Grace Under Pressure

September 29, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

Well things have been a little chaotic in my life as of late. The blog has been a bit neglected because of how time consuming moving has been for us. We opted not to rent a truck for the move since Ryan has a pickup truck, but that means we have been moving things almost every single day, leaving little time for anything else really. How I ended up owning so many things is beyond me. It’s made me realize I really need to learn to purge my things every once in awhile. Clothes is a BIG one for me (obviously, tee hee). It’s a bit tricky though because it seems most of the clothes taking up space are Larkspur items (oh how I wish I had a studio space!). I realized while moving just how much stuff I have yet to list that have been sitting in my “to-list” bin for what seems like months. I’m looking forward to getting a little more settled in this new space so I can bombard the shop with a ton of new stuff (and hopefully get it out of my closets). Anyways, I just wanted to give a wee update. It pains me a lot when I feel like I just don’t have the time to take pictures for this blog or update it regularly. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure I have things to share with you. But Ryan has tried to remind me that things don’t always go as we plan them (I have a hard time accepting that) and it’s okay for me to be busy with “real life” stuff, so I should not beat myself up when I can’t stick to my regular schedule.

Thanks for being patient with me guys. I’m hoping by next week things will be back to normal. I do plan to update this week as much as I can, so keep an eye out. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Blouse & Dress: second hand & vintage via Common Sort

Marco Polo

September 15, 2014November 11, 20149 Comments

I must admit, I am wholeheartedly excited about dressing for Fall right now. It’s really so fun to unearth pieces you have had hidden away in your closet for months (or buying new pieces, teehee). It has given me the breath of fresh air that I so desperately needed. Now, this pinafore, oh this pinafore! How do I love thee, let me count the ways. It has horses/polo players on it and is made from re-purposed vintage Ralph Lauren fabric. Cool right!? I wanted this pinafore from TLO when it came out last season, but someone snatched it up before me online. I’ll save the long story of how it came to be mine, but Casie, who was the original owner of this gem, gave it to me (we got to know eachother through instagram, and just so happen to both live in Toronto). The clothing gods shined down on me that day (or more like the angel Casie, thanks Casie! you doll!) I’m pretty excited to style this baby. I opted for a print on print look this time around. I swear to you, when people say you should buy basics to go with everything in your closet, ie. neutral colours, plain… they didn’t know what they were talking about. This thrifted Joe Fresh button up has been a god send to me, and a real wardrobe staple. It goes with so many things in my Fall/Winter wardrobe, it is silly. Anyways, this outfit feels like me. I love pattern mixing, which I barely did any of during the Summer, for whatever reason. I’m excited about this weather change right now…but I’m sure that feeling won’t last long.

Pinafore: The Loved One
Button-up: thirfted via Common Sort
Hat: borrowed from Meaghan
Purse: H&M
Shoes: Seychelles

Dear Ottawa

July 22, 2014November 11, 20142 Comments

I just got back last night from a very short but so so sweet visit to Ottawa. It was my grandparents 60th anniversary (crazy right!?), so I knew I had to be there to celebrate with them and the whole family. There were faces I hadn’t seen in years, so it was really nice to see how well everyone is doing, and how grown all my cousins are. Unfortunately Ryan was on call for work, so he couldn’t make it down, but I’ll drag him along next time to experience the country’s capital. I was pleasantly surprised to find my best friend Kristen and her other half Sergio were also in town to see Book of Mormon so I crashed their date after the show and we went to eat fancy tacos (no surprise there) at El Camino and sip some beers and bourbon sours. Our friend Jon joined us later in the evening, and honestly the night was so good. It was an evening full of nonsense talk (which is pretty much my favourite) and laughing till our cheeks hurt and our bellies burned. It’s tough sometimes, not being able to see Kristen whenever I want. What we have is really special to me and I miss her so much, but it’s nice to know that even if we don’t see eachother for months, we can always pick up right where we left off like no time has passed at all.

These photos are from some antique and vintage browsing I did with my parents on Saturday afternoon. I have a post planned for this place because it was super cute and full of treasures.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

*photos by my mom

Blouse: thrifted vintage
Skirt: thrifted Club Monaco via Common Sort
Bow tie: handmade
Shoes: Seychelles
Tote: Parkdale Flea

Not a Daywalker

June 16, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

Last week I found a great spot to take pictures, similar to a secret garden, but I assume it eventually gets filled with water to become a pond, so I’m not sure for how long I can use this space. Another notable thing about these photos is that I wore my hair up! Just last week I talked about how I always wear my hair the same, so I thought I’d try something new. I quite like it. It will be a nice style for when the weather becomes really hot, and my hair loves to stick to my neck and forehead. This will be short and sweet today because I got an awful sunburn yesterday and I’m feeling very under the weather. A lot of red painful skin and I’m pretty sure I’m dehydrated. The woes of being a ginger. I’m usually very good at remembering sunscreen, because within 5 minutes of being in the sun I can turn into a lobster. But I forgot, and now I am a crustacean.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I’m going to slowly make my way to the drug store to get some aloe, because our little aloe plant has helped a wee bit, but we don’t want to kill her. I need an industrial sized bottle I think, much more than what little miss aloe can provide. I’m also planning on updating the shop this week. Something I have been having difficulty doing. Having stock in a shop and online has become difficult. I never quite know what I should add to the shop, and what should go online, so I’ve kind of just been avoiding restocking online. But I photographed some new stuff to add, so it just needs some washing and measuring. I’ll be in bed all day today, so it seems like the perfect time to do just that.

Shorteralls & Blouse: vintage via Common Sort
Socks: H&M
Shoes: thrifted
Lipstick: Trop Chaud by Mac

You look so familiar

June 9, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

Recently, Meaghan and I were talking about getting out of our comfort zones. We are both people that get nervous about the unexpected and unfamiliar, and so we sort of avoid it, convincing ourselves that nothing good could come of it. We both came to realize we have always had best friends or partners that pull us from our comfort zones and show us that the unfamiliar is not always so bad. In fact, it can be great. And while that is really nice, it’s something I wish I could do on my own more regularly. The same rings true for my appearance. I pretty much wear my hair and makeup the same everyday. I used to be far more experimental when I was young, but maybe as you get older you just know what you like. I have not had the desire to change around my makeup routine in years. Probably because I wore far too much of it as a teenager, and I like to keep things as natural as possible nowadays. But – not to toot my own horn or anything – I’m quite good at makeup. It’s something that has always felt natural and easy for me. I cannot draw a picture for shit, but I can make a perfect cat-eye in no time. It makes me consider possibly adding a beauty series to this blog, because I’m going to be real, you won’t see me walking around with blue eye shadow any time soon, but I’d happily share some tips and fun ideas on here. But I digress… My hair is much the same way, although I have never really considered myself very savvy in hairstyling. As a teenager I’d play around with different styles all the time, nowadays I go through months and months of wearing my hair the same way. When I was growing it out it was always up in a bun, when it was a little longer I would rag roll it, and now I wear it wavy, which takes the least amount of effort out of any of those and I really like that because I have a shit ton of hair. In the grand scheme of things, wearing my hair and makeup the same everyday is small potatoes and honestly doesn’t matter, but it is an example of how I generally stick to what I know and feel comfortable with. The familiar is good, I like it, but adding a little spontaneity to my life probably won’t kill me.