In The 'Hood

For those not living in Halifax (or if you live in Halifax, but under a rock), we are having a municipal election right now so naturally it's all anyone can talk about. It's quite heated this time around because (in a nutshell) our mayor and city council absolutely SUCK and need to be all thrown out. A "do-over" is in order, and that's what all we citizens are hoping for, including me.

With this "election fever" sweeping the city lately, I have been trying to learn a bit more about my new District. I say 'new' because I only moved here six months ago (I lived in another District at the time of the last election). Not to mention it's a neighbourhood I was not very familiar with previously and (honestly) it was not my first-choice area to live in when the boy and I first planned moving in together. That being said, the area is relatively central and rent is cheap, so here we are! And I am becoming more and more acquainted with the area over time and it's starting to grow on me.

*Did I mention that we live in District 12? When I found that out, I couldn't help but picture me in a ring fighting the guy across the hall to the death*

Anyway, in an effort to become more acquainted with my new neighbourhood, I have been trying to frequent businesses in the area as much as possible. One plus about our location is that we are very central in Clayton Park West - we are basically halfway between two major shopping strips so pretty much any shop or restaurant or clinic or bank we could possibly want is within a 10 minute walk. 

Here are a few of my District 12 favs (so far):

1. Keshen Goodman Library
Before I moved to Clayton Park, I am ashamed to say I had not visited the Library in several years and had developed a bit of an unhealthy addiction to Chapters. Well, considering this Library is literally across the street from my apartment building, and that I am on a tight budget (new books are expensive, y'all) I decided I needed to be a good citizen and start visiting the Library more. 

First of all, isn't the architecture of this place cool?!

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Almost all the walls are lined with windows, which makes for a bit of a hot interior on a sunny day, but still cool to look at. Walking around a library is so soothing, don't you think? It's so quiet and just full of people either reading or browsing books. I love that they have a self check-out here, and they often have neat speakers or events happening in their event room. I particularly love that I can borrow books from here for my Kobo (in case, you know, I'm so lazy that I can't even make it across the road).

2. Canada Games Centre
This building is also directly across the street from my apartment (did I say good location?), and is another new building of modern design. It was built to host the aquatic events of the 2012 Canada Games, so as you can imagine the pool area is pretty bangin'.

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Check out that water slide!

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Ok, so I have to admit - I have never actually visited this place before. However, I plan to take my sister swimming there soon! They have community swims every Tuesday and Thursday night that anyone can attend - it only costs $3! Personally, I can't wait to get my butt in the hot tub with a cocktail (they won't mind if I keep gin in my locker, right?). And I do just like looking at the place, if nothing else; it's nice to see some interesting architecture in a suburban area (breaks up the big box store haze).

3. Restaurants
If I had one major complaint about my new area it's that there are not ANY interesting local restaurants (think Applebee's and East Side Marios and their look alikes). The choices out here are pretty homogeneous, which is something that bugs me and I hope changes. Suburban areas can have fun, fresh food choices too! Here are a few that I like:

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Not to say that burgers and fries are anything special, but although Flipburger is a chain, it at least has a fun, modern vibe and meals that actually use fresh ingredients instead of bites made blah from heat lamps. They actually include local ingredients, such as Oulton's bacon on their menu too, which is also refreshing.

I have written about Happy Sushi on the blog before, but I will say it again - whoever thought up the concept of "All You Can Eat Sushi" AND putting it 2 minutes away from my apartment is a frickin' genius and I want to kiss them.

A big fav is Mexico Lindo, which isn't exactly in my own backyard but it's close enough. It's HANDS DOWN the most authentic Mexican food in the city, everything is really fresh and the prices are reasonable - what more could you ask for?! Don't believe me - check out my review on Yelp. This is a definite "go-to" when we want a fresh but delicious meal.

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Thanks for taking a tour of some of my "so-far" favourites in my new 'hood. Now get out there and explore yours!

Do you like your neighbourhood? What do you like about it? What would you change? Do you try and get out and explore yours or do you prefer to visit other areas?

Radio Two

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 I have had a special treat for the past couple of weeks. And it has nothing to do with chocolate.

I know. I'll just give you a moment to collect your jaw off the floor.

I have been driving my mom's car - when she or her boyfriend are away, I get to borrow her car and this gives me a much-needed break from taking public transport back and forth to work each day (kill me). The best part of it is, I get all the benefits of having a car to drive, without all of the responsibility. Sort of like babysitting your grandkids - you get to have all this fun with them and pump them full of sugar, then you get to hand them over right when they become irritable and say 'here you go!'.

One of the treats that comes along with driving back and forth to work every day is getting to listen to the radio. This may not sound very exciting, but when you take the bus every day, you really don't get to listen to the radio, like ever. This isn't a huge deal to me either until I hear my friends (my friends with cars) talk about a current song, and I have never heard of it. Makes me feel kinda silly. I do feel a little out of the loop regarding news and current pop culture when I don't listen to the radio.

I have gotten in the habit of listening to CBC Radio 2 during my commute (102.7fm in Halifax), which is surprising because I was not happy with this station a few years back when they completely changed all the programming. Specifically, I was unhappy that they got rid of a great classical music morning show, hosted by Tom Allen, that my mother and I would devour happily every morning on our blah drive over the bridge to work and school respectively (when I still lived at home).

Tom always told the most delightful anecdotes about each piece of music before playing it, so it was very educational and interesting to listen to. We ALL need a perk during that morning drive surrounded by traffic and drowsiness (am I right?) and this was ours. Suffice to say all these changes to programming caused a bit of an uproar amongst CBC R2 fans, and I stopped listening to the station almost altogether.

I suppose part of the reason I started listening again was because of a lack of quality and unique music elsewhere on the airwaves. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for an upbeat, catchy pop song once in a while - I like me some Lady Gaga, Pink and Nikki Minaj once in a while, so I'm certainly not one to completely denounce popular music, but that doesn't mean I respect all popular music. Frankly, a lot of it sounds the same and a lot of it is so massively overproduced that I am convinced many of the artists have no real talent at all. Sometimes I just want to hear something different, ya know? Something with lyrics about deeper and more emotional subjects than getting drunk and humping on a dance floor (so sue me).

CBC Radio not only plays music by lesser-known artists - particularly songwriters (you know, people who actually can sing, play instruments, and write songs) - but they also highlight mostly Canadian content, which is also refreshing when the airwaves are clogged with homogenous American acts.

Here are a couple of songs that have caught my ear in the last week or so - so much so that I had to Shazam them (as best I could while driving...shhhh, don't tell my mother), and email myself a reminder to download them. I figure a song must speak to you if you're willing to go through that kind of effort to ensure it gets on your iTunes. I thought I would share them with you as well, in case you are looking for some musical inspiration right now (see below).

Ok, ok, Radio 2, I admit it - you have brought me back into your fold. I guess changes can turn out for the best.

(By the way, if you are looking for some new music, how 'about changing your usual radio station and listening to something different? Give it a try today - you may hear some songs that you can't wait to Shazam, too!).

I don't know about you, but I was NOT expecting this singer to be a woman! Love her deep, gravely voice!

One of the best voices in music today, IMHO

Recognize this one? ;)

Discovered any great music lately? What radio stations do you like to listen to?

Liberal Arts

The Atlantic Film Festival just wrapped up my fair city, and alas I only had the time and money to make it out to one film. Luckily it turned out to be a good choice.

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Liberal Arts attracted me because it stars and is written/directed by Josh Radnor, aka. Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother (one of the most original and funny sitcoms on tv, imho). I have also been hearing a lot about Elizabeth Olsen but had yet to see any of her movies, and I was attracted to the romanticized University setting since I work at a University and cherish my own time as a student. There is just something about University campuses and the mood and energy they impart - it's hard to explain but it's almost like there is a pulse of people learning and doing cool, innovative things that reverberates throughout everything. Although I am merely a secretary in one small department in one large institution, I feel this energy every day when I walk onto the campus to my office.

In any case, it seemed like a fun, quirky movie with some subject matter that would speak to me so off we went! This movie has been compared to Garden State a lot and I can see why - it has the same sort of twenty-something, "trying to figure out my life" kind of vibe but I found it was more intellectual than GS and had a lighter mood.

First of all, Elizabeth Olsen?? She is like freakin' ADORABLE! She's just so darn pretty and has such a great, grainy voice, plus she just seems really 'cool' and smart - like someone you would want to be friends with. I mean, look how cute:

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The film definitely had a slow pace (this isn't the Expendables, people) so some parts felt a little long, but for the most part I liked the pace. The quirkiness was actually verging on overkill at some points too, but again this is a small complaint. The random Zac Efron 'fairy-like' hippy dude character was sort of strange - like there were times where I questioned whether or not Jesse (Josh's character) was actually seeing him or not - but he was also pretty hilarious. I like to see actors who are somewhat typecast playing characters that are completely against their usual role.

I liked the conversations between Jesse and Zibby - one especially great bit was an ongoing argument about a series of "vampire books" (which are clearly meant to be representative of the Twilight series) and how they "empty your mind"...and whether or not that is a good thing. I also liked a part at the end where Zibby tells Jesse she figured she was using him as a kind of "shortcut" to adulthood. In fact, all the dialogue surrounding the strengths, weaknesses and fears about college and "growing up" all rang true with me - I think we have all been in that place where we are simultaneously excited about the next stage in our lives and terrified.

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Another actor who is awesome? Richard Jenkins. He has a relatively small part in this film but his feelings resonate across the screen so well. You really feel his retiring professor's depression, fear and loneliness at entering a new stage he was looking forward to for so long, but did not love as much once he got there. (If you haven't seen The Visitor, you really should. Like now. Now's good). AND as if that wasn't enough, Alison Janney has a bit part as another professor. She is another one of my favourite actors and she does NOT disappoint in this role. She's hilariously cold, snobby, boozy and insightful all rolled into one.

What about you??? Seen any good movies lately? What did you like/dislike about them? Do you yearn to go back to college or did you loathe your college experience?

Aviatrix

I was perusing a gift shop in North Conway, NH back at the beginning of August, and as I am often wont to do I wandered into the book section, intrigued by the variety of titles...

Is anyone else really attracted to books by their covers?? Ok, ok, I know we're not supposed to do that, but I can't help it! If a book has a cool cover, it just pulls me in - makes me pick it up and read the back. I buy books all the time just based on the cover and the description on the back only and my instincts usually do not fail me.

Anyway, this one book in particular pulled me in - I did buy it, and am I ever glad I did:

I had never heard of Beryl Markham before, which shocked me, considering what a fabulously adventurous and public life she had. She was the first woman to fly cross the Atlantic solo non-stop, and east-to-west, which at that time was considered the "hard" way because of winds (Amelia Earhart may have been the first woman to cross the Atlantic period, but she did not actually fly the plane - didn't know that either!). In this flight, she also became the first person to make it from England to North America non-stop east-to-west.

Fun fact: On her cross-Atlantic flight, she actually crash-landed in a bog in a place called Baleine Cove, Cape Breton. She spent some time there and in Halifax (my hometown!) while her plane was repaired, before moving on to New York City, where she was greeted by thousands of people celebrating her record. The Nova Scotia government even contributed money to a brass replica of her plane, commissioned by the RAF for the 50th anniversary of her flight. Who knew when I picked up that random book in that random store in NH that I would find a connection between my home and an important historical event!

She worked as a bush and medical pilot for years in South Africa, where she was raised, often making dangerous flights on her own in extremely remote areas. She also became a noted and respected horse trainer in Kenya and trained/competed well into her 70's. And this at a time when women were not generally allowed to have careers, let alone "adventurous" "dangerous" and "male" ones like the ones she chose.

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She was married three times, and had many scandalous love affairs, including a long-standing one with Prince Henry (brother of the eventual King George VI, aka Colin Firth). It was widely believed that the Prince was the father of her son, although this was never proven. Another of her lovers was Denys Finch-Hatton (aka, Robert Redford) and they were actually in a relationship at the time of his death in a plane accident.

I found this story of BM's life fascinating - Mary S. Lovell writes with such detail and such respect for her subject, while also being honest about her flaws. Her research is clearly impeccable. She even got to meet Beryl in the mid-80's, spending several weeks with her talking and going through her personal papers and photographs. What a wonderful opportunity. This book was written before I was even born and my only reservation about that is that I never got to meet BM myself! It sounds like she would have been a sparkling dinner companion, as my mother would say.

There are so many wonderfully quirky and dynamic people that are hidden in the anals of world history and it's a shame more people do not know about them. This particularly applies to women I suppose because their achievements were not always afforded the same attention as those of men. I loved this book so much that I read Lovell's bio of Amelia Earhart immediately after (yet another notorious aviatrix, but one with a very different life and character).
 

Here's a tip from me to you - pick up a bio of someone you have never heard of the first chance you get and read it. You never know what you will learn or what they will inspire you to do.
 

What did Beryl and her author inspire ME to do? Well, try and track down THIS gem, for one! Anyone know where I could find it?? Wish me luck!

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Falling in Love

One of the things I hate about Nova Scotia weather is the seasons always seem to change so abruptly. One minute it's 30 degrees and hot and sunny, and the next you are wearing 4 layers just to go to sleep in your tent Labour Day weekend (this is not hypothetical - this was my LD weekend).

This was the week of 'the shift' and I am still a bit depressed about it. It's still warm enough to wear sandals during the day and the calendar doesn't officially shift for another couple of weeks, but there is definitely a new crisp chill to the air and just a general movement towards a more Fall-like mood.

That being said, I do LOVE Fall. I love me some sunshine, sand and swimming, but there is just something so romantic and heartwarming about this season. It sort of feels like a new start but a lead-up to hibernation at the same time - you are getting 'back to the grind' while also looking ahead to the colder weather and shorter days. I love...

...that it's cool enough to wear a couple of layers but warm enough that you don't need to bundle up.

I love cozy layers - sweaters and scarves - leggings and boots - cute hats and fingerless gloves - ponchos - rich, warm colours - cute braids and hair twists. I love fall fashion.

 

*all photos can be found here*

...the spicy, fragrant, flavours of Fall.

I love pumpkin (anything) - cinnamon, ginger and spice - apple pie - hot soups and stews - warm, aromatic drinks - sweet potato and squash - Thanksgiving dinner. I love Fall flavours.

*All photos can be found here*

I can't wait to go apple picking, drive and hike through vibrant yellow and red trees, cook up a comforting giant crock-pot meal, (hopefully) cook and host my 1st Thanksgiving dinner, wearing printed scarves with all my outfits, decorate my apartment with Fall colours and scents, etc. Sure, I'm sad to see summer go, but I'm also excited for what's to come.

 

What do you love (or not love) about Fall? Are you excited or apprehensive about the change of seasons? Any fun plans for the next two months?