Silver Sequins & A Good Day

What I Wore:

Shirt: Target

Sweater: Winners

Jeans: Zellers

Shoes: Zellers

Hair Bow: Shoppers  

This will be the last time that you see these jeans (at least this incarnation of them) on this blog because after I took these pictures they ripped in an irreparable place. However, I am planning on picking the seams apart and making a pattern from them so I can make another similar pair! I already have some awesome polka dot fabric that I want to use for the first set. I am pretty excited because as I have mentioned before it is really hard for me to find pants that fit, and I don't have the space to draft patterns but I can certainly trace one out decently enough. Why I didn't think of doing this before is beyond me. It might be a while before I actually get to work on the pants since I have some other projects on the go and waiting on the shelf, but it will definitely happen at some point in the near future.

Today is shaping up to be a pretty great day. I am going to meet a friend at her work and tour around the place and then we are going out to lunch at one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants Affinity. Tonight Colin, my sister and I are going to see Kate Nash in Toronto!!!! I am soooooo excited for this. I have been listening to her music for a few years now and have been waiting eagerly for her to come to Canada. If you haven't heard any of her songs you should check this one out. I hope your days are going to be as awesome as mine is shaping up to be. Happy Friday everyone!

P.S. If you follow me through Google I thought you guys should know that Google announced they are going to be discontinuing Google Reader in July. This means that I won't have followers through Google Friend Connect anymore. If you want to continue reading (and I hope that you do) you can find me on bloglovin' or tumblr (I post my outfits there and link back to the post on here).  

March Sew-Along Update II

Last week I left off having sewn the front and back of the bodice together. Here is what I have done since then.

I spent this week sewing the skirt together. First I sewed in the pockets, then I attached all the skirt pieces together, folded and basted the pleats and attached the skirt to the bodice. I wanted to be a little bit further along by now but I was having a few of those "I want to sew but shouldn't be because everything is getting messed up" days this week. Anywho that's where I am right now, hopefully by next week I will have the zipper in and started on the sleeves/collar.  

Seeing Spots

What I Wore:

Shirt: Bealls

Sweater: Old Navy

Jeans: Old Navy

Shoes: Payless 

Can I just say that I am pretty excited about this hairdo? It kind of reminds me of the look that Penny sports in the re-make of Hairspray, which is fine because I love that movie. It works well with the shoes too, yay retro throwbacks! If you have been reading my blog for a while you might have noticed that I don't usually do things with my hair (e.g. put it up or style it in any different way than down). The reasoning behind this is twofold 1. In middle school I would always (and I mean always) wear my hair up in a ponytail. I don't have particularly fond memories of that time period and once I figured out how to care for my hair I decided to leave it down rather than remind myself of those days (over share?). 2. Besides a basic ponytail I never really knew how to style up-dos. It is also difficult to find styles that will look good with shorter hair. After playing around with my hair a bit, I think I have discovered some cute ways to be able to style and not feel like I am back in the hell that was middle school. It took me a few attempts to get this style right, but I think I nailed it this time. What do you think?

I recently discovered the awesomeness that is My Mad Fat Diary. If you have not heard of or seen this show then you must rush out (or rush to youtube) and watch it immediately. I had seen a few images and what not from it floating around tumblr but I never actually looked it up until last night. Let me tell you that I should have done it as soon as I saw the first GIF set because it is amazing! First of all it is British, which usually indicates that  it is a quality show (everything on the BBC is awesome). The series is based off of Rae Earl's diaries that she wrote in the 1980s. The writing is witty, the story line is well constructed and you feel connected to the main character. I have only watched the first three episodes *cough* in one night *cough*, but I am hooked and will most likely finish the last three tonight. I can't wait to see what happens next!

DIY Sailboat Button Broach

1. Step one: assemble supplies! I used from top clockwise: lace, scrap fabric, scissors, chalk pen, button, brooch back, stick-on brooch pin, needle and thread, straight pins, a hot glue gun (not pictured). Optional:  my no mark cutting board.    

2. Measure out how much lace you want and cut it into strips. I figured out that it would take 6 pieces to achieve the look I wanted.

3. Pin all of the lace pieces together. You might need to play with it to get the right shape.

4. Once you are satisfied with everything sew the pieces together by hand. 

5. Measure out the length of your lace pieces, this will be important in the next step.

6. Take your scrap fabric and draw out a rounded triangular shape. I used the measurement from step 5 to figure out how tall to make them. 

7. Cut out your little triangles. I was super lazy and cut them all out at once, which made the shape a little uneven but I decided I liked it that way and left them as is.

8. Position and pin the triangles to the lace. 

9. Hand sew the triangles to the lace section making sure they are secure. 

10. Cut out a small square to cover the center. My button was kind of small so it didn't cover up the stitching when I tested the placement so I decided to add in this detail.  

11. Sew on your button and square at the same time. 

12. Using the hot glue gun attach the lace and fabric section to the metal back. Stick on the  the brooch pin.

13. Wear your brooch and enjoy!!!!

Little Blue Sailboat

What I Wore:

Shirt: Old Navy

Cardi: Thrifted (Talize)

Skirt: Smart Set

Tights: Ardene

Belt: Ardene

Shoes: Blowfish

Brooch: Made By Me (tutorial up later this afternoon)

Like I said in my last post I have been really digging stripes and polka dots lately, although this is a bit more obnoxious combo since the polka dots are huge and they occupy more space than the last set. I have one more post with this combination that will be up later this week, and then I promise that is the last one like this for a while. I made this brooch last weekend and I really intended on posting the tutorial and outfit the week after, but I was in a bit of a slump and didn't feel like doing a lot of blog work (sometimes it takes a lot out of you). Anyway, I got this pin from Colin's grandma's sewing supplies, there was only one, but I really loved it and I couldn't bear to leave without it. I thought about it for a few minutes and then I had what I like to call a 'Eureka!' moment. Why not make a brooch out of it? I even thought of pairing it with the red stripped fabric that I made this dress out of. The only thing that really changed from the initial thought to the actual construction was the lace backing. I was originally thinking of a something along the lines of this but when I was testing it out it didn't really work. Then I saw the blue lace in my stash (which I also got from Colin's grandma) and the colour matched really well and I thought it fit better with the overall look. I got the brooch back and the pin at JoAnn's when I went to the states on January with my friend's from work. I didn't get around to making it until last week, but that's another issue entirely. The next problem came with trying to match it with something in my wardrobe, which was a surprisingly difficult task. I am pretty pleased with how this turned out and I am definitely considering making a few more (I have some more awesome buttons that would be perfect).

Wearing My Heart On My Sleeve

What I Wore:

Dress: Old Navy (several years old)

Shirt: Giant Tiger (also ancient)

Leggings: Suzy Shier

Socks: Ardene

Belt: Bealls

Boots: Payless 

Necklace: The Black Market (Halifax)

I really love this shirt. I bought it quite some time ago (I think when I was home for winter break in my first year of University guh) but I haven't tired of it ever. It is a little too short to wear on it's own, I have issues with shirt lengths sometimes, but it is great for layering under things. the print is just so cute (little hearts!) and it reminds me of a shirt my mum had when she was a teenager. Lately I have been really into mixing stripes and polka dots. Normally I am not a pattern  mixer as I have mentioned a few times before, but I saw a few other bloggers doing that and I wanted to test it out for myself (stripes and tiny hearts totally count too). Most of the things I own are either stripped of polka dotted and I was running out of combinations not mixing my patterns together. This combo of stripes and polka dots seems to work well though, what do you think?

I didn't post this earlier today because frankly I just didn't feel like typing up a blog post last night and scheduling it. Sometime I am just not in the mood and I have to remind myself that this is supposed to be for fun and I don't have to do it if I don't want to. I don't want to burn out when I am finally starting to gain some momentum on here. I am glad I didn't force myself to do it last night because it would have been pretty half-assed, haha. I am feeling much more into now that's for sure. Has anyone else ever lost interest in their blog? What did you do to regain the drive?  

March Sew-Along Update I

Since there were no objections this month I am only going to do short progress updates. I will post a few pictured of where I am at, but no step-by-step instructions. This is the pattern I am following in case you missed it in the final update for the February project. So here's where I am at so far. 

My pattern pieces all cut out and my notches marked (which took forever!).

The front of the bodice so far.

The back so far.

 A glimpse of the lining which has been basted in.

That's it for now. next week I am going to start working on the skirt. Stay tuned for more!

Saddlle Shoe Dreams

What I Wore: 

Dress: Zellers

Cardi: Thrifted (Goodwill)

Tights: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Brooch: Thirfted (Goodwill) 

Can I just say how much I am in love with these shoes? They actually have quite the story behind them, which seems to be a theme with most of my shoes/clothes. I have wanted a pair of saddle shoes since my sister had a pair when we were little. Alas I was never able to find any and my forced to live without them and my dreams fell by the wayside. Fast forward to the fall of 2011 when I began to be more comfortable dressing more to my personal tastes and I started to think about making my own blog. I remembered my early desire for a pair of saddle shoes and I began the hunt again. I discovered that there were a few sites online that sold the shoes, but they were mostly American and some of them didn't ship to Canada (or it was ridiculously expensive). I noticed that Payless sold them too, but only in America. I was a little sad, but I figured maybe at some point I would be able to go over the border and pick up a pair. We don't live that far away from Niagara Falls, so it seemed like a reasonable possibility. 

Time passed and I still hadn't acquired a pair of saddle shoes (keep in mind I was also checking out thrift/vintage stores and other shoe stores for pairs as well). In the fall my aunt was planning her retirement and invited us to come and visit her in the house she was going to rent in Florida. I was excited for numerous reasons a) I have never been to Florida, b) we were going to go to Harry Potter World, c) it would be nice to visit my aunt and d) this might be my chance to finally get my coveted shoes. Once we were in Florida I checked out the Payless and discovered that the shoes were only available as an online order. Luckily my aunt was willing to pick them up from the store since they wouldn't arrive until after we had left for home. Problem solved! The story isn't over yet though. I paid for the shoes and the store placed the order. Sadly it was discovered when I was laid over in Washington for 8 hours that the shoes could not in fact be shipped to the store, they had to be ordered online and shipped to a house. I was not informed of this at the time as I was already pretty grumpy from being shuttled back and forth at the airport. The whole ordeal was settled by my sister and aunt going online and ordering a pair to be shipped to her house in Florida. They arrived after my parents had left so they had to come back with my aunt in early March. To make a ridiculously long winded story short, my aunt got back on the 1st, dropped off the shoes on the 2nd and I of course immediately tried them on and wore them the next day. They fit like a dream and are super comfortable. They even look better in person than they do in the picture online, so it's win win all around. I couldn't be happier! They were definitely worth the wait.     

I felt like I was ready to go to a sock hop in this outfit. It was super fun to wear and I really didn't want to take it off at the end of the day. I found the cardi and the brooch in Florida as well. They all just went together so well, it was perfect. You are going to be seeing a lot of these shoes in the future, I can guarantee it.

Bunnies, Birdies and Mushrooms Oh My!

 What I Wore:
Dress: Made By Me
Cardi: Smart Set
Leggings: Sirens
Boots: ModCloth
Belt: Ardene

I am really excited to be able to share this dress with you guys! I got the bunny fabric as a Christmas present from my aunt. As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but I had a few other projects in the works at the time so it had to take the back burner. Once I had a chance to work on it my first step was to find a matching red cotton at work for the band at the bottom. Luckily we had the perfect colour and I checked that step off my prep list. I also wanted to do something cool for the collar, but I couldn't decide on the trim I ended up using or this cute red and white polka dot bias tape. I debated over the decision for quite some time. Obviously I ended up choosing the red eyelet trim, which I think was the right choice in the end. I got both of the trims from Colin's grandma's stash at Christmas. I am happy to be able to use up her old trims and buttons (I did a DIY with one of her buttons which I will be sharing soon). Once I had sorted out all of the details I draped the dress on my mannequin and got to work sewing it together. I am really pleased with how it all came together. It is really fun to design something in your head and then have it turn out exactly as you pictured it. You can't see the bodice entirely in the pictures because of my sweater but it has princess seams that go into box pleats in the skirt. I always pictured it having the red band at the bottom, and the red  collar just kind of balances it all out. What do you think? This outfit is definitely another favourite of the year so far.

P.S. How do you like me new header? I have had this idea for a while and decided to test it out for March.

Belts Galore

What I Wore:

Dress: Bealls

Cardi: Thrifted (Value Village)

Leggings: Suzy Shier

Socks: Spring

Boots: Payless (several years ago)

Belt: Reitmans

I really love this dress. It is another one that I picked up while in Florida. The colour is beautiful and it actually matches a pair of shoes I bought at Target the day before I got the dress. I haven't been able to wear the shoes yet because it is still snowy and gross here, but hopefully soon it will start to clear up and I can wear non-boots again. It looked like it was getting better over the last few weeks and then we had a major storm on Tuesday night and now the city is covered in dirty old snow again. My plans for Wednesday did end up getting canceled because of the storm, which made me sad, but hopefully I will get to see my friend sometime in the next two weeks instead.  It is really hard to plan around crazy work and life schedules sometimes. That was a bit of a tangent, the point being I will probably wear the shoes and dress together at some point in the not to distant future (fingers crossed).

I also just wanted to point out that my cardigan is covered in belts. People often ask me what the print is and that's what I tell them is on there. At first I wasn't too sure myself but upon closer inspection I am quite certain that they are belts. What an exciting story! I thought it would be kind of funny to wear a belt over a cardigan covered in belts, I am pretty hilarious like that. I like clothing that has prints of other items of clothing on it. I kind of collect them actually. I used to have a lot of things with shoes on them, in fact I still have a tote bag with shoes on it that I use as my work bag. Maybe I should do a photo shoot of my weird little collections like that, we'll see. This post is getting pretty disjointed so I am just going to stop rambling now. Happy Friday/March everyone!