This picture is not entirely clear. Or perfectly centered. It’s elegantly tipping to the right like the words would roll out of sight forever and those who saw them would be the lucky ones. How appropriate. Such art. And this is such truth. Such unspoken truth that I rolled across. That artsy type of truth. -k
Guu-licious. Saturday night birthday wishes were made at a little Toronto scene stealer I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. It’s not just the food that is outrageous at Guu Sakubar but the atmosphere is something you cannot describe to its entirety until you step inside. My attempt was ‘if you work there, there is no going to work in a bad mood and if you are in a bad mood it’s transformed right away’. The room explodes in cheers when you walk in, when you order a new dish, when a birthday wish is made, when you leave for the evening and just because someone feels like yelling really loud which triggers a chain reaction. Long oak tables hold all of your closest friends and the trickles of simple crustacean art read ‘eat me’. I’ve never had octopus. I had octopus. It was incredible. -k
Weekends are always such a mad dash between work and celebratory wishes in repeat. This has perfected my functioning on too little zzz’s and multi-tasking magic. Note this outfits accessory; a scrumdiliumptious fibre one bar. I was waiting for my ride to birthday festivities and needed a quick snack to tie me over. Multi-tasking magic.
I haven’t been in H&M is eons it seems. The one closest to me is always full of chaos because of it’s downtown Toronto location but I braved the storm the other week and found a couple of cute additions to my closet. I wore these pants for the first game of the Raptors season. My choice to wear them was inspired by Beyonce’s courtside outfit for the Brooklyn Nets home opener the night before. Nobody like B. And I’ve been rockin’ my my inner Madmen 40’s inspired ‘do all weekend too just because I felt like stepping outside of my box. Truth is, it’s completely me. Hope your weekend was magical. -k
Peplum Top – H&M
Cropped Pant – H&M
Fringed Necklace – Zara
Boots – Nine West
Fibre One Bar – Whole Foods
I’ve got a bad case of fernweh. The wanderlust bug. I get antsy when I receive an email from Westjet and when I realize that I have three ‘days off’ in a row. I love watching the airport landscape fill with ever changing, beautiful people and writing about ‘what ifs’ and ‘one day’s’ in my journal on the plane. I hate packing. Trail mix, a new playlist, my latest brain food novel and the largest cup of coffee possible accompany me to aisle 33, window seat. But when the recognizable building tops and light patterns of my city come into view just before landing there is always that simple peace of the familiar. It’ll always be good to be home. -k
Art let’s me escape, whether it be between sports scripts or daily doses of the unexpected. Those moments that you don’t foreshadow when your head leaves your peaceful pillow post sweet dreams. And yet all those moments are realistically art. Because there is art in everything.
And everyday it seems that sometime around midnight is when I usually grab Art’s hand and we dance or sing or write lyrical nonsense. That is when I feel the most confident. The most relaxed. It’s when the words ‘I don’t give a shit’ hold the most truth. I’m thankful to have found him. I’m thankful that my Art is accepted by my family and peers and strangers. I’m the most thankful that he always let’s me be me.
And tonight between sports scripts I filled other windows on my desktop with Art and his tales. And then he showed me this and it was the perfect goodnight. So, goodnight. -k
Toques and heels, toques and heels, toques and heels. I wear men’s pants and I’m okay with it. The ‘carrot skinny’ from Topman is a perfect fit. Gives you the Harem vibe without being too overwhelming. Insert below my Saturday night. -k
Shirt – Zara
Pants – Topman
Shoes – Nine West
Toque – Roots
I say it all the time but balance, my goodness, if I didn’t believe in it I don’t think I’d stay sane. I’m happily overwhelmed by new responsibilities and challenges as the NBA season kicks off and the last two weeks have been a true test of that word. Engulfed in a world that comes at you with a knife some weeks, dodging criticism and judgement posted on the interweb, you need to learn how to shake the shitty stuff. And function on four hours of sleep. So balance is my happy place because I fill those moments with incredible people and sometimes all we talk about is that funny clip on youtube or leaving on a jet plane or that one time where we danced like crazy in the livingroom to Calvin Harris at 2am. And that is more than enough. “So what do you do?”. That question shuts me down sometimes and not because I’m not happy and blessed to be where I am. It’s just so refreshing to just be plain old you for a minute. Jobless and homeless and raw. I just dropped the line “Everybody’s got their somethin'” to the boy and he asked what my somethin’ was. I’m going to sleep on this. But Nikka Costa says it’s supposed to make you smile like an itty bitty child and that there’s a time for every star to shine. So by balance I mean staying out a little too late with the people that make you glow after kicking off your show shoes even though you have a 9am shoot. Or closing the laptop on a seven hour work-a-thon Saturday even though you’re not near complete for laughs and warmth at a dive bar in the west end. Or going to a concert with your crew after a full day of basketball even though you passed your pillow on the way out and thought, damn, I’m neglecting you my friend. That was my weekend. A perfect balance. -k
Work. Play. Boogie. A combo of all of that and more. Host. Dance. Blog. As I sat in the corner booth last night between show sets in my dance heels, surrounded by so much support and the people I adore the most, sipping on a vodka water and laughing at my frisky friends, I thought, damn, I’m a very lucky lass. I am thankful everyday for my blessings. The people, the passion, the predictable and unpredictable. The support. All topped with a little love. -k
Hi. Happy FriYAY. Yes, I said it. It’s been a busy one and at 6:41pm as I wait for my chicken to cook there is still more FriYAY to come.
We just got back from rehearsal for Porcelain I’m ignoring the mad sniffles that have visited me this week and asked them kindly to be nice until 1am. Sometimes you just need to plow through! Amberley, this one’s for you!
Porcelain is her brain child. She’s putting together some last minute music changes and the guestlist for the evening. And I sit here at the counter laughing because everywhere I turn there is a costume piece staring at me.
It’s been really cool manipulating the show when we show up in the afternoon to suit the venue at hand. This afternoon we fell in love with the circular leather banquets and falling lights. It’s going to feel exactly how we like it.
Amberley, Candice, Ashley and I are all so, so thankful for the support that we have had over the last few months in the city from family, friends and strangers that aren’t strangers anymore. I’m thrilled and nervous about the audience attending tonight. Thank you for being there for us while we burlesque.
Dinner is ready and my pillow is calling shortly after. Naps save lives.
Here are some pictures from the show last weekend. Have a wonderful weekend and be safe! -k
kat stefankiewicz 
