Falling in Love

One of the things I hate about Nova Scotia weather is the seasons always seem to change so abruptly. One minute it's 30 degrees and hot and sunny, and the next you are wearing 4 layers just to go to sleep in your tent Labour Day weekend (this is not hypothetical - this was my LD weekend).

This was the week of 'the shift' and I am still a bit depressed about it. It's still warm enough to wear sandals during the day and the calendar doesn't officially shift for another couple of weeks, but there is definitely a new crisp chill to the air and just a general movement towards a more Fall-like mood.

That being said, I do LOVE Fall. I love me some sunshine, sand and swimming, but there is just something so romantic and heartwarming about this season. It sort of feels like a new start but a lead-up to hibernation at the same time - you are getting 'back to the grind' while also looking ahead to the colder weather and shorter days. I love...

...that it's cool enough to wear a couple of layers but warm enough that you don't need to bundle up.

I love cozy layers - sweaters and scarves - leggings and boots - cute hats and fingerless gloves - ponchos - rich, warm colours - cute braids and hair twists. I love fall fashion.

 

*all photos can be found here*

...the spicy, fragrant, flavours of Fall.

I love pumpkin (anything) - cinnamon, ginger and spice - apple pie - hot soups and stews - warm, aromatic drinks - sweet potato and squash - Thanksgiving dinner. I love Fall flavours.

*All photos can be found here*

I can't wait to go apple picking, drive and hike through vibrant yellow and red trees, cook up a comforting giant crock-pot meal, (hopefully) cook and host my 1st Thanksgiving dinner, wearing printed scarves with all my outfits, decorate my apartment with Fall colours and scents, etc. Sure, I'm sad to see summer go, but I'm also excited for what's to come.

 

What do you love (or not love) about Fall? Are you excited or apprehensive about the change of seasons? Any fun plans for the next two months?

Yelping It Up

One of the many places on the Internet that I attempt to compose my regurgitated thoughts into (semi)coherent posts is Yelp.

Have you heard of it? Of course, "yelp" is the sound a puppy makes when you step on its tail. It is not to be confused with "yep" (ok, Dave?). But Yelp is also a website - one where anyone can post reviews of pretty much any business they like so that they can either warn the masses about them, or spread the word of their awesomeness. A guy I know from University is the Community Manager here in Halifax, and I have to say he has made Yelping here so much fun by putting together some great meet-and-greet events, starting great discussions online, and coming up with fun challenges like these.

Anyway, at some point in the last 5 days or so I believe I must have fallen on my head - I say this because on Friday I signed up for the 30 Day Yelp challenge, which requires participants to write one review a day for the month of October.

I'm not sure what I was thinking either. I guess I was sucked in by the promise of a fun party at the end, and the excuse to get my butt out to some businesses I have been meaning to try but have been too lazy to get to yet.

I just hope this challenge doesn't go the way of NaBloPoMo (i.e. down the toilet). It is Day 4 though, and I am still on it!

I have written 4 reviews so far (DUH - it is October 4th):

1. Starbucks Coffee in Dartmouth Crossing - this is my favourite Starby in the city - their service is hands-down the friendliest.
2.  Mary Brown's - a "meh" fast-food fried chicken place which I only visited because they were giving away free sandwiches all day long.
3. Second Cup in the Killam Library atrium (Dalhousie University) - my office for my last job was in this building so I would go here for my morning fix every day. I have met the friendliest woman in the world, and her name is Sharon (tell her I sent you).
4. Pipa Restaurant - I visited this Portuguese/Brazilian place on my bday back in December...and got horrible food poisoning (but, believe it or not, I don't give it a horrible review!).

Who knows what tomorrow will bring! What culinary adventures I will have - good and bad.

I hope all of you out there who read my reviews (all two of you, including my mother I'm sure) realize that it's all for you - I am putting myself at risk of injury and obesity every day this month all in the name of public service. Well, that and because I love food. And writing. And writing about food. And drinks, too...

 Who am I kidding?! This is the best challenge ever!

Wanna follow along with me? Check out my page at khumes.yelp.ca (or click on the widget in my sidebar).

Fashion Friday: No Slouch

Well, I've decided to start adding some new features to Ye Olde Blog. You probably have noticed I've started doing Manic Monday posts, which are short and sweet notes about random sites, photos, stories, people, places or things that are on my mind that day or that I just think are cool and want to share.

But I also have been thinking for a while that I want to somehow incorporate one of my favourite things into my posts. After all, this blog is a reflection of me, a chance to share what I like, don't like and what inspires me. I feel like I can sometimes get heavy on "opinion" and "reflection" posts and even though I AM an opinionated and reflective person, that's not all I am. I also have a fun, creative, art-loving side that I feel like I want to share more of.

Fashion is a major interest of mine - I love putting outfits together, trying out new trends, reading fashion magazines, watching fashion reality tv and runway shows. Pretty much anything fashion-related, I love. I also have FAR more clothing than one person should ever need in a lifetime, but as I always say, I could be spending money on far more destructive things, now couldn't I?!

I love style blogs and most of the blogs I actually follow are style blogs. I love seeing how "real" girls put outfits together and make their wardrobes work on a budget. I've often played around with the idea of starting a style blog but for many reasons that's not something I want to do right now - I don't have the proper camera or equipment to take good-looking photos, I don't have the time or patience to take photos of myself and post EVERY day, I don't want my blog to be ALL about style (there are many things I love and talk about here and I don't want to narrow my focus too much), and I feel like there's SO many style blogs out there that mine would just get lost in the shuffle and I didn't want to be just a "bandwagon-jumper".

However, I've been reading enough style blogs (and regular blogs) now to know that everyone has their own style, personality, schedule and preferences and it's possible to placate these things while also incorporating style into other hobbies (like blogging). I realized (as I mentioned) I really want to share my style and create more opportunities to interact with other fashionistas, and I can do that without posting every day or only posting about fashion. I realized I can incorporate fashion into this blog as little as once a week, at least to start out, without being a follower and without losing sight of how I see this blog - namely as a forum to share and discuss my passions, my life and my community.

So, without further ado I'd like to present my first Fashion Fridays post! I've decided once a week (YES on Fridays! How did you guess, you smartie pants, you?!) I will post my favourite outfit from the week, as well as one or two favourite outfits from the interwebs. I will probably centre the chosen outfits and discussion around a specific theme each week depending on what mood I'm in or what I experienced. I'm excited to make this addition to the blog and see where it goes.

Now please bare with me and my less-than-stellar photography - as I said I'm poor little Matchgirl and have a camera but don't actually have a tripod or anyone to assist me, which makes it tough to take photos of yourself and your outfit! I'm planning on getting a tripod as soon as I can, but I'd be lying if I said it is a financial priority at the moment (there are little things like...oh...rent and food that are kinda important to take care of first). I also didn't use the flash for these because I find the flash isn't so flattering sometimes - it can sometimes make one look all glowy and show every single pore and that's not really a look I wanna go for.

Anyway, I may not have fancy photos and sponsors and such, but I have passion for fashion and that's way more important in the end anyway. Plus it takes a lot of guts to take photos of yourself you're not entirely happy with and post them for the world to see, right? Besides, it's my blog so it's my rules and anyone who doesn't like it can go find another corner of the interwebs to stalk - mmkay?? (wait, where are you going?! Don't leave me...)


I love this scarf - I love me a good print - and I also love leggings. I don't care what anyone says, they are so comfy and they can be flattering as long as you wear them the right way (i.e. cover your ass and hips). I'm a major shrimp (5 ft nothing, baby) so any way I can make my legs look slimmer and longer I will try! I got the idea to cinch my scarf in the middle from one of my fav style blogs, Second Skin. I totally copied her idea (tee hee). She always looks so put together, yet comfortable, and this was kind of my theme for this week (well it's kinda how I try to dress everyday). I love the look of wearing a slouchy top with a slim, streamlined bottom, and I like layering pieces to add visual interest and colour (but not TOO much).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these boots. Ladies, you have no freakin idea how hard it is for me to find boots that fit my ample calves (read: impossible). Picked these up at the Bay a couple of months ago (though there are already some scratches in the faux leather - grrr - ah well, get what you pay for).

Now for a couple of ladies' outfits that caught my eye this week and that I think are great examples of the slouchy-chic look:



I love the colours here and the fun print - as I said it's wearable and comfy but also cute and polished. Brit girls just have the best style - they don't take themselves so seriously



This outfit looks sooo cozy and warm, but also polished. She look like a young, hip sea captain or something, know what I mean?

Have a stylin' weekend all!! And I promise I won't be so long-winded next time, yeesh!

Manic Monday: Thankful

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has - Epictetus

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! In honour of this holiday (which isn't all about consuming large amounts of carb-laden foods), here are a few things I'm currently thankful for:

My awesome mom and sister * Having "the country" so close to home * Fresh Cox's Orange apples * Pumpkin cheesecake squares * Blogging * My amazing landlords * Books * 3 Day Weekends, and more to that 4 Day Workweeks * Sunshine * Long overdue Skype calls * Leftover Thanksgiving dinner i.e. not cooking for the whole week * Fall colours * Great horoscopes * Watching friends make positive changes in their lives * Nocturne this weekend! * The Amazing Race * Soft and cuddly kitty cats!


And just because it's funny and awesome, a little Canadian Thanksgiving Treat

All the Leaves are Brown, and the Sky is Gray...

Well, I've given up. I've finally let go of summer and have started to embrace the new season: Fall. It was tough, but it's tough every year - tough to let go of the sandals, beach bags and sundresses. I wouldn't say I've FULLY embraced Fall yet (it gets dark so EARLY now, waaah!) but I'm getting there.

When it comes right down to it, I love Fall. And maybe the more love I give to Fall, the longer it will stick around this year...maybe?? (pssh fat chance)

Oh well. I'm still going to show my love to Fall anyway with the following list:

10 Reasons Why I'm Glad It's Fall

1. Pumpkins (I could list 10 things just for this one (e.g. pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkins muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin tea, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin!!)

2. Being able to wear enough layers to be comfy - sweaters, tights, boots, scarves - but not so many that you are sweating and stuffy

3. The Colours - I love the look of the trees when the leaves change to vibrant oranges, reds and yellows. My street is lined on either side with huge, old trees covered in leaves, so it's especially scenic this time of year

4. The slightly chilled, crispy scent and feeling in the air

5. Starting new routines, or getting back into old ones (some I'm attempting to develop are walking to work regularly, going to a class at my gym twice a week, writing/submitting an article every Sunday, trying a new recipe once a month, etc)

6. School/Office supplies!! (see: 'You've Got Mail', 'bouquets of sharpened pencils'

7. Trips to the Annapolis Valley to pick apples and see the Pumpkin people (this weekend, baby!)

8. Thanksgiving! A good excuse to stuff myself silly with high calorie/carb-laden comfort foods (not sure what my excuse is the other 364 days a year). Plus, it's a 3 day weekend, which is always awesome.

9. Halloween - my favourite holiday next to Christmas (which indicates how sacreligious I am). What's not to like about dressing up like a freak and stuffing yourself with mini-chocolate bars?!

10. As of Thanksgiving (Oct 11th - that would be CANADIAN Thanksgiving, people) it will only be 2 months until my birthday!! Yay!! Wait...I'll be 26...ugh, not so "yay".

What are you looking forward to this Fall?

This post was brought to you by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. And the Letter "F". For Fall. (and the fact that I'm a dork). Thank you.