Our First Christmas Tree

I have been feeling a little bit blue so I decided it was time to snap out of it and get into the Christmas spirit! I just love Christmas, probably because it makes an excellent precursor to the most important holiday of all; my birthday!

Anyway, I digress (but my birthday is coming up so I hope everyone is ready!), Matt and I went on an epic trip to purchase our tree and decorations. I am picky and this was a hard decision for me. I over-think things and took this quite seriously. I suppose I can always switch the ornaments up later on. I was firm that I wanted a big, fake (I've never had a real tree) tree with multi-colored lights already on it. We had to go to a few places but I finally found what I was looking for.

When we hauled it home Steph was waiting for us (she was studying at our apartment). We had a moment of panic because it looked like the tree was going to be TOO BIG and not fit in our place. However, it is just perfect! Yay! So now we have a tree and I like to think that all the people waiting at the bus stop across the street can see it and admire it.

New Necklace

Here's the necklace I bought. Isn't it pretty? It's an old locket revamped by Blue Tree Studios. I also picked up a pamphlet about Stitch & Bitch. Maybe I should learn how to knit? I am sure everyone was desperately wanting a scarf for Christmas, right?

Sustainable Shopping

I came across the Uniform Project recently and thought it was a pretty interesting idea. I'm not really that fashionable but I try to look nice. I definitely admire people who have a strong sense of style and are willing to take risks (and not look like a total idiot in the process). In the Uniform Project the creator is wearing the same dress (she has 7 identical dresses) everyday but styling it completely differently using accessories and other clothing pieces. If you click on the monthly viewing of the blog you can see how successful she is. It's astonishing how different she looks each day!

This reminded me of the Little Brown dress (that I once featured on my Little Brown Blog) although that woman actually wore only one dress for the entire year (and did add a few things to it but just for warmth purposes). Both these women are doing/did similar projects with different purposes. The former is trying to raise money for children in India and the latter is trying to raise environmental/anti-materialism awareness. I think both are worthy causes.

It makes me think of a post made by my lovely friend Simone, at her fabulous blog Skinny Dip, on how she is striving to makeunder her life and wardrobe. I have to admit that I am a serial shopper- I especially love things on sale and often buy them without thinking about if they are worth any money at all or if I really like or need them. This bad habit has meant that my drawers and closet are bursting. Living in Korea was a nice exercise in sustainable shopping since I literally couldn't wear 95% of the garments they sold there (I talk about their "free size" over here). This really cut down on what I bought and it made me learn to be creative and to choose wisely when I was purchasing a new piece.

Needless to say, once I returned to Canada my bad habits have reared their ugly heads and I find myself shopping just because I can. I am doing a bit better I suppose because I do think twice before buying something and I am much better at purging my closet. I should probably purge again soon but maybe I will do that once the cold weather sets in and I can gauge what I am wearing a little better. Does anyone else have trouble letting go of clothes? Is your closet minimalistic or out of control? What's your biggest shopping weakness?

I love paychecks!

I know I owe better blogs but I am working over 50 hours this week. I am working on it. Anyway, I got paid (my 2nd check) last Friday and here is the first thing I bought. Isn't it pretty? And the best part is all the compartments it has for cards. I have so many cards (Safeway, First Aid card, health cards, etc, etc) in Canada; way more than when I lived overseas. What do you think?

An Indian Feast!

Now that I am back in the real world (aka full time employment) I definitely savor my time off. On the weekend we went grocery shopping and it was fantastic. It's one of those errands I've always liked and as a result we had tons of delicious food options. We decided to make a huge supper filled with East Indian goodness. We had naan, aloo gobi, palak paneer, butter chicken and salad. We invited Steph and Alisse over and somehow managed to finish all the food. I kind of wish I didn't work so many evenings so I could do this sort of thing more often. Get a load of the massive cauliflower that we bought!

New Dress!

Wednesday was a surprisingly busy day. I was really tense and stressed out about wedding stuff. We weren't totally prepared at that point and the day was coming quickly. I decided to chill out with some shopping therapy and bought this dress on sale. I felt very nautical but it doesn't photograph well. I should know better than to wear horizontal stripes. They are friends to no one! I also got a pedicure so my toes would be looking nice for the wedding. In the evening I headed out to the bridal shower. Anyway, what do you think of my dress?