The Great White North

Since I featured a red polish for this week’s polish post, I felt that it would be fitting to wear a white pair of shoes for Shoe Sunday so that the entire Canadian flag was covered. I have plenty of pairs of red shoes as well of course, but I have other things planned for them.

Featured Shoes: Roberto Vianni “Denise” wedges

Maple Leaf Pride

Keeping with the Canadian theme of this week, I chose the brightest, most red red in my collection for the nail polish post. China Glaze “China Rouge” is the perfect red, and coming from someone who’s as obsessed with colour perfection as I am that’s a big compliment. I spent probably 15 minutes looking over all the reds in Sally’s before deciding on this red, and I was not disappointed. The formula was an easy two coater (as I expect from China Glaze polishes), and it matched the bottle colour really well once dry. No complaints about this polish, and it’ll definitely be one that I wear all the time, since it matches a whole bunch of my red clothes and purses, and is also very complimentary to the other colours that I tend towards (any tone of blue, blacks, and greys). Now I just have to find the perfect red lipstick!

When it Rains, it Pours

Obviously Canada is known as being a rather snowy country, which can be a major problem for shoes, since snow tends to ruin well… pretty much everything. But honestly I’ve had more problems with rain here, since I tend to avoid living in places with lots of snow, and I refuse to wear my snowboots anyways (SO UNATTRACTIVE). Instead of snowboots, I tend to be constantly on the hunt for cute pairs of galoshes. There are tonnes by Hunter that I would love to have, and I would sell the remnants of my soul for a pair of Burberry wellingtons, but the pair I can actually afford to get (but can’t get my hands on) is by Jeffrey Campbell. The “Voom” rainboots are back in stock at Solestruck, just in time for Fall shopping season, so I might just have to order myself a pair!

photo from Solestruck

It’s Good to be Canadian, Eh?

With Canada day looming in the near future, my mind is set on thinking about my social plans for the day. Chances are I won’t be doing anything exciting and blog-worthy (last year I hung out with friends and played board games), but “being Canadian” is something that I figured could be the theme of this week anyways! It’s not often that I feel particularly patriotic; instead I usually have intense feelings of dislike towards other countries. Apparently I’m better at disliking things than liking them… Regardless, I am actually rather fond of being Canadian. I can’t stand studying Canadian history (SO dull compared to the hundreds of years of European history I have yet to master), but there are some things that make me proud to be Canadian.

First and foremost, are the people who hail from our great nation. We can lay claim to the likes of Jim Carrey, Mike Meyers, and Rick Mercer. Is it coincidence that some of the world’s funniest people are from the Great North? I think not! We also have classic rock group Rush, singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado, and the gorgeous (and highly talented of course) Adam Levine of Maroon 5, who is making waves in the music industry through his role on The Voice.

As many problems as our country’s social system has, we do have a few things going for us. A public healthcare system that is subsidized by the government, as well as a school system that actually works. Growing up I always knew how well off we had it in Canada: when we got sick our parents didn’t go bankrupt, and our education was never an issue. I personally attended both public and private schools in my day, and I have to say that the public school systems do a damn good job.

On a global scale, Canada has a pretty good reputation. Most countries get along with us, and we don’t wantonly declare war on other nations. Yeah we got mixed up in some of the Middle East drama, but that wasn’t really our fault; we were just following along with our American neighbours (thanks for giving in to the peer pressure Conservatives Party).

But most of all, I love being Canadian because of the stereotypes. Maple syrup? HELL YES, I’ll have it on almost anything! We live in igloos? I find that amusing, if not exactly accurate. We all have pet beavers? Well, I don’t have a pet beaver, but I’ve seen a fair few, and my dog is pretty damn big compared to most. I really do love Tim Hortons. Though not because it’s a Canadian company, it’s because they have the best donuts and I have a major sweet tooth. I totally do enjoy ice cream in the winter (or anytime for that matter), and I do occasionally say “eh” at the end of my sentence.