Spark

Tuesday night I took my mom to The Belfry Theatre to see a show at their Spark Festival. A Festival of "new plays and new ideas". I took her to a play I have been looking forward to seeing for a while called A Brimful of Asha.  

The synopsis from the Spark website is: 

Real-life mother and son, Asha and Ravi Jain, each defend their side of this true (and very Canadian) story of generational and cultural clash. When Ravi takes a trip to India his parents decide it is the perfect time to introduce him to potential brides. Ravi is not sold on the idea of getting married-at least not yet-but Asha fears that time is running out.

I first heard about the show on CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi (my CBC boyfriend) and was completely taken with the idea. The interview with Asha and Ravi is wonderful and funny. And despite the cultural differences, Ravi and Asha sounded just like most Canadian mothers and sons.

The play proved to be every bit as charming. It is immediately brought to every ones attention that Asha (mom) is not an actress and doesn't intend to be one either. It is really 90 minutes of story-telling and conversation. The lights even stay up for the first 3/4 of the play making you feel like you are in their dining room. (They handed out Samosas to start and shook peoples hands as they walked through the door!).

This is by no means a review, but I really wanted to share the experience with you. What a fun play to take my mom too, while they talked about generational differences, parents always being right, and at one point Asha even stops Ravi mid story as he has absent mindedly leaned against the table and she makes him get up and find a chair! Obviously it had all been well rehearsed, but they were so charming and honest with each other (as only a real life mother and son could be) that it was easy to believe that this argument about marriage changes every night, and is fuelled by new fires.

Listen to Ravi and Asha on Q here:

Interview – CBC Radio – Q with Jian Ghomeshi – Ravi and Asha on Q

And this is what I wore  -->

This might be the bravest I've been out here yet. Its weird the amount of freedom living in a new place has given me in feeling like I can really be whoever I always wanted to be.

A year ago, you could not have convinced me I would wear a regular length top and leggings out to the theatre! But here we are. And I like it.

With jeans and a little more casual in the office.

The shirt is satiny and feels totally glamorous, even when paired with jeans. Matthew took me along to a lecture he gave at UVic yesterday and it was the first time I have ever been introduced to a University class as a theatre professional. So I was really glad I was feeling slightly more glamorous than most days.

Yesterday I was back to casual with a nice comfy half button down shirt.

It sort of feels like I am wearing the top half of a onesie and I like it, but the buttons at the top won't stay done up, so I feel a little as though I am "popping out". It's the first swap item that I have considered may end up in the next swap.

Today I am wearing another new top that I absolutely love, but I'll have to wait until Rob or Amber can help me take a photo of the back of it, because that's the best part.

Stay tuned.

Swap Into Spring Update

This update didn't happen last night.

Either did the Pho Soup. After all all that touting about meal plans.

Instead I opted for some quality best friend time. Have I mentioned that Amber (who has been my best friend and on and off again roommate since we were 12 years old. Including the 3 years of high school I spent living with her family and 2 of which we shared a bedroom) has moved to Victoria and rented out our basement suite?

It's pretty awesome.
It's pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

Last night we went out shopping for a bit right after I was done work. Our main goal was Michaels, but we took a long time getting distracted by multi-vitamins and apricot scrubs and thigh high stockings before we got there.

And then we bought the prettiest yarn (I wish I had taken a picture of it to post here!) for me to knit us some head/ear warmers for going on our walks along the Gorge. While it may not be that cold here in Victoria, the wind can still make your ears hurt.

By the time we got home it was 8 PM and the thought of still baking my chicken for Pho Soup was unbearable (normally I would have had this done ahead of time as well, but I forgot on Sunday). So I threw the chicken in the oven to have later this week, made a batch of rice to have with leftover curry for lunches at work and Amber made me supper in her place.
See. Pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

And then when my chicken was safely out of the oven we watched two episodes of Gossip Girl. We thought we would pick a show that would bring us together, like Dawson's Creek did in high school, and make us feel like teenagers again. Teenagers that disapprove of all of this bad behaviour! Gossip Girl has been a really great pick and has us squealing like 15 year olds and yelling at all of the characters on the screen every night that Rob has gone out of town.
(Have I mentioned how awesome this arrangement is yet?)

This has not been a Swap into Spring update at all... whoops.

Here it is.
First, my amazing new dress!

I had some reservations about this dress at the swap. It is a bit on the snug side... I am sucking in a lot in this picture so that no one mistakenly thought I was announcing a baby Howland. But once I had it on on Saturday I was so beyond thrilled with it. The fabric has some give so it didn't feel snug at all after having it on for a while, and its a soft cozy sort of fabric, so I didn't even really feel like I was wearing a dress.

Look at all that pretty lace.

It goes perfectly with my feather earrings.

I wore it out to see Rob's little cousin Alana in her middle school production of Annie, that was out of this world! Two and a half hours went by and I almost forgot that they were kids on stage! Incredible. What a fun night out. They had it at the McPherson Playhouse, this gorgeous old playhouse in town and had 118 kids on stage, and another 100 backstage. We were at the closing night performance so the Dirctor came out to say thank you and gave a speech about how importnat theatre is for kids and parents to be involved in. I was so choked up!

 

The last two items are pretty casual, and pretty me. Just a nice t-shirt to lounge around in and...

 Yes. Another black sweater. You never know right? 

Swap Into Spring Item #2

This sweater is going to become my favorite go to sweater in no time. It reminds me of the beautiful cable knit sweaters we see in the Irish shop that I both know I can't afford and feel guilty about not making myself. The yarn is the right amount of soft, it is the right amount of off-white. More cream then white really and the buttons are beyond perfect.

I will wear this sweater around the house, in the office out for dinner, with dresses and skirts, jeans and yoga pants.

Putting it on this morning was like putting on an old friend already.

Today I'm wearing it with my favorite yoga pants. Working in an office space with only one other person (who isn't all that concerned with what I look like) and rarely venturing out can slide into a slippery slope of too casual pretty fast. So I try not to let that happen. Besides, sometimes Matthew will ask me to come along to a meeting, and we have volunteers coming in that I should look professional in front of,  or I will have to run and see the girls at Intrepid, or someone will pop by for a visit. So while the office is already casual and I wear jeans every day (but try to dress them up with my amazing new every day boots and a nice top) sometimes its nice to not even do that. Since Matthew is out of the office on Fridays and I try to make Fridays a sort out the end of the week and the office day, I've declared casual Fridays around here. For myself. Since there really is only, me. But I try not to let those casual Fridays slide too far into, "I hope nobody sees me" Fridays.

Today is close to one of those. I didn't shower this morning. Until I moved out here and in with Rob I was mostly a night time showerer, but I am trying to change over my habits and get up with Rob, or shortly after him in the morning so I can have an hour to wake up and with my New Yorker, and who knows maybe this blog ;). The last few weeks I have been slowly transforming into someone that loves to shower and blow dry my hair in the morning and get ready for work. Something I've never really done. Work has been getting into a touring van, or opening up the Lodge and making coffee, or heading into a  rehearsal where I might as well be comfortable, or getting ready late afternoon to run a show... getting ready for a typical work day is a little beyond me. Rob tries to help by making me a cup of coffee in the mornings before he leaves. Then I feel so guilty about my cup of coffee steaming away done there that I have to get up. And he really does make the best coffee ;). I'm getting there, a day at time.

Up Close.

Here are some fun book related links to take you into the weekend! Rob and I have been on the go a lot for the last few weeks and I am really looking forward to a weekend of sleeping in and laying around with a good book and The New Yorker. You can see all of the things I'm reading off to the left now, including the blogs I'm addicted to. Do you like the new blog look?

CBC Bookies  --  For all my amazing reader friends who keep me in so many suggestions of books to read my library hold list has gotten completely out of hand!

And in honour of International Women's Day  --  10 Great Books For Girls and Boys

Now excuse me while I go buy all of these book for Lucy and Rosalie ;)

Also in honour of International Women's Day  --  Check out my song section for my favorite song about being a woman.

It's Ember's new favorite sweater too.