Quad vs. Long

Dear Readers,

I have two important lessons to share with you. First of all, if you are accustomed to drinking an espresso-based beverage containing three shots of said espresso, do not, under any circumstances order a drink containing four shots of espresso. It will indefinitely render you either senseless or (hyper)sense-ful or, in my case, both in no particular order. I've written this down as one of the worst decisions of my life, and as such will not repeat it again in my lifetime. 

Secondly, if you happen to find yourself in my city, go to Nokomis! This is one of the two brick-and-mortar shops I (semi-)frequent, and I should frequent it more. I always seem to forget that they carry complexgeometries, and so, whilst browsing for something to send in a blog-swap package to Finland, I was delighted to be able to try on a few pieces that I'd put in my online cart long ago. In particular, I'd almost checked out with cg's long leggings quite a few times, but wasn't sure I wanted to spend that much on jersey hosiery. Nokomis, however, somehow has prices that are a few dollars lower than cg's webshop prices. This, along with their wonderful staff, resulted in me walking away with a size smaller than I would've mistakenly ordered from the cg site. And, they put my purchase in a delightful handmade fabric bag. If you are on your way to my city, check out Nokomis' blog first to see if you spy anything you'd like to snatch up in particular. And if you can't make it to Nokomis, I highly recommend ordering these leggings from cg. These are what I've been looking for since joining the leggings club, as they are the first pair that actually fit, are comfy, and stay up all day (and I mean all day) without any tugging. And they feature an extra high 'waistband', which can be worn up as a tube top, or folded over like a mini-skirt. I knew before trying them on that I'd love that, as I have two pairs of pants by treehouse28 with the same feature which I always wear to lounge around in. Now,  let's just hope the fashion police don't spot me in my head-to-toe complexgeometries outfit today...or tomorrow.

Sincerely,

A recovering long-legging-ed espresso addict

Migraine-fighting outfit

Alexandra Groover 5-Hooded Hoodie + Topsy Turvy Design bobby pins + ArtLab Space Odyssey dress + Treehouse 28 Ballet top in olive green + my extra-high black monochrome Chucks + Triple Venti Non-fat Extra-hot Caramel Macchiato

I must say, the Space Odyssey dress is extremely comfortable and quite wearable for everyday activities such as getting your daily caffeine fix and fighting migraines! I'm extremely pleased. Oh, I also wore a thin black linen cardigan under The Hoodie, and a green patterned scarf I got from the India booth at last year's Heritage Festival.

My new favorite fall outfit

complexgeometries two face dress in black + Treehouse 28 Wide Strap Dress in olive +

Norwegian Wood Keep Warm Leggings in grey (and they really did keep me warm in sub-zero weather!) + My super old (ie. pre-Nike) extra high black monochrome Chucks

I think they only thing that would've made this outfit better would be this fabulous new ruffle bib from ArtLab. I've said it before, but Patricia honestly might as well be my personal designer.

Shopping rant

At the risk of being too cacophonous with my barrage of blogging today, let me have one more silent rant (ooo, I almost made the awkward move of using my blog title in my blog entry, didn't I? - yikes!). I just conducted my monthly-ish experiment of trying to redeem shopping in physical stores. It, once again, failed. The shopping trip started with a horrendous bang, as I was treated to the most deplorable customer service at my neighbourhood American Apparel. There was honestly 15 employees standing around twirling their hair, and not a one of them said boo to me, their only customer. Not even when I left the changeroom. Good riddance. Then the Chie Mihara sandals that I was planning on rescuing (well, trying on) were completely sold out. I do usually get great service at Gravity Pope, but that was the only shoe I was interested in. Sigh. The only good thing about the whole trip was the adorable puppy I saw and my delicious layering job of my long light brown treehouse28 wide strap dress under my Liza Rietz scooped cowl knit gown. Oh, and the AA track jacket I snagged for $20 for my hubby, NOT at the AA store.

Honestly, since I discovered Etsy just over 2 years ago, you have to drag me kicking and screaming to physical stores. And we won't even mention malls. Three exceptions remain, being the aforementioned Gravity Pope, Bamboo Ballroom, and Nokomis (which carries independent Canadian designers such as Norwegian Wood). Aside from those, I'm quite happy to click away with my measurements and credit card in hand. And I have yet to find better customer service than my trusted friends and sellers on Etsy and other websites such as Ma Jolie and Not Just a Label.

Okay, I'm done.

Support (hose) needed

While walking in the back door of my apartment just now, I figured out why today doesn't seem so bright, in spite of the sunny skies. All of our neighbourhood flowers have turned a ghostly white...Okay, so they're dandelions. But I like yellow flowers, even if they are weeds.

Truth is, the best part of my day today (besides getting to sleep in till 7:45 instead of 4:45) was a compliment by the interesting/somehow familiar looking Starbucks barrista. Now I don't find myself a remarkably vain person, aside from being interested in fashion and non-flat hair. But it somehow helped to know that this girl agreed with my pairing of my navy blue drapey Covet vest thing and my olive treehouse28 Wide Strap Dress. Sure, I still felt the need to get whipped cream on my Venti Chai Frappucino, but I had a bad day. After sitting in an uncomfortable chair in my purple scrubs for exactly 2 hours, I was told by an ex-pothead doctor that I'm stuck with my hideous leg and that it will only get worse. I'm only 25 for goodness sakes. Perhaps I have to make my custom Bonzie spats (made especially for my no-heels shoe collection) a regular part of my wardrobe . Although my right calf is probably too swollen for them now...

Or perhaps I need a Mehndi Mitt for my calf. Aren't these oddly intriguing?

Sigh. I think I'll go read some more One Fifth Avenue. I finished half of it in the waiting room. Oh to be rich and beautiful. Perhaps that's why Candace Bushnell's books are my guilty pleasure.