Spot On?

Jacket? Vintage, thrifted (similar here) Jeans? Acne, Winners (here) Boots? c/o Aldo (here) 

Turtleneck? h&m

Originally I wore most of this outfit last Friday night to go out for sushi with Julie and our respective Matts. Though that night I actually had some high waisted, wide leg jeans on instead. The wisdom of wearing high waisted jeans out for all-you-can-eat sushi is up for debate... 

The next day I wore these black skinny jeans and... I'm ok with the look. For some reason I don't love the black turtleneck with the black jeans that much. I think I was hoping for ridiculously chic but the front view felt a little like footless pajamas because the black between the pants and top had no variation. Hence, I didn't include any pictures of the front view... sneaky.
I'm going to bust out the leopard jacket again this weekend, give it another try. It'll be like baseball, I get three strikes for a chance at that home run. Though, if you've read my blog for a very long time, you might remember that one time it actually took me 8 strikes. Here's hoping I can dress better than I can play baseball.

Festive Sparkle

  Jacket? Maison Scotch (similar here, with studs here or with sweater sleeves here) Skirt? c/o eShakti (here) Boots? Aldo Denim shirt? Joe Fresh, thrifted (similar here) Beaded purse and necklace? Thrifted

Due to the constant stream of holiday decorations rolling by on my Instagram feed, I decided to start decorating for the holidays in a timely manner. In a rare moment of pre-planning, I had actually put all the Christmas decorations in one, labelled Tupperware container in the attic last year. Matt, however, in a moment of non-planning, had put that Tupperware container in the very back corner of the attic when he decided to organize. The good news is that I got the Tupperware out. The bad news is that the attic is a mess again. 

Regardless, things are coming along nicely, decoration wise. Putting out all the festive junk made me realize I dress like I decorate. I put a bunch of random crap together and then add a good amount of sparkle. I'm consistent like that. 

Thank You!

Happy Day! The entry Julie and I put into the WWYCT contest for Ottawa Street won first place! Which means, that thanks to your votes, $1000 get donated to the Hamilton chapter of the Alzheimer's Society! And that's a lot of exclamation marks because we are really excited!
Seriously, we can not thank you enough for the votes, the tweets and the Facebook shout outs... I'm tickled pink that you took the time for us. And obviously, because thank-you is not enough, here is an awkward GIF of Julie and I jumping. We tried to get a picture of us in the air at the same time and that didn't happen. Synchro jumping is difficult stuff, you guys...

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

Serendipity

Jacket? Via Consignment Blouse? Thrifted Jeans? Gap 
Shoes? Naughty Monkey, thrifted (just found these with a toe plate too!) Clutch? Thrifted

Necklace? Clyde's Rebirth (top one) and thrifted

I'm quite pleased with how the colours in this outfit came out. The deep purple jeans, with the turquoise shirt and the rust jacket all came together nicely in a very autumn appropriate outfit. Even more appropriate when I realized the outfit matched the vine creeping up the building. 

When the background of my outfit pictures serendipitously matches my outfit, I take it as a sign of my destiny to fashion blog. Or... it's just a random fall vine that happen to match my jacket. Yup, it's probably just that. 

Choose Your Own Adventure

Skirt? Tevrow and Chase (similar idea in dress here) Top? Mexx, thrifted Jacket? Costa Blanca 

Boots? Aldo Necklace? c/o Ruebelle (here)

When I edited these photos I was thinking about what I should write to go along with them. I could write about how much I am still enjoying what is left of the leaves... oh wait, I already did that. I could write about how I will take any warm days November gives me to bust out bare legs... and that's been done too (whoa... old post alert). I could also write about how I waited a very long time for this skirt to go down to $16... but that's way old news too.

I could technically leave the post at that, as a bunch of links, wherein you choose what you want to read about. It would make my blog like the Choose Your Own Adventure of blogs...

Please tell me you remember Choose Your Own Adventure books! I lived for them when I was younger... Well, I loved them but they always terrified me too... I mean, the book starts out with you playing at your friend's house and the next thing you know, you witness a a mob murder and then you have to choose between secretly jumping in the mob car to see what is going on or returning home to finish your homework. I always chose the safe option. I would choose to be at home in a flash, working diligently at maintaining my GPA and working hard to erase all what I had seen from my memory. But sometimes the safe option ended up bad too... I could choose to do my school work and the mob would still find me.  It was my goal reading those books to make it through the first full reading and keep myself alive. One wrong choice and you were falling off a cliff towards certain death. They were kids books but they had some pretty scary endings...

Happily for you, none of those links down the memory lane of the blog will send you off a cliff... they'll just waste your time. 

Ready, Set...

Top? Thrifted Jeans? h&m, thrifted and bleached Belt? Off another dress Boots? Ash, Winners (similar here or without studs here)

This top I thrifted was actually part of a set with this skirt. Indeed someone in the past, who was infinitely cooler than I, wore both of those sequin pieces at the same time. I bought the outfit because I wanted the skirt and I thought I would just donate or sell the top.

If it feels wrong to you that I would get rid of a sequin item, don't worry, it felt wrong to me too... I'm glad I never got rid of it because though the shirt might be a little oversized but there is not much a belt can't fix. Besides I'm a big fan of oversized shirts and my favourite denim shirt needs a break occasionally.

We can all agree denim is a wardrobe staple. I'm at the point now where sequins are too. 

All Gold Everything

Sweater? Zara (similar here)  Skirt? Alfred Sung, thrifted (similar here) Shoes? Ash (similar here) 

Trench? Club Monaco, thrifted Purse? Tignanello, thrifted Necklace? Banana Republic (old)

So, apparently I am on a gold kick? There is such a thing as too much and I like to skirt the line.

In addition to my outfit, something else that recently got the gold treatment was Matt's leather recliner chair. Yes... I spray painted Matt's favourite chair. I feel like that was risky business. In my defence, something had to be done. Matt took over the chair from his dad and the chair was definitely from the era when we loved forest green and dusty pink too much. This era was known as the early nineties. Matt thinks this chair is the best thing ever and will drag it out to slouch in it all night.And then, I would duly put it away whenever we have company over because it 'didn't match the decor'. Not going to lie, I felt a bit like a nitpicking wife every time I would put the chair away. So I compromised. The chair could stay, if I could paint it gold.

And here would be the part where you would expect a picture of this awesome DIY gold chair to match my sweater and skirt... But there was a problem. I did research, took my time and it looks pretty cool... but apparently the chair manufacturer (probably a knock-off like Lazee Boi?) used a lower grade leather on the side and back of the chair and the paint won't dry properly. I need to figure out a solution for this slight problem. Until then, I will be thankful that Matt is a patient sort. Just like one day Matt will be thankful that he has a gold recliner. Cause he deserves one... Green was never good enough for him and I just wanted to correct that. I have only the best intentions.


P.S. wow! wow! wow! on your support of the last post. Wow! Did I say that yet?

What Will You Create Today

Two years ago, I took a year long break from my sewing machine. I was over it. That year long break turned into two years and it might well have turned into three years, if it hadn't been for Julie. Julie asked me to be her partner for a competition promoting Ottawa Street here in Hamilton and I said yes. Yes because Julie is my home(town) girl and because it was time for the sewing machine and I to reconcile.
Julie and I were given $200 to spend on Ottawa Street and we were told to use our purchases in a creative way to demonstrate the possibilities of Ottawa Street. Ottawa Street wanted to know What Will You Create Today or, in twitter friendly terms, #wwyct... Julie and I went the fashion route for this competition, because we're full of surprises like that.
It all started with a couple yards of white cotton from one of the many fabric stores along the street. Which turned into a circle skirt. Which turned into two nights of hand painting dye along the hem of the skirt (circle skirt = plenty of hem = plenty of patience = glasses of wine). We found a vintage dress at a consignment place which we altered to be a top and added a clutch and a pile of vintage rhinestones from Antique Avenue (incidentally the store I bought one of my favourite dresses from) to complete the look.
I think the outfit we put together is the perfect merge of what the identity of Ottawa Street is today. For years Ottawa street was seen as 'the place to buy fabric', and indeed during the time that I was making many wedding and bridesmaids dresses, I was there often. Recently however, Ottawa Street has also seen a big increase in consignment and antique shops, adding a new dimension to the area.

And here's the part where I humbly ask for your vote.
I always told myself I would never ask for votes from people who were reading my blog...  unless it was for a trip to Europe, or for a car that actually starts in the rain (unlike mine, no big deal....) or to win a date with Tad Hamilton... I am grateful I never made that vow out loud, because the prize for the WWYCT competition is not a reliable automobile but it's pretty cool nonetheless. The winners of WWYCT gets a $1000 donated to the charity of their choice!
It was Julie who suggested our charity of choice be the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Society. I honestly was humbled by her gesture. If you have followed my blog for a while, you might know that my father has Alzheimer's and that the disease has shaped our lives for the last few years.
So we would be thrilled if you could take a moment to vote here. It was a lot of fun for Julie and I to create something together for the WWYCT and it would be pretty. freaking. cool. to have our work win some money for a cause that hits way too close to home.

Cat Tales

Jacket? Thrifted Overcoat? Thrifted Jeans? h&m Boots? c/o Aldo (here or brown here)

Hat? F21 (very similar here)

I took these pictures in my backyard. What scenery, right? As I was setting up the tripod, I saw our tenants' cat streak across the backyard and under the fence. I know that cat is not supposed to be outside at all, so I go off in hot pursuit, yelling his name and then changing my tune to coax him back with sweet nothings.

It's the first time in a  month that I've felt like a crazy cat lady. Since Stella died, life has gotten very quiet. Having three cats is a lot. I remember Matt running up the stairs every night to feed the cats, looking like the Pied Piper of felines, tripping all over the cats weaving through his legs. I think I sometimes revelled in that crazy. Having only two cats just seems so reasonable and... normal. Especially since our one cat is calm and ancient and the other cat is... just lazy. It makes me realize that it was Stella who brought a lot of zaniness to our house. He was just way too smart, he was into everything and constantly getting into trouble. But he was so cute, funny and fluffy that I would forgive him in a second.
When we started letting Stella outside, because it was a battle we couldn't win any more, I would call for him every half hour to make sure he stuck around in the back area. I think this is described as hovering. Every time I called him off the back porch, I would use a different voice. Hey, if you are going to be a hovering cat mama, you might as well own it...
And that's why yesterday, as I tried to get the cat back through the fence with sweet cat coaxing, I suddenly felt like a happy, crazy cat lady again.

I felt especially crazy when I discovered the tenants' cat safely inside. I was chasing some random cat around my backyard. 

So Me

Hooded trench? Thrifted Boots? no label, Winners (Similar here) Sweater? Maison Scotch, Winners (similar here) Jeans? 7 for Mankind Cowl? V&D Purse? Thrifted Bag? Russell Gibbs from White Elephant  
Bracelet? My Oma's Watch? c/o Daniel Wellington (here)

My friend saw me wearing my Daniel Wellington watch and described it as 'so you'. Usually when someone declares something as 'so you', I get this kind of look on my face...

That's my 'I'm a really bad actress but I am pretending I love that thing you just said was 'so me'' face. For example, one might think that a sequin, leopard print fedora is 'so me' because I love sequins and leopard print and fedoras are ok... But let's be real, I have sequin standards and that sequin fedora is just bad news. Also, I'm a snob.

But another thing that is actually 'so me' besides the watch, are my brown boots. No shock, I'm a sucker for brown boots and I've had these ones for 7 years already. When I am not wearing them, they are nicely tucked on a shelf in my closet with empty liquor bottles holding them upright. I'm pretty sure I learned that trick from Kendi. Glad I did because using empty bottles to keep boots in shape is a lot cheaper than buying $20 boot inserts. The only thing is that people sometimes come into my closet and judge the empty vodka bottles littered on the ground...  Judge me not for my cost-effective boot inserts, judge me instead for my sequin snobbishness...

*Pics by Julie, thanks!

* Use 'myedit' as a discount code at Daniel Wellington to get 15% off...

Nature Wins

When I think about autumn flying by, I just wanna do a sad interpretive dance to this song... I hate that fall has to end and that the endless carpets of yellow, orange and red leaves will soon turn into brown soggy messes mixed in with snow, slush and broken dreams. Ok, maybe the broken dreams part was a little dramatic but I'm going to miss the splendour of this season a lot. 

It's been hard for me to pass a pretty leaf without taking a picture and so I figured I might as well make a post with an excessive number of autumn photos. Cause this place where we live puts on a pretty good show and I can share my blog space with some nature once in a while... Sigh, I'll miss you autumn.

1.4.6.11. Tiffany Falls 3.9. Princess Point  5.8.13. Kerncliff Park  7.10.12. Port Stanley