Kick Start My Heart

So i am trying desperately to get this blog to be a little more presentable. Alas i have a makeshift computer that freezes every time i try to upload or download. this makes it very difficult to add any photos as visual interest to aid whatever topic i have chosen to blog about.
That being said, i have great news, my lovely boyfriend Scott and i have found the perfect apartment and we will be moving in very soon!

http://viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=53388

quick! have a look before they take the posting down!

isnt it elegant??
the owners used to live in the apartment and they are a lovely gay couple who's decor purchasing abilities far surpass our own.

i wonder how scotts pink plaid couch will look in there?
anyhoo, once moved in and settled i should have these computer shenanigians sorted out and this blog will (hopefully) go from bland gringo style to spicy and sexy!

right?

How To Work Better

1. do one thing at a time
2. know the problem
3. learn to listen
4. learn to ask questions
5. distinguish sense from nonsense
6. accept change as inevitable
7. admit mistakes
8. say it simple
9. be calm
10. smile

Style Icon: Kate Bush

If you want to love me, you had better love Kate Bush.

Where else has there been a woman more original and creative?

There is a complete earthy texture to her, something simple and tangible. Never For Ever was the first 'big girl' album I ever heard, and as a toddler I fell into life-long love. She represents comfort for me, and although Kate is an impeccable beauty with her wafish figure and doe eyes, there is something very very realistic about her. And it seems as though these days, everyone is coming out of the closet as a Kate fan.

She somewhat reminds me of a poindexter little girl, who wears striped wool tights, a big nose and had to wear glasses by the age of three. Kate works the original beauty she has. Just like Audry Hepburn had size 10 feet, Kate works her typically underdog qualities until they are something so unique that they oooze sex appeal.

Beauty is more than a tanning bed and botox, and Kate was like an older sister who guided me into a healthy view of my own sexuality and womanliness. She very intellegently and with perfetion and percision, gently set aside the statuesque puppetry that was unspoken female sexuality, and grew into her own with maturity and wisdom, all the while stopping to honor milestones.

She addresses beauty and sexuality with such a raw honesty, as a woman who is in charge of the process, not because she has something the man wants, but because they can create something they both want. Therfore I declare her as my style icon.

Not to mention, as Kate and I are both half-breeds (somewhere between being a brunette and a redhead ) so I see her as a kindered spirit.

Under the Sea

I have an obscene obsession with anything oceanic.

this all started with my love of movies such as the Ghost and Mrs Muir and The Life Aquatic. One day when visiting my lovely childhood neibhour and style icon Beth.
(this woman is of impeccable taste, blending both class, perfection and elegance, with unique artisticness and style that can only be incorporated and appreciated).

I used to babysitt her kids, and as I was home visiting, I decided to have a blast from the past and babysitt her little juniors for a night.

After the kids were asleep, I came across a gorgeous book on her coffee table:

WHAT A BOOK!

the images inside are INCREDIBLE.

I got the book for obscenely cheap, this was due to the fact that I found it on boxing day, marked down by over 70%. Well worth it.
The pictures completely meshed with my love of anything aquatic and reminiscent of the Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

So recently, after moving into my roachy loft apartment, I have found myself with the desire to make the most of the situation.

I found some $1 black picture frames at my local dollar store, and went to work.
I selected my favourite images, typically ones of shells and coral, and delightfully clipped them out of the book and set them in the black frames.

The muted and vibrant colours are a perfect compliment to indecisive decor. (sometimes when you are twenty-something and broke, you have to make due with clutter and mismatching everything, oftentimes I find a perfect dining room trinket on sale at Winners for 3 bucks. Only problem is that I dont yet have a dining room, so the trinket further clutters up my run-down loft bachelor).
Because these images have a unique etherial and mystical quality to them, they tend to have a talent for pulling together an otherwise mismatched mess.

Eggs and Olive Oil.

The greeks got alot going on. I once read an article praising greek food as the healthiest diet out there. Specifically in regards to their useage of olive oil.
We all know olive oil is a healthy fat, and makes for great skin and hair and heart when taken internally. but even better is its effects on skin and hair when take externally.

winter is upon us.
and it sucks.
Specifically here in Canada it really really blows....(i just pulled a carrie bradshaw style pun right there, what can i say, its the cosmopolitian in my hand and the fact that i recently moved my computer in front of the window).

In Toronto alone, we have been hit by countless storms, and apparently there is like 6 more to come before the arrival of spring. ....thats a big OY VEY right there.
so, needless to say, my scalp is dry and my hair is looking sallow and sad.

So, lets whip together a nice, essential fat filled hair mask that will benefit both the hair and the scalp!

Whisk together one egg and approximately 1/3 cup of olive oil (varies depending on length of hair)
And 2 drops essential chammomile oil (optional, of course)

slather on to your hair, being sure to work the mixture into your scalp, then cover with a plastic bag secured with an elastic band or clip.
After which, i reccomend blasting your head with your hair dryer, being sure its set to 'hot'. this will allow the hair shafts to open up and the mixture to penetrate.
do this for about 2 minutes then kick back and relax for at least a half hour, being sure to blast your head again every ten minutes.

Shampoo out, condition and voila! your thirsty hair and scalp should have gotten a good kick of the moisture it needs.

Bonus:
Any leftover mixture (essential oil free of course) is a FANTASTIC moisturizer for your cat. massage the remaining mixture into your pets coat and skin. Specifically my kitten Waffles loves this stuff. She suffers from dandruff and dry skin in the winter, and the glory of this mixture is that it is totally edible for pets, so she can groom herself all she wants and the only thing it will do is provide her with some essential fats that she needs anyway!

-Rachael