day sixty-five

again, this post is about my sister. why? in case you  missed it, she won my big prize of getting her name in lights for donating the most money for the contest i held last week. thanks again, judy! i can't tell you how much it means...

i have to be completely honest here. throughout my lifetime, i might not have always wanted to extoll the virtues of my sister quite so much. like most sisterly relationships, we've definitely had our ups and downs. when i was very young, i honestly thought my sister could do no wrong. she was older, and therefore in my mind, so much more knowledgeable, sophisticated, and experienced in life. oh yes, and she had a better wardrobe which i, of course, would beg to borrow from. then she graduated high school and moved away from home, and it was quite an adjustment not having her around.

she'd moved to ottawa and i followed suit a few years later. then we made the drastic decision to share an apartment, and that's when it all kind of went sideways. not downhill; it just pulled us in different directions. there was definitely some tension and then we went our separate ways for a while, though we always talked and stayed in touch.

i would say, though, the past few recent years have been the best. we're both adults now and more or less on the same page. while we're both very different people, we can now appreciate our differences. and despite those differences, we still have tons in common. i love that i can really talk to her about anything. we laugh about life and cry about life and share advice and daydreams and wishes for the future. we are true sisters: while we were never able to choose to be in each others' lives, i am so glad that she is in mine. we don't always agree and we may not always take each other's advice, but we're always on each other's side, backing the other one up. she is now a true friend. not one i chose myself because she is family, but even if she wasn't, i would be happy to know her and have her in my life. she is genuine and shows her heart on her sleeve. she doesn't try to be something she's not; she just is herself - my older sister. the sister i love.

*****

today's look while showing some love:

green and brown polka dot shirt under dress: zellers, about two years old (about $15)
wood bead necklace worn as bracelet: stitches, about three years old (about $5 for set)
green tie around waist: from dressing gown (free)
grey tights: (about $15)
black ruffled platform wedge sandals: if footwear, about ten months old (about $110)

grand total:
about $145.08

day sixty-four

today i'm going to introduce you to my sister, the mum. yes, this is still the same sister. but no, she is not my mum - that's not how we roll. she is a mum. and yes, we spell "mum" with a "u". we're sorta british like that. even though we're actually canadian. anyway...

my sister is a fantastic mum. she pretty much lost her mind a few times and popped out three baby boys. that's right, three. which is pretty much sixteen whole kids less than that crazy duggar family, but it still opposes my rule of thumb which is not to let the kids outnumber the adults in any given family.

anyway, it was kind of neat because when i was pregnant, she also became pregnant with her latest child, so we were (obviously) both pregnant at the same time for a bit. one of my nephews even nicknamed us the pot-bellied sisters. sweet child. we were able to compare stories and experiences and we even did a very fun photoshoot one day whereby we took those cliched pictures with our hands formed like hearts on our bellies and looked wistfully into the distance. then we said screw it, we look pretty retarded doing that, so we tried for spontaneous instead and ended up jumping up and down for, oh, about an hour or so and tried to look like happy, glowing, jumping pregnant girls. it was one of the most fun times i've ever had, the two of us jumping up and down together and cramping up and laughing so hard tears were falling down our cheeks.

because that's the day we learned that if you are jumping while having your picture taken, the timing is very sensitive: you either look like you are having a great fun time up in the air...or you're caught coming down landing with a strange stance and a contorted look on your face which basically looks like you're about to let rip the biggest fart on the planet.

so yes, my sister has lots of experience being a mum and she's a great non-nagging source of advice on anything from cures for sad little baby tummies to first foods to anything boy-related. and, of course, how to get the perfect jumping shot when six months pregnant.

*****

today's look while not sure how covert i was being:

jean jacket over dress: some overpriced boutique in the ottawa market about ten years ago ($120)
blue turtleneck (not visible): old navy, about two years old ($15)
black tights: gifted (free)
winter boots: aldo from last year (about $75)

grand total:
about $210.08

day sixty-three - part two

wow...i am totally blown away by the generosity of another donation i just received. speechless, really. thank you so much to the person who gave it. i can't tell you how much this means to me and how much of a difference this will make.

day sixty-three

yesterday, i introduced you to my sister the seamstress. today, i'm going to tell you about my sister the garage sale queen. just in case you're wondering, this is the same person. yes, she is multitalented. she can both sew and garage sale shop like a pro. maybe even at the same time.

if there is anything you ever want, my sister is the go-to person. say, for instance, you would like a new bike or a winter jacket or a shovel, she is your person. you just call her up with a few days' notice and she's on the case. it might even be that she will show up with a choice for you. would you like a five-speed bike or a ten? a blue coat or green? a metal or a plastic shovel? here you go, just pick whichever one you'd like best. no, don't worry about paying me, i got them for free. that's right, she's not only one of the best bargain hunters i know, but she has a crazy knack for getting things thrown in for free.

and if she can't find it for you, don't worry, she'll just whip you one up in a few minutes on her sewing machine.

*****

if you are inspired to donate to this project like my sister did, please click the paypal button at the top of the page. every bit makes a difference!

*****

today's look while seeing the sights:

grey t-shirt under dress: liquidation world, about four months old ($5)
dark-wash jeans: liquidation world, about eight months old ($3)
vintage blue printed ribbon around waist: random thrift store (about 10¢)
winter boots (not visible): aldo from last year (about $75)

grand total:
about $83.18

day sixty-two

one of my sister's greatest talents is her sewing. she is a sewing machine. okay, not an actual sewing machine, but rather a machine when it comes to sewing. forget a silver spoon - she was surely born with a silver sewing needle in her mouth. she puts her pedal to the metal as though she's jockeying for the lead spot in a nascar race. material is a blur as it whizzes through her machine. as she transforms lengths of jersey and silk and cotton into wearable garments in mere minutes.

and patterns? why would she even bother with those? she just drapes some material on her judy, makes a few snips here, a few adjustments there, stitches up a few seams, and voila! a halloween costume, some home accessories, or a new outfit ready just like that. she takes unwearable, outdated outfits from the depths of people's closets and transforms them into funky hats and accessories. there really is no stopping her.

her stash is incomparable. her sewing room is stacked with boxes full of patterns ranging from vintage to modern. a rainbow of threads in every colour hangs on the wall. stacks of fabric just wait to be unfolded and draped and made into new objects of desire.

and so i knew exactly who to turn to when at the eleventh hour i decided i needed two brown dresses made for this project. literally within an hour, she had chosen a basic pattern, modified it (of course), whipped a couple of yards of material into two dresses, done some alterations and sent me on my way.

after all, she had many other things to make that day, i'm sure.

*****

today's look while wishing i could sew like that:

brown shirt under dress: secondhand (free)
green tank top over dress: can't remember name of shop, but bought about ten months ago ($30)
wooden pendant: donated by my friend maike for this project - thanks! (free)
jeans: value village, about seven months old ($20)
green crocheted hat: value village, ten months old ($4)
brooch on hat: jacob, about four years old ($15)
winter boots: aldo from last year (about $75)

grand total:
about $144.08

day sixty-one

as promised, starting today, judy witty will get her name in lights for an entire week for contributing the largest donation from last week's contest - congratulations and thank you!

judy is a very modest person (too modest, i think - she is beyond talented in so many areas!) and swears she didn't enter my contest to promote any particular cause, so I will just have to give her some much-deserved recognition myself this week. if she thinks she's going to get off lightly and hide in the shadows, it's not gonna happen!

so to kick things off, judy started a fun blog this year. she is posting a photograph every day over on her website: http://judysquared.blogspot.com/. the name is derived from one of her foremost passions: sewing. (more to come on that this week.) so please head on over there first and meet my amazing big sis!

*****

today's look while making some new stuff to wear:

striped t-shirt under dress: value village, about seven months old ($7)
crocheted scarf: handmade and donated by my sister for this project - thanks! (free)
striped socks: zellers ($5)
black platform shoes: aldo from two years ago ($125)

grand total:
about $137.08

day sixty

we have a winner for my first-ever wardrobe dresstruction contest! i am so excited to announce that judith witty has won for largest donation of the week! this will be a very special week for judy. as promised, she will get her name/cause/message to the people in lights for one whole week starting tomorrow.

full disclosure time: judy is my amazing sister. but i promise this has in no way influenced the fact that she won this contest - it's completely 100% legit. she has been one of my biggest supporters since this adventure's inception. not only has she just donated a generous sum of money, she has also donated numerous items of clothing and accessories to the project. also, she is beyond talented and is the designer / creator / seamstress of my two brown dresses (which she literally whipped up within about an hour one day around christmas)! so i think it's very fitting, so to speak, that she won. congratulations, sis! mwah!

*****

today's look is in honour of lbd day over at one of my favourite spots, the uniform project. i've got on one of my most favourite and most worn little black dresses under a few layers of others. today is a fun crossroads of fashion for a cause:

black dress under dress: smart set, about two years old ($30)
purple dress: liquidation world, about seven  months old ($7)
blue beaded necklace: value village, about five years old (about $10)
silver and blue bracelet: donated by my friend vanessa for this project - thanks! (free)
pink tie around waist: refashioned by me out of an old t-shirt (free)
black tights: gifted (free)
black ruffled platform wedge sandals: if footwear, about nine months old ($110)

grand total:
about $157.08