The return of good things sunday
via babybabymoon.
I want to make this post happen so much that I am writing it on Saturday night. I know how to party so hard.
- It’s still the part of the fall where the cool weather is new and a bit exciting. I have been curling up at home with a cup of tea & a book. My very favourite is Pukka tea & I don’t even care that it costs thirty cents a bag. All those trendy artificially-flavoured loose-leaf teas have nothing on this stuff.
- I just finished Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? and – it was just one of those things where the right book finds you at the right time. I am going to buy my own copy so I can carry it around in my purse & underline all the pages. I liked the early parts of the book about being a queer feminist book nerd & also the later parts about surviving mental health crises & coming to terms with generational poverty in your own family. Oh, and love. Right.
- Meagh & Agata & Claire had me over for a sleepover party & as a reward I got to wake up in a big bed with my favourite dog and a tiny kitten. Interspecies best friends! Oh, my heart. I also got to sit around and drink my coffee & chat about all kinds of things – the future of queer cinema! Making the best coffee! Budgeting! Student debt! Oh, and love. Right.
- Visited my fam & my pals in Toronto for the Feelings album release show there – Steve played so many new Baby Eagle songs & I am wishing they were on a record somewhere so I could be playing them on repeat right now. & as ever I love that going to see bands is a kind of family activity. Ballin’!
- I sat on the bus & listened to the This American Life “Back to School” episode and just wept – the section where Dr. Nadine Burke Harris discusses the health impacts of poverty-related stress just floored me. She talks about how stress affects brain development to the extent that kids who have undergone intense trauma are often misdiagnosed as having ADHD. I know a lot of teachers & professional students in my real life & I hope they are able to listen to this. & I know a lot of people who had a shit time in school & maybe learning a bit more about the science of this would be helpful.
- I’m back to my bachelorette homebody lifestyle since N. is on tour this week with Nick Ferrio & His Feelings. If you’re in Eastern Canada you should go to a show. If you’re not you could buy a record or maybe some merch. If you live here maybe we should hang out.
- Started writing in a paper journal. With a pen! Really. I have never kept up with this sort of thing but even if it’s a phase, it’s been so worthwhile. Totally different thoughts come to me when I am on the couch with my notebook instead of at my desk with my laptop.
- I have gone jogging with my dog FIVE TIMES. I call it “accelerated dog walking.” Having an exercise buddy who can’t talk back or judge you is PERFECT, A+ do recommend. If you want someone to push you harder when you run you should bring a dog who really, really wants to chase some squirrels. Credit is also due to Suz at kissmyblackass.com for making hip hop running podcasts & to Missy Elliott for reasons that should be obvious.
- Upgraded my cell phone to the newest Android thing that my phone company would give me for free. I don’t really know what I am doing yet but I do know that you people should tell me your fav Android apps. I even got instagram, okay hipsters? I am BossyFemme on there too. Be my insta-pal.
What are your good things this week? It’s way more fun if you tell me about your amazing lives too okay? xo
Femme style: wool & leather
Bastian via Damstyle
Most of my style fantasies are about combining knits with leather & lots and lots of texture.
I really am into this look especially the unconventional effect of that double-breasted vest. But also, the buckles on the boots! The oxblood bag with black boots! That blazer! That haircut! That chill demeanour. Damn.
Black hooded wool cloak by Ovate
I found this photo last night on tumblr & my immediate thought was that I would move in to this outfit as if it was an apartment. I love this silhouette enough that I feel like I’m looking at a home, not an outfit. It took some doing but I finally found the source – Ovate. All black everything – all black sheer & textured & layered & draped everything. One day I really want to own these leather leggings.
Slippers made from felted sweaters & upcycled leather from WoolyBaby
My apartment floors get so cold & I am way too broke to turn the heat on this early & these slippers are perfect for me. The wool is insulating & the leather bottom won’t collect all of the dog fur that is all over everything in my house. I checked the WoolyBaby website and I am precisely in between kids and adult sizes, though – does anyone want to help me learn to sew leather?
Studded Capezio ballet flats
As a teenage ballerina I totally wore a pair of ballet slippers as “indoor shoes” at school. Obviously I had decorated them with nail polish & they had little bells on them because I was twee as fuck. I would never ever recommend ballet shoes for outdoors but I *do* have a pair of black ballet flats from h&m that might get this treatment super-soon.
iLE AiLE knit collar with leather strap
Thus far I’ve stuck with wearing my handmade knits with leather stuff – but I like the idea of adding leather components to the knits themselves. Really into the way that this leather clip adds some shape to this big bulky cowl.
I just bought myself a new leather jacket that was so awesome it didn’t even make it on to the sales floor at my vintage clothing heaven/hangout/workplace. When it cools down a bit more I will definitely try some of this stuff out…
Animal Print is Totally A Neutral
Leopard print tunic, mineralogy hat, big earrings, black cardigan.
Leopard tunic, snakeskin leggings, woven leather flats.
Quick vintage-shopgirl-with-a-hangover outfit from last week. All animal print everything.
Happy Day Geraldine: Dog to 5k
Geraldine in her very own pink swimming pool.
Today, Geraldine is three years old.
When Nick told me he wanted to get a puppy & my brain thought “Cute!” and I said yes right away.
I had no clue what having a dog entailed, but oh, did I learn. Those first six months when she woke up every hour all night to go outside (downstairs, on-leash, in the middle of winter) I was pretty convinced that life as I knew it could never be good again. Memories of those months of sleep deprivation have been the world’s best birth control.
I used to meet owners of sweet, grown-up dogs at the park and I was filled with envy. ”How old is your dog,” I’d ask. “Three,” they’d reply. Those years seemed an eternity away & I could never get myself to believe that my adorable & terrible dog would ever calm down.
Bossy Dog says, “Whatever.”
But here we are. This summer, Geraldine started to get tired of playing fetch all on her own. Instead of coaxing & dragging her inside, she just looks at me, makes this goofy smiling face, turns around, and trots back to the yard where she lays in the grass & dozes off. Incredible.
She is my best gal & I love her (but I will never, ever get another puppy again.)
This dog is a serious football fan. Air Babe.
She doesn’t know it yet, but Geraldine and I have grand exercise plans.
When I posted about wanting to find ways to get more exercise, lots of you recommended finding ways to fit more movement into existing routines. Lots of you have long bike commutes & jump-rope parties with friends & you are all very cool people who I want to hang out with.
One of my biggest reasons for wanting to get more exercise is to see if it will help combat my seasonal depression. I have always found that doing some quality dog-bonding is a surefire antidote to a hopeless mood. Geraldine has the world’s most excited grin when she is out and about on walks, and the most exuberant bounce in her step when she runs around in the yard. I know that kicking our walks together up a few notches is going to make her SO HAPPY, and making Geraldine happy makes me SO HAPPY too.
Biggest grin! Best smile.
I am going to try doing a Couch to 5k with Geraldine.
Actually – don’t mock me here – it’s called “Pooch to 5k.”
There was a time when increasing my walking speed even a bit would cause G-dubs to bust out her fastest sprint – fast enough to pull me off my feet, roll me down a hill, smack my head on a frozen sidewalk. I had assumed that a bunch of (overdue) leash training would be required before we could try any running, but tonight I spontaneously jogged a few blocks of our evening walk, and she did super great. And I was surprised to discover that *I* did great, too, even in my street clothes & some flimsy flat shoes.
We’ll see how that goes – it’s a 12 week program so that we’ll be running outside through the beginning of December. I suppose I’ll be a jogging expert before then, though! Fingers crossed for a mild winter.
Today though I think I’ll take my new three year old pooch out for a special treat – I’m thinking a slice of pizza with a peanut-butter stuffed crust. Ha!
Okay fine & because I can never resist, here is some vintage gal & dog photos from way back in ’09.
This gal used to be tiny enough to fall asleep with her head on my shoulder.
During the day, she slept.
Our early attempts at sports were not always successful, but they were cute.
Wish us luck! We should be elite athletes by Christmas.
Self-Made: Mineralogy
The evenings are finally cool enough to get away with wearing some hand-knits.
Shawls! Cowls! Hats! In a week or two, I’m positive you’ll catch me with fingerless mitts. Do I actually *need* to wear any of this stuff yet? Not really. But I’ve been knitting all summer long & it’s so lovely to be able to wear my finished projects rather than tucking them away.
To celebrate the beginning of knitwear season, I pulled some bulky grey yarn out of my stash & got to work on this quick (and free) hat pattern – Kelly McClure’s Mineralogy Hat.
The diamond stitch pattern is pretty subtle, but it’s there! I changed the brim & top of this hat to make it fit my tiny head perfectly.
Uniform: skinniest jeans, flats, black & blue striped tee, superlong rhinestone-chain earrings, new hat!
Hopefully this cooler knitwear-and-layering friendly weather lasts for awhile. I have a huge backlog of not-yet-blogged knits to show you.
<3
