Family Day Trip

Back on Saturday August 3rd, my parents, grandmother and I went on a little day trip. We took a route driving around Lake Nipissing. We visited Board's Bee Farm, two pottery places, antique shops and other such places. This post is essentially going to be a photo dump because my brain is exhausted from planning my Euro-trip, but at least it's something.



It was a really lovely day and I'm so glad we were about to go out and do this. Days like these make me glad I moved back home to be around my family. Time is precious, and all the more so with those we love. Cheers!

Zounds!

This outfit surprised even me. I wore it to go to the Orchid show with my friends and it took about two minutes before one of them exclaimed... "Hey, Célynne's wearing pants!" The only reason I was comfortable like this (and I still felt rather naked) was because my blouse covered most of what bothers me being seen. Also is it just me or do the people who make jeggings assume we are all 6 feet tall? Because these are a size Small and I've still got oodles of material pooling around my ankles and knees.

 

Blouse - Purchased from Cookies and Crème Vintage on Etsy

Belt - Déjà New consignment shop in Ottawa

Jeggings - Hue

Shoes - Hush Puppies from Sears

My weekend was a whirlwind. I attended a friend's baby shower on Saturday. It was the first time our girl group had been together in its entirety in years (well, our 6th musketeer is out in Alberta!) and it amazed me how much we had changed and yet stayed the same. One friend brought along her seven (!) year old daughter and it blew my mind once again that my friends are parents and wives and husbands. I keep forgetting we're adults.

 
I'd be lying if I said seeing these things - marriages and babies - happening in the lives of my friends didn't make me sad. While I am overjoyed that these wonderful people are achieving these happy points in their lives, I'm also mourning them a little. Anybody who's had friends have kids knows what I'm talking about. No matter how hard you and they try, it's always going to be different, and very much so.

 

It's everything from having less time and less money, to new priorities and new people. Parents spend a lot of time with other parents. Because us single folks can only take so much diaper-talk and I gather parents can only take so much of hearing about the life they can't live anymore. I'm okay with their choices and where their lives take them - their life is theirs to live after all - but I'll miss the way things used to be nonetheless.

I knew 2012 was going to hold a lot of changes for me - felt it true in my bones - but I never thought I would be going through such an intense personal transformation again. Imagine sitting in front of a huge pile of building blocks, with the task of building who you want to be, but without clear plans on how to do it. (Maybe your snot-nosed cousin tore up the instructions?) You work your way up, only to realize you made a mistake, or you don't like something, or you get a better idea. It's a fluid work in progress with more than one outcome and none of them need to be final. Right now, I'm taking blocks down, turning them around in my hands, and trying to imagine the next thing I want to build with them.

 

There have been a few false starts and I haven't built up much further than my personal foundations, but at least those are solid and dependable now. My structure will have a dependable base upon which to be built, and that gives everything I put into this a better chance of success. I'm also learning to trade building blocks with others, for parts we each might need. Yeah, I'm really digging this metaphor! I hope it makes some sort of sense haha... Anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend and that your Monday is going well. Cheers! 

Shades of Nature

It's springtime, and everybody is just mad about pastels and bright springy colours. Except me. I on the other hand, am still dressed in browns and greens and am so ready to blend in with natural surroundings. Who needs camouflage when you've got this kind of paisley?

 

Top - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Leggings - Who knows

Shoes - Sears, Hush Puppies

The day I took these photos started off with some cold rain, and I was forced to take them indoors. By the time my friend and I wandered off on a walk to the Arboretum though, it had tapered off to an annoying but tolerable light mist. Everything was so lush and green from the rain. The only thing that could have made it more enjoyable would've been slightly warmer temperatures so that things like frogs and newts might be out. It was still too cool for them yet!

 

Now that's what I call flounce! I thrifted this skirt after having realized my wardrobe had a serious lack of not-maxi length items. They're all well and good when it's not too hot out, but I'll melt once it starts hitting 25'C again. I'm not exactly certain how I dealt with this last summer, other than for the fact my workplace is air conditioned and I live by myself which allows for a minimum of clothing while in my home!

I was rather insulted today when one of my co-workers commented on the dark circles under my eyes and said that I was looking very tired. They'd probably think I was about to drop over dead if they actually saw me without any makeup! I have dark circles under my eyes. There is nothing I can do about this. I can sleep twelve hours of glorious deep sleep and there will still be dark circles under my eyes. I was wearing foundation and VERY good coverup when I got this comment. It just drives me crazy that we as women - especially young women - are expected to look flawless and well-rested every hour of the day, no matter what, and that somehow if we don't look that way, it's everybody's business to inquire about it.

I've mentioned it here before, but I happen to like how I look without makeup most of the time. Even with the dark circles and kinda-red patches and forehead shininess. I wear makeup because I enjoy it - which is why my eyeshadow is so in yo' face - and not because I'm trying to hide my natural complexion or skin tone. It's me, my skin. I'm okay with it. I am not okay with people coming to assumptions because of it. Especially when that's not even anywhere near how I would actually look if I had not had proper sleep and had no makeup on.

 

Those are the sorts of comments that get a girl wondering if she's hideous and worrying that everybody must think she looks like an exhausted mess. It might seem insignificant, but for some people it's enough to tip them into a nasty cycle of self-loathing and personal issues. Pro tip folks, don't tell people they look tired, it's insulting, regardless your motive! Anyway, sudden rant aside... I hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Back in Black

I know, where did all the colour go? Black used to be a staple in my wardrobe, and now I rarely wear it at all. My necklace got to shine here again. I love it so much. Too bad it's so fragile, I've already had to glue petals back on three times now, argh! Now I remember why I'm always hesitant to own anything fragile.

Tank top - Fairweather 

Skirt - Saan's 

Sandals - Thrifted 

Necklace - Gift, made by Lisa Burkin on Etsy 

Please ignore my crooked skirt. The hem isn't off, I'm just apparently wearing it rather lopsided and didn't notice while taking the photos. Woops? I love milk-maid braids for my long hair, but they are a pain to keep pinned up if I happen to have recently washed my hair. My locks are thin and and wispy and they slip out of a bobby pin's grip way too easily. You can't tell from afar, but it's actually a garish mess of very obvious pins up there.

 

It didn't exactly turn out very well, but my big toes were an attempt at crazy colour leopard print. My toes have just been getting whackier and whackier as the year progresses. At least I've gotten over my nail polish not always matching my outfits, heh. (Not to mention, what kind of outfit would match these toes?!)

 

I'm going out for a sushi with my friend Erin this evening, which will be nice since I haven't seen her in a few weeks. I'm just super excited for Friday though, as I've finally figured out how to get myself out to the Toronto Zoo. I was supposed to go with a group, but that fell through, and since I can't afford the hotel room I was going to have to call off the zoo part of the trip.

A friend of mine lives nearby though (well, a lot closer than I do) and I'll be able to crash on their couch over Friday night. So I get to go to the zoo, go to the reptile expo like I'd initially wanted, plus spending time with a friend I rarely see. So all is well and right with the world!

I hope you're all having a groovy Tuesday. Cheers!

She's at it again

I am on a roll. After wearing one dress as a top last week, I did it again last Friday. And this time I got my butt out to Dow's Lake Park and took some photos. It's a beautiful park and, thankfully, a mostly empty one. I still got some funny stares though. Now I know how Liz feels.

Dress (as top) - Purchased from Heather's Etsy shop Moonshine Junkyard

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes & Belt - Fairweather

I could probably have done with a better belt for this, since this one is rather loose (I'm actually holding it tighter in the photos, shh) but I'm pretty happy with this outfit. The dress is too short for work, but its light fabric and sleevelessness were offering me what I needed on a hot day.

Covering the bottom half with this long skirt worked perfectly. It compliments the green from the floral pattern, and it just happens to be my favourite colour. I felt very much like a lady wearing this, and it was great being able to just slip the skirt and belt off at the end of the day, stuff them in my backpack, and walk home in just the one dress.

Speaking of which, I'm going back through my posts trying to find the last time I wore this dress and... apparently I wear it a lot but haven't actually photographed any of the outfits in half of forever. A shame, I love the dress! I'll have to try and get some outfit photos with it more often before summer is over.

I really outdid myself with this next photo (in my opinion) and I'm very happy with it. Why am I so happy? Keep in mind, I use my camera's timer, which gives me a total of 10 seconds to go from pressing the button, to running to the rock, posing, rearranging my ample skirt, smiling, and hoping I don't look like a dork.

I did quite well indeed, if I do say so myself. I'm kinda thinking of having some of these more posed outfit photos printed and framed and giving a few to my grandmother. Is that weird? She just doesn't have any photos of me that aren't blurry crappy ones, or the ooold ones from when I was pudgy and graduating college. I just think she might enjoy some pretty portraits of her granddaughter... am I crazy? Warn me if so, so I don't embarrass myself doing that hah.

A friend and I are going horseback riding tomorrow, and I am so excited. I've only ridden a horse once, back when I was a little girl, but I've always loved horses (what girl doesn't?) so of course... Excited! Then on Sunday we're going to go see the National Capital Tournament, a show jumping competition where the winner will earn points towards rankings that will decide whether or not they get into the Olympics! Pretty darn impressive. Expect photos of horses in the coming weeks!

I know this is the "last summer weekend" for some of you, so I hope you all have absolutely super awesome weekends. Cheers!

Mer Bleue

I first heard about the Mer Bleue marsh and peat bog late last fall, but by then the weather was too cold and windy for much nature exploration out in the open. Finally, two weekends ago I got out there to do a bit of exploring. And yes, I went by myself because I am a weirdo like that. (And as a warning, this is a photo-heavy, nature-centric post, so feel free to skip it if it's not your thing!)





This area is very special. It is unlike any other nearby ecosystem, providing a landscape for plants that don't grow anywhere else in the region and can usually only be found much further North.



The peat bog - with up to 15 feet deep of moss in some places - is reached by a wonderful little boardwalk that first leads you through the Mer Bleue marsh. Scientists are pretty confident that, while the peat bog here is very vast, they don't expect it to overtake the remaining areas of the marsh. This is due to there being regular water flow in the area, preventing the sphagnum moss from settling.




I knew I was getting close to the actual peat bog when the flora surrounding the boardwalk suddenly started overtaking the path. The moss provides - amazingly - a solid footing for a LOT of plants. Carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and sun dews thrive here, having the added advantage of gaining minerals from the insects they eat.





After making my way through taller-than-me plants, things cleared out as I entered the peat bog proper. I was blown away that as far as I could see, there was no solid ground, only thick, damp, moss and peat. It's pretty amazing to think that full grown trees are living and being supported by nothing but compacted moss.



That's right, those birch trees - and everything else around - are not growing in dirt, but on a thick bed of peat. How crazy is that? There were quite a few visible spider webs built throughout the plants living in the bog too. I wished more than once I could get closer for better photos, but there was no way I could have stood off the boardwalk without being up to my calves in soggy moss.





I'm so happy I opted for practical clothing though, let me tell you! I contemplated something pretty, for outfit photos, but it was just so hot that day. Plus once out in the bog, the air was heavy and dead, with nearly nowhere to hide from the sun. I definitely appreciated having a hat with me!

The boardwalk brings you back through the marsh, passing right next to a beaver dam (albeit, not a very large one). Beavers play an important role in keeping the marsh clear, plowing waterways through the reeds and promoting water flow.




Eventually I found myself near the end of the trail, back up on one of the forested dunes surrounding the marsh. These trails are used year round, and I was rather taken with these adorable little posters I found on display up the hill. They're inked educational posters, explaining the how's and why's of our animals in winter, which I thought was lovely.





I spent a little while longer enjoying the quiet of the forest, but soon enough mosquitoes had found me and so I walked the rest of the way back to my car. From there, I set off for more adventures, but that's for another post!



I hope you enjoy these nature-centric posts, there will probably be quite a few more before the warm-weather season is over and done. This is still primarily a blog about clothes though, so there will definitely be outfit posts in between, and talk of clothes nonetheless.

And while I might have gone with utilitarian clothing choices - shorts, tank, sandals, hat - I still managed to look cute! At least I think so. Pink shorts and electric purple tank... that's the way to casually hike about!

I hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!