And you fell and you fell, Through the dark blue waters

My first Monday at work and I survived! Yay!! The day started off beautiful and sunny and then I ended up walking home in the rain. I guess I could have jumped on a streetcar but I kind of like my morning and afternoon walks.

Strangely, I'm wearing a jacket!

Jacket: Mary P (from a store on Queen Street I don't remember the name of)
Scarf: Alexander McQueen (last worn here)
Blouse: Gold Case (from same store as jacket)
Skirt: Smoking Lily (last worn here)
Tights: Hue (last worn here)
Shoes: Fluevog Big Presence | Desmond (last worn here)


Black is such a hard colour to photograph so in order to see any kind of detail I had to really blow out the exposure which I why I look so bright.

Even after doing that you still can't tell that the blouse has very small pleats in it. I'll call it my accordion blouse.

I don't think I've mentioned that the temporary place in which I'm living does not have a television. I'm kind of losing my mind! I don't really know what to do with myself with no TV. So I downloaded Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy. Gun running, drug muleing, violence, sex...what more can a girl want?

Ooops....almost forgot to post my bling.

Sunday in the city

So yesterday I went to the Bazaar of the Bizarre. I didn't take any pictures because I wasn't there very long. It was good, and I like the stuff the vendors had on offer, but there weren't very many of them so it was a pretty quick visit. I did, however, ride the subway and the streetcar so I can say that I'm learning the transit system.

Today I decided to take the streetcar even further west down Queen Street into Parkdale. When looking for a place to live people didn't seem to think Parkdale was a good option but there's a lot of funky vintage stores up there so I thought I'd see what's what.

I ended up buying two dresses and a jacket, having lunch, buying some groceries and then taking the streetcar back to the Trinity Bellwoods area.

Here's one of the dresses I bought.

Dress: Pi Organic bought at Chartreuse Style  
Necklace: Curious Oddities bought at Fresh Collective
Hosiery: Wolford (last worn here)
Shoe: Shoe the Bear  (specifically these ones) bought at Heel Boy

First, yes you can buy flats at a store called "Heel Boy". I bought these to walk to work. I just can't bring myself to wear sneakers. I don't even own sneakers other than my sequined ones and I can't wear them every day. I've worn the heck out of these since I bought them. And the brand, "Shoe the Bear"? Such a cute name and logo!

I didn't mean to buy this dress. I tried on another one first which fit me perfectly so I knew I was going to buy it but this periwinkle one also caught my eye.  The last time I wore periwinkle was when I was a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding. I've always thought that it didn't do much for my pale complexion but I kinda fell in love with the back of this. I like how it blouses out at the top.

And comfortable as heck! It's mostly bamboo so it should be comfortable in the muggy Toronto summer. I tend to be a sweater so anything breathable is thumbs up in my book.

Here's a closer look at my necklace. What a harlot! Snogging with a man with her leg slung over the oar. It spoke to me.

Here's the jacket I bought at some vintage store. I'm not sure the name of it - oh well.

Anyway the tag says "Pant man. Made in Canada". I love the colours and look how perfectly the Zig-zag patter matches up at the button edges. Amazing!

I'll have to have this dry cleaned before wearing it since it has that musty vintage store smell to it. The pockets are still sewn up so I think it might be deadstock.

This next dress is one I bought and I can't wait until I actually wear it out to show it to you.

I'm going to call this my "Merlin dress" since the cat reminds me of my sweet black cat Merlin.

It's by Volt Design and I bought it at Brava on Queen Street.

ERMAGHERD this designer has such cute and creative designs. How would ever think to put a cat on a dress bodice, right between a woman's boobular region?

And then again on her bum-ular area? When I saw this I was all "bhbhbhbhbhbh...must have crazy cat dress."  I already have two crazy cat lady dresses but this one takes crazy to a whole new level.

Not sure if I can get away with this at work. I've got to wear it soon though since it's fabulousness should not be allowed to languish in my closet.

























 In closing, here are a couple of things from around my temporary apartment.

Happy Ending

I didn't get to blogging last night because I met up with someone for dinner and drinks. Didn't get home until after 1:00am. Ugh! I can't remember the last time I did that. That's way to late for this old girl.

I had a question in my comments about the designer of the Rad to the Bone dress from ModCloth, I'm guessing since it's sold out. It's from Folter clothing.  I don't see it on their website though. Maybe it's a ModCloth exclusive?

So I live very close to a funky shopping area - West Queen West (which is different from Queen Street West as it is more....westerly?) I've been walking to work and it takes about 40 minutes to get to work but coming home takes about 1.5 hours since I keep going in and out of stores. On Friday I wore a few new things that I bought from stores selling locally or Canadian designed and made pieces.

Top: Melow par Melissa Bolduc from Fresh Collective
Skirt: Ziliotto
Leather cuff: from Ziliotto but made by Susana Grazo (I can't find anything on the internet about her)
Tights: Peek Brooklyn (last worn here)
Boots: Fluevog Presence | Intuit (last worn here)

Love, love, love this skirt. I wore it all day, then when I went out last night and I'm wearing it right now. Whoooo!





















The top is made by the same company as my skants!  It is a wee bit awkward and I kept futzing with it all day to try and get it arranged how I wanted it but I think I finally wrestled it into submission.

So I just got back from signing my lease on my new place! After my terrible shoebox apartment experience I was starting to think I had made a horrible error in moving here. On Wednesday I was feeling quite despondent. Then at about 3:30 I got an email from a person I had contacted on Craigslist a few weeks ago and had never heard from. She asked me if I was still interested in seeing the apartment.

So I called her and got the details. It was for a place that is extremely close to where I'm staying right now and in a house as opposed to a building. 900sq/feet, walk in closet, small but useable kitchen, laundry on site, all utilities included for less than $1000 a month.

What's the catch? It's in a basement. I haven't lived in a basement apartment since 1995 right after I finished university. I went to look at it anyway.

The owners are so nice, the area is exactly where I want to be, the house is on a quiet street, the price was right so I've chosen to take a risk and go for it! I'm hoping to not spend a whole lot of time in it anyway - I'm hoping to be much more social now that I'll be living in the big city with lots of things to do.

For example, today I'm going to mosey up to the Bazaar of the Bizarre on Bathurst Street. Ruby Nite (Nicole) told me about it in a comment on my last post. It's a short walk from here to the subway and then I can take the subway just a quick ride to Bathurst. Should be quite an adventure. I'll take my camera and hopefully take a few pictures. Maybe I should wear my skeleton dress?

Purple Cardigan

Day 3 of work and I'm a little bored. At my old job I had more responsibility and was more involved in all issues. Here my focus is quite narrow so I'm having trouble focusing on the few things that I have been given to do. I'm sure that things will be hectic soon enough so I'm not going to complain!

I might need to scope out a better place for my photos. This place has terrible lighting. For example. my cardigan is purple, not black. Even with adjusting levels and contrast I can't make it look purple. You'll have to take my word for it. I'll have to enlist the help of one of my coworkers who knows about this blog (Hi R!) and see if she can suggest a better locale.

Cardigan: Pretty Things Boutique
Dress: Desigual (last worn here)
Shoes: Fluevog Wonders | Ayers (last worn here)

I actually wore these shoes to work on Tuesday but I didn't get any blog photos. I've been walking to and from work each day which is about 45 minutes so my feet are killing me. These shoes are very comfortable so after walking in my flats I can put these on and be comfortable all day.

Most of the clothes I brought with me are jersey fabric which is easy to wash and if it wrinkles they fall out of the fabric easily just by hanging it up. Smart thinking!

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm meeting up with someone who a friend connected me with. We're going for Vietnamese food not far from where I'm living. I'm nervous but it should be fun. 

OOTD- Peplum Jacket

 Jacket-Zara/Pants-Edgars/Tank Top-Zara/Necklace-Mr.Price/Bag-Givenchy

I Love this jacket- the peplum fit, the soft comfortable texture, the colour...it's just so beautiful! 

I especially loved it paired with a navy striped tank underneath to add a pop of colour, and skinny jeans for a cleaner silhouette. The tank definitely paired nicely with my bag, the colours were so similar, and how gorgeous is this jewel necklace? I adore the way the light bounces off it! 

I also got a huge Easter surprise from my parents', when they surprised my with this beauty! 

I fell in love with the shape of this Saint Laurent bag when I got the purple colour, so when I saw this I instantly fell in love it- it's a perfect shade for any season, the neutral tone is so versatile! 

 I hope you have an amazing day!! 

Same dress, new day

Sorry about the radio silence. I was in Toronto for 3 days and then I scooted down the road to visit my family for Easter. Had fun (aka, got drunk) hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law at an old favourite pub and then eating a lot at my parent's house. I don't think I went outside from Saturday-Monday. It's still cold here. C'mere spring! Luckly the forecast is for 10C tomorrow!

Yesterday was my first day of work and I didn't have a chance to find a new covert place to take my outfit photos but today I was told about a lunch room that no one uses so I was able to slip away and take a few snaps. Only one turned out so I'm going to have to refine my technique.

 Yes, I wore this dress in the last post. Cut me some slack! I only have a tiny wardrobe with me.

Cardigan: Pretty Things Boutique (worn a zillion times)
Dress: Smoking Lily (worn in the previous post)
Tights: American Apparel
Shoes: Miss L Fire

Uhhhh...these shoes might be newly acquired. I may have also bought some Fluevogs.

I didn't get a good photo of these shoes, just a crappy iPhone shot but they look like this. So totally adorkable.

I bought them at a shoe store on Queen Street that apparently has no name. There's no name on the window or above the store. It's not Balisi or Heel Boy. Yes, I have scoped them all out even though I'm going to have to be much more frugal than I was in Halifax.











Oh and I may walk by this place every day. Queen Street in Toronto is going to be the death of me. And Fluevog is opening another location in the Distillery District hopefully before International Fluevog Day/My Birthday.

Since this will be my "meaning of life, the universe and everything" birthday I will definitely be splurging and buying something on May 15th. 

I may have threatened to go to work wearing a bathrobe...










In other news, I may have an apartment but I'm not going to talk about that until I sign papers and exchange money but I'll tell you about an experience I had yesterday viewing an apartment.

I saw a listing on Craigslist and contacted the poster. She emailed me back saying that she could meet me between 7:30-8:30. I said that 7:30 would be best and asked for the exact address since people here just refer to locations by cross streets such as "Queen and Spadina" or "University and Dundas". She didn't reply so I walked (OMG so much walking my feet are a mess but I'm going to have a great butt shortly) to the general location which was an under construction high rise. At this point I should have turned around and walked back to my temporary apartment but I stuck it out. At 7:40 I called her and she apparently didn't see my email so she said she'd be 20 minutes. She arrived in a Mercedes wearing $1000 heels (which were gorgeous btw. And she was only like 22 years old) and we went up the elevator.

At the door, to the least expensive place ($1250+utilities) she discovered that the key wasn't in the envelope so back down the elevator we went. She found the key in her car so up we went again. The apartment was terrible. Just over 400 square feet with 1 teeny tiny closet. The kitchen/living room was about as big as my former office. Now I know that real estate is expensive here in TO but this was a ridiculous space. In the door bathroom, then a tiny bedroom, then a tiny kitchen/living space.

I said "Uh...this is tiny." and she proceeded to lecture me on the rental market in Toronto how it wasn't like in Halifax and it was expensive and space was at a premium and that this tiny piece of shit apartment was the only thing in my limited price range and that I should start looking in Scarborough or Mississauga.

I left feeling totally discouraged and as I walked home I started to think that I had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

As I said before, there's probably a happy ending but I'm going to save that until I have signed something....stay tuned!

Pink Happiness

Pink tweed Coat-Zara/Shorts-Mr.Price/Blouse-Trenery/Bag-Givenchy/Bracelet-Hermés/Cross bracelet-Sass Diva

Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful long weekend! 

The weather has been slightly chilly lately, especially in the evenings- so a lightweight coat like this one is perfect to drape over your shoulders for some extra warmth. I love the colour, and the texture is gorgeous too! I paired it with my pink paisley printed shorts and an oversized blouse for a casual feel. I love how the pink looks in contrast with the navy bag, it's stunning! 

  

Have a wonderful week everyone!!