Photo dump

Summer has been wonderful these past few weeks and I've been trying to spend as much time outside as possible. I took two friends vintage shopping last weekend and the weekend before. These vintage suitcases were lined up outside a shop in Kensington Market, and below these shorts were found at USED on Queen West (a very cool new store over there, awesome jean shorts and button up shirts). Spent some time on a patio (nothing beats sangria on a warm day), attended a few BBQs, and just generally tried to stay outside as much as possible. So here are some photos that I will let do the talking.

{Awesome denim shorts at USED}

 

{bubbles in Kensington Market}

{sitting outside Queen West's Java House}

{pink lemonade cupcakes}

{DIY painted denim cut offs from this post}

{top UO, DIY painted denim cut offs, Joe Fresh shoes, old claire's necklace, hat from a market in Dieppe, France}

{Canada day Fireworks}

 {Friday night at the Drive In}

{Ready for the drive in with candy}

How to be alone DIY

A little while ago I posted this video. Its a song/poem about how to be alone, and was what inspired me to add "take myself out on a date" to my summer checklist. Until this point, I was a little weary of doing this, and was pretty sure it wouldn't happen until an argument at home had me picking up my bag, my camera, and walking towards the bus stop. I decided I was going downtown, by myself, and would spend most of my day there.

This probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm a compulsive planner. I like to have things organized and figured out before I do them, so setting off downtown by myself when I had originally planned to do other things was a pretty big leap for me. I sat on the bus, staring at my bus ticket, trying to decide if I should get off, take a northbound bus back home. I stayed on though, all the way to the subway and into the downtown core.

awesome floral cowboy shirt I found at "Used" on Queen West

At first I was a little on edge. Queen St. West was busy, and the crowds of people made me a little nervous. But as I travelled further away from the busy core of Queen Street and further West, there were less people. Here I found little treasure troves of vintage stores I had never been to before, and immediately fell into the calming ease of sorting through racks of clothing. Shopping by myself is something I'm used to, and something lots of other people are used to as well, so I didn't feel strange doing this. It was only when I saw a nice little patio with one small, free table outside, that I realized I was hungry, thirsty, and would have to go eat something alone.

Mill Street Lemon Tea Beer and avocado and brie sandwich at Java

I've never eaten at a sit-down restaurant alone before. I've eaten by myself lots of times, but this time felt a little different. There was something about being asked "For how many?", and telling them "just me," that seemed funny, but I went for it anyways. I ordered Mill Street's Lemon Tea Beer and an avocado and brie sandwich and enjoyed people watching and listening to the flow of conversation around me. In the end, I finished up, walked around a little more, and then headed home.

 For me, this day was about a couple of things. One, it showed that I didn't need to have a plan to have fun, but also, I don't need to have other people to have a good day. Other people find me good company, so why shouldnt I? Now I can cross it off my checklist, and maybe try it out again sometime.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!

Join the club

Whenever I walk by Club Monaco I become overwhelmed by the urge to want to grab their mannikins and bolt. I don't think I've ever bought anything from them, but I constantly admire the pretty clothes in their windows and occasionally walk in to browse. This would seem like a sort of self-punishment, but It's more for inspiration- I can usually recreate their looks with stuff I have, of with items from cheaper places. Looking through their June-July lookbooks makes me just want to float in drapey dresses and shorts all summer, especially as the weather starts to heat up again. These are some things I'd like, if I was willing to spend the money. So I'll have to recreate it myself somehow.

Sunday, Craft Day

This was the scene at one of my friend's houses this Sunday. Rainy days happen to be the perfect days for crafts, and Sundays are usually sleeping, lounge-around days anyways, so this all fit perfectly into my scheduling. It originally started with a pair of shorts I made using this tutorial. My friends thought I had bought them, and when I told them that I actually made the shorts out of a pair of my brothers old, old jeans, they said I had to show them. So, we all brought our old jeans (I thrifted mine for $5 from Value Village), and cut away.

I tried on the shorts before hand, marked how long I wanted them, and cut lines into them. They don't look the greatest right now, but as I experienced with the first pair I made, after washing them the rips become a lot more filled in and complete it perfectly. But we couldn't just stop with the cutting.

On the way to my friends house, we stopped by Michaels. These colours were on sale, so the three of them only ended up being around $5.25. Its a multi-surface paint, so it works on glass, wood, and also fabric! This was the result

I haven't washed them yet (hence the pink highlighter line marking where to cut), but I'm happy with how they came out! I also painted the belt loops in alternating pink, purple and yellow. Such happy, summer shorts!

Have a lovely week everyone

Waiting, wishing

Today I braided my hair and thought about summer. I'm not really one for extreme heat (spring and fall are my favourite seasons), but during studying for my exams all I can really think about is doing absolutely nothing. Although I won't be travelling this summer (except, hopefully, a trip to NYC!), some of the best times can be found close to home. These are some pictures I took last summer so that we can all look forward to sunnier days to come!