True, the weather’s getting colder.
True, the sun is setting sooner.
“To observe people and find pleasure in their individual traits. To wish to afford scope for the interests and pleasures of those with whom you are brought into contact without desiring to acquire power over them or to secure their enthusiastic admiration.” *Bertrand Russell*
Perhaps not the most logical of things to put together.
Boots and a dress – other than jeans and a cute top – are a no fail outfit. They go together perfectly. And just like anything else in my life, I don’t like things to be too sweet; so, the sweetness of a cute dress is toughened up a little by boots. Not cute little pumps or sweet Mary Janes. But boots.
Boots that look like they can take you places. That recall cowboy boots, or riding boots. Something that looks like they can take you on a multitude of adventures.
Because I may be wearing a pretty dress, but I can roll in a field, or climb a tree, or get into shenanigans at a moments notice.
Cold.
But the wind was blowing, and the lake was speaking.
Everywhere change was in the air.
There’s a celebration of life in this dying of the summer.
The realization that all things must end, change, and be born again.
Nothing remains the same.
I adore the endless possibilities. I embrace the freedom.
Who will I be tomorrow?
I have a few. Those standards go-tos. You know, the ones you reach for without really thinking. Obviously, my Polish scarf is on that list. As is a gorgeous black one from Kish & Evie – you’ll be seeing that a lot this Winter.
But a new go-to is this tapestry scarf from HoneyBea. I found HoneyBea at the Port Dover Arts festival. She stopped me and asked about my dress, and we bonded over our mutual love of Spell & the Gypsy Collective. I fell in love with her stylings too. Very boho, but completely geared towards our cold Canadian climate. The cardigans are killer and I definitely want to add one to my wardrobe at some point. But at that moment in time, this tapestry scarf caught my eye.
It’s made from recycled fabrics, and stitched together with love and care. There’s nothing better than a beautiful piece that is locally made and recycled too.
The heavy structure of the fabrics makes it really warm, and the patterns all work well together to create a lovely neutral blend; so it can go with anything.
Many of you don’t know that I was born and partly raised in Poland. I literally came to Canada on a boat. Yup. That’s right. I learned to speak English and adjusted to life in Canada. It’s just me, my Mom, and my sister here.
Right now I truly consider myself Canadian. As much as I love Poland, and of course all the family still there, if I had to choose an identification it would very much be Canadian. But that doesn’t mean I’m not Polish. I read books, and consume media, and there are habits and traditions very much alive amid all that Canadian-ness.
And I also can’t resist throwing a little Polish traditional garb into my style occasionally, like this scarf.
The sun is gone. Well okay, it’s not actually gone. It feel like it’s gone though as Fall is firmly here.
Normally I really loath this time. I loath it because it means layers and for all my love of fashion, I actually dislike wearing clothes. I’m happiest when I can spend a day in a bathing suit, or wear a light dress that just grazes my skin. That is my bliss. That is my happy place. So yes, I normally loath this time of year when I know that the heat is leaving and the cold is settling in.
But I don’t loath it. Surprisingly. I don’t mind it too much. The layers are coming on, but I’m not minding it too much. I’m enjoying the layers. Maybe it’s my new love of Victoria Secret slips under clothes that make it feel like summer is still here. Maybe it’s a milder season, and my hatred will only come out once the snow falls. Or maybe it’s that my perspective is shifting.
Whatever it is. I’m just gonna go with it.
That moment. That moment when you are pushed too far.
You know that moment? You can feel it coming. There’s a build up. There’s a wave and a rising. It’s palpable and tangible. At least for me.
It takes a lot to get me really angry. Though I have a fiery temper, and a fierce capacity for anger, it takes a lot to push me to the edge.
What I’m talking about is real anger. Not what you might think of as anger if you were in the passenger seat with me. I yell and curse like a sailor at stupid drivers, but my driving itself doesn’t get angry – nor do I, despite what it sounds like – that’s just my dramatic nature and Polish heritage.
But real anger. Over injustice and pain caused to friends, for example. That. That gets me angry. And well, as my Mom has said to me several times, she much preferred my sister’s teenage years. Because my dear sister would explode and rage but get over it quickly. With me, it was slow but when it happened, it was seething and could last eons.
All of this is to say, “The way I look is so fragile, yet here in my hand is an assurance of eternity.” *Rumi*
Or as my shirt says, “She’s whiskey in a tea cup.”
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
doesn’t make any sense.
– Rumi


















































