Saturday, January 29, 2011

AA Taught Me To Swear?

I went to American Apparel today to pick up a new pair of leggings in an attempt to further delay buying maternity pants. The store nearest to me recently shifted all their kids clothing to the front and changed their display mannequins from their normally suggestive positioning into a hipster family (I'll come back to this).

 American Apparel clothing is awesome for layering and basics. They also carry gorgeous trousers, blouses, skirts and a zillion other things I would love to fill my wardrobe with. The fact that they produce their clothing in an ethical fashion also warms my heart. The kids who work at American Apparel have amazing style. If I didn't have a muffin top, I'd probably want to dress like them. When I was pregnant with Levi I went into the store and a couple of the shop girls had a great time outfitting me in American Apparel "maternity" wear. I could do without their ads featuring almost bare butt, spread leg, nipply guys and gals (I don't get it and I never will) but in general I like the brand.

When I went in to American Apparel today I felt like I was in the middle of a f-bombing blitz. The sound system was cranked and every other word was a swear. I strongly dislike profanity but I can tolerate it to a point. I'm not one to ask people to watch their language as long as my baby isn't around. Thankfully Levi hadn't come shopping with me. The song went on forever. I was waiting for one of the employees to change it but I was waiting in vain. Finally, the song ended and I was relieved until, "a-hole" this and "a-hole" that exploded around me. Seriously? The store was clearly pushing their kids merchandise and trying to present American Apparel as a family brand. If I came into the store with my family while they were playing this obscene music I would have high-tailed it out of there and never looked back. Levi picks up words like a parrot and I guarantee he would have walked away dropping the f-bomb.

I had to muster up the nerve but finally I went up to one of the employees and said, "I bring my little guy in here sometimes and this music is terrible, like unbelievably bad...." The girl apologetically told me their radio wasn't working and it was someones I-Pod. Are you laughing too? Umm, who cares? Have some class and switch the playlist. I was very polite and with a little eye-roll the girl said she'd change the music. I was proud of myself for stepping up but I admit, I was embarrassed to have to play the roll of of an un-cool, urban mom. When I was at the till the employees were making fun of earlier clients. I can only imagine what they said about me when I left.

I walked out of the store head held high but inwardly my pride was a little bruised because the cool kids probably didn't like me. Oh well.

American Apparel, I love you and I will be back but for the sake of all that's classy, don't dress my kids and teach them their first swear word too.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

To Capture Every Smile

I've seen many family albums over the years from the Sears sit-up-straight to the journalistic as-it-happens photos. Today I stumbled across a random blog titled Kristin and Kayla. The father of these two beautiful girls is a photographer and uses his blog to chronicle their lives through vivid images of every day and staged photos. When photography portrays this much joy it reminds me why it's worth it to carry around a camera everywhere, especially when you have kids.



Saturday, January 22, 2011

Here We Go Again


 Do you see it? No it's not just my gut. A baby's growing in there!!! The last two weeks have been remarkable. I was not feeling well. Migraine's every day, night sweats and all my pants stopped fitting. Ben and I had been talking about trying for a second baby and throwing precaution to the wind. Well, what they teach you in sex-ed is true: protection = pregnancy (Do I really need to say most of the time?). 


Because we had just started trying, my health issues did not automatically make me suspect I was pregnant. However, when my stomach began to bulge, I bought a home pregnancy test. I've never seen two brighter pink lines in my life.  The doctor has confirmed our pregnancy and here we go again!



My little family is growing. A few months ago if you had asked me about having more children I might have teared up. I didn't know if I was ready. Levi's birth brought so much joy but was surrounded by very difficult and painful circumstances. Some things are too private to share on the WWW but suffice it to say, I struggled mightily with postpartum depression. 


Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance hope, and hope does not disappoint us. Even when new parenthood was very difficult, I hoped in God for the day when I would feel at-home in my role as a mother. 


 
Levi has brought me so much joy and is the sweetest little boy ever (The other day a clerk at the store saw him and said, "He's so remarkably adorable, I just want to give him something." Uh oh. Trouble.). 

I feel at home now. I love being a mommy. I don't know exactly when it happened but suddenly I am ready to hold a newborn in my arms again. 


Inevitably this blog will become a record of my journey into parenthood. Again. My style posts will feature a burgeoning belly and a lot of stretchy pants. I hope that I can convey how beautiful this time in life is through words and pictures. Most of all I want to be able to communicate how my heart is overflowing with love and thankfulness for this little blessing from God.


Outfit Details:
Thrifted cardigan
Joe Fresh dress and tights
Modcloth boots
Grandpa's scarf
Silver and pearl necklace-gift from my sister

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fabulous

It blows my mind that Natalia Vodianova has three children! She looks fabulous.









Model: Natalia Vodianova; Photographer: Carter Smith; Stylist: Edward Enninful via fashiongonerogue

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Detailed Decor

Today was a great end to a tough week. We headed out to the burbs to celebrate family birthdays. I love spending time with my wonderful family. My in-law's home is full of warmth and memories. Ben and I have known each other since we were 15 years old. Whenever I'm there I'm struck by the details that make the inside of their house beautiful. It is full of gorgeous, vintage decor that my mother-in-law has carefully selected over time. 







My in-laws gave me this purse for my birthday. It's from Ten Thousand Villages which provides crucial, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts.



Outfit Details:
Nevada plaid shirt
My husband's jeans (He used to be thinner, I am now...)
Husband's vintage belt
Thrifted ring
Forever 21 owl ring
Very old Aldo boots
Ten Thousand Villages purse

Friday, January 14, 2011

Fancy Finds

There are many blogs that inspire me but Fancy Treehouse is one of my more recent discoveries. Coury has an amazing ability to transform new and vintage finds into a gorgeous ensemble. She also sells many of the items featured on her blog in her store. The way Coury styles outfits with thrifted pieces encourages me to keep on treasure hunting for second hand gems. 



All photos via Fancy Treehouse

Review on Vancouver Mom

This week has been a slow week in the blogosphere. My family is in various stages of the flu and we have been mostly comatose. Levi is almost completely better, although we are now having to wean him off cartoons.

Needless to say, this week was pretty blah and so it was exciting for me to see my review of the The Waldorf Hotel/Cafe Nubu at Vancouvermom.ca. Check it out!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Independence

 Lately I've felt Levi asserting his independence. When I leave him in the care of family and friends he gives me a kiss and sends me on my way. No tears, no whining. I'm thankful that Ben and I get worry-free date nights but sometimes I wish for just one tear....

My adorable little boy came down with the stomach flu yesterday : ( There is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain. All of a sudden he has become an extra limb, clinging to me, wanting cuddles all day. If I disappear into the kitchen, he brings a book and sits on the floor to be near me. I hate that he is sick but I love that when it comes down to it, he still needs me. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Featured in Flare

The beautiful Janice Alida is currently featured in the February issue of Flare magazine. Check out a behind the scenes video of her shoot.


Back to Plaid

It warms my heart that the Céline Pre-fall 2011 Collection featured some plaid. I love plaid. Check out the lumber jack style on myself and my little guy


Photo:Courtesy of Céline via Style.com; Model: Suzie Bird

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Love Song

I was going for a run the other day when I passed an elderly lady on a walk. I said hello and when I was about 10 feet away from her she called out,

 "Isn't is a beautiful day! It's....Powerful, really." 

I love that this anonymous lady couldn't hold in her admiration for creation to the point that it burst out of her to a complete stranger. I knew exactly what she meant. Creation is breath-taking, especially in Vancouver on a blustery, winter's day. Yesterday, the sun was shining, in the distance we could see rain falling on the North Shore and the wind was causing waves to crash against the sea wall. Not surprisingly, my photos turned from style shots into a love song for my city. 

I've been altering this lace dress for ages. I bought it so cheap at a thrift store that even though it is very ill-fitting (and a little smelly) I had to make it work. I patched up some tears and shortened the hem. In the end I still wasn't that happy with it but I do love the sleeves. 

Truth. When I wore this outside I threw on some jeans and a jacket and let's just say it was an interesting ensemble. The only full photo I have is this one.... I probably wont be wearing this again. Too body-con for me.

If I could be a tree I would be a Weeping Willow. They're so poetic.

Art work at Kits Beach. Also very poetic.


Little swimming woman. 


The ocean was so blue it looked tropical. But don't be deceived. It was cold!

Nothing is greater. Brilliant Creator. Friend of mine.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Exciting News!

Exciting news for all my local readers! As of January 14th, I will be contributing to Vancouvermom.ca. While I like to keep most of the content on Elasticpantcity global in content my contributions to Vancouvermom will be local in nature.My first piece for them is a review of The Waldorf Hotel. I'll be sure to post a link once my review is up.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Yellow Socks

My posts of late have focused on fashion style but I always intended Elasticpantcity as a place where I would discuss lifestyle topics as well. 

So what else is cooking at Elasticpantcity? A whole lot of vegetarian meals. It's been a long journey but I have decided to say good-bye to meat and go green. In the last year, my in-laws started eating all vegetarian at home because my mother-in-law became a vegetarian and she's the one who grocery shops and cooks (My sister-in-law has been a vegetarian forever. Guess who's laughing now?) Her decision really had me thinking about meat or lack-there-of in my diet. I'm not going to discuss all the ethical and health reasons of why I became vegetarian (use the power of Google to find out more or read the China Study) but I will say that it is good for the grocery budget!

Although Ben is not prepared to completely commit to the vegetarian lifestyle, he's willing to experiment with meat-free recipes. Ben also loves cooking Indian and so we're fortunate that vegetarian Indian recipes are easy to find. The only down side to using a lot of tumeric is our kitchen is permanently stained yellow, as are my socks. 

Here's our most recent experiment. Since we made it up I'm going to call it, Chickpea and Cauliflower Tastes Better Than it Looks Curry. 


Ingredients:
Medium bag of chickpeas
3 Tbs. of olive oil
2 onions
3 cloves of crushed garlic
Tbl. of grated fresh ginger
Tbl. Tumeric
Tbl. Garam Masala
Sprinkle of Cayan pepper
Sea salt to taste
1 tomatoe
2 Tbs. of tomatoe paste
1 head of cauliflower 
Water

Steps:

Soak a medium bag of chickpeas over night. Rinse before use the next day and set aside. Dice up two onions, three cloves of garlic and grate a tablespoon of fresh ginger. Put the burner on medium-high heat and put 3 Tbs. of olive oil into a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Add a Tbs. of Tumeric, Tbs. of Garam Masala, a sprinkle of Cayan pepper and salt to taste. Chop up one tomatoe and add to pan. Add two Tbs. of tomatoe paste. Add chickpeas along with same amount of water used to soak the chickpeas. Add finely chopped cauliflower. Cover and allow to simmer for one hour or until chickpeas are soft.

Yummers. I enjoy eating this with a whole wheat tortilla or rice. 

Levi has been loving our vegetarian cooking (It might help that I refer to chickpeas as cookies in his presence).