Knowing that right now is all that matters

Reasons I haven't blogged in a week:
1. I usually don't blog all that often anyway...
2. I have strep throat
3. We found an appartment! If everything works out I will be moving out July 1.
4. I have two jobs now so... yeah.

I actually wore this outfit I think last week but I haven't taken any outfit pics since then. I loooove this outfit, mainly because everything was so cheap! Hehe


T-Shirt: (customized?)American Apparel via Goodwill, $1.99
Skirt: Club Monaco, $16 (sale + student discount)
Shoes: Payless, $11
Earrings: Vintage from my aunt's friend, Freeeeee


The shirt's tag says American Apparel but I've never seen shirts like this in the store so I'm guessing someone applied this stereo design themselves?

I still have no appetite (eating hurts like a mofo), but I decided I could handle some cheerios so my dad went to get me some :) He just go back so I'm off to nom some cheerios and watch more Real Housewives!

Love Always,
Amy

You got a lotta lotta nerve...

I'm finally done school for the summer. 4 solid months of reading for pleasure instead of research, sleeping whenever I feel like it, and watching Jersey Shore and Real Housewives without feeling guilty because I should be studying.

Here's what I wore to my last exam friday afternoon.

Dress: thrifted, $7
Belt: thrifted, $2
Fringe boots: Spring

This dress is an absolutely amazing find. It appears to be handmade and the detail work and fabric quality is just astounding and pictures can't do it justice. Obviously it is veeery short though so I had to wear black opaque tights. So short in fact that both my T.A. and Nathan's vocal coach complimented me on my "shirt". Oh well.



I'm not gonna lie, it took guts to wear this super-short, supper voluminous dress on a regular day. However, it is remarkably comfortable and the huge sleeves make it really... breezy? hah. And anyway, most of the time I really, reeeaaally don't care what other people think so that wasn't the issue. The only thing I was worried about was fitting the sleeves into a coat, but luckily it was warm enough that day that I didn't need one :)



These pictures may or may not have been taken after a few glasses of champagne...

Love Always,
Amy

Hang high, soft rock star

I went thrifting yesterday and got some amazing things that I will hopefully be showing here soonish. Here's what I wore to go thrifting and to work...


Shirt: American Apparel (v.old)
Skirt: Jacob
Fringe boots: Spring
Bag: GAP

I will miss my back yard when I move out in a few months. It doesn't look like much now, but my parents spend 80% of their time in the summer gardening and whatnot and the rock garden you seen behind me turns into a flowery utopia. There's also a deck and gazebo thingy.

I really don't like taking pictures in the living room but I was in a rush and felt like the neighboors were staring at me outside...


I really felt like wearing a dress yesterday, but it's important to wear separates for thrifting. Some dressing rooms dont have mirrors inside and you have to step outside and if you're trying on a shirt you need something on your butt!

Love Always,
Amy

Life is only as good as the memories we make

Apologies for the lack of posts, but it's school crunch time and I had nothing to share with ya'll except my english and history papers. I've got one more paper to write (History of Immigration) and then exams and then FREEDOM.

This weekend the weather was amazing in my city. Nathan and I went for a picnic on at the beach on friday, and besides all the shirtless fat men it was really lovely. I wore my new favourite dress:

Dress: French Connection via Winners. $20-freaking-bucks (!!!)
White shrug: Old Navy several thousand years ago
Flip Flops: Old Navy

If you haven't noticed I'm not big on footwear. I can deal with a lot of confining clothing and whatnot but my shoes HAVE to be comfy. Esp. in the summer.


Chillin' with a willow tree


Aldo sunglasses & huge-ass awesome tree stump. Oh man I LOVE this dress. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but there is this see-through weave pattern around the waist and on the straps. Plus it's so beautifully structured and fits perfectly. I can now die happy as long as I die in this dress.

I realize that from these pictures it doesn't look like we were at a beach lol. I guess i forgot to take pics of the water but whatever, it's Canada & not at all impressive. Plus we were mostly in the woodsy/swampy back area away from all the screaming children and various flying sports equiptment.

Love Always,
Amy

title song: So Long, Astoria by The Ataris

It's good to be in love

I haven't really posted any pics of my boyfriend yet and he looked amazing the other day so we took some pictures!


He thrifted the jacket! What a genius.




Nathan's jeans: Bluenotes
Tie: Jack & Jones
Jacket: Goodwill
Sunglasses: Rudy Project
Shirt & Belt: I dunno :s

And here's my "photographer extraordinaire" outfit:

Red jacket: H&M
Bubble skirt: Garage, very old
White leggings: American Apparel
Boot: Winners
New glasses, which I am getting used to: Ray Ban

I am drowning in schoolwork, as usual. See you all soon, hopefully, if I survive!

Love Always,
Amy

Sunbeam, stop tugging me

So the crappiest of crappy things happened this week. My damn glasses broke. Of course I didn't have a spare. Of course the broke at 8:15 when Lenscrafters closes at 9 and therefore cant make them 'til the next day. Of course I have 10873298 more important things to worry about than broken freakin' glasses. The frame broke, so there's no way my old ones could be fixed. Farewell my gorgeous D&Gs... you have seen many an adventure.

I have really terrible vision so I need to wear my glasses all the time or else I get headaches. Here's the outfit I wore to pick up my new glasses. You can't see, but I had taped the arm of my old glasses on...

Sweater: Jacob
Pencil skirt: Nine West, thrifted
Tights: Accessorize
Shoes: Mom's closet.
Ring & earrings: the stone is Malachite and they're from local jewellery stores

Here are my new glasses... They're Ray Bans and I think they're called the New Wayfarer or something. For some reason they're huge on me (which I love, btw) and make me feel kiiiiinda dorky but I like it.


The cool thing about these is they work with multiple facial expressions/emotions...The above was "staring lovingly at a cookie"


"What do you mean I had to buy new glasses? This sucks :("


"THE ALIENS ARE COMING!"

Hopefully I'll get used to them.

Love Always,
Amy

No one can tell us we're wrong

I wore lingerie to classes on Friday. Hey, not the first time that's happened...


Skirt: silk lingerie from Old Navy
Sweater: Jacob
Tights: Accessorize

Friday, March 5, 2010 shall henceforth be known as "Amy makes dorky faces in outfit pictures" Day.


Everyone needs to do something badass this week. I suggest you listen to some Pat Benatar to get inspired like I did.
Scream out your window into the chilly night air.
Eat only exactly what you want for a day (we should all do this anyway, but I'm talking about not even worrying if you're eating a single fruit or veggie).
Wink at yourself in the public washroom mirror an make sure everyone sees how much you love yourself.
Wear outrageous lipstick and then smudge it off kissing someone.
Step on every single crack in the sidewalk.

Love Always,
Amy

They hear we got swagger

You know those days you feel a little bit like a complete wreck but then your outfit makes you feel great and you totally and completely forget that you're fooling everyone into thinking you're chic because you're actually a mess who writes non-sensical blog posts around midnight on a friday night? Yeah. I know those days well.


New favourite shirt: thrifted, $5
Wet spots on bottom of shirt: courtesy of dripping hair.

I got this shirt just last weekend and have already worn it 3 or 4 times. In my defense, some of those wears were only for a few hours.

In other news, I also bought this the other day and I lovelovelove it:


Image via M.A.C.

Learn more about the M.A.C. Viva Glam campaign/collection here.. Cyndi and Gaga are doing an awesome job promoting Viva Glam, especially by speaking out about safe sex and HIV/Aids awareness and prevention.

"Women need to protect themselves. I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause [all profits go to the MAC AIDS Fund]. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick. Let's be strong women together. You put that condom in your purse and save your own fucking life. " -Gaga, to Marie Claire Magazine

Love Always,
Amy

April, come she will...

I worked out today and drank a bunch of orange juice, which made me feel summery. I didn't have to bus to work today, so i wore a summery outfit :) Strangers told me i looked cute. Mission Accomplished.



Dress: Costa Blanca
Cardigan: Jacob
Shoes: Found in mom's closet
Freshwater Pearls: Gift to myself. For no reason, obviously...
Hairflower: H&M



Ever worn an outfit that made you feel giddy with happiness?



Everyone should try to wear a summery outfit whenever the weather permits for the next few months. I guarentee it'll brighten your day until the flowers and sunshine can :)

Love Always,
Amy

I wear my sunglasses in January

But only because I somehow scratched my right eye and have been extremely sensitive to light for the past few days...


I'm convinced I will never, ever find a pair of sunglasses I love more than these. I got them at Aldo in 2007!

I've acquired stupid amounts of new clothing this month due to boxing day sales and now the january "sidewalk sales". Just this week, I got two blazers, one for $4 and one for $14, a bow miniskirt from walmart for $5, yet another cardigan, some tanks and tees, more jewellery, and this wicked soft studded sweater:


I wanted it when it was $80. I almost bought it on sale for $50 but then i ran out of time on my lunchbreak that day. Then I got it on sale the other day for 30% off of $29. Life works out sometimes, I guess.

I'm not usually into studs but I love them on this sweater for some reason!

Studded sweater: American Eagle
Dress: American Apparel
Tights: Garage

I'm off to knit and watch Mad Men! I'm only on episode 6, so I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Love Always,
Amy

Falling behind

Sooo these outfits are actually from last thursday and friday and I just haven't gotten around to posting until now. My bad. I've been busy looking for yet another job (the first one I got after my old one closed down wasn't giving me hours) and hanging out with my cousins. It's been unnaturally warm for the past few days here, so I've been taking advantage of it by wearing loose, thin fabrics and SKIRTS!


Belted tunic: Winners, $11
Denim Leggings: Garage, $20



Aaaand here's what I wore to school on friday:

Cardigan: Suzy Shier
Tank top: Jacob, $9
Skirt: Jacob, $30
Walmart tights
Shoes: Aldo, Gift from Bf
Pearls: Great-grandmother's



The best thing about this skirt are the huge pockets!


Just a little FYI: I post the prices of my clothes when I remember them. I do this to demonstrate that it is possible to have a wardrobe you love that you can also afford. For the past few years, I have not bought a single item of clothing over $40 (footwear included for the most part!), so even if i don't post a price because i've forgotten it, rest assured that I didn't pay more than 40 bones for it. 'Cause that's just how I roll.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions about the vintage jewellery! Though I don't really have time to open an etsy shop right now, I may in the future :) I also liked Kasmira's idea about a contest, so I'll get thinking about that, too.

Love Always,
Amy

Ps: Follow me on Twitter!

Calling out Winter

Tomorrow morning is my last exam. Thankfully. I'm seriously about to die of stress. My friend made me a cookie in the shape of the male reproductive anatomy today, though, so that was pretty excellent.


Sweater: Goodwill, $5
Jeans: Joe Fresh via Goodwill, $3
Two pairs of Icebreaker merino wool socks: Free courtesy of BF's job

Not only was my outfit today ridiculously cheap, it was also super warm. I looked at the temperature this morning (-23 celcius: COLD) and nearly had a panic attack. Can you believe I went through the last two winters with only a fall jacket from Suzy Shier? This year i got a heavy wool coat (Thifted Jordache for $14. I kid you not) and scored some super warm socks from the BFs work so it's been easier to cope with the temperatures.


Details of the sweater embellishment. I've been wanting a beaded or sequined sweater forever and finally found this one a few weeks ago. I took out the shoulder pads and shrunk it in the dryer.

Lately I Am...
Eating: I've had six pieces of raisin bread toast with cream cheese today. It's exam period, what can I say?
Drinking: Coffee, coffee, tea, and more coffee
Listening to: Lots of Anna Nalick, Gaga, and random pop songs like Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" and Justin Bieber's "Love Me"
Researching: The origins, development, and role of feudalism in medieval society
Reading (book variety): "The Less Noble Sex" by Nancy Tuana for my exam tomorrow. If you're interested in the origins of female oppression (I'm talking biblical and Aristotalian arguments), get this book!
Reading (blog variety): I recently discovered Small Town Chic

Wish me luck on this exam! I'm actually probably going to need it...

Love Always,
Amy

Title song: "Winter" by Joshua Radin

Cowboy take me away

My mom grew up on a farm. This is the only explanation I can think of for her love of cowboy boots. She's got four or five pairs and cherishes them like you wouldn't believe. The only reason i got to wear these was because I stole them for the afternoon while she wasn't home...


Brown shirt: Gap
Cardigan: Suzy Shier
Skirt: Club Monaco
Tights: Accessorize
High-heeled cowboy boots: Vintage from Mom's closet
Earings: Vintage from great-grandmother



I wore this outfit to campus to see my boy perform with his choir in a Holiday concert a few days back. Obviously these photos were not taken today because IT EFFING SNOWED. Ugh. Everyone is all "omg finally snow! :D :D" while I'm preparing to enter full-on bitchy winter mode until it melts and building my metaphoric nest of despair, complete with unflatering sweaters and too much candy.

I had my last class today of the first semester of second year university. Exams should be easy compared to enduring the antics of my Methodology prof twice a week...

Love Always,
Amy

You've only begun to shine

Flowery Shirt: Smart Set
Cardigan: Suzy Shier
Skirt: Nine West, thrifted
Shoes: Spring



I wore this outfit to school and work, but I added tights and boots to go outside. I could go on for days about how much i love this skirt. It fits perfectly, is excellent quality, super comfy, and was like six bucks. Win.

I've been stressed out lately, though for such silly reasons. However, I have no interest in being stressed right now. I refuse to let silly things bring me down. The following things have been keeping me out of danger zones of nail-biting and skipping class to sleep:

- Listening to lots of Anna Nalick
- Playing guitar
- Not thinking about school when I don't have to
- Eating lots of my boyfriend's delicious cinnamon buns and Hershey Bliss chocolates
- Dressing fabulously where and whenever possible

What do you do to combat stress and silliness?

Love Always,
Amy

I just wanna free-fall for a while

Went thift/consignment store shopping this weekend, both with a friend and the boyfriend. Found some awesome stuff, including this colourful (extravagent?) sweater:


Sweater: $8 from consignment store
Pants: thrifted, $2 (srsly.)

I never said i was a good photographer. I make no excuses for my ridiculous poses and unfortunate facial expressions. Here is what was going on in my head while taking outfit pictures this morning:

1. Shitshitshitshit bus comes in fifteen minutes shitshit
2. Ewww wet hair dripping down my back
3. Have to use flash 'cause it's still dark outside... Look down to avoid awkward blinky faces
4. Must show sick sleeves. Spread arms!
5. Too much to remember... I'll just pretend I'm flying and looking down on all the little people! OKAY LET'S GO!

And a few minutes later, when I was rushing out the door with two slices of toast jammed in my mouth, i realized the sleeves literally do not even fit in my coat sleeves. They have to be bunched up into the shoulder space of the coat. So i looked like a chilly football player outdoors today. No big deal.

Honestly, though, I really do love this sweater. Though it's a number of sizes too big, I like the way the gigantic scoop shows off my neck. That and the big sleeves are glamourous if you ask me.

Love Always,
Amy

The truth never set me free, so I'll do it myself

Taken in the crazy hallway of mirrors in Nathan's house on Sunday. I should really be finishing up my term paper right now, but i figure I'll just wake up early tomorrow morning. I'm still a better student than my classmate i did an oral presentation with yesterday. She didn't know what the word "cyclical" meant and asked me not to use it in the presentation because she thought it would confuse people. Seriously?! Anyway...


Cardigan: Jacob, $40
Tanktop: Old Navy, $5
Belt: Thrifted, $2
Jeans: Joe Fresh via Goodwill, $3
Clip-on earrings worn as brooch: Vintage from great-grandmother

I really liked this outfit for two reasons. Number one, this is the first time i have ever worn a shirt tucked into jeans. I've never really felt like i had the tummy for it but i think it worked out well. Number two, I love cardigans (Had you guys figured that out yet?) and i usually wear them buttoned so they don't slip off my shoulders all the time. However on this day i wanted the cardi to be open to show off my super-awesome tucked-in shirt. So I clipped these old clip-on earrings to the neck of the cardigan and they really helped anchor it so it wasn't slipping off so much. I'm a genius.


Detail shot

When my life is crazy-busy (like, uh, RIGHT NOW), i like to listen to a lot of really epic music to keep me going. I love being on the bus wearing my pretty purple dress and feeling smug because no one knows i'm listening to gangster rap or a crazy guitar riff on my bright pink ipod. Feeling uninspired? Here's a list of some of the songs I've been listening to lately.

1. Careful- Paramore
2. Ashes- Embrace
3. House of Wolves- My Chemical Romance
4. Run- Snow Patrol
5. Bad Romance- Lady Gaga (obvs!)
6. Numb/Encore- Linkin Park and Jay-Z (please note this song is definately NSFW and not for everyone. The uncensored version has some very, very objectionable phrases but i absolutely adore mix of rap and rock)
7. Tranquilize- The Killers
8. The Wizard and I- Original Cast Recording of Wicked
9. Innocent- Our Lady Peace
10. Jai Ho- A. R. Rahman (a.k.a. Not the PCD version)

I didn't include any of my rap favs on here because I feel guity as a feminist endorsing such mysogynistic/violent/homophobic music. We all have our guilty pleasures though, right?

See you all when this @#$%^*& term paper is done!

Love Always,
Amy

The back of yo' head is ridiculous

A little while ago, Kyla at Blue Collar Catwalk made a tutorial video about how to do a top knot hairstyle. I commented about how sad I was 'cause it looks so good on Kyla but I have a mane and it would look ridiculous on me. Kyla replied with something along the lines of "GRRRRL yo hairz would look FIERCE in a topknot". So I tried it and this is what I came up with!



Please note that this photograph was taken after being out in the rain all afternoon. Just sayin', it looked better before i left the house and stepped into the humidity. I wasn't sure about how the style looked on me, but my boyfriend liked it and I guess he would have said soemthing if he thought I looked ridiculous because he's the one that has to be seen in public holding my hand...

Oh yeah,
Sweater: Smart Set
Skirt: Thrifted, $4
Tights: Garage, $10

Everyone should try doing a top knot! I found it really comfortable, especially for sleeping, 'cause you're not lying on your hair. Also, if my hair is down on a rainy day it turns into a huge frizzy mess (even more so than usual), so this was a good solution.

P.S. The title of this post is derived from this hilarious YouTube video that I'm sure half of you have seen at some point. Whenever i ask people for their numbers in real life, i say it like this guy does haha.

Love Always,
Amy

I'll Do Anything For You

School is still crazy but I need to take a break sometime, right? Also I think i'm coming down with H1N1 and am too paranoid to concentrate on my term paper right now anyway.


Tank top: Old navy, $5
Cardigan: Jacob, Gift from BF
Skirt: Jacob, Gift from BF
Shoes: Vintage from Mom's closet

This skirt is the shortest and tightest skirt i own. Let's just say there's a reason Nathan bought it for me when i wasn't going to... I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my fabulous boy for taking a lot of my outfit pictures on this blog. He is very patient :)

Did anyone see the Meteor shower? Nathan called me late last night asking me if i wanted to drive out of the city lights to see the meteors at one in the morning. How could i resist the chance to do the kind of thing Taylor Swift would write a song about?


We snuggled in the trunk of Nathan's parents Subaru on a random stretch of road south of the city until i got too paranoid about axe murderers and made him drive back into civilization...


Nathan brought me his father's parka from when they lived in Winnipeg. It wasn't cold, i'm just chickenshit.


Look at the stars.. Look how they shine foooor yoooou... and everything you do...

We stayed out for about an hour. I saw one meteor but it may have been a figment of my imagination. Oh well, only 30 years till the next shower, right?

IMPORTANT READER POLL: Should i get a twitter account? Do enough of ya'll care about what i would "tweet"? Please comment and let me know: i can't decide!

Love Always,
Amy

Let all fall away that's not crucial now

Mixture of awesome and annoying things going on in my life right now.

The awesome: I won Winona's book, Closet Confidential, from Ambika over at (Into) The Fray. I NEVER win things. The last thing i won was probably my sixth-grade leadership award. I'm so excited to get it in the mail, Daddy Likey is by far one of my favourite blogs and Winona is hilarious. Thank you so much for holding that awesome contest, Ambika!

I also got a new phone, the Samsung Link. It's basically a Blackberry knockoff since i would never use any of the functions on a blackberry and as such, refuse to pay $400 for one. So far, so good. Samsung phones have always served me well. Until i drop them into toilets like i did in highschool, but that's another story.

The annoying: So. Much. School. Work. Must. Get. Scholarship. Or. Father. Will. Cry.

Anyway.


Sweater: Jacob, $20
Skirt: Gap, $6
Pumps: Madden Girl, Mom's
Jewelery: All great-grandmother's

I love the square neck of this sweater. You don't find square necklines around a lot, so i HAD to buy this sweater... after considering the $20 price tag for a number of weeks, 'cause that's how us cheap ladies roll.


I dunno about you guys, but i kind of love my "omg the sunlight is eating me" pictures. They're etheral, in an "i really don't know how to take pictures so i just stand directly in front of the sun and see what happens" kind of way.

In this picture you can kind of see my new nailpolish which i love love LOVE. It's called "Black Cherry Chutney" by OPI, and it's a really dark purple. I sure know how to pick 'em when it comes to those silly OPI names...

Love Always,
Amy

Love is free

Just spent over an hour trying to get a new header up. Do you guys like it? It's just a picture i took of a bunch of my stuff... Hair bow, necklaces, and the lids from little vintage vanity jars i have. I like this new layout except for the way it cuts the pictures in the post below in half, but maybe i'll get around to fixing that. Anyway, on to today's outfit...


Cardigan: Mexx, FREE (found in classroom)
Dress: Garage, $30
Tights: Garage
Boots: Winners, $40

I found this amazing cardigan in one of my classrooms last week and it was pretty much the happiest moment of my life. My size, good quality, and seemingly brand new! It was there for two days so it became MINE.

Love Always,
Amy