Outfit: The White Dress

Hello again! Much has happened in the last month, including exams and a week halfway across the country. I felt inspired this week by one of the best parts of summer in Ottawa: the Byward Market.

Around this time of year, the market officially opens for the summer and dead in the heart of the city, merchants open stalls to sell everything from flowers and farm fresh fruit to jewellery and clothes. I was just there on Monday with a dear friend of mine and spent entirely too much money, but one of the things I got was this gorgeous 100% cotton dress.

100% Cotton. This picture taken in my backyard

I've been wanting a white cotton dress for years now, but all previous contenders had been either too short, shapeless or had material so thin you could see undergarments. This dress is plenty long enough for me, has shape and is lined as to keep ones undies hidden. It's still a tad too big for me, but I thankfully have a friend who's a professional seamstress who can alter it for me. I'm so excited to wear it this summer!

Here are two ways I would style it. Number One: Dinner

Hat: Aldo (flower from craft store)
Jean jacket: hand-me down from my sister
Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Converse
Bag: The Body Shop

As the title suggests, this is an outfit I would wear if I were eating out. I don't like to wear belts when I eat out (I'm a pig), so the jacket helps keep the dress's shape while also protecting my arms from blasting air conditioning. The bag is big enough to hold carry-out containers in case of leftovers. Seeing as most restaurants I frequent in the summertime are relaxed places with patios, the worn-out shoes and knit hat keeps it casual. The heart-shaped shades just make me happy :)

Number Two: Market/Festival

Flower clips: Forever 21
Shoes: ... can't remember
Belt: Spring
Bag: Spring

Keeping it simple, the belt adds waist definition. The bag is smaller since I don't want to carry a lot if I'm walking everywhere. Shoes are simple and comfy. The mismatched hair flowers add some much needed colour. Smiles again :D

Close up. Isn't it pretty?

I hope the weather is as beautiful wherever you are! Happy Springtime!

So I Might Have Saved Someone's Life...

Unrelated picture I accidentally took while laughing.

I was walking home from school, literally about to turn the corner onto my street when I heard a strange noise from across the road. I turn to look and see a man having a seizure, the sound I heard being him choking. He had a friend next to him just standing there staring while another man near me was asking if he should call 911.

That's when I realized that I was the only one who knew what to do.

I marched across the street and ordered the friend to help me place the man on his side (so he would stop choking). While I held him in recovery position I was telling the man on the phone with 911 exactly what was happening and that we would need emergency workers. The whole thing took less than 2 minutes. The man came back into consciousness and I started to calmly ask him his name and age (and ignored the other two men who kept trying to answer for him).

I stayed until the firemen came and told me I could go. I walked the 200 meters to my house, closed the door and put my bag down before my hands began to shake. That man could have died! 


In January my supervisor had me take a First Aid training. I was sure to thank her when next I saw her.

Holy Cow.

Outfit Post!

So sorry for the delay! I've been having a rough time lately, and so of course Murphy's law is in full effect. We also have a great big helping of every-and-all-things-important-that-you-don't-want-to-do-are-happening-in-the-same-week law.

That needs a shorter name, how about Quantum Suckery? In which the amount of crap life throws your way is in direct opposition to the amount of time/energy you have in order to complete/handle said tasks? I may have missed my calling... Anyway, it is too early to open a bottle of Whine; so let's move on.

I wanted to make a post that might make me feel a little happier or at least a little pretty. Outfit Post it is! I have seriously been wanting to do one of these since I started this blog, but somehow the closest I have come to doing so is wearing my brother's sweater whilst sitting on a radiator. I have moved since then and while my apartment is bigger, photo-friendly spots are a wee bit more difficult when you can't use your camera and you are trying to find the right level and angle for your laptop (why yes I did take these pictures with my webcam). Thank goodness for oddly placed shelves in staircases! So, without further complaining, here's what I'm wearing today:

Dress: H&M, Cardigan: H&M, Tights: MacGregor, Scarf: My sister's(shhh!)

As you can probably tell, I didn't feel like wearing colour today. That in itself is something of an oddity; the whole reason I'm wearing my sister's scarf is because all of mine have colours or prints.

I'd normally wear a belt with a look like this, but I wanted to be looser and comfy today.

Though you can't really see them in these pictures, I'm wearing two pairs of MacGregor Combed Cotton Tights. I love wearing these as they are not only warmer and a million times comfier than your average tights, they are incredibly strong. The first time I wore these I tripped on the street and fell, skinning my knee (note: do NOT wear heels the day after the year's first snowfall even if they are your warmest boots). My tights showed no damage at all! They were good as new once I rinsed my blood out.

Apparently, tights = stronger than human skin. Who knew?

Wow, just realized that this is the first time I'm posting a picture of my fully visible face! "Corpse Bride" head doesn't count.

I wanted a bit of a close up on my makeup. I went for a bit of a 1960's look with my teased hair and eyeliner. All of my eye makeup is in varying shades of brown, which I find softer than black.

And so that's my outfit today! I usually wear a lot more colour and rarely wear my hair in a teased ponytail, but I like the way I look today so there you go.

On a completely unrelated note, I turn 21 tomorrow! Of course, I'm not American and I don't drink anyway so it's not as big a deal as some make it out to be. I will be unable to celebrate with friends until Friday , family will have to wait until Easter, but still.

Have a happy Tuesday!

Random Fact

Sorry for the delay, work and school have been swamping me but I will have a proper post up soon. In the meantime:

In Alaska, it is illegal to push a live moose out a moving airplane.

This has been a

MacBook Pro and My Opinion on My School

So I finally got my MacBook Pro! I'm having so much fun playing with it: I have my schedule filled out on iCal and, as it turns out, I'm a lot busier than I thought. I knew in THEORY that two jobs and full-time University took a lot of time, but seeing it written out is a total eye opener.

Inspired by Maja's funny post about Photo Booth, here's a little picture I took using the "Bug Out" option:

I think I look vaguely "Corpse Bride"-ish. Not a bad thing in my book!


On another subject, I had to take a survey today from the Canadian University Survey Consortium, which is essentially a group of Universities across the country trying to gain a better understanding of what they are doing right and what they must improve on.


Having just taken this survey, I know exactly what needs to be improved: This Survey!


I had certain issues with the survey, not the least of which being how invasive some of the questions were, but here are my top three problems with it and why:

1. In the section regarding Services for Students, there was no mention of the Women's Resource Centre, the LGBT+ Pride Centre (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and other) or the Centre for Bilingualism.
2. In the part where I was supposed to put my race (amidst several sections including South Asian, Filipina, Latin American, Arabic, Aboriginal, Korean and others), there was a box called "Black" and another labeled "White".
3. Near the end, there was a question asking the extent of my parents' education. I had to fill out both "Mother" and "Father", no other options

For the first issue, none of the services were mentioned by name, but these above services were not mentioned at all. Sex and gender only came up at the very beginning when I was asked whether I was Female, Male or Other, no mention of any service that would aid, protect or advocate any sexual or gender minority. As far as this survey is concerned, queer people do not exist! 

As for bilingualism, I can understand that for many universities and colleges, language is not that big a deal as there is one set language for the school. The problem is, my university is famous for being Canada's only officially bilingual university! I'm able to take literature and science classes in French as well as English, and we're located in the capitol city where it's next to impossible to find employment if you are not fluent in both official languages. Why in the world is the University's top selling point being ignored? 

Secondly, I live in a city that is very racially diverse. This University is no different: walking through the halls, it isn't uncommon to hear four or more languages languages being spoken. While I was thankful for how many racial identities were available, I was beyond disappointed to see "black" and "white" on the list. This may be considered nitpicking, but what is wrong with saying "African descent", "European" or plain old "Caucasian"? Dumbing it down to "black" and "white" brings to mind opposition and, in my opinion, makes it seem that people of this identity do not merit proper names. It's silly.


And lastly, thank you survey for completely marginalizing any unorthodox home life. Single parent? Raised by your grandparents? Step-parent that has been more of a parent to you than anyone? Child of a same-sex union? You don't count! Just when I think that the society I live in is accepting...


The whole point of the survey was to get an idea of what the students think of the education they are paying thousands upon thousands of dollars dollars for, but I don't feel like it really reflected the school I attend. The survey was a good idea in theory, but instead of thinking about my future career or whether I'm going to peruse graduate studies, I'm distracted by all of these negative feelings towards a research tool that was supposed to apply to everyone and instead ostracized large portions of its demographic.


Didn't mean to end on such a negative note, but that's just how I feel today.

Fourty Facts About Me

Hello everybody! I actually have an entire (long) post written, ready to be posted, but I haven't gotten around to taking the pictures for it. It will be up soon but in the meantime, here's Forty Facts About Me. I used the same template as the Beautiful Maria and Amazing Maja. You ladies are wonderful!

1. How old will you be in five years? 25... 

2. With whom did you spend at least two hours today? My friend Tasha as we headed a decorating committee.

3. How tall are you? 175 cm or between 5'9 1/2 and 5'10

4. What was the last movie you saw? "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" stunning film. If Baz Luhrmann and Quentin Tarantino got together and made a rock musical about a transgender German glam rocker, it would look like this. And the music is incredible! If nothing else, check out the songs "The Origin of Love", "Wicked Little Town"  and "Wicked Little Town (Reprise)"

5. Who did you call most recently? My dear friend Kati.

6.What did it say in the last SMS you got? "I'll be a little late" someone was late for our movie night.

7. Do you prefer calling or texting? Calling. I am so slow at typing and insist on proper spelling and grammar.

8. Are your parents together or split up? Together till death did them part. They were actually together for more than half their lives.

9. When did you last see your mother? ... July 22nd 2011. Last visited on December 30th

10. What colour are your eyes? They used to be brown, but have gotten steadily greener.

11. When did you wake up today? When my eyes opened ;)

12. What’s your favourite place? Anywhere I feel loved.

13. Where do you think you’ll be in ten years? Halfway to sixty

14. What used to scare you most as a child? The Trident in Disney's "The Little Mermaid". The idea of something being so powerful terrified me.

 

15. Lately, what made you laugh uncontrollably? A news story about a four-year old boy saving his family from a home invasion by dressing up as Spiderman: the costume had little muscles built in and the robbers saw the shadow of what looked like a very large muscular man. They ran out and the family was safe. So adorable!

16. What do you wear to bed? In the winter it's full pajamas, keeping it classy ;). Summertime is another story...

17. Where have you lived? Toronto (ON), Holyrood (NL), St. John's (NL), Ottawa (ON)

18. Do you prefer shoes, socks or bare feet? Socks! Preferably colourful knit ones. Give me a pair of knit socks and a pair of moccasins and I'm in foot heaven.

19. Are you a social person? I definitely have my quiet moments, but I do believe I'm social.

20. Favourite ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie dough and brownies. Preferably Toll House.

21. Do you like Chinese food? YES! And I happen to live less than one street away from China Town.

22. Do you like coffee? No. I don't like the smell, the taste or the price. I'm faithful to my tea and hot chocolate.

23. Do you sleep in a special way? I'm a spreader: I fall asleep curled up in a little ball and sometime in the night spread my arms and legs before they supposedly "lock" into place. According to my siblings (who have shared beds with me many a time), it's close to impossible to move my limbs one they're spread.

24. Do you know how to play poker? Yep!

25. Do you want kids? Yes. But only when I'm ready to support them.

26. Have you ever been in an ambulance? No.

27. Do you prefer the ocean or a pool? The Ocean, because that means I'm on a trip! And I have a habit of taking handfuls of sand from every beach I visit. 

28. On what do you spend the most money? Food. Yes I'm including rent.

29. What’s your favourite TV show? Glee (a musical comedy), Criminal Minds (crime), any show about true crime and Mayday (documentary series investigating plane crashes). A bit of an odd mix... 

30. Who’s the funniest person you know? My dad. No contest.

31. What’s your ring tone? Whichever free ring tone annoys me the most so I don't ignore it.

32. Do you have any garments from when you were a kid? None that I owned, but I do have my mother's silk scarf that she used to wear all the time when I was little.

33. What thing do you have closest to you now that’s red? My maple leaf mittens

34. Do you flirt a lot? I've never flirted intentionally, but sometimes my friendliness can be mistaken for flirting. This has lead to some rather unfortunate situations

35. Do you know how to change the tires on a car? Yes: take it to a mechanic.

36. What was the last book you read? "Amuse Bouche" by Anthony Bidulka. It's the first book in his Russel Quant mystery series. His main character is a gay private detective from Saskatoon, the mysteries are wonderfully intriguing and Bidulka's writing is near flawless!

37. Do you read the paper? On occasion. Usually at a bus stop.

38. Do you sing in the car? Yes! And it's not limited to the car:

I also rock out in my room.

 

 39. Can you tango? Nope. But my friend and I like to pretend we can. He keeps dropping me.

40. Are you happy? I try to be and am mostly successful.

So there's forty facts. Hope somebody finds this at least of passing interest. Now, onto those pictures!

The Importance of a Bra Fitting

Well, that title obliterated any sense of mystery, didn't it? I wanted to share my knowledge on a subject that I know well enough to not make a fool of myself whilst simultaneously educating a few people. I didn't want to start with a tangent about how Shakespeare is amazing or a full blown movie review (maybe later). I wanted something a little more accessible. And then  it hit me: breasts!

Stop laughing! Every other person on the planet has a pair. The problem with the levitating globes of fatty tissue and milk glands is that a vast majority of people are not wearing their proper bra size. In fact, between 70 to 85 percent of ladies are wearing the wrong size bra. While you may think that "Oh! But I'd know if it didn't fit", you are most likely wrong. Which is why more of us need to embrace those who may help those in need: Shopping Attendants at lingerie stores!

Get back here! A professional bra fitting is a must. These ladies armed with measuring tape are our strongest advocates in our quest for comfort in the face of under-wire tyranny. It is also recommended to visit these lovely ladies every six months to a year. Regardless of what we may believe, breasts change thanks to weight loss, weight gain, hormones, pregnancy and age. In order to support them best, we need to be kept up to date!

To better show what I mean, I will share my own story with you all:

I was but a lass of fourteen years. Taunted by my classmates for having a (supposedly) underdeveloped chest. I was mopey about it until one day my mother takes me to a lingerie store and arranges for me to be measured. I did what any body conscious adolescent would do: I flat out refused to take my shirt off in front of some strange woman. But my mom insisted, saying something quite similar to my little diatribe a paragraph ago. I relented, having little choice since she was my ride home, and got my very first bra fitting. I ended up discovering that I was wearing a bra 3 full cup sizes too small! 3 sizes! Let me tell you, I looked very different coming out of the store than I did going in.

So, I learned quite early the importance of a bra fitting. In case you lovelies are unable to book a fitting, or are just a little shy, here are a few ways to see whether or not your bra fits.

1. If your Band is too big...

The Band of the bra is the strip of fabric that wraps around your ribcage, most commonly fastened by hooks at the back. The Band is what will carry the most weight. If the band is too big, it will ride up your back, more than likely causing you to try and tighten the straps in order to get the support back.

2. If the Band is too small...

If your Band is too small, it will be too tight around your ribcage, digging into your flesh leaving red marks behind after you've taken it off. Another way to check is if your bra straps are at a noticeable angle, your band is almost certainly too tight.

3. If your Cups are too big...

The cups are the bowl-shaped bits of fabric, frequently aided by straps, that hold the actual breasts. When your cup is too large, the material will either sage or jut out making unseemly bulges under your clothing.

4. If your Cups are too small...

The top of the cup will cut across the breast, making the top part spill over and creating the dreaded "quad-boob" look. No matter how many times it is seen on a trashy reality T.V. show, it never looks good.

5. Now, the PERFECT fitting bra...

Will have a Band that hugs your ribcage tightly enough that it is capable of staying up without the straps, but your are still able to fit two fingers underneath it. It should sit straight across your back.

The Cups will snugly hold in your boobs with the under-wire laying flat against your chest. The top of the Cups will also lie across the breast without cutting in or bagging out.

 Well, that's all for now! I hope you found this educational. Until next time!