With a title like that, all I can say is one out of two isn't as good as it could be and I'd really rather it was better.

What am I talking about, you may ask? Isn't this a blog about two besties working hard to get themselves to the country?

It is, but there are potholes in the road sometimes, and I'm dealing with a major pothole today. I have IBS, which stands for irritable bowel syndrome. Sounds fun, right? Ha!

I will not go into too much detail here (and you are very lucky, my manager at work is NOT so lucky, poor man), but suffice to say I'm glad to be within five to ten feet of the washroom.

This sucks, because I cannot leave the house. I am missing a day of pay from my job which I really need. Denise is stuck struggling through the day without the support of her bestie, making her more stressed than she needs to be.

Denise has her issues too, not just me. not only is she allergic to the sun, but she is very allergic to peanuts too, and carries an epiPen. I've spent lots of time in the emergency room with her, to the point where we do get a bit blasé about it after a while, we make jokes about Denise having her own room, and could we just check in ahead of time. Denise also likes telling people that I'm dying to use the EpiPen on her, which is true.

So, though our goal is always the same, some days it is hard to near impossible to work toward it everyday. I think the most important thing we can do is to get up the next day and try. To get that much closer to our goal.


~ Melina

Melina had the thought that seeing as we are sharing our efforts to realize our dream, we should have a post telling a little bit about ourselves. What made us who we are, as it were. A good idea on the surface, but WOW describing myself is hard! So then she suggested we describe each other. Possibly easier, but how do I narrow down everything I know about her?

I'll start with the obvious. Melina grew up on the South Shore of Nova Scotia with an amazing sister, Melisa. Yes, that's right. Melina and Melisa. I really want to make fun of this, but for reasons which may later become apparent, I can't. She spent long days wandering the woods, sometimes running away and setting up 'camp' with the plan of surviving on tea berries. She always went home by dinner.

High school happened and with it came a love of 80's British music, a genre for which she still has a VOLUMINOUS amount of knowledge. If you need to know the bassist of some obscure UK band of the 80's, she is your girl. She also continued her love of art at this time, earning the name 'Morbid Melina' from her art teacher due to her habit of incorporating a severed head into every painting. Considering that her teacher like unicorns and rainbows, I am surprised she was not councillor-bound.

By now you have a certain image of her in your head. Well, throw it out. She is a mass of contradictions. When she worked at HMV, a co-worker once told her that she was the only person they knew who would buy Britney Spears and death metal at the same time. That is Melina in a nutshell. She is a Mama by nature. She likes to cook and bumble around the house and jokes that she is meant to be a house frau. She takes care of everyone. And she is super-funny, and I swear we could have a blast if we were locked in a closet together.

That's my bestie!

~ Denise





Describing oneself is one of the most trying things one can do. Ever. You don't want to be too serious, and sound like a pompous fool. But you also don't want to be flippant and sound like a flake either.so, much better to describe your best friend, right?

Denise is the best person I know. How did she get that way? I 'blame' (kidding!!!) her family. She grew up in Moncton, a city in New Brunswick. Her family is the most normal, functional one I've ever seen. Being French Canadian and catholic, it was a big family. Her sisters, wait for it, Debbie, Donna, Darlene, Diane. Denise is the youngest.

Early in her life, Denise was on track to be a dancer, spending most spare time at the dance studio. Until her knee blewout. Twice. After the first operation, she still wanted to dance. Denise is a bit stubborn, her mothers pet name for her roughly translates into 'cement head'.

Luckily she really is a born writer. After relocating to Halifax for university she stayed awhile, poured a lot of coffee and sprayed much perfume. She learned what she wanted to write. She will ever champion the wronged and the needy, but is so not a push over. My favourite way to bug her is to tell her that one day her mouth with write a cheque her ass can't cash.

That is my bestie!

~ Melina

It is so easy to get off track, to lose sight of what is really important. Sometimes you can forget the reason why you are working so hard. We both work jobs that are far from our passions and it sometimes feels like the rest of our lives are spread out in front of us with no light ahead.

Why did we start Moody & Sanguine? Simple. We have a dream and we want to use our creative skills to try and make it a reality. What does this dream look like? Two best friends who live in the country and support themselves with sewing and jewelry making, as well as painting (Melina) and writing (me!).

The Annapolis Valley is our idea of Heaven for our odd little family of two besties and a herd of cats. And oh, don't think we won't have a million more animals when we have a house! And Melina wants a big garden so that she get her hands in the dirt. I am not so dirt-driven, but I want long walks without constant concrete and traffic. I want the kind of quiet that never happens in the city. And I want to be able to write and create full-time. Other people do it, why can't I?


The day we drove to the above location, Cape Blomidon, was the day that Moody & Sanguine became inevitable. We knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what the future would be. That desire has never changed, though the goal has sometimes been blurred and hidden behind day to day drama. We will not lose sight again.

What is Moody & Sanguine? It the dream of two besties made real.

~ Denise

Ok, so everyone knows that Denise and I love 'ForksOverKnives', but sometimes you need time to fully get information. Maybe to internalize or process, be in the right place, need to hear the click? I don't know, but we internally processed the click in the right place the other day.

In a summer with jam packed with changes (chemical and professional), we finally connected with another change.

If you haven't seen 'ForksOverKnives', do it. Now.

The photos are of our last big 'shop' at the grocery store. After I took out all the food and placed it on the counter, it struck me that this delicious, beautiful, sexy food is alive. We are what we eat. It's not dead, not beaten, dried out, pulverized, coated in sugar and modified milk ingredients. What is that, anyway?

I'm enjoying eating food that makes me feel good. Not only that, real food tastes better, once you get rid of all that other crap. Strawberries are sooooooooo good. I have my sweets too, see, but they are real. Maple, man, maple anything. Agave is nice too. Fruit, oh, yeah.... Opps, I digress, sorry.





So, enjoy the photos, and do see it, or I'll jump off my soap box.


-Melina : D

Hello, there good sir and or kind madame. I am Sherlock, the younger. My mama's insist I am a nosey young gentleman. I do not concur. This is quite an erroneous statement.




Do not presume to look at me that way. I shall take umbridge at your implications.




I look away.




You may observe my toes, as to indicate my disdain.




What are you doing?



Is that the correct way to do what you are doing?




No, no, I and not unduly inquisitive. I simply must be assured of your conduct.




-Melina :D

One of the biggest reasons we are working so hard so as to eventually live in the country is that Melina and I are both Wiccan. Now, of course there are witches in the city. We're everywhere, and not just wearing pirate shirts (men) and bathed in patchouli (women). The stereotype exists, but there are lots of urban pagans who live full spiritual lives in their respective cities, and still shop at the local H&M.

I am not like that. I have never felt like I fit where I live, nor did I really fit where I grew up. I am so envious of those who can have a regular connection to nature. When I drive out of a city, there is a point of high ground where you can see a vista ahead, rolling hills and grazing cows. At that moment I always let out a breath that I hadn't known I was holding. It never fails that I feel all of my muscles relax. The idea of being able to go for a walk that is not on concrete, to fall asleep and not hear traffic and sirens, is heavenly to me.

I am reading the book 'The Discovery of Witches' right now.

Honestly, there was little chance that I would not like it. Witches, vampires and it begins at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This is like my own personal Geek trifecta. The only thing that would make it better is if it were written by Joss Whedon. Why do I bring this up? As a Wiccan I certainly don't think I have the powers of the witches in fantasy literature. If I did, there would be some nervous ex boyfriends, I'll tell you that for nothing! But the book is still making me long for the life I am working towards. The connection to the elements is what I am missing. I feel cut off. Like I am trying to draw energy from an outlet but the wires are cut.

We will get there. Melina is sewing as we speak, and I am so proud of her painting again. I am writing and trying to make the best of this short term leave from work, to the degree that I can. How do I picture us in the future? It has been suggested that we are not unlike the aunts in the movie 'Practical Magic'. Sisters, witchy, big gorgeous house ...

and midnight margaritas! Now that's what I'm talking about!

~ Denise

What are we doing? So, both Denise and I have been off of work for what feels like a year, but it's about 3 weeks. I have pneumonia, and can't talk for coughing. I mean barf up a lung coughing. Doctor has advised another week (to make it an even 4) off of work. Denise is switching up her medication. Before that she had a sinus infection. It's been a fun house. The fact that we are still alive ( as in, not having killed each other, a miracle ), and like each other is proof that we are BFFs. With all of this introspection time, we have become even more focussed and oddly driven. I am returning to painting. My love of landscapes cannot be ignored any longer. No worries, Moody & Sanguine fans, I'll be sewing still, just adding one more plate to spin. Denise will be making her jewels and writing. We will be working towards world domination. Lol, well, personal freedom. Same thing it seems. - Melina. :D