Motion Notion Part 1

I finally got around to sorting through all my festival photos. There are still a ton I want to share with you guys though, so this will be a two part deal. I hope this doesn't bore anyone too much, what with being a little out of the ordinary compared to most of my posts.

But first thing's first! What is Motion Notion? As I'd mentioned in a previous post, Motion Notion is an electronic music festival, molded after similar European festivals experienced by the event founder. It's a haven full of free spirits, love, charity, art, giving, friendship and great music!

We arrived to the site early - land leased from a Drayton Valley rancher - and were able to snatch up a cozy campsite down in the woods. The later you show up, the more likely you are to be stranded camping up in the bumpy unshaded field, or worse, next to the road! Instead, we had these lovely birch trees surrounding us. And once everything was set up, I promptly blessed the campsite with some bubbles!

Afterward, as we surveyed the festival grounds, we got swept up into last-minute sign and decor painting. Some friends of mine from Ottawa - originally from Alberta - were already there and had been volunteering to help set up the festival. It was nice seeing them there but due to several unfortunate events and unforeseen circumstances, we didn't get to spend much time together.

After we were done painting, we made our way back through the vendor area and toward the beach. I got slightly sidetracked on the way though, after spotting an amazing leather mask, made into a spider! I wanted it so badly, but not for $88! Worth the price perhaps, but not in my budget.

The Pembina river flows through the land where Motion Notion is held, and we were blessed this year with a lovely sand beach! The high water level and strong spring currents had washed up several hundred feet long and several feet deep's worth of fine white sand. Wonderful!

We took it easy that night but were up and about Friday afternoon, dancing to a set by King Kornelius. It's a bummer more people don't show up to the daytime sets, some of them are amazing!

And then of course we went to the beach again. Because seriously, how gorgeous is this beach?! Not to mention there was a stage there too, so music was pumping and people were dancing here as well.

Once back to our camp again... I got everybody into a little bubble-blowing fun! Someone had had bubbles around the fire at the festival last year and I knew I wanted to bring some with me this time around. It was such a great idea! Everybody had fun blowing bubbles.

After spending a little time at the Main Stage for the Psy Amigos set, we capped off our Friday night by spending some time at the Woods stage (last photo). We were dubstepping ourselves into madness listening to Subvert. It was packed back there, and the sound was crazy amazing with a great vibe.

The next photo is my favourite from the WHOLE festival. It's nothing amazing, but it's myself and my boyfriend, and we are happy, and we are together, and it means a lot to me. I plan on framing this and hanging it somewhere I'll be able to see it all the time, as a reminder of what I'm working toward.

Yes, our hair is practically the same colour!

I hope you enjoyed this post! I'll be back with the rest of the photos soon. Cheers!

Happy Summer Solstice!

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful first day of summer and longest day of the year. I took the day off work and went out into Gatineau Park with my friend Becky for a hike and a swim.

Our first stop was at Pink Lake, to hike the trail around it. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. I never get tired of this lake, I could hike around it a thousand times.

I was so happy when we heard a garter snake slithering his way through the leaves on the side of the path. Of course I had to pick him up and say hello.

And did you notice? I am wearing shorts. Yup. Not a skirt, not a dress, but shorts. This is the first time I have willingly worn shorts out in public like this in a very long time. The last time I wore shorts, I had leggings on underneath, and I haven't been bare-legged-with-shorts in years. The closest to that has been wearing my romper, but that looks more like a skirt than anything.

I'll admit the shorts come from Walmart, but I've been searching in thrift stores for ages for shorts like these and that's difficult. So when I found these, I bought 3 pairs in different colours.

After hiking around the lake, we drove to Meech Lake and had a nice swim. There's nothing better than swimming in a cool lake on a hot summer day. Then we picnic'd on pasta salad and berry lemon iced tea before heading home.

It was a lovely day, and I could not have asked for better. Did any of you do anything special today? I hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Some Stylish Montrealers

I think I mentioned that I was going dancing in Montreal this past weekend. I wound up taking a few photos of some folks in wicked outfits, but only two of them turned out. (not to mention I was not in a state for proper photo taking a large part of the night) I just can't believe how fashionable Montrealers are! I have to start with this awesome guy.

He was dressed to the nines! And boy could he dance! It sort of felt like I was dancing with Roger Sterling from Mad Men. You can't see here because his arms are bent, but he was even wearing spiffy metal upper armbands (what are those called???).

And then I met this lovely lady while I was outside getting some air. Fashionable stripes, a super cute little vest and comfy jeans! She admitted to not having been to a similar event in over ten years, but came out with all her friends on a whim. I'm glad she did!

I only wish I'd not been too shy to ask folk for more photos. I really need to get over this shyness if I want to do any sort of street fashion photography in the city this summer!

It seems the more attention I pay to how I dress, the more I notice the styles and fashion choices of other people. I'm appreciating others' outfits way more now than I ever used to. It's fun! Do you pay much attention to other people's clothes and how they dress? Does it impact how you see them as a person?

Gratuitous kitty photo! My boy Caramel :)

This is a terribly shaky first attempt at documenting others' fashion and style sense. In the future, I'd like to feature a person, and then also feature fashion bloggers who've donned similar outfits, or different items that could be purchased to recreate the outfit. Sound interesting?

I haven't got too much else to say today. I signed a lease for another apartment last evening, and I'll be moving in 2 weeks. Exciting, but also stressful and a bit frightening. I'm also FINALLY caught up reading all the blog posts from the past several weeks, except for a few that host photos on sites that are blocked at my work, heh. Those I'll have to catch up on at home. ;)

Hope you're all having a great week, cheers!