Belated Tea

While most of you were spending last weekend caught up in costumes and Halloween festivities (which I didn't actually partake in this year), I thought I'd share about a dress up event I participated in before my move! Yes - it may have taken me almost three months to spill the details of this one, but better late than never! Plus who doesn't love a full out tea party!? Just look at those lovely tea ensembles:


Oh man was it ever a good time! Sarra was nice enough to host the fabulous tea party and along with some help from her mom we had quite the spread of tea, accompanying finger foods and snacks, and gorgeous china:


It was wonderful to have one last get together before I had to pack my bags off to the coast (and boy do I ever miss those ladies) plus it let me jump on the opportunity to wear my tea hat:


Aww - aren't we sweet? It totally makes me want to start collecting fancy tea cups and saucer sets but I'm sure Fraser may have something to say about that (since we have ample tea pots and mugs already and full cupboards)...alas...a girl can dream! What do you think? When's the last time you had a tea party?

what i wore: elliott brood

So in case you hadn't already noticed - I am ridiculously bad at blogging about outfit posts right after I wear them. I'm new to the realm of fashion blogging and although I have a whole closet (that is still not fully unpacked) of budget finds and fabulous accessories I struggle with actually remembering to take pictures of myself and usually have to bribe someone into trying to catch a shot of my with my eyes open. Perhaps that will be a bit easier with my new tripod my parents got me for my bday (thanks Mom and Dad!), but we'll see if I will get any faster at showing you my outfits. I often wonder how daily (or at least bi weekly) bloggers manage to keep up with all their images and I do wonder if they preschedule posts and just lie about when they wore them...any insight? As for me, I'm not someone who is very good at smudging the truth so I fully admit that this outfit is from the beginning of August. Let's go:

Ever since I first saw Elliott Brood perform at the Roots and Blues Festival three summers ago I've been anxiously awaiting an opportunity to see them again! Not only do they play a wicked banjo, they have this raspy upbeat sound that has been described as both "death country" and "black grass." Sound interesting? I think so. I fully recommend listening to all of their amazing songs (for free! On CBC Radio 3!) and getting addicted to them too! I was certainly stoked when I heard they were coming to Kamloops in August so I wrestled up some friends (conveniently Jim, Lindsay, and Wendy were free and all attended that same roots and blues festival where they played)! Yay! Also the perfect opportunity for me to wear my new lacy shirt:


So that isn't the most flattering picture I've ever seen, but I did have fun playing around the old trains by the park. I also thought this was a noteworthy outfit since:

1) When I saw this shirt in the store, Jim told me it was hideous and that I shouldn't bother trying it on

2) After trying it on, loving it, and then buying it (for full price - which rarely ever happens for me), Fraser told me that, "that isn't a Kate shirt!" Aren't I allowed to branch out a bit?

3) Both Jim and Fraser told me I couldn't wear red shoes and a purple bag together in the same outfit. Too bad boy-os. I like to break the rules.

I also really enjoy the selection of random bangles I mixed up to go with the outfit. I love stacking bracelets. I need to wear them more often.


Even though this is (again) not the most fabulous picture, I was so in love with the dusk lighting that I had to show you how crazy my hair colour looked that night:


I'm not sure why, but I always imagine myself as a brunette and when I see images or reflections of myself I am often shocked at how light and red my natural hair colour is. No complaints though! I do enjoy my atypical thick tresses!

Outfit details: lace black tank = smart set, grey jersey skirt = plum (sale rack many years ago), flower studs = made by me, purple clutch = h&m, stacking bracelets = collected over the last nine years, red flats = aldo

Even though the opening band left much to be desired, Elliott Brood was just as lovely as they were a few years ago and surely enough I was hand clapping and dancing along with the crowd! I am so excited for their new album to come out next month and if you ever get a chance to see them - take it, it is well worth it.

what i wore: goodbye kamloops

Today is the big day! Fraser and I were up at the crack of dawn packing up the moving van for our departure to Victoria! I can't believe how much time flies and I'm also still in shock at how much stuff we have when you see it all in boxes! Whew! Even though I'm sure my outfit is not very cute or flattering today, I am a bit behind with my blog content so I thought I'd share another outfit post from my going away party I had last week! Let's take a peek:

Outfit details: dress = homemade by me and my mom, grey cardigan/shrug = smart set (many years ago), teal necklace = spank on 4th, red clutch = plum (on sale!), brown flats = aldo

Boy do I ever like that colour combination! I also really enjoyed having a going away celebration where I wasn't actually required to cook or clean up anything! Hooray! And what a glorious day it was! I love sunset lighting:

I also brought a little surprise along for all 22 of my dinner guests:


Yay! Instead of heartfelt goodbye notes for everyone I went for the substantially less sappy route and looked to the bright side of moving - new pen pals to write to! I whipped up a bunch of pins for my (hopefully excited to write and receive letters friends) with my new address attached:


What fun! I figured it left things on a much cheerier (and more anthropomorphic and adorable) note and everyone could pick out their own pin to suit their tastes! I even had a few badges left over from my summer long "thanks for being a reader" giveaway so it wasn't an enormous amount of "I should be packing" time put into it! Which reminds me - our final winner of my giveaway was Carmila from Ponycats! Your pin is in the mail! And thank you once again to everyone who spending their previous time checking out my blog. I appreciate all the support and love and according to google analytics there is about 100 of you that read every day! Hooray! As for me...I've got more moving to get to! Hope you enjoyed the outfit! Wish me luck on the coast!

what I wore: upcycled old lady skirt

I've been holding onto pictures of this project for much too long and decided to take the plunge and post them! A while back Lindsay and I went thrift shopping over on the north shore and I picked up two "need a lot of work but only cost about $3" skirts I was determined to make over. The first one just needed a simple hemming job (which I did and wore as part of my Harry Potter costume back in July). The second skirt needed a little more work. Lindsay laughed at me and was not convinced I could pull off such an old lady piece of clothing, but I think I managed. Behold the transformation:


Ahha! So much better! My biggest goal was to take the perpendicular patterned pockets off since they added way too much attention to my already large hips/bum. Then I just had to take it in a smidge and hem it! To my surprise the hem had already been taken up by the previous owner:


Could you imagine how long it must have been to begin with? I bet it was floor length on some little old short lady (in case you didn't know, I have monstrously long legs). Percy also decided he wanted to help:


After a little sewing session at mom's house (a place with a plethora of matching thread colours to use, proper sewing machine needles, and a spot big enough to iron and sew in), it was time for one of my favourite "make your clothes look brand new" tools - the fuzz buster:


Now I'm not sure if "fuzz buster" is the technical term, but if you don't have one of these babies they are worth the investment! It is like an electric razor for your clothes that does wonders to pilled and pulled fuzz bits that accumulate on your fabric after tons of use. Hooray! Instantly turn one worn out skirt back into brand new condition! Now it is time to head back to mom's house to take pictures in her garden:


Isn't her yard amazing? Much better than our "we're growing a weedy meadow in protest of the awful lawn mower our landlord has" backdrop that is available at our house right now. Once again - Percy wanted to join in:


Too bad you're an indoor cat Stinkums! Now off to the outfit pictures:

Outfit details: v-neck white tshirt = joe fresh, teal belt = some store on main street in vancouver, upcycled old lady skirt = penny pinchers and then reworked by me, necklace = horn of plenty, leather watch = fossil, leather clutch = bonspiel creation, flats = aldo

Okay, so I am still new to the world of outfit fashion blogging, but I do love sharing my clothing choices with you and I did want to make sure someone else would agree that this was a successful skirt transformation! I also really wanted to do an outfit post where I am wearing (and pulling off) my new mustard tights, but sadly (ok, not really sadly) the summer weather is just too nice for covered up legs! Looks like those will have to wait for the fall. For now I will be enjoying my upcycled creation! I am also really enjoying the high waisted look for my tiny little torso (I feel like that second picture makes my body go from chest to legs)! Woo! What do you think? Have you ever adventured into thrift shopping altered clothes?

what i wore: artisan's market vol II

After two busy weekends of weddings and crafting I finally got back to the Artisan's Market this past Saturday! Fraser and I got up bright and early to greet a beautiful sunny day (which is warmly welcomed after weeks of rain, thunderstorms, and wind) and headed down to Galardi Square to set up for the market. I was a little more organized and prepared for this show than the first one so the set up went extra smoothly. Even though we followed the care instructions two of the plastic joints on the canopy rails snapped. Ack! It was only the third time we set it up! Unfortunately Costco isn't carrying our tent anymore, so I'll have to look around to see if we can find a replacement before returning out faulty tent (anyone have any ideas?). Despite that little set back I was super pleased with my table this week. Take a peek:


This week I got moved to the opposite (and nicely sunnier and warmer) side of the walkway and there were loads of other talented vendors this week! I moved around a few things in my display and even added extra flags to my pennant flag to give it a bit more volume and colour:


I also made a plethora of cabochon studs and rings over the last few weeks so instead of just laying them on the table, I got to use my Ikea cupcake stand I bought for my table! I also had my fun glass tile pendants and rings I set up on my ceramic jewelry tree. I put them both on the end of the table with the mirror and am really happy with the added height and colour they add:


The church yard was in full bloom and since my set up was so efficient I had a little bit of time to snap some pictures before customers started arriving. Just look at that blue sky and huge blooms:


The even coordinator Mel even picked a bouquet of white flowers for her Heritage Society Donation table. Aren't they amazing?:


Now if only I had the patience and time to grow such an amazing flower garden! I guess all that stormy rain added to the greenery but I was pretty excited to finally get some sunshine! Plus the nice day gave me the perfect excuse to wear the vintage dress I bought online from owlet vintage (Amber's etsy shop from the Hoot-n-Annie blog)! I made a few minor modifications to the dress when I got it (such as sewing new buttons on the shoulders, sewing up the belt tie, and fuzz busting the little pills off of it) and boy am I ever pleased with my purchase! I've always been a little weary of buying dresses online but this purchase has certainly changed my view on it! The dress fits like a dream and I am in love with the great stripes and colours! I decided to accessorize it with the red coral ring Fraser bought me last summer and my favourite new glass tile pendant necklace (Al the love robot). Check it out:


What fun! Because I was so frozen during the market I did on July 2nd, I opted for tights (which also hide my permo-bruised shins) and was super comfy the whole day. Take a peek at a full body shot of what I wore:

Outfit details: dress = owlet vintage, tights = joe fresh, shoes = payless, necklace = homemade, ring = Fraser bought (my favourite kind of ring), watch = fossil

Okay, so that picture above sort of makes me look like I am floating and legless, but I assure you it is just the lighting. I am still experimenting with breaking into budget fashion outfit posts so if you've got any thoughts of tips for me I'm all ears! Fraser has improved significantly with his picture taking skills (we now just take like 100 pictures and hope at least a few of them turn out) which seems to be working well. Hurrah!

As for sales at the market, there were loads more customers this week than on the 2nd and I got tons of positive comments and new fans! Sales were up from last week and although I wasn't crazy busy by any means, the pace was perfect for me to give ample attention to each customer without feeling rushed/stressed at all. Double hurrah!

Oh! And I even got a special visit from my niece (and family)! What do you think? Can I train Jean up to be my new scientific culture craft show helper?:


Boy is she ever a cutie! Leslie and I even got to play around with some mustaches during the slow parts too:


Haha. Don't we look good with facial hair? Well...not really. I'm not ready to start growing a mustache any time soon but this light coloured one sure does look adorable on baby Jean:


I can't believe Jean is already 10 months old! She's teething right now and pretty much everything you hand her goes straight into her mouth. It's pretty cute but after trying to play with her for a bit I opted to not have baby drool over all my products. Overall, the show went really well and I am already looking forward to next week's market! I do think I need to try to fit some crafting time to make more coffee sleeves though since they are a pretty consistent seller and I only have two left (oh dear!). What do you think? Any suggestions for new crafts or display ideas?

Oh! I almost forgot! Keeping with my "thanks for reading my blog and commenting" summer long weekly giveaway theme this week's winner is Beka from Ginger Urchin! Beka please email me your address so I can get your badge in the mail! And just in case you're drooling with jealousy over free kate-made goodies - not to worry there are still a handful of weeks left to participate in the giveaway and all you have to do is keep being your wonderful self and comment on my blog posts! Yay! Happy Monday everyone!

what i wore: harry potter party

Even though I don't get to join in all the fun of seeing the final Harry Potter film in theatres (movies on the big screen give me motion sickness), I did get to attend a fabulous HP party at Sarra's new apartment giving me the perfect opportunity to whip out my Gryffindor costume:


Isn't it fun? My mom and I made the cloaks back in 2005 (well, mom made the cloak and I made the felt gryffindor patch) for a "dress as your favourite fictional character from a children's novel" party I attended with my sister. I picked up our wands at the Kelowna farmer's market (where I was living at the time) and mom (once again to the rescue) sewed our maroon ties and knit us scarves too! Here we are in our matching attire:


More than just my hair changed in the last six years - I swapped out the pants and loafers for a skirt, tights, and flats for a more updated (and less Ron Weasley-like) version of Hogwart's student. Just take a peek at my outfit under the cloak:


And to keep the crafty wonderfulness going I even upcycled my skirt from a very matronly old lady $3 number I picked up at a thrift store. Check out the awesome before and after shot:


Amazing what a little cleaning, hemming, and ironing can do! I actually thought I made the skirt a little bit shorter than I had hoped (no skanky mini skirts for me!) but once I tried it on with the rest of my costume I felt better about the alterations and I do love skirts with pockets! I even tried to keep up the Harry Potter fun in my accessories too:


Didn't Fraser do a wonderful job of photographing me this time? We had loads of fun playing in the front yard with the camera and by the end I was even casting spells on him:


Outfit details: cloak, scarf, and tie = homemade (thanks mom!), white dress shirt = swapped, sweater vest = smart set sale rack in highschool, skirt = thrifted and modified, tights = joe fresh, flats = payless, owl ring = pike place market in may

After my posing and picture taking fun was over, I picked up Lindsay and a huge bag of ice and we headed to the party! I (as usual) didn't do an amazing job of picture taking but I assure you it was wonderful! Sarra was wearing her dress robes and prepared an amazing HP/English/movie watching feast for us to enjoy! Her cousin even made golden snitch desserts:


Sarra made some delicious uplifting non-alcoholic potions for Lindsay and I and super tasty smelling butter beers for everyone else! We even had little bowls of treats around the house:


No spinach, liver, or tripe every flavour beans here! Oh what a great time it was and I do love any excuse to get into costume. So how about you? Any Harry Potter fans out there? Have you seen the movie yet? How will I survive the long wait for it to come out on video!? Eep!