the twelve hour trip down to Bangor to see my friend for the long weekend. It was a blast! We did some shopping (sadly missed all the Black Friday deals) and hung out, went to parties and stuff.
Here are some snapshots.

Before we went out the first night

The first night we went out to a nearby club. It was so weird not being able to go up to the bar and order a drink!! Oh well, next time I visit I'm sure I'll be 21. 

(They had dollar shots!!! I may have cried a little that I couldn't drink.)

I love this photo! The house had amazing vintage wallpaper (I should have taken pictures of the red birds and pears on the wallpaper downstairs) and that mask is favorite mask from a production I saw (and my friend was in) in first year. Look at that wonderful mustache!!!!! So cute.

I went to U Maine since they still had classes on Thursday and Friday; this was a cute engraving in the music building. I had to get a picture of it :)

I have some pictures of my new clothes and U Maine's beautiful campus, hopefully I'll post them soon!

Headed Out

I'm sitting on my bedroom floor trying to get my laptop to suck up every bit of power its battery possibly can because I'm headed out in twenty minutes to catch a bus to Maine. The route is scheduled to take twelve hours.

That's gonna be a looonnggg bus ride, but it'll all be worth it :)
I can't wait to get there!!
Pictures to follow, obvs.

Old Books In A Modern Building

To me, libraries are a haven. I love the public ones the most, but even Dal's Killam (with its atmosphere of stressed out students) can be peaceful and cozy when you dash off into the stacks.

I just found an article talking about a new public library Halifax is planning. It will be downtown, a block away from the old one, and be about three times the size. I love that Halifax is investing in a new library, but when I saw the design... Well, I can't decide if I support it.

This is our current library

This is what the new one will look like

I feel like an old fogey, bashing this new-fangled shit, but it worries me! I can't find anywhere what's going to happen to the old building, and I'll be heartbroken if it disappears, or even stops being a library. I love the old library, it's everything a library should be, to me. It's old stone, and its solid. You can descend into the bowels of it and pull ancient books off the paint-chipped shelves. Or, you can go up to the upper levels, spread all your work out on old, sturdy wooden tables, and be surrounded by reference works threatening to distract with all sorts of things you don't know (but could, if you just leave your work and open them!)

The new design looks neat, don't get me wrong. It's very modern, and it even has potential to be awe-inspiring to some small child. Maybe the child will be struck by the magnificence of it and will later reminisce about the atmosphere and how it was their haven growing up. But it looks so new. That's all I have against it really: the modernity. The old stone building can't go out of style. How will this new architecture age? It's all glass. It's the modern thing. But I look at other buildings built in the modern style of their time and I cringe. Have you seen the Dal Arts Centre? It's Horrible, with a capital H. Plus! All that glass and open-concept nonsense in a library! I want the books to surround me, to protect me from the outside and take me into their world. I don't want to grab an Asterix comic and go sit by a window to watch the bustle of downtown. I want to grab an Asterix Comic and go hole up in some corner, forgetting that I'm anywhere but in Roman-occupied Gaul.

These are very personal beefs. I realise I look at books and libraries a certain way. But something inside me still obstinately believes that a library is better off being a stately stone edifice than a shiny glass construct.
Also, the old library is a memorial to those that died in the two world wars. Announcing its replacement so close to Remembrance Day? Have a little class, Halifax.

(AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY FAVORITE STATUE? Wrong-facing Winston??)

Photoshoot inspiration

Halifax is so pretty in the fall! And doing my make-up on Hallowe'en made me want to do more like it (not to mention my friend texting me the other day and saying that we should have an "editorial night" where we do crazy editorial-style make-up). So who's down for dressing up in cute clothes, doing some fun make-up, and running around town in the leaves with a camera?

Happy Hallowe'en!

Since Hallowe'en is on a Sunday this year, my friends and I went out Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, I went all out: I made a gypsy costume and did my face up in the style of gypsy-sugar skull tattoos. I was super pleased with how it turned out :) I got a bunch of compliments through the night.

My full costume, at the end of the night.

I was super grateful to my friend Mike who kept me company while I put all that make up on, then took pictures of the costume for me so I could remember it :)

Gwaaarrrrrr

The Halifax Pop Explosion is going on right now, and last night I went to see one of the less "pop"-y acts. Gwar and the Casualties played at our local, seedy, club [The Palace]. It was a weird venue, but the concert was crazzzy good. I really like The Casualties, and I had heard about the ridiculous shows Gwar puts on, so going was a bit of a must. The girl I went with had seen them before and said, "I don't think everyone should go see a Gwar show: I think everyone needs to see a Gwar show."

The Casualties were everything I could have hoped for. So punk.
Gwar was so messy and theatrical. Lovelovelove.
Here are some of the better shots I got at the show;

Gwar!

Me at the end. So much fake blood.

When I took out my contacts at the end of the night they were pink.

They had a Lady Gaga costume, and I wish I had a good picture. They ripped her tits off. It was awesome.

Escape

I've been feeling so demotivated lately, and today was especially bad. Waking up with no power and no food in the house isn't a great start, and my pasta just boiled over hardcore and almost made the smoke alarm go off. So now I'm sitting in the living room getting chillier and chillier because the door is open to air out the house.
I can't wait to get out of the city this weekend and go up to visit St FX. I'll bring my camera, maybe I'll get some pictures worthy of the interwebs; their campus is really pretty.

Jewelry by Stella & Dot

My step-mum had a jewelry party the other week and I picked up some gorgeous necklaces and a super sweet brooch. The company is called Stella & Dot and their website is definitely worth browsing through!

And awesome packaging!!

The middle two are bees, and the lady selling them said nobody ever buys the bees... why not?? They're so pretty!

[[apologies: lack of updates - school kicked in, lousy pictures - good camera's dead]]

New Phone!!

So my phone has been shitting the bed lately, and luckily, it seems I'm due for an upgrade!
Deciding between: Blackberry Curve and the Palm Pre
Thoughts I'm pondering: What makes the ideal phone? What do I neeeeeed in a phone?


[[went to the mall today and got some wickedly essential items. update to follow]]

We're Blogfriends

Myself and the lovely EK went out the other night for a wander around town. We went down to see NSCAD's Seeds gallery, which was having a showing of some paint by my other wonderfully initialed friend, KVC. We continued with Starbucks and sushi, as is appropriate for broke-but-in-denial university students.
I wore my Countessa Fluorescent lipstick from LimeCrime out for the first time, along with my new leather jacket!

Need to learn how to take outfit pictures when I'm alone!

And we caught up on each other's summer happenings, including blog-related news, at Starbucks, where we both made some fantastic impressions on our cups.

Secret: We aren't actually Blogfriends, we're HOST friends... but that'll just make us both think of Stargate.

First Day of School!

Being in Costume Studies makes me feel like I should represent my classmates well by dressing nicely. Not to mention, most of the people in it dress so nicely that I'd feel like a slob if I didn't, SO first day of school was a Must for a good outfit. Here's what I got together (eventually).

Slouchy off-white tank tucked into skinny jeans with a slight bit of high-waistedness, and a bandeau bra so I didn't feel like a skank

Lots of chunky, jangle-y bracelets, and my ever-present rings

My indie-cred glasses to top it off! I did a smokey eye (super basic) but you can't see it here :(

More Leather Love

Danier is one of my favorite stores to walk into at the mall. I loooove the smell of leather, not to mention all the gorgeous clothes in there! I've been wanting a new leather bomber jacket for a while (I've been wearing the same one since grade 8), so I hopped over to Micmac today. JACKPOT. I found an amazing one that was my favorite in the whole store, and it was on sale for the lowest price of all the jackets!!! Somebody up there likes me.

From Danier's website

I've always been against hoods on leather jackets, but I've come to terms with this one. It looks great when it's on, and I'm a sucker for big floppy hoods that can engulf your face. Plus, with the drawstrings on this one, you can scrunch up the hood so it looks like a giant collar instead.
I also bought some leather, fingerless gloves. The sales girl was too cute and too convincing, and the gloves are wicked cool.

Back-to-school Haircut

I wanted a change, but chickened out from a major cut, so I changed my bangs and just got a trim. I think it's cute though!

(Sorry for crappy webcam quality)

Good-Bye Summer

I'll miss working full-time, getting paid full time, and being out on the water.
Here are some of my favorite shots from this summer:

My tent at our campsite in Dunvegan, after a day at the beach.

Beautiful day at sea, taken at work

Dad and I jumping off the rocks on Sambrow Island
after our first Father-Daughter dive trip.

Awesome sign I found on the way to check out a friend's new apartment.

Tattoo Lust and Tattoo Envy

I love the look of tattoos and get tattoo lust when I think about the ones I still want. I get major tattoo envy when I see a pretty girl with pretty tattoos; I'd love to just get bold, colourful ones that would show... But then I think about things like job interviews and can't bring myself to do it.
So for now I'll spend my time mooning over pretty tattoos and dreaming about what I can decorate myself with in the future.

Not to mention, aren't tattooed couples so cute???

Source

Lime Criminal

I tried out one of my new eyeshadows and one of my new lipsticks last week for my friend's going away dinner/night out.

Lime Criminal in the corner, by LimeCrime, then various others*

Airborne Unicorn lipstick by LimeCrime

The night was a blast, we went out for Thai food at Baan Thai (above I Love Sushi on Blowers, if you're from Hali), which was so delicious -- you should go try the lettuce rolls!! Then we went to Yukyuks for a comedy night. Two of the guys from Picnicface (Mark and Andy) were up and I actually cried all my make up off from laughing too hard.
  
*e/s: purple one by Make Up Forever (can't remember the number), pink "Stars n' Rockets" by MAC, and Soft Force as a highlight, also by MAC. Mascara and eyeliner were drugstore finds.

Honest to Goodness Leather

I love leather. It's a wonderful material.
Up in Cape Breton on the Cabot Trail there's a perfect little shop run by a man and his wife. The wife works in the front and the man makes the most wonderful leather objects (the shop smells amazing because his workshop is in back! You can go right in and see him working). He's studied old-fashioned leatherwork and you can feel it in what he makes. It pleases me as a lover of leather, and as a student of historical costume making.

This is the beautiful purse and belt I bought from them. I wore them out to my birthday supper with my parents:


(Thanks to Rachel for catching that silly look on my face)

The bracelet I have on was a birthday gift from my roommate, who was with me on my birthday trip around the trail (it's from the same shop).

[[ps:: I forgot to mention how legit the man is!! Check out his picture on the homepage of their website]]

The Perfect Jeans

Many years ago I found the perfect pair of jeans. They slouched casually on my hips and hugged my thighs. It was a wonderful love affair.
But I was hard on them, and they grew holes, and then skinny jeans came and knocked all the bell bottoms out of my closet.I kept my favorite jeans though, remembering their wonderful fit. They languished in the rear of my closet for a while, then were rescued momentarily last summer and cut up to become my new favorite jean shorts! But I got lazy and never got around to hemming them (cut offs sadly weren't an option due to the upper thigh holes I had worn into them).

This Saturday I'm headed to a show by one of my favorite bands. Like any good kid who's into the local scene, I need to rep and obscure and/or broken up band with my shirt, but I had no idea what to were for bottoms! The show was supposed to be outside but the venue can't afford it anymore and now it's going to be in a small concrete cube, which I know gets sweaty as balls. Quite literally. Sweaty as sweat-dripping balls.Answer? JEAN SHORTTSSSS. They'll match my Risky Business shirt well, since I was forced to buy a kid's size at their last show and I need a pair of jeans that won't give me a horrendous muffin top, but will also hold out to me moshing my little heart out.

My new shorts, all hemmed and more wonderful than I remembered.
(Also a new bracelet! Blog post to come about my love for it.)