Anyone...Anyone...

I realize this video has already gone viral (so much so, that the Hamilton Spectator tweeted about it earlier today), but I can't help but post it.



I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and this Honda commercial is unbelievably clever. Creative respect goes out to the mind who came up with this one.

Oh, how I enjoy superbowl season commercials.

Word of the Day: ennounciate

Quote of the Day: "I will not be eaten!" Rachael

That Patchwork Quilt

I wish I had discovered earlier in my life that I enjoy sewing.

The quilt is coming along, though it doesn't often feel like I've even cracked the surface of that pile of squares... I spent a good chunk of last night putting more rows on the face.

Those pictures are basically the extent of what I did with the rest of my day. The fun part is going to come later when I actually need to do the quilting part of the quilt... since that will all be done by hand too.

I wish I had discovered earlier in life that I enjoyed sewing. I have already started looking at patterns for the next quilt I want to make. I think it is going to be an Irish Chain quilt. Specifically, I like the look of this patchwork Irish Chain quilt.

From: Crazycreekquilts.com

I think I will, however attempt this with bigger squares (I may have learned my lesson), and I'm sure my Mom will make sure I buy my own rotary cutter and rulers so that she doesn't have to spend afternoons cutting fabric again (not that it wasn't one of the most enjoyable days of my Christmas break). The trick is going to be amending a pattern for the Irish Chain that I'm happy with. Investing in graph paper might be a good idea. I'm also, very probably, going to need to buy more pins. 

It's silly, but I maintain that after 4 years of university, Redeemer finally domesticated me. I'm sure its proud. 

Word of the Day: linearity

Quote of the Day: "Love and truth, that's the vital connection, love and truth." Julian Barnes, The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters

Hamilton Thrifting

I've recently taken to the thrifting realm of Hamilton, and in the last several months I've managed a few impressive finds. I've collected a few classy H&M tunic dresses, an adorable assortment of cardigans, a fitted black jacket, and a floral sweater that my mother just despises (she thinks it makes me look like an old woman... I however, love it).

I've found several fantastic pairs of boots for friends, including a barely worn, leather (worth upwards of $250.00 new) Guess Cowboy boots ($24.99, Talize), and a pair of Aldo leather mini-boots, buckled in all the right places, also bairly worn (again, retail price over $150.00 here) for less than $15. I'm starting to find a knack for these unique finds.

However, my favourite find thus far came to me today. They are a pair of vintage, black, mid-calf, 80s, leather boots. And they cost me less than $15.

Now, quite frankly, this photo does not to them justice. They are absolutely gorgeous. The inside is lined with cotton-wool, the stitching is tight, they were made in Canada. The best part, however, is the smell. These boots smell of old leather, and this might be the best part. 

Over the Christmas break, I was encouraged to watch a YouTube video entitled "The Story of Stuff." It's about a 20 minute video outlining the wastefulness of our culture. After viewing it, horrified at my own wastefulness, I tried to figure out a way I could lighten my ecological footprint. Since God instructs we take care of the earth, I figured it was about time I started taking that  mandate a little more seriously. 

Fashion is an extensive industry. On the one hand it has provided a creative outlet for designers to paint the human body in decorative colours and fabrics that are simply beautiful. On the other, the mass production of our cardigans, American Eagle jeans and campus wear have been synthesized by the labour force in third world countries - and that's something that I no longer feel comforable partaking in. 

Thus, I am divorcing myself from the mall (with the exception of underwear and bras, and restoking my panty-hoes or leggings). And, let's be realistic, thrift shopping is more fun.

It will be difficult, but I have no doubt it will be worth it. Many of my favourite wardrobe pieces have come from Talize or Value Village, and they are items that are name-brand (Gap, Tommy Hilfigure, Roots, a 90s Harvard sweatshirt...). And, let's be realistic. In the end, it's going to save me a LOT of money. 

Here are a few of my other finds from today:

Fun printed Majora dress; $6.99. Belt; Ardene; $4.00

Leather Boots; Talize; $14.99. Belt; see above. Dress; (originally H&M) Talize; $6.99.
Cardigan; Smart Set; $12.99.

I'm also currently re-hemming another cute summer dress that I got for less than $6. I noticed when I got it home that the hem had come out, but luckily my new-found quilting skills have prepared me for a various amount of other sewing projects. And, I'm proud to say, in the spirit of keeping a good ecological footprint (along with the fact I would have no idea how to use a sewing-machine), I'm doing all of this by hand.

Word of the Day: Thrift

Quote of the Day: "Jesus sing over me... you're everything I need." Mercyme

Western University what?

For those of you who haven't heard about this...

UWO changed its name.

Read more about it here.

What are your thoughts on this? Because, I have to admit, I'm a little confused.

Word of the Day: confusion

Quote of the Day: "Your love is strong..." Jon Foreman

Chrysanthemum Girl

I only write poetry when I feel inspired.

I was inspired over Christmas. This one I wrote for Simon, who wanted to put beautiful music to it.

Somewhere between the mountains

And the bed that I have made

I have found a place to lay my head

And forget the comfort of your shade

Where the children with the chalk

Draw your eyes into my dream

Where I cannot walk

Where I cannot scream.

It is where the sidewalk ends

and the cold winds advise, 

And the children with the chalk

Scratch life into our eyes. 

Dusty hope and vertigo lend

Our petrified gazes to lock:

See our astonished reflections,

See your petals in the rock.

They drew your face on hardened earth

Green and gold and rose transcend

To flowers of an afterthought

And inside my soul suspends.

A crooked grin and aspirations

To have you and to hold.

And to be satisfied with what you cannot give

And with what I cannot behold.

Somewhere between the mountains

And the bed that I have made

I have found a place to lay my head

And forget the comfort of your shade

Where the children with the chalk

Draw your eyes into my dream

Where I cannot walk

Where I cannot scream.

Forgetting that I need you

The pride resigned by grief

The storm comes forth and raises 

Reality against belief.

Blink back the glassy tears

that erode apart your soul.

Until the rain washes you away

My Chrysanthemum Girl.

Chrysanthemums are important to me. They were on the coffin of my grandfather when he passed away several years ago. I remember them being in the garden. I remember autumn mums in our own garden. I always knew the seasons were changing when the autumn mums started popping up in our gardens - beautiful fiery red and golden petals that mimicked maples.

Word of the Day: Counter-productive

Quote of the Day: Awake my soul.

New Friends.

Thems my new dorm. Well, some of them are mine... actually, only two of these people actually are part of the dorm. The rest are honourary members. And the one frowning perfusely... that's Jordan Bokma. He's my digital editor for The Crown.

Word of the Day: Sing

Quote of the Day: "Do a face that's like, what the crap!" Courtney

Dusk

The sun is beginning to sink in the afternoon sky, and it will soon be evening. The skeleton trees out my window seem to want spring to come, and given the chance, they would bud presumptuously. But I fear winter will come with a vengence.

But none of this matters because, snow, rain, sunshine, daylight and nighttime are going to be consumed by words, and these words are not my own.

Currently, there is over 18 hours of LOTR soundtrack music quened on my Grooveshark playlist. My hope is to make literary criticism read with an epic air.

The skeletons' skin darken with the sky, and the Willow Tree Angels guarding my window sing the soft songs of the quiet, deep, clear, night.

Word of the Day: Overwhelmed

Quote of the Day: (Context: Wolverine is walking down the stairs in XMen 2). "Everyone is trying to seduce him. Rogue's trying to seduce him, Storm's trying to seduce him, the wooden floor is trying to seduce him." Kudzai

1000 Gratitudes, January who?

I'm beginning to doubt the absolute arrival of winter. He seems to be denying us the grace of his presence this season. And since we all know how I feel about snow, you can understand my disappointment with the weather situation. I am sure, however, that drivers are loving it.

New year, new gratitudes.

27. Fallons who assist my move into a new dorm.
28. Vanilla flavoured coffee.
29. Room to keep all my shoes.
30. Professors who share my faith, and the gift of learning in an institution which teaches in a Christian context.
31. New words to learn and understand.
32. The gift of sponsorship.
33. Amazing dorm devotions.
34. My bed, which is really, very comfortable and warm.
35. Midnight walks in the fog.
36. Agendas - I don't know what I would do without these.
37. Classes that are interesting and will be challenging. My schedule is shaping up to being quite the doozy.
38. The gift of journalism God has given me, and my desire to cultivate that gift further.
39. Professors who care, and make hilarious Green Day references in class.
40. Chicken-broccoli Casserole.
41. Spending a wonderful Christmas break with my family.
42. Knowing that God loves me. No matter what.

Word of the Day: Cacophony

Quote of the Day: Kristen and Erica: "We'll pray for you." Me: "Oh, no need for that. Coffee first. We'll call on God if the coffee doesn't work. No need to trouble Him with something that can be solved with a little caffiene."

726 "Squares"

Well, this afternoon Mom helped me cut the rectangles for my quilt. By help, I mean to say that she cut every single one of them with her rotary cutter.

Mom cut a lot of fabric today. But thankfully, that's the end of it to finish the face of the quilt. 

While I'm grateful that she cut all of the fabric, the edges are now even, instead of, well, cut by scissors like I had done previously. So now, one part of the quilt will clearly be entirely hand-done, and the other will have edges that are a little cleaner. I'll just put my stuff in the middle and everything else around it, so it doesn't look entirely ridiculous.

Before we began this crazy endeavour, we had to find the rotary cutter. Mom was looking all through her fabric bins and an old dresser in the basement (where she came across cross-stitch patterns she had apparently gotten rid of years ago). The rotary cutter was in her blue sewing basket. Now, if we return to the above photos, I would like to direct your attention to the YELLOW sewing basket in the second picture. That yellow sewing basket was the blue sewing basket we were looking for. Typical.

Cutting the fabric took about 6 hours, because we had to stop for dinner, and to say goodbye to Kristen, who was heading back to school. Then we had to open some windows ('cause apparently it was a beautiful day outside...so beautiful, in fact, that my beloved snow melted away), and then find more blue fabric. Eventually we got it all cut - and by we, I mean Mom, since she did all the hard work and I only counted...poorly. 

726 squares. Un-freakin'-believable.

Word of the Day: Fabric

Quote of the Day: "The basic American tourist has the IQ of a newt." Glenn Close, on Jay Leno

Ah-wim-bo-wae

Yesterday, Kristen and I watched The Lion King. I had purchased the newly re-released DVD sometime around Thanksgiving, and had brought it (along with about 10 other Disney movies) home for Christmas break.

This is my favourite part:



Although, knowing that The Lion King is loosely based off of Shakespeare's Hamlet makes me a little more inclined to laugh at the idiocracy of Timon and Pumba. Their characters are just so perfectly written.

Still, I can't help but laugh when I see youtube clips like this:



"They basically blamed him for winter!"

Ah well, it makes me laugh.

Word of the Day: Seriously? (I think Mom said this about 20 times yesterday)

Quote of the Day: "Awake my soul. You were made to meet your maker." Mumford and Sons

Conversations at 2am

Cheers to coherency.

Word of the Day: Astonished

Quote of the Day: "Can I battle wits with your demon computer?" Dan K