The Absolute Ultimate

With a summer as hot as this one it's a necessity to swim at least a couple times a week. Maddie's loving it, but swimming with a baby has made me realize how bad of a swimmer I still am. I was a swimming class dropout, I still have to plug my nose, and frankly it's a miracle I can keep my head above the water even without a baby in my arms. Which is why it's pretty funny that I went through a surfing phase. Well I guess I mostly went through a Gidget phase. And not all the Gidgets, but specifically Sandra Dee, the original squeaky-voiced-Skipper-doll one-- although, maybe me and the strange older gentleman I was talking to at my garage sale really know the difference.

(via muchomuchobuenobueno)

Perhaps it's the Pee Wee fan in me that has always loved that kind of sugary sweet teeny-bop culture that's as chock-full of inuendo as it is of creepy and outdated morals (Gidget has a needlepoint in her room that reads "To be a real woman is to bring out the best in a man"). But at the same time... jeez, I just love a good rom-com. And especially one that features a heroine that has such an amazing collection of bathing suits, and who makes such convincing faces during her horrendously staged surfing scenes.

In order to make my dream come true of becoming Gidget (minus the bleached hair and eating disorder) my plan for next summer is as follows:

1. Get both Maddie and myself into swim classes
2. Buy a cute Minnow Bather like I said I would
3. Figure out how to get to Australia for a visit and take a surf lesson or two

Ok, so maybe it's more of a five-year plan.

FOR.EV.ER

It's almost summer weather here. Trying to brush up on my storytelling skills for those nights around the campfire. But it might be hard to top Squints Palledorous.

I just realized that the kid who played Squints, Chauncey Leopardi, also played Alan the bully from Freaks and Geeks. That guy never would have ended up with Wendy Peffercorn.

Minnow Babes

Created by my good pals, Vanessa Warrack and Karen Donaldson, Toronto based Minnow Bathers is my favourite bathing suit line of all time. While their 2011 collection is inspired by teenage rebellion, that doesn't mean you have to be a teenager to wear it. In fact, I think that they are the perfect suits for young moms like myself who still want to look cute in the kiddy pool without showing too much post-baby bod. This summer I'll hopefully be wearing this floral cut-out bather that looks like a bikini, but has the functionality of a one-piece. And that's because it actually is a one-piece, with a cut-out in the front-- genius, right? Strangers always think I'm a teen mom, I might as well go with it.



When Karen and Vanessa get a break from sewing, I'm going to start pestering them again to make a bather for my own Minnow Baby.

Minnow Bathers can be found on etsy or at Penny Arcade.

P.S. a couple years ago the Minnow ladies asked me to pose for one of their lookbooks. I won't post the pics, but if you take the time to look through the previous seasons (and you really should!) you might spot me. Ahh!