Because Your Love Is My Drug

Went to the flea market with my Mom and sister today - it was ridiculous. Chaos, madness and fakes as far as the eye could see. But I did find something worthwhile:

A knock-off the Gianni Versace sunnies that our Lady Gaga made oh-so-famous in the "Just Dance" video. I love them already.


What I wore:

Forever 21 cross necklace, Nicole Miller blouse, Costa Blanca shorts, H&M striped tights.

I know - this cross necklace is my new favourite accessory. I've worn it obsessively this past week... must stop. For now, I will be in my bed, eating samosas and watching United States of Tara. Happy Sunday, lovers.

Titular Song: "Your Love is My Drug" by Ke$ha.

I Could Be Chasing, But My Time Would Be Wasted - They Got Nothing On You.

May two-four long weekend was ridiculous. Hung out with my friends all day, everyday and got into some ridiculous situations. Good times.

Old Navy top, Bongo jeans, Forever 21 Cross, Ardene's fedora, sandals from Kensignton Market.

Shot these pictures in a little creek behind my house, honestly one of my favourite places ever (I shot a movie here for film class in high school.) A (refreshingly) isolated, small piece of nature in the middle of suburbia.


My girls:

Gotta love 'em.

Titular Song: Nothin' On You - B.o.B. ft Bruno Mars

I'm More Than Just An Option, Refuse To Be Forgotten.

Went shopping on Queen West yesterday, and I went OFF. The booty:

Forever 21 Shirt and Cross, Zara Jacket, H&M Tights, Ardene's Belt, Costa Blanca shorts (both) & Dynamite blazer.

Can't wait to get all of this on my body.

Also: I've been a shit-tastic blogger lately, sorry for the lack of outfit posts. Combination of busy with work/dressing to go out at friend's places without camera/losing my camera charger/not being allowed to take my father's SLR out of the house. I'll try harder to make time for outfit posts from now on =)

Titular Song: Find Your Love - Drake

The Nude Look.

I am all over this neutrals/nude tones look for spring - unfortunately I own nothing taupe coloured. I was unsure if someone with darker skin tone such as myself could pull off wearing all neutrals, but my very fashionable mother pulled off the number quite well today (unfortunately she refuses to take pictures), so I may have to try it in the near future.

For now, some inspiration:

Taylor Sterling of Sterling Style

Alix, The Cherry Blossom Girl

Liz, Of Late Afternoon

Styloretic

 Tahgrid

Louise of Miss Pandora (She's pretty much the queen of the all neutrals look, in case you couldn't tell.)

However, my personal favourite take on the look so far:

Sabrina of afterDRK

Anyways, I'm off to bake cupcakes at my friend's house. Peace!

All I've Got Are These Photographs

DISCLAMIER: This is a damn long post, and it's all about cameras.

There are many things I've been obsessing over lately (fashion blogging, Jeffery Campbell shoes, tattoos, teaching ESL in Korea, etc.) - but a big one is cameras & photography in general.

In my opinion, photography is 1/3 skill (knowledge aspect), 1/3 talent (creative aspect), 1/3 glass (hardware aspect) and a pinch luck (being in the right place at the time.) Sadly, I am highly lacking in all these departments.

Well, until recently - my lovely father recently gifted me with his Nikon FX-90 SLR.

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Part 1: What I Possess.

Nikon P80

The ultra-zoom Point&Shoot that non-photographers always mistake for an SLR. I love the crazy zoom it has (18x!), and it's pretty decent for taking concert photos (there have been a few venues I've been to that actually won't let people in with dSLRs!) But at the same time, I've outgrown it. I bought it because I wanted a camera that would be good in low-lighting situations, with image quality almost that of a dSLR, because I felt I wasn't ready for a dSLR at the time. But I certainly am now, and this camera has drawbacks - as a P&S, it will never take SLR quality photos, and I yearn for the creative control that SLRs allow. Also, it's too bulky to regularly carry around, an I want a little P&S that I can carry around with me places and won't cry about if I accidentally break/lose.


Polaroid Cool Cam

Cutest thing ever. Got this at Salvation Army for $4. Of course, like every other 600 Polaroid owner on the planet, I have no usable film. I'm kind of relying on The Impossible Project to come through for me on this one, but for now, no 600 film seems to be available in Canada. **sad face**


Nikon FX-90 SLR

Recently passed on to me from my father; I'm going to use it to learn how to shoot film before giving back once I've got my own film SLR (I know how much he loves this camera). I'm still trying to learn the mechanics of shooting with an SLR, so I'm expecting the first few sets of photos to be experimental and not at all good. But learning takes time, so I'm not too worried.

PART 2: What I Want.

FujiFilm Instax Mini 7

Basically the instant camera around that still has film available. I want one of these, but only because there's no Polaroid film around anymore. (Well that, and Hello Kitty is precious.)


Minolta XG-1

Darcy owns one of these, and her Flickr has officially made me obssessed with obtaining one. I love the grainy, vintage feel of the camera that still manages to capture beautiful bright colours. (Plus, I'd like to give my Dad back his SLR eventually.)


Diana F+ CMYK

I really, really want a Diana F+. And not just any Diana, this one. I love how cute it is, and Diana cameras take lovely retro photos. I am dying to buy this Deluxe Kit, as well as the Instant Back, so that it can be used instead of my Polaroid cam, or so that I don't have to buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini mentioned above.

Nikon D5000

I need this, NEED. It seems like a fantastic beginner camera, which is exactly what I need, and it has all the features I'm currently looking for in an SLR. Where there is a will, there is a way.



Digital P&S

I honestly just want one to carry around with me at all times, since carrying my current P80 or an SLR around is just a hassle. Requirements? Small, portable, half-decent photo quality - and a camera that won't break my heart if I lose it after a drunk night of clubbing.


Nikkor Fisheye Lens
 

Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye lens for DX cameras (the type of lens my future Nikon D5000 dSLR needs).

Nikon 16mm Fisheye lens for FX cameras (the type of lens my current Nikon FX-90 SLR needs.)

This is me being incredibly indulgent right now, because unless I win the lottery or become a professional photographer, I don't think I will ever be able to justify buying an $800 fisheye lens. Let alone two. But hot damn, I want one.

Anyways, that concludes my camera ramble. If anyone has a Nikon d5000, let me know how you like it, pros/cons, etc. =)

Titular Song: Photographs by Rihanna

I Wish I'd Known Right From the Start That I Was Dancing With The Dark.

I'll consider this an extreme exercise in colourblocking:

Forever 21 tunic. American Apparel Mesh Dress, Belt & Leggings. Payless shoes.

Wore this out to a club which ended up sucking ass. We ended up at McDonalds by 1am.

Although to be honest, when I'm back home, we always end up at McD's. It's just the better your night is, the later you get there. I'll aim for 3am next time.

Titular Song: "Run Devil, Run" by Ke$ha.

I'll Finish This Shit This Month, Day Ten.

A few more of my favourite things: I wear my sister's double-fingered LOVE ring from Aldo, she wears my Skullcandy x Paul Frank headphones.

Titular Song: This Month, Day 10 - Cansei de Ser Sexy.

THREE MONTHS, BABY.

This post is dedicated to the complete total of about five people who read this blog. Can't believe I've already been writing this thing for three months!

I found myself thinking yesterday: I need more skirts. This thought is extremely out of character for me, and I can tell you why: Because I hate skirts (hence the lack of them in my closet). I find them awkward to wear and hard to match, not to mention extremely unflattering to my body shape. However, I have become obsessed with a fair amount of clothing items/trends that if you had told me I liked them a year ago,  I would have thought you were crazy.

This includes:

--Dresses (To be honest, I just hate my legs.)
--Bodycon everything
--Wedges
--Lace
--Leopard Print
--Floral Prints

(Wow, I just really looked at this list, and basically I am becoming a girl.)

But honestly, my fashion sense broadened up so much in the past year. I attribute this to a couple things: a) Finally having the money to buy myself a decent amount of new clothing, b) Living with girls who are as fashion-conscious/obsessed as I am, and c) reading blogs about everyday people with fantastic style. Those people inspired me to start dressing myself better and to eventually start this blog. I hope the evolution of my fashion sense its evident on this blog, and that you will continue the ride with me.


P.S. Happy Mother's Day Mom! (Even though I'm pretty sure you don't know I have this blog.) I love you.

Roya + the Machine Goes to Work

In the summer, I work at a bank as a summer intern (super related to the fact that I'm a science major, right?) Anyways, the corporate world has a different dress code - one which very few items in my wardrobe fit. Here's one of the few outfits I've worn so far that I'm not actually ashamed of:

Old Navy top.

This top is probably the only Old Navy item I own (besides flip flops) that wasn't purchased for me in elementary school. I love this top, it's so bright & flowy - perfect for spring. I love these high waisted pants (one of only two high waisted items I own), but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the boutique where I got them. Somewhere near York Mills & Yonge (for anyone who's from Toronto).

P.S. Thanks to Mishka for taking these =)

Sometimes I Feel Like Saying Lord, I Just Don't Care, But You've Got The Love I Need to See Me Through.

Florence + the Machine's album "Lungs" pretty much single handedly got me though last week, which has been one of the worst of my life. (Okay, Haagen-Dazs helped too.) So glad exams are over.

Glad to be back home and yet so exhausted. Some of my favourite things from the past couple days:

Dominican & Canadian flags; hallway mirror; wood statue from Brazil; my sister's boots; my sister's robot belt buckle. Shot with my Dad's Nikon D90.

I'm back at work now, and my friend Mishka and I took some photos of one of my work outits. Preview of me screwing around:

More to come!


P.S. Also: updated the layout a bit, got a new header and updated my favourite blogs on the side. All the Canadians are bolded because we're awesome.