See Me, Eat Me, Watch Me, Read Me

Bikeyface had a hysterical commentary on hipsters and cycling in the winter.

Southern cooking happens to be a favourite of mine, and I think this weekend I'll be making biscuits and gravy with this recipe.

Continuing on the southern food theme, Gravy, the Southern Foodways Alliance's quarterly publication, is about food and social justice.  With the recent events in Ferguson as well as our headlong rush into the holiday season, this should make for compelling reading.  (A membership to SFA might also be a great gift for a foodie in your life.)

Speaking of gifts and the holidays, this list of 10 Essential Cookbooks is great.  I have three or four of them on my bookshelf already, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Black Friday confession - I've been sorely tempted by the emails flooding my inbox promising 15, 20, even 50% off items, but I'm holding fast.  Whatever reasons you might have to not shop today (anticonsumerism, Ferguson, broke, etc.), keep them in mind as retailers continue to tempt you.  If you do shop, support your local shops first.  Stay away from the chain stores if you can (apologies to my mother who has to work today although she's not at a chain store).

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: The Mod Squad

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends & family.  Wish I could be with you!

Turtleneck:  Neiman Marcus
Skirt:  Carnaby pattern, knit by yours truly
Tights:  Hue
Boots:  La Canadienne

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Staggered

Cardigan:  Made by yours truly using Malabrigo yarn
Dress:  Piazza Sempione
Shirt:  DKNY
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  La Canadienne

On My Mind Mondays: What It Means To Be An Adult

Not sure what kind of mood I'm in this week, or today, although "introspective" generally is one word frequently used to describe my mindset.  Some of the things that are on my mind this week are -

1. Friends and feelings:  It seems to me that as adults (whatever that means) we're not supposed to openly air our feelings with our friends.  It's kind of weird because frankly, we can probably speak better about our emotions now then we could when we were, say, eight.  I'm afraid that it's seen as childish and that we're supposed to either keep it to ourselves and suck it up or bitch to our other friends, and that all seems counterproductive.
2. Gifts: Ah, the holiday season.  Let me be the first to say out loud (this probably follows under point 1) that I love gifts.  Yes, I love presents.  But not impersonal, obligatory, or out-of-character ones, and the holidays often have that underlying sense of both 'never enough' and 'is it right'?  I'm interested in dispensing with some of the anxiety and guilt that the holiday season brings with it.  So the ladyfriend and I are either making all our gifts or buying (predominantly) handmade gifts (and not "handmade" in an iPhone way, okay?).  The boy asked for a gift that I'm so excited about - I'm going to refurbish one of his hoodies with various bits of applique, embroidery, and whatever else I want to.   I love that this was his wish. (The fact that I feel like I have to say something about how that won't be his only gift is so revealing about what this season does to us).
3. Thanksgiving:  As an American in Canada, this is the holiday that I miss the most.  I haven't quite been converted to Canadian Thanksgiving (which we spent in the States this year), and I always teach on Thanksgiving Thursday (insert here my classic complaint that Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on whatever day over the weekend everyone agrees to, which just doesn't sit right with me).  It's a food holiday, and I want to spend the day in the kitchen (yep!) making turkey and all kinds of other goodies.  The ladyfriend is getting some of that this year as she's going to see her family in Colorado.  I, and a friend, will be having the turkey dinner at Russell Williams after we're done teaching.  Maybe next year I can take the day off.

See Me, Feel Me, Watch Me, Read Me

(Not necessarily in that order...)

I find that there's lots I encounter on the internet that I'd like to share or blog about, but I don't always have the time for an individual blog post for each, and some are just suggested reading anyway.  So I thought a weekly run-down of some of the highlights of my internet trawling would be a good compromise.

First up - my intellectual crush, Michael Pollan, has a few things to say about the Paleo diet as well as the raw food trend.  Food for thought, indeed.

I watched this TED talk where Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize (which itself has a TED talk on Cycling Without Age that's great) and Cycle Chic talks about bicycle helmets and why he's not into them.

Rolling into the holiday season means the craftory will soon be open (just my own phrase for the double-shifting crafting that seems to happen this time of year).  Check out this free pattern and tutorial from Britex Fabrics.  Cute hat!

It might've been All About That Bass for Meaghan Trainor, but it's All About That Gaze for some McMaster students.

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Foiled by the Weather

Dress:  Karen Klein
Tights:  Not marked
Boots:  La Canadienne...

but these were the shoes I'd intended on wearing

You may not be able to see it, but that's snow outside the window.  It's already hard enough to get around London, and I don't need to break my ankle even if these shoes are pretty spectacular.

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Whooo, Indeed!

 

Sweater:  Owls pattern by Kate Davies, knit by yours truly.
Skirt:  Archie Brown & Son of Bermuda (thrifted)
Tights:  Falke
Boots:  La Canadienne