Our First Fake Prom

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. 

When was your last prom? 

Saturday

On Friday of last week I noticed a post on a friend's facebook wall that would change the course of my weekend.  A girl I hadn't seen since high school asked "Anyone know people living in Toronto that might want to buy Radiohead tickets?"
I was thrilled.  I immediately added her as a friend and sent her a message about the tickets.
She was selling them for less than she paid - awesome.
The concert was the next day & I had the day off - perfect.
She had 3 to sell and I needed 2 - cool.
The tickets were in Thunder Bay and needed to get to Toronto - hmmm.

She did find a person she knew who was flying to Toronto the next day, if I could go to the airport and get the tickets there.  Ok.  So it takes me an hour and a half to get to Toronto's terribly placed airport from where I live.  And what? Her flight lands at 8am.  Oh boy.
But I did it - I've wanted to see Radiohead forever, never lived in a city where they were going to play, and this concert sold out so quickly.  I packed a book and got the tickets.

I then went home and had a nap.
A few hours later in the day, as Steve and I were heading out the door to go to the concert, I got a text.  "Mel, look at the news or call the concert venue."  What?
And the news was terrible.  The stage collapsed just before they opened the gates.
It injured 3 and killed one man from Radiohead's road crew.  The concert was cancelled. 

We couldn't believe it.  I called other friends that were going to the concert and everyone was in disbelief. 

My apologies, I don't want to make it seem like the event was trivial, but I don't know how to segue into how the rest of my night turned out to be great.   I sincerely hope they can figure out the cause of the accident and prevent it from happening in the future.

Back to my shallow story.
We were ready to go out on a Saturday night but now had to find new plans.

This is the thing I love most about Toronto.  There is always something.

We decided to meet up with K & H.  They were downtown and enjoying some of the free concerts Luminato had to offer.  We told them find a restaurant somewhere off of Yonge and we'd meet.
They ended up finding a little place called the Urban House Cafe.  Which was having its grand opening that night and we'd be some of their first patrons.

Sorry - blurry cell phone pic! But they have a nice patio :)

Guess what the Saturday night special was?  2 entrees and a pitcher of beer or sangria for $24.95!
Seriously. 

The gals went with Sangria.

Guys went with beer.

Now we probably would go to this little cafe again, but maybe just for drinks.  lol.
The menu had AMAZING prices - meals ranging from $4-$11.  But the menu was all over the place with Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, All Day Breakfast and even sushi.    Jack of all trades, master of none - we were not really impressed by the food.  No one tried the breakfast though, maybe that would be good?  Next time, drinks & nachos!

After our around-the-world dinner we walked down to Yonge and Dundas to catch the free Flaming Lips concert that was part of NXNE.  It was packed.  But a lot of fun.  I've always wanted to see the Flaming Lips play too. 

After we couldn't take the crowd any longer, we decided to head to Utopia, a fave restaurant for some gourmet poutine we may have been craving.  As we headed to the restaurant we discovered a street carnival in Little Italy, and walked through bands, dancing and a midway to get to Utopia.
Toronto you saucy minx!

Overall it ended up being a great night, even though completely different than planned.
Feeling thankful for Toronto and good friends. 

Gatsby's Neighbour

Each year Toronto has a really great event called Doors Open.  For one weekend every spring, dozens of locations are open for the public to explore for free. 
Knowing that this was coming up, I planned a creative photoshoot with some friends, and it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. 
My classmate Rebecca was the stylist, and we decided to use the Spadina House as inspiration for pulling the look together.  She gets the kudos for the outfits and amazing hats.  

My co-worker Josephina took some time from her busy weekend to model for a couple hours for us, and Barbara assisted/took behind the scenes photos.It was hot outside! Welcome to the glamourous life of a photographer.  Rebecca snapped this shot of me at work.

We shot the picnic scene first, until we all got too sweaty to bear it.  Meet Jo, she lives next door to Mr Gatsby.

 

We moved into a shaded corner for Jo to change into another dress inside our makeshift sheet changeroom, and then we went inside the house to take in some of the opulence.

This is my personal favourite from the day. 

If you'd like to see more of our photo adventure, check out Barbara's blog and Facebook page, she's posting at the today too :)
Go team!

P.S.  The fisheye photos like above were taken on my Lomo Fisheye 2 camera and with expired film.  And one shot is with Instagram on Rebecca's iPhone, the rest are on my Canon 5D. 

Crafting in Toronto - Ribbons and Trim at Sussman's Bridal

I love Crafting. 
I live in Toronto. 

When I first moved here it seemed tough to find craft supplies.  The closest Michael's was in Missasauga.  (Now it's at Wilson station.)  However, I was able to find what I needed through some searching and I discovered some of the best craft shopping on the planet.  Here's the maiden post in a new series that will hopefully help you get crafty and keep these local businesses thriving.

Up first a Notions and Trim shop: Sussman's Bridal Supplies.  

Don't be fooled by the name.  One half of their business is locally designed bridal gowns, but the other half is a cute little shop stacked floor to ceiling with ribbons, feathers, lace, zippers and hundreds of other goodies. 

Have a look.

That's my mom, by the way.  She was visiting for a couple days and on Monday we were on the hunt for a specific colour of lace ribbon.  We came to the right place.

I need an event worthy of yards of sequins - or to convince Steve to make our kitchen a disco.

They have a wall full of panels of silk flowers and appliques - hundreds of choices. 

Did I mention the gorgeous selection of feathers...

I'm going to go back to get feathers to fill a vase.  And make a fascinator.  And rack my brain for a Halloween costume idea.  And wallpaper my apartment with them...

All in all it was a very successful trip.  My mom found a whole sheet full of samples of what we were looking for, and Norma who was working was incredibly nice and really helpful. 

The prices are reasonable and sometimes surprisingly cheap.  I picked up some ribbons to make some bookmarks and will definitely head here as my first choice for trims again. 

You can visit Sussman's at:
420 Queen Street West 

(Between Spadina and Bathurst on the North Side)

416 703 1160

This was not a sponsored post.  I just want to feature some of my fave places in the city before they disappear, like some from the past already have. 

Do you have any fave places to craft shop in Toronto?  Anything you can't seem to find?

If you don't live in Toronto but want advice before you visit, let me know :)

52 weeks - week twenty.

Devan7904, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

Today's shoot was an absolute blast. 
Lets add the factors:
1.  Meeting the hilarious Devan for the first time when she came to my house and we picked outfits.
2.  Devan owns this dress! isn't it awesome? (from French Connection)
3.  Doors Open Toronto meant that the Spadina House Museum was free today - location shoot!

4.  Other tourists thought Devan was part of the museum, and took sooo many pictures of her.  At one point she burst out laughing because a crowd of about 20 was behind me as I shot.
5.  One of the ladies working let us sneak behind the roped off room to get this shot.  (As long as we didn't touch or sit on anything - everything is authentic and 150 years old...)

I'll try to post some more pics from the museum later this week, it's a beautiful place, and I have loads of great shots of Devan.
Annnnnd I'm going to my hometown on Tuesday, so I'll be busy seeing family and friends :)

extra extra.

bre6747, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

another image from the hair shoot. pre-fan-blowing-her-hair-everywhere :)

52 weeks - week eleven.

ting6994, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

Spring is finally here!
I can shoot outside again! It was still a little chilly, but I had a great afternoon out with my former classmate Ting, who biked to get around Toronto this winter. Brave soul :)

We are across the street from Casa Loma - I had a hard time deciding on the best shot, so can post a couple extras soon. 

experiments in the studio

annabw4925, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

this is one of my favourite shots from the studio time i've had this semester. i don't know what it is specifically that i like so much - maybe the fact that the image doesn't look like my friend, but like a character of some sort.  we had a lot of fun playing with my different vintage hats and how they cast shadows. this one worked perfectly because it still let some light through.

i've finally finished editing and printing all of my assignments, ready to be evaluated in tomorrow's class. and because it's night school we get to have a mini christmas party.  sweet.
if you'd like to see more of the portraits, check out my flickr set here. 

photography makes me happy.

fun things.

just want to wish you canadians a very happy thanksgiving!

we had a nice quiet dinner here. i enjoyed cooking the big meal and i'm very thankful that steve did all the dishes after. <3 and we have leftovers for days.

also - i forgot to tell you that www.melaniegodecki.com is finally here!

my photos are there, as a sort of online portfolio, especially if you live in the toronto area ;)

and finally, something too cute to not share. i walked to the nearest goodwill in search of halloween decor last week and stumbled upon knitomatic - on bathurst near st clair.

they have a knitted bike. it's awesome.

and i love these colours of wool - they make me want to knit a million things for fall. (but i think i will have to sign up for some of their lessons or classes - i've forgotten most of what i learned from youtube last year.

hope you had a wonderful weekend.