Face palm

 [ crime scene / exhibits A and B / today, 6:37 PM ]

Guys.

Oh my god.

Out of pure humiliation, I would take this information to my grave, but there are two problems with this strategy:

1. It's just not my style #oversharingforlife!

2. You would inevitably figure it out the next time you saw me on my bike

And the bike in question? Yes, the one that was "stolen" 5 days ago. Read more here.

So today, after popping off the subway one stop earlier to run errands (I'm taking the subway due to my stolen bike, you remember?),  I caught a glimpse of a familiar shade of turquoise. Sure enough, there was my bike locked to a post right there on Bloor Street only a couple blocks from my house! 

The nerve of this bike thief! The effin' balls, man! 

Then I realized that the bike beside it, sharing a lock, was Alex's! Aha! Caught! As I prepared to wait it out, conjuring up an epic shame-on-you rant for the glorious moment when I would confront this bold character, it sunk in: the bikes were affixed to the pole with Alex's lock. The only person who could possibly be responsible: Alex.

I couldn't decide whether to be overjoyed or mortified. (I'm still undecided)

It's something we've done before. I'll paint it for you. Typical summer Saturday: bike almost all the way home from boozy night out, realize we are craving post-party greasy snacks, lock up our bikes outside the burrito joint, procure burrito, and start to walk home before remembering that we were, of course, avec bikes. "Oh haha, silly us." Honest mistake, though: BFB is walking distance to our house, and not somewhere we would normally cycle. AND, under the intoxication of refried beans and chipotle hot sauce, we're bound to lose our heads a little. This time, though? We left them there, walked all the way home, went to bed, and came to the only conclusion that made sense when our steeds weren't in their stalls the next morn. Stolen!

I'm a sharp tack. A bright bulb. I am! And I have a crazy-awesome memory. I'll remember a face forever. I can still recite the Manitoba phone numbers of childhood friends I haven't seen since the 80s. I will regurgitate with perfect accuracy the he-said-she-said of our marital disputes (of course to prove that I am right, as usual). It's just so out of character! Dumb. If huge amounts of booze were a factor, it would make sense, but we had, at best, a mild day-drunk at the Jays game that had a good 9 hours to mellow before our trek home. If I could use that as an excuse, I'd feel better.

I would have lied my face off about this. But you'll most likely see me whooshing around the city on my little blue flame and I'd have to sheepishly explain myself in person. Which would be worse.

After putting on colourful and excessively dramatic pouting and self-pity performances all week, you are no doubt having a pretty good laugh right now. You're welcome.

p.s. While I'm relieved that I don't need to shell out unplanned dough (or grovel pathetically for early birthday money from my parents), I was really starting to buy into my silver lining. Gotta say, I was kiiiiiinda looking forward to pretty new wheels...

(Oh, I am a treasure.)

3 Things.

I'm going to try to adhere to a regular post, maybe once per week on Wednesdays, that is just a random "3 THINGS" that I love that week. Maybe it's music. Maybe food. A pair of shoes I can't afford. Or just a great photo. Let's see if I have follow-through, for once...

Here's this week's list:

ONE •

Moles! Ok, maybe just this photo. How cute!  (photo Michael David Hill, 2005, via Wikipedia)

TWO ••

Rachel Comey Cannonball Dress. *drool* It's so ridiculously out of my price-league ($575) but a girl can dream, can't she? Check out the mauve lace panel on the back. Avail. at Narwhal Boutique, Toronto. (photos via Creatures of Comfort)

THREE •••

Beau's Brewery. Bought this 4-pack today with a leftover LCBO gift certificate. I am just a SUCKER for packaging. And they sure do packaging well. We haven't tried it yet, but considering it's local, organic,  and has a "light fruity taste",  I'm sure I'll love it.  (photos via ayearofbeer and apt613)

 

(lead photo via circlealine.blogspot.com)

Babes who brunch.

Joey, our long-gone friend stolen from us by Corporate America, was up for the long weekend (via Vegas, then NYC). Toronto is lucky to have her back. Even for a few days. We brunched and beered on Friday.

Meredith says that she understands my plight. The lost-favourite-food-joint plight, that is. Like, if Aunties and Uncles closed, it would be akin to my Nataraj loss. OK. She does spend at least one breakfast a week at the place. And Friday was her second day in a row this week. Let's hope she doesn't end up an orphan like me. I love this place, too. I generally dislike the massive line-ups for tables, though. I guess Aunties isn't closing anytime soon. We all had breakfast tacos. It seems I'm always craving something Mexican-inspired these days.

That was kinda my favourite part of LA, actually. 

We were attempting "soft palettes" for natural looking photos. Ha! It's advice via M's acting world. I don't think we understood. Nonetheless, my aren't we just so natural?!

---

Sunday morn. Me and Mister are splurging on Starbucks for breaky (yeah, sadly it's a splurge) and walking the THREE dogs this morn. I then have blogTO biz to attend to and Thanksgiving dinner to make/attempt. Owen of dreamboat lead-singer quasi-fame is our orphan this eve. I will try my darndest to overcome that incredible metabolism of his and put some meat on that boy. Turkey pot pies for the boys, and veggie for me. Mmmm.

Good, good things!

I have news.

But I can't tell you. Argh. Oversharing would be detrimental, considering my news is only probable/most-likely rather than fully confirmed. To share now would mean extra super-duper heartbreak for me if it didn't happen. I must not get my hopes up. I should know definitively about both job-related news items in a matter of days. But for now: ziiiiip!

We have been laying low lately - Alex had two shows last week, and I've been extra productive with all of my millions of sewing/writing/job-hunting/dog-petting tasks. My "Best Sex Shops in Toronto" post went up this week. Check it out here. Gotta say, I hope my family/in-laws DO NOT read it, as it definitely has some anecdotal parts that are best left a mystery to those folks. But, *sigh*, my mother has probably already read it twice.

Miss M and I checked out Girl and Boy: A 90s Dance Party at Clinton's on Friday. While fun, I admit that post-dancing nightcaps at her house were much more so. A product of oldness? No pics to remember it by, but the taste of Sweet Tea vodka still lingers. Have you tried this? It's fantastic! Especially with Ginger Ale. Oh wait, I did take ONE photo, in the bathroom stall at Clinton's:

Graffiti warning: " Halloween is on its f*cking way. Pick your costume." A harsh reminder that I do NOT have a Halloween costume yet. Not even a clue! Alex and I are usually on this by August. We love playing dress-up. Sadly, we may have to be ghosts, or something equally as cheap to pull off. Our usual $100 budget ain't happening.

So we didn't do ANYTHING for Nuit Blanche. Are we pathetic or what? But really, I found the whole thing to be so underwhelming for two years in a row, and we were exhausted. So Indian Food and movies won out. Of course. Predictable.

 [ via BlogTO.com ]

Oh, and another good thing: Alex and I spent Sunday the way Sundays SHOULD be spent: ghetto-breaky at Future Bakery (the site of our very first date) followed by lazy strolling/biking/window-thrift-shopping. Alex bought the most amazing Ben Sherman jacket with a Winners credit note he had from ages ago, and we traded in clothes at Common Sort. I managed to score 75 buckeroos in store credit and Alex opted for cash. I spent 12 of mine on a western-style floral shirt. Sooo pretty. Lots of spending "money" left for some good fall thrift shopping. This is really the only shopping I can do lately! Check out my BlogTO review of Common Sort here. 

[ Common Sort by Dennis Marciniak ]

We ended our weekend with shrimp quesadillas and a few episodes of Mad Men on Netflix. Ahhh, good times!

Killing time now before bootcamp. I should have been on a date with Cathie, but we opted to cancel because of rain. Biking to Exhibition Place from my house in the rain was not my idea of a swell time. Nope. Although I'm a tad bummed to miss the TFI Pop-Up Designer Sale. It was one-day-only. Might have been depressing to not be able to spend anyway.

That's news, folks. Until I can spill the REAL beans, of course.

In Sweet Thing Land, the boys have a few odd shows planned here and there, and there has been some chatter about the next single/video, but it's otherwise unusually quiet (for now). The biggest piece of excitement is a stadium show with Metric next month! Yay! We're crossing our fingers to hear more good news about some show/tour dates for later this year... stay tuned.

In the meantime, I swiped this eye candy from Much Music's site (Tyler and Owen serving lemonade at a charity event last month):

[ via muchmusic.com ]

Yup, that's all.

XO

Nothing can take away. This. Blue.

Kay, this might seem highly melodramatic. Highly. But you can't possibly understand. The last, say... 150 Friday nights of our lives, we have been doing the same thing: take-out from our very favourite Indian joint and a movie. Usually something nerdy like Close Encounters of the Third Kind or 13 Going on 30 or Teen Wolf (although we do have a "no Jennifer Aniston" policy). It was tradition. We always wondered how we'd cope once Alex made ONE-HUNDRED-BIIIILLION dollars from Sweet Thing and we moved to the country. Never thought we'd have to answer that question so soon. 

[ image c/o eatingout.co.nz ]

So, yeah. We have confirmed that it's officially gone, as it's been dark with a For Rent sign in the window for days on end. I had hoped it was a family emergency or religious holiday, but my eternal optimism was surely snuffed. It's the end of an era.

How dare they not tell us? They knew us by NAME. We knew them as Charming Man, David Spade, and Turtle (lovingly doled nicknames in absence of real ones). We ordered anniversary dinner from Mt.Everest (not the same, and pricey) and we are reluctantly planning to try Marboli and Naans & More. Banjara delivery times are easily an hour plus, and again, not as good. Nataraj, nothing compares. To. You.

"I can eat dinner in a fancy restaurant, but nothing can take away this blue."

p.s. eternal optimism kicking in for one last breath: at least I might lose weight, right?

Another one like this.

Just another dose of verbal diarrhea from yours truly. Nothing substantial/important/exciting to write about but I just need to share randomness.

I STILL haven't checked to see if my camera survived the little swim she took last week. Tomorrow, I've decided, my little heart will be able to handle the news - good or (most likely) bad. She's still lying in a box of rice. Like a mini coffin. Hm, I'm being so uncharacteristically "glass half empty", right? Will report back.

 [ I clearly need this (horrifically unsightly) contraption. via gadgetsin.com ]

I had two job leads today - calls in to some HR contacts. But, I do have to fire out a few more resumes tomorrow. I need to step it up. EI is so not cutting it, and dammit, I need new fall clothes!

 [ covet! covet! covet! Shoes: OlsenHaus Pic: edgeofurge.com ]

OH NO! I have some alarming news. Brace yourselves. OK, so back-story: Alex and I have done the SAME thing almost every Friday since we moved onto Brunswick 3 years ago. Our very, very favourite restaurant/take-out joint on the planet, Nataraj, is part of it.  Tonight, they were not answering the phone. I just did some investigating and the lights out and there's a "For Rent" sign in the window. Whhhhhhyyyyyy?!?! I really have no idea what we'll do on Friday nights anymore. I feel lost. We may have to move. Could this be the end of an era? *sniff* I ate Ghazale instead, which was technically good, but I was too bitter to really enjoy it.

 [ I will never be this food-happy again. Ever. ]

So Miss Mistletoe came over last night for some spontaneous midnight snacking/crafting. I was really grateful for the last-minute social interaction. Truthfully, I was getting a little stir-crazy with all of the sewing. I've got a little ad-hoc sweat shop set up in the living room while the Mister is outta town. I'm making goodies for my little pet biz while watching Felicity all over again from the beginning (just starting season 2). 

 [ via fanforum.com ]

M and I also talked until 3am, and started re-watching Freaks and Geeks (one of THE best shows EVER). Yeah, waaaay past my bedtime. But we had a great chat, which culminated in the following conclusion: we are both squares, but happily so. 

Oh and me and my best girls checked out this place last week: Snakes and Lattes, board game cafe! Genius! 

[ That's us, discovering Geoshapes. Too fun! photos by the lovely Ms. Shraya ]

Yes, and there is the subject of my health. My sister told me to call her first, so that she didn't have to find out details of my medical woes via Facebook again. But her phone situation in Costa Rica is sketchy right now. Sorry Jill - here's the update: lung scan OK, still taking a steroid inhaler every day and have a Dr. appt on Friday. No answers yet, but the pain seems to be less intense and less frequent. I think the inhaler is working, meaning that it probably WAS just lung inflammation due to asthma. *whew*

Alex and I have managed to iChat twice a day everyday since he left. I am grateful for the wifi on their tour bus. I'm missing him, of course, but it's actually been really easy this time. I guess we're getting good at being apart. Not that I love it. We're just adapting to this necessary evil.

 [ so cute, right? photo by Mark Cohene ]

The guys play Saskatoon tonight (right now, in fact) and Winnipeg tomorrow. Gawd, I want to be in Winnipeg SO badly. Lots of way-old friends will be there again. *sigh* Apparently Justin Nozuka's girlfriend is along for the ride (jealous!). One day, one day. I suppose when the boys have their own tour bus, i may be able to weasel my way on to it. Hey, if I can get into a Strombo TIFF party, I can do anything, right?

Alex is back Saturday!!! 5 days!! Woo hoo! One of my oldest friends and one of my very favourite people of all time is coming to Toronto this weekend too. She's my date for the Sweet Thing show at the Phoenix, and a party happening later in celebration of the 5-year anniversary of friends' amazing little company. Then Sunday... we'll be married for a WHOLE YEAR! Can't wait for the weekend.

Yeah, so, back to sewing and waiting for a text from my Little Husband on the Prairie.

G'night! xo

p.s. Oh gosh, I keep forgetting Yoko. And really, as simple as this quote may be, it's good advice for me this week: "I'm not going to doubt my life." - Yoko Ono