King Cat

I just spent three hours baking a cheesecake for tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner which is weird because I have never been so dedicated to baked goods before, unless of course I'm eating them. I'm oddly excited about this Christmas and I think that has something to do with the lack of gift buying and receiving. So far, I have only prepared pleasantries for Daniel and vice versa. Other than alleviating the pressure of pleasing everyone and having to fake gratitude for receiving lame gifts are no longer the biggest issues, my minimalistic approach to gift-giving this year I think will really allow me to enjoy Christmas for what it really is --- eating and drinking with those you love.
Foccusing on something relevant to fashion, it is no news that I love the 90's and am obsessed with the stylings of grungers. Lately, I noticed that while I do enjoy going about in different styles, but I am absolutely in love and most comfortable with dressing up by "dressing down", grunge style. To me, nothing says " I am way too cool to care about what I'm wearing, but I still look rockin' " more than those anti-hip Seattle kids.

Perhaps I should look more nonchalant to match the carelessly ripped tights?

I was content with just a partial showing of the overalls but I figured in order to appreciate just how 12 I look, a full view is necessary.

I got this meshy/lace shirt from a Value Village in Seattle. It goes with the theme of the outfit, don't you think?

the end is soooooo close

This is my favorite pencil skirt not only because it was practically free ($2) but it's also so comfortable, and for me the need for comfort always overrides the need to look hot. However, I often try to have a bit of both.
My exams are nearing the end and I sure am glad. Although I am dreading the holidays and the stress of gift giving but I am looking forward to lots of snowman-making and cul de sac sledding. When you are someone like me who live in the burbs, with no car and have no money to go away to anywhere exotic, those are about the only winter activities you can do without venturing afar and emptying the already barren bank account.
In another extremely awesome news, Canada has recently adopted the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. Being an animal activist/lover, this means a great deal to me because it symbolizes the unraveling of a brighter future for all animals. Also, this makes me extremely proud to be Canadian because I believe we are the only country that has adopted this notion.

No More ERP, Please!

I am currently studying for my cognitive neuroscience final coming up this Friday and am completely sick of all the neurophysiology behind brain mechanism and dynamics! I've been studying for two hours and have not managed to remember a single thing about ERPs or EEGs and you know what, I don't think I care anymore...Uggggh, somebody save me.

Traveled to school today in this.

Wrote my first exam in this. Go colors!!!

Sainthood

Final exams are fast approaching and I'm still in summer mode. In fact, for this entire semester I've not been feeling up to doing school work at all. I hope I get out of this funk in time for next semester.This is such an old-lady sweater. It's super fuzzy and has a cat on it, from here it kind of looks like a possum

"Look at my horse, my horse is amazing..." Jazz-hands!

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

This is my new haircut and it's very short and I don't know if I love it or hate it. At least I still have my Pixies T-shirt to make that all go away.

Nostalgia

I really hate my current hair... really, really do. I hate everything about it, the texture, the length, the cut and the fact that it just won't fucking grow!!! This profound hatred would not have manifested if I hadn't looked through my past photos where my hair was so sleek and long and awesome.
For this Christmas, I want Santa to give me a new head of hair.

Slicing up eyeballs, I want you to know

I went to see the Pixies yesterday, all the way down in Seattle and it was so surreal and magical that I'm still absorbing its impact of sheer magnificent awesomeness. It was somewhere between singing at the top of my lungs and screaming and jumping between songs that I realized just how brilliant their music is in all aspects and how it was probably the only time I will ever see them; which makes the experience all the more exciting and special.

Concert attire

My favorite pair of shoes.

If You Want to Destroy My Sweater

I don't usually like make-over shows because they're extremely insulting and advocates conformity which is usually masked as poor attempts at "improving the lives of everyday normal people". Take the show "What Not to Wear" for example, I admit I watch that show sometimes because there is something intriguing about seeing the transformation, but the fact that every shred of personal eccentricity is obliterated by a full "fascist style cleansing" is just wrong and absolutist. On the other hand, the show "How to Look Good Naked" I think serves to empower women and instills confidence by demonstrating that all women can look great as long as she chooses the right outfit. In fact, It's more than just telling women what to wear because all women can relate to participants on the show and who doesn't love Gok Wan's colorful vocabulary?My new jacket makes a debut. Damn that thing's warm!

I think I have a disease and it's called "Knitwearsitis" and it's symptoms include delirium, fever and an over the top obsession with sweaters. The cause is still unknown however, some researches have shown that an individual's intense need for warmth, comfort and style may be a correlational factors for the ailment.

jacket-high

The best thing about having Wednesday off is that while everyone have to get up early to go to work I am sitting in my pajamas in front of the computer, eating cereal. Life is sweet.


I finally put a stop to my never-ending-search-for-a-winter-coat-obsession yesterday. I visited American Apparel and picked up this comfortable and sexy item and couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Back to the Emerald City

Daniel and I took a trip down to Seattle today. We spent the entire day looking for a jacket for me but I ended up buying a book and two pairs of moccasins. I've been looking for moccasins flats since last winter and I was so thrilled when I spotted these babies at Target and immediately put them on. I walked the entire day in them and they were so comfortable and cute and I was so enamored with them in fact I made Daniel stop at another Target on the way home just so I can get another pair in tan. Of course, my act of over consumption was punished only seconds after I removed the tags off the second pair, I caught a glimpse of the "genuine leather upper" label. This sudden realization caused quite the internal struggle for hours but I hesitantly decided to keep them in the end, for the economical, environmental and "sheer cuteness" reasons.

If the faux fur lining isn't going to keep my tootsies toasty this winter, my guilty conscience certainly will radiate all the way into my toes... I guess these are good for the winter, regardless.


The other purchase however, took no part in psychological torment. I spotted this book at Easy Street Records and was instantaneously swoon by Kurt Cobain and the giant block letters that read "GRUNGE". This book has a whole bunch of awesome pictures that really captured the essence of the culture, and it has definitely gave me some inspirations for future outfits.

This is one of my favorite pictures, it's so simple yet full of life. A sense of vivaciousness really emanates from the eyes of just a bunch of up-to-no-good looking kids.

insufferable

I don't care that it's only the end of October and that it will get much worse later but I would very much like to complain now! I went out to my back yard this morning for blog photo shoots and I saw frost... FROST --- the first sign of the coming of winter! Why was there frost? There should be no frost yet, the leaves are still in the middle of turning orange and most of them haven't even fallen yet. Therefore, I think the frost should just hold off for couple of more months ya know, wait til autumn is finished with its business of shedding all the plants then winter can be that much more bleak. On the plus side, along with my hatred for loudness, teenagers, and two consecutive posts complaining about the cold I have turned into a complete fuddy duddy. I should just quit society all together, get a rocking chair and start packratting.
On a totally separate note, I am conducing an interview with Mother Mother tomorrow for The Peak and I gotta say, I am quite nervous. I've been home from school for an hour and still haven't a clue about what I'm going to ask them. I think it's because I've grown weary of most music stuff lately and no longer feel inspired by simple chords and rhythms; as nice as they are. I just hope they'll be extremely difficult to interview, better yet throws a fit so I will actually have material to write about for my school news paper.


I'm obsessed with floural shirts, another indication of old age.

The sweater is going to be my best friend for the next six months.

To Fix the Gash In Your Head

"Loud and obnoxious" would be the appropriate terms to describe A Place to Bury Strangers' sound and strangely and coincidentally enough, that is precisely the kind of music I love. So when APTBS came for a show two nights ago, Daniel and I attended had a great time in addition to losing a ton of hair cells. I'm in the midst of midterm battles and so far it's been an onslaught of one tricky multiple choice question after another. Luckily, next week will be my last midterm of the batch and it will be the most epic struggle yet, because it's for a class that has a bad rap for being impossibly difficult... yay...

My kitty Chloe decided to make a cameo for the picture. I apologize for her mooning the camera.

She really likes my skirt, which used to be a shirt

I love the floural paisely print on this fabric, it put me in such a good mood.
I just had to buy this buffalo shirt at the APTBS concert because I can never say no to clothes with animals on them.

Covet

Fantatic green for Thanksgiving!

I know we Vancouverites really have nothing to complain about when it comes to the weather, but it seems as though we have completely skipped over fall and plunged right into winter. Maybe it's because I go to school on a mountain and the frigid air up there is starting to smell like snow. For this winter, I would like to spoil myself by splurging on a brand new coat. I've been browsing for a while and so far this is the only coat I would actually sell an arm and/or a leg for. It looks like something straight out of a children's bedtime story; something a woodland elf would wear perhaps...I'm so in love!

sick, sick, sick

Had quite the "swine-flu-scare" this weekend, but it turned out to be just another stupid seasonal cold. Its it wrong that I sound almost disappointed by the fact that I don't have the swine flu. However, there is something that is worthy of a scare though; spending your fall without an awesome acid-wash denim jacket. I've got mine!

The circle scarf makes me look like I'm wearing a neck-brace but at least my neck will be warm and I'll cough less.

Crimewave

I started knitting this week because I want a green scarf and am too cheap to buy one . So far my knitting project is coming along slowly and with much struggle. Will update the progress in a couple of days.
I felt like wearing something loose and comfortable today, so I draped myself with a super soft, long tee and an old-lady beige cardigan.

Cute Salvation Army shoes!

Fear and Loathing In Mahwah, NJ

Went to see Titus Andronicus on Wednesday and their awesomeness gave me a brain aneurysm. Good thing I wore my giraffe shirt, cuz you know...sometimes giraffe shirts can save a damaged brain.

home is never far away

Hello all, in case you didn't know I was just in China for three amazing weeks and it was one of the best times in my life. Having lived there until I was 12 really made this trip special because not only did I get to see my family, I also got to revisit some childhood places which brought back many fond memories of yesteryear. Let me just say that for the record, if any of you fashion lovers were to visit mainland China, Yunnan province is definitely worth a trip. Because not only are the cities beautiful but also the people of Kunming (capital of Yunnan, also the place of my birth) are definitely one of the most innovative and fashion-forward bunch when it comes to dressing themselves. While in Kunming, I scoped out the city for the trendiest shopping districts and found some pretty interesting Chinese hipsters hang outs. I went a little nuts with shopping and definitely went over my budget during my visit, but I picked up numerous gems, each around the average price of $15 Canadian so I guess it's all good in the end.

I gotta give credit to Isabel from Hipster Musings for this outfit because she totally inspired me to break out my polka dot shirt and wear it with pride. Thank you, Isabel!

These shoes are totally amazing and I bought them for $ 120 RMB (about $20 Can.)


I also got new two pairs of Enid-looking glasses over there; both for $ 100 Canadian...pretty fucking stoked.

the cow goes " sha-zoooooooo!"

I am a fan of animals. Because of that, I am therefore particularly fond of clothes with animals on them, especially if they look like they're about to jump out of your sweater, like this:

Some say her sewn-on eyes are vacant and others say she looks creepy and stalker-ish, I personally think she's just very curious and "udderly" adorable.

A cow just wouldn't be a happy cow if she couldn't move her tail. Even if she is just a part of a sweater, 3D tails are always better than 2D.



I am off to China tomorrow and will be gone for three weeks so I will try my hardest to update my blog as often as I can. If not, I will see you all when I get back!

Guy's Eyes

Yay for exam being over and scoring an A- for the class!!!
The wedding yesterday was spectacular! The bride and groom were the happiest and even though it was a little chilly for an August day, people had no problem staying warm and excited while dancing. Thank you Tila and Nels, I wish you two a life-time of happiness!

As promised, I have uploaded pictures of my ensemble for your viewing and you should all be happy to know that I purchased every single piece from second-hand stores. I apologize for the lack of light I had when I took those picture, but I couldn't take any picture of my dress before the wedding for I was really pressed for time, some of them were taken at night, after I got home.

I was going for the traditional 20's ceremonial hair-do but was way too lazy and "two-handed" to do finger waves so I had to do pin curls instead and modify the shapes in front to imitate the effects of finger waves.

I wore my favorite white cardigan over my dress the whole wedding because it was freezing cold!

The dress revealed! As you can tell, it's not the most obvious 20's dress because it doesn't have the defining drop-waist. However the Athenian tunic/boxyness look was popularized in the late 20's and with the pleats and the drapings allowing for more movement and creating an appearance of freedom, this dress is very characteristic of what women wore in the 1920's.

These shoes were so comfortable I want to wear them everyday. I have freakishly small feet (sz.5) so found them in the children's section. They look like flower-girl shoes.

Here's the not-so-20's purse I put together with my look. I tried to find an embroidery, clam-shell shaped purse at second hand stores but failed to do so, so I substituted for one I already had. I guess It looked 20's enough with the rest of the outfit.