I’ve Got It All

April 25, 20165 Comments

Together…sometimes…but usually not.

The weekends when I am able to fit in work and fun are the type of weekends I come away from feeling truly whole. When you work a full time job (I recently became a buyer for a second hand/sometimes vintage shop), maintain a blog and other social media platforms all by yourself, own a dog, teach dance, help your partner with work, occasionally style and model for shoots, try to attend blogging/insta events, sometimes sell clothes…it’s hard to feel like you are on top of everything. To be honest, it’s fucking impossible to be on top of all of that. The thing that usually gets pushed to the wayside for me is friendships. It’s hard to maintain friendships (I’m mostly talking about surface friendships here) when you are an introvert, but also someone who feels literal guilt when you should be getting work done and instead are spending time with someone. And as I read that sentence, it sounds kind of awful. The thing is, I love my friends, the ones that don’t feel like work and get that I am kind of busy and will often say no to something because I have work to do. But on the flip side, I’ve had to work with the feeling of guilt I get when I am hanging out and not working by actually pushing work to the side and allowing myself to have fun without “consequence”. It’s been strange acknowledging that feeling and trying to work with it…I often feel like I never get it quite right. But this weekend felt truly balanced, and I woke up this morning with a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of wholeness. I realize it won’t always be like this. I won’t always feel like I’ve got it all together, and that’s really okay. As long as I am able to appreciate and recognize the moments where it does all fall so perfectly together, then I couldn’t really want or ask for anything else. We are all just trying to get by in the ways that make us feel good or make us feel bad, sometimes. It’s those things that drive us forward, but sometimes make us stuck. As long as we can see ourselves in all the ways we are or are not driven, well I think that’s all we can really do. In my little understanding of psychology and self-understanding, it’s just being able to see the way we work that makes us able to start changing for the better.

Can you relate? Do you have the opposite issue? Let me know in the comments below.

Outfit: Who Wears Short Shorts?

February 23, 2016February 24, 201610 Comments

in the GOLDEN HOUR

I’ve owned these navy shorts for many years now and never been able to part ways with them – they always make the cut (kind of a pun?). They are lightweight, made of a super soft cotton, and have a dressy feel to them, similar to many of my high-waisted trousers. I love them as much as the day I got them, however, being put in the dryer one too many times over the years, they have become really short, we are talking bum cheek peeping out when bent over short. Until recently I had never considered pairing them with black tights, which would totally solve the bum problem…like maybe these could be cold weather shorts instead of summer shorts?! I guess the reason I had never considered it is I actually kind of dislike shorts with tights, or rather, light coloured (including denim) shorts with black tights (but only black tights, this does not include dark coloured tights…picky picky, I know); I do not like that specific contrast. Without thinking about it too much I had written off shorts with tights altogether without considering that a pair of dark shorts, navy perhaps, would actually look okay with black tights…it might even look kind of awesome.

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Aside from this revelation, it’s a bit funny how people react to wearing shorts in the winter. Last night Zach and I went out for dinner and when I got out of the car he was surprised to see I was wearing shorts. He said something along the lines of “shorts?! it’s cold!” He knows I wear dresses and skirts year round, and if you stop to think about it, shorts are absolutely no different, at in least in terms of warmth or lack there of it. It just goes to show how much people really consider shorts a warm weather garment. I am a shorts and tights convert, although I don’t think you’ll see the contrast-y pairing any time soon…I can’t see that disdain budging any time soon.

Outfit: Coming Home

December 28, 20155 Comments

Larkspur Vintage | Outfit: Coming Home My parents have lived along this bike path as long as I’ve been alive, or rather, as long as my older brother has been alive, so about 29 years now. We first lived in a town house in a little courtyard along the bike path and then moved a street over to a bungalow backing onto the bike path. This path and forest has seen me through years and years of childhood games, teenage rebellion and a whole lot of over-dramatic sassyness. It’s as much part of my childhood and teen years as our family home, so I felt compelled to share a bit of that with you while I was in Ottawa visiting my family for Christmas. It actually felt pretty lovely that snow fell on this particular day, because before then there was absolutely no snow in Ottawa and the temperatures were much more like early fall than late winter. I honestly don’t much like snow, but it’s beautiful when you are just looking at it and not trudging through it, so I was glad that it showed up on the day I decided to snap some photos. I’m back in Toronto now, but it was nice to spend some time with family, start feeling like a human again (read: not sick) and recharge for the New Year.

How was your holidays? Do you have New Year plans? Tell me things. ❤
Larkspur Vintage | Outfit: Coming Home Pinafore c/o Mod Dolly
Blouse: F21 (similar, similar)
Toque, mitts, scarf: H&M
Tights: Target
Shoes: Sylvie and Shimmy

Outfit: Living In Colour

November 30, 2015November 30, 201511 Comments

Larkspur Vintage | Outfit: Living In Colour If I’m being honest, winter is my most dreaded season. Not because it’s really cold (I mean, I definitely don’t like that) but because the shorter days and lack of sun really do a number on my mental health (as it does for many). You guys know about my struggles with that, and you know last winter was an especially tough one for me (maybe you don’t, you can read about it here, if you want). However, I am in a very different place now – both physically and mentally – and with that comes a very strong desire to keep my spirits up when the sun is peacing on us way earlier in the day. I’ve been making a mental note of the things that make me feel good in the winter; a soak in the tub while watching a favourite show (that would be Parenthood right now), baking things I won’t eat all of, sewing (mostly in the way of repairing clothes that have holes in the armpits…how do I always do that!?), coffee in bed, reading a good book, going on a hike (albeit, dressed very warmly), laughing with good pals, putting on an adored song and dancing around my apartment (Blessings by Big Sean, im looking at you) and of course, a colourful outfit, much like the Mona dress I am wearing here. Maybe I often seem vapid because clothes are so important to me, but clothes are very much linked to the way I feel mentally. Putting in a little bit of effort actually makes me feel good inside, and that is something irreplaceable to me. Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling my best, it was dreary out and I was having a hard time willing myself to get things done, but when I put on this dress and stepped out of the house for a walk, my mood shifted and everything that was overwhelming me felt much smaller and easier to tackle. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery and a change of clothes.

Tell me about something you do in the winter to help keep you in a light-hearted mood. I’d love to hear and maybe add some to my list ❤
Larkspur Vintage | Outfit: Living In Colour Dress c/o Mona
Blouse: thrifted
Coat: vintage via TVCS
Ring c/o Good After Nine
Tights: old ballet tights
Shoes: Sylvie and Shimmy

Outfit / Fit For A Queen

July 27, 2015July 27, 20159 Comments

If I had to decide what my ultimate clothing staple was, it would likely be a white/cream blouse, which is blatantly apparent when you look through my closet; I own a whole slew of them. That might seem a bit excessive, but each one is different, giving me a multitude of options for styling. For me, a white blouse goes with pretty much anything and everything; long and short skirts, layered under a pinafore or sleeveless dress, trousers and shorts, under a sweater, untucked, tucked in, dressed up, casual…the list goes on. White blouses are romantic and timeless, and a really great one is something I will always fall for. The sleeves and neckline of this little number had me at hello and I quickly knew it would be a new favourite. With an air of nobility, I figured I should wear my hair in pseudo-crown (read: milkmaid braids) and photograph it in the most monarch-worthy garden I could find in my fair city. I think this whole look would have been punched up a bit with a floor length skirt, but it was bloody hot and I’ll do a lot of things for fashion, but overheating is not one of them. I often think my British ancestry still very much lives on inside me; I’m generally displeased with the heat and the cold, leaving only those short periods of mild temperatures during the year where I am completely content, which is a constant reminder that I live in the wrong part of the world…but I digress. White blouses, forever.
Blouse c/o Larmoni
Skirt: F21 (similar)
Belt: thrifted
Shoes: Sylvie and Shimmy