I Love Fair Trade

Holy man. I have not posted in a very long time. Things have been crazy lately. I've been wicked busy with the play, work and trying to get all my school work done so I can graduate this year! In the midst of all that I've also been helping to organize a Fair Trade Market at my school for Dec. 10. The aim of the market is to support local fair trade businesses and educate the public about the benefits of fair trade. The event is open to the public, so for those Calgarians looking for holiday gifts this is your perfect opportunity.

Hopefully you can make you it and learn more about fair trade in Canada and around the world.

There's a Facebook event too!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109387475797781

Country girl at heart

As the snow fell here in Cow-town I was excited for winter, but I was also feeling a little sad about the lack of summer we had. The weather was awful this year. Alright, July wasn't that bad, but I was stuck in summer school the whole month! So I'm going to mourn my summer, look forward to winter and leave you all with the memory of my first ride on my dad's motorcycle a few weeks ago.

It was Thanksgiving long weekend, and the last summer-like day of the year. After a year of my dad having his bike he finally felt comfortable enough to have someone ride on the back with him, so he invited me to go out for a ride. I threw on my Cheap Monday's and Michael Kors moto boots - this being the first time I used them for what they're said to be made for - and off we went. We rode through the country and as I looked out at the rolling foothills, the mountains in the distance and the cows beside me I came to fully appreciate the love I have for Alberta.

This was my playlist for the ride:

• Shuttin' Detroit Down - John Rich
• Love Don't Live Here Anymore - Lady Antebellum
• Love Your Love The Most - Eric Church
• My Kind Of Radio - Jo Hikk
• Pledge Allegiance to the Hag - Eric Church
• The Road and the Radio - Kenny Chesney
• Where She Told Me To Go - Eric Church
• Pretty Girl at the Airport - The Avett Brothers
• People Are Crazy - Billy Currington
• Long Gone - Lady Antebellum
• Days of Thunder - Brooks & Dunn
• Beer in Mexico - Kenny Chesney
• Neon Moon - Brooks & Dunn
• Troubadour - George Strait
• Summertime - Kenny Chesney

I know there's going to be a lot of people that'll be angry with me for feeding this stereotype, but I honestly think that country and folk music is perfect for driving, skiing, riding, running, whatever, in Alberta. Hence the above playlist!

Bone Chiller

On Wednesday while I was supposed to be working at school, I was instead wandering the halls wasting time when I went into our school's theater just as my friend Anna (who I mentioned in my previous post on Project Maple) was taking photos to be used for the poster of our fall production of Bone Chiller. Bone Chiller is a comedic murder mystery which we just started rehearsals for this month. I have the pleasure of playing the role of Eloise Ainsley, an uptight, middle aged woman. Eloise is a riot and I'm so excited to be playing her.

So of course, being that neither Anna or I wanted to get back to school work, we had an impromptu photoshoot in the theater. It was an absolute blast. These are the results of this adventure, all taken by Anna.

This is the door Anna was photographing for the poster.

"Lighting cue go!"

I wish I could be a stage manager, but alas, I would go crazy!

I try my hand at directing! Our Tech teacher was not so impressed with me trying to tell her how to build her set....

Our theater hasn't been updated since the school was built in 1971. It's set to be renovated this year, but selfishly I'm hoping it's delayed because I want a theater for our spring show!!

top - thrifted, jeans - winners, shoes - vans, necklace - birthday gift from mom

My latest Discovery

As I was causally browsing Style.com in an attempt to get some ideas for grad dresses, or prom for those of you outside of western Canada, I came across the designer Carven's spring 2011 RTW collection. I haven't previously heard of Carven, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw their collection. I absolutely love the use of neutral and pastel colours throughout, as well as different textures and cuts.

Here are a few of my favorites:

All photos belong to Style.com

How Canadian are You?

I love Canada. I have lived here my whole life and am very grateful for it. However I do think we Canadians could use more outlets to express how we feel about this great land of ours. Fortunately my friend Anna feels the same way. This in combination with our social studies course last year, which focused on the topic of nationalism, inspired Anna to create Project Maple.

Project Maple is a mail art project exploring Canadian identity. Anyone can submit; all you have to do is create something that reflects how you feel about living in Canada.

Of course as soon as Anna told me about Project Maple I had to do something right away. This was her first submission, by yours truly.

Iced Tea and ADD

This past week has been a little crazy. School's been a little crazy, mostly because it's the end of the month and I'm trying to make all my unit projections which hasn't been as successful as I would've liked. This lack of units however is partially due to my unusually busy social life this week.

On Thursday a few friends and I had to take advantage of one of our houses being parent-free for the weekend, so we had a small girl’s night! This mostly involved kicking Shannon's boyfriend out; after all it was a girl’s night, dancing, and other such riff raff and shenanigans.

Then Friday was my good friend Jesse's 18th birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. Unfortunately due to my not being 18 yet, I couldn't accompany Jesse to the bar on Friday, so to make up for it I took her to Architecting at Theatre Junction on Saturday. It was amazing. The plot was a bit confusing, but I have come to expect this from contemporary theater. The technical aspects were all amazing though. What I found most appealing about this show was all the different mediums used. This piece had aspects of classic theatre, movement, film and music. Architecting had numerous settings including post-Katrina New Orleans, a remote gas station, road trips and a modern day Hollywood set of Gone with the Wind. It explored themes of how humans react as the world changes around them. I enjoyed that they used characters and the author of Gone with the Wind as characters in the show; although I’ve never read this book or seen the entire movie, I found it a very effective vehicle for their message.

If you should find Architecting showing anywhere near you, I highly suggest going to see it.

Dance party on the drive home

The birthday girl and I during the intermission

Jacket - thrifted GAP, scarf - metro station in Paris, jeans - unknown brand, shoes - spring

Hello There.

I suppose I should introduce myself seeing as this is my first post. My name is Suzanne. I live in Calgary, which as most of you know is one of the biggest fashion capitals in the world.

"Hold on a moment," you're thinking. "No it's not."

You're right. It's not. At all. Which is precisely the point. Don't get me wrong Calgary has a lot going for it; oil, cowboys, skiing, high schools with self-directed learning, that last one's a godsend, but it is lacking in a diversity of culture and creativity. In the last year I began to explore the hidden pockets of the arts in this city and was pleasantly surprised.

Last year I had the opportunity to take part in the Theatre Junction high school mentorship program. It was an eye opening experience. I was encouraged to explore any and all creative outlets and combine them however I please. I'd never known that kind of creative freedom. As a result I now have a desire to continue exploring and creating, which is exactly what I plan to do.

shirt - thrifted, shorts - mavi, shoes - spring, belt - vintage, necklace - vintage

Ps - You should check out Theatre Junction's 2010/11 season. It looks like it'll be a good one. The first show Architecting by TEAM (NEW YORK) starts tomorrow!! Tickets are only $20 for students and artists!