It's heading this way...

All three pictures from Mr. Newton. Taken on the same day at the same flea market in Brooklyn. There was actually another picture of a girl in a coat like these, but I didn't love it. They have to be right or they are so wrong.

Funny Pants

Got these amazing leather pants a couple of weeks ago and I finally busted them tonight for a friend's birthday. The leather is all worn in and the high waist fits perfectly. I think I giggled with glee when I saw them. Observers may laugh for another reason, but whatevs.

I can't believe that it's almost December. I'll need to block out Christmas stuff for at least another ten days. I have a limited amount of spirit and it just gets way too diluted if I start spending it too early. I'm good for two weeks of cheer and I pack all the good stuff - decorating, baking, shopping into that time and it's fun. If I let it start in November I'm bitter and cranky long before the big day.

Black Shineys

When I was little I always wanted "black shineys" - you know, the black patent Mary Janes that little girls wear for Christmas? I got a grown-up version at Value Village on the weekend. And yes, sometimes I feel my week is incomplete without a new pair of shoes.

A new computer configuration has curbed my blogging, but hopefully I'll get over it. Also, my nails are too long to type easily. Snip snip tonight.

One step up from PJs

Yeah, I know this outfit resembles sleepwear. That's pretty much the point. I drew the line at slippers though. Just not professional. I got the leopard print wedges at the thrift store. I'm liking animal print in small, bite-sized portions. And the necklace is from Forever 21. I couldn't believe how cheap their jewelry was!

November is the Suckiest Month*

I'm lazy again today, but this post made me work up the energy to laugh.

And this picture reminded me of summer, and renewed my faith in the fact that November can't last forever.

*One year when Krista and I lived together we made the pronouncement that November is the suckiest month, and truly, that particular November lasted forever. At least this one is already half over.

Rainy Sunday

The other night we watched The Brothers Bloom, which reminded me how much I like Adrien Brody. The Darjeeling Limited is one of my favorite movies and he was my favorite brother. He's also in one of my favorite music videos:

In other news, is this rainy weather making anyone else exceptionally lazy?

It's you again!

I've had a theory for a long time that what will be in fashion next is what was most unthinkable two years ago. The co-theory involves peak thrift-store saturation. To wit:

Let the conversion begin.

I got new shampoo and conditioner. It has everything I wanted, nothing I didn't, and came very highly recommended at the health-food store. The brand name is Prairie Naturals, and it's even made in BC, and cost $12.50 for 500 ml. They have lots of different formulas for different hair types, and despite having no artificial fragrances, the products smell wonderful. I feel like they could do with the help of a graphic designer, because I was tempted by the pretty Alba and Burt's Bees bottles, but after three very satisfying washes, I'm ready to let that go. I'll keep y'all posted on the continuing conversion.

On one hand...

...Done Out In Deco.

...and on the other hand, Gargantuan Green Grape. Both OPI.

Bought a couple of new nail polishes the other day, and I couldn't decide which to wear first, so I'm sharing. I like it; it's like my hand have to very different personalities. I'm happier with the lavender. I've been looking for a good lavender since I got married and wanted to wear it on my wedding day, but all I could find was a much paler shade. The green isn't quite what I wanted. It looked more jade in the bottle, and it took three coats to get good coverage, but you can't win them all.

My hands are looking a little rough - I think it's all the hand sanitizer. Also, I'm making it a new goal to train my left hand better, so that when I paint my nails my right hand doesn't get the goopy polish. I read somewhere that it's good exercise for your brain to brush your teeth with your opposite hand, so I've been doing that.

More fashion math:

What do you get when you take a pinch of this:

A handful of this:

And a healthy dose of this:?

Answer: This!

OK, I was referring to the skirt, not to me being a goofball. Karl was at work and I was entertaining myself with a little dressup playtime. This is why I don't need Halloween. Anyway, I'm terribly happy with how the skirt turned out. It's just as I imagined. And like all good sewing projects, took about an hour.

Saturday math lesson.

Tablecloth lace+trashy lace+wet-look leggings+knee-high lace-up boots = I'm so glad it's OK for me to dress like this at work.

Holy Granola

The bottom of the granola jar - time to make more!

Sometimes I feel like I won't shut up about how much I love my granola, and if that's the case, I'm sorry. But if you want to try making your own, here's my basic recipe. Just customize it with your favorite dried fruit, nuts etc. This makes at least a weeks worth for me.

Dry ingredients: 6 cups old fashioned regular whole oats

1/2 cup each wheat bran, wheat germ, oat bran, unsweetened flaked coconut, raisins

1/3 cup each flaxseed, sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts

Combine all dry ing. in a large roasting pan or oven safe baking dish.

Wet ingredients: 1/3 cup each honey, natural peanut butter, vegetable oil, water

1 TBS vanilla

Melt all wet ing. together in a bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, stir to blend. Pour over dry ing. and stir well until all combined, and starting to make little granola clusters. Bake at 220 degrees for 3 hours, stirring every half hour. Let it cool, then store in an airtight container.

Santa Baby...

Naked Lunch T-strap Wedges from Shopbop

It's less than two months until Christmas; if Santa started saving his pennies now I might find these lovelies under the Christmas tree. Not that Santa needs free shipping, but I believe Shopbop ships free to Canada.

Velvet in November

I made this cute velvet skirt the other day. The fabric was kind of laying around at work and seemed perfect for this time of year, but really this skirt is just a prototype for something more exciting to come...

Standard time sucks, by the way. It was dark when I got home at five fifteen, hence the crappy indoor photos.

New skin for the old ceremony

I've been hearing so much lately about sulfate- and paraben-free bath and beauty products lately, thanks mostly to my more product aware friends. I'm almost out of shampoo, and I noticed my grocery store has a nice little "natural" beauty product section, but I wanted to do a little research first. Of course the internet is swamped with information on the subject. I decided to focus on haircare, because that's going to be my most immediate purchase, though having read about it I can see that I should be switching over to healthier alternatives every time I have to replace anything. Hard to throw away a whole bottle of moisturizer though!

This website gives a good explanation of the damage that sulphates do from a professional's point of view, as well as a list of recommendations. I'm hoping to find something that I can buy locally, that isn't too expensive, and heck, maybe it could even be made in Canada. Which is why I might check out this brand, Eaurganic, but it's only available at a couple stores in Vancouver. Luckily, one is close to my gym, so I'll go have a look this week. I also found an online store called Vitacost, not that I really want to order online, but it has great product reviews on hundreds of items from natural and organic lines.

So first shampoo and conditioner, then on to face wash and moisturizer. For years I've gone for the cheap stuff, but from what I'm reading people really see an improvement when they switch to these products, so it's worth a try. I took Mary's advice and started using the Jason Seafresh toothpaste and it rocks! There were also really good reviews of some Jason shampoos, might give those a sniff.

Do you ladies have any great products to recommend? Do you think it's worth five extra bucks?

Halloween - the results show

Well, we had a butt-load of trick-or-treaters, so many that we ran out of candy just after nine and had to shut it down, take in the jack-o-lantern and turn all the lights out. Lots of cute little kids, some less cute, less "kids", but the really disappointing thing was that so many kids had no costume at all. Not even a goofy hat or a little face paint. So lame. I did lots of last-minute costumes in my time, but it was just not done to go out with no costume. I'd say maybe half of the kids had no costume, just an open bag and in some cases, a slightly guilty look. I still gave them candy, but I heard that out neighbor was making kids with no costume sing a song. Good for him.

It got me thinking about the costumes of my childhood too. There were certainly no store bought costumes, with the exception of some thrift-store bits. I remember some old standards - clown, witch, ghost, gypsy, punk, hippie, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. A cool bellydancer. An excellent painstakingly made flower. Something involving tinfoil and egg cartons, maybe a robot? My parents were pretty crafty and not inclined to spend money when there were perfectly good dress-up clothes and household items that would do. More recently Cyndi Lauper, a 60's go-go dancer, Bluebeard's wife.

For a couple of years at the very end of the trick-or-treating timeline - OK, we were too old - friends and I would go around this one neighborhood multiple times, stopping back at Krista's house for a costume change before the next lap. Who knows if we fooled anyone, but at least we made an effort. One year we even had a song prepared in case we felt we really needed to earn that mini Snickers bar.

Oh, and for the record, I kept it to one Kraft caramel, one mini Tootsie roll, and one butterscotch hard candy last night. Couldn't let the kids go hungry.