Currently Wishful Thinking About: Ted Baker Prints

I just scored a great Ted Baker dress at Red Pony Consignment for a steal, but I want more. MORE, I tell you. Ted Baker does the most incredible prints, especially florals. I want them all! Too bad my budget is not agreeable. They’re also probably too flamboyant for my office, so they’re basically wish-fulfillment clothes. Like, “who do I wish I were today” clothes. Sigh. I could have ENTIRELY TOO MUCH fun with that kind of approach to dressing.

Currently Loving: Everywear Edmonton

If you check out today’s print edition of the Edmonton Journal, you may recognize a familiar face. That’s right, I made the paper, baby – and you can too. That’s the beauty of Everywear Edmonton, a new social media venture that launched recently in conjunction with the Journal. What’s Everywear? It’s a community of style and fashion enthusiasts based around Edmonton, and its goal is to share the best of what the city has to offer in terms of style self-expression in a fun and inclusive way. So, if you’re on Instagram, follow @everywearyeg and tag your OOTDs with the same hashtag. Each week, they select a new theme and monitor the hashtag #everywearyeg for new submissions. The best photos appear on Fridays in the style section of the Edmonton Journal, and you can check out what your fellow Edmontonians are wearing there or on IG … and maybe find some awesome new inspiration.

I’ve been excited about Everywear ever since I first heard about the idea behind it. I love that it aims to bring a spotlight on Edmonton as a city of style, which is about damn time. There are so many amazingly creative people – men and women – I see on the streets everyday, and it’s fantastic to see that represented and recognized. My favourite part is that it’s not a community limited to the “fashion elite” or any particular aesthetic. Style should be democratic, and diverse, and fun, and Everywear is all about that. But it only works if people take part in the community, and share their passion … so join me and join in!

Currently Reading: Book Edits

Work has been utterly insane this week, so I am spending my almost non-existent free time working on the edits of my first story/chapter. Writing is hard work, y’all. I have mad respect for anyone who manages to stick with it, because let me tell you: I just about quit this book about 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Anywhoodle. One book I’m looking forward to reading on my upcoming mini-break (“July is only 3 weeks away” is my new mantra) is China Rich Girlfriend. I loved Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, and if this isn’t quite a sequel, I hope it’s in the same vein.

Currently Obsessing Over: How Much GoT Is Pissing Me Off This Season

On one hand, Drogon-ex-machina. Predictable but still so, so awesome. On the other hand, Stannis Baratheon, you are dead to me. And the screenwriters who thought up that whole plot, too. I had actually grown fond of show-Stannis (book version is a stick-in-the-mud nutjob), because he seemed like a really stand-up kind of guy – or, at least, what passes for one in Westeros. But no. We can’t have any of those on this show, apparently. I CANNOT wait to see how they muck up Jon’s storyline next week *sarcasm font engaged* Because I saw that look, Olly. Et tu, Brutus?

Currently Wishful Thinking About: Crop Tops

I know. Crop tops are a dicey proposition after a certain age (quaere: which age would that be?), and they are certainly impractical in the extreme for a professional working mom of small kids. I cannot think of a single likely situation in my current life when a crop top outfit would be appropriate. I might be inclined to say “date night”, but that usually involves a meal of some sort; my opportunities for eating a nice dinner, NOT standing over the sink, and NOT in a rush, are few and far between and I like to savour them to the fullest. Crop tops don’t strike me as particularly food-baby friendly.

But they are darn cute, aren’t they?

Currently NOT Loving: My Midlife Crisis

I have been half-jokingly telling friends anyone who will listen that I’m going through something that I can only describe as a midlife crisis. I don’t know if it’s my impending (35!) birthday, or general summertime restlessness, or work stress, or kids stress, or what, but I’ve reached a point where every-damn-thing about my life bugs me. And everything is fine. My husband is convinced that my problem is that I’ve accomplished everything on my “Life – To Do Before 40” list, and now I’m floundering for lack of new goals. He may have a point. The last time I felt such unease was right after graduation, a decade ago (holy crap!). So, in lieu of a red Lambo, I guess I better start thinking about some new goals.

On the bright side, I have really supportive and understanding friends:

Same lady earlier sent me a link to a very NSFW pic of Sebastian Stan, so she’s a keeper.

Currently Reading: The Distant Hours

I’m still making my way through GRRM’s Dreamsongs, but I managed to sneak this book in as well, whilst procrastinating on writing my own book. [New life goal: finish my decade-in-the-making book by the end of the year. Ha. Hahahaha!] I … didn’t hate it. This is the second Kate Morton book I’ve read, and the second one that was fine, but underwhelming. This one, just like The House at Riverton, struck me as Atonement-lite. The premise had a lot of potential, and reminded me a little bit of Nemesis, one of Agatha Christie’s excellent Jane Marple novels, but I wish the author had gone full-on gothic with it, instead of half-assing it. When your premise is based on two elderly twin sisters guarding a crumbling castle with lots of secrets, well … realism is just a bore, you know? Anyway, I didn’t hate it, but I also wouldn’t call this one a must-read.

Currently Obsessing Over: White Walkers!

Hello, did anything else happen on GoT last week? I mean, OK, yes, Dany and Tyrion finally met (yay!), and Arya is a budding assassin (yay!), and Sansa found out that Theon didn’t kill Rickon and Bran (yay, I guess – why is Ramsay still alive? Priorities, Sansa!). But, really, last week was all about Hardhome. Apart from the stunning visuals and excitement of the ice zombie battle itself, there were the implications to ponder. We now know so much more about the White Walkers than the books have ever told us. And Jon killed one! With Longclaw, not dragonglass. And did you see the way the chief White Walker dude (the Night’s King?) looked at Jon? I’m probably just projecting my favourite fan theories, but I could have sworn the interest went beyond “hmm, dude has a nice way with a sword”. Are the White Walkers descended from the Starks, as some people are speculating? Did the Night’s King recognize his predestined nemesis? I really want to go back and re-read all of the prophesies and “old women’s tales” that are sprinkled throughout the books (including the visions that Dany has, and the stuff about R’hullor) because I feel like the show is doing a lot of the same foreshadowing from different angles. Jeez, listen to me. Who would have thought I’d turn into a conspiracy theorist? (But seriously, share your fave GoT speculations in the comments.)

Currently Wishful Thinking About: A New Dressing Table

I have been wanting a proper, ladylike dressing table for years and, guys, it’s finally going to happen. We are re-doing our bedroom at the moment (I’m using the royal “we” since I am doing about 0.5% of the work), and one of the (many) awesome results of that will be room for the white, neoclassical dressing table of my dreams. Too bad I can’t say the same about the budget. So, I’ll be consoling myself with this version instead:

Currently Loving: Equipment Butterfly Print Blouse

I saw this at Holt Renfrew a while back, but didn’t feel like shelling out $150+ (on sale!) for a sleeveless blouse. But the print! Butterfly prints (like florals, and bird prints) are my Achilles’ heel. I went back to check on the price situation and, of course, the blouse was long gone. I’m going to keep an eye out for this one at Winners over the next 2-3 months, and hope the retail gods are kind.

Currently Hunting: Topshop Slim Curve Blazer

I spotted my co-worker wearing this blazer, and she looked phenomenal in it so … me wanty. Me wanty a lot. I don’t currently have a light coloured blazer in my closet, and I like the modern cut and colour of this one. Naturally, it is out of stock at The Bay. EBay to the rescue? To be continued …

Currently Reading: This ‘n That

I’m still reading my way through Italian Days, and waiting on a big Amazon order – so, nothing new on the book front. I have recently(ish) discovered some awesome blogs, so I thought I’d share those with you instead.

Xin’s posts at Invincible Summer are always insightful, thought-provoking, and well written, whether on style, consumerist culture and minimalism, personal finance, or figuring out the post-university world.

Alissa at The Adored Life is the definition of, well, adorable, and her style is cute and relatable at the same time.

And if you’re not already reading My Three Angles, you need to start, immediately. I’m not going to spoil one of the best satire blogs on the Internet by telling you more about it, but believe me when I say that you need it in your (blog-reading) life.

Currently Obsessing Over: Commander Snow and the Return of Jaqen H’ghar

I am beyond excited to watch these two story lines unfold, because I love their equivalent arcs in the book. I never really got into Arya’s story until she went to Braavos and began her apprenticeship with the Faceless Men; the addition of Jaqen H’ghar to the mix is brilliant. It will be interesting to see how fast this arc runs on the show, since Dance of Dragons ended before we got to the payoff – we may get it sooner than later. Similarly, I am almost certain that the show will outpace the books on the Wall/Castle Black front given that Jon has already been elected Commander, and they’ve dispensed with a bunch of subplots. So, unless they reeeeeally drag things out, we will see what happens after …

>>>>SPOILER<<<<

>>>>YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED<<<<

>>>>THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE<<<<

… Jon’s Ides of March moment. I have my ideas – GoT book readers, how about you?