Fabulous dahling, just fabulous!!!

Today I was thinking a lot about fabulousness/fabulosity/being fabulous.  I thought this might be controversial as my last post was about being happy and I can just imagine people saying “Dang first she’s talking about being happy and now she’s telling us she’s fabulous??  Who does she think she is??”  So let’s just make it clear right this minute that I don’t spend my time sitting around thinking about how fabulous I am… but what if I did?

So what do you think would happen if the next time you got dressed you decided that today was a day you were going to show the world how fabulous you are on the inside, on your outside?  What would happen if, instead of the usual boring work duds you spent extra moment thinking about your outfit and fab’d it up?  I’ll tell you a secret because I did just that this week and the result was amazing!  I’m not talking about just amazing on the outside either… it was amazing on the inside!!

I started on Monday wearing a hot outfit because I had a terrible sleep, and well hell it was Monday after all and they suck just be the mere fact they exist.  I figured that the purple boots would be the only way to drag myself out of my perpetual “I don’t like Mondays” funk.  The thing with rocking purple velvet boots is – you either have to make them the star of the outfit, or you just have to balls out with the whole outfit.  Usually I make them the star, but this week I though “WTF – why not go all balls it out?”, so I did… and it started a trend.

Tuesday I managed a somewhat Mad Men sexy secretary look with my grey Fluevog Operetta Rubinis.  Wednesday I kicked it up a notch with the big guns again (red, Fluevog, fabulous by their very nature) with a black and white houndstooth pencil skirt and a red pea coat.  Thursday I rocked a khaki leather skirt, black turtleneck and the stunning coat with black boots.  Then I couldn’t just leave out Friday so on went a sexy denim pencil skirt, white shirt, black leather vest, black boots and the stunning coat.

I feel the need to add that none of these items were new and none were any different from the previous times I wore them.  The difference was inside me.  I had made the choice to be fabulous this week and I put that on every morning before I put on the clothes.  Funny thing was, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.  I received more compliments this week from my colleagues than I have in the past 4 years – all for clothes/outfits I have worn to the office many times!

The clincher was today when I was on my way to meet an old friend for lunch.  I was walking along minding my own business when a guy I had never seen before actually stopped me on the street and told me “WOW!  You look fabulous!” (and just for the record I’m not talking about an intoxicated gentlemen looking for money – they always tell me I’m a gorgeous lady but I take that with a grain of salt considering the beer goggles and all…).  This well dressed, apparently sober dude stopped me on the street just to tell me I looked fabulous and then he moved on – no pick up line, no request for money, no apparent ulterior motive!  Seriously people you cannot BUY that kind of positive affirmation at any price!!

So what was the difference?  What was the change?  What magic that made me appear different this week from last week?  Was it just me saying to myself on Monday “This week I’m going to be fabulous?”?  Could it really be that easy??

If it is that simple, what would happen if we actually allowed ourselves to be fabulous and bask in the praise we receive for some of the other things in life such as work, raising children, personal accomplishments, whatever?  Instead of being modest and saying “Oh you’re too kind” or “it wasn’t much” or whatever diminishing phrase we insert – what if the next time someone says “Wow!” to something we smile, say “Thank you!”, embrace it and then say to ourselves “Damn rights I’m fabulous – and it shows!”??  Could we handle the magic we might unleash??

Why not try it???

Little Miss Glass Half Full!

For some unknown reason I started the day at 4 am.  I woke up incredibly happy that it was the weekend and even though it was the middle of the night I could just roll over and go back to sleep, and most importantly sleep in… and then I realized it was Tuesday… wah wah…

At the bus stop this morning I ended up waiting for the bus with a woman I’d never seen before.  We weren’t talking but we both turned at the same time to watch a car turn the corner dragging something along underneath it.  She looked at me and said “That can’t be good.” to which I replied without thinking “I hope it’s not a body.”.  She turned to look at me with an amused expression and I added “Well we do live in the hood…” which she found hysterically funny and said “Well aren’t you Little Miss Glass Half Full today!” and we spent the rest of our time waiting for the bus giggling!

All day I couldn’t get this out of my head and I decided that although my earlier comment about the body doesn’t really reflect it, I actually am Little Miss Glass Half Full.  I know it may be obnoxious to some but I’ve decided to embrace the title, grab the tiara and wear the sash.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Pollyanna or Mary Sunshine but on the whole I’d generally say I’m a fairly happy individual.

I think what makes me a happy individual is perspective, one of the greatest gifts I have received.  I’ve had some really difficult times in my life but I’ve also travelled extensively in developing countries and have seen what difficult times truly means.  I have experienced losing someone I loved to murder, drug overdose, suicide and accidents.  Although I won’t ever forget the pain of these losses and I don’t want to minimize them in any way, they really do put into perspective the meaning of a “bad day”.  A bad day is a day when you lose someone you love.  A bad day is not when your hair doesn’t turn out or you miss the bus or you spill coffee or some jerk cuts you off or someone just does something that pisses you off or any of the hundreds of potential events that people use to define their version of a bad day.

This totally doesn’t mean I go through life never being angry, lonely, hurt or frustrated – trust me, I have at times deserved a sash and tiara for all of those titles as well!  What perspective has given me though is the guts and tenacity to fight for what I believe in and to stand up when it may be uncomfortable to unpopular to do so.

As with everything positive, there is also a negative side to the gift.  I am easily frustrated with people’s behaviour when they are petty, selfish or ungrateful.  I’m never sure what the pay off is for someone being consistently impossible to deal with or someone purposefully making my job/life harder by their selfish behaviour.  Rather than being frustrated I try to look at these people through a different lens.  Right or wrong I automatically think they must have had a wonderful life, where the most important person is themselves and they have never experienced anything big enough or awful enough to make them grateful for what they have.  Sarcastic?  Definitely.  Incorrect?  Possibly.  But if someone could explain to me the pay off for treating other people poorly I’d appreciate it as I’d love to add this knowledge to my perspective lens.

On a completely different note, of course I couldn’t speak of being grateful without mentioning my second pair of Fluevog boots.  I am incredibly grateful to own a few pairs of this wonderful footwear, two of which are tall boots.  I previewed the lovely red pair of Fluevog Operetta Maria’s in this post.  Today I pulled out and polished my gorgeous grey Fluevog Operetta Rubini’s and took them out for a spin.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of we actually wearing them because I left work in a hurry because I had to get home for an appointment with a gas meter reader.  I was running late and forgot to snap a photo before I changed into jeans as I didn’t want the meter guy to think I spend my time hanging around my house all fancy like that!

Anyway without further ado may I present a stock photo of Fluevog Operetta Rubini’s in grey:

Fluevog Operetta Rubini

Seriously, with boots like these on my feet how could I be anything but grateful?

Time to come out of the storage room.

So the past few days I have been trying in vain to a) fight off an impending sore throat and cold and more importantly b) de-clutter by life.  I am sad to report neither is going very well right now.  The sore throat and whatever ickma accompanies it is taking me down faster than a cheetah takes down a gazelle and as a result things in the basement/closets have just about ground to a halt.  This is so frustrating because all I want to do is get rid of everything!!

This week with me being on holidays I have very little shoe action to blog about as it was pretty much heinous Birkenstocks/shearling boots/heinous Birks again – you get the picture.  I did however do a fair amount of cooking and took photos of my culinary accomplishments.

Back in the good old days (aka January) the heart stomper suggested I watch Food Inc., a documentary that in part examines the industrial production of meat (chicken, beef, and pork), exposing it as inhumane and economically and environmentally unsustainable.  Now what you need to know that I am one of those people who can only eat meat if I suspend my disbelief and pretend that the chicken or beef magically occurs on the styrofoam trays found in the supermarket.  If eating meat depended on me raising an animal for food or hunting, you would find me happily out there on my hands and knees foraging for nuts and berries.

Although initially I denied the heart stompers request to show me the video, coincidentally it was being shown on CBC’s Passionate Eye right around the same time… so I watched it… big mistake.  Big, big, mistake.  So, as a result, I am currently embracing the idea of giving up meat in a permanent way.  Sigh.  I mean I love veggies as much as the next person but because I am allergic to eggs and have trouble digesting wheat and dairy giving up the little meat I currently consume is a big, hairy, inconvenient deal.

So in return for my serious attempt to give up the hard stuff I bought myself some new cookbooks and started following more vegan blogs online.  Although I would generally consider myself quite a good (and healthy) cook, this week has been an exercise in experimentation, trying some new recipes on for size.  Following are some of the delicious results!

Salad with Tahini Avacado Dressing

I got the recipe for this Tahini Avacado Dressing from a fantastic blog called Oh She Glows .  I didn’t have any chickpeas so I didn’t make the salad she suggested, so I made a regular salad and used her recipe for “Taco Meat” from her Taco Salad recipe instead.  Just FYI I had made the Taco Salad the night before and it was delicious, but didn’t take a photo.

Next up was one of my old standby’s – Gallo Pinto and fried ripe plantains.  I don’t actually have a recipe for this as I learned how to make it when I lived in Costa Rica so I just throw everything together when I finally have ripe plantains.  The only “special ingredient” would be the Salsa Lizano (pictured) which is like ketchup to Costa Ricans – they put it on everything!

Gallo Pinto and Platanos Frito

Tonight’s dinner (below) was a combination of one recipe and one winging-it dish.  First off was Roasted Broccoli (on the left) from another vegan blog I follow called In My Box (ya I know – not the best name lol!)  The other dish is something I made up years ago from things I had in my cupboard.  I’ve made this sort of thing many times – EVOO, garlic, dill, capers, mushrooms and lemon juice with pasta, sometimes throwing in seafood, sometimes other veggies, basically whatever I have around.  Today I also added some nooch (nutritional yeast) which made it super creamy and cheezy tasting and tossed it with brown rice linguini.  Just as a note I managed to eat less than half of both – there’s no way I could eat that much pasta in one sitting!!

Roasted Broccoli and Mystery Pasta

So the sore throat and ickma continues and the basement isn’t cleaning itself but I managed to make myself some lovely food and take care of my soul this week, which is just about all anyone can ask from holidays isn’t it?

Holidaze…

Hello my name is Linda and I HAVE WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!!!

I took the week off as a “stay-cation” in hopes to get some much needed organizing done in my home but the week seems to have just zoomed by.  I’ve had a lot of fun and strangely I’ve done more cooking than anything else.  I have started the household re-org (which explains the random shelving unit in the middle of my living room…) but really need to get a move on if I expect to have it done by the end of day Sunday.

Now that I have a decent camera I’ve decided to try selling some of my things on eBay to make some extra money.  I’m attempting to organize things into sell, donate and toss piles but I’m completely overwhelmed.  I’m by no means a hoarder but I feel like I’ve seriously lost control.  My dream would be to have someone come in and do this all for me – where’s that Peter Walsh dude when I need him??

In addition to the pain of merely organizing all of my crap, I’ve had to contend with a crazy puppy weaving in and out around my ankles and trying to chew on everything in the room.  Felix was completely out of hand this week, especially his peeing in the house, so he ended up in doggy jail for a couple of days.  This was by no means a maximum security incarceration, more of a Conrad Black or Martha Stewart level of punishment.  In other words he was confined to the downstairs bathroom with all of his toys but without me.

I have 50 gajillion things left to do and only 3 days and 2 arms to do them with (PLUS houseguests on the weekend!).  Pray for me.  Nah never mind praying for me, pray for Peter Walsh to magically appear at my door, because I’m going to need all the help I can get!!

Time to pull out the big guns baby!

February has been really difficult.  In spite of it’s status as the shortest month this little guy has really been giving me an ass kicking thus far.  (Although in defense of poor February, who I thought of quite fondly up until this year, I think that any month that starts with a drop kick to the heart wouldn’t be my favourite no matter the number of days…)

Today in particular sucked.  It sucked initially merely because it was Thursday and not Saturday.  I woke up this morning elated that it was Saturday and I could sleep in (um, not so much).  I got to work and my laptop is completely dead (scary black screen of doom).  Throughtout the day I didn’t leave the office for a minute I was so busy  and now we are in the middle of an insane blizzard.  I’d call a do-over if it didn’t mean extending an already looooooong week…

In honour of my craptastic start to the day I decided I needed to pull out the big guns.  Nothing in the world makes me happier than these boots.  OK well admittedly there are many things that make me happier than these boots, but I wasn’t wearing any of them on my feet today.

Oh hello lovelies…

Fluevog Operetta Maria in cherry red *sigh*

 And now for a close-up…

Fluevog Operetta Maria detail

Seriously, who could be depressed in these boots?  I mean the sole itself says “your love makes me sing” on the bottom.  Who could ask for more?  They are like instant happiness, a big fat dose of amor, a smile for my heart and damn they are comfortable.  When the day is awful and things need to change, nothing beats these show stoppers!!!

Tomorrow is Friday and then I’m on holidays.  I am ever so grateful that I have enough Fluevogs to carry me through the next 24 hours..

Catsup, ketchup, catch-up, whatevs…

Although I’ve been creative with my footwear and taking lots of photos, I have yet to post them.  Today therefore I must play catch-up, so here goes!

Last week I decided to stop my frozen toe pity party and bring on the Fluevogs.  I had been resorting to thermal socks inside my Aldo boots indoors because my office is extremely cold in the winter when it’s in the double digits below zero celsius.  This past week we’ve had a break in the weather, at times hitting above zero celsius (egads!) so I cracked open the Vog vault and let some out to play.

Friday featured the Fluevog Mini Lily Darling in black and white.  I bought these off eBay quite a few years ago.  They are one of the workhorses of my Vog collection.  Not the ugly step sister my any means, but comfortable, practical and not as showy as some of her sisters.

Fluevog Mini Lily Darlings

Look at me hard at work!  This photo in my office shows me I should perhaps indulge in some filing sometime soon and empty my recycling box (who knew I ate so much Activia yogurt?? Not me!).

In spite of the fact my Mini Lily Darlings are more function that flamboyance, I still adore the crazy heel, the white piping and the stitching detail.  They are my go-to shoes when I want to be quietly subversive…

Mini Lily Darling detail

My weekend was again filled with a whirlwind of heinous Birkenstocks and shearling boots with a brief appearance by my Aldo Jezeks when I went out for lunch with my friend D on Saturday.  I must add that the fantastic coat also made an appearance at that same lunch and was christened “stunning” by my ever fashionable friend D.

On Valentine’s Day Monday I took a holiday day from work and took Lewis to the vet.  He hadn’t eaten anything since Friday morning and when he rolled over on Sunday evening I saw his entire belly was fuchsia under his fur (which in my experience is a somewhat unnatural colour for a dog’s skin) so it was off to the vet first thing Monday morning.  After spending a gazillion dollars he was diagnosed with an allergic reaction and given an antihistamine.  Evidently he hasn’t been eating because he’s “depressed”… which is apparently contagious as I am now also depressed after paying the enormous vet bill.

Poor depressed fuchsia Lew at the vet :(

We followed up the vet appointment with a romp through the dog park.  Because of the unseasonably warm temperature I pulled out my fancy rubber boots which are black with red maple leaves all over them.  I meant to take a photo but I forgot until the end of the walk and by that time there was a little too much “dog park” all over them to be presentable.  I promise a photo at a later date after a bit of a hose off.

Tuesday I broke out a second pair of Vogs in honour of the continued amazing weather and my fabulous coat.  I decided to go with the second workhorse from my Fluevog collection the Operetta Malibran in green.  I love the Operetta toe shape and heel height – like the Mini’s they feel like they are made for my feet. 

Fluevog Operetta Malibrans in green

My Operetta Malibrans are a bit different from most of the pictures I have found online as mine have grey rather than tan piping.  I like to pair them with my favourite grey patterned tights to highlight the piping.

Fluevog Operetta Malibrans, bottom of "stunning" coat and Felix

Please excuse the gratuitous puppy in the photo – I had to take the picture when I got home and this was the only one where he wasn’t actually completely blocking the shoes in a frantic attempt to eat the “stunning” coat!

CBC Canada Reads and a confession…

OK so in the “About Me” section I admitted I read, but I didn’t really come clean about my extreme voracious reading syndrome.  Oh how I adore reading!!  As a consequence my second favourite time of year is the CBC Canada Reads debates.  (The first being May 15th International Fluevog Day, naturally.)

For those of you who aren’t in the know, Canada Reads is CBC Radio’s annual battle of the books, where five Canadian personalities select the book they think Canadians should read.  Each personality selects a book to defend and the books are eliminated one by one until a winner is declared.  The debates air on CBC Radio One.  This year the contenders were:

Debbie Travis, defending The Birth House by Ami McKay

Ali Velshi, defending The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

Georges Laraque, defending The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

Lorne Cardinal, defending Unless by Carol Shields

Sara Quin, defending Essex County by Jeff Lemire

OK so here’s where I admit my super nerdiness and my chronic extreme voracious reading syndrome.  Each year as soon as the Canada Reads book list comes out I spring into action and order them all from my local library.  I try to read as many of the books before the beginning of the debates and then spend the whole week glued to the radio cheering for the book I most enjoyed.

I managed to get all but Essex County from the library before the debates.  I read Unless (loved it), The Birth House (liked it), part of The Bone Cage (blech, couldn’t get through it) and am currently working on The Best Laid Plans (love, love, love it thus far).  I threw my weight behind Unless by Carol Shields because it is an amazing read and I adore it’s defender Lorne Cardinal (we’re Facebook friends!!).

Unfortunately Unless didn’t win in spite of Lorne’s eloquent defence, and The Best Laid Plans took the contest.  I’m about 1/3 of the way through that book and I’m really enjoying it.  I’m not sure it’s for everyone, but as a good portion of the Canadian public really enjoys political humour (which totally explains my not-so-secret crush on Rick Mercer…) I think it’s worth your time to give it a go.

Now it’s confession time.  I bought something yesterday.  I know, I know I’m supposed to be on the GAAD and it was only February 8th and I’d gone and blown the pledge already.  In my defense though I wasn’t actually shopping or planning to shop and it wasn’t emotional shopping because I was feeling bad and needed a pick up.  It was merely a matter of requiting love.

I have been walking past this particular store for months now and they had a coat in their window that I came to adore with all my heart.  This particular store specializes in Aboriginal style clothing and accessories, by which I mean beaded items, moccasins, etc and is VERY expensive, so I lusted in private but never thought it would be mine (much the same feeling as I have about Rick Mercer, and strangely LL Cool J).  Well after my fantastic laughs with my old friends yesterday I again walked by the store and thought I’d throw caution to the wind and go inside and see how much it was. (Do you see that red flashing light??  Well I was ignoring it…)

To make an inordinately long story even longer, there was only one (and they only ever ordered one), it was beautiful, it was my size, it fit perfect, it was 50% off (still expensive mind you) and they gave me an extra 10% off it I was attending the convention at the attached hotel (and if by attending they meant walking by from the parking lot to my office then yes I was!).

I decided to give it to myself for my birthday this year which is not until next month so I won’t be wearing it or posting any pictures  of it before that time… OK maybe I’ll wear it if it warms up enough to wear it… oh look at that, the forecast calls for 0C on Saturday and +3C on Sunday… again there’s that annoying red flashing light… probably best just to ignore it…