Recently.

Here are some snapshots from what I've been up to in January. I hope you enjoy!

 Wine and fire = romantic evening.

View of Bedford Basin from Mount Saint Vincent University.

 Tea at The Middle Spoon.

Chocolate lava cake and peanut butter pie...mmm.

 Halifax Harbour.

 Again.

Playing around with Instagram in bed. Procrastinating sleep?

 Home-made hot chocolate as seen here!

 Experimenting with outfits. May have made a hugggee mess...

 Skating at the Halifax Emera Oval today. So much fun!

 It was a beautiful day. Just beautiful.

Ah, young love.

Happy weekend. Please, get's some relaxing in! And not just so that I can feel better about my own time-off, but also because you deserve it.

DIY Chained Friendship Bracelet

Okay, so I haven't just been doing school work. I may have spent too much time making this cute chained friendship bracelet that I found at Style Scrapbook. I was so eager to share this with someone, so I decided to post about it! It's very simple to make, though it does take some time to sew on the chains. Great to do in front of the TV! Style Scrapbook provides some great photo instructions but see below for some more tips!

I love this because I wanted something to wear with my gold watch, and the gold chain is perfect! I found the chain at a local art store, but I think Style Scrapbook may have used one found at a hardware store. I think either will do. A foot was plenty and it only cost me $1.50! I bought the bracelet at a local store called The Black Market, which sells various things from different countries and cultures, but you could also make one. I think my stitching is a lot messier, but that's okay with me. I still love it, and I hope you do too!

More posts will come...eventually! Time is of essence, unfortunately! 

Christmas & New York City

Happy New Year! I know I haven't posted in a while, and I've been feeling very badly about it! I'm sorry. I'm afraid that I will have to take a short break from my blog in order to concentrate on finishing my Master's... which will hopefully be in the near future. Since it will be a busy next couple of months, I think it will be best for my sanity! However, I've missed blogging so much that I thought I'd do one more post in the meantime. Here are some photos from my Christmas and my trip to New York City with my Mom. Enjoy!

Our lovely Christmas tree.

Mimosas on Christmas morning, yum!

My dad, brother, myself, and mom on Christmas Eve!

View of NYC from the Staten Island Ferry.

The Empire State Building. 

In Soho, on Spring Street. Loved it there!

In Central Park. 

Again.

View from Central Park.

At the twin tower memorial.

My New Year's Eve outfit.

At the restaurant we ate at on New Year's Eve. So much fun!

See you soon!

Quick Tips: Olive Oil Hair Treatment.

Here are a few snap shots of me putting olive oil in my hair. Yes, I did. My friend told me about this neat trick, and it really works! It totally made my hair soft, shinier, and silky smooth! It doesn't cost much and it's totally natural! What to do: Heat a small amount of olive oil in a bowl (I did so in the microwave). Put a small amount on the ends of your hair (I may have used too much). Wrap your hair in a warm towel and let sit for 20 minutes. Then, rinse in the shower! Please note that it will initially make your hair oily. I had to wash it three times in the shower to get the oil out, but then after I realized I may have taken too much of the oil out! 

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!

Challenging Sexist Christmas Songs--And Enjoying them?

If you're like me and you practice Christmas, than you love this time of the year. You like Christmas traditions, especially their nostalgic aspects, Christmas decorating, spending time with family and friends, eating and making/baking homemade foods, appreciating others, giving to others, and, of course, getting from others.

But do you ever notice the creepy and sexist aspects of Christmas? I know, it's not something I want or necessarily like to think about either. But I think it's important to acknowledge. For instance, traditional Christmas songs, even new Christmas songs, are embedded with patriarchal ideas. 

I recently watched this video over at Feminist Frequency:

As happy as I am that this video necessarily points out many of the deep-seated ideas about women and sexual violence that exist today, I'm also a little put off by it, and I'll tell you why. What about when you like and enjoy Christmas traditions and songs, even though they are incredibly sexist? This is a tough position. But before we can talk about how to reconcile such a position, if that's even possible, perhaps we first need to acknowledge and emphasize the normalized and oppressive ideas that are reinforced and promoted year after year at Christmas time. This is why I love Feminist Frequency's videos. At the same time, I wonder if it is possible to acknowledge--even challenge--such ideas while also participating in culture, albeit a patriarchal and racist one. 

That's why it's important to actively engage in our lives and in society and culture as feminists--because we're needed and can do this! These songs (especially "Baby, It's Cold Outside", which is disgustingly creepy) indicate that we live in world that neither listens nor hears women. We live in world that does not consider women fully human beings, but rather condemns them as inferior, unimportant, pathological, and much much much much more. Feminists should not be defined according to popular myths about us--come on, those were socially constructed, and although they may have been or may be true, it's time to see beyond them. Let's actively participate in culture (we're not cultural dupes) by, for instance, performing our genders, AND challenging oppressive ideas.

3 f*ing days until Christmas!!