chapter four.twenty.nine. complain.

ungh.

complain: v. to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief.

why did blogger change?
why does it insist on desaturing photos?

chapter four.twenty.eight. foursquare.

tranquility before the chaos.

foursquare: n. a child's game in which each of four players stands in one of four boxes drawn on the ground in a two-by-two grid and must bounce a ball into another player's box without holding the ball or stepping out of bounds.

i've been at the same school for about a week now (great for a substitute, i'm loving the routine) and one of my daily responsibilities is yard duty during recess and lunch. one thing i have noticed:

these kids are bringing foursquare back.
with a vengeance.

as a young girl in elementary school, i saw the lonely yellow lines painted on our hardtop, but did i know what to do with them? no. did i even know the game of foursquare (or king's court, if you will) even existed? no. (and i don't think any of the other kids did either.) it wasn't until later that i was educated, but by that time i was in my last year of highschool and it was no longer appropriate for a "child" like me to play.

these kids, however, are lined up (sometimes 10-15 kids waiting to get into a game) around the edge of all four courts chomping at the bit, just waiting for someone to get out. and when someone does, there's no mercy. it's quite entertaining to watch, really. the races to the squares at the beginning of recess, the screams of decisions made ("OUT!" "IN!") and the dives/lengths they go to. one in particular made me chuckle this week. just picture a small 7-8ish year old boy recovering from a miraculous save, only to wipe his brow and mutter, "oh thank HEAVENS!" before crouching to ready position again. eep!

and we thought wall-ball was where it's at this past summer... pfft.

also, i dressed up as a bird on friday.
all the grade six girls loved it.
"your costume is so kewwwl!"

chapter four.twenty.seven. amazement.

*ahh*

amazement: n. overwhelming surprise or astonishment.

i know it's been awhile since i saw it,
but i'm sitting here, being serenaded by karen o and the kids and the intense feelings of joy are rushing back.

100% in love with this film.

i think i need to go again.
until then, imma build a fort and sleep in a real pile.

p.s. i made a paper max yesterday:

chapter four.twenty.six. mothering.

sisters?

mothering: v. caring for or protecting like a mother; act maternally toward. 2. performing the tasks or duties of a female parent; act maternally.

my mom was here last weekend.
it was the best best best time.

i miss you more.
xoxox

chapter four.twenty.five. hairspray.

"not in my eye."

hairspray: n. a liquid in an aerosol or other spray container, for holding the hair in place.

a few behind the scenes photos from "the wild things" shoot:

i love:
black nails
gold crowns
wardrobe suitcases
pink ruffles
canned wine
smiles

xo

chapter four.twenty.four. collaborate.

let the wild rumpus start.

collaborate: intr.v. to work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort.

at the beginning of the summer, two friends and i wanted to start a project to enhance our portfolios, make a few contacts and have some fun...

a bunch of coffees, lots of chicken scratch and big dreams later, from the people: a visual arts collective, was formed.

working together with models, stylists, assistants, artists, clothing designers, set designers, musicians, graphic designers, public relations experts, hair stylists and make-up artists, we're forming quite the little force here in winnipeg.

with a bunch of shoots under our belts (and many more to post and show-off, as well as many more ideas to bring to life) we're totally achieving what we set out to do and i must say: I'M HAVING FUN. it's so great to work with such an amazing group of people and work with them that way; all in it together, all working for the same goal. before our first shoot, i hadn't shot with an assistant and what a difference that makes! i felt free-er and more confident. (maybe it was because i got to boss people around? ha.)

fast-forward a few months and that brings us to today: friday, october 16, 2009, a day i have been waiting for for AGES.

why?

today is the day one of my all-time favourite books is transformed into living, breathing characters on the big screen.

where the wild things are.

(omgoshhh)

being the excited person i was, i wanted to do something to ease the anticipation. a little.

enter "the wild things."
what an absolute blast to shoot!

the day of, our crew of 11 (i know, i'm awesome at coordinating not only my schedule, but those of 10 other people) headed out to gimli to invade freya's cabin and shoot on location in the woods. wanting to bring out key elements from the book (the colour scheme, feel, etc) we set to work shooting in a pretty low-light environment and achieved a more dark and grainy photo. on top of that, we wanted to keep things modern and tell the story in a new way, so we added bright triangles contrasting with the desaturated colours to bring another element of the photo out. it's a little fun, no? (it also goes well with the light-hearted, underlying theme of friendship...?)

cap that off with a bbq chez martin and we were stuffed.
as i said, an absolute blast.

"the wild things":
* brittany hildebrandt - photographer
* mark glucki - post production
* kathleen willson - art director/wardrobe/hair
* leanne havelock - wardrobe/hair
* o.z. - make-up
* brendan heska - videographer
* lauren swan - model, "max"
* ashley welwood - model, "monster"
* bri fozter - model, "monster"/wardrobe
* freya martin - model, "monster"
* sarah pogson - model, "monster"
* sarde hardie - model, "monster"

fromthepeople@gmail.com
from the people blog
from the people facebook fan page
from the people on twitter
give love, get love. <3

also, go see the movie tonight. i am. with my mom. she's visiting. yes.

chapter four.twenty.three. gobble.

fancy feast.

gobble: v. 1. to swallow or eat hastily or hungrily in large pieces; gulp. 2.to make the characteristic throaty cry of a male turkey.

thanksgiving weekend (was great):
- first snowflakes
- mastering the moussaka
- friendly potlucks
- turkey sized tofurkeys
- pony sized puppies
- pumpkin practice
- movies of laughs and interest
- gin flavoured tonics
- second snowflakes
- cuddly sheets
- supersweetsaucy desserts
- cable catch-ups
- comedy education
- third snowflakes
- leftover love
- rest and more rest

hope everyone else had a happy thanksgiving!

chapter four.twenty.two. already.

quiet night.

already: adv. 1. by this or that time; previously; prior to or at some specified or implied time. 2. now; so soon; so early.

october ninth.
so i guess we're skipping fall and going straight to winter...?
for serious?

xoxox,
a torn lover of both the crispness of fall & the romance of snow.

(so on fence with how i should be feeling right now. :| HALP.)

chapter four.twenty.one. wed.

matt & bev klassen - tea for two.

wed: v. to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony; take as one's husband or wife.

july 4th has been stamped in my memory as "best wedding ever."
(is it funny that it also goes by the name of 'independence day'...?)

i flew home for the shortest weekend on july 2nd to wield my camera at my cousin matt's wedding (to the most perfect bride, bev) and i've got to say that it not was not only a great day behind the lens, but also a great day for a party with my long lost hometown friends.

best.
really.

now... because matt and i aren't so close in a geographical sense (silly winnipeg) but quite the opposite in the friendship sense (and not just because of forcedfamilyties, but because we actually likeeachotheraspeople), the day held much more significance than it would have had i flown in to be a "guest." being their photographer gave us three a chance to hangout over the course of the day in a totally different way than most friends and family get to experience on the hectic day of "i do's." on a day that generally zips by and is over without warning, i got to be there with them for the majority of it - how rad? ...especially since our visits lately have been zero to one. or two. maybe.

that afternoon we trekked all over decew... smiling, funny-face making (bev, you are the queen of this. life is too short to be serious, i'm glad you have that figured out), bonding, reminiscing, laughing, little-kid-corral-ing, tea-drinking and most of all: great-photo-getting. (ouch, my grammar.)clicking the shutter that afternoon was the easiest as the two of them are the best at being babes in love.

seriously.
dream-team.

and finally... when the time came to "get down" it was done (super) right on our aunt and uncle's (giant) lawn in the heart of the (scenic) niagara peninsula countryside. hot-off-the-bbq steak, ice-cream-buffet sundaes, lit-from-within paper lanterns, midnight-sugar-candy handfuls and dance-moves-for-days were a few of the highlights. oh. and (most of) my favourite people all under one (tent) roof for a night.

sigh... can we go back?

CONGRATULATIONS MATT & BEV!
x's & o's! x's & o's! x's & o's!

p.s. for the full experience/vows/decew falls/kisses/pastries/romance/reception happenings/m.j. impersonations/more photos/etc/etc/etc, click here.

chapter four.twenty. rejuvenate.

hi!
i'm still alive.
i'm still in love.

rejuvenate: v. to restore to a former state; make fresh or new again.

wow.
ok.
i'm sorry.

there really is no excuse besides...
life.

speaking of...
here's a (long-ish) recount of that life for the last 4 months:

after weeks of planning (and getting more and more excited...) it was time for lou and i to head out on our 16 day roadtrip! i was a little bit worried about what that many days in a car would do to us (EEP!) but i'm happy to say it worked without the smallest of hitches! :)

we left winnipeg (a bit late... oops) on may 14th, driving straight through the night - thanks to me... there's quite a bit of wildlife hanging out between 1-7AM - to my parents' place, just north of toronto. along the way we turned around and stopped at many an interesting place (to snap a few photos, duh. pssst: i think louis may have caught the bug on this trip?)

a junkyard in northern(northern) ontario.

we arrived home in time for dinner, beers and minor hockey games. did i mention this was the first time louis met my dad? (they bonded over the beers and a certain hockey team - wonderful.)

after a much needed sleep (in my own bed!!) we headed off bright and early for montreal and the drive felt short compared to the 24 hours we had just partook in the previous two days.

three days filled with french friends, french cuisine and french fun. it was really great to see raph again (and his adorable three legged feline), his hospitality was more than we could have asked for. to top it off, he took louis and i to this really rad abandoned warehouse where we three explored and photo'ed for an afternoon - glorious. also, catching up with kelsey and making a new friend in anne was fantastique.

leaving montreal on the 18th, we made our way to quebec city where we were met with louis' highschool pals j.p. & caroline. an evening in a pub, followed by a brunch/walking date for 2 in old quebec didn't really give the city enough time... but needed to be moving on! (no worries, we'll be back to kick it with marcel & caro sometime soon - those two are REALLY missed by these two.)

next up on the (tight) schedule was rimouski - the land of lou! i cannot describe how excited i was to be going there and catching a glimpse of my boy's life before he made the move to winnipeg. the drive there was really quite beautiful; lots of rolling hills and finally, the st. lawrence river. again, we made a number of stops at scenic places that louis insisted on. one being a great place to play on rocks:


the four days spent in rimouski were ones of pure laid-back goodness. because we were staying at louis' place there, we were able to cook for ourselves and lounge like we were at home... but without work and most of the time, without the internet - perfect. we saw a bunch of friends, a bunch of sunsets on the beach and ate a bunch of poutine. louis took me, daily, on guided tours of the city he spent his youth in and a phototour of his childhood, which most of the time, had us keeled over laughing - get that mushroom cut back babe!


the highlight of our stay in rimouski (in both our minds, i'm pretty sure) was surprising louis' former babysitter (and husband) with a pop-in visit turned 2 hour walk-down-memory-lane. francine, the epitome of a sweetheart in my books... my word, what a woman! from the moment we walked in there were niceties and phonecalls (urging friends and family to make their way over as she had a "surprise") thrown all over the place. minimal details lost in translation, (i'm getting good at french?) she recounted many of louis' finer days as a young boy and i was hooked. line and sinker. the fun continued the next evening as we were invited over for dinner (steak & shrimp! ...and apple crisp? whoa.) and more reminiscing. amazing.

one last look at the st. lawrence...

again, it felt like our time there was cut short, but now it was my turn to play tour guide - off to st. catharines...

with only one full day in the kitts we had quite the day planned with two of my favourites; my bestie, avery, and her boy, kyle. we started things off at pan cafe for brunch (with matt & bev) and continued on to happy ralph's - bag of bread in hand. having not been to this childhood dream of a place (read: petting zoo) since i was just that, a child, i had forgotten the joys of hand feeding horses, llamas, goats, ducks, etc. what i have not missed, though, is the saliva everywhere...? where are their manners... pffft. animal spit aside, we had quite the time. next, we took louis to old niagara-on-the-lake and then on to a few wineries for some evening juice and then finally made it home to feast on thee most delicious rice bowls...

after stuffing our faces, we headed to the last, and most exciting planned item for the evening: niagara falls. now... i know, i know... niagara falls... borrrrring, right? (i get it, i grew up there.) ok, ok, i retract that. maybe not boring per se, (the falls themselves are prrrretty majestic) but for sure trashy and touristy... right? yes. right. BUT! never fear, we had something on tap that was neither trashy nor touristy. (because pssst, it's a pretty well kept secret). with directions and instructions (that sounded sketchy, at best) we trekked ourselves all over the darkest places of the falls and found what we had come for: lighting up the falls. ourselves. YES.

it was the best. especially for the non-local. :)

next on the agenda was a week at my parents' place, which meant a lot more relaxing. after being here, there and everywhere, it felt nice to just stop again and hang out. that, and i'm super close with my family, so it was nice to have all the people i love the most together. (awww... imma sap.) we did lots of cuddling, napping, walking, reading and exploring. (oh, and deer and bear watching... in the backyard?) smiiiiiiiles. :)

lou took me out for some rollerskating and a shared orange crush - minty.

and then it came! may 30th and the last stop on our tour de fun:

julie & darren's wedding!

CONGRATULATIONS!!best! :)

p.s. sarah, we missed you!

after quite the trip through the u.s., we made it home in one piece.

and still in love.
WHEW.

(read: this was so long ago so there may things that i've forgotten... and if you haven't done so already... check out the full album from the trip!)

which is good... because not long after that, louis and i celebrated our one year anniversary! :)

with no idea what the day held (it was all a surprise after all) we set off on a series of equally mushy-love-inducing-activities:

this boy is a keeper! (you make me so happy, loulou! xox)

the rest of june was excellent as well:

beth is the best! (read: she is a van. BUT STILL)natalie graduated:

amanda and matt got married:

and then!

july came!

boats!! had fun on canada day, again:

i took a short trip home to photograph matt & bev's wedding:
(much more on that soon)

we had quite the adventure camping...
p.s. we're laughing about it now. :)

the job + crosstown rivals = true love forever:louis likes taking me on dates.
i don't hate it...

and now:
it's hard to comprehend... but august... is... almost... over?
WHAT?

it seems like it was just the long weekend.
(which was spent in gimli, icelandic festival'ing.)

now... don't get too depressed.
there's still a little bit of summer to be squeezed out this season...
and i promise i'll keep you way more updated on it than these last few months.
i've been a bad internet mom - shame on me. (but please, don't hate on me?!)

love you, still!
xox