I’ve been flirting with the idea of taking up painting for months, but kept finding excuses not to try. I don’t have space for it. Supplies are expensive. I already have too many hobbies and not enough time. Still, I kept thinking about it. I tried to scratch the itch to create with colour through embroidery and beading, but it didn’t quite work. One day, someone I follow posted a story on Instagram of a picture they spotted at HomeSense. Something about that image drew my eye; it stayed in my mind.

A few days later, I went to HomeSense to see if I could find it, or something similar. I didn’t. Instead, I found a set of acrylic paints, brushes, and some canvases. The universe seemed to be saying something to me.

So I listened.

My first attempt at painting was, ahem, a solid effort.

Ok, fine, it wasn’t much good but I found that I enjoyed the process anyway. For my next attempt, I tried something a little safer: a still life of flowers. I like big, bold swaths of colour so I decided to pursue a primitive style – which, not entirely coincidentally – suits my drawing and painting abilities just fine. I was (and still am) quite pleased with the result.

I decided to get a little more adventurous. This is where I started to learn a bit about layering and building colour. I like to learn by doing, rather than following how-tos, so my lessons are haphazard at best. On the plus side, I find it helps me to develop my own style at my own pace.

Next, I turned my attention to landscapes. Again, with the first try, I was inspired by a picture I saw on social media (and, sadly, didn’t save) but I tweaked it to work with birch trees rather than pines. This was a lesson in building texture, dry-brushing, and layering again. The result was still a bit “naif” but with some decent effects here and there.

Emboldened, I decided to level up again. Here in Alberta, we have beautiful prairie vistas. There is something both simple and incredibly majestic about a flat horizon and huge skies. I thought the latter, in particular, would give me scope to do big, bold things with colour and texture. What I didn’t know … was that clouds (like water) are among the hardest things to paint well. Oops.

Nevertheless, I think this was a solid effort. As a sidenote, this was the first piece I sold! After I posted it on IG, someone contacted me to ask if she could buy it, and since she lived locally, I thought “why not?” It’s wonderful and also kind of intimidating to think of my work hanging in someone’s house.

Anyway, I hadn’t learned my lesson about clouds yet, it seemed, so I leveled up again – to a sunset. Because what could be more fun than an extra dramatic sunset, right? Well, the bloody thing was nearly the undoing of my painting hobby. I lost track of how many layers of paint I went through before I was finally somewhat satisfied with it.

Ugh, no more skies for a while. I think it’s time to tackle some cacti 😛

Have you picked up a new hobby out of the blue? How did it go? Do you prefer to learn by watching/following directions, or by doing/hands on?

Stealing this idea from Xin who always writes the most thought-provoking and interesting posts, not only on fashion-adjacent topics but also everything from law to personal finance. Go check out her blog (Invincible Summer) now if you haven’t already, then come back and find out how I spent some of my shopping budget in the last 12 months.

Age: 39

How much you spent: $2,617 (August 2018 to July 2019)

How much you spent without accessories (shoes, bags, jewelry): $1,794

A Purchase You Planned – For the most part, I don’t plan specific purchases. The closest I get is having a list of designers to look for (whose aesthetic tends to work for me, based on past experience). Possibly the only recent exception has been Rafael Canada jewelry. After I thrifted my first piece, I started researching the designer and quickly fell in love with his work. I compiled a list of “most coveted” pieces using photos I found online, and then proceeded to haunt eBay, Etsy, and vintage seller sites to see if I could find them. All Rafael pieces are handmade and are, in that sense, unique; however, he used certain designs more than once, so it’s possible to find similar pieces. My approach was planned in the sense that I knew which styles I wanted, but I was open to variations in terms of metal finishes and the colour of glass cabochons used.

The main reason why I had to take a more planned approach was price; I wanted All the Things, but I had to budget. Because Rafael pieces are somewhat rare and collectible, the price points can vary wildly; I’ve been lucky to find a few pieces under $100, but most seem to be around $120-$200, with some listed as high as $400+. In the scheme of things (and considering my overall financial situation), my purchases haven’t been exorbitant, but when you’re used to thrift pricing, they took some mental adjustment. That being said, I adore my Rafael pieces, and I consider them more of a collection than a simple clothing purchase.

An Impulse Buy – Almost everything I purchased in the last year can be characterized as an impulse buy. I see, I buy; that’s how thrifting works. You can’t really “sleep on it” because good stuff moves quickly. That being said, if we look at “impulse buy” as something on which I took a risk, then one of the best was the Zara faux leather crop top. I have been loving leather jackets for a few years now, but this was the item that opened my eyes to the possibilities of incorporating leather into my regular outfits outside of outerwear. It was $12, which at the time seemed ridiculous for a secondhand fast fashion brand (and a crop top, of all things), but it was a bargain considering I have already worn it 9 times and counting. Time and again, it has been that perfect finishing touch to an outfit, adding texture and visual interest and generally elevating my style. The cut makes it a great layering piece, which means it works more or less year-round. As I said, it also made me look at leather pieces in a different light. I now have a few leather skirts, a pair of leather culottes, not to mention my beloved Sarah Pacini leather vest, and I believe that my closet is better for it.

Your Favourite Purchase:This is impossible, you know that, right? Picking one favourite thing? Forget it. I can maaaaybe commit to a top 5 … for today. Ask me tomorrow, and it might be something else. What can I say, I love my whole closet. For what it’s worth, today’s top picks would be:

• Aritzia midi skirt – I wear this every other week, it seems. I just love everything about it, and it’s super comfortable to boot. I paid $13 for it, and the cost per wear is already well under $1. It’s a wardrobe staple for me.
• Dries Van Noten floral dress – If money were no object, I would be a collector of Dries’ beautiful creations. As it is, I feel very fortunate to have been able to find this gorgeous dress on eBay for a reasonable price (not cheap, but it’s all relative). Every time I wear it, it feels like a treat.
• il Sander blazer – I’ve found a ton of awesome blazers in the past year, but this one inches ahead of the rest on quality alone. It’s a wool cashmere blend, and it feels like heaven. It’s also a classic colour and design, so it’s one of those unicorn timeless pieces that fashion magazines always tout; I can see myself wearing this for years to come.
• YSL plaid skirt – This skirt just brings me so much joy whenever I wear it. And I don’t even like plaid that much! Or, at least, I didn’t until I found this skirt. Now, I’m reconsidering my stance. This skirt is the best kind of vintage; it still looks so cool and modern, plus is a bit of fashion history. It was $13 at Value Village and, honestly, I would cry if anything happened to it.
• Cartonnier fur collar coat – I don’t know what it is about this coat, but it makes me feel like such a bada$$ every time I wear it. I am … the opposite of cool and deeply aware of it, so this is quite the sartorial magic, you guys. It’s also the kind of coat that I can slap onto any outfit, and it just works. Like, I said, MAGIC.

Honourable mention to all my Rafael Canada pieces, but I decided to keep them off this list because I already talked about them above.

A Purchase you regret – There are ** items I purchased in the last year which I’ve decided to pass on (sell, donate or swap). That sounds like a lot (and it is) but keep in mind that almost all of these pieces were thrifted and I should be able to recoup a decent portion of my out-of-pocket costs. (In some cases, I already did through the pop-up clothing sale back in March. Will be doing the same event again in September.) So in terms of actual regret, I have little.

A Purchase you regret not making – Nothing comes to mind. Probably not surprising, given how much I buy.

This year, instead of taking the kids to the West Coast again for our family summer vacation, we decided to stay closer to home. At 8 and nearly 6, I feel like they’re old enough now to start appreciating what the Rockies have to offer. The truth is, my kids probably take after me; I have never been a particularly outdoorsy person – my idea of camping is staying at a motel – but I do enjoy hiking and beautiful vistas. I am hoping some of that is going to rub off on the kids. This time around, we managed a few short hikes with minimal complaints (though they were definitely fonder of any opportunity to splash in a body of water, no matter how cold).

Before I talk about what I packed for the trip, here is some picture spam:

Ok, so in terms of clothing, I went with my tried and tested approach for family vacations – keeping things comfortable and simple. Because our weather has been so variable this summer, I paid close attention to the forecast – though, in the end, I underestimated how cold some days would be (luckily, not the ones we spent in the mountains). I packed fairly light and used almost all of the items I brought, save one jacket that didn’t actually work with any of the other things I had (a poor selection on my part too begin with). In total, I had: 3 dresses, 3 pairs of pants, 4 tops, 2 jackets, 1 scarf, 1 hat, and 3 pairs of shoes. Almost everything was linen which, apart from the wrinkling (unavoidable but not a big deal on a trip like this), is perfect – lightweight and comfortable.

I didn’t get a chance to take photos of every outfit, but here are most of them :

This was definitely not the height of fashion by any means … although I received several compliments when I wore my Ungaro linen wrap dress (not pictured) one evening in Canmore. Someone even said that I looked very “Annie Hall”, which was highly flattering (if perhaps not strictly true). But the main thing is that a lot of fun was had, and if style took a back seat to function in service of that, well, I’m okay with the trade off.