Aloe Vera in my tummy tum tum!

It's important that title be sung.

I'm sitting in my office (yes, I have a home office now) and I'm trying to make my schedule for the day. One of which includes a PR plan for TwentySomething TV (The show I now appear on semi-regularly) and the other is a profile on Executive Chef Robert Buchanan for dine.to.

I'm so happy everything's coming together well... besides a horrible crash and burn episode with BlogTO on the weekend... otherwise, life is good!

Of course, I'm procrastinating just a little tiny bit. So I went out for a walk and on the recommendation of my friend Nicola Moore I decided to pick up a bottle of Koya's Aloe Vera juice.

Born of the sweaty aloe vera plant (pictured above) comes this kinda sweet, kinda refreshing, kinda tasty beverage with floaty bits of translucent aloe. Thank you Korea for making it, because I really like it!!

While the jury is still out on whether or not ingesting aloe provides the health benefits that the company claims. Many dedicated aloe adorers believe in its power to smooth skin, boost collagen production, aid in digestion and assist in proper joint function by reducing inflammation.

I was always of the school of thought that eating aloe was toxic and according to wikipedia it is. Luckily for me, I found research conducted by Jeremiah Herlihy, PhD at the University of San Antonio. He attempted to observe the negative side effects of ingesting aloe at high levels. Unfortunately, his study turned up nothing negative and, in fact, the animals who consumed aloe daily had a 25% increased life span in comparison to the control group.

Sure, this could mean nothing for humans! But, if it ain't gonna kill a rat, it ain't as heck gonna kill me!

So bottoms up, delicious aloe nectar packed with protein; calcium; magnesium; zinc; vitamins A, C, and E; vitamin B-complex; and essential fatty acids! Let's make me pretty!!!

What I Used to Say...

When I was asked to write a bio on myself I usually wrote the same thing, "East Coast girl living her Carrie Bradshaw dream in the city"

I should've added, "Five years after it was fashionable"

Now as I struggle to work full time as a writer, I realize there are some major truths.

1.) Work is easy to come by, money is not.

2.) Buying tomatoes on credit isn't unusual.

3.) People love the idea you're a writer, until they realize they don't know any of the publications you write for.

Are you happy, KC is back?
xo

Perched Perception of Toronto's Alternative Fashion Week

Albeit a tad overdue, I present to you Karmacake's coverage of [FAT] aka - Toronto's Alternative Fashion Week.

For anyone who might not be aware, [FAT] is a seasonal showcase of art, music and fashion established to support emerging artists within the city. Heck Yes I want to go! With great emerging artists come great emerging trends, so as a fashion journalist I believe it's my job to make it to these events.

A girl's gotta stay current.

So armed with a single press pass, I showed up with my notepad and digital camera in hand. My excitement quickly subsided with a vast array of logistical oversights on the [FAT] event management arising and preventing me from successfully covering the event as originally intended.

The night quickly turned into an itemized list of "things that pissed me off". I would love to tell you about the fashion I saw, and provide further information on the designers, but the media table provided me no information other than "grab a seat where you can". The "seat" ended up being a precarious perch on a stolen corner of the performance stage, from there, I saw the usual suspects strut the catwalk.

Instead of seeing cutting edge design the second night of the 3 day week included unfinished hems, mismatched fabrics and an ironic interpretation of every fashion a Ryerson Fashion Student Grad has ever constructed for their grad fashion show.

I can't tell you where the remarkable fashion of previous years' [FAT] was, but I can tell you where it wasn't - At the Distillery's Fermenting Cellar on the evening of April 10th.

There were some definite hits and that being Zaiden's GLAM Photobooth installation, as featured in the above photo. You can hire the GLAM photobooth team to snazz up your event. Book them by going here

Yes, chances are high that I will return to future Alternative Fashion Weeks, the point being, that even though my experience was humbling and horrible, young artists deserve a forum in which they get exposure and support.

Unfortunately, the exposure and support would probably be greater if the event organizers would treat their media with the same level of respect - REGARDLESS of their level.

One more chance [FAT] and you better dress to impress.