Cozy Times call for Cozy Measures.

So, it’s winter here… Cold, damp, foggy, windy and charming. I love the west coast for its stunning and mystical beauty. The one thing that gets to me after awhile, is that it can be days before you see the sun.  It has been a while since I have blogged, but I would like to dedicate this week to showcasing my coziness and how I inject colour into my everyday life ( to take place of the sunshine that is hibernating like the bears.)

Living in a temperate rainforest has taught me the art of layering.  Layering is the key to cold, wet and foggy places like Vancouver Island.  The importance of layering in this climate is because of the temperamental weather changes. You can feel hot, then immediately cold, then too ‘oh my god… Where in the world did this HAIL come from?!’

These wooly leg warmers are one of my staple layering tools. I use these leg warmers ( or any sort of long sock) as extra warmth inside my boots, or if I want to wear flats; these leg warmers offer amazing ankle warmth.

I mentioned the use of colour in my winter wardrobe, because I find that it jolts me into a more motivated headspace. Even if it’s just my scarf that is colourful, it breaks up the outfit and gives it a bit more dimension.

I loved all the earthy colours in this outfit, and it was very comfortable as well. Focusing mostly on the scarf in this picture, I have used this scarf to brighten up black or grey winter jackets, or as a splash of colour to a cute little black dress.

Since it’s winter, I should mention the importance of the sweater… Very important. I looove a good sweater, and I love all the different types of sweaters. I don’t have room to show you my bursting collection, but here are a few of my favourites this winter.

This sweater was given to me by a good friend. I absolutely loooove this sweater and all its ichiness. This sweater is perfect for that splash of colour! I love the wooden buttons and the high neck of this sweater because it protects my neck from the wind. So if I forget a scarf with this number… No big deal. 

This fun sweater is a thrift store special. According to my mom, these sweaters were pretty cool in the 80’s… My favourite!  I love wearing this sweater for its crazy purple spray paint pattern. It is not particularly warm, so layering is a must with this one.  I have reached for this sweater many times this winter to help me inject some fun colour into my life.

 Cozy times call for cozy measures. Layering is important in the winter, and adding colour can be an easy way to brighten up your day.

So, to all you babes out there rocking the winter weather… You go babe, get down with your cozy self.

Flightless bird

Its been so long. There’s really no excuses. Aside from an insanely busy winter season at work and SO much stuff going on.

Its a new year and so many strange, exciting things have already happened. I think this will be a year full of things that I’ve never imagined. I sometimes find myself “not being surprised“. I want to change that. I want to expect joy out of every little thing that happens. I want to experience the unexpected. I want to stop feeling removed.

I think what brought this around was a bit of news I got on Friday. After nearly two years of struggling, I received a formal diagnosis of Systemic Lupus and Fibromyalgia. It was a relief, I must admit. It’s been a long go and I was getting pretty frustrated.  I’m tired of being a ping-pong ball lost in our medical system, whacked around from doctor to doctor. Relief was a big emotion. I waltzed out of my new specialists office feeling pretty great. I figured that now everything would sort itself out and I would be treated quickly and go back to living a somewhat normal life.

WRONG.

Reality hit me hard. My new medication is terrible, at least so far. I’m absolutely exhausted, I’m an emotional wreck. I’ve snapped at family members, been a grump to my friends, walked around in a daze. I’ve been in a fog since Saturday. I’ve had a few gorgeous moments of clarity, but mostly I’ve been pretty out of it. I feel like I had all the expectations. All these dreams. And I look at the prognosis the doctor gave me and all I see is the rest of my life planned out around medications and tests and operations. I see it all laid out so clinically and I don’t have the energy to face it. I don’t want to even try. I’ve had my wings clipped, brutally.

I feel lost.

But I am not that person. I don’t want to be, anyways. I want to be the kind of person that fights back. And fights so hard.

So when the opportunity came up to do a photo shoot with Lena-marie Pawluck of Little Inspirations Photography, I took it! In a quick aside, Lena is fabulous. She made me look like an absolute goddess and I cannot recommend her enough. So talented. (Thanks Lena!)

Anyways, I was really struggling to work up the energy for the photo shoot. To work up the emotion. And I had to actually, literally stare myself down in the mirror and promise myself I wouldn’t give up. Photo shoots are something that have always brought me so much joy and fun and I wouldn’t, I couldn’t, let my disease take this away from me.

Here’s what happened that day.

Who is that girl!? She’s not some sick weakling with no ambition. She’s a fighter. I am a fighter. My mom told me so and I believe her. I will fight and I will thrive because surviving isn’t good enough for me. I thought it could be but now I can see that it’s not.

I might be a flightless bird now but not for long. I know each day will be easier and I’ll stop feeling like everything is insurmountable. I am not my disease. It does not define me. It does not control me.

At least, not anymore.

Love,
Savvy.

Sunday Video Post

Sunday Video Post

Hello Everybody!

Hope the holidays are treating you well.

It is Sunday, and it’s our traditional Christmas Eve Eve hang out! We thought it would be a nice tradition to document. To watch our video, just click on the link at the top of the page titled Sunday Video Post:)

We have two beautiful guests that join us today, hope you laugh and enjoy!

Lots of love,

The Babes.

Sunday Shared Post!

 

Hello everyone!

Hope the holiday season is treating you well.

It is Sunday today, and it’s our traditional Christmas Eve Eve hang out!

We have two beautiful guests in this post, hope you laugh and enjoy.

 

Lots of love,

The Babes.

http://http://youtu.be/Qwqbw7tnGyM

 

 

 

Carried Away…

Hello, it’s sunday shared post! We’re back!

It’s has been a fun evening of chitter chatter, laughing, eating, laughing and more chitter chatter.

Hope you enjoy!

To all you babes out there, thank you for your support.

love,

R & S

 

 

 

We missed you!

Rudi Can’t Fail.

Well being a student has it’s perks for sure. Like, being able to learn as much as you can, expand your mind, get closer to a desired goal, meet new people and get lots of coffee from the cafeteria. But, there are down sides to being a student. For example,  the end of semester… People get crazy. Well, at least I do. I have to complete 8 assignments and a work shop in the next week and a half… Please send me good vibes!  

In all seriousness I have been quite stressed out and vulnerable in my role as a student. I know I will make it through, but that doesn’t calm my tension every time I have to hand in a paper, project or write a terrifying exam. I love what I am studying and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life… So I am willing to work really hard. 

This day was one of the busiest and rainiest yet… I dressed to match. Nothing about my outfit was particularly glamourous… But, it kept me warm, dry and comfortable. I spent most of the evening upstairs in my bedroom constructing a poster for my program evaluation tomorrow. S came over to make me laugh and entertain my dog Billie. It was awesome and I achieved all my goals that I set for today. Maybe it was due to the fact that my outfit was SO functional… I couldn’t fail.

So excited to make a poster…

So, today I chose to wear my dark wash mavi serena skinny jeans, a grey deep V- Neck T shirt and a mint coloured sweater that I scored at the thrift store. I thought it was cute… And that is all that matters. Also, I was warm. That’s most important.

At first I was really bummed about having to make a poster in college… Part of me still is. But, in all reality it gave me a reason to stop being so academic and be creative again! It was great and the fact that S was sitting on my bed making me laugh made it even better!

Yay! Creativity…

I woke up to face a kinda bummerish day, but it turned out for the best and I was laughing incredibly hard by the end of it. Mostly at my dog…

What are you doing Bobo?!

 

But, laughing with my best friend was the perfect medicine. She is a wonderful support network, always cheers on my creative ideas and always up for a laugh. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. I just need to keep reminding myself of that as I move through each stage of my life. I have people rooting for me… Rudi can’t fail! 

 

So, to all you babes out there that feel like your drowning under large expectations, you’re a warrior… But even warriors need to lean on somebody. 

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a courageous strength. I need to remind myself of that everyday.

 

Love,

R.

Lesson Learned.

Hello everyone.

I’m sorry for my absence on the blog lately, I’ve unfortunately been quite sick. As adorable as sweatpants and baggy t-shirts are, they aren’t exactly “Outfit of the Day” Material.

I always struggle with how much of my personal life I want to share here. But lately I’ve been struck by the same thoughts, over and over again. And I figured they would be a good jump off for today’s post.

When I discussed having an autoimmune disease with my doctor, she told me that I would often experience a feeling of isolation. That I was alone, that no one could understand how I was feeling. I find that to be true, quite often. I was talking with someone very dear to me about that feeling, that isolation. We talked about how we often shared the struggle of facing the outside world after being locked away.

I can be standoffish. I can be grumpy and bad-tempered. Especially when I’m struggling with active sickness.

But what I’ve learned recently is that the people who really, truly love you will never punish you for being a grump. I feel like I was reminded of that this past weekend. There’s a couple of people out there, you know who you are, that really showed me what true love is. That no matter what, they’ll always be there. They’ll always check in on you, make sure you’re okay. They’ll hold you close when you need to be held. And they’ll let you go, when you truly need to go.

I’ve been so incredibly lucky to be loved. To have met the people I’ve met, to have loved the people I love.

So when I woke up DREADING the start of the week today, I thought about the people who love me. I thought about the people out there that are cheering for me, on my side. And I decided to rock a power outfit. Show myself a little of that love.

You know your false lashes are big enough when they cast shadows on your cheeks. 

Today’s outfit is brought to you by the color black! Again! I know. So predictable. I am feeling appropriately fierce though. My body suit is from American Apparel. My skirt and Lita Boots are from Urban Planet and my thigh high socks are from Winners. I’m pretty sure I could take on just about anything in this outfit.

What I love a lot about this outfit is, even though its all black, I mixed a lot of texture. Suede boots, cable knit sweater and socks. Sheer skirt. It all layered together really nicely and I feel comfortable. I feel lovely.

The whole basis for rocking a power outfit today was to channel all the love I’ve received lately and put forth a positive attitude. I’m so thankful for the ones out there who truly love me. They’re the reason I am who I am today.

For the babe out there who’s feeling a bit isolated, on her own, look around you. There are people who love you. And when you’ve got good love on your side, you can’t be beat. No matter what.

Forever in black,

S.

The Three C’s.

Life is just whipping by. I can’t believe it’s nearing the end of November!… I swear it was just summer! What comes with the end of November is the end of semester… YAY, UGH, YAY, BLARGH…. I don’t know how I feel about it. Clearly. I am really jazzed for winter break, but there is still SO much work to do! … BUT CHRISTMAS!…. ugh.

Clearly I don’t know what I am talking about… So I will talk about something I do know about and that is the fact that I loved my outfit today! It included the three C’s… comfortable, cute and cheap!  

So this dress is the embodiment of the three C’s. It’s comfortable. It’s cute. It’s cheap… 8 dollars cheap. Awesome! I really enjoy this dress because of its eye catching red and black pattern. It’s high neckline, half sleeves and it’s loose feel create a sort of professional effect, but the pattern still keeps it fun! There is not much you can do with a loud dress like this, so I kept it simple with black cable knit tights, black nail polish, a silver hammered ring and black hoops.

I did my hair in a flurry this morning and luckily for me it seemed to work out! I french braided the one side and left the other side to do what it wants. I have resorted to this hair style quite frequently lately because it’s quick, easy and it looks good… For a girl on the run, those are magic words!  

It has been a busy one folks! I finished a pain in the ass but useful assignment, went to lectures all day and by the time S came over… It was silly time. laughing is really the best medicine… Laugh now, cry later kind of thing. Life is too beautiful to dwell on the negative. I say, ” Thank you for showing up negative!… It’s good to know you’re still kicking about, but you best be going now… I have no room for you here.”  

To all you babes out there, remember a laugh a day keeps the negative away.

Love,

R.

Adventures and Opportunity.

Sometimes I just want to stay in bed and watch re-runs of Golden Girls all day… But, I don’t. I save Golden Girls re-runs for when I’m cuddled up on the couch with my two best girls, sipping tea and laughing our asses off. I love it. 

Anyways, what I am trying to say is that, sometimes… I just don’t want to get out of bed!. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the tasks of the day, sometimes I have deadlines I don’t want to meet, sometimes I’m just really really comfy and sometimes it’s straight up laziness. When I wake up and I start to feel the impending doom of pulling back the covers and exposing myself to the cold I think … Ugh, here we go again… And then I think… Do it fast, like rippin’ off a Band-aid!  In order for me to do this, I think about all the adventure and opportunity that is waiting for me out there in the world and that usually gets me moving.

But, sometimes it’s a bad day, with bad adventure and squashed opportunity… But those are the days you learn from. I have had a number of these bad days and they suck. These bad days are the main reason I don’t want to get out of bed… I’m scared that the bad day is going to come back and haunt me… Well no more. 

I solemnly swear, that the fear of bad days will no longer affect my morning chipperness… It will only be  affected by the lack of coffee. 

Lately opportunity and adventure have been coming my way and I am beyond excited and a little nervous. S and I visited our old high school this week for various meetings. It was a really nice visit, where we were welcomed, encouraged and thrown a couple of really cool opportunities that could quite possibly turn into rad adventures.  This excitement and drive for success that I have has been reflecting in my outfits this week. So, without further ado… The yes I can outfit! 

The yes I can outfit consists of a short navy blue dress that was purchased from winners. What I absolutely love about this dress is the dramatic sheer sleeves, they just add a certain kind of SHIZAM to the fairly plain but bangin’ mini. I chose grey cable knit tights for warmth and style purposes and then I chose to wear my favorite brown wedges. I felt bomb, inside and out. In this photo I am on the steps of my old high school and in this moment I was so proud of the woman I have become. This power outfit was funky, under control and has a certain amount of allure and flair… Or maybe it was my retro file folder that I was carrying around. 

In all honesty, the best part of this blast from the past high school moment was being able to experience it with my best friend, the one I met in kindergarden, the one that made it through the entirety of grade school with me and the one I walked beside as we strolled down the halls of our old high school… Heads held high. 

So, to all you babes out there celebrating opportunity, adventure and facing a bad day with a smile… I applaud you, babe.

Love,

R.