A Royal Invitation

So the usual bubbly happy positive Teagan would be all about the Royal Wedding.
I probably would have taken the day off work (from my temp job not my career job-that is a shoutout to you SoMidwestern!) and had a tea-party complete with hats and gloves and dresses.

I would have probably scoured all the details I could find.
I love the Royals...love the idea of everything behind it.
Probably with a slightly childish dream of being a princess.

Then my world went dark.
I will soon tell the whole story of my fairybook wedding I was planning.
To the man I was already married too.
Confused?  Well you should be but it will all come out in MyExboyfriendProject.

I was obsessed.
Well likely because I had nothing to do at all.
Just hours of boredom.
So I planned every single detail of every single thing for the September 2011 wedding.

I dragged my parents to wedding shows (Spencer couldn't come because he had his career in Florida and I was stuck in Canada awaiting my spousal/fiancee visa).
It was a mix of do-it-yourself and some over the top aspects.

My dad and I soon started the tradition over June through September of watching Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings on TLC every Friday night.
And then everything came crashing down.

I had to cancel all the vendors.
I remember when we booked everything thinking...gee that is terrible that they have to include cancellation policies...never thinking I would be the one to use it.

I had to make the decision to keep the wedding dress or not? (it was 75% paid for).
When I went to the Wedding Shows I had labels made up of our information so that I didn't have to fill out ballots.
I wanted to win us free honeymoons, and photography etc.

Instead all I got was put on a zillion wedding email spam lists.
So now I get DAILY emails of all the things I'm NOT planning for.
I keep trying to delete and insert filters but still get emails that sneak through daily.

So when the Royal Wedding was announced I avoided everything about it like the plague.
But the last few days it has been everywhere.
And I have to admit I love Kate Middleton's style.

I think she is beautiful and smart and elegant.
So now I'm slowly getting pulled in though it makes my heart ache for what I don't have.
So for now I will safely just admire her fashion.
And maybe just maybe I will watch the Royal Wedding...though I'm still undecided....but maybe.

Here are some of my FAVOURITE of her outfits...enough to make me crave an Issa dress of my own.

The Blue Issa Engagment dress is a DREAM!  Beautifully wrapped I am in love!

The Ivory Engagment Pic Dress is also Gorgeous...

It doesn't hurt to have a FABulous body.  I love white bikinis.

What a coincidence...a Burberry Trench (still saving for mine).

Yesterday she was out shopping in this black dress.  Classic and beautiful.

Of course...my obsession that all started with Taylor in the South...HATS!!!

And my new favourite...Fascinators...I wore one to my own pseudo-wedding.  I'm secretly hoping Kate wears one to her's.  I wore one to Jane's wedding in October and am contemplating wearing one to Eva's wedding next month.  I think they are so formal and fun.

(above is actually her sister I think).

So that is my fashion round up of Kate Middleton... my newest style love.

Shrove Tuesday and International Women's Day...Coincidence?!

Today is Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Carnival depending on where or how you celebrate it.
I was raised Catholic so Shrove Tuesday it is.
It is the last day before Lent where you are supposed to give up something until Easter.
The last day to get all your bad things in...like egg/butter/syrup etc that you commonly see in Pancakes.
When I was little I remember being so excited that I would eat Pancakes virtually all day (at school) and my mum would make them for Dinner.  Breakfast for dinner=amazing!


Wikipedia does the job of explainging it pretty well here.
I used to want to travel to Olney, England

...to participate in their traditional Pancake Day Race that all began when ..."It all started in 1445 when an unknown woman cooking pancakes heard the shriving bell summoning her to confession. Alarmed, she ran to church wearing her apron and still holding her frying pan, and no doubt drew the good-natured ridicule of fellow parishioners. Thus, unbeknown to her, started a tradition that has lasted all this time".  (1)  How fun does this look? 2 

Rumor has it that here it is restricted to women who have lived there a minimum of three months. 

So my guilty Catholic conscious has me trying to come up with what to give up until Easter.
And I'm stumped.  Previous things I have given up in the past include chocolate chip cookies (at age 8), potato chips (at age 14), wine (at age 23) and now at 29 I'm stumped! I don't really have a diet high in chocolate chip cookies or potato chips or wine for that matter.  And you are supposed to give up something that is difficult for you to do.  Maybe I should give up talking to Jacob haha.  (I said difficult not IMPOSSIBLE!) Hmmm I'm going to have to think about this for the day before I commit to anything. 

Also thanks to one of the blogs I love Aspiring Kennedy...I found out that today is International Women's Day!  And it is the 100th Anniversary (or as I love to say Centennial!)  for this day.  Apparently there are over 200  (260 to be exact) events in Canada (who knew?!) but not a single one where I live...oh well.  Maybe I will just list 10 women that I admire (in no particular order and that I think of off the top of my head...which means I'm likely to miss something key and important ie. obviously my amazing girlfriends crush this list)...(yes some of them are totally fictional but who cares!)  From first two are from Glamour's 2009 Classic Beauty Guide...


Elle Woods from Legally Blond
I totally identify with her (character).  Being not taken seriously sometimes just because I like style and fashion and girly things.  I am smart but sometimes I pretend I'm not (that's a whole other ball of wax).  I need to be confident in myself and trust my gut more.  There is likely more strength in me embracing myself and who I am (purse dog, pink laptop sleeve and all) then in trying to be something I'm not. 

Monica Wright from Love and Basketball.
For the pure simple fact that things worked out for her probably better than she ever imagined...she got the guy, the career and the family she always wanted (so jealous).

Brooke Davis (duh someone from One Tree Hill!)
Smart and independent love her (character) on this show!
Think troubled relationship with her parents but finds the strength to pursue her dreams and become hugely successful while having AMAZING friends who love and support her (do I identify much? Of course!)

Julia Styles Character in Mona Lisa Smile.
I don't particularly love the movie but when it's on I have a compelling urge to watch it all and I totally root for her character and enjoy that she is/was a pioneer of pushing herself further in a male dominated profession/world.

Okay Okay I feel guilty not including "real women" so here are the ones I admire...


Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (I think I want to read more about her...I wonder if there is a good biography out there).(3)  I love her style (see trench below haha) and I want to learn how she gained strength in the face of such sadness in her life.

Lilly Pulitzer (4)
I wrote about her in this post here.  I love her and her independence and the clothes are pretty much amazing too! 

Diane Von Furstenberg (5)

I totally look up to her as a style icon and as someone I want to be like.  I grabbed some things from her Huffington Post Interview that totally clicked with me.  It doesn't hurt that I'm DYING to own one of her wrap dresses.  I would love to read her biography as well.


Do you think that personal style is a professional asset?
Yes. But it doesn't just have to do with your appearance. It's your character too: Who you are, how you present yourself, how honest you are. It's your voice, the way you speak, the way you write. All of it makes you; therefore, you have a style.
What do you think the professional benefits are of making a statement with your wardrobe?
I think the wardrobe is an accessory of who you are. You absolutely do not make a statement on the outside independent from the inside. Or independently of your capacity.
What advice do you have for professionals seeking to create their own brand identity?
You make sure that what you do, how you present yourself, from your voice to your hairdo to what you wear, all fits with who you are. Because the more natural you are, the more comfortable you will be in your skin and the more confident you will be. The more confident you are, the more beautiful you are and the more successful you are.
Seriously can you get any more genius than that?


Lauren Conrad (6) (ummm hello huge influence on me!) wrote about her here.
Love her style, her clothing and her fun personality (from what I know from reality TV obviously!)

Kim Kardashian (7)  She makes me feel better about my own body.  I can deal with my complete misproportions when I look at how beautiful she looks.  Total inspiration.  I am trying to embrace my Kim K body type.

Tinsley Mortimor (8)  I recently watched a marathon of her reality TV show.  I was totally addicted!  And I could appreciate how she was able to go against what a lot of people thought was "right" and followed her heart.  Her and her mom have an interesting relationship (identify with much?  Yup I do).  I think she handles most things with pose and I hope to come out as unscathed and mature and she does.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade (9)  She is kind of Canada's version of Suzie Orman except not so annoying.  She totally has me on a cash budget and using her jar system which has helped me start to save for retirement and have an emergency fund (things I'm embarrased I didn't start doing until this last year!)

There you have it my 10 most admired/interesting women in honour of International Women's Day.  If I could be a little more like these women I would be on my way to something great...of course I have to embrace the things that make me ME too.  How fun is it that it is International Women's Day AND Shrove Tuesday?!  Just a coincidence I guess but a fun excuse to enjoy pancakes at some point!



PS.   I love all things girly and it seems way more fun than being a stinky boy. Thank goodness I'm a woman! Especially a woman from Canada versus so many other countries where I wouldn't have access to education, travel, and even something as simple as clean water or food.  I am a lucky woman and I need to remind myself a lot more of that.    

Thank you overtime and holiday pay...Burberry Trench past the half way point!

Woot woot a little celebration in order because I just by passed the half way point to the Burberry trench!
Which means I feel confident in going with Taylor to get my exact style and size when she is in Canada.  Ackkkk I'm so darn excited because it sort of seems within reach and is SO symbolic of so many things for me.  I can almost see it now me walking down the street in a big city with the perfect Burberry Trench cinched in with the D ring belt...confident, beautiful and happy. 

On this positive note...
today things I am grateful for are

1. Having overtime/holiday pay to first go to my Car Fund and New Place Fund and even some left over for my Burberry Trench fund (I can feel my heart smiling at this).
2. Canada currently winning in the World Junior Finals 1-0 (eeeeeekkkkkk fingers crossed).
3. My dog didn't puke or have diarrhea all day so hopefully he is on the road to recovery and we can avoid the vets office.
4. I will enjoy the cold weather in Canada more when I have someone to snuggle with or at least my girlfriends to have cocktails with after work which WILL happen this year.
5. That I seem to have gotten most of my things back from Spencer...which means more clothes and shoes and since they have been gone for 6+months its like having new clothes/shoes.

There we go right back on track :)
xoxo
Teagan

Burberry Goal Number One...and some later additions.

So for as long as I can remember (and as per usual with me falling in love with something in all totality!)
I have wanted a Burberry Trench.  So that is my official first thing to save up for.
It is perfect and gorgeous and timeless!  So with my first $50 in here we go.

The Classic Double Breasted Long Trench!

Did I mention that I love how Emma Watson is their spokesmodel.

Gorgeous scarf that matches the print on my Super Nova Purse.

Seems appropriate for Canadian Weather and I love these!

The Perfect Black Umbrella and lined with Burberry print...LOVE!

SO for now it is just the Trench I am saving for but then I will slowly get these accessories to go with my SuperNova Burberry Print purse.