Having A Little Fun

A while back, I had an exciting week where I got to be a part of a photo shoot then an appearance on Daytime Ottawa.  Honestly, doing these things was super tiring but fun.  My anxiety surrounding appearance and being a focus of attention was high.  But I survived. 

Image source: Ottawa Citizen

Looking at the photographs and video still brings up a mass of negative thoughts.  But that should change.  I have hope that it will change.  And I will continue to challenge myself with things that causes anxieties and low self confidence.

Image source: Ottawa Citizen

I want to say a special thanks to Marilou from Twenty York Street for giving me these opportunities.  She was the babe who hooked me up for both of these gigs and the talented, creative force behind 20YS.

RIP IT!

Recently I had the privilege of attending the I AM FASHION: Rip the Fab Lane as a member of the Twenty York Street team.  The show was fabulous.  The models, beautiful and everyone was so wonderful.  I really had a blast.  One thing about the event that I really loved was the promotion of beauty taking many different forms.   The models ranged from what I would call a size 0 to 10, and they were all beautiful. 

If you don't already follow Twenty York Street and haven't seen my tweets, please go and check out the post that I have written about I AM FASHION at http://www.twentyyork.com/2011/06/i-am-fashion-are-you.html.

Photograph taken by the talented, J of YouGotSquared

Also, since I'm dropping a "promotional post" about articles that I have written.  Check out another one at Twenty York Street on my first photo-shoot experience at http://www.twentyyork.com/2011/06/photoshoot-experience-by-ashelle.html

Photograph taken by, J of YouGotSquared

Most people who know me in "real life", know that I tend to shy away from cameras or make awkward faces and avoid the whole situation.  This photo-shoot with Jose & Marilou was really a personal challenge for myself.  As a part of this whole "healing" and "self-discovery" phase that I'm trying to enter in my life, personal challenges are important right now.  Trying out things that previously scared me and conquering those fears is a little bit empowering.  

This photo-shoot experience hasn't changed my reaction to cameras drastically, but it's all baby steps... right?! 

Visiting the Home Base

As I head to Kingston for my second visit of the month, it feels like I never really left. Keeping in touch with family and friends via twitter and Facebook made these three days in Ottawa fly by without feeling out of the loop. Some may have noticed that I've been MIA from blogging and there's good reason for it. My good friend Krista is getting married this weekend and I have the honor of being one of her bridesmaids. With the upcoming love event, trips to Kingston have been necessary.

Thankfully my parent's live in town, so I have a place to crash in between madness and appointments. I adore their home and the beautiful view from the backyard. If only every morning could start with a perfect cup of coffee (via Tassimo), an adorable pug named Ferris, family and being so near to the water. All that was missing was my little monsters and Chris.

That's Ferris, the most adorable & selective hearing dog out there. Yea, she's cute. But she will also cause embarrassing moments by running away from you towards an old highschool colleague while you look like shit: greasy pony tail, sans makeup and wearing shoes two sizes too big. Of course Ferris proceeded to play with his dog so avoiding conversation would just be rude. Urg. Lesson: always look chic, especially when visiting your small home town because you're bound to run in to someone you know.

One thing I love about being back at home is the oportunity to play dress up in my sister's closet. I love all the colours and fun patterns she has. It makes me miss my pre-professional days, before conservative items and dark colours took over my closet. Right now I've decided to take on the mission of convincing Sarah to start a fashion blog. She'd be great at it.

The most important mission of the weekend was trying to catch some rays before the rain came in for the week. These fun sunglasses also came from Sarah's collection. I convinced her, a.k.a. whined, to give them up to me.

The bridesmaid task of the weekend was to do the favours. Krista, Jaclyn and I broke the unwritten rule of picking out the undesirable jellybeans. The things we do for weddings. Much time and giggles was spent at the Bulk Barn.

Even more time was spent sorting and filling jars full of jellybeans. All 115 of them. Whoever came up with the great idea of separating the colours, you caused many dreams of dancing jellybeans. But the product was worth it. And I can't wait to see those darling jars on the tables this Saturday.

A quick and easy DIY hair pieces were whipped up on Saturday morning. How easy?! Well if you can pop off flowers from the steams and glue, you can make these too. The idea is for the bridesmaids to wear then and I hope they look as darling as planned.

Wedding Crashing

Jaclyn and I really felt like we crashed her cousin's wedding Saturday night. Other than her parents, there wasn't too many people that we knew. But it was a beautiful and fun celebration. Plus I got some practice dancing with my new pumps. The best part of weddings is that you can pull moves from "Grease Lighting", Spice Girls and LMFAO's Shuffling... And you know we did all of the above and more because we are cool like dat.

{Military inspired navy mini dress gift from Marilou of 20 York Street, pumps and clutch from Aldo}

{Dress from Forever 21 & wedges from Aldo}

During dancing breaks, Jaclyn and I would either steal a refreshing time outside in the light rain or up in the restricted loft section to play vogue.

Fun times are always had with Jaclyn.

Messy main is the result of time out in the rain, a girl has to cool down after shuffling.

Now back to some form of reality. Soon I'll be arriving in Kingston for one last good night sleep before I devote all my time and energy to Krista. There's so much for her to do and I know that she'll need proper harassment before delegating tasks to the girls ready to take on anything for her.

For me, excitement is kicking in. It will be a wonderful day. It will also be web-cast so all who cannot be there in person can see it. I got to promise to not make faced or shake my booty while in front of the camera...

Chic and Demure

This Thursday, April 21st an amazing event is happening at the Museum of Nature.  A fashionable tea party to raise money for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.  Recently I did a post on Twenty York Street to get the word out so if you haven't already, check it out.  I'm really excited to be going to report on the Royal ParTea for Twenty York Street.  But of course I have NO CLUE what to wear.  Typical, huh?!  My solution was to send out tweets, and tweet Jeanne Beker herself, who responded: 

 "@loveashelle A chic little suit...

or a demure little dress....

and a hat could be the perfect touch!"

How awesome is Jeanne Beker to tweet back?! Now that I have adequately raided my closet and google "demure dress", I'm still at a lost on what to wear.  Most of the dresses I own are quite short, which doesn't fit the modest description I read for "demure".  So instead of staring at a pile of clothes, I'm going to throw it my dilemma out there to anyone who is out there reading this.

Dress #1: White lace, mini dress from a forgettable discount store

Dress #2: Brown, wrap around dress from Dynamite

Dress #3: Purple patterned puff-mini dress from Urban Behavior

Dress #4: Navy blue with military style buttons, mini dress, gift from Marilou

Dress #5: Cream turtle neck dress from Zara

Dress #6: Pink ruffled mini dress from H & M

Dress #7: Blue with cream lace maxi dress and wool shrug from Forever 21

I apologize for the yellow lighting and phone quality pictures.  It was a super long day with my final exams, appointments, dates with old friends and the all important 5 p.m. power nap.  Let me know if you have any favourites or suggestions on what to wear... I'm totally up for a shopping trip before Thursday and any excuse is a good one.  

Revisions Needed, Please.

Texting back & forth with a new friend on a Saturday night has inspired me to get my lazy ass off the couch and do some things that I have been wanting to do for awhile.  Yes, I should be studying for a so-called "final"... but that kind of thing can wait until the morning.  After my brain has had the proper rest it needs to intake Forensic shit.  Playing on the computer is something that happens late at night.  

Taken by Marilou of Twenty York Street @20YS twitter update

{jumper - Dynamite / elephant necklace - Forever 21 / pearl & gold chain necklace - Dynamite}

Now what kind of changes am I referring to?  Blog changes... of course.  I've been thinking and writing often about making changes but never actually defining what those changes are.  Blog changes are easy to focus and define at this moment, so that's what I'm going with. Currently my blog is anything and everything... and I don't think I'll change that.  What I'm thinking is more of the set-up and design change.  A way to organize the different topics.  I can appreciate that some people just want to see pictures or the fashion posts while not having to read about me weeping over the keyboard.  Also, I would like an easier way to add links to other blogs or specific posts... especially with some super secretive and exciting projects coming up. 

There's some ideas up in this crazy head of mine... But during the next week or two please bare with the changes and blunders you may see here.  And, please, if you have any suggestions... leave a comment or send off an email.  

That's it for now.  This computer geek is off to google formatting shit and probably send off frantic emails to helpful friends whenever I screw up.  Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday night. xo

Relax?

Maybe I tried some things to relax today... there was no major miracles to report.  But I tried and that should count for something.  

By trying, I... actually took a break from work by walking to my favorite cafe, Raw Sugar to pick up coffee and a vegan-yummy cupcake.  Auntie Loo's has the best peanut butter icing in the world! With my coffee and sugar fix in hand, I strolled the street of China Town, just soaking in the sun.  When I got home, taking a long hot shower with Chris melted away all the stress from the week.  ;)

Today I tried to focus on the positive events that were happening.  Again... no miracles people, it's an effort to paint rainbows and lollipops into the day of Miss. Negativity (a.k.a. Moi).  

Some positive things:

1) The Closet Narcissist is THE BEST!!!  Without their help, I would have never gotten my buttons done (the lovely gadgets you see on your right). Thank you Jen & Thank you Kam.  You girls are awesome.  

2) Marilou has given me so many opportunities to crash on her (now DOT COM) blog with my ramblings & craziness... so Thank you Hun! I'll be plugging all of my posts on here and twitter once they are posted.  

3) Exciting news is coming... 

<3

The Weekend Report: Motorcycles & Fashion

Days off are nice... the house is finally quiet (with the exception of the birds) and my personal home-reno drill Sargent is at work.  Today I plan on staying in my lazy clothes while getting through the "to do" list. This past weekend started by mid-afternoon on Friday.  Surprisingly the morning meeting that I was so nervous about went well.  After meeting up with some good friends; Mo & YC for a late lunch, I was easily convinced to explore the mall with Mo.  Thankfully my parents got me a generous gift certificate to Dynamite.  

The unplanned shopping trip worked out perfectly because on Saturday morning I did a photo shoot for Marilou at 20YS. When ML first asked to to do a shoot with her, my reaction was major anxiety.  Honestly, a huge fear of mine is being in front of the camera. I tend to make random and awkward facial expressions when people are aiming a camera at me.  But Jose was incredibly supportive and patient during the whole process.   I'm super excited to see what he comes up with because he has a lot of talent, check him out at YouGotSquared. There are  a lot of amazing photographs showcased.    

ML & I with Cloud in the Sky Studios

I won't share many pictures from the shoot because I want to make people wait until 20YS posts them.  If you follow ML or myself on twitter, you can see a fewer sneak peaks. I want to thank Marilou and Jose for being really great.  I learned that cameras aren't so scary... and if I want nicer picture of myself, I need to stop being so nervous around cameras.

After the photo-shoot, I decided to go with J's advice on practicing to build comfort with the camera.  I must say that Chris was way better this time around with being the photographer.  I'm sure my behaviour of clumping around the yard while whining might contributed to this improvment compared to last time.  Next time maybe I'll try to be more mature in asking, but probably not.

Once in more appropriate motorcycle gear, Chris and I went for a ride.  We did a long stretch, about 90KM.  I really enjoyed the cruise along the river & canal but when we hit the highway I freaked out a bit.  It was my first time and the wind was surprisingly strong, once we were off the highway my hands were cramped onto Chris's side.  I much prefer going less than 100 KM/H on the bike.   

FYI pleather high-heeled boots are not the proper biking footwear.

The remainder of Saturday included landscaping our front yard, which looks more like a mud pit with random flowers all over it then a typical grass yard.  It's not fair that landscaping means heavy lifting and digging up dirt, which isn't fun activity.  We packed up about 50 patio large stones to give away.... again more heavy lifting.  Then finished the night by digging up all the pretty flowers on the lawn to replant in a garden.  

For Sunday, Chris had more manual labour planned for us.   We traveled up to the Valley to help out with renovations for our Uncle.  As soon as we turned onto his road, the rain started.  Which was fine by me, the weather was warm enough for the rain to not suck.  The renovations meant more heavy lifting,  inside and out, the rainy & muddy conditions weren't so bad but it meant that we couldn't get some of the gardening done.  At the end of the day, we were treated to a yummy dinner then headed back home.  

Personally I prefer the colour pink on this bike.  Chris will most likely laugh really hard if I ask him to paint it so I'll just play on Photoshop until the day comes when he hands this baby down to me. That comment might sound weird to some people, but after a little "rolling down the hill incident" during this photo-op... I realized that 1) I need to take the course on riding and 2) get comfortable on a 250 before riding the 600 beast.      

Thanks for sticking through that report on the weekend... I'm shocked at that amount that I did.  Usually weekends for me are chill.  It was a fun weekend but I am glad to be resting, cleaning, studying, gardening and catching up on other random things today.  

Happy Monday Everyone!

Teaser

It's hard to believe that it's already Sunday... Chris is getting a quick XBox fix while I'm uploading some photographs in between boring chores.  Soon we'll be back on the road again to head to Pembroke. We're going to be helping a family member out with some renovations and I also hope to get a quick visit in with my grandparents.  Since 1 p.m. on Friday the time has flown by with tons of running around and fun adventures.  Which I promise to share more on Monday when I hope to have more time.  Until then I'll leave you with a picture of some familiar faces to the Ottawa blogger community:

Marilou {20YS} and I with the friendly guys from Cloud in the Sky Studios

Saturday was such a beautiful and warm spring day in Ottawa, it was especially nice to have a random bump-in at the end of the photo-shoot.   J {YouGotSquared} was behind the lens... he's a super talented photographer who was also very patient with me and my awkwardness yesterday.  Thanks J & ML for a great Saturday morning.  And I can't wait to see the results.  

Being a Bumm

The Pajama Party is officially on!!  All we need is some pillow fights and girl talk about the cutest boys to make the launch complete.... Maybe I'll go attack Chris with the biggest pillow I can find once this post is published.  Some of you may be asking, "What the heck is she talking about?".  Well the lovely Marilou from 20 York Street and  Shawnette at The Farmgirl Fashionista Blog created the "Easiest Blog Project Ever"... It's seriously easy! Every first and third Monday of the month you post a picture of your most comfy, sexy or stylish PJ/lazy clothes.  This week I'm sharing one of my favourite lazy outfits:

{sweater - Billabong, stolen from Chris's closet/Tights-Hue/T-Converse}

Days that I'm stuck mostly spending time in my art room/office, I usually put on the most comfiest and possibly grundgy clothes I can find.  In the winter months (all six of them) tight, big wool socks and sweaters are a must.  A mix of Chris's items will always make its way into the outfit because I adore the oversize comfy factor.  Plus what girls doesn't adore laying around in her love's clothes?! 

Two other very important factors in being comfortable is 1) Sans make-up and 2) No bra!  

With all of the above criteria, I can easily spend the day jumping from catching up with On-Demand classes, to blogging, to photoshop, to painting, to sewing, to crafting accessories and whatever other crazy idea I come up with while slummin' it in my room.  And yes, it's MY room... Chris knows that the art room/office and my closet/guest room is off bounds to him.  Mostly because it allows me to be the slob that I was meant to be without his having to hear his comments on how I "should" clean up.  Is it okay to use the "wanna-be artist" as an excuse to my messiness.  

If you haven't already signed up, and want to participate in this awesome & easy blogging project... 

Just go over to 20YS blog and sign up :)

Officially a Twit

The peer pressure got to me.

The weekend started off with my dad telling me that I ought to get twitter. You know that you're behind on the cyber trends when your rents are telling you what's what. Now my dad is cool and fairly tech savvy but there's no way I can have him out tweet me.

The weekend ended with the lowly ML and Isobel asking about my non-twit account. So I caved! It's done, I've gone to the dark side and see an oncoming addiction.

Now y'all got to follow me: loveashelle

And any twitter tips would be greatly appreciated! I feel lost and confused. Like what does "RT" mean?

Mama Would be Proud

The lovely and beautiful Marilou invited me to go with her to ROUGE: Ottawa's Ultimate Bacherlorette Party, on Saturday night.  This was a fun "non-wedding" event for a good cause.  The proceeds went to support the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. 

The only thing that was missing from this event was my good friend, Krista.  Her wedding is fast approaching and even though most of the details have been sorted out, there was tons of fun and ideas for her bachelorette.  Unfortunately my camera is a very basic "point & shoot"... and the lighting in clubs is never ideal... so please excuse the fuzziness of the pictures.  The bridal fashion show was very pretty.  Even though the dresses were all very beautiful, I kept my eyes on the hair pieces... they were all so funky.

Two hotties: ML from 20YS & Isobel of frAsh femme. & bel.

Isobel is the creative and talented designer of frAsh femme. & bel. 

Above is just one of many beautiful pieces created by Isobel.  The generous Marilou gave this necklace to me and I can't wait to show it off.  I first discovered Isobel's work when I attended The Posh Wedding Show, in February.   Her jewellery really stood out from all the other booths.  I enjoy the unique looks to the pieces.   Her spring/summer 2011 line is amazing and it's so cool that each piece is one of a kind.  

Yummy cupcakes were generously provided by Auntie Loo's Treats.  The most shocking discovery of the night was that the delicious treats were vegan.  Vegan! It really blows my mind that cupcakes can be diary and egg free.... and still taste amazing good.  It's dangerous for my waist line that she sells these amazing cupcakes at a cafe close to my work called Raw Sugar.   These cakes are also Auntie Loo's creations and look amazing.  My favourite is the orange one because it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

Now on to my awkward moment of the night... 

It involved a pole, a scandalously dressed hottie as an instructor and ML recording the moment.  

I was so confused on how to turn around and slide down the pole.  With the first attempt, I lost my shoe.  And didn't do much better with round two.  Pole dancing is not a hidden talent of mine... no upper body strength and lack of grace are not pros for this activity

 ML was awesome, with confidence and humour she nailed the turn and slide.

Isobel is too cute.  I wasn't able to capture the moment too well with the crap-tastic camera of mine (it had a seizure during her turn and slide).  But she did great and the bow at the end was adorable.    

The pole dancing demonstrations and lessons were provided by 3Sixty.  The girls who were doing the demonstrations were amazing.  If I try to explain what they were able to do it doesn't seem to do it justice, so you're interested just check out the site's photo gallery.   What's really fun is that they will do Pole Parties... something that could be tons of fun for a bachelorette?! Non?!