the office

This is my boss: Montreal's coolest Italian-Canadian, rockabilly chef/author/comedienne, Nadia G. I know it's not usually kosher to blog about one's work, but seeing as I work in social media, and considering that I'm a pretty big fan of my job, I figure it can't hurt to share this with you (just this once).

Last week we hosted a book signing for Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen cookbook here in Montreal. The night was awesome: great readings and musical performances, lots of free food and drink (which y'all better b'leive I indulged in), and many feisty Italian relatives abound.

Promoting this book, the web and mobile tv series its based on, and the upcoming lifestyle website (will let you know when it's launching, but should be within a few days), is what my job entails. Not bad at all!

behind and in front of the camera

As a photographer, it is often super awkward to be photographed. At the same time, it's great practice to sit and be the subject of another artist's work (to see how they work, and to learn from it). Farah and I put our artists' photo shyness aside and got together on Saturday to do portraits of each other for a women artist exhibition that's happening here in Montreal. These portraits are just a few of the collection we worked on together.

Farah is an extremely talented graphic and web designer, as well as (clearly) a photographer. I am a huge fan of her work, and am so happy that she's the one designing my forthcoming website. Being friends with her is one of the things that makes me happy to live in Montreal.

bake and ache

Lately I've been craving two things or, rather, I've been pulled in two directions: domesticity and adventure. I want to pull up my roots and tumble just as much as I would love to fluff up my nest.

Have you ever felt so full of ideas and inclinations that it borders on being painful? That is the best way to describe what I'm feeling now. Nothing—not my journal, my apartment, the hours of the day, my heart—can contain all the crazy energy I am buzzing with.

I read somewhere that people in their twenties suffer through a "greying of emotions." I wish I knew to whom I should attribute that quote, but I don't. Whoever it is, I think they've got it wrong. This is yet another moment of stepping out on one's own. It's rich black and feathery white, and every other lovely and gross colour you could imagine. I'm working on painting a crazy composition with what's on my palette.

Twestival MTL

Last Thursday, I volunteered as a photographer for Twestival Montreal, an event that raised money for Charity: Water.

Event photos can be seen here.

I am really loving doing event photography. Although portraiture will always be my favourite form of photography (one-on-one bonding, makeup, and all that good stuff), I have a fabulous time at big events too. It's a great opportunity to meet loads of new people, and it gives me an excuse to dress up!

shopping lists

It took me exactly 2 separate trips and 3 total hours of browsing to spend my entire Indigo gift certificate. It was, for a book nerd such as me, pure bliss. I never have money that I can spend so freely in a bookstore, and it was eerily easy to spend it all.

I bought books I've been meaning to buy for years.

For those who would like to borrow, let me know! Or, if you've read any of the following, I would love to know what you think of them

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon
Patisseries of Paris by Janine Cahill
Digital Portrait Photography and Lighting by Catherine Jamieson and Sean McCormick
The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia

CDs (yes, I still buy cds when I have some pocket change):
Coeur de Pirate (Self-Titled)
Serena Ryder (If Your Memory Serves You Well)

I also bought some gifts for friends, and gave a chunk of it to Brian to buy stuff for himself. I wouldn't normally be so generous, but he'd been supporting my chocolate habit quite generously while I was job hunting, so it's only fair.

There's something about spending that seems to inspire more of itself. After reading Garcia's The One Hundred (a decently informative but generally boring book filled with lots of irrelevant quotes, but with gorgeous illustrations), I decided to take stock of my wardrobe and see how many of the 100 items I already owned, and which ones I should plan to get next.

I'm not an avid shopper by any means, though mostly for lack of funds, but when I do shop I like to buy pieces with lasting power. After browsing through my closet, I counted 39 items from the list. I made a list of the 32 things I wanted to buy next, and made a mini list to put in my wallet.

My hope is that when I'm out shopping and see something I like, I will force myself to consult the list and try to only buy it if its on it.

Boring? Sort of. But there's something exciting about re-building the bones of my wardrobe. I donated 60% of my clothes and accessories during the move last summer, and the process made me realize how many of my pieces didn't work together. It was a jumble of hoodies and "bar shirts" from my undergrad, which didn't translate very well to my post-school lifestyle.

So before I start buying whimsical stuff again, I am going back to basics. Sunday, for example, I bought 3 much-needed belts. I had thankfully gotten rid of the remnants of my old belt collection, which had been inspired by my fleeting love for Shakira and Evanescence (the fact that I let cringe-worthy artists inspire my purchases is evidence enough of my need to follow a shopping program). I also found 3 more items from my list: a man's white shirt, a clutch and a pea coat.

Next on the list: a good quality pair of ballet flats for spring, if it ever arrives.

i heart my 'hood

l'oreal double extension beauty tubes mascara

Damn. I was excited for this one. After significant miscommunication between FedEx and I, this package from Matchstick finally arrived at my door. The package of makeup was generous and fun. The featured product, being l'oreal double extension beauty tubes mascara, was a major disappointment.

To test out the kit, I wiped off all my makeup to start fresh.

I then applied the liquid eyeliner and smokey eyes eyeshadow quad, which both went on smoothly and with surprisingly rich pigmentation. The eyeliner (in carbon black) was especially nice. I used the little brush set that came in the kit, which was cute and effective.

I then applied the white base coat, which is meant to lengthen and build the lashes. So far, so good. The problem arose when I pulled out the wand for the mascara and saw that it was covered in black chunks.

Despite the odd appearance, I tried applying it on my lashes anyways, none stuck. Instead, it just fell to floor in chunks.

As I paused to take photos, the base coat started stinging my eyes. My eyes are not normally sensitive, so this was troubling.

I tried again to apply the mascara, but it just wasn't working, unfortunately.

I can't imagine that this is the intended texture of the mascara, but I tried both tubes and they both were very chunky. My guess would be that in the transportation process (which was lenghty, due to the mix-ups) the temperature changes affected the consistency. That is the only explanation I can think of.


Final review: eyeshadow, eyeliner and brushes: good. Mascara: unfortunately terrible (but may or may not have been damaged in transport).

trickled down tricks of the trade

My cousin Tara is an amazingly talented photographer, and she's further honing her craft in Seneca College's Independent Digital Photography program. I've been meaning to post about her work for months now, so here it is, finally. She did a series called "Vampires" and had the final project published in a gorgeous book.

For a peek at the series, look here.

Over the holidays, she showed me a couple photoshop tricks for making people look, well, undead. And yes, I am that obsessed with photography that I beg my cousin to teach me things in between Christmas dinner and dessert. Here's my first attempt at creepifying a model (another cousin, Sam).


Thanks, Tara, for your help. I can't wait to see what you work on next, and I just may beg you to teach me a little something else.