How It's Done

Knit and suede coat? thrifted
Earwarmers? One-of-a-Kind Show
Jeans? Zara
Boots? ?, Winners
Earrings? Antique, gifted from parents
Sunglasses? Vintage Steffi Graf (!), gifted

Yes, I look forward to spring and showing skin again, but I was secretly glad when winter came back full force this week with cold temperatures! Maybe I was only glad because I've been wanting to wear this coat...my motives are very selfish indeed.

This outfit is what I use as my front line defense against the Canadian cold. It's a four part defense strategy consisting of; a coat, boots, ear warmers and a flask. That's right Winter, I'm looking cute and staying warm...

The Coat: Some people think this coat is ridiculously hideous and others think it is extremely awesome. I'm one of the latter people, not only is this coat really warm (the faux fur at the neck and collars are great guards against any cold air) but it's unique and well, awesome. I got it at a thrift store in nearly perfect condition, the only thing is that someone must have smoked in the same room as the coat... Just one more reason not to smoke, it hampers my thrifting experience... Anyways, I'm too cheap to pay to dry clean a clean jacket (you know how expensive suede cleaning is?) so I hung the jacket outside for a few cold and clear days. Problem solved.

The Boots: I bought these boots a few years ago and they have served me very well. It's no secret that I love brown leather boots and these are the winterized version. I have to polish them ALL the time but I reckon that's a fair trade for keeping my toes warm.

The Earwarmers: I'm embarrassed to say I paid $40 for these earwarmers. Ahhhh!! Not like me at all... and yes, far more expensive than the coat. I got them from the One-of-a Kind Show in Toronto and everything is super pricey, so I got desensitized to price and $40 suddenly seemed like a bargain. In my defense, they are hand knit, wool and really functional. The earwarmers are wide at the front to cover your ears and give you the look of wearing a cute toque but the back narrows down to a single button. Hence, you can have warm ears and keep your hair all fabulous. Yes, it's like having your cake and eating it... Out of guilt and because they are so handy, I've worn it enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.

The Flask: Drinking is a wonderful way to stay warm, it's even better when one drinks in front of small children playing hockey. They too, should learn that brandy is as effective and delicious as hot chocolate on a cold day and involves less prep time.

I kid, I kid... I have had this flask full of ameretto in my glove box since Linda's wedding (please do not lecture me on keeping flasks of booze in glove boxes, stupid, I know but completely accidental...) in October! It was the 'in case of panic flask'... It ended up not being used and it has sat in my glove box since... I think the lesson in all this, is that I need to clean my car more... or maybe just cleaning it at all would be good.

And that's how we do it... bring it on Winter!

If I Stood Still Like a Parked Machine

Knit dress? vintage Holt Renfrew
Scarf? Winners
Jacket? Old Navy
Sparkly tights? Old Navy
Knee-highs? Primark
Boots? Kenneth Cole, Winners
Gloves? Steve Madden, Winners
Bangle? From my Mama

I don't really know why I put the outfit details up... habit, I guess. Once again, these pictures were shot without flash under a construction flood light... but I hadn't learned yet that you have to be very still to get a clear picture. I wasn't going to put them up but they are pretty neat so, what the heck... It's a pity the outfit pics aren't clearer because when I put this outfit on, I thought to myself 'I could get a job in this'! And then I laugh. When I used to shop with my friend 'M', I would always buy clothes for potential interviews but deep down I think I knew I wasn't quite ready to really quit landscaping yet, and I just wanted more clothes. I'm so busted, I never use that excuse anymore.

So, as I can't blab on about my outfit as you can't really see it, I thought I'd finally do a '7 Random Things' post. I got tagged a few times a while back and because I'm a horrible person, I got kinda slack... Recently the lovely Joann from Sidewalk Chalk tagged me and so without further ado, here are 7 (as always, very) Random Things about me.

1. I have had a smoothie with bran every morning for breakfast for exactly two years. Simplest and best life change I ever made.

2. I can't parallel park. Well, maybe I can but I don't know because I'll never try it.

3. Matt can parallel park into the smallest spots with minimal effort. I kinda think that's hot...

4. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I can back up a truck and trailer like a pro.

5. I still type with only two fingers... I know... awful! My lowest grade in highschool was 76% in typing, MODIFIED typing!

6. I am making the Mexican chicken slow-cooker recipe from Kyla tonight for dinner. Oh wait, what's that? It's already made and just needs to be plugged in? High five!

7. I cry about once a day. Not a bawl session, just a few dignified tears. It can be something I read in the paper, a commercial on tv or even a sad moment in a show that I don't even like... Matt calls them 'My cry of the day'.

Blog Loving

The other day I had a weird realization. I was talking to a friend (about what I can't remember...) and I said something like 'that happened to a friend of mine.' She asked who? Undoubtedly, wondering which one of our many mutual acquaintances I was talking about... I paused and then replied 'Um, 'cough' myblogfriend 'cough''.
In that moment I realized that I can never make fun of those people who play World of Warcraft again. It was always such an easy target, they spend hours online and form relationships with people that they have never met. And now I see, I'm no different.
It's true. Through blogging I have 'met' people who I'm sure I could meet up with and fall into easy conversation. When something happens to them (a job situations, a loss, a pair of too tight pants), I sympathize and I feel for them. My name is Jentine and I have online friends. True story.
I also have online crushes. Really, all I need is a virtual husband and some virtual pets and I'd be all set, wouldn't I? Anyways, back to the crushes... I haunt these ladies blogs frequently, they all have good taste, they are unique and have better grammar than I do... Check them out!

Song of the Exile

I love Julia's haphazard approach to layering. Her photography is amazing as well. The colours are saturated and she makes an abandoned object look like it belongs in a magical land. But even more than her style and photography, I love her writing. It isn't often that I feel completely tongue tied by writing. In fact, it hardly makes sense to be tongue tied because, the luxury of responses allow us to think and mold before we write. Julia will write a particularly thought provoking post and I'll be all gung-ho to respond and then I suddenly can't think of the right words to write. My vocab is reduced to the level of the text messages sent by a 6th grader(seriously, do 6th garders need a cell-phone? Never mind, we'll get into that some other time...). Lol Julia, you always look gr8....

Kendi Everyday

I somehow stumbled upon Kendi's blog and I was instantly hooked. Her 'about me' reads as follows...'People think that when you get married and move to a small town,that you should get pregnant. i started a blog. (it's a girl).' In a far too personal way, I can relate. Her style is approachable and always pretty. I know half of fashion blogging is about getting outside of your comfort zone and pushing the limits but it should NEVER be at the expense of how you look. She gets that. Another great part of Kendi's blog, is her cute way of identifying where her outfit was purchased. You know, if I had computer skills, I'd totally rip off her idea and run like a bandit. However, I don't have computer skills and I'm in winter hibernation, so no running for me.

These are my three current crushes. If you want to be all high school, you can crush on them too...

P.S. I just saw that Have a Cute Day put up a feature about me... and they called me humble! Which I love but I do think I need to work on my humility. That said, Matt and I do always talk about how good-looking, funny, smrt and humble we are...

Thank you so much ladies for featuring me! I am now, indeed, having a cute day!

Say Hello to My New Booties...

Dress? Zara
Blazer? Braemar, thrifted
Booties? Maxstudio, Winners
Wristlet? Coach, gifted
Broaches? see below

...or not. I've been noticing that these booties are getting a little scruffy after a few years of hardwearing/loving. I polish them like a maniac but they're not the same anymore. I received a really generous gift certificate from my boss and I planned on going to a nice shoe store and treating myself to a pair of pretty booties. Long story short, I got caught up between black, stacked ankle boots and black, architectural high heels and I walked out with a pair of nude pumps. What? I know, it makes no sense to me either but I fell in love with the nude pumps and I followed my heart (I got that line from Full House...). So, I guess I'll be polishing the old faithfuls for a while yet.

Matt threw his first blog hissy fit taking these pictures. He refused to go outside to take pictures because it was rainy (at the moment it was stopped, I promise) and we were in the middle of Mud Central 2010. I promised him we could go unto the street and not get muddy at all but he wasn't having it. We compromised with the porch but the lighting wasn't ideal...

...and a lot of the pictures I can't stop laughing/being exasperated because Matt won't get off the porch because his shoelaces will get muddy, so I suggest tying them but that made too much sense.

We finally settled on the stair case, which was warm and dry. I still think muddy construction equipment would have looked cool.

But I do think Matt liked my outfit. Especially after I pointed out that I was wearing 7 pieces of flair on my lapel. That gave way to him spouting off quotes from 'Office Space' about staplers and TPS reports, so he was happy. For the record, Matt actually got a Swingline stapler in red ordered for him at work and I imagine that when he starts a new job in a month, that bad boy is coming with him.

The Flair

Left Lapel (as you see it):
Crystal cluster? thrifted

Coloured flower? Winners

Crystal flower? Found in parking lot

Right Lapel:
Face? thrifted

Crazy lady kitty cat pin? Avon, gifted

Coloured flower? gifted (from Matt)

Maple leaf? thrifted

P.S. If you want to get nostalgic, check out this dress when I wore it for one of my very first posts. I had dark hair!

Fashion Flashbacks

My parents keep trying to get me to move out of the house. Well, technically, not me but my stuff. I've been out for years now but I left a lot of things behind. Things that I loved and didn't want to part with but things that I also didn't know what to do with, and didn't want cluttering our already tiny house. I figured I was moving out, so there should be room left in my parents house for my stuff. Apparently that's not cool with the parents, they want all the space for their own hoarding. Occasionally my mom will threaten me and tell me if I don't take my stuff she's bringing it to the dump. Which is funny...because she'd have to borrow our truck for the trip to the dump. I think I'm almost all moved out though finally (well, except for the top of that one closet but shhh...) and recently, in one last load of things, my mom gave me this dress.

It's a traditional hanbok that my parents bought me in the last year that we lived in Korea. I might have been a tomboy but I was so proud of this dress. I felt so fancy wearing it. And how cute is the little random heart at the hem of the jacket? I can't wait until we have a bigger house, this dress would look so neat hanging on a wall somewhere. Maybe in a future daughter's bedroom? No, don't get excited, we're talking really future...

This is the only half decent picture I could find of me wearing the Korean hanbok. Obviously, there was a blemish on the film and I'm almost cross-eyed but still a cute picture. The little girl on the left is my American-Dutch friend 'S', who also lived in Korea at the time. She had a beautiful multi-coloured hanbok on. I may have been a touch jealous of her multi-colour goodness back in the day... Jealousy, the green monster on my back, has plagued me for years...
Anyways, I still have vague memories of the day this picture was taken and I remember playing very carefully because I didn't want to ruin my beautiful dress.

Sorcerer's Cape

Cape? Zara
Jeans? Zara
Strappy boots? Charles David, thrifted
Bag? Kate Spade, thrifted
Scarf? gifted
Gloves? Steve Madden, Winners
Bangle? Permanently taken from my Mama

A cape is like the sweat pants of tops, except infinitely chicer. It's warm, cosy and roomy and let's you eat as many Doritos as you want without ever feeling anything digging into your love handles. Except, I didn't eat Doritos... I made and ate pasta loaded with vegetables. I was told by the kids we're watching for the week that it looked disgusting but then they had two servings each. They probably had no clue I put a whole package of frozen spinach in there. Suckas! I think I had my first proud 'I'm not a mom but I had a a mom moment' moment...

How cool is the lighting from a construction zone floodlight? These pictures were taken without flash (minor computer editing) late at night.

P.S. Check out Style Symmetry, she had a virtual birthday party and lots of bloggers sent in a picture of themselves in their party finery. Such a cool idea! Now, I don't even have to go out on a Friday night, I can just dress up and send off a picture... much cheaper than a bar tab and less painful than a hangover. Genius, really...

Final Clearance

Striped tee? Old Navy
Pleat front pants? Old Navy
Trouser socks??, Winners
Booties? Jeffrey Campbell, StyleSense
Jacket? Patrizia Pepe, Winners
Faux-fur scarf? dutch church sale
Quilted purse? Holt Renfrew, thrifted
Anchor earrings? Local(now defunct) boutique...not worn because they match the boats, that was accidental.

Before there was h&m and Forever 21, there was Old Navy. Around here, the evolution of fast and cheap fashion went like so; Old Navy, then h&m and we're just now jumping on the F21 train. If you went to my highschool back in the day, you will remember how excited everyone was when Old Navy opened in Limeridge Mall. And then how excited everyone was the next day when they all wore their Old Navy tees to school.

'Dude, your shirt is totally awesome, it says 'Old Navy' on it in.'

'Your shirt is awesome too... it says 'Old Navy' on it... in sparkles.'

'Hell yeah! I waited in line..."

Anyways, sometimes I forget about Old Navy... but then Katy from Kansas Couture will bust out something really cute and surprise, surprise...it's Old Navy. My bestie told me that it's 50% off the last ticketed price time (this time of year sucks/rocks; there are the best deals but I'm always the most broke) so Matt and I went for cheap thrills. And thrilling it was. I got the jacket in my last post for $13 and then got a ton of basics including these pants (which Katy has along with the jacket ,so I feel like a style suck but it was there and so cute and so cheap) for $5 and the slouchy top for $2. A little bit of fun styling and no one would ever know I got the majority of this outfit from the same place your mom gets her fleece pull-overs.

And in non-fashion news, someone decided Matt and I were responsible enough to take care of 2 young kids for a week. I got maybe an hour of sleep last night and I'm surviving off the adrenalin of getting both kids on the school bus on time this morning. High five to all the moms who read this... so much respect for you. The little girl asked me why I always dress fancy and I just thought 'oh honey, you ain't seen nothing yet!'...

This Tomboy

Lace dress? h&m, old...
Jacket? Old Navy...$13!
Booties? Maxstudio, Winners
Cashmere gloves? gifted from Linda
Hard plastic purse? thrifted vintage goodness...

Hard to believe but many, many years ago I was a hardcore tomboy. In fact, I remember a sweet Dutch lady who sent a care package to us, the Dutch family living in Korea (my father was there on a ten year contract), that included something special for the kids. I received a doll but I hated it and I was completely jealous of my brothers, who received pencils and pencil cases with awesome English words on them... like 'college'. I did not play with that doll for a good two years.
And how times change....now I'm all over hair styling, make-up and shopping. I'm sure my mom looks at me and wonders what happened. If it wasn't for the fact that both of us burst into tears over sad animal stories, I'd wonder too about how I came to be the daughter of such a practical woman.

In this outfit I felt fantastic. I've been in a bit of a January slump (blah, blah, blah, who hasn't?) but I banished the blues when I put this on. It's taken three years but I finally took in this dress. It was originally an awkward tent shape on me but when I belted it, the dress would hike up and this dress really shouldn't be any shorter... So, I took it in; I even released the lace hem and hand sewed it back up. I might as well do it right...

The hard shell purse is a recent thrift find. Judging by the interior it's an oldie... It's the perfect size for some Bath and Body Works lipglosses (yes, another addiction) and some candy. It makes me nervous to use this purse because it's in excellent condition and I'm terrified I'll drop and shatter it or scratch it... and then I would cry and my feelings of outfit fantasticness would be crushed. But it needed to be shown off, so I was extra careful and stayed away from icy patches and any juice spills on gym floors.

Hat Trick

It seems like years ago but there was some gift exchanging at Christmas and I never talked about it. Matt and I don't really go all out on gifts. We just do stockings and fill them with fun and thoughtful stuff. I was pretty bad this year so I definitely did not deserve presents and also, in all honesty, I have all I need, plus plenty more. I did get the Glee cds from Matt and I cannot stop listening to them. For some reason I clean like a maniac when they are on, maybe they should be thrown out and there will be a return to the status quo...
For our wedding, Matt and I got a antique stained glass window from my parents (yes, this has to do with Christmas gifts, just wait...). Unfortunately, there was an accident involving the stained glass, a couch, some one's butt and my tears... It couldn't really be repaired because it would be too hard to match the antique glass panels that shattered. So, the centre design (which is still intact) is going to be removed and the entire outside will be redone in the style of the original window. My parents are paying for this fix as my birthday and Christmas present. When the window is repaired, all asses will be asked to stay far away from our wedding window....
In addition to that, my parents also gave me three wickedly awesome hats they got from an antique market. My dad has such a good eye for this stuff... I'm going to start being extra nice to engaged people this year because I need a wedding to wear the purple headpiece to. It's a little non-typical but I can rock that. So, if you are engaged and you need a friend, let me know. I'm a pretty awesome bridesmaid too...references available on request (just let me wear the headpiece with the bridesmaid dress, ok?).

And this pretty lady I thrifted just before our family gift exchange... how random is that? I'd totally wear this too. Sigh. I love my hat family...

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The February magazines are rolling in and I'm tripping over myself with inspiration. Then I take a step outside and sadly put away the open-toe shoe and ankle sock combo. It's not that I'm hating on my cuffed blazer, dark denim and snappy, newly thrifted, patent leather sand booties, I just really wish was warm enough to wear a pretty skirt and show just an inch of leg. But I need to remind myself that this is a Canadian winter and it's time to get creative because it's not leaving anytime soon.

Blazer? Apricori, Winners

Stripey turtleneck? thrifted

Jeans? Paige Premium denim, Boutique Olivia

Shiny booties? thrifted

Chain necklace? F21

Purse? Beverly Feldman, Winners

I have to thank my brother 'K' for these photos (also for the toboggan and Rick Astley tape he left in my car when he and his wife borrowed it). I think it's pretty cool that he is so supportive of my blog, except when he hassles me over grammar and splling mistakes. To thank him for the support, I let him be a part of the most integral part of fashion blogging; the picture taking. One may argue that I was simply using 'K' because Matt was at work but I'd like to think he was thrilled to be included. Admittedly, things go a little smoother when Matt takes the pictures, we're an efficient team by now. 'K' kept waiting for the landscape to inspire him. But the cold doesn't wait for inspiration... There was a lot of tomfoolery happening, so it was not the most successful series of pictures taken... I was either falling, doing a stupid dance or I couldn't stop giggling... I took some pictures of him too, I need to work on my photography skills and he on his posing skills, but we could be unto something special.

Places To Go

Skirt? thrifted
Beaded Sweater? thrifted
Boots? Stuart Weitzman, Winners
Purse? Beverly Feldman, gifted
Sunglasses? Ralph Lauren, Winners
Earrings? gifted
Gloves? found on road!

I'd like to think I've always appreciated a beautiful day. But now, as a fashion blogger (should I capitalize that, Fashion Blogger? maybe you'll take me more seriously?...), a beautiful day means a great opportunity for an outfit shoot. We had beautiful weather on Saturday and Matt and I drove up to the St. Jacob's Farmer's Market. On the way home I kept asking to pull over and do an outfit shoot but the truth was, my outfit was all function and Matt was a little lost, so he had other things on his mind. After going back and forth across a bridge 4 times, we did make it home along a gorgeous scenic route. I was glad however, when Sunday ended up being a glorious day as well. The setting sun on a clear winter day across snowy fields is a reminder that a cold winter isn't all bad news.
I feel a little jet-set in this outfit (especially in the last photo where I'm yelling at Matt that we had enough shots and we needed to get back to the car...now). The big bag, the over-sized sunglasses and the expansive blue sky give the impression that I have a plane to catch and somewhere important to be. And I did. No, I didn't have a shareholders meeting in NYC or a client waiting for me in Dubai , I had a family dinner. And with my brother and his wife leaving again soon, and most of my family in one city, I think it's pretty important to take advantage of family time when it arises.