here, there, everywhere...

happy happy joy joy



(the weirdest photo of my favorite people; lindsay was too drunk and i love her for it)


RANDOM THINGS/THOUGHTS/LOVES AND SUCH:

- The puppy fever rages on. Today I am going to the library and I am going to get books about dog breeds. I am really going to drive myself crazy over this.

- Becky comes to visit ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!! it is going to be so fun and exciting! That Saturday alone our itinerary is as follows:

market in the morning
early evening show in dartmouth (baked at a HC show...yessss)
tribeca later that night
late-night casino romps!
slumber party in my comfy bed!

- I have been going to the gym lots and lots this week because I got a trial membership until I can buy a real one next week. I had a session with a personal trainer (which was okay, but i think i would have gotten more out of it had I actually paid), went to a spin class, regular work outs, and the best part: STRIPPER CARDIO.
HONESTLY, if you ever gt the chance to take a class like this, DO IT. It was single-handedly the most empowering thing I have ever done. Women of all shapes/sizes/ages in one room together celebrating their bodies and sexuality as an encouraging group, all the while bettering their health in the process. amazing. I'm going to be the next pussycat doll if i keep it up.

- I FINALLY got my bedding and remaining clothing from Ontario (thanks to becky <3) but my sewing machine was lost and/or stolen during the move. SOOOOO bummed. I now have to buy a new one when I get the dollars. sigh. so bummed.

-I am addicted to the bulk barn.

-Chivalry is not dead in Nova Scotia. I have this big huge hockey-bag-esque thing that I have to take to clients to to fabric presentations and I swear if I was single I would use that thing to pick up dudes. I always seem to have a handsome man helping me get it into/out of my car, or hold a door for me while struggling. it's so awesome.

-yesterday i went to show a client the new collection of fabrics so they could order samples and ended up selling 300yrds of fabric. wahoo!

speaking of work...BACK TO IT.

how much is that doggie in the window?

UGHH.

THE PUPPY FEVER RAGES ON......

I WENT TO A DOGGY EXPO WITH RYAN, ALEX, MELANIE AND ALYSSA.

IT MADE ALL OF OUR HEARTS EXPLODE.





a blonde baby! this photo is just hilarious, this dog wanted that fat ladies fries soooo bad.




OH MY GOD, I MEAN GOODNESS, THIS PRETTY MUCH MADE MY LIFE.

ANYWAYS, AMIR MISSED OUT, SO WE WENT DOGGIE WINDOW SHOPPING!







BIUEGFETOIDHGOIRTJHPOIRTJSPHOTEKBOTKGO!!!!!!!!!!! CUTE CUTE CUTE! ABORT ABORT ABORT!

and then the unthinkable happened....

the little guy got out of his cage...

and WHO did he run to and start attacking with love and cuteness?!





UGHHHHH.

looks like i might get a cock-a-poo instead.


love love love.

sigh.

Baked Gooders

It's the weekend!!!

Time (for me at least) do catch up on life- do some laundry, do some cleaning, and if there's time: craft and bake!

Okay, it's a bit of a lie-I made this yesterday, but I gave myself a long weekend after spending too much time in dirty Saint John (the Detroit of Canada).

Anyways,

SPELT BANANA BREAD

This was my first attempt at baking in my oven, and I must say, this was honestly the BEST banana bread I've ever made. I tweaked this recipe quite a bit which usually is a faux pas for baking, but as i said, this worked out amazingly.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2c butter or margarine (I used marg.)

1c brown sugar (i used organic cane sugar which is coarser and not packed, but it was great)

2 eggs, beaten (You could probably use egg replacer just fine)

2 cups spelt flour (again, regular flour would probably be fine. I use spelt flour from the bulk barn and it isn't as heavy as regular spelt flour, which can usually be quite dense. No one who tried this even realized a difference)

1 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

2-3 bananas, mashed. (***** I used 2 large frozen bananas and I think this was the trick. I froze a few very ripe bananas a few days ago not knowing when I would use them and this was perfect. I think freezing them allows the natural sugars to act as an even stronger binder and it made the bread VERY moist)

optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips, chopped nuts or anything you want!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and dust a bit of flour lightly so it slips out easily once cooled.

Take your frozen (or fresh) bananas and break into bits in a bowl. Mash them up and add the butter and sugar. Cream together all the ingredients.

Stir in the eggs.

Add salt and baking soda.

Slowly add the flour to make sure there are no lumps. The consistency should be smooth but not over-mixed. It will be about the consistency of a muffin batter.

At this point fold in any of the optional ingredients, but don't over-mix.


Pour into the pan and bake for 1hr. I checked it at about 45mins and turned it down to about 300/275 degrees, and baked for another 15 minutes. It will be done when a toothpick/fork comes out clean.

Let cool, and turn out onto a plate.





I know this seems like a lot of information for banana bread but it is actually so few ingredients and so easy to make, especially considering how many chances I made to the recipe. Definitely worth making and having with tea on a sunday afternoon :)





and on an entirely different note, have you ever seen that show "america's next dance crew" or something like that? It's like so you think you can dance but with crews and not solo dancers.

SO FUCKING GOOD.

this morning, i woke up and life gave me lemons.

tonight, i drink the world's finest lemonade.

The quality of company

I made a very important decision the other day.

Now, I know people have pipe dreams, but as most of you should know by now, NOT ME.

I like to make things (magic) happen.

That being said, I have officially started saving for one of these:



Purebred Golden retriever!!

I have a plan!

I know that I travel a lot with work, and the responsibility of having a puppy at this point is just not practical. If I wait until the end of the summer, I will be approaching the fall/winter, a time where I will be more stationary, and thus around more for those crucial puppy-training moments. I also have a goal of paying off my student loan by this time, which will allow me more dollars to train a puppy well, pay for it's vet trips, and most importantly puppy school. This is something, (for myself personally) as I have learned from the past experience of raising dottie, is essential.

Anyways this coming Sunday is the doggie expo at the forum, where I will go and learn more about this and other breeds, local trainers/suppliers, and meet other puppies!! eep!!

I have always loved golden retrievers, as common as they are. I know they are a larger dog, but i am allowed pets at my place and since it's just me here, and I have a backyard, I think we will be just fine. They are SOOO cute at every age, unbelievably loyal, good for training, good with other dogs and kids, and so loving. I am going to get one of those doggie gates for the back of my soccer-mom wagon so he (or she) can come on adventures with me. I can just see me taking it to friends houses, the commons and other fun places to play and make people happy.

Oh, and I am going to name it "mighty".


I CAN'T WAIT. <3

HAPPY EARLY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I hope you all get smooches this Thursday! :)
<3<3

KEEP CALM & CARRY ON

Jenny Dames, this one's for you!

If you're reading this blog, that probably means you're friends with me, which translate to you knowing who Miranda July is.

BUT!

did you know she had this fantastic website/book with all sorts of wonderful interactive artistic assignments for people to participate in? You complete the assignments, and send in photos or writings or whatever they ask, showing how you completed the assignment!!

CHECK IT OUT!


http://learningtoloveyoumore.com/


SOOO!

that being said, my wonderful wonderful bf and I completed assignment #63 together!



Assignment #63
Make an encouraging banner.

1. Draw each letter of the sentence on a large piece of colored construction paper or big squares of fabric. One letter per piece. Draw them blocky so you can cut them out.
2. Cut them out.
3. Glue each one onto a piece of construction paper or fabric that is a contrasting color.
4. Then glue the edges of all the pieces of paper or fabric together to make a banner.
5. Hang the banner in a place where you or someone else might need some encouragement, for example, across your bathroom. Or between two trees so that you and your neighbors can receive encouragement from it. Or in a gas station.



We took a long time to think about what the banner should say, and finally with a little inspiration from miss lovely jenny dames we decided to make it say:

KEEP CALM & CARRY ON


here's some pictures, although Amir took better ones on his fancy camera so I will probably post those later:

The work in progress!



We really cracked down and dedicated an entire crafternoon of tea and no-sew to make it.





Amir's tailoring ability was an asset to the immaculate finishing quality. :)

The next day I finished all the stitching while Amir was hemming pants all the live-long day, and then we hung it up when he got here! wee!
















Cropped, but none-the-less, the fruits of our labor!


Now when I wake up in the morning, and I go to put the kettle on, I will turn around and think "yep. keep calm, carry on girlfriend."

****EDIT!!
Here's the shot that Amir took that i mentioned!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2279/2256022135_98b8cf188a_b.jpg



i'm the happiest i've been in a very long time.
<3

These girls are beautiful- they're with us, these girls can drink well

LINDSAY'S BIRTHDAY PICTURES!

highlights of the night included but are not limited to:

-Me finally having my "julia-stiles-circa-ten-thing-a-hate-about-you" table dancing moment.

-Making out with gay dudes

-Drinking on someone elses tab

-Nathan yelling "BREAK SHIT!! JUST FUCKING BREAK SHIT!!!!!" to ryan, myself and gang throwing our glasses on the floor

-breaking?? (probably spraining) my finger

-a 3am trip to peggy's cove

-LINDSAY HAVING AN AMAZING-STRESS FREE BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER


















on the table....



and off the table.









IT'S ALL FOR YOU BABY GIRL.

LIFE IS GOOD

<3

CRAFTS AND BIRTHDAYS

Yesterday was Lindsay's Birthday!!!

Tonight we dance, but last night we crafted!!!











I started this for Ryan Allen when i was crafting with Lindsay and Jenner on Wednesday. I finished it last night. HAPPY HOUSE WARMING RYAN ALLEN



WE HAD A CRAFT JAM. EVERYONE COLLABORATED ON ONE AWESOME MASTERPIECE:









(2 nick cage's are better than one)







this part was my favorite!! nice touch with the feathers alex....



420



EVEN IAN PARTICIPATED!!





he added this handicapped garfield.



HI BF!


it was fun!!!!!

Halifax rules

tomorrow i am having a 4:20 POT luck.

life is good.

xoxo