Pandas At The Toronto Zoo

As you have probably noticed another unintentional hiatus has occurred 'round these parts. This year has been really awful for that so far. Some crazy things have happened that I am not quite ready to talk about (not all bad, not all good), but I will share it all eventually. A couple of friends and I went to the Toronto Zoo last week to see the pandas and it was awesome, so for now please enjoy some pictures from our visit!

I took an obscene amount of pictures so it was hard to pick just a few to share on here. I was going to break it up into two posts, but then I didn't choose a whole lot and that seemed like it would make too small posts. Anyway, I hope I didn't put too many on here and that you enjoyed them :)

Beach Bod

What I Wore:

Bathing Suit: ModCloth

Hat: Suzy Shier

Sunnies: Universal Studios

My bathing beauty photoshoot. I know I wore this bathing suit last summer (so sue me I only have one bathing suit), but I only posted one picture and it was pretty crappy. Oh how things have changed in a year. 

Definitely not the least bit afraid to be posting bathing suit pics now. By next year I hope to have acquired a bikini. Yay for body positivity! These were taken at the cottage which is on Georgian Bay. It was one of the hottest days while we were there, perfect for swimming and lounging around. I still adore this bathing suit, it was the first thing I ever ordered from ModCloth. The shipping and duty fee nearly killed me (especially since I had no idea there was duty on top), but it was totally worth it. I only got to wear it once last summer, but I have used it a lot more frequently this year. Hopefully I can get a few more swims in at my aunt's pool before the summer is done.

And that concludes my unintentionally nautical themed set of cottage posts. I hope you are all having a good week, can you believe it is the end of August already?! I certainly can't. Here's to one last summery weekend. Happy Friday lovelies!  

Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

What I Wore:
Shirt: Made by me (Simplicity 1692)
Shorts: Made by me (Kwik Sew K3854)
Shoes: c/o B.A.I.T via Cut Out + Keep
Sunnies: Universal Studios

This is one of my favourite outfits of the summer. I love the retro feel of the high-waisted shorts and vintage shirt together. This dock was a great place to take pictures given the slightly (once again) nautical feel of the look. Also it meant I got to use an Ottis Redding song as my title so everyone wins. I have had a hard time matching this shirt with some of my clothes so I am really pleased that it looks good with the shorts. I made almost everything I am wearing in this, how cool is that? Speaking of sewing, I haven't done any in almost a month. I really need to remedy that, my fingers are itching to get back to my machine.

During my sick haze this week I have watched the entirety of Twin Peaks. I have been meaning to watch it for a while now, a lot of the blogs I read are obsessed in love with it and it sounded pretty good. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the show up until the ending. I really liked the weird sci-fi/horror/drama mix. It is definitely hard to place it into any particular genre which is pretty neat. All of the characters were really well fleshed out and had great storylines. I really liked Cooper, Log Lady, Audrey and Andy. Things seemed to go a little askew halfway through the second season and sadly the ending was unsatisfactory, but I guess that's what I get for watching a show that was cancelled and left you with a cliff hanger. Have any of you watched Twin Peaks? What did you think about it?

Collingwood Pier

What I Wore:
Shirt: Vintage (my mum's)
Cardi: Smart Set
Shorts: Old Navy
Headscarf: thrifted
Bag: Black Market (Halifax)
Shoes: B.A.I.T via Cut Out + Keep

This is my cottage casual look. I was rocking shorts in the day with a sweater at night for most of the week. The first couple days up there were a bit chilly so I stuck to pants, but after Wednesday the sun came out and it was glorious. I wore this to go and see the Tall Ships come in to Collingwood (which is about an hour away from my aunt's cottage). The Tall Ships seem to be popping up a lot  in the last year, but they are pretty neat so I am glad I got to see them in a few different settings. The life preserver shirt seemed to fit nicely with the boating theme. Nautical never fails me.

I am really glad I had a week away, life has been crazy lately and I needed a break from the real world. I got to visit my family and my grandparents and hang out with cousins and laze about on the beach. Can't ask for more really. Unfortunately the crazy started as soon as I got back home again, but what can you do? If this doesn't make a whole lot of sense it's because I am sick at the moment. I am tired of sitting and doing nothing though so I decided to type up my couple of posts from the cottage. Expect a couple more over the course of the week.  
   

Goodbye To My Pretty Girl

One crisp autumn evening when I was 12 years old my family and I took a trip out to a farm. My mother's friend had heard about a man who was threatening to shoot his dog unless someone took the dog from him. He was claimed that she was "stupid" because she was opening the screen door with her paw and getting out into the fields. He had shot dogs before, and he wasn't going to hesitate about doing it again. My mum decided that even if we weren't compatible with the dog we would take her home until we could find her a new owner. We hadn't had a dog in about 5 years, and we weren't sure if we were ready to own one again just yet, but it was better to take her home than have her face such an awful end.

We drove up to the house, got out of the car and knocked on the door. A gruff looking man greeted us and let us into his house. The man reiterated the situation with the dog and then took us into the living room. There sat Pepper, of course she wasn't called that then, her original name was Turnip. Turnip was a medium sized dog, with bright intelligent eyes, a German shepherd body, and stubby little legs. It was love at first site.

Pepper sometime during the first few months

I think we all felt an instant connection, she took to us immediately and we decided right then and there to take her home. We packed her up in the car with her meager amount of toys and food and drove off into the night towards Pepper's new home.

Hanging out with my sister's cat Wesley 

A few years later we adopted my uncle's dad's dog Sammy (my parent's house often seems like a stray shelter/pet menagerie). I think Pepper liked having a companion, she even took to leading him around the house with his leash when it was time to go for a walk. She was such a smart dog like that.

Out for a walkie poo

My best bud Sammy

On Saturday August 17th our beloved Pepper was put to sleep. She was suffering from congestive heart failure and a host of other problems that come with living a long life. I am so grateful that we were able to let her into our lives. She may have been a bit unfriendly to outsiders sometimes, but she was just trying to protect her pack. I am grateful that she accepted Colin into her pack so easily, he must be a good egg. I am grateful we had her there to protect us for 12 wonderful years. 12 years longer than she would have had if we never heard about her from my mum's friend. My days are going to be a bit harder knowing that you are no longer there to love and protect me, but I am so lucky that I go to have you for the time that I did. I loved you so much Pepper, I hope you are happy wherever you are, having fun leading your best bud Sammy around with his leash before you go out for a walk together.