The One That Got Away

I took initiative yesterday evening and styled myself. Baby steps! So much so, I missed a button on my jacket and I didn't notice until I was looking at the photos on my computer. Oops? I still like the photos anyway, even if I am a goof who can't do up her buttons properly. Thank goodness there are only five! I've gone out the door in a button up dress crookedly buttoned on at least one occasion. I admit it, I'm button-challenged!

Jacket - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Tights - Fancy Sox

Flats and belt - Ardene's

Scarf - Spring
Sunglasses - Young Jane's Vintage

I bought this jacket way back in December, but it nearly didn't happen. I tried it on, I pet it, I showed it to my mother, I put it back on the rack, wandered back to it, carried it around, and finally just purchased the darn thing. I'm glad I did, it's perfect for this weather, and has a nice different vibe compared to my usual black leather jacket.

Now there's something odd about these sun glasses. Sometimes, I absolutely adore them, other times, I feel I look ridiculous. I loved them when I bought 'em, I loved them while taking these photos... but now that I look at them, I think I look funny! Not to mention they really, really make me look like my god-mother back in the 70's heh. But that's part of why I love them... they're just so wonderfully vintage!

This dress has a self-fabric belt, but I switched things up and added a black belt instead. I have no idea why I didn't try doing this earlier, I really like how it looks. I particularly adore the above photo, I feel like I could be just another gal from the 70's! (Or maybe I'm just full of myself!)



Here I am in my now-reclaimed living room. My father had kind of taken over the place with his painting supplies and spent a lot of time napping on the couch so I tended to avoid it for the most part. But now the room has opened up and it's all mine again. You're likely going to be seeing a lot more of it, since there's a huge picture window that lets in oodles of wonderful bright light and I would love to take advantage of that for outfit photos.

It's Friday tomorrow! Hope you're all having a good day. Cheers!

Baby Steps

So I had a bit of a "fashion epiphany" this morning. I'm actually quite excited and pleased with this sudden realization. Of course it feels like everybody has been in on this for ages and I could just never get it. What am I going on about? Styling.

Yes, I know, styling seems like it should be obvious right? But up until this point, I just really didn't understand it at all. I'd look at beautiful photo shoots, and read words praising the styling. Yes, I thought, the outfits were wonderful, but I didn't understand how throwing on some matching items was styling. It was like a foreign concept to me, or a word to make getting dressed seem more upscale. But now I see the light!

 I understand now why so many fashion loving folks also love shoes and purses. It's not just because they're shoes and purses, but it's because those things are part of styling an outfit! I probably sound like someone being amazed they just learned how to count to 10 haha, that's how obvious I feel this must be to everyone else.

 

But I was reading a lovely post by the Styling Dutchman about finding your fashion voice. She talks about the growth, progression and change in her style through the years to where she is now, completely comfortable with her style. I recognized my own fashion and style journey in her own. I think it takes a lot of effort and exploration in styles before you can really find pieces that are you. I'm still flubbing up sometimes, buying something spontaneously and then realizing it doesn't fit my style and I don't feel like me in it.

It's funny because I still have these odd moments where I stop in front of a mirror and see myself as a different person than I'm expecting. It's like I keep forgetting I'm an adult who wears adult clothing. Or maybe I'm just a little crazy. ;)

 
Anyway, I was having the hardest time deciding what shoes to wear this morning. And I found myself wishing for a purse that matched my particular coat, and for some cute boots to go with feminine dresses and SUDDENLY, I realized what styling was. Yes. Simple thing. Big impact on me hah.

But now that I've had this realization, I want to take advantage of it and do my best to actually style my outfits! And first thing on my list of items is some nice booties... Does anyone have any suggestions for good online shoe stores? I just wish I could actually find heels that didn't kill my feet while walking. So I'm stuck buying uglier comfy shoes. Anybody got any tips on how not to kill your feet while wearing heels? XD

In other news, my parents are now completely moved out. And I have given my notice to my landlady and I will also be moving out in 2 months. Less than a year I lived in this place, sigh. I look forward to moving somewhere that is more what I want in a home for myself, but I'm tired of moving! The longest I've lived anywhere in the last 8 years was only a year and a half. Not to mention the longest I've lived anywhere my entire life was just about 3 years. Yes it was all in the same city for the most part, but still. Ah well.

The week is halfway done, and the weekend is on the way! I'm going to a party in Montreal this Saturday, so I am super excited. Hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Begone snow! T'is I, the Sun!

As you can see, there is clearly still snow on the ground. I took these photos yesterday, Friday March 25th. I might look chipper, but it was still quite chilly. Thank goodness there wasn't much wind or I'd have been a Celsicle in no time.

Here I am pretending I'm not freezing.

Romper - Purchased from Reluctant Damsel on Etsy

Leggings - Ardene's

Boots - Joneve

Leather Jacket - Danier Leather

Leather and Cow Hair Purse - Purchased from Funky Time on Etsy

The Tiger's Eye and silver ring belonged to my grandfather. I had it resized and now I wear it. Also I'm sorry for the horror that is my back yard. Old fence, crusty snow, not the greatest place for photos. But the sun was out and it was reasonably nice - until the wind blew - that I just had to take photos outside.

I've had this romper a few weeks now and I've so badly wanted to wear it. So finally I busted it out, even if it's still a bit too cold for it. I adore how swingy and fun it is. I forget I'm not wearing a real skirt, and it's so comfy. It's going to be great on windy days this summer.

Speaking of the summer, I've decided I want to take out my camera and try to snap photos of other folks with awesome outfits, kinda street style I guess. Nothing serious, but I think it could be fun every once in a while. I keep seeing really fashionable folks and wishing I had a camera!

Anyhow, hope you're all having a great weekend. Cheers!

FBFF with a look at Feminism

Happy Friday everyone! Before I do anything else... these boots! Amazing? Amazing! After spotting them in a shop window this week, they've been all I can think about. I wish I had a pair of each. But their price tag is waaay more than this girly spends on any clothing item. Ah well!

Now for the FBFF post. Here we go!

1. Do you think there is an incompatibility between feminism and a
love for fashion?
Quite the opposite! I can't say I know a lot about Feminism, but seems to me that it's about having the power to do what you want to do, be who you want to be, and that should include wearing whatever you want to wear. Even if that happens to be a cutesy floral skirt and sheer risque blouse.

2. There is more to each of us than a love for fashion, how do you
incorporate every aspect of yourself into your blog?
I just throw in whatever is going on with my life that I like and want to share. I don't think about it too much, just roll with it. I've been posting photos of my pets, and recipes with photos of the baked foods, photos from visually entertaining events etc. If I think someone else might be interested, I'll post it.

3. With the fashion industry still being a male-dominated profession,
how do you think it would differ if women played a larger role?
I think there would be a lot more comfort-aimed fashion lines. A lot of the lines with female designers tend to be geared towards comfort first over anything else.

4. How is your self-image and the way you carry yourself informed by
your beliefs?
To be honest, my beliefs have very little to do with my self-image.

5. Do you think clothing/makeup/hair helps communicate the truth about
yourself or are those things superfluous add-ons?
I'm not so sure about the truth of myself, but they certainly communicate a lot. A sloppy young woman in a stained sweat suit communicates something much different than a neat young woman in a 60's mod dress or prim 70's secretary dress. I do very little with my hair, which could perhaps show that I either am comfortable with how I look without going overboard, or that my appearance is of little concern to me. Depends on how the other people see things.

FIN.

You know, I really thought I would do a better job of answering those. That really did not go well. I'm a tad dissapointed in myself. I'm just not managing to communicate all that well tonight. Ah, chalk it up to stress I suppose. My parents are pretty much all packed up and ready to move now, just some last few things before we start hauling stuff the 300+kms to their new home. Weeee...! Not.

But hey, it's Friday! And I'll likely be making another post tonight, or tomorrow, with some photos I took outside (yay, outside!) and maybe a few more of some pets.

Hope you're all doing great! Cheers!

All Things Green, Good and Growing

In the spirit of the upcoming spring and following summer - unlike some of you, spring has not sprung here just yet - I wanted to do a little post featuring some of my own green-season nature photography, and some of last year's favourite warm-weather-blog-photos. (I have an account over on Deviant Art, if you want to check out any more of my photography and such.)

And since I am in a total fashion rut - I feel like I'm stuck wearing the same things over and over again until it gets warmer! - I'll post some photos from my very first "photo shoot" for the blog, way back in September of 2010. That post pretty much embodies what I wish it were like outside right now, and what I wish I could be wearing!

So big changes happening in my household. My parents are moving out. Which means in a few months, I'll be moving too, into a smaller apartment. A 3 bedroom place all to myself is too much space, and there's no point in paying higher rent for something I'm not really using. (And this girly doesn't do well with random roomies!) But with my parents vacating, I'll be able to spread out and be more photo-creative in the house for outfit photos, which should be fun.

Friends and I are already making plans to go camping this summer and visit some provincial parks. Ah, it's summer in my mind and summer in my heart, but winter just won't leave! Cheers!

Wate-on! You can't afford to be skinny!

I was catching up reading posts over at Andrea's blog, A Cat of Impossible Colour, when she mentioned an old add for a product called "Wate-on". (You can see her post here) I did a bit of snooping and just had to post about it!

"If you want to be popular... you can't afford to be skinny!" How on earth did we go from a mentality that embraced feminine curves and full bodies to a society that praises the skinniest and most malnourished of women? It just blows me away - and makes me feel so sad!

Generations of girls and young women are now growing up being taught that to be skinny is to be beautiful and attractive, and that this is the only way you will ever be sexy. Well what about being unhealthy, malnourished and starved?!

If we could bring back this HEALTHY 60's mentality of embracing your shape as a woman... maybe then! Of course you have the other side of the coin, wherein this add is in a way putting down thin women. Hey, if you're naturally thin, and you're healthy while thin, power to you! But we shouldn't have to starve ourselves to reach some sort of societal beauty ideal.

I wouldn't go out and support a society that says all women need to be super curved and all have hour glass figures either, but it definitely seems healthier and more realistic than the whole gotta-be-skinny mindset.

Now we just need to learn to love ourselves however our bodies are, and instead of focusing on how our bodies LOOK, we need to focus on our overall health. Anyway, I'm not quite certain where I'm going with this anymore, but I just had to post about it.

Another reason for me to wish I'd been around in the 60's though! Cheers!

This Is New

The blouse, that is. An actual new, new item. I feel a little guilty having bought something that isn't thrifted or vintage hah. But the boutique I bought the blouse from was going out of business so everything was ridiculously cheap. This blouse was originally $99 and I paid $15, so I'm a happy camper. I snatched up a beautiful white cotton dress with crocheted bodice for a pittance too, but it'll be a while before that garment shows its face here. Too cold yet!

Blouse - Some random little boutique in Ottawa

Skirt - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Leggings and Leg Warmers - Ardene's

I'm not super keen on the puffyness at the front and the way the fabric sits around the waist, but the gathering at the bust saves it from being a saggy sac shirt, and the sleeves are really fun too. Not to mention the great colours! Fun and cheerful, my kind of blouse.

I tend to avoid wearing anything that ties around my neck, but this is purely aesthetic and has nothing to do with actually keeping the blouse up. I won't have to worry about suddenly being bare if the knot unties! I contemplated actually removing the neck bit, but it grew on me and is now safe from scissors.

Ah how strongly I wish I could wear this without leggings or leg warmers! I know I say this a lot but boy does winter last long in Canada. We actually are in the midst of a sudden snow storm right this minute... One I was not at all expecting either, so of course I'm under dressed for it. *sigh* Come on spring, show your face!

I hope you're all having as good a Monday as Mondays can be. Cheers!

FBFF - Blogging Lessons

Happy Friday everyone! I'm actually surprised it's already Friday, my week seems to have gone by quite quickly. Hopefully today flies by too. No outfit photos today, but I am wearing the exact same thing as last Friday, so you're not missing out.

Today's Friend Friday is a little different. Instead of five questions, we have to list the 5 hardest blogging lessons learned while blogging, and how they've made us a better blogger. I don't know if I can come up with 5, but we'll see!

Is this really interesting? - I have a tendency to babble - I'm sure you've noticed - and I have to reign myself in and try to keep things on topic while trying to be interesting. Just because some tiny detail or silly informational tidbit is of interest to me, it might not be to others. So I've started reading my blog with "other eyes", to try and imagine, if I were someone else, would I enjoy reading my post? It definitely seems to help... at least I think so!

Mit It Up! - I don't want my blog to be repetitive and blah, which I noticed was starting to happen, outfit post after outfit post, so I decided to mix it up. Or at least try. I'll write up a post about a certain style of dresses or do something like my recent step-by-step recipe with photos post. I think a little variety definitely helps me be better, more interesting blogger.

Don't be jealous! - Yes, I admit it, I am mildly jealous of other bloggers who have oodles of watchers and get tons of comments and have crazy amazing style. But I decided, why be jealous? I can learn from these fashionable ladies instead, learning fashion tricks and blogging techniques that I can apply to myself. Jealousy gets you nowhere, but soaking up info is great!

Keep on truckin' - Sometimes I just really, really don't feel like posting. But I know if I start to slack in my blogging duties, that it'll snowball and suddenly it'll be two weeks later and I haven't posted in ages. And I really don't want that. So I make myself post as regularly as I can, keeping myself at full blogging steam!

You get what you give - If you write bland, boring posts all the time, you're going to get bland boring replies... or none at all! So I try to write in a lively manner, and to be cheery and friendly. Especially when some of the people who comment here regularly are ladies who's blogs I also read and like to consider as bloggy friends. Fin.

Well that wasn't the best FBFF contribution I've ever made but hey, I'm trying. I'm really looking forward to next week's questions though, those I will be able to answer much better than I did with this task. But moving on... Here's another new necklace in my Etsy shop!

Have any plans for the weekend? My last weekend was so busy, I want to try and stay in and relax. Or at least just do my own stuff. I suddenly have a desire to try doing some home-made acid washing, so I want to go out and get some t-shirts at a thrift store and give that a go. Maybe I should do step-by-step photos of that too... Would anybody be down with a Do-it-yourself acid washing post?

I hope you're all having a good day, cheers!

Oreo Cream Cheese Cupcakes

This post is brought to you by ridiculously delicious baked goods. And the fact that I am running out of new things to post. I've pretty much taken a photo of most every seemingly interesting outfit that I can wear in these temperatures... so I'm stuck in weather-limbo until spring really hits and I can wear what I want to wear and not what the weather calls for instead. But yes, baked goods! Oreo cream cheese cupcakes!

These are indeed as delicious as they look! And so super simple to make too! I used this recipe here, but there are literally dozens of oreo cupcake recipes out there, so if this one isn't your favourite, try another. Anywho, I had the brainwave of taking photos while baking these, to give you a sort of step-by-step. Here we go!

Ingredients: - 18 whole Oreo Cookies and 6 roughly chopped Oreo Cookies
                     - 1/2 a cup of sugar
                     -  2 large room temperature eggs, lightly beaten
                     - 1/2 a cup of sour cream
                     -  1 pound cream cheese (I know it seems like a lot, but it's worth it!)
                     -  1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (the real stuff makes a difference)
                     -  A pinch of salt

Step 1: Place cupcake liners in your muffin tins (I used one 12 cup and one 6 cup tin, medium cup size) and then place One Oreo Cookie in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Step 2: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. I highly recommend you let your cream cheese hang out somewhere warm ahead of time, to make this an easier task.

Step 3: Once the cream cheese is smooth, gradually add in your sugar, and then beat in the vanilla extract.

Pictured here is the cream cheese combined with sugar...

Because I forgot I was supposed to be taking a photo at each step!

Vanilla extract!

Step 4: Drizzle in the beaten eggs, a little bit at a time. Make sure to scrape down the sides so everything is well combined!

So I didn't drizzle... but it worked out fine!

Step 5: Beat in the sour cream and add your pinch of salt!

Step 6: Stir in chopped cookies by hand. The ol' fashion way!

Step 7: Pour your batter into the cupcake cups, nearly to the top. These won't rise like most cupcakes, so don't worry about expanding cupcakes overflowing.

Step 8: Bake at 275˚F for about 20-25 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Step 9: Transfer to a wire cooling rack - but keep in tins - and once cool, place in fridge to set for at least 4 hours. (I left mine in overnight)

And voilà! Oreo cream cheese cupcakes! They're like tiny little single-serving sized cheesecakes in a cup. I do recommend eating them with a fork and in a plate, with a napkin handy.

I hope you enjoyed my photo-by-photo recipe post Cheers!