Merry Monday!

Merry Monday everyone! It's officially one month until my favourite day of the year! Christmas Eve! I have to say, it's great timing as well. If you didn't notice, and I hope you didn't, I missed my Winter Wednesday last week. With that in mind, I decided to post a Christmas outfit today in it's place! And in trying to make up for last week, I'm even posting one of my favourite Christmas dresses! 

dress: Bettie Page/Tatyana via swap (available at ModCloth)

shoes: borrowed from Melissa

necklace: gift

flower: vintage box 1947

petticoat: american apparel

I have to admit, I didn't have any intentions on getting this dress, especially with the $150US price tag. It happened by fluke in a swap. I had a pair of beautiful mint shoes that I just couldn't walk in on my swap board, and the girl who was interested in them only had this dress available. I agreed to the swap so she could get the shoes, and my plan was to re-swap this dress, especially since it was a size too big. When it arrived, I loved it. But the problem remained: it was a size too big. My seamstress said she could fix it for me, even with the detail at the top, and as promised, it now fits like a glove.

This dress is the perfect holiday dress. It's a vibrant red and has just the perfect amount of detailing! I think this may just be my Christmas Eve dress this year! I'm also going to admit it: it's worth the regular priced amount. The fabric is thick and a great quality, it's well made, and the twirl factor alone... I didn't take any twirling pics this time, but I definitely will on Christmas Eve!

Red Retro...

I love red. I love retro. Put them together and you've got one happy lady. I have to say, it doesn't get much more retro than this... Sparkly vinyl, cherries, red collar, spectator shoes. Four definitions of retro style if you ask me.

blouse & skirt: modcloth

shoes: bait footwear

purse: lux de ville

brooch: luxulite

cardigan: local shop

Since getting my first Luxulite brooch, I've been wanting to wear it every day. Last weekend, I was feeling casual, so I style it with this blouse/cardigan combination. The difference? I wore dark jeans and black cowboy boots. Loved it! It's definitely going to be one of my go-to winter casual looks, that's for sure. I was going to style it that way for the blog, but my jeans were in the wash. I was just too excited, so I paired it with my black skirt and red baits. I have to say, while I like this look, I have a hard time wearing so much black! It's not a problem if it's a dress... but a black top and skirt just feels so dark! Thank goodness for all the pops of colour!

I've been having a hard time blogging again recently. Not for lack of motivation. I feel like I'm finally getting back on track. With the time changing, it's almost dark when I get home from work now, so I'm finding I need to take pictures outside for decent lighting. As you can see, we've already gotten snow, so that's a challenge with shoes, and temperatures of course. This weekend was a busy one, and I didn't get a chance to take a slew of photos for the upcoming week, like I normally do. I feel like I need to plan a photo-schedule, just for taking pictures! Wish me luck!

What's cookin'?

These pictures are so phony. I feel like such a poser. Me? Cooking? Riiiiight. Baking, yes. Cooking, no. But this skirt just screamed "Kitchen Pictures", am I right? This was another of my amazing scores from the clothing swap group. Pair it up with some polka dot tights and bait shoes... it's the perfect baking outfit! I'll definitely be wearing it to bake up some Christmas goodies!

skirt: clothing swap group (modcloth)

shoes: bait footwear

top: forever 21

tights: modcloth

brooch: luxulite

Autumn Golds...

I've been waiting for months to post this outfit! Isn't that crazy? It just seems like every time I tried to photograph it, it never worked out.  I scored this dress from the Clothing Swap Group. I traded my Garden Gourd dress (1, 2, 3, 4) for it... which took some will power. I loved that dress. But in the end, this one was much more practical... it's just so perfect for work! The other one was a tad short, and not as professional. I surprise myself when I choose practicality / function over fun!

dress: modcloth (via swap)

shoes: chelsea crew via lulu's

flower: vintage box 1947

necklace & earrings: kate spade

petticoat: american apparel

I'm absolutely loving the lighting in these pictures! The sun was almost set, so it was a perfect backdrop, adding extra colour and flare to the autumn background (and my hair). I was hoping to wear this outfit with the golds and oranges of autumn as a background, picking up in the yellow accessories. Success! This field is one of my favourite spots for photos, with the fence, green and beige grass, and the trees in the far background. It always adds such a nice touch to the pictures! The only thing missing are leaves under my feet! 

Teacups & Lace...

Teacups and lace... two of my favourite things! So obviously they should be paired together! It only took me two attempts to get this outfit photographed! The first try, which I liked better due to the fact that my hair was nicely set, was a complete fail. Either there were cars photobombing the background, or it was too dark, or i was blurry. Such a disappointment! Two days and messy hair later, we got them!

dress & belt: bernie dexter

top: ruche

shoes: modcloth

hat: vintage

I have to admit, until recently I forgot all about this top. It used to be one of my favourites, and then it just fell to the back of my closet! (Figuratively speaking). When I was packing for our honeymoon, Dominic requested I bring one of my lace tops, so I packed this one. Since then, I've worn it a few times again. I love wearing it over a dress where you can lightly see the pattern through it. That was actually my original inspiration for buying the shirt!

I also liked that styling this dress with the cream shirt allowed me to wear creamy-beige shoes! The white in the dress is a true white, so I either wear white or blue shoes with it. It was fun to have another way to switch up the shoes!

Leaves & Pumpkins, Oh My!

Leaves! Pumpkins! Crisp air!! Oh my! And blurry photos because it's getting dark out early... apologies. It looks like it's back to taking a weeks worth of blog photos on the weekends again if I want to stick with outdoor photos! (and I do, for as long as the weather permits!). 

dress: hell bunny via Rowena 

shoes & earrings: modcloth

belt: forever 21

petticoat: american apparel

Two things I'm realizing while looking at these posts: 1. I lost weight and definitely need to have this dress altered! Yikes! 2. I need a longer petticoat.  I've actually realized this some time ago, but I didn't get around to ordering one. I had planned on solving that problem when I ordered one for my wedding... but I didn't order one. My dress had enough built in that an extra petticoat wasn't needed, and with the hustle and bustle this past summer, I just didn't get around to it. Definitely a must-do.

This is the first time I wear a petticoat with this dress. I find it's such a 40's style dress that a petticoat isn't needed. However, I spotted this dress (different colour) on a website with a very full petticoat under it, giving it more of a 50's look, so I thought I'd try it out. While I do like (albeit with a longer petticoat), I do prefer it without. And I have to say, part of the reason I love this dress is the way the skirt swooshes when I walk. It didn't do that with a petticoat under.

Blue Toile in Autumn...

Here I go with pastels in autumn again!! Honestly, what was my closet before swaps?? Okay, I'm sure it was pretty much the same as it is now. But really, I've scored some amazing dresses by swapping new or gently used items that were just sitting in my closet! I traded my jewel print Bernie Dexter dress for this one. I had such a hard time letting go of that dress, but honestly, I rarely wore it! I bought it for a Christmas dress, and it was fabulous! I just seemed to have a hard time to wear it casually. 

dress: Bernie Dexter via swap

shoes: Ruche

gloves: market in Italy

petticoat: american apparel

I was tempted to break out all of my baby blue goodies for this post. I knew blue was a recent colour addiction for me, but I didn't realize just how much. I've added several blue dresses to my closet... not to mention my pill box hat, swedish hasbeens, coat, and now these gloves! Honestly, I'm going to have to do a 'blue' post one soon!

I have to say, I've been wearing dresses without tights and cardigans for my blog posts... but reality is that fall has definitely hit. I've been layering up every day! Soon, the layering only posts will be upon us again! I have such a hard time wearing longer, full skirt dresses with tights though. They just feel so visually heavy to me with tights on. Being Canadian doesn't leave much of an option for that though.

Even with my lack of tights and full skirts enthusiasm, fall is still my favourite season. Boots, scarves, gloves... the leaves crunching when you walk... the colours of the leaves! It's so gorgeous!! Not to mention pumpkin everything!!