Officially!

I was officially 30 weeks pregnant as of last Wednesday...

The Burly Q Babies Burlesque and Cabaret show is officially booked for June 27th at The Martini Bar...

I will be officially putting in my notice to move tomorrow...

I have my first fluish/cold thingie since I've been pregnant and as it took over 7 1/2 months I believe that is officially the longest I've ever gone without getting a case of the sniffles...

I can officially say that church rummage sales on a Saturday morning are the best and cheapest flea markets ever and I always love them...

and...I am officially and obviously, blindly carrying on with these new random posts and I can say for sure that I'm not sure why, or when this all may go back to normal if ever. At least you can be grateful of the fact that I don't seem to be as much of a sorry sack as I was last week.

Picture: Feather fascinator and red flower pasties. I know I know...what's that got to do with anything ....nothing silly.

Cracking!

In the next couple of months I will be producing a burlesque show, moving to a new apartment and then topping it off by giving birth. These are all things I feel like I can handle I'd just really prefer they weren't all happening at once. I was sort of forced into producing this show and as much as I know it will be great and a lot of fun, I would avoid all production work if I could. The move is also not so bad, cheaper rent, bigger kitchen (for baking!!!), I will still have a small studio to teach in, all good things but it's really shagging up my ability to nest. I am a nester by nature anyway and of course that instinct is now being compounded by being close to 30 weeks pregnant. I will survive and I have to say I find a lot of joy in packing things away in boxes for some reason so I'm hoping that will help keep me satiated. It just would have been nice to do a little pregame decorating. I'm not going to get into the pro and cons of birth because well that just doesn't seem to be a good idea does it? I guess the point of this post has been just to vent. I've been feeling more then a bit stressed and panicky and haven't been able to relieve this knot in my chest so if burdening the blog land peeps will help then so be it!

Picture: Hula girl pasties and fascinator. Inspired by my love of Hula Girls and my own Hula burlesque routine. Even though we all know I'm not going to take off my coconuts I guess I'd just like to see you do it :)

Letting go

I'm looking to find ways to let go and no I don't really mean relax. How do you let go control over things that you have no control over anyway? Typing that out makes it sound rather redundant.

I worry about the baby, about my choices, about how everyone seems to have an opinion about how things should be done and I'd much rather it was the same as mine...at least when it comes to carrying, birthing and raising a child. I have to say I think this is something I'm normally pretty good at. I believe it takes all kinds of opinions and people to make the world go round. I'm normally not bad at seeing the other side and never needing to bring you on to my team. Saying that, since I am now magically and bizarrely two people at once and all those motherly protecting my young instincts have kicked in, I'm having a much harder time when the world and I don't see eye to eye. I know that this will always be the case and maybe it's more about not feeling supported while I'm making such important decisions.

So for now I'm searching for my mommy zen...it's no where to be found right now but I'm sure it will pop up somewhere.

Picture: White Flower pasties. These unrelated pictures are making me feel a little insane but they are probably the best way to represent my life right now...so completely at odds with it self.

Practicing

Patience, self awareness, Buddhism, yoga, empathy, compassion, kindness....

There are so many things that I believe belong in my day along side breakfast and brushing my teeth but somehow I have so much more trouble implementing them.

Picture: Sequin Pasties with blue feathers. I own and have made so many sets of these but getting to see me in them is like getting a glimpse of a once thought extinct animal, not entirely impossible but extremely unlikely.

Good Morning!

After a long night of techno music pumping through the floor in the bedroom I am miraculously rather bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. The sun is pouring in the studio windows, the cats have each found a sun beam and I have the place all to myself, which if I'm honest I quite enjoy most of the time. It's mornings like this, when I will have my orange juice and english muffin on the patio, that I can really let everything go...even if it is just for the morning.

Picture: Flower fascinator and matching pasties. Not everything means something.

Things that make me happy

incense, fresh air, CBC radio, sheep, buttons, clean sheets, blank canvas, matching hangers, going out to eat, live music, paper dolls, old furniture, second hand stores, JO lying on my open book, pictures of people kissing, a good poet, wanting someone badly, finding things, stop motion, yoga, painting...........................

Picture: Pink Puff Pasties and Pink Button Fascinator on a hairband. Random yes but happy looking so somehow related. Bare with me people!

I can't wait!

You're in Luck!

Headline Honeys offer 'gold' performances just in time for St. Paddy's Day.

Forget following leprechauns! This St. Patrick's Day Weekend the gold is at the beginning of the rainbow. Join the Headline Honeys at the Rock House on Thursday, March 12 as they kick off the party weekend with a top-notch show featuring both local gold and the crown jewel of Tribal Fusion Bellydance and Burlesque, Halifax's Monique Ryan. You don't need to depend on luck to get to see this show, you can pick up your tickets for just $10 at Twisted Sisters, and Fred's Records.

Headline Honeys' Producer, Alicia Simms says "Our St. Patrick's weekend show will be spectacular. The audience will see a shining example of the talent we have here in the city, and get a chance to see Monique's vibrant, engaging dance style. We'd love to see everyone there".

The Headline Honeys production company was formed in the fall of 2007, and was the driving force behind the Vaudeville for Daffodil fundraiser in fall of 2007, and the wildly popular shows Dr Samuel's Fantasmagorical Old Timey Vaudeville Show, The Sin City Lounge with Steady Eddie Strangelove, Dr. Samuel's Shenanigan Express, and their November Anniversary show that raised money for Marguerite's Place. The Headline Honeys also offer workshops and classes in the empowering and adventurous art of burlesque.

Here kitty kitty kitty

It's time! Anyone who has been following this blog in the last couple of weeks will be happy to hear that I'm counting down to the craft fair tonight! I've got five hours and everything is already packed up and ready to go just like the good obsessive little girl that I am. Besides all the clothing and general randomness that will be coming in with me you will also be able to sign up for burlesque workshops as well. I'll be holding a beginners class on March24 and a chair dancing class on the 31st!

Sadly the pasties above won't be for sale. They were made last month for Kocaine kitty and I felt bad that their cuteness hadn't been posted about yet. I love love love them and their hotness in action was unbearably sexy.

I hope to see you at the fair tonight, Sunday March 1st. I'll be in the Avalon Mall UNICEF Craft/Flea market and my table will be near the Eddie Bauer store. Wish me luck!

Cherries... Yum!

I made these for Delilah Desire for her milkshake routine at the last burlesque show. We didn't get to see them in action because they were more of a safety precaution then part of the act but I knew they were there behind the well placed prop. I really love these! I always love the custom pasties and it's so hard not to make a second pair for myself just to keep. I remind myself that it's nice to keep the custom pieces special and not have too many similar things floating around and then I don't mind the idea of giving them up so much.

Come on people it's sparkly hearts!

These were in the pastie bin for awhile and for some reason I had never taken a picture or posted them. I never seem to be able to give sparkly pasties justice in a photo. Most likely because they are sitting under a lamp in the middle of the night when the pictures get taken.

While getting ready for the first ever BurlyQ Babies show the girls started putting in orders for pasties that matched their costumes or theme of their dance. One of the girls, Smokey Lane, was doing her first solo (Candy Man) and was wearing the cutest white fringed bra and panties ever. One of those outfits that works by itself, you just need to show up in it and shake it and there is no going wrong. Fringe is good on everything...fringe and icing! I've gotten a little off track... what I was trying to say was I knew I had just the right thing already tucked away and I must say that they looked much better on her then they ever did in the shoe box they were being stored in, oh my!

Everyone could use a pair.

It's a shame that this picture is so dark and you are not getting to enjoy the greatness that is a sequined pastie. I will for a moment let your mind wonder and imagine the lights hitting the stage and the glitter shine back at you... A little dramatic yes but I'm sure that more then one audience member felt that way when they saw these little babies in action on Ali Adaire.

So Proud

Que promo pitch here:
Shake, Shimmy, and, Roll at the Rockhouse
The Headline Honeys celebrate the new year with a new crop of dancers

The Headline Honeys have taught a whole new group of students to make the most of their assets by peeling back the layers to reveal the Burlesque queens beneath. Join the Honeys and their proteges, The Burly-Q Babies, at the Rockhouse on January 31st, at 8PM and let these fresh new dancers shake you up a little. Admission is $10 The Headline Honeys are well-known for their highly successful Neo-Vaudeville variety shows featuring Burlesque dancers, jugglers, hula hoopers and a myriad of other performers. This show is a celebration of the graduates of their popular Burlesque workshops which teach students the basic techniques of Burlesque and encourages them to develop their own style of performance.

Headline Honey and head of the Burly-Q Babies, Helen Davis says : "Burlesque is not about having a perfect body, it's about making the most of what you have, so women of all sizes and ages find the workshops to be empowering, exciting experiences and as a result, these new dancers are enthusiastic, creative and very interesting to watch. People will thoroughly enjoy the variety and energy in these performances."

The Headline Honeys production company was formed in the summer of 2007, and was the driving force behind the Vaudeville for Daffodil fundraiser in fall of 2007, the wildly popular shows Dr Samuel's Fantasmagorical Old Timey Vaudeville Show, The Sin City Lounge with Steady Eddie Strangelove, Dr. Samuel's Shenanigan Express, and most recently the sold out Women's center fundraiser at the Majestic theater this past November. The Headline Honeys also offer a growing number of workshops and classes in the empowering and adventurous art of burlesque.

Jump to present day:
I've been a bit out of the loop lately and this event happened a few weeks ago but I did want to post and say how proud I am of my girls. The show was a grand success. Their courage and talent brought me to tears and I'm so privileged to be working with such wonderful women.

Take A Dip With The Headline Honeys

Photo by Sandra Elford

So my girls and I decided to spend an hour in the bath together for the promotional shots for the show. Not your typical Monday night but certainly a worthwhile endeavor. We don't get to relax together or have a laugh very often because when we see each other we are always working. This way we were able to kill both the working bird and the chilling bird with one stone.

Come check us out in the Current!

Its all about the ladies!

Headline Honeys celebrate their one year anniversary with a charity show for Marguerite's Place, a joint project of the St. John's Women's Center and St. John's Status of Women Council.

The Headline Honeys know that friendship is like a good brassiere - it's all about proper support. That’s why their anniversary show will be a celebratory shimmy in support of their friends at Marguerite's Place. Give the ladies at Marguerite’s Place a little lift by coming to the show - November 15th at The Majestic Theatre. Doors open at 8, the glitz and glamour starts at 8:30. Ticket are $18 in advance, $20 at the door. Available for purchase at Fred's Records, Twisted Sister, The Travel Bug, Our Pleasure, St. John's Women's Center and Around the World Restaurant.

Performers at this show include comedy by Krista Hann, musicians Adam Carter and Jason Howard, Burlesque by the Headline Honeys, Burly-Q Babies, the Purity Girls and Erika Wilansky's Class, Flamenco dancing by Christina Penney, magic by James Hawksley, and many, many more entertainers of all sorts!

Marguerite’s Place is a joint initiative of the St. John's Status of Women Council (SJSWC) and the St. John's Women’s Centre (the Women's Centre) and it will be the new home for the Women's Centre, and will house all services, programs and the offices of SJSWC and the Women's Centre. In addition to existing programs, Marguerite’s Place will provide safe, affordable housing for single women over the age of 30, within an independent living philosophy and in a manner that respects the diverse experiences and needs of individual women.

I'll leave this one up to you.

I don't think I need to say much about this. It's a bunny ear bonnet and bunny tail underwear to be worn together with a white corset. See! Like I said there is nothing left to say. You are already seeing this in your head and depending on who you are you are feeling a little dirty or laughing your ass off. Please also keep in mind figure skates are the foot wear of choice with this little number.

Satin Jail House Uniforms?

I don't know how it worked out that I ended up being the fresh faced innocent girl in the Headline Honeys Jail House routine, even though it did seem like the most logical choice at the time. Lately I'm feeling like the "bad one" of the group and that I might want to take a bit of a departure from the rosie cheeked girls next door I've gotten used to playing. I'm also having a bit of a hard couple of weeks so maybe I shouldn't jump to change too quickly.

The little number above was a black bra in it's original life but I needed a cute 1940's inspired top to wear with a pair of high waisted satin undies, under my jail house uniform of course, so I covered it in green satin and added a bow for extra girlishness.

For those of you who haven't seen the jail house dance I apologise if this whole thing was really confusing.

Oh Shiny!

I have a new thing for blue and I'm not sure where it's going. I started collecting light blue bits and pieces for costumes about six months ago and I now have many tiny bags of feathers, beads and ribbons. They have no real clear plan in store for them yet nor have they even decided if they even get along with one another but my need to bring all the little bits of blue together will I'm sure overcome this situation. The first of the finished pieces that has no purpose or home right now is this blue bra, that was just calling out to have beads put on it. I wonder if there is some sort of strange blue bird burlesque dance lurking underneath all these little bits of blue

Old News

Most of you that know me outside of blog land have already seen these babies but I had forgotten that I hadn't posted them online. I really wanted a set of fans, so much so that I'm already working on my second set, but I just couldn't bare paying anywhere from $400 to $1500 for them. Really if I can help it I never spend money on things I can do for myself. Saying that I would never do this the same way again, it was time consuming and painful and mentally just the feather search alone ended up being an adventure with an unyielding and dire outcome. The fans sat unfinished for months because I couldn't get the same pink feathers. On top of all this and unknown to me at the time they got snagged on a mans belt buckle as they where entering onto the stage for the first time. The fans and my heart were a little broken and panicked in the moment but we have both since recovered.

Living in a dye vat frenzy!

I'm guessing I'm going to start kicking myself when there isn't a single white item left in the house, but as with most of my creative bursts this too will pass and make room for another temporary obsessive outbreak of some other kind. The waist cincher underwear came in a pack of two and I promised I'd leave the other one white, wish me luck. I imagine I'll keep dying gloves for as long as I need them because once you break away from the standard black, white and red gloves you can't ever go back.

Addictions!

So it looks like I am forming this new addiction. I tried it once about a month ago even though I'd never felt the need to do it before and now I can't stop. It was Innocent enough, small and pink. I thought what harm could it possibly do? But now they are everywhere, on everything and I can't live without them. Oh dam you bum ruffles dam you!