A First on the First

Happy New Year! I had a nice NYE with family, and ditto on today. I'm starting my year off surrounded by those I love, with good thoughts in my mind and warmth in my heart. Couldn't ask for a better way to kick off 2014!

Time Traveler

I don't often get all dressed up these days but when I do, I go all out and pay attention to tiny details. This outfit makes me feel a bit like a time traveler, as if I could go back to say... 1972, and just blend right in. My clothes were most likely around back then!

Blouse- Purchased from Aliya & Lucas on Etsy

Skirt - Purchased in Paris, France

Belt - Gift from Heather
Shoes - Thrifted from Value Village

I have written exams next week, and then my in-kitchen exams the second week of December. I cannot wait for this semester to be finished! I'm enjoying it, but I am absolutely exhausted mentally. Being around people so often is really taking its tole on me. I can deal with a tight knit work group fairly well once I get to know them, but 40 or so students just stresses my very being.

While there are some students who's company I enjoy, most I wish I could just avoid. Their presence, their voice, just grates on my nerves and makes me want to scream. The fact that people can't just be quiet is beyond me. What's so wrong with just sitting with yourself and not making a constant racket or trying to get attention by whinging or blabbering on about something nobody cares about?! I don't understand people at all.

At least I'm doing fabulously in all my classes. Academics were never much of a challenge for me, especially not now when it's a subject in which I'm actually interested. My grade is high enough in the one class that I'm actually exempt from the final exam, which is great. Now if only all the teachers instituted such a rule, because I'd have no written exams at all hah.

I spent my morning ironing quilt squares for a lap quilt I'm hoping to gift my mother for Christmas. They were originally meant for a double bed sized quilt, a project I started years ago and lost steam for when I realized how big of a job I'd set up for myself. A lap quilt is much more manageable, and some of the work is already done which is encouraging. Fingers crossed it gets done! I hope you are having a good week. Cheers!

A Good Thing

They say that once you find something good, you don't mess with it. That's what this outfit is like for me. It fell together one day, and like a flash, it felt right. And so whenever I wear it, it's always the same, right down to my jewelery. The only things that might fluctuate are my shoes and my makeup.

 Top - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress-as-skirt - Gift from my aunt

Shoes - Gift from my grandmother

Earrings and necklace - Made by my mother

I love this dress for how it flows and moves. It's light and airy, but can still keep me reasonably comfortable on these cooling fall days. My top has many lives, as part of regular outfits and sometimes as a pajama top. I'm attempting to pare down my wardrobe - as always - and this kind of multi-use is important with doing that.

Another perk to this outfit is that it very well hides the fact that I've gained a lot of weight this year. I'm really not happy about it, and I know what I should do about it, but there's a huge gap between wanting and doing and achieving for the moment.

I've been a dedicated mineral makeup convert for quite a few years, and the only products I wear that aren't from Earth Angel Minerals on Etsy, are my mascara and eyeliner. For the curious, my eyeshadow in the above photo consists of a base of Dark Grey on the outside of my lids, and Matte Snowflake on the inside of the lid and up toward my brow. Over this I brushed Moon Goddess (a purple shimmer) and Borealis (a white shimmer). I've come a long way from being obsessed with golds and greens. Anyhow, time for me to kick back for a few hours. Cheers!

Another Day

I've fallen out of the habit of taking outfit photos - which is a shame because I've been wearing some pretty neat stuff lately - but I think part of it is due to the changing of the seasons. It's almost always windy out, and often cloudy or raining. And while I love Autumn, the smell, the crispness of the air, it doesn't really lend itself to my going out there in short sleeves for photos with my half-broken camera.

Necklace - Made by Me

T-shirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Belt - Ardene's

Skirt - Vintage from Kilo Shop in Paris

Mocassins - Sears

I suppose I can just start taking them indoors again like I did this photo back in early September. Eventually I won't have much choice either way. I'm spending a lot of time in my kitchen now, even more than usual. I'm trying to practice a lot of the recipes from school, which I think I mentioned before, but cooler weather always drives me to my kitchen.

This is some Scallop Seviche, with jalapeños and cherry tomatoes on a chiffonade of lettuce. It was actually really delicious and I'll definitely be making this dish again. I attempted to make a vegetable consommée this past weekend but due to some stupid mistakes I messed it up. I'll be trying again though, because I'm stubborn and it's something I really want to be able to do.



My parents were doing work on their bathroom late last week so my mother brought her ball python Fluffy to my place until they were done. I couldn't resist piling him in with my two boys, Galen and Rorschach. They make such a cute pile o' pythons!

I should probably start getting ready for my baking class this afternoon though. We're making the Choux Pastry Swans that I practiced last weekend. Should be a good class. Cheers!

Foreign Goodies

This outfit has another shawl that I picked up while in Belgium. I really like the earthy colours here. While I do wear a lot of bright colours, browns, greens and golds are my favourite pallet. Not a whole lot to say again today. I'm going to school, trying to get into the swing of things.

 Shawl -Vintage shop in Brussels, Belgium

Top - Value Village

Skirt - Value Village

Clogs - From my grandmother

It was pretty breezy that day so my attempts at photographing the shawl opened up really didn't go so well but it gives you a good idea of it. While I'm sad that summer is coming to an end, these coolers temperatures do let me snuggle in a nice light shawl and that's a welcome change.

The cooler weather is also allowing me to wear my green velvet jacket, and now that I drive most places I don't have to be as concerned about being weather-ready. I love my black leather jacket but it can be nice to wear something dressier or less practical every once in a while. Hope you're having a nice week. Cheers!

Behind In the Times

I meant to post this outfit before I left for Europe but it kind of never happened. So before I can start posting more current outfits, here's a final summery one. As it is, the weather is gloomy and cool and not at all like summer. September is here and it's making itself known, that's for certain.

Skirt as a Dress - Walmart

Belt - Can't remember

Necklace - Value Village

Sandals - Value Village

I was a little bothered that everybody could see my bra straps but I got over it quickly enough. This was comfy and breezy and colourful and lazy, everything I needed it to be that day in mid-August. This morning I have to get dressed for cool temperatures and rain though, since my classmates and I are going to a farm to pick some corn! Cheers!

Static Growth

Things change. People change. But some things always stay the same.

Flash Bang

Bright colours are something I love, but I love them even more in the summer months. I know 'colour blocking' was a big thing a while back, and I don't know if it's still 'in' or not, but frankly, I don't care! I love this outfit. It felt bright and fun and I enjoyed wearing it.

Sunglasses - Walmart

T-shirt - Walmart clearance

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Clogs - Gift from my grandmother

I'm making spur of the moment plans to attend a festival with this weekend with a friend I haven't seen since way back in March. I'm really excited, both to see her, and for the weekend of great grooves and dancing that awaits us. This weather is perfect for it. I'm so excited!

I hadn't expect to be able to attend any festivals this year so this is a nice surprise. I'll be visiting another friend afterward too, since the festival will put me just a little over an hour away from them. I'm making the most of my 3-day weekend! Anyway, I hope you are all having a good start to the week. Cheers!

Pinky

I've not been buying much clothing this year, for various reasons, but this skirt haunted be since I saw it in the store weeks ago. While shopping for cheap work duds, its hot pink swishiness caught my eye, but at a full price of $16.00 I couldn't bring myself to buy it. Especially considering how many other skirts I currently own.

Glasses - Walmart

Top - Gift from Heather

Skirt - Walmart

Clogs - Gift from my grandmother

However, to my pleasant surprise, it was in clearance for just $5 when I was back in the store. So I snatched it up. I figured after four weeks of having seen it and it being on my mind almost daily, that it was really something I wanted and not just a passing whim. I'm glad I purchased it, even if I do usually frown upon clothes from Wally World. Either way, it was worth the five bucks. I hope you all have a great Friday! Cheers!

Simply Happy

These last few days have been exhausting for me. I finally started working at a local bakery on Monday, and it's taking some getting used to the early mornings and the physical labour. But I am enjoying it so much! My days fly by and I'm doing things that bring out the passion in me. I feel much more confident in myself here than the last bakery in which I worked. The people are really great, my boss especially is fantastic.

Top - Purchased on Etsy from Aliya & Lucas

Belt - Gift from Heather

Skirt - Purchased at Rag Time in Ottawa

Shoes - From my grandmother

After work I had the time to sneak in a little power nap before heading to North Bay for a bit of shopping. I'm used to working in tank tops but my current workplace requires sleeves and so I nabbed some cheap t-shirts and comfy sweat pants in which to work without having to worry about staining them or getting covered in flour. Bakery work is a lot messier than restaurant work most of the time, especially when you're as messy as I am.

Summer is still slowly creeping in around here, the nights are so cool that plants are behind in their regular plant-y schedules. From the flowers in the field next to my home, you'd think it was early spring. The bushes by the fence are actually packed with blueberries and the little plants are covered in itty bitty still-green berries. I'm hoping they can mature well and that I'll get to feast on their deliciousness.

Another perk to my home is that my front door and kitchen window faces East and I get to see the sun rise as I get ready for work. Some people really dislike early mornings, but there's something about those really early mornings, before most people are awake and the world is heavy with the hushed stillness. The air is still cool and crisp and fresh. My bike rides to work really perk me up and make me feel alive. My life is simple here, and I like it that way. I'm happy, and I hope you are too. Cheers!

Rain Is An Excuse To Bake and Cook

It really is. In the last few days I've made three separate cream soups, pizza dough to freeze and then a fresh pizza, French macarons and several cakes. I would need more stomachs to keep up with my production. It's still raining today and I'm cooking up spicy chicken thighs for my father's birthday supper. These outfit photos are a few weeks old but they're nice and cheery compared to the weather so this is what you get!

Shirt -Thrifted from Value Village

Dress-as-skirt - Giant Tiger

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

Black forest cake usually has chocolate decor around the side and sometimes on top, but seeing as how I don't know how to properly temper chocolate and I think chocolate sprinkles are tacky as hell, I left it plain.  I soaked the cherries in rum myself so I'm interested to see how this thing tastes. Hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Catch Up

The weather can't seem to make up its mind these days. Sunny and warm, cool and gloomy. But always windy. It's difficult to make any sort of lasting outdoor plans. Before I forget I even took them though, I'll post these old outfit photos from back in late April. If I remember, it was snowing that day. Oh Canada...

Blouse - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Dress as skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Thrifted from Value Village

I recently finally had my hair trimmed and got rid of a few inches of badly split and frayed ends. My hair is still more than long but I miss that length nonetheless. I imagine I'll just keep growing it out again, I just need to stay on top of keeping it properly trimmed.

I'm attempting a no-shampoo method of cleaning my hair now. A mix of baking soda, water and a few drops of essential oils. Already I'm making my own face wash, face scrub and deodorant, so hopefully this hair cleansing method works out too. I'm really liking the natural ingredients, it always feels so harsh and odd going back to chemical-filled products. Anyway, I hope you are all having a good week so far. Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day

I have a great love for all the mothers in my life, and I hope each and every mom of you has a wonderful day with your children! I baked up a special moka cake for the occasion, just a few days after baking a birthday cake for a friend. The weather's gotten quite cold - cold enough to cover all my garden plants - so it's no surprise I'm back to baking again.

Leather jacket - Danier

Skirt - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Rubber boots - Thrifted from Value Village

This photo is back on April 25th, which is why things are still brown and grey compared to the lush green outside now, but the weather is essentially the same. I just couldn't bring myself to post this on a beautiful sunny day. Today suits this!

The first cake was a simple vanilla cake with confectioners frosting, for my friend (and incidentally also a momma) Karen's birthday. It was good, but sooo sweet. I won't be making it again. I imagine if someone likes very sweet things that would be the cake for them. The second is a moka cake, génoise layers soaked with coffee syrup, with coffee butter cream icing and toasted almonds. It was a recipe from my Cordon Bleu collection. My writing abilities are rusty, I'd really need to practice again. I'll be bringing the Mom cake to my parents' later today, and I can't wait to eat it. I hope you all had a great weekend. Cheers!

Massive Glasses

These vintage shades are pretty ridiculous, but I love them and can't help wearing them a lot now that the sun is out and shining. I'm not usually a fan of huge glasses but these just got somethin' goin' on. I'll probably look back on these photos in twenty years and think I was crazy haha...

Top - Custom print

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Moccasins - Sears

I drove out to a friend's to pick up a little loveseat today. The drive was nice, I always love driving on beautiful days, with the windows down and music loud. It felt almost like summer rather than spring, it was so warm today.

Now I'm going to curl up on my new couch, with the last coffee for the day, and do some reading. I hope you all had a great weekend. Cheers!

Today before Yesterday

Because I really want to share today's photos and the ones from days prior can just wait. It was another lovely day today and I spent the afternoon cycling up and down my long driveway, fine-tuning the gears on my bicycle. My yellow sweater seems to have become one of my favourite items this spring, which makes me glad I decided to keep it. I just couldn't bare to part with its cheery yellowness.

Sweater - Thrifted from Value Village

T-shirt - No idea anymore

Skirt - Gift from Heather

Moccasins - Sears

The landscape is still pretty drab and brown, but the pussy willows will soon bud out into leaves and fresh green grass will sprout through last years dry dead stalks. Spring peepers and other frogs are already singing happily outside, and I'm seeing little spiders scurrying about. The world is warming!

Tomorrow will be another gorgeous and warm day, and now that my bicycle is all in order, I'll probably go for a nice little ride. I'm also hoping to go pick up a little loveseat a friend of mine is giving me, so I'll finally have a proper couch in my living room. I hope you all had a lovely Saturday. Cheers!

Floral Maiden

Why I've never worn this red skirt with this top before is beyond me, because it looks lovely. If I may say so! I've already fallen behind in posting my outfits - big surprise - so this is from a few days ago. I didn't do much that day, just went to another small town with my grandmother and great-aunt. The later got her hair permed while my grandmother and I tooled around wasting time. It's nice being near family again, even for simple stuff like that.

Blouse - Purchased from Aliya & Lucas on Etsy

Belt - Gift from Heather

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Moccasins - Sears

It's a gorgeous day out today, sunny and comfortably warm. I might get out for a short bicycle ride later this evening, after my father and I go for a chip. It's just too bad with all the rain we've been getting lately, the water is so high, but the lake still hasn't broken its ice. It's messing up fishing opportunities. Apparently the smelts have already begun running but trying to catch them in an overflowing creek isn't exactly easy. Looks like I'll have to wait another year before I can go smelting. I hope you all have a great Friday! Cheers!

Mustard Greens

Tomorrow I have an interview at a local bakery, which if I'm lucky will lead to a good job. I've got my fingers crossed! They were looking for someone with two to three years experience but I'm hoping my Basic Pastry certificate will help me out there. Clearly I'm good enough to at least call in for an interview. We'll see how it goes.

Blouse - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Belt - Second-hand shop

Shoes - Bayshore Mall, years ago

It's raining like mad outside, has been since last night, and it's supposed to keep raining for several days. My front door has been leaking too, which is rather unpleasant but at least it's nothing extremely serious and it should be fixed soon enough. I just wish it would stop precipitating long enough for me to go biking again! If it's not snow, it's rain, and if not rain, snow! Bleh!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday, but I woke earlier than usual to spend time with my friend and her baby, and after a large sushi meal that evening all I wanted to do was nap. I slept right through the time I'd planned to go biking haha, but ah well, I guess I needed it. There's a whole summer ahead for me to enjoy outdoors. I hope you are all having a good week. Cheers!

Hiding From Snow

Well it snowed most of yesterday and late into the night, and there's more snow than you can poke a stick at out there now. I can just imagine what a mess it would be if all the snow that's fallen this winter hadn't periodically melted away before this, because it's back above my knees again without that. My cat is a little miffed that the snow has filled his little passage out on the terrace where he likes to hang out, but soon enough he'll have ample space to run and cavort.

 

Top - Can't remember

Skirt - Thrifted

Sandals - Thrifted

I'm going to be leaving Ottawa. Everything that's been happening in the last year or so has been hinting that my time here is done and I've finally made the decision. I gave my notice to my landlord, and I'll be moving back to my home town in two months or so. Sooner if I'm lucky. It was a really difficult decision, and there's a lot here I'm going to miss, but there's a lot there that I'm looking forward to as well. It's going to be wonderful being around my family again, instead of four and a half hours away.

I'm particularly looking forward to being near my grandmother again. She's a sweet woman and I haven't seen enough of her these last few years. Not to mention my friends, some of whom have wee baby daughters I'll get to see grow up now. But my plan is to attend college in the next city over - I'm still waiting on the official acceptance into the program, fingers crossed - and I'm looking forward to that. It's going to progress me further into the food industry and help me achieve my dream of eventually opening my own place. But today is another snow day, so I'm off to place so video games and drink too much coffee. Cheers!

Fruity

It's hovering just above freezing outside and it feels like Spring is on the way. Too bad it's still going to be months before winter's grip finally releases us and the weather starts to really warm up again. At times like these, I dress extra colourfully, to try and keep myself cheered up in this time of drab greys and whites and muddy browns out there. I guess my baking desires are along the same lines because I've been making strawberry tarts over the last few days.

T-shirt - Can't remember

Skirt - Gift from Heather

Shoes - Thrifted

I've had a lot of spare time on my hands - for reasons I won't go into because they're bumming me out right now - and I can only sit around playing video games for so long before I start going loopy. I cleaned the heck out of my apartment yesterday, which really needed doing. I don't know why I avoid it for so long, when it doesn't take that much time. Really it only takes about as long to clean this place, mopped floors and all, as it does to make a tart from scratch.

I made the mini tarts a few days ago and the full-sized tart this evening. Its recipe was from my Cordon Bleu pastry book. We saw the Chef make it during class but we didn't make it during our practical because it's so simple. I fought a little with the crust dough, and I'm not exactly certain why it was misbehaving, but it seems to have turned out well enough. I had some left-over dough and baked up a few mini tarts today too and the one I ate - with extra whipped cream - tasted just fine.

Not counting an apron, I baked dressed like this. I unfortunately managed to burn my right arm taking the tart crust from the oven but I'm getting used to having burns at some degree of healing somewhere on my arms or hands most of the time now. But now that my baking is done and the kitchen is all cleaned up, I think I'll crack a beer and go back to playing video games for a while. I hope you all had a good start to the week. 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!