Clifton Hill

June 17, 2013November 11, 20142 Comments

Niagara Falls is one of those places that is ultra touristy, and could make me feel really overwhelmed and anxious, but instead it makes me really, really, unbelievably happy…

Alex and I have had to postpone shooting our Summer lookbook about a half a dozen times for a million scheduling and weather issues. Sunday was the day that we decided – rain or shine – it had to get done. The weather network spent the week terrorizing us with stupid little lightning bolt symbols and obscenely high P.O.P.s. When Sunday finally rolled around, we woke up to what felt like a monsoon, which put a bit of a damper on our plans to shoot at the Scarborough Bluffs (an escarpment by the water in the East end of Toronto). Luckily, we have a genius by our side, and Kira turned the whole miserable day around by suggesting we drive out to Niagara and shoot a road-trip themed lookbook – which is exactly what we ended up doing, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the end results with you (soon!).

All lookbook related excitement aside though, once we were in Niagara, the weather seemed to take our side again, and we had an absolutely perfect day. We explored the strip with all the weird tacky motels and campgrounds, and ate at a diner shaped like a flying saucer, we shopped at kitchsy souvenir shops and rambled up and down Clifton Hill drinking Slushies and letting ourselves get overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of the Midway. By the end of the day we had new freckles and frizzy hair from the sun and the humidity, and we were exhausted in a way that only perfect days with best friends can make you feel. We made dinner together and looked through the photos and I went to bed feeling extra sentimental about how much I love my friends.

Posted by Meaghan

Whitehern House, Hamilton

June 10, 2013November 11, 2014Leave a comment

I’ll take any chance I can get for trips outside the city. Since leaving Montreal and giving up my car, it isn’t as easy to run away on a whim for the day. This week though, Kira left me her car while she flew off to visit her fiance for ten days in Chicago, and I took full advantage of it. On Saturday, Alex and I drove out to Hamilton to do some thrifting for the shop (we’re really excited about our next few shop updates!), and while we were there we took the opportunity to check out Whitehern and take some pictures. There’s a place in Dundas (allegedly haunted) that we were hoping to get to, but the weather was spotty, and we were on a schedule, so we stayed close – maybe next time.

Whitehern was home to the McQuesten family, a fairly influential Victorian family in terms of industrial development in the area. There’s a great family history here, with links to all the children and what they did with their lives, as well as some pretty amazing bits of letters between the family members. My favourites are the ones from the Mother, who sounds like she was pretty sassy. The house itself is open for viewing, and from what I read, it still contains a lot of their original belongings. As usual, I went on a day when it was closed, so we weren’t able to get inside to visit, but it looks like it might be worth a tour.

Outfit Details

On Alex

Yellow blouse: Larkspur Shoppe Summer Collection

Floral Skirt, Brown belt, Shoes & Purse: Thrifted

Bowtie: Handmade

Socks: Urban Outfitters

On Meaghan

Shorts & Blouse: American Apparel

Tights: Target

Shoes: Bass

Belt & Sunglasses: Thrifted

Posted by Meaghan

Project Dabda Benefit Show

June 3, 2013November 11, 20141 Comment

The turnout at the Project Dabda Benefit Show was amazing! I have always said, dancers are some of the most supportive people around, and last night proved me so very right. I am so happy for Alvin and Hayle, I don’t think they could have asked for a better night. Both Meg and I are so glad they asked us to take part. There is nothing I love more than a night of dance, Larkspur slinging, and supporting some wonderful humans.

The benefit was filled with amazing dancers (ahem, Emma Portner, Alvin Collantes, Taveeta Szymanowicz!!!), some local artwork, Tamerra Lynn Herres selling her goodies from L.L.A.M., some delicious snacks (those brownies!), PBR (again!), and of course, yours truly, selling our vintage.

We took as many photos as we could, but I spent a lot of time having my breath taken away (1,2,3,4, maybe 5 times) by all the talent, and eating snacks with Meg.

Big thanks again to Alvin and Hayle for supporting us, and all my dancing pals who came out. And of course Matt, for helping us pack and carry things! Oh! And Kira, for letting us borrow her car! This summer has started out great for Larkspur! Lots of exciting things ahead, including our lookbook that we will be shooting next weekend. So keep an eye out.

Meaghan – Blooming Leopold dress, thrifted denim jacket, Madewell shoes, Topshop necklace
Alex – thrifted blouse and skirt, handmade bow tie, vintage hat via Public Butter, UO socks, Madewell sandals

Ever Upward

May 27, 2013November 11, 2014Leave a comment

These photos are from a few weeks ago, when Matt and I took a stroll in the ravine. At the time I was being silly, and enjoying such a beautiful day by frolicking barefoot in the forest. The following day my skin formed some sweet little rashes, along with the urge to scratch my skin off. I was kicking myself for thinking I could just lie in random bushes and grass without considering my very sensitive ginger skin ~~(I don’t actually regret it)~~. Luckily, it was not poison ivy. Phew!

As for this past weekend, Meaghan and I went thrifting for the shop at a movie clothing sale they put on every couple months at some of the film studios here in Toronto. We brought Kira and our friend John along with us. The vintage goods weren’t exactly on the cheap side, but we did come back with some pretty amazing things that weren’t out of our budget. We are keeping them hidden away until we shoot our lookbook because they are that good!

This coming Sunday, my friend Alvin (one of the most talented dancers I have ever had the pleasure to dance alongside) asked us to participate in his benefit show for his upcoming stage production. Alvin and Hayle’s piece is about teens growing up in the 1940’s – a coming of age story, if you will. We provided some of our vintage for a photo shoot they had a couple months ago. And this time around, he asked us to have a little pop-up at the benefit. We will be there, along with some crazy talented dancers in Toronto. If your Sunday is free, come visit us, see some cool dancing and maybe bid on some stuff at the silent auction.

vintage dress, handmade hair bow

Posted by Alex

Larkspur at Spring Vintage Market

May 22, 2013November 11, 20142 Comments

Our first pop-up has come and gone, and we could not have asked for a better one. The day started out VERY early, with plenty of unpacking, steaming, hanging and booth set-ups with the help of our dearest friend, Lindsay (Lindsay, you are a god send). Penny Lebo of The Clothing Miner, was a gracious host/organizer, and made the day run smoothly with not one single kink to be found! (THANK YOU PENNY!)

The day was filled with vintage galore, bbq’d hot/veggie dogs, PBR, sangria, homemade cookies, kimchi, tons of sun, good music and even better friends.

We were lucky enough to meet fellow blogger Camille of Unpretentious Bouquet Of Parentheses selling her vintage from her shop, Irene & Irene Vintage. Oh my goodness, she has some of the most beautiful vintage I have seen in a long while. My heart skipped a couple beats every time I skimmed through her racks. I ended up treating myself to one of her blouses, as I could not stop thinking about it throughout the day.

Thanks to anyone and everyone who helped us out, came by to visit, bought some things or opened up their home to the sale! People are awesome!