Giveaway / Ellen Face Vintage

August 4, 2014November 11, 201411 Comments

When I received this top from the wonderfully curated shop, Ellen Face Vintage, I knew I wanted to shoot simple pictures, highlighting the beautiful detailing of this beaded wonder. I own nothing like it in my closet and took a real chance when I selected it, but when I put it on it made me feel like a princess, and I’m now wanting to fill my closet with beaded beauties just like this one.

Ellen Face Vintage is filled with pieces for everyone of every style – adorable 60s dresses, 70s airy boho, 80s glimmer and sparkle, 90s grunge and a ton of sweet accessories. It is always hard for me to pick from her collection because there are so many things I love. Lucky for all of you today, Ellen Face Vintage is having a giveaway! And one of you could win $25 to her shop to pick anything your little heart desires.

How to enter:

Check out her shop, and comment below with your favourite item (don’t forget to leave your email)
For an extra entry favourite her shop on etsy and/or follow on instagram @ellenfacevintage (and let me know that as well in the comments below)

* Giveaway runs until Sunday, August 10th. A winner will be selected on Monday, August 11th.

Top c/o Ellen Face Vintage
Skirt: thrifted via Common Sort
Hair bow: handmade

Into It, Intimates / Bully Boy Lingerie

August 1, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

It’s always pretty exciting to find designers based out of Toronto. I’m often proud to say I’m a Torontonian (by choice) because there is so much talent living in this big city, I feel lucky to be surrounded by it. It’s all the more exciting when I come across Toronto-based lingerie designers. Enter Bully Boy Lingerie. Designer Vanessa Warrack – who is also co-designer of the ever popular Minnow Bathers – creates pieces that are simple in design but stand out with interesting details – v shapes, horizontal and vertical panels covering lady bits. Depending on your style, you could argue that some of these pieces could be worn on a night out with a pair of high waisted shorts/skirt/pants (I know I have seen similar things worn by AA enthusiasts). And why not make lingerie pieces that aren’t totally inappropriate for everyday wear? The more you can wear them,the better, in my opinion. It seems Vanessa has not released any new designs in awhile (correct me if I’m wrong), I’m sure most of her focus is going toward Minnow Bathers, which is becoming more and more popular. But if she does decide to release new designs, well, I will welcome them with open arms.

My favourites: Sheer Mesh High Waisted Panties, Sheer Striped Bra & Panties, Floral Sheer High Waist shorts, Ultra High Waist Panties, Sheer Black Mesh Soft Bra

Carousel Antiques

July 31, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

Even after several decades of marriage, my parents still learn new things about eachother. One thing they sort-of recently came to realize is that they both have a great deal of interest in antiques. Antiquing has become a regular thing for them, and it’s lovely to see them really share something together. I am the only one of their children that shows even a mild interest in this hobby of theirs, (maybe more than mild, almost everything I wear on my body is old, and my home is decorated like a grandmother’s) so while I was in Ottawa they brought me to an adorable antique shop located in the village of Franktown, in a historic building from 1832. Carousel Antiques was an endless cavern of exploration for me. To be honest, I don’t normally buy much when I go to antique shops. I get overwhelmed at how much i could buy, and instead buy almost nothing (unless its the best ever) and just take pictures of these delightfully cluttered spaces. It’s near impossible to get a bad picture when you photograph spaces like this. Carousel was filled with gorgeous wooden furniture in almost perfect condition, vintage clothing (!!!), kitchen and housewares that date from the 30s-50s, collectibles and more. My absolute favourite room was the one holding all the kitchenwares. They have mono-chromatically colour coordinated each corner of the room, which was so aesthetically pleasing to me (if you are looking for a specific colour of something, this makes it very easy). The red and yellow corners were the most prominent – we’re talking Christmas explosion and bursting sunshine madness. Unfortunately I did not find any pastel pink dishes that I so desperately wanted to find. Had they had a pink corner of the room, well I’d probably still be there, living in it. I did however come away with an amazing 1950’s beaded cardigan in pristine condition (im scared to wear it) and an adorable yellow floral apron to make myself look cute while baking.

If you ever find yourself in Ottawa (or Carleton Place or Smith Falls), it’s worth the drive. And the owners are super friendly and know their stuff!

9619 Hwy 15
Franktown (between Carleton Place and Smith Falls)
613-284-2695

Belle Vie / 16

July 30, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

1-2. Over the weekend we shot Larkspur’s Summer Lookbook ’14. Gerald shot everything on 35mm, Leesa gave us beautiful Bridget Bardot inspired looks, and the beauteous Marta and I modeled. Things have been a bit difficult for me since Gertie’s passing, and I was considering postponing the shoot, but I’m glad I didn’t. It was a wonderful and much needed distraction.
3. Ryan spent the whole day on the beach with us while we shot Larkspur’s lookbook. It can be horribly boring to sit around during a shoot you have no involvement in, but I really appreciated him being there for me. Yes, that is his mexican blanket wrapped around his head. He is very good at entertaining himself.
4. For my birthday Ryan bought me a cactus and Meaghan got me a jade plant. I like plants.
5. Ryan had once claimed he had never tried a pickle before, which I thought was ABSURD! He kept saying he didn’t like them, but that made very little sense to me, since he said he had never tried one, so I made him eat one. It is still unclear whether he likes them.
6. This was the last picture I took of Gertie. It was on Tuesday evening, the day before she passed. She was looking to Ryan to give her a little taste of what we were cooking.
7. Cute cook in the kitchen.

Gertie, my love

July 29, 20145 Comments

Last Wednesday, tragically and unexpectedly my sweet dog, Gertie, passed away. I’ve been avoiding this blog and real life since then because I’m not sure how to move forward. I’ve had numerous posts planned, but it has felt wrong to continue on normally, and especially on here, without acknowledging the pain and the tragedy that has occurred in my life, and I have not felt ready, until now, to say something about it. For anyone who owns a dog, they understand that our dogs are our babies. That’s what Gus is, and what Gertie was to me. My babies. The babies that give me unconditional love each and every day of my life. Both Gus and Gertie were rescues, and I did and do my best to give them a loving, safe life once they are in my care and part of my family. I will spare the details of Gertie’s passing because it’s very personal and has affected both Ryan and I tremendously, and has made accepting this so much harder. Had she been old and had a full life, maybe this would be easier to deal with. But at this point, I feel a tremendous amount of guilt that she didn’t get the long, beautiful life she deserved.

I’ve been lucky up until this point to not have to deal with a loss so great. But it also makes me feel ill equipped to deal with something like this. I miss her so much it often feels impossible to ever feel happy and whole again.

I strongly believe everything happens for a reason in life – to teach us, to help us grow, to bring us together. At this time I am unsure why something so horrible would happen, but maybe with time, things will become clear. What I do know is that you need to cherish the people and animals in your life. To let them know everyday that you love them. To not sweat the small stuff. Life is full of tragedy and sadness, but it’s also full of beauty and if you allow it, love. All my friends and family have been so wonderful through all this, and I feel lucky to have them in my life. I never want to forget how lucky I am. That even though my days feel so terribly dark right now, there is a silver lining.

To quote one of my favourite movies: “The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday, that’s guaranteed.
And I can’t begin to explain that- or the craziness inside myself and everybody else, but guess what? Sunday is my favorite day again. I think of what everyone did for me, and I feel like a very lucky guy.” – Silver Linings Playbook

RIP Gertrude. You are and forever will be, my sweet baby girl.