Lest my head swells too much…

Something weird happened to me this week. I was walking from my condo on Thursday morning to meet up with my ride to work, and I passed a woman sitting outside Starbucks. She suddenly looked up from her iPhone and exclaimed, “You look so nice!”

Anthro Tartlet Burst Top (Deletta) | Anthro Liquid Acres Skirt (Maeve) | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

Of course, the first thing I was look over my shoulder to see if she was talking to someone behind me, but there was nobody there. Then I checked to make sure she wasn’t making fun of me, but that didn’t seem to be the case either. So I smiled at her, but I didn’t say anything and walked past pretty quickly.

I mean, I thought I looked pretty good that morning (did my hair, wearing my favourite skirt and my favourite colour), but nothing that I thought elicit compliments from complete strangers. It was nice, but it was pretty weird. And maybe a little sad that I found it so weird?

Of course, once you get built up, you get shot down again. I say it was weird, and it was, but secretly it was really nice. It was great to start my day with a compliment, I was in a great mood all day. But if I were in danger of continually strutting around thinking I’m all that, I’m not anymore.

I had an outbreak of eczema start on my face Thursday night (I’ve suffered from eczema since I was a baby, struggling with it on and off for most of my life), which I thought I had it under control with medicated cream, foundation, and concealer. But I went to the dentist yesterday to get a long overdue cleaning, and the hygienist (Chinese, strong accent, never seen her before) took one look at me and exclaimed, “What happened to your face?!?!”

The exclamation points are probably an exaggeration, but she seemed pretty…repulsed? I explained to her that I have chronic eczema, which she noted in my chart, but only after she asked me how to spell it. Ah, gotta love Asian tactlessness.

So now that I’m Ugly Face, I’ll probably hibernate for the rest of the weekend (normally I don’t care, but now I’m all self-conscious) and see if I’m fit to be seen on Monday morning.

And now here comes the “all”….

So the past two months have been “nothing", but now that it’s September it’s like feast after famine.

 
Anthro Sea Drift Tank & AG Stevie in Turquoise

My first pair of coloured jeans (the AG Stevies really are fantastic) and a new top, on sale. I’m now looking forward to cooler weather so I can wear these jeans.

But if that’s not enough, I jumped on a J.Crew sale and ordered these two.

 
J.Crew No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Double-Serge Wool in Retro Jade and Berry Pink

On sale at $98 (from $130) with an extra 30% off, I got both for less than the price of one at Canadian full-price (C$150 plus 12% tax). Good thing I didn’t buy the turquoise when I tried it on in Vancouver last month.

It’s a little appalling, my two months of no shopping undone in the first week of September. But with things I love, why not?

It was a cracking weekend, it was.

I bought a subscription to the BBC iPlayer  for Will's birthday, so of course I've been making use of it too. This weekend I watched a few episodes of Coupling (my favourite TV show, not to be confused with the horrible U.S. remake they tried to do), and finished Gavin & Stacey. Unfortunately, it means that I've started to adopt some British-isms (and possibly Welsh-isms), and it sounds really ridiculous coming out of someone with a slight Ottawa Valley accent (i.e. Canadian).

Anyway, the long weekend really was cracking. Time with friends, BBQ, salted caramel ice cream, my sister dog, what's not to like?

 

salted caramel ice cream in a chocolate-dipped cone at The Chocolateria; Jedd’s frozen custard; salted butter crunch, more salted caramels, and a grapefruit lip balm.

happy Abby, happy Abby, scratching Abby (also blasphemous Abby for sitting on our Union Jack doormat?), exhausted Abby.

All or nothing

So one of my goals this year was to learn to be a better shopper, i.e. learn how to shop in moderation. I set myself a limit of one item per month, which I stuck to one month and didn’t for a few others. Including August, when again, I didn’t buy anything. So really, I can’t do shopping in moderation, and I can’t even do moderation in moderation…I can’t do moderation at all. Apparently I’m an all or nothing kind of gal.

But I haven’t been shopping because there hasn’t been anything I’ve wanted enough to buy, plain and simple. There’s really nothing wrong with that, my overall goal is to stop shopping just for the sake of shopping, and I think I am accomplishing that.

Anthro Torsade Tee (C.Keer) | turquoise necklace made by me |  Anthro Circle The Globe Skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Cole Haan flats

I may not be shopping, but it doesn’t mean I’m not bored with what I have in my closet. I’m not inspired, and I feel like I need something new to spark my interest, but just adding more to my closet without thinking about it isn’t the answer either.

Spurred on by Roxy’s fantastic Building Your Wardrobe series and the impending end of summer (I don’t want to think about it, but fall’s coming whether I want it to or not), I’ve started to go through my closet and take stock of what I have. I started counting, and before I got freaked out by the sheer consumerism of it all and stopped, I found I have 15 dresses (5 solid, 10 print), 35 tops (6 print, 29 solid), 13 skirts (9 pencil, 2 full, mostly solid neutral colours but 2 prints), 2 pairs of jeans (blue and black), 20 cardigans (11 ¾-sleeve, 2 short-sleeve, 7 long-sleeve). 35 effing tops. I don’t need all that, do I? Does anyone really need all that? I’m terrible at math, but I’m pretty sure that if I wore each skirt with each top I’d have over 300 outfits. Some of them might be pretty awful combinations, but that’s beside the point. No wonder I can’t get dressed in the morning sometimes.

It’s still summer

I'm in denial about fall coming. Ever since I've come back from vacation, I've felt the season changing. It's getting dark earlier, it's cooler at night, fall clothing is now in stores.but I'm not ready to face the end of summer, so I'm not going to. It's still hot out (the past weekend was a scorcher), and it’s still summer until September 21. I've seen a bunch of girls out in full-on fall attire today (just looking at them makes me start sweating),which I don’t understand at all. Summer in this part of the world is so short, there will so much time for tights, cardigans, boots, and scarves (basically October to April), so I'm going to go bare-legged/bare-armed/bare-necked and wear summer clothes as long as I possibly can.

Anthro Echoing Cowlneck (Bordeaux) | Anthro Sumukhwa Skirt (Maeve) | Miss Sixty Tracy Shoes

And yet having said that..I’m wearing a not so summery skirt. But with bare legs.

Food, animals, beach, trees, and me from the back

The first week back after vacation is always the worst. I spent the entire week wondering when Friday would come (hallelujah, here it is). And eating too much in a fit of PMS (TMI, I know) and post-vacation blues. I’ll console myself with my vacation photos.

view of the Rockies from the plane; watermelon and feta salad (a flavour combination I’ve decided that I do not enjoy) from Will’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary celebration at the Beach Club Resort; a goat on the roof in Coombs; Rathtrevor Beach; bangers and mash at the Black Goose Inn in Parksville, not very pretty but delicious; Cathedral Grove in MacMillan National Park; fish and chips at Big Daddy’s Shack in Tofino; a pig on the loose in Tofino; a Basset hound and beagle at Long Beach in Tofino.

my feet in the Pacific Ocean; Long Beach in Tofino; Long Beach from a different angle; me on Long Beach; all-beef terimayo hot dog from Japadog; the view from the Milestones patio at English Bay; downtown Vancouver from the Stanley Park seawall; Prospect Point in Stanley Park; First Beach at English Bay.

A theme of my vacations is that I never photograph myself, it’s always pictures of food and scenery and animals and maybe one picture of me. This time it’s from the back, head to toe (well, neck to knee) in lululemon. It’s appropriate for BC.

More turquoise and white

I’ve been wearing this colour combination all summer.

Anthro Dewbud Tee (Yoana Baraschi – 2010) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Banana Republic pencil skirt | Tory Burch Reva flats

The light in my condo doesn’t do the colour of this top justice. It’s so much brighter and more vibrant than it looks here.

I was on vacation last week in beautiful British Columbia, but it was much needed. Can’t say I’m thrilled to be back at work (I’m a little jet-lagged after the red-eye we took Saturday night), but I’m feeling a bit refreshed. And only a few weeks to another long weekend.

Anthropologie catalogue: August 2012

August 2012 – sliced geometry necklace, goldspun paisley dress

point assembly necklace, odissi jacket, glimmered pointelle pullover, stintino ring, pilcro stet slim ankle patchwork cords – I loooooove the colour of the walls (of course!), but as for the clothes themselves, I have no strong feelings for them

sliced geometry necklace, frothed dots dress, bowline belt – so pretty

marmilla danglers, thonburi necklace, branched copper pullover, fuzz bangle set, sequin bits bangle set

copper-dusted heeled oxfords, miki wedges, tindra t-straps – looks like holiday footwear to me

textural t-straps, caged ribbon slingbacks, lasercut basketry pumps, plucked petals mary-janes, openwork laurel boots – less holiday-like

tangled vimina hat, point assembly necklace, marled peat cardigan, gemma peasant blouse, holding horses gable boyfriend – the colour palette is a bit blahhh (except for the background of course)

colorblocked moccasin flats, handpainted cosima flats – I looove those polka-dotted flats!

marmilla danglers, avian myth shift – love the colour of the top

puckered jersey headband, roiled lace tee; joint assembly necklace, jeweled plumes necklace, peplum ponte tank, woven bow belt, pilcro serif cord leggings – I love the bright colours, but there’s something that’s not working here for me…