Polka Dots And Fabric Scraps

What I Wore:

Shirt: Thrifted

Skirt: Made by me (no pattern)

Shoes: Ardene

Headband: Made by me (scrap from the skirt)

This is another one of those easy peasy skirts, like the Elvis one, that I whipped up last week. I really need to type up a tutorial on how to make these because it literally took me an hour, they are super easy and look really cute. I got a lot of compliments at work on this one in particular. I think it is going to be a great skirt for the fall and winter because it is made out of a medium weight knit, plus the colour goes with a lot of my winter wardrobe. I have been wearing these new shoes a lot, they are very comfortable and surprisingly the shade of brown goes with a lot. If you have been reading for a while you know I have a problem with buying only black shoes so I am really trying hard to branch out here. 

Not too much to type about today. Still busy apartment hunting, working two jobs and waiting on tenterhooks to find out what's happening with the house. My first shift at the new job went pretty well, I am looking forward to checking out the other site this week. The costume party I went to on Saturday was actually a surprise retirement party for my dad! More on that later today. Happy Monday!

Horsin' Around

What I Wore:
Shirt: Made by me (New Look 6148)
Pants: Joe Fresh
Shoes: c/o B.A.I.T via Cut Out + Keep
Belt: Ardene

I finished sewing my horse shirt shortly after I posted about it here, but I wasn't able to get any good pictures of it until earlier this week. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, even with the few little snags in the fabric. The sleeves went in really well and I still love the sweetheart neckline on the front. I decided to go with the longer option of the shirt to make it more like a tunic since I don't really have any other shirts that length. It was kind of hard to find things in my closet that it went well with it though, but I think it looks pretty good with these pants/leggings. I can't really decide if they are pants or leggings because they are made out of a knit fabric and are fairly stretchy, but it is a very heavy knit and they have pockets and a fly...

You can't really tell in these pictures but the pants (I am going to call them pants to make it easier) have an insert in the inseam that goes to just above the knee. It kind of makes them look like riding pants which I thought was appropriate (read: very entertaining) for the print of the shirt. I am looking forward to wearing these with high boots in the late fall (these boots in particular, and with the horse shirt it would make a whole horseback riding thing out of it). It is always hard to find pants that you can wear with tall boot because a lot of them sag at the knees and look funny. Am I the only person that has this problem? Anyway, these pants don't do that which makes them perfect for tall boots. I am excited for this weekend because that costume party I keep mentioning is tomorrow! I will try to get some good pictures to share on here. Anyone else have exciting plans for the weekend? Happy Friday!

September Thrift Haul Link-Up

As promised in yesterday's post I finally got around to photographing my thrifting haul from September. I didn't take a picture of the item I got for that costume party because it is a surprise, but hopefully I will get some good pictures day of. Here's what I can show you ( this haul also includes the awesomely weird bird shirt from yesterday's post):

 A great cropped polka dot sweater. I have found that I really like cropped sweaters vs normal cardigans because the normal ones tend to be super long and look weird with most of my dresses.

 I love the collar on the cardigan. I also discovered when I went to was all this stuff that it was a silk cashmere blend! The things you find in thrift stores.

Now this dress is a little way more low-cut then I wold normally go for, but I couldn't resist the print. Plus it has pockets! I thin I might turn it into a pinafore at some point in the future. 

I realized after I started typing this up that I forgot to photograph one of the items I got. To be honest I was too lazy to go back and set that all up again so I will just tell you that it's a coral 3/4 length t-shirt with a blue anchor on the front. I am sure I will wear it on here eventually. Oddly enough the blue in the anchor really matches those ASOS pants too. I will encourage you again to check out Brooke's blog and maybe participate in this challenge too! 

Birds Of A Feather

What I Wore:
Shirt: Thrifted
Pants: ASOS
Shoes: Ardene

I saw this shirt while I was thrift shopping with my sister last week and I knew I just had to have it. It was an added bonus that the blue in the birds matched my new pants from ASOS perfectly. It was meant to be! I have never had blue pants before and I must admit I was a little concerned about finding things to match them. I couldn't resist the high-waist and tape detail on them though so I decided to chance it. I am super glad that I did because they fit really well and the blue actually goes surprisingly well with a lot of things that were already in my wardrobe. Plus now I have pants that I can wear to work (and outside of work, pants aren't usually my friends)! What a novelty. I got these shoes with a gift card from my birthday. They make me feel a bit like Peter Pan. Not sure why, they just do. Having brown shoes is also something of a novelty for me as most of my shoes are black, but I am trying to step outside of that box. These shoes are a pretty good start, I have already worn them successfully a few times since I bought them.

I went thrifting last week for multiple reasons: a) to get a costume for an upcoming party b) to have some stuff to contribute to the You're In Brookyn fall thrifting link-up c) because it is awesome and fun! I never feel bad after a thrifting trip. I have been re-evaluating my shopping choices a lot lately and this link-up is just the thing to get me motivated. I spend too much money on new clothes, and I definitely need to reign that in. Why pay for clothes that were most likely made in a sweat shop when I can make my own things or buy second-hand? In high school I almost exclusively shopped in thrift stores and I think I want to take up that initiative again. Not only does it save you money but I feel better about my purchases in general. You usually walk away with something that is one of a kind and the actual shopping is like a treasure hunt! I have definitely been trying to shop a lot more consciously over the last few weeks and will continue to do so in the future. I got some pretty great stuff this time around and I am hoping to share the rest of my haul later this week! I encourage you to hope over to Brooke's blog too! She is super cute and has great style :)  

End Of an Era

What I Wore:
Dress: ASOS (via Zero Style)
Cardi: Suzy Shier
Tights: Joe Fresh
Shoes: Ardene
Hairbow: Shopper's
Sunnies: Universal Orlando

Last Friday was my dad's last day at his job. After 32 years at the same job he is now a retired man! These pictures were taken in one of the garden areas where he used to work. His coworkers had a retirement bbq for him over the lunch hour which was really nice. I went with my mum, sister and aunt to celebrate with my dad and his colleagues. My dad was head gardener at one of the 5 garden areas (where he planned the bed designs and helped with the planting etc.) and worked at the other areas occasionally throughout the year. The gardens were my favourite place to go as a child and I always thought that if I got married I would love to do it in the area where he worked. The gardens are so beautiful I am glad I was able to take some outfit pictures there, I am going to miss being able to go in and explore whenever I want. My dad's retirement definitely marks the end of an era. I am so proud of him and the work he has done over the years. Congratulations to my dad and his retirement!

Romantic Hearts

What I Wore:
Shirt: ASOS
Necktie: Thrifted (Goodwill, actually a brooch)
Cardi: Smart Set
Skirt: Made by me (no pattern)
Tights: Target
Shoes: Ardene

This outfit is definitely one of my most recent favourites. My second ASOS order arrived last week and I have been trying to come up with great ways to wear my new loot! I ordered two shirts and *gasp* a pair of pants. I have worn the other shirt and pair of pants already, but not outfit pictures yet. This shirt definitely worked well with the brooch at the neck. Ever since I bought it in Florida I have been meaning to wear it like that. I am loving the weather lately, it has been so perfect. Fall means I get to break out my favourite cardigans and wear loads of tights. You really can't lose. I am so excited to be able to wear layers again. I feel like I have so many more outfit choices when I can wear sweaters and tights.  

Since I have given a few downer reviews of films lately I thought this would be a good time to give a positive one. Last week Colin and I watched Romantics Anonymous on Netflix. I have been meaning to watch this one for a while but never got around to it. I am glad I finally did because it was super cute! the story follows Angélique, a brilliant but painfully shy chocoltière, and Jean-René, a middle-aged chocolate factory owner who has never been in a relationship. Jean-René highers Angélique to be the new sales rep for the factory, although she thinks she is being hired to make chocolate. After some confusion Angélique decides to stick it out, facing her fears of interacting with people, and helps to revamp the factory in the process. Jean-René's therapist recommends that he ask Angéliquue out to dinner and the story just takes off from there. It is a very heartwarming tale about two extremely introverted people. This is definitely a great movie for introverts and extroverts alike. The characters are interesting, and it portrays introverted relationships very well. I highly recommend it if you have a few hours to spare this week.

Quarter Century

What I Wore:
Dress: Made by me (no pattern)
Cardi: Thrifted (Talize)
Tights: Target
Shoes: B.A.I.T c/o Cut Out + Keep

The perfect fall outfit for the perfect fall day. The perfect day. Today is my birthday! Today I turn 25! I am a quarter of a century. I know a lot of  people would be experiencing a quarter life crisis right now, but I am happy to say this is not the case for me. 24 was not a great year (which most of you probably know if you have been around here for a while), so I guess I kind of experienced that one a bit early. Luckily 25 is definitely looking great. I have a second job in my field, Colin has a second job, we might finally have our own place, everyone is healthy including our pets, I really can't complain. Everything is turning up Millhouse! Even Google is wishing me a happy birthday!

Today I have to work, but over the weekend I had a fancy dress potluck on Saturday and dinner with my immediate family, aunt and cousin on Sunday. It was a been good weekend (sadly I had no time to take pictures, worst blogger ever!). Happy Monday and happy fall everyone!!!

50s Schoolgirl Chic

What I Wore:
Shirt: Thrifted (Talize)
Skirt: Made by me (no pattern)
Sweater: Thrifted (Value Village)
Tights: Joe Fresh
Shoes: Payless

First of all, you can't really tell from this picture, but the print on the shirt is a very small gingham. I am not sure why, but sometimes I have problems photographing certain stripes/checks and they look super weird in pictures. This shirt is definitely one of the "problem prints," haha! Weird photography errors aside, I am so happy I found it during my last trip to Talize. I really love the collar and the neckline in general. It has a 90s does 50s vibe which I enjoy immensely. Not that I am a huge fan of 90s style (or lack there of, I am using that term loosely), but they got this one right. I feel like a bit like Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks. She kind of channeled the 50s vibe a little bit, but also had the schoolgirl look too. I felt a bit like a 50s teen heading back for the fall term in the getup. I am so excited that it is almost fall and that I can wear tights and sweaters again. I amassed quite the tights collection over the summer and cannot wait to test them out with different fall looks.

As per your suggestion from this post I finally got around to borrowing Fire Walk With Me from the library. I watched it two nights ago and I must admit I was a little disappointed. Personally I felt it just didn't have the same fell as Twin Peaks. A lot of the characters that I really liked from the series weren't in the prequel, or barely even made an appearance e.g. Andy, Audrey, Lucy, Log Lady etc. There wasn't enough of Agent Cooper either, and he is really the best part of the TV show. I also feel like they already told us the whole story piece by piece in the TV series, so the movie felt a little redundant. In my opinion it would have been better to make a two hour movie wrapping up the series instead of telling a story that we already knew. I did like that they explained Bob and the one armed man's relationship a bit more. That whole thing just kind of clicked when they called the little man "the arm." That was pretty cool. But once again I think it would have been better to close of the story from the TV show instead of recreating the events that took place beforehand. Maybe that's just me. Anyone who has seen both, what do you think? Am I stepping on toes here?