Still Here

I fell off the face of the earth for a while... But there's been a lot going on in my life and frankly, I just haven't had the time or interest to post on the blog very much. Today I just happened to really like my outfit and made the effort to take a few shots. So here. The end.

Saggy Knees

I hadn't noticed how bagged out the knees on these leggings were before, but it's no surprise. I've been wearing them for years and years. Time for new leggings I guess? I felt a lot better in this outfit than the photos make me feel about it. That's just the way it goes sometimes I suppose.

Leather Jacket - Danier Leather

Dress - Gift from Heather

Leggings - Who knows

Boots - Some mall store years ago

These photos just make me miss the sunshine. It's been gloomy and rainy the last little while, and it's supposed to keep up that way for a few more days. I'm trying to be thankful, telling myself it's good for my garden, but I still miss the sun!

There's a little crab-apple tree blooming like mad on the side of the yard, I'm really hoping it manages to come to proper fruition. Maybe I'll be able to make some sort of sour apple tart with its fruit? I do know I'll enjoy having fresh blueberries if all the plants lining the yard even make half as many berries as they have flowers. But I'm rambling now. Hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Braided

It's windy out today, and instead of just sticking my hair up in a bun like I tend to do, I gave myself braided pig tails. They tend to make me feel childish but I like 'em anyway. Just as how I like things with garish patterns and bright colours. Whoever owned this top before me - it was actually probably a dress - hacked off the bottom of it a little unevenly but that doesn't stop me wearing it.

Top - Thrifted from Value Village

Jeggings - Hue, from Fancy Sox

Leather Boots - Thrifted from Value Village

I've been on a roll with outfits this last little while... I'm not exactly certain what's brought this about but I hope it keeps up. Now I have to pack up the wee baby gecko that was in one of my recent posts to bring it to the pet store. It's the last baby from the last clutch hatched out from my breeding crested gecko pair. I separated the adults last summer though so no new babies this year.

That's definitely a good thing because I don't need to deal with incubating eggs or itty witty babies while moving, that's for certain. No matter how cute the wee things are when they're fresh from the egg. I'll have to keep a tight reign on myself once I have moved though, because I'll have more space for critters in my next home. I just have to keep reminding myself that my currents beasties are still getting bigger and are going to require more room in the eventual future. But anyway, I hope you're having a good day. Cheers!

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I spent last winter with a scarf wrapped around my head because I couldn't find a hat that satisfactorily kept my ears warm. Not so this winter! I bought these earmuffs way back in early September, knowing they would be perfect once things got chilly, and wearing them always makes me happy. Other people love them too - or so I assume - because the moment they spot my fuzzy muffs people start to smile. They are rather preposterous but that's part of why I love them.

Fox Fur Earmuffs - Trading Post on Highway 17

Neckwarmer - Gift from the lovely Anne

Leather jacket - Danier

Sweater - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Boots - Thrifted from Value Village

Since I've stopped working in an office, my form of dress has started to change again. I hadn't realized how much my job influenced my style. With having a strict uniform at the Cordon Bleu and just wearing basics in the kitchen at work, it's got me gravitating to outfits that really bring me pleasure during my free time.

I'm starting to feel like I have too much clothing. Most of it goes unworn, languishing in my closet and drawers. I sense another intense wardrobe purge is coming on, but it's going beyond that. I just have too much stuff in general. So many things just weighing me down, things I don't actually need.

My priorities are changing with me as I grow. While I have no real interest in living a completely minimalistic lifestyle, I do feel like a lot of what I keep is being kept for the wrong reasons. How much do my childhood mementos really mean to me if they're buried in a box in the storage closet? I've been carting some of this stuff around with me for so many years, but I never stopped to think why I was keeping it. This winter is going to hold more changes for me, and I'm hoping come spring that I will have managed to shed a lot of this excess stuff. I hope you're having a really great weekend so far, I know I'm enjoying mine. Cheers!

Grinning and Grateful

I had such a great Saturday. I started off my morning by driving around with my grandfather - practicing for my driving test Tuesday - and then had lunch with he and my grandmother. My young cousin came back to my apartment to spend the afternoon with me afterward and I was a little nervous. It's not like I interact with tween girls on the regular, you know? Everything was awesome though, I'm pretty sure I didn't bore her and I think she might have maybe even found me interesting haha... It helped I probably spoiled her too.

Cardigan - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Leggings - No idea

Boots - Some shop on Sparks Street in Ottawa

Of course the first thing we did was get her introduced to all my pets. She met all of my snakes, held my crested gecko and even put my ball python Galen around her shoulders. She was totally comfortable with him, it was awesome. A lot of our conversations revolved around animals and pets.

After she was introduced to the zoo, we went out and got ourselves some bubble tea - a new thing for her - and then walked through Chinatown, through Little Italy, and to Dow's Lake. That's where the above outfit photo was taken, by my wonderful cousin. Now if only I could get someone to take my photos more often!

We did a little tree climbing - which is why my dress looks funny, the lining was hiked up crooked from climbing trees! Now's the best time in this freaky warm weather, the trees are bare of bugs or other ickies. Afterward, we stopped at an Italian pastry shop to pick up some desserts, and went back to my apartment to bake muffins.

On walls off Somerset in Ottawa's Chinatown.

For supper, I took her out for some pho since she'd never had any before either. I think she may have liked it, but it can be difficult to eat. I mean, it is a bowl of super long rice-noodle soup that you eat with chopsticks. That requires some form of skill to eat (or an absolute lack of self-consciousness). She didn't eat a ton, but I don't know if that was from dislike, or just because she doesn't eat a lot at once, or it being difficult to eat. I am so clueless about children.

We capped off our time together by eating our desserts while watching the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (I felt old trying to explain who David Hasselhoff is and why he's a thing). It was a very good day.

I'm so very thankful for my family, for these wonderful people I can love and be close to. These sorts of days for me, these are new experiences, brand new and shiny. And now I'm holding that shiny new thing in my hands, and I know once it starts to tarnish - as all things do with time - that I will only love and appreciate it in its worn beauty even more. I hope you're all having a really great weekend, I'm sending you all a little love. Cheers!

Changing Times

I've noticed the last few months that my taste in blogs has been changing. For a while I was reading a lot of style blogs and fashion blogs, some with more intellectual content than others. Somewhere along the way, I started discovering more blogs about things like self-love, style and feminism, health and exercise and many less 'shallow' subjects. Then at some point, those kind of took over.

Blouse - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Boots - Some sports store

I still read my old favourites, as well as some new loves, but I have to admit that I'm losing interest in most others. My list of unread blog posts in Bloglovin is up around 150 and as I scroll through the titles, so few of them pique my interest. I feel a little guilty, because I started following them all for very good reasons. The women are bright, intelligent, creative, stylish, caring, friendly, inspiring... and I can't help but feel like I'm missing out. Yet I still don't read the posts.

I'm no less interested in style - I enjoy clothes now on myself and others more than ever - but I am less interested in the rampant consumerism and commercialism I see everywhere. It's almost impossible to read style blogs without winding up on a clothing website or scrolling through the shoe sales pages somewhere.

It really bothers me seeing young women being sent items from companies, to the point where their outfits are entirely comprised of 'care of' items. Most of them are too young to realize they're being used as free advertising. The pittance spent sending out pairs of shoes or tops saves companies thousands of dollars in formal advertising. And those 16-17-18 year olds have no clue, neither the ones wearing the items, or those happily eating it up and running out to buy more of the same.

Too often I'm also seeing fat-shaming, and an obsession with weight loss, becoming thinner, overly-expensive beauty products and well... just lots of things I disagree with and dislike. I support creativity, stepping outside the box, being a unique individual with different tastes, diversity and an open mind. Go take a stroll through any large mall though, and people look like clones of each other most of the time. I think the kicker is when I see someone wearing an item I was looking at in a store, but dismissed for being cheap, overpriced and mass produced. Moments like those remind me why I thrift and buy vintage.

I guess what I'm getting at with all of this is that, for the most part, I've moved on to another stage in my life, at least blog-wise. I'm more interested in content about emotions, self-love, desires, sex, life challenges, goals, health, exercise, food and eating habits, and things that add to my life. And while it can be nice to get a little outfit inspiration, I'd rather read something that inspires people to do something greater, be it starting to exercise regularly in a healthy manner or to stop thinking negative thoughts about our bodies.

If any of this stuff sounds like something you would like to start reading about (and if you follow Sal's blog, you've probably seen some of these before) here are some of my favourites. I really think any woman can gain from the voices of these strong female writers.

• Medicinal Marzipan
• Head-Heart-Health
• Zoe and the Beatles
• Fit and Feminist
• Roots of She
• Danielle Dowling

I've been putting off going through my blog list and cleaning things up, distinguishing what I really really love from what I just feel meh about. Reading blogs should not be an onerous chore and until I get that done, it's going to feel that way. I really hope some of you do check out these blogs, they shone light on a lot of things for me. I wish you all a super awesome weekend. Cheers!

Call Me Heidi

For some reason, now that I look at these photos, I feel like I should have pigtail braids and be traipsing across rolling Swedish hills to go milk a cow or something. I don't know. I'm quite mad! Mad enough to pair a neon green skirt with this tunic. I don't particularly like how my winter boots (emergency ones bought on clearance when I literally walked through my other pair) look with everything but I dislike being in my sock feet in photos anymore.

Tunic - Purchased from Mr. Idaho's Vintage on Etsy

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Belt - Gift from Heather

Boots - Some sports store

Is this outfit flattering? No. Is it pleasing to the eye? Most people would disagree. Is it classy, clean or crisp? Nope. And I like it that way. My workday outfits have to confirm to some slightly more polished dressing rules, so I tend to get sloppy and free on weekends and weeknights. Screw figure-flattery or looking sexy, I just want to wear something fun and something me. So I do.

I can't get over how much embroidery is on this tunic. So many itty bitty little details! The green in the embroidery was nearly identical to the skirt too, so it was practically a must to put them together. I can't wait to wear this again once it's not freezing outside and I can be bare legged! The skirt has such wonderful flounce and swing, with so much fabric to twirl about.

I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was alright for the most part, but not as good as I had hoped. I'm a bit miffed with some friends who had promised me something, then not only promptly reneged that promise, but then offered two other people that which they had promised me. Right in front of me. It'd be like promising a thirsty person a glass of water, pulling it away at the last moment and saying there isn't enough, only to then give it to two other people who don't need it, in front of that thirsty person's face. And then acting like they'd never offered in the first place.

I am so over winter. So done. It's still frigidly cold outside though, of course. I just want bare legs and toes in the grass again. To be able to go outside without having to pile on 4 layers. For a time when walking to the grocery store doesn't depend on which direction the wind is blowing ice pellets (into or away from your eyes). I want to go camping, a lot. Come on warm weather, get here! Cheers!

Nothing New Here

I can proudly say that everything in this outfit (okay, not my skivvies) is either handmade, thrifted or vintage. I absolutely love it when outfits like these come together! You can't just walk into a mall and come out with the making for my outfit, that is not going to happen. Especially not for as little as I paid for everything!

Tunic-top - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Ragtime Vintage

Boots - Thrifted from Value Village

Lynx-fang Earrings - Purchased from Aranea Designs on Etsy

Necklace - Handmade from a dear friend

The funny thing about this skirt is I've had it for years, worn it very often all year round and yet... I don't think I've posted it on the blog. Or if I did, I have completely forgotten when. Nonetheless, I love this skirt, and when I saw its bright floral print next to the tunic in my closet, it was a no-brainer to put them together.

I scored these wicked leather boots for just $8! They are super comfy too, I've already worn them out dancing twice and plan on taking them out again on Friday night. Some of the hooks and holes are rusty, but that's no big deal. And now that it's not absolutely frigid outside, I'll be able to wear these more often without worrying about freezing my toes off!

Someone very dear to me made me this cross and necklace. It's all the more special because it's not something I'd ever have expected them to do, and it was made during a difficult time in both our lives. I don't wear it often - it's rather delicate - but it means a lot to me. Sometimes the simple gifts mean the most.

I've got belly dance class this evening again, and I'm definitely looking forward to hanging out with the ladies afterward. I think I'm actually even getting kind of good at some of the dance moves! When I took classes back in 2007, I decided not to go further on because I felt too uncoordinated and choppy, like my body would never be able to do the moves correctly. Now I keep surprising myself when I do things right and keep up with everyone.

While I really love my more 'put-together' and professional outfits, it's ones like these I love wearing the most. This is how I dress when I'm on my own time. I went dancing in this outfit. It was comfortable and allowed me freedom of movement. I just wish I could dress like this more often. I hope you're all having a good week, mine's going quite well. Cheers!

Glow Worm

This bright yellow sweater really does have an inner glow. Sadly it didn't come across in the photos (seriously, it is actually even brighter in real life). I love my yellow sweater so much though! If it looks familiar for some reason, I was wearing it in the photo with my giant fat cat. The only downside is that it's very thick and very warm, so I can only wear it on particularly cold days, and when I know I will be in cold places.

Sweater - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Yard Sale

Booties - Thrifted from the Salvation Army
Earrings - Friend-to-friend hand me down

Pardon my goofy grin above; the cat was doing something dorky and then the camera beeped at me. The last time I wore this skirt on the blog was way back in May of 2011. I'm pretty certain I've worn it a few times since then, but this low-wear of many of my items is why I really need to do some closet-purging. (Yes, I've still yet to do it, it is painful and I am avoiding it like the plague.)

The funny thing about this skirt is that it's labelled a Medium, but there's enough room for it to be an Extra Large and then some. It has no elastic at all, and I need to hold it up with my elbows as I pull the drawstrings taught or it literally just falls to the ground haha. It's great for hanging off my hip bones in the summer though, and has great movement.

I've given myself the goal of early nights and early mornings this weekend, to try and maximize the amount of things I get done. I've been naturally waking around 9am on weekends lately though, and am comfortable with considering that sleeping in. Am I turning into a true adult now that I appreciate and aim to utilize mornings? Haha... It's just too bad a lot of the things I like doing on weekends involve late nights. Or accidentally turn into late nights

It looks like I'll be attending that crystal bowl performance by myself this evening. I'm trying to build new friendships, but it seems my efforts dash aimlessly upon most people as waves do on rocks. I feel a lot like a child sometimes; nervous, timid, filled with an intense, overwhelming desire to explore and share and be happy and make friends. But most people just give me their glossed-over stranger-smile and fade away, like my bumbling-yet-well-meaning attempts are not worth their time. It's difficult when all your good intentions and desires are treated so cheaply.

I know now not to linger or bother with people who can't bother with me, but it's still frustrating. I'm very grateful for the ever-strengthening circle of family I have around me now, but the love I share with them just drives home to me how badly I want a close circle of friends to love and trust too. I have wonderful friends like Kirsten and Omar who I've learned SO much from, about being kind and curious and tender and loving and what good people are really like, and I need MORE of those people! Too bad it's so hard to root them out from the bad apples...

My weekend is going to be absolutely jam packed with activity, and I cannot wait for the work day to be over so I can get properly started on things. I hope you all have a super groovy weekend too. Cheers!

The land of Ice and Snow

It gets cold here. And I mean cold. Like, get severe frostbite if your hands are bare for more than 5 minutes kind of cold. Like, your breath is condensing and freezing on your eyelashes kind of cold. Like, worrying about whether or not your eyeballs can get frostbite and wishing you could knit yourself eye-mittens kind of cold. Okay well. Maybe that last one is just me. But folks. Cold. Which is why I spend most of my winter looking like this.

Wool coat - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress (it's there!) - Thrifted from the Salvation Army
Hoodie - Fairweather

Orange scarf - From a swap
Hat - Gift from mom

Wool thigh-high leg warmers - AdoreIt in the Byward Market

Boots - Payless

And this isn't even how I dress when it gets really cold. I have an entire other coat and boots for when it gets really cold. Although I don't think I'd be able to stand indoors long enough wearing all of that to take photos without melting. Which is why I'm not wearing mittens in this photo. I'd have melted.

On the plus side, after a few days of intensely cold temperatures, just-below-freezing is starting to feel kinda warm! I wished so bad I could have been snowshoeing Saturday night. The sky was clear and the moon bright and full. It would have been perfect for snowshoeing across a snow-covered field. I hope you all have a great Monday. Cheers!

Flouncing Around

This awesome skirt was another of the gifts I received from wonderful Heather. It's awesome and flouncy and demands to be spun around in. All the time. Everywhere. So I spend a lot of time twirling instead of walking.

Top - Garage sale, from mom

Skirt - Gift from Heather

Leggings - Who knows?

Boots - A shop on Sparks Street

I'm pretty frustrated. I recently purchased online a new terrarium for one of my snakes. I took the day off yesterday to be home to receive it... only to open the box and discover my $285 purchase had a shattered left side and cracked front. After an unhappy phone call and some e-mailing, the company promised to send me a replacement at no cost, but only because I'd had previous issues with them (someone canceled my original order several days in and I had to re-order) but that usually they'd make me deal with UPS.

They said they'd crate the next one for extra measure but I really hope it arrives in one piece. It's stupid because they say on their website that they aren't responsible for damages during freight, but don't allow the option to purchase insurance. All I know is, that if the next one arrives damaged, I'm taking that company down. It's still small and independent, and in the reptile community, it doesn't take much to ruin a company when it turns out they do bad business.

I noticed in the damaged one's box that the sides only had small squares of styrofoam instead of full ones, and it looks like the smaller size actually put pressure on the terrarium and caused it to break. Seems obvious to me, so if it repeats itself... I will not be a happy camper. There's no reason you can't spend an extra $0.50 for a full sheet of styrofoam and save your clients from receiving a useless $285 box of shattered acrylic.

I really want this work week to be over. It just feels like such a major waste of time being at work. Winter is always the time of year that most makes me hate my job and the way we all live our lives. Society is so maddening. But anywho. I hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

I'm a slacker, but my sleeves are cool

While my sparseness in posting for a large part of the month was due to my working on my NaNoWriMo novel, another large part was wasted spent playing Sims 3 for hours. And worse yet, I won't even hit the 50K required word count to "win" at NaNoWriMo. I'm just a lazy bones slacker who plays too many hours of video games.

Blouse - Thrifted from Value Village

Tank top - Fairweather

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Earrings - Thrifted from Value Village

Boots - Some shop on Sparks Street

I have at least been taking photos of what I think are some pretty awesome outfits. I'm looking forward to posting them all in the coming weeks. I'm still pretty challenged in terms of originality on weekdays but winter is putting a layered spin on getting dressed that at least changes things up. If that makes any sense at all. (I had a bad night, with my upstairs neighbour randomly banging and dragging things around after midnight, ugh.)

I am absolutely in love with the sleeves on this top. They're just so swishy and fun. And I am also absolutely in love with my little wooden hippopotamous earrings! That's right, wooden hippos are dangling from my ear lobes. I paid a whole $1 for these babies: thank you thrift store!

These photos were taken back on November 5th, but it wasn't long after that I made the decision to just stay inside to take photos for the rest of the cold season. For one thing, by the time I get home, it's dark out. And I do live in Canada and it's cold here. So I'm sure come Spring I'll be itching to get back out on my terrace to take photos, but until then I'll just admire these old ones and stay cozy indoors.

As much as I dislike Winter, I do enjoy being indoors cooking and baking. In the last month I've made a huge batch of corn chowder, some chicken taco chili and over six dozen lemon butter cookies. I just wish my freezer were bigger so I could make more food haha. I hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

These Are Bad

These are really bad photos. I'm all shiny and sweaty and disheveled and gross. But to be honest, that's pretty much how I feel and look most of the time lately. I should probably be working on my NaNoWriMo novel, to keep up with word count. I squeaked by yesterday with a little over 28K words, which is pretty cool. Hopefully I actually write out the other 22K and get this done.

Top - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from The Salvation Army

Belt - Ardene's

Shoes - Lulu's

This outfit in real life is awesome, and I adore it. But the photos never turn out. I think the combo of this skirt and top might just make me look haggard. The outfit photos wearing much the same thing from way back in December last year don't look much better hah. It's another shocking example for me of how much I've changed since then though!

Layering is important for me to stay warm on my walks to work. My leather jacket is good on a nice day but most of the time it's not enough and I like to add hoodies or sweaters underneath. This faux-shearling cardi that I got at Value Village a while back is great for it.

This skirt was way too big for me and just looked like a potato sack, so I took it in around the back pleats to give it some shape again. I'm actually pretty proud of my efforts on it, considering I just up and decided to try one day. It's giving me courage to take in more things.

I'd probably do some more this weekend except I signed up for some over-time work tomorrow. I have to be at Ottawa University campus at 6:45am to help set up testing rooms. I'm a little nervous actually, because I'm going to be a Test Administrator and have a position that involves actual responsibility. I'll be in charge of three tests with classrooms of 25 candidates, and 3 Monitors that I have to train upon arrival tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I hope you all have a supper groovy weekend. Cheers!