76. I'm giving you everything.

Spice Girls kick butt. The 90's at 9 greet me most mornings on the way to work, usually not when I am pulling into the parking lot but when I am still several minutes away. On a bad day it greets me as I pull out of my driveway. Did I mention I start work at 9?

I was going to make this an outfit post, but while going through my reader I found an article that made me think. The link list was posted by Sal at Already Pretty, to this post on Beautifully Invisible which was a guest post by Dress by Courage. If you're interested, take a read and let me know what you think in the comments.

The above picture is one of me back in 2007 while on an EF tour. On Easter Sunday in Verona, Italy, I stood on a street corner and sang Ave Maria. I have been singing literally as long as I can remember. My Dad tells a story about how I started singing, and I've heard it many times. Apparently a friend of my mother's, who played many instruments and was very musical herself, heard me singing along to Disney movies and told my Dad that I shouldn't be able to do that. That meaning sing along on key hitting all the notes. He always says he laughed and said they didn't know I wasn't supposed to be able to do it.

Growing up and through highschool, I sang in public at school concerts many times. I was still insecure through my early teen years, but a combination of a school volunteer group and mostly my Drama troupe helped me become more confident. Being on stage during our Regional Drama Festival was always the best feeling. All of my nerves melted away once I started singing and I just remember being so comfortable on stage. I still get this on the rare occasion I'm in front of large groups. I tend to get this feeling at concerts too, when I ache to be up on stage in front of the 1000's of people.

So how is this related to the article? I was caught off-guard by this quote: “Most women’s knee-jerk reaction to a compliment is to think that the other person is just being nice, or feeling sorry for them.” ohmygod. This is exactly what I think every single time someone compliments me, especially my boyfriend. I like my hair, I usually like my body, and sometimes I think I look pretty damn good, but I never really think a compliment is sincere. The author lists in her ways to embrace compliments you're given, one which includes owning your accomplishments. This is when my perspective slapped me in the face. I realized the only thing I am 100% sure of is my voice. I don't ever think that someone is complimenting me just to be nice when I sing. I would never not believe someone if they tell me enjoyed listening to me, or how pretty my voice is, or how I sound like an angel (I've gotten this a few times actually). How am I able to separate this from every part of me as being so secure but yet I can't just take a damn compliment?

This is my new mission. When someone, anyone, gives me a compliment I will stop doubting myself. I will stop thinking it's just being they pity me, or because they're being nice, or because they're just joking. I will stop this because it will hurt no one other than me. Instead, I will thank them and force myself to think, yeah they're right. I am awesome.

Til next time!

75. I always show up late to the party.

This is a double pun, I promise you. If boyfriend read my blog, if he knew about my blog, he would laugh because I am always late. It's a family thing. I've managed to make myself punctual but it's a long and hard process.

 *apologies for the pictures being wonky, I'm posting from work!*

Cardi - Samuel & Co / Polka-dotted top - Jacob / Pants - Espirit / Necklace - Gifted from BF / Headband - no idea.


The other side of the pun? I'm finally joined the polka dot party, which I've been lusting after since at least OCTOBER's EveryBodyEveryWear (the caps are necessary, I put in February first then realized how dumb and ridiculously stubborn I am. Really, I took 11 months to find a shirt?!?) The problem is I'm incredibly picky about my clothes. I wanted polka dots and did not settle for just any polka dots.

This was a perfect find for me, at a store I'm now realizing I really love. I didn't realize how much I loved  Jacob, in fact, until I saw it again in Toronto. I went to one in Moncton but didn't take the time to search it, since Mexx was next door. I have a semi-one track mind when I shop.


I'm excited to start breaking out my sweaters and boots, since fall is definitely coming in. It was actually warm this past weekend, which was strange but good. Should have gotten those sundresses out, I still have two with tags attached from my trip in April (yes, April. I know.) I can't figure out how to style either one, so I'm asking for your help! Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures of each dress later this week!



Til next time!

74. Swirls and wind.

I really do love this hair. And this skirt. And where I took these photos, good location. You can't even see the strawberry juice spots on my shirt! Win! Also, although I didn't do it all myself, this still counts as a refashion for this weeks' Visual FBFF!

 

Shirt - Old Navy / Cardigan - Tommy Hilfiger / Dress turned into skirt - H&M / Booties - Naturalizer

Another day of work, another cute outfit. If only I could have shown it to people! There's a serious problem with the lack of heat in my office. A tale for another day. When it comes to moving, definitely choose clothes you're comfortable. Fabrics like cotton and jersey are comfortable but can look very polished in the right cut. This skirt is a great example of that. My personal seamstress, my mother, fixed it for me. It went from dress that didn't like to agree with me on windy days to the perfect kind of skirt. This material and print is flirty and swirly enough to be fun, but easily worn along as well.

Head over to Relatable Style, for which this posting is a guest post! Not sure when it will be posted, but it's my first guest post and I'm excited all the same! Or, check out Adventures in Refashioning to see how everyone re-fashioned their looks!

Til next time!

73. Because these things will change.

I finally got my change I was waiting for. After much trying and calling, I finally got in touch with my hairdresser. She does wonders, I swear, and therefore is so worth the wait. Here's the before, click through for the after! 

terrible picture, but so much hair!

72. I think I like pink too much.

Another dose of nail polish! I love such pretty things. Here's a few goodies and one dud. Can't win 'em all!

This is an old OPI I think, Cajun Shrimp. It's not mine. I had this pedi done in Moncton while visiting my Aunt. She took us, me and another Aunt, to a beauty school for cheap and so so good pedi's. Had to include this, I loved the color and it brought me right into the summer mood. Unfortunately I came back to NL where fog-ageddon  was happening and June-uary was on it's way, so my toes stayed inside boots and sneakers.

I saw this color on a polish blog, but I have no idea where. I thought the color was so beautiful and the name made me quite happy, as a Glee episode featuring Neil Patrick Harris left me wanting more. This is Sinful Colors Dream On. I didn't realize (until I got back from the same trip where I got above pedi) that I could get that brand in NL, but this was cheap and the lure of Target made me want to spend money. This picture in particular was with no base or top coat. The polish flaked off in chunks. Terrible terrible formula. Even with a base and top, it became streaky and uneven. I love the color but I can't bring myself to use it again.

After buying this and realizing it was neon, I was expecting trouble. I had heard how thin and useless neon polishes could be, but luckily I was happily surprised. This is China Glaze Shocking Pink. I love this color, really. It's so bright and happy. It did need at least 3 coats for full opacity, but I'm not good at doing my nails so I usually end up with three coats. Again, this changes in the light, natural or indoors, but this is a good idea of what it's like.

Another polish I bought for the name. CG Strawberry Fields doesn't need much of an explanation. It's pink, there's gold flecked glitter, and it's pretty. I saw it on a friend before and once my nail polish obsession began, I decided to add it to my collection. So prettyyyy.

Til next time!

71. Lunch break fun

I've slowly been incorporating new pieces into my wardrobe. I actually bought this sweater at Old Navy here in town, but didn't wear it because of the actual warm weather we were having. Once I realized that it was nice outside but freezing in my office, my aversion to sweaters began to stop.

Sweater - Old Navy / Pants - Smart Set / Shoes - Spring

I really love this sweater. I love green, and stripes, so it's a pretty great combo for me. I had it in blue striped, but with the addition of a similar cut blue sweater I decided to exchange for this one. Good choice I think.

These were taken yesterday with my Blackberry at a park next to the lake, only a 5 minute drive from my office. Boyfriend came to get me, we went to Booster Juice then found the park and had a little swing. A good way to get a little fresh air and sun. It was the calm before the storm, as I'm currently facing a Category One hurricane outside. Maria is not nice. She's supposed to hit about 3:30pm NL time, so about 4 hours from now. The winds are expected to be 130km/h, with gusts almost up to 160km/h. Oh the joys of September in NL. I was going to post a picture of the storm track, but Blogger is being contrary and a quick Google search gives you the same results. If you're curious, I'm on the very eastern peninsula of NL. The one where the weather watches all say "Hurricane Warning". It's a lovely day, sure.

Here's hoping all the roads stay in one piece! P.s. check in on Monday, I've got a big change coming up!

Til next time!

Project 52: Week 33, 34 & 35

The theme for Week 33 is a bit of a retrospective. Slow Down and Look Back encourages us to stop and look around us. I chose a photo I took while out home for this one. It's taken up where my old elementary school used to be, before it burned down. Being home makes me relax and enjoy my boredom that naturally occurs. I remember so many things about this road, playing with friends, and I have so many memories of that school. Having a mother who was a teacher, and a best friend in the same situation, meant we spent a lot of time after hours searching around the hallways. The same way I can look back at pictures I can see a place and the memories are right there, coming back to me.

Week 34 is Connections. I was thinking about how to approach this. Connections can be seen in the way that someone looks at you, or even just the way you act around each other. They can be visible too, holding hands or being linked. This one just shows the link we have together, even not being together it's still there.

Week 35 is Lazy. I know this one well so it was pretty easy. This pup was lazing in the shade, almost underneath the car. The epitomy of lazy and small-towns.

Til next time!

Project 52: Week 30, 31 & 32

Alright. Giant fail on my part in keeping up with my Project 52. I don't really feel bad either, because school is more important. I basically just missed the entirety of August. Plus one week. I'll be caught up by Friday's picture. In this case, because I'm making up lost time, any pictures I took in August or take up to Friday are going to count in my book. I get to make my own rules when I'm not following any.

Week 30 is Letters. I love words so this one makes me all kinds of happy. Yet I still forgot to do it. Oh well. This one doesn't really need much explanation I think. Lots of lyrics are coming to my mind about words, but I think I'll leave them there. Taken with Blackberry.

Week 31's theme was the sky. Or the sky in any interpretation. I had a few photos in mind, but this one from my weekend in Toronto seemed to work the best. I've actually changed it several times. This was out the window on the plane, the sky was just so prettyyyy.

Week 32 is your favourite time of day. I had to do some thinking about this one, actually. I have different favourites depending on what I'm doing I think. I don't like mornings, but I like being on the go and getting my day started. I hate driving home from work because of the traffic, but the sky starts to get to that point where it's so pretty. This is around 6:30 or so at home, I just liked the way the light hits in this photo.

Til next time!

70. EBEW: Bright pants.

Another month of EBEW! This one was also a challenge, as most fashion related things have tended to be for me lately. I was in Toronto over the weekend to see Keith Urban *swoon* so I haven't posted in a couple of days, but managed to do lots of shopping! This was one my new purchases, a bit of a stretch for me. I kept it basic for today, but I'm looking forward to mixing it up more!

 

Jacket - Vero Moda
Tee - Dynamite
Red Pants - H&M
Flats - American Eagle

I do quite like how this turned out. The pants fit much better IRL, and when I haven't been sitting for 8 hours. I had gone to T.O. with the goal of getting bright blue pants, but found this 50% off at H&M. I couldn't pass them up. I'm quite into cropped pants lately, I just hope I can manage to translate them into fall with boots! It might work?

Can't wait to show you all my new purchases! I have so many great pieces that I'm super excited about. So much pretty. I love having things I know I couldn't find here in NL. Part of the reason why I love travelling so much. I'll post up some pictures of my trip once I get through them all!

Head on over to Everybody Everywear to see how everyone else is wearing their bright pants!

Til next time!

69. An updated obsession

So, since I haven't had time to take my Project 52 pictures, I figured I'd do a long overdue polish post! My nails are not happy with me, I think they're still recovering from the stress of school. All brittle and breaking at the ends. It's clearing up now after much buffing and filing, but not quite back to normal. Here's a few reviews of some polishes I've tried out. In no way chronological because I don't change my nails that often, so they build up. I'm trying to make this a monthly thing, which clearly didn't work since the last time I did one of these posts was May. Oh well. Enjoy the pretty!

So case and point, this was back in March. Borrowed this from a friend since I didn't have any glorious green polish myself. I tried to make a shamrock, and failed, so half a white nail it became. This is Essie Pretty Edgy. I don't know why it's not named in relation to a clover or shamrock or something, but I guess that's just me! Took at least 3 coats with this polish. I always find Essie polishes to be a good formula but always thin, which can get annoying.

This is a little more recent, from June. This is one of the first two CG polishes I bought. Spontaneous is a very bright purple, but the tone changes depending on the light. It's a bluer purple most of the time. This itty-bitty bit of nail design involved CG White on White and Shocking Pink. I wanted to do all ten nails but my patience isn't that good.

I've owned this one for a while. It's a Sephora by OPI called "And a Cherry on Top". Did this back in April, for a friend's birthday. I love a good bright red. The formula is a lot thinner than other OPI's regular one. I do enjoy it, I think it lasted alright.

I bought this one out of boredom. I wanted to do my nails while home one weekend and realized all the old colors in my Mom's mini stash were separated or ugly. So I overpaid for this Sally Hansen Ultra HD polish at the local drugstore, telling myself I could use it at home whenever I'm out. I like it in theory but it's not nearly as high-def as it should be. This particular shade is Wavelength, which I could not remember and just had to Google for 10 minutes to find. It's nice but I think the other shades are probably a better buy.

I'm currently working on getting my photos done, and hope to have another polish post soon!

Til next time!

68. 21 Day Challenge: Re-cap

The 21 Day Challenge is over! I'm a little sad, I gotta say.  I enjoyed this. Here's all three weeks of my outfits!

Things I liked: 

- wearing patterns. I wore patterns of some form on 9 days, with only one repeat! I'm improving! 

- experimenting with jewelry: I have way too much jewelry that I don't wear, but I forced myself to wear it during the challenge. It was a good way to see what works and what doesn't, and what I like the most. 

- wearing skirts/dresses. I wore these 12 out of 21 days, which is a huge jump for me. This really makes me happy. I love being girly and I was forced to try all kind of looks! In contrast, I only wore jeans 6 times whereas my normal wear is everyday. 

- Favourite Days: 3, 8, 12, 16, 18, 21. 12, 16 and 21 are my top three. 

Things I'd change: 

- picture taking. I definitely wish I had more consistency in my photos. Using my camera/tripod/remote works out the best, but I have yet to figure out the best time of day. I love having someone to take my pictures too, which only happened on 5 days. 

- plain outfits. I tend to go for plain outfits. Simple things can be great, but in some circumstances it doesn't work out and just looks boring. I think they key is better tailored items that are still simple, but look class

- ponytails. I need to wear my hair down more often. 11 days I had my hair up, but that doesn't really apply. I tend to put my hair up most days even when it starts off as being down. I think I do need a haircut...

- Least Favourite: 10, 13, and 20. 

I thought that I would like fewer of these, but seeing them all together I'm pleasantly surprised! I think the challenge was definitely a success overall! Any comments? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Til next time!

67. Last day!

Wow. Last day of the 21 Day Challenge. I gotta say, I enjoyed it overall. Didn't think I'd make it through some days but I did it! So proud.

In honour of that pride, I decided to really try one of my favourite looks from the past few years. At some fashion event in 2007, Cameron Diaz had such a great mix of bright fuschia and turquoise. I decided to take the same colors and interpret into a much easier weekend/work look!

 

Necklace - F21
Shirt - Ricki's
Jeans - F21
Sandals - Spring

I really love this outfit. I wore this out to a bbq at my aunt's, it's the right amount of polished but casual. This necklace was broken when I received it in my order, but I didn't think that would be too much effort to fix it. Easier to do that than send it back. I was able to restring it quickly, but then broke it and had to do it again lol. I really like the bright pink with the blue, it's a great combination.

Really can't believe that I'm finished! Now I don't have anyone to tell me what to wear. Hmm. This could be interesting. I'm planning on doing a re-cap post tomorrow, with all 21 looks. If you're curious just click here [link] to see all the outfits now, or head on over to Freckles In April to see everyone's last look for the challenge!

Til next time!

66. Pretty shoes

I've got several pretty pairs of "Sunday shoes" as Kayla calls them. I don't really classify in that way as such, but definitely have pretty shoes that don't see the light of day much.

Cardi - Stitches
White tank (which blends in to my skin) - Urban Planet
Dress - f21 (third remix wear!)
Shoes - Spring
Polish - Essie Sole Mate

So I've learned my lesson with picture timing. Sun may be nice but it's not a good look for OOTD pictures. I look so pale. I am, but I look more pale lol. Not a good thing.

I really like these shoes but never wear them. The heel throws me off. I bought them on sale in 2008? They went out of style but the mod look is coming back now. Kind of interesting how trends always loop back around.

Til next time!

65. Wear it on your head.

I'm getting less creative the more titles I make for these posts. Unfortunate. But I am still posting!

Blazer - Mexx
Tee - Vera Wang via Kohl's
Jeans - Gap 1969
Flats - AE

I love wearing headbands in general. My hair gets in my face a lot so I tend to pull it back alot. The worst part I find is that I can't find many headbands that stay on my head / are comfortable. It sucks. This one is from American Apparel, and it's just a stretch cotton. It may need readjusting every now and then but it's so comfortable. And it doesn't slip nearly as much as others I've tried.

A good end to the first week of work. I love this blazer intensely because of how well it fits. Need another in black I think, since my current black blazer has some flaws.

And lastly, I have a question for you all. I'm trying to decide if I'm cutting my hair or not. It's really really long now, and while I do love the length it's getting almost to that point where I can't handle having all this hair. Any comments? Suggestions on styles? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Til next time!