On financial responsibility

I have been known in my life to, at times, be a bit spendthrift. I have a LOT of purses and a LOT of clothes, somewhat due to the fact that I am the only child of a woman who loves a deal. And who has especially enjoyed helping me build a professional wardrobe with a lot of great deals. However, with the responsibility of owning my own place, I've had to reign in my habits a bit.

I actually challenged myself to not purchase anything clothing related for all of October and seems to have pulled it off! I was mulling giving myself the same challenge for November but settled on more 'only buy something you HAVE to have'.

Today I bought some pretty awesome stuff:

- a gorgeous vintage pair of gold earrings with eenie weenie rhinestones and emeralds that will look great at work or at holiday parties ($3 - church bazaar)

- a cute string of faux baby blue pearls ($.050 - church bazaar)

- a versataile teal sleeveless blouse that will be great for work ($20 - the Bay)

I really love them all and didn't blow my budget. Here's to keeping the streak alive! (Now curled up in bed with the $0.50 Diana Gabaldon and 'What Not to Wear' books, also from the Church Bazaar. Christmas shopping season has begun but won't post those details, you never know who is reading.... ;)

Pretty scarves and pretty friends

My dear x-ine and I have only known each other for about three years but in that time have discovered many similarities. At times we have even been mistaken for sisters (several times a day on occasion). This may be due to the fact that despite our different backgrounds (hers, Egyptian and British: mine, Irish to the hilt), our colouring and dress styles are rather similar.

We also both wear glasses and have a tendency to pepper conversation with a mix of incredibly nerdy scientific anecdotes, sports stories and gossip (both our own and the silly TV shows we both watch - see below recent twitter convo about One Tree Hill (OTH) - a classic).

Over time we have independently bought the same shirts (worn the same day), and

many other similar items (beyond the various pieces of fleece we both wore up north - below is the two of us in the midst of field work both wearing a long sleeved white tee that day).

But it was only recently we both bought the same thing together (since we now inhabit different cities and the likelihood of wearing it at the same is thus significantly reduced). We both bought this scarf in a little Greek boutique in my new hood when she visited last month.

Isn't it pretty?

I'm kind of obsessed with it. It's colour scheme of gold, white, pink, red and brown flatters and coordinates with many outfit options. Today I paired it with jeans, a white tee and pink canvas runners but it has gone with brown dress pants and shoes with equal ease. There is enough dark brown verging on black that you cxan also throw some black in, along with either silver or gold.

As my long term challenge wardrobe wise this year has been to dress appropriately for work without looking like a banker, this scarf, with its bright colours yet traditional pattern, is a great tool in my arsenal. I've found a few tutorials on how to tie a scarf that have also been great fun to experiment with.

More on my wardrobe for work challenges to come, along with gros bissous for x-ine!

Memmmmories

(That title kinda looks like 'Mammmmmmaries' huh? That made me laugh because I have the sense of humour of a five year old).

Today I walked along the streets of Kingston, where I did my undergrad with two of my dear former roomies and (among many others, mainly Glee's version of 'We've Got the Funk') we sang some of 'Memories' by Barbara Streisand.

It felt like every corner we revealed tugged at another string of memories. Yet, it was weird being there as non-students, wandering the campus yet without so much stress on our shoulders. We checked out the fancy pants new student centre which is incredibly so much nicer than we ever had, gr. But I do now kind of miss the awful dungeons which masqueraded as a gym.

After stopping in to see some former labmates who are almost done their PhDs, I rejoined my friends for shopping along the main street, which now has an Urban Outfitters. I ended up buying this picture:

for my living room, but I'm not quite sure of the colour, the blue may be a little too vibrant. But I really like it otherwise, we'll see....

Am now back home and have to deal with the laundry I've been ignoring all week. Oh well, just one day to the weekend!

Manic Wednesdays

My Wednesday was so busy I didn't get around to actually posting thing until Thursday, but here is a recap before I fall completely dead asleep.

6 am: alarm goes off, waking me up from a restless few hours sleep for spin

6:30-7:15: spin class

7:15: scurry home (eating the nanaimo bar made by spin instructor - a little counterintuitive) to shower and get ready for work

8:30: arrive at work, pick up tea and throw myself into a crazy day based on a deadline for Friday, with a holiday in between today and then. Also read front page newspaper article on one of our major issues, exchange pithy remarks with coworkers.

10:30-12: break for french lessons, discussion my friend's Movember moustache pretty decently en francais.

12 pm: run back to office, bolt lunch while typing up and revising notes.

12-4:30: run around like a crazy person trying to get agreement on various drafts of documents. Somehow, by 4:30 find out that senior management won't even look at our materials until Friday morning so I am good to go!

4:45: meet one of my nearest and dearest for coffee, hear about her awesome wedding plans in progress.

6:15-9:15: head over to meet work colleagues for a social event I had organized. Realize how truly terrible I am at pool.

9:15: we take the social event to another bar and I drink a GIANT AND DELICIOUS COCKTAIL IN A MASON JAR. Have odd conversation with colleague/friend/crush that I don't know what to do about.

12 am: get a lift home with a fellow organizer. Put on pjs, get into bed, write a blog post - and now for bed.

(Tomorrow - day trip to Kingston! Will tell you all about it.)

Cooking for one

Despite my misgivings, as a whole, I've rather enjoyed living alone these past few month. Setting my own schedule, playing my own music, not having to be quiet because someone is sleeping... it's nice. However, the biggest downside has been cooking for one.

My dearest, darlingest Liz and I had the best food system. We would almost always cook dinner together, shop together, challenged each other to try new recipes and almost all of our experiments turned out awesome (naanwiches!). It was economical and fun.

Most importantly, we had to be accountable to each other, if we had said we were making X for dinner, there was no picking up take out or having cereal for dinner because you were not in the mood to cook. That is a lot harder to do on your own.

I try really hard and sometimes do great! I make a pretty awesome pasta with prosciutto and veggies, or spicy mac and cheese with veggies. However, I have an egg on english muffin with cheese about once a week. I plan healthy meals but at times I get home late and am distracted, or just not in the mood so make some less than healthy choices. Suggestions for easy(ish), cheap, healthy and fast meals appreciated!

The other downside of course is having a glass of wine while eating alone is skirting on the bounds of alcoholism - any suggestions for getting around that?

An Appreciation for the Arts...

... I haz it.

(C'mon, how do you not love cats lacking grammar skills?)

One of my literary faves, Jen Lancaster (linked on the left as Jennsylvania) wrote a whole book last year on developing an appreciation for the arts as a means to expand her conversational repertoire beyond reality TV.

I say that my already well developed understanding of the arts lets me rot my brain in other areas as much as possible, much as being all responsible like in having both a job and a condo lets me be ridiculous at times and have waaaaaay too many shots (See: a recent Young Professionals Network event. No one was anywhere near professional by the end of that evening).

I have learned both classical and jazz piano, as well as a smattering of the clarinet.

I have read both Kafka and Sylvia Plath and enjoyed it.

I have a favourite Keats poem and Van Gogh painting, as well as an appreciation of more modern iterations of prose (slam poetry) and art (oh those gorgeous prints on etsy)(and then Regretsy)

While most operas are not my favourite, I will always be a sucker for La Traviata and wish I could be a song writer like Hawksley Workman.

Thanks to years of drama, I have my Shakespearean (Drama: Lear Comedy: Midsummer Night's Dream) and modern favourite play (George F. Walker's Problem Child) and over all

love of the theatre.

I got to go see 'Romeo and Juliet' last week, and while it had its issues (clogging showdown between Ladies Capulet and Montague was a little confusing), just being in a theatre and being taken into the story is a wonderful moment for me. I wish at times I was the one ON stage but just being there is enough.

I feel really lucky to have these things in my life. Part of it, mainly music, is from my parents who kept me in piano until I did indeed damn well like it. My grandmother used to take me to the National Art Gallery. I also had access to wonderful teachers in all these disciplines. It makes me sad that there are people, and children, out there who have not been so lucky. I feel bad at times that I do squander it, and don't get out to enough events, watching TV rather than a new fringe show. I am resolved (this won't be a New Years Resolution because those don't work) that now that I am more settled, I will make more of an effort to appreciate and enjoy the artistic experiences which are available.

Nothing wrong with the first step being tickets to:

(Review to come in December. ;)

(I may be more excited than I was for Christopher Plummer in the Tempest, eesh.)

(I will start reading Ayn Rand soon I SWEAR.)

Bon Voyage!

Today we had a brunch to bid adieu to my best friend forever, Z and her boyfriend as they take off on an exciting adventure. I am super excited for them, and can't wait to hear their stories but it was still hard to say goodbye.

Z and I have been best friends since we were around 3 years old. We know we met in preschool but the first evidence of our friendship is written upon a large piece of construction paper I had decorated on my first day of kindergarten, upon which our teacher wrote:

'Anna had a very good first day. While playing in the house, Zoe asked "Are you my husband?"'.

We figure I must have said yes, and that our marriage is one many should look up to. That phrase, along with many others ('You can't take Siam!' 'That is one of my defining characteristics') are a constant in our conversations.

Z has been my cheerleader, confidant, the one who understands my neuroses, who points out the few flaws I have ('epitome') but also shows me and helps me find my strengths. She's the sister I never had.

And she can't navigate nor stick to a schedule for anything so I'm really glad she's not going alone, I would actually have to find a new best friend (as I've been threatening) and I just don't have the time for that.

Love ya dear.