Spoiled

I've been kind of spoiled lately. After being photopraphed by Danka one week, styled by Patrick and clothed by Sub Rosa Vintage another week, going back to dressing myself and taking pictures with my iPhone is just not that exciting. This lack of excitement is reflected in my facial expression in the photos below *sigh*
It's so easy to get used to the luxuries of a real photographer and other people's clothing/ style, but I'm plowing forward.

I realize that I have yet to document my new hair. Scandal!
I had been admiring and drooling over ombre hair for a while. However, I am addicted to highlights and love being a  blonde, so I wasn't sure if I could go ahead with it. Complicating things further, I had also recently fallen in love with Neris' hair (check out her blog here). Her blonde is so gorgeous - so I decided that if I chickened out on the ombre, I would copy her platinum locks.
Last Wednesday, I walked into my hairdresser's salon armed with pictures of Neris and examples of the type of ombre I wanted. I even had YouTube tutorials on how to do ombre colouring. Other hair dressers would have thought I was rude, or a crazy person, but she's been doing my hair since I was 17 so she's used to it. (Side note: over the phone she heard me say "auburn" instead of "ombre" and had already called my mom to warn her I may heve lost my marbles, and devised a plan to discourage me from going through with it. Love my hair dresser!)

In the end we both agreed that it was time for a change, and the ombre won. Even though it is darker than I am used to, I am slowly learning to like it. It's nothing drastic (for everyone else), but it's a big step for a blonde addict like myself.

Shirt and Skirt: H&M, Necklace: Joe Fresh, Shoes: Nine West, Bracelets: Forever 21.

Of a Harem

Here is another outfit that Danka shot for me. If you are in the Ottawa-Gatineau area and are interested in working with her, feel free to e-mail me and I'll put you in touch with her.

My friends and I have dubbed this my " harem genie jumpsuit", which I think is pretty accurate.

I never thought I would own a unitard, but when I saw this one last summer in Sarajevo, Bosnia I just had to have it. I absolutely love it. It wrinkles as soon as you put it on, but it's totally worth it because it feels like you're wearing your pajamas around town. So loose fitting and airy - perfect for those extremely hot days.

Also, how gorgeous does Ottawa look in these photos? Having lived here since I was 10, I often overlook just how beautiful this city is. Seeing these pictures made me stop and appreciate my (adopted) hometown. If you've never visited, you should put it on your "to do" list. Spring and summer are my favourite times of the year with bustling patios and various festivals every weekend, but winter can be just as fun, especially if you like skating and ice sculptures (and freezing your butt off).

Jumpsuit: unknown, from Sarajevo, Shoes: Winner's, Purse: Aldo, Bracelets: H&M, Necklace: made by Sarah

PS. Big shout out to Lenka who is rocking that red mini! Whoop whoop!

Vested Interests

This vest. Oh, this vest.
I'm obsessed.

I must admit that I was tempted by its sudded cousin from Zara - flashier and three times the price. But being a grown-up is all about making difficult decisions, so I said "no" to Zara and went searching for an alternative that fit both my body and my budget. I dashed madly through the Eaton Center looking for the one.
My face lit up when I found this bad boy at Old Navy - it was love at first sight. I've been wanting to spend every moment with it since then, and today I wouldn't let 30 degrees, or my office job stop me.

This vest. It's love.

 

 

 

 

Vest: Old Navy, Shirt: H&M, Skirt: Joe Fresh, Shoes: Target, Necklace: By Sarah

Sub Rosa Vintage

I had such an amazing time with my best friend Patrick in Toronto this weekend, and could barely stand to say bye to him yesterday. I've been playing our three weekend songs on repeat since I left. *sigh*

Friday turned into a really fun day of fashion and photography. Patrick works at Sub Rosa Vintage, a clothing store in Kensington Market. The store is owned by his SUPER stylish friend Erica, and is filled with drool worthy vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. If you live in Toronto, or are ever passing through, you must check it out. Kensington Market is also one of the coolest neighbourhoods I've visited. The streets are lined with small shops, bakeries and restaurants and buzzing with creativity and life. It's basically a much more hip and way less dirty Alphabet City (from Rent).

Patrick and Erica @ Handle Bar

Sub Rosa Vintage - 16 Kensigton - Toronto

Around noon on Friday, Erica arrived with a bunch of new merchandise and asked me if I wouldn't mind modeling some of the new items so they could be photographed for their Tumblr and Instagram. This was the equivalent of asking a kid if they wanted two scoops of ice cream instead of broccoli for dinner. I was so excited!

So, Patrick and Erica styled some outfits and Patrick photographed me wearing them around the neighbourhood. Check them out below, and go visit Sub Rosa Vintage before they're all gone. (Hands off the red dress - I want it, BAD)

Carrie Comes to Kensigton 

Lana Del Prom

Gold Digger

Not Your Mom's Mom Jeans

Party in The Back

And to finish the day off, someone from ION Magazine called Patrick and I a hipster's wet dream, photograhed us with a copy of the mag for their Twitter feed and website and told us an awesome joke - how do you drown a hipster? In the mainstream. #totesamaze

Anchors, Away!

So, I am worried....what I thought was just a lingering desire to keep the cottage vibe going after last weekend, seems to have turned into a more chronic issue. I think I might like country music. More accurately, think I might like Luke Bryan. Last night I even had a dream that I met him at some sort of outdoor country hoe-down fair. On top of that I've always been a Taylor Swift fan, so really....I'm basically a cowgirl. I blame Sarah for all of this.

Below are some photos from my photoshoot with my friend Danka that I mentioned yesterday. What a difference a good camera and a great photographer make!

I'm wearing a pair of shorts and a chambray shirt because I'm a cowgirl this is basically my summer 2012 uniform. If I had known how much I would love these shorts from the Gap, I would have bought a pair in every colour. Seriously. They are fantastic and cover my whole butt which is a pretty big deal in today's day and age, not because I have a JLo butt (sadly) but because all shorts seem to be made for tweens only. Just the other day my friend Emilie and I were complaining about the fact that it's very difficult to find shorts for women of a certain age (aka. 25+). Everything is tiny, distressed, designed by Miley Cyrus or all of the above. So...here's to Gap and their age-appropriate shorts! Cheers!

I'm off to pack for my weekend adventure with my bestie Patrick. One more sleep until I get to see him. I can hardly wait!

 

 Shirt: Levi's, Shorts: Gap, Shoes: Target, Necklace: Joe Fresh

I really liked this shot of me whippin' my hair back and forth a la Willow Smith and had to post it. It reminds me of the type of hazard people face when I get on the dance floor. There is a 4 foot radius of styled, dangerously full of product curl around me. So, if you see me on a dance floor - watch out!

Head(er) In the Clouds

So much excitement tonight. My talented and wonderful friend Danka, who is an up and coming photographer here in Ottawa (/Gatineau), suggested that she take some actual (read: non-iPhone) photos of me for the blog a few weeks ago. It was such a wonderful offer and turned into a really fun day of picture taking with her and her twin sister! I'll be posting those photos in the near future.

Tonight I met up with her to get the photos AND not only did she do a great job with them, she also made me a header for the blog. Yay! You rule Danka!

I feel so fancy now. I feel like this is another imprtant milestone in my blogging career - the first was getting THE blogger necklace (you know the one that everyone has, from J Crew) and now the header. It's like I'm growing up into a real blogger right in front of my very own eyes. What's next? A boyfriend who happens to be a professional photographer and pieces that are C/O a high end brand? Probably.

Oh and here is my outfit. This skirt was another random find in my summer clothing pile that I recently discovered. I've had it for years. I initially wanted to pair it with something funky and "blog worthy", like horizontal stripes, or another pattern, but then I decided to go simple, because while I do have THE necklace and now a blog header, I'm still just me - a beaurocrat who likes clothing and dressing up. I promise to step up my game when I start dating the professional photographer.

Shirt: H&M, Necklace, Shoes (and Skirt, probably): Winner's

High on Summertime

It's really hot again today, which made it even harder to be at work and NOT at the cottage. *sigh*
Found these shorts in my summer clothing pile that I hadn't looked at.....all summer. Ooops. That's when you know you have too much clothing - you don't even need to LOOK at your "summer clothing" pile basically all summer.

So excited for the upcoming super long weekend. Can't wait to spend three whole days with my best friend. Thursday evening can't come fast enough!

Shirt: Banana Republic, Shorts: no idea, Sandals: Winner's, Bracelets: H&M

Cutest mani ever? I think so.

Double Denim

A sure sign that you had a fabulous time at a friend's cottage and are trying desperately to prolong the cottage vibe: finding yourself searching for the local country station to listen to in your car.
That happened. To me. Half an hour ago. (Sarah's going to love it)

This weekend was fantastic. From Friday's pool party with my colleagues to a sunny weekend at the cottage - I really couldn't have asked for more. Every weekend should be like it, and I am certainly NOT looking forward to being in the office for 8 hours tomorrow. *sigh*

Here's my outfit from Friday. Nothing says "casual Friday" like two denim pieces. Bless!

These photos were taken near my colleague's house, right before the pool party festivities started. As we were taking them, her girlfriend came home and caught us red handed. She was like  "why are you guys taking photos of each other?" and it was one of those moments that made blogging seem really silly.

But, I love it.  For example, the highlight of my Monday morning is going to be sitting down with a coffee and catching up with my fave bloggers - checking out what they were up to this weekend and how they were dressed. Looking forward to it!

Jacket: Guess, Shirt and Necklace: Joe Fresh, Jeans: Forever 21, Sandals: Zara