Patio Time

Okay, I admit, I wore the same thing this afternoon as I did last night. But seeing as how I was doing the same activities.... (going for a walk in the river valley and chillin with some wine on my deck that overlooks said valley) I figured it was okay to done the same attire.

This may become my summer uniform. Simple cotton skirt with elastic waist and a tank top. This particular tank and skirt combo came from Old Navy, but lets be serious, you can find tanks and skirts all over. And right now, they are ridiculously cheap as they are having End of Season Sales already and technically the first day of summer hasn`t even happened. I hate when they do that. Pretty soon it will be Back to School sales..... (and whats even more depressing for us Northern folk, is the fact that in less than 2 days the longest day of the year will occur and then the days start getting shorter again!)

So this is me on Friday and Saturday. And this is my deck. Its my happy place and you are welcome for cocktails anytime!

DAY 19 - Saturday morning

I kinda hate working on Saturdays, but sometimes, it is a neccessary evil. This is one such evil Saturday, so I was up early today. Ugh. You can again tell by my face, that Im not impressed to be up at this time of day on a Saturday. Its one thing to be up early when you have something fun to do, quite another when you have to go be cheerful when you are not so full of cheer yourself.

But, on the upside, I put on a pretty dress, put a smile on my face and by 12:30pm it was all over and I was back on my deck where life is good.

This particular pretty black dress is a sleeveless Calvin Klein that I picked up from Winners last fall when I need a dress to go to a derby wedding. (One of my teammates Jessy Jynx married our head ref Crankshaft, true story). You gotta love Winners when you can find little treasures like this, especially since I found it the day before I needed it. And as it turns out I have worn this dress for several business and personal occasions since.

I slipped on some black patent Mary Janes Guccis, wut wut ;) and my fake pearls and I was out the door.

DAY 18 - better late than never

I was totally lazy yesterday cuz it was beautiful outside and since there are such few days that the sun shines in this city, I took full advantage of the great outdoors and stayed off the computer....bliss.

However, I did manage to throw on this green and pink sundress from Trina Turk and meet the girls for our usual Friday lunchdate.

I bought this dress for three reasons.

a)its super cute

b)it was on a ridiculous sale

c)I wanted to own a dress with my name in the label.

(oh and the shoes...... from Payless.... see, im not a total label whore)

CAFTANS

So on the first week of the 30 days of dresses, I wore this caftan as my dress since I spent the majority of the day lounging around the house. I wanted to again share this photo, along with the inspiration for me even wanting a caftan...my Granny.

This is a picture of me and my grandma (way back in the day) dancing in her living room. Granny is rockin just one of her many caftans while Im rockin the haircut of a little boy. I miss you Granny.

DAY 17

Thursday.... i love Thursdays. Even when I have to work I love Thursdays. Its like the first day of the week where co-workers finally get in a good mood. But I love Thursdays even more when I only work a half day. Don`t get me wrong, I do love my job, and most of my co-workers, but I kina love hanging out in my yard more. So that`s where I will be in about an hour!

I know I keep over using the word favorite, and not all my dresses can be favorites (unlike children, of which I have none). So I hesitate to use the word, but this is another favorite. This dress is so damn easy to wear. Its a simple cotton dress but its sort of a shirt dress combined with a wrap dress combined with awesomeness. It has a collar, which I popped just before snapping this photo. And it has POCKETS! I love dresses with pockets. And even though its black, its such a light material that it works in the summer as well as winter. Its an almost perfect dress and its a shame Im only wearing it for half a day.

Dresses banned at world cup??

Check this out. Dress drama at the World Cup! Oh those crazy Dutch

Nope!

So yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and went into BCBG and tried on the white sequined mini dress that was in their window. I took a photo of it and posted it last week as I was coveting it so much.

So what if its way too short and way too tight. Or that the back is totally open and cuts so low I dont know how you could wear any underwear, let alone a bra. I still wanted it, until I tried it on. Yeah, its hot. But you kinda need to be a stick to wear it. A stick with an extra $335 burning a hole in yer pocket. Oh well......

DAY 16

I love Love LOVE the dress I am wearing today.... not that I dont love all my dresses, but this one in particular is pretty special to me. This was my goal dress.

Three years ago I joined Weight Watchers and managed to lose a bunch of weight (62.4lbs to be exact). And I wanted to buy something to celebrate that achievement. I wanted to buy a dress that made me look as good as I was feeling. And then I found this David Meister jewel. Its a dark chocolate brown, with a black abstract pattern. Capped sleeves, a black belt that nips in the waist and a high slit up the back.... I totally feel like an extra on Mad Men when I wear this dress, with its hot 1960's secretary vibe. Not gonna lie, this dress is cut like magic and gives me a better figure than I actually have. The fact that it still fits means that Im still at my goal of being at a healthy weight...Its a power dress, and I just try to use the power for good and not evil.

DAY 15

Today has been a crazy busy day hence the tardiness of today`s post. This is the first chance I have been able to just chill all day, so I have poured myself a glass of wine, pulled up to the computer to share another day of dresses with you.

So, Im still digging through my closet for options, and I haven`t yet bought anything new for this 30 day challenge and considering its the half way point, I think that`s pretty damn good.... yeah, halfway. Actually that makes me kinda sad know that in a couple of weeks, its just not going to be as fun to get dressed in the morning. I hope that I am able to hold on to a bit of this enthusiasm and excitement Im feeling each morning and use it after all of this is over. I dont know if its the power of the dress, or just doing something new, or knowing I will be sharing this with others, but I have been waking up each morning excited to get up and get dressed....And Im telling you, that is a huge deal! Cuz sometimes, I have my days where I really dont want to get out of bed. I could be Brian Wilson I like to lay in bed so much.

Today I wore another wrap dress. I love wrap dresses and the best wrap dresses in the world are made by Diane von Furstenburg. I love the way she makes a woman look in her dresses. Effortlessly stylish. Now this is not a DVF dress, (stay tuned, hint hint) but it is a pretty little wrap I picked up from Bryans last summer. Its brown and cream floral print and feels like Im wearing nothing... especially today, brrrr, what happened to the sun from the weekend. You can tell by my face that Im not at all impressed. It must be so easy to get dressed when the weather is the same everyday... so maybe I am for Global Warming after all.....

Almost Famous

So on Sunday, I was thinking about joining "Critical Lass" for their fashionable lady bike ride. I really wanted to go, but sadly, I was too hung over from baseball and missed the whole thing. Had I not been such a lush, I might have made the front page of the Edmonton Journal.

Girls in dresses on bikes. Awesome!

DAY 14

I hate Mondays. I know its cliche. I know its a pop song, but dammit its true.

Seriously after this weekend going to work seems almost painful. Why can't I be in a parade everyday? But no, it was back to work for me today. The only thing that cheered me up was putting on this outfit today. I took the time last night to lay out this black and white leopard print skirt from L.A.M.B and a green top from Old Navy. Cinched it at the waist with a wide stretchy belt that gives a tiny waist illusion (supposedly). It really does make for easier mornings when you plan your clothes the night before....(oh great, another thing my mother was right about).

This skirt rocks! And what it does to my ass, sweet lord I can barely handle it. It hits all the right curves and gives me a sweet high water booty! I feel powerful in this skirt, and trust me I need all the power I can muster this Monday morning.

So yes, I own three L.A.M.B skirts and maybe thats excessive, but Im telling you what I paid for all three on sale was still less than buying one of them at full price. Trust me, I do not pay full retail, EVER. Twice a year, Holt Renfrew has massive clearance sales..... and thats the only time I can afford to shop there. I dont even think they carry Ms. Stefani's clothes there anymore, but whatever, I loved her line... all three are cut in a similar way with this retro '50's flair, knee length pencil skirts with back kick pleat & side zippers.... and seams designed to show off the ASSets.....

DAY 13 - Sunday

Just another quick post cuz its damn hot outside and its only nice for a total of 23 days in edmonton and i want to make the most of my time in the sun. If anyone tells me its 'too hot outside' I will punch them in the face.

Today its a classic denim mini skirt from the Gap and cheery yellow halter from who knows where. Probably from Urban Planet or Garage clothing or any place like that where you can buy cheap summer clothes. I love these giant white sunglasses that I bought at Value Village. Here's the thing about white sunglasses. Only girls can wear them... cuz guys, you seriously look like douchebags in your white sunnies.

Keeping it casual for today as all I really did was wake up with a baseball hangover, ate a sub and sat on my deck in the sun. Pretty good sunday if you ask me. Now to plan my wardrobe for the rest of this week.

DAY TWELVE - Perfect Saturday

(just some of the E-Ville family)
What a weekend!!! And its still going strong.

First of all I just want to respond to some of the comments from the patio dress I posted. Thank you, it is fabulous. And thanks again for telling me I remind you of Nancy Botwin from Weeds. Being compared to Mary Louise Parker is quite the compliment and I will accept it graciously.

Now back to this weekend. Saturday was a Ferris Bueller day, and altho Im a little too old to skip school, I did manage to squeeze in a parade and a baseball game in one day. And it was the perfect day for both events.

Now I admit, I did not wear a dress to the Pride Parade.... and I did feel a little bit of guilt. However, as I was skating for E-Ville Roller Derby, I put on my H&M sequined booty shorts, my white E-Ville shirt (also available in green and black), borrowed some rainbow socks from my teammate Sadie Slasher and rolled down Jasper Avenue. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to rollerskate in the middle of Jasper Ave. And the crowd, my goodness, they were awesome!! I felt like a freakin rockstar, posing for pictures, waving to the fans, hanging with drag queens.... good times indeed.

The fun didn't stop there. A couple of us continued to roll down to 104st where they were having a block party. From there it was time to go home, change and head on out to the ol' ball game. I threw on a cargo skirt from Old Navy and a tank from Jacob. I love this tank as it has silver sequins on the straps. Also because the oringal price was $59 and I bought it for $9.99. I thought about wearing these strappy Marc Jacobs espadrilles, but changed into a pair of flats from Payless when I realized we were walking to the game. Practicality won over fashion... this time.



I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about baseball, I dont watch it on TV and I am the worst stereotype if you ever see me throw a ball (totally throw 'like a girl') so I don't play the game, ever. My friend Amber says I have a fear of balls flying in my face. Amber is smug when she says this as she loves balls in her face. But here's a secret about baseball....just go to a game. Cuz when you are actually there, well, its a whole other ballgame.

The four of us, Justine, Jessica(Tron), Amber and me, put on skirts/dress and went to the Capitals game and got drunk on beer. We heckled the players and entertained (partially annoyed) the crowd around us. We laughed our asses off at the unusual pitching style of #10 from the OC Flyers and generally had a great time. It was movie night at Telus Field as they showed Field of Dreams after the game. We didn't stay for the movie, cuz well, Kevin Costner sucks ass. And there was more beer at home. Hell of a game tho.

Patio Dress!!!!!

Just a quick update. I bought this dress for my Canada Day party 2 years ago. The store on Whyte Avenue that I purchased it from, sadly, no longer exists. I have only worn this dress 2x and that makes me feel bad cuz its so damn beautiful, but I just dont have enough occasions to pull out this full length halter patio dress. So this afternoon, Im going to lounge outside in this fantastic frock, with a tasty bevy, a new STAR magazine, and some tunes.

The orange/brown/gold pattern is so retro fabulous I feel like I should be hosting a key party when I wear it.

If you need me, Im on the deck.

DAY ELEVEN - let the weekend begin

(Thrashinista, Ghetto, JD, BB Sting, Tron)


Today is perfect. The sun is out and I have the day off. Slept in. Watered the plants on my deck. Went to Scotia Place to meet the ladies for lunch. This is just some of the "lunch ladies"in the above photo. There is a revolving group of Derby girls and friends of Derby girls that meet every Friday at "Chicken For Lunch"..... If you don't know about CFL, then you are missing something really good. Its owned and operated by the same family that owns one of the best Chinese restaurants here in Edmonton, Lingnan. If you ever downtown at lunch, head to the basement of Scotia Place and go see Amy at CFL. Just don't go right at noon, cuz the line is huge and don't worry if Amy yells at you, that's just how it is.

Will probably have drinks with some other ladies on my deck later. Life is pretty damn good right now. After I finish this post I am headed to the liquor store to pick up something tasty/girly/fruity to drink. Yum.

This is what I wore to meet the girls for lunch. Its finally nice enough outside to get into some serious summer wardrobe. I pulled out a couple of tank tops and my white linen (so P.Diddy) skirt from C'est Sera. I was going to wear these wooden slides from Michael Kors, but since they are made to look pretty and not walk 8 blocks, I wore a pair of Rocket Dog flats. They black sequined and I think I paid a whole $12 for them at the Shoe Warehouse last month.

Time to head to the store, and then out to the deck. Oh and Happy Pride Edmonton, see you at the parade..... Its going to be a beautiful weekend!

Two Dresses in a Day..... I rule

So since I only had to work in the morning, I went home and changed so I could go run some errands, including heading over to Naked on Jasper (totally rad cyber-cafe on Jasper Ave) to post this update. Normally I would wear jeans, but I have to tell you that I haven't worn jeans since we started this challenge and strangely, I don't even miss them...yet.

But I still kept it casual with this sweet tee from the Eddie Izzard show that me and Amber saw last month. Its says Cake or Death and I completely understand and support this sentiment. Now you cant really tell in these photos, but Im also wearing a Click Klak tank that Tron bought me from Toronto. It has gold birds and black hearts on it and its totally boss. (Just like Tron) The skirt is just a simple blue/grey cotton with black elastic waist band (nice!) I think I got this at Winners, but who knows, I got it last summer....... And the Mary Janes are navy patent leather and they is stupid cute, but they're Marc Jacobs so of course they are.

DAY TEN - ten days!!!!!!!

I read somewhere that we only wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time. My stats might even be worse as I tend to wear the same thing everyday.... like the gang from Peanuts. I like me some tee shirts and jeans, what can I say? So this is good for me to dig deep into the back of my wardrobe and pull out hidden gems like this fabulous retro frock.

I have had this dress in my closet for 1/2 a year and today is the first day I have worn it. I bought it when the Citadel Theatre had their most recent costume sale. Ever couple of years their costume department opens up their doors and has a massive sale and if you have ever been, then you know how awesome and insane it is. Piles and racks of clothes everywhere loosely organized, but not really after the mob of people ransack the joint. Its a huge time commitment and a little chaotic, but I had the day off, so plenty of time (and patience, god knows you need lots for this kind of thing) to sort through the racks to find a couple of fabulous items. Oh and it cost me $6

Granted, its an odd orange colour and the fabric is not the softest on the skin, but I love it! Its kinda sad that it took this challenge for me to finally pull it out and wear it. It has a split neck collar, short sleeves and the most adorable (but useless) pockets on the waitband. And I love love love the tiny buttons. You don't get details like this from off the rack....

Im also wearing another vintage necklace from my Gramma and shoes I bought 3 years ago from Winners, also by Chinese Laundry. So today is her day to shine and step out of the closet into the sun (altho its another miserable rainy day here in E-town, sigh)

hit a snag

Ya, totally need a sweater today. Not that this short sleeve green mini cardi is doing much other than add to the cuteness that is this dress.

One of my colleagues, commented today on my dresses this week. She thought I looked pretty and "really sharp". She then went on to tell me I look nice everyday. Funny that it took wearing a dress for her to mention this, tho.

Oh and I just snagged my tights. This is what you get when you wear tights in muthaf**kin' JUNE! Guess its bare legs for the rest of the day as I really dont have the time or the desire to go buy new ones today! Aargh! Suppose I could still use these ones for Derby practices. Thank goodness ripped tights are a-ok in Roller Derby

DAY NINE - Feelin fine?

I just barely managed to pull this together today as I had to be at work for 7 rather than my usual 9. I may still be half asleep as I type this (perhaps I shouldn't have stayed up to watch the finale of GLEE and then flip channels to see dreamy Jon Stewart).

So this dress was a ridiculous cheap find from some mall somewhere. The label doesn't even give me a clue as to where I bought this, but somehow I think it might be (and please no judgements) from Fairweather. Or as my mother would say, Fairweathers, as she loves to pluralize the names of stores.

Its black and white (obviously) with a tie in the back. Im a little choked today that I have to wear tights....in freakin June. But here in "beautiful" Edmonton it is rainy and cold and miserable. Seriously, its a balmy 9 degrees outside. Total horseshit. So, I wear tights with a summer dress...sheesh. Whatever, I still make it look cute, just gotta bring a sweater with me today.

And if you have a cheap dress like this, make it work (love Tim Gunn) with some great shoes like these kick-y little Mary Jane flats from Marc Jacobs (These do not go out in the rain, fact. For the walk to work I wore my 'chucks'.....its still classy right?)

me want this

ooooh I am coveting this dress. Saw it on my way back from lunch. I chose to eat today rather than shop so I ran out of time, but I think I may go back tomorrow and try this on.....I dont even wanna know the price.