Unstoppable – Santigold at the Commodore in Vancouver
Posted: May 28, 2012 Filed under: Listen, See Leave a comment »
(Photo via Weallwantsomeone.org)
Santigold performed her first show in Vancouver – ever – on Saturday. My partner in crime Aynsley and I were two lucky bitches with tickets to the sold-out show. Aynsley took me to see Grimes for my birthday and I scored her a pass to last night’s show for hers.
Promoting her new album Master of My Make-Believe, Santigold performed with so much energy that she had the entire sold-out crowd dancing and singing. On either side of her were two extremely-talented, beyond cool dancers. Their choreography started out restrained with props but as the show progressed, there were booty shakes, high kicks, animal-inspired moves and way more. I tried so hard to remember their dance moves so my friends and I would have something do to other than bad dance* on the dance floor in the future but if we attempted a dinosaur dance at our next house party, I know it wouldn’t translate well.
Santigold nailed it in so many ways; beautiful singing, elaborate costumes, jaw-dropping choreography, high energy, strong lyrics and a fully-engaged audience. A performance like hers is why I love going to concerts. Every aspect was so inspiring, I immediately felt the urge to get creative and make something (probably annoying crafts because my creative talents are limited).
Santigold crowd surfed three times, had 2 costume changes, and busted a move in front of a great white horse once. It was hands down my favourite concert of the year thus far. No doubt every girl in the room wanted to be friends with her or straight up be her. Readers, if you trust my judgment on one thing only, GO SEE SANTIGOLD.
*bad dance is a dance whereby my friends and I try the most absurd and awful dance moves we can think of.
(Photos taken by me, last photo is me and Aynsley)
My Fave Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Posted: May 22, 2012 Filed under: Do, Eat | Tags: Baking, Easy baking, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Step by step baking 3 Comments »
I’ve spent half of my adult life having people steal my jokes and gain all the credit due to their better joke delivery. Friend, you know who you are. I guess it’s some kind of karma then that I’ve been posting others’ delicious recipes on Superfora and reap all of the glory. Today’s recipe is no exception. It was passed on to me by the baking genius herself, Lyndsey, when I inquired about an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe for Simon. In little time, I’ve gone from baking for my man to baking for co-workers and friends. Frequently. These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are now semi-famous.
- 1 cup butter, room temperature (take the butter out in advance so it will be room temp by the time you start baking)
- 1 cup sugar (I add slightly less)
- 1 cup brown sugar (ditto, I add slightly less than a cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon, maybe a bit more
- ½ tsp of nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups oats (Quaker quick oat)
- 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips (eyeball how much you want)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (not necessary if you have not-stick sheets). Either with a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and the sugars in a large bowl until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.
- Next, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour into the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
- Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.
- Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing them about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
- Cool on baking sheet for at least 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Stuff yo face
Bike Dressing
Posted: May 15, 2012 Filed under: See | Tags: Bike dressing, Biking, Short and tight skirts on bikes 2 Comments »In my last bike post, I promised to write a followup addressing how I ride my men’s road bike when everything I own is either short or tight (ahem, both).
Well, short and tight is exactly why it works.
Think about it. Short and flowy wouldn’t work because a gust of wind would screw me, especially on the sea wall where oncoming bicycle traffic is endless. Long and tight is impossible to ride in, especially on a men’s bike. And long and flowy, although currently on trend, is just not me. A short and tight dress or skirt, however, when worn with bikini bottoms underneath is the sartorially acceptable equivalent of wearing bicycle shorts. Let me demonstrate.
(Photos by cute Simon)
See, super easy. I couldn’t possibly have that much fun if I were worried about exposing something.
Note: For the purpose of these photos, I took my helmet off. But I always wear one when I ride. A helmet looks uncool but you know what’s even more uncool? Having your brains splattered on the street. Be smart. Be safe.
Mary Katrantzou at The Room – Vancouver!!
Posted: May 11, 2012 Filed under: See, Swoon | Tags: 2012, fashion collection, HBC The Room, Mary Katrantzou, May 11, prints, The Room Vancouver 1 Comment »
To my great surprise, Mary Katrantzou made an appearance at The Room in Vancouver last night, in support of her astounding new collection. Surrounded by fans wearing her crazy designs, the skillful print master was dressed in black from head to toe.
My blurry iPhone photos don’t do her new collection justice but they do give you an idea of what I saw; soft printed leather, accordion-shaped skirts, and prints ranging from guitar parts to colour-blocked flower meadows. My print on print on print outfit (top/pants/shoes) finally had a place in which to feel at home.
I’ve been a fan of Mary K’s since she blew me away with her first collection. Despite being too damn shy to talk to her, it was amazing to see her at the event; her talent and youth are beyond inspiring. Thank you Vaughn for getting us in on super short notice! xo
Below I’m wearing a blouse by Mary Katrantzou for TopShop and pants by Zara.
Tokyo Rising
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: Do, See | Tags: Tokyo, Tokyo Rising, Trippple Nipples 2 Comments »The day is finally here! I am a few hours away from departing for my heavily anticipated trip to Tokyo, or as I like to call it – the future. I’ve been dreaming about this day for years now – the food, the fashion, the fanatically fast pace. Finally, my community college courses in Japanese are about to pay off. Konichiwa! Konbanwa! Kanpai! Kudasai!
In preparation for my trip I’ve been doing my mandatory research consisting of best shopping spots (Shibuya – here I come!) and best eats (thank you Anthony Bourdain). But this great little doc featuring Pharrell Williams on Tokyo post 3/11 earthquake has me most excited about simply observing the people and getting a glimpse of their culture. Also, Tripple Nipples look insane live.
Sayonara peeps! See you in a few weeks!
Luna in the Afternoon – Drunk Dial Edition
Posted: May 8, 2012 Filed under: See | Tags: Friends on other continents, Love texts, Luna Luna, Midnight drunk dials Leave a comment »Every Thursday, around 3pm, I’m greeted with a love-infused phone call, text message or picture text. Sometimes all three. They come from the lovely Luna, whose talents are numerous, from making laser images of unicorns and rainbows with her irises to creating photography that will blow you away.
Living in Berlin, Luna is 9 hours ahead of me so when it’s 3pm and I’m buried in numbers, it’s midnight her time and she’s drunk dialing her friends back home in Canada. Never has a 9-hour time difference worked so well in my favour. Her love notes usually look like:
“Hello, I love you”
“You look beautiful today and I love you”
But sometimes she pulls out all the stops and goes for something like this:
(Artwork by Luna)
So amazing!! Here’s to weeknight drinking and friends who stay close, despite what sometimes feels like unsurmountable distances. xo, Luns!
New Faves
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: See | Tags: One of a Few, Summer loafers, vancouver, Vintage shoes, Weaved loafers 2 Comments »My girl Tiyana flew into town last weekend. We were super excited to see each other and as expected, she and I got mom loud and mom drunk pretty fucking fast. On Sunday before she caught her flight home, we showed her around various neighbourhoods, parks, beaches and of course, the inside of my favourite boutiques. Along the way, I acquired these weaved bad boys in a split second decision in Gastown’s One of a Few. They have a pretty great vintage selection upstairs.
A cross between Hugh Hefner’s famous velvet loafers and a white picnic basket, I anticipate these guys will go well with pretty much any outfit I wear this summer.
Let the compliments from 50-something European gigolos begin.
(Photos by Simon)
New Music: Frankie Rose’s Interstellar
Posted: April 24, 2012 Filed under: Listen | Tags: Crystal Stilts, Frankie Rose, Interstellar, Vivian Girls Leave a comment »
(Image via the Straight)
I’m totally loving Frankie Rose‘s new offering, Interstellar, a spacey, atmospheric pop album released in February. It, and Stacey Q’s Two of Hearts, have been on repeat at my house over the last week.
Formerly a drummer with Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls, Frankie Rose went solo in 2010 with her subtle and refined debut Frankie Rose and the Outs. Interstellar, her sophomore album, is described by Pitchfork as “a big, second-album leap of faith into deeper waters, a sparkling synth-pop record that wants very badly to mean something to dreamy, hyper-emotional twentysomethings.”
Let’s start with my favourite track, Pair of Wings. Her voice! The lyrics! “Show me your scars, I’ll show you mine.”
The reverb-drenched Night Swim is a combination of surf guitar, synth and GoGos-style vocals. So sweet and happy.
Know Me, according to The Georgia Straight music writer John Lucas, “positions shimmery, lost-in-the-forest guitar chords over an ’80s dance-floor beat”. I think that’s another way to describe super awesome fun.
And last but not least, Interstellar, the leading track.
Miss Frankie Rose is playing at the Biltmore in Vancouver tonight, April 24th. Tickets are $12 + fees and available at Red Cat Records, Zulu and Ticketmaster. You can stream the entire album via Grooveshark here.
Out of This World: Setareh Mohtarez
Posted: April 19, 2012 Filed under: See, Swoon | Tags: Brightness Dawn Collection, Cosmic Collection, Setareh Mohtarez 1 Comment »
- The planetary prints are otherworldly while the shapes and colours evoke flower petals. To gain inspiration from two vastly different subjects and be able to combine them into a single coherent theme, and collection for that matter, simply amazes me.
- I’m a sucker for architectural pieces: sculptured skirts, cocoon shoulders, voluminous hips. I gravitate toward stand-out pieces and volume is one of the best ways of achieving that in my opinion. I already blogged about the illusion of hips. I’ll take a flower petal bustier to enhance my bust line any day.
