they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

rainy days

if only my rainy xmas had been this romantic.

"rock star"

this. house. is. so. cool.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/rock-star/

pretty in pink

finally.

done done done

DONE DONE DONE

DONEEEEEEEEEEEE.

couldn't feel better. now, for some mindless youtube-ing...

exam time blues

having the worst week/weekend ever. thank god this is the last december i have to do this.
my roommate is jumping up and down in the excitement of being done, while i sit with my economics textbook and contemplate whether or not i could get a good job if i just dropped out now...
and then, just when i thought nothing could make my day better, i stumbled upon this pic of a baby husky. romanians, you're crazy... and awesome.

general apathy...
almost done.

a christmas (library) wishlist

as it is exam season at the university of toronto, and all the poor students are coming in from the cold -  only to crowd the study rooms and procrastinate on facebook - i really wish they'd all keep a few things in mind.

this wishlist is more like a guideline for etiquette... and should be a hard law, enforceable rule book. yes, robarts, i'm available for hire.

1. an empty coffee and a book or two DOES NOT MEAN you are saving your seat. leaving the library for hours at a time and taking up valuable study space is lame. people all around your spot stare in wonder while you're gone, shaking their heads at your inconsideracy. c'mon, people.

2. turn your ****ing music down. just because you have earphones in doesn't mean your volume can be turned all the way up. i'm torn between wanting to let you blow your eadrums out, and wanting to blow them out with my fist.

3. in what world does it make sense to wear high heels if your feet are under a table, where no one can see them, and you're sitting down indefinitely?! you. look. stupid.

4. let's be real, you're a high school drop out who now works as a LIBRARY security guard. get over yourself. and stop using a bloody megaphone when you want to check our student cards. you just make yourself look more pathetic. also, i'm surprised the school actually gave you money to buy a megaphone, since you're at the bottom of the staff food chain.

5. there is nothing more infuriating than knowing a book is in the library, and not being able to find it. sorting shelves workers, cheers to you for being the MOST UNPRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES ON THE PLANET. le sigh.

damn you, anne hathaway.

i want (read: NEED) this dress, and i want the man beside it. ... for christmas, please.
santa, get on this.
pronto.

the claw

someone get me this bracelet. right. now.

the urban turban

in preparation for pulling an all-nighter at the hell-hole-of-a-dungeon (AKA robarts), i do some mental warm up and read a few blogs. low and behold, i found THIS:

i've embraced the jegging (LONG before anyone else, i might add), the pleather pant, the fur vest, the military revival... but this?! sorry, but i have too much hair to fit under that kind of... head piece? i can't even call it a hat. i can, however, call it RIDIC.

375 sq ft of awesome

NY times article on the cutest little apartment i've ever seen. makes me want to be crafty... or find a man thats insanely handy. slideshow is so cute.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/realestate/28habi.html?hp

and then there's my girl alexa...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/fashion/28ALEXA.html?ref=fashion

Blair vs. Hitchens

"Let it be resolved, that religion is a force for good in the world."

Hitchens (atheist) convincingly won the debate. But that certainly didn't diminish by infatuation with Tony Blair.

Screw you, stupid "Bliar" protesters, claiming he's a war criminal... to quote my sis, "This man makes me want to go to church, as long as he'll take me home after." Nothing is quite as a attractive as enormous success and a brills intellect.

ALL DAY

new GIRL TALK album = unreal.

my fave moment so far... "sunday bloody sunday" on top of "cecelia" on top of x-rap song. brills.

i think every song on my top 25 itunes playlist is somewhere on this album. all that's missing is a little shy ronnie.

... and just when i need some study music. ahhhhh. la vie est belle.

the brit is back

new cd 2011 - my fave brit girl`s got serious soul.

viva alexa

surprise, surprise

surprised the other day to find that some people i know ACTUALLY read this blog. surprising, since i don't write about anything remotely important, and most of posts consist of youtube videos i found while NOT doing my homework.

nevertheless, thanks to this breaking news, i'll try and find things to say that actually have some substance (though that might be hard).

while i think of something meaningful to say, i'll blog something totally useless in the meantime.

so LANVIN, and the adorable albert elbaz, are putting out a collection at H&M which debuts tomorrow. no doubt it'll open to a crowd of hipster fashionistas at the eatons centre location (a la all the other capsule collections), and i'm not to inclined to participate in the rat race for a dress that doesn't fit me in a colour i hate. so instead, i'll let joe zee sift through the collection for me...

disillusions of a shopaholic

today, i - the eternally insatiable and always underfunded shopaholic - took a little trip to square one.

i was thoroughly unimpressed.

since when did major shopping malls have so little appeal for papa's-visa-card-carrying girls like me? i knew what i needed, and had money to burn. and somehow, i was totally disinterested, and found NOTHING.

maybe it's the born-again urbanite in me, or maybe i'm just picky, but i found the rows of mundane, look-alike stores to be utterly depressing. why doesn't anyone take fashion risks anymore? why are there multiple stores in a row sporting the same, jeans and t-shirts, fleece sweaters and immitation uggs look, circa 5 seasons ago? where are the trend setters? WHERE IS THE STYLE?

this is a call-out to the shopping mall brands. step. your. game. up.
you too, aritizia... you are undoubtedly fashionable. but you NEED to update your collection. i can still spot the wilfred dress i bought 4 years ago, and those oversize sweaters have got to go sometime. you're lucky i found those wilfred pleather shorts today, even though you priced them at 118 benjamins.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: club monaco, BCBG, FCUK, and banana republic, you are exempt from my rage. your ruffles and sparkles and assymetric cuts still suck me in.

PS. H&M, please hire a new visual merchandiser and re-organize your store. i get a headache just walking through your door.

sesame street strikes again

in the gap between

raw talent and real success

lies work ethic.

NY Times - photo retrospective of the NYC subway. amazing photography.

all black everything, pt. 2

fave fashionista miss zoe rocks all black everything like no other. love this.

when it rains, it pours

must. have.

LMAO

sesame street, trendy and topical

LOL

i  SWEAR
      i will be productive
            today.

the smoking gun

epicly epic epicness

- tribute to the boys behind "scott pilgrim". can't say i've ever read the books or will ever see the movie, but the thought of a comic book set in toronto - where villains skateboard to their death down the stairs by casa loma, or dodge down aisles at honest ed's - kind of makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

- marchesa. officially my fave. always feminine and AMAZING. forget vera wang, these ladies are doing my wedding gown.

- day dreams of a fall wardrobe. kudos to me for hopping on the jeggings wagon so long ago, apparently theyre so "in" for fall... old news, mon ami. must-have list to come!

- old, rustic look for my new bedroom. already on board with the rich browns. maybe throw some creamy whites and metallics in there. new desk, puhlease. pops of colour can be saved for the loft.

- cleanse. yikes.

- school is looming. get back from vacay, you stupid undergrad administrator. i need my dean's promise, stat.

- animals + children = headache.

making the most of august!

sometimes

- sometimes i love kids. and sometimes they just drain me.
- sometimes my patience just runs right out
- sometimes i'm caught between how much i value my sanity, and how much i need to make money
- sometimes i realize how much i love my family
- sometimes i just want to have fun, alcohol included
- sometimes i want to be a better cook
- sometimes i blow things out of proportion
- sometimes i'm just a little too honest. and other times, i'm just a bitch.
- sometimes going without make-up is the best thing ever
- sometimes i want to take a nap... at work
- sometimes i lose sight of what's important
- sometimes i dream big. other times i don't dream big enough.
- sometimes i just want to shop.
- sometimes i actually learn from my past, other times i'd rather forget

all the time... i'm trying.

MTLLLL! and in other news, I kind of love this man.

on the way up

since i never blog about good things that happen to me, i thought i'd take the opportunity before something comes up to complain about...

- new apartment! brunswick and harbord. BE JEALOUS. roomies are awesome. loft space is awesome. location is awesome. awesome awesome awesome.

- my camera battery spends 2 weeks in a garbage bag and miraculously fixes itself. olympus FTW

- my room is finally clean. but i'm still only half unpacked. no point now really LOL

- MONTREALLLL. tres excite.

- getting in the swing of things for this job-ness. kids + animals = fun. and headaches.

- u of t sucks, and doesnt deserve my gratitude when they're slightly "generous". fuck you. and give me my dean's promise course.

hours and hours of craigslisting for furniture now commences.

If U OF T and ROSI were real people, I'd throw them in a bed and light it on fire - Lady Gaga style.
You tricky, selfish whores, I hate you both.
T-minus 12 hours until my schedule officially SUCKS.

questions, questions

1. why do i have an addiction to magazines

2. why do i want to shop the most when i have th least money to burn?

3. why does h&m nail polish go on with the viscosity (and appearance) of white-out?

4. why does "chic heroin" have a better wardrobe than me, AND go to my school?!
5. why do i covet pieces of clothing until they're gone...

speaking of which... my latest 'covet'.

summer aspirations

- jamie oliver-inspired cooking craze
- non-academic learning?
- WIND SURF
- screw rush hour rules
- bike bike bike
- ruffled rompers
- patio life
- music to my ears (through GIANT headphones)
- dreams of fall/winter shopping
- "stay calm and carry on"
- the ikea dream (kitchen)

http://kanyewestpower.com/

annie makes magic

The A-Team

one word: amazing.

i'm marrying this guy, no joke.

life on an incline (literally)

Montreal is one giant hill. Point of serious discontent? Pushing sissy up Rue de la Montagne in a wheelchair, in the rain, after lunching at Holt's Cafe in a dress that's wet, hair that's ruined, and no-longer-clean flats. FML. Uphill in a wheelchair would've been enough as it is.

Thanks to my trainer for making these biceps strong enough to deal with said wheelchair LOL.

Other than that, quick trip to MTL was fab - quality time and pretty relaxing. New hatred for hospitals.

Heading home feels like a bit of a fresh start. Jobs on the go, errands to run, skin miraculously clear, wardrobe in need of an overhaul, renewed gratititude for mobility, soccer to play! And NYC next week?

After introducing my sister to the much-better "The City" (ditch the LA cafes and nightclubs for some real jobs - and who doesn't adore Kelly Cutrone?!), inspired to invest more in my wardrobe than my lunch plate. If you see me about to indulge in my usual $10 sandwich or $15 Pusateri's salad, please stop me.

Homeward bound.

cleaning ladies and traffic jams

after all this cleaning and packing, and cleaning and unpacking, and poly-filla and scraping and nailing and screwing, i should just do this as a full-time job.

which reminds me of how i'm STILL unemployed! UNICEF, cut me some slack, please?

the city is a traffic jam. 40 min regular round trip totals 2 1/2 hours. Bless you, however closed the gardiner expwy on a summer weekend. And by bless you, I really mean, damn you to hell.
401 ->  427  -> QEW -> home. Thanks, phets. LOL.

out with the old and in with the new. pics coming down, new ones going up, start of something fresh. exciting.

dreams of islands and ashbridges and MTL. summer, please start soon!

 

love this song

moving out and moving on

packed up my apartment today for the first time in 2 years. feels weird to be moving out.

so many memories, good and bad. friends, foes, fights, tears, laughter, drunkeness... if only walls could talk.

saw a picture just now and realized, in life, nothing is sacred.
people come into your life and make memories with you that you think should last - at least for the near future, if not for a lifetime. but the toughest lesson to learn is that you can always be replaced. new memories can be made to replace the old, and your impact on someone else's life will fade, whether you like it or not.

think you're special? you're probably not.

so don't spend the time, money or energy making memories with people who don't cherish them. you'll regret it. cynical? sure. but it's the truth.

on to new memories and new adventures.

the unemployed life

school is over, summer is here, and i'm relaxed for the first time in months.
yessssssssssssss. enjoying the last few days.
- "scenic route" walks through the cedarvale ravine
- 4-way park patrol in forest hill village
- passing thoughts of summer economics
- salut, facebook. je reviens.
- trips, trips, TRIPS. anywhere and everywhere.
- the big move
- u of t loves me enough to give me an 84, but not an 85. you bitch.
- birthday beats in 23
- spring cleaning
- park + starbucks + phets = long time coming

achievement vs. disbelief

(and that's about half)

long time coming

since i don't have facebook... LOL

“if you don’t have faith in yourself and something larger than yourself, and if you want to take this world at face value, you’re going to have a fucking nasty ride.”

revelations 4:20

epiphanies of the day (and not a bible passage):

- never try to force something open with a large knife. you will stab yourself. and it will hurt. and it will of course happen at a time when you need to use that hand to type an essay. and you will wrap it with your superior first aid skills instead of going to a doctor, which is probably the right thing to do.

- the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" pretty much sums up my entire undergrad degree. SMH.

- Dean Rusk was kind of a dick. And John Diefenbaker was a complete idiot. And W.R. Smyser is brilliant. just saying.

- writing a history paper is an enlightening, time consuming, and ultimately useless endeavour. No one will read it, or care what it says, outside of the 10 minutes spent by your professor. sigh.

- 35 page papers should be against the law.

- NEVER. TAKE. SEMINAR. CLASSES. ... EVER.

almost there

so defeated lately. need OUT.

all-star

crunch, crunch.

Let's talk about an essay. You think you do a lot of research? You ain't seen nothing yet.

- 32 library books at the moment, and hopefully at least one more. 10 of which, at least, are memoirs.
- 27 newspaper articles. and counting.
- let's not even get started on stuff from library and archives canada. If you've never looked at documents from external affiairs, or cabinet conclusions, please don't start now. I'm gonna put the total number of pgs at well over 100.
- 3 dissertations (PhD, of course)
- ... and more.

This mammoth of an essay better be worth it. So close... yet so far.

LOVE the braided look from alexander wang (but not the underwear as outwear.)

... too bad i need a haircut.

Dear Maddie,

this is for you. LMAO

Raaaaaaaandy Declares War on Justin Bieber from Aziz Ansari

be happy for this moment...

                  this moment is your life.

is it bad that i really wanna see this?
well, lucia wants to see it more so... i guess its not so bad.
come join in cry fest #2 (dear john being cry fest #1)

so over it.

        
          Exhaustion.

puppy love.

i want one. right. now.

the e.n.d. LOLs

its end of term and more and more insane things come out of people's mouths on a daily basis.
this latest gem comes courtesy of ms. kardash:

"roll up the rim! man, i wish i won that money. whoever said money doesn't bring happiness clearly had no money. definitely a poor guy who made up that saying."

GOOP-esque

(not so) secretly LOVE gwyneth's blog, "GOOP". if only i had the funds to buy/do/go to all the things she recommends. and wouldn't i love a stylist from elle to come help me show off my picks for the spring season. sigh.

instead, i give you my FAVE picks right now: things i want, things i use, places i want to go.

maybe i'll get disgustingly self absorbed and make it a monthly thing LOL.

SHIZEN SPA. Totally chic, read about it in Fashion magazine. Lunch time specials that include spa packages plus delish lunch. Definitely gonna treat myself once the cash flow begins.













THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE. Saw this movie a while ago and watched it again the other day. I'm a serious magazine hoarder and the september issue is always the best bang for your buck - plus the ads are fabulous. Great look at the behind-the-scenes of the making of the Sept issue of Vogue. I want to be BFF with Grace Coddington.

TEA TREE OIL. Stole this from my sister's bathroom cuz it was that effing good. Thanks Dana :) Great for getting rid of all those annoying imperfections. If you can get past the tea tree oil smell, it's a must-have.

2-IN-1: I know a good hair product when I see one (when you've got this much hair, you know what it takes to make it look exactly the way you want.) This is pure genius - a curler and straightener all in one. The barrel becomes big enough to get those long waves that little curling irons just can't achieve. Tried to get one at Shopper's and found the hinge broken - epic fail. Try, try again.

toronto vs. paris

thanks for reppin HBC, jeanne. you're kind of annoying but... i'll deal.
rachel bilson had this jacket too. now i kind of want one. SO obnoxious though.
pretty sure i spotted one in kensington before...

passing thought.

First we form habits, then they form us.

Conquer your bad habits... or they will conquer you.

feed the animals

Just rediscovering Girl Talk's most recent album, "Feed the Animals."
Hard to top Night Ripper, but I think he manages to excite me even more. One of Time's 10 best albums of 2008, i'm told.

Check "Play your Part pt. 2", the swan song of the album. Genius stuff. AC/DC, Journey, George Harrison, Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne... and more! All on one track. Insanity. Even better than my former fave track, Night Ripper's "Too Deep".

seriously?

talk about a downgrade...

Suprisingly, little bit of self satisfaction at this one.

"plain" is never a highly complimentary adjective for someone.

"on to the next one."

sunshine and pretty things

The H & M Garden Collection.
Beyond excited.

the cure

looking for a safe path through the next few weeks. so much stress on the way. light at the end of the tunnel = april 13. OMFG.

rules for the final stretch:

1. stretch. like... actually STRETCH. my back needs it.
2. water water water. H2O is your friend.
3. get OUT. run, walk, whatever. just get that dose of fresh air at least once a day.
4. focus focus focus. yikes.
5. one thing at a time - getting overwhelmed gets you nowhere.
6. fail to plan, plan to fail. stick to that goddamn schedule and everything will be alright.
7. note to self --> 3 am is not an optimal time for productivity. sleep on it and wake up ready to work harder.
8. eat fresh! not a good time to become a slug. and stay away from those robarts vending machines. welches fruit gummies are not a good way to get energy at 12 am.
9. stay. away. from. the. coffee. (as much as possible. sometimes so necessary though)
10. just think about the science kids who have it way worse than you :)

YAY!

"i know the world's been mean to you, i've got a cure, hold tight/ i know the world's not fair to you, i've got a cure for it's crimes" - T&S

cherry bomb

I have NO IDEA why, but I kind of want to see this movie.
Not a huge fan of either Dakota or Kristen but... it kind of looks good (?)



Maybe i'm willing to see any movie out there right now just to get me out of the house... the weather is gorgeous outside. And i've been inside writing essays for 2 days straight. FML.

SCHOOL SUCKSSSSSSSSS

(... THAT'S ALL I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW.)





MISERY, AT LEAST, INVOLVES A GOOD SOUNDTRACK...

bitch is the new black

Holler miss Cutrone, i'll be the first one to buy your book. Like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler once brilliantly put it - bitch is the new black. This woman is pretty prickly, but she gets shit done. Brilliant.