Moody Monday OOTD

Been so long since I did an outfit post that I barely remember where to start!
Canadian weather is unpredictable & spiteful at best. Combine that with a post Christmas funk & you get a moody blogger.

Sometimes the best cure for the blues is a splash of lipstick, a delicious latte made by your favorite barista in the world & a great date.

Our local coffee house & a Piece O'Cake cupcake!

I found this maxi skirt (fashioned as a dress today) at Winner's in late summer but was iffy about it. When mid fall came & the price was $7 I decided to splurge & see what I could make of it. My favorite solution...

Apparently cold weather makes me scowl?
I hate winter.

Forever 21 accesories

Paired up with my brand new Rieker winter boots, picked up at Boutique Zekara during their winter blow out sale with my saved up gift certificate I am finally prepared for the icy streets/sidewalks/parking lots of Saint John. For too long I've been teetering over ice, used to Ontario winters. The ice & often frigid winds in my new home is something I finally feel ready for (as we close in on February!!).

You might remember these boots made an appearance on the runway with me. I fell for them that night & have been dreaming of them since. So glad these wool lined beauties are now mine!

Guess I'm back on the blogger bandwagon now!

Stay Fabulous!

New Brunswick Fashion Week - Overview

Media Party, Fashion Forward, & NBFW runway show

What a week! I'm not going to lie, I'm exhausted.  Between trying to adjust to my new schedule & flying out the door each evening to events, I'm so glad my Saturday consists of a latte from my favorite barista & a red velvet cupcake from our new local bakery!  It is also Canadian Thanksgiving weekend so I have 4 delicious days off with nothing much to do!!

As I enjoyed my coffee & cupcake this morning I pondered today's post. 
After attending the Fashion Event last night I wondered what approach i should take in covering the event.  There was some fabulous fashion, some baffling decisions & some obvious hard work, but as a Plus Size blogger I wanted to offer my perspective.  My intention was to focus specifically on the plus size pieces, accessories & overall general tone of the affair, since it was my first fashion week.  I asked about plus size long before the event & was told specifically there would be plus size representation, in models, clothing & with at least one local designer - exciting!!!
Unfortunately the 'plus size' component seemed to have disappeared by the time the event came to fruition.  There were no plus size fashions, designers or models*.  Although I was glad to be included in the event & have my opinion valued, I'm left wondering, as a blogger, what do I say?


What I can say is this, we have some amazing local talent & contributions to the fashion world!

Our stylists work hard & come up with stunning looks.

Our local designers have vision & talent.

Chainmaille Obsession by Andrea Cyr

Our shops have amazing product & staff.

Runway look from Walsh Luggage

And our local bloggers support their community & fashion! Check out my fellow bloggers & their different takes on the events of the week;

• Barb of barbbarbbarb
• Leigh-Ellen from LittleWaterlily, Big Pond
• Melissa of Sigh..gush..gasp
• Chelsea, our Maritime Shopaholic

With blogger, Chelsea

I was really enjoying all the opportunities I had to dress up this week! This outfit was put together of simple affordable components but I was so happy with how it all came together. The dress is several years old from Reitman's, top from Old Navy, shoes came from Payless & I layered several necklaces. Oh, the clutch was a score at Winner's, from XOXO.

Overall I had a fun night out, with lots of great company & saw so many beautiful, fashionable things. Do I wish that my plus size community had of had representation? Absolutely - but there is always the spring collections, right?





*there was a plus size model in the hair competition, but not in the runway show

OOTD Out of Africa

When I stumbled upon this linen skirt in a Winner's up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (one always stumbles onto things in Winner's, never finds) I knew it was making the trip back home with me.

I've had a fashion crush on long linen skirts most of my fashion life & I can only guess it steams from the impression one movie made on my youth romantic heart.

Out of Africa

 

Truth is I can never look at a long linen skirt or natural flowy blouse without calling to mind a safari visual! I won't dissect this long standing love affair to figure out if it was Meryl Streep & her fashion or Robert Redford's ruggedness that made the impression.

I'm just going to enjoy my new skirt.

skirt; winner's, tee; old navy

necklace; Darling Dilemma

*also take note that this OOTD finally incorporates 2 things I said I was going to try out... the maxi & a high waisted skirt. I'm not lying when I tell you this was the first time I tucked a top into a bottom since high school.....

A Picnic Full of Fabulous!

August 6th is our wedding anniversary & this year was our 6th celebration.  My totally sweet & occasionally romantic husband suggested that a picnic might be the perfect was to enjoy the moment.

I couldn't agree more.

A not so great picture of my wedding & engagement ring but a reminder all the same.
Bracelet is a necklace I made.

We travelled out of town to Fredericton as per my suggestion so that we could hit up the local farmer's market there for the perfect picnic treats. I also thought O'Dell park would make for the perfect backdrop to any romantic lounging on a blanket that might happen.  

He doesn't like photos so let's pretend this is a picture of the tree.

Of course a picnic also means appropriate picnic  wear. I was dreaming of a long flowery maxi skirt but since I don't own one I went with these cute shorts from Winner's and this summer top from Old Navy.

I made goofy faces in most of today's pictures as a result of my husband's antics

 I wish I had slightly better photos & fewer wrinkles (in my clothes! be kind!), but romantic picnics are not really meant for such concerns I suppose.



Favorite snap of the day. Ring gifted from Vanessa.



Thanks for sharing the best part of my week with me!

Stay fabulous!

Full of Sea Air

We took to the sea today!

I'm preparing for my son to leave for his first sleep away camp by soaking up as much mother/son time as I can before his departure on Sunday.

The week has been filled with ice cream, camp shopping, delicious breakfasts & today, our first trip of the season to one of our favorite places - Irving Nature Park.

When moving to Saint John a year ago we would spend several days a week combing the beach, wandering the forest & taking millions of photos. Above is one of my professional photos, taken on one of the adventures.

It was amazing to get back to the park today, sit by the ocean with my boy & enjoy the amazing weather.  It was the perfect day for our first trip down.

Top; Torrid, Skirt; Winners, Sunglasses; RayBans, Necklace; Etsy, Shoes; Birkenstocks

It is pretty hard to spend much time thinking about outfits, hair & makeup when you are rushing to the shore in weather like this, so I kept it simple.

This necklace is several years old & a purchase from Etsy. I thought it was the right choice for today...

My son is trying his hand at photography these days too



What's up, Buttercup?

This past weekend finally felt like June! We got three full days of sunshine, surpassing all expectations!  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my friend Jen was visiting from Cape Breton for an all girl's weekend.  These are some photo's we took on our sunshiney walk on the trail near my home... just before we saw a snake & high tailed it home!

skirt by three hearts (which i can't seen to find online!)

This skirt is a favorite from last summer, that will continue to be a fav as long as it holds together! I searched for a black mini that would suit me for years - I kid you  not! I found this one at Winner's last year (& found an identical one in tan this year - SCORE!) for only $20. It has built in shorts underneath, which means I don't risk overexposure... hahaha.  It still feels like the best buy of the year, a whole year later...

excuse my squinty smushed face, i was probably talking... but i wanted to show off my Forever21 earrings
& Vogue Optical sunglasses

When I came across this top from Addition Elle I knew it was going to be mine. It is one of my favorite colours, a longer cut & had this great neckline with details.  Addition Elle is never cheap though & I often leave feeling disheartened. There is rarely anything in my style & it is always over priced.  This piece was special though & I was excited to find it. Every time I wear it I tell myself.. don't spill, don't spill, don't spill. And every time I wear it, I spill. I pack a Tide to Go stick in my purse when I leave with it on.
Am I jinxing myself??

Fun blue watch from Urban Outfitters (Quartz)

I found this perfect blue watch while in Toronto at one of my favorite stops, Urban Outfitters! It is just the style I was looking for - anything similar to the Micheal Kors... in one of my favorite colours (and only $25 too!).

This tunic style, light weight sweater is from Addition Elle

My legs are so white....

Packed Full of Fabulousness

 

So like Dom, I too am off soon for a mini va-cay to Ontario! Dom will be off to Mississauga/Toronto area to cheer on our local Sea Dogs hockey team while I am off to see my nearest & dearest!

It is hard to resist a meet up for crazed shopping sprees, seeing as we will be there at the same time, but alas our schedules will likely not sync.  That being said, I think it is safe to say you can expect shopping posts from both of us upon our returns!

So it looks like I will be in my hometown & surrounding areas for 5 full days (with 2 days on either end of that for driving!) & I'm excited to pick & pack all my fabulous outfits! We have had a sudden & drastic change in weather here in New Brunswick the last few days but for the most part I haven't had the chance to wear much 'warm weather' clothing yet this year!
This is definitely an area of my wardrobe that needs to expand!!
Couple pairs of capris, few skirts & 1 summer dress, totally don't make a season's worth of outfits!

I recently picked up what I predict will become a summer staple, a beige mini with cargo flare (& built in shorts underneath which is a TOTAL blessing as an active mom & with warm summer thighs... ah the realities of plus size are glamorous sometimes!).

This skirt is from Three Hearts, a brand I'm not familiar with, but I found for only $20 at Winners!! The skirt is heavy cotton with some stretch & absolutely great quality. A perfect find.

 

Some other things I'm looking forward to breaking in on this trip are my more 'fancy' or 'night time' clothes.

An amazing pair of crazy silver grey & metallic skinny jeans from ASOS Curve (scored from their latest sale along with a few other dreamy items!) are jumping at the chance to get on the dance floor!!

Also waiting for the light of day is a navy blue tunic style piece that a beautiful friend in England scored me from Evans.

So while Dom is looking forward to getting new clothes on her vacation, I'm ready to show mine off!
Now who wants to take me out?

Fabulously,

Em

Hot For Teacher

I spend most days trying to put together an outfit that will make me look fabulous but won't crush me if it gets paint spilt down the front of it.
I'm not especially klutzy (more modestly so), I teach an after school art program.

Occasionally (on pencil crayon days) I will brave the classroom in something new & fab-u-lous, but mostly I'm in the dilemma of trying to look great without wearing my gorgeous new Torrid floral strapless dress. Finding fab plus sized items on the cheap is an almost near impossible task in Canada. Finding them in New Brunswick...an event of mythical proportions.

My solution has become to mix an affordable standard with something more unique.
Reitman's jeans with a beautifully cut top from Torrid (online)
Denim skirt with a bright coloured leggings from We Love Color (online)
Black leggings with a skirt & super cute shoes from Winners

Or something like this, that I wore this week;



Tunic & leggings - Reitmans
Caridgan - Old Navy
Shoes - Winner's

 This cardigan from Old Navy is a hit with me because it gives me an excuse to wear my GIANT green turquoise ring & matching necklace that my most darling husband gave me on our first wedding anniversary (isn't he sweet??).

I have, so far, for the most part, avoided oil pastel/marker/paint disasters this term (although there was a small 'incident' with ink 2 weeks ago on my SimplyBe tunic....).

A totally adorable, pig-tailed girl in my Tuesday class comments on my outfit almost every week. My favorite was 'You always dress so exciting! My Mom only wears black...' *said with wide eyes & then disapproving ones, about her mother's choice*



Naot shoes, Winners (sooo comfy!)