'ween

i madly adore halloween.  this is a sneak peek at what i'll be wearing this year to my sister-in-law's party (click image for bigger view. excuse the pixels in the right side image, not sure what happened there but it drives me nuts).  this costume is brilliant, hand made by my mum for me. she really should be making costumes for movies/theatre.  she's genius.  

i like going all out for halloween.  i'm not one of those girls that uses the "holiday" as a reason to let my inner tart out.  i like going crazy with make up and fabric, i like to use the day as a reason to let my inner magic out.  for me it's about being an elaborate with cloth not a minimalist.  

i'm so excited that i actually have a reason to play dress up this year.  the past few years i haven't had a party to go to.

on that note it's about time for a giveaway.  i haven't done one in ages and that's just horrible.  free art is awesome and i intend to deliver!  watch out for the next post for it will contain.....well.... free art!

p.s. super major kick ass awesome congratulations go out to the ever fabulous Maria-Therese for making her debut as a poet!  it's a nerve wracking experience to get up and speak in front of a crowd of people but to be up there spilling out your inner most thoughts and feelings takes a lot of guts.  you did it Maria-Therese and you are ever more magic for doing so!  *hugs*

p.s. (part 2) believe it or not i feel yet another layout change coming.  i can't help it.  i like change.

celtic autumn

one of the things i adore about autumn is the stormy skies. how various shades of indigo and grey hang in cumulus clouds providing the perfect backdrop for the many colours on display. colours that cling to umber skeletons who sway graciously in the crisp winds.

there is no choreography more beautiful than that of natures falling leaves. they release their grip with an unselfish abandon, knowing it's their time. they fall to their death, their final resting place in a slow graceful motion. twisting on a breeze until they finally land softly on the ground where they will become a part of a whole new cycle of change, of life.

since i'm sort of on the topic of the beauty in death i just have to say that last night, last night i found the song i want played at my funeral. actually it's another song i want played, the other being 'The Trapeze Swinger' by Iron & Wine. this is morbid perhaps but it tends to happen to everyone unless you're a vampire. it's all about vampires these days so i had to get my reference in there.

damian, our friend rob, and i went into town (quite literally, we live in a village so 15 minutes away from us is "the big smoke", a town! cities are a whole other story) to see a celtic guitarist, tony mcmanus, damian just discovered. we were listening to a celtic radio station a few weeks ago and one of his songs came on. damian instantly got one of his albums. a few days later while driving through alliston (the aforementioned town) he saw a sign outside of a cafe declaring the performance of one tony mcmanus. how could we pass it up, it seemed serendipitous in a way.

so last night we made our way into town under the cover of a blackberry coloured sky and full moon. now usually we don't go out on weekends because there's nothing to do in a village of 1300 people. so last night felt really good to get out. upon arrival our night turned out to be pretty entertaining as we tried to find the oddly elusive door to get into the venue with tony mcmanus himself. a row of doors all looking the same yet with no discernible opening stood in front of the four of us. it's as if we were in a wonderland, i looked around for a potion of sorts that would shrink us into the secret entrance. eventually damian and tony (we're all bff's now so i can refer to him by first name only) found the right door and we were in.

there's something about celtic music that hits home with me and i would love to do a bit of genealogy on my families history to find out why. i just feel such a draw to roots when i hear it, it's not something that's forced it's something that churns in my gut and eventually travels upward towards my heart and quite often finds it's release trough my tear ducts. i can't explain it and find myself confused as to why i would be spilling little tears. they aren't tears of sadness, far from it, they're more like tears of happiness. maybe i sound crazy, i'm not sure if i can fully explain the feelings and that's probably the way it should be.

the song i mentioned earlier, my funeral song, was one that pulled tears. we were told the story behind it's beginning, written by a friend who had just won a piping contest and subsequently spent the winnings on whiskey (you've gotta love the Scots!). he awoke face down on the table of a pub with two things, a hangover and this song, as the story goes, written while unconscious. it's haunting, beautiful, and hopeful. if i were to hear this at a funeral i would lose it instantly and would chase every box of kleenex in the vicinity. my crying would be for loss but also for life, for the fact that there is so much overwhelming beauty around us. it would make me think that everything would be ok, that whomever left was leaving a message that they were in a better place, free from the strangleholds of life.

i know you may not get what i do from this piece of music and i have to admit i am one of those people that cry/get emotional at things i find beautiful. i remember being at the philadelphia museum of art and seeing my first original toulouse lautrec painting. my eyes welled up beyond my control. anyways, everything is relative and unfortunately the song, "the sleeping tune" has yet to be recorded by tony (he told me it would be on his next album). written for the pipes, he did it full justice on the guitar. i did however "film" his playing of it last night and by film i mean i kept the camera on my lap, focused on the darkness under my chair so not to disturb anyone with the glow of the screen. i will be posting a "weekly loop" video of it soon so you can hear it, along with photos of my trip to Scotland in July.

*sigh* how i wish i were back in Scotland.

re-jig that thought

that idea i had about making a video every day and then posting it....yeah, i think i was a little hasty. where did i think i was going to find the time to do that? the technical difficulties i was having earlier in the week (previous post) made me open my eyes. there's no way i can film, edit and upload on top of everything else i'm doing. so i have changed it up a bit, instead of every day i will do once a week. that should give me enough time to create a little somethin' somethin', edit it all up so it sparkles, and get it on here. that is the new, realistic, challenge!

it's fall now, officially, and i'm loving every minute of it. well, i would be if it actually felt like fall. summer has left it's crumbs lying about on autumns glory.
you had your chance summer and you rained, constantly. don't be thinking you can move in on pretty little fall now, it's short enough as it is. i predict the first snowfall will be next month (which is a crazy wonderful hats & mittens thought) so away with you summer, go hang out in Australia, it's their turn to have you. give me my crisp leaves and chilly tipped nose. i want to wear my cute scarves and not melt into their woolen threads while doing so.

loop dee daily #1

so i made a video tonight and yet again.... technical issues. dang it. i will press on, i will triumph. until then, here's a video i made a while ago.

thirty

my little sister turned 30 two weeks ago and i'm now just showing off some bits from the carnival themed soiree my mum and i tossed for her. blog neglect, it should be punishable by law.

we wanted to surprise her with a fun theme and yes, a little selfishly, i suggested a carnival! what can i say, i love the romantic idea of carnivals past. carnivals these days don't count, they just don't have the same magic. mum thought it was a great idea and we got to planning. i made some loot bags (above, in their opened state... it's not humane to withhold candy so we tore into them as soon as kate got there). we decided everyone should wear a little costume piece, nothing too crazy. mum was the ticket agent (she wrapped herself in miles of paper tickets), dad was the ringmaster (complete with top hat, tux jacket, white shirt, bow tie, fake mustache, and black bathing trunks *the party was held out back by the pool afterall*), damian was a "freak" (he made himself a freaky mask out of a burlap bag. this is creepshow no matter how you look at it, i mean did you see 'The Orphanage'?), kevin came as the little boy at the fair (dressed in cowboy shirt and little hat, a la little boys in the 50's), i was a gypsy fortune teller (natch), and kate (unbeknownst to her until she arrived) was the carnival princess.

i made her a special hat complete with flowing ribbons, glitter, flowers, and stars.

the best decoration of all though was born in my mum's kitchen, straight from her imagination and her new found skills with fondant. i posted a photo of one of her cookie creations before and now she's trying her hand at cakes. this is going to become a business for her once she retires (in December) and i'm so excited for her. she's so good at it, self taught too! i mean check this cake out, it was her first time attempting something like this and it turned out brilliant!

it tasted super fantastic as well. i could really go for a slice right now.

short and sweet that's what we did for kate's birthday. it was fun. later that night it got quite chilly and kate & i went for a swim. we lit a bunch of candles (and i had strung faery lights up earlier so those were sparkling too) and floated through twinkling blue as the heat from the water and the cool air battled it out creating a layer of mist above us.

* on a new note: i've had an idea to get me here more often as well as be a bit more challenged, personal, interesting? not sure what the best term would be for it but the idea is this - "Loop Dee Dailies", these would be videos of no prescribed length or subject, just a daily video filmed on the same day of posting. i can't promise it will happen EVERY day but that's what i'm going to aim for. i will also do written entries but i thought this might be a fun thing to do as an extra. i always like seeing the face behind a blog/journal so it's only fair that i put mine out there too. i hate my voice but whatever, i'll get over that. not that every video will be me staring into the camera waxing poetic but still. we'll just have to see together what comes of this.

here we go... first entry should be up later today!

*** edit - sept. 22***
first video attempt a failure. tech difficulties then the realization it was just too rushed/crap to put up. i shall try again tonight!

tumbling colour

i crave sweaters. i can't wait for autumn to make its entrance with a gust of wind and a scattering of red leaves on my lawn. it's my favourite season, filled with spicy scents, crisp air, fires, mulled cider, mulled wine, and an abundance of colour. i am more than happy to trade tank tops and flip flops for sweaters and boots.

last year damian and i went apple picking at an organic orchard not too far from our house. it was so much fun to wander the rows of trees under a grey sky that somehow illuminated the colours to their brightest. we ended up with 2 bags of perfectly imperfect apples picked by our very own hands and inspected for critters with our very own eyes. they ended up in a few apple crumbles and crisps which i have the urge to make again.

it's so nice to come home from a day spent outside in the fall air, light a fire, put some music on and bake... or lounge in front of a movie.

here's to jumping in piles of leaves (watch out for dog poo).

night lights & sweet treats

the end of summer is nigh.  we Torontonians come to this realization when the CNE opens.  personally i'm fine with the departure of summer, it's a been a wet one, and i'm ready for fall leaves and cozy sweaters.  yum.  so last night a group of us headed through the gates for an end of season tradition.  i love carnivals, all the twinkling lights and mechanical sounds of rickety rides, the smell of popcorn and sugar coated everythings.  it was a chilly-ish night and pretty windy, kind of perfect i thought. 

damian and i got there before everyone else so we wandered the grounds and came across a creature dressed for the festivities lying on a quiet piece of alleyway.  it was quite big, the biggest dragonfly i've seen.  it looked like a carnival with wings with all of those colours adorning it.  the poor thing was on it's back so we flipped it over but it still wouldn't fly away.  damian picked it up and put it in a lush planter filled with the same shade of green that was on its little vest.  we hoped there would be a happy union between insect and leaf and walked off.

we met up with everyone and travelled the midway for a bit admiring the glitter.

there's a real novelty with food at this place.  most of it comes on a stick.  there are your standards like corn dogs, candy apples, candy floss and whatnot.  then there are you newer and in some cases, more challenging items like pickles, meat balls, and pizza.  yes, pizza on a stick! the newest odd snack however did not reside on a stick, a plate was needed for this creation.  i felt photographic proof was needed for whomever's brainchild this was.  would you believe me without it?                       

can you imagine a pig walking by and seeing this poster?  do you suppose he would shake his head and say "is this what we've been reduced to?" or do you think he would feel celebrated?  i mean chocolate IS pretty delicious.  

after the horror of the choco-pig heart attack snack wore off we headed into the buildings to see what sort of treasures we could find.  i liked all the plants and Nick insisted on taking the standard "pretend you're stealing something right in front of the "no stealing" sign (with added illustration of handcuffs to really send the message home).  we're so clever it hurts. 

the first building was the "Useless Crap Nobody Needs And Will Most Likely Break After 2 1/2 Uses" building.  or the "As Seen on TV" building if you prefer brevity. if you've ever doubted the Germans talent when it came to making shammies well, doubt no long for the proof is in the sign baby.  right next to the Slap Chop!  Vince wasn't there though which was an upset.

things were closing up so it was time to leave, but not without a bit of decadence first.

that's right, the Scottish known treat (which we never did find while we were in Scotland last month) of a previously naked and boring chocolate bar dipped into batter, fried, then dusted with icing sugar.... on a stick!  

it was definitely time for drinks.  we headed over to The Academy of Spherical Arts for a bit of atmosphere and cocktail loveliness.  i love this place and have not been there in ages, this would be one thing i miss about living in the city.  we used to live walking distance from it and although it is a bit on the pricey side, sometimes you just need to treat yourself to fancy.  my favourite room was closed, the basement room called "La Belle Epoque".  *click the link and take the virtual tour to get a, well, virtual idea of the ambience*  i feel like i should be sipping absinthe with dearest Toulouse Lautrec when i'm in that room.  the low light, the candles, the art nouveau scrolled onto the exposed stone walls.  it's heaven in a cellar.

instead we headed upstairs into the Samuel May room.  this is Damian's favourite room.  it reminds him of an old fashioned gentlemen's club where you sip scotch and discuss politics.

after a few rounds we ran through the recently formed rain storm to Nick's apartment for a few more drinks.  the evening ended with a tug-of-war match between a rope, a pug named Lucy, a miniature American Bulldog named Oakley, and me.  the dogs won, i was outnumbered. 

Damian and i stayed in the city last night, we got a sweet deal on a room at the Westin.  this morning we decided to go back to the Ex for a second round.  we weren't able to see everything last night so we thought "hey, we're in the city, why not?"  today we came across a mini exhibit of the paranormal history of the CNE, right up my alley!  they had old photos from the turn of the century, stories of ghostly encounters, bits of history that would have resulted in the unrest of the ghosts (for example, the midway was the site of one one the bloodiest battles during the war of 1812.  people died there and now they're selling chocolate covered bacon to crowds of adventurous sweet toothed meat eaters.  hmm.)  there were photographs of gypsy fortune tellers in 1912 and this lovely lady.  actually she's kind of creepy since she doesn't have a face. even still, i wanted her caravan.

 

look who else was there!  those cute as a button Scottish designer boys, Colin & Justin.  look at those Canadian kilt ensembles, Oo La La gents.  i want them to heist my house, i wonder if they would travel north of the city to this little village?  in fact maybe they could heist the whole village!  you know, get those cars on people's lawns off the blocks etc.  *apologies for the shameful quality of the photo, the lighting in that building is the pits*

so, a pretty fun time was had. trinkets and treasures were purchased (Damian spoiled me and bought me all sorts of bits & bobs) and sugary bad for you food was consumed.  everything a trip to the carnival should be.  i picked up the cutest strands of red flower lights from a Thailand booth to hang in my studio.  photo to come once i hang them.

look what else i got, a fabulously glorious new hat.  isn't it simply divine?  i like to wear it on a slight angle to dress it up a bit more, to stand out from the crowd.  i feel so feminine in it, like a classy woman staring at you from the pages of a fashion magazine.  i blow kisses to you all from beyond my gauzy vignette.