Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Tippi who lived in the African desert. With no other children to play with, she made friends with the untamed wildlife and the tribespeople of Namibia.

True story. Now 22, Tippi Degre has starred in a documentary about her childhood in the wilds of Africa and has written a book about her experiences. Her parents, both wildlife photographers, took the most incredible shots of their daughter playing with her “friends”.

Looking past the obvious fact that it’s kinda dangerous to let your toddler roll around with leopards, I think this would be one of the most amazing environments to grow up in. She’s like a real-life Mowgli!

*I saw this first on My Modern Met

So, I’m especially jazzed to follow astronaut Chris Hadfield  on Twitter as he posts images of his view of Earth from the International Space Station. He’s also answering questions, chatting with school kids and making cool videos of what it’s like to live aboard a space ship. What I like best are the comments that accompany the pictures, “The beauty of the Bahamas is surreal; every blue that exists.” and “Sands of the Sahara – starkly beautiful, a harshly serene and unmistakable part of the Earth’s skin. Just stunning.” for example. His excitement and awe just adds to my own.

Also, he tweeted at Captain Kirk:

I don’t even care if this was pre-planned. It rules.

Some of Hatfield’s pics:

Central Asia

Irrigation farms in Egypt

Earth, Moon and Soyuz (Soviet spacecraft)

The Rockies

Irrigation farms in the Southwest USA.

This was a “guess what this is” post. I have no clue but it’s beautiful.

My home! Hadfield has a brother and nephew living in Newfoundland and he often shoots the province from space. Here you can see St. John’s harbor and Cape Spear, the most easterly point in NA.

For more images and updates, follow Commander Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield

The second movement of my favourite piano sonata (Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13)

This made me feel weird, which is always good: Everyone I’ve Never Had Sex With by Crispin Best.

Projection art by Clement Briend

Lots of Leonard Cohen on repeat over here in anticipation of Wednesday’s concert. You can listen to his new album, Old Ideas, here.

I still can’t figure out what exactly it was about Silver Linings Playbook that I loved so much. I think maybe because I was able to believe it. Not easy when you’re watching super famous people play pretend. Go see.

Finally, mesmerized by this night sky time-lapse video during a Leonid meteor shower (via boooooom)

Guys, I feel really grown up. The question of “But when will I actually feel like an adult?” has been answered and the answer is Right Now because I just read through all my old journals circa 1995-1998.

If you were to piece together my life in those 3 years, you would assume all my time was spent swinging between being obsessively in love and intensely devastated by the absence of love. I really felt all the feelings (cough-stilldo-cough) and I thought it’d be fun to share some excerpts, accompanied by my basement-bedroom soundtrack a.k.a. the Greatest Playlist Ever.

Teenage Girl in the 90s by astokes on Grooveshark

Oh and this is all going to be poetry. Teenage poetry (!!!!)

“I’m not who I was, who you made me to be. I long since shed that skin, now I want to grow wings.” – Allison S. Be A Star.

I actually wrote this in quotations as if this was a lyric from a song. A song apparently called Be A Star.

It’s our sky and they’re our stars and if I were to die I’d try to get to yours and we’re dreaming of each other now I want you even more.

If you were to do a shot for every time the word “star” is mentioned in these journals, you would be drunk after the first 12 pages.

Don’t want to think of yesterday, tonight you told me, so I say – Forget you. Forget all about it. And fuck you. Want me? You can’t have it.

Growing up right before my/our eyes! I’m proudest of the ones like this. There’s another called I’m A Woman that I just can’t with…but still proud!

Blind to what the silence tells us, two sisters in a strangers world. We break what’s singing stories to us, we smash what’s turning day to night and atomic bombs and guns won’t hurt us. We’re winning war without a fight.

My friend Tiffany and I would drink Peach Schnapps, listen to Tori Amos and write poems together all.the.time. They typically involve us killing boys, being vampires/witches and being really hungry.

All it takes is a touch to make me start and a shove in the right direction. So suddenly, I’m there. Clinging to dreams where comfort’s so consuming. You didn’t even know you were up for selection.

This is underlined in my journal and I get why because this was my MO for falling in “love”: think a guy is pretty cool – start talking about him to friends – get encouraged by friends – drink two Max Ice beer and kiss him behind the Remax – fall madly insanely in love and think about nothing else but that person until it’s over – and Repeat. Teenage nutshell.

In conclusion, I think these journals might be the best books I’ve ever read. Including the Nine Inch Nails song lyrics written out, my High School resume (On swim team. Plays piano. Have Math tutor to bring up grade.) and a list of “Potentials” consisting of dudes I wanted to make my boyfriend. How was I ever so young?

It’s snowing. I’m ready. Let’s do this Winter.

Images tumblr, jill willcott

Pure joy at the Toronto Gay Pride Parade

A dancing tree in Cabbagetown

Solo lunch and nerd sesh on Ward’s Island

The cutest little coffee shop on Bloor Street, courtesy of Sam James

My Grand Bend cornfield crib

Tourist in my own town: The Beaches diving pool

Playing dress-up at the Cottage

A perfect end to a perfect day on Lake Erie

Exploring rainbow produce in Montreal’s Jean-Talon market.

And finally, picking out the oddities in small town Ontario.

Follow me on Instagram! @stokestvb

Or here

Have this view

Have this hair day, every day

Take my coffee in here

Go for lunch here

Pick up groceries here

Come home to him

Listen to records in here

Read books in here

Go out for dinner

Or host a dinner party

Wearing one of these

Nightcap here

Nice dream.

Photos: tumblr, weheartit

You all know I’m from Newfoundland. I mean, I talk about it often enough. It’s where I came from and where my heart still is (I love you Toronto but I love my family more). If you know someone from The Rock, you’ve probably heard them refer to Newfoundland as ‘Home’. That’s what we call it when we’re talking to each other. “The last time I was home…” or  ”He just came back from home…”, like that.

It’s hard to explain. Nancy Riche puts it best. She was (rest in peace, Nancy) “.. a feminist, a socialist, an activist, a trade unionist and a firm advocate for Newfoundland and Labrador. She worked in Ottawa for 18 years, but when she retired, she could only come home.” (taken from the Independent)

You can skip to the 3:20 mark to hear Nancy’s thoughts on Home (but you should listen to the whole thing because she’s fucking rad).

Now take a tour of my hometown with our hometown heroes, Hey Rosetta! (you should know them pretty well by now, too).

Minus the cod and the screech, if you made it through this post and are now dying to visit NFLD, consider yourself officially welcome.

Super-high t-straps – about 4 inches. Add that to my 5’9 (and then some) frame and I’m over six feet. Question: Do I care? Answer: Not whatsoever.

I love these shoes. They are incredibly comfortable and so, so cute. The quality of the make is impressive – natural leather means the wearing-in process is slow but moulds completely to your foot – and they have a vintage/Scandinavian feel that I’m into. Like I want to wear them with tights and a huge, chunky-knit fisherman’s sweater on a chilly day.

A little bit Sarah Maingot

Am I right?

Dear Best Buy – thank you for price matching this beauty with the Sears.ca sale and beating their price by an extra 20 bucks. I feel like a big girl blogger with my fancy new camera!

Love, TVB

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