I did this shoot a while back with my mom, but was always too busy to edit the pictures. Now that I look back, there were a couple of really nice shots! Hope to do more shots like this in the future :) 

I'm also introducing my mom on the blog, isn't she cute? :D It was her birthday yesterday so afterwards I decided to finally take the initiative and finish editing pictures from the shoot. I wish I had pictures from her birthday celebration too but I didn't bring my camera... :( 

Too things I should always bring with me, that I always choose not too because they're too heavy or I'm too lazy: my camera and my sketchbook. 

I really want to get a new big bag so I can like effectively carry them all around but I don't know if that'll cure my laziness.... Hum. :( 

Today I went downtown for a lunch meeting with the organizing committee for a project I'm working on. We went to this place called Big Daddy's in hopes of getting to try alligator meat, but sadly it's not alligator season... so we had to settle. But their food was good and the conversation was good so it was still good even without the alligator meat. 

Afterwards I roamed around downtown with a couple of friends and my boyfriend. My boyfriend decided to try taking reign of the camera (yes!! finally mwahaha ) and so the pictures today are credited to him. 

One of the most fascinating finds of my day. The PETA condom mascot. The campaign is actually for animal neutering, but it was smart how they got condom costumes to attract more attention. 

Ack, is it weird that I find a giant pink condom to be so cute?

Mhmm.... 

White Sheer Blouse - Urban Outfitters

Polka Dot Shorts - Thrifted 

Boat Shoes - Bass 

Bag - Aldo 

The white sheer blouse was a gift from my boyfriend from a few months back and I've been keeping it in my closet because sometimes I'm too scared to wear the things he buys me, even though I love what he buys me (what if I ruin it? does he realize how clumsy I am?). 

I also just finished cutting and hemming a pair of thrifted capris into the shorts I'm wearing here. I should really do more DIY's. 

Anyways, I would write more but I must pack because I am going to OHIO tomorrow morninggg... why do I procrastinate so much I'm going to regret this so much in the morning. 

See you in a week blog & bloggers!

Love you all <3 

Last week I spent a day downtown with Joyce and it was like the most insane day of life. 

Joyce is probably the only person I know in real life who blogs. She's also one of the few who thrift. So very naturally our day revolved around snapping pictures for our blogs and thrifting. 

To get the full thrifting experience, Joyce tracked down three salvation armies (yes, three) downtown and convinced me to go on this big thrifting adventure with her. 

(Picture credit to Joyce) 

It was a very chaotic adventure... you'd be surprised what kind of trouble two teenage girls could run into just visiting thrift stores. 

It was also very exhausting. We ran from thrift store to thrift store and from store racks to crammed change rooms. Luckily we thought ahead and both opted for flat shoes. Heels and adventure do not mix. 

Sheer White Top - Thrifted 

Feather Necklace - Aldo 

High Waisted Denim Shorts - Thrifted 

Boat Shoes - Bass

It was a mild day with overcast skies and lots of warm wind, which is probably my favorite type of weather. I wanted to wear something light and comfortable so I settled for a loose top and comfy drawstring denim shorts. I also decided to keep accessories to a minimum and ditched my usual heels for some very needed foot comfort. 

Despite talking with my mom and boyfriend about bringing my thrifted clothing down to a minimum I still find myself wearing fully thrifted outfits. (except for shoes, I think I have intimacy issues. I can't stick my feet somewhere someone else stuck their feet. what if they walked around all day in them? in the sun? while their feet perspired? a lot? what if they had a foot disease? Oh God...) 

And seeing as how I've just visited three salvation armies I doubt I'll be giving up thrifting anytime soon... It's impossible I tell you, impossible! 

I have a couple of new hauls to show off though I'm not sure if I will photograph them (too much... too much...). Though my goal right now is definitely to post more, even if my posts aren't that lengthy. (do people really read content? or do they just look at pictures? mhm.. the mysteries of life) 

So many things to do, so little time. 

Today it rained like it had never rained before. It came from no where and poured all day which was a little disappointing because I had been planning on doing an outdoor shoot. 

Luckily the rain stopped just in time for me to get a few shots at the park before the sun went down. 

Pink Kimono - Thrifted

Black Tank Top Dress - 3f Fashions 

Feather Necklace - Aldo 

Heeled Sandals - Hand Me Down 

The occasion was the usual church service but today we also had a baby dedication for one of our youth group leaders. I forgot to bring my camera for the event but it was really nice event, despite the rain and intense humidity. I don't think any event with babies can go wrong... they're just so cute. 

Notice how the pictures are getting progressively darker? That is the setting sun that I was fighting against time for. 

It's actually really hard doing shoots by yourself! It sounds simple setting up a tripod but checking and rechecking angles and whatnot takes up so much time. I narrow things down to only a few pictures but when I first import from my camera I usually have about 100 pictures... it's crazy. 

Also, dear fashion bloggers all over the world. How do you get pictures? 

It seems like famous bloggers have nice photos all the time, do you have a little photographer elves living in your closets?! Share the wealth, guys...

I know some bloggers have talented photographer boyfriends or siblings who take pictures for them. If you are one of these, consider yourself lucky. Very lucky.

If you are a tripod user like myself, I really feel your pain. Also, do you ever feel like a complete douche when you take pictures for yourself? 

I just feel so awkward posing in front of a tripod while people walk on by and stare. I know I'll never see them again but it's just so uncomfortable. 

Anyways, one day I will get over my photography issues and I will stop complaining about it all over my blog. I promise. 

Love,

Lydia Lemieux 

Brown Button Up - Thrifted

Necklace - Ardenes 

Floral Skirt - Thrifted

Heeled Oxfords - Locale

Canada winter is sort of coming to an end... and it's choosing to hit us with a bitter vengeance. It's been cold and rainy and snowy and slushy and every possible kind of miserable weather for us. 

I did this shoot in rebellion against the snow and sad gloomy weather last week and I tried to dress like it was spring. 

I've been sick for approximately three weeks now... It gets a bit better and then a bit worse and it just keeps going and going. It's almost gone now though.. thank God. I can't blame anyone else but myself though... I should really stop doing shoots outside while I'm sick. 

I spent this entire week prepping for a graphic design competition and had my competition on Friday. So basically I haven't had a life for a while... but now it's time to catch up on blogging. :)

Lots on my mind right now... question for anybody who may be reading this blog... when is your good, good enough? 

Sometimes trying your hardest doesn't work out, sometimes you don't even know how to try, but you just try to go at it. You look at your own imperfection and inadequacy in disgust and you wonder. 

You try harder but it's still not enough. Nobody sees you for what you accomplish.. they don't see you for what you have done or can do, but they see you for how you've messed up or failed or how you're lacking.

What's good enough? 

Haha, depressing ending to this post but yeah... Hope spring is coming soon for all of you guys. So much cute clothing suited for warmer weathers. :) 

Over the last two weeks I managed to go thrifting twice. I love thrifting but the story of my life is that I never have time for anything so it gets neglected. 

On my first go I picked up three cardigans.. I have a slightly unhealthy cardigan obsession. It's strange... I just feel drawn to them. I've been on the look out for cardigans ever since I started thrifting a few years back but I've never run into anything particularly good. However, when I went this time I surprisingly encountered what seemed like the holy grail of cardigan. I must've lugged 7 or 8 of them into the change room, but I only ended up getting these three. 

My favorite was this huge oversized white knit cardigan. I've been looking for a baggy white knit cardigan ever since my boyfriend bought me this lovely button up shirt. It pretty much perfectly suited what I wanted and it also had these beautiful brass buttons. I basically fell in love with it... even though my mom still criticizes me for dressing like a grandma. 

I got this tan cardigan for when it gets a bit warmer outside. 

This was a simple knit black cardigan which I ended up exchanging on my second thifting escapade. 

On my second thrifting trip I got this sweater and top. I'm always incorporating plain white tops in my outfits so I decided to invest in this nice simple white camisole. As for the sweater... it was knit and faux fur lined and it felt so nice... It was a freezing Canadian day when I went thrifting so I couldn't resist the warmth and fuzzyness... I'm pathetic, I know. 

Also, I thought this tag was way too cute. Only downside to this sweater is that it says dry-clean only. Yeah.. that's never going to happen. Anybody know any good alternatives to dry-cleaning? 

Overall, two great thrifting trips. I want to go again so bad but must resist... everytime I go I find something that I want. Even if it's all cheap... this cannot be good for my wallet or my spending habits. I wish I could've taken pictures wearing everything but once again... story of my life is not having enough time, and thinking about lugging out the tripod... setting it up... running back and forth between the camera and the wall... it's just so exhausting. Hopefully I'll be able to do an outfit shoot in the next week though! 

So it's been one those weeks. The kind of week where you hustle and hustle and after it's done you just want to hibernate forever or die. The kind of week that ends with one of those days that makes you want to go up to mountain, crawl into a cave, just curl up there and never look at your life again. That kind of week. 

Okay honestly, the week itself wasn't that terrible. It was just exhausting. Today was terrible though. After a long week I just forfeited. There were places to go, people to see, relationships to keep up with, but I was just too tired... so I settled in for a Friday night at home in hermit mode. 

My de-stress ritual is food and watching something that either provides comic relief or warm fuzzy feelings.

I love older sitcoms. And I love DVD's. I know everybody settles for watching online and downloading off the internet but I think there's just something more comforting about slipping in a DVD. However, I don't actually like going out and buying DVD's so Full House is the only set I have on DVD (they were a gift). I really wish I had Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on DVD sets. Teenage Will Smith never fails to get my spirits up again. 

Full House is cheesy and sometimes the jokes are so try-hard you grimace. Especially when Bob Saget speaks. But somehow... they make it work. I still love it and everytime I see or hear the Theme Song I pretty much want to cry from uncontrollable nostalgic happiness. 

"Everywhere you look, everywhere you looookkkk..." 

Also, I can't possibly be the only girl who had a huge crush on Uncle Jesse, right? Just look at that smile.

Now that I'm done comforting and spoiled myself it's back to work. I have a ton of piled up homework for volunteering and I haven't even started my sketches for my job yet. Great, even when I'm not working I'm pretty much working. I also want to catch up on some blogs because I haven't had time to all week. 

It's days like these that make me think 'why am I doing what I'm doing?' and it makes me question why I should work so hard in the first place. During the week I work nonstop and I pull through by telling myself that it's okay because I love what I do so it's not really work at all. 

But honestly, it still is, right? I read a quote once that said, "What's the point of doing what you love if you're too tired to do it?" 

And I guess that's exactly how I feel right now.