Friday, August 29, 2014

everything's better on a boat

last weekend may have been my favourite weekend of august. family, a gorgeous boat, and a delicious dinner. need i say more? i'll let the pictures do most of the talking today. thank you laurel for hostessing a wonderful night!

this beauty was ours for the night.

being handed a glass of champagne with a smile (and the man was canadian too!). i wish my mornings started like this. take note blaze.


sometimes i fall in love with a picture of mine and i just have to recreate it different ways. i think it's obvious why i fell in love with this one. look at those two pretty faces!

twisty staircases are my favourite / the bow

ryry!

on my bucketlist for sure. on a scale of one to romance, that gets a pretty high score.

balze being suave / the dirty shirleys begin

the in-laws / ellay films, is that you??

you may not be able to tell from my pictures, but i have an attractive spouse / 
stealing a kiss

there we go :)


sunsets on the water trump all other sunsets.




eating dinner on the top floor. the view with the night sky and stars all around.... no words / 
several dirty shirleys into the night


precious cousin moments as we say our goodbyes / i was in mid-laugh as ryan fell on her butt in the background

the most sought after kisses of the night!

and now i'm missing these faces extra... happy friday friends :) enjoy the last days of august!

-teen

Monday, August 18, 2014

"not too bad for a monday"... and this week's recycled goods



7:50 am... monday morning... you impressed? cause i am. it's a beautiful morning in the city and i'm glad i'm starting the week right, although this will probably be the only day i get up this early. tomorrow me and blaze head down to LA for one last week of summer awesomeness and i plan on not setting any alarms.

so. "recycled goods?" you inquire on this lovely monday.
yup. recycled clothes in fact.
i am often shocked (and confused if we're being honest) by the money people put out on clothing. if there's an industry i could spend all day ripping on, it's the clothing industry. but uh, i'll save that for when i'm more awake. 
i'm a thrifter. thrifting has been embedded deep into the hearts of pretty much everyone on my father's side, from the moment we've been placed in our hand-me-down cradles. some of my best childhood memories include garage sales, church bazaars, and trying to sell my used stuff to other people.

unfortunately clothes are something people seem to be more afraid of when it comes to second-hand. and i understand. i've been in those dark, musty hole-in-the-walls where i'm afraid to touch the clothes, nevermind wear them. luckily, thrifting has come far. so far, in fact, that i have gone long periods of time (we're talking years here), without buying a single new clothing item.
what's better than clothes at a super cheap price ... that aren't bad for the environment... or taking advantage of poorer cultures... nooooooot much.

check out some pictures of my latest and favourite thrifted finds, along with some tips for new thrifters.

scored this banana republic vest at a goodwill. can't wait to use it more this fall.

 
this collared top was like three bucks and it's everything i've ever wanted in a white button down. so soft and comfy, but still dressy enough.

if you don't like browsing for hours on end (or your husband just keeps saying it's time to go..), make a list ahead of time of what you need. almost all second-hand shops are organized by style and colour, so you should have no problem saving time!

this dress was made by buffalo. i'm not a lover of a specific label, but if you are, i can guarantee you that you'll be able to find its clothing in a thrift shop with a little dedication and patience! 

sometimes it's tempting to just buy everything that you touch when it comes to second-hand, because things can be cheap if you go to the right place. but be cautious. in my teenage years i bought a lot of things because of price, when in reality they didn't flatter me and just sat in my closet. this can happen in any shopping situation but it's usually harder to avoid when thrifting.

this dress is one of those examples. i've loved wearing it at a couple special things over the past months, but in reality is just doesn't fit right. i always have to use a belt, and the waist isn't in line with my own. thank goodness it was under ten bucks so i feel no remorse for re-donating it or giving it to a friend!

all these featured items cost between 3 and 9 bucks. find out when stores are having their 50% off days if you want to spend even less. admittedly some places can be a pretty pricey these days. that's why i usually avoid stores labelled vintage. 
i realized after looking through these pictures that all these pieces are from goodwills around norcal. this isn't usually the case, but because i don't know all the best places around here yet, i've stuck to goodwill a lot. 

^sk8er boi wanted a little feature too. thanks for being my photographer boo!

^now that's TALENT. i had an awful sprain recently and have been using a brace/crutches. woohoo for stupid ankles.

i hope this post has inspired you to at least consider second-hand next time you're on the hunt for something to wear. remember, it may not be brand new, but it's new to you!
have a great monday everyone! 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

what does loving yourself really mean?
don't we all love ourselves a little too much already? 
what's so loving about the way north america puts their consumerism needs above the rest of the world?

if you're anything like me, you've probably struggled with these thoughts at some point, scribbled them in your journal, mauled them over with friends.
if you're anything like me, you've probably let it become a source of guilt and struggle.
if you're anything like me, you're probably searching for a way to solve this issue in your own mind...

a girl who likes facts, i've had to accept i won't get the answers to all my burning questions. but i've got some words of comfort for you today.

you don't have to 'love yourself' the way society loves itself. chances are, deep down, you don't really agree with society's definition of love any ways. there's nothing loving about being fake, about satisfying all your unjustified needs, or about always putting yourself first.


"thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself" is a quote that comes from the bible, mark 12:31 specifically. and if we are going off of 1 corinthians 13:4-7 (also from the bible) as a more genuine definition of love, i'm okay with that. 
love yourself. be patient with yourself, be patient with those around you. don't get easily mad at others, don't get easily mad at YOURSELF. trust others intentions... trust your OWN heart.

to respect your neighbour you need to respect yourself and there's nothing selfish about that.  it doesn't mean to treat everyone with sticky sweet kindness if that's not your thing (because that's not how i treat myself either). it doesn't mean to always be financially splurging. and it most certainly does not mean perfection.

if you want to love yourself in a way that is different from the public, start by concentrating less on the shallow things of the world (which sometimes means people as well), and start concentrating more on the desires of your heart. chances are your heart desires for you to be content in your own skin... for peace among those around you (even those you don't enjoy!)... for more simple pleasures.

flawed by nature i may be, but lacking love for myself sure isn't going to help.



so do yourself a favour, and love thyself today.

Friday, August 1, 2014

stinson beach

hello august! looks like the second half of summer is upon us. hopefully it's just as fun and a little less hot? make sure to get all those leftover plans crossed off your sunshine bucket list!

in july blaze and i went to stinson beach with some of our favourite people and had the best couple of days. and since i love the pictures i'm posting about it ;)

the ocean-a hop and skip away right over the porch's ledge.


LOVED the fog. there was a fair amount of sunshiney moments, but i enjoyed the 'dreary' weather too.




the deck. drinking wine in the hot tub while looking out at the ocean? check.


\/ love this pic of taylor and colin.


jellyfish!


and then colin photobombed ALL our pictures...




love this one. we got SO burnt this day.


ma lil bubble princess.



goodbye sweet stinson!


hoping for more epic times at this place. here's to awesome friends and the pacific ocean.