A couple weekends ago now, some friends + Steve & I went to an Oldies Dance put on by a radio station in Hamilton. We were the youngest of the crowd by a couple decades, but it was a blast!
And you know how much I love to dress up!
I found my dress for $35 at a shop on Queen called Tribal Rhythm, which I always forget about/can't remember where on Queen it actually is. But I won't forget now - the dress had never been worn! And in a nearly impossible situation, I actually had multiple vintage dresses that fit me to decide between.
The dance was in a massive warehouse and had seats at tables for 1000 people, a silent auction of musical memorabilia, carnival rides including a merry-go-round, a fun house, games, and my fave a photobooth!
Enough telling - I can show you!
This part of the fun house was spinning, fyi. :)
I knew we would have a good time, but I had no idea how much of a good time it would be. Next year I want all of my friends to make the trek to Hamilton too!
Also - I want a photobooth in the hallway of my apartment. I need to work on it.
Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Happy Groundhog Day - boy it's been a while.
I've been busy, life is good, and so far 2013 might be my lucky number.
Here are 26 new things since I wrote last.
1. I 'graduated' from my C25K running app. I finished within my goal of before New Year's and ran 5K. Whoo! Now if only I had kept running in January - but the snow and ice on the sidewalks, combined with the lack of treadmills in my life have prevented me from keeping it up. I may have to start the program over again when it's safe to run without breaking an ankle on ice.
2. I am very much over winter. Does anyone have an excuse/method for me to move to a place with sand and sunshine? Why does Canada not have something like Hawaii as a province?
3. At work in January I played a silly spin & win game and won a new Galaxy S3 phone. I'm quite excited to switch to it and enjoy all the fancy features, but I'm still waiting for it to ship to me.
4. About 5 days later I found out that I won an Air Canada contest and won a flight to Tokyo! I'm over the moon about winning this, and am planning to go to Japan in April to hopefully catch the cherry blossoms in bloom.
5. My oldest friend had a baby in January, and she's the first female baby that's been born in my circle of peeps. I finally got to buy someone all the amazing frilly baby clothes! I really hope I have a daughter someday, it's just too cute!
6. My cousin in my hometown also had a baby - on Christmas Day. The sweetest thing is the ladies at the hospital made these mini Santa hats for all the Christmas babies. I got to photograph him before he was even a week old. So precious.
7. I have hit 30, and my lady organs have started the clock. Officially.
8. On another note... I started the Happiness Project Journal. Every night I write down the things that made me happy that day. You can fit 5 years of happiness in the book. It's a nice way to relax before I go to sleep.
9. I have been playing the new Zumba Fitness Core
for the Wii. It is really fun while I play and then later my abs hurt a lot. It's a great workout.
10. Have you ever eaten an aebleskiver? When I was in the Netherlands they called them profitjes, but either way, they're a puffy, spherical pancake that you can fill. They are delicious and surprisingly easy to make.
11. Yesterday we had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl. Go Beyonce! I have to admit the commercials were lacking as much as the 49ers defense.
12. For the party I made pork carnitas with this recipe and we had a taco bar. Throw a party and do it.
13. I got a lil part time job working the occasional shift at a local scrapbooking shop Bizzy B's. It's the only one left in the GTA, so if you ever need supplies, come visit me!
14. I took the plunge (with some Christmas gift money) and bought a Silhouette Cameo . Watching it work is hypnotizing, haha, but so much better than my hand with an x-acto knife!
15. I'm continuing Project Life again this year as a way to scrapbook. I'm behind already, but it's easy to catch up when I finally get time to sit down with it, the photos are printed at least.
16. I did not have any free time in January.
17. I saw this print on Pinterest and am adopting it as my mantra for 2013. Slowly but surely I am weeding through my 'stuff' and getting rid of what I don't need/love/use. It'll make cleaning the apartment easier. Print by mangomini.wordpress.com.
18. Steve turned 27 in January. We celebrated with friends by going out to an Indian food buffet and then hanging out at our apartment and playing a few games later. Mmmm saag paneer is my fave.
19. Do you know about Creative Live? They host live webstreamed workshops with photographers, graphic artists, business pros, etc. They're brilliant if you're around to catch them, but if not you can buy the videos later as well. Such a great resource.
20. My new favourite teas at David's Tea are blueberry jam, cranberry pear and mango madness.
21. On Saturday night we'll be going to a retro 50-60's dance. I'm really excited to dance to oldies and play carnival games but I have to idea what to wear. I love all the fashions from those decades and truly cannot choose. Cinched waist? Mod mini dress? Joan Holloway? Jackie O? I can't even narrow it down to a hat choice.
22. Valentine's day is on the horizon and I miss exchanging valentines like in elementary school. Crafting the little mailbox on the edge of your desk, cutting out heart shapes out of pretty pink and red paper, hand writing messages to your friends and daring to tell your crush that you actually like them. And the fun premade ones like Garfield with a word search on the back!
23. Last week while working at the camera shop, a familiar face approached me and asked me for help printing photos. It was Claire Danes! She was incredibly nice and printed photos of her new baby. She came to Toronto to hang out with her hubby while he was filming. The store was too busy, I didn't get to ask her to take a picture, or to give her my card to book her baby a photoshoot, haha.
24. Not quite the same level of celeb, but at work this week my boss and I photographed Shark Tank & Dragon's Den's Robert Herjavec. He was great to work with, a very personable and charming man. I think I can say, it was the best photoshoot I have ever had the opportunity to work on. The publisher loved the photos as well and the book should be out later this spring.
I wish I had an idea to pitch!
25. Have you seen this new short animated film from Disney? It's really sweet and well lit ;)
26. Today I had a day off! They've been rare lately. I ran some errands, bought a cute spring top, a new lipstick, had a glorious nap, called my mom, caught up on a couple blogs and got to write this post.
Life has been so busy lately!
I hope it's going well for you.
Here's my top 20 TV shows in my life. Some are obviously childhood faves.
No particular order, except #1 because I've been addicted to it since the first trailer for it aired.
1. Mad Men
2. Craft Corner Deathmatch
Ok so this is the 2nd best TV show ever. It was very short lived and hard to find in Canada, but Jason Jones (now of the Daily Show) made this the funniest most awesome thing on television. Seriously, just watch the first 3 minutes of this episode and not get hooked.
Craft Corner Deathmatch 110 from Idiot Box on Vimeo.
I'm going to rewatch all of these now.
3. Community
4. Seinfeld
5. New Girl
6. Pushing Daisies (apparently this is being rebooted!??)
7. Fresh Prince of Bel Air
8. Bill Nye the Science Guy
9. The Animaniacs
10. Extras
11. Scrubs
12. Lois & Clark - Dean Cain was so dreamy!
13. Masterchef (tho this could be half the run time if they took out all the recaps)
14. Scrubs
15. The Muppets Tonight
16. Muppet Babies
17. Greys Anatomy for the first two seasons
18. Boy Meets World - TGIF :)
19. Jeopardy
20. Sesame Street
Apparently Jim Henson and slightly offbeat soon to be cancelled shows make my tv watching heart swoon. What are your faves?
On an outing to Kensington Market a few weeks ago, I found a postcard advertising for Fake Prom 2012. Elizabeth was there, and we decided we needed to go.
It took a little coaxing, but the guys did join us as well. ;)
I had no idea that for the past 10 years this event has been happening in Toronto. It started out as a theme night a guy threw at Sneaky Dee's and has grown to become 1000 people dressed up in a rented ballroom, Palais Royale. It was a blast.
We had no idea what to expect. This year's theme was Enchantment Under the Sea. The website had photos from Marty's parent's prom in Back to the Future. So we dressed a bit retro and posed for some self-timer shots in my apt lobby.
When we got to the venue, we discovered it was even cooler than we'd expected. They had under the sea decorations and photobooths, and people were dressed in ocean costumes! There were jellyfish, mermaids, pirates, crabs, the Titanic, King Tritan, Team Zissou, and fish!
(I don't like taking pictures of strangers without consent, so if you want to see some use #fakeprom and search instagram. The official event pics aren't up yet...)
There were 2 dj's and a live band. It was so much fun to have on a random Friday night!
And only $20! I hope someone else picks up the reigns to organize another in the future.
It was rainy and gross outside on my day off yesterday. I was really looking forward to swimming, but have to settle for scrapbooking instead. Can you tell that I'm still very much in a summer mood? I think I always am, really. I don't buy fall coloured papers or clothes for that matter.
Super saturated is great for me.
This is an old photo, but a favourite. Me & Shan, hanging out in my backyard - Summer '08.
This
photo of K & I is a newer fave. From the night the Radiohead
concert got cancelled, when we picked a random restaurant and the
special was 2 entrees and a pitcher of sangria for $24.95. That's
insane pricing. The food sucked, but the sangria was perfect.
I miss this gal - she's in France for the summer, lucky duck.
I
have gotten to hang out with this lovely lady this season. Here we are
trying on glasses just to see how they'd look. I look like Thelma from
Scooby Doo. But we are quite cute.
This
last one is just so funny to me. It was on the way home from a
friend's stand-up comedy show, we decided to stop at the 24 hour grocery
store to get some things. We were giggly, a little drunk and it's the
most fun I've ever had in a grocery store.
When you need milk for breakfast, you've just got to do it!
How's your day? Is it raining too? What's your preferred rainy day activity?
2. In the middle of said week, my family will be driving to Bayfield, Wisconsin for my aunt's wedding. There will be an old little chapel, a river boat cruise, and camping.
3. Steve and I have never (in our 4 years) been camping together.
4. I dislike sleeping in tents. Mostly because the sun will wake me up at some obscene hour and I won't be able to fall back asleep. I will be the one wearing an eyemask while camping, like a diva, in
the hopes of sparing everyone the drama of a sleepless diva.
5. I will get to see all kinds of family members I haven't seen in a long time. I'm especially excited to see my cousin Jocelyn from France. She's gotten engaged since I saw her last.
6. I have been working hard lately making my aunt's wedding gift. I won't spoil the surprise here, just in case, so look for a DIY post in a couple of weeks.
7. I will also share loads of pics later - I'm the wedding photographer. I wish packing camera gear was lighter, and that I could trust checked luggage for even a piece of it. If you're in the Toronto airport today, I'm the one being crushed by the weight of her own backpack.
8. On the plane ride I'll finish reading Lullabies for Little Criminals. I am really enjoying the book so far, but wish I could save any children that have that as a life.
9. One of my favourite things about road-trips to the US is getting parcels shipped to a store that's on the US/Canadian border. It means I can buy from shops that don't ship to Canada, and the shipping fees are much cheaper. I bought some shoes and scrapbooking supplies. I forgot to buy film from the Impossible Project, and don't think it will ship in time now. Phooey.
10. What does one wear to a summer wedding in a chapel/on a river boat/near a campfire? I'll show you when I get back.
Have a great week, and maybe I'll have time to sneak in a post. Do you have any summer vacation plans? When was the last time you went camping?
I've joined Instagram (finally on Android!) and need more photos to browse.
Let me know your name in the comments so I can follow you. Mine is melgodecki
See you there!
The weather has been a little loopy here lately but warm weather is coming. I know it!
And I want to go for a picnic.
Here's what it would look like.
We would eat mini strawberry rhubarb pies baked in mason jars to go, soft cheese like Brie or Camembert, a fresh baguette and some basil leaves.
And I would wear this outfit:
I got my hair done on Monday and had to photograph its awesomeness before going to the gym yesterday. Because you know it's not going to look the same after a half hour of cardio.
I am really happy with the colour. Sadly it will fade really quickly. At least it still looks decent when it does.
It always takes about 100 frames of me being ridiculous to get a self portrait that I like.
These last two are my favourites.
Be back soon with some photoshoots of other people to show you - I've got a lot of editing to do. Happy Wednesday!
P.s. If you're in Toronto and want a great colourist, visit my friend Tessa at the Industry Salon
Found a pair of turquoise skinny jeans at Joe Fresh.
Change room visit.
Watched the Oscars.
My best dressed list: Penelope Cruz, Octavia Spencer and Berenice Bejo. Through really, I would wear almost any of the dresses that walked the red carpet if I ever had somewhere fancy enough to go.
Do you pay any attention to the Oscar's? Which outfit did you like best?
If you were in my class today, with a construction paper mailbox on the edge of your desk, I would deliver one of these Valentines to you.
I miss those days. I definitely had an appreciation for both the handmade cards and Garfield ones with crossword puzzles on the back. And I especially treasured the ones from the boys who weren't so gross all of a sudden.
I found this set of vintage valentines at a bookstore last year, and it turns out they're exactly the same as the ones my mom would always give as a kid. Too cute.
I hope you have a wonderful day today, whatever you're up to, dog gone it. ;)
It's official. 2012 is the year in which 80% of my friends turn 30.
Everyone I grew up with - friends from elementary school, high school, college. (Me too. )
It's daunting, 30, for some reason. Growing up in the 80's I had a much different picture of where I would be at 30. Not that I dislike where I am now at all, but when I think about my mom turning 30 and already having 3 kids, sometimes that clock gives a little tick ;)
At least the fun part of this year will be a lot of parties. The first of them was this past weekend, a surprise party 3 weeks late for D. Here are a few fave pics.
First off - check out the view from their condo! My city <3
The 'cake' was a pile of persians - which are unique to Thunder Bay, and were flown in as a surprise with D's sister. I should dedicate a post to those desserts soon - I need to crack the recipe.
Think cinnamon bun/donut with raspberry frosting....
If you talk behind the glass no one will know. ;)
Happy Birthday D!
How old are you and your friends turning this year?
Does 30 seem daunting to you?
As a person living in Canada, I hate this time of year.
We had daylight savings change last weekend. All week as I get up and head to work it's dark out. Wouldn't you know it, the sun sets at around 5 and it's pitch black as I head home.
Plus it's getting cold.
Now, things can look up a bit as the holidays approach - when lights are on houses and Christmas trees give a twinkle I do get the warm fuzzy feeling that reminds me of happy times.
But then Christmas and New Years end, and we're left with 3 more months of cold and dark.
I hate winter.
In an effort to not blog like a curmudgeonly old man all winter, I propose a new feature - Smiles this week. A sort of catch-all of cool things in my corner of the world.
Feel free to join in as well - leave a link in the comments if you like.
Here we go. Round one.
-knitting my first scarf and seeing progress slowly being made (it's a gift - can't post pics!)
-learning how to photograph glass (notoriously tricky)
-finding a set of Christmas scented body washes that make showers o so nice!
for the Wii. It is really fun while I play and then later my abs hurt a lot. It's a great workout.
. Watching it work is hypnotizing, haha, but so much better than my hand with an x-acto knife!
