outfits

A Different Kind of Easter

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feeding the chickens in my easter outfit

Happy Belated Easter everyone….I’m only posting these 2 1/2 weeks late, but better late than never!

It’s been a very strange year so far, I’m sure we can all agree, but the hardest part for me so far was Easter Sunday. We woke up bright and early… and then weren’t able to leave the house to go to church. To be honest, I debated whether to dress up in my traditional Easter dress and bonnet or not. I’m so glad that I decided to after all: even if only my family (and now you) saw me dressed up, it really did make the day more special.

It’s been a busy April. I ended up having to move-again- right before Easter weekend, so even though I wanted something fresh and new to wear, I wasn’t sure whether I was going to have the time to make something. In the end, I was able to grab a bit time to refashion an old dress into a new wrap skirt just in time for Easter!

pressed wishes pendant necklace

I made the dress about… 7 years ago? You can see it here. It was Butterick 4790 and it was never a very good dress, since it’s not a very good pattern. It’s made to wrap from back to front, but the overskirt of the dress is heavy compared to the underskirt, so it had an awful tendency to pull from the shoulders and for the fabric to catch on the underskirt making it crawl up. I did love the look of the dress and the fabric it was made of but, even though I did wear it quite a lot, it really wasn’t the most fun while wearing.

While looking through my closet a few weeks ago, I saw the dress and started thinking about how I could reinvent it. After a few hours of unpicking, cutting and reassembling- I had a new circle skirt! Paired with a cream lace blouse, navy peep toes, my new botanical necklace by Pressed Wishes and a vintage straw boater, it was the perfect festive Spring outfit.

new hummingbird patterned wrap skirt

I’ve already worn this skirt several times since then, that I am thinking about adding another in this style to my wardrobe- the only difficulty is that the fabric stores are closed. Maybe I can find something in my stash that would work….? I’ve got so many plans for sewing projects, now that I’ve got some more free time, but we’ll see how many of those plans end up coming to fruition. I don’t always have the best track record- remember the “made one” of my #makenine challenge? And in case you’re wondering, I haven’t sewed any more of the things on that list…. 🙁

easter 2020 outfit

I’ve been wanting to take some pictures with our chickens (my mom’s chickens, rather) for quite a while, but the weather has only just started warming up in the past couple of weeks. You can tell that the chickens really don’t care about me: while we were taking these pictures, they kept wandering away since I had no treats for them. At least we got a few photos with them in the frame! And what better friends to include in an Easter post than your flock of chickens with their pretty speckled eggs?

speckled eggs and black copper marans chickens

How was your Easter this year? And how have you been doing these past couple of months? Have you been dressing up for special occasions or everyday events even though things are all topsy-turvy right now? And have you been finding any time for extra sewing/crafting/other assorted hobbies?

vintage straw and navy ribbon boater

black copper marans chickens and a new easter outfit

easter straw boater hat

new circle wrap skirt and flock of chickens

Welcome Spring

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first day of spring outfit

Welcome Spring- you are long awaited!

Today, for the First Day of Spring, while the sun is shining in the sky, there is still a lot of snow out there, so no pictures of tulips and crocuses popping their heads up. We won’t have any growing things outside for at least a month either, here in Alberta, so I decided to both draw and wear my own flowers today instead. I also added in my favourite bee necklace for good measure!

poppy earrings for spring

urban alchemy bee necklace

I haven’t been outside to enjoy the sunshine today, though I was planning on going for a walk this afternoon, because I think I’m coming down with a cold. Perhaps going for a walk would be the best thing, though. Getting out and getting some fresh air and sunshine would probably be a good thing.

It’s been a strange last while, hasn’t it? The COVID-19 virus pandemic has managed to touch all of our lives. A few weeks ago, it felt like it was (quite literally) something happening on the other side of the world. Of course, things like this do affect us all, but my day to day life hadn’t changed very much. I’m an introvert, and I work from home, so “self isolating” is basically my everyday life.

However, now with this disease spreading to all corners of the world, it actually is starting to affect me. I may jokingly say that I self isolate all the time, but the reality is that I can go out whenever I choose to. It’s as simple as putting on my coat and shoes and walking out the door.

To suddenly be aware of the fact that you shouldn’t go out, well…it’s entirely different isn’t it? Realizing that you shouldn’t go out browsing the shops, that the library is closed, that the grocery stores are all out of rolled oats (and you really just wanted some porridge), that since you’ve got cold symptoms you need to stay indoors to protect everyone else (just in case it’s not a cold, but you’ve actually contracted the disease…), and that now is not the ideal time to be dropping off resumes and looking for work…well it can get a bit stressful can’t it?

be anxious for nothing artwork

Last night as I was reading my Bible, these verses came to mind, so I immediately flipped over to Philippians to read them again. I went to sleep with these words on my mind, and woke up this morning eager to put them to paper. And since it’s the first day of Spring, I thought that some flowers were apropos to add some sunshine and hope. Times of refreshing do come.

How are you celebrating the first day of Spring?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7

Poppy pearl earrings by Andrea Shelley Designs

Bee necklace by Urban Alchemy Jewelry

welcome spring botanical artwork

first day of spring floral outfit

Channeling Cruella

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platinum bob with root smudge, the artyologist

There’s nothing quite like a fresh new hair cut and colour is there?

I was very long overdue for a hair appointment; it had been 11 weeks since my last cut/root touch up! (Hi, My name is Nicole, and I am great at procrastinating.) I haven’t had the pink hair for a while, but there hasn’t been any photographic evidence of that -oops! My roots were starting to show a decided grow-out line, so I got my hairdresser to do a “root smudge”, and then tone it again for a nice silvery colour; and I absolutely love it! If it wasn’t so much upkeep, I think I’d keep this colour for a long while!

Anyways, my hairdresser asked if I wanted it styled straight or curled, and I opted for curls because I never do them myself. After my appointment, I decided that some photos of the new style were in order.

platinum bob with root smudge

I was going for a sort of movie star look, but after I saw these photos, I realized that they have a rather Cruella De Vil feel to them…that’s OK, because she is definitely one of Disney’s most glamorous villains don’t you think?

Do you procrastinate when it comes to scheduling hair appointments? What colour of hair would you choose if time/upkeep/money wasn’t an issue? Who is your favourite Disney villain?

A Bookish Outfit for Fall

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walking down a country fall lane

I am excitedly looking forward to Christmas (seriously only 2 weeks away?!?) and have been wanting to share some photos of the decorating I did this year, and even some winter outfits, but before I can get into Christmas/Winter mode…I really need to post the last of my Fall photos! Again, I don’t know why I haven’t posted these photos yet, but here I am today with another very belated Fall fashion post.

These photos were taken in one of my favourite country lanes back in October when the leaves were golden, and my hair was still pink. This was one of the few beautiful Fall days we had, the lighting was perfect and so my sister and I jumped into the car, came over to this perfect leafy background and quickly grabbed these photos! I like how they turned out, so I really don’t know why I waited so long to share them…

country lane in falltime

I found this plaid skirt at the thrift store last year, and have been wearing it on repeat all through the cold months. I wasn’t able to get a photo of it last Winter, so I was so excited to be able to pull it out again! It is a half circle skirt, with pleats pressed into it; I wasn’t sure how I would like the shape, but I like it so much that I am planning to sew myself one like it. When I bought it, the waistband was stretched out of shape and it was too large for me. I took the waistband off, added some narrow darts to the skirt so it would fit, and then put the waistband back on. I think that this skirt had been put through the washing machine, as the pleats (and fabric) were a big mess, but I took it to the dry cleaners for a steam pressing and it came back looking much better! It’s amazing what a good pressing can do for your clothes, and sometimes it really is worth it to take certain garments for a professional press job. If you look closely at the fabric (a polyester and wool blend) you can see that it is in not the best condition, but who’s looking that closely?

schoolgirl styled outfit in a country lane

40's college girl styled outfit

I’ve been wearing this skirt a lot lately, either pairing it with my favourite green cardigan and a black shell, or a drapey rayon blouse for work. The colours are quite versatile and it’s so nice to have pieces you can grab that go with so many other things in your wardrobe!

Another piece I’ve been wearing on repeat, is this dull pink coloured beret. I love my berets and wear them almost every day in the fall and winter! When I got this one, I didn’t know if it would be a good colour for the existing pieces in my wardrobe, but it has been actually a really great addition.

My favourite fall fashion always has a kind of bookish feel to it, and this outfit makes me think of a 1940’s college girl, what do you think? What are some of your favourite things to wear come Fall?

vintage college girl styled outfit

Well, now that I’ve posted these images, I can move on to Christmas and Winter stuff! Stay tuned for some photos of the (minimal) holiday decorating that I did this year. Hope you are all doing well, Dear Readers, and having as much fun looking forward to Christmas as I am! Talk to you soon….

fall colours across a valley

walking down a country lane in falltime

vintage 1940's style outfit for falltime

grandmothers button necklace pendant

My vintage Grandmother’s Button pendant.

fall leaves

vintage fall outfit

fall leaves in a country lane

 

Russet Leaves and Rosy Hair

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Now that it’s almost winter, all the leaves are long gone, and these photos are woefully out of season, I suppose it’s about time to post them.

I’ve had these pictures sitting on my desktop for ages, and for some reason I just never posted them. I think it’s because I don’t really have anything to say about them in particular, and I just can’t seem to get a blog post composed.

It’s not that I don’t want to blog anymore; I do. But, I’ve been doing other things with my time lately…and so blogging gets put to the side. I don’t want to be redundant and keep saying, “I’m going to get back to it” and then not follow through, but I do really want to get back into it. Blogging is such a great creative outlet for me, and I’m sad that I’ve let it get pushed to the side.  So, maybe a near-end-of-year resolution is to make time for blogging again? And find some topics to talk about too, so I won’t have trouble composing useful and interesting posts! But, I haven’t thought of anything useful or interesting to say today… so for now here will have to be the world’s most boring post instead…

Hope you are all keeping well!

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