slacker.

I haven't died, I promise! I've been faithfully doing 30 for 30 every day, though today and Friday involved no actual photo-taking of my outfits.

My problem is figuring out my work-life balance. My job is tiring, and most days I want to come home, flop onto the couch, and veg the night away. I've been kinda-sorta figuring out having a social life and working out more, but adding blogging to the mix has been a real struggle for me. I'm not quite sure why...

Anyway, here are the photos from days 3 and 4. I'll figure out what to do about 5 through 7 tomorrow.
Day 3 outfit:
Leopard cardi - Joe Fresh
Grey long-sleeved tee - thrifted, Gap
Purple pencil skirt - Joe Fresh
Black tights - no idea
Black boots - gifted, Alfred Sung
Watch necklace - The Black Market
This outfit is an adaptation of an old favorite, which will probably be seen before the end of the month...

Day 4:
It was Remembrance Day in Canada on November 11th. For those of you who don't know, Remembrance Day is a holiday that honours veterans, most notably those from the two World Wars. In my province, everyone gets the day off work and there are ceremonies all over the country, all at 11am. My husband and I visited one at a park overlooking the ocean, so we bundled up.

Outerwear:
Black coat - gifted and thrifted, Larry Levine Designs
Black purse - thrifted, no idea
Black boots - gifted, Alfred Sung
Red gloves - not pictured
Poppy - worn in honour of veterans

Underneath (underwear???):
Black scarf - thrifted
Grey long-sleeved tee- thrifted, Gap
Grey ruffle dress - thrifted
Black leggings - Joe Fresh
Silk longjohns under leggings - Mountain Equipment Co-Op (highly recommended and very comfy)

I know, I know. The old "start with an apology/excuse and end with longjohn recommendations" trick. It's an oldie, but a goodie.

Kisses,
Meg

P.S.: Don't worry if that last bit made no sense. I have a bizarre sense of humour. Here, have some pretty pictures:

(I took this one!)

wind out of my sails

Today has not gotten off to the best start. I got to bed late last night, so getting out of my nice warm bed this morning wasca chore. I found myself suffering from wardrobe frustration due to my sudden fear of mixing black and brown. I did the black and brown boogaloo all last winter, since all my boots were brown. This year, I've got black boots and now I feel like I need to match my outfit to my boots. No more mixing. Then my bangs got wet on the walk to work and they look funky now.

What really got me, though, was an angry phone call. When I got off the phone, I could feel my face was hot and red, and I felt like an incompetent tool. I felt even worse when a tidal wave of work pulled up right after said phone call and a coworker had to come and save my sorry butt.

The work pile is gone now, but the bad feelings remain. Here are some positive, happy things I like to help me back up onto my feet.

1. A warm, sweet cup of fresh chai tea, with just the right ratios of milk and honey.

2. Wearing a pretty and amazingly soft scarf/shawl I'd forgotten about.

3. Managing not to spill the former onto the latter. I'm not usually so lucky.

4. My coworkers. They are all sweethearts.

5. French. It's a very elegant language.

6. Lunch. Made with love by my husband.

7. He claimed he was putting a raw potato in my lunch because I need to eat my vegetables. He didn't. :)

8. My cats. They are the cutest fluffballs in the known universe.

9. My family. I love them all.

10. Shirtdresses. So crisp but still pretty and feminine - perfect for the office.

11. Breaking the rules. Mixing brown and black and feeling good about it, no matter what the fashion mags say.

Scarf: gifted, Craft Resource Center (fair trade)

Sweater: thrifted, Worthington

Dress: H&M

Leggings: Joe Fresh

Boots: F.S.P.

Pewter acorn necklace: thrifted (isn't it adorable?)

So here it goes, guys. My first...fashion-y blog post. I'm not even sure what to call it. I'm terrified.

At least I looked cute today?

Yellow tee: Talbots (stolen from my mum)
Navy sweater: Joe Fresh
Brown pencil skirt: thrifted, The Limited
Brown tights: no idea
Brown boots: no idea
Accessories: nonexistent.

Right, guys? ... Guys? Well, I think I looked pretty cute. Considering it was rainy and horribly humid all day, my hair behaved marvelously. It never curls like that, except when I want it to. The weirdest thing is, it was all frizzy and gross this morning. But for some reason, it morphed into this sleek, wavy gorgeousness. Even more strange, my hairspray kept my bangs straight today, though it usually doesn't on humid days (possibly because I put on about five times more than I usually do?).

Ah well. If all else fails and the internet thinks I look like a troll, at least I had awesome eclairs today. One of the perks of a studly baker husband (the other perks being kissing, housekeeping, and having a free photographer). <3 size="2">P. S. Please excuse my skirt looking wonky - my raincoat didn't cover the whole thing, and it hadn't dried by the time we took pictures.
P.P.S There are more perks: he does the dishes and cooks me dinner to boot. And did I mention the kissing...?

day 14.

Time to share my 30 for 30 items! We will start with the shoes. My apologies for these ones - my camera was on the fritz, so these were taken with the camera built into my laptop.

BOOTS:
1. Tall black riding boots - gifted from my mom, Alfred Sung
2. Tall brown wedge boots - also from my mom, brand unknown
3. Black suede booties - from my mom yet again, brand unknown
FLATS:
4. Classic black flats - Joe Fresh
5. Plaid flats - Joe Fresh

Now, on to the clothes. My camera was working for these, thank goodness.
SWEATERS:
6. Short-sleeved cream cardigan with black and brown details - thrifted, brand unknown
7. Grey leopard print cardigan - Joe Fresh
8. Red cardigan - thrifted, Delia*s
9. Green sweater - thrifted, brand unknown
10. Long navy ribbed sweater - Joe Fresh
11. Lavender cardigan - thrifted, Anne Taylor Loft
TOPS:
12. Turquoise peasant-style blouse - thrifted, Reitmans
13. Pale yellow t-shirt - Talbots, stolen from my mum
14. Draped black t-shirt - Joe Fresh
15. Black and white striped shirt - thrifted, Banana Republic
16. Draped, pintucked gray tee - thrifted, Gap
17. Green and white striped shirt - Joe Fresh
BOTTOMS:
18. Long and lean jeans - thrifted, Gap
19. Brown wide-leg trousers - Gap
20. Grey and yellow floral print skirt - thrifted, H&M
21. Purple jersey pencil skirt - Joe Fresh
22. Red and white striped skirt - Joe Fresh
23. Brown pencil skirt - thrifted, The Limited
24. Draped black skirt - Joe Fresh
DRESSES:
25. Red and white printed shift - gift from my mum
26. Black t-shirt dress - H&M
27. Tribal print green and purple dress - H&M
28. Grey dress with ruffle detail dress - thrifted, brand unknown
29. Blue floral shirtdress - H&M
30. Yellow pintucked sundress - thirfted, handmade

Here's hoping I can make it through in one piece!

day 13.

Update: Crohn's is still a little iffy - I'm waiting for my meds to kick in.

However, we had some friends over for fresh-baked bread and roast chicken tonight, which was lovely. It feels good to spend time with people who don't mind that you haven't finished your laundry when you arrive or your sudden urge to reorganise your DVD collection, and get their own drinks.

Maybe this makes us terrible hosts...? Or at least me. My husband was the one slaving away in the kitchen.

...Oops?

cheers,
Meg

P.S.: 30 for 30 challenge? It is so, so very ON. It might be a stressful way to start fashion blogging, but it might be just what I needed.

When I told my husband about it (and informed him that he had just been voluntold into doing my photography), he asked incredulously, "That's a challenge?". Then he counted the number of different clothing items he'd worn in the last month that fit into the challenge parameters (so excluding jackets, undergarments, and workout gear), and his total was ten items. TEN. They say opposites attract...

My list of items will be posted tomorrow.

day 10.

So, this project is not getting off to a good start, blogging-wise. I haven't written here since day 1, though I've written two and a half posts. I may just go back and post them anyway*.

This past week has been crazy: busy all day at work, and at home, my husband is sick, and my Crohn's is flaring. Thank goodness I get my meds tomorrow.

However, it's been wonderful to have my husband home, and we've been making strides in the right direction. We've started working out and are doing a good job of keeping the house clean. We've been spending quality time together and with our cats.

Next on my agenda: blog more regularly, do my darn laundry, and perhaps, if I'm feeling brave, I'll try out Kendi Everyday's 30 for 30 challenge. This blog might as well be a creative outlet too, right?

cheers,
Meg

*Yeah, so I did. I am a cheater-pants.

day 3.

I've decided to start a very, very small side project. I'm not even sure it deserves to be called a project. A strategy, maybe. Anyway.

Semantics aside, I have a problem, and I'm going to try and solve it. I get really attached to my clothes. A lot of my favorite items go through a process where I wear them for a while, and then, when I'm bored with them or they're out of season, I send them to my parents' house (ah, the joys of parents with a large house who live nearby). Sometimes, I'll wear these items when I come home and they'll come back to my place at the end of the visit. Other times, they'll languish in my parents' drawers for a few years until I do a big wardrobe purge there and donate my old stuff. Since these clothes haven't been worn in a long time, it's usually pretty easy to let them go.

The same can't be said for my own closet. Clothes don't get worn for months and yet there they remain, taking up prime closet real estate. I've been getting better - I recently filled a large shopping bag to the brim with clothes to be donated, and I've become a lot more discriminating with my thrifting - but my closet is still full. The other day, I realised that all my hangers were full, and a good portion of my clothes were in laundry baskets. Yeah. I need less clothes.

I decided that it was time to keep track of what I actually wear. That day was October 24. On January 24th, whatever hasn't been worn in the past 3 months and is not a special item (i.e. my bikini or my 2 fancy special occasion dresses) must go. I'll start keeping track of which clothing items in my closet are actually worn.

day 2.

Today:
1. I did some art.
Fashion art, even.
This outfit, in real life, is not only pretty but indecently comfy. I might as well be going to work in my pajamas.
Worn two Fridays in a row.

2. Tired at work. Instead of buying a coffee, which is:
A) expensive
B) sometimes nauseating +
C) bad for my stomach,
I had chocolate in small quantities: in some pumpkin muffins, and two little dark chocolates that my boss gave me, spread out throughout the day.

3. Plan for tonight:
-> homemade food (because my husband is sick of road food)
-> cuddles with said husband and cats
-> go to bed early. Too many yawns today.

Not sure if I'm being too gentle on myself with "the project", but am in the midst of a mini-flare. I think rest wins out this time, plus it's a good mental break and will reharge my batteries. Keepin' positive, yo.

Day 1 of "The Project"

It may seem like a strange first step, but today I'm cleaning the house. Doesn't sound like the way to go into remission, necessarily, but consider this: Having a messy house stresses me out. My husband has been away helping my uncle with a long-distance move, and I want him to feel welcome and relaxed when he gets back. I've been a bit of a slob when left here alone to my own devices, and things weren't the cleanest before that, either.

I also read in this month's Men's Health that a study showed that people with clean houses tend to be healthier, probably because they get exercise from maintaining order in their homes.

Anyway, it's back to the brooms for me!

Cheers,
Meg

P.S.: Motivation while cleaning is a problem of mine. I tend to get distracted by phone calls, my laptop, and my cats. A few things that help keep me going: breaks (like the one I'm taking right now) as a reward for a completed task (I just finished cleaning up in the kitchen) and music I love, blared as loud as I want, and dancing along when the urge strikes.

Something important.

It is 4:30am and I can't sleep.

On the plus side, however, as I was laying in bed tossing and turning, I had a bit of a revelation that is going to change my life majorly and for the better. I don't think anything this important and positive has happened since my wedding day. Granted, that was less than two months ago, but still.

The other day at work, I had some time to kill and I found myself wandering from a blog about professional blogging to a site called "Man Vs. Debt". I'm not terribly interested in personal finance as a hobby, but I have significant student loan debt and I was curious to see what this fellow had to say.

It was about more, much more, than debt. It was about changing your life for the better, whether it be in a small way like de-cluttering your garage, or in a large way, like living free of credit cards. It's about aspirations, ambitions, and life goals.

It mobilised me. I started writing lists of things I wanted to achieve, and the words just poured out of me onto the paper. I felt powerful. I felt confident. I felt... trepidation.

It took me until tonight to figure out why. The cogs had been turning in my head for the past two days. I have two life goals, and I've known what they are for a long time, though not how to put them into action. I want to (1) help people and (2) to travel.

In university, I studied International Development Studies. My intent was to go to Africa or somewhere and feed starving children. I knew I wasn't cut out for the medical professions, so I figured that this would be the most concrete way to help people. However, once I got to school, I soon learned that my way of thinking was imperialistic - very "white man's burden". Also, in my third year of school, a very unfortunate housing situation lead to a relapse of my Crohn's disease, which had gone into remission around the time I started university.

After the return of the Crohn's, I suffered a flare-up so severe that it put me a year behind in my studies. My disease had worsened, and it continued to adversely affect my life, and shattered my dreams of travelling internationally to work for non-profits.

What I need to do is get back into remission permanently. The drugs I'm on now are so new that the long-term effects aren't known yet. It would make so much sense for me to shape up and get myself out of this mess.

This is not an easy proposition. Beating Crohn's is going to take lifestyle changes galore. I am a worrier, and stress is my biggest trigger when it comes to Crohn's. I need to remove stress from my life wherever possible and learn to cope with the problems that I can't get rid of. It could mean creative outlets*, meditation, volunteering, research, diets, strict budgeting, or yoga. My goal for right now will be to come here, every day, and tackle this, and write about my results and discoveries for the day. It may take time, but I read somewhere that it's the dull, plodding types who get things done, otherwise the world would be full of serial novelists and Olympic athletes.

I feel like this idea needs a catchy name of some mind. Something that ends in "Project". I'll get back to you on that.

And so my adventure begins.

Cheers,
Meg

*And all this time, I thought I wanted to write a fashion blog? ...well, who knows. Maybe that's a creative outlet right there. :)