Winter Dressing Circus

Winter is always a difficult time to dress. In trying to keep warm, you have to layer up. You can't just wear a simple outfit. There has to be the base layer, and the base layer has to go with the rest of the layers. And on top of that, you have to wear a big bulky coat and sometimes a hat, scarf, and leather gloves. It really is a challenge trying to make this whole dressing circus work in my favour 7 days a week but this is the season where my many blazers come in handy. Everyday for work I generally wear either a skirt and sometimes pants, paired with either a blouse or t-shirt and topped with some type of blazer. I wear the same coat and almost the same boots everyday and some combination of hat and scarf. 
The dressing ordeal is one of the reasons I hate winter. I just feel heavy and cold and hot and wet all at the same time and it's not pretty. While there's not much I can do to sway Canada into warmer weather, I can choose to dress wisely and try to smile through it. If you're not sure what to wear in below digits weather, I'd suggest investing in a few key items:

• warm coat (mines consignment, check thrift stores!)
• Doc Martens (the only boot ever)
• hats (H&M has some cute ones)
• scarves (thrift shops have the best)
• leather gloves 
• insulated nylons (Mark's)
• fleece-lined leggings or pants 

Coat: Rikochet Resale $260 Skirt: gifted and thrifted, Sweater: H&M, thrifted, $6 Purse: Valentina, Winners, $26 Boots: Spring, $20 Glasses, Kenzo, clearlycontacts.com , Necklace: gifted 

Photos by Rosie Waugh.

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The Beach.

Me and my twin sister Lisa finally got a super sunny, gorgeous day where we both had the afternoon off and decided to take full advantage by going to the beach. We love going to the beach together. Lisa usually sits and reads while I either take pictures or listen to music. I wore my favourite (and only bathing suit) with my blue high waist shorts and go-to beach sandals. These sandals are literally on their third summer and I'm always amazed at how they're still holding on. My sunglasses are a new addition from Joe Fresh. I love them so much that they made it into my new header! Thoughts?

Going to the beach is the best way to relax, spend time with people you love and catch some much needed sun (but don't forget the sunscreen!)

Have you gotten to visit the beach this summer?













Pictures taken by Lisa Kidd and myself.

bathing suit: winners, $35 shorts: winners, $20 bag: KGB black label, $80 shoes: urban outfitters, $38 sunglasses: joe fresh, $9

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It's in the genes.

This past weekend was incredibly refreshing and relaxing- two words you wouldn't have heard me use to describe my weekends in a while. Relaxing, sure. Refreshing, though, is a very special word. Feeling refreshed- to me- means seeing, hearing and learning something new. I drove down to my aunt Bev's house in Pembroke (about 1.5 hrs away) for a night. We both adore fashion, design, and are into eating healthy so we had lots to talk about and there was a lot I learnt from her. I think a love for fashion must be ingrained in our genes as my grandmother had an amazing sense of style (and still does), many of the paintings in my aunts house were either done by her or my grandmother, and my great grandmother used to make the most beautiful clothes. She first gave me a tour (see below her beautifully decorated abode), we then chatted and caught up, went out for dinner, and returned to her house to rummage through all her old fashion illustrations and favourite fashion books (she's got a tonne!) Sunday morning was spend turning my $1 piece of white rabbit fur into a beautiful and glamorous clutch (stay tuned for the pictures). 
She's so talented. And I know that word gets thrown around a lot, especially in fashion, but this lady IS talented. We have a similar sense of fashion and tend to like a lot of the same things when it comes to fashion and personal style. I regret not taking any pictures of her fashion sketches and pieces she's made because I don't think I can convey how beautiful her work is in words. To give a bit of back story- she once lived in Toronto, working in the Toronto Fashion Incubator and as an assistant to Arthur Mendonca but now works as an engineer. So she knows her stuff and she's very good at it. I loved going through all her work and hearing all her amazing stories. I can't wait to spend many more weekends with her- we were both so glad we made the time to get together and really get to know each other. If you're lucky enough to have relatives near you that you haven't got around to visiting, go now! You'll never be not busy so make time and go. You'll be surprised at the good it'll do.

Dining room.

Chandelier at night. 

Living room.

"Americans in Paris" - living room.

Living room- adore this ottoman. 

Just a few of her fashion books in the "Paris" themed room (guest room).

My grandmother in 1959, guest room. How classy?

Paris.

Paris.

Caramel in Paris.

Aunt Bev. 

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2013: Two-month shopping hiatus.

This may come as a shock to you--

I have decided to go on a two-month shopping hiatus. 

Yes, me! I've given this mini-resolution a lot of thought. Besides the obvious reasons like saving time and money, my main reason for doing this is that I literally have no more space to keep adding to my closet weekly. In fact, a few weeks ago my closet rail actually snapped and my closet essentially exploded with clothes.  

My closet, post-explosion. 

I have too much stuff and it's made it more difficult to get ready in the morning. I've been less creative with my outfits and I hate it. 

It's actually been proven that when we have too many options, we will likely feel like we've made the wrong decision. Having less options to choose from in my closet will make it easier for me to get dressed and I will be forced to get creative-- something I love and miss doing. 

In order to complete my shopping hiatus, I will follow two rules:

1. Not allowed to purchase/attain ANY clothes or accessories between January 1, 2013 and March 1, 2013. 
2. Allowed to purchase undergarments when needed. 

You may be thinking... What will happen to your blog?

Nothing.

I will continue blogging and sharing my journey with you! I look forward to this challenge and I truly believe I can do it.

My other 2013 resolutions include:

- be a kinder, more patient person
- continue to eat healthy
- be more physically active
- save money for England trip 
- pay off student loans

I really believe in goal setting. I think if you start out with a goal in mind and make a plan to achieve it, anything can happen. Attitude is very important to goal setting too. You have to try to keep a positive mentality and find ways to remind yourself of the end result.

"2013" aka "the best year yet":

A few years ago, my best friend Rosie came up with what seemed to be fictional idea at the time- that 2013 would be the absolute best year. And as the time got closer, certain things would hint at this idea and now it's become a complete reality. Rosie, along with me and many of our friends, have come to believe that 2013 will be amazing. From new music to new beginnings and new clothing stores, we just know it will be awesome. 

Happy New Year and wish me luck! 

What are your 2013 resolutions? 

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