Song(s) o’ the moment

This album came out last year and I had the pleasure of seeing lovely Rae at Gallery Connection several months ago. His music hurts my heart in that wonderfully good way. It’s one of my most played albums.

My Fall Wardrobe Must-Haves

Everything I buy is vintage and smells funny. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a boyfriend. – Lucy Liu

My wardrobe is having a personality crisis and outfits are a struggle. Part of my problem is my personal style is a bit helter skelter. I like a little boho and femininity as much as I enjoy more structured looks. I’ll be doing a closet inventory and taking the results of my pared down items to the flea market before replenishing my autumn appropriate pieces.

I’ve been working on a bit of a look book to help with the process. Keeping with the aforementioned themes, I want to inject a bit of artistic whimsy in my casual wear and some pre-war/wartime vintage for my girlie outfits. I’ve taken just a tiny bit of influence from the well-dressed gentlemen in my life as well, because a masculine touch never hurts.

Mostly I’m desperate for closed toe footwear and my cardis are either summer weight or worn out. My job is such that I can essentially wear the same clothes I would wear day to day to work. Talk about flexibility!

Et voila. Some of the goods pictured I specifically desire and others are merely used as inspiration.

1.Feminin tank/tunic – Free People Crinkle Tunic
2.Dark denim high-waisted skinny jeans – J Brand “Maria”
3.Coloured knitted cardigan – Anthropologie Stash Away Cardi in yellow
4.Floral scarf – H&M
5.Red wellingtons – Hunter Original Glossy – available at Urban Shoe Myth
6.Over-jean boots – Madden Girl by Steve Madden Preppie boot in Black
7.Gold or accented gold chunky bangle – Marc by Marc Jacobs cork bangle
8.Brown heeled oxford – I used to hate these, but the trend is growing on me. Pictured is Kimchi Blue woven oxford from Urban Outfitters
9.Whimsical tee – Numph “What’s Hoppenin’” Tee

1.Bohemian slip dress – Free People Vintage Slip Dress
2.Petit boyfriend blazer – Pictured is Topshop ¾ sleeve blazer
3.Mid-heel brown pump – Pictured is by SW Sadee pump
4.Curve flattering straight cut trouser – Pictured are Alice & Olivia “Andrew” trousers
5.Black high heels – Michael Kors “Pressley” pumps
6.Thick knit wrap/cardi – Jack BB Dakota “Donegy” sweater – available at Je Suis Prest
7.Structured messenger bag – Mulberry “Alexa” is pictured, but I actually have my eye on a Co-Lab at Je Suis Prest
8.Fall weight coat – Jack BB Dakota Cromwell Coat – available at Je Suis Prest

1. Black men’s hat – Pictured is Topshop Fedora (sadly I had this near identical hat and lost it)
2. Short day dress – Modcloth Marigold-en Girl Dress
3. Western inspired ankle/mid calf boot – Pictured is Frye “Carmen” harness boot
4. Vintage locket – Pictured is Topshop Victorian locket
5. 1940s/50s inspired cardi – Modcloth “The Prim of Your Life Cardigan”
6. Maxi skirt – Free People “Morning” Glory skirt
7. Mandarin collar blouse – Pictured is Oasis Crinkle blouse
8. Grey/coloured cords – Pictured are Paul Smith straight leg cords

Collections made with Polyvore, of course.

What I’m up to

I’m working on my personal fall look book, but in the meantime here is a link dump:

Summer’s End Folk Festival – I’m island bound with my artsy loves for the last weekend of the summer.

How to Deal with Salespeople – Being nice when you’re in a rush, frustrated your rear is large etc is actually really hard for the more self centered of us (ie. me).

Piewacket has an estate sale – “Porn” for the retro household effects lover. Too bad I’m not near Atlanta.

7 Tips for Creating a Cozy, Calming Bedroom – I’ve been workin’ on my love nest

Rock Version of Silent Film Classic ‘Metropolis’ to Hit Theatres This Fall – I keep flip-flopping as to how I feel about this. I love Fritz Lang and it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

New Chanel Le Vernis – My local authorized dealer just got in Peridot, Graphite and Quartz. I’m rocking the Quartz right now and the Peridot is gracing my vanity with its presence.

What the Water Gave Me – SO into this song right now. November is too far away. Listen here

Notable Quotable: “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” – NDP leader Jack Layton, from a letter released to the public after his death on August 22nd, 2011.

Find of the day: Hunter Kids’ Boots

Wear less than a size 7-8 women’s? Hunter sells kids’ size rainboots up to a size 6 (about a 7.5-8 women’s).

Nordstrom.

I wear a women’s size 5-5.5 and I find the women’s tall boots are too tall for my short calf. I can snag a pair of my coveted red galoshes for 76$ plus tax!

Banana-Blueberry Kale Smoothy!

Mmm blueberries

I took a cleaning fit today and forgot to eat lunch. Oops. I quickly mixed up this smoothy and kept on trucking.

1 cup of chopped kale (about 1-2 leaves, depending) has 2 g of protein, 1 g of fibre, all your vitamin A & C for the day, 9% iron and 6% calcium.

1/2 cup cold water
1/2 vanilla soy milk (I use Silk)
1-2 scoops Simply Bulk protein powder
2 medium organic bananas, ripe and peeled
1 cup frozen blueberries
3-4 kale leaves, no stems, well washed
1 packet of stevia or organic kane sugar (optional… I don’t really find it necessary).

Toss in liquids and protein powder followed by kale & the fruit. Blend high for two minutes and serve.

That smell isn’t me, honest!

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” – Theodore Roosevelt

I seem to have a lot of oudour themed posts lately…

I adore my jeans more than any other clothing item. I’m pretty particular about the quality and pretty much only buy premium denim, none of which is sweatshop made. Since I’m rocking my summer beer-induced muffin top, most of my jeans are a bit snug. Heart breaking.

Recently I made an error in judgement by buying GAP 1969 Super Light Weight Long and Lean jeans to hold me over. They looked good on a friend of mine and the cost was 51$ with tax after the sale discount. A steal. They fit great and you could almost mistake the light weight dark denim for premium jeans. The problem? They stink.

I’ve washed them about three or four times now and they still emanate this bizarre odour. It’s difficult to describe, but it falls somewhere between wet towel and stinky feet. No one else seems to notice it. I consulted the almighty Google and apparently this is quite common. Jeans can be rife with chemicals including insecticide and formaldehyde before being delivered to the retailer. Ew.

I’ve contacted the GAP about this problem but have yet to hear back. They were so inexpensive it isn’t really worth my time to ship them back, wait for a new pair and have them altered all over again, so I’m going to experiment with some of the interwebs suggestions for de-putrefying my trousers. Think of it as Bill Nye for young professionals. Stay tuned!

Recipe: Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato & Kale

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato & Kale

Made this up the other day and it turned out rather well. Ingrediants are from memory.

1 tbsp almond oil (or oil of your choice)
1 cup organic green lentils (uncooked)
1 large sweet pototo, scrubbed
3 tbsp curry paste (or home made curry recipe of your choice)
1 can coconut milk (I prefer low fat)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large tomato, chopped
5 white mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 cup chopped brocoli (optional)
1/2 cup chopped carrots (optional)

As many handfuls of well washed kale as you prefer. I use about 3 cups shredded, no stems

Wash and drain 1 cup lentils. Boil in three cups water for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes).

Poke holes in sweet potato with a fork. Microwave high 3 minutes each side (or bake in oven as normal). Potato should be only partially cooked. Allow to cook then skin and chop into chunks.

Cook onion & garlic on med-high until onions mostly translucent in frying pan. Add in mushroom & tomato. Cook for two more minutes and add in coconut milk. Simmer until bubbling slightly. Add in curry paste and simmer for another few minutes. Add in the rest of your veggies except the kale. After a minute or two add in lentils. When veggies are all mostly tender add in kale. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Remove from heat kale is tender but still bright green. Top with sea salt and ground black pepper as desired and serve.