Baby Steps into Vintage

The Disney Room

2012-02-06T08:53:00.002-05:00

When we first started living together, everytime I picked up something new that was Disney related, The Mr would give me an exasperated look. "We don't have the room!" And fair enough, in a small, two bedroom apartment, we really didn't. I couldn't walk past the Disney Store without picking up at least one small something, and I always seem to get at least one Disney present for birthdays, Christmas, etc. The Mr finally put a halt to it: "No more Disney until we buy a house. Then you can have a Disney room." We bought our first house in September 2011.

So, we have a few minor things to tidy up in other renos, but then I can start working on my Disney room. This is how it currently looks:

This did belong to a little girl who was living in the house, and it's cute, but really not me. The room is the smallest in the house, so part of what we're doing in taking the closet out of the spare bedroom next door, and moving it to a different wall, and we're expanding the Disney room into that closet space (left side wall). Doing this will give us about two additional feet of space in the room. This will one day be a kid's room (a few years yet) so eventually we'd like to GENTLY pull up the hardwood and put carpet in the room and use the hardwood in other spots of the house where it needs to be mended.

Disney has created a line of paints with Behr, and of course you know I'll be using those to paint my room. When it was decided that I would get my room, it was under the caveat that it would, one day, become a child's room. This being the case, I wanted to make sure that I picked a style that would work for a girl or a boy.

There is an arched ceiling in the room, and I wanted to make sure to complement it. I also wanted something fun and whimsical. This is going to be a bit time consuming to tape and paint out, but I love how bright it is.

I also wanted to go with a Classic Disney theme: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy are all going to take over in this room. Besides, everything did start with a mouse.

The Mr also found that really great mural of Mickey painting movie characters, so we're going to put that on the wall as well. This is a great idea because I can add characters as new movies come out, I can paint them in colour or leave them as line drawings, and I can add any characters from the movies, not just the main characters.

I also have a few projects to do, to practice my DIY skills. I'm going to start small with a shadow lamp. I'm going to get a small white lamp from Ikea, and cut out Mickey heads and glue them to the inside of the shade. When the lamp is off, you won't notice anything, but when it's on, then there will be a Mickey head border on the lamp! I'm also going to update my plain, wood desk by painting the body white and adding Disney knob handles. I'm leaning towards the ones with the head, shoe, glove and shorts. Finally, I'll be trying to track down some Mickey Mouse fabric to sew a new cover for my futon. This room is going to double as a guest room, and our futon really needs a new cover anyway, so I'm just going to make this one perfectly suited to the room. I don't know where to go to find the right fabric. The local fabric stores don't really have anything, and I don't really want to go online since half of buying fabric is feeling it. Any suggestions?

So, there you have it. This is what has been wrapped up in my brain for my Disney room. There are two more other renovations that need to get done, and then I can start on my room. I'm hoping to have it complete by summer.

Cheers!
~Paige

**This post is in no way sponsored by the Disney Company or Behr paint. I just really like them**

Stepping Out in Style

2012-01-30T09:54:00.007-05:00

I love high waisted pants. I don't own any as of yet, but I love them. They are super sophisticated and classy, and are a great way of jazzing up regular pant outfits. Also, with how cold and windy it's been around here as of late, I simply adore my longjohns, but they won't do under skirts or dresses.

With many renos going on at our little house, The Mr and I are on a pretty tight budget, so I can only day dream as to the pants I'm sure I will one day own.

This is just for fun: my favourite colour, purple. It's cute, sweet, and slightly reminiscent of a longing for Spring with the soft colours. I don't usually wear yellow-based greens as they wash out my skin tone, but I really like it as an accent here. And this will go well at work, with the animal print to liven things up! I've been practicing my page-boy hairstyle, and I think it would suit this perfectly.

This outfit just screams MOD to me. Big hair, bold eyeliner, and nude lips would make this outfit completely fabulous. I have a high-waist pants pattern I'm going to try once I get my Disney room put together, and I think I'll try beseeching my MIL to knit me a similar sweater. I love having creative family members!

"I moustache you a question." Okay, fine, it's cheesy, but I love that watch! Really, it's a moustache watch; what is not to love? For a conspicuously nautical style outfit, this adds just the right amount of kitsch, don't you think? Fedora style hats are unbelievable at hiding a bad hair day, and with curly hair, I tend to have more than my fair share of those. This is wonderfully cute, casual, and vintage-inspired.

Well, I'm off again. I have yet ANOTHER bathroom ceiling to paint, and The Mr and I need to figure out the absurd trim that is crown moulding. Wish us luck!

Cheers!
~Paige

Window Shopping

2012-01-24T11:22:00.005-05:00

I've been suffering from insane amounts of biting winter winds, freezing rain, and copious amounts of snow. All of these things together have made me a cabin-fever crazed lady! My Mother-in-Law (MIL) and I decided to combat these crazies by heading out for the day, and checking out the brand new IKEA. It is the largest in Canada, with two full floors of inspiration, so I knew I wanted to be comfortable. My go to comfort outfit: a dress. Any dress, really. I love how easy they are: on, done!

Also, my radio from this post

I wanted something fun, so I broke out one of my summer dresses. The weather wasn't too bad that day, and I knew we were going to be spending the day inside, so I figured I would be fine. I added my lovely olive green cardigan, and thick black tights, and off we went.

I love the detail in the dress, and I found it to be slightly reminiscent of some of the patterns in the fabrics found in IKEA.

My hair was inspired of a picture I had seen of Dita von Teese as she was out and about somewhere. Isn't she lovely? I would love to know how she sets her hair on a regular basis.

I'm out for now. We have been completing a number of renovations on our little house, so I'll show you before and afters soon.

Cheers!

~Paige

I Love Food

2012-01-11T10:08:00.011-05:00

I LOVE food: searching for a recipe, shopping for ingredients, preparing and throwing things together, smells as the flavours meld together, and the happiness as the food hits your tongue. I think the only thing I don't like is the clean up! ;)

After being inspired by the photo above at the Smitten Kitchen blog, I decided to give it a whirl... In a very loose sort of way. She has a very structured recipe that I found was a great starting point, but then I made it my own. The original recipe is here.
Here is what I did:

6 or 7 ripe tomatoes, cut in thirds
One head of garlic
2 shallots, sliced
Your best extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp-ish of Italian seasoning, or any other herb you like (eyeball or to taste)
Salt and pepper (I used sea salt and freshly cracked pepper)
3 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
2 cubes of vegetable stock
1-in rounds of good french bread
Grated old cheddar cheese

Turn your oven on to bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Pull apart the head of garlic and put the peeled cloves on a baking sheet with the tomatoes and shallots. Cover with EVOO, and season with a good amount of salt and pepper.

When the oven is warm, slide the baking sheet in, and roast the tomatoes for about an hour. Make sure you don't have any clean laundry hanging around as your clothes will take on the smell of the garlic and shallots. While it is a fantastic smell while cooking, it's not something you want to linger.

While everything is roasting, prepare the vegetable stock according to the directions, and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until soft.

When the garlic cloves are soft and golden, and the tomatoes are tender, pull the baking sheet out and add the ingredients to a strong pot or bowl. Keep the oven on.

Use an immersion blender to break down the tomatoes, garlic and shallots. You can peel the tomatoes before this step, but I liked the small bits of skin in the soup. If you're having some trouble breaking it down, add a bit of the potato water to the mix.

When it is all blended together, add the seasoning and whisk together. Drain the potatoes, and reserve the leftover stock. Add all of the potatoes and small batches of the stock to the mixture and blend well.

Keep adding stock until you get the consistency you like for your soup. As it was cold, I made mine a bit more stew-like, but make sure it is thick enough to hold up the bread. If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender will work just fine; you will just have to add everything in bits and transfer to a pot for cooking later.

Cook the soup together in a large pot over medium-high heat until it is warm. Be careful to keep stirring as you cook so the tomato does not get burnt on the bottom. This makes for horrible tasting soup!

When warm, transfer to an oven proof mug or bowl and place on a baking sheet. Turn the oven on to Broil and toast the bread until it is no longer soft. When it is done, place on top of the soup, and cover with the cheese.

Place the baking sheet in the oven, and cook until the cheese melts and is gooey and bubbly on top. Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and dig in!

This was such a yummy dish, and even The Mr who isn't big on soups wolfed it down like it wasn't even there. If you make lots, let it sit overnight without the cheese and bread, and it is a great lunch the next day.

So, there is my first food blog post. What did you think? Would you like to see more? Any requests? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments, I love to hear from you!

Cheers!
~Paige

Bows and Brunch

2012-01-07T09:41:00.005-05:00

Today, I went out for brunch with some friends, and as I had been feeling sick, I wanted to get dressed up to make myself feel a bit more perky.

It's still pretty cold out, so I made sure to wear plenty of layers: slip, mock-turtleneck blouse, cream cardigan, warm pencil skirt.

I LOVE this cardigan. It cost me $10 at Sears, which almost never happens! The flower and pearl embroidery is superb, and it is so soft and warm. I love that it will also work in warmer weather with all of my sundresses.

And just because I was feeling playful, I added a big bow to my hair. I felt like a China doll all day with my big hair, pink lips and big bow. You can bet I'll be wearing a bow in my hair more often!

Cheers!
~Paige

I'm Sick, So I'm Spending Money

2012-01-06T12:17:00.006-05:00

I have some sort of cold that has been brought on by the January blues, so I have been spending money on Etsy. I love that website, I really do. I just bought a super cute pair of red pedal pushers that have a paisley print on them, but I wasn't sure what I would wear with them. After some random Etsy searching, I came out with these two lovely pieces:

Red Polka Dot Blouse

Polka Dots and X's

I can't wait to pair them with my pants and show you all!

I'm going to go back to my Disney movies and tea and try to get better.

Cheers!
~Paige

New Year, New Paige?

2012-01-03T08:31:00.005-05:00

Happy 2012 Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a LOVELY holiday season. I had a great time with my friends and family, and I'm a bit sad to be back at work. If you follow my Twitter feed, you'll have seen that my last few days have been spent doing renovations on my new house. The bathroom is almost complete, and then it will be on to the spare bedroom! So many things we want to accomplish on our house this year, The Mr and I will have our hands full.

A common tradition in many households are creating New Year Resolutions. A resolution often used as a goal to better one's self by losing weight, eating more healthily, getting better control of their finances, spend more time with family, etc. We never did resolutions in my household as I was growing up. My parents viewed the tradition as being silly and working on yourself should be something you want to do anyway, not because a new year comes around.

I was doing a bit of research, and it seems that there is a very small number of people, about 12%, who actually achieve their goals, and that is usually supported by setting related mini-goals throughout the year.

So, what am I getting at? I guess all of this is to say, while I don't believe in resolutions, I do think that a new year is a chance to try new things that you have been thinking about. For example, there was a couple from Vancouver who lived on a 100-mile diet, only eating local goods in the radius. I've been intrigued by this prospect, but it was never really an option for me. The Mr is a vegetarian, and as such he NEEDS to eat certain foods (lentils, rice, bananas, etc) that cannot be grown locally in order to get all of the nutrients he requires. However, I've gotten to thinking, even if I can't go completely on a local diet, I can certainly make an effort to consume MORE local produce. I've been looking into local farms that deliver produce to your door, and year-round farmers markets. So far it seems promising, and I'll keep you updated on my progress.

What about you? Any things you would like to try or accomplish this year? I'd love to hear about them. And pop by my Facebook page! I promise I won't bite.

Cheers!

~Paige

Something Old into Something New

2011-12-22T08:32:00.005-05:00

This is my wedding dress. *Swoon* I love it, and I love how it looked the day of my wedding. It has been a year, and it has just been sitting in my closet. And while it was a fairly modest price for a wedding dress, I'm feeling bad that it is just hanging in a lonely garment bag.

But last night I had a brilliant idea: what if I turned my dress into something more like this?:

I'm going to meet up with Miss E. and we shall see if we can find a game plan to turn my wedding dress into a party dress. I'll keep you posted on the details.

Cheers!
~Paige

Looking Like Lauren

2011-12-20T08:57:00.004-05:00

**Please excuse the poor quality and teenage-girl bathroom poses. I've lost my camera's memory card.**

Trying to channel Lauren Bacall today

Print scarf I picked up for a song

Flat spat style shoes

Just a hint of Christmas with stocking earrings.

Image sources: Super Kawaii Mama, From Me to You, Texere Silk, Spring Shoes and Dr. Macro

Cheers,
~Paige

Holiday Wish

2011-12-16T13:57:00.010-05:00

There are only five days left until Christmas! Can you believe it? My grandmother has come to stay with The Mr and I for ten days over the Christmas season, and I'm so happy she's here. I've finished my shopping and crafting; I'll be baking away in the evenings; I'll be getting little sleep as I gift wrap and try to put together my Christmas dress... I couldn't be happier.

I picked The Mr up this silly little book for his stocking:

The Good Husband Guide

We have a bit of a joke running that as I am the vintage-y wife, I should be doing vintage-y wife type things. We get a good giggle out of it, and I saw this and could not help myself: I had to get it for him. It has bits of advice such as:

Lip Service: Modern man has certainly evolved from the days of monosyllabic responses. ... A worthy gent also listens as skillfully as he speaks, clicking off the television or putting away the newspaper to give you his undivided attention.

Mr. Fix-It: Step aside NASA, and meet a tech-savvy marvel able to fix anything that goes on the fritz using little more than duct tape and an Allen wrench. ... Feeling useful is every man's greatest aim in life, so don't deprive him of his chance to prove himself handy.

It's silly and cute, and will get a chuckle when he pulls it from his stocking on Christmas morning. There is also The Good Wife Guide, The Good Mother's Guide, and The Good Father's Guide available, and you can bet I'll be picking these up for the next few bachelorette parties and baby showers I get invited to.

The next few posts will probably be picture based as I'm going to be run off of my rocker trying to make sure everything is ready for Christmas dinner at our house, so I wanted to take this moment to wish all of you a very happy and wonderful holiday season to be spent with you and your loved ones.

Cheers!

~Paige Turner

Pin-up and Blues

2011-11-29T18:59:00.009-05:00

Last Friday night, The Mr and I headed out to catch a blues show and I participated in a pin-up girl contest. We met my friend, the lovely Champagne Sugar, and some of her friends at the bar and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I wasn't surprised that she won the contest with the super cute sailor outfit she sewed that morning(!), but I'd like to think I gave her a run for her money.

"Hi, I'm Paige."

"Sorry, gentlemen, I'm taken."

"But thank you for the love!"

I wore my Vivien of Holloway dress, and after the compliments I got, you know I'll be getting another one or two. They have a lovely floral circle skirt dress I've been eying, so I might ask for that for Christmas from The Mr.

Miss C. is a glam doll to be sure, and has an Etsy page for all sorts of lovely things! You can find it here: Silver Lotus

I'm going to be back to work soon (thank goodness) but I just bought a bunch of cute winter and Christmas fabrics, as well as some vintage patterns, so I'll have those up and ready soon (I hope).

I'm off for bed for the night, but I'll be back soon!

Cheers!

~Paige

New Facebook Page for Paige

2011-11-28T12:17:00.005-05:00

Hi Ladies and Gents!

I have a new blog post in the works for you, but I wanted to let you know about my new Facebook page! You can keep in touch with me there, see pictures of some of my outfits, or just generally say hello!

You can find my page here: Paige Turner

Cheers!

~Paige

Cold Days, Warm Evenings

2011-11-08T09:14:00.005-05:00

I'm sorry to have disappeared off of the face of the earth. The move into our new house did not go as planned, and one month after our move date, we are still trying to get settled. Long story short, our house was left in a deplorable condition, and getting it livable has taken MUCH longer than it should have. Suffice to say, my wardrobe as been basic these last few days with just pants, a blouse and a cardigan. I did just go out and get some lovely new patterns and fabric, so there will be a new winter dress or two on the horizon!

However, we are now well into autumn, and the temperature is supposed to get up to 15C (59F) today. So, of course, I'm dreaming of temperatures around the 5C (41F) mark. Since we just moved, I went through all of my clothes and I found all of my lovely winter dresses, warm sweaters, and various other snuggly items, like a set of onesie pajamas.

As I cannot yet wear my lovely winter items, I've put together a few outfits I'm dreaming of wearing in the near future. (Hopefully!)

One of my favourite winter items are big, cuddly sweaters. I have a favourite ivory coloured one, like the one in this set. I usually pair it with my brown corduroy pants, but I've also added a couple of really cute accessories I'd like to get my hands on: a cute beret with flower detail; vintage style green earrings; a pocket-watch on a chain for a necklace; a warm, autumn style bag; and cute green flats for a bit of pop. I would wear this out for a cup of hot cocoa with friends, adding a bit of bright pink blush to my cheeks and tinted balm to my lips for rosy autumn colour.

I love love LOVE the dress in this next set. The warm brown tweed with carry right into the freezing winter months. The cozy red sweater, orange purse and complementary earrings add just the right pop of colour. Tights will keep your legs warm (I don't leave the house without them) and the cute kitten heel will make it easy to be on your feet at work all day. I can't stand having my hair in my face, so a ponytail or barrette is a must!

Snow. I'm dreaming of snow and chilly air and days spend cuddled up under a blanket watching my favourite chick flicks and Disney movies. I think this next set explains itself.

For the moment, that is it for me. I need to get back to getting my house in order so I can do real blog posts. I will talk to you all soon!

Cheers!
~Paige

PS- Did you know there are only 47 days until Christmas? Can you guess what my next post will be about?

European Style

2011-09-14T10:17:00.004-04:00

Here it is: the post about my European vacation! Long story, REALLY short: I had an amazing time. I was able to hang with my family that I only get to see a few times a year because they live across the country, and got to see some amazing places. And if you ever get a chance to go on a cruise, I highly recommend it. We met some great people, and had such a blast spending our evenings together.

I didn't get a chance to get a picture of every outfit (I was pretty darn busy) but here is a sampling of what I wore.

As you can see, I took my vintage overseas with me, and it was pretty easy to do as well. I was only able to bring one bag with me on the flight, and I needed room for souvenirs and shopping, so I planned out my outfits based on what we were doing each day. It sounds rather neurotic, but because of how much walking we were doing, and because some places had restrictions on what you could or could not wear (the Vatican for example) planning out my outfits made packing easier. I also followed a tip from Super Kawaii Mama's book, and I packed a number of separates that I could match together.

In order to get you dreaming about your own European vacation, here are a few vintage travel posters I've found for the places I visited.

I am going to be a packing machine for the next few weeks in order to get ready to move into our house on the 28th. My posts will be minimal at best, but I promise an update once we're in the house. In the meantime, you can catch me on my Twitter feed.

Cheers!

~Paige

No Time to Stop and Smell the Flowers

2011-09-01T08:12:00.005-04:00

Why hello there, lovely followers! I've missed you! I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but right after I got back from my vacation (which was lovely, thank you for asking) I had a number of things happen that have now been consuming all of my time. Not the least of which is making a rather large purchase:

That's right ladies and gents! The Mr and I bought our first house! It might be our last with how stressful the whole process has been. From trying to break our lease, to figuring out immediate repairs (there are quite a few) we're both exhausted. BUT we are also amazingly happy as we will be putting time and effort into our own home instead of someone else's.
Of course you know my lovely house will have a vintage feel to it; The Mr is stopping at a nearby town tomorrow to pick up an antique radio we will be pulling the guts out of to make it work again.

I'm going for a vintage country look (no chickens, cows or other animals, please!) and taking a ton of inspiration from Mrs. Mary Deluxe, This Old House magazine (our house is almost 200 years old), and various other interweb places. Can you suggest any?

Anyhoo, I'll keep you updated on the progress. We take possession at the end of the month, and there is so much to do before then! By the way, did I mention I get to have my own Disney room? More on that to come, and I'll be posting pictures from my trip soon too! TTFN!

Cheers!
~Paige

Running on Empty

2011-07-08T13:30:00.005-04:00

Hi all. Okay, so the post a week thing seems to have gone right out the window. My life is running full tilt on all six cylinders, and I'm starting to burn out a little bit. We finally got our dog Annie out to where we are, and I'm so happy she's here! The Mr and I have been loving playing with her, going on walks, and having her greet us when we get home. But between her, family and friends visiting, a 1.5 acre lawn to up keep, and various other things, I have been running on empty for the last few weeks. And as I have been unable to get out and find myself new, pretty vintage things, or sew anything, I have a few Polyvore sets for you!

This first one is perfect for a day strolling along a boardwalk: light cotton dress, cute hat, and adorable shoes that are easy to walk in!

I love the blue-purple-yellow combination. The bright colours just say "summer."

This next one is what I want to be wearing when I head out to the beach. The shorts and tie-up shirt keep me decent while on the way, but the cherry bikini is too cute and pin-up like!

I've added a few summer essentials too (sunscreen, whimsical beach towel and sunglasses) and a cute bag to store everything in.

And I can't not include an outfit for a night out. I was feeling silly and whimsical when I created this one, but I love how the Peacock theme ties everything together.

The dress on it's own would be almost plain, but the pops of colour in the scarf, shoes, clutch and hair fascinator give it a perking up.

The next week or two will be fairly quiet, but then I'm hopping back across the pond to spend some time in Europe again this summer! My father and brother(s?) will be heading to Edinburgh, Scotland, to spend sometime there and then we may head to Greece! I am extremely excited about it, but getting a bit frustrated that my father STILL hasn't talked to me to let me know for sure. I mean, really, how am I supposed to pack and plan? Men! But then, my father can pack for a week long business trip in only one small carry-on suitcase.

In other recent news: I got a tattoo! See:

I love it! This picture was taken immediately after, which is why it's so red. It's much better now, but still healing.

Tinkerbell was my mom's favourite Disney character. I had planned on getting a Disney tattoo at some point anyway, as I love Disney so much, but this seemed like a great way to honour my mother.

So, with that, I am off to enjoy the weekend. The Mr and I have a full weekend of nothing planned, with a possible visit to a local car show. I hope you all have a blissfully wonderful summer weekend.

Cheers!
~Paige

Classic Car Weekend

2011-06-20T10:19:00.006-04:00

Hello all! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! My weekend, for whatever reason was filled with classic cars!

On Sunday, The Mr and I went out with my in-laws for Father's Day breakfast, and I decided to get dolled up in victory rolls and a snood. My hair actually behaved, and everything sat well enough for us to have the windows open on the drive home. It was lovely!

When we went to the diner where we had decided to have breakfast, in the parking lot was a BEAUTIFUL, green, classic car. It was wonderfully restored, with so many little details. My father-in-law, The Mr and I were drooling over the car for a good ten minutes before we headed inside.

My FIL also had an AMAZING weekend: he managed to find the car of his dreams and purchase it for a reasonable price! He is now the proud owner of a '63 Ford Thunderbird. It needs a lot of work, but when he's done it will be the beautiful Robin's Egg Blue that the car originally was. I can't wait to get in there and help fix it up!

In the meantime, I'm looking for classic car shows The Mr and I can attend so we can get inspiration and dream over our own classic truck purchase.

That's it for me for now, but it will be a super busy week. Why? My dog Annie I talked about in this post is going to be on a plane and arriving this Thursday! So excited! I'll be back over the weekend to let you know how it all went.

Cheers!

~Paige

Finger Waves

2011-06-08T10:41:00.005-04:00

Hi ladies and gents! Okay, I didn't get a post out last week, but here is a new one for you!

I went to bed SUPER late last Monday night after watching a DISMAL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins (can you tell I'm a Canucks fan?) so I wanted something in my hair that would be super easy to run with in the morning.

I showered the night before and allowed my hair to set in finger waves at the top, and pin curls at the bottom.

It turned out fairly well! I curled the rest of my hair under in a faux bob and tucked a few flowers in.

I used to hate my curly hair, but I love the things that it allows me to do now that I'm older and know how to work with it.

My hair will probably be in fairly curly styles for the rest of the summer as the humidity is climbing through the roof! If there are any idea you want to send along my way, I'd love to look at them!

And I have exciting news: I'm heading back to Europe this summer with my family! More details to come.

Cheers!
~Paige

Birthdays and Flowers

2011-05-24T10:16:00.004-04:00

Why is it that just when things start to quiet down, they pick right back up again? This post is a bit late in coming as I've been trying to get sooo many summer plans sorted out.

My birthday party was a blast! I am going to have to throw double birthdays more often! A bunch of us went out and danced the night away, and my dress was AMAZING!

"Stop messing around and just take my picture!"

Due to us both having crappy schedules to work around, Miss E ended up making my dress for me. I don't mind as I ended up making a lovely circle skirt (easiest thing ever!) shortly after that. I had my hair up in a pompadour with a big pink flower and white flower flats to look cute and comfortable. I also ended up making a crinoline, and it was super easy! I didn't do a layered one, as those things are CRAZY hard for a beginner sewer like me, but I found a great Simplicity pattern that was a piece of cake!

People kept asking me to twirl out on the dance floor so my skirt would puff up. It was so much fun!

There was only one downer to the whole night: when I went to the ladies' room to freshen up, I was asked what church I went to because of the outfit I was wearing. I didn't know what to say, but luckily I have smart cookies for friends, and one of them quipped "The Church of Vintage." Now it's not that I have anything against people who go to church, but where were those girls' heads at? That was pretty presumptuous, and rather rude, but I'm sure the alcohol they had consumed had removed the filter over their mouths.

I know that there are many people who have problems in dealing with this kind of attitude, the "why vintage?" questions, and they don't seem to be satisfied with the "because I like it." How do you deal with it? The looks, the questions? I find it can be disheartening when I want to wear vintage, and I could use a bit of "Yay vintage" support.

Any way, that is all for now, dears. I am going to make a point of getting in a post a week, but I'm hoping to be back later this week to show you my new skirt!

Cheers!

~Paige

Go Climb a Tree

2011-04-26T14:41:00.005-04:00

For Easter, my in-laws made the six hour drive to come and see the Mr and I over the weekend. I was having a particularly lazy Friday as we were waiting for them to arrive, so I went with super basic casual wear. The blue shirt I'm wearing used to belong to the Mr. It's a bit too small for him now, and he was going to throw it into the Sally-Ann pile, but when I saw the Christian Dior tag, I wouldn't let him. It is now one of my staples for comfy weekend wear.

Jeans and grey flats were comfortable and stylish enough for when we went into town for ice cream. I had my hair in a set all that day, with just three upstanding pin curls in the front.

The bandanna matched my shirt (almost as if that were planned ;) ) And I kept my makeup soft with blush, brown eyeliner and a new pink lipstick.

I was in a goofy mood for most of the weekend, so when the Mr told me to go and climb a tree, I took him rather literally:

That's all for now. My dress is coming along in bits and pieces. My MIL was supposed to help me with the assembly over the weekend, but I couldn't find the pedal for my sewing machine! I found it eventually, but of course it was after she had already returned home. HOWEVER, Miss E has gratefully offered to help with said dress, so it shall be done before the party on May 7th.

In the meantime, I am going to use the skirt portion of the dress to make a few new skirts as there is a fabric sale on at my local fabric store.

Cheers!
~Paige

50s Fabulous

2011-04-18T09:15:00.004-04:00

Hi ladies and gents. Rain, SNOW, and generally terrible weather has made me wonder where the heck April is, because it certainly doesn't feel like spring! I kept a few of my warmer winter pieces easily accessible, and I'm so happy I did. It was nice for a few days, with +10C to + 15C weather, so I was able to wear a few skirts without thick tights. This one is one of my favourite outfits (please excuse the quality of the picture):

I swear I was having the best hair day of my life when I wore this outfit. The skirt is the black one with the brown pattern I picked up in Oslo, a standard white blouse, and the cardigan used to belong to my mother. I swear, the only thing this outfit needed was a sweater clip. I can't find one that I really like, so I'll be making my own pretty soon.

Speaking of making my own, here is my first really big sewing project:

This is a Vintage Vogue pattern that I'll be using to make my birthday party dress. My new friend Miss E has graciously offered to help me with it (Thank you, my dear!) and my MIL who is coming up this weekend for Easter has a hand at sewing, so she has offered to help me as well. The only think I will be changing is that I am going to be adding a sash that has a huge bow in the back; it is my party dress after all. After work today I'll be going to the fabric store with Miss E to pick out some fabulous fabric. Wish me luck!

Cheers!

~Paige

Out of It

2011-04-10T15:30:00.003-04:00

Hi all. I'm sorry, I know I've been fairly out of it lately. There has been so much going on, and I think I have a case of the winter doldrums. I just have not been very inspired, and I've been slipping back into my work "uniform" of pants, blouse and a cardigan. It's been hard keeping up with the vintage looks and styles, when no one seems to get it. The fun of dressing up and taking pride in your appearance has gone down the tubes, and with the cold and wet weather around here it can be easier to slip into the same old.

But the other day, I ran into another vintage aficionado: Miss E. I passed her in the mall on the way to catch a bus, and she looked so fabulous I had to stop and get her contact info! And I was reminded as to why I wear what I wear, and how good it feels to know that I look lovely and different and that I carry myself with much more pride when I know I look good. So, with a new partner in crime, I am back! There are going to be a few shopping and sewing adventures ahead, so stay tuned!

I'll be back later this week.

Cheers!

~Paige

Keeping Dry

2011-03-22T09:49:00.002-04:00

I cannot wait for warmer weather. The snow and cold are driving me crazy! But I do NOT like the transition from winter to spring. It's starting to warm up in marginal amounts, but it is turning the snow into a sloppy mess. It is just about time to break out the rain boots!

Instead of merely trudging around in rain boots, I've decided to build outfits around three pairs:

The first set has an adorable Burberry plaid boot. I've paired a matching umbrella for those days when the snow turns to sleet which turns to rain. It is such an easy way to ruin a hairdo! A silly dog tote bag keeps things light and fun, and is a great way to carry all of your necessities whenever you need to walk somewhere. A navy trench coat, belt and kitten heels all play extremely well off of this fantastic red dress.

You can tell that silly is a theme today when you take a look at the bright pink cupcake earrings in the next set. Everything else is kept rather minimal since there are many spring days that are cold and grey, and you don't want to put too much effort in.

The lovely welly in a flower print is cute, and keeps the wet outside of your boots instead of in your socks. The plaid shirt and grey skirt pair up well, and the green cardigan and pink and green necklace add just enough colour to keep the outfit from being too bland. A warm plaid peacoat finishes everything off, and will keep you warm when there is a chill in the air.

As much as I love vintage, I'm not a purist. I mix vintage and modern pieces, and I can't live without a well fitting pair of jeans on those days when I'm just going to be hanging around the house.

But I always try to make sure that the jeans I wear are presentable should I need to make a quick dash into town for supplies. Jeans, a comfy but presentable plaid shirt, silver bangles and an easy headband keep this outfit from being sloppy. Cute socks and mustache earrings for fun, a blue peacoat for colour, and these rubber boots that look like Converse sneakers! I'm serious, these are rubber boots! Love!

Well, as you can tell since I'm back posting things are starting to stablize. I may be in and out for a while, but you can always follow me on my Twitter!

Cheers!

Paige

Crisis

2011-03-16T08:41:00.003-04:00

Hello ladies and gents! I have about three different blog posts I'm working on for you right now, however due to work crises everything has been put on hold: blogging, sleeping, spending time with the Mr, etc. So if it gets to be a while, don't worry, I'll be back!

Picture source here

Speaking of crises, Japan is in dire straights right now and can use as much help as possible. The best way to help is to make a donation to a reputable organization like the Red Cross. Non-governmental organizations like these know what to do, and where best to give your money. The American Red Cross is allowing for donations via text. Look up your local Red Cross, and help in anyway you can! I know not everyone is able to donate, so if you can't send money, thoughts and prayers are needed too.

Cheers!
~Paige

Stylish Cartoons

2011-03-08T08:26:00.004-05:00

I am in a bit of a silly mood today. For whatever reason, I woke up with a song from the cartoon movie Cats Don't Dance stuck in my head. I watched the clip on YouTube, and I started to realize just how stylish these cartoon characters were drawn.

The movie is set in Hollywood during the Golden Era of Movies, so there are a few recognizable faces in the crowd. Take a look at the clip, and see if you can pick them out! Also, be prepared to get the song stuck in your head, as it is quite a catchy tune.

I also have a new weekend project: seamed stockings! Miss Kate over at Vintage in a Modern World has put a fabulous tutorial on how to make your own seamed stockings, and I really recommend you check it out!

That's it for now. I'll be back later in the week!

Cheers!

~Paige

Spring Fever

2011-02-24T08:34:00.005-05:00

I have a SEVERE case of Spring Fever. I am sick to death of snow, cold temperatures, biting winds, runny noses, and frozen digits. I want spring with sunshine, warmth, cute dresses, flirty skirts, light fabrics, and sunglasses. And I am so fed up with my hair.

Two weeks after I graduated from high school, I went in to see my local stylist and had her chop it all off. I went from hair halfway down my back to hair above my ears. It was a HUGE change for me. One of the reasons I cut it all off was because it had started getting too long, well too long for me anyway. I find that with my hair, there is a point where it does not work the way want it to due to the length. So on March 17th, St Pat's, I will be getting a new cut!

The thing with curly hair is that when you are deciding on a cut, you should pick a style which is meant for curly hair. Many stylists seem to not understand this, and I have ended up with plenty of bad haircuts. At least, the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about two weeks and a hat!

Luckily, I have an AWESOME stylist who knows my hair, and know what will work. I'll be bringing in these pictures and letting her do her thing:

All of these cuts are for curly haired gals like myself, and they all have a great shape to them. They are also long enough for me to be able to do lots of vintage styles. I've looked into getting a 1940's cut, but it just will not work for my hair. It ends very bluntly, and with curly hair, that is usually translated into pyramid head! Been there, done that, not ever going back, thanks so much! Layers are a curly-haired girl's best friend!

I am also not a fan of my brown hair at the moment. The colour I have currently has faded a bit since I had it done just before the wedding. It is definitely a better colour than my natural colour, a mousy, grey-brown. I wanted to stay fairly natural for the wedding, so I asked my stylist to amp up the colour a shade or two into a richer, more chocolaty brown. It looked lovely. But now, the wedding is over and I need a change.

I was thinking about going with a SUPER dark, almost black colour. Not actually black as I find it too severe for me. I would end up going with a super deep brown much like this:

It would end up giving me a bit of a Snow White look with my red lips and pink cheeks. I've done it before, and while it requires more maintenance to keep my roots from showing, it looks really nice.

Or, I might swing another way entirely, and go red:

I love red hair. The first all over colour I did was an Ariel the Little Mermaid red, and with my long curly hair, it looked amazing! The big, soft red curls set off my skin tone and my eyes. I don't think I would go quite as primary this time (although I LOVE Twila Jean's new red colour) since I do need to stay rather professional. I was looking at a deeper, richer red tone with almost a brown base to it. I'll have to see what my stylist thinks about it. She always know how to translate what I want!

There was a time I really considered doing this to my hair:

I wish I was still a student so I could get away with it.

I have had red hair, brown hair, almost black hair, brown with pink chunks (which was super cute, by the way) and dark purple hair. Maybe I should have chosen a day other than St. Pat's to go in; I might come out with green hair!

So what do you think? You are all such stylish people (as evidenced by reading my blog ;D) I'd love to hear your opinion. Hmmm... Perhaps a contest to see if anyone correctly guesses the colour I pick? What do you think?

Well, this has gotten rather long, so I shall skeedaddle!

Cheers!

~Paige

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T07:58:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Single or partnered, enjoy the day, and spread the love with family, friends, and your nearest and dearest.

Love and luck!

~Paige

To Everything There is a Season

2011-02-10T11:59:00.009-05:00

I started to notice that once we start getting towards the end of a season, I start wishing for the next season to come along, and all of the cute outfits that come along with the new season. One of the reasons I pack away my Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter wardrobes (besides saving a LOT of space in my closet) is that over the season I forget what I have, and I get all sorts of surprises when the new season comes along.

When we moved, I got a sneak peek at the clothes I have packed away, and with all of the posts from Solanah and Twila Jean in their cute and Spring-like outfits, it has put me into a warm weather state of mind. Since I have at least another 6 weeks before I can start wearing my warm-weather clothes, here are a few things which are currently keeping me inspired for warmer weather:

This is a hanging out with friends look. It is cute and relaxed, great for a day of window shopping, or just wandering around town eating ice cream. The blue dress has a great flower pattern to it, and looks easy and still so classic. I LOVE dresses like this. I'm not usually a fan of wedges, but the yellow in this shoe really pops against the blue flowers in the dress. Sunglasses to keep the sun from damaging your eyes, and in a great shade of blue so they can be worn with any outfit. I've been feeling a bit whimsical and longing for the easiness of my childhood, so I added a yellow bird necklace and an adorable bird hair tie, what my mom and I used to call "bobbles." The earrings keep everything from feeling too childish.

I am always thinking about what is work appropriate, and I think this fits the bill! I love the flowers on the flats! They are so cute and fun. If you work in an office like I do, you try to keep your outfits as cheery as possible for those days when everything seems to drag on. The long short and flowy top are so soft and feminine. The rich green cardigan keeps you warm when the A/C is running, the clutch and drop pearl earrings will take you right out to a dinner with your guy or girls. The feather headband I threw in just for fun.

I am head over heels in love with this next outfit. In fact, as soon as I have some cash saved up, I am heading to some of my favourite local stores to hunt up something similar. The dress is fantastic for just about anything. You can throw a blazer over top for work, a soft cardigan for brunch, or wear it out for a night on the town. As you can tell, I've chosen to use the last option.

When my girls and I head out for a night of dancing, we always see other girls dressed in almost the exact same way: high-waisted, mini black pencil skirt; a tank top in various shades; super high, spike heels they can hardly walk in; hair completely straight, with some strange pouf thing at the front; super crazy, dark makeup. This made me start to wonder, why not dress to stand out?

As most of my sets do, this one starts with a dress: a beautiful lilac purple dress with a great paisley pattern on the skirt, so you can accessorise with just about any colour. Since this is a night out look, and the dress makes such a statement on its own, I've kept everything fairly simple. Accessories are limited to big, sparkly earrings which emphasize the paisley pattern and a black clutch to hold your "necessaries". I know the black boots are a bit of a change since most times one would choose heels when heading out for the night. But, think about this: how often have you had your toes stepped on? stepped on someones toes? have had freezing cold toes at the end of the night during winter? have had sore, aching feet from wearing too-high shoes? These boots are fun, fashionable, good for winter or summer, look great with jeans, a skirt or a dress, and can be worn casually or dressed up! These are my new "going out" go-to shoes... as soon as I get myself a pair! With a dress this fancy, I suggest you keep the make-up simple: neutral pallet on the eyes, and a soft pink gloss on the lips. HOWEVER, since you are going out, why not add some sparkly and fun eyeliner to make your eyes pop? It will be different and fun, and may catch the eye of the nearest tall, dark and handsome stranger.

And since I am so bloody excited about this, I had to share:

This lovely looking mutt, is my dog Annie. If you follow my twitter, you would have noticed my tweet on the Mr and I adopting this adorable dog. Here is the back story:

When my mom passed away in December 2008, my father and brothers moved from the small town I grew up in to an apartment in the city. Our pets were never meant for city life, so my dad gave our cat to a neighbour, and put Annie in a dog sanctuary until he could get settled into a house and things would calm down. My dad's life has only gotten more busy, and he never managed to keep in touch with the sanctuary. Since that was over two years ago, I had no idea what had happened to Annie, if she was still there or if she had been adopted by another family, but she was never far from my thoughts.

Just before the Mr and I moved into our new house, we decided that since we were on an acreage with a dog run and a dog door to the house, if Annie was still at the sanctuary, we were going to bring her back into the family. I was nervous, but I called, and they still had her, so we're going through the process to bring my dog out to where we are now. I am so happy to be able to have her back, and I can't wait to see her. We're waiting for a few more weeks until the house is settled and the weather warms up, but by April, she'll be back!

Well, that's all for now. The Mr and I are spending the weekend finishing putting the house together for our housewarming next weekend, and putting together a reading/blogging nook for me. As soon as we're settled, I'll take pictures for you. In the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!

Cheers!
~Paige

Paige's Return

2011-02-07T07:57:00.002-05:00

Well, hello, ladies and gents!

I've missed you! Things have been amazingly busy with the move and trying to get everything set up at our new house. Things are finally settling into a new routine, but I'm still not loving the fact I need to be up at 4:00am in order to be at work on time.

I'll be writing an actual post later in the week, but at least you know I haven't deserted you!

Cheers!

~Paige

New Glasses

2011-01-25T12:50:00.002-05:00

It took me many years to accept, but I like wearing my glasses. I was an insecure teen growing up, and wearing glasses and braces was too much, so I wore contacts from the time I was sixteen until I was twenty-one. And then necessity of the beast reared it's ugly head, and I found that getting ready for work/school in the morning was much easier when I just slipped my glasses on my face, rather than fussing and fooling around with contacts. So now, I adore glasses on a daily basis! Which leads me to these beauties:

Aren't they fantastic? I love the red colour, how professional they are, but how they still have a vintage feel to them! I should get them in the next day or two, just before the move, so I'll do a post about them when we get the internet back.

Cheers!
~Paige

Casual Friday

2011-01-21T09:46:00.006-05:00

It's Friday! The one day of the week that, if I'd like, I can wear jeans to work. I usually don't bother in the summer since I have so many cute dresses and skirts to wear, but in the winter when I am mostly stuck in the standard black dress pant, because it is too cold to wear anything else, I break out the jeans every Friday.

I know I'm not the only one who likes to have a more casual outfit on Friday, but some people take it too far. I work in an office as an admin assistant, and as I am the first person someone sees when they come by the division, I still need to look professional. Some of the people in my building, however, do not do the same thing. I see mini skirts, hoodies, ripped denim, and all matter of things people would never wear on a regular basis, and while I can understand the want for comfort, can it not look a bit nicer? Now my boss has the look down pat; he wears a casual pant like a khaki or dark denim jeans, a button up shirt, and then some sort of casual pull-over. He looks professional and if HIS boss comes by, they won't be cringing at his clothes.

So, with that in mind, I've created a few Polyvore sets to give you an idea as to what I think is appropriate for a casual Friday.

This outfit, I have actually worn to work. One of my colleagues called it Royal Equestrian Chic, and I thought that was cute. I wore a thin legged, dark wash jean tucked into some fantastic dark brown boots. I added a warm red sweater, and a black blazer to not only keep me warm, but also looking professional. Pearl earrings, a cameo pin on my jacket collar, and a satin headband added a touch of femininity. While I don't have those glasses specifically, they certainly do complete the outfit, don't they? This would be a great outfit if you have a routine meeting to go to, or a business lunch on a Friday.

This is an outfit that is very similar to the one I am wearing now. The dark wash of the jeans, as well as the leg line, keep these jeans from looking like a less casual denim, and more like a trouser. The blouse is light and soft, and has just a touch of daring with the snazzy animal print. Since most offices are ridiculously cold, even in the winter, a long, blue cardigan will help to ward off the chill. The purple drop earrings play off of the purple jewel design on the shoes, and the flower clip you can tuck along the side of a messy up-do or a low-side ponytail. The canvas bag will hold your purse, lunch, and any other fun things. This one, I think, mixes casual and professional in just the right amounts.

I LOVE making dinner plans for right after work on a Friday, and whether it is with the Mr or a group of my closest friends, I love to take the opportunity to dress up a little bit. I love this circle skirt with a bit of swing to swish around as I walk, and the green shirt to add a punch of colour. As you may know, I have a love affair with patterned tights, and these ones, paired with kitten heels have such a great look to them! The vine pattern along the back just hints at vintage seamed stockings while amping it up just enough. I've been feeling very girly as of late, so I added a flower head band and flower earrings to satisfy my girly side. I have also been lusting over Mad Men's Joan Harris' (Christina Hendricks) pen necklace ever since I saw it paired with her fuchsia dress. It is wonderfully understated, and functional too!

Next weekend I am moving out to my quaint little cabin in the woods! There is still so much to do as I have no yet packed a single thing. We will also have no internet for a few days while we get everything set up, so I shall be taking a mini blog-cation! You can always find me on my Twitter, and I will see you all when I get back!

Cheers!

~Paige

Dreaming of Spring

2011-01-17T09:22:00.003-05:00

It was a balmy -25C (-13F) walking into work this morning, and the cold along with the wind made me dream about all of the pretty and fun dresses that I get to wear in the spring and summer. I rotate my wardrobe during the change of seasons, the fall/winter outfits being mostly sweaters and pants, and the spring/summer outfits being dresses and skirts, and if you read my last post, you know how much I adore dresses.

I've been looking at Mod Cloth lately, and I love all of the vintage-inspired dresses they have, so I thought I would share with you a few of my current favourites:

Motion Picture Siren Dress, $169.99

I adore this dress! It would be prefect for work, since I work in an office, and I think it would make a fantastic transition dress for when things start to cool down/warm-up during the changing of the seasons.

Rose Menagerie Dress, $117.99

This dress I would wear all the time! Again, super appropriate for work, but also a great weekend dress for a day of shopping, lunch out, etc.

Blooming Belle Dress, $209.99

This is such a great party dress! I want to go out swing dancing the night away, with big victory rolls and my hair full of curls.

Relevé Dress, $77.99

Another great party dress! This one requires ballet flats, flower tights, a headband, and a long pearl necklace, a la Blair Waldorf.

Themla and Blue-ise Dress, $99.99

This dress is my favourite. It is just the right length, has a fabulous colour, and the print is too cute. I could wear a cardigan with it to wear at work, and take the cardigan off for a summer evening.

I won't be buying any of these anytime soon, as all of the money right now is going towards paint, furniture, etc for our new house, but my birthday is coming up in the next few months, so I may hint at my hubby that I want a gift certificate for Mod Cloth for my birthday.

Cheers,
~Paige

**This post is in no way sponsored by Mod Cloth. I just love the dresses and had to share!**

Awards and Kisses

2011-01-13T11:00:00.005-05:00

The lovely Miss Kate at Vintage in a Modern World is a girl after my own heart and a total doll for nominating me for a blog award! Thanks, chicky!

So, along with the blog award, I need to list 10 things that I like. It's terrible I need to limit it to ten, but I will see what I can do. Here goes nothing:

1) My husband; I know that it seems rather redundant considering I married him, but I really do LIKE the Mr. We started off a great friends, talking for hours, and he's just a very well-likable kind of a guy.

2) Books, oh my goodness, books. I love reading in general and books in particular. I'm big on fluff books, Historical Romance, Vampire Romance (NOT Twilight), every now and again a mystery or fantasy novel. If worst comes to worst, I'll read the cereal box.

3) Running. I've been running off and on for the last seven years or so, but I've gotten really serious about it in the last year. If you follow my Twitter at all, you'll notice the odd tweet about going for a run. I'm hoping to run my first marathon over the summer, so stay tuned for details on that.

4) Red lips. Since I started wearing my first red lipstick, I haven't looked back. I love how it looks on me and how it makes me feel super confident. I even wear it when going for a run! I've moved from lipstick to lipstain in recent months as the Mr HATES kissing me with lipstick on. I've found a great stain from the spa where I got my makeup done for the wedding, and it's become part of my daily routine.

5) Earrings. I'm not a big jewelry person. I find it's too much of a pain to constantly switch between cocktail rings, bracelets and bangles tend to get in the way when I type, and I hardly ever switch my necklaces. But I love my earrings. They are easy to switch between, and can change a whole outfit. Hmmm... maybe a post about some of my favourite earrings?

6) Dresses. Long before I started wearing vintage, I loved wearing dresses. They make it super easy to get dressed in the morning, and they play up my feminine side.

7) Oldies music. It started with the music that my mom listened to when I was a kid. She loved all of the classics, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the Beach Boys, Fats Domino, The Elegants. And then we discovered artists like Michael Buble (my homeboy), Harry Connick Jr., Steve Tyrell. Don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of popular, or once-was-popular music, but I ADORE listening to the standards. If you have iTunes, go to the radio section under "Golden Oldies" and check out my two favourite radio stations: Martini in the Morning (which you can also listen to online here) and Malt Shop Radio.

8) Small towns. I grew up in a small town, and as much as I love the city I currently live in, I am DYING to move back to a small town. Hence, once of the reasons the Mr and I are moving where we are.

9) Make-up. I love to play and experiment. When I go near the makeup section in a department store or pharmacy my hands are always covered with all different shades of eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks, etc. I have actually never gone into a MAC or Sephora store due to the sheer terror of how much I will spend on makeup before I exit. That being said, MAC has collaborated with Disney for their Venomous Villains makeup collection, so I may need to stop by. This leads me to...

10) Disney. I LOVE all things Disney. I am a big kid at heart, and I love what Disney (to me) represents: love, laughter, dreams, hopes, wishes, courage, loyalty and fun. The girly girl that I am means I favour things Disney princess related, and especially Cinderella, who holds a dear place in my heart. My favourite place in the world is Walt Disney World, and it is actually a dream of mine to go to WDW and play Cinderella in the parks. It is not meant to be however, as I have looked into it and I'm too tall. *Sigh*

So, ladies and gents, 10 things that I like. Okay, fine, it's more like 10 things I love, but you get the picture. Now onto the nominations! There are so many blogs I love to read, I wish I could give everyone an award, but here are my ten:

Violet LeBeaux

Solanah at Vixen Vintage

Holly at Tempermental Broad

Soon to be MRS, Mary Deluxe at Welcome to DeluxeVille

Twila Jean at The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife

Miss Emmi at They'd Have Called Me "The Bar Nothing", who also has a fab giveaway featuring one of my "likes": books!

Rosie at Through the Wilderness

Esme at Esme and the lane way

Miss B at Living In The Past

Ulrika at The Freelancer's Fashionblog

So, now go and read these amazing blogs, and show them your love. I'll be back later this week with product review and an outfit post!

Cheers!
~Paige

Whistle While You Work

2011-01-05T11:11:00.003-05:00

I know most people dislike January. The hurt from spending money (lots!) over the holidays, and the only holiday in January is right at the beginning of the month. This can lead to a bit of a downer time. I have decided though, to not let the January blues get to me!

Being so busy with working two jobs and wedding planning, I let my portion of the "stuff" in the apartment grow to an amount that was rather embarrassing. As we're going to be moving to a house in the near future, it is time to purge! I'll be going through everything from clothes to bathroom supplies to trinkets that I've been holding on to for years for no reason whatsoever.

I know the Mr is super happy about this since it means getting rid of many of the piles that I leave all over the apartment. It's funny, as I am a super organized person at work, but a total slob when I am at home; but that will have to change when we move as it is written in the lease that the house needs to be kept tidy.

New year, new start, time to clean and purge! I'll let you know if I come across anything interesting.

Cheers!
~Paige

New Look

2011-01-04T17:48:00.002-05:00

Hi there, ladies and gents! I was getting sick and tired of all of the brown, so I updated my blog!

Take a look, and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

~Paige

2011, Faster Than Ever

2011-01-03T20:20:00.004-05:00

Hurray! First post of 2011! I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. The Mr and I had just finished our honeymoon, so we decided to stay in a do and mini Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon while waiting for midnight to come around. We're huge Joss Whedon fans, so it was a good night.

We had decided a while ago that our two bedroom apartment is just too small for the both of us and our cats, and we decided that instead of moving up in size in apartments again, we decided to look at renting a house.

Now, I grew up in Northern Canada (north of the 534th parallel), at least 1.5hr drive to anywhere, and a 3hr drive to somewhere. This means, that while I live in a large city, I am a small town country girl at heart, and the Mr is right there with me. As much as we both love the city we're in, we can't wait to move outside of it, and not just to one of the 'burbs. We want room to breathe, build our own eco-sustainable house, and land!

We HAD decided to wait to look for a new place until after the lease is up on our current apartment, but the Mr was taking a look-see online and came across this:

Isn't this the most adorable log cabin? It suits us perfectly, just enough room for the two of us, far enough out of the city, on an acreage just outside of a small town. We're both super excited about it, and if we can, we'll be moving in no later than March 1st, but we're trying to pull some string to see if we can get in February 1st! Here I thought things would be slowing down after the wedding, but things are moving faster than ever.

It looks like my 2011 will be full of fun new adventures and plans, and I can't wait to see/hear what you all are up to over the next year.

But, I am off for now, relaxing with my hubby (still weird to say that) after showing people the apartment all day.

Cheers!

~Paige

Paige and The Mr's Wedding

2010-12-21T08:22:00.004-05:00

Alright, here is what you've been looking for since Dec. 10th: pictures from my wedding!

The fantastic Brian and Ivanette from BH Photography were there and took all of these AMAZING shots. They were so fantastic to work with, and it felt much more like friends taking our wedding pictures.

Getting my makeup done

My awesome ladies

My engagement ring

My walk down the aisle with my father

Me and my new husband! (My favourite picture, by the way)

Now I know these are nowhere near enough photos for you, so I've created a Flickr account so you can see more of them. There are about 35 pictures in the set, and you can find them all here.

The Mr and I are heading to his parent's house for Christmas and then we're off on a honeymoon at a nearby ski resort, so I won't be back again until after the holidays.

I wish you and your families all of the best and brightest of the holiday season, and hope that you all enjoy each other's company. Take care, and I will see you next year!

Cheers!

~Paige

Wedding Teaser

2010-12-12T19:49:00.001-05:00

So, ladies and gents, I was married on Friday. There will be pictures forthcoming, but I wanted to give you this little teaser.

One of my bridesmaids and I have a hilarious history with Don't Stop Believing by Journey, and when it was played at the reception, we got right into it. My Mr happened to catch a bit of it on video, and uploaded it to YouTube for me so I could share it with you. Enjoy!

Cheers,
~MRS Paige Turner

New Vintage

2010-12-03T06:09:00.004-05:00

This is the first vintage outfit post I've done in a while. Most of my vintage clothes consist of dresses that are really only good for summer wear.

However, when I was in Norway, Miss T and I hit a few thrift stores, and I found this amazing skirt. It looked like an 80s does 40s skirt, but it fit like a dream, and it has that swooshy factor that I love so much.

The pattern on the skirt looks like little brown flowers. Whoever said brown and black don't go together?

My cat Bageera was being a bit of a camera diva, so I decided to include him in a picture!

Alright ladies and gents! I am taking the week off to prep for my wedding next Friday, so I will talk to you all when I get back.

Cheers!

~Paige

Wedding Sass

2010-11-30T09:48:00.002-05:00

Ladies and gents, I shall become MRS Paige Turner in 10 days. I do have an actual post planned for you in the next day or two, but right now my head is full of things that drive me crazy about wedding planning, so instead here is an amazing post by Meg from A Practical Wedding:

Reading the comments on the last post, and being amused by the people who think *I* am ambivalent about marriage (Um. Not ambivalent. Opinionated. See this blog.)
Anyway, I was reminded of a conversation I had with an old friend when we got engaged.

Me: David and I got engaged! Yayyyyy!!!

Her: Oh. That’s nice. I don’t believe in marriage.

Read the rest of the post here, and all things wedding sass related here.

I'll talk to you again in a few days!

Cheers!

~Paige

Abandonment

2010-11-09T22:07:00.002-05:00

I swear I have not abandoned you guys! The Mr and I are getting married in a month, I am about to start working two jobs, and I have about a million things on my plate. I am working on an actual blog post, I swear, but in the meantime, enjoy this trailer from my favourite wedding movie: Father of the Bride

Cheers!

~Paige

Keeping Warm

2010-10-29T07:54:00.003-04:00

It is slowly getting colder and colder around here. I've washed and packed away all of my spring/summer clothes, and pulled out all of my winter clothes. Away go the linens and light cottons, and out come the wools and the knits, and some of my favourite winter items: sweaters.

I love sweaters. When the weather can get to -30C(-22F), some days nothing will get you warm other than a big cup of a tea, and a warm, snuggly sweater you can curl up in. And I'm talking about thick, heavy sweaters, not light-weight cardigans.

I'm going to go and snuggle up in my favourite sweater, grab a cup of tea, and watch the brilliant-ness that is Firefly. If you have never seen it, go out and find it because it is fantastic.

I'm out for the weekend ahead, so everyone have a safe and fun Halloween!

Cheers!

~Paige

Dreaming of Winter in Autumn

2010-10-19T09:36:00.003-04:00

One thing I have always found strange, having moved to the place where I live now, is that there is usually no snow until close to November. This is a very odd thing for me, having grown up in the north where snow starts in September, and there is always a chance for a blizzard on Halloween. Halloween costumes always needed to fit over snow suits, and sometimes that meant that the awesome vampire costume you wore to school, got reduced to a cape, false teeth, and vampire make-up when you went trick or treating.

But last night, on my way home from work, it started to snow!!! The snow wasn't very big, and it didn't really stick around, but it still snowed and made me start to dream about all of the winter clothes it is time to dig out and make the wardrobe switch. It also made me think of all of the cute new clothes in stores for winter right now, so I decided to do a Polyvore set for you.

This is my Dreaming of Winter in Autumn set. As most of you know, the Mr and I are getting married in December (6 weeks), and I LOVE Christmas time, so I am chomping at the bit to have the most wonderful time of year come around. This is why the snow globe is included in the set; it may be autumn, and almost Halloween, but I want it to be Christmas time, gosh darn it!

As much as I love my vintage, purple pea coat, I've always loved a beautiful red pea coat for winter. It's so chic and it will always be a great statement. I've paired it with a green scarf just because I want Christmas. That is it; that is the only reason. Cloche hats are starting to be found just about everywhere right now, and they look just too cute, so I had to include one of those as well.

And it can get bloody cold around here in the winter, so to keep those extremities toasty and warm, throw on a pair of tights (I love argyle), warm gloves, tall winter boots and some cute earrings for style.

But the next holiday: Halloween. I'm going as Minnie Mouse this year, as a tribute to my love of all things Disney. So far, I have gone as Belle from Beauty and the Beast twice (once as a kid, and once as an adult), Cinderella (best costume ever!), and Minnie Mouse this year. What are you planning to do for Halloween, if you're going to do anything at all?

Cheers!

~Paige

Europe and a Happy Belated Blog Birthday!

2010-10-09T16:22:00.006-04:00

My trip was AMAZING!!!! I was not ready to leave when it was time for me to fly home. Oslo is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. And, because it is so far north, it quite reminds me of where I grew up in the north.

Miss T and I

Miss T and I had a great time walking around seeing the sights. I wish I had more time to explore the rest of the country, but I guess that means I will have to drag the Mr along for a trip back, won't I? Miss V travelled all the way from Finland to Oslo and joined us for about 18 hours before Miss T and I headed off to Berlin.

At the Viking Ship Museum

It was great having Miss T around to translate and stuff for me in Oslo, and show me how to get around. It was much harder when the two of us headed to Berlin. We landed at the smaller airport, and while we had directions to get to the hostel we were staying at, if you've ever seen the German transit system, the directions we had didn't translate very well. Miss T and I must have spent a good 15 minutes just staring at the transit map before a German woman took pity on us and explained how to get to the hostel.

The Brandenburg Gate

The Germans are fantastically nice people, more than willing to help you figure out a map if you're a bit lost, and so very nice indeed! And Berlin is too cool! It is such an amazing city so full of history that it made my little political science heart swoon.

Reunion headquarters

And of course, the reason I went over to Europe to begin with, the reunion was FANTASTIC! It was great to see the girls from my camp year, and I met so many amazing new people. The three days of the reunion was not enough, that is for sure. I can't wait until the next reunion which is going to be in Budapest! You can bet I will be dragging the Mr with me to that one. I took more than 300 pictures in the 10 days I was gone, but I won't bore you all with every single one. If you'd like to see more, let me know, and I'll set up a Flikr.

A ridiculous outfit I found in an H&M in Berlin.... I actually bought the leggings!!

And now for the giveaway: to have a late celebration of my blog's Happy One Year, I'm going to give a reader two of my can't-live-without-'em products: Revlon's Colorsensational Lipstick in Red Revival and Annabelle Liquid Eyeliner in Black Out. There are three ways to enter:

1) Write me a quick comment on what you would like to see on my blog;

2) Do a post on your own blog about my giveaway; and

3) Send a Tweet talking about my giveaway. Be sure to mention me @PTBabySteps so I know you've entered that way.

UPDATED: You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, October 20th to enter. The winner will be announced the following Friday, October 22nd.

Cheers!

~Paige

Craziness That is Life at Home

2010-10-02T18:50:00.004-04:00

Hello ladies and gents!

I'm sorry I haven't written anything since I wrote my last post while on vacation. Life has been super busy at home with trying to find a new job and the wedding coming up in two months. I'm hoping to have an actual post for you next week, along with a giveaway from my trip!

In the meantime, I leave you with this bit of genius from one of the best Canadian bands out there: Excursion Around the Bay by Great Big Sea. I played this song for one of my friends on my trip, and it got so stuck in her head that she ended up singing the song in her sleep!

Cheers!

~Paige

Spotlight: BH Photography

2010-08-31T04:36:00.004-04:00

Hi ladies and gents! I made it to Norway on Sunday, and I have been having a grand time. Miss T has been showing me the sights, including the Royal Norwegian Palace, the Viking Ship Museum, and Akershus Fortress.

I will post pictures when I get back, but for now I want to introduce you to a couple of super cool people: Brian and Ivanette Hargreaves. These guys are going to be my wedding photographers.

These guys are amazing. Brian has been a photographer for about nine years, first starting in sports photography with his father. About four years later he met Ivanette, and they started to shoot weddings together. They both have different views as to how a wedding should be seen, so working together they get amazing photos.

When we said that we was looking for a vintage style to the photos, they immediately understood what we were looking for. I asked Brian how he felt about the current trend for wedding photography to have a vintage feel, and this was what he had to say:

"The current 'vintage' style of photography, be it with film or digital, is refreshing. It takes wedding photography back to it's roots, strips it of the high pressure sales, the flashy websites, and over the top marketing that has engulfed modern photographers. It's all about a couple and their story." See? I am so excited to be working with these guys in December.

The pictures I have included came from an engagement photography session, and I think they have such a "Mad Men" feel to them. If you want to see more, you can jump over to their website http://www.bhphotography.ca/.

That's it for me ladies and gents. This is probably the last time I'll have internet access until I return home in September. I will return with pictures and stories then!

Cheers!

~Paige

*This is not a sponsored post. I am in no way recieving any compensation for writing this post.

Fancy-smancy Nail Art

2010-08-26T09:12:00.003-04:00

Hi ladies and gents! This is just a quick post as I fly out for my trip on Saturday afternoon. I have a tonne of running around to do, but I had to share this bit of cuteness with you guys!

I have been reading Violet le Beaux's blog for a while now, and it is full of all things adorable and cute, including Miss Violet herself! She also has an online store where she sells nail art, artwork, and other cute things. While I was browsing one day, with Disney on my mind, I contacted Miss Violet to see if she could create two sets of custom Disney nail art for me: Minnie Mouse and Disney princesses. Lucky for me, she could! I just got the pictures of the nails today, and I am too jazzed about them!

These are the Minnie Mouse nails. I think I am probably going to go as Minnie Mouse for Halloween this year, and I wanted something super cute for my hands. I can't do fancy designs on my nails, unless it's a candy cane (I'll show you that one at Christmas time) so I knew this was out of my league. This is what she came up with, and now I can't wait for Halloween to come around so I can wear them.

This set is for my three favourite Disney princesses. Can you guess which three by the colours? Cinderella, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I wanted these ones to be a bit more subtle as I wanted to be able to wear them to work, and I love the result.

Both sets together.

I am so happy with them. They should be here waiting for me when I get back from my trip, but I'm sure the Mr will be wondering what the heck it is I've ordered this time.

And so, this is my last blog post before my trip. I will be back in September, full of stories and pictures!

Cheers!
~Paige

Forties Fab

2010-08-23T08:25:00.003-04:00

This weekend had the first wedding-related party for the Mr and I: our engagement party! The Mr's mom (who is awesome, by the way) invited all of the Mr's family and friends to come and meet me and wish us well.

It's not often that I get a chance to dress up, so I decided to go very 40's with my outfit. I did my first successful victory-roll hairstyle, and shimmied into a dress that is brand new, but had a very 40s feel to it.

I added lots of black liquid eyeliner, and my red lipstick to complete the look. I love how the victory rolls turned out! It took a bunch of hairspray, and a little bit of swearing, but I eventually got it.

The pictures were taken on the Mr's new iPhone, and it has a basic photoshop editor on it, so I was playing around with one of my pics. What do you think?

This weekend I head off on my trip to Europe, and I will be gone until September. It is unlikely that I will be updating my blog, but I may pop by on Twitter every now and again, so you can catch me there: http://twitter.com/PTBabySteps.

Cheers!
~Paige

Excitement for the End of Summer

2010-08-17T08:10:00.003-04:00

I can't believe we're halfway through August already! It feels like the summer just started. There are so many exciting things that are happening in the next few weeks I don't know where to begin.

Well, how about I start with this: I'm done school! I finished my last paper yesterday, and as long as I get at least a C+ in the course, I can graduate in the autumn convocation ceremony. You have no idea how happy that makes me. After 5 years, I am SO ready to be finished with university.

The Mr and I are finally going to start to take the time to plan our honeymoon. We've been waiting for me to be finished school so the planning doesn't distract me from schoolwork, but that's no longer a worry. On Wednesday night, he and I have a date planned to look at our honeymoon stuff in Walt Disney World. I am so excited to go! I have been twice, once in 2006 and again in 2007, but he has never been. I love that place, and all things Disney related, so I am super excited to be spending such a wonderful time with my soon-to-be hubby there.

And, in 12 days, I am jetting off to Europe! How exciting is that? In 2004, I went overseas to an international girl's camp in Denmark to be a nanny for the camp director for the summer. I met some absolutely wonderful people, and I had a grand time. The camp is only one of three locations, the other two are in New York state, USA, in Rhinebeck and Clinton, and they are all wonderful camps. If you're interested, you can check out the Camp Rising Sun website.

Every five years, the camp alumni host a reunion. The first reunion after I went to camp was in 2005, and as I had just started university, I wasn't able to go. Now, there is another reunion happening this September, and everything has worked out for me to be able to go! As the reunion itself only occurs over the weekend, I am going to be taking the time for a longer trip to visit a friend from camp who lives in Oslo, Norway.

Viking Ship

I will be visiting Miss T at the end of August for a few days, having her show me around Oslo, and meeting her friends and family. Then the two of us will be flying to Berlin, Germany for the reunion. We will be there for the reunion, but we are also going to take an extra day to see a bit of the city, go on a bicycle tour, and maybe hit a few stores, and see whatever else the city has to offer.

Brandenburg Gate

These next few weeks will be busy, but full of excitement. I can hardly wait to go. This weekend the Mr and I are heading out to his parents hometown for our first wedding related party: our engagement party! Just over three months, and I will be MRS Paige Turner! How crazy is that?

Cheers!

~Paige

Work Uniforms

2010-08-10T08:21:00.002-04:00

I had always protested against uniforms in school while growing up. "How are we supposed to show our individuality?" I said. Now that I'm all grown up (yeah, right) and working in an office, I have started to notice that many of the women do wear uniforms anyway. Here it is:

Boring!

Pencil skirt (usually black), blouse, and a cardigan. Everyday. Granted, there will be variations on this by way of blouse colour, cardigan colour, and shoes, but this is what many of the women in my office wear everyday. True, I also wear the "uniform" every now and then, but I like to add some pizazz:

Much better!

Here is my version of the "uniform": a beautiful blouse in a jewel tone with a beautiful bow detail; a soft, grey pencil skirt with ruffle detail; a black suit jacket to add that touch of professionalism and to ward against the chill in the air from the office air conditioning; seamed stockings for a bit of fun; red kitten heels (I have a hard time managing high heels); and red drop earrings with a red cocktail ring.

This is sassy, fun, and still very professional. And speaking as someone who often meets with friends after work, this is a great outfit for dinner and drinks.

I have a busy week and weekend ahead of me with lots of school work, and a friend's cottage party, so I will talk to you again next week.

Cheers!
~Paige

New Formspring Account

2010-08-06T16:21:00.002-04:00

LOVE this picture

I have a Formspring account! If you want to ask me anything, just jump on over, and I will try to answer the best I can. Here is the link: http://formspring.me/paigeturner7

Cheers!

~Paige

A Vintage Cinderella

2010-08-05T08:53:00.004-04:00

While I am a grown woman of 23, I have an innate and irrational love for all things Disney. I have been to Walt Disney World twice, I plan on going back for my honeymoon, and my BFF and I eventually want to make a world-wide trip to visit every Disney park in the world. I have been looking at various blogs featuring all things Disney (Mickey and Minnie is a GREAT one if you want to take a look) and I have been inspired to create a Polyvore set for something I think a vintage Cinderella would wear.

First of all is the dress. Cinderella actually wears a SILVER dress in the movie, but everyone seems to think that it is blue *grumblegrumble*. Most of the pictures of Cinderella feature a blue dress, so that is what I went with. It's a cute dress, super feminine and ultra flirty, made for dancing the night away in your own prince's arms. Next comes the gloves. I thought that the long satin gloves would be a bit too much, so instead I went with white lace gloves. They are still soft and sweet and would look beautiful with the details on the dress. Cinderella wears a headband, and not a crown, so I went with something vintage looking, with a cute flower on the side. Can you tell I want something really soft and feminine? Instead of a regular choker necklace, I went with one that had a bit more detail in the two strands of black beads. I saw one that was three beads wide, but I thought it would be a bit too much with the rest of the outfit. An ivory clutch with lace detail keeps the feminine feel going, and what would Cinderella be without her glass slippers? I would wear this outfit in a heartbeat for the next time I head out swing dancing.

And just for fun, I've added a picture of the Cinderella costume I made for Halloween a few years ago. I think it was one of my favourite costumes I've ever had.

And, with that, I shall take my leave. I have a VERY busy August, so please be patient with me if I am a few weeks between posts.

Cheers!

~Paige

It's Been a Long, Long Time

2010-07-22T09:24:00.004-04:00

I am so sorry it has been so long since I've written a post! I have been super busy the last little while with classes starting up again, and wedding stuffs, and work, and planning for my Europe trip, and trying to have a life! It has been ridiculously busy around here, but things are finally starting to settle down.

I wore one of my vintage dresses that I bought a while ago for the first time the other day. It was a bit too tight, but I've been going out for runs a lot lately, and now I'm able to fit in it.

I paired it with my red cardigan so I could wear it to work, and it was a good thing I did! I didn't notice when I first got it, but at the bottom of the zipper, there are a few teeth missing, and when I bent the wrong way, the zipper popped! I managed to get it fixed, but I was a lot more careful with how I moved for the rest of the day. I'm going to have to make a trip to the fabric store to buy myself a new zipper to replace the old one, but that shouldn't be too hard.

While I like the dress with the red cardigan, I think it would look even better with a deep green or a lemon yellow cardigan, so that will be my next purchase, I think! I also wore it with my new grey flats. My pink ones have finally died, so these are my new everyday shoes.

I also took advantage of a sale by Julie from Fab Gabs vinatge on etsy. She has a lot of super cute items for sale that are priced $10-20!!! The sale ends August 5th, so hurry over there and check it out!

And if I'm too far inbetween posts for you, don't forget, you can always follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTBabySteps.

Cheers!

~Paige

It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing

2010-06-19T07:01:00.003-04:00

Okay ladies and gents! Here is the outfit I wore to swing dancing a few weeks ago. After learning about just how warm you can get while swinging, I put my hair into victory rolls, with buns in the back to keep my hair off of my neck.

I also wore my black and white sundress because it does a great twirl when I get spun around, and it is so much fun. Dresses are great fo swing because they help keep you cool when you're dancing. I saw some woman dancing in long, heavy pants, and I was surprised she didn't die from the heat.

Just to add a bit of fun to the outfit, I wore my psudeo-seamed stockings. I recieved some great compliments on them, so I think I will be picking myself up another pair or two to wear. It was so funny, when I met up with my girlfriend who came with me that night, she said to me, "You do realise it looks like you could teach the class, right?" Hey, how often do I get a chance to go all vintage?

Here are a few of the pictures from the show we got that night. These guys were on their way to the Canadian Swing Championships, and we were able to see their routines first. Please excuse the crappy quality of the pictures. All I had was my Blackberry, so I had to make do.

Okay, folks, I am out of here for the weekend! The Mr surprised me with a trip to Montreal which includes a comedy show and Cirque du Soleil! I will take lots of pictures and I will be sure to post them upon my return.

Cheers!

~Paige

Book Review for A Vintage Affair

2010-06-13T15:32:00.003-04:00

Okay, ladies and gents! I said I would do a review when I was done the book, and I've finished it. I've actually been finished for a while, but I've needed time to lull the book over.

It was a pretty quick read for me. Reading is one of the things I'm strongest at, so books generally only take me a day or two to plow through if I take them on the bus and read them on my breaks at work. (I was able to read Harry Potter 7 in 24hrs, but that's a story for another time.) It is very much a fluff read, with not a lot of heavy material. I thought it would be more of a personal triumph book, and while it did have that aspect, it wasn't overwhelming. It is also a book for older teens at the youngest. I don't want any young readers going out and getting this book: it is not for you, and I do not want parents getting mad at me, so here is the disclaimer!

I really liked the character of Phoebe. Having lost my mom a year and a half ago (Wow.. has it really been a year and a half?) I found I could relate to the loss of her friend and the pain and "what I could have done" feelings. But again, that side is not an overwhelming part of the book, and I liked that because it's what happens in real life: you mourn and you keep going on with your life, life does not stop. I think that was the part I liked best about the book, that and watching her relationship with the two men in the story develop.

I think the book could have been better if it had been a bit heavier of a read. I found that there just wasn't enough meat to the book. Don't get me wrong, I love my fluff, but I think it would have been better if the friendship of the two friends and of Phoebe and the two men had been developed a bit more.

Overall, I liked it. I think if you're looking for a good bus-ride read, this is a good option.

I finally have my camera working, so I'll be back later in the week with another outfit post.

Cheers!

~Paige

A Vintage Affair

2010-06-01T08:01:00.003-04:00

I don't usually like to read "Chick Lit." I prefer vampire romance novels. Not the Twilight saga *shudder* (ew) but books like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward; vampires with bite, as it were. These novels read like an R-rated action movie, so if you're under 18, they are not for you... Yet ;). However, I was walking through my local bookstore, and this book happened to catch my eye:

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff. Source for book cover here.

The book cover is adorable, and here is the back cover info thingy:

"Phoebe always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop, imagining every last detail. Finally, she is launching Village Vintage, and feeling the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. But a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture. Then one day she meets Thérèse, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with. As Thérèse tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe feels a renewed connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again. "

I am not even three chapters into the book, and already I can't put it down. I will give you a full book review once I am finished, but so far I highly recommend the book. I'll leave you with this quote:

"Women want individuality, not mass production, and that's what vintage gives them. Wearing vintage suggests originality and flair."

Cheers!

~Paige

I've Given Myself a Castle!

2010-05-31T06:48:00.003-04:00

If you have no idea what a "castle" is, don't worry. It's more commonly known as a "bob." Irene Castle made the style famous in 1915, and it became more popular in 1920 when it was worn by Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks.

Source for picture here.

So, here it is:

The "Castle"

Now before you starting asking me questions like I've lost my mind ("What about your wedding hair?!") the style isn't permanent. I've taken my hair and pinned it under in a roll, and I've used LOTS of hairspray. It is a nice look for work, and it will keep me from getting too hot when it gets up to 24C (75F) degrees today. And it will look cute when I go out with some friends after work today.

That's it for now. I'm sorry the picture quality is shoddy, but my camera is currently out of commission, and I'm just using my laptop at the moment.

Cheers!
~Paige

I'm a Lumberjack, and I'm Okay!

2010-05-25T10:49:00.002-04:00

The Mr and I went to visit his parents this weekend for our long weekend, and I am now suffering from a serious lack of sleep. When I lack sleep, I get goofy, so I created a polyvore post to match my current mood.

At work today, I started humming Monty Python's Lumberjack Song to myself, and it made me giggle. It also made me want to see what I would wear if I were a lumberjack, but a stylish one, in the city. Here is what I came up with:

First off, the shirt. You cannot be a lumberjack and not have a plaid shirt. I didn't want to go with the traditional red and black plaid, so I picked a shirt that had a bit of blue for some added colour. Then I added skinny blue jeans for comfort and style, and a cute boot in a softer brown and a low heel for walking around those forest paths. Then come the suspenders to make sure those jeans stay in place for your modesty's sake, and a cute knit hat to keep your head warm. I went a bit kitschy with the accessories, a tree trunk ring, tree earrings and a wolf necklace, but I think it adds a bit of fun to the outfit.

I know it's not exactly vintage, or even vintage style, but it's cute and fun, and as I said, I'm lacking sleep, so deal with it :D!

I know I promised you a post on my swing dancing two weekends ago, but I've been having a problem hooking up my Blackberry to my laptop. Pictures are forthcoming though. I'll try to get it out to you this week.

And before I sign off, the song which inspired the post:

That's is it, I am outta here! TTFN!

Cheers!
~Paige

Routine

2010-05-18T08:58:00.003-04:00

Hi gang! I'm sorry my blogging has been sporadic at best lately. I've been feeling rather uninspired as my life has slipped into a bit of a routine as of late. I am up extremely early to be at work for 7:30 in the morning, work until 3:30, then I go home and collapse on the couch with the Mr to get a bit of time in together before we head to bed at 9pm or so. I've had some fun with my swing dancing outfits (I will post a new one a bit later in the week) but during the work week I throw on something professional-ish, and race out the door.

I'm not losing my love for vintage, believe me, but with my current position, I feel the need to keep my outfits more homogeneous to fit in with the work crowd. Maybe I just need a few vintage suits and dresses with a professional feel to them to keep the creative juices flowing. I did order this super cute dress from etsy for my birthday, so hopefully that will keep me feeling more inspired.

I also have a dress that I started trying to sew last summer, so I think I will start to work on that again now that I have some spare time. I swear, I still haven't lost the school guilt; when I come home, it feels like I should be doing homework.

I am going to take off for now, but I will be back later in the week with a post about my swing dancing this past Saturday, and the great show that the swing teams put on.

Cheers!

~Paige

Swinging Birthday

2010-05-10T21:02:00.004-04:00

Hey there! This Saturday I went out with a bunch of friends to celebrate my birthday. We went to dinner at my favourite resturant and then to a place called Swing Dynamite for their Saturday Night Swing. It was the best birthday evar! If you have never tried swing dance, you should. It is great fun, but if you're a girl, beware as you get spun around a lot.

The outfit I wore is one you've all seen, my red polka-dot dress, and I did my hair in a jellyroll. I made sure to look the part, and I recieved a tonne of compliments. I now have to figure out how to out-do myself for next time. Yes, there most definately be a next time.

It is hard to explaing just how much fun swing dance is, so I've included a short video. There was another kid there who was also celebrating a birthday, and they organizers of Saturday Night Swing got us to do a "Birthday Jam." What happens is that he and I started off dancing together, then people would just cut in. This video shows how it all happened:

Fun, right? I know I'm not exactly light on my feet in this video, but I was getting twisted and turned all over the place, and it was my very first time ever swing dancing, so please go easy on me. The Mr also insists that I include this video of all of the guys on one knee singing happy birthday to me:

I think I should also the announce the winner of my contest: Melissa! Melissa, you can contact me at babystepsvintage at gmail dot com with your address, and I will ship this out to you right away. She was the winner by default since no one else entered. Any suggestions as to how to make these contests more interesting?

Well that is all for me. By the way, I also have a Twitter feed @PTBabySteps, so hopefully I will see you there as well.

Cheers!
~Paige

Stylish, Even if Sick

2010-05-06T21:51:00.004-04:00

For whatever reason, the 'verse has decided to make me sick the day before my birthday. Boo 'verse! And on top of that, it was raining today. I was rather ill when I left this morning, so I just threw something on, but this is what I wish I had worn:

Black, comfortable dress with lacy stockings to keep it classy; a pair of knee-high boots to keep the rain at bay while outside, and pretty pink flats for a splash of colour while at work; a trench coat in a cute plaid for weather protection; pearl earrings and a pendant for some extra style; and a cute hairband to keep my hair out of my face.

Sorry this is a short one, but I am sick and I want to be in bed. (See how much I love you, dear readers?) BTW, for those of you who were wondering, I didn't quite make the GPA to grauate this June. I need one more summer course, and I can graduate at the winter convocation.

I will be off tomorrow and Saturday for my birthday and party, but I will fill you in on the details when I get back.

Cheers!

~Paige

Playing Catch-up

2010-05-02T19:44:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't done a post in a while. I'm sorry. Things have been busy at work, and when I get home, I just want to sleep. Instead of writing one huge post, I will do a quick sum-up for you, with a collage of all of my outfits that I have been wearing in a big collage for you.

So, in the first group of pictures, with me in the black and white sun dress, I was feeling like a 50s housewife that day, so I decided to dress the part. I added a cute kelly green cardigan, and a SUPER CUTE pair of seamed nylons. They aren't fully-fashioned, but I still adore them.

In the next set of pictures, my polka-dot dress needed to do double duty. I had to go to a friend's barbecue and then out to one of my bridesmaid's birthday party. The dress was great, and it looked cute all afternoon and evening. I managed to take some pictures of my hair before it started to frizz out from the humidity. I think that this will be a style I do more often because it looks great.

Finally, the all-black outfit was for a party I went to last week. I finally finished my exams, and we went out to celebrate. I chose to go with more of a Mod all-black look because I wore a pair of nylons which looked like it gave me a henna tattoo on my legs.

That's pretty much it, but the Mr and I did do something cool this weekend: we booked our wedding photographers! Yay! They are Brian and Ivanette of BH Photography. I promise I won't do lots of wedding stuff on here, as this is a fashion blog, but their work is awesome, so you should go and check it out. Here is their website: www.bhphotography.ca. Go have a peek!

That's it for me. I'm going to extend the contest for the necklace for another week since there was only one entry, so tell your friends even if you aren't up for it. TTFN!

Cheers!
~Paige

50th Post!

2010-04-26T06:32:00.001-04:00

Well, ladies and gents, here it is my 50th post! Yay! When I started, I wasn't sure I was going to make it past a week or two, never mind make it to 50 posts. So, here is my surprise: it is my first giveaway!

I have had this beautiful necklace for ages now, and while I love it, I never wear it. I thought that I would give the lovely ladies out there a chance to give this necklace the wearing it deserves.

It has three rose beads, with the roses painted in a vintage style.

It is not quite a choker, but it hangs down to where your collarbone is. It is very soft, and would look great if you were wearing a girlie outfit, or to soften up a slightly harder look.

Here are the rules: The contest it open from now until 5pm Eastern Standard Time April 30th. You get one entry for commenting, one entry for reposting on your own blog (with a link), and a final entry for posting on Twitter (with a link). YOU HAVE TO LEAVE A COMMENT EACH TIME YOU ENTER! As I am using a random number generator, if you do not leave a separate comment for each time you enter, then it will only count the one entry.

Good luck, and I will announce the winner on Monday, May 3rd.

Cheers!
~Paige

40's Secretary

2010-04-15T11:08:00.003-04:00

I bought myself a few new tights at one of our local department store, and this was my first day trying one of the pairs out. They are super cute, and give me a very vintage look. The whole out made me think that it had a bit of a 40s Secretary look to it.

Although if that was the case, I guess my picture would look more like this:

These were the shoes I wore with my polkadot tights. You can see how everything is in neutral colours, which is why it made me think of the 40s.

But, just to jazz things up, I made sure my makeup was fun and bright, and I gave my hair some extra curl with a wet pincurl set that I slept on.

I picked up a few more hair supplies, so I am hoping that I will be able to try a few new hairstyles over the next little while.

I am off to see my future in-laws this weekend, and I have a tonne of studying to do for my exams, so I will be back next week.

Cheers!
~Paige

Lady in Red

2010-04-12T17:06:00.003-04:00

Have you ever noticed that women do not really wear red lipstick anymore? Sure, you might get one or two sporting the bold colour at a formal function, but no one wears it so much during the day. I have decided to change all of that. In the conservative city where I live, I think the world could use a bit of brightening with some red lips. And what is my lipstick of choice? Maybelline Color Sensensational lipstick in Red Revival... Not a bad name, I think!

Just look at the cute packagaing!

This lipstick is fab! It is a creamy formula, so there is no slickness or sparkle to it, which is perfect for the day time. You would think this puppy is not a lipstick but a stain with how well it stays on!

Love, love, love the colour!

It is a beautiful brick red colour which is just a bit muted, and it glides on perfectly smooth. I love the casing as well; it looks like an expensive lipstick, but I got it for around the $10 mark at my local drugstore.

This is a fab lipstick!

It stays on pretty well while you're having your morning coffee or tea, but make sure to do a quick touch-up after you eat, or you get a rather silly look with the inner half of your lips having nothing on them.

On Miss Paige, herself!

This is a great lipstick and now my go-to colour. Even if red is not your thing, I highly reccommend this product. This all being said, dash out to your local drug store and pick some up! Right now! Go!

Cheers!

~Paige

Calm Before the Storm

2010-04-12T08:14:00.002-04:00

Hi ladies and gents!

Thank you for sticking with me while I have been crazy with school. Things have eased up quite a lot but I still have some studying to do before my exams. I have a post for you a bit later today about my new favourite lipstick, but this will tie you over for the moment.

The group is called The Baseballs. They are a German band that does 50s-style covers of current hits. This is one of the ones that I like the best, Hot & Cold, originally done by Katy Perry.

Cheers!

~Paige

End of Term Crazies

2010-03-23T09:10:00.003-04:00

Image via here.

You are going to notice a lack of posts over the next two weeks. It is the end of term, and I am going to be spending all of my time like the chicky in the picture: lots of books, lots of tea, and lots of stress. It is my last two weeks of my undergraduate degree, and I will let you know if I survive when I am done.

Cheers!
~Paige

Cut and Colour

2010-03-13T18:32:00.002-05:00

So I went in today to see the most awesome stylist in the world for a cut and colour. I wasn't looking for a huge change, and as always she knew exactly what to give me. We put a beautiful coffee coloured dye into my hair just to darken it up and give it some depth. The cut just added a few layers and took off about two inches at the ends.

I'm so happy with it! The next time I go and see her I'll probably ask for the same thing. And in case you are wondering, yes, she is doing my wedding hair.

Cheers!

~Paige

Sunrise over the Capital

2010-03-13T06:31:00.004-05:00

I have to get up at the ungodly hour of 5:00 in order to make it to my job by 8:00. I usually stick my face out the window to see what the weather is like, and yesterday morning there was a beautiful sunrise. What I really liked was all of the jet streams that criss-cross and give the sunrise some texture.

Well I am off today to get my hairs cut and coloured, so I will post pictures later.

Cheers!

~Paige

Updated Look and Almost 50!

2010-03-09T18:14:00.003-05:00

Hi there, ladies and gents!

I decided to give my blog a bit of an update, just to try something new. I have NO idea how often I will change it, but if the mood strikes..... Beware! The Mr will tell you I love changing things around and do it often with our furniture. In fact, we moved our bedroom around this weekend!

And, can you believe it, I am almost at post number 50! I will have a surprise for you, and perhaps some of you silent readers will come out of the woodwork.

Well, I am off. Lots to do, and nowhere near enough time to do it!

Cheers!

~Paige

New Favourite Dress

2010-03-09T08:29:00.003-05:00

I am wearing one of the new dresses that I bought from Etsy recently. This is an 80's does 50's dress, and it may just be my new favourite dress! This dress is from Tialey Vintage, and it was in even better condition than discribed. There were no flaws whatsoever, and it fits like a dream. I'm surprised I lucked out and no one bought it first!

It is still a bit chilly to wear just the dress, so I paired it with my favourite cardigan, a pair of argyle black tights, and a white belt to accentuate my waist. The dress came with its own tie-up belt, but I thought that the white belt would go better with my look today.

I did my usual vintage make-up with a deep red lip to accentuate the dress. I usually wear my pearl earrings, but I was in a bit of a rush this morning.

It was so nice outside, I decided to get a picture from the balcony. A gush of wind picked my skirt up a bit, and made for a cute shot.

It is so beautiful outside these days! The snow is melting, and I can't wait to have Spring come around in full force. I'm not saying it is here yet, as it would not be the first time we had a snow storm after all the snow had just melted.

Alright dear readers, I am off to class to get me some education. Only 5 full days of classes left until I am done!

Cheers!

~Paige

Product Review: Sally Hansen Insta-dry Nail Polish

2010-03-05T21:40:00.002-05:00

So I went out and bought myself a new nailpolish in orderto replace one I had lost. I always end up smudging my nails before the colour is dry, so I thought I'd try a "quick dry" formula. I found a polish that was almost the same colour as the one I lost.

The polish is Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry Nail Colour in "Wined Up."

The colour is a beautiful bordeaux colour. It has a slight pearlesence look to it which it gives it some shimmer. In a colour this dark I prefer to have some sort of sheen to it so the colour doesn't look too goth.

The brush is in a style I have never seen before. It's long and flat, more like a paintbrush. It certainly does help to keep the colour go on the nail evenly. The problem is with the wide brush and short nails the colour tends to run off the side of the nail.

Over all I really enjoy it. I hope that the colour will last me a while.

Cheers!

~Paige

Online Shopping!!!

2010-02-24T16:14:00.003-05:00

Okay, I've been a bad girl. I've been spending money I don't really have, but what I've bought is adorable! Check it out:

Vivien of Holloway:

BTW, The dress doesn't come with the belt, and the dots are actually little flowers.

Etsy:

No belt with this dress either.

Can you tell I had spring/summer on my mind when I ordered these? I'll be sure to show you pics when I get them!

Cheers!

~Paige

Playing in the Snow

2010-02-23T09:25:00.002-05:00

We have a snowstorm that moved up from the US and is now upon us. We're getting large, movie-snow style snowflakes, and it makes me happy.

I've been getting the winter doldrums lately as it seems like we have been going for weeks without a single snowflake. I don't mind winter, but it's the in-between stages that gets me down. I hate the mucky, ucky mess that comes after a few weeks of moderate temperatures. And it certainly doesn't help that the temperatures do not get above 5C(41F) or so; you're still stuck in your winter clothes.

This type of beautiful, snowy weather makes me want to go and play in the snow. I haven't had anywhere near the time this year to justify going out and buying a new snowsuit, but as this is my semester of school (yay!), I think I will be shopping for one next winter. In the meantime, I created this polyvore set to show you what I would wear while playing in the snow.

First things first, a warm jacket. You wouldn't be outside very long if you were freezing! I added a cute pair of cargo-style snow pants because playing in the snow requires making snow angels. I chose pants that go out over the boot because snow in the shoes is not fun at all. Hat, scarf, gloves, and boots are all required wear if you want to keep the extremities warm. Lip balm will help keep your lips from getting all dry and chapped, but if you want to keep that rosy pink look you get while outside, I recommend using a balm with tint. I have never used benetint lip balm, but I hear it is pretty good. Burt's Bees also makes a great tinted lip balm. Finally, a large thermos full of tea, hot chocolate, coffee, or whatever warm drink you like. There is nothing like sitting with your loved ones after romping around in the snow and drinking something warm.

Well, I am sorry to say that I will be mostly out of touch for the rest of the week. I have a bunch of assignments that are due and overdue. However, on Saturday night I'm going out swing dancing, so I will have another post for you after that.

Cheers!
~Paige

Beatnik Birthday

2010-02-21T15:41:00.007-05:00

This is going to be a short one since I have a tonne of homework, but here is what I wore to the Mr's 30th birthday party on Friday.

We went to a local pool hall, so I dressed down more than usual, but I was still pretty dressed up compared to a lot of the people in their jeans.

I went with sort of a beatnik look... And I know a beret would have completed it, but I can't wear those hats without looking silly.

I wore my hair in a jellyroll with a pony, a cute high-waist skirt with triple buttons on both sides, and super-cute diamond-argyle tights with my pink ballet flats.

Okay, back to homework... *Sigh* At least there is only a month left.

Cheers!

~Paige

PS- I know I haven't had a full outfit shot in a while, but my camera is still out of commission.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T18:05:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day, dear ladies and gents!

Hugs and kisses to you and yours on this day of love!

Cheers!
~Paige

Jellyrolls and Polkadots

2010-02-09T16:51:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to figure out how to get my hair in a faux bang for ages. I like bangs, but I don't want to commit to getting the hair cut because curly hair with bangs is a pain.

It took a while, but I finally got it! I wore this when we went out with my future in laws to look at the venue we're getting married at.

My FMIL saw my hair and she called it a "jellyroll." I guess her mom used to put those in her hair when she was a kid. I paired it with a cute polkadot cardigan that used to belong to my mum. I'm hoping that the weather warms up so I can pair the whole outfit with a skirt... Sigh... I miss spring.

Cheers!

~Paige

Still Winter?

2010-02-02T15:14:00.004-05:00

Last time I checked, it was still winter: there is still 6 weeks to go (at least) and it is still freaking cold outside, yes?

Now I know that everyone is fighting off the winter blahs, and trying not to go crazy with school and various other projects and events going on, but why would you dress for Spring when it is -17C (2F) outside?

I was walking through the underground tunnels of my uni, and I saw some girl wearing this:

Now, don't get me wrong, what she was wearing was very cute, and she looked really nice. You all know how much I love dresses and skirts, how cute they look, how easy they are, but sometimes, warmth takes priority over a dress. This is why I have quite a number of slacks and jeans so that I can layer my longjohns underneath.

I mean, this outfit is super cute for school! Cute cardigan, warm scarf, warm stylish jacket, a bit of ice at the ears, and warm boots. Key word here: warm!!!

And really, if you're going to wear a skirt, why not add some layers? I love layers.

Winter-weight black pencil skirt, warm t-shirt, warm cardigan, thick black tights with lighter/textured tights over top for cuteness, black boots to wear outside, and pink flats for inside. A scarf and glasses keep you looking studious.

I guess I was just really lucky growing up with a super fashionable momma who knew how to dress stylishly, but also comfortably.

This was my first Polyvore set. Did you like it? Let me know, and I'll try to do more!

Cheers!

~Paige

Dinner and Drinks

2010-01-22T09:27:00.002-05:00

Hello Ladies and Gents!

I know it has been a while since I have given you a substantial fashion post, and for that I am sorry. Life has gotten crazy for me these days, with planning the wedding, going to school, doing my homework, going to work, and trying to have a social life, so blogging has been pretty low on my priority list. It doesn’t help either that my camera has been having a few issues, so I am currently using my Blackberry. FYI- Blackberry was invented by a Canadian company called Research in Motion.

So, anyhoo, after work today I am heading out for dinner and drinks with some girlfriends of mine I haven’t seen in a while, so the whole point of today’s outfit was cute, fun while still professional. I also threw a bit of vintage in there with a laid-back version of victory rolls and a cute pin curl to keep my hair out of my face.

As I work in a professional office, my outfit needs to stay professional. It is Friday, so jeans are allowed, but I have jazzed them up a bit by adding a suit jacket. I have asked the Mr to do laundry for me today because I have pretty much run out of socks (as you can see) and I won’t have time for laundry over the weekend since we are seeing venues all weekend!

The shirt I am wearing is a cute v-neck T-shirt that has a bit of lace detailing. I added a purple camisole underneath for a bit of colour, and to keep my modesty!

I will leave you with that, and I will get back to you after the weekend to let you know how our venue search went!

Cheers!

~Paige

Am I Being Selfish?

2010-01-19T20:22:00.003-05:00

I never really wanted a huge wedding, or have things like a six layer cake, ice sculptures, iPods for favours, etc, no offense to those of you who want those, but I guess that I always assumed that I would have a few traditional elements, like a bachelorette, a bridal shower, etc.

Source here

But except for the Mr and one bridesmaid, I'm pretty well doing this on my own because my family lives across the country, my mom has passed away, and the Mr's family lives six hours away. I have accepted the fact that I likely won't get a lot of the fun party things that normally go along with weddings, but is it selfish of me to want a bridal shower and bachelorette with family and close friends, even though it would mean that they would need to fly out to where I am early, and pay more for hotel, car rental, etc?

I know it's a lot to ask of them to fly across the country already to come to my wedding, as we can't afford to pay for an afterparty/post-wedding brunch/etc, I would like to spend some extra time with those who can come out, but I can't see it happening cost-wise for us or them. I guess I'll have to just keep on with the planning...

On the plus side, we get to go see wedding venues this weekend!

Cheers!
~Paige

Ranting

2010-01-05T12:51:00.003-05:00

Okay, I’m usually a positive, upbeat person, but I think that all of the cold is getting to me. Not snow, mind you, but cold. The whole purpose of this blog was to talk about my adventures in trying new vintage styles with my hair and clothing, but when it’s -15C (5F), with a -25(-13F) wind chill, wearing the lovely skirts and dresses from the 40s and 50s does not seem like a very good option.

Granted, I did take the advice from the Freelancer’s Fashion Blog and apply lots of layers , but a girl can take only so many days in the windchill before she decides to huddle back under her longjohns. This is where I’m at today, huddled in a warm, woolly sweater (without much shape) and jeans with longjohns. I’ve kept my makeup the same, but I’ve gotten into the habit with it so it’s quick to do in the morning.

How can one be expected to dress fashionably in this weather? And I don’t mean those damn UGG boots. People! They are called UGGs because they are UGG-ly! I have a pair of slippers in a similar style, but you don’t see me wearing them out of the house! Sorry... I hate those boots.

I would go to the local stores that have warm cute clothing, but as Super Kawaii Mama mentioned in her vlog post the other day, everything that is being mass produced these days is crap! I think I need to get back to my sewing machine and try to finish a project or two. One item on my list is a pair of wide-leg corduroy pants. They are high-waisted, with cute sailor buttons. Those should help keep me warm. I think I’ll also have to a bit of internet searching to find some nice thick tights to keep my legs warm when the wind is blowing. And I want to get married in December? Silly me.

Okay, well, I’m off for now. I’m going to start my searching. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Cheers!
~Paige

Adventures in Hair

2010-01-01T16:32:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Yay! I just realised that since I am getting married early next December, I have just over 11 months to plan the wedding, four months to finish school, three months until my contract is up at my new job! This year shall be a busy one!

And of course, being the girly-girl I am, the first step is looking for my dress! *SQUEE!* I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited. I head out tomorrow morning with one of my bridesmaids, J, to my first dress appointments.

Now I know that is is a bit different, but you know how when you're out shopping for a cute party dress, and you're in the store, and you try the dress on with your bra straps sticking out, hair a mess, socks and sneakers on, and you know the dress is cute, but you know you won't get the whole picture until everything is done? Hair, makeup, accessories, nails, etc, are needed for you to get the whole picture.

As it turns out, Audrey Hepburn knew this well, and before she tried any costumes or fancy dresses on, she would take some time to get polished up so she could get a good idea as to how everything would look when she was all pulled together.

I have decided to do the same thing when I go dress shopping tomorrow. I'm going to get all done up so I can make sure that what ever dress I like will be able to go with my overall look and theme. Having decided that, I have just completed my first wet pin curl set in my hair.

Here I am, fresh out of the shower, sans makeup, with my naturally curly hair in a wet set to try to make it so that I can try to style my hair in a similar way to how I want it styled for my wedding. Here Is what I want the end result to look like:

Well, I'm out. I'll let you know how it all turned out!

Cheers!
~Paige

An award? For me? You shouldn't have!

2009-12-30T12:06:00.003-05:00

I technically got this before Christmas from Rosie, but I've been so busy from the holidays, I almost forgot about it!

Well, here it is:

And the rules:
1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award. (Thank you again, Miss. Rosie!)
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

Seven things about me? I don't know if I have that many things to tell you, but here goes nothing:
1) I have found all of the episodes of Sailor Moon online, and I am currently in the process of watching them all... I'm on number 73.
2) I am the only female in my house; The Mr., Charlie and Bageera are all gentlemen (love my boys!)
3) I lost both my mother and my Auntie Karen to Pancreatic Cancer caused by smoking.
4) Losing my mother, who was my best friend, broke my world apart... She was only 45.
5) I have loved old music and movies ever since I was a child... I think Blue Hawaii was my introduction to the "classics."
6) Due to my love of all things vintage and Christmas, I have decided to combine the two into one spectacular, spectacular Vintage Christmas wedding.
7) I am in the last semester in the last year of my university undergrad degree... and sometimes I wish I could stay in school forever.

And now on to my seven blogs:
1) Bobby Pin Blog - Lauren is the writer of my Vintage Hairstyling book
2) Violet LeBeaux - For the love of all things cute
3) Diary of a Vintage Girl - Fleur is a vintage pin-up model who always looks good!
4) Welcome to Deluxeville - Mary Deluxe is funny and charming
5) They'd Have Called Me "The Bar Nothing" - This Miss is a uni student who loves rocking the vintage glamour of the 40s and 50s
6) The Broke-Ass Bride - Super good resource for all of us budget brides!
Finally:
7) A tie! (I can't pick just seven!)
The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitian Housewife
and
Vixen Vintage
These two girlies are good friends, and I love seeing their vintage outfit posts,
especially when they go out shopping together!

That's it for now, everyone! I'm off to go do my first dress search on Saturday *squee* so I will wish you all a Happy New Year's Now!

Cheers!
~Paige

Vintage Christmas Wedding

2009-12-29T21:03:00.006-05:00

The Mr. and I have set a date! After finally having him as a captive audience for 6hrs (the drive to his parents' house for Christmas) we came up with a compromise for a wedding date: December 9th, 2010! The date is long enough after I'm done school that I can concentrate on my wedding planning without going crazy and having my school work suffer. The date is also early enough that he doesn't feel like I'm putting him off. A Vintage Christmas wedding is in the works as of January 1st!.... And January 2nd I'm going dress shopping. (Sorry, but no pictures of my bridal stuff up here, just in case he's reading.)

Can't you just see it? I'm trying to get more of a feeling than I am an actual style. I got this picture from HGTV, and it has the type of look I'm going for:

I fancied the picture up a bit from the original

Love it! More details later to come!

Cheers!

~Paige

Christmas Layers

2009-12-23T08:23:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not talking about a cake. It was -12C, -20 with the windchill, (10F, -4F with windchill) and snowing, but as I didn't feel like pressing any of my pants, that meant I was going to be wearing a skirt. I decided to take a page from one of my favourite blogs, The Freelancer's Fashionblog, and wear layers. And boy did I ever wear layers! Here is a list of what I wore when I walked out of the house this morning:

Girly underthings

1 set of tights

1 set of leotard

1 black slip

Grey wool skirt

Black, cotton, midlength t-shirt

Burgundy cardigan

Black knit sweater

Blue pashmina (to wear as a scarf or head wrap)

Purple, vintage pea coat

Blue and white fuzzy gloves

Tall, black winter boots (see my Good-bye Summer! post)

I CANNOT find my usb cord for my camera, so I will be uploading pictures later.

This kept me pretty warm. It got a bit chilly with the wind, but I was lucky enough to time everything right so I did not have to wait for more than a minute or two for each bus.

I'm taking a break to spend Christmas holidays with my soon-to-be in-laws, so I shall wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, etc, and I will see you in a few days. Enjoy your families!

Cheers!

~Paige

Christmas Parties

2009-12-18T14:58:00.006-05:00

I just started my new job (hurray!) and on my first day there, I was told that the Christmas Party was the next afternoon, it was a potluck, and I should bring a $10 gift for an exchange. That was a lot of pressure on my first day! Even my security check didn't have me as worried. Never mind the fact that many of the people in my office are vegetarian or vegan!

Of course this meant stopping by the grocery store on my way home and trying to think of something vegetarian that I could bring. I would usually make my mom's cheeseball, but there is ham in it, so I modified the recipe a bit to make it vegetarian. It actually ended up being quite a hit! Even the Mr, who is a PICKY veggie, liked it quite a bit. I'm going to make it again for Christmas at the soon-to-be in-law's house. (They're veggies too.)

But of course, what was I going to wear? I didn't want to throw all of my vintage-ness at them my second day in, so I decided to keep the make up the way I usually do it, and I added in a semi-victory roll hairstyle.

I'm calling it "semi" because while the rolls were done in the same manner you would for a regular victory roll, I made them a bit flatter, and pushed them towards the back of my head a bit. It ended up looking quite nice, so I'm sure I'll do it again.

The 'do

Father Christmas earrings

I wore a cute red sweater, that looked like it had a blouse underneath it (it didn't); soft, grey dress slacks; and my Father Christmas earrings. I have some super cute bell earrings, but I had to work that morning, and I didn't want to be bothering everyone.

Christmas party outfit

So that's it for now. Only 7 more sleeps until Christmas! I'll probably have one or two more posts before then.

Cheers!

~Paige

Counting the Days

2009-12-12T10:06:00.007-05:00

Just under two weeks left until Christmas, and I am very excited. Next week I write my exams, thereby making me officially halfway through the last year of my undergrad degree, I start my new job, and I FINALLY get a chance to do my Christmas baking. There will be all sorts of wonderfull smells coming from my kitchen next weekend so I will be sure to make you want to come to my house by taking lots of pictures of the goodies.

This will be my first Christmas away from my family. We're going to spend the holidays with my fiance's family this year since we were at my parents' house last year. It's going to be a little sad since I'll be so far from home, and it is one more year without my mom around, but we get to figure out some wedding stuff which will be great fun.

I must say, wearing this ring makes it hard to want to dress sloppily. The Mr was giving me a hard time about "getting all dressed up just to go to school," and I told him now that I'm wearing the ring, I dress the same way I do my makeup: just enough to accent. I don't want to look sloppy and have my beautiful ring on. He had to give me credit for that.

Just a pop of colour

I have a need to dress warm lately, with all of the snow on the ground and the wind blowing in the air, so I have been wearing lots of layers. This outfit looked pretty dull until I added a pop of colour in my cami and my cute little turtle pin.

Cute and blue!

The pin was a gift from my younger brother YEARS ago for my birthday. I don't normally wear it, but with all of the black and charcoal, it just seemed it would be cute.

The ring that made me say "Yes"

Here is a picture of the ring on my hand. I love it so much! It is almost exactly what I would have picked for myself, given the choice. But however much I feel like dressing to show off my ring, I shall be in the dreaded track pants for the next week or so because of this:

It is not really that serious, before you get all panicked. I had to have nail surgery done on my big toe because my ingrown toenails had gotten REALLY bad. (Note: if you think you may have ingrown toenails, go and see your doctor right away, because you do not want this to happen.) So, I need to take it easy, with not a lot of activity, and hopefully I will FINALLY be able to stop hobbling around.

Well, ladies and gents, I need to get back to homework, and keep studying for my exams next week. I will be back after the weekend!

Cheers!
~Paige

Snow!!!

2009-12-09T12:42:00.004-05:00

I am so happy we FINALLY got snow the other day. It just does not feel like Christmas around here without snow. So, now that I have said that...

OMG SNOW!!!!!!!

That haze in the picture is not a problem with my camera... It's snow.

Holy smokes! I was going to write a nice long post today, but with the weather outside, I think I'm going to crawl back into bed with my honey.

Two days ago, we still had grass down there.

I will talk to you tomorrow!

My cat Bageera is fasicinated by the snow.

Cheers!

~Paige

I Survived!

2009-12-03T11:40:00.002-05:00

I made it through paper season, but I am a bit braindead. I have all sorts of wedding things to discuss with the Mr. this evening, but tomorrow I will have my first Christmas post! In the meantime, I leave you with my favourite Christmas song: The Christmas Waltz by the Carpenters.

Cheers!
~Paige

What is the First Ingredient in Christmas Cookies?

2009-11-23T22:58:00.015-05:00

......... Christmas carols!

It was a saying my mom used to have, and now I'm sharing it with you. I LOVE Christmas! Christmas is my favourite time of the year. And after the time I have had with term papers, it is a great feeling to plunge myself into the season. And after having a vintage style wedding to plan, and the love for the season hitting me, I am hopeful for a spectacular vintage styled Christmas too! This will be my first Christmas themed post this season, with hopefully a few more in the coming weeks.

Super Kawaii Mama is having a contest about how you would have a perfect vintage Christmas. The prizes include some great stuff from Blue Velvet Vintage, For Luna and Notorious Kitch. I will be super jealous of whomever wins, if it is not me! Entries are due by the end of today (Dec. 4th) so if you're quick you can get one in!

I took this picture one Christmas Eve, just after Santa came... it's 12:15am

My perfect vintage Christmas? I suppose it would have a bit of everything: a turkey with all of the trimmings; a Christmas tree; lots of red, green and gold; almost everything homemade by friends and family; and my favourite part, an old-fashioned Christmas party!

Growing up, my family always had an open house on Christmas Eve. We invited all of our family and friends to stop by whenever they had a chance for food and drinks and fun. We never had a lot of money, but we always had each other, and we liked to share that with everyone we knew.

The spread from one of my family's open house nights. My mom and bro did all of this!

This is one of the reasons I don't do anything Christmas related until after December 1st. I believe in celebrating the season, not the commercialism. Spending time with friends and family, letting them know how much you care for them, and enjoying their company.

I think that it was the people of days gone past that had it right... It's about the people and the love and the laughter that makes the season as wonderful as it is. And besides, it doesn't hurt if you have a cute little vintage party dress like this to wear! If only I could figure out the perfect party shoes...

Cheers!
~Paige