P r e t t y S k e t c h y

Acoma

I was at Anthropologie finally taking pictures of my pieces (which I will post later) when I happened upon these.

They may be cute here but they're even better in person. Super thin with an amazing feel to them, the only thing I can liken it to is the way a seashell feels between your fingers, a kind of matte smoothness and delicacy. I am currently looking for an excuse to buy them but I haven't found one and really I don't have the money so they shall go in the unrequited dreams category along with a scarf I've been lusting over. I shall move on. SO cute though.

This post is for Kerry, who will most likely disapprove.

So I have a bit of a ridiculous secret. Well it's not so much a secret as it is just something funny I've been doing lately. It all started this winter when I went shopping with one of the little peeps I was mentoring. We were at Forever 21 (of course) trying on necklaces and headbands and such and I was trying on sunglasses cause I'd just gotten contacts after about 5 straight years of just wearing glasses. I'm not the type to wear the flip-down clip-on sunglasses or those old lady ones that fit over your glasses so I've pretty much gone without. On this occasion though I found a pair I liked and was about to go pay for them when I found something else. They weren't sunglasses, just normal glasses with plastic lenses intended for people who have good eyes to try to look as awesome as those of us who have to wear them. Oh and I forgot to tell you, they were hipster glasses. Hard core hipster glasses; the kind that are so nerdy they almost make you look unattractive but somehow you end up looking more attractive because of your 'disregard' for the way you look. You're far too aloof and nonchalant to be afraid to wear ugly glasses, ha. They are both an attempt at, and a disregard for, beauty and fashion, ah ha ha ha, so I bought them. They were waaaay too funny to pass up. I didn't wear them at all in Edmonton, they just sat in my bathroom looking up at me ironically but here in Seattle, one of the top five hipster cities of America (I made that up), I have totally started wearing them. Yep, that's right; putting in contacts and then wearing non-prescription glasses. Could it get more ridiculous? YES! Here are some photos I took of myself wearing them.

 

A hipster!? Where? Ha ha.

 

Aren't they awesome/ridiculous?!

*I dedicated this post to Kerry cause we both enjoy purposely doing things that the other disapproves of and then calling it to the other person's attention.

The redeeming aspect to 80's style reemergence or, fashion doctor to the rescue...

So I have some news for the ladies. If you're one of the three boys who reads this you may want to stop reading right about now cause your interest level is going to plummet quickly. Okay ladies, this is a bit of a weird thing to post about but it was too good not to share, especially since I know I have discussed this matter with a few of you on separate occasions.

Leggings. Nice right? They're good for making summer skirts wintery, too short skirts work acceptable and biking in skirts an achievable reality. However they do have one flaw, they fall down*. With the low-rise trend came low-rise leggings which honestly, was the worst idea ever. All they ever do is fall down and you end up annoyed and looking like this...

 Dislike.

WHAMMO! Problem solved. Sarah the jam girl and I were discussing the need for high rise leggings one day as she was wearing some that were creeping their way down south. We ranted for a bit and then I forgot about it until the fateful day that I wore a dress and leggings to work teaching grade three. You better believe grade three teaching involves a lot of movement and not a lot of free time for discreet undergarment rearranging. By lunchtime I was so so so so annoyed. So at the end of the day I did a little Googling and found these... 

 

I immediately hopped in my car and booked it over to American Apparel to try a pair on. The results: perfection. Well very nearly, for us short gals they're a bit long but they definitely stay up. You can stand up and sit down and bend over and whatever else you do without having to try to discreetly hike up your leggings under your dress. Problem solved. I plan to buy them in about three colors but for now I just bought black. I need to pay for moving before spending my life's savings on leggings. Although these ones would almost be worth it.

* I should probably clarify that while I do support the wearing of leggings under longer clothing I absolutely do not support the wearing of leggings as pants. No one likes leggings bum and really, it's akin to the Ugg boots & Lululemon trend as far as looking like you've given up on fashion.

Navigating Nanton

So I went on a little girls trip this weekend with my friends Meg, Beth and Kim. Since I'm moving in a few months I need to optimize my time with the girls as much as possible. Our first destination point was Camp Evergreen of which my lovely friend Kerry is the director. The plan was to pick Kerry up and then head off to Nanton to do some antiquing. After a stop for Starbucks and way too many bathroom breaks (if it's all girls at least no one gets annoyed) we finally arrived. Nanton was kind of ridiculous, super little and kind of a hick town but they had amazing antique stores. Of course, I took photos, especially of the things I couldn't afford.

 

How amazing is this library drawer? Agh, I totally have a weakness for tiny drawers.

 

The girls in one of our favorite stores. Beth and I hit the jackpot there with these...

 

Wooden letterpress blocks. Beth was in search of an ampersand (which we found) and I was in search of some cuteness.

 

They had amazing jewelry at this place, Kerry bought a ring and we all ogled the cameo rings. 

 

 Here's Beth buying herself a wire gym locker basket.

Along with the letterpress blocks I also bought a jewlery box from the 1960's. It's currently residing on the kitchen table with a little bowl of Anthro candle wax in it to try to eradicate the leftover musty smell.

 

 How cute is it though? It's very old Hollywood and it has gold fleur de lis all over it...

 

and a working key. Isn't the pattern cute? It was definitely a good weekend. I sort of forgot to take any more pictures after the antique stores though so this is all.

I've also been doing some thrifting of my own lately and got these mirrors last week.

 

Jill and I have been collecting some replacement mirrors for our mirror wall since I'm moving and taking the ones that are mine. Actually now that I think of it, the oval one was a gift from a friend who knew I've been collecting ornate mirrors.

So that's me for now. I took a nap this morning after our drive home and then spent the day catching up on Office episodes I'd missed over the last few months. Big day, ha. More later.

Joining the Team

First of all I need to thank you all for your well wishes concerning Snookie, so thanks. And now the news, you heard it here first peeps; I am the newest staff member of the Antropologie Edmonton!

 
It was almost a three week process. There was a group interview with eight other (beautiful) girls, a ridiculously tricky on-line ethics test (which quite honestly I thought I might have failed. Apparently if you fail this test you can never work at Anthro or Urban Outfitters so I was super nervous) and finally a solo second interview. There were a lot of questions about my inspiration, style, likes and dislikes, what I read and look at, etc. And yesterday I worked my first shift there. All of the girls who work there are beautiful and super stylish, it's kind of ridiculous. I felt a bit out of my league but it was definitely a good time. Everyone was lovely and the store is beautiful, it's not a bad place to spend a few hours. Really I'm there often enough that I might as well be getting paid for it, ha. Sooo if you're in the mall pop by, say hello & check out this beautiful store. I currently have my eye on a few things and with the discount they just might be a little more affordable for me.

Downtown Seattle

Hey peeps! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas filled with cheer and all that jazz. I spent my Christmas Eve with these peeps,

party central. I mostly just watched Christmas movies and watched them sleep, ha. I love watching the same movies every year, tradition and all that.

After a few days of laying low we went to the Pike Place Market today; I go there every time I'm in Seattle and I never get tired of it. It's just so iconically 'Seattle' you know? Everyone's so happy to be there and it's close to the waterfront which I always love. I never really buy much of anything except a chai-latte from the original Starbucks and flowers for my Granny. We're not exactly in good flower growing season right now though and there's no way I would spend money on dried flowers (ew) so all I bought were some hazelnuts.

 After the market we walked up to the downtown Anthro, it's just a few blocks from the market and it was such a beautiful day today. I get really photo obsessed when I'm walking around downtown Seattle, the buildings are so amazing.

 

This one is my desktop background at the moment.

And finally we arrive at Anthro downtown.

I had to take a million pictures cause my friend Kelsey does the design at the Edmonton Anthropologie and she's never been to Seattle so I wanted her to see it. Plus you peeps needed to share in the beauty.

 You can't tell but those labels in the cabinets are made of printed paper and have keys attached to them.

The store had two levels and a lovely staircase joining them.

 Peeling wallpapar, agh!

  I've been loving the cotton lately...

They had little snowflakes painted on the window upstairs.

I'm not a big fan of orange but I liked the idea of this, maybe I'll try it on a white cabinet with a scripty font on a light tiffany blue.

 

 
That's it for now peeps, I took a whole bunch of photos tonight at the waterfront but there's enough here for now. 15 hours of driving tomorrow...