Lunch Date

Lunch with Mom and Husband, Zucchini Blossom Cafe ~

A week or so back my husband (teacher) was on spring break, the second or third most glorious time of year for you teachers. (#1 being summer, #2 being Christmas). My work consists of the odd week day off to accommodate for the insertion of weekend shifts q4weeks or so (and now some of you have a clue as to what I do for a living! That was a little esoteric...I do apologize). Anyway with that said, we were both able to join my Mom who treated us to lunch at a local cafe.

Mom (she's so cute)

husband, bearded, for now

Enjoying soup and sandwich

My new duffle coat (ASOS)

Ah ha! Caught, red handed. I bought a new coat - however my old winter coat has ripped around the shoulders due to wear and tear and my husband told me more than once I should probably get something that actually functions as a coat! With permission (not too much persuasion needed) given, I found this coat on ASOS for half price! The joys of shopping out of season. You can see the sun is shining, but I am still toqued and scarfed (at least not mittened, heh?) On this day I might have been going for the accessorizing fun of winter items more than the sheer need due to the elements, but spring is definitely taking its time in arriving this year. (Something about a low jet stream...)?

After lunch, we walked back to the car and passed this relic. She is an antique! Beautiful, almost intimidating. Check out her birth certificate, below. What a neat find. It basically took over the property it was on, and probably prevented more housing from going up at one point in time.

And to finish off this post..it has occurred to me a couple times that maybe I should reiterate the premise behind my blog, for those that have arrived and haven't started chronologically. (I often read blogs in reverse chronological order, is that normal? I think so)

In short, I have decided to go on a shopping freeze, which includes clothing, shoes, accessories, and outerwear. I am on month 5 going on 6. 

Its been more fun than I thought it would be! It has forced some fashion creativity out of me, and I think I actually am liking my style more at present than perhaps a year ago. It is a fun indulgence to try and wear a dearly loved piece in many different ways. (Commonly termed 'remixing' on the style blogs I find myself reading). I have a couple favourite items, one blouse in particular, that I would go so far as to say, has given me fashion-shock in its versatility! (Future remix post, maybe) Needless to say, its been a great challenge, has stretched my wardrobe, and has allowed me to better budget my money elsewhere. 

DYI: fancy up an old friend with some beads

As alluded to in my last post, I like to create new pieces out of old ones. Its fun, and a great way to re-invigorate an article that's been long forgotten. In the case below, I actually went out and bought this sweater second hand to do this project, since I didn't have one that suited the mind's eye finished product I was hoping for. Conversely I had the beads just lying around, found when unpacking from a recent (not so recent now) move.

Materials: old sweater, sewing needle, thread, scissors, measuring tape/ruler, beads (~40 to 50 but it really depends on how close you want them aligned and the size of the sweater), fabric chalk (25 cents at a sewing store)

First things first, iron your sweater.

Then pin up the sides to ensure your 

sweater lays flat while you're working on it.

Next measure the bottom width and pin the middle point as a reference. Using a straight edge, draw a line down the middle of the sweater with the fabric chalk. I followed the natural line created by the knit. Decide how far apart you would like your beads and measure out from the centre line. I used ~ an inch and a half. Draw all these vertical lines equal widths apart:

Starting with the middle line, draw cross-hatches where you'd like your beads to go. My beads are just resting there so I could visualize a nice distance. Draw cross hatches down the middle line where the beads are to go. Next, I staggered the neighbouring lines' cross hatches for a more appealing pattern. Draw the rest of your cross hatches on the remaining vertical lines. As you can see, every other line has the beads at the same height:

Pin beads to the cross hatches and hand sew on. I was
pretty paranoid so I did 5 or 6 stitches for each bead.

Keep going until all beads are sewn 
on. This will likely be a multiple 
sitting project, just warnin ya ;)

As you can see I didn't go all the way to the edge, 

where the sweater starts to wrap around your side.

and with a little patience,

Voila..!

Its not a great picture, I know. 

I'll wear it again sometime soon ;).

Day Workin & Night Out

 

Here I go with my colour blocks again! This time I inadvertently created what look like national flags. Which definitely just sparked a diversion to this website. Yes, I searched just to see if anything even came close to my colour blocking. No, not really (Closest = Sierra Leone, Maybe?). While nothing really matched, it did just spur on the fun idea of having theme days for countries. Nothing obvious, just a subtle tribute to a country's colours, and perhaps a little peak into what the styles of the country are. An idea to keep in mind for certain. I'm thinking perhaps Estonia first..

And I did some minor tweaking for a night out. (I'm not one to get too fancy. Okay maybe occasionally). I changed into jeans, and added this home-made tee for the casual version. I enjoy colours that don't typically go together, like the mint and kind of a dull chartreuse (yellow green). Add: some might call it 'puke' green..haha. Yay for ugly colours :)

 

Casual post

Another approach I have to creating an outfit is keeping my eye out for colour combinations that pop. Often my inspiration is others' outfits that pass me by, but colours are everywhere, and sometimes they aren't necessarily beside each other. Someone will walk by a store sign and the colour of their sweater and the sign will attract my eye, or I'll like the colour of a car and think "I need to find a way to incorporate that into an outfit". I guess it goes without saying, I enjoy outfits that are purely about the colour. Even better, when an item itself is colour blocked, such as this one.

It also goes without saying that I like a comfortable outfit. Most of the posts on the blog thus far are pre/post work, which isn't always a representation of how I dress day to day. And since the year long project requires the comfy clothes to be recycled and recombined along with everything else, I present you with the casual look..

this one

A Good Friday.

Today was one of those days where you put your clothes on and just feel great. Right at home. Walk with a litte more confidence in your stride, and at the end of the day put your legs up, and relax, because you know you have the freedom to just be yourself. 

This shirt was bought with a gift certi from Anthro, a store with too many items to covet at once. Beyond clothes too.

I've been thinking about these pricey pieces though - if they are well loved, well worn, and well taken care of, are they not so much better of an investment than the over-the-top shopping sprees of crazy sales on the boxing days where you spend just as much, but its distributed over multiple items, that you will try and remember to wear at least twice, just to get your money's worth?

I've been thinking about how I will re-introduce the clothing shopping lately (yes, already ;), and I think I will allow for a certain number of items per time period (ie month). I fear I will get caught up in the frenzy again much too easily, but if I limit my number of purchases, they will be well though out and likely liked longer than just the day I happen to be in front of the mirror, judgment swayed by a sale (does this not happen waaaay too much?!). I think this is also a good way to not feel guilty about spending a prettier penny on just one item. If I like it and it feels like it will be more of a 'long term investment', the extra pennies are worth it. (Or should I be saying nickels now, since we longer have the penny in our currency!) In addition, if something costs more, you are more likely to buy it only if you reeeeaaaaally like it. 

blouse from Anthro

I love scalloped features, in moderation. Too much can
be a little twee, but this is just the perfect amount.

March madness.

Well. Should I even acknowledge the lapse in time? 

There, I did. ;)

Lost a little bit of momentum there. 

navy blue polkadot dress
*slowly becoming a favourite

I've thought about this blog a fair amount during this last little hiatus. Something I'm learning with the new shift of balances in my time is the value of doing a little bit of something each day. Chipping away. I'm starting to find that I can fit in school and work with other hobbies including reading, sports, and (gulp) blogging. (Aaand a social life). The truth is, I actually do have a number of outfit pictures piling up. It's not that I want to broadcast "what I wear" to the virtual world, but that this was a project of creativity, and discipline. The discipline is going fairly well. I admit, I've caved a little. Nothing that threatens the essence of the 'fast' though. (For instance, I've bought new running shoes and clothes. But this is something I hadn't been able to purchase previously with all the focus on my frontline wardrobe). I really value these and other non-clothes items I've purchased since the fast began. When a purchase is well thought out and made with intent, you feel like the item is more of an 'earned' purchase. I am liking the feeling of being a 'responsible shopper' (there is a distinct difference between this and the bargain shopper, although they are not mutually exclusive).

Rose gold pyramid studs

I am hoping to keep posts simple and thus keep my project more up to date. I am thoroughly enjoying the creativity side as well. I admit, there are days when nothing comes though. I definitely use other style blogs for inspiration, and it is amazing what unveils itself.

Interview with a twist.

Back-tracking, again. This outfit was actually worn the evening after the previous post. I had an online interview over Skype, a new experience that makes applying to various schools all over the map (or even globe) a much more feasible thing to do in this day and age.

Usually I have a much more regimented uniform for interviews, typically (almost expectedly) consisting of the suit, and in my case, small shiny silver earrings. It's always worked, so why fix it if it ain't broke? -as the saying goes. Well in this case I did change it up. The interview world over Skype is an entirely different dynamic, with what you're wearing playing much lesser of a role on first impressions. This is a good thing, I think. Of course there are many down-sides to have many miles between the interviewer and interviewee, but I like to think it gives a pretty good impression of the person you are, with some of the pretentious parts of first impressions not having as significant an effect. 

Interestingly, my dad tells me he always looks at people's shoes when they come for an interview. Are they old? faded? shined? dirty, clean? I suppose they are a part of the outfit possibly least thought about, or if thought about, more at the last minute. Funny what might be looked at to read into your personality and suitability for a job. In this case, I didn't have to worry about the impression of my shoes (although funny enough I did put some on), nor did the non-suit ensemble hold anything back - I was accepted!