This Is What Unemployment Looks Like

tee {Gap} - jeans {American Eagle} - shoes {TOMS} - necklaces {gifts} - sunnies {Oasap}

I spend my days juicing fruits and vegetables in between buying more fruits and vegetables at the grocery store or buying furniture I don't need from the thrift store. In other words, I'm your grandmother.

Things to note in this otherwise pointless post. The juice is pineapple, apple, pear and mint and is what dreams are made of and that chair up there swivels.

I do plan on giving this chair a paint job and making a cushion for it. Hmm, a DIY project....still your grandma. Did I mention the chair swivels?

j.

Food Comas & Leather Elbows

sweater {Old Navy} - leather elbow patches {DIY} - jeans {Flying Monkey via Century 21}

I hope you all had a great Christmas! I was spoiled this year by having FOUR different dinners in a row. I started out with roast beef, then moved on to spiced beef, followed by turkey and finishing with a grand finale of my Nana's homemade perogies, arguably my favorite dinner of the holidays. Needless to say, I probably don't have to eat for at least two weeks.

This is the leather elbow patch sweater that I DIY'd before Christmas. I really love it. I have already worn it twice, once with jeans, like above, and I even dressed it up and paired it with a red and black plaid skirt for one of my holiday dinners. Who knew leather elbow patches were so versatile. 

I don't want to hurt your feelings now, but as of tomorrow I will be in Hawaii for a couple weeks. I'll try and keep the posting of palm trees and crashing waves to a minimum. However, I will be on Instagram and since photos of palm trees on Instagram are probably almost as frequent as photos of your latest meal and best duck face, I am making no firm promises. If you wanna torture yourself, follow along (@jlovesstyle)!

j.

Leather Elbow Patch DIY

I'm baaaack! And I come bearing a little how-to on leather elbow patches. I had been wanting a sweater with leather elbows for a long time but never did find the perfect one so I decided that I could make one. All you need are the items above. I've given you a step-by-step guide below, it was really quite simple. I'll also share a few tips that I learned along the way.

Yep! It's really that easy. I did encounter a few difficulties so here are a few tips so you can avoid them!

-Since it's the sleeve and you only want to stitch through one layer of the sweater, getting to the inside was a bit tricky at first. I found it much easier to get at it through the neck hole instead of the arm hole, if that makes sense.

-I was pleased to discover that the leather did not shift that much during the sewing process but I pinned it at the top, just in case.

-Grow an extra layer of skin on your fingertips or consider wearing band-aids. My fingers are still sore from that darn needle!

-And the most important tip...line up the second patch with the first one BEFORE you sew the entire thing on and discover that it is a good three inches higher than the first one.

I LOVE how it turned out, stay tuned to see the whole sweater in all it's leather elbow patch glory!

j.

50 Shades of Wrong

Sometimes, I wear things that just don't work. Unfortunately, this dress is one of those things. And instead of learning from my mistake, hiding said item in the depths of my closet and forgetting that the unfortunate occurence ever happened, I decided to post the tragic photos for all to see. Enjoy.

unfortunate teal dress {thrifted} - plum tote {justfab} - bronze gladiator sandals {Steve Madden via Century 21} -

Love bracelet {etsy} - gold watch {Target}

Let's start with the dress' redeeming qualities, shall we?

1. Color

That list is pretty darn short. I've got one plus and one plus only. The dress is a pretty shade of teal which made for a smashing contrast with my plum tote and seafoam nails. That's all I got.

Moving on to everything that is wrong about this dress. It is loose in all the wrong places (read: the girls) and clingy in definitely the wrong places (read: tummy). It is an atrociously awkward length and needs to lose at least two inches. It shows panty lines like nobody's business. And to top it all off, there is a faint stain (but stain none the less) on the skirt that I failed to notice in the thrift shop (gross).

Disregarding how uncomfortable I felt all night in this dress, I've decided it may be salvageable. I have only worn it once before in the winter and it worked much better styled with tights and boots (and a tight tank underneath to streamline things...). I need to take up the hem and possibly nip and tuck a bit in the chest but I am determined to turn this ugly duckling into a beautiful teal swan. Stay tuned!

j.

P.S. How many of you thought of the porno romance novel that's flying off the shelves when you read the title to this post? It's alright, you can admit it. Honestly, it's amazing how often I hear conversations about this book. Today, I overheard three women say "they're making it a movie...I wonder who they would get to play him" and that's all it took for me to know which book they were referencing. But seriously, for all of you who've read it - who would play Christian Grey?!

J. Loves {Her} Style: Never Enough Neon

Meet Kanika. She's from India and I (still) love her style. Read on to find out why!

The first time I loved Kanika's style she was all about color and mixing patterns. Today, she was still all about color, but rocking the neon trend to the max. And I was loving every second of it.

One thing I appreciate about Kanika is that she commits to a look one hundred and fifty percent. She never does a style halfway. She's all about the details and the details usually make the outfit. I especially loved her neon necklace that she wore over top of her buttoned-up blouse.

From her sandals, to her bracelet and even her fingernails, she was neoned out. A big props for being able to match the colors of that skirt so spot on. Which, by the way, she made!!!

I am pretty much in awe of Kanika's design and artistic abilities every. single. time I see her. It also doesn't hurt that she is the biggest sweetheart on the planet. I just know that this girl is going to be something else real soon. I just have a feeling.

Thanks, Kanika, for rocking my favorite trend for Spring. You make neon look real good!

j.

New York Uniform

It is very unlike me to wear all black. You see a whole lot of all black ensembles in New York. I'm always impressed when someone is darkly decked out head to toe yet still manages to look fresh. One of my roommates is one of those people. She often wears all black but still always looks effortlessly chic and put together. Anyways, I recently bought this shirt and perhaps need to do laundry for reasons that will remain unknown, I decided to give the all black look a try. 

black zipper tee {Zara} - black skinnies {Old Navy} - sunnies {H&M} - blue belt {Loft} - brown boots {Aldo} -

 elephant necklace & blue leather bracelet {flea market, NYC} - beaded & chain bracelets {DIY} - photo credit {Kiki}

Clearly I had to take baby steps into this dark world by throwing on a bright blue belt, brown boots and loads of colored bracelets. After all, I've always been a little afraid of the dark (actually though, I slept with a night light until an embarrassingly old age...). I'll admit, though, that I am kind of loving the pseudo-gothic new me. I just may don the darks a little bit more often. It's just too bad I figured this out when Mother Nature* started cooperating and giving us sunshine.

j.

*Umm...Mother Nature, if you're reading this, don't worry I can save my black for Fall so please keep the sunshine coming.

Crafty Chains

I love crafts. I always have and probably always will. It was my absolute favorite thing to do when I was a kid. Make things. Anything, from sewing projects to jewelry to countless decorations for this holiday and that holiday and often just for fun.

I did bring a bit of my crafting supplies with me to NYC, just in case. And this past weekend, I got to crack them open with my friend and fellow craft queen, Sesame. She saw this bracelet on one of my favorite blogs, Honestly...WTF, and showed it to me. Little did she know, I was familiar with this DIY blog and had already successfully made these puppies a few months back. I had also already seen this bracelet and had wanted to try it.

So, what better time than now to give it a whirl? We had stumbled upon an amazing trim shop on the weekend during a flea adventure where we picked up basic beads and made a few simple bracelets to whet our crafting appetites. We knew they sold the chain so we planned another trip there and set our crafting date for Wednesday morning. Well, Wednesday morning came and I made two bracelets and Sesame made a necklace. We spent our "group meeting" making jewelry instead of working on our project due next week. Then, when it was about time for me to leave for class, the most wonderful of things happened. I received an email saying that class had been cancelled. We both looked at one another and at the same time said, "wanna go get more materials?". Yes, yes we do. So, off we went for the third time in five days to the trim shop we were starting to know and had loved since the first chance encounter. We made more bracelets and more necklaces and called it a night nine (!) hours after we had first begun. What fun we had crafting the entire day away. And we have so many more ideas to come!

leather detail tee {Zara} - necklace & jacket {Forever 21} - black skinnies {Old Navy} - tan riding-inspired boots {The Bay} -

neon & chain bracelet {DIY} - watch & teal leather bracelet {flea market, NYC} - scarf {market, Spain}

There was tea and hot chocolate, lemon poundcake and red velvet cupcakes too. Dinner from the Indian take-out place, Clay Oven, just down the street. Lots of chatter. Too many new ideas. And promises of more crafts to come.

I can't wait to show you what we make next!

j.

Thrifted Thursday

Hello again friends. It's been a while. I know. But it's hard to blog about style when you've been wearing fuchsia sweatpants for the past 3 days. Trust me. Not a pretty picture.

I've had a very productive week on the selling stuff and sorting front though. But I did promise you all a post a while back about these two thrifted pretties.

        

                

You will all notice the handy little "before" tags on these photos. You probably think the "after" photos are below. Don't you? Oh dear. This is awkward. There are no "after" photos....not yet anyways. Consider this a sneak peek. A preview. Although I must say that I don't think either of these pieces need much alteration. Let's break it down. (MC Hammer is now going through my head. And now probably yours. You're welcome.)

Thrifted Item: Cranberry Plaid Suit

Made in: Great Britan

Made of: 100% Lambswool

Bought from: Value Village (VV Boutique, if you will)

For: $9.99 (BOTH items!!!)

What can can I possibly do to make it even more FAB, you ask? To the Blazer? Nothing. Not a single thing. It fits like a glove. Thank you very much. And to the Skirt? I say shorten it. To the top of the pleats. Make it a high-waisted mini. My only concern is the proportion. But I think it will look better. It's a lot of plaid right now. A whole lotta plaid. 

Next!

Thrifted Item: Navy Blue Sailor Dress

Made in: Japan (guess based on language of tags)

Made of: 90% Acrylic, 10% Wool (tag was in Japanese...another perk of working at a boarding school)

Bought from: VV Boutique

For: $9.99

This little treasure only needs a few minor nips and tucks to make it suitable for the 21st century. So what am I going to do to the length? Nothing. Come on. Who do you think I am? What about that fit? A little nipping required through the waist. Easy fix. (Although I may still wait for my Nana's assistance...). Good plan. Just in case. The collar has got to go. Trust me. It will look way better. Way. And last but not least. The sleeves. I'm thinking shorten. Either 3/4 length. Or short-sleeved.

What do you think I should (or shouldn't!) do to these two thrifted gems?

j.

Before & After: Vintage Polka-Stars

Please don't hate me. I am totally copping out with this post. This is a little vintage re-work project I did back in September. I came across this red silk skirt and matching top with tiny white stars all over it at a local consignment store. 100% silk. Early 80's. Tiny stars all over a (floor length) skirt and button-up shirt (with shoulder pads). What wasn't to love? The ladies in the consignment store were skeptical, at best. I told them to use their imagination. After a few nips here and a couple tucks there, I was confident I would have something worth saving. I left all excitedly. Went home, got out the sewing machine. A couple hours later. Voila!

(I was so excited with my first vintage re-work but had no one to share my success with.  So I went back to the consignment store where I had bought the outfit. The ladies nearly lost it. Whether that was due to my inspiring vision and (slightly maniacal) dedication to seeing said vision through to the finish or them taking pity on the crazy girl with nothing better to do than come back to the store for the second time that day...one will never tell.)

 I liked that by adding the thick belt it made the two pieces look like one. A cute little polka-star dress.

I recently bought two new vintage pieces that need a little "finessing". Stay tuned!

j.

Friendship Bracelet Bling

Happy Monday Friends!

This is my last week of work. It is bittersweet. I'm sad to leave a lot of great people. But I am excited for my new adventure. Speaking of that. I have applied to Parsons (my dream school) for the Fashion Marketing Program. I am waiting to hear if I am accepted. Gulp. Fingers crossed. If (when) I get in, the program would start at the end of January.

I have to move out of my condo by the end of November.

My Parents (whom I love very much) are going to be in Palm Springs at the end of November. I may have weasled my way into their trip. Score. I already have SO many outfit photos planned. OMG. And the shopping. So much shopping. Just wait.

From there, I will fly back to Calgary (my hometown) with the rents. For a month. With not a whole lot going on. I may go mental. Be warned. But I have a fun project planned. Involving photos. Past photos. Just wait.

Then. And it pains me to tell you this, it really does. The whole fam (I'm talking, parents, bro and girlfriend and grandparents) is hopping on a plane on Christmas Eve. Where are we going you ask? Sigh. Don't say I didn't warn you. We are going to Hawaii. Kauai to be exact. Aka paradise. And this part hurts me more than it hurts you, it really does. For 2 weeks! Tough life. I know. Spoiled rotten. I know. Best parents in the world. I know.

By the time I'm done frolicking around vacation destinations it will be the beginning of January. At which point I will head to NYC. To live. And go to school. I just have to get in to Parsons. I have to. I will. I will. I will.

Anyways. Last weekend I made some "bling"ed out friendship bracelets. Courtesy of Honestly...WTF. One of my daily blog reads. Check out the post that gave me my inspiration. The bracelets were a success. They inspired my outfit for the next work day. I chose to focus on accessories. And lots of em. I kept my outfit simple. Black and white. With killer shoes. Literally. Couldn't feel my feet by the end of the day. But it was worth it. For the outfit. For the sake of style. This was the first time I layered necklaces. I was pleased with the aethestic. I think it helped that I kept my actual clothing really plain.

                                      white button-up {Old Navy} - bronze skinny belt {Old Navy} - black pants {Suzy Shier} -

                                      oxford heels {Winners} - white pearl necklace {gift} - black pearls {hawaii} -

                                      rhinestone & chain necklace {Smart Set} - bracelet bling {DIY}

What do you think?

j.