A little while ago I got to go to a really cool event for the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario at 10 Adelaide St. East. The building, constructed for the Canadian Birkbeck Investments and Savings Company, is now the headquarters for the Ontario Heritage Trust. It's always exciting to get a peak inside some of these old buildings downtown. We even got to take a ride in one of the last manually operated elevators in Toronto! (sidebar: Queen's alum- remember that weird Irish elevator operator at that old department store in downtown Kingston?)
If you're interested in heritage issues in Toronto and Ontario check out ACONextGen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/ACO-NextGen/183725051715480 . I forgot to bring my camera but you can see pictures from the event on their page.
Also- recommended reading if you're interested in Toronto architecture:
Last night Caroline, Cory, Claire and I went down to the historic Gladstone Hotel. I had thought we we're going there for live music at the Melody Bar (Saturdays are country) but we didn't get there till 11 and were surprised to find we were just in time for the start of karaoke. Heck ya!!
We are particularly qualified to judge karaoke bars seeing as we spent 4 months hosting karaoke at the Grad House in Halifax. I have to say the Gladstone karaoke rates five stars. The host was this cool old dude, the sound was great and the calibre of the performers was much better than your average karaoke night. Seemed to be a lot of musical theatre types that turn out for it. The bar was packed and the lively crowd cheered all the performers enthusiastically. My only complaint is that the bar was understaffed and it required extreme aggression to get in and get a drink.
Built in 1889, the Gladstone Hotel is Toronto's oldest continually operating hotel. It was built by Toronto architect G.M. Miller in the Romanesque Revival style. Read more about the history here and see all the other cool stuff that goes on at the Gladstone here
I should mention that Karaoke is no cover, and you can get to the Gladstone on the Queen streetcar or take the bus from Dufferin.
So last Friday Ally invited Claire and I over for a girls night and manicure fun aka my favourite friday night activity! Ally introduced us to the wonderful world of half-moon manicures and I am officially obsessed. We used binder reinforcing stickers but in the future I think I might invest in those manicure sticker things from the drugstore, the binder ones left some glue behind on the polish and I couldn't get it off. This effect works best when you use an opaque polish on top and also its easier if the bottom colour is lighter. I did mine with OPI Put a ring on it, which is a silvery white and OPI A oui bit of red, which is my favourite red polish.
With the new year/ apocalypse fast approaching, it's time to think about how you are going to achieve ultimate success in all your school and professional endeavors. If you're like me, you already think of yourself as a big shot, but how do you let everyone around you know that you're a big shot (aside from proclaiming it loudly every time you enter a room full of people)? You need to dress for success!
At the end of term Claire had a major presentation which she totally rocked. Did she kill because of her extensive preparation and well- honed public speaking skills? No- she killed it because of her lady tie.
These aren't your dad's ties (or Avril's ties...), this is a cute but professional look that also says, "I am probably going to be your boss one day."
These are all vintage silk scarves, but you can also find tops that already have silk ties such as this pretty one from Anthropologie
As Courtney and Claire can attest, I am an obsessive person when it comes to music. When I find a song or album I love I will listen to it over and over and over, then I will watch every live performance on youtube, I will sing it in the shower, in the kitchen, probably in my sleep too. So I’d like to share my current obsession with you, which is: Whitehorse.
Whitehorse is comprised of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Both musicians have had solo careers in Canada for quite some time and I am kicking myself for never having checked them out before. Doucet and McClelland are married, which accounts for their amazing chemistry on stage (based on what I’ve seen on youtube).
Claire and I got their album off of itunes and it is KILLER! The sound is dirty, sexy, gritty and would easily fit on the soundtrack of True Blood or any Tarantino film. I could gush on and on about how much I am loving Whitehorse, but instead I ask you to watch this performance below, which speaks for itself.
I love receiving postcards. I collect them from the places I travel to and I bug all my globetrotting friends to send them to me when they are away. I’ve grown quite an impressive collection over the last five years from the far reaches of the globe, but my star postcard is the one sent from North Korea. My friend Polina travelled there with her mother in 2007. So few foreigners have been allowed into the country, that I imagine receiving a postcard from Pyongyang is a pretty rare thing.
The image on the front is apparently, “La fanfare feminine, un attrait du Festival de Pyongyang.” What is both hilarious about this postcard, but also deeply disturbing is the note written by my friend. Any foreign visitors to North Korea are closely watched, never left alone (even their hotel rooms are bugged) and all outgoing mail is, of course, read by the authorities. Polina’s message reads, “Angela! I am having such a great time here in North Korea! Pyongyang is unlike any other city in the world, and Korean people are incredibly welcoming. Today, we travelled into the countryside, where we visited mountain caves, and a Buddhist temple, both of which were visited by the Great Leader, King Il Sung, and the Dear Leader, King Jong Il, contributing to the site, Hope you’re well- love, Polina.”
This afternoon I watched a 2001 documentary about the North Korean dictatorship. It is seriously fascinating and disturbing. It is Orwell in real life. Once again, this is why I believe so strongly in the importance of exercising my right to vote in Canada. There are many things I dislike about Canadian politics, but I certainly value the fact that we can openly criticize our government without fear of being murdered, tortured or imprisoned.
I realize this is backwards, photobooth is stupid
Watch this documentary, thank your lucky stars you were born in a democratic country, vote in every election and lets all hope that one day North Koreans might enjoy the same freedom that we all take for granted.
Ladies- eyebrows are an extremely important part of your visage. They are the window frames to the soul! As a student of Art History I am qualified to advise on matters of framing.
Caroline is not impressed with your low social standing
Without eyebrows you wouldn't be able to express some of your favourite emotions, surprise, skepticism, anger and most importantly disdain. You know how sometimes you want to seem sweet and docile but sometimes you want to lay down a judgemental stare that will crush someone's soul? Do you think Caroline Bingley would seem like such a snobbish B if she didn't have a powerful arch in her brow? And I know a lot of people are like "nooo judgement is baaadd." First of all, if anyone ever tells you that they are "non-judgemental" you should know that they are judging you for being judgemental so call that hypocrite out! or stare them down with your judging brow! Besides Jesus Christ is judgemental and I don't hear anyone complaining about that. At any rate, with the 2012 Zombie Apocalypse fast approaching, we can all expect to be experiencing a lot of judgement in the next year and by judgement I mean LAST JUDGEMENT.
I will smite you with my brooowwwww
Alright, back to eyebrows. I know many people who successfully pluck their own eyebrows at home and they look great. I, however, cannot pluck my eyebrows because it inevitably triggers a sneezing fit. It's called photic sneeze reflex and its the same thing as when you go out into bright light and sneeze. A quarter of people have this reaction. It is caused by mixed up signalling from the trigeminal nerve (the nerve responsible for sensation in the face.) Sensations get mixed up and your brain tells your nose to achooo. Another interesting sneeze fact- there is a condition called "honeymoon rhinitist' where a person experiences uncontrollable sneezing during sex. Scientists think this may be because the nose (and the ears) are the only parts of the body outside the reproductive system that have erectile tissue. WEIRD.
So eyebrows. If you decide not to pluck your eyebrows, its time to go see an esthetician. Home waxing kits are just crazy. Don't use them, spend $15 once a month and go see someone who knows what they're doing.
Now, I have done a pretty extensive study of what makes a great esthetician. And many of these lessons I've had to learn the hard way, so I pass them on to you, so you do not have to suffer as I did. If your esthetician was born in Canada, run away. The best estheticians are Eastern European. Almost every Canadian-born girl I've ever had has destroyed my face, I have literally left a salon bleeding, I have gritted my teeth through a 20min torture session, I have had one brow significantly more groomed than the other (giving me a semi-permanent look of skepticism), I've even lost an entire half of an eyebrow- she just went wax crazy!! OKAY these stories have probably terrified you so here is what you need to know to never experience this:
- only go to Eastern European women, preferably older
- never pay less that $15, you get what you pay for and every $12 wax I've ever had was HELL
- a good esthetician that you are seeing for the first time should ask you what want and they should take a few seconds to measure out your face (see vid below)
- it should be mostly pain free, if your experience is excruciating, that is not what it is supposed to be like
- it should be fast, like 10 min
The main point you should take away from all of this, is be judgemental, only go to Eastern European estheticians.
I highly recommend you go see Mary at Floka Salon at Bayview and Eglinton. She meets all of my criteria!
