My birthday!

Today was my birthday! Hooray!

It started with brunch with my mum and dad at my favourite old-fashioned restaurant, Russel William's in Burlington. Because it was by birthday I ordered the most enormous breakfast on the menu. It was hard to fit it all into the frame.  Yum!

Cute parents.

When we came home it was time to get ready for my cousin's wedding!

I had the bright idea that by standing on the bed to take a photograph I could try to disguise the total disaster which is my room. Clearly that idea did not work! My shoes didn't make it into the picture but I wore my beloved navy blue Ferragamos. They looked just right with this outfit, which I sewed myself from vintage patterns. 

The wedding and the party afterwards were wonderful. I was so busy talking, dancing, eating, dancing, talking, drinking, dancing, eating that I only managed to take this one blurry photo the entire evening!

All my nicest cousins that I hardly ever see were there and my cousin's new wife looked happier than I have ever seen anyone look. It was all lovely, and the band played all the best songs. We all danced and laughed and danced some more.

At midnight we left because my sister was getting tired, although I was not. It's saddest feeling I know to leave a party before you're ready!

It's very fancy on old Delancy street you know.

I AM GOING TO NEW YORK I AM GOING TO NEW YORK I AM GOING TO NEW YORK I AM GOING TO NEW YORK

I have never been before, which is quite silly considering how close I live. (Close by Canadian standards, mind you).  But I am going to fix that by spending the first week of September in New York!!!!

violette pastilles

I love violet candies. When I was a child I would buy big rolls of soft Parma Violets from the sweet shop in our cottage town and carry them around in my pockets all summer long. My clothes always smelt of water and sand and old-fashioned candies.

These violet pastilles are from the German grocer and have a single anise seed at the centre. They're perfect to have with me on the long bus rides home from school when I just need something small and sweet to carry me through till dinner.

Hej!

Working in the library on this sunny day! I am reading about Roman freedmen, it's interesting at least!

♥

frågor och svar

I have unabashedly stolen this questionnaire from Sandra and I hope she doesn't mind! I want to start writing more in Swedish, I've got to practice you know, and answering questions is a nice, dip-a-toe-in way to get started, without having to think too much or form long, complex sentences!

vad har du på dig?
vit t-shirt och pistagegröna kortbyxor. Jag gick helt och hållet för pastell i år.

Hur mår du?
lite stressad men glad för att vädret är så fint idag. och lite ledsen för mig själv för att jag måste sitta här och plugga istället för att vara utomhus nu att det äntligen är skönt väder.

Vad önskar du just nu?
Att vara på semester. Att min stor final uppsatsen vore klar och att jag inte behövde plugga längre.

vad har du ätit idag?
bröd med skinka, cole slaw, och kyckling schnitzel

vad ska du göra imorrn?
läsa, läsa, läsa

och på söndag?
läsa.

vem saknar du?
min gammal rumskamrat. Det gick dåligt mellan oss när jag flyttat till sverige, för nån skäl jag fortfarande inte riktigt fattar. Trotts att allt det där hände för mer än två år sedan, ändå saknar jag henne, då och då.

senaste köp?
shorts och en t-shirt på H&M

vad skrattade du senast åt?
igår kväll, jag kollade en gammal avsnitt av The Simpsons

vad grät du senast åt?
Jag blev faktiskt ganska ledsen häromdagen för att jag saknade mina vänner som alla bor så långt borta. Tror att jag gråtit lite, men jag var ju hemskt trött.

vem sov du senast med?
min stor grå hankatt.

vad läser du just nu?
1Q84 (andra delen) av Murakami

senast sedda film?
The Hardys Ride High - som sagt är jag inne på riktigt med gamla Andy Hardy-filmer

Vilken svordom använder du mest?
fuck (men jag försöker motstå den om jag kan, ordet är ju bättre ju mindre man använder det), piss, balls - jag måste erkänna min svaghet för riktigt smutsiga svordomar.

Vem var den senaste som ringde dig?
Farsan. Typ, "Jag handlar. Behöver vi mjölk?"

Har du dejtat någon av en annan religion?
det har jag gjort.

senast 3 inkomna sms?
"Tonight we will stay in PEI"
"aww, little (big) one!"
"Byeeee! Thanks for hanging out! Enjoy your treasure!"

Vad stod de i ditt senaste skickade sms?
"Gee!"

Vilket var ditt favoritämne på gymnasiet?
Writer's Craft

Vilken är din favoritfrukt?
hallon!

Vilka kändisar har du blivit jämförd med?
i princip, inga. En gång var jag jämförd med Shelley Duvall, men vi liknar inte varandra, tror jag. 

Vad är du rädd för?
Att blir dement när jag är gamla

En person du tycker är snygg?
Al Pacino

Blir du lätt svartsjuk?
Nej, inte längre. 

Din favoritkaraktär ur en serie?
Maeby Fünke. Nej, Liz Lemon. Nej, Maeby. Jag var aldrig duktig på att välja bara en favorit.

Vem skrev senast åt dig på facebookchatten?
Jag använder den inte

Vilket språk hade du velat lära dig?
Spanska, rysska, japanska, nederlandska - alla världens språk!

Vad för sorts killar faller du för?
roligt och snällt, med bra musiksmak (det vill säga som tycker om samma musik som jag!)

Vart vill du åka just nu?
sverige!!! och New York. Och Argentina.

Vad önskar du dig i födelsedagspresent?
en banjo.

Sådär! Ursäkta mig mina stav- och grammatikfel!

♥

Translation: Answers to questions. Read with google translate if you are interested!

My motto

♥

DNA

If there's one thing I love, it's monograms. I put them on almost everything I sew, and I want them everywhere else. I found this great post over at College Prep about where to find everything with monograms, and I am in looooove with these monogrammed notebooks.

You know I'm going to be ordering some first thing tomorrow!

Friday: The Week in Review

This has been a busy week!

I brought home a pile of fabric [my favourite sight: a bundle of new fabrics] and have been sewing a great deal. Shorts, dresses, blouses. I'll do a post soon.

My favourite sight: a bundle of new fabric

I finally got new tennis shoes. I love them! Super light, super comfortable, and they have tiny Michelin Men on the heels. ♥

My garden has been growing like crackerjacks and one morning for breakfast I had nothing but a big bowl of blueberries and strawberries, floating in milk. Heaven.

I work as a research assistant for a post-doc at York, and this week he gave me an interesting assignment. He's writing about an experimental film that remixes clips from old Andy Hardy movies, and he wanted me to find out the source of a particular scene in the film. I had heard of Andy Hardy, but had never seen any of the movies. It's a film series starring Mickey Rooney from the 30s and 40s, and is considered the first 'sit-com', though in the form of movies, since they predate television somewhat.

I've been trying to narrow down which of the movies this particular scene could be from (there are 16 of them) and have been downloading them. So far I've watched two. At first I thought I would just skip through the film on fast-forward, trying to spot the scene, but they are strangely compelling and once I start watching I can't seem to stop. It's like a mystery case, I've become completely wrapped up in trying to track down this little clip, and I have a feeling I'll have seen all 16 Andy Hardy movies before the week is out.

♥ Dawn

tennis

What a weekend! I saw Aziz Ansari do standup, picked and ate two pea pods - the taste of fresh-picked peas is like nothing else - went to a barbecue at Allison's, and am now watching my favourite Roger Federer play the Wimbledon final and having multiple heart attacks as I wait for him to win.

I love tennis but if I care about the outcome I can barely watch it. I don't know what it is. You'd think I would want to watch and enjoy a close, well-played match but it's unlike any other sport for me. If I am supporting a player, I want desperately for them to win, unlike other sports where I just hope they'll make it. It makes it very difficult to sit still and watch a match without rolling around on the floor, jumping up and down, burying my face in the couch cushions, etc. I just love Roger so much. He looks and plays like a fairy tale prince. How could anyone possibly think they can beat him?

This rain delay shall end shortly, and in no time at all I'll be back with either glee or sorrow.

it's saturday!

♥ Dawn

mums and dads

On Saturday I went with my dad to a barbecue at our family friend's house. Their daughter was turning thirty. She is just a few years older than me and when I was around 11 we spent the summers together, as she babysat me quite often. We haven't seen each other since I started high school. It was so exciting to meet again, and to find out that she grew up into the nicest person I think I've ever met. 

Our families have known each other for longer than anything. In fact, my parents met because our mums were co-workers, and our dads good friends. So I have to credit them with the fact that I am alive, really! It's quite an odd and nice feeling to be able to trace your existence back to such a specific occurence. I learned this weekend that my mum used to get in trouble for going to work in bare feet.  Hippie mum, she makes me proud.

One down, one to go

I spent every waking moment today (well, almost) at my desk finishing a paper at the eleventh hour. It was exhausting, but I did it! My coursework is done, now I just have to write my thesis and I'm done this degree. Thrilled!

In other good news, I got a new motherboard put in my beloved laptop and we are back together. I love a computer story with a happy ending.

Sorry that I am too tired to write anything else today!

My old friend, you came back!

this video temporarily disappeared from youtube, but it's back up again:

I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

Fast food at the beach

During the week I had to run errands in Burlington and so I stopped at Hutch's for lunch. It's a kind-of-famous super popular place on the shore of the lake, with a good fifties feeling and masses of french fries and hamburgers and ice cream and booths with small jukeboxes that you can listen to while you eat.

 (If you want to follow me on Instagram I'm dawnanthony)

Gentleman

My cat, Gentleman, is sometimes very naughty, but today it looks like he is living up to his name.

Hooray!

How did I almost forget to mention!??! The Embassy e-mailed me last week and said I am getting my residence permit! I suppose I won't really believe it until the actual thing comes in the mail. But still! Hip hip hooray Sverige I'm coming back!!! ajfkldjakgjdklfjdksalfj!!!!