Hometown

I mentioned in my last post that I went home this past weekend, as it was a long weekend here in Canada and my roommate and I decided to utilize that time to take a small road trip together. I had never taken her to visit my home town in all the years that we have been besties (that's many), and since I have been spending every other weekend there lately, it felt pretty fitting. I also just love road trips. A road trip day is automatically the best day, and waking up on a road trip day is the best thing. I love getting the well-thought-out snacks. I love the playlists. I love the overtired giddiness & the more than usual coffee intake. I love talking with someone that I like enough for long enough that I end up losing my voice.

 

If you follow me on Instagram (you can do that by following @dollparade), you would see that I posted only a few photos. That's really unlike me, but I guess I can chalk it up to the fact that I was busy having a lot of fun. Also unlike me is the fact that my real deal camera did not have one singular meal documentation. I promise that we ate & that we ate really well. We also drank draft beers in a legion, danced in both a hilarious dive bar & a living room, ate at a tiny, charming diner, listened to this song almost too many times, drove through some mountains & some meadows, had a visit with the ocean, spent time with my wonderful family, had lovely times with hometown pals of mine, found a roadside ice cream place that does double dipped cones (chocolate & coconut, guys - plus the coconut was multicolored), and had some chatter filled moments, but also some quiet ones. A successful little roadie.

 

I am from this place. This place is just the most beautiful. In this place, there is a well known 300-ish km drive called the Cabot Trail. This place is considered one of the top 10 island destination in the world. This is because it is wildly beautiful. We didn't get to do it all because it takes a good bit of time, it's a bit before season right now, and because it was raining sideways for almost the whole weekend. But we got to do some parts, and those parts were super nice. Embarrassingly enough, I have never done the whole trail, even though it is where I am from. I now have a goal to go back & do it all and do it soon. Below is a bit of a photo bombardment of the weekend, but it honestly just scratches the surface of how much pretty there is in this place. As you may have gathered, I have kind of fallen for my home town after 28 years of being from there and 11 of living away. It's funny how that works.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this bombardment of words. There are more of them than I anticipated. Have yourself a wonderful Thursday.

 

 

(Bomber Jacket c/o Joe Fresh)



8 Ball

Necklaces: c/o The Boutique Minimaliste /  Bomber: Adidas / Shoes & Sunnies: Le Chateau / Dress: Pumpkin Seed / Bag: Michael Kors Hamilton / Watch: Guess

Hello & happy week. It's already Wednesday, and that feels like a very strange thing. I was in my home town for the weekend, so I'm a little behind the 8 ball in being on the ball just yet this week, so to speak. I will try my darndest to get in 3 posts the rest of this week, though - just you wait & see!

I managed to meet up with Kate last evening since it was absolutely glorious outside & since I wanted to show you these new necklaces of mine - aren't they perfect? I've been leaning towards daintier neck wear often times lately, and when these arrived in my mailbox, I was just the happiest girl. I don't think the little skull necklace has even left my neck for sleep times. I do not and will not wear things on the blog that I don't 100% support & love myself, and I have got to say that working with The Boutique Minimaliste has been nothing but super lovely. Their items are adorable, affordable, and of great quality. So for that and for being nice to work with, a big thank you goes out.

I will post you a little photo diary from my trip home perhaps tomorrow or the Friday. I hope you like you some nature. 

Brightly

Dress: c/o Gap / Shoes: Le Chateau / Bracelets: H&M + Urban Outfitters / Sunnies: reNeu Boutique / Blazer: Thrifted / Bag: Michael Kors Hamilton

 

I have to be honest... at first, I was convinced that this dress didn't work on me. I have a pretty short torso, and because of that, there seemed to be a little bit of extra material on the top half that puffed out a bit. But I loved it. I loved this dress. I loved the darling little collar, the double layered bottom, the bright color (it photographs sort of yellow but I can promise you it is n.e.o.n.), and most practically, the grab & go simplicity. After a little while, I found myself picking this dress out of my closet (or, a pile of clothes, if we are being honest) over & over, and started to feel like it did work after all. I always feel happy & comfortable when wearing it, but it's fun enough to not feel boring. A huge thank you to Gap who sent it along to me (with some other pieces I will be styling, too!) - a bright little piece such as this can cheer up many kinds of days.

 

Sidenote: I get more comments on this phone case than, really, anything else in the world. It's a conversation starter to say the least, a conversation that usually starts with, "Is that really your phone case?". Yes that is a bunny iPhone case. Yes I am in my very late twenties. Yes I have a grown up job to which I wear a blazer & things.

 

Have a great day.



Peony

 

Top & Sunnies: Thrifted reNeu Boutique / Skirt: Joe Fresh / Heels: Boutique 9 / Watch: Guess / Purse: Le Chateau

 

Photos by Kate.

Hello & happy Monday. How was your weekend?

For me, it was a lot of anything & everything, but informal & calm at the very same time. Friday was a random pal meet up over after work beers that we promptly followed up with Greek food. Saturday was outfitted with my usual farmers market trip (I am not sure that anything can surmount a walk to the market on a tree lined street, during a still Spring morning, with my ears full of music). I stocked up on the usual and allowed the rest of my afternoon to be focused around house cleaning & treat eating (oh hello cheese curds, samosas, coconut cookies, and quad latte). On Saturday night I found myself at a small rock show (in the very boutique where I bought this blouse - full circle!), and Sunday was outfitted with greeting my brother & his lady at their marathon finishes & then cooking (oh hello smoked cheddar & sriracha mac & cheese + strawberry apple rhubarb crumble ...I do a lot of eating).

I've come to default to this top quite a bit since I picked it up one day over my lunch hour at probably my most frequented local boutique. It's silk. It's floral. It's pastel. The last time I wore it I dressed it down with jeans, but figured it deserved a pairing with lace, being silk and all.

Have a lovely week out there!

Dress Down

 

Blazer: J. Crew / Jeans: Gap / Shoes & Sunnies: Le Chateau / Blouse: Thrifted / Necklace: Boutique Olivia / Watch: Guess 

 

The last time I wore this tweed blazer it was with its skirt partner (see here) for a clean & polished look, but I decided to dress it down for this round. I have been finding myself pairing it with pants pretty often lately, wearing it as a fancy little "jacket" during these warmer days. This blouse is quite literally, my very favorite thing. It is a perfectly comfortable silk, a match for every single other clothing article, and I got it for $5 bucks. Too bad I have spilt coffee on it twice now.

 

As for the weekend... I'm feeling decidedly productive today (which, if we're being honest, may not last entirely long - my coffee has just kicked in), so I'm outlining a weekend plan, like a dork. It is supposed to be rainy as heck for the next few days, so I'm looking at spending some time indoors drinking copius amounts of coffee & perhaps visiting a restaurant or two with my sister in law who will be in town. Oh, and going to see The Great Gatsby. Eeee!

 

Have a great weekend.

 

Note: It is super hilarious how root-y my hair looks in photo #1 due to the light. Extreme ombre?



Minor Interpretation

Dress: Mustard Seed / Blazer: Zara / Clutch: Vintage / Necklace: Thrifted / Barrette: Vintage / Shoes: ALDO / Sunnies: reNeu Boutique / Watch: Guess

The Great Gatsby comes out this weekend (which I am so very excited about), and with that thought in mind, I pulled together a few pieces that somewhat reminded me of the era, channeling a 20's silhouette. A pleated flapper shift, a big barrette, some pearls, and though it is hard to see, a (faux) snakeskin clutch dressed up with a rhinestone jewelled pin. A pretty minor interpretation, yes, but a fun put together none the less. I actually have this dress in white as well (as you can see here), and plan on getting lots of wear out of both this Summer. So simple & feminine, all at once.

Happy Wednesday.