small blog about nice things
vegan, adventurer, lover of chai lattes and winona ryder
You can expect: book reviews, diy tutorials, photos, complaints about the world, and much more

Tuesday 28 October 2014

What Even is Life: Winona Ryder

OK. SO.

Let's just start off by saying that Winona Ryder is Queen. Sorry, Beyoncé, but I'm making you take the back seat here. On my blog, Winona reigns, and there ain't nothing you can do about it.

Winona Ryder has won the hearts of people everywhere. She is spunky, cool, petite yet ferocious, and just the raddest person to walk the earth. She has been in many movies directed by my favourite director Tim Burton and played some of the most entertaining and weird characters.

1. Susanna Kaysen in Girl, Interrupted

Pretty much, the movie starts out with Winona trying to kill herself due to past relationships that have been majorly abusive, which lands her in a mental hospital for the next 18 months. This film was set in the 1960's, when even though depression and other mental health problems were recognized, the way in which they were dealt with weren't as nice or accepting.

In Girl, Interrupted Winona plays opposite Angelina Jolie, her crazy renegade best friend in the hospital. Angelina's character isn't very nice, although she somehow makes you like her, kindof, until she gets downright creepy. But there are moments when you smile a bit, because for some odd reason although you're watching the kind of movie that makes you feel a bit weird in the pit of your stomach, there are beautiful moments of clarity and a peacefulness that will make you appreciate Winona and Angelina a little bit more. Likeeee the scene where Winona and Angelina sing Downtown (like the best song ever) to a friend locked up in solitary:




2. Veronica Sawyer in Heathers

Ah, Veronica. How can you forget Veronica Sawyer, when she's the only one out of her popular friend crowd the Heathers? In Heathers (which is written by Daniel Waters, brother to the director of Mean Girls, Mark Waters), Winona half-heartedly tries to be a part of the "in crowd" until one day she meets this guy (isn't that always how it starts) named J.D. who teaches her a better way to dominate the school. By killing the popular kids. DUN DUN DUUUUNNNHH. (And let me tell you, he is so hot, for, ya know, a PSYCHO KILLER).

I gotta say, this movie is amazing! It pretty much takes the concept of how the popularity contest that is high school fucks you up, makes it blood thirsty and adds the best mean girl crowd possible into the bunch. Then, you get seriously obsessed with the fucked up relationship between Veronica and J.D. (like, what normal people get turned on from killing people), when really, it's just plain messed.  One of my favourite scenes occurs when Veronica is freaking out because she's realizing that J.D. is actually kindof creepy (wow, didn't see that one coming) when she accidentally burns her palm on the cigarette lighter in the car and J.D. lights his cigarette with her hand. Very hot.



This is all good stuff, but did I forget to mention the super cute 80's outfits they wear, which have a sort of Clueless vibe, AND the best, most amazing, QUEEN BEE QUOTES EVER. Which you should always try to apply to everyday life:


  • Heather Chandler: “Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?”
  • Heather Chandler: “Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like Mother Teresa?”
  • Veronica: “What’s the up-chuck factor on that?
  • Veronica: “You know what I want, babe?”
          J.D.: “What?”
          Veronica: “Cool guys like you out of my life.”
  • Veronica: “What is your damage, Heather?”
  • Heather Duke: “Veronica, why are you pulling my dick?”
  • Veronica: “I say we just grow up, be adults and die.”

The Heathers gang: from left, Winona Ryder, Kim Walker, Lisanne Falk and Shannen Doherty. Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Rex Features

















3. Kim Boggs in Edward Scissorhands

I could probably talk about this movie forever, since it's one of my favourites and has my husband Johnny Depp in it. BUT. I will let you figure out the magic of this movie yourself.

I will tell you however: Johnny Depp plays a gentle young man that strangely has scissors for hands, who is found all by himself in his creepy mansion at the top of a perfectly cookie-cutter, pastel coloured town (which is actually more creepy to me then the mansion) after his master dies. He soon finds himself adopted into the nice little family of the Avalon lady (or whatever makeup brand) who found him alone. He quickly falls in love with the daughter, and hilarity and GREAT SADNESS ensues. Sigh. The most beautiful scene in this movie happens when Edward makes it snow for Kim, something she's always wanted to see. BRB CRYING.



(ALSO JUST A LIL PS, JOHNNY DEPP AND WINONA DATED, WHICH IS LIKE, MY DREAM COME TRUE, AND UGH, I JUST, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, WHAT IS LIFE)

4. Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice


Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! THIS MOVIE ROCKS. Halloween is my favourite season/holiday/thing, and this movie (and The Addams Family, of course, because Wednesday is my BFF and inspiration) is an October must. Its got nice ghosts, bad ghosts, crazy dance numbers, weird alternate dead universes, crazy parents, a quirky teen named Lydia Deetz who hates everyone and everything, especially her crazy parents, and Tim burton as director. What could be better? Nothing. Well, maybe Lydia's wardrobe....


Plot: Poor couple wakes up, realize they're dead, their house is being moved into and reno-ed. They decide to do some scaring so they can have their house back, except, they're actually not that good at being scary. They end up turning to a baaaaddd ghost of a dude named Beetlejuice, who they hire to scare away the Deetz family. Did I forget to mention Lydia can see all the ghosties? Well, she, being awesome, become friends with them and tries to help them out, like a good pal would. The rest of the movie is crazyness.

This week, I have watched the Banana Boat clip about five billion times:


And listened to this song every morning as I get ready for school about EIGHTY BILLION times:



YOUR BUTT NEEDS TO BE SHAKING RIGHT NOW.

All in all, I think we can see that Noni (Winona, for all of you who aren't down with the lingo) is the Queen of Darkness to end all Queens. There is no competition. There is no debate. Winona rules. Case closed. I am in love.



!MY PHONE CASE EVERYONE!
(which you can buy at: this etsy)
How could you not love this?


PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW WINONA!




Music: Playlist - LYING ON THE BEDROOM FLOOR

 Tunes for when you just wanna lie on your bedroom floor and chill out. Ja?









Thursday 16 October 2014

Food: The Ultimate Vegan Banana Bread

Hey! My name is Kate, fellow vegan and best friend of Cami. I've gotten super into cooking and baking since switching up my diet and have started developing my own recipes. Here we'd love to share some of them and hope you give them a go!

By M. Kelly
This recipe here is something in heavy rotation around our group of friends and my house. It even got the stamp of approval from our ultimately picky friend! I like to eat this bread warm, with almond butter or tahini or just plain. With winter approaching, this kind of treat is perfect to have around. It's in the colder weather that I find myself reaching for sweeter, stickier snacks, and this fits the bill perfectly. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do!


By M. Kelly


The Ultimate Vegan Banana Bread


Wet Ingredients:
  • 3 overripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup of unsweetened, unflavoured non-dairy milk
Dry Ingredients:
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1 cup spelt (alternatively, use white or gluten free)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/3 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/4 cup chopped pumpkin seeds (plus a tbsp for topping)
  • 2/3 cup chopped and pitted dates

    Clues: 


    1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dig out a loaf pan and grease it with any vegan butter you have on hand. Alternatively, feel free to use coconut oil or even regular butter, if you aren’t avoiding animal products.
    2. Chop dates, almonds and pumpkin seeds roughly but thoroughly. 
    3. Mash bananas until they turn into a lovely gooey paste and place into a large bowl. Whisk in milk.
    4. Stir in baking powder and baking soda.
    5. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder. 
    6. Finally, add dates, almonds, and seeds. Stir once or twice to combine, but don’t overdo it!
    7. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and slide it into the oven.
    8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is a gorgeous golden brown and springy 

    TIPS!
     - if you only have two bananas, feel free to replace one with 1/3 cup of olive oil
     - flours are pretty variable here, just be careful not to use all regular whole wheat (it'll be hella dense) - though all whole wheat pastry flour is okay, as it's lighter
     - these could also be slipped into a muffin tin and turned into lil muffins! Or mini muffins!
     - the add-ins are totally up for interpretation; add hazelnuts and chocolate chips for something a little more decadent, sunflower seeds to replace almonds for a nut-free bread, etc, etc. 







Tuesday 14 October 2014

(LATE) Monday Quote/Nice Thought

Just realized I missed yesterday's nice quote/thought, so decided I would instead leave you today with a poem I'm using as part of a project in my literary arts class (I go to an arts high school, I'm in the writing program). I just love it.


FROM THIRSTY

Dionne Brand
From:   thirsty. Toronto: McClelland &: Stewart, 2002

This city is beauty

unbreakable and amorous as eyelids,

in the streets, pressed with fierce departures,

submerged landings,

I am innocent as thresholds

and smashed night birds, lovesick,

as empty elevators



let me declare doorways,

corners, pursuit, let me say

standing here in eyelashes, in

invisible breasts, in the shrinking lake

in the tiny shops of untrue recollections,

the brittle, gnawed life we live,

I am held, and held



why, the touch of everything blushes me,

pigeons and wrecked boys,

half dead hours, blind musicians,

inconclusive women in bruised dresses

even the habitual gray-suited men with terrible

briefcases, how come, how come

I anticipate nothing as intimate as history



would I have had a different life

failing this embrace with broken things,

iridescent veins, ecstatic bullets, small cracks

in the brain, would I know these particular facts,

how a phrase scars a cheek, how water

dries love out, this, a thought as casual

as any second eviscerates a breath



and this, we meet in careless intervals,

in coffee bars, gas stations, in prosthetic

conversations, lotteries, untranslatable

mouths, in versions of what we may be,

a tremor of the hand in the realization

of endings, a glancing blow of tears

on skin, the keen dismissal in speed

Sunday 12 October 2014

Life Post: Living Hell

Hi lovelies!

It's been a while since I've posted (sorry), though I've been ridiculously busy this past week breaking down and slowly disintegrating. But really, this has been a shitty week. Hopefully, after this long weekend, I will be feeling mentally and physically rested and back to my old cheery self.

This past month I have felt overly terrible than I usually do, which is saying something. I've been having extreme stomach issues, which is usually normal for me, but these have been crazy bad. The pain I was feeling was so extreme that I started crying at school. I had to get a blood test (my first ever, which made me cry too, since I have a needle thing, like passing out needle thing) which was terrible. The whole situation has been a huge pain in my ass, which I did not need, since I've also had a horrid week at school. IT'S JUST BEEN ONE OF THOSE WEEKS, I TELL YA. So when I got my blood results back saying I have a fucking parasite in my large intestine, you can tell I was less than pleased. And apparently I might've had it for three years? Just peachy. Now I have to take the world's largest pills ever three times a day so I can kill this thing and finally feel better. Sigh.

All in all, my life has turned to shit. Really, it has. I've also been feeling mentally down, about my weight and stuff, which is a whole episode on its own. BUT. but. Let's not stay on the negative, but look towards the positive. Friday, to pick myself up, I woke up early, put on an outfit that made me feel fab, and did what any person who's feeling down should do. I WENT SHOPPING. And it was so nice! My friends and I had a shopping therapy day, which I usually don't do too often, just because I'm trying to save up my work money for University. Yet, after my week of badness, I decided that splurging was what I needed to do. So I did.

AND HEY GUESS WHAT I GOT.......
EEK major excitement! It is actually such a cute sweater, and I'm so happy I decided to buy it, since as you know I've been wanting it for a while. I got some other stuff as well, which is all nice. I finally got a thinner belt from American Apparel, which I have been seriously needing. Then I just bought some pins for my button collection from this cool place called The Drake General Store and just some other shirts from Zara and Urban Outfitters. Thank god that UO was having an additional 50% of from their sale section.

Then my friends and I went to this really nice restaurant we like to go to downtown called the Peace Garden. It's just really calming and mostly all of their stuff is vegan, which is nice for me. I got this squash soup, agh, so good! Now I've made myself hungry thinking about it....

 All in all, it was a really nice day, and after shopping from  9 am till 2 pm, I was comfortably exhausted and ready for a nice nap (which I totally took). I was just so frazzled going into this thanksgiving weekend, but spending time with my friends and just goofing around made me feel way better, for sure.

I think now I'm going to go watch Sleeping Beauty and curl up with my lil kitty. Be prepared later this weekend for a Vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe! Yuuummmm :)

Have a good Thansgiving and long weekend (to my fellow Canadians) and to everyone else, remember to just go with the flow and if you can't, go shopping instead. ▫️








Monday 6 October 2014

Monday Quote/Nice Thought




This truism is by Jenny Holzer, of whom I am a big fan. She displays her truisms all over the world in creative ways and I'll definitely be posting more of hers on Mondays to come! ▫️

Sunday 5 October 2014

Fashion and Beauty: Just in Time For Fall

Fall.

I love it. I love the rain, the constant grey skies, the smell, everything. There's a reason it's my favourite season. 

With all of these fall favourites on my mind, I thought it was high time I started up my beauty and fashion section on this blog. So today, I am giving to you, my fall favourites/fall wish list. 

1. A cute n' warm sweater

I think by now we all know this is a fall wardrobe staple by now. Especially if you live in Canada like I do, it gets cold pretty fast, and having cute sweaters handy to throw on are a must for the season. I also just tend to get cold really easily (I blame my mum's genes), so sweaters are my best friend this time of year. Paired with a super cute scarf or what have you, ugh, the amount of cosy-ness that will be experienced is making me totally pumped! 

Right now I'm totally coveting this sweater from American Apparel: 

      (It just looks so frackin cozy)

2. A rain jacket that doesn't make me feel like I'm wearing ugly

Ok, what is it with rain jackets and being fucking ugly? I'm sorry, but come oooonnnn. All I'm asking for here is something super adorable yet functional. I've found that if you find a rain jacket that's not the colour of puke green or neon orange (even writing the word neon orange makes me cringe), it's not very waterproof. Sigh. How am I supposed to brave the beautiful rain of fall without a rain jacket? I need to look like a windswept rain goddess, not a drowned rat. This is why these jackets are so slammin'; they are pretty much my saviours:

(This girl makes some of my favourite clothing, the link to her etsy is in the sidebar under links n other stuff I think)

     (urbanoutfitters.com)

 I realize you're thinking, didn't you just say rain jackets were so dull? Why would I choose this black one? WELL LET ME TELL YOU. I tried this on in Boston, and it is one of the classiest, most flattering rain jackets of all time. And I love black. So it works, ok?

             (lazyoaf.com)

Agh! I actually adore lazy oaf. It doesn't help that it's Australian. And that it's on the opposite side of the world from where I am. And that shipping sucks because hello, expensive. But I still can't help loving it! They tend to do a lot of colabs with other companies, and this summer they did the cutest line of Garfield inspired clothing, I could've died. Anyways, this rain jacket is the bomb. Plus I love those duck umbrellas, which you can actually also get at American Apparel, conveniently!

3. A good pair of boots

Personally, I'm covered in this area. I wear my Doc Martens all through the fall, winter and spring. They are my warrior boots and can survive through pretty much any weather, while still making me look badass. I'd say that's a pretty rad buy. But I do know I've been dreaming of the day I'll own a pair of Hunter rain boots. Ah, what a dream. Something like this:


Or this: 


Or even these cute short ones:


would do me just fine! One day....

4. A good lip balm and hand moisturizer

Not necessarily fashion, but I think part of looking good is feeling good, not to mention no one likes chapped lips and cracked knuckles. 

Now I don't know about you, but I've started getting severely cracked knuckles in the winter (wow mum, thanks again for your awesome genes!) and it's starts when fall rolls around. Personally, I use The Body Shop "Hemp Hand Protector" which is all organic and fair trade, which is always a nice little added bonus. Plus the fact that I'm pretty much using weed hand moisturizer...

( yes, the tube looks weird, it's because it has been lovingly and obsessively used)

I also adore all of the eos lip balms. I think they're super cute, easy to apply, work amazingly well and always manage to taste so so good. My favourites are the ones from my Alice in Wonderland collection (blueberry, strawberry and vanilla) though the other day a friend of mine had vanilla chai and it smelt SO MAGICAL. They truly are an evolution of smooth.

So, I hope you've found this helpful. Or entertaining. Or maybe none of these. But even if you didn't like it, you can expect more fashion and beauty posts in the future (sorry, I like 'em, so you'll have to live). All I can say is, I hope you feel prepared for my favourite season! Cos it really is the best, and you should enjoy it, cosy and all. ▫️

Friday 3 October 2014

Life Post: It's That Time of the Month...

Sometimes a guy friend will want something from my backpack, and I'll vaguely gesture towards a pocket. And then I realize that's where my tampons are chillin out. For me, I'm always caught between feeling embarrassed and just being like 'fuck it' if a guy sees my tampons. WHY IS THIS?! Honestly, I wish I could be like 'fuck it' all the time! I would take a launch canon to school and just shoot tampons at people like we're at a sports game. "You get a tampon! And you get a tampon! And you, and you!! Whee!" Except it's not like that. For some reason, periods are looked at as one big taboo (they used to think girls n their periods were a sign of witchcraft n satan's possession). Except hello. BEING FERTILE IS AWESOME! Why shouldn't periods be celebrated? Why can't tampons and pads be ok to talk about in public (whatever my friends n I do anyways), without weird stares?

Mind you, Kotex definitely brought a new level to the whole game when they came out with their line of super cool period supplies and commercials that essentially said fuck you to everyone who thought a girls period was all about pms and chocolate cravings. I do know personally my favourite brand is playtex sport, because surprise, you don't have to wear them just while doing sports. And so you're mega comfy all day.

Here are some of the funniest commercials ever, for this brand called HelloFlo that sends girls care packages when their time of the month comes. The first one is about a girl having her "first moon party" when her mum catches her faking her period, while the second is about a girl who becomes the "camp gyno" when she's the only one who's gotten her period at camp. Both of the girls are super spunky and definitely not ashamed about their periods!


First moon party:

I guess I just try to go with the flow (ha get it, ok bad joke). If a guy sees my tampon, so be it. Sometimes, one will fall out of your locker at school, or you'll realize like I did that you have a tampon bookmark in your math textbook you had forgotten about (Cami situation), but it's all ok. Just strut like the goddess you know you are and the next time a guy sees your tampon, just smile and say "fuck ya I menstruate,  what of it" like you're the baddest of them all. ▫️


Thursday 2 October 2014

Deep in the Heart of the Shopping Jungle

I'm hiding deep in the jungleeee (aka Marshall's while waiting for mum) :


I like fake plants, plants, plants !

And honestly, this is how I spend my money, on fake plants. No wonder I'm poor. I also have a bunch of real plants in my room too. I don't know what it is but it makes my room seem airier and nicer. I've got a bonsai, 4 cactuses, and a regular ole fairy plant. I'm also growing a Venus fly trap, so fucking excited! I'd feel so witchy and Wednesday Addams-esque (my idol). I'll name it Toothy or something, heh. So rad! ▫️

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Life Post: I So Fucking Run the World

I'm just going to say, there is nothing as satisfying as wearing a matching bra and underwear. I feel SO FUCKING FABULOUS, like Fergie drinking champagne, Beyoncé just being Beyoncé, Cleopatra wearing her jewels and cat eyes, being all minxy with Marcanthony, when I wear a matching set. Today, I'm wearing a black lace bralette and lil black undies, and I gotta say, I could rule the world today. I just could. ▫️