Weekend wedding
not mine, obvs. That's still a ways away at this point.
The wedding was Mike & Alicia's and was at a fancy country club and was beautiful and moving and everything you hope a wedding should be.
We dolled up fancy and danced until our feet ached and smiled until our faces hurt
and had the most wonderful time with the most wonderful people.
Afterward John and I climbed up a play structure outside my apartment, still in our fancy wedding clothes, and looked at the stars and talked about our future together.
It was the perfect way to end the perfect day and was 100% worth the resulting hangover.
Congrats Mike & Alicia! Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!
xox
yr girl Shaner
Hip Hop Sunday: Jurassic 5 - The Way We Do
Slept in and woke up listening to the rain outside.
Thought about breakfast and benedicts and coffee.
Braved the rain under a shared umbrella to the local greasy spoon, The Nook.
Laughed. Smiled. Was thankful.
Going to a wedding this afternoon which means yr girl is getting dressed to the 9's.
Expect photographic evidence here and here.
Hope your Sunday is filled with as much love as mine.
xox
yr girl Shaner
I lead the best life
I don't say that enough because we're trained not to say it.
We live in a big, cynical world and it's cool to emphasize the struggle and be a starving, fucked-up artist or whatever
but sometimes, when life is just right
you have to #humblebrag.
Which is what this post is.
I have amazing friends. It's funny how you only realize who the good, solid people are when you go through yr toughest times, but when they do holy hell does it feel good to know you have them in yr corner.
I have an amazing bf who is funny and charming and makes me feel like the only girl in the world. I love him endlessly.
I have a blossoming career that challenges and inspires me constantly.
I have all of you, who show up here and read day after day & year after year to read this nonsense and comment and send me nice messages once & a while. Because you're beautiful people.
Thank you, all of you, for making my life so rich.
xox
yr girl Shaner
Today is Elvis Costello's birthday
he's 60 which means that he was the age of the guy that I'm dating when I was born. Wrap yr head around that.
I didn't grow up listening to Costello as my parents (bless their hearts) had questionable taste in music besides blasting Elton John during Sunday morning house cleanings.
The first time I really heard Costello was sitting in a coffee shop downtown drinking a London Fog with a boy I was dating who was into photography and had just finished taking my picture in the December snow in a dress that was far too short for the wind chill that night.
We were talking about who knows what when Little Palaces came on and he started to sing along and I said
I don't know this song
and he said
that's unbelievable! I'm taking you home and we're going to listen to all of his greatest hits and then some because it is a travesty if you don't know Costello.
He took my hand and we ran through the snowbanks and suddenly my legs didn't feel so cold
and he made me hot chocolate and sang Alison
which isn't spelled right but whatever
I'll take it.
Happy birthday, Mr. Costello.
Hip Hop Sunday: The Lytics - Ring My Alarm
Finally around on a Sunday to take care of this 'ol blog tradition.
Today's feature are the Winnipeg-based, super talented, The Lytics
who yr girl had the pleasure of seeing last Saturday night at Rainbow Trout
who put on a stellar performance
despite some ongoing technical difficulties
and were super nice about it
of course
and wished everyone a great weekend when their set was done
just like I'm wishing to you:
hope you had a great weekend!
xox
yr girl Shaner
I know this isn't a very good song
by a band that isn't all that great, really.
But sometimes I get it in my head and can't get it out no matter how hard I shake it or listen to Royal Canoe.
The first time I really listened to it
I mean really listened
was while walking down the street in Hamilton when I lived there.
It was spring but still cold and I was walking around puddles and I was sad because I missed Winnipeg and everyone in it, even though I would have never admitted it at the time -to myself or to anyone.
I walked around and was thinking about my boyfriend and my life and how lonely I was even though I'd left on what was supposed to be this grand, life-changing adventure
it didn't really change me at all
at least, not until after it was over, anyway.
This song was on a playlist that my then-boyfriend had put together for me and as I walked through the weird, kinda-scary tunnel under the train track hill to pick up my sushi and sashimi Saturday night dinner for one I realized
you hold me down.
Which is never a good feeling
because things got complicated after that.
Home from Rainbow Trout
which is easily the best festival that Manitoba has to offer
both in terms of the amazing (seriously, amazing) music and the overall vibe that lasted the whole weekend.
John and I rolled in around 6pm Friday and had enough light to set up our tent while dripping sweat, crack a few beers and hop in the river next to the campsite
where we goofed off and floated around and pulled ourselves together at dusk to head down to the stage
where we danced and kissed like fools to amazing music played by super talented people
a handful of which were dressed like the Village People
and met up with Alex and Adam
and had the time of our lives.
Saturday was filled with more river-sitting, beer-drinking, singing along, open mics
and even more amazing music which included a late-night performance by one of my favourite weirdo musicians, smoky tiger
(who played this masterpiece and it was glorious)
I couldn't have asked for a better weekend or a better way to wrap up the summer.
Thanks to Ben Jones, the volunteers, and all the musicians who made the weekend such an incredible experience.
Bravo.
Going to Rainbow Trout Music Festival tomorrow
which will be my first year going and I'm excited as hell.
We spent the evening running around getting stuff ready
in-between eating sandwiches on croissants
laughing in back alleys
walking all over this damn town
holding hands.
Right now there's laundry in and I'm drinking a beer and watching John learn a song
but shhh don't tell him I'm watching because it might make him weird
because this is adorable and I don't want to ruin it in the moment
so I'll just capture it in a blog post instead
of course.
Goodbye, Mr. Williams
Thank you for being a part of my life growing up.
Thank you for all the times my family could put aside their differences and watch Aladdin or Jumanji for the millionth time.
Thank you for your characters, who were so conflicted and real and human, and who helped me understand complex ideas like loss and despair long before I actually experienced them in real-life.
Thank for you being my childhood friend, even though you never knew it.
Thank you for giving hope to so many of us in the face of your own inner demons.
Thank you for making us smile even when you felt like you couldn't.
Thank you for bringing people together, even in your death, to laugh and cry and feel together.
Thank you for the memories, wonderful and bittersweet as they may be.
I'll never forget you.
xox
yr girl Shaner
