Into my wild

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!

It’s my sister Jen’s birthday today, She is turning 27! She lives in Massachusetts so I do not get to visit her often. I miss her so much. She is one of thee most talented woman I know! She has always been very artsy, which is great because she is a high school art teacher! She has a great blog which was designed by her husband Kev, (who is also amazing). Her blog can be found at; http://jenloveskev.com/ 

She has always had great style. ( I would always steal her clothes when I was younger, as a matter of fact, I would probably still steal them if I lived closer.) She is super cute! I miss her. I love you Jen. Have a wonderful birthday. I hope you have a big party and dance your faces off to celebrate how great you are.

 I dedicate this song to you because it is your birthday! 

So, I had an amazing visit with my friend Renee yesterday. We went for a bike ride along the Waterfront Trail on Lake Ontario. It was such a nice day and it was nice to a see good amount of people enjoying the day as well!

One of the most exciting things happened while Renee and I were eating lunch yesterday! I was talking about wanting to go to school for styling and designing/making clothing but I didn’t have a sewing machine…Bummer! Then Renee says, “Oh my mom just asked me if I wanted her old one, I am sure if she still has it she would just give it to you…”

WHAT?!

So, it turns out that Coleen, Renee’s mom, had given the sewing machine away to a dealer to get fixed up to sell. But, she called them for me and they still had it! This sewing machine is apparently one of the old vintage kenmore models in the cabinet, and it is in mint condition and just needs a tune up! I am so super excited!

not the exact machine- just what I think it will look like!

I also saw Julie & Julia; such a cute movie! Amy Adams’ character is really adorable in the film. Also, Meryl Streep does a great job acting as Julia Child because she is way over the top, I burst out laughing sometimes.

Yay! My friend Lauren Malyon, the super talented pop performer, has asked me again to style her for a few up-coming appearances and shows! She is super cute and fun to style because she is so trusting and she loves trying new things out!

She is planning to be on a daytime show the end of September, so I’m going to start thinking about some great fall looks for her to wear! As well as, she is potentially having a Toronto show at The Rivoli on Queen Street West in October!

The Rivoli is also where The Restless Age had their cd release show the beginning of this year.

The Restless Age @ The Rivoli

 Today’s lineup;

We had our friend steve sleep over lat night so, this morning( well afternoon really), we are making a BIG breakfast! Eggs, bacon, homefries and pancakes! Steve made up at game this morning which consisted of naming off a mixed martial art fighter and imitating what they do when they are being announced, and or having to guess which fighter they are imitating. Pretty hilarious.  

Play with my dog Holly!

Look for some flights from Calgary to Abbotsford, BC.

I need to get a bike pump, I have been pretty much riding on rims for the last week!

I am playing squash with my friend Rebecca at 2pm. I call her “rouge” because she has luscious red locks.

And then, I work at 4!

nice.

Lauren Malyon- Five Pounds

I just recently got back from a 10 day canoe trip in the Temagami lake system up in Northern Ontario. The lakes are beautiful, the sunsets are incredible and the mosquitos make you mental.

In the summers, I work for an organization called Trails; which is a non-profit organization for at-risk youth from Toronto area. It’s a 4 year program plus an L.I.T year for those who apply. The program models the importance of community, fun with a purpose and experiential education. Last year I worked with the year 3 group girls and we paddled the French River for 8 days, which was beautiful. This year, I had the privilege to work with the same group in year 4. So this year is a longer trip for the purpose of really buildings their hard skills such as paddling, camp craft (setting up tarps, cooking, etc..) and their leadership skills in the outdoors. I worked with a fabulous woman whose name was Mandy! We had fun, maybe a little too much sometimes.

The full group was split into two smaller groups, seven and seven with two facilitators each. What both groups accomplished was amazing! Our longest day of paddling was 20 km with a 870m portage and when we got to our campsite the kids were so stoked, so much so we all started acting like excited gorillas. I’m not quite sure how that started. But, the excitement ended once the day’s cooks burned the kraft dinner… mmm smoked Kd… gotta love it.

Our kids were great; the guys had pokemon battles, talked about video games and flirted with girls. The girls talked about how gross their hair was, how lame the boys are and how they hate the bugs. Good times.

the crew

the final day

the crazy staff

yikes, i just ate a whole toblerone.

 So, I went to Florida with one of my best friends Elena for a week this summer. Elena, who lives in Abbotsford, B.C is one friend I do not see very often. Usually it’s been about once a year around Christmas when I go back to Massachusetts that I see her. We had the luxury of staying at my parent’s new place down there, which is lovely by the way. It’s just about 10 miles south of Cocoa Beach Florida located in a smaller, not so developed area called, Satellite Beach. Where were chatting with this older man one day and he said it was where he watched Kelly Slater grow up surfing. Pretty cool! If your not familiar with Kelly Slater, he is not only one of the best and most recognized surfers in the world but probably one of the greatest athletes of this time.

Every morning at about 9am we would roll out of bed. We would make some delicious breakfast, usually oatmeal or some scramble egg concoction and then have a lotion session. We almost went through about two bottles of sunscreen! At about 10 or 10:30 we would hop on our bikes and ride over to the beach. Pretty much dripping with sweat by the time we got there, we were so ready for the ocean! When I say dripping with sweat, keep in mind its only a 3/4 mile, sea-level ride to the beach, so, it was pretty hot.

We would lay there like cooking meat for a few hours, in and out of water a few times and then head back for some lunch. Which one day consisted of lettuce wraps with avocado, chickpeas, onions and cucumbers which is one of my favorite meals! Pretty much by that time our canadian skin had about enough of the blazing hot sun so, our nights consisted of $.99 movies from local thrift stores, yahtzee, truth or dare jenga, walks and late night cannoli runs. We were able to rent some surfboards for three days but because of the time of year, the waves weren’t overly cooperative… I only rode one wave in three days… and that was on my knees. bummer. Practice makes perfect I guess.

My Aunt and Uncle live just 4 miles south of where we were. They were super hospitable and let us eat their food, swim and their pool (with Frankie, their awesome wiener dog) and go for some wakeboarding until getting surrounded by many jellyfish. So great to see them! I love you guys!

We hit up some local attractions such as, Dakine Diego’s which is a really cool local burrito spot down on A1A, we hit up Ross (dress for less) and got some cheap shoes, we biked down South Tropical Trail which is where all the huge houses are and the road is lined with mango trees. I wanted to grab one except they all were fenced in with barbed wire at the top! So, no go.

We saw Endeavor launch into space which was quite epic I must say. I was really into that! People hurdling into space and being in orbit in under 8 minutes is pretty incredible! 

the girls reunited

the weenie!

this my friends is a tribute to joel, he is the master at the frog leg style biking

Our gift on arrival, this little sucker was plucked fresh right from the garden, thanks Auntie Robin!

Launching 7 peeps into space.

just watched the shuttle launch…epic.

So in July, I had my first fashion coordination and styling opportunity! I was asked by Lauren Malyon an up-and-coming musical talent out of Port Perry to style everyone for her cd release show.( Lauren and Paul, who happens to be the keyboard player in The Restless Age, spent countless hours writing and arranging an unbelievable ep which was finished late spring.)  

I had such an incredibly amazing time working with Lauren, and everyone in the band. Lauren and I spent hours one day trying to find the perfect shoes for her dress, which was a very special dress, so it needed some very special shoes… We thought we had lost all hope but then, I spotted them across the store. I grabbed the box, didn’t even let Lauren look at them and said, “These are them, try them on.” She then proceeded to ask if I was kidding.. but oh! I was not! It was like Cinderella all over again. They were a perfect fit!

I was overwhelmed by the response of the crowd and how well they thought every looked. Especially when people, unaware that I was the one who styled everyone, would say how great the band looked! I had so much fun scouring thrift stores for all these different elements for the guys to wear as part of their outfits. The budget was really limited, like $0 to be exact. For the most part, the guys and ladies just brought whatever they had and I chose what they would wear. So especially considering that, everyone was quite stylin! 

Not only did she ask me to style everyone… for the encore, she asked me and several of her close friends to come and sing and dance with her! We sang, “My boyfriend’s Back” as well as, “Hit the road Jack.” Wow, it was incredible. I was super into it. So nervous to mess up the words but, the only time when I got the words perfect was when I was doing it for real! 

Lauren you are such a sweetheart. Thanks for the opportunity!

CHECK HER OUT! http://www.myspace.com/laurenmalyon

Such a great show! Great job guys!

Making sure everything’s good!

Amazing girl!

And then… some really close friends of ours had their first kid! Will, who is the bass player in Joel’s band and Sarah, whom is one of the sweetest, most caring woman I know, had a daughter and her name is Claire Elizabeth Dyer. 

Will and the lil’ nugget.

She’s a cool babe. This girl is going to be a bombshell. Will is like 6’ something and a twig, sarah’s got super long legs and a dancer’s body…. I put bets on she gonna be 5’9, dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes… Watch out Will.