101. Then you realize you don't like it.

Another of the, gee, I don't really like how this looks in pictures outfits. I think the scarf is throwing me off, which is unfortunate cause it's one of my favourites! You'll see clearly that these were not taken with my tripod. As you can see it standing next to me in the third shot. Way to plan the backdrop there, Sam. This didn't photograph well at all!

 

scarf - gift / plaid shirt - F21 / skirt - Dynamite / boots - Steve Madden via Shoe Company

I loved this outfit, though the shirt was a little too short and kept needing to be tucked. I'm curious now if it would look better without the scarf. It's the v-neck and loose tie around the neck that's throwing me off. I love all pieces but maybe they're not so good together. Also, I need to find a new spot to take indoor OOTD photos. The kitchen is not sufficing anymore. 

In better news, today is really great so far! Boyfriend is on his way home from AB, and I found out my work-term ends a week earlier than I thought! Yes! I'm still in the midst of getting a new roommate, so I may have to stay in town instead of going home early as I hoped I'd be able to do. But still, yay! 

I contemplated whether to continue numbering my posts, but I haven't decided if I'll stop. I might stop after one year, just to count them all up and be done with that. I have way overdue Project 52 pictures that I hope to take and post soon, but time escapes me without realizing it. I did however manage to get some more Christmas gifts wrapped and out of the way, so at least I'm keeping up with something. 

Til next time!

100. Milestone.

Can I tell you something? Promise you won't laugh. The thing is, I love milestones. I love when the clock ticks into a new hour, when times passes into a new day, when I reach a new number on my car mileage (I'm just under 150k right now!), when I finish a paper and have finished another task.

The point of these milestones? It's my 100th numbered post, which I thought meant it was my 100th OOTD post, but it's at about 68 now instead. So many even if it's not the same number I expected. But another giant milestone; sometime between last night and today I reached 5000 pageviews. ohmydeargod. Read on for a  photo-heavy and sincerely love & gratitude filled post.

 

sweater - Mango, from Model Citizens / dress - Old Navy / tank - UrbanPlanet / belt - F21 / booties - Naturalizer

I love this outfit. I only realized a few days ago it was very appropriate for World Diabetes Day, on which I wore this. The 14th of November is actually the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin which you will know, if you're at all familiar with diabetics, is crucial to living a healthy and normal life.

So on to the milestone. I did a thankful post recently, and with reaching this milestone I just have to say it again. Thank you all so much for all of your support and for taking the time to read my blog! I try to repay the favour and visit new blogs every week to leave comments or just check them out. I love reading new things or being inspired. I'm the person that clicks through random links when I see them in comments, where people comment on other blogs and leave their links. So again, even though it's repetitive, thank you guys so much for coming here and listening to my ramblings.

And just because, I had to include this outtake. It was cold, my sweater was warm, and Boyfriend likes to get pictures of me being ridiculous and making faces. I do that alot. I think it might be time to tell him about the blog. Or maybe not lol.

Til next time! 

99. Sometimes things take you by surprise.

So this week has been an interesting week so far. The big dot on my face is my coldsore, isn't it fun? So annoying!

 

Monday was a normal day. I felt fine, work as usual and a somewhat shorter day due to allergy appointment and meeting at the university. Went to yoga that night even, after I came home to the darkness and took these pictures! I wore this for a picture taking profile thing (long story), and except for the cold sore I like it. Stupid bump.

Then Tuesday happened. I was going to write up some more posts this week, but a flu came on suddenly and began to kick my ass. I even wore a cute outfit and intended to post it, but felt so crappy that after I got home from work I headed straight to bed. I'm only now starting to recover, on this sort-of snow day where half the city is closed but I don't actually think my office is closed. Snow morning or sick day, I haven't decided yet.

Hoping if you're in snow you're coping with it, and if you aren't be thankful for that too! Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers, hope you're enjoying it with lots of turkey and family! 

Til next time!

98. Bring me up, bring me down.

I've gotten very lazy with the outfit photos. I'm posting old outfits, and for all of your sake I hope I get more energy in the near future. Blackberry photos might become a common thing with this constant darkness. Okay it's not always dark, but it sure seems like it.

jacket - Mavi / shirt - H&M / skirt - Anthropologie / tights - Walmart? / boots - Naturalizer

This was a few weeks ago, when Boyfriend and I went to a Just For Laughs comedy show that was in town. British version, in fact. The host/first two performers were great, but the last two were just a let-down. One in particular was just strange, noises and bodily humour for jokes which were not my thing. We were literally in the front row, otherwise I would have left lol.

I decided to dress up just a little. I love this skirt but I can't wear it nearly enough. It's just a little too short for work sadly. Planning on working it into rotation once school starts again, which is much sooner than I realize! I don't really get many chances to dress up lately, I'm hoping Boyfriend and I can try to make a date night when he's home at least once a month. We're like an old married couple, all benefits and issues included. Weekends are more fun when he's home.

Speaking of weekends, how were all of yours? Mine was a little lonely, lots of movies and sitting on the couch. Just needed to be lazy and relax.

Til next time!

Project 52: Week 42, 43 & 44

More catching up on my posting. Here's some picture spam! 

Week 42: True Beauty

Week 43: Shadows

Week 44: Muted Tones

97. It's time to be thankful

Technically, I've already had my share of Thanksgiving (minus the turkey). But you know I am totally up for more pumpkin pie, or in my case the pumpkin bread I plan on making this weekend. I'm kind of on a baking spree, my famous choco-chip cookies and this Nutella swirl pound cake both happened out of boredom. More on that in a minute. In honour of the American Thanksgiving, I'm participating in this week's FBFF. Here are just some, because I probably can't remember everything, that I am thankful for in my life.



pumpkin breaddd



• The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon in my house
• People telling me I'm like my Mother for many reasons
• Knowing I am like my Dad for his stubborn streak
• When my parents come in town for not health reasons and I get to hang with them 
• Being an only child
• Being such a sook and loving them both so much that I tear up while I write this
• My fat dog who makes me laugh and is always up for a quick cuddle
• Being in my hometown
• My Mom getting excited about the Christmas baking we'll be doing when I get home
• Being really excited to bake all kinds of Christmas goodies
• Having some of the best friends in the world
• The good-morning text I get when I arrive at work from a best friend
• Knowing there's only a month til she gets home and we can hang again! 
• The skill of braiding my hair, learned from my Mom
• Being able to sing and have people listen
• Hearing a song for the first time and loving it
• Coldplay/Damien Rice/Ray Lamontagne/The Fray/Keith Urban for making the best music ever
• The ability to do what I want when I want to do it 
• My health and the very minor issues that keep quiet
• Yoga and how much it has changed my body so quickly
• Exercising and feeling so good after
• The ability to read
• Buying Christmas gifts for people I love
• My boyfriend of 4 years
• His patience with me, and mine with him



near home

• The knowledge that our problems are there but are not significant
• The "in-laws" accepting me as one of their own
• The chance to travel with Boyfriend's family, organized around my schedule
• The best hairdresser in the world, who makes me feel so wonderful
• My absolute best friend who is more like a sister
• The rush of buying new pretty and awesome things
• A great fitting pair of jeans
• Looking and feeling great in an outfit
• Having wonderful readers for my blog that I didn't think would last
• The courage to stand up to people who treat me unfairly
• Communication in all forms, so I can stay connected to my family
• Being happy with myself, at least most days
• The ability to laugh at myself when I'm being my most ridiculous
• Still loving many things I did when I was little

Yeah I could go on. I keep thinking of new things so I may end up editing this as the day goes on. But for now there's a paper that needs an entirely new section and has a lot more editing left to be done. So for now, I hope you're all having a great Friday and have an awesome weekend!

Til next time!

96. I like to call it borrowing.

First off, thank you to everyone who commented on my last post! The words of encouragement really helped even if some of you hadn't had experience in that situation. The winner did contact me later that day, and I've gotten her info to Shabby Apple for her to be sent the prize. So happy it all worked out :)

blazer - Mexx / shirt - H&M stolen from Boyfriend / necklace - gift / skinny jeans - F21 / boots - Steve Madden

This is a slightly late outfit from the end of last week. You can always tell when it's a Friday (in this case Thursday) or weekend because there's jeans. I love my jeans but they're sadly not appropriate for work. At least I haven't figured out how to disguise them...

Outfits like this remind me why I like shopping for Boyfriend so much. I buy clothes that I like that actually fit him instead of being 3 sizes too big. Then I get to steal them for comfy clothes, and in the process realize that I can make outfits that look good too! This shirt is a prime example. Bought at H&M while in Moncton, I picked it out, he didn't really take to it though I'm not sure why, and I've basically taken it over. A tie at the waist cinches in it just enough. Throw on the statement necklace/blazer for work and voila! Casual but comfy and perfect for work.

I love outfit wins like this. So good. Do you ever steal your significant other's clothes? Boyfriend-style clothing is on trend, but actual taking from boyfriends/husbands/partners is so much more fun!

Til next time!

95. I ain't lost, just wandering.

I'm in a strange mood today. I'm not really sure why, but I think it's got something to do with the fact that at any given moment I'm liable to run to my car and drive home. To my parents house. I don't want to be in this city anymore.

cardi - Old Navy / tank - J. Crew / belt - Joe Fresh / pants - Espirit / freaking neon nails - CG Shocking Pink

So, first things first: I was just looking through these pictures, checking how the lighting looked, when I glanced at my nails. My mutant neon nails. Wtf? I knew the polish was neon but this is whole new level of alien nails. Note to self, don't be afraid of being bold! The flash picture shows the best representations of the colors I wore. Much nicer IRL. Also, a prize goes to whoever notices the creeper in my pictures. The prize being another picture of said creeper.

I had quite a lovely little weekend home. But that and another situation are putting me off today. I no longer want to be in town, I want to be back in my home with my parents for Christmas. Which unfortunately is a month and a work-term report away. And whatever else they make me do here at work haha. It's good to be busy and productive and all that, but sometimes I'd just rather have a bit of time to work on my report. Which seems to be lacking lately, as well as my creativity. I know what I'm writing about but I'm 20pgs in and getting stuck. Not a good thing when I need to get editing done soon.

And the other is something which blogging relates directly to; I was contacted for a give-away as you know, and was so super excited about it. I picked a winner from my entries, got no response. Re-picked the winner, and still haven't heard anything. I'm just kind of bummed about the whole situation now. So if you haven't looked at my results re-post, please do! I was, and still am, so happy about this. But it's getting hard to be so happy when I kind of feel like a failure. A slightly defeated attitude, but my optimism to fix this is still there!

Til next time! 

94. Re-post?

Hi again everyone. So I posted the results to the give-away on Monday evening, and because I didn't get a response yet, it now being just under 72 hours since I posted them, I've decided to re-draw for the necklace. I really didn't want to have to do this, and yes I should have posted a disclaimer stating such but I really didn't think I'd have much trouble contacting the winner. I have been checking my email religiously waiting for a response, and have gotten none.

So just so we're clear, the Facebook entry was unfortunately mandatory as well as living in the US. I counted up all entries like 15 times just to make sure I wasn't missing anyone, so I tried to make it as fair as possible! I went by when I received my emails for comments on the post. I also removed the previous winner to ensure a fair chance to all participants.

And the winner is....

Betsy Gettis! Congratulations!

Please contact me at samantha0516@hotmail.com within the next 48hrs to claim your prize! And again, congratulations! 

This made me so happy. I wish I could have kept the necklace myself haha, but I'm happy to see it go to a deserving reader! Stay tuned all, I'm planning a give-away of my own in the near future! Thank you all again for entering! So thankful for all of you! If you have any comments about the process, feel free to leave them. I'd like to get some feedback on things for next time.

Til next time!

93. How to hide a sock.

Sometimes, you have perfect pictures that are level and well lit, and that make you look perfect in every way. 

And sometimes you have an awkward smile in all of them and you can't level a tripod to save your life. And Blogger decides to make your life difficult on those days. Guess which one I'm having?

sweater/tunic - H&M, gift / belt - Joe Fresh / pants - Old Navy / boots - Spring

Alright, so my hair looks good. I'll give it that much. And I finally found a way to wear this sweater that doesn't make me look like a potato. So maybe a good day after all?

Here's the fun thing about having an aunt that lives near the singular H&M in the Atlantic region; sometimes she gets me clothes. She has good intentions but sometimes clothes doesn't fit right, just because it doesn't want to. I have, however, managed to make this work. I'm still thinking about hacking off the sleeves, but I like the look of this. Belted is much better than I've worn it before, it just looks sloppy without it.

As much as I hate winter, I love the clothes. I really do. I love my boots, and I love my thick wooly sweaters. You know what clothes I love most though for winter? The kind I'm wearing but you can't even tell? My thick long Spongebob Christmas slipper socks, also known as hide the unshaven legs and keep the legs warm in boots socks. It's the little things in life that can just make your day :)

Til next time!

92. What a sight to see!

This month's EBEW is colored tights. For once, I own the perfect item without having to look for one. Shopping-not-necessary is really nice when the malls have all of a sudden become crazy.

I have had these tights since October of 2008.  I went to Florida and bought neon purple tights at Hot Topic, along with black fishnets, to wear for Halloween. I think I thought they would be versatile? I didn't wear dresses or skirts at this point. I'm not entirely sure what I thought would happen when I bought them. Anywho, now I've had to Pinterest/blog-stalk some of my favourite bloggers for ideas on how to wear these things. I think I did alright!

 

 

cardigan - Tommy / tee - f21 / dress - Winners, gift / tights - Hot Topic / flats - Clarks

Not so bad if I do say so myself! I decided to go all out, in the most work appropriate way. I mean, I don't have purple legs all the time, may as well let them show, right? I tried several combinations of this dress and black tops. A turtleneck that I thought would work and didn't, a black v-neck sweater that was too long, and this shirt. I tried all three both under and over the dress, but this combination worked out the best.

I managed to twist my hair into what I'm calling a Quinn Fabray front braid while I waited for my grilled cheese to cook. Took my OOTD photos while I waited for it to cool. Multi-tasking at it's finest. I still think I look weird with purple legs, but I haven't had any strange comments yet. It's still early lol. Head on over to Everybody Everywear to see how everyone else is rocking their colored tights! I think I like this, but maybe toned down other than neon, so I'm heading over to check it all out!

One last thing: in case you missed it, check out the results post for my give-away! I'm still waiting for it to be claimed, but will be picking another winner if I don't hear back by Thursday! So please check and see if it's you!

Til next time!

91. What time is it where you are?

The start of another week! This Monday isn't so crappy, Boyfriend comes home tomorrow night. Exciteddddd! I'm such a sook.

 

 sweater - Tommy (gift) / tank - Bluenotes / skinny cords - Gap / scarf - gift? 

So you can see my new shelves here! I meant to document everything with photos but forgot. Oh well. I replaced a dresser with these. I have a lot of crap. I previously did not like the color on me, but I think it looks on better on me as a blonde, so that's fun to discover. The major win for this weekend was the baking. I made my second attempt at homemade from scratch cupcakes and they were awesome! A different recipe than I've seen, kind of comes together like a pound-cake but so so tasty. A giant success, so I've been told!

le cupcakes!

Let's see...recap of weekend? Saturday I was up by 8:30 getting ready for yoga, which the instructor was right in saying we would curse her for. The parents were in overnight so I got to chill with them for a while. Yesterday I tried to go shopping, found out I have to order one of Boyfriend's gifts, and got disgusted at some of the clothes in stores. Are we making our way back to 90's club wear? No one told me and I really don't want in. Though I do want the sequins. Every sequin item I saw drew me in like a magpie.

A quick and happy hello to all my new readers! I know many of you are following because of the give-away. I totally get that, and I hope that you will consider staying a follower in the coming weeks! Personally I try not to overload my reading list with blogs that I don't believe in or that don't fit with me. I understand if you choose not to stay but I'm hoping you'll give me a chance anyways :) I'm counting up entries and I'll have the results posted late this afternoon. Well, late afternoon for NL time anyways.

Stay tuned for the results!

Til next time!

Fashion-Beauty Friend Friday: Pick up a book!

Getting back into the FBFF swing of things! This week Katy over at Modly Chic has brought us to the topic of reading! My favourite! I literally spent two hours at work yesterday reading, the book was getting close to the end and it was just a slow day at the office haha. So in honour of that topic, here are 5 of the best books I've read recently, since I can't seem to remember the most recent ones lol.  

 Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: J. K. Rowling.

A classic in my opinion. I've been reading Harry Potter since I was about 10, with my mother first reading it to my 4th grade class. She had gotten them from a Scholastic book order and decided to share it with us. I got hooked and proceeded to read the books that were out, and each time a new one came out I was rushing to buy it. I read one of the later books, the 6th I believe, in 18 hours while during 6 of them I worked. Hehehe.

I have a tendency to re-read a book before I go see the movie. I mostly do this with HP and the Twilight series, but it always has to be done. I read half of HP7 when the first movie came out, and then finished it. Then for the second I read it again. Never too much HP in your life! Think I might start from the beginning and re-read the series soon.



Something Borrowed: Emily Giffin. 

This was a book where I almost made an exception. I wanted to see the movie, but decided to read the book against my desire to just watch it. The book is better, of course. It's always better, but it did a pretty good job. It amuses me how vapid Darcy is, because I know people like her, and how I definitely empathized with Rachel in not wanting to be walked over! I've never had an affair with a friend's partner though, so the similarities end there.

The next books in the series of these are really good too. Something Blue follows Darcy as she faces life alone. And the latest read of mine, The Heart Of The Matter, also introduces these characters but uses them as background. It focuses between Dex's sister Tessa and her troubled marriage, and another woman named Valerie whose story becomes intertwined with Tessa's. Really good read!

 The Lovely Bones: Alice Sebold.

I have had this book for a really really long time. It's one of the first ones I remember picking up from the Costco Superstore on a trip to town. I was about 14 I think when I got this? A little young for the context but I really did love the book. I still haven't seen the movie, for fear of it not doing the book justice and because Boyfriend was supposed to read it and we'd watch it together. He's not a big reader, that never happened.

The story of Susie, Salmon like the fish, is unexpected and full of sorrow, but a really interesting read. I love the author's version of heaven, how it's different for everyone but it's perfect for you. A really sweet book apart from the murder, as strange as that sounds.

Water For Elephants: Sara Gruen.

Another book I saw because it was being made into a movie, and read before the movie came out. The proper way to do things.

That said I still haven't seen the movie, but the book was amazing. It's such a sweet sad story, but with an ending that just makes you kind of happy. This was a story that kind of caught me off guard at points, but I really enjoyed the characters and the way the story builds. Definitely recommended!

Remember Me?: Sophie Kinsella.

I've read basically every book this woman has written. I love the Shopaholic series, I've got every single one. Much better than the movies, by the way. And way different. When I was thinking about Mrs. Kinsella, I had to figure out what book I love the most. Undomestic Goddess is also a good read, but this is my favourite.

I don't know why but the idea of someone completely losing their memory makes for a really good book. There's twists and turns of course, as Lexi learns about how her life has changed. My most favourite part is really simple, but the reason I recommend it to so many people. When she's in a convertible with another character, she asks for an elastic band. He pulls out handfuls and tells her that he's sure they multiply over time. Just so simple and sweet, and interesting how it's relevant to the story!


I hope you all enjoyed my ramblings of my favourites! Are there any books on your list that are here? Any I should read? Looking forward to hearing everyone else's answers! Head on over to Modly Chic to see everyone else's answers!

Til next time!