H is for ... (What's) HaPINing?

2008 is probably one of my favourite years. Not only did I spend six weeks in Quebec during the summer on an exchange trip, but I also spent eleven days in Disney World, right before Christmas. I loved it. Everything from the rides to meeting characters to the animation studio viewing, Iwas addicted.

However, it wasn't just the big things like that. I'm a kiosk girl. I love seeing what people have to sell, and Disney definitely catered to that love of mine. The ones I was attracted to were definitely the pin ones. Now I regret not buying several more pins than I did (money is always an issue).

Now, thanks to this blog, I know what new pins are coming up and visit the pin store. You can also search through different catagories for different pins. Yeah, I know. Really random and way out in left field, but there's something whimsical about pins, and especially Disney pins. The designs are wonderful and the characters are all remembered from childhood.

H is for ... Mr Hudson

No list Hs would be complete without Mr. Hudson. I love Mr. Hudson, some would think that was an the biggest understatement of the year but they don't know what their talking about. But I do love him, a lot, in that almost "how do I love thee, let me count the ways" sorta way.



I would count the ways, or at least show you the ways, if I could articulate just how much I love Mr. Hudson. He has made countless of my summers (okay two but they were the best summers I ever had), lulled me to sleep, woken me up; his music has helped me clean my room, relax as I attempted to churn out several essays and more importantly have fun!



Admittedly, I don't like post-Kanye West Mr.Hudson as much as Mr Hudson-and-the-Library Mr. Hudson. But both Hudsons are amazing in their own rights and with performances such the one in the video above, the difference between the two is barely noticeable.

PS: I'm nearly finished taming the beast that is school and homework. I will be back full time soon. Hopefully.

H is for... (Emily) Haines (& the Soft Skeleteon)

This is nabbed from a youtube comment because it's so, so true:

"Recommend the entire record. Heard one critic describe it as the record you listen to when you arrive home, after a night spent dancing with someone cute, who decided to leave with somebody else. "

Her entire album "Knives Don't Have Your Back" is filled with her low, mellow, crisp fall day voice (or as my singing teacher would say, "She's a contralto."). Not only is she part of the bands Metric and Broken Social Scene, but she's also Canadian, which rocks my socks off.

This video is adorable. Absolutely adorable. The beginning is so funny, "Do you feel compassion for inanimate objects?"

H is for ... (Ali) Harter

The video's long because she tells you everything you need to know.

Because everyone loves downloads.

P.S I know it's not Monday...it's almost farthest from. But she's lovely and I have someone else for Monday and you didn't get anyone this week. Also, she reminds me of Adele. <3>

H is for ... Helen ( Keller)

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."

H is for ... (Grilled) Halloumi presented by (Blue Jean) Gourmet

I am a fan of food, a huge fan of food. One of the reasons I'm excited to be out of the house and on my own this fall is that I'll (hopefully!) be able to start trying new dishes to make. In my massive family, that's not always possible.
However! Blue Jean Gourment is crazier about food than I am. Her blog is all about food. Actually, that's kind of a lie. It's half about food. The other half is about herself. Her blog is beautifully written, with memories of her deceased father, her inspiring mother, the people in her life, current events, things she loves, everything. And she tops it all off with amazing recipes, which are accompanied by photos by the inspiring Sonya Cuellar (who will be featured indepth during a later letter!).

While browsing this morning, I found this delicious sounding (and looking!) recipe for Grilled Halloumi. Not only is the recipe easy as anything, but the photos make it look amazingly delicious! Something I'm definitely adding to my 'to-make' list.

If anyone makes it, drop us a comment and show us a photo or two! We'd like to know how it went!

P.S Khyri won't be posting for a couple of weeks. School's grabbed her by the throat and she's living, breathing, eating school. So, it's just me for awhile! Now...to make sure I get my posts up on time....hmmmmm.....

H is for ... (We) Heart (It)

We Heart It is a lovely place where you can create an album of your favourite videos and images. When you see something you want to add to your list, you just 'heart it' and it's added to your 'heart' (also known as your page). Some of my favourite images are on the left.

H is for ... (Billie) Holiday

Just listen. She'll say everything I want to say and more.

H is for ... (Bradley) Hathaway

Bradley Hathaway is an indie musician that I had the luck to see live last spring (wow, almost a year ago!). To be honest, I didn't know what to think when I first saw him, but as soon as he started singing and reciting his poetry, I was hooked. He's an amazing live performer. He talked with the audience and laughed, made jokes, all of it. It was a fairly small audience, to be sure, but he was engaged and it showed that he loves what he's doing.

The video's not so good, I'm sorry, but it's the best I could find. "Like Socrates Loved the Truth" (the name of the song) is my favourite of the songs I've heard. His music has something raw and untouched to it. It reminds me of someone recording in a basement and selling their CDs on a busy street. It's honest and painful, but lovely at the same time.

All The Hits so Far (But Don't Expect Too Much)

The Things That Poets Write About, The Thing That Dreamers Dream About

A Mouthful of Dust

The links will take you to Amazon and Bandsonfire.com where you can purchase any of his CDs.

H is for ... Help(, I'm bored)

A website to help with boredom and other conditions.

H is for ... (Calvin) & Hobbes

Obviously I am terrible at this. As in, so terribly horrible at looking and making sure I post on Mondays and Thursdays that it's Tuesdays and Fridays. -fails-

However! I bring to you one of my favourite characters of all time. My dad (as per usual) is the one who introduced Calvin & Hobbes into my life. As long as I can remember he's had the comic books on his shelves, both at home and in his office at whatever school he's taught at. Then there were the photocopies of his favourite ones pinned to the bulletin boards.

I would have to say that Calvin & Hobbes were my first foray into comics, of any sort. Written and drawn by Bill Watterson, the comic first appeared on November 18, 1985 and ended on December 31, 1995. Calvin stays as a troublesome, imaginative, sarcastic, and grey hair inducing six year old, and Hobbes is his equally troublesome stuffed tiger.

Not only is he troublesome, he's an exact replica of every little boy I've ever known/met/etc. And his sidekick, the slightly more grown-up part of the duo, Hobbes. They're the epitome of childhood. =D

H is for ... Half (of a Yellow Sun)

Excuse me while I paraphrase Mr. Knightley's sentiment: If I loved Half of a Yellow Sun (by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) any less, I might be able to talk about it more.

I sometimes wonder if I will one day be able to tell anyone why I love this book as much as I do. I think it has something to do with Adichie's writing that feels altogether confident, something to do with the story she told that was altogether very human and very human, a story that called on history which I find has always made the best book.

But more importantly, my love for Half of a Yellow Sun has something to do with the fact that Adichie did for me what Alice Walker and Toni Morrison and Chinua Achebe and Maya Angelou did for countless young black women before me: she convinced me that young women like could be in books and that even I could write a book about what I wanted to tell and someone out there could read it. Half of Yellow Sun also gave me an inspirational woman(Adichie herself) to look up to and for that alone, I'm grateful.

H is for ... (Margaret) Howell

I'll be honest, I seldom (until now, never) look at images of runway collections from websites such as style.com. I have a lovely assortment of bloggers that I visit regularly who post images of wonderful outfits from the runway so I never feel compelled to actively seek out images/videos/whatever. That was the case until I saw Margaret Howell's A/W collection. I think I stumbled across it on two blogs and was immediately enthralled by her use of belts to complete her looks (all 32 looks that were shown featured a belt in one form or another) , the use of grey and black as the base colours and the odd flashes of mustard or red.

H is for ... (Erik) Hassle

I first heard about Swedish singer Erik Hassle from my friend, Bell, who had herself had heard about Hassle from a friend. I suspect that I would have heard about Hassle eventually because he is amazing. There is something light and different about him, even if he songs explores love and social ineptness to quote the Guardian. Of course some have likened him to La Roux, he does sing over catchy electro-melodies samples, but without being to harsh about La Roux's front lady, Elly Jackson, his voice doesn't make me want to tear my ears off or at least stop my hearing for the duration of her songs.

I particularly love his cover of Robyn's Be Mine with Elle Goulding. They do something different with the song, even if it has simple as bringing out the acoustic guitar and turning the song into a duet, which I always love in covers. Be sure to check out his album, Pieces or at the very least, his myspace page.

PS: As you may have noticed, the letter for March is H.