As I return to work on my second portfolio of 2009 (crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s momentarily!) I can’t help but investigate the purpose of this blog. What was perhaps a listless mission statement is now under review as I try to take this web space to the next level. There are many directions I could go (and some I can’t) so while I figure things out on this end, enjoy yet another smashing POTD. Today’s image is an edgy start to the new month, found in the tirelessly accomplished Hedi Silmane’s diary.

I found out today that I’ve got yet another portfolio to complete in order to be considered for a Creative Advertising BA I’ve applied to at a nearby college. Five visual and two written pieces are required. I spent a lot of time today making a concert poster, business cards, and a book cover. Here is the latter to tide you (all two of you) over until I can get back into the swing of things, blogwise.

All of this digital artwork might become the incentive I needed to finally get myself a Deviant Art account. If only I could land on a name.

Hugh Jackman for The Musical! I mean: Slumdog Millionaire! If it had been up to me I too would have given them all the awards. Not because I loved the movie (I haven’t even had a chance to see it yet — thanks, academics!) and not because Danny Boyle is so creative and charming, but because of Freida Pinto’s smart sartorial choices. She wowed me at the Golden Globes and last night she was shamelessly flirting with my emotions by wearing an altered John Galliano Spring/Summer 2009 gown; worn on the runway by none other than the mesmirizing Magdalena Frackowiak.

Now that I have some more time on my hands I’ll be able to watch and review some of the Oscar movies, and plenty of others! I thought the entertainment sector did its job last night by being just that: entertaining. Musical performances might not be everybody’s thing, but the mega-ensambles with familiar faces performing medleys and original songs and scores were the perfect break to the smooth-running machine Hugh Jackman helmed for four hours. I admit when I heard he was MC’ing I was surprised, but pleasently so, as it turns out.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

It’s simply a matter of dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s and then my portfolio will be done. My good friend Matt has agreed to come with me for a little downtown adventure in the morning in order to hand-deliver my portfolio to the department by the deadline: tomorrow!

If I had an extra $150 lying around I would probably shove it into my savings account like all the other nickels and pennies I find. But I’m not saying I wouldn’t be tempted to head on over to Throwboy’s checkout and order myself a set of these adorable Icon Pillows.

Paul Rowland, a man with many talents, put several of of his abilities on display in New York last Thursday. Including but not limited to: photography, schmoozing, and drawing a crowd. I’m having a tough time finding images from his February 12th exhibition Transformations, but I hope that they’ll become more and more available as time goes on. In the meantime please enjoy Kasia Struss, a Supreme model and Paul supporter, enjoying herself at the opening reception. Check out COACD TV’s recap of Rowland’s Transformation here!

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of watching my classmate compete in a schooling level dressage show held at Bronte Creek Equestrian, as part of the Four Seasons Horse Shows’ Winterfest Show Series. We have been taking lessons together for exactly a year and neither of us have shown in any level, competetive or schooling. This weekend Paula and her mount of three years — “Tyson” aka Perfect Gentleman, owned by Tessa Laughton of Laughton Training & Sales — scratched the competitive itch.

The event was a full day affair, but animal communicator Lauren Bode was coming to our barn after Paula’s classes and I wanted to hear what our horses had to say — quite a lot, it turned out.

The frigid February morning lured in a cast of handsome steads with equally handsome riders. The majority of the athletes were donned in black from head to toe, often opting for cream or off-white breeches, white cotton blouses for both men and women, and sharp black jackets to complete the competitive look. The more advanced classes later in the day would have generated a different sort of buzz in the warm up arena, but the popular trend that hit me that morning was the open-saddle coolers, worn by several mounts to help keep both competitors warm between classes.

Saturday was also the perfect opportunity to flex my photography muscles. I was able to get some shots of many of the early morning teams in both warm up and show rings, my focus being Paula and Tyson, only losing the light and crispness when they were forty meters (about 130 feet) away. While my amateur status may have only solidified by my resulting photos I was able to knock off a few well-received images, including the two above of the first place mount in his first class, My Boy Silver, ridden by Leah Simpson.

All in all it was an inspiring day, tickling both of my extra curriciular interests at once: photography and horses. More specifically, horse photography. Paula accidentally entered herself in the Open Division (intended for professional riders and coaches who want to school their mounts and get practice for themselves) instead of the Amateur Division (the level she and I are technically at) and still walked away two classes later with two blue ribbons. She was awarded 2nd place in the Walk Trot Test A, with an impressive score of 57.619, and 2nd place in the Walk Trot Test B, garnering her with an equally bragable score of 54.762. Congratulations to both Paula and Tyson, and here’s to your further competetive success!

Valentine’s has never been a huge holiday in my life. Sure it was fun as kids when friends showered each other with chocolate and it was a momentous occasion whenever my crush of the moment scrawled his sloppy, grade-school signature on the back of a store-bought card. But as kids our frugal (and equally tech-savvy) mother would insist my brother and I make our Valentine’s Day cards for our classmates. Windows Publisher ‘98 was well worth the investment for her, but I hated having to fold them. I was never that adept at crafts, and somehow the simple of folding a legal sheet of paper four times evenly fell into the realm of “impossible”.

Without sounding catty, I find it to be a glorified holiday should not be indulged. Schools aren’t closed and employees (those who are lucky enough to still have a job) are stuck at their desks on the 14th when applicable. I try not to rain on other people’s parades, though, and generally mark the occasion with something small, inexpensive, and homemade. Because telling your friends that you did what you do every night (nothing) on Valentine’s Day somehow isn’t acceptable.

Last year I baked heart-shaped cookies and carrot muffins for my co-workers; the biggest and best treats given in plentiful quantities to my boyfriend. This year, however, I was at a loss. I don’t have co-workers to bake for and, while my boyfriend would certainly not say no to something sweet, I’ve been baking up a storm recently and would appreciate the break. I also fancy myself somewhat creative, and it just isn’t kosher to do the same thing twice in a row.

This leaves me with quite the predicament! What to do for Valentine’s? I stocked up on Michael’s Craft Store’s Valentine’s inventory a year ago, and managed to dig up something that I might just be able to transform into a gift for my loved one. Inspired by Design*Sponge’s DIY Valentine’s Kit — a link the girls over at McQueen & I pointed out — I decided to put to use an old wooden box and some leftover Christmas tissue to create the greatest gift of them all: thoughtful, homemade, $0. Instructions, materials and more pictures under the cut!

1. $4 worth of candy
2. Wooden box, bought last year at Micheal’s Craft Store, white tissue paper, red ribbon, Hugo Boss XY cologne sample, box of matches
3. Sweetheart candies with silly sayings
4. The packaged candy: The middle one was for my Mum (a mix of Caramilk and Sweethearts), which she gobbled up immediately!

What you’ll need:
A box — I got a heart-shaped box at Micheal’s Craft Store
Ribbon
Tissue paper
Plastic baggies
Contents — I spent a walloping $4 on candy he enjoys, but packaged small portions to fit in the box. He’s not a Boss man (Armani is his preferred poison) but I got some Huge Boss samples ages ago and I thought it would be a cute, cheap gift. There’s also a box of matches because, well, I guess some things you just can’t explain in a DIY tutorial.
Lots of feel-good vibes

Instructions
All you need to do is line your box with tissue, fill her up, and wrap it all up with some ribbon! Trust me if I had a bow I would have stuck that on but I didn’t and had to make do with my own abilities. A scary thought, I know. Because I was making it to fit I got some plastic sandwich bags, filled them with portions of the candies and chocolate, and cut off the excess. Then I tied them (brutally) with some ribbon I had lying around the house. Once you’ve got the box and your contents it’s pretty much a pile-it-in situation.

I don’t claim to be a great DIY, in fact if you take a good look at the photos it’s immediately evident I’m quite crap, but it’s the thought that counts. And I think a gift that is inexpensive and homemade is the perfect way to celebrate a holiday I don’t really think deserves to be celebrated! At least, not as much as it is. With that said, Happy Valentine’s to you and your loved ones.

I can’t believe I spent five hours yesterday seriously considering giving up riding so I could save money for school. Thanks for the interlude, blogosphere, but it’s back into the application abyss I go!

I had visions of blogging granduer for the next two weeks as I had planned to rev up to the Oscars with daily reviews of various catagories. This afternoon I found out that my university portfolio is due February 20th (what’s eight days, really?) and I will therefore be all consumed in essays and taking godawful photos and trying to pass them off as “thematic” and “the best of the bunch”. Wish me luck as I go off into my creative void for the next week, and I will let you all know how it went if I survive to tell the tale!