A Nautical Cardigan is So Appropriate Today

The gloom-tastic weather of this week has certainly taken its effect on me. My outfits have been blah-boring to say the least. I wore a skirt the other day, but of course forgot to photograph it, so all I have now are pictures of variations of things I’ve already worn. If you get bored and wander away, I understand. I’m pretty A.D.D. myself.

Honestly, this outfit came about because I woke up to torrential rain and these were my only pair of clean pants. Attractive, I know. Perhaps I should do some laundry today? Probably not a bad idea.

cardigan - urban behaviour (2010); tank - Dynamite (2011); skinnies - Smart Set (2010);
flats - Suzy Shier (2009)

Pulling a Mel

Once again I have disappeared into the abyss. I’m quite good at this apparently. Life just gets slightly crazy sometimes and hobbies fall to the wayside.

My exam (almost two weeks ago now! Jeez…. ) went well, but instead of buying myself a new pair of shoes as a reward, I “pulled a Mel.” I’m sure that phrase will catch on. The definition?
To do something impulsive in the spur of the moment without thinking of the consequences or impact on your financial situation.

What is it I did? Oh, just bought a new car. Without doing research. Or actually shopping around. I basically pulled into a dealership in the spur of the moment, fell in love with a little red hatchback, and signed the papers then and there. While I love my new little Nissan Versa, money will be tight for the next little while, so no random new shoes for this girl…. Until of course, I “pull a Mel” again.

I thought I'd posted this.... I really did...

Between studying for my exam last Saturday and welcoming the boy back from Europe, I have been super busy these last few days, so pardon my absence!

Yesterday was St. Anthony's day here in Ottawa, the official start to Italian Week in Little Italy. It's an event I go to every year, and absolutely love. It starts with an outdoor mass and then a huge parade down Preston Street. Basically every Italian in the city attends and dresses up. It's practically a fashion show, and I love it. While I didn't get a shot of my own outfit (shame on me!) I did manage to snap a few shots of some really pretty looks, including a few of the individuals participating in the precession in their period costumes.


Despite being incredibly tired after a long day out in the sun, I had the sudden urge to reorganize my closet last night. I feel like I can finally see everything in there, which is super exciting! I did, however, take off the door, and while I do enjoy being able to see my handiwork right now, I'm sure that will eventually bother me. If anyone has any suggestions on how to creatively solve this problem, I'm open to suggestions! My room has a black & white theme with a slightly vintage (based on my refurbished furniture and empty picture frame jewelry holders) feeling to it.

Decisions, Decisions...

I would just like to say how very proud of myself I am.
It's 1/3 of the way through the month, and I haven't bought ANYTHING with my clothing budget yet! I guess studying has left me a bit distracted though.
My celebration will be short lived as I plan to reward myself with something pretty after my exam tomorrow morning.

Here are two pairs of shoes that I'm SERIOUSLY debating over... I know flat sandals would be a lot more practical, but these just seem like a lot more fun!

First is the "Dyle"... I love the green and white together. SO fresh and summery!

And second we have the "Krugh." (Who names these things?! I feel like they should be hair-metal bands from the 80s and not pretty platforms!)
The color is a lot more neutral, but it's the adorable crochet detail that has me absoluetly smitten...

Which do you prefer?

Procrastination should be my Middle Name.

And so another week begins... And I have an exam this saturday...
I'm trying to be good and spread my studying out this time instead of just cramming Friday night. We'll see how this works out.

At least the weekend was entertaining... for the most part. I had a long over due housewarming party last night for my relatives. It was quite entertaining watching 25 people try to squeeze into my tiny kitchen, but that's where the party always ends up being, doesn't it? My next house will be 90% kitchen to avoid such chaos.
I also received some absolutely lovely gifts. I think my family secretly thinks I'm an alcoholic as the majority of them were booze related. Not complaining though! The next time I have company we'll have lots of fancy glasses and no one will be stuck sipping wine from awful paper ones!

Not what I wore to my housewarming, but an outfit nonetheless... it's overdue.

tank - Smart Set (2010); cardi - Dynamite (2007); skinnies - Gap (2010)

Monthly Money Check-Up: May 2011

Clothing Budget: $100
Actually Spent: $236

Breakdown:

Verdict: BAD GIRL!
Although I love everything I bought and see them fitting into my wardrobe well, I did go a little overboard. I blame the sudden change to warm weather and the fact that nothing from last summer fits anymore. Also, that trench was a crazy deal marked down from $150. I would have been crazy to pass that up, it's a classic!

Other Frivolous Spending of Note:

Art & Shelving for the house: $97
Spoiling the Animals: $72
Savings Contributions: $250

Future Goals to Save for:

Jersey Shore August 8th: $0/$800

Life is Short

Yesterday I had my monthly appointment with my shrink - yes, I see one. And I'm kind of proud of the fact that I went to seek out someone to talk to to sort out this "life" thing! Anyways, she's totally genius and has a book out called "The Integrity Model of Existential Psychotherapy," which basically states that we get stressed out and in bad places mentally because we engage in behaviours that conflict with our core values.

Since my main cause of stress in my life is my job, I thought I would take advantage of her career counseling services as well. This was my long-winded way of saying that I took the Myers-Briggs test, which is a personality test based on 4 dichotomies:

Extroversion vs. Introversion
Sensing vs. Intuition
Thinking vs. Feeling
Judgement vs. Perception

You're then given an acronym based on where you score highest. I am an INTJ (introverted-innovative-thinking-judgement) based person, (the second rarest type, might i add!), and it describes me perfectly... it's almost scary how well it pinpointed both my strengths and weaknesses.

These reults really helped to re-affirm the thought process that has been going through my head these last few months: That I will never be truly happy in my job unless I do somethign that has both an element of creativity and independence involved.

If you're interested in taking your own test, you can find a free one online here.
I'd love to hear how you scored!

In Conclusion: I've been toying with a business plan of my own for some months now, and this recent discovery combined with the Hollstee Manifesto (which was JUST brought to my attention and is now my favorite thing of the moment!), has convinced me to DIVE IN! While I won't be quitting my job anytime soon (I have issues with instability!) I'm going to make sure I devote time each week to developing my idea and establishing the steps I need to take to make my dream a reality.
I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress!

The Holstee Manifesto