My poor little toes

This weekend Ella and I went shopping. The main reason was to get Ella some new runners, but I was also on the lookout for some new footwear. I'm not one of those 'shoe people' (you know who you are!) but I do have a new job, so buying some new shoes isn't an unreasonable exercise.

No luck on the runners (why do all girls shoes still have to have some pink or purple on them?) but Ella did get some cute new boots. And then I got to go shopping ... and I noticed something interesting. None of the women's shoes came in half sizes. And I am most definitely a size 6 1/2. Where did all the half sizes go???

I spotted these cute black flats - perfect for
casual Fridays. The size 6 fit, but my toes were pressed right up to the end of the shoe and I knew they'd get uncomfortable pretty quickly, especially since I tried them on barefoot and sock weather is rapidly approaching. And my feet were swimming in the size 7, too big even for an insole to fix. So sadly, I am not the proud owner of these shoes.

Now granted, we were shopping at one of those big box shoes stores, where most shoes are under $100. So my theory is that mass shoe manufacturers have decided that it's cheaper and more efficient to only produce shoes in full sizes. Lucky for those perfect size sevens out there, but what about all us half sizers? Are we supposed to forever suffer from blisters or floppy shoes? I'm too old for that. I'm guessing 'real' shoe manufacturers are still making shoes in half sizes, but sometimes you just don't want to pay a hundred dollars for a pair of cute casual Friday shoes.

So we left the store, a bit sadder and with money still in my wallet. My toes were feeling a little discriminated against (it's not their fault they're in-between sizes) but they calmed down when I told them we were heading to Florida soon and hopefully we'd be able to find some good half-size shoe deals.

Straw hat: the winner!

Thank you to everyone who voted on my straw hat choices. Here are the results.

Hat #1 received several emphatic "yes" votes. It was one of the very first hats I bought. It's from Walmart and cost $14. I really like the slightly masculine styling of the hat and the darker colour. What you can't tell from the picture, is that it's just a bit tight on my head and I was afraid that in the hot weather it would drive me nuts.

Hat #5 was also a popular choice. It's a Ralph Lauren hat that I bought at The Bay on sale for $24. I actually liked the way this hat looked in the store, better than in this picture. Unfortunately, I thought it was a bit too white and 'afternoon tea' for me (I'm just not a Ralph Lauren kind of gal).





And so the winner is ... Hat #3, which is from Forever 21 and cost $12.80. It received a number of votes and was my going-in favourite. I agree that the lace ribbon it came with is a little demure, so I've replaced it with something more modern looking. Here's the updated look, using some of the fun filters on Instagram:

And because I can't keep anything simple, I've actually found another hat for consideration (when I went to return the ones from The Bay). I'm definitely keeping the one above for everyday use, but I'm thinking this one could be used for slightly fancier occasions. What do you think?

DIY celtic heart knot necklace

A while ago, I wrote about making a scarf out of an old t-shirt. Since then, my mom has gone gangbusters making and even selling these scarves. I've been a bit slower to adopt this as my latest craft-of-choice, but I have been working on a few new options for the scarves, which I'll share shortly.

What I do have to share with you today is another use for those strips of old t-shirts I cut up for the above scarves: a celtic heart knot necklace. You could use any heavy string or cord, but I had lots of t-shirt strips lying around and they work perfectly. These are fun and simple to make, and pretty to wear for the summer.

I found the instructions on Clones 'N' Clowns - it looks very complicated, but then all of a sudden it's done, and in less than a few minutes you have a cool new necklace. I have one I wear almost every day, I made one for my friend, three for Ella and her friends, and even Ella's teacher got one as part of her year-end thank you gift.
(Merci Madame, it was a great year!).

New DIY yellow scarf

After Ella outgrew her pink and purple stage, her favourite colours were yellow and orange. I thought yellow was an interesting choice but I never thought too much about it. Now it seems to be popping up everywhere and I love it!

I've been coveting this Sovay Scarf in Lemon from Ash and Anchor that I found via Babble. But because I'm feeling cheap, I decided that I would make myself a yellow scarf instead.

I followed the directions to make a t-shirt scarf provided by Jess at Make & Do Girl, and it was just as easy as it sounds. Pick a t-shirt in a colour you like, wash, cut into strips, stretch and loop. It was so simple I was able to make it with Ryan attached to my leg and while watching TV. (Although I think the way Jess did it - with friends and wine - sounds way more fun.)

Of course, because I never do things the easy way, I had to add my own little flair to this project with some wooden beads. This required cutting some of the loops, threading on a bead and then sewing them back up. Resewing the loops was a bit finicky but if I'm honest, the longest part of the process was dragging out and setting up the sewing machine.

And voila! A funky new scarf for spring. Now I think I might need one in teal, navy blue, grey, soft green, lime green and red.

Favourite things: lip balms

Maria can keep her raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens - I've got lip balms! My makeup routine is pretty basic so I don't have a cupboard full of beauty supplies. I do, however, have a little obsession with lip balms. For me, lip balms are little pieces of happiness you can carry around in your purse. They're (relatively) cheap, you don't need a mirror to apply them and they make your lips feel good. If I'm ever in need of a little pick-me-up, I know getting a new lip balm will often do the trick.

I have a purse full of them (guess I need lots of pick-me-ups!), but here are three of my favourites:

The Dr. Hauschka Lip Care Stick is my all-time favourite lip balm. A tube of it always sits in my night table and I use it every single night before I go to bed. It has a super smooth texture that feels like silk gliding over your lips (not that I've ever slid silk over my lips) and it's never cakey or gloppy. It has a mild, herbal smell that makes you think it must be good for you. It's a tad on the pricey side but it's worth it.



I bought a few of these Herbal Lip Therapy Super-Healing Lip Balm from Priya Means Love as Christmas gifts for some friends and decided I should really try it out, too. They're handmade and all organic. They come in a cute little tin with their 'made by' and 'enjoy by' dates handwritten on the back. I love the herbal smell and the teeny tiny bit of colour that comes with it.

The eos (evolution of smooth) lip balm is the latest addition to my collection - I bought the Sweet Mint just a few days ago. It goes on super smooth and has a nice minty tingle. But this lip balm is really all about the looks. It comes in a cute little egg-shaped container in a range of candy colours and it looks great sitting on my counter. It's also 100% natural, 95% organic and gluten free.



The good news is that there's no shortage of lip balms to try out. Next on my wish list are the Baby Lips by Maybelline - apparently it's what all the models were using at Toronto Fashion Week.