Welp, I suck at blogging. But here I am! 

This past weekend we went to the London Sun Festival, which is an international food fest with a bunch of small businesses bringing in their stores. This year we tried Turkey and Indian cuisine and it was fun as always. 

I never wear hats. Always felt awkward in them. Since moving here 3 years ago I've been trying out the winter hat thing out of necessity but I still constantly worry about how it looks. Summer hats were entirely out of the question until now. After a lot of debating with this boater hat I've had for months I finally put it on, feeling weird at first, but as soon as we hit the festival I felt right at home because everyone seemed to be wearing straw hats!

Anyway, that anecdote relates to my style changing lately. I've been doing a bit of a closet purge and donating clothing that I no longer fancy, and I seem to be gravitating towards looser fits.

There was a small stand with lots of succulents and cacti, so we picked up 3. They also had pitcher plants (the one that catches insects) - it was the first time I saw them in real life - as well as tiny Venus fly traps.

Fall fell

It's that time of year again, or rather the end of that time of year (some rumors of first snow this weekend in Southwest Ontario). My boyfriend has seen me struggle with the tripod so offered to take photos for me today. It seems we still have to figure out proportions a little bit though.

These were taken right behind my apartment! I haven't got any curtains yet (although it has been 5 months) and thankfully behind my building is just a patch of forest.

I've wanted a trench coat for ages and I'm mostly sad I can't wear this one for long because it is quite thin.

This is basically my school outer attire during fall. I picked up this Danier bag for school on a 50% off sale last boxing day. It can comfortably hold my laptop and notebooks and if I try really hard, a water bottle.

Our cat Yogurt wanted in. My favourite watch and 1 day old burn mark from splashing hot butter on myself.

Dress I wore before - I think it functions a lot better as fall/winter piece. Boots are my super old Winners buy that I have loved too much.

dress Dynamite / trench Etam / watch Michael Kors

Polish Review - OPI Liquid Sand

Before yesterday I had a fire engine red on from China Glaze, from three weeks ago. I've been cutting my nails like crazy leading up to a piano performance so I never bothered because I don't like how nail polish looks on my nails when they're short.

During that time I bought this OPI Liquid Sand in Get Your Number from Winners! It's been begging me to try it so after the performance I came straight home to paint my nails, shortness be damned.

 

If you're not familiar with the liquid sand effect, it's basically a glitter polish with a semi-matte effect. No top coat required, producing a texture and look akin to wet sand. Sparkly, awesome sand.

 

Each bottle comes with a tag that explains you need two coats, which was perfect for myself. Takes a bit longer than normal polishes to dry completely, but since it doesn't need top coat the whole procedure would take the same amount of time, really. The above photo is in natural light at around 6pm.

Under bright sunlight. And oops, up close you can see I didn't apply it very well.

Thumbs up! I'm really digging the semi-matte look, as someone who loves matte polishes but find they chip very easily due to lack of top coat. It's been a day and so far so good with this one, no signs of wearing off just yet.

- K

Work and play

dress Dynamite / heels Steve Madden / clutch ALDO / watch Michael Kors

I had my eye on this dress for the past couple of weeks but never forked over the $50 to buy it. I took a picture in the changeroom and occasionally pulled it out to stare at it wistfully. Then Dynamite had a BOGO 50% off sale and I just couldn't resist! Bought this dress and another, while more money was spent it felt like I saved, as silly as it is.

It's a bit long for me so I fold it in just a little at the bottom, but I can see this as a great office dress. I think it's pretty versatile, it can be formal or just everyday.

This clutch, though. I thought it was adorable.

I love Steve Madden because they are the most affordable brand of flashy, quality, comfy heels. I danced all night once in this pair, and it only hurt a little!

 Favourite go-to necklace at the moment. Bought in China.

I've been super lazy these past few days! My boyfriend and I started a 1000 piece puzzle which is on our bucket list but, well, it is not as relaxing as we thought it would be. It's a cute picture of 4 frogs stacked on top of one another, one smaller than the next, but the background is almost completely blurred shades of green and we keep getting frustrated!

We also saw Godzilla with his friends and left with mixed feelings. I am of the opinion that for a Godzilla movie, there was not much Godzilla action.

Flutter

This top was one of my favourite pieces in highschool. It was my first chiffon shirt back when I couldn't find any in the usual stores but found at Winners. It's so soft and flowy with the lace detail on the back and bow in the front. Paired with button-down linen skirt, reminds me of a very toned down Mori girl style.

top Winners / skirt Forever21 / boots Taobao

In review

I've become inexplicably lazy after exams finished. When I was busy my head was filled with all the things I wish I could do and I would actually make time to draw and blog and take fashion photos. Now that exams are over I feel like I don't care about my interests anymore, which is silly because I have all the time in the world now. Either way, here's a few of the pieces I did this semester.

Self-portrait, silver on paper, 4 x 6

One of my favourites, the silver oxidizes over time and the drawing gradually becomes darker.

Pattern, Sakura Micron on stonehenge paper, 15 x 11

Negative drawing skeleton study, charcoal on newsprint, 18 x 24

Even though this course had nothing to do with my major, it ended up being one of my highest marks because I enjoyed it so much and consequently put in more effort. 

Spent Flowers

I like tulips. They're a reliable sign of spring. The groundhogs have been out and about too, I'm getting pretty excited about wearing a different wardrobe and retiring my jackets for the next few months.

Sometimes I think I feel sorry for flowers. Their entire worth is in how beautiful they are and when wilt, they're no longer of any use.

I haven't done much else lately, mostly half-hearted studying, lots of cooking and going out to eat. My life has revolved around cheap food + studies + boyfriend for the past month.