Procrastinator

I'm really quite a horrible procrastinator. Usually in theory it's not so bad because I just envision myself doing in the future when I know I will have time, but then between the future and now, something else comes up to take up that time and leaves me in a bind. Like the position in which I am currently, where I have a five page essay due Tuesday with only two written up, and basically Sunday is the only time I have to work on it now.

 Jacket - Vintage, purchased in Paris, France

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Thrifted from Value Village

It also means that these outfit photos are from back on October 18th, three weeks ago. It seems my active interest in blogging waxes and wanes, as does my time available to do it. And really I should probably be working on my essay right now heh, but hey, procrastinator!

I'm out of saved up outfit photos after these ones too so I suppose I'll just have to stop being lazy and take photos again. Now that winter is setting in, and that I've started up a part-time job (I'll mention that some other time) I have less time to photograph even less outfits. There's not much point in getting all dressed up if I'm going to just take it all off to put on my chef whites. But anyway... I need to work on that essay. Cheers!

Ripe

I work hard, and when I get home, I don't always really feel like getting dressed up in a complex outfit. It's times like those that wonderfully simple frocks come to my rescue. This tie-dye dress has been in my wardrobe for several years now, and while it doesn't get tons of wear, I still love it. In a way, it symbolizes the beginning of my journey into who I am now.

 Dress - Purchased from After Shower Shop on Etsy

I actually wore this dress in one of my very first ever posts on this blog, back in September of 2010. It seems like a lifetime ago when I look back on it, even though it's been barely three years. I've changed a lot and come a long way.

My outward appearance is quite similar, but on the inside, I'm a whole new person. I was a little green sprout back then, and now I'm a thriving tree with leaves unfurled. Being in my mid-twenties, I'm still very young and have a lot of growing and changing to do yet. But being able to look back and see and feel my progress and growth is really nice.



The sun rises every morning, granting us a new day to do with as we please. It's up to us to use that time to our best advantage, to enjoy it, and this life we have under that sun. I used to struggle through my days, slogging through them like a chore, forever living for the horizon without any real goal or destination in mind. My days were slipping by unnoticed, wasted, when those days were exactly what living is all about. I'm doing my best not to waste any more sun rises, and to relish all the sunsets. I hope to enjoy so many more. Cheers!

Cosmic Nebula

I waited far too long to make the repairs to this dress. It had been sitting in my mending pile for near on a year. Several holes had been poked and ripped through the thin outside layer, but I managed to mend them and now I can wear my crazy dress again. Admittedly it's rather large on me, but I like it too much to give it up.

Dress- Thrifted from Rebuilt Resources

Skirt as tube-top - Sirens

Sandals - Spring

Life is just plugging along at a thousand miles an hour. It feels like ages ago that a friend and I made these chalk drawings out on my terrace. I'm responsible for the abstract shapes while my friend drew the embracing birds.

I really love these sandals but they're not very comfortable. Which is a shame because it was a whole song and dance just to get myself a pair. They've been sitting in my closet for years and only now am I finally taking them out more often. I'm also having plenty of fun with my makeup most days still. I probably went a little overboard this day, but with everything else going on, I couldn't help it.

I think the only big downside to bright outfits is that it's all the more apparent when you wear them on a regular basis. It's hard to stealthily re-wear a bright dress in comparison to jeans eh? I'm also still getting used to my outfits being totally visible to the public eye. After six months swaddled under drab and shapeless coats and jackets, it can be a little unnerving when every bum eyes you walking down the street.

There isn't a whole lot for me to say right now. I still haven't found that 2nd baby gecko but I haven't given up hope yet. Tonight my friend Laura and I are attending a small belly dance performance. We weren't a large enough group to perform ourselves this time around but maybe we'll be ready come December! I hope you're all having a really great week. Cheers!

Inside Outward

If you could take a peek inside my mind and see my thoughts, things would probably look a lot like the print on this dress. Bright. Cheerful. Bold. Lively. Dynamic. To name a few. There are so many joyous thoughts and plans rushing around in there. It's like a crazy game of bumper cars, with flashing lights and ringing sounds as riders get jostled roughly about. All in good fun though!

Dress - Purchased from Ninth Avenue Vintage on Etsy 

Earrings - Gift from grandmother 

Sandals - Sears

Of course, not everybody enjoys a good bumper car battle, and so not everyone is comfortable with me and my various forms of self expression. Like my clothes. Or my taste in music. Or my past-times. Which is really just a loss for them! I tend to think, about 98% of the time, that I am super-awesome-fantastic and anybody would be crazy not to like me. And while that's extremely egotistical, I'd rather be a happy egotist than an unhappy person overly concerned about others' opinions.

Of course that doesn't mean I don't care about others' feelings. I think this mindset kind of helps me. Being friendly and open and caring is a lot easier if you already think you're the bees' knees. At least it seems so to me. I don't need outside validation to be a happy person. I'm not seeking approval or support. Whether or not someone thinks my dress is obnoxious, or that my life views are naive really doesn't concern me. I don't worry about those things and I try my best to be nonjudgmental about those things towards others. It's harder for me to deal with the rejection of my friendship and love than it is to deal with someone thinking I have bad taste in shoes or need a hair cut. I'm a selfless egotist, perhaps? Or maybe self-confidence is too often called egoism and I'm getting them all mixed up. (Bumper car crash!)

Let's just say that sometimes I do come off as harsh. Beating around the bush is not my style and in some instances my blunt honesty can be a little more than people can handle. I don't intentionally try to be hurtful or unfeeling or self-centered, but in the end my priorities do revolve around myself. It takes a lot of effort and presence of mind for me to take other people's feelings and viewpoints into account when I interact with others. I'm not fond of people or situations that upset me or make me uncomfortable and sometimes I can lash out more quickly than I should. I'm still learning.

Oftentimes it feels like I'm at an emotional learning stage that I'm too old to really be in. I swear everybody else went through this awkward crap in their teens? I'm all thumbs. I blunder through sensitive emotional interactions. I have the hardest time reading the level of someone's emotions. Are they only kind of grumpy or are they enraged? Is she just a little sad or is she about to burst into nonexhaustible tears? And I always feel so clumsy trying to console or cheer someone up. It's frustrating because I would love to be that person, but I'm still busily gluing my own parts back together. Trying to help someone else do that seems beyond my abilities right now. I mean well, but I'm not willing to put myself in a position I know isn't healthy for me.

Anyway, all that nonsense aside, things are good. I've booked a bunch of days off this month for various activities. Tomorrow is booked for a major apartment cleaning, which isn't very exciting, but things spice up after that. Tonight is my weekly belly dance class and beers with my friend Laura. Saturday is my friend Helen's baby shower, and then a night out at the bar with a fun group. Next weekend I'm heading out into Québec to attend the Electronic Brain music festival. I am SO excited for this! So excited!! It's going to be a blast. And then the weekend after that one, I'm going up to Montreal to visit my super-awesome friend Nicole. Plus a bunch of other amazing things because my life is just amazing right now. Emotional awkwardness and all! I hope you are all having a groovy week. Cheers!

Psychedelicized

Hey everybody! I am so sorry... I guess I just sort of wandered off for a few weeks. I don't have any valid excuses. There was some gorgeous weather, and I wore some really cute outfits. But I was lazy and didn't take any photos. And then I got sick. So maybe I do have an excuse, here at the tail end of things. Technically I am still sick, and I am in these photos too - I took 'em on Saturday - but the dress had me all excited and that overpowered everything else.

Dress - Gift from Anne

Belt - Aeropostal sale, $5

Shoes - Thrifted from Value Village

I received the most amazing package from the wonderful Anne over at A Cup Full of Sunshine. It was full of goodies, including a hand knit neck warmer (it snowed a few days ago, maybe I'll be able to wear it after all) and oodles of lovely clothes. This dress took the cake though, that's for sure. Anne said in her note that she saw it and instantly thought of me, and I understand why! The minute I laid my eyes on this baby it was love.

Is that not the most obnoxiously bright and cheerful print you've ever seen? Just looking at it cheers me right up. It's almost like wearing the frozen scene from a kaleidoscope. And of course it's all the more special to me because it was a gift from Anne. I was blessed not so long ago by a package from Heather. These are both women who've never met me in person, and yet they sent me packages without prompting, absolutely filled with love and tenderness and warmth.

The tattoo on my back reads "J'ai la force pour tour surmonter" or "I have the strength to overcome anything". It was a tattoo I got pretty spur of the moment when I was 19. I don't regret it, but putting more thought into it would have been a good idea. Eventually I either want to add minimalist pine trees and autumnal coloured trees, or cover it with a nightscape of a pond and northern lights.

I thrifted these white shoes on Friday. They. Are. Amazing. It's like walking on marshmallows. They are so comfy. I wore them the entirety of Saturday... even though I never left my apartment! If I'm staying home, I usually don't wear any makeup, so this is my face without an ounce of makeup on it. I actually think I look quite good without makeup most of the time.

I'm also not wearing a bra here. Which for me is pretty damn rare. Even if it (supposedly) looks okay, I don't usually feel comfortable without one but for some reason in this dress it was totally okay. And I'd happily go out in public just like this, makeup-free face and all. I am going to try harder not to disappear for so long again. I hope you're all having a good week! Cheers!