Remixed

These are all things I've worn before but never together. This isn't a drastic change from this outfit, but the darker skirt and different shoes definitely put a fun twist on things. Plus any outfit that allows for my cheetah print shoes, is a good one!

Blouse - Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Spring

Saturday the 23rd is my last day here in Alberta. I'm probably going to spend the next week moping about, missing my boyfriend. I can't wait to finally live out here and not have to go through these months of separation anymore.

I tell myself that my plight is not new, that thousands of women and wives suffered far more than myself in the past. All the couples who were separated during war times, they had a much harder go of things. I get to contact my boyfriend nearly everyday, while in the past, slow-moving letters or costly long-distance calls were the only option.

My great-great-grandmother spent much of her adult life living alone in her home with her children. My great-great-grandfather was a lumberjack, one of the men who felled trees in the North of Ontario and Québec, and he spent most months away from the homestead.

Knowing these things doesn't necessarily make it any easier, but it gives me hope and reason to believe that everything will be fine and work out in the end. Ten more months and I will be with my love. And it seems, 10 more months is a price I will gladly pay for - hopefully - a lifetime of love.

I made my boyfriend this necklace. I am so worried it'll be too short. But by the time this post goes up, he'll have been given it already and I will know haha...

I hope you all had a good week, and that this weekend blesses you with happiness and good times. 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!

Frumpy Reality

Sometimes, as awesome as I feel in an outfit, the photos just do not convey that. Instead, they convey that I am a hot mess. But considering it was swelteringly hot and humid on the Sunday I took these photos, I guess that's to be expected?

Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy
Lace under-shorts - Ardene's
Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

You can't see them very well, or at all, but I am wearing a pair of lace shorts under my dress. It has two slits over the thighs and this can make wearing this dress rather risque at times haha... The shorts help keep the dress down and also make me feel better without flashing so much bare thigh.

I actually have to safety-pin the top of this dress together. The buttons hold but the fabric refuses to lay in a way that doesn't let everybody look inside my dress.

I had fun with my makeup again. Here I actually used colours from Sephora's Glamouflage. I'm a sucker for greens and golds. The green here is usually really dusty and pale and finally I clued in that wetting my brush helped it go on more true to the colour I wanted. Plus they call the one colour "neutral beige shimmer" but it says GOLD to me.

Today we're heading to my boyfriend's grampa's farm. The farm is just half an hour from the Motion Notion festival site so we're camping out at the farm the night before. That way we'll get a head start in the morning and get dibs on the best camping site! Cannot wait to dancedancedance! The next 5 days will be a blast.

I hope you're all having a great day! Cheers!

Keep this moment forever

Happy Friday everyone! I am sooo excited. Today is my last day of work before my two week's off and I take my plane early tomorrow morning. I mentioned in my last post that I'll be heading to Motion Notion next week, but most of my vacation will be spent doing not-a-whole-lot in a sleepy prairie town.

I imagine this probably seems wasteful to some, but I really can't wait to just spend a lot of time lazing about with my boyfriend, playing with his kitties and watching too many zombie movies. When you've been away for 8 months from someone you love, you pretty much wind up content just being around them, and don't much care what you actually do. And hey, if you aren't comfortable and happy just existing around your partner, there's probably something wrong.

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

I thrifted this dress a few weekends ago and I'm so happy with how these photos turned out! It was a lovely July 1st and I was visiting my parents for Canada Day. It was warm, sunny and there was just enough of a light breeze to keep us all comfortable.

This was one of those few days where I had nothing to do, nowhere to go. No obligations, no demands, no responsibilities. I enjoyed it very thoroughly, because that doesn't happen often when I go visit.

It's funny, because a year ago, had you told me I'd be wearing white clothes, I'd have told you you were crazy. And yet here I am, rocking a white dress. And admittedly loving the thing to bits. It helps that I am actually kinda tan now and my limbs don't just fade into the fabric hah.

I also had fun with my makeup that day. This is another of those things with which I've only recently started experimenting. I've been wearing my makeup the same way literally for years. Suddenly I'm all about colourful eyeshadows. Too bad I feel inappropriate doing my makeup like this for work or I might actually get good at it!

You won't be hearing much from me for the next 2 weeks, although I do have 3 scheduled posts that should be popping up sometime between now and my return. And if I remember to bring my camera cord, maybe I can get some posts written up while my boyfriend naps (dude is like his cats, naps a lot).

I hope you all have a great weekend! Cheers!

T minus 9 Days

In nine days, I will be in the lovely Drayton Valley area of Alberta, on the Bent River Ranch. Why will I be so far from my Ontario home of Ottawa? I'll be attending Motion Notion, a crazy far out electronic music festival.

I know attending music festivals is "in" but this isn't your typical music festival. This is like entering another world. A land where time does not exist, every face is a friendly face, and you will be blown away by the things you see.

For five days and four nights, hundreds and hundreds of free spirits mingle here in this beautiful place. Lush green fields, thriving forest and flowing river surround us all in an embrace. We dance the nights away and welcome the rising sun with shuffling feet and blissful smiles.

And I mean hey, someone brought a giant game of Jenga!
How awesome are these folks?!

And then of course there's the free hooping workshop, and the palm reading workshop and the tarot card reading workshop... all of which I want to try and attend! Plus this year, the festival is providing us with free UV glow paint and giant transparent plastic flowers and butterflies. Once we paint them, they will be put up around the main stage.

 

 She found this lost baby bird on the forest floor, and kept it with her throughout the festival, keeping it fed and keeping it safe.

So much lovely body-art to be seen! So many artists!

Plus there's all the amazing fire dance displays, knife juggling, belly dancing... well, you get the idea. It's an awesome far out festival! I can't wait to join all these crazy dancing people again.

These photos do not properly communicate the feeling of being here though. You can really feel the difference, the vibe is friendly and welcoming. There is love in the air! This is my 3rd year attending Motion Notion, and I absolutely adore it. Life altering it can be.

Have any of you been to this type of festival? Heading to any sort of giant festival yourself this summer? I hope to share lots of photos this year, but I meant to do the same the year prior and I got barely any at all hah. We'll see!

Hope you're all having a good day, cheers!

Because It Was Raining

We're either scorching to death in the sun here, or hiding from torrential downpours and thunder storms. Many parts of Ottawa and surrounding towns have undergone flooding in the last few weeks. I am very thankful for living on the 2nd floor of a building up on a hill. So if the worst of it for me means taking indoor photos with flash during a power-out, so be it!

Top - Fairweather

Skirt - Fairweather

Sandals - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

I bought this blouse way back in 2008 when I started my first office job. I don't wear it all that often, but it was the only thing I could think of pairing with this skirt that would be office-appropriate.

I love these sandals. I thrifted them for $7 and they're so fun. The strap is a little tight around my ankle, but nothing I can't live with, and they're surprisingly comfortable for something with such thin strips to press into my feet.

This skirt is lined but it's still pretty much transparent. I felt a little bare at work but I was desperate for what to wear until I got laundry done. Not too sure I'll be wearing it to work again unless it's with a longer top.

And frankly, it's best worn where I can prance about and enjoy its flounciness to the full. I mean, what a waste if I can't spend all day spinning about, right?

I have some great shots of a yet-to-be-posted thrifted dress from a few weeks back, and some colourful eye shadow I've been letting loose with lately. I'm trying to decide if I want to organize some scheduled posts for my two weeks vacation or not. I don't think anyone will notice my absence, it seems everyone is busy as bees these days.

I hope you all had (or are having) a great weekend! Cheers!

Canada Day!

One hundred and forty four years ago today, Canada came to be as a real country. It had a long way to go to get to the size it is now, but humble beginnings mean not a humble end. Canada is indeed one of the largest countries in the world, something I took for granted as a child.

 

The Ottawa River in the Gatineau hills of Quebec, Canada.

I grew up in rural Northern Ontario, and have only recently ventured outside my home province. As I grow older, I learn of all the amazing places held within this country's borders. Coast to coast, ocean to ocean, the breadth and size of this nation and its people is astounding. Not to mention our ability to live in a land where winter lasts anywhere from 4-8 months of the year, depending on where you're situated!

Frozen Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada.

I'm always going to love this land I was born into. There's a piece of me that will always be attached to North Ontario's rolling hills and valleys, its abundant swamps and ponds, numerous lakes and the web-work of rivers, streams and creeks. This land is vibrant, filled with a pulsing life imbued by generations of settlers and immigrants that came to conquer her and call her home.

A hayfield near my hometown of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada.

My own relatives have been here since before Canada was in existence. My ancestors helped forge a path for those of us here today. Not many people I know can trace their lineage back so far. My blood has walked this land since it was named New-France and even before.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada.

While my love for this land is undying, I will admit the institution that is Canada's government does not illicit such fervent emotions of love. I know I am lucky to live here, in this country where I am free to be who I want to be and do what I want to do. But I still also believe that this country still has a long way to go before I can really be proud to call myself Canadian in political terms.

 

  The Ottawa River at Deux-Rivières, Ontario, Canada.

But if anybody asks, I am Franco-Ontarienne, a French Canadian living in Ontario. And I am proud of that. So Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, and an early Happy 4th of July to all you Americans! Cheers!