Peter Cottontail

Supplies Used:

NYC: French White Tip

Quo: Free Spirit

Quo: Instant Artist Black

Revlon: Extra LifeTop Coat

Air Mail

Supplies: 

Ardene: Vintage Blue

NYC: French Tip White 134

Quo: Instant Artist Black

Revlon: ExtraLife No Chip TopCoat

Moslty Natural

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Quo: Natural Beauty

Revlon: Knockout 731

Revlon: Extra Life no Chip Top Coat

Hearts Galore

Supplies Used:

Quo: #1 Red

Quo: Free Spirit

Revlon: Extra Life No-Chip Top Coat

I normally don't really get into Valentine's day (Colin and I don't do anything for it, especially since his birthday is the next week), but this year I decided that it would be fun to do some themed nails for the occasion. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

Mint Dreams

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Ardene: Mint Cream

Quo: Fairy Tale

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip To Coat

Nude Polka Dots

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Revlon: Fashionista 471

Quo: Natural Beatuy

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

Electric Moment

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Quo: Electric Youth

Quo: Cinderella Moment

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

Purple Triangles

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Revlon: Impulsive 240

Quo: Instant Artist (Black)

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

*Sorry for the poor quality image, I hadn't quite got the hang of taking nail shots when I took this one

Looks Like Spring

Supplies Used:

Sally Hanson: Thicken-Up!

Sally Hansen Salon Manicure: Grass Slipper 430

Quo: Steel Heart 59334

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails: Blue Me Away! 130 

Revlon: Extra Life Top Coat

Holiday Roundup

What I Wore (Dec. 25th):

Sweater Dress: Thrifted (Black Market)

Leggings: Suzy Shier

Socks: Ardene

Boots: Chocolate Craving Boot from ModCloth

Belt: Fairweather

What I Wore (Dec. 26th):

Dress: Thrifted (Guy's Fenchys)

Sweater: Thrifted (Talize)

Tights: Walmart

Socks: Spring

Belt: Reitman's 

So I intended to do an outfit picture for each day of the holidays, but it was just so hectic I didn't get a chance to take more than the ones from the 24th and these two sets. I even meant to do New Years, but obviously that did not happen. We had a great time this year and we were booked every single day from the 22nd until the 2nd. Some days we even had two or three things to do, it was pretty crazy. I got to see most of my family, my friends that were home from school, and most of Colin's family too. Some things had to get re-arranged, but it all worked out in the end. 

Even though I had a lot of fun seeing everyone, I am introvert at heart and I am really glad to be back into a routine and have some time to myself. The holidays can be really draining when all you want to do is sit on your butt and read a book or watch t.v. Sometimes I think it is hard for people to understand this. It doesn't mean I don't want to hang out with them, it just means I need a break every once and a while to re-charge. 

I have been cooking up a lot of fun stuff for the next few months on the blog. I have been working on a few New Year's resolutions that I want to share on here within the next few days. I also have some projects in the works (now that I have time to work on them) that I am really excited about. So please stick around if you are ready for some more fun!

New Directions

I have been thinking this over for a while and I think it is time to expand this blog a bit. Working up to the new year I am going to start adding in some new features. I feel like I have more than just outfit posts to offer and I wanted to make this blog a bit more entertaining and draw in some new readers.

First of all I am going to be opening up advertising and sponsor options. I have been looking into using Passionfruit ads, I have heard great things from other bloggers who use their services. They have an option for doing ad swaps, which I plan on utilizing, as well as selling advertising spots which I will also do. I am hoping to be able to ad swap with a few of my favourite bloggers in order to get things moving.
     

I have been thinking about adding a weekly/bi-weekly nail feature. I mentioned before that I have been really getting into doing my nails recently and I have been keeping up with that so it seems logical to add some nail posts in.

Design from this post

Sewing is a major part of my life and I want to be able to share that with my blog readers. I think it would be really neat to have a monthly "Sew Along" feature. I will choose a pattern out that anyone could have access too and then work my way through it in the month with some update posts along the way. If people are interested in working on the same pattern with me they can e-mail me and let me know and I will be open to answering questions if they have any problems. I don't always work from patterns so I might also get into some draping tutorials or maybe do a few posts about good sources for learning the basics. Intermingled with this will be some craft oriented posts as well. I have a few in the works and they could be more of a "Craft Along" than sewing. It might be a one month sewing one month craft, we'll see how it pans out.

Here are some sneak peeks of projects:

Dress A is a planned project

I'll be sharing this soon!

I also want to try and do some more photography posts. I have been neglecting that a bit recently and it is sad. There are a lot of nice spots around Hamilton and it would be great to go and capture those and share them with you. I have some pictures from trips and the like that would be nice to put on here too.

Garden Eel at Kew Gardens

That's about it for right now. This list is kind of a motivational prompt for me to get out and do things too. If it is on here that means I have to actually try and accomplish it right?

Pop of Yellow

Tights detail

Nails

What I Wore:

Shirt: Fairweather

Cardi: Clothing Swapped

Skirt: Smart Set

Tights: Walmart

Shoes: Blowfish

Belt: Ardene

I am trying to incorporate more colour into my wardrobe and it seems to be going well so far. I have been adding something to pretty much every outfit, even if it is just an accessory here or there. I got a couple belts at Ardene the other day, this yellow one being one of them. I have been looking for a yellow belt for a while and this one fit the bill. I am not sure why I was looking for yellow specifically, I guess it just seemed like it would match the other items in my wardrobe. I really like this purple and yellow combination, it is fun without being too obnoxious. I am glad I was able to incorporate these tights into this outfit too. I bought them a while ago and they didn't seem to fit with the things I was trying to pair them with. I am still having problems mixing prints and I don't always feel confident in my combinations so that could be part of the problem. I have never been a big print mixer but I feel like I could make so many more outfits if I start to do that. I own a lot of stripes and polka dots and it would be nice to be able to pair them with more than just solids, that can get so boring (and you end up wearing the same combinations over and over again). It definitely has to be something subtle if I do end up mixing them though. 

Colin and I took a trip out to Talize today. I haven't been there in a while and I have to say they have really stepped up their game. There was a much larger selection than I remember from last time, and it was organised much better too. The prices are about the same as Value Village (so a bit more than other thrift stores like Frenchys), but a lot of the proceeds go to the Children's Wish Foundation which is nice. According to the website there are only five locations in Ontario and one in B.C. I made some great finds (some more cardigans and a few dresses) which I am excited to share with you soon. I am really happy to be getting back into thrifting. I am not sure if I mentioned it before but I used to only shop at thrift stores when I was in high school but for some reason that kind of stopped when I started university. I prefer buying second hand for a number of reasons e.g. cheaper, the profits go to a good cause and not a major corporation, unique finds etc. I have been going a little thrifting crazy recently and it is time to reel it in a bit. I think I am going to make a rule that I will only buy things for the next while if they are a. a necessity, b.  on sale and c. something that I can't make myself. I need to stop buying so much fabric too, but that is harder to do since I am surrounded by it all week. There is a sale this week and I have been eyeing a few things for that, but once that I is over I should probably cut back on fabric too. I don't want to turn into a crazy consumer/hoarder haha. Usually I am pretty good about watching my consumption levels and I think that thrifting and making my own clothes is helpful too.   

Black Mary Jane's

What I Wore:

Shirt: Zellers

Jeans: Zellers

Cardi: Smart Set

Belt: Fairweather

Shoes: Thrifted

I am really happy with these shoes that I found while thrifting last week. I was debating buying them because they are a bit snug just over my toes, but so far they aren't uncomfortable. I like the little wedge that they have, it gives them a little extra something. I intended to buy some boots on that trip but I ended up coming back with these puppies and some cardigans, funny how that works. I really like this outfit and I think it another favourite. It's comfy and practical but still stylish (in my opinion haha).

I re-did my nails again today. the other polish lasted for about three days before it started chipping which is pretty good. It's too bad the other colours didn't last a little longer because they would have matched this shirt pretty well. I bought this colour today while I was out shipping and I really wanted to try it out. I was going to do polka dots all over but my sister suggested just doing them on the tips and I think it turned out really nicely. I have been considering doing a weekly nail feature since I seem to be doing them at least once a week lately, so stay tuned for that. 

I have been sewing up a storm recently and have been finally been getting some sewing projects done. I plan on posting some of my creations on here over the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled. That's all for now folks.

Grey and Green

What I Wore:

Dress: clothing  swapped

Cardi: Thrifted

Tights Value Village (new)

Shoes: Spring

Belt: Made par moi

My collection of colourful cardigans is slowly growing. I hope to own a rainbow set so that I can pair them prints. If you haven't noticed I own a lot of stripes and polka dots and it is so much more exciting to pair those with colour than to wear a black cardi with them all the time. I picked up this green one last week at Value Village and am gad that I did because it is comfortable and warm. It will also pair nicely with a large range of my clothes, so I win all around really. I am pleased to say that I made the belt. Is it the first time I have done something like that and it turned out pretty well. I wish the metal part was a little bit smaller because the elastic slips around bit on it (and I sewed it as close to the edges as possible), but the smaller size would have been too small. I wanted to make a red one too but there wasn't enough left, I hope they get some more in soon.

I have been on a bit of a nail painting kick lately, since the end of the summer actually. My nails have never been very healthy and I find working in the store makes them break even more. I have started using some nail strengthening polish and it seems to be working so far. I also find painting them and using a good top coat prevents them breaking as frequently too, so I have been going a little overboard with the designs. I should have used that line in the post with the nautical nails, haha! I discovered that we have some Sally Hanson manicure nail stickers, and they work really well for making line designs like this one. It's a little hard to tell from the picture (which is sadly the best one, it is hard to take nail pictures well) but there are actually three colours in there. I am amazed that this design has lasted two days without getting chipped (it's a record), the Revlon top coat I bought is doing a good job. Usually as soon as it chips I start to pick it off which is really bad. I have been thinking about ordering some Seche Vite top coat since I have heard good things about it. I wouldn't pick off my polish so quickly if it didn't chip so easily. 

Nautical Nonsense

What I Wore:

Shirt: Old Navy

Tank top: Suzy Shier

Cardi: Thrifted (Out of the Past, Hamilton)

Jeans: Old Navy

Socks: ???

Shoes: Blowfish 

I painted my nails in a nautical theme yesterday and of course I had to dress to match today. I got this cardigan last week and have been wanting to wear it since. The buttons have little anchors on them, too cute. Some days are just jean days, today was totally one of those. I have been kind of turned off of them lately, opting for skirts or dresses, but today they just seemed right. We're allowed to wear jeans at work on Mondays and Fridays if we donate $2 to Alzheimer's research. Pretty good deal if you ask me. I love these jeans, they have four buttons at the bottom of each leg giving them a military flair. They're probably my second favourite pair after the ones that have the seams down the middle of the legs. That's about it for today, I hope everything well well with you guys!