When in doubt, stripes

(These photos at J.Crew from last month—I’m a little behind.)

I do love stripes. But in my case, stripes are more of an accent than the main event.

J.Crew Carrie cami in stripe // Anthropologie cardigan (old) // J.Crew necklace // Gap skinny pants

I don’t own a Breton tee. I've tried them on many times, even taken a few home from the Gap and J.Crew, only to return. Apparently I will never be French cool.

But I do own a striped makeup bag, umbrella, and wallet. I couldn't resist the teal stripes. Or being matchy matchy with the decor at Sweet Jesus 4 Life. 

J.Crew makeup bag // J.Crew umbrella // Kate Spade wallet

I also couldn't resist the navy stripes at J Crew recently.

It is a little weird that I don't have a Breton tee. They're simple and chic and look good on everyone. But if I've learned anything about my own personal style, it's that I don't need to and shouldn't force myself to wear something just because everyone else is. I can love the look of the striped tee on other people (and I do), and leave it at that.

Eponine London

Like most people, I’d never heard of Eponine London until Duchess Kate wore an outfit.

I’m not entirely sure it’s my aesthetic, but I love the bright colours and how can I resist a brand named after Eponine from Les Miserables?

Some of my favourites:

Still, a part of me thinks it can’t be a line of clothing named after Eponine without her beige trench and boy cap.

spring has sprung

Or currently springing, because it’s not fully here yet.

As a self-confessed winter lover, I will miss the snow and the sub-zero temperatures (I know, I know, this is not a popular opinion), and even wearing my parka.

Soïa & Kyo Delphie parka // glove.ly classic winter touchscreen gloves // Club Monaco tuque (a steal, marked down to $15 from $80) // Sorel kids boots

I have to retire my hot pink boots now because they’ve cracked and are no longer waterproof. I like the pop of colour on my feet (I was actually chased down at work once by a woman who wanted to know where I got them, and I had to admit that I have children’s-sized feet), so I’d like to find something similar to replace them, but it might be time to get adult boots.

I really will miss wearing my parka. Definitely a purchase I don’t regret; it’s like wearing a cozy sleeping bag outside. My sister calls it a sleeping bag with a waist. Nothing wrong with that!

Like Lorelai Gilmore, I think snow is magical and I think everything is prettier in the snow on it. The above two pictures were taken at Alexander Muir Gardens in north Toronto, one of my favourite spots in Toronto. It is pretty in spring and summer too, but I like it best covered with a blanket of snow.

Last week a friend and I made a short road trip up to Ottawa (my hometown), where we froze our asses off (the hotel room was so cold—couldn’t figure out how to turn up the heat or it was just so cold it was doing nothing—I had to put my parka over my legs to stay warm), but it was still so so pretty.

Back in Toronto, I caught Lake Ontario before all the snow melted.

It’s going to be 17C (63F) tomorrow, so all the snow will be gone and it’s be grey/brown/depressing until it starts to get green. This is possibly my least favourite part of the year. But it does open up new coat possibilities.

Soïa & Kyo jacket // Kit & Ace modal/cashmere scarf // glove.ly gloves // Kit & Ace Evans long-sleeve tee // lululemon wunder under leggings // eric michael motorcycle boots

I just realized that I’ve owned this jacket for almost nine years now. It was nine years this month that I moved to Toronto, and bought my first Soïa & Kyo coat at Girl Friday (now closed, sadly) on Queen St West, starting my love affair with S&K that’s lasted since then. Can’t believe I’ve lived in Toronto for nine years. It’s not very original to say, but time flies!

Backlog

Aww, shucks. People still read my blog. I’m thrilled! Thank you.

I seem to be dressing a bit more casual lately, hence the cartoon dog T-shirts (I’ve also been wearing slogan tees as well, that’ll be coming up shortly), but I did take some photos of better outfits over the summer, so here are a few to catch up.

Anthopologie dress // J.Crew featherweight cotton cardigan // J.Crew necklace // Tory Burch Reva flats

Anthropologie dress // J.Crew Factory Clare Cardigan // Gap ballet flats

J.Crew watercolour Carrie cami // J.Crew Factory Clare cardigan // Gap knit skirt // J.Crew Cece ballet flats

Supermodel hair, before I cut a few inches off (achieved by taking my hair out of a bun)

I also have a huge backlog of scenic/skyline/from my balcony photos, so here are my favourites.

Lake Ontario back in March:

Coming home on Porter Airlines:

A summer storm rolling in:

Nathan Phillips Square:

Surfacing

Is this thing on?

Wow, it’s been a long time. Nine and a half months since my last post. I could have had a baby in the intervening time! But just to be clear, I didn’t; that’s definitely not why I haven’t been posting since February. No secret babies. I just decided to skip all the warmer months and only post when it’s cold.

Well, not really. I think I’ve been having some writer’s block and I needed a break. But now I kinda feel like getting back into blog writing and celebrating some of the more frivolous things in life, because Lord knows I need some distraction right now. Unfortunately, my 2015 hasn’t really been any better than my 2014 (and in some ways 2015 has been a lot worse), but I’m determined not to focus on the negative and just keep moving forward.

(Also, I say “frivolous” but I really shouldn’t diminish my love of clothes and makeup and hair just because some people might think it’s vain and unimportant. Never underestimate the power of these things.)

Lately it’s been a lot of comfy clothes for me, a lot of stretchy elastic waistbands, leggings that can masquerade as pants (like these and these), and t-shirts with dogs on them. I have to watch out with the stretchy bottoms though; they’re a little too forgiving to all the binge-eating I’ve been doing lately. (I call it eating my feelings and my feelings have been delicious.)

A couple of weekend outfits:

 

J.Crew t-shirts (springer spaniel from fall 2014, bulldog puppy from earlier this year) // Kit & Ace Margo Tank // J.Crew Factory cardigan (on left) // Gap modal motercycle jacket (on right) // lululemon wunder under leggings // puma running shoes

And a colder weather outfit (not ready to break out the full winter gear yet), along with my new storage cube from Crate & Barrel. It might not live there permanently, trying to figure out where I want to keep it, but it’s housing all of our winter accessories (hats, scarves, gloves) and providing a place to sit while we put our shoes on. I’ve had this Anthropologie jacket for 5 years now and the lining is starting to tear, but it’s still a spring/fall workhorse for me.

Anthro Cream Confection Jacket (2010) // Kit & Ace Evans Long Sleeve // Club Monaco pompom tuque // lululemon wunder under leggings // eric michael motorcycle boots

Hoping for a few more interesting outfits in the next little while, but we’ll see. I have no idea if anyone will still read this, but that’s ok, it’s really just for me!

Anthropologie on Queen St West

My tastes have been moving away from Anthro recently so I haven’t been in a store (or on the website for that matter) in ages. I’m so out of the loop I didn’t even know that a new store opened in a converted church on Queen St West (a hipster area of Toronto) in December until I stumbled upon it while looking for the Kit & Ace store. Not a bad coincidence, since I had a Christmas gift card from Will in my pocket.

I didn’t buy anything (nothing caught my eye, so the gift card will keep), but the store is gorgeous and so Anthro it hurts.

It’s perfect, right?

On the inside, exposed brick with a view of the TD Canada Trust across the street.

This did catch my eye, but a tulle skirt is completely impractical for me.

Can I live here?