It's funny because it's true

Only God can judge this picture

Leslie: Kevin and I want a tat that symbolizes our relationship. Something along the lines of "Skrepmelv 4 lyfe" with a pic of Tupac. Could you sketch that for us?
Leanna: OMG yes, I'll whip something up when I get home tonight.
Leslie: Hollerrrrrr I love you mama!!

If you're a fly gal, getcher nails done

Two recent manicures:


OPI in OPI on Collins Ave., Nicole by OPI in Positive Energy, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out


Unknown brand in blue, LA Colors Art Deco in White

What I've learned this summer

1. If I don't have any schoolwork to procrastinate over, I forget to blog.
2. Don't waste time waiting for summer weather, because by the time it finally arrives there will only be a month left until school.
3. Trying to remember a summer's worth of events is hard, even for one as relatively uneventful as mine. Here goes!

Yelle - Commodore - May 13

Incredibly high-energy! I remember sweating a lot. Unfortunately I don't remember much else.

Neon Indian & Sleigh Bells - Vogue - May 25

Neon Indian


Sleigh Bells
Easily one of the top 10 concerts I've ever been to. To me, there's not much better than two bands I love playing a show together. I don't think I stopped dancing aside from the two trips to the bar for extremely overpriced PBR ($6/can!!! And it was the cheapest beer they had! Madness!!). The Vogue was a pretty nice venue, and although there wasn't much of a dance floor I was glad to have the spot on it that I did. The highlight of the night was I spotted Danny, Neon Indian's guitarist, after the show and dragged Robyn along as I waltzed over to introduce myself. We chilled backstage a bit (my first backstage experience) before wandering the streets. Finally, my friendly inebriated nature pays off!


Me and Danny. One of the great mysteries of life: Who took this picture?

Stanley Cup Finals - June

What an exciting few weeks! Too bad it ended in a disappointment that swept the entire city. I watched the final game with Heidi and Saschie from the comfort of The Keg Yaletown. Totally not my scene, and they only had one TV on the patio, but it was better than sitting on the ground watching it outdoors like I'd done for previous games. I'd write more, but...the loss still stings.


We got the hell out of the downtown core shortly after.


Happier times...the game on June 8. (Except we lost this one, too.)

My 24th Birthday - June 12

I managed to forget to take any pictures of this...apart from a shot of the delicious cheesecake that Robyn made! Which was really one of the most important components of the theme--Golden Girls. I got the perfect dress from True Value Vintage's bag sale the month prior: black and sparkly gold, bow at the waist, gigantic shoulder pads. It was a great birthday, and I'm so glad I got to see as many friends as I did.

Spirit of the West & Dan Mangan - Stanley Park - July 10

Went to this with my friend Eric, who I dated for a hot minute this summer. I completely spaced and forgot to bring a blanket to sit on, but luckily we ran into my friend Katrina who graciously shared hers. It would have been a perfect evening except for the fact that Dan Mangan's set started an hour and 15 minutes later than planned. Since Eric had to get up early for work we only caught the first two songs before we had to hit the road. Bummer!

Harry Potter - The Rio - July 14

I ended up being pretty ambivalent about the movie itself, but I had a blast in line with Robyn and Shafin. Pixar Monopoly, umbrella forts, and vodka made the time fly by. My original plan had been to dress up as Bellatrix Lestrange (really the only character I somewhat resemble) but then I got lazy and settled for a Dark Mark and a black dress.

Heidi's 19th and Steph's 23rd Birthday - Lamplighter - July 29

Sarah, Steph, and two of Steph's friends
Happy birthday to two of my beloved classmates! The night started with drinks at Nomfundo's and ended with poutine at Fritz, so clearly it was a smashing success. I had a good time at the Lamplighter--it's nice to branch out from my usual repertoire of dive bars and slums once every couple years (ha).


Jordan, Leslie, and Heidi

Pitt Meadows - July 30-August 10

I've been spending my Sundays working at the Pitt Meadows Farmers Market, so my aunt and uncle (who are also involved with the market) asked me to house (and cat) sit for them while they were at their cabin. It was a nice mini-vacation for me, too! I enjoyed getting to spend some time with Frik, the 20 year old mother of my dear Cleo.




Me at the Maple Ridge Rotary Duck Race, posing with some of Samantha's Silly Soap. This picture made it into the Maple Ridge Times! I'm famous!
Despite an extraordinary lack of friends in Pitt, I did get to see Heidi a couple times: once for dinner and a sleepover at her house in Maple Ridge, and once when we went to Roosters. For those not from the area, Roosters is a "country cabaret" conveniently located within walking distance of my aunt and uncle's house. The crowd, mostly borderline-underage girls and ex-cons (seriously--the young ladies ahead of us in line were loudly discussing their respective times in the joint), was interesting, to say the least. But drinks were cheap, so good times were had!


Me and Heids at Roosters. I know my bangs are getting too long when they decide to rebel.


Last Friday I met up with my good friend Steve for my first real beach trip of the year. We went to Kits, where we attempted--and failed, horribly--to eat an entire meal at Vera's and drank beers and Palm Bays sneakily hidden from view. We finished the day with nachos and a plethora of beverages at Rogue, which is a great place to go if you're near Waterfront and looking for something casual, affordable, and delicious.


Contents: Ice, canned beverages
This week I didn't have much to do, so naturally I dyed my hair. I've had a tub of Punky Colours in Turquoise kicking around for a couple months, and when I saw cheap bleach at Shopper's I decided to finally go for it. I've been lusting over pictures of blue ombre hair on Tumblr for ages, so that's what I set out to accomplish.


My hair after two bleachings. I guess I should have known it would be a pain to lift years of black dye.
I bleached my hair with 30 vol developer three times over two days, with a looong session of deep conditioning after the second bleaching. Although I didn't get it as light as I would have liked, I'm really pleased with the end results!



Oh man...I'm never going so long without blogging again. Recapping months of my life at a time is too difficult! Time to curl up and rest my weary fingers...

Just a little somethin' for you

I was productive (?) today and made a mix for a friend. These songs are best enjoyed with the ocean in the background (I suppose a lake or pool would suffice if you're not fortunate enough to live on the coast) and a vodka slurpee in hand. Click on the image to download!

Meow meow et chantez-moi

I'm well on my way to becoming a crazy cat lady. Call the cops, IDGAF.

Magnitude's favourite food

Trust me guys, I'd be updating if I had anything to update about. I could tell you about seeing Yelle on Friday, but there's not much to say besides 1) trying to sing along is hard when your French is as rusty as mine, 2) c'était une soirée absolument parfait, et 3) I've never danced so much in my life.

But anyways, I suppose this is worth a post: I have recently discovered how easy it is to make popcorn. I know, right? Duh. Seriously though, this stuff is SO DAMN GOOD; I doubt I'll ever be able to have greasy, artifically yellow, potentially lethal microwave popcorn again. Good riddance.

I originally got the recipe from The Best of Chef at Home (I love this cookbook) but now I just eyeball everything. First, throw a big pot on the stove and coat the bottom with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the stove on high and toss about a half cup of popcorn kernels in the pot. Shake it a bit to make sure they're in a single layer. Put a lid on the pot, but leave an opening to allow steam to escape. Then just wait! It'll start going crazy pretty soon. When the popping starts to slow down a bit, turn the heat to low until it's done. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and another tablespoon of olive oil. CONSUME.

This makes a LOT of popcorn. Even I can only eat about half a batch:



You can thank me later.

My life in two words

Music and food.

Despite being super sick, I made it out to the Commodore on Friday with Robyn and Shafin to see the fabulous and wonderful Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover. We were early enough to get excellent spots just a few people away from the stage! Although I got pretty dizzy at one point and wasn't quite sure if I'd survive, it was a great show. (Especially when he did the encore in just jeans and an unzipped hoodie.)


One of the few perks of living at home is getting homecooked food every night. On the rare opportunity that I get to cook for myself--like being too sick to go to the family Easter dinner--I usually stick to the one thing I can cook without a recipe: chicken and pasta. Chicken breast marinated in fresh squeezed lemon juice, spinach penne with a sort-of-not-really alfredo, and the only broccoli I'll ever eat. Simple, easy, delicious.

While I've been confined indoors with this awful cold I've also embraced my inner teenage girl and developed a slight Tumblr addiction. So like, follow me or whatever.

Let me see yr nailz

My attempt at a glitter gradient. OPI's Coney Island Cotton Candy (the most perfect nude shade ever) and Extra-va-vaganza. Really easy to do, though time consuming--this is technically 7 coats of polish! Worth it; I love the effect.

We love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very much.

"I like the feel of the burn of the audience's eyes on me when I'm whispering all my darkest secrets into the microphone."
I've had this new post up in a tab for the past few days in an attempt to see if I could adequately express my feelings towards seeing Bright Eyes on Friday, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get there. However, a certain someone who shall remain a name (Leslie Melvin) is impatient for a post so here goes.

I know, loving Bright Eyes is soooo 2003, but although I'm no longer an angsty 17 year old (I'm an angsty 23 year old...) I still can't stop listening. At this point my love is probably 90% nostalgia-based, but call the cops because IDGAF. My love for Conor Oberst will never die. I know a lot of people claim to have bands and artists that got them through tough times, but for me Bright Eyes was the opposite: They allowed me to wallow in self-pity and despair, and for that I am forever grateful.

To sum up this point of this post: The Bright Eyes show was probably the best musical experience of my life (No Doubt in 2009 is the second).

The show was at the Commodore. I love it. I wouldn't even mind seeing, say, Katy Perry (HATE HER WITH A FIERY PASSION) if she played at the Commodore. It's huge, it has multiple bars, there's ample seating with views of the stage, and hello--bouncy dancefloor. Hands down the best venue in Vancouver. The place was packed, which I should have expected as it was a sold-out show. I (vaguely) remember having a lot more room to dance when I saw Julian Casablancas there a couple years ago. Thankfully, no one was flailing/moshing/jostling about so although it was crowded it was still easy to stand in place and sway and enjoy the music. I even had a great view of Conor for the majority of the time, something that almost never happens due to my extreme lack of height.


Titus Andronicus opened, although I only caught the last few songs of their set. It's pretty rare that I've heard of the opening band and even rarer that I'm already a fan, so I was pleased.

But onto Bright Eyes. The set list was near perfect with plenty of songs from the new album interspersed with a lot of old favourites. Now, my idea of the ultimate Bright Eyes concert takes place pre-Digital Ash in a Digital Urn/I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, but I've come to accept that that's just not going to happen. At least he (mostly? I can't remember) stayed away from Cassadaga. I mean, it's great that Conor's pretty much sober and all, but there's no denying his best work was during the years when he'd get so wasted at shows he'd have to cling to the mic stand for support. I don't usually read or agree with Pitchfork's reviews, but they were dead-on when they called The People's Key impersonal. I still think it's solid, but where's the neuroses? The wailing? The metaphors and references to scales and clocks?


Okay, I'm sidetracking. We took a nice, lengthy "trip down memory lane", as Conor put it. He even went way back to 1998 ("Padraic My Prince"). Going in, I was so sure I'd cry at some point, but (sadly, in my opinion) my cheeks remained dry. I did tear up once--for the entirety of "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)"--but he didn't sing any of the songs that really hit me hard in my hormonal teenage years. I assure you I would have been reduced to a quivering, sobbing wreck on the floor had I heard "Messenger Bird's Song" or "You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will." or "A Perfect Sonnet" live.


One of the many highlights (who am I kidding every second was a highlight) was during the encore. "Lover I Don't Have To Love". I knew they'd play it, I knew they had to! Even if you're not a fan of the band, I feel like it was impossible to escape the mid-2000s without hearing that song...at least if you spent any amount of time on Myspace. I was only sad my sister wasn't there to scream the lyrics along with me like we used to do in the car. Love's an excuse to get hurt and to hurt. Do you like to hurt? I do, I do. Then hurt meeeeeeee. My one regret was not bringing my Flip cam to record the moment.


That's about all I have to say about the concert; or at least, all that can be said in a jumble of words. I'm so grateful I was able to be there, knowing that it was most likely his last tour as Bright Eyes. I'll leave you with this one moment that stuck with me: One or two songs into the set, Conor asked for the two lights shining on him to be turned off. It was just so Conor I nearly died.

I have a lot of really great concerts coming up (Childish Gambino/Donald Glover, Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian, Yelle) but, as excited as I am, I feel like none of them will live up to last Friday.

What's the best show you've ever been to?