Chelsie Daily Style – Like a Peacock

I was wearing my fascinator at work, and a gentleman came up to me and told me that it is bad luck to wear peacock feathers indoors (he’s a regular though, and nice). Nothing bad has happened to me indoors today… though there was a terrible racket with banging and hammering earlier this afternoon at work… but I’m sure that was just some construction.

I got this peacock blue sweater back in high school. My second high school had uniforms, so whenever dress down day happened, you really had to have your A game on. My mom would take me out shopping just to get something new for a dress down day sometimes, and this sweater, is the result of one of those shopping trips. I still have a navy blue zip cardigan I got for the same reason too.

Seriously, I actually took this picture of a peacock about four years ago. We went camping and there was this petting zoo sort of place near the trail where we went hiking, and they had peacocks, amongst other animals. This is not a one footed peacock, it’s other foot is folded beneath it.

I remember wanting to go to another petting zoo back in university to see the fainting goat. Or were they miniature fainting goats? Well, I know they fainted. We went on expeditions to see the animals, mostly anywhere between 11:00pm-3:00am. I think we almost saw them once. Sometimes we just went to the dinner and had coffee and breakfast. I think Millie is the only other Interrobang that went on one of those trips with me. Good times…

Chelsie Daily Style – I’m Blue Da Be De

• Blue Button Down – Cotton Ginny
• Light Blue Tank – Suzy Shier
• Plaid Dress Pants – Winners
• Necklace – ?
• Hair Feather – Fawn

I really enjoy this bright blue shirt. I bought it more than ten years ago and never wore it too much. Unfortunately it is a bit temperamental and requires a lot of attention with the iron. No last minute deciding to wear this item, unless I suddenly become very diligent about ironing, which I doubt will happen anytime soon.
Going to pick up a push lawn mower tonight, care of Kijiji. I love that site!

Chelsie Daily Style – Feeling blue?!

• Skirt – Smart Set
• Sweater – Winners
• Leggings – Urban Planet
• Headband Fascinator – Distillery

In these pictures you can see our avocado plants. They are the two bigger ones on the dresser beside the window. You may be surprised to learn that we grew them from seed. I’m surprised that they were grown from seed, I have never seen it done successfully, but have witnessed many unsucesses. The avocado trees are of the very large avocado variety, and no they do not bear fruit, they are only babies at 1 year old. From the posts I have read online, houseplant avocado’s hardly ever survive past one foot, and will not bear fruit for about 20 years. Even then, the fruit is bitter, and not really edible.

I finished reading the Stieg Larsson book “The Girl who Played with Fire” and I definitely did not like it as much as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Both books were a bit disturbing, but the plot in the first one was just fuller, and the second one lacked, especially when the main character disappeared from the narrative for a good hundred odd pages. I learnt that the third book is very much a continuation of the cliffhanger from the second, and just a continuation, and that there is a fourth half written book in what would have been a ten book series had the author not died of a heart attack in 2004.

We went on a ghost walk in downtown Toronto over the weekend, in research for work (this is related to the quest for outfits via The Steampunk Emporium mentioned earlier). It was pretty interesting and well done. Lots of walking about the university area and listening to stories relating to the buildings. Reasonably priced for an interesting historical outing with a small group.

Katie Daily Pretty – Pocket Full of Posies and a Penchant for Pyromania

The other title I was toying with was “Fancy Flowers and Firestarters.” Oh, alliteration, our love will last forever.

This week has turned out to be an incredibly crafty one, and last night was no exception.

Dandelion Clock Wall Art

Studio 54 Flower Wall Art

Left Over Fabric Flowers Wall Art (I need a better title for this one - any suggestions?)

Buttercup Fascinator - a gift for a coworker

Fools Rush In Necklace

Fools Rush In Necklace close-up because I can't resist how gorgeous pyrite looks in detail

I have never had a green thumb, but I do have a nicely calloused one from years of sewing so I’ve decided to make myself a garden of fabric flowers. The project began as a whim, and I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out, but I love these ones so far.

For a lot of the flowers, I experimented with different singeing techniques to seal the edges, provide color contrast and, in the case of the fabrics made from synthetic materials, build up some three-dimensionality. By the time I was done the room was a bit hazy with smoke, but the alarm didn’t go off so it worked out (unless, of course, this just means I have a shoddy alarm and I went and inhaled dangerous toxins and when I die someone’s going to have to explain to the coroner why in the x-ray my lungs are covered in silver sparkles).

I also made another pyrite necklace, because I can’t get enough of the stuff. Lately, a lot of the necklaces I’ve been making have been complex and I enjoy the simplicity of this one for a change.

Update: As I look at the photos, I feel like the two flowers on the green polka dot fabric have just run into each other and are about to give each other leaf high-fives ’cause they’re cool flowers like that.

Chelsie Daily Style – Fascinating Fascinators

• Shirt – One of a Kind Show
• Purple Zip Up – Roots
• Necklace – Bittersweet
• Cords – Reitmans
• Fascinator – self made.

I thought I would make myself a new fascinator after seeing Katie’s crafty creations earlier this week.

The fascinator was made with a plastic container lid (like an old yogurt lid), black felt, large sequins, a felt coaster from Micheal’s, and pink tulle.

Also, Elizabeth Kostova (who wrote ‘The Historian), just came out with a new book, ‘The Swan Thieves’. I want to read it.

And a closer up shot of the fascinator.

Katie Daily Style – 80′s Blazer and New Leggings

• Black 80′s blazer – yard saled with the tags still on it. Normally this style of blazer wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but I was intrigued by the length and it’s 80s-ness. Seeing as how I was under 10 for all of the 80s and my fashion prowess extended as far as shiny teal lyrca leggings topped with a darker teal sweatshirt with ducks on it (it was my gymnastics outfit. No, that’s a lie. It was my everything outfit. I looked good), I thought it’d be fun to try something else.
• Purple dress – Target new stock via Goodwill
• Black belt – Target
• Shark tooth necklace – Urban Outfitters
• Flower brooch – self-made fascinator clipped onto my lapel
• Orange shell drop earrings you can’t see – self-made this morning when I decided I wanted to match the orange-yellow in my brooch
• Black leggings – Target!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (happiness explained below)
• Black boots – Trotters

As a general rule, I’m not a fan of winter. Not that I have anything against the season per se, but when it’s winter 3/4 of my wardrobe doesn’t get worn, because 3/4 of my wardrobe is dresses and skirts. “Wear tights!,” you say. “I’ve tried!,” I reply.

I’ve never found tights that fit me (they’re all too short. All of them. Even brands like We Love Colors that promise that they’re not – they are). and leggings are usually too short, too. In fact, until yesterday I had one pair of long-ish leggings, and I thrifted those! (They were washed a plenty, promise). It was then that I discovered just how good I look in leggings, and my quest to find more began. I thought I found replacements at Walmart (the original home of my thrifted pair), but they changed the cut and I spent all day tugging the damn things up as they made steady progress towards my knees. Frustrated, I resigned myself to a winter spent in my two (count ‘em, two) pairs o’ jeans but then, last night, the legwear gods decided to bless me at last.

While in Target looking for pretty hooks for my necklace storage project, I passed by the girly section and saw, dangling down far beneath all its buddies, a really long pair of leggings. In my size! In fact, they’re so long they bunch at the ankles and there’s been no “kneeward ho!” from them all day! I can’t find a picture on Target’s website, but you can bet your tuchas I’m going over to the other two Targets near my house (yep, I live near three. That’s what we call options here in America) to look for more.

There may also be jeggings in my future, but I don’t want to jinx it.

Flower Fascinator

I’ve have tried my hand at making a good fascinator a few times, and until I got my gift fascinator from Katie (see this post), I never thought of using these clips. Do they ever make hair and fascinators get along so much better! My inspiration came from this felt flower I saw on Etsy last week.

Pink Maroon Dahlia Felt Flower by Valvanat

I used bright red felt to make this and some tulle, making individual petals and layering them.

Red Flower Fascinator

The bottom side with the hairclip.

And a Scarf Makes it Classy

• Purple Sweater – Gap Outlet
• Jeans – Silver
• Scarf – Basement
• Fascinator – from Katie
• Necklace – from Katie

S tied the scarf for in a Single Windsor Knot for me.

Tomorrow – Ruffle Collar – Take 2.