oversize me

 To say that these last few days have been like a roller-coaster ride for me would be a grand understatement. To summarize, I am sick, stressed out half the time and just plain happy the other half, while still managing to have terrible mood swings. The theatre production begins soon, and I am nervous. To top it all off, my tv doesn't have the channel for American Horror Story anymore, so I'll have to stream it or watch it later. Boo.

Despite the fact that it's October, the weather is warmer than it was last week. That hasn't stopped me from layering though. I haven't worn this oversize denim jacket in a while, so I decided to bring that out of the closet, and paired it with a classic plaid shirt and black jeans for a somewhat grunge-y feel. I added my Docs to go with the look as well as for comfort, and finally, just went for my usual watch and rings.

Slightly cringing at my hand right now. Why is it in a claw? Why am I so awkward? Sigh.

 Not too sure why, but I just love the masculine look of collars and rolled up sleeves (esp with like a pattern on the cuff.. if that makes sense...) so so so much.

Just some pics of my Docs, because they seriously give any outfit the perfect amount of edge and they're super comfy. Like seriously comfy. Or maybe that's just me since I wear heels 24/7.

OUTFIT INFO: 

Red flannel/ plaid: TNA/ Aritzia (similar)
Oversize denim jacket: American Apparel (x)
Black skinny jeans: American Eagle (x)
Watch: American Apparel (x)
Doc Martens: Doc Martens (x)

smiles for miles

I bring good news: I finally got my own camera! Fun fact: up until now, I have actually been using other people's cameras for all the pictures on my blog. To say that it was a hassle having to constantly find someone to take a picture and a camera, is an understatement. But a hassle no more! I now have my own camera! As to when I'll be able to fully understand how to use it, that's a whole different story. Anyways, I had a late lunch, or afternoon snack as some might say, with my parents at a cute cafe near West 7th, called Moii Cafe (I think). After we finished our amazing crepes, we basically went all over town, to a Best Buy and a Sony store, to search for the camera that my dad wanted. Finally, we found the camera at Metrotown, and headed home, where I met up with my friend, Grace, who luckily for me, was off her volunteer early, so she could take pics. Later, we were joined with two other friends, and even after Grace left, we all did what we do best: eat, sleep, gossip, and internet. We did all those exciting things until about 7-7:30, and with the extra time (I was surprisingly ahead of schedule with blog posts), I had the chance to watch two Sherlock episodes tonight. I can already feel how sad and anxious I'm going to be once I'm caught up.

I feel like every person has a wardrobe item (or two or three) that is often a conversation piece for them. For example, perhaps you have a stand-out sweater, filled with wacky designs, that can't help but attract strangers and their compliments. These shorts are one of my conversation pieces. Almost every time that I've worn these shorts, I've gotten asked where I got them, and like I mentioned in a previous blog post (although that one was about my bag), at least 3/4 of the time, I had to say, the awkward, "A store with no name." Thankfully, like I mentioned, they have a name now, but these shorts still bring back the memories of that worker at Lush's face when I told him the no-name thing (disbelief? In a not-so-good way? I think that's the best way to put it). Anyways, I paired it with a black shirt, since the shorts are already a stand-out piece on it's own, and put on a statement necklace, so the top wouldn't be so boring. I grabbed a flannel, since I knew it would be cold, and it added a grunge appeal. I decided then, that I would just add to the grunge look with my sunglasses and cutout boots. Comfy and cute, I like it.

 Fun fact: I had a pair of sunglasses that looked just like these that I got from Aldo before the summer started, I broke them in my bag halfway through summer, and words couldn't describe how sad I was. And how much I had to squint during those hard times.

Close-up of the smiley shorts! They're just like the Bart Simpson shorts that circulated the Internet, I think about two years ago, but a tad different (obviously).

OUTFIT INFO: 

Plaid: TNA/ Aritzia (similar)

Shirt: Oak + Fort 
Necklace: Topshop
Shorts: 8th and Main
Bracelet: Brandy Melville (similar)
Watch: American Apparel
Shoes: Topshop (similar)

god save the queen

Around two years ago, I had somehow managed to save up enough money to afford a record player for myself. Of course, I forgot about tax and my dad had to help me, but that's not the point. A few months ago, I noticed that there was something wrong with my needle, and had to order a new one. It finally came in a bit ago, and I decided to celebrate by going down to Main Street, and stopping by one of my fave record stores, Neptoon Records, to see if there were any I wanted to buy. Unfortunately, records are expensive, and I am unemployed, so the trip resulted in me leaving empty handed and heart-broken as I had to leave the Weezer record back in the store. I was with two of my good friends, on our way to meet up with a third, and while we planned to go to the Art gallery, life decided to just take us on a different route for that night. While walking towards a cafe, we came across this gorgeous wall, and spent ages taking pictures in front of it (I almost died when people stopped and stared). After, we decided to ditch the cafe and go to The Warehouse to eat (cheap and delicious, I love it). Before heading back to my house, we did a bit of window-shopping, and then ended the night off with a fourth friend and Insidious 2.

I have always considered plaid as my go-to clothing item for a lazy day. It's gotten to a point where the moment I come into a room wearing plaid, at least 2 of my friends look at me and say, "Lazy day?" Although, while they're right 99% of the time, there are the occasional days where I purposely wear plaid, for more of a dark, grunge feel. Yesterday, was a mix of both. I first picked out a Sex Pistols shirt, since I was in the mood to dress a bit more tomboy/grunge, and the plaid was just a perfect pick to throw on on top or just tie around my waist. I haven't worn these grey jeans in at least a year, so imagine my surprise when I found out they still fit. Fall is finally starting to peek it's head, so I threw on my cutout boots, and picked out a large bag in case I decided to buy any large stuff (I didn't). Lastly, I bought those sunglasses that day at one of my favourite stores on Main, Front and Company. You can always do with a pair of sunnies; I mean, how else are you supposed to look at people without them knowing?

I searched far and wide to find this record, and when I did my heart did a little flutter of joy. I rewarded myself with this shirt. That's not great logic, but whatever.

 I found this bag at a store called 8th and Main. Although, when I first got it, the store was apparently so new that they hadn't named themselves yet. Imagine the looks on people's faces when I would reply to their question of "Where did you get your (insert item here)?" I'd say, "A store on Main with no name."

 I never thought I'd find a person with a head as round as mine, until I met Coco (not so) Tan. That's okay, we embrace our full faces, even though sometimes we tend to look like meatballs or Chinese bread buns. While we had multiple pictures of us trying oh so hard to look cool in our sunglasses, I ended up choosing this one as it's the best representation of both our friendship and Coco as a person. Fun fact: Coco laughs like a donkey. 90% of the time, her laugh is funnier than the joke. And it's the best thing in the world.

 Squaaad. Okay, yeah that sounded as lame in my head as it does here.

Here's a quick picture of Allison, Coco, and I at The Warehouse. I do wish that I got a pic of the restaurant though. It has such a nice feel. It's like a little hole-in-the-wall, and while the music is sometimes a bit much, there will be times where they will play the perfect song, that goes with it's grunge-y, somewhat ratty (but always nice) atmosphere, and the food will just be so mouthwatering-ly delicious, and there is truly no words to describe how great that feels.

 OUTFIT INFO: 

Plaid: TNA/ Aritzia (similar)
Shirt: I forgot (I'm so sorry my memory sucks)
Bag: 8th and Main
Jeans: Hot Topic (I think) (similar)
Watch: American Apparel 
Necklace: Long: Urban Outfitters (similar)
                 Short: Topshop
Shoes: Topshop (similar)

it's a metaphor

I have never been the type of person to dress well for the occasion. 99% of the time, I end up being waaay overdressed. That includes yesterday. One of my friends had (surprisingly) never been to Lynn Canyon before. As a kid who had spent numerous summer camp days there, I immediately made plans with her and a few others to go there as soon as we were all free (aka yesterday). We bought some Subway sandwiches, and one of my good friends, Elle, treated us to DQ smoothies (godbless having friends with good connections). The trip getting there is incredibly long (bus, seabus, then bus again) and tedious, but it is nothing compared to climbing over rocks and such just to get to a nice spot to eat lunch. After a (not-so) brief struggle across the rocks and water, we relaxed for a while in front of an amazing view, just eating and talking. Thankfully, taking pics on the rocks weren't as hard as getting there, and once we were done, it was almost the evening and we decided to take the trail back to the bridge. The view from the Suspension Bridge really is quite wondrous; it's not the best for those with a fear of heights, but if you can handle it, the view is worth it.

Like I mentioned, I hardly dress for the right occasion. Somehow, my mind convinces me that "Yes, Maika, you can hike just fine in Doc Martens boots!" or "No, the floppy hat is not gonna be that hard to hold on to at all while you climb rocks!" Every time, I realize how wrong I was, yet I still can't seem to dress right for a day out in nature. Anyways, I got this, what I like to call, ironic white t-shirt at Zara and just fell in love with the humour (that no one else seems to get and/or appreciate except for me. Go figure.). I paired it with my black shorts for, yet another, monochrome look, and added a pop of colour with my red flannel, which I wore once it got cold, but otherwise just tied around my waist. The floppy hat has now become a permanent part of my head it seems (it doesn't help that when I do take it off, I get the worst case of hat hair). Lastly, while my Doc Martens made the trudge through the rocks a million times more difficult, the tough edge it added to my look was so worth it.

I am actually so in love with this shirt. To me, it's kind of like an effortless irony. It's a step above the basic white tee, especially because it's somewhat mocking the tee! I swear, every friend that I have worn this t-shirt with has said the same thing: either a) "I don't get it." or b) "It's not funny." Oh well. I still laugh at it every time.

Remember when I mentioned that we got DQ smoothies for a good price? Yeah, well here's our little guardian angel, Ellenor Dolores Davie (I hope I spelled that right and I hope that she doesn't kill me for using her full name. I love you, Elle). While I was taking my hundreds of pictures on the rocks, Elle came by and took some pics of her own as well as delivered me my shoes. Here's us doing a "Squad" pic.

Here's a few pictures of our view whilst we ate. Definitely worth slipping on rocks and the freezing cold water.

Don't look down!

OUTFIT INFO: 

Hat: Brandy Melville
Plaid: TNA / Aritzia (similar)
Shirt: Zara
Necklace: Urban Outfitters
Shorts: Hot Topic (similar)
Watch: American Apparel
Shoes: Doc Martens