Tuesday Inspiration: The Wooden Sky.

Love love love this Canadian band, The Wooden Sky. They just came out with a new album which I have yet to listen to, but the first song above is from that album and I'm already obsessed. The second is song is from their second album, which I've listened to countless of times and never gotten sick of. I'm actually going to see them on Saturday night (for the third time!) at a swanky little bar called The Seahorse in Halifax. So excited! Enjoy!

Indie Boutik Collective

I had such a fun experience at Indie Boutik Collective last weekend! It's a new-ish store on Queen Street in Halifax that features a few different local designers/shop owners. My personal favourite is Makenew Vintage, whose owner (pictured above) I've been following online since last year. I absolutely LOVE her collection of very well-price vintage pieces. I know my also mom loves Laura Chenoweth and her organic apparel. The last two photos are of two lovely pieces that I picked up from Makenew for a total of $18! 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I have to say, I'm exhausted in all ways. I need a break. Like a real break. Not periods of browsing the internet or watching TV or shopping or eating or baking. I need a getaway, an escape, an adventure, even a small one! Luckily, my parents are visiting not this weekend but next and I'm taking the entire weekend off. Well, with the exception of a conference that I'm participating in called GIRLS 2012. (Which you should check out if you're in Halifax!) I'm SO nervous!!

Recently.

Here are some mini shots of what I've been up to the past few weeks! Restaurants, tea, coffee, wine, fruit, nails, hair tutorials, candles in wine bottles (thanks, Danielle!), runs in Point Pleasant Park and along the Halifax board walk, admiring graveyards, reading for my class, and dressing up for the Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery and their photo booth. 

Just out of curiosity, do you prefer larger or smaller photos? Oh, and don't forget to follow me on Instragram, if you have it, my user name is thefeministajournals! 

Happy Friday! My weekend will be spent working and...working. Ugh. 

Coffee Date

I've talked about this café before (here), but I'm doing it again! I absolutely love this place. Smiling Goat Organic Espresso Bar is friendly, quaint, and cute and the coffee is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I was there last week with my good friend Angi before we headed to Halifax's Museum of Natural History.Very fun evening!

Do you ever get so stressed to the point where you want to give up and stay in bed all day on a rainy day and watch movies and TV, only getting up to use the washroom and grab snacks? That's how I feel today. Jimmy and I moved our Television into our bedroom last night to watch The River (such a good show!) and I'm now addicted to watching TV in the bedroom... this cannot be good for my thesis...

DIY Vanilla and Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub

I made these body scrubs before Christmas to give as Christmas gifts to a few friends and some family members. I totally meant to do a blog post on how I made them but have only gotten a chance to now! I made one for myself and it left my skin feeling super soft and moisturised but also exfoliated. Although they are super easy to make, they do require a few ingredients that can be pricey. However, I found a great online Canadian shop (located in Toronto) that sells organic ingredients for a really great price. And the shipping is also reasonable. Check it out here. The owner of the shop, Tracey, actually helped me narrow down my ingredients and figure out the kind of scrub I was interested in making! However, the original scrub recipe I found here, which is a Nova Scotia-based website. I picked up the glass containers for the scrub at the Dollarama! I also doubled the recipe to fill the jars I had above.

"Skin-so-soft" Vanilla and Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub

2 cups turbinado (raw sugar) or demerara sugar (get Fair Trade if you want to make an organic scrub)

1/2 cup (or slightly less) coconut oil (this oil is solid but it melts at skin temperature and is great for moisturising and softening skin)

1/4 cup (or slightly less) avocado oil (great for dry skin)

20 drops vanilla 3% in jojoba oil (a great aphrodisiac!) 

20 drops pink grapefruit essential oil (eases muscle stiffness and fatigue) 

Honey for smoothing the texture if the scrub is too dry (I used quite a bit)

Mix all ingredients and enjoy!

Better Late Than Never

Photos from my Valentine's day are better late than never, right? Jimmy bought me some beautiful flowers (which he picked out himself, cute!), some chocolates, and a card. He also cooked us a version of Eggs Benedict for breakfast. It was delicious! I made him a little book out of cards. Each page contained a note of something that I love about him. I also made him a card and a few love notes which I left around the apartment the night before. I bought him his favourite chocolates and some candy, as well as some bubble bath (he loves taking baths) and a gift certificate to Atlantic News, a local magazine shop. I may have outdone myself, but hey, why not? I hate the idea that only men ought to be romantic! Okay, I admit it, we're both a  couple of romantics. (But that's not to imply that we have the perfect relationship--we don't!) After my class, we went out for dinner at Koo-E-Nami, which was amazing amazing amazing!! Forgive the rushed shots of my outfit, we were running late for our movie!

I hope you are all having a lovely week! I hope to get to yoga tonight but I'm feeling quite lazy right now... so we'll see!

Happy Valentiene's Day!

At risk of being cheesy and cliché...

May you love yourself, your families, your partners, or your friends today!

3 Ways to Wear the Mini Skirt.

With a knotted blouse or t-shirt and a cardigan or blazer

Le Chateau blouse//American Apparel button-up//Change tights//Honey Punch skirt//Thrifted B.Z Moda boots

With a crew-neck sweater and belt

Urban Behaviour sweater (men's department)//Honey Punch Skirt//Change tights//Locale boots//Jacob belt//My mom's cuff

With a button-up, blouse, and belt

Talula button-up (from Aritzia)//Madwell's blouse//Change tights//J Crew belt//Browns ID shoes

Well hello there! I'm very excited about this post. This is the happiest I've been about the photos (the last two, here and here, weren't the best). I bought this skirt on sale the other day at Pseudo, a Nova Scotia-based clothing store. I've been looking for a skirt like this for some time and am very happy with it. It can be paired with anything and will take me from season to season. Like usual, I was inspired by Andy at Style Scrapbook, this look in particular. I realize I'm only one body-type of many, so how would you style this?

On another note: I've been really stuck on something. I'm a huge blog fan, especially fashion and lifestyle blogs. I love these blogs. But I'm also a huge feminist and I'm sometimes bothered by some fashion blogs. Although I appreciate and enjoy them so much, I also question their romanticization of fashion and the blogger's fashion lives. I mean, a lot of them focus solely on buying clothes, wearing clothes, going to fashion-related shows and events (especially now given it's fashion week or whatever), and hanging out with "besties" all dressed up. Okay, like, whaaa?? Don't get me wrong: I love following these blogs. I love the people who dedicate their time to writing them. But I don't live a life of Alexander Wang and Starbucks. I know life is about more than that (I'm sure they do, too). And I want to see that! What do you think?

Sweet Potato Goodness

This is one of the best diners I've ever had. I came across the recipe on Jen Loves Kev (an amazing blog, by the way!) and Jimmy made it Tuesday night for us. We had leftovers for dinner last night and it was just as good. There is so much flavour and so many textures, it's just incredible! It's also satisfying and very nutritious! 

Sweet Potato Stew with Kidney Beans

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups or so cubed peeled sweet potato

1 can, drained red kidney beans

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped jalapeños, drained

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts

lime wedges

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.

2. Add sweet potato and next 10 ingredients. Cover and cook on medium until sweet potatoes are tender. Maybe 30 mins.

3. Take a potato masher and mash up your stew so it becomes thick and chunky.

4. Spoon 1 cup cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add peanut butter; stir well with a whisk. Stir peanut butter mixture into stew.

5. Stir in handfuls of peanuts to taste

6. Serve with lime wedges 

I'm so excited to show you what I'm doing for Jimmy for Valentine's Day! I've been working at it a lot here and there when I have time. It's exciting to have something to prepare for and look forward to. Although Valentine's Day might be a bit of sham for some, it being primarily about money and consumerism, for me it's a reason to celebrate, whether it be with family, friends, or partners. I think we are going out for dinner to a Korean restaurant. So excited to try Korean food!

Quick Tips: Instant Speakers.

Remember these posts? I do! I know, they seem so far away now. But here's a new one, yay! If you want to quickly and easily multiply the sound from your cell phone when playing music (it doesn't have to be an iPhone!), simply put it in a bowl! No, seriously. This works!

Enjoy! And dance a bit will you're at it, everyone needs a good dance party sometimes!

Have a happy happy happy week!

New In: Galaxy

Thrifted shirt//ASOS pants//J Crew Belt//Browns ID shoes//Change tights//Necklace from Etsy (see below)//Vintage bracelet (gift)

Found this sparkly shirt at the Salvation Army this week. I was so pleased! I love the galaxy look, as seen here, and the retro shoulder pads. I also recently bought my gold necklace from this store on Etsy and am completely in love with it. So simple yet so chic. What do you think?

This weekend is quiet for me... Well, in addition to working, I'm going to a friend's for Super bowl Sunday which will be exciting!! Lots of food lots of beer and wine (probably less football watching for me and more talking and eating). Also, I have some exciting news, so stay tuned!

One more thing: do you like my hair? I have been experimenting a lot lately because I'm so so so sick of my hair these days (I'm getting it cut next week!!) Check out how to do it below. I was put on to this You Tube channel by a friend and am totally obsessed!