FORTY-SIX/ canada day

Seeing as I live in the nation's capital, Canada Day is a HUGE event here. If you're brave enough to venture downtown on July 1st, you'll notice how absolutely insane it is. The crowd is SO big, streets are closed off to traffic, they have fireworks at night and they set up a stage during the day on Parliament Hill and Canadian musicians perform throughout the day. Every single year I tell myself, and those around me, that this will be the year that I won't go downtown and partake in the madness, but every year I find myself right smack dab in the middle of it.

This year I went down to the hill with my best friends, Laura and Lisa, to see one of our favourite bands, Metric, perform. We've seen them over a dozen times but they just get more and more amazing with every show. We pushed through the crowd and made it as close as possible to the stage. When they eventually got on they only performed two songs (while we were there, anyway) but they did not disappoint. We left soon after and decided to go to one of my favourite restaurants, Lone Star, for some of their famous fajitas and margaritas. All it all it was a pretty low-key day.

People in Ottawa usually go all out with their outfits on Canada Day. Seeing women dressed in dresses made solely out of flags and men wear flags as capes is pretty much the norm, and downtown is pretty much a sea of red and white. Unfortunately I don't really own a ton of colour and I may have accidentally slipped a bit of blue into the outfit without realizing I warped my colour palette into an American one. Whoops! Wearing a white top with red lips, shoes and nail polish counts as being patriotic on Canada Day, right? If not, I apologize. Also, please excuse my less than glamorous Toms, they're one of the only red pieces I own.

TOP/ New Look VEST/ American Apparel (DIY from jacket) 

PURSE/ Marc by Marc Jacobs (via consignment) PANTS/ JCPenney
SHOES/ Toms

worlds most awkward selfie w/ my best friends | Parliament Hill | delicious margaritas 

* Fun Fact: I've worn, shown or mentioned every item I'm wearing, aside from my sunglasses, in different blog posts! Check out my vest, pants, purse, shoes and top.

* All pictures were taken by Laura Kidd.

FORTY-TWO/ ombre

The last time I dyed my hair was SEVEN years ago. This is a startling fact for me because for starters, how did I get this old? and secondly, what was I so afraid of? I'll be the first to admit my hair history is a bit gruesome and I was always taught to learn from the past and to try to never repeat it, but I'm so happy I took this risk. Laura dyed it for me and we stuck with just the tips for this time around. To be 100% honest with all of you, we first bleached it and then dyed it purple. The purple has since washed out and all that's left is the bleach. Don't get me wrong, I actually do like the blonde but my heart is still set on purple and it will be redyed ASAP.

As for my outfit, the majority of it actually comes from the United States. I go on many cross border shopping trips with my mother and that's where I usually find my favourite pieces. (I'll do a post about the differences between shopping in the States and shopping in Canada eventually.) These pants were an awesome JC Penney find and the Calvin Klein blouse is something I grabbed from TJ Maxx. I bought both my jacket and Toms in Canada though and they are two pieces that I could truly not live without. If you don't own at least one denim jacket, I really don't know what you're doing with your life... I suggest you find yourself one (thrift stores always have a ton!), you will be living in your denim jacket for years to come. You may even recognize the jacket from these posts - 1, 2. I also spoke about Toms a few time on this blog as well. They are an absolute necessity in my wardrobe. I have a few pairs of them now and I dare you to find a more comfortable shoe. I've tried a countless number of alternatives because I used to absolutely hate how they looked but I'm proud to say that I'm completely turned around on them.

SUNGLASSES/ Ray-Ban (consignment) JACKET/ Old Navy TOP/ Calvin Klein 

PANTS/ Worthington SHOES/ Toms BAG/ H&M (consignment)
WATCH/ Michael Kors (consignment) 

* All pictures were taken by Laura Kidd.