Sunday 29 July 2012

Are We There Yet?: a Sunday Shoe Story

ankle boots by Michael Kors.

Seriously, is it Autumn yet?

I miss the crisp air, the impending feeling of Halloween, the late afternoon sunlight, the imprints of leaves on the sidewalk, buying textbooks, new course outlines, hot mochas on early mornings, scarves, messenger bags, that feeling of inspiration in the air, trips to the campus library, the fat September issue of Vogue, wearing tanktops with jackets, and new beginnings.

Something about Autumn just resonates in my lack-of-soul (I sold it for shoes, remember), and I can't wait for it to be here!

Saturday 28 July 2012

Lioness



I used OPI "Black Shatter" over Rimmel London "Gold Silk" to create this quick and stylish manicure :)

Thursday 26 July 2012

Urban Jungle

Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2012 ad campaign
image from readmeinpictures

I've always said that everyone should have at least one item in their wardrobe that's animal print, since it never seems to go out of style. Vintage furs, leopard print heels, pony hair purses, and zebra print jeans - all in a variety of colours - have only been getting chic-er over the years, and every season there's always one designer who's flaunting their animal nature. This summer I'm really feeling Michael Kor's safari-inspired looks, since they're super fiesty, but not too dressy. It's a pretty chill summer afterall, but the tiger still sleeps under my skin, just waiting for the next hunt. The question is: who's the hunted?




sunglasses by Alfred Sung, dress by Sirens, vintage Guess Denim vest, vintage Dooney & Bourke satchel, Orly nail polish in "Stone Cold," ring by Le Chateau, platform wedges by Michael Antonio

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Digital Safari

Step 1: Discover massive film archive.
Step 2: Fix massive archive database.
Step 3: Quest for lost items, and return to proper housing.
Step 4: Digitize it ALL!
Step 5: Breathe, and repeat song below as necessary.


It's my own fault for taking this volunteer job, but holy crap do they have a massive and unruly collection. It's taken me 3 weeks just to get the collection to be organized and catalogued properly, but now that it is I am off digitizing merrily. So far it's been a breeze, since I've only done the cd-r's and dvds, but this week I start on the film collections. It's a good thing I never let a big quest daunt me before, since this one is pretty massive! 

Sunday 22 July 2012

Sneakers & Sparkles: a Sunday Shoe Story


Sometimes a girl needs a little bit of sparkle with her sneakers, so along came Guess with the fabulous "Gweyelash," a basic sneaker base with a hint of sequins at the ankle and glitter threaded through the monogram canvas. Sparkle on bitches ♥

Saturday 21 July 2012

Sometimes a Girl Needs a Little Retro...

In the form of a polka dot manicure! I'm not one for polka dots normally (they're a little too "girly" and my obsession wiith stripes always wins), but a polka dot manicure is super easy and super classic. Of course it works out better if you're patient so that the dots dry fully before you do a top coat, or you'll end up with some smudges like I did >_> I did this set with China Glaze "Snow" & "China Rouge," but next time I think I'll do some colours that are more spunky than classic, like purple & yellow!



Thursday 19 July 2012

Good Girls & Denim Jackets


It's been a long time since anyone called me a "good girl." Mostly because I maintained a reputation as a cold-hearted bitch all through highschool, and that seemed to stick. That worked out (for the most part) until I moved to Victoria. I decided that for a whole year I would be nice to people so that I would make new friends. In total I made one new friend, and decided that being nice totally wasn't worth it. When I got a new job soon afterwards my co-workers tried to adopt me into their group and for a long time I resisted. I turned down invitations to Monday night bingo (a ritual outing that I would later discover really wasn't my thing), club weekends, and I deigned to invite any of them to my apartment warming party (even though they knew I was having one). Yet for some reason they refused to accept defeat. A certain amount of it was sheer stubborness on their part, but as I found out they were just as bitchy as I was - and in all the right ways! The rest of the Victoria population still got bludgeoned on a daily basis with my "I don't give a fuck" attitude, and slowly they learned that my roster of friends was filled. Then I moved to Halifax, aka friendly people central. It's been almost a year, and I still get random people talking to me on the bus, on the street, and everywhere else I go. Where do they get the idea that I want to hear their stories about their medications, their trip to the Middle East, or their children. Since it's apparent that my bitch-itude is having little affect, and that they're just going to keep talking to me anyways, let's make a compromise: if you're going to randomly start talking to me Haligonians, make the story an interesting one or find someone else to annoy with your inane blathering!

Vintage denim jacket & runners by Guess; Dress by Renee C; Headband by Ardene

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Summer & the City


At the beginning of this summer I was not impressed that I didn’t have a job lined up, which in my mind meant that I “had nothing to do.” But now that Autumn is in sight I’m kind of glad that I’ve had this time to be free. I haven’t had a summer without work or summer classes since… grade 9. Considering that I’m graduating next year (woot!) and hopefully stepping straight into a professional grown-up job, this may be the last summer of complete freedom that I’ll ever have. I may finally be free from school in a year, but grown-up jobs don’t have summer vacation. So instead of whining about not having an awesome summer job I’ll revel in all the other things I get to do in the meantime. Things like volunteering at a film archive, reading 10+ books a week, catching up on 3 years worth of tv episodes before the new seasons start, baking far too many cookies, and doing exactly nothing if I want to. After all, time is what you make of it, and sometimes being able to wear “work inappropriate clothes” is what makes life worth it. Bring on the short shorts & flip flops baby!



Images from the Guess 2011 spring/summer campaign, from this website

Sunday 15 July 2012

Blair, Organized Neatly: a Sunday Shoe Story


Dress by Forever 21
Headband by Ardene's
Rhinestone ring & earrings by Claire's
Nail polish "Stone Cold" by Orly
Vintage pearl necklace & sunglasses
Purse by Louis Vuitton
Shoes "Serena" by Expression

Saturday 14 July 2012

Does GG Stand for Gossip Girls or Golden Girls?

Just kidding; obviously it stands for Gossip Girl. Though I've heard Golden Girls is quite funny too!

Anyways, the nail polish I'm featuring this week (and I'm totally addicted to right now) is an oldie, but a goodie, from Rimmel called "Gold Silk" (from the Lasting Finish Pro line). Like the name says it has a silky smooth finish, and the formula is super thin (but not in the bad way), so you can layer it over other polishes or build it up to create a nice opaque shimmer on its own. Initially it reminded me of Blair (mostly because it's the most demure nail polish colour I own), but I can totally see Serena rocking this colour with some of her more glammed up party outfits.

I know most people are all about the super bright neon nail polishes this summer, but I really like how the sparkle in this polish reminds me of how sun light hits the waves when you're out boating. I spent many a time out on the water with my dad and the Parker clan (our dad's were boating dad's haha) at the Shuswap lake or down at the Thompson River, so nothing really says summer to me more than these memories. Singing Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Savage Garden; spending all of our allowance on candy at the corner store; refusing to wear sunscreen (because back then we didn't burn); fighting over who got the next ride on the inner tube; and end of the day trips to Mr. Putt's ice cream shop. Those were the days!



Thursday 12 July 2012

S vs. B: Style Rivals

The Upper East Side is divided, not only by the gossip mill but 
also by style. Who do you side with? 
Serena's casual chic or Blair's polished ensembles?
Serena Van Der Woodsen


Blair Waldorf

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Lifestyles of the (not so) Rich and Famous



Gossip Girl here,

Spotted: D living in three different house over the last week. The nomadic lifestyle looks good on this chick, but when will she settle back down? Maybe domesticity is not for D!

Bridezilla won’t be making an appearance at E’s wedding! She’s been spotted at 2 different bridal boutiques trying on dresses and at a mountain top location for the wedding. She has that bridal glow, and we’re sure she’ll pull through without a single breakdown! But what everyone wants to know is: what are all the little beaded lizards for?

Spotted: A sitting on the porch with a stack of books and her feet in a bucket. Who knew this fashionista was such a bookworm? Unemployment is more fun than it looks, and these are the perfect days to soak up the sun!

Chicks before dicks is the number one rule of the girl code, right? Well, C has decided to make the sacrifice and ignore her girlfriends for the new man in her life. She says he’s perfect, but what she doesn’t realize is that everyone has secrets, and it’s only a matter of time before his come out. Will he really have the heart of gold that she thinks he has, or will he turn out to be a brass-plated fake?

Spotted: J movie-going solo to the Amazing Spiderman. Who needs a date when you have a box of candy and a silver-screen cutie like Andrew Garfield?

You know you love me,

xoxo, Gossip Girl


image from here

Sunday 8 July 2012

She Sings the Revolution: a Sunday Shoe Story



“These boots were made for ass-kicking,” she told me over coffee one day.

Black ringed her eyes in smudges, but the intensity of her gaze wasn’t brought on by the make-up. She may have only been 18, but the mocking look was anything but teenage angst. “Maybe not kicking ass in general, but definitely kicking some specific asses.” Laughing, she amended her statement. 

I had already heard about her picture perfect childhood, her A+ grades, and then the crash that happenned when she had reached the end of her rope. She had gotten tired of playing the good girl and living up to the expectations and had gone her own way. Leaving behind everything she knew in the search for what she knew was missing in her soul. She said she hadn’t found it yet, but that she knew she was getting there. She had seen the change coming, and she had decided to ride the wave of revolution to take her one more link down her own evolution. Her tales of loves and friends lost had been typical – she admited as much – but she wasn’t interested in finding someone to complete her. She knew she was like salt to earth, and that only the hardy would survive. Some would call her toxic, but I just shrugged and admitted the difference. Afterall, I was rather fond of salt and had a tendency to kill plants myself.

This could get interesting, I thought to myself as the last of my coffee washed down my throat. I cringed slightly as I tasted grounds, but I relished the bitterness that came with reality. Not everything lives up to society’s  imagined standards, and not everything should.


Boots, Miss Me "Monet." 
Inspired by "She's a Rebel" by Green Day from the album American Idiot, 2004.

Saturday 7 July 2012

American Idiot


Insert clichéd metaphor about politicians and slime here... You know how it goes. 



I did this manicure with two coats of neon green nail polish from Icing, and two basecoats of China Glaze "Snow" to make the green really pop. It's SO BRIGHT; I love it!

Thursday 5 July 2012

Letterbomb


Where have all the riots gone
As the city's motto gets pulverized?
What's in love is now in debt
On your birth certificate
So strike the fucking match to light this fuse!


It's not over 'till you're underground
It's not over before it's too late
This city's burnin'
It's not my burden
It's not over before it's too late


She said I can't take this place
I'm leaving it behind
Well she said I can't take this town
I'm leaving you tonight.


Jeans by Seductions; tank top by Song; vintage mesh top; boots by Miss Me; earrings, cuffs and bracelets by Ardene; vintage necklaces with skull pendant by Claire's. Lyrics from "Letterbomb" by Green Day, American Idiot, 2004.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Basket Case


Wow, does our generation have more issues than any other, or is it just me? Never before have more people justified going to shrinks by repeating sob stories about traumatic childhoods, schoolyard bullies, and broken hearts. Maybe life has really gotten harder, or maybe we’ve all just become a bunch of whiny babies. We whine about having the sniffles, about not having a boyfriend, about not having gluten-free vegan options on the menu, and about how much the political situation sucks currently when we’re really not interested in actually doing anything about it. Whining for the sake of whining really. I complain as much as the next person (more according to my mother, who once told me that I should get a job whining because I would be instantly rich), but what people don’t realize is that 90% of my big issues are ones that I try to deal with myself. I could tell you lot what my biggest neuroses are, but that would be breaking with tradition and would defeat the purpose of my last statement. So suffice it to say that sometimes I am a basket case, and I deal with it, and no one has to know about it because I can deal with it. Forget a therapist, I can deal with my own head, and save that money for important things – like shoes!

FYI the theme this week is Green Day, one of my favourite bands of all time, and that little video is what kicked me off on liking them!