Spiffy Sandals

These are the fantabulous sandals that I purchased while in Montreal. They're Fluevogs, and if you've never heard of them before, for the love of Marie go check out their website! You'll be wiping drool from your chin in half a minute. I was delighted to find out they had a physical store in Montreal so it was great to be able to go in and actually try the shoes on. I'm not a fan of shelling out over $200 on something I haven't even tried on, eh? Good thing too, because I had to size up from my usual 8 to a 9.

Crocheted top - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Sandals - Faiths Low | Reumah by Fluevog

And believe it or not, for a wooden-soled clog, these babies are comfy. I spent ten hours in them this past Saturday, including walking about 2 km's in 'em on hard city sidewalks. Had I attempted that with any of my other heels, I'd have been limping halfway through the day. Most of my heels don't even allow me the ability to stand for more than ten or so minutes, much less walk, dance and be sexy for ten hours straight. I'm in love! And while my wallet still hates me, my feet are thankful. Money well spent, in my book, and I know I'm probably going to be buying myself more Fluevogs in the future.

I wore this outfit to my friend's pantsless birthday party on Saturday. She's moving out of the city for the summer so we all descended on the Love Shack (as she likes to call her home) for good pantsless times. I'm glad I was able to wear the skirt too, it hasn't seen light of day since way back in September last year. As for the top, I've had it years but it's never made it onto the blog. It's actually an Extra Large, but I liked it too much to leave it behind. I shortened the straps a bit, and the under-bust drawstring helps give it shape but I'm still really swimming in the thing. Didn't stop me wearing it though, and braless to boot. Freedom!

My septum piercing is kinda wonky, but so's my personality, so I guess it works! The wee cow earrings were a gift from my friend Becky, and they're turning into one of my favourite pairs. She gave them to me while we were at Electronic Brain a few weekends ago (I'll get around to posting about that, I swear) and I put them on right away. You can see near the bottom my ugly-but-functional strap shortening attempts. Why I did that in the front instead of the back is beyond me.

These are the last outfit photos I've got on hand, so I need to buck up and start taking more again. Summer always does this to me. It gets hot and gross and all I want to wear is outfits like these, but when I go to work in an office five days a week, I'm then rarely inspired by what I do wear and don't bother taking photos. Speaking of work... my last day has been approved, with a date of July 11th. I am excited and terrified, but it will feel good once I'm finally free. Two weeks! I hope you're all having a good week. 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!

Cheetah Print and Paisley

I was good and confused when I woke up this morning. I momentarily thought it was still Wednesday, then remembered it was Thursday, and then for some reason thought it was Wednesday again. It takes my brain a good 5-10 minutes to drop out of auto-pilot and actually start thinking straight when I wake up. I'm now fully planted in Thursday though, so all is well.

Top Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Under Dress - Fairweather

Shoes - Spring

This is what I wore yesterday. It's been nearly two weeks since my embarrassing stumble in the park, and my hemline is slowly creeping up again. Most of the scratches on my left leg have healed, although you can still see some of the new pink skin, and my knee still needs time.

This dress is very sheer and I need to wear a slip underneath it. However, I own no slips, and the beach coverup I'd been using as a substitute is now so baggy on me that it hangs too low and well... doesn't keep me covered. So what did I do? I wore another dress underneath it.

I've had this brown tube dress since college, but I've only worn it a handful of times. I don't do strapless for the most part, and unless I'm being uber-casual, you'll never see me braless either. And as you can see, wearing a regular bra under this dress just looks... funny.

Something else I've had since college are these shoes! These are actually my very first ever pair of high heels. I bought 'em when I was 18 and working my first office job in the summer between college semesters. I must have gone to the store and tried them on four times before finally caving and buying the darn things hah.

 

You can also maybe see that my toenail polish appears to be different colours. It's actually the same polish, it's just colour-changing depending on the angle from which you see it. It goes from a light lavender to a gold-green colour. 

I bought this red beaded necklace at a Pow-Wow held by the Nipissing First Nations a few years ago. The little spider earrings are another pair my mother made me. And in this crazy heat - supposed to hit 32'C/90F today - my hair is still permanently up in this sanity-saving twist-bun-thing I manage to create.

My friend Becky and I are going to be going kayaking this evening and I'm super excited. It'll be nice to get out on the water and try to cool down a bit in this heat. The public beaches only open on Saturday so until then we just have to make do.

I hope you're all doing well. Cheers!

I am a grumpy grump

Or so it would seem after my last post. I'm so sorry I made such a mopey post! After thinking about it later, I realized my falling and skinning my knee just kinda gave me an excuse to cry about something else that's been bothering me.

My dear friend Becky, that I just recently got extra close to, is going to be moving away. As of July she's going to be driving a band across Canada, and probably settling in Vancouver. Way at the other end of the country!

Dress - Purchased from Gotta Go Vintage on Etsy

Purse - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Spring

The only good thing about all this is that she's going to be at Motion Notion too, which is the festival my boyfriend and I will be attending again. At least I get to see her one more time after she leaves! Until she does leave though, I'm trying to do as much stuff with her as possible.

On Saturday we took a stroll around Dow's Lake and walked around on the historic locks up the Rideau Canal, and then went to my place to play some drunken Super Mario. It's also her birthday on Monday and we'll be heading to Pub Italia to enjoy some mussels and beer!

I quickly posted some photos of this dress when I wrote about my drive up to my parents' over the long weekend of May. I am still very much in love with it. _{Especially with how awesome my legs look while wearing these shoes with the dress.} Ahem.

I wore this Saturday afternoon to have some cake and coffee with a local women's social group at a nearby indie cafe. I knew I'd only have to walk a block to get there so these shoes had to be worn. Too bad I won't be rocking this look for a while, at least until my leg heals up.

I spent some quality time with my Western Hognose Snake aka Heterodon nasicus, Checkers, before going to the cafe. I've had him a little over a year now, and he's such a darling little snake. You can totally tell by my expression that I love that little dude to bits. Momma's little hissy-face :)

I just threw some leggings on under the dress and switched over to some sneakers when it was time for park wanderings later in the day. I even had the presence of mind to bring a cardigan in case it got a bit nippy but I never had the need.

This next photo just amuses me because it so much looks like I was photoshopped into the image, particularly where my hands are resting on the ledge. Plus it would appear my hair is sneakily trying to curl itself behind my back.

We're having another few days of crazy hot weather. Since I get home soaked and disheveled on these days, outfit posts shall be slightly more sparse. Especially since this is the last of my back-log outfits.

It's probably silly, but I keep forgetting it's June, and that July is right around the corner. Where did half the year go? I guess I can't complain, it means that in 32 days I will be with my boyfriend again. (Expect me to bring this up a lot, I miss that man like you wouldn't believe!)

Again, thanks for all the kind words about my knee. I probably over-reacted but it would have been a lot better if someone had just been there to help me up and ask if I was alright, you know? I hope the sun is shining on all of you! Cheers!

We're having a heatwave...

...Oooh a tropical heat waaaave. (Am I the only one who thinks of Grumpy Old Men when I hear that song?) But seriously, it is hot here in Ottawa. How hot is it you ask? Hot enough I've given up having my hair loose pretty much ever. It's a little past 10am right now, and it is currently 27'C / 79'F but feels like 33'C / 90'F. It was even hotter yesterday. Thankfully I live in Chinatown and can get it's-too-hot-to-cook-anything takeout food from at least a dozen different places within a 2 block radius haha.

Vest - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Tank top - Fairweather

Skirt - Purchased at Ragtime Vintage

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

It wasn't quite as hot when I wore this last Thursday, but things were well on their way to summer temperatures. You can't tell, since the skirt's waist is covered by my top, but I actually had to overlap the fabric a good 2 inches and sew it together just so I could keep wearing it. I love this skirt way too much to let it go just because it's a bit big now. And I shall continue taking it in if I keep losing weight! Never shall this skirt and I part! Ahem.

I am still very much in love with my electric blue toes. Something tells me this is going to be a summer of colourful toesies, because I'm of a mind to find some more obnoxiously bright polish colours. And as you can see, I am still very much bobby-pin challenged. It doesn't help I am blonde and these were coated brown. But I was desperate. Hopefully nobody spends too much time staring at the top of my head.

It's too bad my eyes look bruised. Stupid under eye circles that will not go away! And this is WITH concealer. Seriously, I look like someone's been giving me Irish kisses if I'm not wearing makeup. That or like I haven't slept for days. Sigh. I did recently find out that I have extremely low Iron and that I'm actually B12 deficient though, and I'm hoping that perhaps once those things are brought to a healthy level that maaaybe I won't look like a zombie so much.

It is June 1st, and in 39 days I will be in Alberta and finally get to see my boyfriend again! You bet I'm counting down those days. I haven't seen him since I last went to visit for my birthday back in October. It just blows my mind it's already June though, nearly half a year gone already.

Oh, and do you remember my post thanking Anika Burke for the pretty items I won? Well there's another little contest going on for a $50 credit toward the shop. You can enter here, I know I am.

Anywho, I hope you're all having a lovely week so far. And I apologize to those of you who've been getting tons comments from me as I catch up on all my reading and commenting, hah. Cheers!