A day in the park

The other evening was so beautiful and sunny, my boyfriend and I HAD to venture outside to the big, random green space across the road from our apartment.

And because you all care, this is what I wore:



Shirt (mens) from The Bay; Jeans from Gap; Belt from F21; Wedge heels from Payless; Tank from American Eagle

There's not much back there but a basketball net and a little park, but we still manage to have fun walking around and enjoying each others company. And sometimes playing on the swings or climbing the play structure. Only when there are no kids around ;)




I hope everyone is getting the amazing weather we are!!! It's going to be 25+ degrees (Celsius) and sunny all week!  It's incredible what the weather does for the mood.

Rainy Sunday Morning

This is today's grocery shopping outfit.  I recently got these amazing jean shorts from a Forever 21 order I made last week. I couldn't help but put them on today and bring some fun and brightness to my otherwise neutral outfit. And this little bit of colour made the rain a little less dreary, at least for me :)



Jacket, shorts, shirt from F21, Tights from Walmart, Rainboots from Strawberry, Bag from eBay & boyfriend's umbrella.

Again, about the shorts, I just love them.  They're the perfect length for summer, and the perfect colour to perk up my wardrobe.  Firstly, I don't own too many coloured bottoms. Secondly, the distressing on them is awesome and adds a bit of an "edgy" vibe to the shorts. Oh, I also bought them in another colour... I guess you'll have to wait to see which one!

And grocery shopping was successful... $90 dollars later. Why do groceries cost so much money!? Eating healthy is so expensive, I'm sure produce and fresh meats were 90% of that bill. Well, maybe not that much... We did sneak in some tomato sauce, butter, cream cheese, and ice cream - all on sale =D... Aren't you lucky? Now you know all about my groceries! Time to go veg in front of the TV...

P.s. Right now the sun is shining and clouds have parted. Lucky us for venturing out in the rain. Maybe I should re-evaluate vegging in front of the TV and go for a walk... maybe.

Totem Poles

Every once in a while I'll see totem poles randomly distributed around the city.  When my boyfriend and I walked down to the market the other day, we noticed this one for the first time. Obviously this meant pictures.


Cardigan and dress from Joe Fresh; Shoes from F21; Purse was gifted; Necklace from Aldo; Belt from Costa Blanca

We took lots of pictures of this outfit, in different lighting, with different backgrounds. These were the only ones that actually turned out. Oh well, at least some did!

It was such a gorgeous day out, we HAD to take advantage of the outdoor patios... So for the first time ever appearing on my blog, this is my boyfriend/photographer/cool kid I hang out with, featuring our humongous nacho appetizer:


He's going to be mad at me! When I started this blog he says "I think it's great! As long as there are no pictures of me in it."  I promised there wouldn't be, but today I'm breaking that promise. Sorry, honey :). I love you!


Oh, and happy Friday/long weekend to all my American visitors! I'm a little jealous we don't get another long weekend up here in Canada, but I guess I understand...

Wednesday's Work Style

Here's my second Wednesday's Work Style!  We took this photos and the rain held out JUST long enough. I came back outside a little later and it was pouring. Thank you, rain, for waiting :)



Sweater from F21; Tank from Old Navy; Skirt from Ricki's; Shoes from Zellers; Bracelet from Dynamite; Purse from Walmart

If I ever want to feel confident and powerful, all I have to do is wear a pencil skirt and heels. I'm a little overdressed at work in this outfit, but I don't care. For some reason it makes me want to work harder. Who knows.

I really don't have much to talk about today, so I'll leave it at that. But I want to thank everyone for their lovely comments since starting this blog. It's great to hear your feedback and share stories. You guys are the best :) And welcome to the new followers!

A Copy.

Oops.

Back when I bought my orange/red button-up from Old Navy, I thought about how great it would look with my white jeans for that fresh, summer-y look. A bit later, Kendi puts up this gorgeous outfit, mimicking exactly what I had in mind. I didn't look too hard at it because I didn't want to copy anything exactly (other than the colours of the blouse and pants). A couple weeks later I decided to make my rendition of the outfit, and looking back, it's almost an exact copy...

 

Shirt and belt from Old Navy; Jeans and sandals from F21; Necklace from Aldo Accessories; Bag was thrifted

...Oh well, at least we can agree that these colours together are awesome!  And I know my pants are glowing. At least it makes me look tanned! Or so I like to think...

Oh oh oh! And did you notice my nail polish! It's such an awesome blue. My little attempt at colour-blocking that isn't really colour-blocking. ;)

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I love long weekends :)

You know what's great about today? It's Sunday, but I don't work tomorrow. It's Victoria Day! And I love random holidays and 3-day weekends. My plan? Rest and relax.

Today, however, we ventured out to the mall to get some things for the boyfriend. He needed more "work" clothes, so we went for a tour.


Shirt from Joe; Maxi from F21 (previously a dress); Jacket from Dynamite; Shoes from Spring; Scarf from ???; Belt from Old Navy

This is my maxi dress that I re-did into a skirt. I chopped the top off - from where the armpit stitching ended. Then I folded the top down about 1.5 inches (enough width for the elastic) and sewed it.  Then made a small opening, suck the elastic in, sewed it together, and sewed the hole back up. Voila! And what's great is I made it long enough to wear with heels OR flats, depending on where it sits on my waist. Awesome!

The weather has been terrible the last week - with the exception of yesterday. It was sunny and 25 degrees (Celsius) I spent all day outside walking and roller-blading around the city. I did a lot of people watching, which was fun. I ended up in a number of tourists' photos as well. Sorry...

All in all, a great day. And hopefully a great weekend :)

American Prep Menswear for BDIB

I'm a terrible blogger and didn't participate in the last Bloggers Do It Better challenge (White-out) even though I promised I would.  This time, I made sure to.

Welcome to Kelly's interpretation of American Prep Menswear:



Shirt from Old Navy; Cardigan from Gap; Pants from Ricki's; Shoes from Aldo; Tie from boyfriend's collection

I originally had a blazer with this look, but I decided to take it off. It took away from the fun tie+gingham combination and was a little too much for me. Or maybe I was just crazy.

But I love how this outfit turned out. It was so much fun taking these pictures, and the boyfriend was getting into it too. =) I've never worn a tie, so this was a first for me! You know what else was a first? This successful top-bun that I could actually go out in. And do you know how long it took me to make this one? 3 seconds flat. Do you know how I did it? Because I don't. I grabbed hair, put an elastic around it, and somehow it worked.  Too bad I'll never be able to do it again.

Yay for BDIB! Can't wait to see the rest of your looks!

Wednesday's Work Style

Now that I'm at work 40 hours of the week, living in 'business casual', I figured why not make it a part of this blog? I'll be calling these posts Wednesday's Work Style, and they will feature my work outfits on ...Wednesdays!

Why Wednesday? Well, I'm always excited to get dressed on Monday and start the week fresh. But by Wednesday, my clothing inspiration goes downhill until Friday when I can wear jeans (yay!).  Wednesday outfit posts will inspire me to dress my best even in the middle of the week! 

I guess terrible pictures aren't the best way to introduce this idea, but I'm sorry that my skin is just as pale as my light pink shirt. Sorry that the camera didn't pick up on the slight difference between the two, in this overcast weather. I'm wearing a tank, I promise. (This is why I need a new, better camera! ... or a tan.)



Cardigan from Urban Behaviour; Tank from H&M (too bad it's invisible); Pants from Ricki's, Shoes from Spring; Belt from mom's old closet; Necklace from F21

Do you ever run into a mid-week rut with your outfits or am I the only one? 

My "Come-home-and-go-shopping" Outfit

I came home from work and wanted to get out of the corporate-wear. I also wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been in weeks...the mall. I know, it's incredible. I haven't bought anything in so long, and I'm pretty proud of myself. But I decided to go today for exercise. Don't judge, the mall is a great way to walk around without getting bored. I was there a good 2 hours! .. Am I the only one that does this? Probably...



Shirt & Sandals from F21; Pants from AE (diy); Bracelet from Dynamite; Purse was thrifted

Of course I had to wear something comfortable. The sandals were a given because it was so warm out. The jeans were the perfect opposite from dress pants, and the shirt was breezy but comfortable.

For the record, my shopping trip was pretty successful! I bought a new wallet (which I really needed), necklace, and belt (30% off) - all for under $40.  And I'm going to try and last the rest of the month without buying anything else :)

Off to the Movies

My boyfriend and I went to the movies over the weekend. I dragged him to see bridesmaids. And I loved it. It was absolutely hilarious, and probably the funniest movie I've seen this year. I laughed the entire time.

And this is what I wore:



Chambray shirt from Strawberry; Jeans from AE; Shoes from Globo; Necklace from ALDO; Bag from Joe Fresh; Belt from Old Navy

I'm a little late trying the "denim-on-denim" look, but I'm a huge fan of it. This was a fun, comfortable outfit. Too bad coming out of the movie theatre it was pouring... and we had to walk... without an umbrella. I know, I won't melt.  I just hate being wet.

My May Wishlist

Wow, Blogger sucks. A lot. At least I didn't have to re-write this post! So for now, this is what's going up. You'll have an outfit soon, I promise :)

These are some of the things I've been drooling over lately. There's never really a theme, just random things that jump out at me and make me say "GIMME!".


  1. Dress from Urban Outfitters: I'm lusting over this dress right now because of it's light-weight material and unique button-up back. The colour is gorgeous - I don't have too many blues in my closet that aren't jeans.
  2. Pants from Urban Outfitters: I've been looking for the perfect pair of black paperbag trouser pants, and these fit the bill. 
  3. Necklace from ALDO: I love the simplicity of this necklace. 
  4. Flats from Spring: The texture of these are awesome - I love the basket-weave, perfect for summer!
  5. Red Shorts from Forever 21: These would add an awesome pop of colour to any outfit during the summer.  All of my bottoms are neutrals, so it'd be nice to have something a bit more fun.
  6. Wedges from ALDO: I just simply love these. 
  7. Earrings from ALDO: These too.
  8. Blue Blouse from Forever 21: I have been expanding the blouse section of my closet. They're perfect for this weather - easy to layer when it's cold, or perfect on their own when it's hot. 
  9. Nautical Bag from Smart Set: This bag would be such a fun addition to any casual outfit. 
  10. Sunglasses from ALDO: They're just cool. 

Let's see if any of these make it into my closet by the end of the month! Wouldn't that be nice... If money grew on trees, maybe?

EBEW: Florals!

I don't wear too many florals. To tell you the truth, I'm just not a huge fan of them. But when I saw this dress at Forever 21, the colours were perfect. To me, they complemented the floral pattern perfectly, and I had to have it.




Dress and belt from F21; Necklace gifted; Shoes from Aldo

Wanna know a fun fact? There are exactly 6 months until my birthday! I don't know where the time goes these days, I swear...Also, my wonderful boyfriend started a new job today. He's going to kick ass, I know it.

Umm, I really don't have much to say except I worked today? And I hate buses? Ooh, but I looooove the weather which made this outfit possible!

Florals | Everybody, Everywear

I'm eating gummy bears.

Really, I am. Yum.

Sorry for being MIA over the weekend. It's hard to get back into the swing of things when the weather's been crappy, and I've been working. Excuses, I guess. But I was sick all weekend, so that explains the lack of posts. This is what I wore on Saturday before coming down with the mysterious bug. Finally, I'm feeling better.



Shoes from Smart Set; Pants from F21; Jacket and tank from Dynamite; Scarf from ???; Necklace & purse were gifts

So I don't quite have a schedule yet for blogging. It's hard to come home from 8 hours of staring at a computer, to stare at a computer for another hour. Please bear with my while I figure this out.

These shoes are some of my favourites. I love the subtle leopard print. Unfortunately, I bought them on clearance for $5 two summers ago, and they're starting to fall apart. So sad :( Ahh well, I'm surprised they even lasted a season.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a much better weekend than I did. Oooooh but do you know what I did on the weekend? Turned my maxi dress into a maxi skirt. I'm turning into a sewing/DIY queeeeen!

Anyways, I'm done now :)

Casual Friday!

Those of you who have followed me for a bit might remember me talking about my summer co-op job.  Well, I started it this Monday!  I'm a marketing intern for an environmental company, and I'll be conducting some market research over the summer. The job is really awesome so far, and I'm looking forward to contributing in a pretty big way :)

Although the dress is more casual than business casual, and most of the employees wear jeans during the week, I feel better sticking to a business casual dress code and going casual on Fridays only.  Maybe it's 'cuz I'm a newbie? Who knows.

This is what I wore to work today:


Shirt and bracelet from Dynamite; Jeans from Gap; Belt from Joe Fresh; Shoes from Zellers

My shirt was $5 clearance at Dynamite. I often find some great clearance things from there, but my problem is that I buy them, and then never wear them.  This is my first time wearing this shirt and I'm in love. Usually I can't get button-up dress shirts to fit me properly in the waist and the bust together - it's one or the other.  This shirt fits both! Score! And the cute neck-tie-thing is also pretty awesome.

What is everyone doing for Mother's Day Weekend?! I'm heading back home to spend Saturday and Sunday with my mom. I'm a terrible child and haven't even thought of what to get her/do for her yet... I guess it'll be last minute again. Like always. Sorry Mom, I do love you!

Food Love: Shell Pasta with Cheesy-Tomato Sauce and Sausages

Hello everyone!

I haven't done a recipe post in a while, and this is one of my favourites! My mom used to make this all the time when I was younger. She got it from a Milk calendar back in the day... Anyway, I use her recipe, but I've adapted it a bit to fit mine and my boyfriend's tastes.  See, she likes it cheesy, and we like it tomato-ey :)

What you need: 
2 tbsp. of Butter (we use margarine)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk 
1 1/2 cups of cheese (shredded). Old is recommended but we use medium.
4-5 Italian sausages cooked, sliced
2 tbsp. tomato paste (we put more, we like the tomato flavour)
1 tbsp. chopped parsley (we never put this in, we don't have parsley...)
Cooked Pasta (not sure how much, we eyeball it... but the sauce will usually serve 4-5). We have always used shell pasta.

Sometimes we reduce the milk amount to 1 1/2 cups or increase the cheese amount to 2 cups, to make the sauce a little thicker.  There's lots of room to play :)


There are two ways to cook the recipe. We have always used the microwave directions because they are a little faster, and allow you to do other things without watching the food.  But I will give you the stove-top recipe as well. You'll probably need a decent sized sauce-pan...


Microwave Directions:
1. Combine butter and onion in microwave safe bowl.  Cover with vented plastic-wrap and cook on high for 2 - 3 minutes until onion is tender.
2. Blend in flour, and stir milk gradually.
3. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes, stirring every minute or so to ensure the entire mixture thickens.  Once the mixture boils or thickens, it's ready for the cheese!
4. Add cheese and stir until melted.  Stir in tomato paste and parsley.  Sometimes the sauce cools down, and you may have to microwave for another few minutes to warm it up. Just don't let it boil.
5. Add sliced, cooked sausages to the mixture.  Stir and serve over cooked pasta!

And VOILĂ€!


Stovetop directions
1. Melt butter in medium sauce-pan; sautĂ© onion until tender.
2. Blend in flour and gradually stir in milk.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove heat.
3. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir in cooked, sliced sausage, tomato paste and parsley.  Reheat if necessary, but be careful not to boil it.
4. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

Sorry, No White-Out....=(

Today I'm lazy AND angry. I'm angry that the weather forecast for the last two days has been rainy and cold. And by cold, I mean I wore my parka today. Okay, maybe I didn't really need to wear the parka, but it kept me warm but not too warm. Just right! Anyway, it's supposed to be like this for the next THREE DAYS. Three more days of gross, cold weather. Ugh.

Now, I'm lazy because I still haven't posted a white-out outfit for the bloggers do it better challenge (this was supposed to be my first time participating!). When the temperature is cold enough to wear your winter jacket, and it always looks like night time outside, you don't really feel like putting on your spring-iest clothing and prance around taking photos, freezing your butt off and getting wet. Well, at least I don't. Sorry.

Instead I have an older outfit post that I haven't posted yet.  For the record, I wore this over the weekend when it was 21 degrees (Celsius) and sunny (sort of). Since then, all we've seen is rain and temperatures below 10. What the heck, Canada?


I took these photos on campus. We were heading to the campus pharmacy and I stopped to take some pictures outside one of the buildings. Changing up the location makes this blog just a little more interesting.


Shirt and belt from Costa Blanca, Cargos from Joe Fresh; Sandals, purse and sunglasses from F21; Bracelet from Dynamite

I got these cargo pants for a Halloween costume last October, and have only worn them once since then. When I tried them on this spring, I didn't like the length, and the cuff on the ankle (it was too tight and I looked a little like a genie).  What you're witnessing here is after I cut off the ankle cuff and rolled up the bottoms. I like this MUCH better and think these pants have redeemed themselves. Awesome!

Red or Orange?

So I recently went shopping at Old Navy during their wicked 40% of all clearance items sale.  I ALWAYS love a good sale, and sometimes clearance items end up being my favourite.  I picked up this shirt for $15 (originally $30) in the clearance section, and I think I'm in love.  I just can't figure out if it's red or orange?


The shirt is so vibrant that the camera just can't pick up the exact colour. It's so bright, but so fun! I feel like I'm channelling my inner "spring" when I wear it! It just brightens up my day, literally.  And interestingly, I think it's the first orange-ish piece of clothing that I own!



Jacket from Dynamite; Shirt from Old Navy; Jeans from American Eagle; Shoes from Aldo; Belt from F21

I wore this outfit to the movies the other night.  My boyfriend and I went to see Source Code. What an awesome movie.  I absolutely loved it, but I love crazy random movies that make you question reality when you leave the theatre.

I went minimal with other colours in this outfit because I wanted it to be all about the shirt.  Maybe I'll do some colourblocking with it a bit later.  For the same reason, I wasn't wearing much jewellery (simple earrings, with a couple small bracelets).