I've Come a Long Way

I could probably be all cutesy and save these particular outfit photos for my blog's official birthday on the 10th, since it's the same dress I wore in my very first post. But I'm not an overtly cutesy person. So you're getting these now. I will probably totally forget my blogaversary on the actual day anyway.

Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy 

White cami - Fairweather

Belt - Ardene's 

Shoes - Chinese Laundry via endless.com

I've come to a conclusion regarding where I take my outfit photos on my terrace.I can either get good shots of my outfit and crappy ones of my face, using the more visually pleasing tree as my background. Or, I can get slightly less interesting photos with the brick wall but where my face doesn't look like I just rolled out of bed after a bender. Darn shadows and light making my face look weird.

Speaking of weird. I was trying to take a photo showing the fact that this dress has a slit in the front, even thought it is a faux-wrap and is sewn together at the waist. Instead I look like I'm trying to be saucy while badly concealing my identity. But my eyes were bothering me so I hid them. Everybody is too blinded by my pasty white thigh anyway.

I have a clear affinity for spiders (obviously) and I was pleased as punch to discover a wee little jumping spider wandering around on the wall next to me. All thoughts of outfit photos were out of my head when I spotted this little cuteness.

Jumping spiders are just so darned cute. Even folks who don't really like spiders usually agree with me on that point, heh. I'm contemplating picking up another tarantula or two when I head to the Reptile Expo in a few weeks but I haven't decided yet. Getting two snakes is already a big deal. The last time I went to an expo with a list, it was for one snake and two tarantulas. I still came home with one crested gecko, two snakes and 5 tarantulas. I need to watch myself heh.

I am so glad today is Friday. This week felt like it went on forever. I'm driving up to my parents' tomorrow, which I am looking forward to. If the weather is nice, we'll be taking a mini-trip to Temagami to climb the fire tower and do some exploring. I haven't been back to visit in two months either, so it'll be nice to see folks again. I'm also hoping to get together with at least one of my old high school friends. We tend to converge on the town on long weekends so it's the best time to try.

Do you have any fun plans this weekend? Trips? Camping? Visitors? Whatever you're all up to, I hope you have a great time. Cheers!

Excuse the bad photography

I went down to the bank of the Ottawa river, near the River Parkway to go take these outfit photos a while back. I wound up being later than I had wanted, and hadn't thought about the light from the setting sun. And thus these pictures are all absolutely terrible. I'm actually wearing this exact outfit again right now, and I contemplated just waiting and re-taking some outfit photos tonight but... The outfit itself looks okay so eh. Just don't look at my face. And imagine I'm not so washed out and there isn't so much noise. Outfit photos are hit and miss, and this time, most of them were miss...

Tank top - Fairweather 

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village 

Wedges - Chinese Laundry

 

I started off wearing the tank top over the skirt and spent a large part of the day that way. But then I realized I looked like a large boxy expanse of green and tucked it in. Which I think looks better, if not making me a little self-conscious about my tummy. So far this is the only way I've managed to style this skirt though, and I need to think of something new. It has such pretty embroidery, it needs to be worn more often.

 

That last photo here is so red because of the setting sun. I was taking photos by the side of a bike path and people kept giving me the oddest stares. I did feel pretty silly, wearing these shoes out in the middle of a park, but ah well. I'm learning which public places make the better spots to take photos.

 

It would also appear I managed to photograph a spirit? Or so many people believe. It's said that the little globes and fuzzy spheres in photos are spirits. I haven't the foggiest what that white dot is but I don't seem too pleased about it, heh. By this point I was just getting frustrated with the bad photos and wanted things to be over. 

At least I got one nice photo of the setting sun on the river, and one satisfactory photo of myself. Some guy was kayaking on the river and decided he was going to come ashore right where I was taking these photos. Awkward much?



And before I wrap things up, I'd like to give a super huge thanks to Suze from Miss Vinyl Ahoy. I entered a giveaway she was hosting a little while ago, and I wound up winning an iPod, how cool is that! I should hope most of you already know her blog, but if not, go check it out! She's got great style and fantastic personality and her blog is a great read. Cheers!

Anticipation

My buying habits lately seem to have been this: buy nothing for weeks, then spend a bunch of money all at once. To my credit, this time at least these are things I need. Mostly. Kinda. Okay so maybe only one of my purchases was actually needed but... Well, have a gander at the lovely things whisking their way towards me in parcels and packages. You'll understand.

This dress has been in my Etsy Favourites for ages, and when I read that Sally Jane Vintage was having an epic summer-items sale well... I wound up buying three lovely dresses, and with shipping, it still barely cost me over $50. Happy? Oh goodness yes.

This pink beauty is an unexpected purchase for me. Just a few years ago, I was adamantly against any and all things pink. You wouldn't catch me dead wearing pink. And here I am, buying a solid pink girly dress. Oh how the times they are a' changing. I look forward to having fun layering this one in the winter months. Who says summer dresses are only for summer, eh? Psh...

Amazing, right? Right. Bright bold colours, giant happy flowers, crazy patterns around the hem... I can't wait to have this baby in my hands. To wear it everywhere and anywhere. Oh the love affair this dress and I will have.... Ahem. As you can tell, I really dig this dress. I'm a sucker for the 60's, ahh...

Here's where things get a bit boring (for you) but I really am excited to get these wedge sandals. The incline isn't too steep and they look uber padded and... I spent 2 weeks debating on whether or not to buy these and I finally caved. They were on sale anyway, so it was meant to be right? I'm hoping these are as comfortable as they look.

These lovely platform pumps were my "needed" purchase. I've got a pair of similarly coloured heels but they were thrifted and are long past when they really should have been tossed. So this is me investing in their replacement. Besides, how could I resist? I have a feeling these will make me feel like Joan Holloway when I wear 'em.

Have your purchased anything spiffy you're excited about? Shoes? A dress? These are probably going to be the last of my purchases for a while, since I'm heading to a Reptile Expo and the Zoo in Toronto next month, which will make a pretty big monetary dent in things. Considering 4 out of 5 of these items was bought on sale, I feel pretty good about this. All the money I've been spending on other things though... not so much. Oh money, you're so stressful.

I hope you're all having a groovy Wednesday. There were no ants in my sink this morning so I am a happy camper. 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!

Feeling Floral

This outfit seems to have caused a remixing chain-reaction in my wardrobe. Ever since I wore this dress as a top last Wednesday, I've since worn two more dresses as tops and bottoms. I only wish I'd figured this out earlier on! So much fun! I'd seen other bloggers doing it but couldn't for the life of me figure out how... I'm learning. (Just please ignore my face and the harsh whiteness of the photos... It was drizzling, so not a great photo day and I was in a hurry.)

Dress (as top) - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Rebuilt Resources

Shoes - Spring

Necklace & Earrings - Anika Burke

Ages ago I mentioned winning a necklace and earrings from Anika Burke, but until now couldn't think of what to wear it with! I'm not someone who wears large, long necklaces very often so it was a bit of a challenge. I really like how it helped add a little something to this outfit though, and I look forward to finding more new ways to wear it.

I was instantly thinking of Liz from 26 and Counting when I decided to belt the skirt. I didn't need one to hold anything up but it seemed to help complete the outfit. So thank you Liz, for showing me so many awesome belted outfits and helping me learn to belt skirts too!

Only after I'd taken all the outfit photos did I realize the flower-theme going on. Flower print skirt, subtle flower print on top, and flower accented necklace and earrings... Guess I was just feeling really floral! I hope you're all having a good week! Cheers!

Do Your Homework

When Tieka blogged about her ThreadSence Giveaway, I took the time to go through their Lookbook. After being disappointed that the adorable little aqua and pink-flower shrug seemed not to be available, and getting mildly annoyed with all the cliche native/aztec rip-offs... I spotted some stellar floral wedges by Chinese Laundry.

I've been lusting after floral wedges and sandals of some sort or other for most of this summer and spring, and I fast assumed that these shoes would likely be out of my price range. I clicked through anyway, just to see... Hey, $58, that's not bad! I did some more internet spelunking and managed to find some favourable reviews, and then... I found the shoes on sale. Well ladies and germs, it was a done deal right there.

I spent some time comparing sales prices on different sites, then compared shipping, to try and find the best price and delivery speed. I'm very happy to say that the total price, including the shoes themselves with taxes and S&H, come up to the original sale price. And I will have them delivered to me on Monday! Yes, Monday. How awesome is that?

I wound up buying them on sale from Endless.com, but I'm glad I took the time to compare. Another website had the shoes on sale for a lot cheaper, but their added shipping brought the total prices to about the same amount. No saving there. Not to mention their shipping would have had me waiting 2-3 weeks instead of just 2-3 days. It pays to do one's shoe-shopping homework!



I'm already dreaming up the outfits I'm going to wear with these. I'll need to make the most of the rest of this summer while it lasts and rock these babies proper! It's too bad living in Canada means I'm often stilted when it comes to internet shoe-shopping (6pm.com don't deliver here at all, and Lulus.com charges $22 flatrat to ship here too eek) but I think I did well here.

Now I just need not to buy anything else until after September... I need to have money to get myself out to the Reptile Breeder's Expo and Conference in Toronto that month, and buy myself another creature or three.

The next outfit post is going to be featuring another new-to-the-blog dress (it'll go great with these shoes, actually) and that will popping up tomorrow. I hope you're all having a good week! Cheers!

Time to Bloom

I thrifted this skirt weeks ago, but after one wear, the zipper broke! I brought it with me to my parents' last weekend and my mother was kind enough to replace the zipper for me. And so I get to wear my skirt again!

Cropped cardi - Thrifted from Value Village

Tank top - Fairweather

Skirt - Thrifted from Rebuilt Resources

Shoes - Spring

I never thought I'd love this little cropped cardigan so much. I wish I had more in different colours. It's really handy for when I want to wear something slightly-too-sleeveless at work.

I'm trying really hard to do new poses! Even I'm getting bored looking at myself standing the same exact way in all my photos. I'm just so picky, and it's hard to tell if what you're doing looks good until you see the photo, and then trying to tweak that pose without seeing yourself... I really envy all the bloggers who have someone else to take their photos!

My shell earrings were all over the place in some of these photos, and I have no idea why? There was no wind at all, and they're quite heavy. It's a mystery!

Today is the last day of Motion Notion, and I'm heading back to my boyfriend's place to spend the rest of the week. I'm sure I'm probably just praying for a shower right now haha...

Hope you're all having a good Monday and had a great weekend! Cheers!

Electric Ladyland

This has got to be one of my favourite summer outfits. It's bright, and colourful, and cheery! What else can I ask for in an outfit than butterflies and crazy colours? I don't wear the belt if I'm just bumming around the house, but I feel it's kind of necessary to make it at least slightly office-appropriate. It's definitely not something I'd wear to a meeting!

Tee - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Fairweather

Belt - Ardene's

I was a bit miffed to realize yesterday that less people actually READ my blog than just look at the photos. The reason I bring this up is that not just one, but two people complimented me on my "skirt" yesterday. I was wearing pants. I listed "gaucho pants" in the items and even mentioned someone thinking it was a skirt at first and... Eh. I just think it's rude not to read the post entirely. Especially when you leave a comment that pretty much proves you didn't read it. Ah well.

I'm pretty bummed out today. I'd mentioned before how my friend Becky (with whom I went hiking on the Solstice) is leaving Ottawa. Last night we went out for dinner one last time and said our goodbyes. I had been sad about this already, but when I found out she most likely wouldn't be making it out to Motion Notion next month, I was crushed.

I'd been so looking forward to seeing her one last time out there, and spending some magical friend festival time together. I'm really more distressed about all this than I thought I would be. She's a very dear friend and I will miss her deeply.

On a less sad note, at least my toes are cheerful! Bright orange and green. They make me think of happy little pumpkins. I might wind up bringing my nail polish with me out to Alberta, I do believe I'm currently too addicted to painted nails not to. And apparently my pinkie toes are now escaping these shoes, hm.

I forgot my food at home today, and I am so hungry without my morning snacks. I hope I can make it back home, eat, and get back to work in time without also getting caught in any rain. It certainly doesn't look too nice outside. But I refuse to buy disgusting, greasy, over-priced takeout. Or to wait 20 minutes in a line to buy said takeout. It takes less time to walk home!

Anyhow, I hope you're all having a good Wednesday. Cheers!

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Have you ever read the book? I read it a while back, and I like it much better than the film adaptation, although that's pretty good too. This doesn't even have anything to do with anything, except for the fact that my toes are electric blue and somehow my brain made the connection.

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Fairweather

I was beyond pleased when I noticed that my toe nail polish perfectly matched the blue in this dress. Happy serendipity right there. I wore this to work last Wednesday, and I definitely got more than one look as I went about my wanderings. There's just something about this dress, you either love it or hate it.

My job is boring enough as it is though, if I have to dress boring too, I'll lose my mind! Speaking of which, I thrifted the most mind-blowing lime green dress this weekend. I can't wait to show it to you!

Did you all have a good weekend? I spent mine enjoying a random late night phone call, playing inebriated rounds of Settler's of Catan with friends and listening to too much Led Zeppelin. (Isn't No Quarter a great song?!) I could probably have been more productive, and gotten things done, but eh. No stress.

I sat out on my terrace reading most of Sunday afternoon instead, and finally finished The Living Dead, a compilation by John Joseph Adams. The book is rather large at 486 pages, but it's all awesomeness. I was not expecting the extremely unique and original spins that a lot of the authors took when it comes to zombies. There was even a love story! If you want something entertaining and diverse and likely to surprise you, this is a good book. I hope you're all having a good Monday. Cheers!

It's been a Long Weekend

Hello everyone! This is my first day back at work after an extra-long weekend, and yet it was still not long enough. I headed to my parents' on Saturday and got home late Monday evening. My Friday and Tuesday were all about running errands and getting things done. (I must have walked a million miles yesterday!) This is what I wore to do some quick groceries on Friday evening.

Romper - Purchased from Reluctant Damsel on Etsy

Shoes - Spring

Now that the maple tree in front of my apartment is all leafed out, I decided to take a few photos in front of it. I am Canadian, and this is my maple tree! And my terrace wall is extremely uncomfortable to lean against, I will have you know.

I keep worrying this romper makes my hip/pelvic area look gigantic. One minute I feel like hot stuff, the next I feel like I look like the crazy lady unaware of how to properly cover myself. Oh bodily proportions, how you do confound me!

My cuff actually has this awesome spider encased in resin on it. I'm a sucker for weird jewelery. I actually had bought the cutest little broach shaped like a spider on the weekend, but it fell off not 5 minutes after I bought it, and then the little stones started falling out and I had to return it, boo!

The sky was pretty crazy as I took my photos. A storm was rolling over the city. I would look North and see clouds blowing East, then look South and see clouds headed West! I love a grumbly late spring thunder storm though, there's something about a cool breeze and the heavy humid air and the smell of rain on the wind.

I have a bunch of photos from the weekend I need to clean up, but I can't wait to share them with you. Speaking of sharing, I have a question for you other bloggers! For the most part, I'm totally chill and open when I write my posts, but for some reason, I still feel shy and almost embarrassed when people I know read them. Even though I'm not sharing anything embarrassing, it still seems so personal. Do you ever feel shy about sharing your blog with the people in your life?

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

Cosmic Fried Eggs and FBFF

Okay, so I happen to be wearing this outfit today. But these photos are from last Friday on April 29th. I'd actually worn something else during the day but switched into this to go to a friend's art show at a gallery in the market. Sadly I had some issues while doing some laundry in the new building for the first time and wound up not going. Woops!

T-shirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress - Thrifted from Rebuilt Resources

Shoes - Spring

I snatched up this dress over Easter weekend when I went thrifting with my parents. I paid $9 and it needed a little repair work since the fabric from one of the straps was fraying on the edge but it only took a few minutes and now you can't tell. I love the fabric too, the design makes me think of crazy psychedelic fried eggs.

My kitty Caramel watching me from inside.

I wish I could wear this without the t-shirt, but it's cut in a way that ALL my bras show around the arm area. And I'm too modest to wander around showing everybody my bra. Hopefully this weekend will involve some much needed basics shopping (thrifted of course!). I realized I have tons of funky pieces but no basic solid coloured pieces to mix them with! This isn't a new problem, but it's definitely getting more pronounced.

My super awesome spider watch, gift from a friend.

A woman complimented my dress while I was out window shopping for shoes, which definitely made me happy.  It's also fitting since this week's FBFF questions are all about shoes.

1.What is your go-to pair of shoes?
I'm actually in a really awkward shoe stage in my life. I like to walk a lot, but heels aren't good for walking. I'm torn between fashion and function. For the moment, I'm depending on several different colours of this pair from Spring. They're cheap, comfortable for reasonably long walks and come in a variety of colours.

2. What goes into your shoe buying decisions?
Price, comfort, look. I will only pay so much, a shoe has to be a certain level of comfy and I have to find it absolutely irresistible to the eye.

Earrings also gifts from the same friend.

3. The majority of the shoes in your closet are what color?
Browns and blacks for the most part, although there's some grey and plaid and a random leopard print. The colour spectrum of my shoes is growing however!

4. When it comes to design shoes what are your favorite brands and why?
Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am in love with Jeffrey Campbell shoes. Why? They have a fun, funky vibe and I hear good things about their comfort level.

Disgruntled kitteh is disgruntled!

5. If price wasn’t an issue, you’d own which shoe?
Any shoe I felt like wearing, pretty much hah. I could have left with a dozen pairs just while at the mall over my lunch break today. I really do love me a good shoe. Or three.

I do not like green eggs and ham!

I hope everybody has a great weekend! Cheers!