Kensington Strolls

Up until about two months ago, I lived within walking distance of one of my favorite markets in Toronto - Kensington Market. Unfortunately time flies and with my hermitting ways, I spent a lot of time indoors and not enough outdoors. Now I'm living further away and it makes the trek out to the market a little bit more difficult. Fortunately for me, I have some friends who enjoy the market just as much as I do. So now I have reasons to go out to the market and to enjoy it at it's fullest.

I spent the day with one of my friends roaming around the city, trying a $54 grand-buffet brunch, and then continuing on through a walk down Queen Street before making my way over to Kensington. We happened  upon some lovely steps out front of a church and managed to catch the last few rays of sunshine before it settled over the city. After commuting back home, I realized just how much I missed the area.

Collared Sweats

Although I loved the freedom of being in a completely different city all by myself, I constantly longed to be home again for the holidays. The days leading up to my departure were pure torture in my eyes just knowing that I'd soon be home, but I was still so far away. It's comforting to be in my old bed, in my old room, and to see all of my old friends again. But the one true thing that I despised about coming back was all of the packing. 

Winter in Canada is harsh, if not harsher in Ottawa. The weather is not only cold, but extremely dry as well. In preparation for the torrid conditions, I tried my best to pack the warmest of the warm sweaters that I could find. Which would also entail lots of layering so that the looser knits wouldn't let in the draft. Sweaters, however, mean bulk. And bulk leads to wasted space in my luggage. Two weeks worth of clothes means that I'm in need of some smart packing. So I took on the challenge (obviously I'll need some space to bring back the Christmas goodies) and brought home enough pieces to layer differently, without taking up too much space. How do you pack for colder climates?

Shirt - Aritzia | Sweater - H&M | Pants - J Brand | Boots - Zipia

Prairie Girl

I've always felt that midi skirts are so feminine and ultimately I'd love to pair one up with a bralette. Unfortunately for me, when I've finally found one that I like, it seems that the weather is against my plans. Instead, I chose to layer my favorite turtleneck sweater over top of the skirt and finish it off with a pair of heeled booties to add some height back into my silhouette. Because the skirt is so full, I wanted to elongate my legs so that my height doesn't get lost beneath the layers of fabric.

I decided on a muted pastel palette and surprisingly I think that this is the first time in a few months that I haven't worn a single black piece in my outfit. Oddly enough I felt very comfortable using some color and will definitely go back to it again and again.

The fullness of this skirt reminded me a lot of the costumes from Little House on the Prairie, hopefully everyone understood that reference, or am I dating myself here? I love how much movement the skirt gives to the outfit and I had a lot of fun trying out different poses for the photos. It was also surprisingly warm in terms of a skirt in the winter time. This was most likely because of the volumes of fabric insulation all of the body heat underneath and keeping me cozy while outside in the chilly air.

Sweater - Garage | Skirt - H&M | Boots - Zara

A Special Christmas

If you know my locations well, then you'll have recognized that this doesn't look like my normal shots. Yes you're right, I've changed locations for the holidays! This holiday holds a dear part of my heart since I've grown up celebrating it with my family. I'm back in Ottawa for the next two weeks in order to spend both Christmas and New Years with my loved ones. That doesn't mean no posts, but rather a change of scenery. And wouldn't it be nice to have change every once in awhile? I sure think so!

I just wanted to wish all of my readers and followers out there a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and nod to every other holiday you maybe celebrating at this time of the year. I hope that everybody has fun, stays safe and I'll see you all in the New Year! Cheers!

Top - H&M | Shorts - H&M | Tights - Hudson's Bay | Boots - Zipia

A Canadian Toque

It's going to be a white Christmas! Last year at this time we hadn't even had our first snow fall yet. I'm overjoyed to know that there is some white on the ground, but the fact that it's there also means that it's cold out. In the past I've resorted to keeping my head, neck and ears warm with my hair. Don't laugh, all you girls out there who've tied your hair up in the winter know exactly what I'm talking about. This year I decided to give keeping warm a go by using some of the hats that I own, but have never really put to use. In Canada we don't call them beanies, we call them toques. That's actually a common misconception since I've never called a knitted hat a toque in my life and I'm Canadian born and raised. So a beanie it is!

I'm absolutely in love with this burgundy mixed knit beanie that has an assortment of multi-colored threads going through it. The different colors gives the beanie a sort of multi-dimensional look which I appreciate besides it being just one color overall. The faux-fur pom on top is also removable, so on days that I just want a beanie with no topping, I can pop it off and away I go.

T-Shirt - c/o WMCFW15 | Vest - Dynamite | Pants - H&M | Shoes - H&M | Toque - Zipia