I'm sitting in a pair of towels at the moment, waiting to dry off and then start rummaging through my closet for tonight's outfit. Kinky, I know. We're going to a house party this year instead of a bar or club. It'll be cheaper, which I can't complain about being unemployed and slightly poor lately.
For the time being, a Toronto Star photo album about New Year's celebrations, here.
Thinking ahead to the new year, I am actually planning to make some resolutions of sorts. I'm thinking of them as more of a lifestyle change than a resolutions.
I need to eat better. Losing weight will be a nice bonus, but generally, I need to eat healthier than I do. The first year of grad school threw me a bit and I ate quite poorly, much to my detriment. I will still eat the odd frozen, instant or fast meal, just not regularly during the week.
I need to get outside more. I spend waaaaaay to much time in front of my computer. Thesis work being the exception, since it needs to be done, but I really should get out more. I used to be such an outdoorsy person, and as the years have passed I don't go camping or wandering nearly as much as I used too. Time to change that.
I need to take a little more care about what I wear. I've been reading too many plus fashion blogs lately, and they've really inspired me to be a little more fashion conscious. I'm also going to be doing a bit more schmoozing in the upcoming months for possible employment post-graduation, so looking a bit more business would be good. I can do that very well, especially while I was employed at an art gallery a while back, but since I've gone fully into student mode recently, the T-shirts are out in force.
I need to clean, purge and finish. I have come to a point in my degree and life in general that I need to seriously consider moving for work. I love Toronto dearly, but the market is a bit saturated in my general field, so either looking at options in other cities is now something to really consider. I don't drive (distinct lack of a license take's care of that), so my options are limited to cities that have really good public transit systems. I do speak French quite well, so government gigs and anything in Montreal are good options. With all this in mind, I need to take stock of the material possessions in my life and get rid of a lot of them. Moving is a right pain, and the less stuff the better. I have packed and moved an entire two-bedroom apartment almost entirely by myself, so if I can reduce the box count, that would be great.
I also just need to keep my place cleaner at any given time, this apartment is a mess.
There. They are out in the open, for all to see. Let's see what happens.
Time to go dancing. Catch you in the new year.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
My day.
Most of today equaled:
*moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!"
When I got home I worked out what the hell was poking me all day.
Damn it. Gotta repair this bra, again!
At the tree is up!
For those of you that may be wondering why the extension cord is going to the other direction from the plug directly behind the tree, that's the AC wall in our apartment, and the landlord turns off the power to that wall during the winter. Utilities are included, so I guess they want to control unwanted power drains. We can't access our balconies due to construction still anyways, so the tree is good there.
*moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!" *moves, "ow!"
At the tree is up!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Getting close to Christmas...
We're only a week off. Not quite finished shopping this year.. or organized for that matter. Lordy...
It's Christmas at the archive! Note the tree decorations that include "COLD" stickers, mini clamshell boxes and mini maps wrapped in Mylar.
I've been to two of the three holiday parties being hosted by various departments of the Archive, and the third is coming up this Tuesday. I have very grand intentions of making cookies for it, and haven't quite decided on what specifically yet. I'm torn between the classic shortbread recipe that I have, a new recipe for eggnog sugar cookies I recently found or the Lemongrass ginger cookies I made for a visit with a baby a while back. I think it'll depend on what ingredients I have and how little I have to get. The eggnog sugar cookies may win as a result.
And now a quick complaint. It's a bit boring, but tough.
I recently broke my own rule about never ordering Torrid clothes online and purchased four articles of clothes from them. I thought long and hard on a new early winter coat, a cardigan, a tank top and a sheer top before taking the plunge and purchasing them. This is where the issues began.
Against my better judgement, I trusted the size chart that Torrid has on their website. I have purchased clothes from them in person while in Buffalo occasionally, and am almost always a size 1. Despite this, their size chart dictates that the size I need to accommodate my chest is a size 3. So, I purchased all three items in a size 3.
Now, one of the reasons I normally don't purchase things online from Torrid is that their shipping to Canada is horrendous. This is something I have never understood, since I can order things from Asos, a British company that sends things to Canada FREE of charge. I grant you that I can't track Asos purchases, but they arrive in a remarkably timely fashion without costing me an extra $40 in shipping fees. I managed to catch a sale with Torrid and more or less negated the cost of the shipping with the discounts I received on the clothes, while still actually paying the $40 shipping costs. Also, because these clothes are purchased outside the country, I need to pay duties and customs on them when they arrive in Canada. I'm used to that, and I usually avoid them by not purchasing things made outside of Canada.
Moving on. I received my package from Torrid and was fairly excited since I was now hoping to wear some of my new clothes to a party I was going to that night. I gleefully opened the package to then discover that every single thing I had ordered was far too big. The coat was big enough to have the entire front button panel cut off and it would still be too big. The tank top might have gotten me through a pregnancy it was so big, and the sheer top could have been taken in so much that the excess fabric could have been reattached to make a dress out of it. I measured and remeasured myself multiple times to ensure I had the right numbers before ordering. My chest is about 49" at the fullest (eg, exactly where they tell you to measure yourself), and according to Torrid, that makes me roughly a 3. HOW THE FUCK DO THE SIZE 1 CLOTHES FIT ME THEN?! What planet are they on that they can't even measure their own fucking products properly?!
Naturally I was a little upset by this. I packed everything back in the box, minus the sheer top since that was clearance item, and called their customer service in a few days to start the exchange process. This included making me pay to ship the clothes back to them. I also had to pay for the clothes I was receiving in exchange. I would not get a refund for the first round of clothes until the ones I sent back had arrived at Torrid. I don't have any complaints about that aspect, since it would seem quite fair. I do however, have complaints about the fact that, according to Canada Post, Torrid received said clothes 5 days ago, and have yet to give me a refund on my credit card. I'm going to give them until this upcoming Wednesday, which will be one week from date of receival, and then I plan to swear at them.
I also asked them if they could possibly write "exchange" somewhere on the box, since that's what it was, so I wouldn't get charged duties by Canada customs again for articles I already technically own. Apparently it "was beyond their jurisdiction" to simply write the word "exchange" on the box. Really. I got lucky and wasn't charged duties again, maybe because the stuff I sent back said "exchange" on it in huge letters.
I received the new, properly sized pieces in the mail on Saturday, and I am happy with them. The cardigan is really cute now that it fits, and the coat is just roomy enough to have a bulky sweater underneath it for an extra layer and still be comfy. I've asked my sister to see if she can look at the sheer top and salvage it for me, since I couldn't return it. The three pieces of clothing I bought have cost me and extra $120 in shipping and customs to receive. Fuck.
I will never order from their website again. They should consider themselves lucky if I even remotely consider purchasing from their stores in person ever again.
Time to move on to more Christmas-y stuff, like baking.
It's Christmas at the archive! Note the tree decorations that include "COLD" stickers, mini clamshell boxes and mini maps wrapped in Mylar.
I've been to two of the three holiday parties being hosted by various departments of the Archive, and the third is coming up this Tuesday. I have very grand intentions of making cookies for it, and haven't quite decided on what specifically yet. I'm torn between the classic shortbread recipe that I have, a new recipe for eggnog sugar cookies I recently found or the Lemongrass ginger cookies I made for a visit with a baby a while back. I think it'll depend on what ingredients I have and how little I have to get. The eggnog sugar cookies may win as a result.
And now a quick complaint. It's a bit boring, but tough.
I recently broke my own rule about never ordering Torrid clothes online and purchased four articles of clothes from them. I thought long and hard on a new early winter coat, a cardigan, a tank top and a sheer top before taking the plunge and purchasing them. This is where the issues began.
Against my better judgement, I trusted the size chart that Torrid has on their website. I have purchased clothes from them in person while in Buffalo occasionally, and am almost always a size 1. Despite this, their size chart dictates that the size I need to accommodate my chest is a size 3. So, I purchased all three items in a size 3.
The sheer, blue top I ordered is no longer on the site, but here's the other three pieces.
Now, one of the reasons I normally don't purchase things online from Torrid is that their shipping to Canada is horrendous. This is something I have never understood, since I can order things from Asos, a British company that sends things to Canada FREE of charge. I grant you that I can't track Asos purchases, but they arrive in a remarkably timely fashion without costing me an extra $40 in shipping fees. I managed to catch a sale with Torrid and more or less negated the cost of the shipping with the discounts I received on the clothes, while still actually paying the $40 shipping costs. Also, because these clothes are purchased outside the country, I need to pay duties and customs on them when they arrive in Canada. I'm used to that, and I usually avoid them by not purchasing things made outside of Canada.
Moving on. I received my package from Torrid and was fairly excited since I was now hoping to wear some of my new clothes to a party I was going to that night. I gleefully opened the package to then discover that every single thing I had ordered was far too big. The coat was big enough to have the entire front button panel cut off and it would still be too big. The tank top might have gotten me through a pregnancy it was so big, and the sheer top could have been taken in so much that the excess fabric could have been reattached to make a dress out of it. I measured and remeasured myself multiple times to ensure I had the right numbers before ordering. My chest is about 49" at the fullest (eg, exactly where they tell you to measure yourself), and according to Torrid, that makes me roughly a 3. HOW THE FUCK DO THE SIZE 1 CLOTHES FIT ME THEN?! What planet are they on that they can't even measure their own fucking products properly?!
WTF TORRID?!
Naturally I was a little upset by this. I packed everything back in the box, minus the sheer top since that was clearance item, and called their customer service in a few days to start the exchange process. This included making me pay to ship the clothes back to them. I also had to pay for the clothes I was receiving in exchange. I would not get a refund for the first round of clothes until the ones I sent back had arrived at Torrid. I don't have any complaints about that aspect, since it would seem quite fair. I do however, have complaints about the fact that, according to Canada Post, Torrid received said clothes 5 days ago, and have yet to give me a refund on my credit card. I'm going to give them until this upcoming Wednesday, which will be one week from date of receival, and then I plan to swear at them.
I also asked them if they could possibly write "exchange" somewhere on the box, since that's what it was, so I wouldn't get charged duties by Canada customs again for articles I already technically own. Apparently it "was beyond their jurisdiction" to simply write the word "exchange" on the box. Really. I got lucky and wasn't charged duties again, maybe because the stuff I sent back said "exchange" on it in huge letters.
I received the new, properly sized pieces in the mail on Saturday, and I am happy with them. The cardigan is really cute now that it fits, and the coat is just roomy enough to have a bulky sweater underneath it for an extra layer and still be comfy. I've asked my sister to see if she can look at the sheer top and salvage it for me, since I couldn't return it. The three pieces of clothing I bought have cost me and extra $120 in shipping and customs to receive. Fuck.
I will never order from their website again. They should consider themselves lucky if I even remotely consider purchasing from their stores in person ever again.
Time to move on to more Christmas-y stuff, like baking.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Finally a break
I'm finished class for the year. I'm on Christmas break until the 9th of January. Thank God.
So a quick apology for the lack of posting due to the above reasoning. I had quite a few projects due in the last week or so of class and an exam at 8am Monday morning last week. I did actually manage to cook every now and again, but I wasn't going to post until class was over. So here we go!
One of the last things I actually cooked and not insta-dinnered while I was studying was Pork Chops à la Grand-Mère. It was a multi-layered process, but I think it came out quite well. The spare chop was surprisingly edible the next day, and the spare potatoes made a great fry up later as a study dinner. This is another Canadian Living special.
Cover and bake in 425°F (220°C) oven until potatoes are tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Uncover and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
At least I can clean this place up now.
So a quick apology for the lack of posting due to the above reasoning. I had quite a few projects due in the last week or so of class and an exam at 8am Monday morning last week. I did actually manage to cook every now and again, but I wasn't going to post until class was over. So here we go!
One of the last things I actually cooked and not insta-dinnered while I was studying was Pork Chops à la Grand-Mère. It was a multi-layered process, but I think it came out quite well. The spare chop was surprisingly edible the next day, and the spare potatoes made a great fry up later as a study dinner. This is another Canadian Living special.
Pork Chops à la Grand-Mère (serves 4)
By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
Ingredients
4 (about 1 inch/2.5 cm thick) bone-in pork loin centre-cut chops
3/4 tsp (4 mL) each of salt and pepper
3 tbsp (45 mL) extra virgin olive oil
2 lb (907 g) onions, about 5
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp (1 mL) granulated sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) white wine vinegar
2 lb (907 g) peeled Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried thyme
3/4 cup (175 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth
3/4 tsp (4 mL) each of salt and pepper
3 tbsp (45 mL) extra virgin olive oil
2 lb (907 g) onions, about 5
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp (1 mL) granulated sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) white wine vinegar
2 lb (907 g) peeled Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried thyme
3/4 cup (175 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth
Preparation:
Sprinkle chops with 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each of the salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, brown chops, about 6 minutes. Transfer to plate. Drain any fat from pan.
In food processor with slicing blade, cut onions into 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick slices. In same skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium heat; cook onions, parsley, sugar and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each of the remaining salt and pepper, stirring often, until onions are golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in vinegar.
Meanwhile, in food processor, slice potatoes. In 12-cup (3 L) casserole, toss potatoes with thyme and remaining oil, salt and pepper. Pour broth over top. Place pork chops and any juices on potatoes; cover with onions.
In food processor with slicing blade, cut onions into 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick slices. In same skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium heat; cook onions, parsley, sugar and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each of the remaining salt and pepper, stirring often, until onions are golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in vinegar.
Meanwhile, in food processor, slice potatoes. In 12-cup (3 L) casserole, toss potatoes with thyme and remaining oil, salt and pepper. Pour broth over top. Place pork chops and any juices on potatoes; cover with onions.
Cover and bake in 425°F (220°C) oven until potatoes are tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Uncover and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
This was the fry up I did later! I just fried the potatoes a bit and had some scrambled eggs on the side.
So yummy!
I'm doing something quite different this year by way of being active in the blog world. I decided to join a card swap. I found this one through Craftzine, being organized by the lovely Vane Broussard of Brooklyn Bride. We gave her our info by a certain date and she sent out a group of addresses for us to send homemade Christmas cards to. I was the lone Canadian in my group, which had a Brit and five Americans including Vane. Kirsa's card was sent out almost a week and half ago to make it in time for Christmas, but here's a picture of the rest of them before I send them off tomorrow!
You may notice that the picture is of the reverse of the postcards I made. That's because I don't want the recipients to see the cards prior to receiving them. I'll post pictures of the finished card after Christmas, along with the ones I receive from the group!
Otherwise, I'm working on Christmas gifts at the moment. I am so disorganized this year, I barely have anything! I've gotten gifts for my sister and roommate, and that's about it. Threadless and Etsy saved me there in both cases. I'm planning on doing a run to Outer Layer here in Toronto for my Mom soon, my Dad however will be the hard one. As per usual. With any luck the presents that I ordered for myself from Society6 and Torrid will be arriving soon.
In other news, we're going to New York City! Again! We found a good deal on a bus ride and the hostels still have some space for early January, so hopefully we can take advantage of it soon and head out for the New Year. I already have a list of restaurants and food carts I want to go to!
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