Green Green Green

I love this dress ever so much, but it's a wiggle dress, and I always get frustrated if I have to walk more than a few feet anywhere. My natural stride is very long and wearing this dresses forces me to take awkward small steps, which I'm not used to. But I keep it and keep wearing it - albeit not often - because wearing head to toe bright green is too awesome to stop doing.

 Dress - Thrifted from the Salvation Army

Belt - Déjà New consignment shop in Ottawa

Shoes - Lulu's

The intense urge to chop off my hair has subsided, although the desire is still there sometimes. My bangs have finally grown out to a length where I don't feel like a total freak and they've actually been behaving quite well recently. The best description for what my hair has been doing is looking like it should be on the head of someone cruising the coast of California. Not sitting in a stuffy library. Would that I could obey my hair!

The buttons on the back of the dress are a light blue colour now but I have a feeling they used to match the dress. Their thread matches perfectly and I think the buttons may have just faded over time. I've got the matching belt that goes with the dress too but it's a bit too long and wearing it just makes me look like a giant tube of green and that's a bit too much.

 I'm ever so happy it's Friday again. I only had a three day work week, but it's still felt absolutely interminable. I'm out of patience and just want to scream and tell my work to shove their requests where the sun don't shine. Being here is just wrong for me, in every possible way. It's toxic to my mental and physical well-being and I do not like it. Knowing how close I am to finally being free of this places makes it so much harder to still be here.

I'm spending Saturday and Sunday in Montreal, where I will finally get to meet an awesome internet friend. We've known each other for years and only live about two hours and change apart, but our lives never really crossed. She and I have plenty of fun plans involving visiting the Fluevog shoe store, going to the Archeology Museum and then eating delicious crêpes, among other fun activities. So excited! I hope you all have a really great weekend. 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!

New Arrival

I spent my weekend out in the wilds of Québec, and had an absolutely amazing time. We were camped out on the tippy top of a small mountain, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. The weather was gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better. I mean really, what more can you ask for when you crawl out of your tent to this kind of view?



And on top of having a totally amazing weekend, I got to come home to a new baby crested gecko. The eggs I had been incubating finally hatched - of course while I was away - and I was delighted to find a new little life in my home. Sadly one of the two seems to have escaped. I'm hoping it just hid somewhere and that I will find it soon. Admittedly I am worried that my cat ate it. Hopefully not! The one that didn't escape is adorable. I think I might name it Toffee.



The sun is shining and my heart is filled with joy and love. My mind has been expanded and my eyes have seen new sights like none before. I hope you all had a weekend as great as mine. Cheers!

Have Some Cuteness

Seeing as I am leaving to head off to the Electronic Brain festival today, I thought I would leave you all with some fuzzy baby-bird cuteness (after my outfit of course). These photos were taken a few weeks ago while out walking around Dow's Lake with a friend also kind enough to take my outfit photos. Said friend is very tall which explains why the view of me is from higher up than usual haha... Why it never occurred to me to take outfit photos by the lake is beyond me.

 

Dress - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Belt - Gift from Heather

Sandals - Spring

Is it weird that I actually feel more awkward having someone take my outfit photos than I do doing it by myself via timer? Even if I'm in public, somehow being by myself is easier. I guess because I don't care what strangers think but I for some reason still worry the person photographing me will think I'm a loon. 

That first photo with the seagull swooping down just cracks me up. The baby geese were already practically bigger than it was! We'd brought along old bread and so by the time we left there was quite a feathered frenzy going on. A couple with a young baby were there and I gave them some bread and it really made the kid's day to have those baby geese waddle up to him!

For being such cranky, cantankerous birds, geese are still very lovely to look at. It's just a shame they poop so much! I'm pretty sure these geese parents only tolerated our getting so near because we were handing out bread. Anyway, off I go adventuring! Expect a post with tales of my weekend sometime upon my return. Have a great weekend everybody! Cheers!

Out of Focus

I took these photos late in the evening after getting home from my grandparents' and the light was so low that they all came out really fuzzy. Ah well, it'll do! I just knew I didn't want to waste the chance at some outfit shots, and good thing because I haven't been taking any recently. My outfits only ever seem to get documented in spurts.

Shrug - Thrifted from Value Village

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Shoes - Chinese Laundry

Lizard broach - Gift

I'm trying to take it easy this week in preparation for the upcoming weekend. I'm attending the Electronic Brain festival out in Québec. There's going to be over 60 continuous hours of music from two stages and it's all set up on top of a forested mountain! Three nights and days of awesomeness! I'm going to dance myself silly. And hopefully take a ton of photos. I never take as many as I wish I would.

Hopefully we get some descent weather. I've been to more than one festival that resulted in spending copious amounts of time hiding from rain in a tiny tent so I am prepared for that, but I would really rather avoid it! I think the worst would be having to set up camp in the rain. Come on sunshine! Or at least... not-rain! I can deal with cloudy skies if it means being dry. Anywho, I hope you're all have a good week so far. 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!

Ravenswing DIY Fair

Ah Monday, here already. Once again, my weekend flew by in the blink of an eye. No complaints though, it was a great one. The fair yesterday was great fun, even if we only sold a few things. I made enough money to treat myself to a pizza dinner afterward and that's enough to keep me happy. The day was gorgeous and sunny for the most part, even if the clouds did try to rain on us at one point later on.

My friend Laura and I shared a small table. I contributed the happy Mexican blanket to liven things up. My side had hemp macrame necklaces and some of my mom's jewelery and beaded spiders, while Laura was selling hair clips and bows, and purses and pouches.

Our table was in an awesome spot in the middle of everything and we could even see the live music which was fun. A bunch of our friends popped in to say hey and check things out too. I had a ball just people watching, there were so many lovely dresses to be seen! And so many cute puppies! Neither of which I photographed of course, silly me.

These are Laura's hair clips and bows, so cute! They were a lot more popular than my bead spiders. Personally I wanted to steal away with the little felt and embroidered mushroom in that hoop up top! Anywho, I hope you all had a really great weekend and that your week begins well. Cheers!