365 days of 50mm

Working full time at Starbucks is physically draining, and I have become complacent with practicing anything that can be considered creative. On my days off I am usually in a rush to clean, buy groceries, and complete other necessary errands. Therefore, in an attempt to get creative I have decided to do 365 days of posting photographs I take with either of my 50mm lenses (digital and/or analog). I am going to be lenient on myself and allow that the photos I'm posting not necessarily be from that day, but should be no more than a couple days old. I am also going to force myself to upload one (or more) each day, but definitely at least one. This means that there will hopefully be more than 365 photographs by the end. These photographs will always be uploaded to my FLICKR and sometimes here too. Please feel welcomed to follow along and wish me luck!

ps. I just realized this is personally, a very touching way to get a chance to document more of my home, cityscapes, and friends here in Montreal before moving next summer. It will also span the process of moving and beginning to settle into Toronto, should we indeed end up living there.

Onigiri Party.

Yesterday evening Jessie and I got together to make onigiri and a bit of sushi, and it turned out to be a super successful endeavor! We made approximately 2.5 cups of calrose rice, which ended up yielding around 22 onigiri and 2 rolls of sushi, enough for our dinner plus multiple future meals.

We used Jessie's rice cooker, and made sure to thoroughly rinse the rice beforehand. I've read on other websites to allow the rice to drain for 30 minutes after rinsing, but we didn't do that and it turned out perfect anyhow. We stuffed them with the tasty combination of smoked salmon and avocado, using a 3$ mold Jessie had recently purchased. The mold worked extremely well, and we made sure to have a bowl of salted water close at hand to help eliminate the rice from sticking to our fingers and spoons. Oh, we also added rice vinegar to our onigiri which supposedly technically changes their title to sushi, but we didn't care because rice vinegar is damn tasty.

The sushi were a bit of an after thought, as we had run out of salmon and avocado, but still had a lot of rice. We stuffed them with cucumber and carrot. They're a little plain, but not bad at all.

And ready to bring home! We each ended up with so many that I decided to freeze half a dozen of mine. To do so, I individually wrapped them in saran wrap and enclosed them all in as airless of a ziploc bag that I could manage.

Rainbows and Cuddles

On Sunday evening Phil and I found ourselves at our friend Jacob and his awesome girlfriend, Anna's new apartment. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening full of great conversation, pasta, wine and rainbows. Seriously, there were a bunch of rainbows continually popping up, and it was incredibly pretty. I'm not usually a huge fan of 'double dates' but Anna and Jacob are so welcoming and independent of one another that it was one of the best nights I've had in a long time.

Yesterday I worked an 8.5 hour shift at Starbucks. It was great because I got paid time and a half due to Labour Day, and since all the businesses were closed there was a very chill and manageable trickle of customers throughout the day. Though after work I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. I stayed in bed resting/sleeping from around 6pm to 6am this morning, and I felt so much better for it. As ever, Ada was super cuddly, and we spooned for a great deal of that time. I even tucked her in with me. <3

Today the fall semester at Concordia began. It was weird seeing Philippe go to school and I not. Even though I haven't attended Concordia for over a year now, part of me still feels like I should. I cannot wait for Phil to graduate and for us to move to Toronto. To have school finished for both of us, and be on our career paths. Toronto as a city doesn't really hold too much interest for me, but it'll still be fun to explore and familiarize myself with a new place, and to be able to work in the field of makeup without the french language barrier.

Tomorrow I have a day off. I am so excited to have a chance to get my creative on!

7th Anniversary

Today marks the completion of mine and Philippe's 7th year together. We had a lovely day filled with many fun activities and moments. One, being that we took turns painting on the other. I've painted on nude bodies before, and have been painted on nude as well, but this was different; simultaneously sensual and soothing.

From the get-go our relationship has been so incredibly special and unique. We share so much love, affection, and trust; have inspired and learned from one another; matured and created a home and new family together. It's mind-boggling to look back and see how much we've affected each other, and helped to make the other a better person.

Many people have asked if we will get married. I honestly don't think that marriage -- or in our non-religious situation -- a civil union could possibly make what we share any more significant. We are incredibly affectionate, but we like to keep it to a minimum when we are in the presence of family or friends. I think that a large aspect of a marriage is to be showy, or the nicer term "to celebrate" what we have with others. The mere fact that we are confident enough in our bond to not feel like we have to continually display it and seek validation from others confirms to me that our feelings run true and are deeply rooted. Even if our relationship doesn't last until the end of our days, I will always share something inimitable with this boy.

As Phil and I enter our 8th year together I wish for our hearts to grow impossibly larger, and for us to share in even more experiences and adventures together.

Hun, you are simply explosive. And yes, I know, I am a dear. ;)