2.28.2011

getting used to getting up early again

i was up late last night helping jeremy with his thesis and doing some work. i think i fell asleep around 12:30am, though i know i slept with my laptop open and my head on the keyboard a few times. seth's been having TERRIBLE overnight sleeps. and i just have no knowledge around what to do. most of the books i've seen or resources in general are centred around getting your baby to fall asleep OR are cry-it-out options which i dont think i'm down with. that crying baby hurts my heart. and then there's been earlier mornings. it just sucks.
pink hair step 2 complete
waking up to snow is always nice
i woke up this morning to nice fluffy snow on everything. i didn't even see it snow in action so that's always a nice surprise. today i'll probably stay inside most of the day, do work, drink coffeeeeeee, cuddle with my family. i'm going to make tortilla soup for dinner (never made it). and maybe i'll get my hair set up tonight to dye it fuschia. XO

2.27.2011

GIVEAWAY WINNER (and hair update)

Congrats atomiquelle!! You are the giveaway winner! Thank you to everyone that entered and the numbers are skewed because of a double comment but I renumbered them before I did the generator. Anyway, if you didn't win but would still like to get your hands on Feminism FOR REAL you can order one from the CCPA.

In other news I've started the process of dying my hair like Ramona Flowers. When I ordered the dye I did so under recommendation from Kaylah's posts at Dainty Squid (here and here) and ordered some manic panic in two colours, cotton candy and fuschia. I also ordered a beyond the zone bleach kit and I left it on for 45 minutes and it came out super yellow, but i liked it. I just spent the last 1/2 hour covering it with the cotton candy and getting it under a plastic bag and secured on my head. Now I'm going to sleep with it on and rinse it out the AM. I'll probably go pale pink/yellow for a few days/this whole week, and then go to the fuschia. If it turns out I got this job my start date would be the 17th of March? So, I'd have to dye it back to brown the Sunday night before (b/c it's a real adult job). If i dont get it, i might go light pink for as long as i can and then go fuschia. We'll see. The pictures below are of me pinning my hair up and looking 90s, the yellow, the pink on yellow, and my hair cover. Now, to SLEEP i go! I offered to host sustain-a-table again tomorrow night and am going to make a feast similar to one found at the foundation: lower east side, nachos, and sugar pie. XO
putting up the brown sections.
the yellow hair!
with the pink in
my hair under a bag

2.24.2011

"the world is full of good intentions, paradise is hard to find"

arrow!
seeds!
seth.
i've been kind of in a funk for the past few days. i feel so tired, like the months of sleep deprivation have hit me and that the pulling of the left side of my neck is really starting to take its toll. i'm tense. and it sucks. i really feel like i need a few days to myself. the last few days have been busy and perhaps life changing ( i had a job interview today that while isn't with the provincial government would effectively cross that goal off ). and i'm just tired. i kind of want a shopping spree. or even to go to this  ........

today is probably my last day as a person with brown hair for a few days or weeks. i got my hairdye to go all ramona flowers but then got in the process of applying for this job and maybe having an interview to having an interview so i left it as au natural. and then i was going to dye it tonight and realized i didnt have gloves bleck.

i guess i'm feeling defeated. by what i'm not sure.  so i'm going to take a tylenol for this neck pain drink lots of water and go to bed. tomorrow will be a better day. XO

2.23.2011

Squash Tempura

february will be squash month over at the blog

tempura squash

Tempura here in Canada/BC whatever is just so boring and gross. Our local sushi restaurant does a slice of yam, a slice of potato, and a slice of eggplant: BORING. Even at other sushi/japanese restaurants I've been to since being back from japan the tempura is always prawn heavy (b/c us north americans love our meat!) and is just yam or zucchini or eggplant probably because north americans don't like "weird" vegetables (and i guess if you're running a restaurant you dont want to take any risks).

The tempura I had in Japan (even the kind from the grocery store's deli) was always Amazing. I remember this one place in my community that made fresh soba noodles, that we ate cold with a wasabi and shoyu bath. and it came with fresh tempura, so light and crispy! and with local vegetables (never meat). there would be heavy greens (like kale), and mushrooms, and taranome, and the littlest japanese eggplants, and thin slices of kabocha squash with the skin still on. those were my favourite.

When we hosted sustain-a-table the other week and served japanese food, one of the things I made sure to serve was squash tempura. I had a massive hubbard that i sliced into thin (2-3mm) slices and coated in boxed tempura (i was being lazy b/c i was in a rush and didn't want it to screw up, but i've made it from scratch and it's just as good!). then i deep fried it. pretty simple. i fried them until they were golden. we ate them hot with a veg shoyu mix. to die for.

2.22.2011

pumpkin pie tarts

february will be squash month over at the blog
!! Squash !! month is wrapping up and i have a handful of posts i haven't posted yet. way back at the beginning of the month i made these pumpkin tarts b/c i had made a 1 1/2 batch of the moosewood no-fault pumpkin pie recipe (i used rice milk instead of evaporated milk and baked it longer). because i only have one pie plate i folded squares of pastry i rolled out into a muffin tin and filled those right up. i much preferred the tarts over the pie (probably because by the time i got to the pie i was SO full and SO sick of pumpkin pie! haha) and ate the last bit of this tart with some marshmallow cream stewart had bought a few months back. it was so good.

can i also say that the plate in the pictures is a relic leftover from my life in japan? i bought it for 100y at a 100y shop back in 2004 and brought it the whole way home. i have a few of them, actually. i know i say this often, but i miss japan every single day.XO

2.21.2011

Some news and a Giveaway!

An essay I wrote is being published in a new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives book edited by Jessica Yee-- Feminism FOR REAL: Deconstructing the academic industrial complex of feminism. (Book info link here)

And, to celebrate I'm going to be giving a copy of the book away! All you have to do is leave a comment with a way for me to get a hold of you! The giveaway will end this Friday the 25th at 10PM PST and I'll pick from the random number generator thingy.

Book Description:
Against a backdrop exposing a 500+ year legacy of colonization and oppression, Feminism FOR REAL explores what has led us to the  existence of 'feminism', who gets to decide what it is, and why. It provides thoughtful, honest and unapologetic insight into how different communities; including Indigenous and women of colour, sex workers, disABLEd, queer, Two-Spirited and trans youth define and relate to feminism; what it means to them -- and more importantly, what it doesn't mean.

In the words of editor Jessica Yee, this is not a hate-on of feminism or of academia. It is about truth-telling. And, as explained in the introduction, in the process of uncovering truths, facing them head-on and seeing where they lead us, we can redefine feminism beyond a first, second, or third wave policed by academic institutions so that it becomes about truly cross-cultural human movements that are about real justice - and doesn't end up reinforcing the very forms of oppression it claims to confront.

Jessica Yee is a self-described "Two-Spirit multi-racial Indigenous hip hop feminist reproductive justice freedom fighter". She is the founder and Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (the only organization of its kind in North America) that works within the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health by and for Indigenous youth across the continent.


  • Click here to pre-order your copy of Feminism FOR REAL.



  • Join the discussion and follow along as the book launches across Canada on the  Feminism FOR REAL Facebook page.



  • In Toronto on Feb. 25?  Then don't miss the Feminism FOR REAL  national book launch.


  • Join us on Friday February 25th at the Toronto Women's Bookstore to celebrate the official book launch of "Feminism FOR REAL: Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism" edited by Jessica Yee.
    Where: Toronto Women's Bookstore, 73 Harbord Street, Toronto
    When: Friday February 25th, 7pm to 9pm
    Main area is wheelchair accessible. We regret that the washroom is not wheelchair accessible.

    Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191238847561961#!/event.php?eid=191238847561961

    With an opening address from Lee Maracle, drumming by Shandra Spears-Bombay and rattle dance by DJ Danforth, this event will feature spoken word performances and round table discussions from the book contributors, followed by a screening of "The Road Forward", dedicated to the countless First Nations women who have "disappeared" on British Columbia's "Highway of Tears". More information about "The Road Forward" can be found here: http://www.reddiva.ca/?p=557

    Proceeds from the evening will go to a scholarship fund created for the children of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

    For more information please contact Erika Shaker at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives at erikas@policyalternatives.ca

    To pre-order your copy of the book, visit http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/ourschools-ourselves/feminism-real

    2.20.2011

    Sweater 2/5


    Yes baby sweaters count. And this one was a doozy for some reason. I felt like it should've been quick considering how big my gauge was and how easy and garter-stitchy the pattern was, but it was honestly the death of me. i hated it most of the time. hated. it. and i ran out of yarn! so surprised! anyway, it's a cutie, the babe that is. in his winter jacket. good thing i knit it in time for winter to be 1/2 over. the pattern is SNUG by hinke and i couldn't find a non-ravelry link for it. sorry!

    there's a whole tonne of mods i did which included holding two strands of what i think was patons classic wool (i got it in a mill ends bag) so i have NO IDEA how much yardage i used, but i know i used a lot. (maybe 4-5 skeins if you were to buy it). i ended up having to use the white bernat alpaca stuff just to finish. i also went up a few needle sizes and added two inches to the back length. which meant i added that to the front, except i only knit the front until the edges were about touching b/c i was seriously running out of yarn at that point. i also knit the arms in garter stitch back and forth rather than in the round (b/c i kind of hate purling). the crochet chain i did the whole way around the front and did 5 button loops. i love the big buttons. anyway, the rest of it i followed the pattern exactly.

    now i'm onto sweater #3, my CULTS sweater, made from the common ground pattern from the brown stitch (and in bernat softee chunky in RED). man, i need access to a yarn store in this town.

    2.18.2011

    the ukes!

    tonight we went to the united church for a canada world youth community dinner/fundraiser for the Tsawalk Partnership/West Coast Aquatic. WCA works with/under Tsawalk to work in partnership with/as community to do research and grassroots mobilization around environmental and cultural stewardship and coastal waters. Very cool. The dinner was a Ukranian-themed dinner (apple pierogies, cabbage rolls, beet root salad, borscht, that kind of stuff) and the food was OK but it was nice to be around a couple hundred people and food (and friends!).

    It got me briefly thinking about Canada World Youth and "culture" esp. because one of the speakers said something about how the dinner gets us to learn more about "other cultures" (um, when everyone i was with including myself has some sort of ukranian background?) and having CWY in our community also brings us exposure. It's cool that kids from other countries come to Port to volunteer and learn about our community and share with us their lives and experiences, etc. What I think is interesting about CWY is the construction of cultural identity for these teenagers. They wore "traditional" outfits and danced "traditional" songs and sang "traditional" songs (and some pop songs too), and made us "traditional food", but were wearing skinny jeans and had facial piercings. It was amazing. I'm curious to know how much of CWY "focusing" on their "ukranian" culture actually negates their own specific experiences of culture, the culture they create, etc. Kind of a cultural diaspora. HM.

    Tomorrow farmer's market, arroxvale farm market, and seedy saturday. YIP!

    2.17.2011

    spicy acorn squash soup with roasted garlic (and cheezy corn bread!)

    february will be squash month over at the blog
    spicy squash and roasted garlic soup w/ cheesy corn bread
    cheezy corn bread

    MMM, now this was a good dinner. You can google the internets to find the cornbread recipe from Moosewood, so here's where you should go to see it. (i nixed the onion and had 2 cups of corn and cooked it for 35 minutes).

    And, I didn't write down a recipe for this soup. So, if you're a seasoned cook basic instruction is: roast a whole acorn squash and four heads of garlic. over med heat fry 1 onion, chopped, and 6 garlic cloves, minced, in some olive oil. once a little golden, add a handful of fresh chopped sage, a tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 tsp of dried pepper, and either 1 tsp of dried red chili flakes or 1 hot dried pepper chopped up! combine and let cook for a few minutes. add the flesh from the squash and the flesh from the garlic and mash mash mash in the soup pot. add heated soup stock to cover vegetables (or more if you like). cook thoroughly and serve with sour cream if you want...but make sure it's with lots of this YUMMY corn bread. XO

    2.16.2011

    best walk of life

    Did you watch the Proenza Schouler live runway show? I didn't get to b/c i had errands to run and babies to pick up. But, I'm watching now and here's my favourite shots (from vogue's live photo wall thingy)!

    i love the shiny aqua/teal velvet and the zigzags. i feel like this entire collection secretly inspired by MIA from her galang galang days.
    so ARULAR and mish-mash guatemalan exports. i probably wont incorporate any of this into my wardrobe though
    now, this i wont incorporate either, but i'm loving the resurgence of pattern on pattern.  finethankyou... called this one the other day when he emailed me that mishmash of cosby sweaters ahaha.
    the statement necklace has been big for the past few years and i like this one. faux fur let's hope and CLAWS so tough and witchy and bitchy i love it.
    Now, Marc by marc jacobs also showed up yesterday and I'm finally getting to look at the photos and i want so much of it and i die. i just die! i want one of everything and want to sew all my friends replicas. the shine! the tweed! the shoes! the ankle socks! the bags! the velvet jackets! YEEPS!

    there was a nice predominance of "fall" colours in this collection. so 70s. that sweater, just great. with that big cable. gush.
    camel hair sweater? derek, make this for yourself. Me? I want the laptop bag.
    I like these higher waist hunting/woodland animal themed printed skirts. they look so silky and soft.
    cropped jackets in marc. cropped sweaters. cropped cropped cropped. the waist has moved up.
    velvet jackets. yes.
    i want this dress, or something like it, like nobody's business. i think i'll have to make one, somehow.

    2.15.2011

    fashion week!

    i blame getting my hands on my grandma's old clothes, and the re-inspiration to start putting outfits together, but in the last few weeks i've been revisiting my love of clothes and sewing and fashion. it's not like it has ever gone away, it's just re-kindled? re- re- re- re- re-! here's some of my favourites!

    marc jacobs. i think i'm going to try and make myself that skirt or similar, but shorter. oooh, and polka dot tights! need.

    i love this sweater from badgley mischka.  i might try and reconstruct it using plastic/acrylic yarn and massive sequins....

    OMG sweater. (Rodarte)

    love this super open black hoodie (and all the black) - RAD by Rad Hourani

    I love this dress from Zero + Maria Cornejo. i might rework it into a tunic t-shirt.

    and like always i die for betsey johnson (though i'm still waiting for marc by mj and proenza schouler).

    2.14.2011

    happy vagina day!

    seth putting the finishing touches on his dad's valentine.
    getting water ready for the impending boil water advisory

    today was pretty much amazing. stewart went to vancouver yesterday to see cradle of filth and i'm almost at 36 hours alone with the babe (who had the worst sleep ever last night bleck) and am working really hard to not go crazy. so i pretty much took a third weekend day off and hung out with s. all day. we got out of the house and went for a visit and rented a movie (that we're probably going to watch right quick). i also found out my bff had her baby (a girl!!). and i've really enjoyed following all of this arcade fire winning the grammy fun! (and here). (cbc news story here). (youtube clip here of their performance). them winning has totally made me cry a few times over the past day. so exciting! go indie rock!

    XO