Quality Time

Lately I've been stretching myself a little thin with various commitments, mainly school and knitting. This semester I have a series of very long days and a lot of project work, so coupled with my desire to get this scarf business up and running, all I ever do lately is come home and do homework or sleep or knit. On top of all of this, I've also been spending an hour or so a day looking for/applying to jobs. Even though I live with Cale, these commitments of mine are taking up so much time that I rarely ever see him anymore. The times we do see each other are generally just spent having dinner and watching something until I fall asleep. Tonight I'm spending some quality time with him - we're going out for beer at our local watering hole. It should be quite nice.

Skirt: Forever 21
Sweater: H&M
Tights: McGregor
Tank Top: American Apparel
Shoes: Ardene (if I remember correctly)

Hello Sailor

As you can see, the snow is still here, though it is going away very slowly. All of this bad weather and the fact that it's almost April are making me nostalgic for days of past summers. For the last four summers I've had the most amazing job working on boats, predominantly taking water and sediment samples. Since this is my last year of school I am not eligible to go back this summer for another student work term. Lately I've been feeling so nostalgic for those days - typically you work 4 hour shifts twice a day and have the rest of your time as free time. The times that you are working generally aren't even a straight 4 hours of work - typically you're traveling for at least 1-2 hours of your shift. The only catches are that there is no internet (generally), the TV can cut out from time to time (lack of signal) and you're away from home for weeks at a time. I don't miss being away from home, but I do really miss my carefree days on the ship, knitting in between sampling stations and reading on the deck, basking in the sun. Today's outfit is sort of a throwback to those days. While I would have never been able to get away with wearing something like this on the boat (too many older men, too few women, too much dirty work), I still really enjoy this dress and it does remind me of summers past.

Dress: Thrifted (from LiveJournal)
Tights: McGregor
Sweater: H&M

Lazy Saturday

Today is a lazy Saturday for me - my plans consist of homework and errands. To liven things up, I decided to try milkmaid braids, courtesy of The Clothes Horse, and got a compliment on them! I was so surprised and flattered. It's amazing how something so simple can look so great. Clothes-wise today I wanted something very comfortable yet warm (still -4C here) so I mixed some of my favourite pieces - the gingham dress from last week and my first and only handknit sweater. The sweater is 100% bulky (really thick) wool, so I'd wager to say it's the warmest thing I own. What are you doing on this lazy cold Saturday?

 

Dress: H&M

Tights: American Apparel

Sweater: handknit Owls in Cascade Ecological Wool

Snowstorm

Thank you to everyone who commented on the last post!! It was invaluable to get such wonderful feedback from you all. I'm still working on some things before the shop can go up and I'm hoping to get them done before the weekend ends. In other news, I received my replacement camera so I can get back to doing outfit posts! It is still a point and shoot, but the quality seems slightly better. Also, you'll notice the snow in my pictures - on Tuesday night/Wednesday, southern Ontario and the Midwest of the USA (I believe) got a huge dump of snow. Unfortunately the snow doesn't seem to be going anywhere - it has been below zero ever since and doesn't look like it will be warming up any time soon. So much for spring!

Skirt: American Apparel
Shirt: Bluenotes

Tights: McGregor

Secret

 Thank you all for your kind comments about the camera! It is very much appreciated. I do have another camera, but it happens to be a manual SLR so there are some logistical problems with using it for daily outfit posts. It did get some use this weekend, however, for a semi-secret reason. For the last month or so I have been diligently making stock for a store I've been wanting to get off the ground for a while  now. This past weekend there was finally the weather (and the stock) to permit some store photos to be taken and I am so excited, I just have to share. I have some more shots I need (other scarves, other configurations) as well as some other housecleaning type things to do, so it'll be at least a week or so until the shop is up and running. I can't wait, though! I'm so excited! Any feedback would be appreciated.

Dress: thrifted (but label says it's fro H&M)
Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Tights: McGregor
Belt: Forever 21
Scarves: Oak Savanna!

Disaster!

During yesterday's photo session, a very untimely disaster occurred. I am fairly shy so I take these pictures alone with the self-timer function. Since I don't have a tripod, I have to improvise with surfaces, handles or whatever will let the camera stay stable and be in a good position to take a photo. Yesterday when I reached to grab my camera from its position, I somehow got caught in the strap and ended up dropping the camera and breaking it. I nearly cried. This wasn't just any camera either, a friend had so generously given it to me no less than a month ago, and I so carelessly dropped and broke it. After many conversations with Cale about how this is the worst thing to have happened, I told my mom what happened and she offered to loan me the money to get a cheap replacement of acceptable quality. It's no DSLR, but it's something! So unfortunately I have no other pictures for today's outfit.

Dress: Metro (in Hamilton)
Tights: DIM
Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Payless Shoe Source

Strange Week

This past week has been very strange with respect to traffic. I attend school in a city about 55km or so away from where I live and unfortunately there is no viable public transit option, so I drive about 1.5-2 hours per day getting to and from school. Generally things run smoothly, with minor accidents here and there, but the highway has been closed twice now this week. On Tuesday evening, I was lucky enough to drive by this accident before the rubberneckers set in (the highway was closed going westbound, while I was going eastbound). Today, I felt that traffic was going slower than normal, but I just assumed it was volume. I was very wrong - there is currently a massive fire beside the highway and it is closed in both directions. What a crazy week!

Dress: Forever 21
Belt: Forever 21
Socks: American Apparel
Sweater: H&M