My Life in SoRo

Bye Bye Libby!!!

2011-03-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

The world lost a legend today. There will never be another Elizabeth Taylor.

(all images from Google Images)

Parenting first

2011-03-06T11:56:00.001-08:00

So D and I experienced a parenting first over here in SoRo last weekend. Little Miss S took a tumble into the TV stand last Saturday night. Being clumsy and falling down is not new to her so when she hit I knew it was hard but I figured it might just result in a bruised nose and possibly some black eyes. I ran over, picked her up and hugged her close and that's when I realized that it was so much worse. I was covered in blood, she was covered in blood and we needed to get to the emergency room stat! So D and I hopped into action and got to the hospital in what felt like 2 seconds (driving way faster than we should have been for sure). It was bad. A huge gash above her right eye that was pouring with blood. Needless to say I was super scared and freaked out as we haven't had to deal with something like this yet.

They were super nice at the emergency room and we were ushered in right away. They bandaged her up and then the waiting started. It felt like forever before a doctor came to see us. Once he did, he informed us they would need to sedate her as she would need stitches. Yikes, but totally understandable as there would be no way they could sew her up without it. We were brought into another room where they hooked her up to a heart monitor and then gave her the needle. Now up until this point she was fine. She cried when she hit the TV stand but after that was a trooper. Until the needle came that is. Poor bunny. She really hated the needle but within less than 5 minutes she was out. They set the kit up for the doctor and he came in to start the stitches. Great, looks like we will get out of here at a good hour. Think again. We hear over the PA "CODE BLUE!!", everyone starts freaking out because they all have to run off for some serious emergency leaving us by ourselves. No problem, we will just wait until he comes back. Except when he came back he brought with him a bunch of screaming staff who grabbed Stevie's bed and started rushing us out of the room because they needed it for Mr. Code Blue. As we are being pushed out, they are wheeling Code Blue in. A 500 pound man who is in the process of having a heart attack as evident by the doctor on top of him pounding on his chest.

So freaked out!!! This whole thing was stressing me out so much I am lucky I didn't go into labour.

By the time to doctor came back the sedation had worn off which meant another needle. Even semi-doped up she knew she hated it. Poor bunny, again. Finally out and ready for the sewing, but wait another CODE BLUE!!! Come on, you've got to be kidding me. Luckily this time the doc was back within 5 minutes and he could finish the job. Stevie was all sewn up and ready for home.

She was so good and such a trooper through the whole ordeal it made it so much easier for D and I. Even 5 days later when we went to get the stitches out she didn't even shed one tear. We are so proud of her. And proud of ourselves for getting through all of this.

Ready for the stitches

Boyz in the hood

2011-02-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

Actually it's one boy, and by hood I mean my uterus. Yup, that's right. We're having another baby and it's a little mister. So exciting. We're used to girliness with Stevie but a little boy will be so different. But a good different and something I am really looking forward to.

This pregnancy hasn't been much different from my last one except I feel way more tired and the heartburn has started earlier. I wonder if this baby will come out with a full head of hair as well. I'm so excited by all of this and can't wait for June to arrive so we can meet this little man.

I feel like I have been a bit hush hush about this whole pregnancy this time around. A bit stressed and worried about something going wrong. I am starting to realise though that I need to just relax and enjoy what's happening. Things have been going well up to this point and since I am 5 months along now all signs point to everything being okay. I'm finally starting to really enjoy what is going on and get excited about this new adventure in our lives.

In order to celebrate, I decided I deserved a little gift. Nothing like shopping to help relieve some stress and make everything feel better. I never got a proper diaper bag the first time around but I figured since now I will be carting around enough stuff for two kids it was time to take the plunge. So, I was on the hunt for something functional yet stylish. And I found it in the form of this:

Orla Kiely goodness. I have been wanting a bag from her for so long and now one is on its way to me as we speak. Yes, her bags are pricey but this one was on sale and such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. Plus I figure that once the baby stuff is no longer needed I can use it as a handbag/camera bag.

So yay for new babies and yay for other new stuff!!!

Christmas Wish List

2010-12-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

In a world where there are no limits on the amount of presents you can get (and the $$$ that needs to be spent on them) here is what I would wish for.

Marc Jacobs awesomeness:

Gap wedges:

Bathroom remodel (not necessarily like this but something new):

New counter tops for the kitchen:

New couch:

New camera (love my digital SLR but need something like this too to throw in my bag):

Seonna Hong art:

Too much to ask for???

Vera-Ellen

2010-12-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

I just watched White Christmas and it reminded me how much I love Vera-Ellen. She was so thin (apparently she suffered from anorexia before people even knew what that was. Look at her waist, it's no surprise) but man could she move!

In the woods

2010-10-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Took a walk in the woods near our house the other day. I love Fall!!!

I want to see this.

2010-10-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

Role Models

2010-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Do you think when Matilda gets older this will be one of her favourite photos of her parents? I hope so.

Remember her?

2010-09-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

I had forgotten about the amazing Mad Men Barbies that were announced in March. Joan is my favourite. I wish they had made her a little more true to life though and gave her Joan's real curves. That's what makes Joan, Joan right? $75 though, that feels a bit steep for a Barbie. Even one as awesome as this.

This little lady on the other hand might be worth it.

Ode to fringe

2010-08-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

Even though August just started and I can't help but feel like Fall is just around the corner. And fall means that I can start to wear boots more!!!! And more specifically, my faux suede, fringe boots. I don't get much wear out of them because they are hot and also cannot withstand the damage that the Winter snow or wet Spring would do to them. So, the only time they can come out is Fall. I am planning my outfits around them already!!

D makes fun of me a bit when I wear them, calls me Pocahontas. I can't help it, I just love fringe!

Friday Funny

2010-08-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Fug girls

Move over James Franco - Sexiest Man Alive

2010-07-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Summer in SoRo

2010-07-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Despite the disgustingly hot weather we've been having here in SoRo, the summer has been quite enjoyable. We started off by enjoying the small pool on our deck and have graduated to the big pool now that the City has opened it. Stevie is crazy for the water. She loves her floaties and jumps in off of the side of the pool into our arms of course. Every now and then we "forget" to catch her to try and get her used to going under. She doesn't like it that much and now when we walk to the pool she says to me "no dunking okay momma?". So cute. So needless to say, with the 45 degree weather we have been hitting the pool pretty much everyday.

On the cultural side we took the little miss to the newly renovated Museum of Nature. She loved it. She's still talking about the frogs. we also hit up the Pop Life exhibit at the National Gallery. We all enjoyed it, despite Jeff Koons enormous ego. Stevie also completed her Sportball class. 2-3 year olds and lots of balls = hilarious!!!

On Canada Day we had a BBQ at our place with friends which was lots of fun. I ate too much but it was unavoidable. Especially with Cara's dips around. Bluesfest has started as well and I had the great pleasure in attending the B52's show. Life altering experience for sure. I have always loved them and have been wanting to see them live so I had to go. It was amazing. So amazing in fact that the next day I was sore from all of the dancing. BEST WORKOUT EVER!!!!!

Stevie and I are off to Toronto this weekend on the train. She's so excited to use her new suitcase. Can't wait to see the fam and my girls.

Here's some photo evidence of the above.

Swim Fan

Museum

Sportball Champion

Canada Day BBQ

Tim and Leanne at the B52's

Cindy and the Gang

Us as Mad Men

2010-07-07T10:41:00.001-07:00

Here is Cara, Nat, Darrell and I in Mad Men.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

I feel old

2010-06-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Madonna's daughter looks like this now:

I remember when I was 13 and dancing to her mom's music. It seems like such a long time ago. Oh right, it was.

Etsy finds

2010-06-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

I love Etsy. Can't get enough. I love to fill my favourites list with things I never end up buying. It's fun. It's almost like I don't even need to actually buy them, just finding them and putting them on the list is enough. There is no end to the bizarre stuff you can find on there. Here are some current favs.

Ship hat

Unicorn

Liza

Fingers

Jojo plate

Put a shirt on!!

2010-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love the internets!!! Access to so many photos of so many things that don't make sense, Like...

Can you believe this douche showed up at an award show like this? Come on. We get that your a athlete (snowboarding I think) but that doesn't mean we want to see you all bare chested. Gross!!! Also, I find so few redheaded men attractive and he is definitely not one of them. This guy needs to be slathered in SPF 75 rather than going shirtless!!! Fail on all accounts.

In the mood to shop

2010-06-07T11:59:00.001-07:00

You know what shopping does? It makes me want to shop more. Went out with the lovely Miss C on Saturday for some well deserved girl time. We hadn't really hung out since her wedding in Vegas a few weeks back and I was missing her. So we did breakfast at Stoneface Dolly's (so delicious) and then hit up the mall. We were actually quite frugal if I do say so myself. The mission was to buy some bras and we were successful in that but you know how it is, a million other things offer themselves up and it's hard to say no.

Needless to say, now that we were out shopping I feel like I want more. Here's some items on my current hit list of wants:

and also another one of these (best bras ever!):

And of course the bikes (see previous entry).

Dilemma

2010-05-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have a bike and I ride to work everyday. The problem is I want a cuter bike that is more fun. Right now I have a boring old mountain bike. It's served me well over the last 12+ years but I feel like it's time for a change. The only problem is can I afford (or justify) this change?

Here are the styles I would really like:

The problem is these all range from $500 to over $1000. I feel like it would be crazy for me to spend that amount of money on a bike, even though I ride to and from work 5 days a week until it's too cold to ride.

Canadian tire has this nice cruiser for $159

That's totally doable the only problem is it has no gears. I encounter a couple of hills on my way to work and this wouldn't cut it. So, do I find a new way to work so I can ride in inexpensive style? Do I fork out mega bucks just to get the bike I really want because it looks pretty but that I don't really need? Or do I suck it up and keep riding my old bike? What's a girl to do?

Mini love

2010-05-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love miniature things. Always have. I think my Gran might have something to do with it. We used to sit at her kitchen table and play with those figurines that came in Tetley tea packs. We'd sculpt food out of wax for them. Making mini things for mini things. I still feel this way. I love dolls, you'll see a lot of evidence of that here. I have a doll house that is currently at my Gran's place (she has fully furnished it)and have always thought that it would be great to take photos of it from a scale that would make it look like picture of a regular size home. Small things just make me happy. So imagine how delighted I was to stumble upon Annina. From her blog you will see how she shares my love of mini things. Mini houses to be exact. Her photography is so inspiring. The way each room looks like we could walk right into it even though it's so small is amazing.

See for yourself:

I think I might need to get that doll house back and start some of my own!!

Lovely ladies

2010-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been feeling like I am in a bit of a rut with my look. I don't know, sometimes being a mom means you don't have a lot of time to think about what you want to look like because you are too busy getting someone else ready. If I'm not covered in peanut butter I feel like I'm doing well. Of course being a working mom means I leave the house to head to the office and that requires some dressing effort. I'd like to think that I am not a total slob when it comes to work attire but working in an office can sometimes stifle your look as well. I remember the days when I used to wear crazy vintage shirts and have a new hair colour every couple of months. Now vintage has given way to Old Navy and I haven't really dyed my hair since I was pregnant with Stevie. Part of this might have to do with the new body I have after having a baby (who is now 2!!!). It's rounder and softer and not always as accommodating as I would like when trying on clothes. But that's no excuse, right? There's lots of sexy curvy girls out there who put the effort in. I need to find some inspiration in the style department and start to mix my look up a bit. With the summer approaching I feel like this is the perfect time to do it!

Here's some ladies that are currently getting me inspired to step it up:

The cutest

2010-04-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

This picture makes me want to have another baby.

I need to have these.

2010-03-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

Mad Men Barbies. Enough said.

F*#k You Winter

2010-02-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you guys but over here in SoRo we are getting so sick of winter. Once my birthday is done I am so ready for Spring time. We had more snow today and another 40cm is expected for tomorrow. Come on already!!!!! I just want it to stop. I want to start riding my bike again and I'm so tired of wearing winter boots all the time. I know the end will be here soon enough but it feels like it's months and months away. For now I'll just dream about the sun and all the awesome things that will come with the warmer weather.

Betty White

2010-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Betty White is awesome. We recently got new cable at home and I watched some Golden Girls reruns this weekend and can't get over how hilarious she is.

Don't believe me? Check out this bit of funny:

When fellow Golden Girl Rue McClanahan was hospitalized after having a stroke a few weeks ago, a friend of Rue’s reported that Betty had sent Rue a “Don’t Get Well” card that said something along the lines of, “Dear Rue, I hope you hurry up and die so I can be the last Golden Girl left. NOT KIDDING.” Rue apparently got a huge kick out of it.

Love her.

Meet Tavi

2010-01-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Tavi Gevinson is just about the cutest thing ever. I was first introduced to Tavi though Spencer Tweedy's blog. They are friends and go to school together. Tavi has her own blog though and she's quite the style maven. She's covered fashion week for Harper's Bazaar, collaborated with Rodarte, and landed herself on the cover of Pop magazine. But it's her own personal style that really stands out. She is not afraid to go crazy and try out different looks and is very daring for such a young girl. She's only 13!!!! I think Tavi is a great role model for young girls. I hope that when Stevie gets a bit older she will look up to someone like Tavi rather than all of those pre-fab Disney tarts.

Enjoy Tavi

Smells like memories

2010-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day how funny it is that smells can remind us of certain memories. Like how mint always make me think of the mint patch we had on the farm when I was growing up. Or rosemary will always make me think of Christmas. The smell of the fall air brings back memories of high school football games. Old Spice makes me think of Volleyball practice. It's pretty cool that the smell of something can instantly take us back to a memory of an experience we've had.

I was on the bus the other day and a man got on and sat in front of me. He was wearing Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men and I was instantly 15 again and in Marty Brown's parent's family room watching movies.

Let's recap:

Mint = the farm
Rosemary = Christmas
Fall air = high school football games
Old Spice = Randy Rennie - high school volleyball coach
Obsession for Men = losing my virginity

I know there are so many more but it's the kind of thing that needs to be smelled in order to bring it back. What are some of your scent triggers?

Sleep is overrated, right?

2009-12-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

Wrong. Sleep is a beautiful thing. I remember as a teenager I used to sleep until 1:00 pm sometimes. It was fabulous. Even in my 20s, after a night of partying, knowing I could sleep in was great. Now I'm a mom and sleeping in is not really an option at this point. Stevie is 2 so as you can imagine she's not up for sleeping in that late. Actually one thing we have learned about our little girl is she doesn't like sleeping at all. Well, that's not true. She sleeps. It's just always a struggle. Does she sleep through the night? Sometimes. Not as much as we would like though. It's brutal. I'm sure we have messed this up somewhere along the way. Probably by doing what we felt was working rather than what the books say to do. Now I can't help feel like we are caught in this trap and it's so hard to get out of it. "Let her cry" people say. Easier said than done though when the crying results in us all being awake until 3:00 am because she has worked herself up so much that now she won't go to sleep at all.

I guess some people are blessed with babies that love sleeping. I wish we were those people. Would I trade her in for a kid that goes to bed super easy and sleeps all night. Never. For now I will just need to seek solace in the fact that once she is a teenager I can get her back by waking her up at 7:30 on the mornings I know she wishes she can sleep until 1:00 pm.

Kittens inspired by Kittens

2009-11-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

Best Video Ever!!

Sexiest Man Living

2009-11-20T18:49:00.007-08:00

Okay, I know it might seem like I can't stop talking about him but James Franco is really throwing me for a loop with this whole General Hospital thing. I mean WTF? It seems crazy to me that an actor with his current resumé would sign on to star in a soap. It weird but I also find something kind of cool about it. A true actor likes to challenge themselves, right? And that seems like it would mean trying all kinds of different work. I'm sure being on a soap opera is hard work, they certainly film enough episodes so I imagine the schedule is exhausting. Kudos to him for realising that acting is acting and if a part comes along that interests you, who cares if it's day time TV and you have to play opposite characters like Sonny Corinthos. It's all just another reason to love this guy.

Thanks Salon, I'm in total agreement with you!

Stevie - the early months

2009-11-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

With Stevie's 2nd birthday this week it got me thinking about how quickly she is growing. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were bringing her home from the hospital. Now she's running around and talking up a storm (or at least trying to!). I found these photos of her first couple of months the other day and just had to share.

Hollywood Crush

2009-11-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Like so many other women, I too have a serious crush on James Franco. I think Milk was what solidified it for me. Not sure why it took him playing a gay man to do that but there you have it. Anyway, I work during the day so I am not much of a soap watcher but man, I wish I had a tivo/PVR to record this.

2 already

2009-11-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I was at the General Hospital waiting for my little lady to come into the world. After spending 2 days in a hospital room waiting for my induction to take effect things finally started to happen. At this point two years ago I would have been two hours away from meeting Stevie face to face. Was I exhausted beyond belief? For sure. Was it totally worth it and the best day of my life? Most definitely. Not to sound all cheesy but it was truly life changing. And I don't just mean in the never having any time to myself kind of way. It's just changed the way I feel about everything. It's made me appreciate and care about things so much more. And even though being a mom is super hard, I feel like I'm good at being Stevie's Mom. Like this is just something I was meant to do.

Happy Birthday Little Bunny!!! I love you so much.

Daphne Odjig

2009-11-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today for our "Family Day" outing we went to the National Gallery to see the Daphne Odjig exhibit. Stevie loved running around and attempting to scare the guards by getting a little too close to some of the paintings. It was such a nice time though. I can't help but feel like we are fostering a love of art for her by taking to see these things so early on. I feel like it worked on me since my parent's did the same thing.

Anyway, back to Daphne. She was born and raise in the village of Wikwemikong, on Manitoulin Island. Her works are a very abstract take on the human form but you can see she is obviously heavily influenced by her native roots. The colours in her painting are so strong and bright. She is often referred to as "Picasso's grandmother". Stevie was pretty mesmerised by a number of them. So we're Darrell and I actually. That's what I love about the Gallery, you can go in not knowing anything about the artist and come out a fan. Daphne is still alive today, I believe she is around 90 years old. Still painting I hope.

Here is some of her work:

These photos don't do them justice though and there are so many great ones that I haven't shown here. Get to the National Gallery of Canada by January 3rd to check them out yourself.

Best Review Ever

2009-10-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago Cara and I had an idea for a movie review show called "Thumbs Down" where we would pretty much hate every movie that we reviewed. When I read the following review of Transformers 2 by Roger Ebert, it made me think we were on to something. Enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. Such are the meager joys. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.

The plot is incomprehensible. The dialog of the Autobots®, Decepticons® and Otherbots® is meaningless word flap. Their accents are Brooklyese, British and hip-hop, as befits a race from the distant stars. Their appearance looks like junkyard throw-up. They are dumb as a rock. They share the film with human characters who are much more interesting, and that is very faint praise indeed.

The movie has been signed by Michael Bay. This is the same man who directed "The Rock" in 1996. Now he has made "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Faust made a better deal. This isn't a film so much as a toy tie-in. Children holding a Transformer toy in their hand can invest it with wonder and magic, imagining it doing brave deeds and remaining always their friend. I knew a little boy once who lost his blue toy truck at the movies, and cried as if his heart would break. Such a child might regard "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" with fear and dismay.

The human actors are in a witless sitcom part of the time, and lot of the rest of their time is spent running in slo-mo away from explosions, although--hello!--you can't outrun an explosion. They also make speeches like this one by John Turturro: "Oh, no! The machine is buried in the pyramid! If they turn it on, it will destroy the sun! Not on my watch!" The humans, including lots of U.S. troops, shoot at the Transformers a lot, although never in the history of science fiction has an alien been harmed by gunfire.

There are many great-looking babes in the film, who are made up to a flawless perfection and look just like real women, if you are a junior fanboy whose experience of the gender is limited to lad magazines. The two most inexplicable characters are Ron and Judy Witwicky (Kevin Dunn and Julie White), who are the parents of Shia LaBeouf, who Mephistopheles threw in to sweeten the deal. They take their son away to Princeton, apparently a party school, where Judy eats some pot and goes berserk. Later they swoop down out of the sky on Egypt, for reasons the movie doesn't make crystal clear, so they also can run in slo-mo from explosions.

The battle scenes are bewildering. A Bot makes no visual sense anyway, but two or three tangled up together create an incomprehensible confusion. I find it amusing that creatures that can unfold out of a Camaro and stand four stories high do most of their fighting with...fists. Like I say, dumber than a box of staples. They have tiny little heads, although Jetfire® must be made of older models, since he has an aluminum beard.

Aware that this movie opened in England seven hours before Chicago time and the morning papers would be on the streets, after writing the above I looked up the first reviews as a reality check. I was reassured: "Like watching paint dry while getting hit over the head with a frying pan!" (Bradshaw, Guardian); "Sums up everything that is most tedious, crass and despicable about modern Hollywood!" (Tookey, Daily Mail); "A giant, lumbering idiot of a movie!" (Edwards, Daily Mirror). The first American review, Todd Gilchrist of Cinematical, reported that Bay's "ambition runs a mile long and an inch deep," but, in a spirited defense, says "this must be the most movie I have ever experienced." He is bullish on the box office: it "feels destined to be the biggest movie of all time." It’s certainly the biggest something of all time.

Footnote 6/24: Does it strike you as a lapse of Pyramid security that no one notices a gigantic Deceptibot ripping off the top of the Great Pyramid? Not anyone watching on the live PyramidCam? Not even a traffic copter?

______________________________________________________________

He's still got it.

New name, same me

2009-10-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've moved and changed my name. It's going to be pretty much the same blog that it was over at Deviated Septums but just a new name. Someone else out there has a blog called Deviated Septum and it made me feel totally unoriginal.

Where is SoRo you ask? Good question. SoRo is South Rockcliffe, better known as Vanier. But SoRo sounds way more posh, right? I love my neighbourhood and am enjoying the life we are building here. This blog will show you that life and a whole bunch of other fun stuff that I love.

These two are the main loves in my life:But there is no shortage of the other things I love or finding new thing to love as well. I look forward to sharing with you and vice versa.