PSA #29: Take a Break!

This is excellent advice for me. Because I'm obviously losing my marbles.

As you can see, this PSA is being posted today, instead of yesterday. I forgot that yesterday was Friday. I see the reasons being two-fold.

1. I have a new job. I have an old job. I have another potential job. I'm good at juggling, but really only small tangible objects. The most important thing I've learned this week about two jobs, is that it's exhausting.

2. I have new online summer courses! I dove in right away to test the waters and see how difficult they're going to be and didn't really stop. So far, they're not so bad, but they will be a lot of work so I'd like to get them all done sooner rather than later. This...is also going to be exhausting.

So...let's recap: 

Two jobs + full course-load + lack of down-time after exams = net marble loss

That's a recipe for burn-out if ever I saw one. 

How I plan on preventing burn-out/bitterness/lack of sun-light:


- I have a spa coupon which I'm going to use pronto.


- I'm going to bake.


- I'm going to bike to work (12K each way). :O


- I have two vacations planned (end of June, and beginning of August). My family is also visiting at the end of May. Mom is bringing my new shoes.... :D


- I will remember to eat fruits and vegetables. Not just because they're awesome, but because the anti-oxidants will help balance out all that stress... 


The best advice I can give you...is to not do what I do (but when you need $$$, you gotta work!) or just win the lottery. Maybe I'll buy a ticket sometime. It looks fun. All that scritch-scratching and anticipation. Hmm.


Now...it's time for me to sleep a thousand sleeps. Good night!

bath

Dressing for Success. Apparently.

I GOT THE JOB! Officially, that is. With a per hour wage and a schedule. 

I basically walk around talking to people until someone comes to pick up altered clothes or drop off clothes for altering. So I either get them their clothes or I measure them! Then I work the cash machine, which is the hardest part perhaps...but only because the computer is so slow. 

The supervisor came today to meet me and shake my hand and read my answers to a small quiz ("Here is a receipt, what is the subtotal? How many items did they drop off? What's the date for pick-up?") and after hiring me she listed off the dress code:

1. Pants, not jeans

2. White or black shirt

3. Closed-toe and closed-back shoes 

4. Hair up/tidy

5. No long, loose necklaces (could get caught in sewing machines)

When she finished, I looked down at what I was wearing, looked back up at her and said "I guess I'm modelling that right now, eh?" (I did say "eh". I am Canadian.) She smiled. Score.

Argh. Poor lighting. Bad time of day...long story. 

Trousers: Mango

Shirt: H&M

Flats: Aldo

Necklace: Forever XXI

Check it.

Closed-toe! Closed-back! Check.
Note the blisters already forming after a day on mah feets.

Old school high-waisted troozers! Not jeans. Check.

PS I'm starting to realize why a girl in high school told me I had man hands...

They're gorgeous man hands though...right? 

No long dangly necklaces! Check.

They should put me in the company newsletter or something. 

Highlights of my day at Stitch It:

- Overhearing the manager tell the supervisor "She has done some sewing, she can do hems, and...*big pause* SHE'S AMAZING WITH CUSTOMERS!" That made me giddy.

- Realizing the lady whose pants I was pinning was French and I immediately switched to ask her to turn to the left in French. OH yeah.

- The manager was busy and I had a customer using a debit card, and I hadn't been taught how to do the debit thang...so I told the man "we're just going to do an experiment. If it works, I'm awesome." He was game! Aaaand it worked. He said "looks like you're awesome!" He's an amazing judge of character.

So I think they like me there. And I like it there. It's fun, fast-paced (sometimes) and interesting! I had a conflab with a lady about how much we love Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear. :D 

That's all. I'm out. This chick is tuckered out! 

And if you think I'll be spilling all the clothing-alteration secrets I learn from this job with you, my loyal readers........

You're totally right. ; ) xoxo!

Dress shirt

Project #1 Completion!

Sewing project #1 dzown!

Result: I'm awesome. Although I should credit my new job, for teaching me to hem properly and beautifully. Whoop whoop!

Not only am I now a paid (eventually?) seamstress, but I'm a primo customer entertainer extraordinaire. 

Probably because I'm the only one there whose first language is English. The fact that I also speak a little French blew their minds a little bit. 


So anyway, this dress, I bought it last summer for $10 at a street sale (in fact, Montreal's major summer street sale on Ste-Catherine is the biggest in Canada). It was far too long (~5.5" too long), not flattering at all for my gams, and it took me nearly a year to stop fretting over cutting fabric off and just...do it.


Ta-da!

 Frank would probably like for me to tell you that the first photo (top left) is the first one. He said "you're posing! Stop it!" and the result was the remaining photos. He's a genius.

Also, the bf of one of my lady roommates was upstairs and asked Frank what he was doing. He replied "being a photographer, and I just got 3 money shots!" 

Think he enjoys it? :P

 I may also make also take it in at the top. Make the triangles smaller. Whaddya think?

 A little peek at the back of ze dress. And my gams, mid-twirl.

Dress: No idea

Shoes: Aldo

Smile: My mama's 

Speaking of my mama, she's been in NYC for a couple days, meeting my older brother who has just arrived home from Dubai! She found me one of the pairs of Nine West shoes I asked her to look for....and she got them at 40% off the US price (~$90?). In the store here, they are $130 CDN. She got them for $53 USD. Which means I pay around $51 CDN. I LOVE YOU MAMA SO MUCH! :D They will look great with this dress...and y'know, every single thing I own. <333

Nine West

Summer Sewing Projects

I am finally done the winter semester. HALLELUJAH! 

I shall immediately commence...my "online" summer semester (aka learning from actual HUMONGOUS textbooks and submitting assignments online).


And then paying $50 for someone to sit around and watch me write each of my exams (4 exams...$200)

...sigh.

On the bright side, I'm going to have more time to sew! Even better, I'm going to be working at a tailor! So I'll be learning a lot about altering clothes. :)

So far on my summer sewing to-do list:


1) Hem a navy and gold flowery sundress I got for $10 last summer. It's at least 8 inches too long. This girl's legs are toooo short for that.


2) Start working on a quilt for my bed. All I have to do is start it...right? Then it'll be smoooth sailing! Right? ...


3) Sew a real, actual dress...all by myself! I have no idea what style though. I've been stalking ModCloth for months trying to figure out what I want...and the answer to that is "too much!" 


4) Alter a pair of classy bermuda shorts. They're too long, too wide and too "cuffed". I haven't decided whether to shorten them and keep the cuff, roll the cuff, taper them, or ...a snazzy combination. I almost said "or d) all of the above". :/


5) Find at least 3 items of clothing with "potential" at the local thrift store and see what I can make of them, à la Marisa from "New Dress a Day". She does incredible work with the most absurd garments.


I'm tackling Item #1 tomorrow! I'm also heading to my second practice session at Ye Olde Tailor Shop (not it's real name) and hoping to get confirmation of an actual impending nametag and paycheque...


In related news, I got a call from the Sailing Club I had an interview at, and they want me to come again and see how well I can drive a boat! Weee! 

Two jobs and full-time schoolin'! Can I do it? (I don't really know, let's not dwell on it now).


Totally unrelated: I just watched Boys Don't Cry for the first (and last) time ever. No wonder mom wouldn't let me (her stubborn little tomboy daughter with short hair) watch that as a pre-adolescent.


"Oh, so that's what happens to girls who don't really act like girls...note taken!" : /


Thanks mom, you made the right call on that one. I'm 24...and it traumatized me anyway. Although, I'm not sure as a young girl it would have scared me into growing my hair and wearing dresses...I think I just might have despised all men. I am actively despising the men those two actors represented right now...what a mindset. *puke* 


Alright, enough outta me, I could rant for so long about that.


Happy Wednesday! If you've got a sewing to-do list, do share! I will live vicariously through you! 

sundresses

I got nothin'

 Happy place. Happy, beautiful, place.

There is no specific point to today's post because this morning I am writing my LAST EXAM!

And by writing, I mean filling out, because the whole GD thing is multiple choice. My hand is gonna be mighty cramped by noon.


So, because my brain is disintegrating and I have no real topic, here are some facts:

- My interview yesterday was both strange and fun. I practiced sewing on scrap material for an hour and a half. I started making darts for various-sized boobs. Nobody noticed, which was slightly disappointing. I helped the bawss with some French words. I think I'm hired based on that alone.

- I made an awesome shrimp stir-fry for dinner last night. At 10:30pm.

- I finally ate the last of my Easter chocolate (started receiving it a month ago). And I only ate the last bit because I didn't wanna see it anymore. I don't even recall enjoying it.


- My roommate is moving out and now we have no kitchen table, coffee table, table-that-holds-random-chess-board, or entry-way dresser/table. We are essentially...surface-less.


- I bought a black dress shirt for choir, from H&M. I like it. I may even wear it for non-choir reasons. It makes me look dark and dangerous (probably not really).


- I have to go to a Karaoke thing on Friday and I'm terrified. I hope "liquid courage" is an accurate and reliable term.


- I am secretly excited to begin my online business courses, even though I've just finished this semester and my brain is about to fall out of my head. I'm a freak.


Enjoy your day and wish me luck! Send all your smart vibes between 9 and 11:30 ET, please. :) 

-

black dress shirt

Job "Interview"

Today is a strange day.

I'm going to a job non-interview. From what I've gathered, there will be no interview. There will be however, 3 practice sessions, wherein I prove my abilities on an industrial sewing machine. 

I'm not even really sure how great I need to be. The manager knows I've never worked on anything but a normal, mildly scary sewing machine. I'm pretty sure if I'm terrible...I'll still be able to work the cash machine. 

What does one wear to a non-interview, where one will be sitting and doing manual labour? 


An image of coal-miners came into my head. All denim, with tin lunch pails. Tired expressions. No that's no good.


I should look casual yes? Like I'm prepared to get down to business/sewing? But also put together, so customers don't think I'm a schlub. You don't want to take your clothes to a schluby tailor... 

This is what I came up with. Right? If you disagree, don't tell me. It's too late! By the time you read this, I'll already be there! (Blogging is like time-travel. My tomorrow-self is talking to you. Creepy!)

I'm iffy on the shoes...it might be rainy.

 I almost have boobs in the right photo! What happened there? 

I should twist like that all the time!

"Why hello Sir, shall I measure your inseam?" 

*guffaw*

Troozers: RW&Co
Blouse: Jacob
Scarf: Ardene
Belt: Gap
Shoes: Spring

I shall let you know how the non-interview goes! I have a funny feeling she won't say anything except "come in again in two days. Byebye!" 

suits

Weekend Round-up (24.04.11)

 

Recipe is below!

Can you believe I've been in study mode for a month? It's true. Sad, and true.

This also means I've been in baking mode for a month. 


Fortunately, no statistically significant changes have been noted on the bathroom scale, even though I'm literally subsisting on baked goods, candy and chicken on rice.


That might also explain my 2am-11am sleep schedule. 

So, in honour of my Month of Sugar, here are my favourite recipes, plus some bonus recipes that look amazing, but I haven't tried yet. All in good time!


This hot cross buns recipe was posted yesterday by Linda (Gluten-Free Homemaker). I'm probably going to make them sometime in the next couple weeks. I just need to replenish my stock of starches first.


Remember my review of black bean brownies recently? Well they improved so much in the fridge...they are a new favourite. I don't think I ever need to make regular brownies again!


I made this pizza (courtesy of Gluten-Free Girl) again on Friday night. Pizza twice in one month! Unheard of! It's that good. I take her suggestion of cutting in 50 g of butter rather than adding 50 g of oil. It's really lovely. :)


This is one I have yet to try: Cocoa Quick Bread. Wow. It looks as good as it sounds. I'm trying to imagine where it lands in flavour relative to banana bread...my mind can't handle that question.


I've shown this one to you before, and I apologize for doing it to you again...because I really don't want to make you rearrange your whole Easter Sunday to make this. But..perhaps Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Bread should be an Easter tradition, no? ;)

  
Lastly, this one has no link, but it's from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and I made them this evening. They're called Nun's Puffs...and they're quite divine. I subbed in an equal amount of Bob's Red Mill All-P flour and it worked well! Just remember to grease more than you think is necessary. I never learn.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill GF All-P flour (plus 1/2 tsp guar gum)
4 eggs
some sugar


Melt the butter in a pot, and add the milk. When it starts boiling, add the flour and stir until it kind of looks like flubber. I'm not kidding.

 It even dances like Flubber!

Take it off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes, and then add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring until mixed and dough is smooth again. Each time, you'll freak out a bit because after the egg starts incorporating the dough comes all apart...but keep beating! It'll all stick back together again. Promise. 

After 2nd egg. Kind of looks like weird scrambled eggs.

Not to put you off, but after the 3rd or 4th egg, it really just has a mucus-y consistency. I didn't want to have to say that...but how else can I describe what to look for? erg. I apologize. 

 

 The phlegmy stage.

After it's all mixed, scoop it into a 12-hole muffin tin. You don't need much in each hole, maybe fill it half-way. Sprinkle sugar overtop and place in the oven at 375F. Mine started browning too fast on the bottom, so I moved the rack up, but then they browned too fast on top! So just make sure you watch them. :)


The texture (and flavour) when they're done reminds me so much of Tim Horton's Honey Crullers. Mmm. :) Enjoy!

baking

Easter scarf!

I will confess. I used to hate this scarf. 

It reminds me of cotton candy, but totally saturated, to the point of being obnoxiously pink and blue. 

But you know...for Easter...it kind of works.

I also just realized it's a square, not a rectangular, scarf, which I am a huge fan of. You should all probably know that by now. 

If I ever give you all a quiz, that might be on it. Be prepared.

It's still a bit nipply here this weekend, despite being so sunny. So...le jacket is still required. And actually, it helps tone down all the retina-damaging pattern-clashing.

 

Terrible photos, I'm aware! But you know what, we're all in a bit of a sugar coma around here, and...just these two photos were two much for me to handle. I need some sleep. 

But first, a stomach pump, because the sugar isn't letting me actually, well, sleep.

I really shouldn't be left alone with so much candy.

Happy Easter! Try to spread out the sugar consumption a bit...burns the tummy. 

square scarf

PSA #28: Spring-cleaning: conquering an empire of dust-bunnies

hehe. This is part of a poster on my wall. Love.

Fact: Every time I start cleaning, it's because I'm supposed to be studying.

Fact: Every time I start cleaning, it starts with "I should tidy up my desk (so I can think better)"

Fact: Every time I start cleaning, I realize that a tidy desk in the middle of a pig-pen, still looks disgusting.

Fact: Every time I start cleaning, I firmly believe there are places that dust can not get to. I'm so naive.

I pull out dressers and drawers and bookshelves just to be proven right and feel high and mighty knowing that dust has not infiltrated the nooks and crannies of my own personal space. 

Fact: Every time I start cleaning, dust wins. It infiltrates every nook, every cranny, every space that I hadn't even considered as a space. 

My tip this week: any time you want to feel like you are in control of your own living space, I recommend a little (big) spring cleaning. Pull every piece of furniture, every book, every shoe out from its "spot" and take down those dust bunnies (horses, truthfully).

Imagine them screaming and running adorably like on the Big Comfy Couch. All confused-like. 

This is also my advice if you are feeling a little high on your horse, thinking you've kept a pristine living space, and need that dust to take you down a notch or two. 

I must say, moving all of my only-worn-once clothing off of my plastic dresser and putting it away (novel concept!), has really changed the place.


It's more zen. Maybe a little feng shui (err...but I forget the rules. Something about window and door placement?)


Zen or not, I feel good knowing there are no dust horses lurking anywhere in my room. I will check again in another few months. 

With a suit of armour and a Swiffer.


Perhaps not how you want to spend your Easter...but it is satisfying. :) Get the kids involved! Make the egg hunt a "dust horse" hunt. Winner gets chocolate! 


If you do it more than once, it's a family tradition!

cleaning

Two (almost) down...

I have an exam today in a class I rarely attended because the lecture component put me in "insta-snooze" mode. It was Friday mornings at 8:30am. N'thanks.

There were only 8 real lectures over the entire term anyway (compared to 20+ for my other classes) and all of the powerpoints were a third of the length...How does that work? Didn't I pay out my nose for this course? Hm. At least the food lab was fun. Especially the one where we made candy. 

My peanut brittle is amazing.

So, in lieu of some sort of clever post today, I am instead directing you to what I'm sure is the purpose of my next day of baking.

Cupcakes. Celiac Teen has just shared a gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe and I am dying to try it. 

I can't even remember the last time I had cupcakes. High school? Jr. high? No clue. But I miss them. I miss their lightness and sweetness (even without gobs of icing on top - my favourite part). They bring back memories of birthdays in elementary school, with cupcakes for the whole class and a frazzled teacher trying to control 30 kids with sugar-highs and unnatural amounts of food dye coursing through their veins...weeee!


Sigh.


I think I may try them with my pal's whipped peanut-butter icing on top. Mmm.

Clearly I'm in need of some sort of celebratory end-of-term dessert and this is definitely it. 

Would it be weird to put candles in them, even if it's nobody's birthday? Can I blow out "exams are over" candles?


Don't answer that. 


If you try them, send me pictures please! I want to live vicariously through your bellies for another week or so. 


ALMOST FRIDAY! :D :D

cupcakes

Gluten-Free Monkey Pancakes!

There's just something about bananas and chocolate. 


There's also just something about a Saturday all alone with nothing to do.


That's when pancakes happen.

Remember the time I wrote about gluten-free crepes? It was about a month ago. I used the same recipe...but changed 2 things.


3/4 c. millet flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. milk 
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp boiling water + 1 Tbsp ground flax

See that part about milk? Well I didn't have any Nutella, and I didn't have any real chocolate, so I used chocolate soy milk instead.


WHAT A GOOD IDEA. I love when milk becomes multi-purpose.


I'm a genius sometimes. 


The second change I made was that I didn't spread them out thin like crepes. I made them nice, small semi-thick pancakes. They were glorious and floppy and actually pancake-y! To those of you who eat normal pancakes...this may sound strange. Pancakes are just hard to replicate. I believe it's the flax gel in place of a gum that really does the trick. 

 I can't wait until I get to register for wedding gifts. I'm totz asking for a griddle so I can make more than one pancake at a time...

Is it wrong that a griddle is the first thing I get excited about when I think of my (far in the) future wedding? Probably. But that won't stop me.

 Love when those bubbles start poppin!

 Neato! Reminds me of a crumpet.

 This is what happens when you replenish the oil but add too much and then drop the last bit of batter in from too high up...SUN PATTERN! Or some kind of sea creature.

Then came the sliced 'nanas. Then the maple syrup. Real Canadian, from-the-tree, sweet sweet maple goodness. Srsly, Aunt Jemima can go pound sand. She ain't got nothin' on the real stuff.

Choco-banana goodness! :D 

I ate it all. I don't fool around when it comes to pancakes.

Make them TODAY. 

Or on the weekend when it makes more sense.

Tailored Trenchcoat!

I went to pick up my trench and dress from the tailor yesterday. I am QUITE pleased. 

Behold, 

If it looks late in these photos (as in, badly lit because it's dark outside), you are correct. In fact it's 6 hours til scheduled publishing time (7am) as I write this...oopsie doodle! That's life sometimes. You're studying all night and ...you just plum forget to take photos of yourself.

That happens to everyone.

Right?

Right.

All I had done to the coat was a nice, much-needed sleeve-shortening. I can tell the coat is relieved too. It was just too much fabric for both of us. And with the sleeves now resting properly at the heel of my palm, the rest of the coat doesn't look as big either! Something about too-long sleeves makes you look like you're playing dress-up in your folks' closet. 

There shall be photos of the dress as well! I just have to do the hemming on it, now that it's all taken in. 

Night night! ...erm. Good morning! 


zzzzz

trench coat

Double Whammy! 2 Recipe Reviews!

I don't know why today's job interview made me so hungry. Or so motivated to make things I've never made before, but that's just how it happened!

A link I shared with you yesterday was a recipe for peanut-butter hummus. It looked yummy. A little plain, but totally do-able and quick. I decided to give it a whirl. Here are my notes/observations:

1. She used a food processor. I do not have a food processor. Blenders do not equal food processors. I tried to use a blender. A word to other blender-users: beans and peanut butter are not blender-friendly all by themselves. Even with the 1/4 cup of oil, it just wasn't happening. So I added a slosh of milk, and then I started blending and adding water as I went until it started getting creamy. This worked pretty well. I also whipped in some plain yoghurt later because the flavour wasn't where I wanted it.

2. Smoked paprika? I have paprika. I also have a container that looks the same but is labelled "Cajun Spice Mix". I don't know what smoked paprika tastes like...but cajun spices? Nothin' beats that.

3. Extra ingredients: minced garlic (either from a jar, or fresh) and dried/fresh dill. Wham-bam. That's some flavourful hummus!

 Served with blue corn chips. Mmm.

I didn't stop there! I also made black bean brownies, using a recipe sent to me by my cousin...or my friend, or maybe both? People send me a lot of recipes. 
Either way, it was a link to someone's website so neither of them gets the credit. :P

So I made them. It was easy and quick and...they're alright. I mean, they're chocolatey. They're brownies. They've got a nice, crisp top and gooey innards. Texture-wise, a-ok!

But...


They're beany. You can taste the beaniness, aka the "health" factor. I'm not a fan of that. Brownies shouldn't taste like beans. If you're going to make something that's supposed to be a delicious once-in-a-while treat, "healthy", it has to be so inconspicuously done that people go "omggg these are amazing!" and you say "they've got beans in them!" and they go "say whaaaa?!" and then you're a hero.


You can't serve "black bean brownies" and have people say "what's in these? Beans?" ...


Not the hero. *sad trombone*


Suggestions: 1. more sugar 2. more chocolate 3. more butter or 4. less beans 


It's up to you, but this exact recipe? Not.fooling.thisgirl. 

UPDATE!: Black bean recipe needs time! After refrigerating overnight, these brownies are not only thicker (how does that happen???) but more palatable (better texture, actually tasty). I gave one to Frank for stealing me printer paper from school and his response was "ommm mmm rmmm mhm". The mhm at the end was half of his approval. The other half was him nodding with his eyes closed. So don't eat the brownies right out of the pan! Cut em up, store them in the fridge and wait until the next day. You won't be disappointed. :)

food processor