Oh, Cumberbatch.

I don’t wake up to an alarm clock. I hate being jarred awake, so I prefer to wake up naturally, whenever that happens to be. It means varying amounts of time to get ready in the morning, but luckily, I’ve never slept in so much that I don’t make it. Because I’m usually fairly organized the night before, I can usually make it out the door in 15 minutes if I have to.

J.Crew top | Anthropologie Orchard House Cardigan (Rosie Neira) | ayala bar necklace | Anthro Liquid Acres Skirt (Maeve) | Wolford Satin Opaque tights in Admiral | Miz Mooz Felicity pumps

I pick out my clothes before I go to bed because Will doesn’t get up until after I leave for work, so I’d be literally getting dressed in the dark. It wouldn’t be good. Even by iPhone backlight, black/brown/navy/grey tights all look the same.

Lately, since I’ve been falling asleep before 9:30 p.m., I’ve been getting up by 6 a.m. Sometimes I’m productive in this extra time, but lately I’ve just been watching TV on my iPad while I do my makeup and curl/straighten my hair. I’ve been watching the BBC’s Sherlock and I’m hooked. I love Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock – his cheekbones are insane and his voice is beautiful.

from “The Hounds of Baskerville”, screenshot from my iPad

Also, his last name makes for a great expression of frustration, not necessarily an expletive, but as an exclamation when things go awry. Examples:

I’ve been up since 6 a.m. and I’ve accomplished nothing. Cumberbatch.
I fell asleep last night at 9 p.m. like an old person. Cumberbatch!
Wow, I just ate that entire half-litre of ice cream without realizing it. Cumberbatch.

Unfortunately, the expression only works around people who also watch Sherlock, so around everyone else it just results in blank stares.

Who am I???

I like to think that I don’t get suckered into sales. Admittedly, I’m terrible at waiting for something to go on sale (I’m the queen of full-price purchases), but I also don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. In the past I’ve rationalized with “But how could I not buy it when it’s so cheap??” but if it’s not something I LOVE, then it’s not a bargain, it’s wasted money.

I know this and yet I did this as recently as a few months ago, when I bought Anthropologie’s Lepidoptera Dress when it was half price, just because it was half price. I liked it, but I didn’t LOVE it, and I certainly wouldn’t have bought it at full price (which remains my litmus test for whether I should buy something or not). I returned it pretty promptly.

So J.Crew was having a 20% off promo on a minimum $150 order over President’s Day weekend (Family Day weekend in Ontario), and I was all set to break my one-item-a-month embargo and buy a few things. Nothing on impulse, just a few things I’ve had my eye on for a while.

Ramona Dress in cotton taffeta – I loove the shape of this dress, and I don’t have a good LBD, so I was ready to splurge on this.

No. 2 pencil skirt in double-serge cotton – Great colour for spring.

Perfect-fit long-sleeve tee – a lounging staple for me, long-sleeve knit T-shirts.

But in the end, I let the promo pass with out pulling the trigger. I don’t need any of these right now, and my wallet is certainly happier without having bought any of these. There’ll be other promos in the future and maybe then I’ll bite. Who am I?? (24601! Sorry, couldn’t resist the Les Misérables reference. I used to be a musical theatre geek.) Passing on shopping? That’s not me.

(I do kinda regret the pencil skirt. I don’t have any bright skirts for summer. But I’ll get over it. I’m holding out for a true teal.)

Boooring

Lisa posted last week about feeling like she’s in a rut, and judging by the comments, it seems like everyone else is too. February isn’t a great month; by this time, I generally feel bored with winter (even though it hasn’t really been winter in Toronto—we haven’t had a lot of sub-zero temperatures and barely any snow) and bored with wearing tights all the time.

In past years I’ve dealt with February boredom by shopping, but I’m not doing that this year. This year I’m eating too much sugar instead…I’m just swapping out one addictive behaviour for another. Fantastic!

We did go away for the long weekend, to Ottawa to visit my family. Nice to have a change of scenery, but we came home more exhausted than before. Maybe next time we need to pick a more relaxing destination.

Aritzia T. Babaton Jolie Blouse | Anthropologie Orchard House Cardigan (Rosie Neira) | Anthropologie Liquid Acres Skirt (Maeve) | Woflord Satin Opaque Tights in Admiral | Miz Mooz Felicity Pump

This morning I really didn’t feel like going to work, so I tried a new outfit combination to liven things up, but I don’t think it worked. So maybe something else…like photos of an adorable Basset hound? 

Worth a try. :)

who’s that girl?

I like Zooey Deschanel. A lot. I like her style, I looove her hair, and I think she has gorgeous eyes. Like most Anthropologie fans, I really liked her style in 500 Days of Summer. And because she’s around the same age as I am, I don’t feel like I’m emulating someone age-appropriate.

Her February Allure cover photo freaked me out, but I liked the photo shoot because she’s not looking as twee as she usually does. I’m liking the sequined bodysuit.

via

Seriously, I might have to kill for her hair.

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But her singing voice grates on my nerves, her band She & Him is too folksy for my taste, and quite frankly, I don’t really like New Girl. At first it was trying too hard (“I’M SO QUIRKY! LOOK AT HOW QUIRKY I AM! I’M SO QUIRKY IT HURTS!”) and now it’s just boring. (Except for last week’s episode “The Landlord.” There were a few moments when I was laughing pretty hard. Redeeming itself a little.) I’ll still watch every episode (often on PVR when I have nothing better to do), because she’s just so damn cute.

(all screenshots via the CityTV iPad app)

As a glasses-wearing girl, I love that she wears glasses and looks so freakin’ cute in them.

Which brings me to my new glasses. I wasn’t intending it, but they may have a bit of Zooey to them. (I did buy them at a hipster optician, I should have known.)

prodesign denmark frames, via Spectacle, Matsu aventurine pendant and chain

I don’t look anything like her, but I can pretend, right?

all you need is…

A good friend from high school gave me and Will this cheesy tchotchke years ago, but it’s followed us from two apartments in Ottawa to an apartment in Toronto and finally here in our condo, hanging on the laundry room door. Everyone needs laundry full of love, right?

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(I’m the puppy, he’s the slightly crotchety cat.)

We celebrated Valentine’s Day with a home-cooked prime rib dinner on Saturday, so nothing planned tonight, except maybe a cuddle before we both pass out before 9:30 p.m. This is what happens when you’ve been together as long as we have.

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Hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day!

“They used to call me anal girl…I was very neat and organized.”

I’m not naturally neat and organized, but I have some very anal tendencies. I make a lot of lists. I fold my sweaters like this (my sister showed me and it works so much better than stacking them!). I looove organizing stores (I get very, very excited when I go to The Container Store – we don’t have them here).

But this is the best: I keep an ongoing Google document titled “Outfits”, which is, unsurprisingly, a list of possible outfit combinations. I’ll pop it open and add new outfits as I think of them or as I’m inspired by blogs, magazine photos, and even people I see in my office or on the street.

It’s pretty anal, but it helps me with a few things (and here comes a list):

1. I make sure to wear everything in my closet.
2. I shop my closet instead of buying new clothes to make new outfits when I get bored with the usual combinations.
3. I can see where there are a few holes in my wardrobe (like the conspicuous lack of LBD).
4. Most importantly, I’m never stumped for an outfit.

I’m not a very spontaneous and creative person. Fashion doesn’t really come easily to me, it’s always something I’ve had to work with. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve stood in front of my closet and thought “I have nothing to wear!” when that’s clearly not true, given how much I’ve shopped in the past. Very rarely I’ll have a momentary stroke of genius and put something together on the spot, but more often than not I’ll get easily overwhelmed by all the choices and I end up putting together fairly basic outfits, usually involving black. Like this one.

Anthro Luxe Reunion Top (Lil) | Anthro Alluring Sway Skirt (Cartonnier) | J.Crew Jenna’s Cardigan | Wolford Satin Opaque tights | Michael Kors heels

There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s easy, it’s effortless, there’s visual interest in the details of the pieces themselves, and it’s perfectly appropriate for work. I like it. It’s just that I might wear it every week if I didn’t actually put in the time and effort to think of other ones.

Anthropologie catalogue: February 2012

I really liked the January catalogue, even if I couldn’t tell what the clothes look like. This one is just….meh. Hoping for a better March.

February 2012 – washed denim buttondown, field of vision skirt, gravitation pull wedges.

ruffled oska dress, scalloped perimeter belt, black-tie kitten heels – I can't do socks with heels, I just can't. It's so not me.

manipur palazzos, plica sandals – so palazzo pants are back? I don't know how I feel about that. This is a cool shot though.

pieced column dress, nola braid heels – I love Bailey 44.

split frame shades, ruffled ainsley dress, nola braid heels – nice, but…meh. I’m not compelled.

greenfynch settee – love the colours

woven placita sandals, rika heels, reduct wedges, autlan heels; molten spectrum knobs, fourth course knobs

grafton chair, umbra coffee table

pinched dots glasses, experimental sketches dinnerware

kivi weges, naja cutout wedges, muted turns wedge, shibori stacked wedges

pavo feather necklace, spirea shirtdress; gilt jumonia necklace, sagisio blouse, pilcro stet denim roll-ups, tulia cuff

lila-dotted trench, dipped dots tote; framercy shades, whitewashed trench – I’m not convinced Anthro does spy very well.

field biology maxi dress, rika heels; field biology blouse, bent stripes asymmetric skirt, rika heels – hippy, dippy, trippy

Starting the month with teal

Banana Republic twist-front top | Matsu necklace | Anthro Liquid Acres skirt (Maeve) | Wolford Velvet Opaque Tights in Ivy | Miz Mooz Felicity Pump

Teal makes me happy, so I think I’m starting the month on the right foot. January was kinda sucktastic, so I’m hoping that the rest of my year goes better than that.

Ok, January wasn’t that bad. The work situation messed with my head a lot, and I did a fair bit of binge/comfort eating, because of it, but I didn’t break all my New Year’s resolutions after the first two weeks.  I did well with shopping, and I put down my iPad and read two books (Lunch in Paris, which I admit I read only because I saw it Anthropologie, and The Help). The exercise and eating didn’t go so well, but I’m a work in progress. Also, I think I should have resolved to not be so hard on myself when I don’t stick to my goals exactly. It doesn’t make me a failure. So, I’ll resolve to do that now.