I can forget where I am now

Hello, current temperature of -17 degrees celsius with a snow squalls and high winds.  Lucky for me, I managed to get away from that for a week and a bit.  When in Rome...well in my case, when on a cruise, go nautical.  How could I resist the perfect setting for navy stripes and bold pops of red on head and toe.  With a full day at sea, there's not much else to do but lounge on chairs and take outfit photos.

Fashion bloggers- we may go on vacation, but fashion never really takes a vacation.  (Yes, first cheesy line of the year!)

What I'm wearing:
-Asymmetrical navy striped top
-Denim shorts
-Red flats

And hey, it's Tune-y Tuesday!  As I tend to do, the title of this post was taken from the song below.  Doesn't quite fit in with the nautical theme, but it works perfectly for chillin' out under the open sky.

Just doing some mental packing

It's almost Caribbean cruise time, which means that I have started mentally packing.  Yes, mentally packing.  Physically packing takes way too much effort and will be saved for the absolute last minute.  So far, I've compiled a slight list of essentials that work well as staple pieces for mixing n' matching, which is the key to light packing.  The basics need to work for both the sunny beach days, and the nights with fancier dinners.

For the beach and just general nautical lounging, how much more essential can you get than denim shorts, a white tank, and flip flops? Oh, and the sunnies.  Mustn't forget the sunnies.
And to do it up fancier at night, I've got pearls and awesome pewter heels to be super dressy.  A black boyfriend blazer and simple black skirt will also go a long way in almost any outfit.  And of course, a pop of red in the lips for the added touch.

And all the while compiling my mental packing list, I've been bopping about to my beach playlist. Enjoy this cute little upbeat chiller- and look, the music video even has a beach!

Hipster jeans

I was in a store the other day when I overheard a woman expressing to the sales clerk that she didn't want "hipster jeans".  I didn't stick around long enough to figure out what hipster jeans were, so I was left to make my own guesses.  Now, I may be a tad out of touch these days, but I feel like she was referring to skinny jeans.  Hipsters wear those, right?

*Little edit on this: The woman was having a conversation with a friend earlier about what hipsters wear, so I took in this context, not in the way of jeans that sit at the waist. I should stop eavesdropping, huh. 

Though I haven't seen many people wearing them around, I'm quite a fan of the flare-bottom jeans that act as a nice remedy for the painted-on skinny epidemic.  Being the saver that I am, I managed to dig up my old flared jeans from 5 years ago (that miraculously still fit!).  I'm a bit torn on these jeans though- I mean, yes they're comfier and all, but the flare makes the ends of the pants all tattered.  And they tend to cover up cute shoes.

So I've decided to go for a happy medium between the two- straight cut.  All the comfort of a flare with the chicness of a skinny. 

Skinny jean

Straight cut

Bell-bottom jeans

Flared cut

Images via zara.com

What's your preferred cut?

And hey, it's Music Monday!
It's been a little gloomy outside lately, so I've got my gloomy day/lazy Sunday/I-really-don't-wanna-move-and-just-wanna-stay-in-bed-all-day (the three are interchangeable) playlist going.  I know Mondays are usually hectic and annoying, so here- chillax to this tune:

Stay golden

For these photos, I set out with a friend to give her a glimpse of what it's like to be a fashion blogger.  To her surprise, it wasn't just about standing somewhere and taking photos. Let me give you a little look at what I taught her:

1.  Your clothes should match your setting. I'm in golden shorts and rusty orange, which perfectly reflect fall foliage, so I'm gonna go find a background that matches that. Your photos are almost like a story- it doesn't make sense if you're in a pretty dress posing by the back door of your apartment.

2.  Be aware of lighting.  We practically had to run to take these photos before the sun went down.  Yes, photoshop can fix bad lighting a bit, but nothing beats natural light (I find partial overcast to be best).

3.  Try your hardest not to be awkward.  Oh yes, this step takes a lot of getting used to.  It can be a tad embarrassing and rather awkward posing in front of a camera, especially if you're at a place with people or cars passing by.  Ignore it- you're a blogger; just do what you gotta do to shine!

4.  Work the angles.  People like interesting photos that show off outfits, so it's all a combination of setting, lighting, and angles.  You're gonna want full body shots, close-ups of interesting outfit pieces, and even just purely artistic shots that stray away from simple shots where you just stand there in the middle.

BONUS: Find a photographer who's not afraid to tell you you're being ugly.  If you're like me and tend to be awkward, don't know how to pose or work the angles, you're gonna need a photographer that can help you out and tell you how to position yourself.  "Relax...don't make that face- look away from the camera!" Stuff like that can definitely make for a better final result.

And oh hey, it's Music Monday! It feels like a while since I've posted on a Monday. Anyway, here's a song from my autumn playlist, which is essentially a playlist that includes songs that have a line somewhere about changing leaves or summer fading.

Maybe I'm a different breed

So I tried a little social experiment this week.  Earlier, I said that I would totally wear sunglasses indoors if it was more socially acceptable.  Then I got thinking...screw social acceptableness.  If I want to wear sunnies inside, I will.  It wasn't that bad actually.  I dress out-of-the-ordinary as it is, so an added oddity is barely anything to notice.

With this outfit in particular, I felt quite pretentious prancing around campus in a blazer and pearls while everyone else was in jeans and flip-flops.  So sunglasses indoors is just the cherry on top of an already eccentric outfit.  I can definitely deal with a few extra stares.  Would I do it again?  Sunglasses during lectures is a tad impractical, but if it really goes with the outfit, I won't say no to grocery shopping with some shades!

On a side note, I think my subconscious kicked in again and I was channeling my inner Paris Hilton with the headband/blazer/braid/sunnies look.

What I'm wearing:
-Navy/white striped blazer
-White t-shirt
-High-waisted blue shorts from Forever 21
-Red ballet flats from Zellers

By the way, the title of this post was taken from my current favourite song, 'Sail' by Awolnation. I'm sporting a nautical look today.  Nautical...Sail...get it?

The siren screams at half past 10

Along with my new found love for vintage necklaces comes my love for pendant watches.  I suppose it's that old charm that resembles a classic pocket watch, but in the stylishness and functionality of a necklace.

And continuing on with our time theme, we get our title ('the siren screams at half past 10'), which are lyrics from Change Your Mind by The Killers.  Okay, so that's the only lyric in the song that has to do with time.  Still a great song with a catchy tune, nonetheless.  I first heard this song as I was browsing in a store.  I noted down those lyrics so I would remember to search it up when I got home. 

Based on other The Killers songs that made it big, this should've been one of them. I mean, "You had a boyfriend, who looked like a girlfriend..." What's that all about?

Melodic bird songs

By 'melodic bird songs', I don't mean chirping and all that fun stuff (especially not in reference to crows and seagulls, those are just annoying!).  For this Music Monday, I give you a song with 'bird' in the title, accompanied by a dose of my new love for birdcage necklaces.

Is there not something so delicately beautiful about birdcage jewelry, particularly necklaces?  Especially if you look at the intricacy of some with little bird figures perched within the cage.  I'm usually a fan of silver jewelry, but this is one piece that I simply adore in a rustic bronze or gold.  This would be quite an ideal piece to any vintage collection.

And for the song of the day (Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine), it came on the internet radio while I was looking out the window on a sunny day while my heart was kinda heavy.  Honestly, I don't even think I had a reason to feel sad, but I was listening to slow songs that kind of put you in that kind of a mood.  It's quite a beautiful tune though- even though I was majorly turned off when I found out it came from the Twilight soundtrack.  Oh well, at least they got something right.  (Do note that I've never watched or read it- I just have an unreasonable dislike for it based on the commercials and millions of funny fans)

And speaking of little birdies, I tweet. My tweets are a hoot. 
...Okay, no more bad bird jokes.
Just give me follow on Twitter!

Tune-y Tuesday

Not gonna lie, I'm kinda cheesy like that and just laughed at my own wordplay in the title.
To my international readers, "Toonie Tuesdays" was a promotion at KFC (Canada) where you could get a chicken combo for $2.

Anyway, now that you know what a bad sense of humour I have, let's get down to the music. I've got a few posts titled things like 'Even on a cloud day' and 'I keep my eyes fixed on the sun'.  Yup, they're lyrics from the song below that has been stuck in my head for the past three days or so.

On another note, according to Reality Chic Blog, lipgloss has a lifespan of 2 years.  I can proudly say that I've finished two entire tubes of lip gloss, but they took me like 3 years each to do so. What exactly happens when makeup expires anyway?  I suppose with things like eyeshadow, they don't work as well.  But lip gloss...?

I'm still a sucker for fruity lip gloss. I'm quite a fan of Bath and Body Works's batch- it's a good balance of a nice sheen without being too sticky. And they come in a variety of "flavours".  I have a hard time calling it a flavour because it's not like we're eating it...

A bit of music and a bit of philosophy

It's been a while since I've done a Music Monday post! So a few posts back, I uploaded a few photos that were titled under "She's got houseplants to keep her company".  I like to borrow my titles from lyrics when I can't think of anything else.  In this case, it came from the song Juliette by Hollerado.  See, this is why I don't watch music videos.  Now I'm not going to be able to listen to the song without thinking about a strange hippie house party.

I also have a thought for you.

Do you define your style or does your style define you?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

MAFIA Music Monday

Oh, MAFIA Jewellery, why are you so clever?  After browsing their site for a bit, a certain item caught my eye.  Admittedly, not for the design, but for the name.  The "I Like My Beats Fast / And My Bass Down Low" pendant features a cool retro boombox made from quality brass.  I could totally see someone rocking out this piece with a sheer black shirt, distressed leggings, funky footwear (gladiator heels or chunky wedges), and a hip pair of shades.  Needless to say, I had the chorus to 'Bass Down Low' stuck in my head for quite a while.  I'm sure that if I had this piece around my neck, I'd be singing and dancing (or trying) all day long. 

For tons of other great pieces, check out MAFIA's website. Usually, when I hear a brand boast that "there's something for everyone", I tend to be a little skeptical.  However in this case, I 100% agree that there IS a little unique something to tweak anyone's interest.

Image from MAFIA

Pitter-patter

It's a rainy spring day for many of us today. It's a tad gloomy, but it was a delightful spring shower outside.  One song that I put on during my rainy day playlist is this hit from the 60s. I enjoy a good flashback of oldies every now and then.  Usually, I'll put on an oldies radio station, but this song is the only one that's actually made it to my playlist.  I'm not quite sure why that is, but I enjoy it.

I also bring you a photo from a few months back of a sunstorm of rain. Black rubber boots- yes, they go with everything, but they're not quite as fun as bright yellow wellingtons. Unfortunately, the lighting is quite awkward here- kind of makes my head look like I could be a ghost.