Shorts!

Everyone owns them, everyone loves them and hell, they are the perfect summer piece. I know the trend right now is fixed on candy coloured denim. Yes, the fashion gurus want you to exit the house looking like human gummy bears leaving a hard day of work on Katy Perry's California girls set. However, I can't help but point out how classic basic white denim shorts are. Not only can they give a bit of class to an otherwise casual look, but white goes with everything! A favourite past time of mine is creating outfits of clothing I don't even own. I like pairing things that I wouldn't wear but would try in the comfort of my own bedroom. Here is a look that I absolutely love and if it weren't so hot here in the summer, I'd probably wear sweaters like this more often. Don't get me wrong, I love coloured bottoms. I'd kill for a decent pair of pixie pink jeans or floral high waisted shorts. They just scream fun! But I can't deny how much I love to wear my white denim shorts and the versatility that they offer. These high waisted white shorts are perfect for a summer afternoon romp. Pair them with this loose fitting 3/4 length sweater and BAM you have yourself a killer summer look. If you want to be able to pull off the long sleeve layer, simply wear a tank underneath for a lighter option. The sweater also comes other 3 colour blocked tones and one tone colours. Happy styling!

Aritzia's Talula Babaton Kate Sweater

Citizen of Humanity Sparta Shorts

Pastel a la Pied

For the past few months all I have been hearing about is how "in" pastels are right now. I won't lie, I have a few pastel hued shirts and jackets, but to be honest, nothing says trendy like pastel shoes. Who would expect it? A pastel peplum is just killing two birds with one stone, but if your wearing something simple or elegant, throw on a pair of pastel pumps. I've been searching out some comfy heeled pumps for the summer (oxy-moron?) and I came across these two. The pastel blue not only scream light and airy, but trendy and fun. My feet might not feel great stomping around the city in the wee hours of the morning, but they will look great. The other feeling this colour brings out is a reminder of Easter. What says spring festivities better than pastel colours and a little chocolate? Shoes can be found at Aldo

Collarless

Maison Blazer in Black by Wilfred

This past Christmas I was obsessed with a jacket from none other than Aritzia. Now, I do not want to relate a jacket to love at first sight but it truly was. The jacket I speak of isn't necessarily a coat, but isn't a blazer. It's that in between that is more chic than casual, but can go both ways. The jacket I speak of is black, collarless, quilted and rests just at your hip line. It isn't meant to be worn like a boyfriend blazer, or baggy but is mean to be nicely fitted. I always find that descriptions do not do the item justice in comparison to seeing it in person. Either way, it is simple yet defined. It is something you can wear over a dress, with jeans or even with dress pants and a collared shirt for an office approved look. Aritzia does a great job in the blazer/jacket department. With a range of selections and varying colours, the options are endless. Here is one of their options for spring/summer 2012 and with the exception of the crepe fabric, and structure it looks similar to mine.

A little something

Sending a little Wednesday love to you all 

On my mind

For the past hour I've been racking my brain trying to figure out something to write. I'm not usually someone who is lost for words but currently I am mentally checked out. I'm trying to not focus too hard on anything. I am anxious and awaiting an essay back on my last day of classes. I wish I could sit here and type out all the reasons why I am excited for school to end, but I am afraid I will jinx it. I've become superstitiously strange in my old age and I'd rather have all my ducks in a row before I blog incessantly about being done my undergrad. Not to mention that I still have four exams between me and my degree (not just an essay or two). For the most part I just have a lot on my mind. Easter is days away, I have a relative coming home across the pond and one of my brothers will not be around this weekend. I can tell you right now that I am not looking forward to Easter this year. One of our dinners, yes, but the other ... well let's just say a few people I could do without will be there with none of my favourites around to keep a form of distraction. I shouldn't complain, and to be honest, I know I will have a good time. I try my best to be optimistic, but sometimes the demons get you down.

As I sit awaiting my final tutorial of this semester (and hopefully ever!) I can't help but think of the future. This past weekend one of my dearest friends moved into his own place AND he got a promotion at work. Words cannot describe how proud I am. He has worked hard to get where he is and it just goes to show that hard work, good skills and determination will not hold you back. Because my own future career or aspirations are not written in stone or even remotely on my mind, watching someone so close to me move forward really makes me look forward to the future endeavors that lie ahead. Sometimes other people's good news makes you realize how good things can still happen and that working hard no matter what you do, will get you somewhere. Watching someone become their own person, rise up from behind and really prove themselves, is quite amazing. I feel as if I accomplished something with him even though I had nothing to do with it.

Reflecting on this I guess I did have something to write about. I never really thought of my blog as a place to speak openly about my personal life, or my feelings. I've always tried to maintain posting based on a topic or idea I've been thinking about. However, sometimes a public space to vent is what you need. I could show you what my favourite look of the day is, but honestly, it gets boring. There are way too many materialistic, culture based, things that I love. I would write about music but it's pretty much the same these days. I've been listening to the same bands for the past two years without fault and admiring their awesomeness. I might get back into writing about my favourite books. Everyone loves a good book and an opinion on a book. Either way, today (whether or not I pass or fail everything) is the beginning of an end of a personal chapter. Four years of University. Despite sounding like an old geezer, where does time go? I feel like yesterday I was just starting, I was homesick and excited all at once. It feels like yesterday I was moving into residence and getting drunk on Wednesday nights. Life is so short. It seems long and drawn out in the moment, but really it goes by in a flash. I'll sit in my tutorial this afternoon and feel like it is taking hours to be over and no amount of free timbits will help. But when I look back on that class, when I think about all those hours in class, it will seem like it was nothing in my lifeline. Strange how life is, isn't it? I guess that is what you learn as you grow. I just hope I keep on learning and keep on educating myself and never stop enhancing my own skills. Part of my doesn't want University to be over, but there is a part of me that does. Just talking this way makes me feel like I am jinxing myself and I'll be back this summer or fall. I'll stop now, but when all is said and done, you need to live your life. You need to word hard and never give up. I think Sean's promotion really showed me that. It showed me that no matter what is going on, no matter how you feel personally, if you can prove to someone that you have what it takes you will get that chance.

Reflections

With my post-secondary education coming to a close, I find myself thinking about what I have learned and what I have gained from it. I know on some levels you leave with more knowledge, and for the most part a greater understanding (in my case) of the literary world, culture and theories. However, I can't shake the feeling that I have also become more jaded with age. That somehow my education has expanded my already lesser thoughts on the world we live in. I've enjoyed the readings, and the experiences I have had, but at the same time I have a lot of issues with our culture. I don't hate it, or despise it, I actually have such mixed feelings. I find myself analyzing and judging people and others more often than I would have before. I find that I criticize others uneducated opinions of sexuality, consumer culture, and colonialism. For the most part I can watch anything and find symbolic meanings, themes, greater discourses and issues that are buried within the context. Whenever I share these feelings or this knowledge people care, my friends want to know more, my parents are impressed. To me, I can't stand it. To listen or watch someone speak of gender and sexuality is now painful to me. There are so many aspects of society that are brutal and intolerant towards those who oppose the norms of gender or sexuality. I can honestly say that to have this information and these theories as my weapons is quite fascinating and incredibly threatening to those who cannot comprehend. I feel empowered to know, yet unsullied hatred to those who do not understand. I find that being a University student has only added fuel to my fire, it has strengthened my knowledge but the world around me still remains the same. People continuously stick their heads in the sand and feel as if the world shouldn't change because it would be too different. No matter how much I know about feminist movements, and theorists opinions about cultural issues, it doesn't change the patriarchal society that we live in. I have an inner strife with this discourse on gender equality, some might say its pessimistic, others might say its an educated answer. To have already been extremely jaded when I started University, and figuring out that my jadedness is simply reinforced after four years makes my head hurt. My point is simply that I believe whole-heartedly in education. I believe that the problem with this world is that people focus too much on profit, science, economics, and not enough on cultural issues, on thinking outside the box. I believe in the humanities, on the mind solving issues, on theorizing ways around the hegemonic society we inhabit. But I also believe that we live in a world that doesn't believe in change. Normal will always be whatever capitalists deem it. Our countries are run by money loving scam artists who believe in nothing but how to be a bigger economic threat to the rest of the world. To change, people need to stop being afraid of "the other". They need to stop fearing a different lifestyle as the norm, they actually just need to stop believing in "normal". Normal is what you've been taught to be, what you're told and educated from birth by dominant society. Your desires, your dreams, what you're supposed to be has been created for you. Like I said, it sounds pessimistic, but I really like to think of it from the point of view of an educated optimist. 

Happy Easter

It is never too early to break out the chocolate eggs and bunnies and enjoy a little celebration. Happy Easter!

Downton Abbey

The television show Downton Abbey is my current obsession. Not just because it is filled with gorgeous, wealthy people who run around with issues that seem so insignificant, but because of the depth the show maintains. It is filled with beautiful landscapes, costumes, and it is rich with history and story lines that are so juicy and inviting. With the beginning the first season in 1912, the day after the Titanic sunk, the plot unravels on the wealthy Crawley family and the ups and downs of their high society life. It also takes into account, and draws heavily on the lives of the servants and staff that serve them. I am just about to finish the 2nd season and cannot wait until the 3rd reaches TV screens next year. The cast is delightful and they fit perfectly with one another and most importantly Maggie Smith brings her magnificent wit and charm. Overall, there is nothing like a good period piece, where their scandals do not seem to compare on the present celebrity gossip. However, it was a different time and although it starts 100 years ago, times have changed a lot since then.