I heart mail

Wowsers, my apartment is parcel central today. I just received 3 lovely packages addressed to moi, signaling the impending end to my affair with mail orders. Well, I've almost received everything I've recently ordered anyway.

First up is the lovely 'Letters to Paris', created by the equally lovely Desira Pesta. True, I did order this ages ago so that I would be all set for the hot weather with the perfect summer dress. But I was too picky and sent this beauty back for the super busy Desira to alter. It was well worth the wait though, seeing as we've only had a total of 3 summer days here anyway. And I think I should give my Andromache dress a bit of rest after 3 days of hard labour, so this is my uniform for today (and possibly the next 2 days after that). My only problem is figuring out how to accessorize it. The loose pull-on fit is uber comfortable, especially with the sideseam pockets. So I could stick with that. But my Norwegian Wood harness looks smashing over top and gives it a nice edgy look. But then my ArtLab bustle plays up the gathered bottom and looks quite adorable with the straps crossed a la Queen Michelle's styling...I'd love to take a picture of the options so someone could help me decide, but my man has taken the camera up the mountain. Please try to picture it in your head and get back to me with your choice, alright? Sigh. I'll probably just do all 3 options over the next 3 days...

Second up is Take Off Your Clothes' 'Double T-Shirt Dress'. And thank goodness they put a label inside, because I could not decipher which t-shirt was which in my sorry state. It was a lovely surprise that this dress reaches my knees (I'm 5' 9 1/2", so I'm used to things being shorter than they appear). Definitely will be wearing this whilst lounging and meandering the streets this week. Ooo, and the dress came with a delightful little pencil sketch/thank you note. Yay!

And lastly was my most awaited item, as it was free! You may remember that I had purchased a super sexy red and white pin-up bathing suit from polkadore last fall, and had a mishap with it when I wore it for the first time a couple of months ago. Claudia was a complete sweetheart and made me a whole new bathing suit at no charge. This one is all black and makes me feel like I'm channeling Bettie Page. I'm in love. Now I just need to find the nearest kiddie pool. Keep an eye out for this gal when she reopens her shop!!!

Money savers

What a glorious sunny day full of good news!

1) I bought the cutest/sexiest swimsuit ever last fall with some birthday money from on-leave Etsy seller and fellow Canadian, polkadore. I didn't get a chance to wear it until the other weekend on our trip to the mountains, and discovered a technical difficulty which made me quite sad. However, Claudia is such a sweetheart, that she's offered to remake the suit for me free of charge. This makes me a very happy girl, especially since this is the very best swimsuit EVER. If only the world was brimming with such people like Claudia.

2) It's been 1 month since my 6-month coffee ban has been lifted, and sadly I still cannot successfully stomach my favorite Starbucks espresso-based drinks. However, today I discovered a drink that has made me quite ecstatic. 'New' to the

menu is the Iced Coffee with Milk. Now, I never liked the taste of plain ol' coffee, so I always went for the over-priced espresso options. But today I happily found out that my taste buds have matured and are quite delighted by coffee's flavour. With a Venti size coming in at $3.31, I can enjoy my Starbucks at $1.57 less than my normal fare (Venti Caramel Macchiato). I can (kinda sorta) afford that new Liza Rietz tunic after all...

3) And best of all, a delightful little snail letter addressed to my lovely husband (who is getting nicer and nicer to look at every day - thank God for mountain bikes!!!) informed us that he has been awarded a $1,200 scholarship for his upcoming Master's program that he is beginning in the fall. We have his tuition sitting in our savings account already, but this extra cash is quite welcome, as I will be the only income come September. Hurray for super smart husbands!!!

So now the question is, why shouldn't I get Under the Root's 'Underworld Umbrella UnitSuit'? I think the name alone is a good enough reason to splurge for delicious lounging/underthings...