Thrifting Adventures

So, Value Village (Canadian thrift store) recently had a promotion where bringing in two bags of donation items meant receiving 30% off your entire purchase. I casually took this as an invitation to purge my closets and bookshelves spend a couple of hours sifting through the racks last week. And as always, my favourite part is showing off all my epic loot!

Mini Messenger-Style Bag
I almost missed this tiny, camel coloured leather bag amongst the massive backpacks, leather laptop bags from the 90s, and furry things. I love that it's so delicate and will go with anything - perfect for summer concerts or evenings out. It has a butt-load of pockets too which means plenty of organization. *excited giggle*

Micro-Serfs by Douglas Coupland

I read Coupland's JPod back in high school by recommendation of a friend and really enjoyed it. Reading the reviews for JPod and Micro-Serfs on Goodreads, however has me really intrigued, and I'm interested in comparing the stories, since the two have polarized so many of his fans.

The Fat Girl's Guide to Life by Wendy Shanker
I've heard a bunch of good and bad things about Shanker's novel floating around the internet. This will be my first read taking a more direct fat positive approach - lately it's been a lot of memoirs relating to mental illness - so I am excited to dive in.

Indigo Laptop Desk 
I'm just so proud that this is basically brand new and cost me $2.99 and Indigo sells comparable ones for ten time as much. Cue thrifter smug-ness.

Hand-Painted Face T-Shirt

I'm so excited break out my trust scissors and DIY this badboy for summer wear. It's so creepy and so wonderful.

Car/Train Print Tank-Top
The print is so cute, and since it's quite fitted, this tank is perfect to pair with solid-coloured, high-waisted skirts. 

Basic Black/Grey Striped H&M Tank

An easy basic that's a bit pricier than what I'd like to pay while thrifting, but it was H&M brand so I let it slide. 

Gold and Creme Teardrop Earrings 

I can't tell if these are all cool and vintage or just a pair someone donated from Aldo Accessories. Either way, I shall cherish and raise them as my own.

Happy Sunday! If you're bored, do this next.

How to: DIY High Waisted Denim Shorts

*WARNING: VERY PHOTO HEAVY

Summer is just around the corner, and it's time to restock on denim shorts! These cuffed, high waisted shorts have been really popular the past few summers and here's a post on how DIY your own pair and save a ton of money. 

I went to my local thrift store (Value Village) and went straight to the men's jean rack. 

(Men's jeans tend to have a higher rise than women's, so its much easier to create a high waisted look. It's also great if you're plus sized because there will be more size options.) 

There will always be a good chance of finding some vintage looking Levi's, but any pair will do. After looking through different shades and washes, I found this pair for only $4.99! 

Here's a before photo on how they looked on me.

*Make sure you try them on before you purchase them. If they're men jeans, you still don't want them to be too baggy around the hips and thighs. 

While I had them on, I marked how short I wanted them to look. Then measure out an extra 3.5-4 inches beneath it (This length is left to cuff them). If you're extra paranoid, leave extra extra room because you can always cut more off after seeing how they look cuffed. 

Cut off the desired length using strong fabric scissors (I used my rotary cutter). You don't need a perfect line if you're cuffing them. 

Go ahead! Cuff them, (I cuff mine twice to hide the cut edges) and try them on to make sure you're comfortable with the length. 

You can leave them as is, but they become really annoying when the cuffs unroll. I took some white thread and sewed the sides (I have no sewing skills so I think anyone can do this!) 

 Here are the finished results! 

You can get creative and stud them or even ombre them! Check out my older post on how to bleach ombre denim shorts.

I found these amazing women's acid wash jeans as well ($5.99!), and made them into shorts as well. I'm super sad that they're a bit loose on me, so I'm going to figure out a way to shrink them :)

Happy DIY'ing everyone!!

Love,

Michelle

Love and Picnics and Stuff

A couple weeks ago, my lovely boyfriend, Matt, and I celebrated our fifth anniversary (we've been dating since we were in eleventh grade - can't believe how fast time goes!). In general, we're both pretty laid back (read: lazy) and broke students, so we decided to keep things low key during the day and have ourselves a mini picnic at a nearby park.

Since I had to work in the morning, he was such a sweetheart and prepared our picnic basket/green gym bag complete with wine, a blanket, and sandwiches. We really did try to soak up the wonders of nature and shrubbery and all that, but quickly came to terms with the fact that we'd probably rather be on a couch with said wine, blanket, and sandwiches catching up on Supernatural. This may or may not have to do with the fact that a ginormous bee decided to usurp our picnic blanket five minutes after we laid it out. Regardless, here are some snapshots of our day.

(Matt wears these Crocs only because he knows I despise them. He's promised me he'll be getting those crappy random charms to pin in the holes.)

And since this is supposed to be a style blog, here's a glimpse into my outfit for the day - a simple, blue sundress that I grabbed at Old Navy. I really liked how it contrasted with my red hair which I left large and wavy (as per usual). I opted for bright red ballet flats and old silver rings to complete the look. I alos did my make-up in the car ride over, and it's not too shabby if I do say so myself (meaning only I could notice how horribly uneven my winged liner was).

This was my gift to him, a custom portrait of us riding a mythical creature (in our case, a giant flying eagles courtesy of Lord of the Rings). It was drawn by the lovely artists Katie and Karen of deliciousness whom I got in touch with on Etsy. I'm so excited with the final result! I can't wait to have it printed on poster paper.

For me and my Canadian friends, Monday was a holiday, meaning it's a short week, meaning I only have four days of work to meander through before it's the weekend again. Wheeeee.

Shop | Tumblr | Bloglovin

BEAMing All Night

 Hello all my beautiful readers! This "outfit" post is going to be a little bit different, because all the photos were taken on my phone. I apologize for the horrible quality but I didn't want to miss the chance to post my outfit and this amazing event!

my best friend tobi (left) introducing the event and what BEAM is

Amanda and I came out to Variety Night by BEAMInc (hosted at Moskito and Bite, Downtown Toronto). Variety night is an event that showcases different forms of art; there was spoken word, diplayed artworks and some singing/dancing!

BEAM Inc is a charitable organization that supplies underprivileged schools in Nigeria with school supplies, and recently they rebuilt an entire school! My best friend Tobi (and her sisters) are active members and they help plan events, such as parties (and Variety night) to raise funds in a fun way! 

Amanda and I try to come out as often as we can to support :) If you guys are interested in looking into  it more or would like to make a donation, please visit their website! (Click Here) or check them out on Facebook. 

I decided to be festive on my makeup, and I was really happy how it came out. I went really simple on the eyes (plus lashes) and threw on my favorite hot pink lipstick (Mac Rare Exotic). 

 

I really apologize for the informal outfit pictures! Amanda and I were on a time crunch and didn't get a chance to take real pictures.

I decided to go simple in all black, because it wasn't a dressy event. Even though theres no dress code doesn't mean you can't look sleek and chic! I paired a structured black peplum top with fitted leggings and black booties. I really didn't know if I should dress up my outerwear, so I just went with my oversized military green jacket. 

Here we are, on the subway! I love how our hair contrast each other so well.

Don't you just love Amanda's galaxy dress?!? (Still so sad we couldn't get better pictures)

And you may remember our best friend Tobi, who helped host the entire event. 

Here's a not so much better shot of my outfit. (I feel like I'm posing pretty awkwardly too)

But I can't get over how much I love this peplum top! I ordered it in January but it was a bit too snug to look cute or comfortable. So it was a tiny victory to be able to wear it with much more ease. 

Outfit Details

Peplum Top: Dorothy Perkins

Leggings: New Look

Chelsea Boots: Little Burgundy

Oui/Non Belt: ASOS

I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures of the performances (there were so many amazing ones!), but here are two that definitely stood out.

She was an amazing dancer and did a mix of indian and caribbean dancing (I fell in love with both!)

This spoken word duo were so entertaining. They were funny, charismatic and insanely insightful (the drums were a great touch too).  

Mount Kitty-More

Oh man! It's been quite a while. I guess I never really realized how challenging it would be to keep up a regular style blog which only makes me want to give kudos to all my favourites (1, 2, 3, 4) that I read daily.

And now that pleasantries are out of the way, can we collectively acknowledge that Mount Rushmore has been invaded by kitties whom have subsequently invaded my t-shirt. Because I downloaded ModCloth's new iPhone app (the convenience of shopping without having to go through the song-and-dance of opening my laptop was too appealing to resist), I scored $10 off my order, and two cat-related t-shirts in the process. And who says buying stuff can't make you happy.

It's dangerous how cute my outfit looks. See what I did there? Did you catch that? 

I recently started following ebaycandy on Tumblr and have gloriously begun a slow accumulation of  everything posted that ships to Canada, including this lovely blue floral backpack that has surprisingly held up pretty well. I can't wait to share all the other cheap awesome crap that's being shipped my way with you guys. And if anyone in the US wants to buy me this pink switch blade, I'm really not going to object.

Look at us, all wholesome and stuff. 

/end rambling outfit post 

Outfit Details:

T-Shirt: ModCloth
Skirt: American Apparel
Chambray Shirt: H&M
Shoes: Chuck Taylor's
Necklace: ASOS
Backpack: ebay 

Ahoy to Spring!

It feels like a million years since we've done an outfit post. Amanda and I actually forgot what we were doing (where to shoot? how to pose? WHAT TO WEAR??). And with this burst of amazing spring weather (hard to believe it snowed 2 weeks ago), why not show a little leg?

I have a sad collection of skirts that I've accumulated over winter, and this denim skater skirt was first on my list to wear! I've seen the style everywhere and prayed a plus size line would come out with their own. Luckily, Newlook.com came to my rescue! I can actually always count on them to come out with popular styles in plus sizes. 

Sadly, my skirt was a little long and a little loose. But nothing a bit of rolling and belting won't fix!

Cheers to random patches of nature in the middle of suburbia!! This pond is actually adorable and you can usually find some cute ducks and turtles hanging around. 

I realized it's been so long since I posted anything nautical related, so I'm happy that some of these colours are relevant. I also added a little dash by pulling out the ol' boat shoes! 

Outfit Details:

White Box Cut T-Shirt - ASOS Curve

Denim Skater Skirt - Newlook.com

Brown Belt - ASOS Curve (came with a skirt)

Red Boat Shoes - Aldo

Necklace - ASOS (Gogo Philips)

*I'll also be making a hair post on my ombre + aftercare :)