Category :Dresses

The Bravery Of Women

Cardi – Smart Set; Dress – Trashy Diva; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Payless.

 It’s a focus on Kenya, where the rich go to private hospitals with clean floors and the poor go to public hospitals with blood and cockroaches as the stomping ground, in this post on world birth.  According to the article, the country has made absolutely no progress in improving maternal and infant care.  Teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and HIV plague women in this African country.  But what is the worst thing?  The conditions and statistics  mentioned in this article are considered an improvement over a few years ago. 

Every new country that is examined just makes me more and more thankful for the blessedly wonderful conditions I had surrounding my labour: a clean hospital, two midwives and a student, my husband, my mother, and my best friend there to comfort and support me.  I can’t imagine going it alone, afraid to eat the food, or touch anything, and worrying about the possibility of contracting HIV during my labour.  I applaud the bravery of all these women.

p.s. I promised you guys something good when I hit 200 on GFC and I haven’t forgotten.  We’re almost there and I’ll have a good surprise for you all!

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Call your mama and thank her…for anything.

Bold Blue And Radiant Red

Top – thrifted; Dress & Socks – Ruche (sold out, but available at Modcloth) ; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Clarks; Pinwheel pin – c/o Blue Eyed Owl.

I wanted to wear something fun and innocent today, and for some reason lately I’m reaching for bold blues, or radiant reds, so it was only natural that at some point I would combine the two.  I need to thank the two fabulous make-up artists, Jessica and Francesca, on the set of my recent film shoot *here and here* for showing my that I can indeed where bright red lipstick despite my thinner than desired lips.  Oh and by the way, I’m loving this neutral eye palette I recently got, it goes amazing with everything!  Today I wore Virgin, Sidecar, and Darkhorse.

This royal blue dress has become a beloved item in my closet, and whenever I wear it simply can not resist the urge to wear these gorgeous pins I received from Liz from the Blue Eyed Owl.  It’s like they were made for each other.

p.s.  if you like this look, please go here and ‘like’ it for the world to see.  Thanks!

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Look at yourself in the mirror, ignore all your “flaws,” and list five features you really like about your physical appearance. 
*if you’re willing to, I’d love to hear what they are in the comments*

Under Construction

Cardi – hand me down; Dress – Ruche; Tights – H&M; Boots – Feet First; Belt – F21

Oh my goodness!  I’m re-designing my blog because well it’s just time, and the old template I was working with before had so many faults it was becoming a bit of a nightmare to try to manage it.  So in the meantime, I’ve had to revert to a simple template, but at least this one actually works!  I’m hoping to have it done and revealed to you soon.  In the meantime, please stick with me.  I know it looks pretty bare right now, but at least it’s clean and functional.

On another note, I’m getting eaten out of house and home!  Baby ate two eggs with sausage today and half a piece of toast, then munched on cheerios until snack time: two whole bowls of yogurt and a breakfast bar.  Where does it all go???

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Have absolutely no sugar today – maple syrup and agave nectar allowed, no splenda or such stuff though.

Shorty, Too Shorty?

Cardi – H&M; Belt – F21; Dress – Ruche; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Payless.

Okay guys, I need your help today.  I like this dress, but lately I’m finding a lot of things, this dress included,  too short for my tastes.  So, I’m wondering whether to keep it or to sell it?  Do you guys think this is too short for me?   It’s from one of my favorite online shopping places too – ShopRuche – so I’m even more loathe to part with it, but I really think I may have to.  I feel a little exposed in it.  If only I was two inches shorter it would be perfect!

On this subject of shortness, when are you too old to wear something really short?  I used to think that you’re never too old to wear short skirts if you’re healthy and they look good, but lately as I’m reaching a certain older age, I’m starting to wonder if maybe there aren’t age limits on these things.  As I’ve said, I’m now finding certain items in my closet to be making me feel uncomfortable with how short they are.  Shorts, not so much, but definitely skirts.  Skirts and dresses.  

Thoughts?  When is short, too short?  And when, if ever should you retire those short things?

Awkward, Awesome, And Sick

So…..the garbage men were watching me shoot these pics.  Awkward!

Jacket & Dress – Smart Set; Cardigan – H&M; Scarf – street stand; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Clarks.

This was my first shoot of the day, and it didn’t start off so great.  I had the garbage men staring, wondering why in the world someone would be taking pictures of themselves in front of their house.  But the second shoot of the day went a lot better I think.  Awesome! I’ll share those shots with you when I get them.  And I think I nailed my audition later on.

But then when I got home I started to really succumb to my cold, and now it’s totally full blown to the point where I spent most of the day on the couch watching 90210 on Netflix.  Sick! The pizza lunch was yummy though.  Hope you’re all doing a lot better than I am! 

p.s. I love make-up.  It makes me looks like I’m not at all sick.

p.p.s.  check me out guest posting over here today.  I’m sharing housecleaning tips, and general thoughts…crazy I know.  Who would have thought I had house cleaning tips?  Or thoughts for that matter?

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Do something nice for someone you love for.

Everybody say, “Jump! Jump!”

I don’t know why wearing pleats makes it irresistible to jump. 
 But it does.

And twirl.
It’s hard to be serious, when you’re wearing something this fun!
Sweater – swapped; Belt – F21; Dress – Lulus; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Payless.

I’m really getting into red lately.  It’s a color I used to really stay away from.  Not sure why, maybe I just thought it was too bold?  But lately, I’ve been really embracing it.  It’s been a great love affair so far.  So when I won a shopping spree from Lulus.com. I knew I just had to get myself a red dress.  The pleats and collar of this one instantly caught my attention!  There’s something very retro about it.  Plus, I love the mix of innocence and elegance.  Of course, it wasn’t the only thing I got, but you’ll just have to wait and see future outfit posts to see the other lovely things I nabbed.  

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Keeping the theme of jumping, do 20 minutes of cardio today.  Be creative!

Yesterday I was thankful for microwaves – so easy to heat things up, coffee – I just grab a cup, but I remember my parents telling me how scarce and prized it was when they were living in communist Poland, and hot water – a scalding hot shower sometimes just saves my day.

Challenging Ourselves

Sweater& Belt – F21; Dress – Vintage; Tights – Walmart; Boots – Threadsence.

First off, a big, huge, “Welcome!” to all my new followers.  Thanks for following!  You guys make me so very happy!  

I recently read on Oprah.com an article about the 10 Fall trends to avoid.  I do agree with some of it – namely the all-over feathers trend and the lacy catsuit.  I just think that looks silly.  But they suggest skipping leopard print because it’s last season.  My thoughts are, “So?”  Skirts were in last season too, does that mean we can’t wear them now?  Leopard is one of those things that never really goes out of style.  I do, however, always suggest keeping it to a minimum and not an all-over outfit because that just feels like too much.

Number two was all over pattern mixing because it’s hard.  Yes, it may be challenging to get the hang of pattern mixing, and you may have some bad outfits in the process, but this is a wonderful look.  And once you get the hang of it, it’s an unexpected way to spice up your wardrobe.  Plus, I don’t think you should skip a trend just because it’s something that challenges you.  How else are you to grow?  In fashion, or in anything, I say challenge yourself.

This is all in my humble style opinion of course.

For the month of November, I’ll be suspending the regular Quote of Today or True Story.  Instead, I’m starting a daily challenge.  Everyday, I’ll post the next day’s daily challenge – this gives you a little time to prepare.  I’ll be doing the challenges along with you.  They’ll be little fitness, emotional, and behavioral challenges.  

It’s okay if you can’t do them all.  And whenever you read the post, just count it as your tomorrow’s daily challenge, you don’t have to be on exactly the same challenge as me.  Just try!  I hope you’ll join me!  And I’d love to hear your experiences, so please leave a comment on how it went!

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Get outside your comfort zone.  Find a self-imposed rule/limitation and break it. *just make sure it’s not illegal*

To Trick or Not To Trick?

Dress – vintage from Etsy; Belt – Spotted Moth; Boots – Feet First.

With Halloween coming up, I’ve started wondering.  When should you take your kids out?  I’m not taking Baby out this year because she can’t eat the candy, she probably wouldn’t understand or appreciate it, and she’ll probably get overwhelmed and/or scared of the whole thing and all the frightening sounds.  I want to take her out when she can understand and appreciate the whole fun process and know that it’s not real – just fun.  But that’s where I’m coming from.  What do you guys think?  When did you take your babes out for the first time? 

And on the flip side, when do you let your kids go out alone?  I read this article in the Globe and Mail and found it quite interesting food for thought.  What age should we be trusting our babes out alone?  9,10, 11? Finally, when do you think the cut-off for trick or treating should be?  When are you too old to trick or treat?

These are certainly some things I have never considered before becoming a parent.  And now that I’m here, all these decisions are on my mind.  And I try to do what’s right for me, but it’s difficult to hold strong in the face of judgement from other parents who think that what they do is what everyone should do.  Have you experienced this during Halloween too?

Quote of Today:
“‘Cause everybody needs a good cape.”

CopyCat

Scarf – street stand; Jacket – Jacob; Bag – Matt by Matt&Nat; Sweater – F21; Dress – Ruche; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Clarks.

I saw this outfit on The Clothes Horse a while back and knew that since I owned the same dress I just had to recreate that look.  You know what they say about imitation.  But I wasn’t crazy about the color of her sweater for myself; it looked great on her, but I knew that it just wouldn’t feel right on me.  So when I found this poodle sweater on F21, I knew it was the perfect way to recreate that darling outfit.  And well, I had a certificate burning a hole in my pocket, so I made sure to snag it.  What’s funny is that the very day it arrived at my door, I saw Rose a la Mode wearing the exact same sweater.  Great minds, huh?  Anyway, I’ve been saving this outfit for a day when I get to go out for a bit, and I finally got the chance, so here it is!  Yeah poodles!  Yeah horses!  Yeah mixing prints!

This outfit was a hit with both the Moms and the kids that I help teach.  Cross-generational outfit?  yes, please!

Quote of Today:
“If I just clean it, it’s clean.”

No-No

Cardi – Jacob; Dress – Ruche; Belt – F21; Tights – Hue; Boots – Threadsence.

I told you I was a little obsessed with these boots lately.  I seem to be wearing them everywhere.  I do mean everywhere.  I think they go with everything.  And they’re really very comfy too.  Bonus!  Mixing this brown and gray combo was really second nature because they’ve always just seemed to fit in my mind.  I didn’t know that this was a ‘no-no’ until I read it a few years ago in a magazine.  Oh well.  Whatevs. I’m still gonna do it, along with navy and black, and black and brown.  To me these are easy neutral colors that all mix well.  Am I the only one who doesn’t understand why these mixes are ‘no-no’s?  What other stuff do you mix that you ‘shouldn’t’?

True Story:
Sesame Street spoofs True Blood with True Mud. 
Even spoofs the characters. Sookie. And Bill. 
Hil. Ari. Ous.

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