Simple Grey Dress

I know, I know, I don't post often enough... I have been wearing some decent outfits... just preoccupied with work lately. Well. And I must admit I was away for over 2 weeks in Maui. Wishing I was in that heat right about now thats for sure!  Two of our team members at work are both leaving on parental leave at roughly the same time so thats causing a big gap at work.  I'm sure going to miss them both as well- they are both awesome to work with and I work very closely with them.

Okay about the outfit. I love this dress!   I don't have many dresses but this one is so simple and (I think) chic.  I bought it on sale at the end of the summer and when I went to pull it out to wear it realized they had left the big plastic security tag on it.  Not sure how I even made it out of the store but anyway.  So I had to dig through all my receipts to see if I even had it any more and then go back and ask them to remove the thing.   This dress was an awesome deal too... a $200 dress and I got it for $45 since it was at the very end of the season.  Guess thats really the way to shop isn't it?

How are you all doing?  What are you plans for the holidays?

Office Lady

Wool fitted skirt (vintage) and merino wool ruffle sweater. I felt like a real office lady today. Anytime I put on fitted clothing like this it just feels right.  Grey and black is my new go-to these days as well. 

I am also happy to report that I am about 80% finished my holiday shopping (read: xmas shopping) which is a first for me. I love the family aspect of xmas holidays- the dinners and visits and really dislike all the commercialism around it.  Nice to have gotten the shopping out of the way before it gets too nutso everywhere.

Hope you have a super weekend. I've got a bunch of trail runs planned and can't wait.  Oh yeah.. I was just in Maui for the past few weeks... will post some photos of the trip in my next post.

Toodle doo for now :)

Pink Legs

So today I tried a more fitted flirty dress with some pink tights. I woke up with a really sore throat and stuffed up. Wrong day for a cold. I leave on vacation tomorrow if you can believe it!! SO in effort to feel better I thought I'd wear something abit more fun.  I had one compliment on my funky pink tights today but that was it.  I quite like this dress but now that I see the photos think its abit too short for work. Might be better with black tights and high boots and red necklace.

Ideas on this one?

Frumpalot

I got all excited when I found this dress because its a really expensive Dutch brand and well made. The price was a steal!  I tried it on and wasn't sure about it. I came out and asked the lady working in the store what she thought and she said "OMG, girl, that dress was MADE for you. It fits you perfectly."  So I went back in, got changed back into my clothes and then proceeded to purchase the dress.  I still wasn't completely convinced.

I come home from work today after wearing it (and no comments like WOW, I like your dress so thats always a sign) and ask the hubby what he thinks... "the colors abit dull.... and it kind of looks like a sack...."  Nuff said.  That was what I had originally thought to myself in the changeroom.

I'd say what doesn't work is that its not a good length for me, the color is okay and the cut is not completely flattering (I also better suit more structured pieces).

I'm curious about your HONEST opinion on this and maybe even ideas for how to better style it.

Its all for the learning right? :)

More Black and Grey

Not exactly planned but seems I've worn nothing but black and grey all week. Oh boy. Intervention is needed soon!!  Broke out and worn a high bun today too which meant I rode my bike illegally to work because I didn't wear a helmet. Its the law here to wear bike helmets.  Well, its a short ride and I rode fast so no police officer would see or catch me :)  Can't sacrifice a hair do for safety right?

I'm off trail running on saturday and a birthday spa for one of my bff''s this weekend.  Then next week a short week because I'M OFF TO MAUI!! Oh that beach will feel soooo good!

Happy Weekend.

Stretchy Pants

Happy Thursday. I dressed for comfort today. I had a planning day which meant in my office all day thinking and planning.  These boots remind me of Santa boots too.  I prefer a wee bit of a heel or lift to my shoe/boot however these were really comfy.  One of my favorite scarves too because I love birds.

I don't think I shared with you that I'm also on Day 16 of the Whole30 eating plan. I pretty much eat this healthy most of the time but following this diligently has been really good.  I'm going down the other side now (more than half way through is what I mean) and my energy has only been going up more and more. Today I felt like a superhero like I was pretty much running up the stairs everytime I had to use them. CRAZY. And fun :)

How was your day? Have you ever done Whole30?

Black Clothes White Cats

Plain black is not so good when you have 2 white cats.  Even though I keep my closet clean and avoid setting things down on the couch/bed I still look like a crazy cat lady when I wear black stuff.  I finally bought a lint brush to leave at work and one in my bag.  Plain outfit but I felt kindof sassy in it.  Just wish I was having a good hair day too!

The middle photo I added for fun.. obviously I moved while the shutter was in action. Heh heh

How was your day??

Broken Button

Welcome to the mess of our "under construction" back yard. We're digging the perimeter drainage right now so everything is torn apart and its only put a 1 year delay on my big landscape design project.  Here we got a quote to get the work done and it was $12,000-$14,000 to pay someone else to do it.  OR we do all the hard digging work and pouring additional concrete etc and then hire someone to come and only lay the new pipe for $2,000.  BIG difference. SO the whole yard has been a massive ditch with broken pipe and piles of dirt and chunks of broken pavement all over it.  WELL, this also meant I didnt have to mow the lawn all summer. There is almost no lawn showing.

Full on brown outfit today. Brown tweed capris with brown short sleeve turtle neck and my favorite brown boots. Today is DAY 1 of boot season for me. I finally caved and acknowledged that fall is fully here.

I bought this jacket a few weeks ago and have worn it about 3 times.  Then realize one of the buttons has not just fallen off but it BROKE off. The string is all still there and a small piece of button.  HOW annoying that they didnt include a few extra buttons with the jacket.  The store also won't let me exchange it because it was on sale.  Now I'm on a hunt to find a  replacement button or full on replacement buttons for the whole thing.  Makes me feel abit like Martha Stewart.

What would you do if you lost just 1 button in the middle part of your jacket?

Sweater Time

Just got back from a long weekend (it was Canadian Thanksgiving) and did another 50km trail race which was CRAZY. We experienced the tail end of the hurricane which meant running in 50 mile an hour wind and unbelievable downpour.  The trip was fun overall and now back to work and all the organizational change we're going through.  Its all good stuff but alot of work that requires me to be on my A game and really focused.

Today is my first day of wearing booties and socks. YES socks.  If I could, I would wear shorts and short skirts all year round. I love having bare legs and no socks/tights. I guess I can't complain though because it is quite reasonable here on the west coast in terms of temperature.  Not much to report on other than I'm also doing Whole30 right now.  I pretty much each really really healthy already but thought I would try this 30 day challenge. Today is day 7 and smooth sailing.  Will keep you posted and report on results soon!!

Hope you all had a great day too.

Cougar in Town

I got up, got dressed, had a small snack and ready to run for 6am.

The plan was to test out my new HOKA Stinson Trail Shoes.

 These shoes are made for ultra runners and I've gone through so many pairs of them. They feel like air.. like running on air. Even when I'm running across boulders, tree roots and slippery stream beds.
I'm doing my 7th 50 km trail run this year this coming weekend and can't wait.  Nothing like running through the forest with purple air on your feet :)

BUT I didn't end up going running this morning. WHY you may ask. Well, luckily I checked my email before I went because I saw the warning that there was  cougar in our area. The last sighting was only 2 blocks from our house. This is VERY unusual.

Instead I got ready and went to work early.

I really really really need to meet up with Sheila of Ephemera sometime soon.  We're going to go shopping so she can help me find some funky clothes. I can hardly wait. So tired of looking so blah lately!!

OH. And after I got to work we found out they found the cougar behind an apartment building and tranquilized it. So glad. I was worried they may harm it worse than that. Bye bye cougar.

Fall Wear. What to wear for a figure 8

Well hello, I chose to write a post even though I don't have an outfit to show.  I must say I'm feeling frustrated with the fashion trend right now.  Maybe I just need to go out for fun and try on a whole bunch of stuff that I normally would never try on.  Not sure. I see all these new styles and none of them seem designed for someone athletic and with curves.

Instead, there are boxy cut and cable knit sweaters.
Balloon style harem pants.
Ankle boots.
Baggie style mens shirts.
Floaty and flowy tops and skirts.

I need fitted, defined pieces otherwise I look and feel completely frumpy.

Any suggestions as to what new pieces out there may suit my body type (curvy, figure 8).

Wish I had the courage to just dress  like Edith Prickly (above). My hero :)

One of the BEST days

Look what I got in the mail last week? I'm sorry but I have bragging rights here. THIS IS AMAZING!!!  It felt like xmas in September. Can you all recognize the famous mermaid???

Well HELLO!

Well HELLO!!! It's been a long time since I've posted. And where has the summer gone? HOLY Smokes!!  I was so busy with all my trail races this summer I can't believe its mid September already.  I've clocked hundreds and hundreds of kilometer in the mountains lately and my last 50km race went up 8000ft and was in the snow. So crazy and fun. I ended up winning my age category and placing 5th overall so that was kindof neat!

Anyway, getting ready to go off to a week long convention for work. I'm just putting together all my outfits now.  I wish I could pull of blazers. They give a nice professional look to just about anything. Problem is I haven't yet found the perfect one.  Any tips on other items that would make an outfit abit more professional but still slightly casual (I'm not one for sweaters either though :)

How are you all???

Coral and Crazy Skirt

Happy Monday. Looks like some gremlins got into my camera on the weekend-- After downloading these I see  the ISO is cranked WAY up by mistake so you get scratchy vintagey looking photos today.

The blogger meetup was this weekend which was awesome but I'm going to write a proper post about this specifically.  Right now we have to quickly clean the house and get everything organized for some company thats coming.  This skirt drives me nuts every time I wear it because its so narrow at the bottom. I have to walk up the stairs sideways Stoopid design.  I feel sorry for the ladies who had to wear these all the time in the older days.

Hope you had a super weekend lovelies!!

Try Stripes Again

I need to quit trying. I have been so determined to make stripes work on me and they just DON'T. Darn it anyway.  Well, I did find that one top I posted here that I think worked.

I'm going to try this top tucked into a black pencil skirt and see if that works. If not it goes into the give away bag.  I'm just getting annoyed about this stripes battle!  And wow, amazing how different clothes have the ability to make you look HUGE vs Svelt.   Sigh.  Not a happy camper today.

Spanish Dancer

Do you ever look at your photos sometimes and ask yourself "what was I doing?"  That's what I thought when I took this one. I wasn't actually trying to pose like this, I think I clicked the shutter delay by accident or something.  That said, it's the best of the photos so you only get this one.  I hardly every wear this skirt and was feeling so hot and uncomfortable I just wanted something flowy and light.  For some reason I felt abit like a dancer or something..  like on Dirty Dancing.. heh heh

That Skirt

I've altered this skirt like 3 times now.  Hemmed it.  Narrowed the sides of it.  Taken in the waist.  I think it even started as a skirt for someone petite which I am clearly NOT.  Anyway, its another of those skirts that I can only really wear when I drive to work or a meeting because its abit hard to ride my bike with it on.  Today I had some meetings with some of our partner agencies so I broke out the pencil skirt. It kindof reminds me of old retro patterns.

I always find it quite fascinating seeing myself objectively through these photos.  What about you? What's it like for you when you review photos of yourself? What are your reactions and thoughts?

Pencil Houndstooth

I was able to squeeze into this skirt today and wore it since I was using the car to go to a conference where I was delivering a presentation.  Suck it in I said to myself.  Sigh. The downside of NOT training for an ironman :(

What you can't see is that there was fine white cat hair all over this top.  I always swore I wouldn't be one of those people who had pet hair all over their clothes.  Not so with 2 white cats and someone who wears black alot.  I now own a nice variety of lint brushes and have one at home, in the car, in my laptop bag and in the top drawer of my desk at work. Wish they made them in leopard pattern. Would be much more fun than just red velvet.

Golf Shorts?

Me in shorts again.  Next to impossible to find pants at at let alone summer pants. I love shorts and skirts so this is my attempt to dress up these weird golf looking shorts.  I'm so excited- I get to go running on one of my favorite trails this weekend with a friend. I can't wait!  2 more sleeps.  I'm in love with trail running!!

Hope you're having a great week.