A Cloudy Accessory

June 30, 201513 Comments

Gus came back home from his surgery on Sunday, and boy has it been difficult. With back surgery, for the first 4-6 weeks they are not allowed to jump on and off furniture, go on walks longer than 5 minutes, do stairs, he needs strict cage rest when I am not watching, no playing, no sleeping in our bed (that is impossible, so I have taken to sleeping on the couch and him right next to me on a doggy bed)…just no fun what so ever. If you know Gus, you know that’s difficult to control. At 5 yrs, this little guy still seems like a puppy, both in behaviour and appearance. One would think it would be easy to keep him quiet because he would be painful and exhausted from surgery, but that is not the case here (dogs aren’t big babies like humans). Granted, he is on a slew of painkillers, but honestly, aside from his ataxic walking (and the giant Frankenstein incision on his back), you would have no idea he underwent back surgery less than a week ago. I’ve always felt my little cloud is the toughest little Bichon around, one of the very reasons he is so loveable.

All that to say, the little cloud is doing well, but he still walks pretty badly. The neurologist said that should continue to improve, but whether he fully gets back to normal is hard to say. We will be crossing our fingers (and so should you). As you can see, he came with us to take some pictures yesterday because I didn’t want to leave him alone at home. But he always makes any photo better with his adorable manner, so no one is complaining here. And thank you again to everyone who has donated and sent us loving messages. It means so much to me, you have no idea. My GoFundMe page is still up as we haven’t reached the goal, so if you feel at all inclined to help out, your kindness will not go unnoticed.

*photos by Ryan
Trousers: H&M
Blouse: thrifted
Shoes: Seychelles
Purse: vintage via Public Butter
Hair bow: Into The Woods instagram sale

Hometown Hunt: Christie Pits Film Festival

June 23, 2015June 25, 20153 Comments

Toronto is a big city with a ton of things to do and events taking place, and yet, I often find myself scratching my head every weekend or finding out about an event I really wanted to attend after the fact. So Meaghan and I vowed to keep tabs on the happenings of Toronto fun, and she wrote up a list of all the lovely, summery things we could do together. On that list was Christie Pitts Film Festival, an outdoor weekly movie screening that takes place in Christie Pitts park starting July 5th until August 16th. The movies on this years list are pretty stellar, The Birds, Mean Girls, Oh Brothers, Where Art Thou?…to name a few, which I plan to see all of, of course. What could be more fun than an outdoor movie?! I always loved drive-ins as a kid and I’ve been to a few as an adult, but what about those of us who don’t have cars but still want to enjoy a bag of popcorn, maybe a milkshake and some fresh air?! CPFF has got you vehicle-less, park loving Torontonians covered.

Meaghan’s Toronto fun list came to fruition through google searches, but with Eventbrite you can find tons of events going on in your city and advertise your own event right quick. Maybe you can find out if your city is also playing some movies in your local park!

*photos by Ryan
Blouse: Calivintage
Skirt: Common Sort
Shoes: Seychelles

*this post is in collaboration with Eventbrite

Beauty / Two Quick Romantic Up-dos

June 17, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve always found up-dos to be a weird thing, mostly because they remind me of horrible 90s proms or something. But up-dos can actually be really pretty if done right, and most importantly, quick and easy. So I thought I’d share with you two styles – the first one is a nod to an Edwardian hairstyle and the second is a retro one I have seen a lot around the internet lately (Zoe, Colleen, Rebecca), so I thought I’d give it a go with my own twist.

Edwardian Inspired Up-do
-start by putting your hair into a loose bun/top knot atop your head with an elastic.
-flatten your bun out a bit and start pinning it into place; feel free to pull out pieces in the bun to get the look you desire.
-after your bun is secured in place, start adding volume to the rest of the hair by pulling it out from the bun and pin any unruly pieces in their desired place; we want to achieve a more voluminous, messy and lifted look.
-add some flowers or cute hair accessories wherever you like to finish off the look

Retro Rolled Up-do
-start by placing your elastic headband on top of your hair
-from there take a small section of hair close to your ear and roll it over top of the elastic
-continue this process using hair from both sides until you have covered the hairband
-if your hair is being annoying like mine was, then feel free to use bobby pins to secure any stray hairs in place
-if you have a nice headband from the get-go, then you are all done, but if you are like me and had a boring black one, feel free to add something on top to make it more exciting. I used a vintage headband to cover the one underneath

Dress: vintage
Headband: vintage via Victory Mills

Remember Hopscotch?

June 15, 20153 Comments

This Family Affairs dress is probably my most go-to easy-peasy dress to wear when I don’t feel like making much of an effort. It’s just one of those dresses that doesn’t need much styling because it’s pretty dead awesome on it’s own – pair it with a fun shoe, a cute hat and you’re good to go, which is exactly what I need lately. With Gus being immobile, it’s sort of consuming my life. I now feel like I have a better understanding what it’s like to look after someone impaired or ill, which is the everyday life of my older brother and parents who look after my autistic nephew Jason. I can’t even come close to comparing my dog to Jason and the things my family goes through with him, but for most of Jason’s life I have not lived in the same city so I only see small doses of my parents/brothers life with him and the things they tell me over the phone. So I get it, but I don’t get it. Going through this with Gus and seeing how all consuming it is – worrying, wanting them to get better, having to help them with everything, keeping an eye on them at all times… it’s given me a better understanding of what my family experiences – there is just not much time to think about yourself. So, thank goodness for easy dresses and thank goodness I have Ryan around so I can step out for a bit and play hopscotch like 4yr old with no cares in the world.
Dress: Family Affairs
Hat: thrifted vintage
Shoes: Nosilla Vintage

Doggy Paddle

June 12, 2015Leave a comment

Days spent at the beach with friends and dogs are always the best of days, even if it’s a less than desirable beach. Although, I will never judge Garbage Beach, it has always been a spot I have enjoyed spending my time…there is nothing to dislike about a secluded beach in Toronto that we can have bonfires at (not legally, but, whatever). So since Meaghan lives just down the road from our fav beachy spot, we headed there on a Sunday to let the dogs have a nice run around and swim, which was definitely not voluntary. All three of them hate swimming, but they needed to be cooled off, so don’t think we are that mean. It was really a nice relaxing afternoon, but now my little Gussy is sick again. If you don’t follow me on instagram (get on that!) then you won’t know yet that Gus is having a rough time. This time he has ataxia. Incase you aren’t familiar with ataxia (I definitely wasn’t), in the simplest terms he has a lack of muscle control in his hind legs during voluntary movements, which means he is unable to walk, or hold himself up. It’s a neurological issue that we are hoping will rectify itself over the next few days or so, but if not, he will likely need surgery. We have to help Gus with everything now. We have to hold his back end up while he eats and drinks, carry him everywhere around the house because he likes being near me at all times and we don’t want him trying to get to me on his own. He needs help outside when doing his business, and it obviously goes without saying he can’t jump on or off anything, so I have to keep a close watch on him so he doesn’t fall off the bed or couch when we are sitting/sleeping. It’s really a nightmare. I don’t mind looking after him in this way (I’d do anything for this dog) but it’s the fact that he has no idea what’s going on that makes me so upset. Imagine spontaneously not being able to move your legs? How absolutely awful would that be?! I’m thankful he is not paralyzed – he still has feeling in his hind legs – but some narrowing in his spine is causing the ataxia. Gah! Poor guy is having such a rough time these days.