Spring-y

I've decided it's Spring. I decided it the day before we got that huge (now gone) dump of snow. And before it started snowing again today. So, you can thank me for that. I didn't knock on wood because I'm a daredevil.

Our yard looks spring-y again. Not good-spring. Bad-spring. Like this: mud and evidence of dogs and brown, brown, brown. But I'm longing for bare legs and wellies and jewel-toned trenches. I don't want to buy anything unless it's mint or citron or cantaloupe in colour. I want to drink mojitos and white sangria.

I almost bought a bright purple silk maxi skirt last week because it would look so fetch with my Zara sandals from last summer. It kind of inspired a new wardrobe direction for me: Zoltar meets Pirate-babe meets Across the Universe. Kind of a less-blingy, more floral fortune teller. Put more simply: Stevie Nicks circa... always. You like? I should buy the skirt, yeah?

 across the universe // stevie nicks

Despite the tricky weather, though, I have to remember that it's February. We're not safe from snow squalls and ice-rain and deep freeze. Yet.

A girl can dream.

I'm heading into the woods in 3 weeks for a craft weekend and I'm definitely whipping up something fantastic in preparation for puddle-jumping.

Of course I needed to be inspired...

Here are my latest Etsy picks, lovingly handmade (or gleaned) by folks after my own summer-lovin'-heart:

Let's picnic, y'all! Aedriel Originals - chevron salad plates (2) $36

 Norwegian Wood - faux thigh-high leggings $70

 my kids will live in neverland. and i will live vicariously. The Butter Flying - rain mobile $50

 ISWASANDWILLBE - enamoured necklace $40

confetti rain! Aeropagita Prints - 'The Rain' print $20

i would live in this. over and under EVERYTHING. Norwegian Wood - sheer lace maxi $120

 let's just lie around all day and read and watch the rain, kay? Big Birds Boutique - large floor cushion $250

 oooh, surprises! Handsome and Lace - silk necktie $70 (LOCAL!)

 spring's just right for falling in love, yeah? Dariami - Mint heart studs $18

 let's get hitched. Sweet and Savvy Designs - tissue pom poms $30

like pyjamas, but hot. Leilanni - jersey maxi skirt $70 (LOCAL!)

step into my office, baby. Hopper and Space - vintage wingback sofa $1800

*prices are converted to CAD and are approximate

holiday etsy picks!

Well, I won't be doing any more Etsy shopping this year, even though the plan was to buy 100% handmade. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! But, I missed the shipping window. Lovely handcrafted wonders will just never get here in time no matter how hard they try. Even the "I think I can" mantra is useless at this point, mere DAYS until xmas. 

(And I'm surely too cheap to pay for expedited shipping.)

I've added many Etsy gems - both vintage and handmade - to my favourites recently. Why? Well, mostly I live in a daydream cloud. Reality shmeality. My feet might be tripping over the slightest deviation in the actual ground, but in my wonderful bubble, I'm floating gracefully over mountains of Pink Berry yogurt (vanilla, of course). 

I've referred Alex and my mom to my Etsy collections for gift ideas, but they'll be plum outta luck on the shipping front, too. No wonder Santa doesn't use Canada Post. Smart dude. Miracles aside, these won't end up under my tree. But a girl can always dream, can't she?

Holiday Etsy picks inspired by: 

candy canes • fireside romance • fancy-grown-up-lady parties • rosy cheeks

Vegan Shoes that are WAY too cute to be vegan shoes. (SOLD during the writing of this post. Frownsy face.)  Roni Kantor Vintage

A little Princess Di, no? Green Satin Clutch $15, unavesmas2

 I'm going skiing in Utah in a month. And, well, this just feels right. Buffalo Check Scarf $18, Simple Vintage

Too adorbs for eating! Much to hubby's chagrin, I've recently started mounting plates on the walls. Finch Plate $24, Tree House Club

 I'm too old for this, right? Heart Headband $40, Giant Dwarf

 Stamped Spreaders $24, Simply Sweet Studio

Oh! wouldn't this look lovely on our new art-wall? Montreal Pennant $18, Tree House Club

Oh the things I could make! Chevron Fabric, $11/yard

Very happy feet. Snakeskin Socks $28, Strathcona Stockings

Red Vintage Clutch (SOLD during the writing of this post. Boo.)  Steel City Vintage

Won't you drop by my lovely winterized cottage in the mountains for some delish crudités on my chic vintage nordic dinnerware? (You'll see, I'll mean it one day.) $62, The Fancy Lamb 

Saddest Etsy dog ever. Sled $100, The Fancy Lamb

Best for wrapping! Washi Tape Dispenser $27, Sugar B. Supplies

 
If you manage to secure the services of a reindeer, you're welcome to buy me anything on this list!

Merry shopping! • Buy handmade!

etsy-love!

[ photos via Le Animalé, Happiknits & Shutterography on Etsy ]

I sold 5 items on Etsy this week - it's a good week that way! My only issue with Etsy, as Regretsy has amply demonstrated, no curation means that the floodgates are wide open to bad, bad art. So, finding great things on Etsy tends to require a little digging.

Listen: it's worth it.

Not only am I a seller on Etsy, but I also do a fair bit of shopping on it too. Ususally my shop earnings just get rolled back into Etsy in some way, whether I'm buying fabric yardage and supplies, an amazing vintage necklace, or a cute illustrated print. I love supporting fellow small biz owners.

Yesterday, I was perusing my "Favorites" on Etsy - just a collection of things that I've hearted over the past couple of months, and page no. 1 looked almost intentionally curated. It could almost be a treasury of it's own... mmm, making Etsy treasuries - one of my favourite time-wasters.

Themes were definitely emerging: I'm obviously loving mustard this season. Anything in that rich earthy yellow has been catching my eye these days. Also, season-appropriate chunky knits, of course. Cozy-times.

OK, these hearts are too good not to share:

 natural wool hand-crocheted leg warmers ($30) by donkey & lemon

 

 royal tenenbaums poster by adam juresko

 fine art photo print ($20) by karin A photography

 le animale fox earrings $30

OMG pennants by rank & file $18.50

 pom-pom flowers ($12.50) by steph loves ben

 

 kelsey genna 'beatrice' dress $190

umbu sewing pattern chandelier $200

chunky cowl scarf ($80) by happiknits

 french bulldog print by shutterography $18

 

dandyrions fox sweater $55

Crunchy leaves & cardis... it's Fall!

My must-haves for fall? Sadly, basics. It's not super exciting, of course, that my wish list is stacked with practical staples and classic/basic silhouettes. It's all about stretching my very limited wardrobe budget, though. My real wish list in the true sense of the term (read: unattainable/only- in-dreams) would be far more daring, bold and fun.  And yes dispensable and expensive. But to even dream about it would be torture. So let's pretend we didn't even go there.

It's kind of fun to have style with no money - you work harder, but the pay off is awesome ("Guess... just GUESS how much I paid for this!"). Reverse snobbery.

I just want to recreate these. With no budget.

[ Am I too old? Can I pull this off? I'll surely try. ]

 

It's no secret that half my outfits are composed (artfully) with a mish-mash of vintage, hand-me-downs, clothing swap gleans, rejigged last-season pieces, Etsy finds, and a good dash of scores from the sale racks at Zara and FCUK. Eclectic is a bloody cliché term, but I guess it's appropriate in my case.

Anywaaayyyy, I'm stuck with seriously little to spend as the weather cools and I gear up for my favourite fashion season. But Dayna, don't you have a real job now? Yep. But I also have a real musician for a husband. I also have real debt from a year of being between jobs (or as I put it at the time: "freelance"). So yeah, I have to be smart these days. Remember when 100% of your income went to fun stuff? Man, those were the days. The effin DAYS, man.

I'm determined to still have fun with this exercise: stretching my bucks and making practical purchases doesn't have to be as ho-hum as it sounds.

Here's the plan.

My Top Picks for Fall:

1. I'm super set in the leggings department. I happen to own the rainbow. THE rainbow. But I'm kind of dying to make the above-the-knee socks thing work. OK, I don't have the legs for it (anymore) but if I can take just ONE fashion tip from the Hooters gals: double-up on the nylons. I might, just might, be able to pull this off with some serious nylon action to help with the danger zone between the top of the socks and the bottom of the shorts. We'll see.

 asos.com

2. Winter shorts. Cuffed, high-waisted, woolly. An alternative to skirts and dresses and part of my plan to rock the school-girl socks (tastefully).

 asos.com

 phillip lim $445

 top shop $75

3. Easy dresses. Shirt dresses, tent dresses, sweater dresses. Short-ish and perfect for pairing with leggings and boots OR tights and flats.

 stella mccartney $935

 michael kors $135

 river island $70

4. Cardis that pop. Fun prints to break up the neutrals and solids. Ahhh, layering! It's just the loveliest part of dressing. I could go for wide strips or pin dots. Or just wow-colours!

 J.Crew $49

 Madewell $85

5. Chunky knit/wool accessories. Again, practical. 

 asos.com

6. Sensible shoes. In my world that just means "NOT lime green animal print". Simple, neutral (and ideally comfy) leather wedge pumps. Grey, maybe? Also, Simple black ballet flats. But wait. Easier said than done. This style is of the dime-a-dozen variety, but do you know how HARD it is to find the perfect pair?! Hard, OK. Hard. I have slim feet, so I need 'em narrow. I like the vamp to be shallow (i.e. toe cleavage is awesome) and the toe to be that perfect shape between round and almond. Also, structured - not slipper-y. A little bow would be OK. Loving these, but not the price. Then again, it could be an investment, right?

Locale $135

 french sole $155

7. Leg warmers. I'm a TTC-er come November (bye, bye sweet bike) and my above plan to pretty much never wear pants has flaws: I live in Canada. So, leg warmers are on my list. But, yeah, super hard to track down lws that are non-bulky and non-tacky. My personal shopping guru (who last week lamented "Ugh, there's nothing out there!" for the third season in a row) suggested dance wear stores. Maybe I just wanna be a ballerina.

8. Pendant necklaces. I wanna double and triple them up! Scouring the antique markets for some vintage to mix with cheap-o Forever 21 versions. (Just bought these two lockets on Etsy!)

 etsy.com

I have already made a couple tidy little online purchases and will post outfit pics once my packages arrive (Yay, snail mail). Today calls for some actual mall shopping, too (egads! malls!).

In the end, I need big impact for small bucks. Here I go!

Photos via: asos.com, polyvore.com, etsy.com, French Sole, Locale, Madewell, J.Crew.com