BRICK CITY

now New York city is brick COLD! so cold i didn't even want to take any photos. but then again NY is my second home so i never really feel compelled to take many photos when i'm there. and to make matters worse i forgot my holga. but any who here are a few:

MTA gets you any where period. those New Yorkers are hustlers! every time i took the train there's someone dancing, singing or selling stuff just to get a piece of the pie.

that's Fly Lady Di on the left, who's appeared in international magazines for her accomplishments as a painter and Melly Mel on the right who dances around the globe. she was part of the amazing Beattles 'Love' show in Las Vegas. these two girls are a ball of talent and we're all from Ontario!

how's that heater doing Melissa?

i'm deprived in Vancouver, Canada! i have to travel 45 mins to the one black hair supply store just to get moisturizer and if you do get your hands on this stuff, they charge you twice as much as what you'd pay in New York or Toronto. i walk down 125th in Harlem and there is store after store and aisle after aisle of all the hair products i can dream of.

of course.

dare i say this restaurant has "the worst food ever!" it took me 3 visits to realize and remember Tom's Restaurant sucks! the food is awful but with so much hype from Seinfeld who cares?

i made it!

3 missed flights and 2 days later and i made it to the sunny shores of DR. i wish i took more photos but i felt kinda self conscious acting like a tourist in the local towns so i only brought my camera out when we got to Cabarete. great vacation since i got to see it all...poverty and wealth. kinda heart wrenching but the beautiful thing was everyone kept talking about Obama! nothing but love for him everywhere! here are a few pics:

that's the main street in Cabarete. cute tourist, friendly town with boutique hotels without the crazy resorts.

the official beer of DR

the hotel we stayed at just minutes from the beach. only $45 a night and it was uber cute!

the view from our room

the walk to the beach

i had 15 giant, itchy, mosquito bites! not cool

no rain for us until the very last day. lucky!

HORSE SHOES!!@!#$@

oh my gad! so it starts off with me missing my flight from Vancouver direct to NY (my bad). the friendly people at United Airways get me on their next flight out as Air Canada (my original carrier) wanted to charge me $1150!!! are you kidding me! so now i'm in San Francisco on a stop over, trying to get to NY so i can get to Santo Domingo!!! but knowing my luck, this time tomorrow i'll be in paradise...right?!

the sunny side

in just a few hours i'll be boarding a flight to the Dominican Republic with a quick stop to NY to pick up my hubby. and then back to NY to take in the sights with my good ol' holga and possibly do a wee bit of shopping ;)
I start off in Santo Domingo for a few days then to San Franciso to see my hubby's family and then to Cabarete to surf and soak in the sun. oh i can't wait to hit the beach!!! Any whozers, i'll keep ya'll posted with pics. some throw backs

St. Thomas

Greenwich Village

a little here a little there

we all know about global warming and hopefully we're all doing our part to help mother earth. but learning new tips always helps so here are a few:

this is the best ever! it easily replaces my man and his snoring. all you do is boil some water on the stove and put it in a hot water bag (i don't know what it's called). you can buy it at your local drug store. since i live by the way of the frugals, i turn my heat off while i sleep since this puppy last all night! *make sure to not put directly on skin. i put this on my belly and the next morning i had a freckled belly which lasted for 2 months!

instead of buying bleach buy oxygen bleach a.k.a. hydrogen peroxide. hydrogen peroxide biodegrades fully into oxygen and water AND it removes stubborn stains. i bought mine at my local grocery store. i'm always mindful of what i throw down the drain or the toilet cause believe it of not, it ends up back in our taps. so if you do laundry or your parents still do it for you go out and get it.

keep your dishes clean and green with bio dish soap.

baking soda and vinegar replaces any type of cleaner you got in your cupboards. i use this stuff to declog my drains (just add boiling water). also great for cleaning bath tubs. *i would advise against using on too much baking powder when mopping since it leaves the floor all powdery.

try to get 100% recycled toilet paper. we use so much of this stuff in North America unlike the good ol' soap and water.

stop buying bottled water. instead opt for a reusable container

whenever possible, try reusing rubbish. i recycle my cereal boxes and others into backing for my prints and packaging for gifts. i'll post more on this for christmas wrapping.

A NEW DAY!

if Barack Obama winning the US Presidency isn't a testament to dreaming big, i don't know what is. absolutely anything is possible. i was bawlin' my eyes out last night while glued to watching live footage of CNN. he won a whopping 349 to 163. no fine margin here folks! this is not only a big deal in the US but the rest of the world! it's SURREAL, it's a step forward for humanity, an example of what's to come for every country, a symbol of hope...ARGHH!!! i'm just so happy and thrilled that good will always prevail.

OBAMA!

it is 8:10pm here in Vancouver, Canada and Obama was just announced the projected President with 297 electorial votes! you have no idea how emotionally involved i've been with this race and it paid off! my man OBAMA WON! anything is possible if you have the Audacity of Hope! I LOVE YOU OBAMA!!!

GO VOTE!

to all my American viewers...
GO OUT AND VOTE! today is one of the most important day in history and we have the power to change the world in which we live in. i don't wanna hear any smack about "my vote won't make a difference". it's ironic how the people who complain are the people who do nothing to make change. VOTE! thanks boo boo for voting!

have a seat

i officially have a fetish with vintage chairs. dang...i guess i have a lot of obsessions. anyways, i found this beauty at Salvation Army on 12th & Main St. for $9.99. i bought the fabric from ikea for $6.99/m but you only need half a meter. so simpo!
cost: $13.49+tax

seat had paint stains. but i really like the design elements of the chair. very graphic. me likey.

just undo the screws

cut out a circle pattern with enough give to go around the chair and get stapled. i picked this graphic pattern to make this chair shine in all its glory. sew a zig zag stitch along the edges to prevent fabric from fraying

staple away

screw the seat back on and voila!

i know i'm crazy...

..and since i know i'm crazy i can't be crazy, cause crazy people are not aware of when or if they are crazy.
look at all the wonderful ways you can use photoshop. when i was looking for photos of jimi for my halloween costume i came across all these fan photos where they do all sorts of photo shopping to his images and post it back on the web. coolio! i just REALLY wanted to embrace him as a real drama queen slash thespian would. i promise this is the last vain post of my hendrix halloween :)