prairie girl musings

Category: Toronto

  • Twenty Reasons I Love Summer (Toronto Edition)

    Twenty Reasons I Love Summer (Toronto Edition)

    Image(Photo by Kimberly Pesch)

    1. Fashion is simple and baring one’s legs is perfectly acceptable.

    2. Pool parties with copious amounts of beverages and floatation devices are a thing.

    3. Havaianas are the closest I can get to walking around barefoot.

    4. I’m allowed to eat as much ice cream as I desire.

    5. Running outside (to counteract said ice cream) is far more pleasant in the (spring, fall and) summer months.

    6. There’s always something going on. Toronto comes ALIVE in the summertime.

    7. I’m allowed to laze by the lake for at least a week, maybe two.

    8. OSHEAGA Music Festival is the place to be during August long. And festival fashion is my kinda fashion.

    9. Exhibitions, fairs, carnivals (whatever you’d like to call ’em) are an excuse to eat mini donuts and candy apples, then scream your lungs out on rides called Vertigo and Gravitron.

    10. Dining outside is a daily occurrence.

    11. Baseball games are an affordable and fun way to spend an afternoon.

    12. The sunsets are breathtaking.

    13. TIFF in the Park is re-inventing and urbanizing the drive-in movie theatre.

    14. BBQs. Need I say more?

    15. It’s the perfect time to wear your favourite Karen Walker sunglasses! Harvest are my personal faves!

    16. Everyone is out and about, making the most of the season.

    17. Road trips are much more pleasant (and safe) in the summertime!

    18. Rooftop patios are a weekly (sometimes thrice weekly) thing.

    19. There’s nothing better than whiling away the afternoon at The Toronto Islands.

    20. Torontonians sport an abundance of amazing, well done tattoos, that are more visible in the summer months.

  • Club Monaco and other news.

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    Hi friends!

    A lot has happened in my life as of late. Rather than lament the negative, I have decided to focus on the overwhelmingly positive aspects of my summer thus far.

    I have recently started a job with Club Monaco, which is one of my favourite companies. I’m working at the original store on Queen Street West that opened in Toronto in 1985. It is literally one block from my apartment, and if you know me, you know this is worth mentioning. I love being within walking distance of everything. Since Club Monaco was purchased by Polo Ralph Lauren, they have adopted a much trendier, cutting-edge aesthetic. My older sister, Stephanie was an avid Club Monaco customer since she was five (I’m partially kidding) and through her, I kept up with the company. I fell in love with their visual displays and digital platforms. Their website is spectacular as are their Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Their clothes suit the business/professional lifestyle that I will one day attain!

    In other news, I will be attending Osheaga music festival in Montréal again this year! I am beyond thrilled to check out my favourite artists in one of my favourite cities. My sister, Natalie will be joining me and we’ll be meeting up with other friends as well.

    I was also able to spend nearly two weeks at home in Saskatchewan with my immediate and extended family. The circumstances that brought us together were less than ideal, but I’ll cherish these moments regardless. I’ve always been close to my family and these past two weeks have magnified these feelings of gratitude. I am truly blessed to have an abundance of relatives who care about my wellbeing.

    I have a few more exciting things to tell you, but I’ll wait until next time!

    Until then,
    Vanessa

  • Style Influences

    Style Influences

    Moving to Canada, Toronto in particular, has undoubtedly impacted my sense of style. Whether it was the continent hopping or simply transitioning from full-time student to full-time intern, I’ve been forced to relinquish my ‘homeless-chic’ fashion sense (a term so lovingly coined by my dear friend, Adrian.)

    The study of style has always been of interest to me. How we evolve over time and accumulate new life experiences certainly impacts our sense of style. I appreciate the various social media platforms at our disposal. They enable us to so easily chronicle our daily lives in such a visual and powerful way.

    My sense of style has certainly evolved since high school. Whilst in New Zealand, I was obsessed with the quirky, tongue-in-cheek designs of Karen Walker, Ruby and Huffer (more on Huffer later…) eventually embracing the more streamlined looks of Moochi, Country Road and Zambesi. Like most Aucklanders, I wore a lot of black and adopted a minimalistic approach to hair and makeup. I love how my New Zealander friends and classmates mix high fashion with consignment steals and messy hair. Their “I’ll be damned” attitude is conveyed in everything they do and wear, as if they had just spent their noon hour having a dip in the Pacific.

    However, working in an office environment, many of my favourite garments have been stashed away at my parents’ home in Saskatchewan, waiting for the next road trip or indie music festival. Lately, I’m finding my style veers towards the preppier, buttoned-up looks of J.Crew and Kate Spade. Club Monaco is another old standard that can do no wrong in my eyes.

    Who influences your sense of style? Or rather who influences your style? Is it your present geographic region? The current trends in your part of the world? Is it a combination of your travel experiences and the cities you’ve visited? Surely you are influenced by the climate and your friends, but what else drives the way you present yourself to the world every day?

    For me, my style is an accumulation of all my experiences. From growing up in rural Saskatchewan to travelling to Europe for the first time to completing my BA in the Southern Hemisphere, and everything in between. Here are some of my favourite outfits over the past few years:

    xoxo, Vanessa

  • Summer Fashion Trends

    Summer Fashion Trends

    I am officially on a shopping ban.

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    You read that correctly. I’ve made a bet with an undisclosed individual that I will not shop for the entire summer, that is until September 2013. Those who know me know how challenging this endeavour will be. However, it has forced me to go through my closet and work with the already abundant selection of garments I have.

    Without further ado, here are my six favourite summertime trends:

    1. Lace. I have a thing for lace, and nothing beats a white-hot lace top with high-waisted denim shorts, or a vibrant pink lace skirt paired with a denim button-down shirt. Bring it on.

    2. Denim shirts. Yes, I am Canadian and yes, I do love denim more than your average bear. It just goes with everything and it is easygoing, unpretentious and casual. I feel as though anyone can wear denim, which I love. I’ll be rocking my denim shirts and denim jackets all summer long.

    3. Basket-weaver sandals. While I’m not sure the official name for these sandals, but I must say I’m in love. Paired with anything from a floral sundress to a striped t-shirt and shorts, basket-weaver sandals are the way to go this summer. I bought a Steve Madden pair (pre-ban) for $30, what a steal!

    4. Dungarees. Okay, so I could call them overalls, but I much prefer the British term, “dungarees” because it’s more fun to say! Socialites all over the globe have made this a must-try summer trend, and I can’t help but love the effortless look.

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    5. Summer sequins. Who can resist a little glitter? Pair a sequin skirt with a white top or sweater in the summertime for a look that takes you from day to night. Keep the rest of your outfit simple and chic to avoid overkill.


    6. Calf-length skirts. Come on, show off a little calf. I love where these skirts hit the leg, they aren’t quite maxi. No time for a pedicure? No problem, just lace up your boots or brogues.

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    xoxo, Vanessa

     

  • Cosmopolitanism

    “Cosmopolitanism is an orientation, a willingness to engage with the other. It entails an intellectual and aesthetic openness towards divergent cultural experiences, a search for contrasts rather than uniformity. To become acquainted with more cultures is to turn into an aficionado, to view them as artworks. At the same time, however, cosmopolitanism can be a matter of competence, and competence of both a generalised and a more specialised kind. There is the aspect of a state of readiness, a personal ability to make one’s way into other cultures, through listening, looking, intuiting, and reflecting.”

    -Hannerz, 1990

  • Ramblings and Deliberations

    Ramblings and Deliberations

    I’m sorry that I haven’t been active this week on the blog. I wasn’t feeling very motivated and didn’t want to write anything less than inspired. I know I’m prone to spitting out useless jargon and I’d like my blog to be more than a collection of my recent ruminations.

    I was able to re-focus my energy towards something positive towards the end of the week. Namely, my summer goals for 2013. I came across this article on Thought Catalog this evening, and it really contextualized a lot of what was going on in my head. I’ve spent the past week freaking about my lack of career. Sure, I’m interning at an awesome magazine and enjoying it immensely, but I still have this nagging feeling that I’m nowhere near where I should be professionally. I constantly feel like I gave up the opportunity at a very good career in favour of pursuing my passion to write (and live abroad). It’s obviously not as simple as that, but I do hope that I will eventually figure out what it is I should be doing professionally.

    In other news: My younger sister is moving to a suburb just outside Toronto, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. She’s my best friend and it’s been way too long since we’ve lived in the same province, not to mention the same city. Case in point: many of my summer plans will involve my sister.

    So, without further ado, I introduce you to my summer 2013 goals:

    1. Train for another half marathon – Those who know me, know that I’ve been running on and off since I was eight. I completed my first half marathon after finishing high school, and it was all downhill (or uphill?) from there. My best time was 1 hour and 45 minutes at the Rotorua Half Marathon (in New Zealand). It was a trail run and I had been training on the craziest hills the North Shore of Auckland had to offer. That was in March 2011 and needless to say, I’m not nearly as fit right now. It’s time to get back into shape.

    2. Attend as many summer concerts as humanly (financially) possible – I’m a huge concert goer because many of my favourite bands toured New Zealand while I was living there. I’m not surprised that it’s one of the most popular destinations for band tours because it’s literally paradise on earth; a place most people dream of visiting. Last year, I went to Osheaga in Montreal, which was the best music festival I’ve ever been to. The lineup this year is even better, so I’m hoping I can make it again. I’d also like to attend North by Northwest, which Toronto’s version of South by Southwest. My sister wants to see John Mayer and Taylor Swift, so those are two more possibilities.

    3. Ruminate various career paths – I’m wrapping up my second internship in a couple weeks. I have learnt so much from both Ottawa Magazine and Weddingbells and I’m truly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had with both publications. It’s been wonderful getting my foot in the door, so to speak, and learning the ins and outs of the editorial industry. While I’d like to maintain involvement in the magazine industry, I’d also like to continue to build my freelance proofreading business and get my website up. I’m not entirely sure what will happen over the summer, but I’m excited to see where my editing will take me. I have also decided that I’d like to upgrade my university courses over the next year and complete all the prerequisites to begin a Masters or postgraduate program in something practical and rewarding. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to discover a fulfilling career by the time I’m thirty.

    4. Attend dance class 2-3 times per week – I have recently discovered an amazing drop-in dance studio only five minutes from my apartment. It’s ideal for me because I don’t want to commit to the same class every week as my schedule is always changing and I easily bore from too strict a routine. I love ballet boot camp, which is perfect for whipping me into shape. A one-hour dance class has the ability to completely alter my mental state. The prospect of letting go at a ballet or contemporary class is an intoxicating feeling.

    5. Explore and make Toronto my home – I am twenty four years young, but boy do I feel somewhat aged. I’ve spent the past six years being nomadic. I left Canada for North Dakota right after high school, then studied abroad at Massey University in Albany on the North Shore of Auckland for one semester. Then, it was back to Minot for a semester before moving home to Saskatchewan to work at the dealership and flower shop while applying to transfer to the University of Auckland. Auckland became my home for two and a half years before I returned home for the summer before starting my internship in Ottawa/visiting New Zealand/travelling to South Africa for a month/moving to Toronto to begin internship numero dos. Don’t worry if you’re no longer following because it makes my head hurt just to think about it all… For those who know me personally, I’m sorry if you read that all. It’s an absolute bore. Needless to say, I am ready to settle down for the next little while. It’s been INCREDIBLE having my Kiwi boy here with me, and I don’t know what will happen if he isn’t granted residency. I can’t imagine moving again in less than a year not because I don’t love the constant change of scenery and the excitement of exploring new horizons, but because it makes maintaining friendships difficult. It’s nice having a core group of friends that you can call if you’ve had a rough week and need to consume an entire litre of Pinot Noir.

    That being said, I do enjoy Toronto. I like the urbanity of living downtown and having everything at my disposal. Your twenties are about being hedonistic. They are about maximizing on pleasure and not feeling guilty about it. I’m all for bountiful pastures and living skies, but cosmopolitanism is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

    So, there you have it. My goals are broad, much like my life and my current scope. I could get down to the nitty gritty details, but I’d hate to bore you any longer.

    Until next time,

    V.

  • Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but darling you look so delightful!

    Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but darling you look so delightful!

    Here in Toronto, we’ve just experienced our very first snow day of 2013. On Friday morning, I awoke to my own personal snow globe. Outside the large windows of my apartment, our bustling city streets were calmer than I’d ever seen them and covered in glistening powder. My Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts blew up with photos of snow-packed driveways and people cross-country skiing down Queen Street, which is usually jam-packed with streetcars, vehicles, and taxis. #TOsnowstorm and #snowday started trending on Twitter, and it seemed most of us were set to hibernate for the weekend. By Saturday, everything had pretty much calmed down. Sure, Sorel boots and Canada Goose jackets were still necessities for most Torontonians. However, with the city back in action, we were ready to go about our weekend activities. Because being chic in -10 or even -40 (if you’re originally from the Prairies like me) requires great skill, I’ve been gathering inspiration from my favourite blogs, tumblrs and, of course, Pinterest accounts. Here are my favourite ways to layer up during our cold Canadian winters.