Farewell To My Intrepid Traveller

I was really hoping that this year would be better than last year. I have suffered enough loss for one person's lifetime. I have been dreading writing this post. Maybe I thought that somehow if I didn't write it it would mean that nothing had happened and everything would go back to normal. Unfortunately that is not the case, but this seems like the right time to put my thoughts down and share them.

In the early hours of the morning of January 30th I lost my my poor bun bun Luna. It was completely unexpected and one of the worst things I have ever had to experience. I am warning you this next part is a bit disturbing but I really feel the need to get it out. *On Wednesday her eye didn't look quite right so I called the vet, but she was out of town. When I got home from work it looked much worse so we rushed to the emergency vet only to discover that the vet on call didn't handle exotics. They were very helpful and provided us with a few other options. We decided to drive out to the only vet in town that dealt with exotics first thing the next morning. Sadly my baby didn't make it through the night. Nobody is really sure what happened. All of the resources I looked at online said that it might have been an abscess, but they never happen that quickly and are rarely fatal. My vet suggested it might have been something called pasturella, but from what I saw on that it seems unlikely.* All I know is that it was awful and too soon for her to go.

My friends and family have been extremely supportive over the last week. So many people have taken the time to tell me how liked Luna and how I was a good bunny mommy. People liked to joke about how she was the best traveled rabbit around, and maybe they were right. I got her three short years ago while I was still in university. An acquaintance of mine was moving to South America and she needed someone to take her pet rabbit. I have always had pets and not having any around during school was really hard. I also had a pet rabbit when I was younger and I had been seriously considering getting another one for  while before this offer came up. I went over to the girl's apartment to take a look at the bunny (I can't remember what she had called her) and it was love at first sight. She was much bigger than most would expect, but she was cute and spirited and I liked that. A few days later we went to pick her up and take her to her forever home.

I thought long and hard about what I was going to name her and I finally settled on Luna after Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter and Luna from Sailor Moon. I thought they were both appropriate since Luna is  my favourite character in HP and her partonus is a rabbit, and Luna from Sailor Moon was a black just like my bun. She settled into our apartment in Halifax and all of my friends really liked hanging out with her and giving her pets when they came over. The time came to move back to Ontario and Luna got to take the first of many long road trips. My dad came to help us move and she got to ride in the truck with us in her carrier. The end of that summer she got to ride in a truck again when I moved to Peterborough for my Museums course. My friend Zach's parent's lived on a farm and he would always bring her apple branches to eat when he went home for the weekend. The next summer we moved back to Halifax for my internship and Luna got to see her old friend's again. One more big move back to Ontario at the end of the summer. After that we moved into Colin's dad's house and last but not least our own apartment. Along the way she got to hang out with my sister's cat Wesley who was not to sure about her at first but warmed up eventually, Jack our friend's cat who we watched for a while in Halifax, and Colin's dad's cat Sable (who is now ours). All in all Luna moved 7 times, had been in two moving vans, lots of cars, and two trains. She also hung out with four cats and a dog, although only Jack and Wesley really took to her. I let her explore outside in spring summer winter and fall, I think winter was her favourite though. She loved to hop around in the snow. I was really looking forward to taking her on walks in our new neighbourhood this spring. My intrepid little traveler, I loved you so much. You touched so many people's lives, and they all miss you. I miss you, I think even Sable misses you even though you scarred the poop out of her. I think about you everyday and I will always hold you close to my heart.  
  

Bridges & Balloons

What I Wore:

Shirt: Old Navy

Sweater: Asos Curve

Pants: Joe Fresh

Shoes: Ardene

Brooch: Clothing Swap

I really like the combination of denim and stripes here, I usually go for a darker wash denim for pants but the lighter blue looks good in shirts. I have been wearing this sweater a lot this winter, it doesn't look very warm, but it is actually pretty cozy. It works well for layering, plus the heart patches are just too cute. I am a real sucker for cute. My hot air balloon brooch is also very cute, I got that from the clothing swap I attended in December. This one lady brought in a whole bunch of brooches and I pretty much cleaned her out, they were all so great. I didn't leave the house the day I was wearing this, that's why I am not wearing weather appropriate shoes. It has been sooooooo freakin' cold here every day is a million layer, double pants kind of day. Nothing else to report really. If you haven't checked out my Etsy shop yet I encourage you to take a look :D

Postcard Perfect

What I Wore:
Sweater: Clothing Swap
Shirt/neck tie: Made by me (McCall's Pattern)
Skirt: Made by me (no pattern)
Leggings: Suzy Shier
Socks: Spring
Shoes: Golden Ponies

*Drumroll* I am pleased to unveil my new outfit photography backdrop. I still have to move a few things out of the way in order to use it, but it is definitely worth it. I bought two curtain panels from work and I had to shorten this one to fit in the window. I used the excess fabric to make the two smaller cushions, and I shortened the second panel to make the bench cushion. I think I am going to use the other panel in the living room once the weather warms up. We had to hang a blanket in there for the time eing just to cut down on the draught (old house problems).

I am also really excited to announce that I made my first Etsy sale yesterday! I have been working away on it and am so excited. Thanks so much Lucy :D  

Smashing Skirts

Drum roll please! I am extremely excited to announce that I have opened and Etsy shop called Smashing Skirts. I have been keeping this one under my cap for a while, but I wanted to get it looking just right before I made the big announcement. For those of you who are curios in my shop I will be selling retro inspired custom made skirts for any size, all you need to do is pick a fabulous pattern and send me your measurements! I tried to pick some fun fabrics to start out with, hopefully there is something for everyone. Feel free to mosey on over and take a look, you can get to the site by clicking the Smashing Skirts  tab at the top of the page, or by clicking the link in this post. I look forward to getting a visit from all of you in the near future :)

Double The Patches, Double The Fun

What I Wore:
Shirt: Thrifted
Sweater: Clothing swapped (elbow patches are a DIY)
Jeans: Zellers (patches added as a DIY)
Shoes: LeBunny Bleu

Yay, first pictures in the new place! Yesterday I finally finished setting up the area I really wanted to use for outfit posts, and took some pictures yesterday so expect those soon.

I got this sweater at the clothing swap I attended just after we moved, but I felt like it needed a little something extra so I added some suede elbow patches. I have always really liked the studious professor look, haha. I wasn't sure if it would be too much to wear two items of clothing with patches together, but I think it kind of worked in this case. The sweater is very warm and cozy, perfect for the ridiculously cold (-39 C!) weather we have been having here lately. I feel like I am forever hunting in my closet for the warmest thing possible to wear, every day is a double pants kind of day haha! I think I also caught a cold from the weather, it is pretty draughty in our new place (the curse of old houses), and there is no insulation at work so it was a bit of a double whammy. I am happy to say that I am feeling a little better today after sitting around drinking loads of tea. Thankfully the weather is supposed to warm up a bit by the weekend, I'm not sure how much more of the frigid temperatures I can take. I did get a lot of sweet sweaters at that clothing swap to tide me over though :D

Broken Record

What I Wore:

Button Up: Zellers

Sweater: Old Navy

Pants: Asos

Shoes: LeBunny Bleu

Believe it or not this is the last outfit post from the old house *cry cry* I actually took my first set of outfit pictures in the new place today! I have the perfect spot planned out in my head for once everything is actually unpacked and set up, but for now the location I used today will have to do. I am pleased that things are finally starting to come together day by day, I really can't stand living in chaos. It wasn't that bad I guess because we unpacked the main areas within the first three days, but our bedroom was pretty ridiculous until within the last week. The holidays really did a number on the amount of time we had to properly unpack. I feel like all I have talked about on here for the last forever is moving and unpacking, and I do apologize, but it has kind of taken over my life haha! I feel like a broken record all the time. I have more time off now so I can hunker down and get shit done and then I will never talk about it again :D 

Did everybody have a nice holiday season? We spent everyday from Dec. 23rd - Jan. 1st doing something holiday related. It was a little crazy and tiring, but I totally loved seeing all my family and friends, that's what it's all about after all :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Wearing My Heart On My Sleeve

What I Wore:

Shirt: Giant Tiger

Sweater: ASOS Curve

Lady tie: Made by me (McCall's 6795)

Skirt: Made by me (no pattern)

Leggings: Suzy Shier

Socks: Ardene

Shoes: Payless 

I never intended to leave such a hugs gap in between posts, but things have been very crazy since we moved and I haven't had much free time. Luckily I still have a few outfit posts left from the old place, so when I have extra time I will be posting them up here. The holidays are rapidly approaching (3 days ah!), all of my shopping and wrapping is done, but we are still not finished unpacking our apartment. There is not a lot of storage space in our bedroom, and I really can't finish unpacking my clothing and sewing supplies until there is somewhere to put everything, so for now it is a waiting game. I can't wait until we are all done and settled in, moving is very stressful, especially at this time of year. I feel like I have been putting together some really great outfits lately too and it is really frustrating that I have no good photo spot set up. I am hoping once the holidays are over we will have some time to set things up and things will go back to normal.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Clothing Swap @ This Ain't Hollywood

Just over a week after it happened I am finally posting the pictures from the clothing swap. I apologize for the  image quality but it was the day after we moved and I was a bit frazzled and completely forgot my camera and had to use my phone. I also didn't get any pictures of the giant tables in the middle of the room that had the free to swap stuff. Oh well, such is life. Here are the pictures that I did get, enjoy! 

 Clothing racks all set up for the swappers. The tables with the free piles were to the right.

A lot of Jagger

Accessories table

 Make-shift change room

 Haha! 

And my swap haul/a sneak peek of our new living room. I ended up with 3 coats, 6 sweaters, 6 shirts, 3 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 hats, a faux fur stole, a faux fur collar, and whole bunch of broaches. 

In case anyone was wondering all of the left over clothes were donated to a local charity, so this wasn't only a wardrobe revamp but a good cause too. I had such a great time and I can't wait until the next swap (Spring?)! 

One More Sleep

What I Wore:
Dress: Made By Me (Burda ???)
Shirt: ASOS
Leggings: Suzy Shier
Socks: Ardene
Boots: Golden Ponies

I attempted to find the pattern number for this dress online (because all of my patterns are packed away) but I could not locate it for the life of me. The pattern cover is a pink sweater but is also includes the dress pattern too, in case anyone is interested. It's more of a relaxed look than I usually go for, but it is really comfy and I like the insert panels in the skirt portion, it adds a little something extra. the sweater/dress combo are a new pattern for the fall/winter season so I am not sure why I couldn't locate it on the website, oh well. I will try and find it after we move and edit this post or put the number up somewhere else. I love this fabric I used for this dress so much. It is a nice soft sweater knit that wears nicely and is easy to sew. Everyone at work bought at least one piece, if not more. I actually purchased three pieces myself, one of which I used to make this skirt. I also plan on making the sweater from this same dress pattern out of a charcoal grey piece. I will get to it eventually, the projects are really pilling up around here.

Just a brief post today since we are in the last stretch of packing and getting ready for tomorrow (eep!). Not sure when my next post will be because Sunday is the clothing swap and next week I am working literally every day (Friday at both jobs) so it is going to be busy. Somewhere in there we also have to find time to unpack and maybe decorate for Christmas. I am planing on getting some pictures of the swap and I have a few outfit post pictures taken that I haven't shared yet so I might make some brief posts next week if I have time. Happy Friday to everyone and wish us luck on our big day tomorrow!

P.S. Congratulations to Melissa F. for winning the Datevitation giveaway, you should have been contacted by them on Wednesday. Thanks again to all of those who entered!