Lace

I'm about a week late with the lace trend but it took me a looong time to figure out what to do with this lace top. It's not super flattering over the hips, so it needs to be tucked in and I wanted to keep any outfit with the top in it neutral to make it a bit more classy. 


Cue this skirt. I bought it years ago (when I first started working full time) and it's made it's way in and out of the "swap/consignment/giveaway" plenty o' times. 


But with longer hemlines this summer, I'm super glad I kept it. I really do love it. My favourite thing about it - apart from the colour and the cut - is the mesh fringe underlayer that sticks out at the bottom. So classy yet so edgy!

Lace Top and Tank: Dynamite | Skirt: Tristan & Iseut

Braided Leather Belt: Old Navy | Blush Kitten Heels: Jules and James | 'Gold' Braided Bracelet: Spring

Bag: Next (UK)

Today is my Friday! Hooray for the long weekend!

xo J.

Back in Black

Hiya friends,


I'm back from my little hiatus. No reason in particular for being away so long...the weather's been amazing and I've been enjoying summer in our little city. I'm so very sorry for being away so long...I've missed you blog-world! 


Here's what I wore a few weeks ago...D was taking photos and wasn't inspiring me (how dare he) so I decided to be less serious. 

Note to self: belt this outfit next time.


Dress: Apricot (UK)
Cardigan: Old Navy
Leggings: Jacob
Petal-coloured kitten heels: Jules and James (Zellers)
Earrings: Expression (The Bay)

I was clearly never a trained dancer...terrible form!


I've become a huge fan of these cheapie shoes - I've been wearing them all over the place! The perfect height and I just can't get over the colour...and they were $20! Zing!


So you might have noticed a little blog update. I've used what very basic Blogger skills I have to re-decorate around here a little bit. A little more simplistic and summery, I think. Oh! And I now have a blog email, so please give me a shout! I'd love to hear some feedback, questions or suggestions (karma-friendly only please).


I'm back kids!


xo J.

Gym Fail

So for the thousandth time, I meant to go to the gym today...and for the 999th time, I didn't make it there. Ugh, I have such good intentions, but by the end of the day, it just doesn't happen.


But in other JMay life news, I did have a very good pub dinner with my bestie J (not related to the gym fail............ok maybe it is). We sat and talked constantly about all the awesome things we're going to do in the UK in a month (less than a month!).


I think I'm in love with these cigarette pants...I wear them pretty often to work, pretending that a 5-pocket pant is acceptable in the office just because it's black. 

Blouse: Joe Fresh Style
Grazer Cigarette Pants: BDG
Animal Print Scarf: Gap
Flats: Spring
Bangles: Various

xo J.

Daylight Savings

I can't explain how excited I am that when I leave the office at night, it's still light out...I can't even see a window from where my cubicle if on my floor so the only sun I get in the day is the 20 minutes it takes me to get to work in the morning, and whatever light is left at the end of the day.


I'm experimenting with my camera. I took a (very) beginner photography class last night at Tripp Photography and learned a lot about the basics of my Nikon. But we really were only able to skim the surface...I'm thinking of looking into more advanced courses once my spending ban is over.


In outfit-related news, I snagged myself this skinny hot pink Gap belt for $6! A couple of girls were coveting this belt on their blogs and I loved it so I was pretty pleased to get it so cheap! You might say I was tickled pink! Ha!


Also, my hair is a disaster in these photos. Please ignore it.

Cap-Sleeved T-Shirt: Jacob
Grey Pencil Skirt: Jacob
Pink Skinny Belt: Gap
Faux-Croc Flats: Roberto Vianni

This is Poika's favourite corner to hide in. He wasn't happy I intruded to take photos.

I'm very excited for tomorrow's post! It's a bit of a surprise, so please come back and check it out!

And in the meantime, here's an evil photo of Poika to hold you over:

He's plotting his revenge against me. I can tell.

xo J.

Breathe

Today's outfit was inspired by a photo a co-worker sent me of an outfit she loved from Anthropologie. Here's Anthro's version:

And here's my version:

Apologies for the super wrinkled skirt - this was after an unbelievably long day.

Striped Top: Target

Khaki Skirt: Zara

Belt: Urban Behaviour

Flats: Spring

Bracelets: Expression (The Bay)

Apparently the themes of the week are frustration, stress and stupidness. And today was no exception. Thanks to a certain someone at work, the washing machine on my floor that ate both my loonies, the drunk guy on the bus who chose to pick a fight with the driver, and my panty hose.

But instead of focusing on the bad today, to keep my sanity, I've made a list of all the things that made me happy today:

1. My new skirt.
2. My new shoes (although these started hurting my feet by the end of the day).
3. Wearing a spring coat for the first time this year.
4. (Most of) the fabulous people I work with. 
5. Homemade soup.
6. Homemade lavender cookies.
7. Coming home to watch episodes of my favourite 1990s British sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances. 
8. This video, courtesy of one of my besties Ray-Ray, which explains how I felt at approximately 2:00 this afternoon:

Inhaaaaale......Exhaaaaaaaaaaale.


xo J.

Bleh

This has been a tough week, ladies. A hectic, busy and frustrating week. But have no fear...I have lots of excellent things planned for the weekend to make up for it :)


Here's what I wore to work Monday:

Striped Turtleneck: Pure by Alfred Sung for Zellers
Skirt: George
Belt: Free with a Smart Set skirt
Shoes: Aldo
Faux Pearl Studs: F21


Keep trying to remind myself to breathe...only 3 days left in the week...and 2 weeks left in this month! Inhale..........exhale.


xo J.

Breaking the Rules

This is actually what I wore last Thursday. Yes. Jeans on a Thursday. I went there.


I woke up feeling like I just couldn't put on tights. So I went with jeans and boots and dressed up from the waist up.

Boyfriend Blazer: Pure by Alfred Sung for Zellers
Blouse: Jacob
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Suzy Shier
Charm Bracelet: Tiffany
Wallet: Coach


This photo (and others like it) are all thanks to my girl N who sneaks away from the office with me many afternoons to take outfit photos. Unfortunately we work in a building where people seem to think that 2 girls taking photos in the basement is weird and we get stares pretty much every day. It's still very awkward, but I'm finding a lot of entertainment in showing them we don't give a sh*t!


I've been working tonight on following some more lovely blogs! Check out my "Inspirations" links on the right! The fashion blogging community is just amazing!


xo J.

Coco

I actually wore this outfit on Monday. I splurged on picked up the new Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick over the weekend, and I just love it! The mix between lipstick and gloss gives the perfect amount of shine and colour!  So, in the spirit of Chanel class, my outfit was inspired by the one and only Coco herself - trouser pants, Breton stripes and costume jewellery.

Striped Shirt: H&M
Trousers: Gap
Belt: Jacob
Shoes: Aldo
Necklace: Found at the Great Glebe Garage Sale (for $0.50!)
Charm Bracelet: Tiffany

"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

-Coco Chanel via

xo J.

The Dress

Dresses are one of my favourite things to buy/wear. To me (with a low budget for clothes), they're an inexpensive way of making an excellent outfit. Instead of requiring a bazillion pieces to make up an outfit, all you need is a dress, and some accessories. This also makes getting ready in the mornings much easier!

This is actually what I wore on Thursday...it was my first time wearing this dress, but I can see myself wearing it a LOT this spring. It's light and easy to wear, I love the shape, I love the pattern, and I got a lot of compliments on it :) It has now become The Dress in my closet.

Unfortunately, this close-eyed pic is not the best...

The Dress: H&M

Belt: From a Smart Set skirt

Red-Orange Bead necklace: The Bay

Shoes: Nine West

I need to take a moment to comment on my shoes here. These shoes are the classic Nine West Nuncio pump that have been around forever. I bought these for myself 4 years ago when I graduated from my undergrad and started working. I pretty much started in my job the day after graduation, and I was finally making a grown-up salary at a grown-up job and rewarded myself with some grown-up shoes. I've worn these shoes A LOT over the past four years...but after wearing them again on Thursday, I came to the sad realization that they have finally seen their last day (note the little bit of white material sticking out of the top of my left shoe - that's shoe innards...). So, here's to my first pair of office pumps...you've served me well!

Any ideas on what I can replace them with?!? :-p

xo J.

Cheating

Friends, I have to fess up - these are not the shoes I wore today with my outfit. That's right, I'm a shoe faker today. The shoes in today's photo are the same ones I wore yesterday. And while I love love love them (yes, 3 love's worth!) they are a half size too small and I just couldn't bare (bear?) another day of sore feetsies. So I wore pointed flats at work (which I thought looked very Audrey Hepburn with my cropped cigarette pants!) and switched to the heels for my photos.

Sweater: H&M
Belt: La Maison Simon
Black Cropped Jeans: BDG (Urban Outfitters)
Shoes: Aldo
Ring: Urban Behaviour (??)
Silver Bangle: American Eagle


This sweater is one of my purchases from last week's trip to Montreal. I got lots of compliments on it which was nice...and I'm really excited to wear it this spring. I have all kinds of outfit ideas for it, like pairing it with my cropped white skinny jeans, or with a big brown leather belt and a pair of denim cut off shorts and a long necklace. Holy crap summer get here soon! I can't wait for you any longer!


With D home from school these past 2 weeks, we haven't really been eating very healthy, so tonight I decided I was 1- going to actually cook something, and 2- going to make it meatless and (somewhat) healthy. So tostadas was the result:

Doesn't look like much, but they were delicious (if I do say so myself!) There's a crunchy corn tostada as a base layer, a layer of canned refried beans (I usually try and avoid canned foods like this and make them myself for a healthier option, but sadly I've never been able to master the refried bean, so canned it is), homemade guacamole (with tomatoes, a whole whack of cilantro, lime juice, chopped and seeded tomatoes and a few splashes of hot sauce), chopped lettuce, chipotle salsa and a bit of cheddar on top (I usually eat these without cheese, but D is a bad food influence and I couldn't resist once I covered his with cheese!). Yummy!


xo J.

Photo Shoot

Today was a big day! Today was the first day I asked my bf, D, to take photos for me. This is a big step in our relationship for a newbie blogger like myself! 

Turns out D was pretty good about the whole thing. The first few photos were laughably awkward, but I was happy with the way a few turned out! Too bad he has to go back to school Friday...I'll miss having a personal photographer around :(

ANYhoo...onto the outfit. I absolutely LOVED wearing this dress / skirt. It was so ruffly and flowy. It's actually a v-neck dress with ribbon straps, but it's too low cut for work, so I folded it under and belted it, and was super happy with the result! 

T-shirt: Jacob

Tiered Dress (worn as a skirt): Old Navy

Belt: From an H&M dress

Tights: Hue maybe? 

Shoes: Aldo

And here's an outtake for your enjoyment...I asked D to take a photo with me and my cat Poika, but P was just being annoying. And so instead of a cute, cuddly photo with him, here is a pic of him biting me:

So much love.

About 3 minutes after taking these pics, I was already changed into leggings, a hand-me-down of one of D's shirts (is it still a hand-me-down when it's been forcibly passed over?) and some boots and we were off to the neighbourhood for a little Tuesday night dinner date. :)

xo J.

Prairie Anne

Today I felt like I'd dressed like a Prairie Anne. Not a Laura Ingalls Wilder kind of Prairie Anne, but a Meryl Streep in the Bridges of Madison County kind.

Anyway, I got my friend N to take the photos today...we keep forgetting a camera, so we used her Berry. We work in a building where people dress as if they work in a nightclub and not the office that it actually is, and criticize anything that's even slightly 'unusual' (like, say, 2 girls taking photos of themselves outside of the food court). It's awkward...but we do it anyway. And that's what I like about it!

'Tis a small photo, but here's what I wore today:

Dress: Zara

Cardigan: Smart Set

Skinny belt: extra from an H&M sweater

Tights: H&M

Shoes: Forever 21

I'm undecided about these shoes...I ordered them online from Forever 21 and ordered a size too big. But they were so darn cheap I didn't bother sending them back when I decided that they don't give me the oxford look I was going for, but rather old man-bigfoot. 

And here is a close-up of the earrings I wore today, which I just love:

Earrings: Forever 21

The boy and I went to Montreal last Friday for a whirlwind getaway, so in addition to some delicious Ethiopian food, crepes and brunch, we also went SHOPPING! So I'll be hopefully debuting some of my new pieces this week! 

xo J.