Ready for my close-up

Included in this outfit are: a shirt with cameras on it, a tweed jumper, yellow tights, and moccasins.  Some [closed-minded] people might think that these items do not fit together.  They would be wrong. . . in my humble opinion. :)

Shirt: Simon's // Dress: Monteau at Winner's // 

Positive: it was so super sunny when these photos were taken

Negative: the super sunny sun bleached out my yellow tights in these photos... 

Oh well, you'll just have to trust me that they were bright yellow.  I mean, why would I wear white or beige tights with this outfit?  haha. 

Sooo... check out the beautiful blue background.  It's the back of the movie theatre.  It has a film-strip running right around it.  Is there a film-strip background because I'm wearing a camera shirt?  Or am I wearing a camera shirt because there is a film-strip background?  Whoa. 

Like many other bloggers, I'm moccasin obsessed.  They're just so cute and comfy.  I want to wear them with everything. 

Tights: Old Navy // Moccasins: Minnetonka //

Hmm... you can sort of see the colour of the tights here.  I'll work on capturing their true essence in the future, before tights season is over. 

♥ Meg xoxo

Thanks to M for taking these photos, and for noticing the blue wall.  

Seen Reading

by Julie Wilson

"Caucasian female, 50s, with ruffled blond hair, wearing heavy winter coat, carrying a bright floral purse. Wuthering Heights, pg 145.

Seen Reading is the product of a self-proclaimed "literary voyeur", Julie Wilson. The book is based on her website: http://www.seenreading.com/.  In her blog, and in her book, she writes about sightings of people on the Toronto transit system.  She quickly describes them, their outfit, and notes the book that they are reading.  After that, she writes a short and poignant creative writing piece about them.  She addresses the reader as only "he" or "she", and sometimes makes reference to something about their appearance or their book.  She takes "people watching" to a whole new level; she watches people, notes what they are reading, and then makes up a story about them.  

I loved this book.  Everything about it was so perfect. I love public transit.  I once wrote an essay about the people of the bus as a subculture. And I obviously love books and reading.  Wilson's short fiction pieces are sometimes fun, sometimes dramatic, and sometimes provocative.  They resonated with me, as a lover of books.  I often want to know how other people feel when they experience something in a book.  I mean, reading is a solitary activity for many people.  You read a book on your own.  Reading books aloud is something saved for a certain group of people.  People who want to talk about what they read join book clubs. 

I think that what Wilson has done in Seen Reading is told the stories of hundreds of nameless readers. She doesn't know where they come from, or what they do.  All she knows is the name of the book they're reading on their commute.  The name of the book they chose to read in public.  The name of the book that now defines them in her book. 

Wilson's concept is brilliant in its simplicity.  It is her skill as a creative writer that brings her project, her blog and her book, to life.  You can be a literary voyeur, as well.  Describe a person, note their book title, add #seenreading, tweet on Twitter and you're done.  I'm totally going to start doing this. 

♥ Meg xoxo

Beads and Bangles

Co-worker: You look really jungle-y today...

Me: . . . thanks?

Shirt: Nygard // Leggings and bangles: H&M // 

I bought this shirt at a store moving sale with my mum and grandma.  It was the only one like it, and happened to fit me.  Kismet, right?  I love it for its wild pattern and beaded fringe. I paired it with gold bangles and gold dangley earrings. All day I felt like Esmeralda from [Disney's verion of] The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

Was I hopping?

I just wanted to dance around all day to make the beads dance too...

Boots: Charlotte Russe // 

I was confused about the "jungle-y" comment from my colleague when she first remarked it.  Now, though, I can see where she was coming from. I was too taken with the orange, pink, yellow, and the BEADS (did I mention the beads??) to notice the animal print near the edges.  lol. 

Boots: Charlotte Russe //

Happy spring, my loves.  Whether it actually means spring dresses, or if it means leggings, boots, and jungle print... happy spring to you. 

♥ Meg xoxo

The Anthology Project

by D. Rawlings, M. Rhodes, K. Smith, C. Makris, C. Willumsen, T. Rhodes, S. Bradley, C. Choi, B. Huen, J. Ang, N. Thornborrow, and C. Konefal

"You'd be surprised, but for an obese cat he sure can move."

The Anthology Project is just what it states: it's an anthology of comics or graphic novels short stories.  Each story is very different from the other, but collectively they are all a bit strange. Mr. Dung and Beetle tells a heartwarming tale of a ball of dung that saves all of the animals in his forest during a rainstorm.  He ends up sacrificing his own "life" to get the animals to higher ground, when he himself is washed away.  I mean, it tells great messages about the strength of community, putting others before yourself, and understanding that friendships are more important than possessions.  BUT, Mr. Dung is a man made of dung. Strange, right?

The other stories in the anthology were also sort of bizarre. One involved two unicorn brothers, one good and one evil, fighting to the death in a candy cane forest. Another story was a take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but set in the Old West in the desert.  Another was about a little boy buying food for his two cats, one obese and one super skinny.  Still another is about a man who cannot make any decisions for fear of creating alternate realities. 

My favourite story in the collection, Wish, is about a little girl who meets a "chubby fly" as she calls it, or a fairy, in the forest.  The fairy, who is only interested in human food, tricks the girl into granting her a wish.  I liked the magical nature of the story and the twist ending.  

This anthology is super creative.  I like most collections of short stories, because you can just jump right in without any need for background plot information or development.  I mean, I like getting to know characters, but I also like seeing them at this one moment in their life.  This collection was even more interesting because of the graphics.  The reader is left to make a great deal of inferences for him or herself, and I like that freedom from an author. 

♥ Meg xoxo

City lights and snow

I got these tights over the break, and I am in love.  Some of my co-workers said, "Nice tights, Meg" to me today.  Maybe they were being sarcastic, but I'd like to think that they really meant it. haha. 

Coat: Old Navy // Dress and Cardigan: Forever XXI // Tights: Topshop //

Right when I decided to pull over and take these pics, it started blizzard-ing.

Dress and Cardi: Forever XXI // Tights: Topshop //

I decided to pair the busy tights with a plain black dress, and then added this neon yellow aka citron coloured cardigan to (sort of) match.  Maybe I should've put on a blazer instead. . .

PS. Sorry my hand looks demented; it was half in and half out of my pocket when the shutter clicked.

Tights: Topshop // Booties: Burlington Coat Factory //

I haven't worn these boots everyday since I bought them, it just seems that way. lol. I'm thinking of tons of outfits for these night life tights now.  Look for them in the near future. 

♥ Meg xoxo

New Boots :)

I got new boots. Hurray :) They are the exact same as my old green ones, but they're aubergine. That's a fancy way to say purple.  (Shout out to Children's book readers of Fancy Nancy)

Boots: Tretorn // Jeans: Winner's // Coat: Old Navy //

Taking a walk on the wild side... on a little wall on the top of the escarpment.

Boots: Tretorn // Socks: university book store //

At a maple sugar festival with M.  He hates cold weather, so he was a total champ for taking me to this.  I love him as much as maple.

Boots: Tretorn // Socks: Claire's // Pants: lululemon // Skirt: Hot Topic //

Aaand... St Patrick's Day. These boots came into a handful of pubs for the festivities. :) 

I know it's spring for a lot of the blogosphere, but in my neck of the woods boots are still required. I'll be livin' it up for a few more weeks in these beauties. 

♥ Meg xoxo

The Court of the Air ...Part 1 ?

by Stephen Hunt

Okay... confession time: I cannot get into this book.  I started it a week ago, before March Break.  I want to love it -- I really do.  I mean, it says on the cover that it's a "fantastical tale of high adventure, low-life rogues and orphans on the run."  I'm just not feelin' it.  Here's my big problem: after I've blogged an outfit with a book, I feel committed to read it and write about it. And then I feel like I can't post anything else until I write about the book I posed with.  Sigh* #bloggerproblems. M said to just "keep it real" with you guys, so that's what I'm doing. I think that I'll come back to it sometime... just not right now.  On to more outfits and books...

♥ Meg xoxo

I'm just mad about saffron...

The other day I went to surprise M at work, and I passed these gorgeous yellow doors on the way.  I obviously went back for outfit shots after I visited him.  (He happened to be rocking orange too... I should have invited him to this impromptu photoshoot :)) 

Dress: Suzy Shier // Jacket: Old Navy // 

My same students who forget their homework at home, remembered that I wore this dress on the first day of school.  They are completely correct, too.

Tights: Sear's // Boots: Burlington Coat Factory // 

I paired my dress with my new booties, some tights, and a jacket... and it was was ready for late winter/ early spring.

I think that I should paint my door yellow. Or maybe orange...

♥ Meg xoxo

Coat love

I finally got a new dress coat.  Yippee.  I loved my old red one when I bought it, but over time I wanted a more fitted coat.  I found this lovely gem in the Old Navy clearance racks a few weeks back.  It makes any outfit dressy -- throw it on over sweatpants and you're dressed up. :) 

Coat: Old Navy // 

I mean, come on - it has ruffles. Aaaand, it was mad on sale.

Dress: JCPenney 

When I wore this dress to work everyone told me that they liked my shirt.  Ha. Fooled another one with the attached shirt and skirt.  It just works out better for me this way; you don't have to worry about keeping your shirt tucked in properly.

Dress: JCPenney //

Polka dots = love.  It was a little chilly without the coat, but I wanted to show off the whole look.

Boots: Sterling // Tights: Joe Fresh // 

Just when you thought this entire outfit was black and white... I present you with Tiffany Blue. 

Earrings: Forever XXI //

These are only "Tiffany" in shade.  At $1.99 a pair, I bought these lovelies in two different colours. They added a nice amount of colour to my black and white outfit.

People who thought I was too dressy today, I refer you to Oscar Wilde: "If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated."  Teehee. 

♥ Meg xoxo

When In Doubt, Add Butter

by Beth Harbison

"It was like the silliest old romantic movie come to life, with every piece falling into place like a stack of blocks in Tetris."

Gemma Craig is a 37 year old self-employed personal chef.  She cooks for people in their homes; she has a steady series of clients for each day of the week.  She cooks for a department store owner named Lex; a Russian family; a high-profile, wealthy (and snobby) family; an overweight, stay-at-home poker player, and a mysterious man (who she has never met) who she refers to only as "Mr. Tuesday." She spends her fleeting moments of free time with her very pregnant cousin, named Penny.  

Gemma goes out to celebrate with a girlfriend one night, and ends up taking home a handsome one-night-stand named Mack.  Through a series of missed connections, Gemma ends up with no contact information for the apparent man of her dreams.  Things are falling apart in her business world as well. Her Friday client has fired her. Events that she usually caters for are being cancelled.  One of her clients has made an inappropriate pass at her.  This entire time, she is kept sane by phone calls and flirty notes left between herself and the illusive Mr. Tuesday.  Those, and memories of her glorious night with Mack.  

Right when everything is about to fall apart for Gemma, things start looking up.  As if by magic or divine providence, new clients are found.  She is happy and fulfilled by her work, if not more hungry and an emotional than usual.  And somehow, it turns out that her happily ever after was much closer than she thought all along.  

I picked up this book because I loved the author's Shoe Addicts Anonymous, for obvious reasons.  Harbison didn't disappoint in her latest novel.  I found Gemma to be a lovable leading lady; she was caring towards her clients, she took pride in her work, she was doing something she loved, and when everything wasn't going to plan she made a new plan.  Sure this book could be filed as Chick Lit. I mean, it has the flowery cursive and pastel-coloured cupcakes on the cover.  I think that it had some more meaningful threads to it, though.  Harbison seemed to be addressing the human need to be nurtured and the importance of providing love and care for another individual, whether it be love between friends, love for a spouse, or even love for an unplanned baby.  

I recommend this novel wholeheartedly.  Just make sure you're not reading it on an empty stomach; Gemma cooks some delicious sounding meals. :)

♥ Meg xoxo

Blankets

by Craig Thompson

"At night, lying on your back and staring at the snow, it's easy to imagine oneself soaring through the stars."

"Blankets" is a 580-paged autobiographical illustrated novel about one man's formative years, and his relationship with his family, his peers, and his god. 

Thompson tells the story of his growing up through text and art.  He jumps around in time a lot, telling childhood stories as they are remembered in his adolescence. He begins in his childhood days, when he shared a bed with his little brother.  The title seemed too obvious to me then - they made forts and boats out of blankets, fought over blankets, and huddled underneath blankets.  

Craig allows the reader to get to know him, and his personality straight away.  He is bullied at school.  He doesn't know how to stick up for his little brother.  He is ashamed of himself, and is not afraid to question God.  He loves drawing and doodling, he's just not sure of the point of his art. His mother is a devout Christian, and sends him to Bible camp.  Remarkably, Craig is even bullied there.  He finds a friend in a kindred spirit named Raina.  After they go back to their own hometowns in different states, Raina becomes Craig's long distance muse. 

Craig is allowed to visit Raina and her family in his senior year of high school.  Raina struggles with her family issues; her parents are getting a divorce, her older married sister is always in need of babysitting, and her two adopted siblings with Down Syndrome need care as well.  Raina presents Craig with a hand-made quilt upon his arrival.  They spend many late nights cuddled in the quilt, sharing stories and dreams. To me, this quilt was again too obvious for the title.  During these weeks, the reader gets to see more stories and memories from Craig's past as he presents them to Raina.  

Craig's story is peppered with quotes from the Bible, feelings of Christian guilt, moments of questioning and moments of clarity.  Craig struggles at times- does he feel called by God to the priesthood?  Does he believe in God at all? After wondering about the title for the entire novel, I came to realize that Craig was talking about blankets of snow that were omnipresent throughout his story.  And how he just wanted to make a mark on the world, even it was as temporary as footprints in falling snow. 

I liked this book because it was a non conventional autobiography.  I mean, there aren't many books like it out there.  Craig was honest with me, as the reader, about his life and the feelings he felt at different moments of his life.  I liked that the story jumped around in time, and that it left out the in-between bits. It was like I was looking at a photo album with Craig, and he was explaining the pictures to me. 

♥ Meg xoxo

Blinded by the light...

I don't know the rest of those lyrics... but I was most definitely blinded by the light.  I took this photo, took a quick look at it on the display of camera, and was on my way.  I didn't realize that it was blurry... due to the bright sunshine.  Oops.  I like the sunshine though, so I'll deal.  

Sweater: Roxy at Winner's // Shirt (under): Joe Fresh // Skirt: Giant Tiger //

Tights: vintage // Boots: Burlington Coat Factory // 

You can't tell, but my tank top is blue velvet.  Which is spectacular, if you ask me. Not spectacular, is the fact that this outfit looked a lot better in the mirror/ in real life than it did in that first blurry picture.  I mean... I look like a giant.  Boo. Sigh*  the boots still look beautiful though. :)

Boots: Burlington Coat Factory // Socks: Spring // 

Lace cutouts!  These super inexpensive booties bring me so much joy.  I'm in love with the see-through lace.  

Off to pack some sunglasses in my bag for tomorrow... 

♥ Meg xoxo