Hey, Baby

Edme & Esyllte Tulip Perspective mini; Banana Republic chambray chic tassel necklace
Skirt, Anthropologie (thrifted); top, Gap Factory; necklace, Banana Republic; shoes, Stuart Weitzman; bag, MbMJ (via consignment)

So, I turned 34. No big whoop, except that I’m now officially in my mid-thirties. It’s, like, odd … but only if I think about it. Don’t worry, I’m still shockingly immature. Moving on, how cute is this Edme & Esyllte skirt? I want to wear it constantly, and every time I do, I want to tell everyone that I thrifted it for eight whole bucks. Hey, here’s a fun game: guess how much the whole outfit cost? Go on, guess.

Edme & Esyllte Tulip Perspective mini; Banana Republic chambray chic tassel necklace
Can’t go wrong with candy

Answer: $89. Were you close? The necklace was a gift (thanks, mom & dad); otherwise, it would have been the most expensive item at $40 (on sale, you should really check it out). Yeah, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. It’s allowed on one’s birthday, yes?

Speaking of, my husband took me out for a date night to celebrate the fact I’m now a year older than him. (For the next two months.) We went to a joint called Meat.

Edme & Esyllte Tulip Perspective mini; Banana Republic chambray chic tassel necklace
It was delicious (that’s what she said)

The menu is well curated (read, short, very short), but everything we tried was delicious. As a pickle aficionado, I am telling you to order the pickle if you go. Best $1 I spent all week. Well, my husband spent it, but you know what I mean. The only downside of Meat is also, in a way, what makes it a really fun place to hang: it’s hipster heaven. We had a table near the door, which afforded us excellent people watching opportunities, and we marveled at the constant stream of hipster haircuts, hipster beards, hipster clothes, hipster babies. (We didn’t know this beforehand, but Meat seems to be a pretty cool place to bring your kids. Duly noted for future reference.) When in Rome … drink the hipster-approved soda. (It was delicious.)

edmonton meat restaurant
Knee deep in hipster

My husband decided to try to get me drunk, and damn nearly succeeded. I know what you’re thinking, but I haven’t had alcohol in nearly 4 years (it’s a taste thing, not a philosophical thing) and 2.5% beer might as well be moonshine. And, for the record, it was also delicious. I absolutely hate beer and refuse to drink it, but this stuff tasted entirely un-beer-like. Paired excellently with my garlic fries and BBQ pulled chicken, by the way.

edmonton meat restaurant
mmmm, tasty (and the food was excellent, too)

Too soon, it was time to go home. Midnight? Pfft. Cinderella ain’t got nothing on us. Forget the magical pumpkin carriage; the baby-sitting clock is much less forgiving.

Edme & Esyllte Tulip Perspective mini; Banana Republic chambray chic tassel necklace
I’m glad we took photos *before* dinner …

Game of Handbags

This is a (fairly short, I promise!) story about some recent bag magic happening in my closet. Last February, I found this bag in a Vancouver resale shop, and my husband bought it for me because true love (the man, and the bag):

Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Teri
Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Teri

I adore the colour, which might just be the perfect neutral, and I like the Teri style a lot. (Truly. I have a red one too.) This baby wasn’t leaving my closet any time soon … But then.

You saw that coming, yes?

But then Adrien mentioned one day that she’d be interested in the Teri if I ever felt like a trade, and it got me thinking. One, Adrien has really stellar bag game; a trade would be guaranteed to bring something amazing into my clutches. Two, this could be an opportunity excuse to try to get a fool’s gold version of my fave Marc by Marc Jacobs bag (the Mag, of course). As long as eBay played nice.

And, lo, it did:

Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Magazine Bag
Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Magazine Bag

So my Teri went south, and is now hanging out with a much cooler owner, and I recently got this beauty in the mail:

Marc Jacobs Stella
Marc Jacobs Stella

In this game, everyone’s a winner.

Dog Days

J. Crew chino 5' shorts
Shorts, J. Crew; top, J. Crew Factory; sandals, Old Navy; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)

This outfit is proof that (a) it’s hot enough these days for me to throw restraint to the (non-existent) wind and thrust my pasty whiteness upon an unsuspecting public all day every day, and (b) I love these shorts so damn much. Five inch inseam for the win!

So … another tricolour look. I feel like that’s becoming something of a specialty of mine. On the pro side, it’s hard to muck up. With a 3 colour palette, you have to work at looking like a clown, especially when you’ve got a neutral in the mix. On the con side, there is your general boredom to consider. If I wasn’t taking pictures of my outfits and posting them on the internet, this obviously wouldn’t rate as an actual consideration. Even so, should it? I don’t know; I used to try to dress “interestingly” for the blog, and more often than not I feel like it backfired anyway. I can at least aim for authenticity, if not actual style points. So … yeah, I don’t know, this particular train of thought went off the rails just now.

Moving on to less inane things, here’s a close-up of my joolz. And by that, I mean a necklace you can’t see unless you’re standing. Right. There. Nose to nose with me. It’s cute, though.

Tiffany anchor necklace
Necklace, Tiffany

I actually have a ton of jewelry I’d love to pile on every day, but that brings me back to what I was rambling about earlier; there just isn’t a call for me, as a current SAHM, to go the Mister T route at the playground. So, wah wah – no sparklies for me. But, hey, I can always go nuts with the nail polish:

J. Crew chino 5' shorts
Fluorescent toes

To wrap things up, I am now less than one month away from my official return-to-work date, which is equal parts “eeeeeek” and “hell, yeah”. Part of me feels like I should overdose on the cute casual gear I’ve acquired this year – which won’t ever get this much wear again – and part of me wants to dig out the high heels, like, yesterday.

Which part you with?

J. Crew chino 5' shorts
why does it look like I have a insect-tiny head?!