Well, Now I'm In Trouble

So a Saks Off 5th opened near my house. Which is basically a recipe for me to go out and spend too much damn money. But it also resulted in my acquisition of this Rag and Bone shirt (one of a few other things that I purchased at pretty decent sale prices), which is so quintessentially “me.” So I suppose it all evens out, right (seriously, somebody help me out here)?

pants: H & M / shirt: Rag & Bone / boots: Steve Madden

All the Frills: Curio Bowl

I picked up this awesome deer bowl in Scotland and, upon lugging it home, proceeded to fill it up with all manner of little sparkly things and other baubles and curios that I’ve amassed over the years and really have no where else to put. Replica coins from the reign of Henry VIII, little tiny portraits of Elizabeth I, an Anne Boleyn pill box, random bits of rhinestone jewellery, etc. Basically just the debris of my life. I sort of love it.

Weekend Reading:

• Want to test your knowledge on a small fraction of Greek mythology?
  
• The story of this gorilla raised by an English village is a little bonkers.
  
• The New York Times looks back on its marriage announcements – this is a great read.
  
• Hidden places are my favourite kind of places.
  
• This piece about being the boss, rather than the #girlboss, is wonderful, found over at Orchid Grey.

And Now, New Years

Following up with my theme of being totally behind on things, let's take belatedly about New Years.

I had an unusually eventual New Years this year. Usually I keep things pretty low key and oftentimes either don’t go out at all in favour of a great bottle of wine at home or I just venture over to a friend’s place. But this year the helpmeet and I got dolled up and treated ourselves to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Then we came home, changed into more casual wear, and headed out to meet friends for a celebration involving some great musical acts and a bit of champagne. I may have done more living on New Years than I did in the rest of 2016….

dress: French Connection / shoes: Aldo / necklace: Target

leggings: ASOS / shirt: Simons / cardigan: Zara / necklace: Simons

Christmas Day...Damn, I'm Behind

I’m a bit behind on things (I blame my annual post-holiday laziness) but I finally got around to posting the photos of my Christmas day outfit…better late than never right?

Needless to say I was, as per usual, overdressed at some of the family gatherings my helpmeet and I attended (we have a few sets of people to visit most Christmases) but I also really don’t care.

Do you tend to dress up for family Christmas events?

leggings: ASOS / booties: Camper / dress: French Connection / coat: New Look / necklace: Jenners / purse: Michael Kors

All the Frills: Getting Organized

I spent some time last week fussing about in my bathroom, trying to organize my makeup and assorted tools a bit better. I wound up creating a separate space in a drawer for creams, etc, as well commandeering a little shelf in an otherwise largely empty medicine cabinet for all my nail polishes. Overall I feel a lot better organized now!

Weekend Reading:

• This article on the complex history of the evolution of the Italian language is really, really interesting.
  
• A rather interesting article about one of my favourite Simpsons episodes….god I loved that show in it’s heyday (ie the earlier seasons).
  
• These book binding illustrations are gorgeous.
  
• I love a good tale of exploration.
  
• Holy crap – someone found a piece of clothing that Elizabeth I may actually have worn!

Black, Glorious Black

Another day, another all black outfit! Hey, I’m nothing if not gloriously predictable!

shirt: French Connection / pants: H&M / boots: Steve Madden / cardigan: Pins + Needles / necklace: F21

Winter Layers

I am all about leggings (layered when the weather is cold), boots, and tunic style tops in the winter – it’s easy, looks stylish, and allows ample opportunities for layering, which is pretty essentially when the temperature really drops. What are your winter go-to pieces?

leggings: ASOS / top: Max Studio / boots: Aldo / necklace: Simons

All the Frills: A Glittery Festivus

My Christmas wish list this year was pretty jewellery heavy and I was most definitely pleasantly surprised with the pieces that I received. Did you receive any real stand out gifts this Festivus?

Weekend Reading:

• This article on open economies really appealed to the early modernist in me.
  
• Although I dispute the assertions of the historian referenced (a bit too rose tinted if you ask me and if you look at what happened with anti-enclosure riots, etc in the sixteenth century).
  
• I have been fascinated by the Countess of Castiglione for many, many years now – if you’ve never heard of her, you should 100% read this piece. And then Google image search her. Like now.
  
• I really, really want to read this book about images of magic and the occult.
  
• I had such a good laugh reading this.
  
• Milo Yiannopoulos is disgusting. And so is Simon and Schuster.

The Glory of Statement Necklaces

I am a sucker for a good statement necklace – especially when set against an otherwise minimalistic outfit.

pants: RW and Co / shirt: Joe Fresh / cardigan: Pins + Needles / shoes: Spring / necklace: Jenners

Festivus Style

My office doesn’t really have a holiday party (there’s only about 7 of us) but we do usually try to go out for a lunch or dinner as Christmas nears. Anyways, this is what I wore this year to our annual outing.

I recently decided that I needed more velvet things in my closet and went on a mission to track done a few good pieces. The result of that search was this amazing blazer – which might just be the most festive thing I own.

pants: ASOS / blazer: Simons / boots: Franco Sarto / necklace: Stella and Dot

Editing, Ever Editing

I’ve been spending a lot of time over the past couple of weeks reviewing all the copy edits made to my book by the U of T, and adding a few of my own. It’s been tedious, to say the least, but with only one chapter left to review, I am both almost at the end of the process and well ahead of the deadline given to me by the press. So, yeah, hooray for me!

pants: ASOS / blazer: Zara / shoes: Primark / shirt: Target / necklace: Aldo

All the Frills: Break Out the Booties

I did a feature on my various ankle booties a while ago (you can read it here) but now that we’re in mid-winter and everything is an icy, slippy mess (I still love you winter!), I’ve pulled out the big guns – my ankle boots with the insanely good grips that keep me vertical in the winter. I also two pairs of knee high Docs that have equally good grips on them…for a future feature!

Weekend Reading 

• Have you ever wondered about the origin of those disclaimers in movies and tv shows about things being works of fiction, even when you know damn well they're based on a true story? Well, the origins of it are actually pretty fascinating.
  
  
• I’ve always had a bit of a minor obsession with Krampus and these photos just totally blew me away. I think I need to plan a trip to view one of these celebrations in person.
  
• This article about subtle class cues on your resume and how they matter is really, really fascinating.
  
• Want to read some delightfully bad restaurant reviews?
  
• This piece on objects and beehives is just mind blowing.

2017: The Year of Green

I absolutely adore this shade of green – just wearing this dress makes me happy. That and reminds me that I need to get more green things in 2017. And, just like that, I have a new years resolution.

Back to the dress. Usually I wear a belt or a fitted blazer with this one, just to define the shape a bit, but I also occasionally enjoy just wearing it as is, in all its boxy cut glory. And that's what I did here.

dress: Zara / boots: Franco Sarto / necklace: Jenners / cuff: Jenners